Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast - How I Uncovered the Story Behind Elvis's Abandoned Jet | Elvis Jet Scam Exposed

Episode Date: July 24, 2026

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Starting point is 00:02:18 But saving money is simple. Just combine your car and home insurance with Bel Air Direct and save. Get a quote at bellair direct.com. I bought Elvis's private jet. How cool it would it be to take Elvis' jet to Graceland? The two undercover FBI agents said, I know that jet, get it off of this property right now. There was an FBI investigation. You got kicked out of Graceland twice.
Starting point is 00:02:42 That hole is deep, and it gets weirder and weirder the more I learn about it. I received an email from somebody that watched the channel and said, hey, did you know that Elvis's private jet is going up for auction and it's the one that was abandoned out in Roswell, New Mexico? I get this video and I'm looking at it and I'm like, man, this thing's got a lot of views. Then I look at the interior of it. It is phenomenal. It was bright red velvet with gold buckles.
Starting point is 00:03:09 The outside of the airplane is totally trashed and it's missing the engines off of it and stuff. So the outside is never going to fly again. But the inside is absolutely the most epic thing I've ever seen in my life. So I did some research and I discovered that this thing had been up for auction a few times before and they couldn't even get a bid on it. And some of them were only $10,000 just to get an opening bid, and nobody would even bid on it. So I'm like, heck, yeah, this thing might go for pretty cheap.
Starting point is 00:03:34 Right. We could find something to do with this, even if we just park it somewhere and, like, hey, we got Elvis's jet or something. So I register for the auction at Meekleman. It was right here in Kissimmee, Florida, on Elvis's birthday. So that worked out really kind of special. You register here, but it's in Arizona? Yeah, so they'll just show pictures of it because they're not going to take the airplane
Starting point is 00:03:56 and bring it to the auction. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. And you don't want you, and people aren't going to go out there. Right. Okay. Yeah. So they just bring pictures of it and you just kind of do a virtual bid.
Starting point is 00:04:04 Priscilla Presley was there. I mean, it was kind of their big deal that day. And what sucks is I was probably only six feet away from Priscilla for the whole time. And I never once, it crossed my mind. Maybe I should say hi to Priscilla. Right. Never, because I was so freaked out and worried about buying this thing or bidding and how the game was going to work, you know, with the auction and stuff.
Starting point is 00:04:29 Because a high profile piece like the Elvis jet coming up, the auction house is highly incentive to make sure that thing sells because that's their name, their reputation that they can get something sold. So I knew that there was probably going to be some, you know, funkery going on. And unfortunately, the dirty truth behind auctions is there's always a minimum, even if it's a no reserve auction, the seller ends up being the buyer. So they just buy it back. And they have to pay a fee if it doesn't meet their amount that they're willing to sell it for. So yes, it's sold as a non-reserve, but it's sold back to the seller. Some, I can't say that with all cases,
Starting point is 00:05:12 but that's not unusual. Yeah, I was going to say, I also feel like sometimes they'll put somebody in the audience. Oh, 100%. Oh, yeah. I had, went to an auction for a house one time. And I started bidding at, let's say, 60,000. And then they had another guy bidding. That guy drove it all the way up to, and he got the house at, let's say, 100,000. A week later, I get a phone call from the auctioneer saying, hey, guess what?
Starting point is 00:05:45 You were the next bidder. The guy couldn't do it. So you got it at 98,000, let's say. And I went, no, no. I started in bidding it. 60, me and this guy went back and forth for like 30 or whatever it was, 30, 40, whatever. It was me and, and there might have been one other guy in there. I was like, so that, I was like, that guy, because he said, that guy turns out he didn't
Starting point is 00:06:06 have the money. He couldn't qualify. I said, right, you were supposed to qualify him. I'm qualified. I have the money. You brought in a guy that was not qualified that then ran up the auction 30 some odd thousand to 40, almost $40,000. I'm like, so I'll give you 60.
Starting point is 00:06:21 Oh, that's not how it works. I'm like, right. So you're going to go with the next guy underneath me, which was. 58? Like, what are you doing? Yeah. You know what I'm saying? And I just felt like I felt like something's wrong. That's so scamy. Agreed wholeheartedly. But in my previous life, I had done a lot of these auctions. Right. So I knew the game. Okay. And it's and what I learned is it's not how low you can get the price. That's not the game for an auction. It's not how cheap something is. They have a list price. And I knew the list price for the Elvis jet was about 300,000 is what they were going to try to get for it.
Starting point is 00:07:00 So I knew... You just said they tried to auction it before. Nobody would even bid. But I knew from my research that even the other auctions, they didn't get an opening bid, but it didn't mean they don't have a reserve on it. So they still need to try to get enough money so they can cover their costs and things like that. So the trick with auctions is, for me, it's not about where the bidding starts. it's about what they actually have to get out of this thing.
Starting point is 00:07:29 And I knew that they'd be somewhere around 300,000. I also know that one of the tactics with auctions is they use the buyer premium and the seller's premium as a way to make the sale. So an auction will charge, call it 10% on both sides. So 300,000, they'll charge 30,000 to the buyer, 30,000 to the seller. They're going to make 60 grand on that thing.
Starting point is 00:07:51 Well, they also use it if a bidder only gets up to 270,000, they'll say, hey, we'll waive your buyers or your sellers fee, so you'll still net the same if we can make this deal. And now the seller still nets the same at 270 as they would if it went to 300. So I also knew that I was playing, and the auction houses, they just want to close. They want to sell. So they'd rather take 30 than nothing. Right. So I also knew that anything over like 250 is really dangerous because I could get stuck with it at that point. But I knew I needed to be the second bidder, the second highest, because I knew that phone call would come afterwards.
Starting point is 00:08:37 Okay. So that's just the way the game is played. That's so horrible. It's a freaking terrible, it's not honest in the pureness sense of it, but that's the game that's played. So I go, I register, I go to the auction, we're there, you know, all the hype and everything, like that and then I was like, all right, I'm going to start the bidding at 50 grand.
Starting point is 00:08:58 Well, that bidding opened up at 150 grand. I was like, man, that happened fast. Right. So then, you know, I'm sitting there. I was like, okay, is there actually anybody else bidding on this or is it a phone bidder or phantom bidder? Oh, here's a fun nugget. At auctions, if you have an open hand, if they got people out in the crowd are going,
Starting point is 00:09:17 50 over here, 50 over here, 50 over here, that means they don't have real money. Right. A closed hand means they have a real bidder. So they have money in hand. Okay. So that's a little cheat code. If you're in an auction, you can say, I've got to put you over here,
Starting point is 00:09:31 fiddy over here. They don't really have the money. But if they got, we got a $50,000, that means they actually have a bidder. Anyways, so the bidding goes and goes and goes. And then it stalls out, I want to say at $200 or maybe just below that.
Starting point is 00:09:44 And they still haven't lifted the reserve yet. So I'm like, all right, let's just, let's start having some fun. So I'm like, $200. And my budget on this thing was $100 grand. Right. was way outside of what my budget was. But I knew I needed to be the second bidder.
Starting point is 00:10:00 And they hadn't lifted the reserve yet. And I knew I did not want to be the high bidder when they lifted the reserve because now you're hooked. So then the bidding, you know, I bid 200, I think. And then there's a guy on the phone that bids 220. And then I'm like, man, this is such a bad idea. But let's just see where this goes, 230. And then that was definitely my highest. point at that point.
Starting point is 00:10:26 And so then the phone bids at 240. I'm like, man, who the heck? Like, and they haven't lifted the reserve yet. So I'm like, okay, something, this is part of that game, where you've got to be on your toes. And I was done. So I'm sitting there waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting because then the auctioneer will kind of drag it out for a little bit
Starting point is 00:10:44 and he'll try to, you know, hook it for then instead of $10,000 increments, go to $5,000 and stuff like that. Then I was just standing there trying to calculate. the risk at this point. Then all of a sudden, they yelled 260 from behind me. And then I was like, what happened? And I think the guy on the phone, it was the same bidder. I don't know if there's a miscommunication or something, but it went from 240 to 260. And I, nobody else had bid at all. I think he bid twice on that. Well, anyway, they lifted the reserve right at 260. And I was not the, not the bidder at that point.
Starting point is 00:11:25 So I'm like, I'm out. I'm definitely out on this one. That was way more. So I thought I had, and they closed it. They hammered it at 260. And I thought I had lost it because at this point, I still didn't know if the person on the phone was a real person, a fake person. What was it going on?
Starting point is 00:11:42 Well, an hour later, I get a call from the auction house. You're not going to believe this. You're not going to believe this. But the second bidder was trying to renegotiated. negotiate the deal with him. So he, the second bidder, I think, thought that there was the fake guy in the crowd bidding it up. Then when they tell him, okay, here's your fees, you know, go ahead and start wiring, he's like, no, no, no, you guys were playing with me or something, I don't know. But then he started to try to negotiate with the auction house. Then they called me, and then that's when the deal was made, because the last thing that the auction house wanted to, happen was this to fall through and not close. Because again, it's a real high profile item.
Starting point is 00:12:29 And they had to save some face. So he said, look, I've got to write a check to the seller for $234,000. Will you do that? And I told him, I said, look, my budget was $100 grand on this thing. But here's what I will do. Because I had a plan in mind for it as well on how I can make the numbers work. I said, I've got 100 that I can give you, but you have to finance the rest of it. And you said, deal. Done. Yeah. I was like, and
Starting point is 00:12:58 send me the wiring instructions. So that's how that worked out. Honestly, they were really, really great to work with. They really were. And I found out because the whole time everybody had been telling me it was a phantom bidder on the other phone and stuff like that, because that is unfortunately common. But I found out it was a guy
Starting point is 00:13:16 from the Netherlands. that's a hardcore Elvis guy, and he has just got stupid money, and he would have spent this, and it would have been, like, couch cushion change for him. So... He's going to get the plane to the Netherlands. He doesn't care? Okay. He just wants to own it.
Starting point is 00:13:31 He just... Yeah, he wanted to own it. And that's what it happened so many times, because this plane... So the backstory of it is it was owned originally by the Morton Salt Company in 1962. That's when it was brand new. Then they owned it until 76 when Elvis bought it. Well, and then this is where some of the scam... crazy stuff of his life comes in. Seventy-six, December 76 was towards the end of his life,
Starting point is 00:13:53 and it was right in the crazy, crazy part where he was kind of getting wrapped up into some fraud stuff with other people. And then shortly after that, it sold to the sheikh of Saudi Arabia. And then it sold again and again to a real estate guy in California that scammed a whole bunch of people and ended up going to jail and all kinds of stuff. So there's a lot of stories here for you if you'd you pick one of the owners. And then it eventually ended up with a McKay Oil Company in Roswell. That's how it ended up in Roswell. Well, he was the last one to fly at 1983.
Starting point is 00:14:30 Once he no longer was flying it, he finally sold it to somebody in like 1990 or 92 or something like that. It had traded hands like five or six more times until it got to the auction when I bought it. So this airplane had traded hands. bunch of times just because of the Elvis connection. Otherwise, this thing is not worth absolutely nothing, except for the Elvis part. So anyway, I get the call. We strike a deal and then starts my journey of going out to Roswell, figuring out how I'm going to get it from Roswell, New Mexico, all the way across the country to Florida. We cut the wings off of it. We cut the tail off of it,
Starting point is 00:15:12 put it on a truck. And the truck driver, he's on his way back. And I was like, I wonder how far out the way it is to go to Graceland. Because how cool it would it be to take Elvis is jet to Graceland? You know, so we're like, it's only two hours. I'm like, sweet, do it. And I'll meet you there. So I flew up. And this was on a Sunday.
Starting point is 00:15:30 It was very last minute. We had no permission from anybody. And it's no surprise what happens next is they politely, not politely asked us to leave as soon as we pulled in. Well, how does that happen? So, I mean, did you pull in with the, with the truck? Oh, yeah. So you're in the cab?
Starting point is 00:15:48 Well, so I met the truck driver there. Okay. So I had my own little airplane and I flew up and then I met him there. He pulls in. I told him where to pull in too because it's not a normal place that I said my truck would pull in. But also magically just happened to be the only place to turn around that size of a truck is the parking lot where the other two jets are. Okay. So we, I scouted it out first and I'm like, here's what you're going to do.
Starting point is 00:16:12 You're going to pull into there and be like, oh, I'm so sorry. I pulled into the wrong one. Right. And then you're going to pull into this parking lot to turn around, and then you're just accidentally or purposely going to stall the truck out and have to turn it off and get out and check something, just long enough for us to get the shot of these three airplanes being for the first time ever in the same place at the same time.
Starting point is 00:16:32 And that's exactly what happened. And then as soon as we stopped it, they were looking at it, checking it out, and then the security people came over and asked us to leave, and we're like, yep, all right, thanks so much. See you. And then, of course, we took off. Does you tell them, hey, this is Elvis's plane? We tried to, yeah.
Starting point is 00:16:49 They didn't care. So that was okay. There was one detail. The security people, they were kind of normal security people. They just, okay, you got to be safe and got to get it out of here, whatever. Well, there was one guy in a white pickup truck, an older guy. He pulled up and he said, I know that jet, get it off of this property right now. Like he was legitimately emotionally upset of even seeing that airplane.
Starting point is 00:17:14 I'm like, what the heck is his deal? Like, why? I don't get it. Why is he so upset about his airplane being here? Well, I still don't know for sure, but I have a pretty good suspicion that it's because of everything. My name is Peter Parker, but I'm also Spider-Man. This Thursday, we're faced with a threat. That can be anyone.
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Starting point is 00:18:57 Around the end of Elvis's life that this jet was all tied into. And then, so once we got it from Graceland, we got it down to Florida, I spend the next 18 months converting it so we set it on top of a motorhome chassis so we can drive it around. We drive it from the cockpit. The yoke is the steering wheel. The rudder pedals are the gas and the brake pedal. Everybody thinks it's a trailer, but it's not. We drive it. Right.
Starting point is 00:19:24 And it's fully street legal. Everybody asks, how in the world did you do that? Well, a motorhome, the VIN number and the registrations tied to the chassis, not the house part. So all we did was do them, you know, a small paint job to the house part and maybe change the bumper. And, you know, of course, that's my official story. And that's what I'm sticking with. But yeah, it runs a drive. It's got a tag?
Starting point is 00:19:49 Oh, yeah. I mean, it's fully licensed insured, yeah. Okay. So we drove it. Our test drive was from Florida all the way to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and we had to get it up there for a big air show that we took it to.
Starting point is 00:19:59 But the inside is kept exactly the way it was because it's just amazing. It's like a time capsule in there. It's awesome. And the material, I don't know how much formaldehyde they used back then, but it must have been a lot because this stuff is still like brand new.
Starting point is 00:20:14 We have pictures? You can give us? You can send it? Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. I was going to go on the YouTube channel. Yeah, I mean, there's, so we documented the entire process. So you can see there's a thousand.
Starting point is 00:20:24 And if you just Google Elvis Jet, it's going to come up. Yeah. So it's pretty cool. The wildest part to me was before we cut the wings off, we plugged an external power unit into the airplane just to see if anything would turn on. Everything turned on. The TV turned on, the BCR, the mic, The back all the lights, everything turned on. I was shocked.
Starting point is 00:20:51 It was the first time in probably 40 years, 35 years that it had power to it. So it was just wild to me that everything turned on. For the video I saw all of the hands that it had exchanged hands. Elvis had it first, right? Well, I mean, it was built by the, or it was first owned by the, I want to say, saltwater company. Orton Salt Company. Oh, good. I got salt right.
Starting point is 00:21:18 Yeah, yeah. Salt. And then what? Elvis, he bought it from them. And obviously they didn't have it decked out the way he had it decked out, right? He must have had somebody come in and do all that stuff to it, right? So here's the reality when you, because it's a whole different world. When, when, I mean, I'm not part of this world, but from what I've seen from the outside and having a taste of it from the inside.
Starting point is 00:21:40 once a person reaches a level of success or celebrityness or prominence, this like a whole different world. And one thing they do with private jets is, you know, they travel on them, yes, most people don't travel with them like a car, so they don't have it just sitting there and all that. They usually are part of a network of things. so they lease them out, and it's a way that they reduce their taxes as well. So they have a big write-off, and if they lease it to other people,
Starting point is 00:22:19 then now every time they fly it, they pay the lease fee, and it reduces their tax liability even further. So it's just a gigantic big tax write-off is what these are. Something very common, and this is how I think that Elvis got wrapped up into all the fraud stuff was there's these two guys. Now, and again, if you really want to search it, just look up Operation Fountain Pin because the jet part was a smaller piece of a much bigger fraud that these guys were doing with international wires and frauds and, I mean, they were just, it's like evil genius is what it is, really. They knew the system well enough that they played the
Starting point is 00:23:07 system and they knew that this person doesn't or this, you know, entity doesn't talk to this entity, this banking financial institution doesn't talk to this. This one, they knew the loopholes and the rules, and they exploited them big time. And I mean, man, I think they, and this was 1977, they had over $2 billion in fraudulent transactions that they had done in their business. period of time. The Elvis jet, I think, was tied to it. So what happened? His first plane, Elvis's first plane, was a Hound Dog 2, which is a Lockheed Jet Star. They had that for a while, flew around. Well, then he bought the bigger one, the Lisa Marie, which is a Conver 880, and that's the one with
Starting point is 00:23:55 the bedroom and all that. Those two planes are sitting at Graceland. So then Vernon, his dad, or Colonel Tom Parker, the manager, and maybe some of the band, they would have flown the smaller jet to go back and forth or third to go in front to set up the you know shows and stuff like that well they got another one so the hound dog too while it was sitting there not being used every day they were approached by these now who now we know the fraud guys and they said the hound dog two the one you bought no the hound dog two is still the one up in um Memphis at grace land you said this two and okay yeah there's two there's the little one and the big one yeah okay what's the name of the one you bought it doesn't have one and that's then i'll get to the
Starting point is 00:24:37 that here in just a second. Yeah. So the, and this is all in the FBI records. The Hound Dog 2, these guys approached them and said, hey, since it's not flying as much, how about you transfer it to this other company and we'll lease it back and give you a minimum monthly payment. And it'll be enough to cover your costs of holding it. And any time you need it, just give us a call and you can use it anytime you want.
Starting point is 00:25:02 Well, shoot, that sounds like a great thing. And we'll take care of all the maintenance. We'll take care of all the upgrades. we'll take care of everything for you. Just sign here. You know, that's kind of how, in my mind, I see this deal going. And it's a common practice that you would lease airplanes out. So it wasn't something that was really off the wall.
Starting point is 00:25:20 It just happened to be these two guys. Who are these two guys? It's Fred Pro and Phil Kitzer. Pro and K-I-T-R. K-I-T-Z-E-R. Is that right? Yes. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:25:34 Pro and K-T-R. Yeah. Fred. Fred and Phil. Fred and Phil. Fred and Phil. They sound harmless. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:25:47 It sounds like they could be neighbors. That's right. Right? A couple of guys at the barbecue. And so CNBC, you know, whatever that show was, the fraud show they would always do money, something.
Starting point is 00:26:00 What was that name? American greed. American greed, yes. I got a good episode for you. It's called Matthew, you Cox. Yeah. American grade.
Starting point is 00:26:09 They did one hour special. Oh, they did. Yeah, yeah. It always starts as something rather insignificant. And then it like hooks and then it has to keep growing to keep up with the thing before. And it keeps growing before. And then it's just out of hand and it explodes. That seems exactly the same pattern over and over and over again.
Starting point is 00:26:27 And these two guys were the same deal. So there's American Green episode on these two guys? No, I don't know about that. No, he said it just sounds like it. But it's the same pattern. Yeah, it's the same pattern where they're. they started out doing one thing to cover, they're like, hey, wait, we can get a loan from the bank,
Starting point is 00:26:41 and we can cover our business expenses over here, and they go, well, crap, that didn't turn out to be enough, but we did it there, so now we're going to go here, and it just keeps growing, and then eventually... It's a massive Ponzi scene that collapses. Right, yeah. It starts with just whiting out a little bit on a form. Yep.
Starting point is 00:26:57 And then it grows. He's talking about mine. That's that story. Okay. Yeah. Start off small. It wasn't a big, didn't think it was a big deal. Yep.
Starting point is 00:27:05 So, okay, so these guys, well, Do we know who these guys are? We just know their names. That's it. We know their names that they were doing a scam. Do you know, like, were they, did they work for a bank before or they were just? My understanding is the main guy, Fred Pro, I think he was the main guy. He, he was like, that was his thing, is just figuring out how to work the systems and to scam people.
Starting point is 00:27:31 That's kind of just, it's kind of just, one of his deal, right? So then this other guy, Phil Kitzer, I think he was the airplane guy, so he knew more about the aviation industry. And they had a shop essentially where they would do upgrades on airplanes and they would lease out airplanes and things like that. Again, very normal stop. It's not anything unusual. The only difference is they said, well, you need to transfer the ownership of that airplane, the Hound Dog 2, into this LLC. that we can manage it better together. As soon as they did that, they took the jet for one,
Starting point is 00:28:11 because they were going to do some maintenance on it. So they took the jet, and it's in the logs there with the FBI logs. He called from the phone on the jet. I told you, we got it. We have the Elvis's jet. And I guess it was like this inside bet between he and another, you know, scammer thief guy. And I don't know, it was like a dollar bet or something.
Starting point is 00:28:34 and he eventually got the jet. So then once he got the jet, he flew it. I don't even know if he flew it. He just ended up going overseas to London or someplace like that and went to a bank and said, hey, I need a loan. And I have this jet that I can put up for collateral. So then the bank gave him the loan and, you know, he offered the jet as collateral. He doesn't care anything about the jet.
Starting point is 00:29:02 He gets, Elvis gets stuck with that. So then that gets tied up. So then Vernon and Elvis are kind of getting wise to what's going on because they start getting letters, hey, your loan payment's not being made. And he's like, what the heck are you talking about? So now they're starting to kind of sort of see what's going on. But I don't know if that was before or after they bought the jet that I have. Because my jet is the same make and model as the hound dog two.
Starting point is 00:29:32 Okay. So that means that the pilots didn't have to do any extra training or licensing or insurance or anything. They could just hop right into this jet and fly it straight away. Now, there is one thing that tells me that this, my jet, was purchased before they really knew about it. Because in the records, the FAA records, they bought it December 22nd, and immediately they had the TV and entertainment system put in it. and those were done under the tenure of his ownership. And it was done under a different company.
Starting point is 00:30:09 And I can't, the records, I can't find the records enough to know who was behind the company that did it. But my suspicion tells me it was these guys. Okay. And then also around the same time when they found out is also when they sold the airplane. So I think this was another jet that was tied into that leaseback agreement. So what happened is they sold, they gave them the hound dog, they started making payments
Starting point is 00:30:34 because most Ponzi schemes you start getting some money up front to make sure everything's nice and neat. And they're like, man, this is working so great. Let's go get another airplane and do the same thing. So they went and got this second Jet Star, the one that I have. And then they gave it over to them and said, here, do the same thing again. Great. So now we're going to go do these upgrades to this airplane. Well, real quick, how much are these planes brand new for Elvis to fork out?
Starting point is 00:30:56 This is like a million or half a million or? Back in 70s. $800,000, he paid $840,000 for my plane. Almost a million dollars. In 1976. And then immediately transfers it to these guys. Yeah. Wow.
Starting point is 00:31:11 Well, there was a mortgage on it too from a bank. So he didn't just pay that money. He probably paid 20% owed or something. And then they got a mortgage for the rest of it to loan against it. But then I think all of this culminated together about the same time when all this started just falling apart. So then letters start, he's got two of them with these guys, letters start showing up saying you're not making your payment.
Starting point is 00:31:35 He realizes, hey, wait a second, something's wrong. Yep, and then he's not getting his money from the monthly, you know, things again. Right. So now he's like, you know what, we're done. We've got to sell the planes. And that's when I think my airplane was the first one that gets sold. And I'd have to look at the records to see how much he sold it to the Sheikh Saudi Arabia. But I think it was at a decent loss.
Starting point is 00:31:58 But I think it was just to get rid of it. So then I discovered, actually I discovered all of this way after I bought the jet. You ever read a headline and think, wait, that's not what I read earlier, or hear a story that was covered two totally different ways and think, I wonder which one's telling the truth. We all know the news can be biased. Algorithms push stories that they think you want to see. And some outlets spin stories to fit a certain agenda. It's exhausting trying to figure out what's real, what's exaggerated, and what's just straight up misinformation. That's why I use ground news.
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Starting point is 00:34:54 Get a small 99 cent Frosty until, longest second and participating Wednesday's Texas Extra. And I started learning about this operation fountain pin because the whole time I kept trying to think, why in the world did he own this other jet? That was the exact same thing as that one. I couldn't figure it out. And why only for a short period of time? Because it was like five months. Is all that he ever owned this jet? It was always confusing to me. Well, then I started putting some of the pieces together. I'm like, holy crap. This was a jet that was tied into all that fraud stuff that they got defrauded by. I also learned there was two undercover FBI
Starting point is 00:35:26 that were part of this Fred Pro and Phil Kitzer group, and one of them is still alive today, and he still talks about it. Okay. So I haven't been able to set up the interview, but maybe we can work together on that because I would love, he's in San Diego. I would love to get him to do an interview in the Elvis jet
Starting point is 00:35:46 to try to figure out, put some of these pieces together. We've got to get Tyler on it. Oh, yeah. Tyler will find him. He'll find him and... Oh, he's got his phone number and everything. I've emailed him back and forth. Oh, okay.
Starting point is 00:35:56 We just can't get our schedules together. Oh, okay. So, I mean, I would love to get that guy. That would be interesting. If we want to. How old is he? He's got to be pretty. He's at least, yeah.
Starting point is 00:36:08 At least. Because he was early 20s when he was undercover. Is he all still there? Seems to be. Okay. Yeah, seems to be. Some people hold up better than others. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:36:20 So, yeah, it was wild. And then a lot of people, when I bought it, they're like, oh, I can't believe you got scammed out of that and the auction played you and stuff like this. I'm like, it's the game. Yeah, yeah. It's all part of the game. And I knew my budget, so I can back up to that
Starting point is 00:36:36 and how I justify that. I knew that this airplane would never fly again. Yeah. But I also knew that it was so well preserved inside, it needed to be shared with as many people as possible around the world. Right. The only way that we could share this is to make it mobile on the road.
Starting point is 00:36:56 Because you don't own a museum. I don't own a museum. Well, it doesn't matter. Even if you did, it's not a significant enough of an airplane that people would go out of their way to go see. Because it was like Elvis's red-headed stepchild, you know, kind of airplane. It wasn't his major one that he used a lot. Or honestly, however, if he ever flew on this one, I don't know. But the inside is just absolutely fantastic.
Starting point is 00:37:19 So I knew I had to make it mobile. Well, I have a YouTube show. And so we got to do things crazy and big. best way to do that is to drive it. And I had learned, I'm not the first one to do this with an airplane. So there are other drivable airplanes out there. And I called one of the guys up and he says, it's actually a lot easier than you think it is because of the size of it. And, you know, I'm going to make it sound a lot easier than it was. But where the landing gear comes out, we just took some steel and made a bracket and bolted it directly to the top of the motorhome chassis because it's all just flat.
Starting point is 00:37:54 The frame is. Yeah. And in the back, where the wings go across, it has big, beepy structures under there. We literally just bolted that straight down to the motorhome frame, and that was kind of it. Yeah, I was going to say, I mean, it's not like it's, it's not like you need a lot of support. The plane supports itself. It's already built. It's already got all the skeletal structure in there to support itself.
Starting point is 00:38:16 That's correct. You just got to hook it down to the chassis, right? Yeah. What kind of engine do you guys? It was a diesel pusher motorhome. Okay. So it was like a Cummins 5-9. Still, you have to hook up.
Starting point is 00:38:27 You have to figure out how to get the pedal. See, so that's got to be. So that's the trick. So the gas, and this is a motorhome. And so they use a lot of different size motorhomes, a lot of different everything. So everything's very modular. The gas pedal is a fly-by-wire. It has three wires that connect to the side of the gas pedal, and that's it.
Starting point is 00:38:47 So we can mount it on the ceiling if you wanted to, and it would still work fine. So we just mounted it right there. The brakes, it's. air brakes. So it's flexible plastic tubing that goes around. So all you got to do is just route the tubing and then plug it in, extend it or whatever you're going to do, bolt it down. So brakes and gas are done. Transmission is just a little box with three buttons on it. And it's all just a wire. So you just mount that wherever you want it to and then plug it in. That's it. It's all plug and play. The toughest thing was the steering because that's the only physical connection.
Starting point is 00:39:19 Now, in serendipitously, you know, I still call it God's sense of humor, everything on the motorhome lined up perfectly with the jet. So the steering box was directly under where it had to go up to go into the cockpit, and then we just put a 90-degree bevel thing on it to turn it from going up to out where the yoke was. But that was it. It lined up. It was on the right side. It was right width, everything.
Starting point is 00:39:52 So it was crazy. And the door opens exactly center over the front tire. I mean, it's wild how well it all lined up and worked. Stresses me out, just listening to that. Like thinking, how am I going to figure this out? Dude, we had no idea. And here's the wild part. Six months before I ever knew about the Elvis jet coming up for auction,
Starting point is 00:40:17 somebody donated this motorhome to my nonprofit to be used for like veterans and things like that. Well, this motorhome had sat under the bushes for like nine years. It was just an absolute... Oh, it was a disaster of a motorhome. And we tried to save it. We had to spend some money to get it going and stuff like that. But the house part of it was just a disaster.
Starting point is 00:40:39 It leaked everywhere. The slide didn't work. It was mold and wood was rotted and all kinds of stuff. I didn't know what the heck I was going to do with this thing. but the one good part about it was all the chassis stuff. The engine, transmission, you know, the drive train was all solid as a rock. So we took it and parked it out there and I'm like, no way. We measured it.
Starting point is 00:41:00 We're like, this is nuts. I can't believe this actually works. And we had to do zero modification to make it work. So you said you got kicked out of Graceland twice. Yeah, twice. So I'm assuming the next time you pull up. Yeah. got to get another picture after we finish on our test drive from florida to Wisconsin right in the middle
Starting point is 00:41:23 is memphis we drive up and this time i tried to call them a few weeks and ahead to do like a meet and greet there you know make an event out of it to drive people to grace land and stuff what i learned is that grace land is an extremely corporate organization now it is like trying to deal with Pepsi or the NFL or something like that it just it only happens by committee and then it's just a huge bunch of red tape and bureaucracy. They never... But not if you just pull in. Well, you know, sometimes life is you ask for forgiveness and permission.
Starting point is 00:42:00 And I knew, again, I knew our time frame. We had at least 10 minutes. So then what I was a motorhome at this point, though, and they do have a motorhome entrance. So I was like, well, we'll just pull in and be a motorhome. And then to get my shot, I'll accidentally go, because of the motorhome entrance. is here and the airplanes are at the next turn. Right.
Starting point is 00:42:19 And I'll just miss my motorhome entrance and have to pull in the same one to turn around. What we pull in, we talked to the guard at the gate and we're like, hey, you know, can we enter and pay to park and all that? They're like, yeah, this is great. This is cool. Wow. Can I see inside? And, I mean, everybody loved it. Everybody absolutely loved it.
Starting point is 00:42:39 They had us park over there. We were opening it up. All the people were coming out, the security and all this time were coming out. and they were just absolutely having the best time in their life. Well. Except for that guy in the truck. The guy in the truck showed up again. And he was irate.
Starting point is 00:42:54 He never said it to me. I don't know. It never made it to me. But he came up and it was the same thing again. He said, I told you, I don't ever want to see that on this property again. And then he ended up firing the security guard that led us in. Oh, what a dick. How old is this guy?
Starting point is 00:43:15 So I think He was an old around. Was he around when Elvis was? I think he knows about all the fraud stuff and that this jet was tied into it. And so he is connecting that jet back to the fraud stuff that was during a really dark period of Elvis's life. So I don't know if he was one of the Memphis Mafia guys
Starting point is 00:43:36 or his friends or worked for him at the time or something like that. But he's very protective over Elvis. And I think just seeing the jet again brought up and reminded him of the fraud stuff. And, you know, that was right before he died too. So I don't know if he made a connection to all the stress with all the FBI stuff and all the financial stuff going on that, you know, if this jet was part of all that stress during that time of his life. So I think that's my hunch is I think that guy knew about all this fraud stuff.
Starting point is 00:44:11 and he knew about the jet, and then he connected that, and he just said, he never wants to see that jet again. Did you pull in and get pictures next to the other jets? Oh, yeah. Oh, okay.
Starting point is 00:44:21 Yeah, yeah. I thought you were still in the RV part. No, no, no, no. Yeah, that was our turnaround point. Did you get your money back for the fee? I won't do my money back? We'll leave, but I want to need my money back. So here's the justification that the guy used to fire that girl.
Starting point is 00:44:35 I gave her my credit card, and she said, no, this is so cool. And she never charged us to come in. Oh. And even at the time, I was thinking to myself, girl, you need to charge us. Yeah. But she was like, no, no, come on in, come on in. I'm like, ah, this is not going to go well.
Starting point is 00:44:53 I was like, you need to charge us. At this time, are you aware of the fraud associated with this plane? Oh, that's a good question. No, I don't. Was I? At the time, are you wondering, like, is this guy just a day? Yeah, no, I don't think I knew it this time. I just couldn't figure out.
Starting point is 00:45:11 I'm like, what the heck? And I think because of his reaction is what led me to dig even deeper into this, why somebody would hate this so much. I'm like, well, there's got to be a reason that this guy is all upset. So my question is, the two fraudsters, you're saying Elvis got the planes back, both planes, right? Well, not for a while. Okay.
Starting point is 00:45:37 So, yeah, there was lawsuits and other things. and he didn't get the planes back until after, you know what? It might have not even been until after he passed away. Because it was right at the same time he passed away that this went to trial. See, I'm wondering what happened to the two con men. They got, oh, they went in jail for like 20-some years. Oh, that's a lot. Back then, back then there was like a fraud was like a slap on the hand.
Starting point is 00:46:02 You know, five years or, well, I guess they'd give you like 20 and then they'd... I mean, this is Bernie Madoff level, though. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. And they ripped off people that had power. So they were going to get their pound of flesh. So, okay. So there was a trial for them, or they just get caught and plead guilty?
Starting point is 00:46:21 It was a mix. Okay. So they, the two undercover FBI agents, they came into an airport, arrested everybody. And then you just have to go back and read the reports. They went to trial. He pled guilty to some things. You know, there was. They consolidated them.
Starting point is 00:46:39 You can drop some charges. Right. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. I'm wondering if there's a, I wonder if there's a documentary on this whole thing. They've been trying to do a movie about the fountain pin.
Starting point is 00:46:50 Going back to the financial side of it and why justify paying as much as I did is because I knew we'd never use the wings. So we cut the wings up into little memorabilia pieces and had them laser engraved and serial numbered. And I mean, it's Elvis, Elvis memorabilia. Yeah. So we sell them. And they're not cheap.
Starting point is 00:47:09 They're $300 and then $500 for the lower serial numbered ones. And I knew that all I had to do was sell a thousand of these things to break even. And so far we've sold over 500. And I'm still in the aviation world. I haven't even tapped into the Elvis world yet. Right. So as soon as we hit that, I mean, we should be able to at least break even on this project. And we're able to raise some money for some good organizations.
Starting point is 00:47:32 So it's just a super great win for everybody. So are you the pieces, are you just cutting up like a piece of metal? Or are you cutting off? Is it like a slice of the wing itself? No, no, yeah. So think of it like a big key chain. So they're about three inches long, inch and a half oval-ish. And they have a laser-engraved edge of the jet.
Starting point is 00:47:56 And then they say Jetstar owned by Elvis Presley and then a serial number. Okay. And they come with a strategic of authenticity and the bill of sale showing when Elvis bought it, you know, to make it. official. Yeah, memorabilia style. Because yeah, Elvis is, man, like, there's no other person on the planet that this would have worked with.
Starting point is 00:48:19 Yeah. Nobody. Yeah, he's got a huge... Did, so you know that this woman filed like a mortgage on Elvis on Graceland recently after, is it, Priscilla, Presley passed away and she filed a mortgage. Lisa Marie passed. I'm sorry.
Starting point is 00:48:43 Lisa Marie passed away. And then she tried to, and then she, this woman tried to foreclose on Graceland. Yep. I mean, I did a bunch of videos on our interviews on that. I mean, just insanity. Like the, the, I mean, I hate to say this, but the, the balls that it took, stupid, you got caught. Like, but the balls it took to. think that you were going to, I mean, it's really delusional, really. It was so funny is had she pulled it off,
Starting point is 00:49:12 it wouldn't have been delusional. But she thought she, I guess she thought she was going to take advantage of the confusion that was going on. And, but yeah, she's probably going to go to prison for a while. She, uh, but she got close. Like if they hadn't gone in, they were about to foreclose and they went in with an injunction and said, hey, this is, she never borrowed any money. There's no, there is an actual lien on the property. But I could have gone. go find your address, type up any type of a lien and go file it. It doesn't mean it's going to stick. But for them, it stuck and they started the foreclosure process.
Starting point is 00:49:45 And had they not been paying attention, they probably would completely foreclose. And then can you imagine walking, you're walking up saying, no, no, we lent X amount of dollars. We foreclosed. You guys didn't show up. Nobody fought it. Car shopping this civic holiday weekend, most car dealerships are closed and all you'll find are crickets. Not Performance Auto Group. They're open this Saturday and Holiday Monday for their annual Civic Holiday Sales event.
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Starting point is 00:51:12 Both walk their own paths toward justice. And as their lives start to intertwine, the line between right and wrong begins to blur. Don't miss the three-episode premiere of the Hulu original series Furious on July 27th, only on Hulu on Disney Plus. They were hoping to take advantage that, that confusion after, her death. So, but I guess it was her granddaughter, right? Her granddaughter came in and found out about it and hired somebody. Correct. Yeah, and that's what I'm saying. Just imagine that same scenario happening 10 times a day while he was alive in those. That's what it was. It was absolutely What do you mean? There's just all kinds of frauds going on. Oh my gosh. Everywhere, yeah,
Starting point is 00:52:02 because he is the highest, number one, biggest celebrity on. the planet. It pulls out all the crazies from everywhere. Yeah. So then imagine that same crazy, you know, foreclosing on a house or finding this or trying to do this or scaling a fence to get a piece of his grass or something. I mean, it's just people are insane. Yeah. And I can totally believe the other conspiracy about him faking his own death and he's a preacher in Alabama now. So, I mean, I get it. Like if I was him, I'm like, this is insane. I just want to live in peace. And so in order to do that, I have to, you know, kill Elvis, kill, you know, no longer be Elvis ever again.
Starting point is 00:52:45 I'm like, that's a proposition I would consider. Have you ever heard all those conspiracies? Oh, Bob Joyce, man. Oh, yeah. It's on. There's multiple, there's multiple rumors. And there's multiple movies where, like, in the movie, they'll find Elvis. Or he's, they're alluding to it.
Starting point is 00:53:04 or I forget what there is one with a, I can't remember her name, but there was some kind of an elixir that you could drink that would make you young forever. And in that, they have a party of all the people that have drank the elixir. And so they're basically saying, look, you can drink the elixir, and your best bet is to fake your own death. And then later when they have a party, Elvis is there, you know. Oh, I believe it. I'm in. It's a constant rumor that's going around that Elvis is still alive.
Starting point is 00:53:31 He faked his own death. and he just kind of, because he wanted to live a simple life somewhere, which has got to be too much. Oh, yeah. And again, the more that I look at his life, the more I believe that to be a very possible scenario. Well, you were saying it was got towards the end, it got super dark.
Starting point is 00:53:49 What do you mean? Well, with the drugs and with all the debt that Colonel Tom Parker had put on him, because Colonel Tom Parker had a, I think, and I'm sure the people in the comments will correct me on this, but like a 50% ownership over Elvis. Right. So everything that Elvis brought in, he got 50%. And he had gambling debts that were insane to all these mafia people
Starting point is 00:54:10 that ran Las Vegas and New Jersey and other places. So as he's out there betting, and he's even saying, hey, I'm going to bet more than I have right now because I know Elvis is here and he'll bring it in eventually. Right. So he's just this little golden goose that keeps producing these eggs and he's just abusing this, not out of that relationship. And I, I mean, I, yeah, I could get it.
Starting point is 00:54:37 That's performance all the time. And then he stays up late. You're all jazzed up after your performance, so they give him drugs to, you know, get him to sleep, and then he's got to get up to be Elvis again. So get him drugs to get him up, and then drugs to go back. I mean, that is a horrific way to live. Well, I mean, it eventually catches up to you, right?
Starting point is 00:54:57 Yeah. So whether it really did happen. Whether it did or didn't. Also it could make sense, too, because that's brutal. So they're kicking you out of Graceland for the second time. Yeah, so the same guy came up and he's like, I don't ever want to see that vehicle airplane on this property again. And we're like, all right, I guess it's time to keep heading north.
Starting point is 00:55:20 You didn't see. To me, I'd be like, why? I need to know why. Well, he never approached me directly. Oh, okay. He always went through the security people. He said, tell them to get that thing off right there. But I saw him pull up.
Starting point is 00:55:31 And he never even got out of the truck. He just went over and everybody was like, oh, no, so-and-so is here. And I don't remember his name. They never mentioned his name. But apparently this guy in an old beat-up truck had some pull in the community there on Graceland. I got to know who. Yeah, I know. I don't know who it was either.
Starting point is 00:55:49 Call the police. We got to know who. I'm not leaving until I find out who that guy is and what the actual reason is. Yeah. And the police show up and they say, well, you got to leave. No, not leaving. I need to know. Yeah, right.
Starting point is 00:55:58 Get them out here. That would have made a better video. Toot it. Yeah. I'm not afraid. I'm not afraid to get a rest. Like, I'll go in, come right back on. I'm good.
Starting point is 00:56:08 It'll still be a video. Yeah. No, no, see, okay. No, no, I don't. I'm still, I still want to stay in the good graces or as best we can because what I have learned about Elvis is the guy truly was a big heart. He just, he cared about everybody he ever came across. He wanted to see people taking care of.
Starting point is 00:56:27 And because of his generosity, he got taken advantage of a lot. I was going to say that's always the problem, isn't it? Yeah. And I mean, his reputation, his legacy is pretty awesome. And I want to be one that promotes the best parts of Elvis and not all, you know, the double-edged sword on the other side where it was taken advantage of. And some people did that. So that's why we've chosen to do what we have with the jet. and but it's it makes for I mean it's just wild the stuff so now you have to where is it now
Starting point is 00:57:04 here in plant city yeah yeah yeah yeah I mean we drive it you know all the time and but it's here just outside Tampa we leave it in storage places and we have it going around so I was going to say yeah I drop off my kids with it every every every pick them out they be I was thinking about that you know how epic that would be dad yes pop bat da la la that that and you pull it all right and you We have the Elvis sunglasses with the sideburns. Those are required eyewear whenever you're driving, piloting the Elvis jet. Do you have a speaker that plays? You got to have speakers and plays this music.
Starting point is 00:57:39 Oh, yeah, Bluetooth speaker that goes right there off your phone. Got a playlist that rocks it out. And the stairs, the electric stairs all still work. So you come out, I'm like, it's full rock star status. You open the door, works, and the stairs go, whee-h-ha- And you can step out. So the FBI officer that talks about if you go and meet with him in San Diego, or are you going to drive the... No, heck no.
Starting point is 00:58:02 That's a long way to drive that thing. How long would that take? That'd be a least a week or two, right? Yeah, you can... But you can't drive it like in a room. You're not making the same kind of time as a normal car. No, it's because of everybody else. It drives 70 miles an hour down the highway, no problem.
Starting point is 00:58:16 It's everybody else. It's still a bus. Like, it's like you're not... You're not a sports car. I mean, it's like a motorhome. Once you get on the end, it's a highway. Interstate, you're good. No, it's all the other people.
Starting point is 00:58:27 What are they just looking? Yeah, it's crazy. Taking pictures. So we have cameras that are on it all the way around for side view, the front, back, and everything. And we always watch the monitor. We stay in the right lane and we watch the left camera because you can see a cargo pass, the brakes come on, the window come down, and the phone come up.
Starting point is 00:58:45 Yeah. Every single time. Have you seen those videos on social media? Yeah, yeah, it's fun. So they'll come out and we have a QR. code on the side of it that sends people directly to the video of the build and buying and everything so they can see because if you drove past it you wouldn't immediately know it was Elvis Presley's. We're still trying to figure out how to do that to where people are like,
Starting point is 00:59:10 wait, Elvis Presley. But it's just this crazy airplane that's driving down the road, which is wild enough. And then once they find out it's Elvis's like it goes, you know, real big crazy. So yeah, all the people driving slow and getting in front of us. Some of people will go up, takes the next exit, and get on the overpass, and watch us go by. I mean, it's wild. It's a, it's just a traffic jam moving down the road. What about getting pulled over? Do you get pulled over?
Starting point is 00:59:38 Everybody is asked that. We had a bet how many times we'd get pulled over on the first 1,658-mile drive from Tampa to Wisconsin, and we got pulled over a total of zero times. Okay. I think what happens is the police, whenever they see that going by, they just go too much paperwork. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:00:00 Like, God forbid, something is wrong. It's not worth it. Yeah. And we built it to be DOT compliant with bumper sizes and turn signals and headlights because we knew at some point we're going to get a cop checking this thing out. Right.
Starting point is 01:00:13 If nothing else, because he just wants to check it out and see how cool it is. But I know at some point there's going to be some guy, some cop is going to really look this thing over. So, sorry, I've been making a notice throughout. Have we completed the whole entire fraud story? Well, he doesn't, I mean, he knows that eventually,
Starting point is 01:00:38 you know eventually there was an FBI investigation. You know, Elvis is a small part. The planes are a small part. Eventually there was bigger. I guess if we've already kind of covered it, can you dumb it down for me, actually, or the audience, you know, whoever, like, dumb it down to how the kind of fraud works for how you think they were doing it? There's multiple time.
Starting point is 01:01:02 There's multiple. There's a lot of layers to it. Yeah, there's a lot of layers, thank you. That's what I was going to say sub stories that are going on at the same time. But really just the fraud. So you have the bigger umbrella operation fountain pin, and that covers international banking and all kinds of different ways to launder money. It's essentially...
Starting point is 01:01:22 From these two knuckleheads. From a group of... I forget how many fraudsters there were, but the two guys were the main guys running it. What were their names again? Fred Pro and... Kittler. Phil Kittsner.
Starting point is 01:01:36 Yeah. Fred... Because I've studied this stuff so much, it was as soon as I saw it again, I'm like, that's right. And so it was a bigger fraud going on. and then underneath of that fraud as one of the pillars was this airplane stuff they were doing. And that's the section that Elvis and this jet, I believe, is tied into, is revolved around taking these airplanes, changing the ownership, and then using them for loans and collateral to get other loans.
Starting point is 01:02:06 And they would do that multiple places around the world. So they go to this bank and get a loan on it here. They go to this bank, get a loan on it here, and just have multiple loans on the same collateral. I can't believe anyone would do that. That is wrong, fundamentally wrong, ethically and morally. I'm assuming is that what you're still. That's one of the things, yeah. But I would buy a house, satisfy the mortgages on the house,
Starting point is 01:02:34 and then I would go to multiple banks and borrow money on the same house so quickly that the banks couldn't figure out that, because there's a time lag when you're filing documents. but I was going to say I've got to stop saying I've got to say You know I've thought about mentioning it I don't think it's an issue But Jeff said it's an issue
Starting point is 01:02:52 Jeff said stop That you do it all the time Nobody said it but I The um No I was gonna say Uh yes Mine is so Yeah
Starting point is 01:03:04 Well yeah I think so is I think everybody kind of does that Yeah Like and so Yeah I hate that so much but it's so hard to stop.
Starting point is 01:03:14 It is. Crush words. I got a crutch phrase. So these guys, what's so funny about that is that is that it's the, I hate to say the best scams, but the best scams are the ones where it's, it's a normal practice. So when you explain it to somebody, they're like, yeah, that makes sense. And then you always think like, yeah, I'll sign over my 800 plus thousand, dollar jet that I just paid for and I own or maybe I have a mortgage on it. I'll sign it over to you, which gives you now to have the asset and then you turn around and go borrow money against from
Starting point is 01:03:53 multiple different banks because that's something that, because people signing over their jet for you to lease out is may or may not be. I don't really know if the signing over to you is a normal practice. It is. Jeez. So you sign it over, but you think, okay, but that's what everybody does. Everybody buys the, all these rich people buy a jet. And then they're like, okay, I only use it twice or three times a month. And I'm only flying one place and coming right back. I use it for two days. I got it for four days a month.
Starting point is 01:04:24 Why shouldn't I make money leasing it out to corporations that need to fly around executives or whatever? But they don't want to spend 800,000 or now would probably be, you know, five million or 10 million. So they don't want to do that. So this is a very common thing. And because it's common, when they explain it to Elvis or whoever, they're very, their app to go, wow, what a bargain. And this is a company. You think, well, I don't know, Elvis.
Starting point is 01:04:49 You know, this seems kind of sketchy. Well, wait a minute. Nobody ever says it's sketchy. Right. But think about it too. It would sound sketchy. It's like, I don't know. I could see saying it's sketchy, but for the fact that they've had this company for years.
Starting point is 01:05:02 Like, if it was sketchy, it would have caught up. But that's the whole thing about a Ponzi scheme. The longer the Ponzi scheme runs and the more people know it, then the more people are willing to invest, why? It's been around for 15 years. This is a Ponzi scheme. It's been around. This financial institution's been around for 15 years.
Starting point is 01:05:20 It's Bernie Madoff. The guy was, you know, like, are what are you talking about? Can't be a scam? How dare you? You sign over. You sign over. And then all your other buddies are leasing their jets. You know, yeah, Tom does it.
Starting point is 01:05:34 And then, of course, if they said, Elvis leases to us two jets, that probably got him four more jets. Yeah. Do you see him saying? It, you know, blossoms into this massive thing. And then eventually when it collapses, somebody goes to jail for 20 years. But I wonder, you know, I'll bet you those guys' stories of how that whole thing started for them and what they were doing with the money and what their thought processes. I'll bet that's a fascinating story.
Starting point is 01:06:00 I mean, not that I'm saying they're good. I think I've seen a couple of interviews with the one guy because he served his time and then got out. and I don't remember which one it was but I think they have interviews that are out there somewhere I don't think either one of them are still alive but the interview would be cool to throw the interview the interview is still out there
Starting point is 01:06:20 it'd be a little portion of some this jerk off saying well we did that but you know the other thing that is interesting is that at that time period right in the 70s 80s like there was a portion of time in the 60s 70s and 80s
Starting point is 01:06:37 up until 86, when the federal guidelines and the federal guidelines changed, you heard the term club fed, right? So there was a time when people would say, oh, they got a slap in the wrist. And what's so funny is you would, you'd read like what someone got, like, oh, this banker stole $100 million and this whole pension fund collapse and all these people aren't going to have retirement anymore like it's a horrible situation and then you'd hear them okay he got 10 years and you go what a slap on the wrist well no no it's worse than that he's only has to do at that time not now but at that time he had to do 65 percent and at one third he was eligible for parole and keep mind you're not
Starting point is 01:07:25 you're a you're a non-violent person yeah so when you're saying oh he got 20 years i'm thinking he got 20 years he probably was out of there in six or seven you know because let's face it if a white criminal comes up for um comes up for parole he typically gets it why I'm nonviolent you're going to have a parole I'm going to have a parole officer watching me and he's going to make sure I don't
Starting point is 01:07:50 work at a bank he's going to make sure that I'm stocking shelves at Walmart so I'm harmless now as opposed to a guy who's doing home invasions you're like now you're not getting out at one third your time you're going to do a little bit more so that guy with 20 years probably got out at six or seven. Oh,
Starting point is 01:08:08 interesting. You know, he's on probation forever, of course. That's back when, that's back when they would have these probation that were just outrage. Well,
Starting point is 01:08:16 he would be on probation until, if he didn't violate, he'd be on probation for 65% of the original Senate. So he still would have been, he'd say, he'd had another six years or seven years of probation. So, but that,
Starting point is 01:08:30 and this is the other thing. You, you know, Mike Hudson? Remember Mike Hudson, the biker guy? there. Mike Hudson is a guy that in the 70s and 80s was in federal prison. And so he's somebody that I've met.
Starting point is 01:08:46 And I'd heard how federal prison was at that time. But this guy actually did two different bids. And I mean, he just makes it sound like, like, I want to go. Like, I'm ready to go. Let's do this. I mean, we're talking about, never did you, Barbara Walters did, this is what ruined that system. Barbara Walters did a, and I want to say it was 60 minutes where she goes into into a federal camp. This is in the 80s. And she interviews multiple prisoners. And these are all
Starting point is 01:09:22 white collar guys. And it's so funny because back then, it was so vastly different than like when I went to prison. The guards wore, and a matter of fact, If you see, oh, oh, if you go and watch, if you watch Goodfellas, if you watch the movie Goodfellas when his wife comes to see him, the guards are dressed in like business outfits. They have like, jacket, nice jackets on. They didn't call you like, hey, inmate or Cox or whatever. It was like Mr. Cox. Excuse me, Matt, Mr. Cox, come here. Hey, listen.
Starting point is 01:10:01 You're like they treated you. The big thing was you have to be. The other thing was the food was amazing. These guys were talking. And when Barbara Walters does this thing, and they called it club fed. And that's what ruined. Like after that hit, Congress had, Congress had committees put together. People are being, they're like, what are you talking about? Like, and during one of the things, they're talking to one of the guys, they're like, well, what's food like here? He's like, ah, you know, on such and such, we get steak and this and we get that. We used to get, we used to get, like, lobster. And we would have lobster. once or twice a week, but that doesn't really happen as much as it used to, you know, which, you know, it was really good too because, you know, it's not great. But we get, and he's having this conversation with her, not even realizing she's looking at him like, are you fucking kidding me? Yeah. Are you serious? He's oblivious. He's in his mind, he's on this as a banker who thinks this is how federal, this is how prison is, right? Like, my punishment is, I'm not allowed to leave this
Starting point is 01:10:59 area, but I should be treated very well and eat very well. These guys are playing golf. They're playing tennis. And so... You know that there was some politicians and bankers on the board of... Well, that's what they're concerned. That was probably they're concerned. 100%. I may end up here.
Starting point is 01:11:16 Yeah. It needs to be nice. Yeah, that's right. So after that was aired, people were so furious about it that they changed the whole system. And the other thing they did was the Bureau of Prison said, that's the last time a camera, a camera comes in. Like all inmates will tell you, oh, who ruined it? Barbara Walters ruined it for us.
Starting point is 01:11:38 You know what I'm saying? Yeah, she went on a bad list. Yeah, for prisoners. But that's why you, whenever I talk to these guys, these production people, they're like, and I'm trying to option, let's say, the life rights to somebody I've written a story. I've written a bunch of true crime stories. I know you don't know anything about my story. But while I was incarcerated, I wrote a bunch of guys' stories.
Starting point is 01:11:56 And I've optioned multiple stories. And so sometimes I'll get a producer. and he's like, I love this story. I'd love to turn this into a documentary. And I'm like, yeah, it's not going to do. That's not going to work. They're like, wow, I'm like, well, the guy's still in prison. He's got 10 more years.
Starting point is 01:12:09 And they'll say, oh, well, we can interview him in prison. It would be even better. I'm like, nah, you're not going to be able to interview him in prison. They go, no, no, we get cameras in all the time in prison. And I'm like, not a federal prison. And they're like, no, yeah, we do. Yeah, we do. I can, I'm like, yeah, I understand, bro.
Starting point is 01:12:23 And then two months later, they come back and they're like, yeah, it turns out we can't get a, we can't Interesting. Yeah. Listen, it's, they're done. Like the Bureau of Prisons went through such hell. They were like, absolutely not never again. They ambushed them. And everybody was pulled in front of Congress.
Starting point is 01:12:44 You're giving these guys lobster and steak. Are you out of your fucking mind? Yeah. Interesting. Huh. Well, there you go. So I guess it paid to go to federal prison in the 70s and 80s. Yes.
Starting point is 01:12:56 But so after 86, that changed. And so, like those guys, even though you're, like, I'm sure the headline, 20 years, like, oh, they threw the book at them. These guys had money socked away somewhere or whatever. They were probably like, eh, I'm going to do six years in Club Fed. It's not going to be that bad. Hell, I might even be in five years. I might even be in a halfway house somewhere, you know? So, I mean, listen, for five or ten or $20 million, I'll do five years.
Starting point is 01:13:27 I'll do. Most people will. Listen, and I'll say this right now. In the comment section, let me know if you do, for a million dollars a year, would you go to prison right now? To the club fed one maybe. Oh, the club fed for sure. Oh, no, guys will be like, hell yeah.
Starting point is 01:13:43 Can I set up for that now? I'll do it for $2.50. Yeah, we had a TikTok. I forgot it was three years for like $5 million. Yeah. Everyone was going in the comments. Yeah. Absolutely.
Starting point is 01:13:55 Huh. Yeah, and that back then. too they were these guys are and keep mind too like the guards are respectful everybody's respectful you're eating good and you talk to mike mike was like mike was like and you could get a job working in like the factory they paid you like a regular wage so guys are walking out of prison with that 10,000 dollars from working for the last year or two so you know and they were eating amazing and they had weights they could work out they don't have any of that stuff now so those guys that, you know, they probably, probably wasn't so horrible. After all, they probably thought
Starting point is 01:14:29 it was horrible. Everybody doesn't, everybody thinks it's horrible. It's weird. As soon as I started getting into the jet side of things, I'm like, that's a whole different life. The people that are on that other side, it's a whole different world. What do you, I mean, what do you mean? Well, they're just. So, no, well, with the Elvis one, I kind of knew that. That one was already had the makings of being weird. But then I recently purchased a Learjet, same abandoned kind of thing. And it was repossessed by the government.
Starting point is 01:15:06 They sold it for tax evasion type stuff. And then I come to find out more about the organization behind it and what they're doing. It was like international drug or international arms dealers. and just wild stuff. It's like, is everybody that owns a private jet? Is it like the TV stuff for real? You know, it goes on.
Starting point is 01:15:33 It's like, what is this? My, yeah, my wife worked for a company that manages yachts. I bet there would be some wild stuff too. And listen, one of the guys is an international arms dealer. See? And he's probably the same guy that I got the jet from. He has the biggest, Yeah, in downtown Tampa and Harbor Island where they've got a bunch of these things at the, whatever they call them, docks or piers.
Starting point is 01:16:01 The last one that he bought was so massive. They almost couldn't even park it. They almost couldn't even bring it in. Like, I mean, it's probably a foot or two off the ground. I mean, it's, or off the bottom of the. Wow. How deep it is? It's massive.
Starting point is 01:16:19 And you look at this thing. I mean, this thing is. huge. I think it's even, I think it might have a helicopter pad on it. I mean, it is, you know, and this guy is, like a cruise ship. Yeah. This guy is just, I can only imagine.
Starting point is 01:16:34 So there was a, there was a, a whole thing for arms. He, he, I think he may have put it on where he put on this huge thing downtown for arms. You got guys driving around in boats with, with, uh, guns. I remember, yeah, it was a couple years ago.
Starting point is 01:16:50 And they had the, the, the, military do drills and helicopters and come down and do stuff. Yeah. It was insane. And I'm pretty sure that was all him. I know Jess. She was down there for it. She's like, you've got to come down.
Starting point is 01:17:03 I was like, I can't. Like we were, we had a podcast. I was like, yeah, I can't. But, you know, so. That's wild. Yeah. Yeah. And I actually wrote a book for a guy named Ephraim Devoroli.
Starting point is 01:17:15 Do you ever see the movie, War Dogs? Yeah, why is that? That's familiar. Jonah Hill plays Ephraim Devaroli. and Miles Teller. He plays he plays David Packhouse. So these are two guys from
Starting point is 01:17:32 two Jewish kids from Miami that are basically like stoners. And it's funny because whenever I would say that to Deverelli, he'd go, I'm more of a kid. So, but it played better for the as him being a stoner for the movie. So, but they ended up getting into multiple government contracts.
Starting point is 01:17:52 but they got one for $300 million to supply to supply munitions to the Afghani security forces, right? And that the U.S. government pays for. And they were shipping, they were buying and shipping tons of munitions. And anyway, they get in trouble because they start buying from, they start buying from, oh, God, Albania. I want to say Albania. I might have it wrong.
Starting point is 01:18:15 But I think it was Albania, the problem was initially the Albanians were selling them 7.62 rounds. that are made in Albania. But then they start giving them Chinese. Because China had gifted Albania tons of 7.62 rounds. And they're sealed in these hermetic canisters. So they're shipping that. But at some point they realize, hey, these are Chinese.
Starting point is 01:18:43 Like because of Tiananmen Square, we're not supposed to be selling anything this Chinese. Now, of course, Deverelli felt like, yeah, he said, but this was gifted prior to that Tiananmen Square. So he was like, I think I'm good, but you know what? Just in case, let's repackage. Oh, no. And they were already repackaging anyway because they were in these big wooden crates.
Starting point is 01:19:08 And so he's like, we were already doing it. We just went, they just went the extra step of removing everything that was, you know. And they were fully aware that initially they weren't aware what they were doing was wrong. Now you are aware. Yeah. And we went even a step further. And so as a result of that, they ended up, they were filling out the transfer, the documentation incorrectly. And so the government, once the government got on figured it out, they came after them.
Starting point is 01:19:37 Even though they were supplying, you know, it's really a touchy, it's questionable because I don't think they should have been charged. I mean, Devereoli, without a doubt, is a scumbag. He's a complete asshole. But being it, you can't send people to prison for being assholes. you should maybe in some cases, but he didn't break the law. But the government just decided, you know what? We don't like these guys. They make us look bad.
Starting point is 01:20:02 They're shipping Chinese. We questionable. They were hiding it. So we're going to go ahead and charge him with, and it was basically mislabeling the export documents. Yeah. We mislabeled it. And, of course, they're saying, okay, it says, where's it coming from? It's coming from Albania.
Starting point is 01:20:20 That's what we put. They're like, yeah, but it was Chinese. It's like, there's no place to put where it was manufactured. It's saying, where's it being shipped from, Albania? Yeah. And it's like, what am I supposed to say? You know, you know, so it's a, and then it's like, if you, that's what you believe, go to trial. Well, you can't go to trial because there's tons of emails and stuff where these guys are discussing.
Starting point is 01:20:39 Like, how do we make sure you get rid of all this? Make sure you fill out the thing this. Make sure you don't put this. Make sure nobody says Chinese. So it's like, obviously you're covering something up. but you're covering something up that's not a crime. Right. Because it was gifted prior to the...
Starting point is 01:20:55 It's saving face that can be construed as committing a crime. And let's face it, if you're sitting at that chair, the people in the jury box already think you're guilty. Why? Well, you've already been indicted. Yeah. I've actually had a juror for one of my guys or a buddy of mine in prison where during voir dire, when they questioned the jury,
Starting point is 01:21:16 the, they went to, you know, They were questioning them when they got to this one jury, juror, and you think you can find him, you know, wait and see the evidence to determine whether he's guilty. You think he could be impartial. And he said, I don't, not really. And they went, why? And he said, he goes, well, he was indicted on 45 counts of fraud. He did something.
Starting point is 01:21:39 Right. And it was like, and I remember my buddy, which his name is, his name's Andrew Levinson. Andrew, I was like, wow. I was like, what a jerk. He was, no, no, I appreciated that. He said, everybody else is lying. He just said what everybody else is thinking. Sure.
Starting point is 01:21:54 Right. 100%. You've already got your bias in place. Right. He said everybody else is like, they know to say, no, I can be impartial. He just said what he was thinking. And he got scrapped. He said, everybody else got on the jury and immediately found me guilty just because they had already determined I was guilty just for sitting there.
Starting point is 01:22:09 Yeah. So, did this go off on a tangent? What happened? That was a tangent, right? Did I go off on tangent? Yeah, that's fine. Yeah, it's fine. But yeah, so arms dealer.
Starting point is 01:22:19 Devereoli made tens of millions of dollars A ton of money These guys, these arms dealers make a ton of money, bro Yeah Like a tonne. I don't know if it's worth it I know
Starting point is 01:22:30 I don't know if it's worth it Yeah And it's it's a You're dealing with a lot of unsavory people And they're always willing to kind of cut each other Which I was questionable on Debroli Like I was like Brody did you ever get fucked over?
Starting point is 01:22:44 He's like and of course Devaroli doesn't get fucked over Right Deverely nobody messes with me Yeah, Deverely, it's like, no, I don't, you didn't realize when you got messed over. Right. Yeah. Well, Devoroli's like, you don't fuck me over. I fuck you over.
Starting point is 01:22:56 Right. That's how this works. And it's true. And he explained to me how, how the money gets transferred and stuff. But he screwed over many, many people. And, you know. Yeah. But that's just that world in general.
Starting point is 01:23:13 It seems to be. It's slippery. Yeah. No thanks. When and why did you start? the YouTube channel. I started the YouTube channel as nothing. I never intentionally did it to do views. My whole life, I've grown up fixing things, buying broken motorcycles and four-wheelers and cars and just flipping them and fixing them. And then I had a midlife crisis, joined the military
Starting point is 01:23:37 at the ripe young age of 40. Are you serious? Yeah. How late can you join the military? 40. So 40 was the age cut off and my birthday is February 20th and I enlisted on the 14th of February. So six days before the age cut off. Wow. So then go into full midlife crisis mode and it's with a Florida air guard. So I have to commute all the way from Tampa to Jacksonville every single month for six years. And that's about a four and a half hour drive and that drive sucks. Buddy mine who was a pilot, just said, hey, instead of that drive, why don't she just buy a little airplane? That's a great idea. I had never even been in a little airplane, so I immediately went out and bought an airplane, as all smart people do.
Starting point is 01:24:20 Did you have a pilot's license? No. I never even been in one of these things. So that makes for, I guess, another good story. But I also knew that I had done the mechanics and the car stuff enough that I bought it as a good enough deal that if it didn't work out, I could just sell it and give my money back. I bought the airplane. Then I did all, and this was during 2020, so the world was shut down, gas was cheap, we
Starting point is 01:24:42 were flying this thing, you know, three, four, four, four. five times a week. I got my pilot's license and my instrument rating in five months. Okay. You just said you were flying. I was like, but you don't have a license. Yeah, so that was like, yeah, I bought the airplane, then did all my training, and then I was able to get my license. Well, the same guy that told me to get my license to do the trip was also the same guy that said, whenever you have this airplane, when you're done with your training, sell it, and then buy the airplane you're going to keep for a while. The airplane you want is going to be, you of these kind of airplanes.
Starting point is 01:25:16 Where I fly to when I do my military training on that airport, there was one of those airplanes sitting kind of abandoned on the ramp. I started asking around. It was for sale. And I just took my phone out and went, hey, watch me go bankrupt, putting this old airplane in the air and posted it on YouTube and people seem to really enjoy it. Because I've seen a million car shows where they do all the restoration of cars and stuff like that.
Starting point is 01:25:40 I've never seen one with airplanes. I know why now, because airplanes are insane. Exxamely expensive and they're legal and all the requirements that you go through. It's very difficult. That was, what, four or five years ago now? And then I... What was the airplane? It was a Cherokee 6300 if you want to get airplane nerdy.
Starting point is 01:26:02 Cherokee, is that Piper? It is. Okay. Very good. All right. We got a fellow aviation enthusiast. If you knew that much. I wrote a book about a guy named Marcus Schrenker.
Starting point is 01:26:14 who took his plane up he was during the financial crisis at 2008 he was being investigated and he knew he was about to be arrested and so he took up his he had a meridian that's a nice plane yeah it was and he took it up and uh um called in a distress signal said his windshield was spider cracking and then he said oh it's imploded i'm bleeding i remember he said i'm bleeding profuselying Who the fuck says? I know. He's such a jackass. That's...
Starting point is 01:26:48 Okay. So he's... And then what he does is he puts on his parachute. He puts it on autopilot. He puts on his parachute and opens the plane, the back door, and dives out. Who wouldn't? Well, because he's trying to fake his own death. Clearly.
Starting point is 01:27:03 But he's a jackass. And so he thought the plane was going to go out over the Gulf and run out of fuel. The problem was when he opened the door. The drag burned off so much fuel. So now that the plane is trying to maintain altitude. And so it can't do it because the doors are open. And the doors are there. I'm surprised it didn't kick off the autopilot with that airplane.
Starting point is 01:27:25 No, because it continues. As a matter of fact, they issue, because he stopped responding, they sent out like two F-15s or F-16s to go and fly. And of course, they can't fly as slow as the plane, so they're having to do this. But they could, one, see nobody's flying it. Two, there's a door open. So it burned off. glue.
Starting point is 01:27:44 Yeah. I'm thinking this guy might have jumped out. So then it burned off all the fuel and landed a few miles shy of the Gulf. And by the way, of course, so it lands in this swampy area, rips off the wings, tail, everything. But the one thing that was in pristine condition was the windshield. Of course. Which it imploded.
Starting point is 01:28:05 Yes. Of course. So three days later, they found him at a campground. He was everywhere. But so as a result, I had to go through the hole. He took a, what do they call it? Spirit flight or some of the flight where they They take you up the first time kind of for free to see if you like it
Starting point is 01:28:21 Oh yeah yeah Investigation flight or they have a name for it They took him up in it and it was like in a Cherokee apparently Yeah And so that's a very common you know inexpensive A discovery flight Discovery flight thank you
Starting point is 01:28:34 They took about inexpensive plane to fly That is Um or It's usually a little trainer flight and it's a hundred bucks it's the drug that get you in you're like no curse you yeah like they I'm not supposed to let you hold them I'm gonna let you go ahead oh yeah every oh my gosh oh that's it and he fell in love so then he's of course then he ended up being a stump pilot he or he bought one he did it he went to perdu got his aeronautic license or degree and the whole thing and they ended up with a piper and then of
Starting point is 01:29:06 course whatever that that stunt plane is these guys all have you know that there's you would know it's it's like a know this the end engines of Pratton, Whitney or is a Pratton? Oh, am I wrong? Well, yeah, there's a handful of different ones, right? So a big radial engine for an old biplane, or it's usually a like homing 540. This was for a stunt plane. Mm-hmm.
Starting point is 01:29:28 Yeah, and it was, uh, anyway, he, he did that. So I had to learn, I had to hear about it and let it learn all about it, even though this guy was such a jerk off, bro. I'm going to give you the book. Remind me, I will give you the book I wrote. I mean, it sounds like, oh, that you wrote. That I wrote. Okay.
Starting point is 01:29:42 Because I wrote a book. Oh, he's a pathological liar. Like, you'd be reading, it's just so overwhelmingly horrible. But the plane stuff would be kind of interesting to you. You'd understand it more than I did, but you'd see also the hilariousness of this guy. Like, what were you thinking? Yeah, I mean, to fake your own death. First off, you just switch it over to 7,600 and just send it.
Starting point is 01:30:04 Or even 77, because you have squat codes. So 77, you're going to heaven. That's how you remember that. You're crashing. Something's on fire. It's about to get bad. 75 Biden's or
Starting point is 01:30:17 75 Obama's or not Obama Who's the who's a terrorist guy that we took out? Osama? Osama. See is Osama bin Laden or Obama Biden thing? It sounds just saying
Starting point is 01:30:33 anyways 75 Osama's alive is how you know one of the ways to remember that and that's if you're getting a terrorist takeover on the plane you squawk 7,500, and they know that you're sending a distress, that there's a hijacking type thing taking place in the airplane.
Starting point is 01:30:52 7600 means your radios don't work. You lost communication. Well, he went with, there's a, why can't I think today, bro? I got to finish this whole thing. Yeah, you need to do your... He went with, there's extreme turbulence when the skies were perfectly clear. Well, those are the worst turbulent days. Yeah, but there was no...
Starting point is 01:31:15 But whatever the... Nobody else has responded saying there's turbulence. Middle the night, nobody's saying turbulence. I mean, why... You're saying turbulence. It's so bad.
Starting point is 01:31:24 Your windshield spider, like, everything about it was like, this doesn't make sense. Nothing this guy is saying. Involve on the race is like, I think this guy's on drugs. Yeah, I think he's about to fake his own death. But anyway,
Starting point is 01:31:36 didn't work out for him, but yeah. So I'll give you the book when you leave. Yeah. If you have the time, you could read it. There you go. good. Nobody else has. But yeah, sorry, go ahead. Yeah, what?
Starting point is 01:31:50 You got the chair. Midlife crisis. Yeah, Midlife crisis, military by the airplane. Took my phone out and I just watched me go bankrupt fixing up this old airplane. The mechanic at the airport where I was at, you know, super great guy, older gentleman, kind of took me under his wing. And my whole background was in auto mechanics. And I've got an electromechanical engineering degree and stuff like that.
Starting point is 01:32:12 So this isn't new, the mechanical part, but everything about aviation is different than the automotive world. They use different materials, different chemicals, sealants, it's all very different. I spend the next five months restoring that airplane front to back, you know, wingtip to wingtip. How much was the plane? Well, that was a great thing. I learned that you buy an engine and you get an airplane for free. In aviation world, that's kind of the deal, because the engine is far and away the most expensive part of an airplane. Great example is that airplane that I bought, I paid $45,000 for it, and it has not been flown.
Starting point is 01:32:55 And this was in 2020 or 2021. The airplane hadn't been legally flying since 1997. So it was a long time. However, that engine that was sitting on that thing by itself was worth $40,000. And the propeller that was put on it was worth about $12,000 by itself. So just those two pieces right there, I could have made my money back and cut the rest of the airplane up and, you know, scrapped it. So I knew that even if it turned out wrong, I'd still at least make my money back out of it. And then I ended up spending another $55,000 on that airplane over the next five months to get it flying.
Starting point is 01:33:35 So I was into this airplane for 110. then the market, because of COVID and everything else, everybody stopped wanting to travel via commercial, and everybody started doing a lot more private flights and general aviation stuff. And gas was still pretty cheap. So that airplane went from a value of about 110 or 120 to almost 200,000 within a year,
Starting point is 01:34:02 just skyrocketed straight up. So I ended up actually selling that airplane because I saw the value in it. And I'm like, oh, this is awesome. I can make a year's income on this and one deal. So I sold that, and then I found three abandoned airplanes in Pennsylvania. And that's really where my YouTube channel started was those three airplanes. One, hadn't seen the light of day since 1981.
Starting point is 01:34:26 And it was a Cessna 310. Are these just abandoned? Like you don't just pick up an airplane, like somebody owned them, right? Or, I mean, or you have to buy it from somebody. It's not like you find a shot. ship, you find a boat in the middle of the bay, you get to just take it. Right. So these particular airplanes were just, unfortunately, a common story is that the pilot and the airplane owner gets older. They lose their medical. They can no longer legally fly. So they put the airplane away in a
Starting point is 01:35:00 hangar. And they always say, one day, one day, I'll get my medical back. I'll get it. I'll do it one day, one day, one day. that's 10, 20, 30, 40 years have gone by, and it's still one day, until one of a couple of things usually happens. They pass away, honestly, is how most of it happens. And then the family that is not really aviation people, they're now stuck with this stuff, and they have to figure out how to get rid of it or keep paying for a hanger rent and other things.
Starting point is 01:35:31 So they then will sell it off. The other thing is the person just gets old enough to go, okay, I guess it's not. I'm not going to be able to do it. And that's kind of rare, honestly. And then they sell at her, put it up for sale. So this guy had three planes, and he passed away, and his family said, just. This was an interesting guy.
Starting point is 01:35:53 So what had happened was they actually moved the airport. His house used to be connected to the runway, to the taxiway. and then somebody came in and bought the entire airport they moved it like a quarter of a mile away so it was all on one gigantic piece of property but they moved the runway to try to make it bigger so they could get more contracts for cargo and stuff like that this was before amazon prime but the same type of deal well in order to do that he lost his access to the the runway so he now had this 50 foot cliff where they could it all out. And so he just had these airplanes on his property that he didn't know how to get them back to the runway. And so that one was kind of a weird deal. The only way to get it back was by tractor to take part of the wings off and then take it down the road to get it back over there or by helicopter, just lifting it up and putting it back over there. And those were not really viable options. So he ended up putting it on Facebook Marketplace and went bottom. That's kind of
Starting point is 01:37:03 where the whole channel. How did you get them out of there? We cut them up. Okay. Yeah, or just, well, we only cut one of them up because it was really junk. The other ones we disassembled and then brought them back to Florida to try to get them going again. And unfortunately, they did not. Really?
Starting point is 01:37:20 Because they were just too far gone. Okay. One was, we called it Mighty Mouse because it was filled from the bottom to the top of the wing, wing tip to wing tip, front to back with mouse nest. It was the nastiest thing I've ever seen in my life. And then once we finally got all the mouse stuff cleaned out, it had corroded, because most airplanes are made of aluminum, it had corroded out that aluminum so bad that it destroyed that airplane.
Starting point is 01:37:45 It was not savable without essentially replacing half of the fuselage of the airplane. Okay. And so that was a loss. Was it a loss? No, no, no. Because, again, you buy an engine, you get an airplane for free. Right. Both of those engines were freshly rebuilt when he put it away.
Starting point is 01:38:06 Okay. They still had the Sharpie marker of the numbers on top of the pistons and stuff like that inside the engines. And I had done my videos with them, and we made some content out of it and had some good adventures doing that. And then I ended up buying another similar 310 out of California, and we flew that back and then took what good parts were off of the old one to keep for the flying airplane. and then the old airplane, we ended up donating to the, we ended up donating it to the museum at Sun and Fun. For there, they have an AMP school, an airplane, airframe and power plant, like a technical college there.
Starting point is 01:38:48 Right. So we donated it to that school. And now they're training the next generation of airplane mechanics how to fix airplanes. So that worked out pretty good. Okay. Yep. How long does this, do you, how long does,
Starting point is 01:39:02 just go on until we get to Elvis. Oh, yes, the Elvis. Well, so... Is there another, any more planes? Oh, there's lots more planes. However, all of that is what led to the channel. For anybody that this is their first time ever seeing you, like, what are you posting on your own channel?
Starting point is 01:39:21 I find interesting abandoned airplanes and try to get them flying again. Right. And then take them on adventures. And for the ones that can't get flying, we try to do something with them, whether it's create a mobile Elvis jet thing or, you know, something with them. You've got to come up with a cool name.
Starting point is 01:39:41 For the Elvis Jet? For the Elvis. For the Elvis. So I have. That's just it. I have the domain ElvisJet.com. Okay. So it was like it's kind of just the Elvis Jet.
Starting point is 01:39:51 Okay. That's easy. Yeah, Elvis Mobile. And I kept on an RV, but people think we change the inside to be an RV. But we haven't changed anything because it's. it's still legit. Why don't you get a rap? If you're saying you don't know how to kind of indicate to people this is Elvis's,
Starting point is 01:40:07 that why don't you get like a rap or something that says Elvis on the side or something, or is it? Well, so our attorneys, because all of the Elvis and his likeness and everything else is all highly, highly copyrighted and trademarked. However, the way I get around that with the little pieces that I sell is it's a historical fact. Yeah, I was going to say that's a just. It just says owned by. Elvis A. Presley. Yeah, it's true.
Starting point is 01:40:33 So we're looking at putting in big letters on the top of, because it's red with silver stripes. So we're just going to put on their owned by Elvis Presley. And it's just in big letters. It's not going to be the most classy thing, but at least it'll, people will be like, oh, wow, oh, wow. Elvis is Hound Dog 2. Hound Dog 3.
Starting point is 01:40:58 3? I don't know. Well, the Hound Dog 2 was his first one up there. and Hound Dog 1 was the record that he made that allowed him to pay for that jet. And then there's the Lisa Marie. The big one, yeah. Okay. But now I...
Starting point is 01:41:16 So yeah, go to the channel. We do all aviation. It's entertainment first, and you might learn something. It's not a boring aviation channel where we talk about all the ways that flying in an aluminum can, 20,000 feet in the air are going to kill you. Do you ever interview people? Not really. We might do some interviews while we're, if it relates to the airplane that we're doing.
Starting point is 01:41:42 I thought you wanted to interview the. Well, that guy, because it directly relates to the Elvis jet and Buzz Aldrin. So the Learjet that I just bought was part of Buzz Aldrin and NASA stuff. Oh, I feel like you missed that part. I didn't, that's the first I heard that. You said you bought one. You didn't say that. Right.
Starting point is 01:41:57 Okay. So I bought a Learjet at auction that is connected with Buzz Aldrin and NASA. And Buzz Aldrin's still alive, and he lives right there where this airplane is at. So that was the other person I want to interview is Buzz Aldrin with the jet. But, I mean, I've had friends and things that are top gun pilots and stuff like that that we would interview. Or we'd go in an airplane, and while we're flying, we'd talk and have a conversation. but no, I've never I don't know, I just
Starting point is 01:42:31 This doesn't appeal to you. I mean, I like the stories. This doesn't appeal. I like the stories, but there's something about physically seeing something dead and abandoned and working on it until it comes to life. Yeah. That's pretty cool. Hey, you guys, thanks for watching.
Starting point is 01:42:50 Do be favorite. Hit those subscribe button, hit the bell so you get notified of videos just like this. Also, please share the video. We're going to leave Jimmy's link to Jimmy's World, which is the YouTube channel. We're going to leave the link in the description box. So you can go there, click on it. Check out all of his content and subscribe.
Starting point is 01:43:07 Do you have like, do you have Instagram or anything like that? Yeah, yeah. He's got, what else do you have? All the social. Oh, yeah. The normal stuff. I'm an influencer. This is what we do.
Starting point is 01:43:16 Okay. Plus, we're going to leave all of the other, all of his, all of Jimmy's other social. Do you ever think that this is where you'd actually be doing called an influencer? It's so weird. No, it's it's really. it's almost embarrassing, really. It's silly. Influencer, though.
Starting point is 01:43:30 You do understand that like six years ago, I was laying in a bunk bed in federal prison thinking I was going to end up working at McDonald's. And then, and this is what, I didn't even know this was a thing. There you go. You never know.
Starting point is 01:43:44 You don't know. I don't know. I feel. And so for the first year or two, when people would be like, you're a YouTuber or you're a, you're, oh yeah, bro, you're like, you're an influence.
Starting point is 01:43:54 I was like, that just seems silly. Like that didn't even seem like a real. thing. Yeah. And everybody I'd seen that was an influencer was like a 12-year-old girl. I know. Look at me and my dog. We're going out to lunch.
Starting point is 01:44:05 Right. Look at this lunch that we just had. It's amazing. And like the last person you should, the last person you should take advice from is a guy that just got out of federal prison. Like, you know what I'm saying? Like, I shouldn't be influencing anybody. There's some stories there.
Starting point is 01:44:20 Oh, there's some stories there. Or the thing with the plaque. Oh, yeah. And then this is funny because I would see when I was in the halfway house, I would see guys doing videos, YouTubers doing videos, I'm probably more comfortable with YouTuber. So doing videos where they would get
Starting point is 01:44:35 their 100,000, you know, their plaque for 100,000, and they would be like, oh, my gosh, and they'd unwrap and everything. And I would think, oh, like, aren't you embarrassed? Mine is still in the box. Really? I've taken it out once.
Starting point is 01:44:50 And I did a gag where I threw it in an airplane, and then I put it back in the box, and I've never taken it out. Listen, I looked at this, and I thought, I would never do that. And then we got this and I was like, no, when it got, when we got the notification that we could apply,
Starting point is 01:45:07 I was like, Colby, you need to apply for this. And then when we got it, I was like, wow, this is so cool. This is, and I thought, you were embarrassed about for these guys that were doing it. And now you think this is cool. It's just, this is a horrible situation. It's just, it's eroded all of my values.
Starting point is 01:45:27 says the ex-con exactly right but i love you know you know the other thing is hilarious when you get recognized and somebody's like you're walking you know somebody's like oh my god hey matt cox what are you doing i'm like that's pretty fucking cool you know i'm like damn for a guy who hid who hid most of his life now it's like it's so cool i didn't want to i didn't want to approach you i saw you i'm like no absolutely approach me let's get a picture you know you're the reason i don't have to have a job. So, all right. So that's it. Jimmy's description in the description, click, go there, check it out. Thank you very much. I appreciate you guys watching so much. See ya. My day kicks off with a refreshing Celsius energy drink. Pre-K drop off. Then straight to the
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