The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Herd Saturday Special Podcast: 07/28/2018

Episode Date: July 28, 2018

Colin talks to organizer, producer, and co-author of The Last Master Outlaw, Tom Colbert. They discuss the infamous case of D.B. Cooper and how his team believes they have pinpointed the perpetrator. Through first-hand accounts, in-depth research, and legal action against the FBI, Colbert and his team take down one of the greatest stories in American true crime history.   Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo, in every episode, we're cutting through the noise,

breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headlines. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to Sports Slice on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok.

Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an acapella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter.

Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Michelle McPhee, and I've been unraveling the strangest criminal alliance I've ever reported on. A Mormon polygamist and an Armenian businessman. Multi-million dollar house, Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, a billion dollar fraud. But how long can this alliance last? Tell me. What you know. Is somebody coming after me?

Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hard Way with your favorite therapist and host Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor? It signals to the world that you're not to be playing. with and just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to listen to learn the

hard way on the iha radio app apple podcast or wherever you get your podcast all right everybody welcome to my saturday podcast uh we get a lot of positive feedback on these because i don't necessarily talk a ton of sports uh last week we had the author of the robin williams book from the new york times and we love sometimes malcolm gladwell stops by uh michael mullva hill talked about the industry of sports broadcasting. Today we have Tom Colbert, who is the organizer and producer of the last master outlaw, how he, D.B. Cooper outfoxed the FBI six times, but not a cold case team. And by the way, this is the first of 25 D.B. Cooper books to receive not one, but three national awards for true crime. And as a kid growing up in the Pacific Northwest, there were two

stories to me that one is officially solved, and this one appears to be. One was the Green River Killer, of which I've read every book and seen every documentary. Gary Ridgway finally captured for his horrific crimes. The second one is about D.B. Cooper. I'll do a thumbnail on it. It was a flight that was hijacked. Don't have those in America much. Young man at the time, presumably young man, demanded money, got it, jumped out of the back. of the plane, what happened to him. Well, our guy, Tom Colbert, thinks he knows what happened to him. So, first of all, welcome to our Saturday podcast. Tom, let's start. I mean, you, I imagine 30 years ago, you didn't think you'd be writing a book about TB Cooper. What's the genesis for the

book? What's your background? And thank you for having for having for cases. A lot of the CBS News, Newstabias, almost 10 years and Paramount as a story editor. And so I would get the calls every few months. back in the 80s and 90s. You know, hey, it was my own. I know a neighbor. That was a lucky guy that got those calls. Obviously, as a teenager, I heard about it,

in 1970, seeing that big headline. So I've lived with it. It's been a backstory. And then somebody brought me the story. One of my old cameraman buddies in Las Vegas on the casinos. There was a guy there who had something to get off his chest.

On camera, and lo and behold, he shore, Columbia River, 1980. Yeah. and he claimed this man, and it was his great party right on the river, five days before that money was found. He says, I know you don't believe him, Cooper, found for a year. And then finally says, I know you don't believe me. Well, let me point some out to you. He points across, he says, see that couple?

Some of my money, and he points out the window on the couple with their boy. You sued the Bureau, FBI, to get information, did you not? We sued them because we had put together a 40-member cold couple of U.S. attorneys who gathered this information more than a hundred pieces of evidence to turn it in with history Hoffa for a decade later. We got a live suspect backed out. Well, that's when my wife and I, two Californians do, we sued. Washington, Rupyee, attorney by the name of Mark Zade.

And Mark sued for our... It's interesting because the FBI actually, in the mid to late 70s, didn't they find Cooper and suspect it was him? And then soon after that, let it go. Like, give me the backstory on that. Well, he did get away because of her F-O-I, how he got away, and so forth. Well, in 78, who we believe to be Cooper, is caught for various crimes in California, unrelated, Czech hiding, and other things. And suddenly local cops, look at this guy and said, hey, he's a pilot, he's a paratrooper, he looks like him.

They tip the FBI. They chase him twice around the globe all the way to Iran, bring him back. and then he does a May Day off the way for another four months. Well, finally, when they sit him down and they look at him in Seattle for a year and a half, they announce, well, he's not a suspect. Why would the FBI, give your theory, I know what it is, why would the FBI, the feeling here is your suspect, who is Robert Rackstra, who I've seen the video online, who, by the way, early on looks exactly like him.

very angular face, same hair, same nose. I mean, it's impossible to see the picture of Rack Straw at whatever that age was. It looks like mid-20s. And then look at D.B. Cooper, if you just put glasses on Rack Straw, he's D.B. Cooper. Why wouldn't they want to get him? Why wouldn't they put him in jail? Why wouldn't they secure him? He was 28.

How do you make up, according to some letters that were letters that were senters that were sent after. Ha-ha, you can't find me letters. And he talked about it. And he left no print in 1980s. Well, why wouldn't they charge him in 1978, 779? Why? Letter number two, is in trouble. We have, in fact, records, eyewitnesses in Vietnam, and people for the CIA from 19.

Ah, so he has information. They don't want out. Well, they considered him a valuable service to the country through questioning the black ops community or anybody working in the shadows to protect us. Let's talk about the letter that you found. letter five basically contained his confession but in code. The audience can go up to db cooper.com and see all six letters. And the former via lieutenant colonel.

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what-eves. The five pocket pants, by the way, I'm wearing those. Say this by Peter Milar. Right now, making a mistake if you don't go to petermalar.com slash heard. Check out some of my favorites. Complementary shipping, a free hat. That's Peter Millar, M-I-L-L-A-R-com slash heard. H-E-R-D. The book is called, he's the co-author of The Last Master Outlaw, How He Outfoxed the FBI Six Times, but not a cold case team. And the other co-author is Tom Solacee. I think is his name, Tom Solacey.

Did the government, by the way, in your investigation, did the government ever help you? Or were you antagonistic? Was it an antagonistic relationship? I've been a law enforcement instructor for 30 years through Camp San Luis, 17 years teaching. We stacked our team of 40. Feds to work in an email. We'll accept your evidence between two agencies.

I do want to mention to the audience in the media, while reading these stories saying we want to see how the codes are. And Robert Raxhraw, by the way, you reached out to him. Now he's sort of heavyset, bearded. Is he a vagrant? Is he have a home? Where is he? Well, he homeless, disabled vet. We have found out, and the audience will find out in August 8.

It's part of his living in a million in San Diego. Interesting. Was there ever another suspect? I remember reading. I mean, I've read about, I can go online, you know, look up D.B. Cooper, Wikipedia suspects. There was somebody in the Central Oregon at one point. There was one other story that, beyond D.B. Cooper, that I was a little engaged with for a couple years, where there was somebody that talked about, somebody came home in central Oregon, they were sopping wet,

blah, blah, blah. Did you ever have one other suspect that lined up for many, if not all, of the questions and accusations? You know, it follows the evidence not his, and we had the wrong suspect for eight months. Complained these drug runners. His money's got a dead end happen after eight months. It pointed me at his seven-year Vietnam vet who happened to have been. bent a D.B. Cooper suspect in 78, 79. And so we switched. And that shows the team. We follow the leads. And yes, there have been about 10 years. There's one that there's...

Yeah, by the way, of the suspects, how many are now living? I believe there's one left in failing health other than Rackstra. Tom Colbert is joining us. The book is The Last Master Outlaw. How he outfoxed the FBI six times, but not a cold case team. His co-author is Tom Solacey. Let's go back to the night it happened. In the process of your investigation, are there little facts that are fascinating that maybe I haven't read? Something that makes you laugh, something that is odd. The flight itself. It was like a Northwest Airlines flight. It was, you know, was it full? whatever happened to the pilots, maybe the stewardesses. Was there anybody else in the plane that was noteworthy?

Are there little facts out there in the process that you found fascinating? I will tell you the being verified and found in FBI records and Ellis. Wow. This man is off the scale genius at that time. America, he's in the military. He gets kicked out at Fort. And they find a way to kick him angry. The big announcement coming up is on August 8th regarding the decoded letters. I just love people who deep dive on stuff, and this is fascinating. Last Master Outlaw.

It says here Howie Outfox the FBI seven times. Is it six or seven? I think I misread it early. Is it six or seven? Well, we have a 21st chapter coming involved in the CAPE and the coding, and we consider that they didn't see the codes in these six letters, number seven. By the way, you're also the co-executive producer, D.B. Cooper, case closed, documentary on the History Channel, which I've seen. You can look that up. I'm sure it's on YouTube. Everything in the

world's on YouTube. Tom Colbert, absolutely fascinating. I am going to get the book because I thought I knew everything and have been down this whole a million times, but that last story I did not know of, and I thank you so much for joining us on our Saturday podcast. Thanks, Colin. God bless you. God bless you. Thank you. Great stuff. Thanks, buddy. Appreciate it. We'll talk to you guys in August 8. Yeah, we'll do. Thank you. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened.

That's where SportsSlice comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headlines. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to Sports Slice on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier.

This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an acapella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hardway with your favorite therapist and host, Kear Games.

This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor? It signals to the world that you're not to be played. with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to. Listen to learn the hard way on the AHA radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. I'm Michelle McPhee, and I've been unraveling the strangest criminal alliance I've ever reported on, a Mormon polygamist and an Armenian businessman. Multimillion dollar house, Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, a billion dollar fraud. But how long can this alliance last?

Tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.