Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast - Bank Robber Breaks Silence on His $100K Scores

Episode Date: September 26, 2026

Jimmy, a desperate family man turned bank robber, recounts how mounting debt, a double life, and depression led him to steal nearly $550K before being caught by the FBI and finding unexpected redemption in prison.⁣ ⁣ Jimmy's links⁣ https://www.instagram.com/jimmydakin71?igsh=MXB0OTdwdWNwNGZ1dA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr⁣ https://youtube.com/@JimmyTheCrease71?si=V53mnsl6I2FK6qr1⁣ ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ Get 10% sitewide for a limited time. Just visit https://GhostBed.com/cox and use code COX at checkout.⁣ ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ Do you want to be a guest? Fill out the form https://forms.gle/5H7FnhvMHKtUnq7k7⁣ ⁣ Send me an email here: [e-mail]⁣ ⁣ Do you extra clips and behind the scenes content?⁣ Subscribe to my Patreon: https://patreon.com/InsideTrueCrime ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ Follow me on all socials!⁣ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/insidetruecrime/⁣ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@matthewcoxtruecrime⁣ ⁣ ⁣ Do you want a custom painting done by me? Check out my Etsy Store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/coxpopart⁣ ⁣ Listen to my True Crime Podcasts anywhere: https://anchor.fm/mattcox ⁣ ⁣ Check out my true crime books! ⁣ Shark in the Housing Pool: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0851KBYCF⁣ Bent: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BV4GC7TM⁣ It's Insanity: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08KFYXKK8⁣ Devil Exposed: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08TH1WT5G⁣ Devil Exposed (The Abridgment): https://www.amazon.com/dp/1070682438⁣ The Program: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0858W4G3K⁣ Bailout: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/bailout-matthew-cox/1142275402⁣ Dude, Where's My Hand-Grenade?: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BXNFHBDF/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1678623676&sr=1-1⁣ ⁣ Checkout my disturbingly twisted satiric novel!⁣ Stranger Danger: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BSWQP3WX⁣ ⁣ If you would like to support me directly, I accept donations here:⁣ Paypal: https://www.paypal.me/MattCox69⁣ Cashapp: $coxcon69 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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free of charge. BetMGM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with Eye Gaming Ontario. Do you wish you could just hit Skip on the worst part? of your life. You know the same way you can skip an ad? I get it. I'm Siaia and I live in Ice Cove. I've made some questionable decisions that didn't end up the way I planned. And today I'm still figuring it out. Somehow things usually get worse before they get better. Apparently, that's how I roll. So bundle up and come along for the bumpy ride. Stream a new episode of North of North Tuesdays on CBC Gem.

99,000 dollars. In five minutes, I just took control. of the bank. It was like a switch went off. So this is where it gets interesting. My wife, when she had the first kid, she turned into supermom, and there was no time to be a wife. Right. So it was kind of a loveless, sexless marriage. It was more of a partnership. We had two more kids. There were some sex. Probably. We had sex five times in three years. No, are you serious? And she got pregnant. it three more times and she she actually had a miscarriage on my birthday to where she actually delivered the little baby in the toilet oh my god and then she had to reach in and and pull him out and that's kind of when i started on the downward spiral of like depression right um i had got a job

with j b hunt trucking i was making a lot more money but they told us when i got the job they told us both, you're going to have to relocate. We have no accounts in Dayton, Ohio, and she refused to move. She says, I'm not moving. I'm not leaving my mom. And I'm like, you know, we got to move. Right. So I call my boss. I say, she don't want to move. And he's like, well, I don't want to lose you. He goes, but if you want to work for us, you're going to have to travel. And that was pretty much the end of the marriage right there because I'm on the road every week going to accounts. And then towards the end, my job was basically, I had an expense account to where I would go to accounts that were in trouble. And I would take like, you know, the shipping supervisor out to dinner,

take them golf and keep them sloppy drunk. The problem is when you send an unhappy man into that kind of environment, especially I'm like 28, 29 years old at the time. Right. So you became devoutly religious and started going to church more? Is that what happened? If you consider strip clubs in church? Depends on the name of the strip club. Exactly. Right. Right. But a lot of the customers like to go there. Wasn't you. Was it me? Absolutely not. No. I'm like, I'm like, no, why are we going there? Right. I mean, how am I going to sell us? I mean, how am I going to sell my boss $500 at the

flash dance cabaret on my expense report? Right. But, you know, you said, Golf right down the street. There's a bowling alley, fellas. It was all together. They served food. But it was like, you know, you send a 29, 28-year-old kid with an expense account into that kind of life in an unhappy marriage. Right.

It's just doomed. And it was kind of more of a partnership at the end. You know, she always wanted to be a stay-at-home mom. She didn't want to go back to work after my first son was born. And that was fine because I didn't want him to go to daycare. enough money? I'm making about $60,000. And in Dayton, Ohio in 2000, that's not a bad life. Right, right. You know, and then, you know, the more you make, you upgrade. You get a bigger house. You know, she wanted an expedition, so I got her afford expedition, and we got a nice four-bedroom house.

And so I'm paying all the bills, and she's taking care of, like, home. And then I'll come home on the weekends, and it's just arguments. You know, we got to go to the grocery. We got to get the yard work done. And then, you know, she's like, well, I want to be a stay-at-home mom. I didn't want to be a single mom. And I said, look, you didn't want to relocate. I said, we couldn't make this money if I left J.B. Hunt. Because I would never, with no college, I would never go to another company and start out of what I was making.

I mean, I started at the bottom and worked my way up. Right. And I said, I can't go back to the pizza business and keep us in this stuff. So you made the choice to stay home. All right. So that was kind of the end of the marriage. And like I said, it was a partnership. I wanted to divorce her.

But being, I was with divorced parents, and I knew she was the type of woman that she would go for the jugular. I mean, she would have me living in my car if she could. And I didn't really care about that because I wanted to. to take care of my boys. I mean, I loved them more than anything. Yeah. But I didn't want to get the divorce

because I didn't want to put them through that. And I thought maybe it was okay. Like, I'm supporting, and it's kind of like a team. But unfortunately, through my travels up there, I kind of met somebody. And she treated me the way I thought a wife should treat me. So. Right.

You know. What happened? So did your wife find out? Like what? Well, she found out after my crimes. Oh, okay. So. How did that come about?

I was dating this girl. She had two daughters and she told me she was divorced. And it turns out she wasn't divorced. So she told her husband about me and he kicked her and her daughters out on the street. And I felt like. you know, obligated. So I found them a little house, put them up in. So I'm paying that and I'm paying mine down in Dayton. And then there was a promotion, like from going from what I was doing as an operations manager into sales to where I would, instead of assuring customers about J.B. Hunt,

I would sell J.B. Hunt to them. Right. And I would make a lot more money. And then I would get a commission each year on every account I sold. So we're talking maybe going from $60 to $100,000. And all the customers said, you know, you need to do that. You're perfect for it. So I said, okay. So I put my hat in the ring, and my boss calls me and says, we're going to go to Arkansas Friday.

That's where the corporate headquarters is, J.B. Hunt, big old five-story building. So we go there, and I actually need. meet with J.B. Hunt himself. And we sit at his great big desk probably three times the size of this. And he's a big old guy, cowboy hat. And he says, all right, Jimmy. He goes, I'm a straight shooter. He goes, every account loves you.

He goes, we've never had accounts call and ask us to send a guy up there like you. He says, but every now and then you got a little stutter. And he goes, and I'm afraid new customers might be put off by that. Or they may find it endearing. And I'm like, I'm like so. Makes sense, right? Yeah, and my stutter, as a kid, it was really bad. And they say it was because of the abuse of mom and all the stress and everything.

So I kind of worked with it as I got older. Some people don't even know I stutter at all. Right. But I mean, some people, it'll come out. And it's not the stutter where I go, do, duh, duh. It's just sometimes I can't get the, air out. Trimmer.

Yeah. That's all. Yeah. So he goes, I hope you understand. And I said, oh, I understand. I can take your customers out and keep them sloppy drunk, but I can't sell them to us. Fuck you. I quit.

And he goes, you're not quitting. And I said, did I stutter? And he goes, you're not quitting. He goes, go back. Take the weekend off. Come back to work Monday. Calm down. And everything's good.

So we're flying back. And my boss is going, you're not quitting. And you got a great job. You love your job. And I'm like, you know, fuck it, I'm done. I said, if he can't give me that position because of a little stutter, fuck him, I'm done. So he says, come back to work Monday and it'll be good.

Well, I waited until Thursday. And I guess J.B. Hunt said, if I had to came back Monday, I had my job back. Right. Yeah. Yeah, they said I, my boss said I called him a fat fuck. I don't remember that. Right. But it was like I was seeing red, so I might have, I don't know.

Why invite me to the corporate headquarters to tell me face to face? And see, I thought that was insulting too. Yeah. And it was just something that, like how you know, everybody has their kryptonite, right? Right. That's always been mine. And it's something I've always been self-conscious of. So I have no job.

And I got two families I'm supporting. One in the tiny little Rinky-Dink house, and then the money-hungry wife down in Dayton with all of the Ethan Allen furniture and everything. So I'm like, okay. And I know I can't go to another trucking company and make what I was making. And I ran through my savings.

I maxed out my credit cards. And it was like I didn't know what to do. I couldn't find a job that was going to start me out good because I didn't have any college. So, and all these guys in the transportation business now, they got, you know, logistics degrees. So I'm fighting against that. So I just couldn't find anything.

And I kind of didn't want to live anymore. So I was looking for a way. I was just, it was just. I was really depressed. Sometimes when I got down, I would hear a little kid's voice that would say, come with me, Daddy, everything will be okay. And I always thought it was my son who died.

Right. And it was just, I just didn't see a way out. And it was the coward's way out. But I'm thinking, okay, if I die, at least my three boys will get Social Security. And that could help them, that could help their mom. They each get a check. Right. So I'm kind of thinking that way.

but it's still, it's the coward's way out. So the next morning I woke up and I said, I'm going to rob a bank. Had that been in your mind? Had you been mulling that over, or did it just come to you, kind of? I was mulling it over because I had a plan at how I wanted to do it if I ever did it. It's kind of when you're in a bank and you see something and you go, oh, that's interesting. and you file it in the back of your head. Not thinking you'll ever use it.

But, I mean, like, like, you know, people say, I'm sure at one time or another, maybe 75% of America's thought, man, if I could just rob a bank, you know? And I had, it's funny, you say, I was making deposit or something. This was like two, three years ago. Actually, I know Boziac was living here. And I was sitting there.

And this woman, I was in line, and she was in line, and she was in front of me. And next teller, you know, they call her. She goes up to that teller. And then when I went up to my teller, this woman had this little bag that she had. It was bigger than the zipper bag, right? It was a bigger bag. And she was holding it the whole time I was sitting there.

And so when she went up, she sat it down. And I'm telling you right now, she started pulling stacks of cash out of this bag. And I was sitting there thinking, and I mean, even if it was ones, it was a ton of cash. And it wasn't ones. Yeah. And I was thinking, one, I was thinking like, what kind of business are you in that you're bringing in what looks like 20, 30, 40,000, $50,000 possibly. And she was just staying in line with me. And then when she was, well, I went and I got in my car, she came out after me.

And she just walked over, got into this little, little, you know, whatever, Ford, whatever, and backed out and drove off. And I thought, that's a smashing grab. That's a snatch and grab right there. I was like, anybody could follow her. And when she got out of the car, grabbed that bag and taken all, like, anybody could have followed her. Like, she's,

nobody's with this woman. Absolutely. And they knew her. Like, they were like, oh, I miss someone. You know, like,

I was like, how often is she coming here? Like, that's crazy. That's probably the first time I ever thought, hmm. Yeah. I mean, of course,

everybody's seen heat. But, you know, that's, I'm not going into that with the whole. You know, to be honest with you, that is my least favorite bank robbery movie. I love that break robbery movie.

See, I think it's so Hollywood. Well, it is Hollywood, but remember, they kind of said they semi-based it off of the L.A. bank robbery, where the two guys go in and they had all the body armor. Yeah. That was insane. Yeah. I think the two most realistic ones that I love is the town. Yes, of course.

It's great. The original point break. Yeah, yeah. With the presidents. Yes. Yeah. I think those two are the. One, I think, the most realistic.

We interviewed a guy, and he specifically said that point break, point break was the inspiration for his bank robbery. He robbed like three people. Do you know what I'm talking about? And I don't think that he even had a real gun. He used like a plastic gun. Was this the guy with the ponytail? The white guy with a pony tail in the glasses? Yes.

Anyway, but so, okay, so, so really heat, huh? You don't like him? Okay. I mean, I like it, but it's my least favorite probably. Listen, I, of course, love the Joker. Or in the movie, in The Joker. Oh, absolutely. The Batman Dark Night.

That's great because he, well, Keith Ledger was amazing. And I cannot believe he passed away because he was amazing. Yes. So when you're laying in bed, what do you do? Like, how are you thinking you're going to do it? Well, I'm at home with my wife and my little boys. and I know how I'm going to do it because in the pizza business,

sometimes I'd have to take a deposit up right before the 5 o'clock rush. So I would run up to the bank and sometimes I'd get there at like three minutes or two minutes till 5. And there was always a teller who would let me in and she would lock the door and pull the shade down

and I'd do my banking and then she would let me out. So I know that was at closing time. Right. And I know that if I'm going to do this, I got to get some money. Right. Is that because she recognized you, though? No.

That's just how they do. Okay. They're waiting to close up. So they're waiting for the customers to leave. Because my whole thing is I'm not afraid of the people in the bank. I'm afraid of Joe Hever are walking in that front door. Right. You know, because they're trained to do what you say.

And also, I know I'm going to be in there a few minutes because I don't want any of the teller money. Right. You know, because I've got to get big money. I wanted to get 20,000. That's what I wanted. I thought, okay, that would pay off the bills. I got to get rid of the girlfriend and her two daughters and say, look, I'm sorry, but you got to do with this on your own.

And I got to divorce my wife and do things right. And this will start us off, pay off the debt, and then I can try to find a job, and everything will be good. So I actually The girlfriend actually gave me the gun to do it Because I told her what I was going to do That was a bad idea But anyway

Well she never did anything bad to me Okay She She gives me the gun I go use it to commit a bank robbery I come back and say kick rocks Yeah that's a bad idea Yeah well you know

I wasn't making very good decisions at this point. So she's living up in Cleveland, Ohio, like, you know, up in the northeast corner. And I'm in Dayton, Ohio, which is about 45 minutes north of Cincinnati. Right. And like the southwest corner. So I want to rob the banks right in the middle because I know I'm going to be on TV. I know I'm going to be on the news.

And how I'm going to do this, I can't wear a disguise. because that teller is going to have to trust me enough to let me in as that last customer. Right. So I can't have the glasses and the beard. She's got to see me and think I'm just a regular Joe. So that's why I want to do it in an area. Nobody knows me. Okay.

So I case out in the middle. I go around. It's kind of like in the Mansfield, Ohio area, which is a little bit north of Columbus. And I'm kind of driving around, and I find a good bank. It's got great access to the roads to get back on the highway. I always make sure I got a backup route to get to the highway because I'm doing this right at like 5 o'clock. So you're going to have traffic.

So if I can't get out that first way, I know I got the second way to go out the back door. So I get there about like maybe 2 o'clock, and I'm kind of casing it from the outside. I actually go in the bank. I go in, I get a couple pamphlets and stuff, and I go back, because I'm going to see it, what the layout is. I go back to my car, come back an hour later,

and I go in there, and I go into the bank manager's office. There was a lady in there. I was talking to her about the pamphlets, about opening an account and CDs and everything like that, because I just want to see what's going on. And I know there's only her, and there's four other women. I know there's no guard. and I'm not worried about the cameras because I'm going to be on them.

You can't get away from them. So I'm like, okay. So this is January. So I just have on like a polo, some khakis, and a leather jacket. I don't even have a bag because I'm after 20 grand. So it gets to be about five minutes until five I'm sitting in my car. And the girlfriend calls and she's crying about money. What are we going to do the landlord once the whole year's room?

I said, I got it. Calm down. I hang up the phone and it rings again. And I go, what? And it's the wife. And she's screaming about money. Jam, damn, we hate money. I said, I got it. And I hung that phone up. I looked at the gun on the passenger seat. And I said, fuck it. I grabbed the gun, put it in my back, walk up to the door. She lets me in, locks the door, pulls the shade down. And I just pulled the gun out. And it was, like a switch went off. There was no nerves. There was no stutter. I just took control of the bank. You know, they put their hands, put their arms up. I told them put them down. I get them all out from behind the counter. They're like, you know, counting their drawers. I don't want to touch that money. And I said, let's go to the back room. So they take me to the back room

and there's a room with a safe, and I tell the manager to open the safe, and she opens a safe, and there's all the stacks of money. And I said, get me the money. And so she, like, gets the money, and she hands it to me, and I'm stuffing them in my coat. After they're done, I say, okay, count to 100. You guys can come out, and I'll be gone.

I said, I don't want to hurt nobody. And, of course, I had the pistol. Right. So I walk out of the room, and the keys are still dangling. in the front door. I unlock it, let myself out, take the keys with me, and I'm gone. And I'm on the highway, and I'm trying to get an idea of what I got. Right. So I'm reaching in, and there's $5,000, $5,000, $99,000.

Whoa. In five minutes without hurting anybody. And it was... How many people were in the bank? I'm sorry. Five women. Five women, okay. And I got $99,000 without hurting any of them. And I mean, I let out a scream on that highway.

It was like, it was like, that's when the rush hit me. And I'm like, oh, my God, I can't, I couldn't believe how easy it was. And like, you know, guys asked me, did you ever think that you was being followed? No. I knew I got away with it. It was done. I didn't even think I was going to get caught. So I go back up to Cleveland.

I pay the landlord the money. I go to my wife in Dayton. I give her 50 grand. And she's like, where'd you get this money? And I said, because you know, I'm Italian. And I said, well, I'm kind of running drugs for Uncle Frank. And she's like, well, don't get caught. Just keep the money coming home.

I'm like, okay. So that's when greed came in. I mean, I made great money in my jobs, and we had nice things, but I never had that mad money where you could go into a mall and drop $5,000, and you're not worried about the electric. And that's when I got a little greedy. And, you know, instead of cooking dinner, you're going out to dinner. Instead of renting a video, you're buying the DVD, you know, you're, you're, you're buying, I'm buying clothes for my boys.

My oldest son's four. And, and I know T-Balls coming up, so I buy him a $300 Mizzuno baseball glove. What's, what's a four-year-old need with that? Right. You know? And three months, I went through the money. I didn't hesitate. What about the girlfriend?

Are you, does she still around? You tell you, you got to figure. She's still around. She knows what I'm doing. Okay. I thought part of the plan was to get rid of her. $20,000, get rid of her. I couldn't stick with, okay.

It was purely sexual. Yeah. You didn't stick with the plan. No, I did not stick with the plan because the greed came in. Who are you telling? So three months later, I get under $10,000, and I say, okay, time to go to work again. You said, 10 grand, I can't live on this. Can't live on that.

What am I going to do with 10 grand? Yeah, I mean, I was spending that in two, three weeks. So, and at that time, I didn't even. really feel bad about my crimes because I felt I'm not stealing grandma's pension check. Right. You know, I'm not going into the neighbor's house and robbing them. You know, I'm taking insured money. And still it's wrong.

I know it's wrong, but, you know, you know. Fine. The girls get a little scare. They got a story. You know, I mean, you know, fuck you, George W. You know, I mean. So I'm, so I'm, so I'm. So I still want to do them in that area.

I'm not doing them in the same city, probably about a 20-mile radius. Were you on like the, did you look and see where you're on the TV? Was there any articles? There was articles. What year was it? This was 2002. Okay. So you could go on the internet and look it up?

Well, it was just the start of the internet. I didn't really know a lot about it. How did you know there were articles? And I, because I went to that area. Okay. Got some papers and looked. I'm sure I was on the TV. Right.

Were there photos? Yes. Oh. Yes. But they're the grainy black and white from 25 feet away. Yes. Could have been anybody. Yes.

And nobody in that area knows me. Right. So I want to still rob in that area. It's probably about a 10 to 15 mile radius. So I find a nice little bank was almost like in the country to where there was like four backroads I could have took to get on a highway. And I said, this is perfect. And it was a good size bank. So, you know, I made sure I went in there again, got some pamphlets, made sure there.

There's no guard. Just kind of give it a quick, kind of once over. There was, again, five women. So I go out to my car, I leave. I come back about five minutes till five. This time I got a duffel bag in my back. Like I got a polo shirt, a duffel bag, and the gun. So I wait until about two minutes till, walk up to the door.

Same thing. She lets me in, pulls the shade, locks the door. and I pull the gun out, I take control of the bank. And we go to the back room, she opens it up, and I have the duffel bag. They put the money in the duffel bag, and I tell them to count to 100, and I'm gone. And I'm on the way back. Sorry, I mean, are these women like, you know, crying or pleading or anything? No, because I'm not being a dick.

Yeah. I mean, I'm not. They're just, oh, okay, okay, okay. I'm not in there to hurt anybody. You know, I got a gun, but that's strictly for the intimidation to get to the backroom. Yeah, yeah. I'm not going to hurt anybody. I'm not going to be a badass and shoot it out with the cops if they show up.

No, I understand. But I'm just saying some women would or some people. Because, you know, I didn't go in there. I didn't go in there with everybody on the ground or not. No, I didn't go on there to scare them. I just basically pulled the gun out. Right. I said, you know, this is a robbery.

Right. So I get in the car and I leave. And I start counting the money out of the bag. and it's $65,000. Okay. And I'm pissed off. You had your standard. I am,

I am honest, and I can't believe it, but I'm smoked. I'm going, you mean to tell me they only gave me $65,000? And I mean,

that's a nice lick for any bank router. Yeah, no. And I'm... And you're ready to write a harshly worded email. I want to go back. Right.

I mean, I'm really, I'm steamed. going, how long is this going to last me? Yeah. I can't do anything with this? It's not being like a dick, but it's just like, I was like, I expected more. Okay.

So I go home, I give my wife $30,000. At this time, she's bought a safe to go into the bedroom closet. And that's where she's putting the money. She thinks she's the baller, huh? She's a baller. She's a baller. And I set a goal. I tell her, I'm going to get you a million dollars in there.

and then I'm going to stop running drugs. That was my goal. Why didn't you just go with bank, right? You're already telling her you're a drug dealer. Why didn't you just say bank robbery? Because I didn't want her to, you know. You didn't want her to have enough to? Because also, because I'm living with the girlfriend up in Cleveland.

So I'm telling her that I'm doing this for Uncle Frank and I'm driving out to Vegas. Yeah, yeah. Because I'm gone all week. Right. This is my route up here. I have to be away. Yeah. And she's fine with it.

Bring the money home. Yeah. I come home on the weekends, see my boys, and everything's a gravy. So this is just a couple months later that money gets low. And I go, okay, time to go to work again. And this time, I mean, I really stake this one out. It was a little satellite bank in the front of a strip mall to where they had great access.

Either way I got out, I could still catch the highway. So I'm okay with that. I go there on a Tuesday, and I just sit and I wait. No Brinks truck, because I'm thinking, okay, paydays are Wednesday and Friday. So if a Brinks truck didn't come Tuesday, it's coming Thursday with a Friday payroll. Because they've got to be able to cash those checks, you know, because now people don't need money. They got debit cards. Right.

Back then, you was still cashing your checks. So on that Friday, I go there. I kind of wait it out. Same plan, duffel bag in the back, polo shirt, khaki's gun. Two minutes till five, I go in. The girl opens the door, lets me in, pulls down the shade. There's only her and another woman. And at this time, I'm getting really comfortable doing it to where I'm calm.

I just pull out the gun. The girl behind the counter puts her hands up. That's okay, you know. So I kind of motion them to the back. They go there and they open this safe. And I've never seen so much money. And I pull out the duffel bag and it's a good-sized duffel bag. It's probably not like that.

So I'm opening it up and she's putting all the money in there. And when it's full, there's still stacks of money. and there's a shelf with a cardboard box up there. I said, get that cardboard box down. And she got it and she dumped it, put the rest of money in it. I say, okay, you stay here, count to 100, and then you guys can come out and I'll be gone. So I put the duffel bag on my shoulder,

the cardboard box on my shoulder. I go out there, keys are in the front door, take it and leave. And I said, okay, I got to get a hotel room now. I got to count this. So I go close to my home with my wife and my kids and I get a hotel. Do you hear the police sirens? Nothing.

You drive away. You never hear anything. Nothing. Nothing at all. So I get a hotel room and I just start counting the money. $385,000. And it was still in the plastic baggies from the ringst room. And that was the first time.

I got scared. Why? Why this time? Because I knew that with that kind of money, I'm a big timer now. Yeah, serious looking. They're going to, yeah. You know, they're going to come for me.

So I'm thinking, okay, maybe I need to get out of town for a little bit. So I get another duffel bag. I put $200,000 in it. I give it to my wife. I go back up. I'm giving her, listen, man. That's the mother of my kids. You know, I want my kids taken care of.

I understand you don't want to say anything bad about her. I don't like her at all. I didn't either. But I love my boys. Getting upset with you a little bit, too, the more you give her. You know, you should. I'm not saying I don't want to take care of the kids, but for God's sake. Right.

So then I go back up to Cleveland. I give the girlfriend a little money, and I tell her that I'm going to, take off for a bit. So I drive down to Florida. And when I get to Florida that next day, I'm trying to call home to check all my kids, you know, talk to my boys. Nobody's answering the phone, which is weird.

So finally about 10 o'clock, she answers. And she goes, it's all over, Jim. I called the FBI. And I said, you want? And she goes, well, my new friend, Chris, which was the girlfriend's ex-husband or husband, found my name in the Dayton phone book and called my wife and said, I think your husband's living with my wife.

And then she goes, oh, he's up there living with a woman. He's not running drugs with Uncle Frank. So she called the FBI and said, I think my husband's doing something wrong. He gave me $200,000. So they show up. They see all the money. No, it's bank robbery money.

they show her pictures and that's him. Now they got the name to go with the face. So I'm like, okay, I'm gone. And I hang up and I'm thinking, okay, I got to, I mean, I'm going to go on the run. They keep wanting me to come back, turn myself in. I ain't doing that. Who's, I mean, who's saying that? She gave me a number to one of the Dayton police officers and said, you know, he was really nice.

He'll talk, of course he was. You know, so I call him and everything. And he's saying, once you come back, you know, turn yourself in. I'm like, sure. I said it'll probably take me up. I'll be back home tomorrow afternoon. And he tells me where to meet him. Okay.

So I take off west. I don't even go up back up there. Right. And I don't know where I'm going. I don't even have a plan because, you know, I've never been in trouble before. I never thought out, okay, what happens? Because I'm thinking either I'm going to get caught at home or something. I don't know that I'm going to get caught, but I'm not there.

So I start going west. And like I said, I had a little Nokia phone. And I don't really know a lot about cell phones back then. It was my work phone that I still had. Right. Okay. So my wife keeps calling me and putting my oldest son, Chase, on the phone with me to talk to daddy. So, you know, Chase, hi, Daddy, and I'm talking to him and everything.

While the FBI is tracking me across the country. Yeah. So this is where it gets interesting. For some reason, I want to see the Grand Canyon. First of all, you didn't think that they were tracking you? Never even occurred to you. I mean, I wasn't sleeping. I was like, I would stop at night and get a hotel.

I'd check in, and then I'd leave and drive an hour or more and get another hotel. I'm like looking out windows. I'm doing, I mean, I'm like paranoid. I actually get pulled over in Texas. Okay. When I get off the highway, I need to get gas and go to the bathroom. So I pull off and this area in Texas, it had stoplights at a weird spot on an exit. And I ran the light.

And there was a cop came up. And he comes up, he says, you know, you ran that red light. And I go, I know, I didn't even see it. I'm not from here. And so he asked for my license. And I go, I'm fine. This is it. This is it.

I said, why Texas of all places? So he takes my license, goes back to the car, comes back a few minutes later and says, okay, just be careful next time. Nice, nice. And I'm going. I wonder if he, I mean, there had to be a bolo. Yeah. I wonder if they just said, let him go. I don't know, well, I don't even know if he even ran me, maybe.

Yeah, right. You know, so I'm like, okay. I'm going to get away with this. Right. So I start driving again, and for some reason, I want to see the Grand Canyon. I don't know why. I don't know why. So, you know, with the phone dings, and they get me in the Flagstaff, Arizona area,

I'm like, there's nothing there but mud and Native Americans on the side of the road selling their rugs and their beads and stuff like that. And then I'm like, where's this Grand Canyon at? It's just red dirt. And all of a sudden there's an entrance into the park. And I go in there and there's kind of like a toll booth there at the beginning and you pay your entry fee into the park. And then you go on in. I think it was $20.

So I paid her $20. So I go into the park. I'm driving around and I stop at the first, like it was scenic area. So I get out of my car, I go to the ledge, I kind of look out, 10 seconds, okay, I'm done. I'm out of, I got the Grand Canyon out of my system. But I see this guy standing there, and he's got like a Hawaiian shirt and a big floppy mustache and a hat and sunglasses. And I'm like, who's this Yahoo? So I get in the car and I take off and I'm starting to develop a plan.

I'm saying, okay, what if I get to Vegas? Maybe I could find somebody there to get. me new ID, new papers or something. So I said, maybe that's the place I'm going to go. So I'm thinking, I'm starting to develop a plan. And I'm driving in the Grand Canyon Park, and I'm smoking a cigarette. And a park ranger comes and passes me.

And as soon as he passes me, I shoot the butt out the window. Not thinking. And he whips around and puts his lights on. And I'm like, oh, shit, I threw a cigarette out, brush fires maybe. So I looked back, and then I looked forward again, and there's a roadblock. There's like six cars, and I stop, and 15 FBI agents come out of the woods with sticks on their hats and machine guns.

With sticks on our hands? Like, you know, they was hiding in the bushes. Oh. And they got sticks on their hats and machine guns. I mean, you would think they had Dillinger cornered. Right. You know, because they're thinking that I'm armed. Yeah.

So aren't you? No. No, I don't have the gun at that time. Oh, okay. Yeah, it's still back up at the girlfriend's house. Oh, okay. Yeah. I don't know why. I see the in the final scene of Thelman Louise. That's...

You know, Colby doesn't know. Well, that's what I thought. And you're right next to the Grand Canyon. I'm sitting there. The Grand Canyon's on my right. I'm sitting there, and they're all, you know, get out of the car, get out of the car. And I'm thinking, okay, either I ram this roadblock. go through it like the movie convoy or something right or i felman louise it and just dive off the

grand canyon that's that's that's the helmon louise they they drive up they're being chased and like all the and they just right off the right off the into and that's how it ends yeah or option c i get out peacefully i chose c it wasn't peaceful yeah yeah they they threw me around like a rag doll They didn't ask you to please put these cuffs on in front of you. Sir, would you step out of the car plate? No. They didn't open the back. Say, just go ahead and hop in here.

We know you've had a hell of a, hell of a week. So when they put me in the car, the guy with the Hawaiian shirt and the floppy mustache and sunglasses comes up to the window with a picture of me. He goes, is this you? I go, yep. And he was an FBI agent, right? So I guess they, I guess they had flyers out. And that lady at the entrance had a flyer that if I, came in there.

To call? Yeah. And plus they're tracking you. Yes. So they know I'm in that area. Right. And there's nothing in that area but the Grand Canyon. So that's where I got arrested.

And they take me to a little back area. The FBI agents are counting their money because I got $185,000 on the passenger seat with me. Right. And they're stacking up money on the police cruisers and stuff. And I'm going to need a receipt for that. Yeah. And they're like, man, that's a lot of money. I said, yeah.

So then they take me to the Coconino County Jail. Okay. Where I basically slept for three days. And there was like a lot of drunken Native Americans without Native Americans. There was 12 people in it. I guess the one guy I was living with, he asked me what I was in for. And I told him. And I guess I just slept and woke up to go to the bathroom.

room and slept. Depression? Right, coming down off that adrenaline high for three, four days? Yes. So then when I get out, I wake up and I go out in the day room. I mean, I'm a legend. Because you've been on the TV? These Native Americans, no, because I told my selling.

So, I mean, I was the crazy white man who slept three days. So that night we had spaghetti and the two big chiefs called me over. So I got to eat at the big chief table. You know, and I mean, it was just, I was like, wow, I'm famous. Because, you know, in prison, there's like a little hierarchy of crimes. And, you know, my crime, even on the, in the street, you know, some people don't care, but, but in prison, that's a respectable crime. Yeah, definitely. Bank robbery, definitely.

And especially with the amount of money I got, you know. What was the total? The total was, I think it was around $560,000 out of three banks. The average bank robber gets like $3,500 or something like that. Yeah, $2,000, $3,000. Yeah, because they grab what's in the drawer and take off. Yeah, see, I didn't want no part of that because I know that's where the bait money is. I know that's where the die packs are.

And it was funny because, like, you know, like at that first bank, we had the tellers that were counting their drawers. And I didn't want any part of it. I just knew I want no part of that. I want that back. So how long does it take for your, because you obviously get a public defender? Yeah. Well, after that guy shows up.

Actually, the girlfriend was trying because she still had some money at home. And she was actually trying to find me a lawyer. And I mean, they wanted 50 grand just to talk to me. Right. And finally one of them told her, said, look, he's guilty. you're just going to have to get the best deal that you can, and it's all going to go on the federal sentencing guidelines. He said, you don't need to pay for a lawyer.

Right. He said, you know, just go with the public defender, or sometimes they have a court-appointed attorney who, like, you know, takes on Fed cases extra. Yeah, yeah. They have a name for him. It's basically a court-appointed, what they call them something, J-C-A lawyers or something.

Anyway, whatever. Well, that's what I had. Yeah. So he comes and sees me about, about a month after, because, you know, they have to expedite me back to Ohio and all this. So I get to get up there to Cleveland. I'm in the county jail for about a month. And finally, he comes to see me.

And he says, you're facing 87 years. And I'm like, I didn't kill nobody. He goes, I know, but you've got to understand the gun. He said, your first bank robbery, that gun is an automatic seven years. he said then each additional gun charge is 25. He said, so you're facing 57 years just on gun charges alone. And then the bank robbery's on top of it. You're facing 87 years.

I'm like, you know, I'm kind of saying to myself, I'm shitting, you know. I'm like, okay. So he says, well, let me get the motion of discovery and we'll come back. So you know the Fed system just takes so long. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. So about a month later, he comes with the motion of discovery. and he's reading it to me and he says,

this person called the FBI and he showed me what was blacked out. I said, I know it was my ex-well. It's my wife. And finally he reads it and he throws the papers on the table and he goes, what the hell am I supposed to do with this? I said, what do you mean? He goes, well, you're guilty.

I said, yeah, I never said I wasn't. Yeah. He goes, well, I just got to get you the best deal. Yeah, that's the only... It's possible. Right. So, you know, that time I go back into the court, you know, changed my plea to not guilty, you know. And then two months later, he comes in and he goes, okay, they're offering you 18 years.

And I said, I said, no way. And he goes, well, what do you think you could do? Right. He goes, and I said, well, I said, I'll do 10. I'm kind of thinking, you know, I'm demanding shit here. I don't know anything about this. And he goes, well, I'll go back and I'll talk to him. So, because I'm thinking, that's my first time in trouble.

I didn't hurt nobody. Yeah. I don't really understand the sentencing guidelines or anything. So then a couple weeks later, he came back and he said, listen, he put that point sheet down. He said, you're getting 84 months off the rip. They're going to. Visit BetMDM, Casino, and Tech. out the newest exclusive. The Price is Right Fortune Pick. BetMDM and GameSense remind you to play responsibly. 19 plus to wager. Ontario only. Please play responsibly. If you have questions or concerns about your gambling or someone close to you, please contact connects Ontario at 1-866-531-2,600 to speak to an advisor. Free of charge. BetMGM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with Eye Gaming, Ontario.

Now, only charge you with the one gun. They're going to throw the other two out. They're going to charge you with the bank robberies, but they're going to do your points with the one you got the most money out of. So he said, 84 months is off the rip. And he showed me base, I'm sorry, bank robbery starts at a level 20. And then each additional $50,000 you get is a point enhancement. So he said, you're in category one because you've never been in trouble before. So he took it down there, I think, to like 31 or 32. And then he said with the acceptance of responsibility, it's going to move you up to a 29.

And that was 87 to 109 months, something like that. Plus, if you do a timely plea, get another point off, right? Right. So he said, he said, I believe she'll give you the low end because you've never been in trouble and you've got 84 months on top of it. So I said, so what is that? And he, because you know feds is all months. He goes, 171 months. And I'm doing the math.

And I go, okay. So I'm like, okay, so how much will I do on that? He said, well, depending on if you're a troublemaker or something, 12, 13, maybe. I said, is that the best I can get? He said, that's all you're getting. He said, that's it. This is it. I said, well, I guess if I do 10, I can do 12 or 13.

Right. You know, what am I going to do? Right. Yeah, yeah. It's not like you have a, it's not like you're, that's it. I'm going to trial. What, get 30? Yeah, get the 87.

Yeah. But, and then, you know, county jail is the worst time. And I think that's why they go so slow on it because it just beat you down to where you get to that eight month mark. You want to get out. Yeah, everybody, what's so funny is everybody in there is like, I just want to get sentenced and go to prison. Yeah.

And that doesn't make, that never made sense to me. I was like, what are you talking about? You want, because I was thinking, well, prison's going to be worse than this. They're like, no, bro. Yeah. You know what never made sense to me until I did it is people would say, I do two years in prison over a year in the county. Yeah.

And I'm like, you're crazy. No, they're not. No, you get there and you go. Yeah, absolutely. Guys would say the same thing. They'd be like, I'll do three years in the Fed, then one year in the state. Because a state, there's... Not anymore, though.

No, no, no, it's worse now, but I'm saying when I was in... Yeah. When I was before I went in, before everything changed. But they would say that because in the state, there was like in Florida, there's no AC. Right. It's, the conditions are just horrific.

The, the correctional officers are brutal. Yeah. And you're around just the worst kind of people. See, that's what I always told people.

And they said, what's the difference between the feds and the state? I said, well, your quality of food's better. They serve you. Yeah.

And the quality of people you're around. Right. Is better. And they pay you more for your jobs. Yeah. But now you can't even say that

because the same people, now that the feds have picked up every gun charge, you might have a little crackhead with a dime bag and a gun, and he's federal. Yeah. It's awful. So you end up pleading guilty. You go in front of the judge.

I pled guilty, and then, you know, you got the PSI. Yeah. Two more months. So it was 11 months before I got sentenced to, and she did. She gave me the 87 on the bank robberies, and she gave me the 84. What did you tell the judge?

Did you give her a good, Was it a bad spot? I mean, I told her, I apologize. I said, you know, I wasn't, I kind of wasn't in the best shape mentally. I made some bad choices. I was depressed. And she goes, well, it sounds like you was depressed. And then she gave me the low end.

And she goes, she goes, this is a hard way to ask for help. You know, like if I was depressed, I should ask for it. So I didn't know at the time, but she put in myself. sentencing papers that she wanted me to have a mental health evaluation, you know. Upon getting there or upon release? No, when I got to prison. Okay. When you got out of prison, did you have to do the cognitive thinking class?

Was there a class that they sent you to for criminal thinking? No? No. I guess I just got lucky. Yeah. They send you to the halfway house and you got little groups there. Oh, yeah, yeah. That's everybody gets that.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, but that's nothing. So you go to prison. So I go to prison. So I don't know where I'm going. So she sends me to the federal medical center in Butner, North Carolina. Is that bad?

It's sweet. Yeah, I was going to say, I kind of always heard good things, but I don't know what it is now. Because, you know, Butner is a complex. Yeah. They have the hospital. They have the camp. They have the low. They had the medium.

Kind of like Coleman. Yeah. And then when I was there, they started to build the medium high. Okay. And is there a hospital there? Yeah. Yeah, that's what the medical center is. That's where they do the cancer.

And if you ever have to have a replacement like a knee or hip, they take you there. So because, you know, they go out to Duke Medical Center. And they have the students basically perform, which, you know, you're getting top flight care. The students. You get to work on you. I mean, I'm not saying that they're not great. It's not wonderful that they're helping. But.

But I tell you, people say when they get the replacements, they said, I mean, their care was so good. So I get there and I'm in R&D and a psychiatrist comes and sees me, talks to me for about 10 minutes. And he goes, he goes, I don't see anything wrong with you. I said, no. He said, you know, you're a little depressed. He goes, but I don't blame you. You know, you got all this time to do in prison. He's got 15 years.

Yeah. And I'm like, well, okay. So I went to the work cadre because, you know, the work cadre basically does all the jobs. in the hospital. And they have a mental health wing in the hospital where there's probably six units that's all mental health people. People who are in there for basically life

who have, like, killed their families, murderers. You get a lot of people who, while they're going through their pre-sentencing, they're trying to fake the site card, so they send them the butner for six months for an evaluation. So you got that element mixed with really sick people. So it just... So I got a job as an inmate companion,

which my first little bit, I was working on the cancer floor to where I would push guys to their treatments, you know, help them with their daily activities. And, I mean, that was kind of nice, you know, because you're kind of helping people. But then after that, After six months of that, they said, you know, we want you to work on the psych wing.

And I'm like, okay, and I go up there, and it's like, it's like the place that time forgot. You know, they never make a phone call. They don't watch TV. They walk around this triangle unit until it's medline or lunch or dinner. Is it just so doped up? A lot of them are so, yeah, they're so doped up. You can always tell the ones who come in who are kind of in the study. There's nothing wrong with them.

So that's when you'll get like a little violence, you know, when they kind of make fun of the really sick ones. Because, you know, you've got some really dangerous sick people in there. Right. And, you know, at the time, we had microwaves, but like a couple of the really crazy ones, they would boil baby oil and try to throw it on people. And I guess they threw it on a doctor there.

So they took the microwaves out and they had like, you know, the 190 dispensers and stuff like that. Yeah. But I mean, these guys, they didn't shop commissary. Yeah. The 190 dispenser is just hot water. So you hit a button and it just comes out to 190 degrees. So that's how you make your coffee. Yeah.

Cook your soup and stuff like that. It sucks. Yeah. So I worked there. for about six months. And then I went to my case manager, and I said, look, I said, I can't do this anymore.

I mean, it's like, you know, depressing. Right. What do they pay you there? I was making $60 a month. Oh, okay. Which is good money for, that's good money in feds. Yeah, unless you're in Unicor for 10 years.

Yeah, and then sometimes they would give us a bonus. But what was good with that was, is that I was only on my FRP payments. I only had to pay $25 a quarter. So that was decent. And, you know, I made some money and it was enough to live on because, you know, I didn't have any help. Yeah, I have a buddy, Zach, who was an inmate companion where he had to live with a guy that had extreme,

he had extreme bipolar disorder. And it's funny, one of the way they would, the inmate companions would go to the counselor. And the counselor had like a locker that was. filled up with like buttered popcorn for microwaves, for candy bars, so all kinds of, you know, treats. And so they would go in there and be like, listen, I'm trying to get this guy to make his bed and to do his laundry. He won't do it. And they'd give him like, here's two almond joys. And then they'd go back and they'd be like, you got two almond joys. You got to make your bed. You got to do your laundry. Give me, give it to me now. Give me. No, no, no. I mean, it was like they

were bargaining with them to get him to do stuff. And I think he got paid, he got paid like $25. Well, you could, you could work a regular job and you got paid. But this was your full-time job was doing this. This was just, you just live with the guy, make sure that they take a shower, make sure that they clean the room, make their beds, like that. It was, it wasn't as intensive as what you were doing. Right. But that's where they called them to. It was a special unit they had. Yes. Yeah, there was like six people. No, I'm sorry, there was about six units. and they had like maybe five or six inmate companions because, you know, they would get the ones. Because there was some of them who were like high functioning.

Yeah. And then there was the ones who just couldn't do anything. And those were the ones you was assigned to. Yeah, I was going to say his guy, like, you know, you'd see him. They'd nod to each other and stuff. You'd see him walk around. You'd think he was fine. And Zach would go, yeah, he periodically, he's fine.

He's like, yeah. He's like, but he will get great. Like he'll just jump. like you'd go from zero to 100 and just suddenly he's delusional and he's yelling and he's ready to fight people and he's crazy. And then you'll have a conversation with him, maybe perfectly fine. Yeah. See, I actually, I got stabbed there at the hospital. I had this one patient.

His name was Corey and you could tell he kind of looked like he was retarded and he would talk like real loud and stuff like that. And he had the great big glasses. And, I mean, you could just see there was major things wrong with him. Really friendly. He just didn't know what he was saying. So he had a bag of candy. And there was this one guy came in for a study. And he was a black guy.

And Corey walks up to him and goes, do you want some candy? And the guy goes, no. And he goes, well, I thought all black people liked candy. and I guess it set this guy off and he goes in his room and Corey's kind of walking around and I see him come out and he's got something back there and Corey comes back up and the guy calls him over and this guy stabs Corey right in the eyeball.

Holy shit. I mean it's like, you know, blood and Corey's screaming so I run over and I like tackle the guy and then I get one while I tackle him so I'm kind of holding him down so he can't go after Corey again and then when the guards come they take us back. both to the shoe. Right.

He gets out that next day. I'm in there a week. And I'm like, what the hell you got me in here for? So that was kind of a breaking point to where I'm like, you got to get me out of this crazy place. I can't do it. What happens to them?

How long do you stay at Butner? Yes. Well, I go to my case manager. And he said, he said, well, technically you got medium points. He goes, do you want to go next door to the medium? I said, I don't have a problem. It's not like I get visits anyway.

he said, well, it's a nice spot, you know, and he says, and we can probably get you there in a couple days. Because, you know, I'm just going complex to complex move. Yeah. So I said, okay, so I think two days later, I was at the medium. So when I get there, you know, when you get to the new place, you know, the captain comes in and says, so I guess they, he told us they have a sex offender program there.

I guess that's when Bush and them, they was spending a lot of money on that, to where they had their own unit. And they would live on the unit, and there would be doctors there. Now, these were the hands-on shows. Okay. And I guess the study was to see what made people

who were picture cases turned into hands-on. Right. So it's like they had like special TV they could only watch, like news or something. They couldn't watch anything with kids or anything. So they told you when you walk in, in there, they tell you about this program, and they say that if you touch any of them, they will charge you with a hate crime and they will ship you. And they're like, trust me,

you're going to like this compound because it was like a college campus. Yeah, I was going to say, for you to have that program there and not have other medium security inmates on that compound, they have to be pretty well behaved. Yeah, yeah. Because that's not something that would go over well at most. Yeah, there was only 900 people. on this compound. It was like a college campus. Now they also had what they called a step-down unit. It was a mental health unit where it was guys who were coming out of the hospitals and they were trying to get them acclimated to a regular prison life. And they would live on this unit, you know, where it was more quiet and controlled and stuff. And they had groups they would go to

and stuff like that. So when I got there, you know, I mean, everybody's saying it's a sweet spot, sweet spot. So, you know, I get my stuff that day, you know, my property's there. So I go, go to my unit. And, you know, when you walk in the door, everybody comes up to you, what's you in for, you know, stuff like that. And they go, um, you got to look Italian. I said, yeah. So they call this guy Tommy over. And he's talking to me. He goes, yeah, he goes, we got a couple of, um, big shots there. And I go, who you got? He goes, well, you know, we got Carmine Persico. He's, he's, he's the Colombo boss. Yeah, yeah. And he said, and then we, We got Joey Testa, who is one of the Gemini twins.

Yeah, those are big names. One of the killers. And I'm like, okay. So on the unit, I don't know if you ever heard of the guy named Jonathan Pollard. He was a naval intelligence officer who was giving secrets to Israel. Okay. And they charged him with espionage. He was there.

Okay. He was on the unit with me. Very nice guy. And I guess Obama pardoned him when, like, he was the person. president because I guess Israel was trying to get him out. But at the time, he was really high profile. So he was there. So it was kind of sweet. So I go to dinner that night, and there's this old Italian guy. His name was Toothpick. I don't think I ever knew his name. Right. Just an old guy with a toothpick in his mouth. So he goes, so, you know, he's talking to me. And he was a bookie.

He told me he's like in there for the bookmaking. I tell him about my dad, and my dad was a bookie and everything. So we're kind of getting along that way. And he goes, well, let's go outside on it. Um, introduce you to the fellas. I go, okay, so we go out there and, you know, the Bachi courts are there. And, you know, that's where the Italians hang. And, you know, introduce me to everybody. Some of the white guys are up there too. They kind of hang with the Italians. And so everybody seemed nice. So Joey comes up, introduces himself. Really nice guy. I wasn't as close to him as the others, but it was scary because Joey had this really toothy smile, like this big smile. But the eyes were just black.

There was nothing there. It's like, you know, you're smiling from here down, but up there you're just dead. And I'm thinking to myself, you could kill me right here and not lose a weak sleep over it. But, I mean, he was a nice guy. If you sleep hot at night, you know how disruptive that can be. Whether you're having trouble falling asleep, you're waking up sweating in the middle of the night or all of the above. That's where Ghostbed can help. As the makers of the coolest beds in the world, Ghostbed is your go-to for cooling mattresses, cooling pillows, and cooling bedding.

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You'll answer a few questions and get a personalized recommendation. Even better, our listeners will get 10% off for a limited time. just visit ghostbed.com slash cox and use code cox at the checkout. That's ghostbed.com slash cox and use code cox for 10% off sitewide. I used to crack me up to the Italians because they're like, they're straight out of central casting, right? Like forget about it and they do the thing. They act just like, and you almost want to say like, and this is like, you're almost like

cliche. Like you're, this is ridiculous how accurate Goodfellas is like you guys are right out of the movie. It is. Well, because you know in a lot of those movies, they actually talk. Oh, I'm sure they must. You still, though, you know, it's still shocking. You know, they're like, oh, you know, fuck, I told, get over here.

You know, the whole thing. You're like, they really, like, those guys have it down. Yes. So he goes, so are you ready to meet the boss? And I'm like, yeah. Perseco? Persico. So there's this old guy, they got a guard shack out.

there at Rick, and they got these rose bushes around it. And that was Carmine's job. He took care of the rose bushes. So he's down there, you know, doing his rose bushes. And I'm kind of nervous because I'm, you know, I know who Carmine Persko is and stuff. So Toothpit goes, Carmine, this is, uh, Jimmy here, he's a friend of ours. So Carmine gets up and I'm like, oh my God, it's Carmine. So I'm like shaking, you know, my knees are knocking. How old is he? Carmine's about 60 at the time. Okay. That's not bad?

No. So, you know, he shakes my hand. He goes, watch you in for, Jimmy. And, of course, if I was ever going to be nervous, this was the time. Yeah. So I go, but, bankrupt. And he goes, Jesus, I hope you used a note. And we shake hands.

He goes, I'll talk to you in a bit. And I'm like, okay. So he walk away, and toothpick goes, he must really like you. And I go, why? He goes, he don't joke with people like that that often. I go, well, you know, I'm a like, guy. All right.

So that next morning, you know, I don't have a job. So I go to breakfast. I go out to wreck. And Carmine does Rose Bushes. He calls me over. And he goes, you shop commissary. I said, well, I don't have the money yet. And back in the day, you know, 2003, 2004, you know, they sold vegetables on the

commissary. They sold loaves of bread on the commissary, everything. So he goes, they sell vegetables there, but there's only a limit what you could buy. He goes, would it be okay if I somebody put some money on your books? You get me what I need and then what's left over. You just get what you need. Right. I said, yeah, that's fine.

So, you know, on my shirt, he gets my number and my name, calls it. And that evening after 4 o'clock count, before dinner, I checked my account, I got $100. So I go to dinner, I go out to wreck, and Carmine calls me over. And he gives me a list. And I look at it, and it's like $18. I go, Carmine, this is just like $18. He goes, yeah, I know. I said, well, do you want me to go again for you next week?

Get you the same stuff? He goes, nah. He goes, get what you need. And I'm like, are you sure? He goes, you know, you're going to need stuff. He goes, get some coffee. If you need a radio to watch TV, get yourself a radio. He goes, you know, yeah, it's fine.

And I'm like, well, okay. So, I mean, that's kind of how we started off. And then Carmine loves to play Pinnacle. I love to play Pinnacle, and Toothick love to play Pinochle. So we'd play three-handed pinnuckle. And it was kind of funny. We're sitting there and, you know, Carmine's asking me, like, you know, what's my favorite movie?

And I tell him the Godfather. And Carmine was very influential in the making of the Godfather. The Columbo's were. Yeah. Yeah. He would actually hang out with James Con. James Con would hang out with him at the bar and they'd, like, talk to them about what mobsters were like and they kind of emulated things like that.

Right. And then like, you know, in the Godfather 2, where they got that scene where Frank Pantangeli is at the bar and the guy comes up behind him and chokes him, but he doesn't kill him because the cop walks in. That actually happened when Carmine tried to kill one of the gallows. That actually happened. Okay. So that was part of the scene.

Did he tell you that? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, and he told me how Luca Bratzi was actually a mob enforcer. His name was Lenny Montania. He was a professional wrestler, and he was in the mob, and he kind of worked with Carmine. Wait, so the character was based on this guy,

or that was the guy that played the movie? So what they did was they let him be in the movie because they said they want some real mobsters in the movie. Authenticity. So they let Lenny in there as Luca Bratzee. Wow. So it was fun. Carmine was telling me that the scene where at the wedding,

where right before he goes in to talk to Don Corleone, he's sitting there going over Don Couillon. They said that was actually Lenny practicing his lines and fucking up. Yeah. And they thought it was great, so they kept it in the movie. Yeah. So that wasn't acting. That was actually him doing it.

But yeah, so he told me all kind of like, you know, behind the scene. And I just thought it was fascinating because I just love that movie so much. So we talked about that. And then, you know, we talked about my crimes. I told him, and, you know, and he's, all this one day, he goes to me, he goes, how'd they catch you anyway, Jimmy? I said, well, my wife turned me in. And had a cock to say, and he goes, what? I said, yeah, my wife turned me in.

She gave the FBI $200,000 and turned me in. I said, and then she would call with my little boy on the phone while they tracked me across the country. country. And he looked at me and he goes, that bitch got to go, Jimmy. And I said, what do you mean? He goes, no woman turns their wife into the FBI. Their husband in? Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I'm sorry, I said, wife. No, no woman turns their husband into the FBI and then helps them apprehend him across the country. Right. And then to give the money away, he goes, that bitch got to go. I said, I said, so I don't know if he's joking or stuff like that. And he goes, I don't hurt women. Yeah.

He goes, but that bitch got to go. And I'm like, listen, I said, I'm going to be in prison a long time. She's a wonderful mother. I said, she wasn't the best wife. Maybe I wasn't the best husband, but she's a great mom to my boys. And he just looked at me for like a couple minutes. It seemed like it was forever. And he says, okay.

But he says when that youngest one turns 18, she's dead. And I go, okay. Okay, fine. So what's crazy is, is a week later. And oh my God, I wish I had the guys who was with me to verify this because it's just great. A week later, we're playing Pinocke again. He reaches down in his bag and he puts an envelope on the table for me. And I open it up and it's a picture of my wife with a guy that I guess is her boyfriend.

And then there's a picture of the house that she lives in. and I look at him and he goes, just in case you change your mind. In a week's time, he had somebody from New York, go down, find out where she lived, take pictures and leave, and send him to him. And that was when I said, he's serious. Yeah.

He's serious. Now, I didn't even know about the boyfriend at the time, and I was fine with it because I was happy that my kids had a man in their life. Right. So, I mean, I was never upset with him or anything like that. But it was just Carmine, that was the first time. I'm like, wow. After that happened, I remember after Pinochle that night,

Toothpick wanted to take a couple laps with me. And I asked him, I said, why does Carmine like me so much? He goes, well, he goes, you know, his son, Allie Boy, he said he's going to probably go to prison for a long time. And he said, you know, Carmine's not getting out. but maybe he kind of looks at you at you that way. And he goes, I'll tell you what, he had you checked out. He said, when he got your name and number for that, to put the money on your books,

they also ran you. And he said, Carmine came up to me and goes, toothpick, do you know how much money that kid got? And he goes, that kid's got balls so big. I don't know how he fits them in his pants. He said, bank robbers don't get that type of money. He said, if that kid was with me, he'd a bit of earner back in the day. And I said, yeah, I'd probably be a stick up, man, but, you know, so he respected that. And it was weird after I did my first podcast, and I was talking about why he liked me,

I got a message from a guy on YouTube, and he knew Carmine back in the day. He was, he's from up there. He didn't really tell me if he was a. the life or not, but he knew Carmine and everything. And he said, you know, I was watching your story and it kind of brought the tears to my eyes. And he goes, and I think I know why Carmine liked you so much. And I said, why? He said, because when you met him that first time and you stuttered, he said, I think,

I think Carmine saw that as you was real. Right. And that you're a person that he can kind of put his guns away when he's talking with you. that you're not going to like you're not threatening well it's not that I'm threatening it's just that I was real right that I was real enough to be nervous in front of him right to where other people might have tried

to put on like a show right to where he just he saw me as somebody real right and I think he respected that because he took care of me in there he was like a father to me right and I mean, I put him on the same pedestal as my dad, and I know people go, how could you do that? But, you know, that's kind of why I talk about this on these podcasts,

is because, you know, you read the books and you see the stories, and it's always, you know, Carmine the Snake, or Carmine was out for Carmine or all this stuff, and it's all this bad stuff about him that nobody knows the good stuff about him. And the funny little quips he would do with me and how he treated just like a average kid, you know, an average kid who was a bank robber and how he would take care of me. Right.

And I do got to tell you the funny thing. There's a couple funny things Carmine did. You know, in the feds, you know, the food. Right. And every Wednesday's hamburger day. Hamburger French fries. Yep. So I go up.

I've mentioned it many times. So I go up, I get my hamburger. And, you know, this is back in, like, you know, 2004 when it was good, to where they served you on plates. And then you had the hot bar and the salad bar. So I get my hamburger and french fries, sit down with Carmine. I take a bite. And he goes, I go, man, that's good.

And he goes, go back up and get you another one. I said, no, man, I don't want to get in trouble. He goes, you've robbed banks, for God's sake. Right. He said, now you're afraid to go get another hamburger. So he looks at the guard. And he goes, Hawkins, bring Jimmy another hamburger. So the guard comes over with a plate with three hamburgers on it.

And he goes, I don't believe you. You get here and you lose your balls all of a sudden. And it's just funny. You don't want to get your commissary taken away, but you'll give your life away. Yeah, yeah. It was just like, wow, that's true. Yeah, you see that a lot.

Yes. You see these guys that are like, you were a fucking gangster on the street. Now you're following all the rules. Oh, my God, yes. Yeah. Yeah, so that was funny. But it's like, that's how he was with me.

and I just can't explain it. It was just like a special connection. And it's not like, I'm not saying that he loved me, but he cared about me. I know that. And I mean, I cared about him. Like I said, you know, when I was back in prison and I heard he died, I mean, it crushed me.

Kind of like in the same way when my actual dad passed away. So to me, he was just a really, really good man. And I know people might go, how could you say that? But he was. You know, you judge people how they treat you. You know what I'm saying? Like, I mean, he, with other people, maybe in a different way, but with you, he was, you know. So how long were you there before you got transferred?

I was there about six years. Wow. Okay. And everybody wants to know how I got the name. The crease. Okay. Jimmy the crease. That's a car mine story.

Okay. So they knew I didn't have a lot of money coming in. And I was on the Unicorn list. Right. And because I owed so much restitution, you know, you go up higher on the list, but I'm still waiting to get in. So Carmine says, hey, would you like to do our laundry for us? Right. And I go, what do you mean?

He goes, just the khakis. He goes, you know, your washer, khaki uniform. and you press them real good. He goes, we like the creases in the shirts, the collar, and in the front and the back of the pants. And I go, yeah, there's no problem with that. He goes, okay, there was four of them. It was him and Joey and toothpick and this other guy.

I don't even think he was Italian, but he hung out with him. And he said, you know, you do a good job. You do all four of us. So Carmine gives me his first uniform, and I take it and I wash it. and I spent an hour iron in this uniform. And I mean, I had this sucker tight. I mean, it was like, so I take it on the hanger over to him.

He comes out and he takes that and he holds it up. And he goes, Jesus Christ, I never saw creases like this in my life. He goes, you're Jimmy the fucking crease. That's your name. Jimmy the goddamn crease. And he goes, and I tell you, if you got the in your nickname, you're special kid. So I did four of them, and they each paid me $50 a month. month.

Whoa. And then you know, laundry guys might get a book of stamps. Yeah, yeah, 200 bucks is and that's a lot of money. Yeah, and I knew that that was his way of taking care of me with kind of letting me keep a little pride that I'm working for. Yeah.

And see, that's what I was saying. That's the type of guy he was with me, you know? Did you ever get on it to Unicorn? I did. I did. I got on Unicorn. They had a nice one there. They made the eyeglasses for the military in the prisons.

Oh, okay. You know, they also had a place where they made air filters, and then they had a place where they put together safety goggles. It was like three in there. And this is another carmine story. So I'm in Unicorn, you know, and... So Unicorn, by the way, just for people watching, Unicorn is the factories. There are factories called Unicorn, which are connected to mediums and pins and lows in the federal system where they allow the end. to work as factory workers.

And most of them, they make different things. They might make, you know, everything you just said. Uniforms, mailbags. Yeah. At Coleman, they made, they actually made cubicles. Yeah. And I think in Oxford, Wisconsin, they had fiber optic cables. You know, they made all kinds of stuff.

But it's stuff that they sold to the federal government. The federal version of the license plates. Right. The state license plate. So I'm in there. And some of the guards in there are really cool. You know, like, you know, your supervisor, they'll come up and they'll talk to you and stuff. And they're kind of different than guards on the unit.

So we had this one guard, and he was really cool. We'd come over and talk to us at our little area, talk about his sons playing ball. He was a Notre Dame fan. I'm a Notre Dame fan, so we had this big, big, like, connection. So this one day, and it doesn't happen often, but my ex-wife sent me some pictures of my boys, you know. and it was of my oldest son playing baseball with his Mizzuno glove. And I'm so proud of it. So I take my pictures into work because, you know,

I want to show my boys off to my friends, you know. I talk about them, now I want to show them. So I'm not paying attention to anybody who's around me. And so I'm showing my pictures and everything. So that day after work, I'm kind of leaving, and I hear somebody behind me go, hey, they're Jimmy the crease. And I turn around and it's,

It's this show. And I go, what do you want? And he goes, well, I know you don't have a lot of money, but there's some guys on the unit who would pay for those pictures. And something just stabbed me. Back then, I mean, I was kind of jacked up back then because, you know, they had weights there. So I was about 220. I wasn't this fat piece of blob you see in front of you now.

So I grabbed this guy by the neck and I throw him against the wall. And I'm going to kill him. I mean, I'm just seeing red. There's nothing. And everybody's pulling me off, pulling me off. pulling me off. So I get off and they take me up to the unit, watch me that I don't go after him.

So that night I go to dinner and I'm eating dinner. And somebody comes up to me and goes, Carmen wants to see you out at the yard right now. He goes, don't even finish dinner. I go, okay. So I go out there and I could tell something's wrong. And I walk up to him and he goes, what the fuck is your problem?

I said, what do you mean? He goes, didn't they tell you if you touch one of these people they're going to charge you with a hate crime and they're going to ship you out of here. You want to leave us? You want to get more time on your sentence? And I'm like, no. He goes in, don't fucking touch these people.

What is your problem? He goes, you come to me with this. And I go, I'm sorry, you know, because he's kind of chastised me here and I'm wrong. I said, you know, but he didn't, I don't care what he did. So I'm like, okay.

So there was a black guy who just got to the compound from a pen. and he didn't like the medium. And he got immediately into Unicorn because he had priors and he had FRP. And he does not like the medium. So this one day he walks into Unicorn

and he's got a yard glove on him. And I guess he had a razor blade in his middle finger. And he walked up to this Cho who said that stuff to me. And he sliced this guy's face open from temple to jaw. And it spread open like a fish. there was no blood. It was like right to the white meat. And it was like one of the worst things I've ever seen.

And that night I go out to wreck and I talk to Carmine about it. And I'm like, man, you know, this happened. He goes, yeah. But that guy's always going to have a reminder when he looks in the mirror. I said, yeah. And a few days later, Carmine would never tell me, but they told me, Carmine paid this guy $500 to do that because the guy wanted to go back to the penny. Yeah, he wants to go back to a penny.

That happens all the time. So, well, so Carmine paid. and said, you take care of this show for Jimmy. And it's funny, and the guys would come, and they'd be, man, I hate it here. And they'd always say, well, it's not hard to leave. Go smash a show. Exactly.

They'll fucking throw you on the first bus thing moving. Exactly. And so that's what he did. He got to go to the pen and he got $500. Right. And he looks good. I'm back. Why are you back here?

I'm back here because I smashed the show. Yeah. All those guys are like, cool. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it was just, I mean, I've, I've never seen something like that to where there was no blood hardly. it was it just opened up yeah um yeah yeah these guys that smile at your face they go okay and then they

walk away like that's that that's the that's the guy you got to worry about yeah yeah and and it was like you know just like with carmine you just see that that's that that's like the kind of pull that he had because you know him and joey were kind of gods there you know they were respected and you you know because everybody knew when they come and, hey, you know, Joey Test is here. Actually, that book murder machine that was about the DeMeo crew about Joey and Anthony, those books came out and they hit the compound. And Joey didn't like him. He didn't want to want the compound.

So he gave a couple of us, like a bunch of books of stamps to go around and buy those books off people. And then he just got rid of them because he didn't want. them on the compound. And what's crazy is, is that Joey and Anthony are out now. I mean, these people have probably got 100 bodies and they're out of prison.

He just got out in April. I think he did like 37 years, and they let him out. And if you were to ask me 20 years ago, which people I thought would get out of prison, I would have never said Joey and Anthony, never. Not the Gemini twins.

They're both out. funny there was a there were two guys that were part of the crew that got taken down by johnny brasco and they were at the medium and the movie would come on and guys would be like hey one of the guys they were saying they were like both like a tony and an anthony and anthony yeah when i was like hey tony look they got johnny brosco on and he would go fucking crazy that motherfucker you know just started screaming yeah they were so and they were comical together because there was a little a smaller guy he was very angry and obviously he was higher up and then there were the other guy that was with him was probably

six foot three and he and the one guy would always you know yell you know you're fucking and he like up sirethony up sire or whatever his name i don't know what his name but he was it there was this little guy who was just you know always yelling at him and it it was just you know but the same thing it was the whole fucking tell with you yeah but it was this they were part of the johnny brasco crew. As far as those books were going around, people were reading them. And they were guys would be like, this is it when he was younger, look. Because they had the, they'll have the insert with the little, they have the little chart where, you know, sunny black and this guy.

And I was always like, okay. And he was, these guys were down. Yeah. There was like 40, 50, 60 guys that went down in that whole. Oh, yeah. And then there was another time when I got, I would, I would call my boys every now and then, you I didn't want to call them a lot, but I would call them. And this one time I called, and my wife said that my oldest boy, Chase, was uncomfortable

with me calling because she had a living boyfriend. And I was a little upset about it. Like I said, I wasn't upset about the boyfriend. It's just, you know, okay, I can't call my kids. So I went out to wreck, and Carmine could see him off. So he calls me over, and he goes, let's just take a walk. So we start walking, and he says, what's matter, and I tell him. And he goes, Jimmy, he goes, the secret to doing all this time is,

is you got to let the streets go. He goes, you got to let them kids have a childhood. He said, you told me she's a good mother. I said, and now she's got a guy in her life who's their dad, and you've got to accept that because you, you made that choice. I said, yeah, but I love my kids. He says, nobody's saying you don't love your kids, but you've got to let them have a childhood. And they don't need a childhood knowing that they got a dad in prison for 13 years and complicate things. So he says, you got to back off. So I did. And I would send them letters at Christmas and their birthday.

I don't know if my ex-wife gave them to them all the time or not. But what I understand is, is she just told them I lived far away. And I couldn't come see him. and about 10 years into my sentence, my middle son found a letter to my oldest son in his dresser and said, what's this? And he said, it's a letter from dad. And so the oldest one goes to my ex-wife and says,

you know, Cade found a letter. You better talk to him. So she went in and talked to him and told him I was in prison. And the kid says, well, that explains why he never, come to see me. I was like, what must that that kid of thought? Right. That their dad just lives far away and he doesn't want to come see you. Right. He didn't know I couldn't. You know, but so it was like that. And I can't call because, you know, the mother, the issue with the mother and the boyfriend and the whole. And like Carmine told me, he said, you know what, I guarantee you,

I guarantee you it's not that kid's uncomfortable. Yeah. It's your ex-wife is uncomfortable. Yeah. With you call it. And like I said, you know, I never wanted her back. And I have the utmost respect for that guy, you know. It was like my dad when he took care of kids. I mean, this guy basically raised somebody else's kids when he didn't have to. And I mean, all the respect in the world for him. You know, I don't think bad of him.

Well, I felt bad of him because, you know, he had my ex-wife kid to put up with that. So I felt bad for the guy. You were doing time. Yeah. Geez, Louise. Yeah, be with that OCD wife. She was a clean freak, OCD. So on my oldest son's third birthday,

I bought him the biggest shed in a slobber and a St. Bernard puppy I could find. I picked my battles. So how long, so you got transferred? I mean, at what point do you go to the... When I got about 2009, my case manager comes, to me because, you know, I had turned 35. So your points drop. So my points drop.

And he goes, you know, you don't have to leave here. I'm not going to make you leave. But he goes, I just want you to know you can go to a low if you want to. And my ex-wife had mentioned that if I ever got close to home, she would consider bringing the boys to see me. Well, I can't stand this chick. Yes. So I went and talked to Carmine. and told him, and he goes,

what do you want to do? He goes, I don't want you to go. He goes, but if you've got a chance to see your boys, what are you going to do? He says, a lows of better life. He goes, even though this place is great, he says, sometimes you've got to break your time up. He goes, I'm never going to leave this place.

He goes, but you know, you got to do what's best for you. And he says, I'll keep an eye on you. And I don't know you're okay. So I decided to go there. She didn't ever bring him to see me. But, you know, so I got to the low. up there in my island michigan decent place how many people were there 1800 800 yeah that's about a normal low yeah it was open day um yeah they they had four buildings that were built in the 30s

and that's where you started out at then they had three new buildings bought there where it was two man rooms and they had like pool tables and stuff one was the drug unit the other was when they had that religious program. And, yeah, it was like a religious program. Okay. And you would live there. And then the other one was like a honor dorm to where if you was a year shot free, you got to go over there, which it was a much better life than these old ones with like

three showers and the TV rooms is probably the size of this cubicle. Right. You know, there it was like the big open TV room with the three TVs and two man rooms. So I got to go there after about 18 months. What you did you do there? GED? Did that where you talk GED? I worked Unicor.

They had a metal factory. Okay. Where they made cabinets and stuff for the military. And so everything was good there. I eventually in Unicor, I got to go into the warehouse, into the office. So I was on a computer and stuff. And I was getting close to the end. and then a couple of the bookies that I knew asked me if I wanted to type up their football tickets

for them. So I asked the boss who was in charge of me. I said, hey, I got a chance to do this, make some extra money, do you mind? He goes, I don't mind at all. He goes, you just know what to do. Somebody comes in here, change screens, you know. He said, just be careful about it. So I was doing that. So I probably had about 200 books of stamps. And two of the clerks pisses, dirty. So they came and shook the warehouse down. They found my stamps. And of course, I had to cop to them because it was a common area.

So I got locked up under investigation. And then they went through my computer, found my little sheets with the tickets and everything. And I guess in my desk, they found a paper that my boss had printed off for me with the updated betting lines. So one day the SIS lieutenant comes in and pulls me out. He goes, I don't care about your stamps, and I don't care about the football tickets. I know what goes on in prison. He goes, who gave you this?

And I said, I found that on the floor in the warehouse. He goes, no, you didn't. I said, I could have printed that off of the corollings. He goes, no, you didn't. He said, it's a staff computer. All I one knows who gave it to you? And I just looked at him and I said, LT, if it was you that gave it to me, I wouldn't tell on you. Right.

And he goes, I respect that, but I got to ship you. Yeah. Because you compromise staff. Yeah. So they ship me to Beaumont, Texas. And honestly, there's just no benefit to you. You're too close. You're too this.

You're too. There's no fucking benefit. You're still getting shipped. And all that dude's going to get is fucked up. Yeah. Yeah. It might be worse. It's the next place.

Yeah. Really? Yeah. So the next, so when do you go? How much halfway house do you get? Well, that's where they screw. me because I was going to get a year halfway house. Oh, yeah, yeah, you just fucked up.

Because it was the second chance that came out. But then when I go to Beaumont, you know, in your unit teams, it's, you don't know what you're going to get. Sometimes you might get a good one. My case manager was just a total piece of shit, lazy. So I end up getting four months halfway house. And instead of sending me to Dayton, he sends me to Akron, Ohio, which is like, three hours away.

So it's like what's the benefit of that halfway house? Beaumont was nice, though. I really liked it. They had about 11 of us Italians there, and we really hung together. It's a good group of guys. Michael Rockeforte was there. The Rock. He's a big guy now.

He's like out, but he's real big with the mafia now and stuff like that. He actually brokered. Who's the? Italian guy that has the podcast. Michael Francie's. Yeah, and there's another one who's kind of loud. At a Philadelphia? Yeah, yeah.

Skinny Joey Merlino. Yes. So I guess the Philadelphia mob had a problem with Joey doing his podcast. So I guess Rock is the one who went in there and kind of like brokered everything to where everything was cool. But nobody that you talk to will ever say a bad thing about Rock. He was probably one of the best guys I ever met there. but it was just the Italians, you know, we hung together, we ate together, you know, we had our tables at wreck together, we'd have coffee on Saturday mornings together, and it was a nice group.

So Beaumont, I liked it. I didn't, it was a little more political there because, you know, at Lowe's there's no politics. But at Beaumont, it was political, but it was the good kind of politics. So I liked it there. So that's where I spent the rest of my time until I got released. 2015. To the halfway house. What'd you do in the half-y-house? They sent me to Akron, and I got a job at a truck rim shop to where I'm lugging 100-pound truck rooms for 8, 25 an hour, third shift, mandatory seven days a week.

Whoa. Yes. But I loved it because I was getting out of the halfway house and working. Yeah. After 13 years, that's, you know, but I was trying to get back home, closer to home. Because, you know, I couldn't get any weekends or anything. Yeah. So finally, with like a month left, they transfer me to Cincinnati, which is about 45 minutes from home.

And the people there, they didn't even want me to job search because I was going to be out. Yeah. So at that truck rim shop, that was through a staffing agency to where they did. didn't care what you did. You could have bodies under you. They needed people because they could keep nobody. But that's kind of when I got my taste of how I was naive thinking that my work history would kind of even out my crimes.

Right. No, sir. No, sir. Because when I got out of that halfway house, I couldn't find a job. I mean, here, I was the area supervisor, little C. pizza, I couldn't even get a job delivering pizzas. Nobody would hire me because that theft and violence. Yeah.

And I must have went on 100 interviews. And how they say they got the list of the felon friendly. There's certain felon friendlies. Yeah. But like my PO at the time said, he says, I could send you in a drug dealer on the same interview and you could have all the experience at that position and they'd give it to the drug dealer. Right.

Just because you're not going to get past HR. So I couldn't get a job. And one of my Italian buddies got out. He was from Atlanta. And he was in Beaumont, Texas with me. And he kept saying, Chris, you don't know how perfect you are. We're going to make money.

We're going to make money. I'm like, okay. And he did eight years on a machine gun. He was 28 years old, but he was big in the money. He had grow farms in like Northern California in Oregon. So when he gets out, he's in the halfway house. He calls me. He goes, are you ready to go work? And I go, yeah. So he sends me a little Volkswagen Cabrillo, this little car. It's like, it looks like a gym shoe. You know, a little convertible trunk like

this big. And he's got me driving out to Northern California, picking up 50 pounds of smoke and bringing it back. So I'm getting about 200 bucks a pound. Right. And, you know, and it's like I'm, and then he's, he's got it to where he knows, he knows the guidelines that if I get caught, the most I would get is 18 months. Right. Stuff like that. But he thought I would go to a camp, but no, because that public safety factor,

I'll never go to a camp. But, but, I mean, still, I wouldn't have got a lot of time. But then after about four or five trips, you know, this was, this guy was, I loved him, but he was 28, 29 years old. He's the type where he wanted to walk into a strip club, and he wanted everybody to know he was a gangster. Yeah. You know, $1,000 Gucci belt,

brand new Mercedes, motorcycle, $1,400 a month loft across from the Georgia Dome. And here he's got a fake job at a barbecue hut where he's paying the guy to pay him. Yeah. And I'm like, Johnny, these, your PO's going to come to your place and see where you affording this. He goes, I'll buy him off. Okay. But I was making good money to where my wife allowed me to start getting back in my kids' lives. She had broken up with the boyfriend, and I was never going to get back with her,

but then I could take my kids out to dinner, and I started getting back in their lives. And then, like, you know, I could give her money to help buy clothes and shoes and stuff like that. So I was kind of getting with my kids again, and I was so happy. happy. But then I got, I got a little afraid because I'm going, you know, Johnny's so hot. And I'm the one out there on the road. I said, I don't want to go back to prison and have my kids like this. So I stopped on the dope runs. And, you know, and then once the money ran out, I wouldn't allow to see my kids again. I'm a piece of shit again. Right. So couldn't find a job and all the depression hit in because I never sought treatment.

They wanted me to get treatment when I got out of prison. I never did. And the depression got real bad. And it was right after Thanksgiving. And I was dating a girl and she had a gun. She didn't know I took it. I took the gun and I went to the first bank I ever robbed. And I walked in there, looked around, and I just said, I can't do this.

And I walked out. And a woman in the bank recognized me from 13 years prior. Oh, my God. And she called the police and they came and said, did you go in that bank over there? I said, no. And they said, can we search your car? I said, I guess. They said, is there anything there?

I said, yeah, I got a gun on the passenger seat. So I got arrested for having a weapon under disability. And I did 18 months in the state of Ohio for that. And then when I got out, I had to go back up to Cleveland for my violation. Yeah, I was going to say a probation violation too. And my judge who sentenced me was now in Washington. So I had a new judge. And he was an older guy.

and he was like, why wouldn't this guy brought to me when he first got arrested? And the prosecution had no answers. And he's like, well, he goes, we can't get this guy in a halfway house for five months. And I'm not going to send this guy to prison because I can. Because, you know, it was just like a level three, which is the most six months.

So he says, I'm going to give you a month in the CCA here. And he goes, and I'm going to give you two months ankle monitor. And he goes, don't make a fool out of me. Yeah, but where are you going to go? Like, you don't have any money. Exactly. Like, I don't have any money. Where the fuck do you think I'm going to go with my ankle monitor?

Exactly. Well, I was talking to somebody and I went over there and stayed with her. Okay. So I had a place to live. It wasn't the best environment. Right. So I got there and Trump had went to office. And I'm not political, okay?

But Trump really loosened it up when it came to jobs for ex-felons. So I found a job immediately. through a staffing agency. I started to go to school online to learn software development. I mean, I was going to do it. So I was waking up at like 1 o'clock in the morning doing my school work till 6, going to work till 5,

coming back, eating dinner, going to sleep, again to 1 and doing it. And I was doing great. I was getting A's in my classes. I was working. My kids didn't want anything to do with me because I went back to preempt. prison. And then right before Christmas, the company wanted to hire me in off the staffing agency

and I get paid more. So I filled the application out, turned it in. Two days later, he came and said, HR told him I shouldn't even have been there to begin with. So they let me go. So I lost my job. I wanted to see my kids. I got depressed again. I, I, I, I, I called my ex-wife saying, is there any way they would want to see me? And she says, why don't you just say yourself so the kids will get Social Security? God, I really don't like this one. Yes. So I'm sitting there, and I'm like, you know, I was happier in prison.

Because it sounds stupid, but in prison, I was Jimmy the Crease. Out on the street, they don't care about Jimmy the Crease. You know, I was somebody in there, you know. and I had friends who were like my family. Because you know, my family wasn't, I mean, they didn't like me anyway growing up because I had a dad. I was close to one of them who was closest to me in age and my sister who practically raised me.

But other than that, I had no help from any family. And I'm sitting there and I'm going, I was happier in prison. So right after New Year's, I actually bought a fake gun. it was a BB gun. I went to my bank that I banked at on a Friday, hit the teller, got $2,000, $2,000, $3,000. And that Monday I went to my PO's known I was going to get arrested.

And, you know, they got the marshals in the bottom of the bed building. Yeah. So I got arrested. I'm thinking I'm going to be there a long time because of the gun. Yeah. But I told my officer, not my officer, but my, public defender. And he said, you know, that's not a real gun.

It doesn't have a firing pin. So they can't charge you with a firearm. So he actually went to Walmart and got the video of me purchasing this fake gun. Wow. That's a good public defender. Yes. So because I didn't get any money hardly, I was in a category three this time, base level 20. Because of your criminal history.

Yes. But I only got enhanced like two points. And the judge was like, I think my sentence could have been 63 to like 84 months. And my public defender, I guess, went in there and said, how about 67 months? And the judge says, where'd you come up with this? He says, come on. He's going to be doing hard time. He's got a violation to.

So they agreed on 67 months. And I'm like, where do I sign? So I get 67 months. And the judge was really nice. He says, you know, you need to really watch it because your criminal history is going up. I got that, and then I had to go back up to Cleveland to the guy who said, don't make a fool out of me. And he was not happy.

The most he could have gave me was 30 months, and that's what I expected. Right. He said, you know, I could run this time. Conquerque. Yeah, yeah. He says, but I think you need a few more years in prison. So he says, I'm going to give you 28 months on top of your 67.

Yeah. So I went back to prison. What did you do on that? Five more years? No, I did seven. Okay. Okay. So, yeah. I was saying what did you do on that? Did you do seven or you did five? I did just about seven. Oh, geez, you didn't get in no halfway house? No, no. What about good time? I got the good time because it was like. Not much. No, it was, it was 67 and 28 is 87. 94 months.

Okay, okay. So that's like, what is that? Like seven, nine, eight years? Yeah, so you're getting like the standard. Didn't you get, you're getting the standard 15%. Did you get the, did you get any time off for like the First Chance Act? Actually, I didn't go to a halfway house because they passed that law that it was unconstitutional for them to enhance me. two points on my bank robbery for being on paper.

Right. And then charging me a violation on top of it. So that was a new law that they passed. So the public defenders went through cases, and he wrote me and said, you're eligible for this. So he put all the paperwork, and I got it with my judge,

because I was supposed to go to the halfway house in March of 24. So the judge ruled that February 1st, I was free. I didn't have to go to the halfway house. I was going to be free. Yeah, you didn't have enough time to go to the house. But then the feds tried to screw me because you know when you do violation time, your violation time is first and then you do your sentence.

Well, they tried to say that my violation time was on the back end. Okay. So they wasn't going to give it to me. So this, they didn't acknowledge the February 1st date. So this public defender went to the judge and said, can you reword your sentence to like instead of immediate release February 1st, say we're going to take off eight months off of his sentence. So then when they would do the time and stuff,

it would put me out the door. So he actually did that. So I got released February 12th at 2024. And my older sister, her husband had passed away four years. years prior and she said if I promised not to get in trouble I could come and stay with her. So that's what I did. I came and stayed with her. I had a lot of health problems when I got out. I had to get my right shoulder reconstructed. I had to get both knees replaced because of the injuries I kind of put on all this weight, which has got the blood pressure sky high. I got

And I finally synced the mental health counseling. Right. I got lucky. I just picked it randomly. And I got the best place. I mean, this psychiatrist, she worked with me the first six months

to where she had me in there every two weeks. And I got PTSD really bad, anxiety and a panic disorder, and post-incarceration syndrome. Okay. So, and she says that is a real thing. That's the whole thing.

thing where you think you're happier in prison. So I'm kind of dealing with these issues. And so I'm, I got the SSI paperwork in, of course, because I can't get disability, because you have to have worked five out of the last 10 years. But I can get SSI. So, and they keep pushing my hearing back, pushing it back. So I was staying with my sister. I was getting fixed up, getting healthy. And then. all of a sudden I start doing this. You know, I, um, I was looking on that job site LinkedIn. And I saw where they had people that were prison consultants.

And I remember in that trial with those two women where they tried to buy their daughter's way. Yeah. And they talked about how like Lori Loughlin, um, talked to a prison consultant and paid him like $5,000 to teach her about prison. stuff. So I'm seeing these jobs and I go, well, if anybody knows prison, it's me. So I was totally truthful. Wrote the bio, you know, robbed three banks, you know, befriended by a mafia boss, you know, yada, yada, yada, and it's on there. And this lady, and I'm going to say her name

because everything's because of her. Her name is Dr. Leslie Dobson. She was a, she's a clinical and a forensic psychiatrist out in California. She worked in some of the tough. office jails and prisons out there. And now she works on the other side. You know, she does a lot of, she's a guest on like, you know, court TV a lot, Nancy Grace and all this stuff. She was on America's Most Wanted up there. And she's got a podcast that's called Intentionally Disturbing.

And she wrote me on LinkedIn and she said, I think you'd be awesome on my show. Would you mind if I called you? So I didn't know what a podcast was, you know, all this time in prison. I've heard it, but I don't know what it is. So she calls me on a Friday, and we probably talked for two hours, and I just told her everything. And, you know, anybody who talks to me knows I'm not a bad guy.

You know, I've never done drugs. I've never, I made bad choices, you know. And she's like, you know, would you mind if I, pass your name around to some people I know. I go absolutely. So we've we've got a book in the works that's going to be coming out that they're talking about turning into a movie. I might be doing a TV series with a producer out there that's in the works. And I got all these doors opening for me and it's because of her. Yeah. And I did the OG Mike show because he saw me on there. And from there I did Wade's, and from Wade's, here I am with you.

Crime and Entertainment. Yes. Wade Williamson. Yes. With Wade William, with Hollywood Wade. Hollywood Wade. When he talks about himself in the third person, have you heard him do that? Yes.

Fucking hilarious, bro. He's like, oh, Hollywood Wade, don't play that. Who fuck does that? He's hilarious. Yeah. O.G. Mike is a really good guy, too. He was the first podcast I've done. He's had me on there where,

where, because, you know, he's Italian, so he does a lot of Italian shows. And we've had, like, you know, he'll have, like, a trivia game where, like, he'll have four of us on there for, like, mafia, trivia. Right. Boxing trivia and stuff like that. So I've been on a couple times with him, and I've probably done three or four shows. His name's Mike Diomarda. He was a, he was a bodyguard and a personal trainer.

The OG what? O.G. Mike. Mike. He was a boxing trainer, worked with, like, you know, Pernaud Wittaker and all these guys. He was a bodyguard, all kind of stuff. Really, really great dude.

Talking about how like, you know, the like steps and how like little things will sidetrack you that you never expect. Like, you know, I moved in with my older sister who was like a mom to me. And I hadn't seen her in 25 years. And it was really good because she got to see me on the OG Mike show.

And I remember she watched it, and she said that she was so happy to know that even when I robbed the banks, I was the same Jimmy. Right. She says, here, I thought you turned evil or something. I go, no, I was always me. So I was glad she got to see that. But the whole thing was I was living with her. You know, she was on Social Security.

And so she paid the apartment and the electric. And I got food assistance and the medical to get me fixed up. And that was the plan. And then all of a sudden one day I go out and I find my sister dead on the couch. Holy shit. Yes. And I mean, I was just, I was just devastated, heartbroken. And then once that faded, I'm like, holy shit, what am I going to do?

She had a heart, I'm sorry, a heart attack? She had stroke. She had emphysema real bad. She smoked three packs of cigarettes a day. She was really depressed. never left her apartment, never, never had a driver's license. She was 67 years old. Wow. And then once her husband died, she just kind of gave up, gave up. But me being there, she really perked up, because I took care of my sister. I cooked for, cleaned for,

but she was a sad woman. But it was just, you know, she lived on cigarettes and Pepsi and coffee. And I think that's what it was. She got a cold, and I think it turned into pneumonia. and she wouldn't go to the doctor. And then it just got bad, and I think, with her emphysema and stuff, and I found her dead. And I was like, holy shit, what am I going to do? I have no money.

So my brother, Dave, the one I told you who I was closest to as a kid, him and my sister, Tony, have been the only ones that have been there for me. Like Dave, he lives in Oklahoma. He's retired from the Air Force. And the first two times I got out, didn't really do anything for me. But this time, he's divorced.

He was kind of married to the same type of woman I was. And he's like, you know, he's not going to let me go back to prison. Because when I went to prison this last time, he asked me, he says, did you do it on purpose to go back? And I said, yeah. So he's like, you know, you can't do that. So he's done everything he could for me. He actually drove me a car up here.

He had an extra car. he would send me money to get some clothes because I just wouldn't have anything. Everything I've got is because of him. And then when my sister died, he's like, you know, when you're a felon, it's hard to get an apartment. And it's impossible to get one with no income. So Dave is like, you know, I'll help you out if we can get you to stay in this apartment. So Dr. Leslie actually wrote a letter to the apartment people telling about, my future and what's happening and that she's like you know we need you to take a chance on this guy and

so they actually just turn the lease over to me and let me stay there and then i have my brother he's god bless him you know and he writes me and he said you know i just can't do any more for you so like you know i was my only income i could do is donate plasma two times a week and then he would help me with the rest and now he can't do it so like this point past month, I actually had to sell my car just to pay the rent because I'm getting all these promises that like in a month or two it's coming in and they got it to where hopefully the end of this month or early next month, I'll be doing speaking engagements with a nonprofit talking to like teenagers who are one step away from a long prison sentence and kind of telling them my story

and about prison and stuff like that. So hopefully that'll be a little income. But with my health and this SSI just keep getting pushed back. It's like, what are you going to do? So it was like, it's a struggle. I mean, it's a struggle. And it was almost like, man, you got all these opportunities and here you're getting slapped down again. You know, it's like, and I can honestly say

I didn't think of ever going back to prison because I'm never going back. I really want to see how this story ends. Hey, you guys. I appreciate you watching. Do me a favor. Hit the subscribe button at the bell. So get notified of the video.

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