09/14/2020
This is Leo Sharp's abandoned Brookwood Gardens - Michigan City, Indiana – 2020. Clint Eastwood directed and played "Leo" in the movie The Mule in 2018.
A few weeks ago a drone trip took me near Michigan City Indiana. I had heard that city mentioned before, especially when I saw the movie by Clint Eastwood named “The Mule”. I am close to law enforcement and was genuinely curious on who this “Leo Sharp” guy was so I looked him up online after watching the movie. His story later in life reads as one that I could see why Eastwood made a movie about it.
Leo’s Wikipedia page tells it best, but he received a Bronze Star medal while fighting in WWII. He then returned to Michigan City Indiana and started “Brookwood Gardens” for his daylilies. Sharp was well known for his daylilies and had created over 180 of them that are still currently in his name. Then the late 1990’s happened and the age of the internet started. Sharps finances started to slip as he tried to get into the business of selling online. He could not do it. This is where Sharp was introduced to a person to just “drive” from point A to point B with a duffel bag. 10 years later and after – what may have been more than 1 million dollars earned for his driving – no one really knows - he was caught by the DEA with over 104 kilos of co***ne in his truck in Kalamazoo Michigan. The DEA had been on to him for a number of weeks prior. It was now all over after 10 years of being a “mule” for the Sinaloa Cartel.
After Leo’s sentencing in 2013, he was allowed to keep the Gardens in which he had grown over 180 of his own, registered in his name, Daylilies. The DEA stated Leo – in that 10 year period - brought over 1 ton of co***ne to the Detroit area. His attorney stated the Cartel took advantage of Leo’s age, and threaten to kill him and his family if he did not drive for them. Currently his house is still up, and abandoned. It has a bullet hole in the siding and one in the mailbox. I don’t know if they are related to what Leo got himself into. The market where he use to rent space to sell his daylilies is still up, and abandoned as well. His Gardens – The Brookwood Gardens -- still exists, its completely abandoned and overgrown – nature is taking it back. The Brookwood Garden sign that was once there is now gone. Only the two posts that held the sign are there. You would not know what went on at the property at all without doing the research to find out. It’s seemingly a sad story of a man that loved his flowers so much, he was willing to “mule” drugs across the county for the mighty dollar to save them. In the end - I guess nature always wins.
If you have not seen the movie, I would tell you to watch it. It shows what a person is willing to do - for family - and in Leo’s case his flowers.
As you watch the flight I did of the property, I have included photos between the videos from 2008 to 2010 to show you how the grounds looked as it was surely taken care of by Leo.
Here is Leo Sharps Wikipedia page for reference.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_Sharp
