Steven J. Charbonneau

A Vermont native raised in the resort community of Stowe, at twenty-three Mr. Charbonneau traveled to Ecuador to visit a childhood friend serving in the US Peace Corps. In Quito he entered a casino for the first time and while there met and fell in love with a young Ecuadorian woman. Within months they were married. The couple's wedding reception was thrown by the Commander of the Ecuadorian Army, General Gribaldo Miño Tapia. Little did Mr. Charbonneau know that destiny would forever tie him to this mysterious land and its people.

Nearly a decade would pass, during which time the General advanced to Chief of the Armed Forces Joint Command, the third most powerful position in Ecuador. Mr. Charbonneau's mother-in-law had recently married Eugen Konrad Brunner (adventurer, explorer and spy) world renowned expert on Ecuador's lost Incan treasures. Upon Brunner's untimely death, destiny drew Mr. Charbonneau back to Ecuador and involved him within a story of international intrigue, espionage, murder, kidnapping, embezzlement, deceit, discovery and untold secrets!

No stranger to the U.S. Embassy in Quito, the Ecuadorian Ministry of Defense, Presidential Palace and Institute of Patrimony & Culture, Mr. Charbonneau compiled Brunner's research and negotiated an Archeological Permit, Contract, and Presidential Decree for the recovery of a lost Inca treasure in the Llanganati Mountains of Ecuador. Two years of on and off negotiations, during which period the president was kidnapped, ultimately resulted in presidential approval, which was withdrawn at the last minute.

Decades later Mr. Charbonneau decided to tell not only his own story, but to publish the entirety of Brunner's writings, drawings, maps, discoveries and secrets in an extensive tell-all book; Lust for Inca Gold: The Llanganati Treasure Story & Maps (2012). This book was followed six months later by an updated second edition; Lust for Inca Gold: An intriguing true story of Exploration, Discovery, Murder, Espionage & Treasure (2013), which included an expanded and detailed biographical account of Brunner's life, along with new information, details and twists.

Arguably a leading expert on the topic, Mr. Charbonneau's personal connection and involvement with this story allowed him, through mere prose, to take seemingly unrelated events and draw back the veil of mere coincidence, thereby connecting the unconnected. His characters, both good and bad, are presented in a matter of fact style which reminds the reader that the events he relates are fact, not fiction. Mr. Charbonneau's extensive research has rewritten history, uncovered new information and revived interest in a centuries old treasure quest. Obsession, love, political intrigue, deception, mystery, adventure, his books have it all!