Barry Seal – Bio, Wife, Children, Family, Net worth, How did he die?

The name Barry Seal is reminiscent of the notorious drug dealers and organized crime cartels of the 1980s. He was a talented American aviator who earned his student pilot’s certificate at age 16 and his private pilot’s certificate at 17. The drug dealer was killed in 1986 when his position was threatened, but his story has refused to die with him as his feats are intriguing and well worth writing about. Barry’s story has already been made into movies. We examine this story in addition to details about his wife and family.

Barry Seal Bio

Adler Berriman Seal popularly known as Barry Seal was born on July 16, 1939 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. As a teenager, he was naturally gifted as an aviator, as his flight instructor confirmed. No wonder then that he received his student pilot and private pilot certificates at the age of 16 and 17 respectively.

Barry Seal enlisted in the Louisiana Army National Guard for six years serving with the 20th Special Forces. After graduating from the United States Army Airborne School, he failed to complete United States Army Special Forces selection and training. He later served in the 245th Engineer Battalion with his MOS being a radiotelephone operator.

In addition to his military involvement, he joined TransWorld Airlines (TWA), now known as Transcontinental and Western Airlines, was a flight engineer in 1964. He was quickly promoted to first officer and was the captain flying the Boeing 707 on a regular west route. He was the youngest 707 pilot in the TWA fleet. While working with the TWA, he secretly facilitated the shipment of plastic explosives to Mexico. Upon his discovery, he was discharged from service in 1974.

His sack marked the beginning of his drug smuggling business, which began in 1976. Two years later, his neck was deep in the business, and he was flying massive quantities of cocaine for numerous cartels, including the Medellin Cartel. In 1979, the long arm of the law caught up with him when he was arrested in Honduras en route from Ecuador. Although there was no substance on his flight, he snagged 7 months in prison for possession of an M-1 rifle.

After his release, he was even more engaged inthe drug business. He recruited his former brother-in-law, William Bottoms, as his pilot while becoming the master strategist of their drug smuggling deals. After years of successful operations with Colombian drug company Medellin, founded by Pablo Escobar, Seal was tasked with safely landing major shipments of cocaine from Colombia to US soil.

He spread the tentacles of his operations from Louisiana to Arkansas, Mena Intermountain Municipal Airport, in Mena. In Arkansas, he managed the sales and operations of aircraft fleets.

The aviator was arrested again in Florida in 1984 for money laundering and hard substance smuggling. He was sentenced to ten years imprisonment. However, he struck a prison-cut deal with the DEA by acting as an insider on other drug operations.

His activity led to the conviction of high-profile cartel kings. Unfortunately for him, his work with the DEA and CIA was exposed by the Washington Times Post.

His story has long been made into films including Crossed Double (1991), Invader (2016) and Made American (2017) with talented actors Dennis Hopper, Michael Pare and Tom Cruise each playing Barry Seal.

How did he die?

Two years after helping to put prominent drug users behind bars, he was shot dead on February 19, 1986 outside the Salvation Army facility, where he was sentenced to labor.

Reports of his shooters pointed to Colombian men hired by Ochoa from the Pablo Escobar cartel. Max Mermelstein, an attached member of the cartel, said in his 1991 testimony that they were ordered to either kidnap him to Colombia for $1 million or kill him for $500,000. He was 46 years old when he died.

Wealth (income and earnings)

Barry Seal sure made a lot of money peddling drugs and selling and operating airplanes. He was paid $1.3 million per case per trip, no wonder he kept going back to his business after every arrest. At the time of his death, his net worth was estimated at approximately $60 million.

Family – wife and children

Barry Seal has been married three times. He first married Lynn Ross in 1963, the union ended in divorce in 1971. That same year he married Barbara Dodson, who was barely married by sophomore before ending in 1972. His third marriage was to Deborah DuBois in 1973, whom he married until his untimely death.

He had five children by two of his wives. With Lynn Rose he had two children, Lisa and Alder, while the other three children Dean, Aaron and Christina Seal were born to Deborah Dubois. After his arrest, his possessions were foreclosed on by the government, leaving his family with little to nothing.