8 | The Rear View Mirror

Speaker 1 This is an iHeart podcast.

Speaker 2 This is Matt Rogers from Lost Culture Ristos with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang. This is Bowen Yang from Lost Culture Ristos with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang.
Hey, Bowen, it's gift season.

Speaker 2 Ugh, stressing me out. Why are the people I love so hard to shop for? Probably because they only make boring gift guides that are totally uninspired.
Except for the guide we made.

Speaker 2 In partnership with Marshalls, where premium gifts meet incredible value, it's giving gifts. With categories like best gifts for the mom whose idea of a sensible walking shoe is a stiletto.

Speaker 2 Or best gifts for me that were so thoughtful I really shouldn't have. Check out the guide on marshalls.com and gift the good stuff at marshalls.

Speaker 2 This is Matt Rogers from Lost Culture Eastas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang. Get ready for your next TV obsession, All's Fair.

Speaker 2 Starring Kim Kardashian, Naomi Watts, Niecy Nash Betts, Tayana Taylor, with Sarah Paulson and Glenn Close, a team of fierce female divorce attorneys leave a male-dominated firm to start their own.

Speaker 2 own. Filled with scandalous secrets and shifting allegiances both in the courtroom and within their own ranks, these ladies know that lawyers are a girl's best friend.

Speaker 2 Don't miss All's Fair, now streaming on Hulu and Hulu on Disney Plus for bundle subscribers. Terms apply.

Speaker 4 Oral health goes beyond just aesthetics. It's deeply connected to your general health and well-being.
That's why preventing oral health problems before they start is so important.

Speaker 4 When you use the Colgate Total active prevention system, you're not just helping to prevent oral health problems like cavities and gingivitis, you're laying the groundwork for overall wellness.

Speaker 4 Colgate Total's three product routine includes a reformulated toothpaste, an innovative toothbrush, and a refreshing antibacterial mouthwash that all support a healthy mouth.

Speaker 4 In fact, the three products were designed to work together to be 15 times more effective at reducing bacteria buildup in six weeks, starting from week one, compared to a non-antibacterial fluoride toothpaste and flat trim toothbrush.

Speaker 4 Take control of your oral health and get the Colgate Total Active Prevention system today so you can be dentist ready. Visit shop.colgate.com slash total.

Speaker 3 Welcome to Radio Rental.

Speaker 3 The scariest stories you've ever heard in your life. All told by real

Speaker 3 people.

Speaker 3 And off we go.

Speaker 3 This wasn't a human being that I saw. There's something here in this house.
Something not of this world.

Speaker 2 There was a woman moving through the hall.

Speaker 6 I stepped back and I was completely alone.

Speaker 3 Radio rental is available now.

Speaker 2 Listen for free on Amazon Music.

Speaker 3 You're listening to a Tenderfoot TV podcast.

Speaker 3 Crook County is released weekly and brought to you absolutely free. But if you want to hear the whole season right now, it's available ad-free on Tenderfoot Plus.

Speaker 3 For more information, check out the show notes. Enjoy the episode.

Speaker 6 You're listening to Crook County. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the individuals participating in the podcast.

Speaker 6 This episode also contains subject matter, including graphic depictions of violence, which may not be suitable for everyone. Listener discretion is advised.

Speaker 3 Hello, friends.

Speaker 3 We've come such a long way since we launched Crook County and I want to thank you for sticking with me as I tell this story and for all the incredible words of kindness and support you've showed me over these past eight weeks.

Speaker 3 I'd like to show that appreciation by having an open and honest conversation with you, the listeners, on a bonus episode which will air in a couple weeks.

Speaker 3 So please visit our Instagram at CrookCounty Podcast and leave me a comment or an audio message with questions about the show or anything that you feel is relevant.

Speaker 3 And I will do my very best to answer as many of them as I can. Thank you so much.
Our family is so grateful to know that we are not alone in this journey of discovery and healing.

Speaker 3 And I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Speaker 3 Previously on Crook County. I really wanted to get back into civilian life.
I was ready for it. Ken leaves the outfit for the Chicago Fire Department.

Speaker 3 Just when you think you're away from all this shit, I'm covering up fucking murders that these cops are doing. The cops are just as crooked as the criminals.

Speaker 8 It's the brotherhood of the cops, you know, and you're so dependent on them that I wouldn't even be here today if I hadn't stayed on the right side of that.

Speaker 3 And Kenny learns that putting his past behind him is an impossible task. And I always had that pendulum swinging over my fucking head that I could be called in at any time.

Speaker 3 My name is Kyle Tequila. Welcome to Crook County.

Speaker 3 Just by the way,

Speaker 3 I've seen cause I'm living a lie.

Speaker 3 Lost in the waves.

Speaker 3 Lost in the way.

Speaker 3 He's a soldier, but he's a higher-end soldier. I've had experiences with him in the past, and I never liked him, never appreciated him, never even wanted to recognize him as a human fucking being.

Speaker 3 And that was my mission, to snuff the fucking life out of this guy.

Speaker 3 Episode 8: The Rear View Mirror.

Speaker 3 I can remember heading off to work with the fire department still. And I'm on the Eisenhower Expressway heading east.
I see him.

Speaker 3 There's a lot of traffic in the morning, so there's stop and go, stop and go. So, anyway, I managed to worm my way in and stop and go up to him.

Speaker 3 I was on his left,

Speaker 3 rolled down the window with my

Speaker 3 electric windows even back then, hey, believe it or not. Rolled down the window,

Speaker 3 spit,

Speaker 3 and of course, I knew I would get his irie up.

Speaker 3 He heard it, he saw me, he spun out of control, and the race was on.

Speaker 3 The question I asked him was simple.

Speaker 3 You spent all these years running around the streets of Chicago working for the outfit, but you were also working these same streets as a firefighter and a paramedic.

Speaker 3 So what happens when you inevitably run into somebody you knew from your days in the mob?

Speaker 3 So we did

Speaker 3 weaving in and out of traffic

Speaker 3 on the

Speaker 3 on the pull-off sections right and left and people actually getting out of the way for two and a half miles with this hundred mile an hour fucking chase.

Speaker 3 So I led this son of a bitch right into a kill.

Speaker 3 we have these concrete embankments

Speaker 3 in Chicago

Speaker 3 that

Speaker 3 the left is the exit and the right is where you continue traveling so I led this son of a bitch

Speaker 3 because I knew he was raging he wasn't even thinking properly I knew it so I led him right into the

Speaker 3 Right into the exit. I can't remember what street.

Speaker 3 I led him right into the embankment

Speaker 3 and I made a quick chop left and kept going at about 70 miles per hour, but he wasn't fast enough. He hit that concrete embankment

Speaker 3 and his fucking car exploded. I watched it in my rearview mirror.

Speaker 3 So I knew nothing. was going to happen with this guy.
He was just simply dead

Speaker 3 So now you're going to ask yourself,

Speaker 3 how does a guy working for a fire department go out and snuff out a fucking mobster in front of 300 people

Speaker 3 and go home the next morning

Speaker 3 and feel good about himself?

Speaker 3 Well, you got to understand this, people. All you civilians out there.

Speaker 3 These people

Speaker 3 are evil garbage.

Speaker 3 They deserve to be dead.

Speaker 3 The world is a better place without them.

Speaker 3 You have no idea

Speaker 3 what these people are capable of doing and have done and will continue to fucking do, not unless their lives are snatched. from them.

Speaker 3 And this particular incident, I knew this fuck. I knew his fucking history.

Speaker 3 And I knew I had to snatch the life out of this fuck.

Speaker 3 So, did I feel bad?

Speaker 3 No.

Speaker 3 Not one fucking bit.

Speaker 3 I slept, woke up the next morning, and did whatever I had to do without even thinking about it. It was just a normal fucking kill.
That's all. In my mind, at that time, that needed to be done.

Speaker 3 I actually feel okay about doing it because I really believe I did the world a favor. Because the only thing this man could have done was make things worse.

Speaker 3 That's it, people. I don't know what else to fucking tell you.
And if you can't live with that, then

Speaker 3 I don't know. Grow the fuck up.

Speaker 3 To the top of the porch, to the top of the wall, now dash away, dash away, dash away all.

Speaker 3 It's Christmas Eve in 2019.

Speaker 3 So up to the housetop, the courses they flew, with sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too.

Speaker 3 Santa.

Speaker 3 Santa. Santa.
That's St. Nicholas.
Saint Nicholas and Santa are the same dude. Do you know that?

Speaker 3 My dad has been staying with us for a few days while we recorded these final interviews.

Speaker 3 There's no Rudolph.

Speaker 3 No, there's no Rudolph in this story. I haven't gone there yet, maybe.

Speaker 3 No,

Speaker 3 I don't think there's a Rudolph in this one. No.
No, there's no Rudolph in this one. Whoa, they messed up.

Speaker 3 How many they just forgot?

Speaker 3 On this particular Christmas. That doesn't mean he's not going to be here tonight.
I can almost guarantee he's going to be here tonight.

Speaker 3 He might have been out for this Christmas here, though. You know, maybe he had a cold.
Who knows? What do you think? I don't see any shiny.

Speaker 3 I don't see it either. But we're not going to worry about that, right?

Speaker 3 It's so strange to see my dad switch from this cold-hard killer killer to the loving grandpa almost instantaneously. Look at that beard.

Speaker 3 Say, look at this.

Speaker 3 What's that? Cookie. Cookies and milk, just like that, right over there, buddy.

Speaker 3 What's that? What is that? Carrots. Yeah, that's a carrot.
Yeah, we're gonna go with that one. That's for the reindeer.

Speaker 3 Oh, that's right. That's for the reindeer.
They gotta eat too. Yeah.
Yeah.

Speaker 3 Smart guy. But it's the perfect example of just how easy it was for him to hide this dark double life from us for all these years.

Speaker 3 I heard him explain as he drove out of sight, Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

Speaker 3 As my wife and I sit here by the fire, watching our five-year-old son, Lincoln, reading The Night Before Christmas with his grandfather, I'm also reminded of just how much I loved my dad when I was that age.

Speaker 3 Good night, Leekend. I'll see you in the morning, buddy.

Speaker 3 And even after everything that's happened since, I'll always remember the man that he was when I was young.

Speaker 10 Here's something good on women's health and longevity, a new podcast on iHeart. Join us for groundbreaking conversations with renowned medical experts.

Speaker 10 They'll share the latest breakthroughs, the good news about women's health, and the simple steps women can take to help them live healthier and happier every day.

Speaker 10 Be sure to listen to our episode, Pelvic Power, Strengthening Your Weight to Better Bladder Health, where we dive into the unique physical, emotional, and social challenges associated with heavy bladder leaks.

Speaker 10 This episode provides supportive guidance for managing heavier leaks with expert tips on pelvic floor strength and product fit.

Speaker 10 Brought to you by Always Discreet, offering products that can support you in your daily life and providing the comfort and protection you need to feel secure.

Speaker 10 Found at Walgreens, the women's well-being destination, supporting every stage.

Speaker 10 Listen to hear something good on women's health and longevity on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your favorite shows.

Speaker 1 There's a shimmer in the air and it's coming from Shreve and Company. Diamond stud earrings, tiny stars you can wear.
They don't just catch the light, they whisper stories.

Speaker 1 For the woman who lights up your world, give her something that mirrors her brilliance. From little black dresses to blue jeans and bare feet, diamond studs always say the right thing.

Speaker 1 In Stanford Shopping Center, Palo Alto, Shreve and Company, extraordinary jewelry and timepieces.

Speaker 7 Think you know your breaking point? If you're a woman with weak bones due to osteoporosis after menopause, sadly, you may not.

Speaker 7 Women can lose up to 20% of their bone density within five to seven years after menopause, making bones weaker and more likely to break.

Speaker 7 And after the first fracture, we're five times more likely to break another bone within a year. It could happen from a simple slip or just bending to lift a bag of groceries.

Speaker 7 Don't wait for a breaking point. Visit bonebreakingpoint.com to learn about how osteoporosis medications can reduce the risk of fractures.

Speaker 11 Abercrombie is an official fashion partner of the NFL, and I'm pro wide receiver Amin Ross St. Brown.

Speaker 11 The holidays are crazy for me. I don't have time to pick out fits for every event.
That's why Abercromie has me covered this season.

Speaker 11 Whether I'm with my family or the homies, Abercromie's tees and jeans are my go-tos.

Speaker 11 Abercromi has the holiday season lineup. Shop new arrivals in the app, online, and in-store.

Speaker 3 I'm back with my dad's old ambulance partner, Mike.

Speaker 3 I tell him what I know about Ken's mafia past, and he sits there calmly listening. It's mostly me talking, and I can't tell one way or the other if he's heard any of this before.

Speaker 3 He's certainly not telling me if he has.

Speaker 3 How do you feel with me telling you these things about his mob life?

Speaker 8 Well, I'm not surprised. You know, none of it's shocking to me because I, you know, I knew him at the point where he was transitioning.
You know, that's when I first met him, you know, so

Speaker 8 I mean, I knew he was way different than the other people I was working with, you know.

Speaker 8 But I saw all the upside potential of your dad, you know, because he was really good at being a paramedic and a firefighter.

Speaker 3 Amidst all of the awful things that happened in Ken's life, And perhaps maybe even because of it, he threw his entire self into his work as a firefighter.

Speaker 8 He had a passion for it, you know. He was really good at it and he loved doing it.

Speaker 3 I dug up some articles from local papers mentioning Ken's exploits as a first responder.

Speaker 3 One article from 1992 interviews Ken who was fighting for fair pay for his fellow medics.

Speaker 3 And in a sort of twist of fate, another article from the Daily Herald in 1991 mentions Ken as the first firefighter on the scene of a fatal plane crash at DuPage Airport.

Speaker 3 Just a little over a decade after that American Airlines crash that inspired Ken to join the fire department in the first place.

Speaker 8 You could see that he liked it, you know, that he appreciated the fact that he had helped somebody.

Speaker 3 There were many occasions over the years where I got to see him in action. At the station, on ride-alongs, neighborhood events.
I witnessed firsthand the respect of his peers and his chief.

Speaker 3 One of my favorite memories of all time was probably in third or fourth grade when my dad was invited to speak in front of my whole school about fire safety.

Speaker 3 After the speech, there was a Q ⁇ A with the students and one smart ass kid takes the microphone, points at my dad's pants and goes, did you know your fly was open?

Speaker 3 So my dad looks down and sure enough, his zipper has been open this entire time. So he just looks at this kid right in the eye and he goes, I just wanted to make sure you all were paying attention.

Speaker 3 And he zips it back up and the whole place just went nuts. I mean, people were crying laughing, laughing, the kids, the teachers, everyone.

Speaker 3 One of the funniest things I've ever seen.

Speaker 8 The firefighting thing,

Speaker 8 he liked that more than I did. I mean, sure, you know, it's a lot of fun.
It's exciting. You know, there's always the thrill of, are you going to get blown up or not?

Speaker 8 You know, so, I mean, it's kind of an adrenaline rush. kind of thing, but your dad was more, way more into the firefighting thing than I ever was.

Speaker 8 He always wanted to be the first guy in, get there and get his air pack on and get in before anybody else could get in there. You know, he always wanted to be at the front of the line for that.

Speaker 8 I remember a couple times he got hurt at fire scenes.

Speaker 8 And I was just like, geez, settle down, man. You don't have to be the first guy in all the time.
And he was like, I got to get in there.

Speaker 8 He had to be the first guy in, you know, he really wanted that.

Speaker 3 And then, sometime in the late 90s, the guys at the station had just finished their dinner when the alarm bell sounded and a call came through that would forever change Kenny's life and set in motion a disastrous chain of events that would eventually destroy our entire family.

Speaker 8 The scariest call I ever did in my life. We had a fire at a...
It was a grocery store, but it used to be a bowling alley.

Speaker 8 So it had the bowstring truss roof, you know, the arched roof like that and it was very high roof in the place

Speaker 8 so they had to get a 30 foot extension ladder to get up there and this 30 foot banger weighs a ton it's like three guys got to carry it you know and they had one guy healing it and that was your dad and they had this firefighter in full gear and an air pack going up into the scuttle

Speaker 8 and he was a big guy he was probably a 260 pound firefighter And he had 50 pounds of gear in an air pack.

Speaker 8 So 310 pounds you're talking about. And he was all the way up at the tip of the ladder going in the scuttle.
And the ladder kicked out.

Speaker 8 And it fell on your dad. And the firefighter came down.
And he landed right on top of your dad.

Speaker 8 And he is down on the ground. And he looked like shit.
He was gray.

Speaker 8 And I thought, oh my God, he's really hurt hurt bad, you know.

Speaker 8 And it was probably the worst call I've ever done in my life because I was so emotionally invested in the call.

Speaker 8 And everybody's running around and screaming, and people are flying back and forth. And I'm telling them, slow down.
They're like running with the stretcher.

Speaker 8 I didn't want them to dump it over and hurt them again. And so everything got under control.
We got them in the ambulance.

Speaker 8 And

Speaker 8 my partner Joe was on the phone to the hospital and your dad's telling him he started coming around a bit and he says, tell him this, tell him that,

Speaker 3 tell him this.

Speaker 8 And my partner hands the phone to your dad and says, do you want to talk to him or do you want me to talk to him?

Speaker 3 He still bossed everybody around. And your dad goes, no, go ahead.

Speaker 8 That's when I knew he was going to be okay. But it was really scary because I've seen a lot of people look

Speaker 8 like he looked at that time

Speaker 8 that have died on us on the way to the hospital. So it was really scary.
You know,

Speaker 8 the doctor even said that, you know, if he hadn't been in such good physical condition at the time,

Speaker 8 that

Speaker 8 he would have never survived it.

Speaker 3 Fractured my left hand, fractured my right and left knee,

Speaker 3 some damage to my face and skull,

Speaker 3 and had some surgeries,

Speaker 3 got a lot of painkillers. And you know, where the hell have you been my whole life?

Speaker 3 You know, took a really liking to that, took a really liking to painkillers. And then

Speaker 3 that's when I started having problems with my addiction

Speaker 3 was after

Speaker 3 getting those pain pills after those surgeries surgeries

Speaker 3 catalyzed my addiction and then fueled it after that after it got catalyzed

Speaker 3 in the years following the accident the painkillers became a constant companion and as the addiction got worse ken gradually shrank inward and distanced himself from his family and friends he knew he was struggling with stuff but i couldn't tell what

Speaker 8 and i didn't really ask him because i felt like he wasn't going to tell me anyway you know he likes to play his cards very close to the chest when it comes to his personal life and feelings and what he's going through.

Speaker 3 When the pills stopped being enough to satisfy his addiction, he turned to heroin, which isn't as easy to hide. You would look at his arms.
They were clear as day.

Speaker 3 You could see the veins from his fucking...

Speaker 3 His inner elbow all the way down to his wrist and following up towards his shoulder. They were just gross.
You knew something was up, you know?

Speaker 3 It's fucking horrible.

Speaker 10 Here's something good on women's health and longevity, a new podcast on iHeart. Join us for groundbreaking conversations with renowned medical experts.

Speaker 10 They'll share the latest breakthroughs, the good news about women's health, and the simple steps women can take to help them live healthier and happier happier every day.

Speaker 10 Be sure to listen to our episode, Pelvic Power, Strengthening Your Weight to Better Bladder Health, where we dive into the unique physical, emotional, and social challenges associated with heavy bladder leaks.

Speaker 10 This episode provides supportive guidance for managing heavier leaks with expert tips on pelvic floor strength and product fit.

Speaker 10 Brought to you by Always Discreet, offering products that can support you in your daily life and providing the comfort and protection you need to feel secure.

Speaker 10 Found at Walgreens, the women's well-being destination, supporting every stage.

Speaker 10 Listen to hear something good on women's health and longevity on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your favorite shows.

Speaker 1 She is your once-in-a-lifetime. The quiet in your chaos, the warmth in your winter, the light you never saw coming.

Speaker 1 And deep within the earth, where time and fire do their slow, sacred work, a diamond is born.

Speaker 1 It shines like she does brilliant rare unforgettable when words fall short let a diamond speak for you treve and company extraordinary jewelry and timepieces stanford shopping center palo alto

Speaker 7 think you know your breaking point if you're a woman with weak bones due to osteoporosis after menopause sadly you may not women can lose up to 20 of their bone density within five to seven years after menopause making bones weaker and more likely to break and after the first fracture we're five times more likely to break another bone within a year.

Speaker 7 It could happen from a simple slip or just bending to lift a bag of groceries. Don't wait for a breaking point.

Speaker 7 Visit bonebreakingpoint.com to learn about how osteoporosis medications can reduce the risk of fractures.

Speaker 3 I'm T.

Speaker 12 Higgins, pro wide receiver, and Abercrombie is an official fashion partner at the NFL. The holidays are crazy for me.
I don't have time to pick out fits for every event.

Speaker 12 That's why Abercrombie has me covered this season. Whether I'm with my family or the homies, Abercrombie Tees and Jeans are my go-tos.

Speaker 12 Abercrombie has a holiday season lineup. Shop new arrivals in the app, online, and in-store.

Speaker 3 I don't need to rehash the pain we all went through during this period of self-destruction.

Speaker 3 But as the years went on and the family fell apart, Holly, Corey, and myself eventually separated ourselves from Ken physically and and emotionally.

Speaker 3 After all the pain and abuse, what else could we do? I had been estranged from him for nearly five years when he finally reached out to me for help in 2013 and I checked him into rehab in California.

Speaker 3 And I always wondered, why now?

Speaker 3 What change had occurred to make him suddenly surrender himself to getting clean?

Speaker 3 I think Ken's brother Rich may have the answer. Right before he moved out to California,

Speaker 3 he called me up and we were talking and

Speaker 2 I just knew it.

Speaker 3 You know, I don't want to call it the twin thing because we never had that.

Speaker 3 But he, there was something about

Speaker 3 his tone, something.

Speaker 3 And I left work

Speaker 3 and I went to the apartment and I walked in. And he was sitting there in a chair.
And that pistol was sitting right next to him. And I looked at him and I said, what are you doing?

Speaker 3 I don't remember the response,

Speaker 3 but I said, you should probably give me that.

Speaker 3 And he said, I think you're right.

Speaker 3 So, as far as I'm concerned, I saved his life because he was in a really bad place.

Speaker 3 Over the last 10 years, as my dad sobered up and embarked on the long, painful path to healing, He began to open up to me for the first time.

Speaker 3 And even though the truth is so much more fucked up than I could have ever imagined, I'm thankful for this opportunity to finally see the man I call father for who he really is.

Speaker 3 And I just hope to God I get forgiven for this.

Speaker 3 I just hope he can forgive me. I really do.

Speaker 3 Because I think about it all the time, man. I regret every second of it.

Speaker 3 Be careful with choices, people.

Speaker 3 Be careful with the choices you make.

Speaker 3 They can come back and haunt your lifetime.

Speaker 3 Throughout this entire process, I have been constantly shocked about how I can still be constantly shocked.

Speaker 3 Whenever I learn some new awful truth about the world my dad lived in, my first reaction is, how is that even possible?

Speaker 3 But then a second, even more powerful reality hits me, that I have been completely sheltered from the evil that plagued my dad's entire existence.

Speaker 3 If his goal was to keep this world away from us, then he succeeded. And despite everything else, I'm grateful to him for that much.

Speaker 3 I also want to express my deep gratitude to the people featured in this story who were so gracious and brave to open themselves up to me during these difficult interviews.

Speaker 3 To my amazing mom for her strength and perseverance during these last 20 years as she watched her life crumble around her.

Speaker 3 To my best friend and my brother Corey, who still carries the weight of our father's abuse.

Speaker 3 To my Uncle Rich for crawling back into his painful past and shedding some light on their own abusive childhood. And, of course, for saving my dad's life that day in 2013.

Speaker 3 To Jeff Cohn of the Chicago Tribune for for sharing his unmatched expertise on all things mafia.

Speaker 3 And finally, to my dad's old buddy Mike, who also wanted to share some words of gratitude.

Speaker 8 He changed my life just being friends with him. He helped me stand up for myself and be more assertive in my life and changed my life, you know, forever.

Speaker 8 And when I was going into treatment center

Speaker 8 and I was struggling, I went and sat and talked to your dad, and he probably doesn't even remember it.

Speaker 3 It really

Speaker 8 helped me get on the path I needed to be on.

Speaker 8 You know, he really steered me in the right direction, which is kind of funny because he was probably messed up at the time himself, you know, but put me on the path for my recovery.

Speaker 8 I wish he understood how important that he is to me. I'm basically here because of him, him, but he doesn't probably realize that.

Speaker 3 So, where does that leave us now?

Speaker 3 Who the hell knows? I suppose it depends on who you ask.

Speaker 3 My brother Corey and my uncle Rich have already made up their minds.

Speaker 4 With everything

Speaker 3 in consideration,

Speaker 3 I just, I can't,

Speaker 3 you know, be the better man and forgive and forget. I just can't do it because there's just too many things for too long.

Speaker 3 You know, just can't do it. My mom has a similar take, but focuses on the good.

Speaker 9 I have many videotapes to look back on on the happy times.

Speaker 3 I don't have any tapes of the horrible times.

Speaker 9 Thanks, Mom. Which makes me happy.

Speaker 3 For me, I've come to peace with the past.

Speaker 3 It has tempered me, made me stronger.

Speaker 3 I am not ashamed of it. I do not run from it.
I look it right in the eyes and embrace it, learn from it, share it with the world.

Speaker 3 And one day, when he's old enough, I will share it with my son. And he will know how far we have come together in spite of it.

Speaker 3 That is the real legacy of my father. And that is what I will choose to remember.
remember.

Speaker 3 Crook County is a production of iHeart podcasts and Tenderfoot TV in association with Common Enemy. All episodes are produced, written, and hosted by me, Kyle Tequila.

Speaker 3 Executive producers are Donald Albright and Payne Lindsay. Original score by Makeup and Vanity Set.
Main title song is called Crush by the band Starry Eyes.

Speaker 3 End credit song is called Dying Islands, also by the band Starry Eyes. Sound mix by Cooper Skinner.

Speaker 3 For more podcasts like Crook County, Search Tenderfoot TV on your favorite podcast app or visit tenderfoot.tv. Thanks for listening to season one of Crook County.

Speaker 3 It's been an honor to share this story with you. But don't worry, there's more to come.

Speaker 3 Dying islands fade away.

Speaker 3 Leaving me alone at sea,

Speaker 3 my

Speaker 3 heart's gathered to the shore.

Speaker 3 The deepest blues are calling.

Speaker 3 The deepest blues

Speaker 3 are calling me.

Speaker 3 The stars are cold tonight,

Speaker 3 indifferent to everyone.

Speaker 3 And even now, I can't believe

Speaker 3 just how easy it was to do all the things I've done.

Speaker 3 I lay awake at night

Speaker 3 trying to slay these guts in the mud spottes that nobody knows.

Speaker 3 I kill enemies

Speaker 3 alone.

Speaker 3 Dying islands fade away.

Speaker 3 You leaving me alone at sea.

Speaker 3 My heart's tagged to the shore.

Speaker 3 The deepest blues are calling.

Speaker 3 Just let me go, they're calling.

Speaker 3 The deepest blues are calling me.

Speaker 3 All

Speaker 3 the name

Speaker 3 to the stars along

Speaker 3 the way

Speaker 3 now,

Speaker 3 but only

Speaker 3 and it burns

Speaker 3 out

Speaker 3 I

Speaker 3 spare

Speaker 3 away

Speaker 3 Die

Speaker 3 I once favored away

Speaker 2 This is Matt Rogers from Lost Culture East. That's with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang.
Get ready for your next TV obsession, All's Fair.

Speaker 2 Starring Kim Kardashian, Naomi Watts, Nisi Nash Betts, Tayana Taylor, with Sarah Paulson, and Glenn Close. A team of fierce female divorce attorneys leave a male-dominated firm to start their own.

Speaker 2 Filled with scandalous secrets and shifting allegiances both in the courtroom and within their own ranks, these ladies know that lawyers are a girl's best friend.

Speaker 2 Don't miss All's Fair, now streaming on Hulu and Hulu on Disney Plus for bundle subscribers. Terms apply.
This is Matt Rogers from Lost Culture East. with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang.

Speaker 2 This is Bowen Yang from Lost Culture East with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang. Hey, Bowen, it's gift season.

Speaker 2 Stressing me out. Why are the people I love so hard to shop for? Probably because they only make boring gift guides that are totally uninspired.
Except for the guide we made.

Speaker 2 In partnership with Marshalls, where premium gifts meet incredible value, it's giving gifts. With categories like best gifts for the mom whose idea of a sensible walking shoe is a stiletto.

Speaker 2 Or best gifts for me that were so thoughtful I really shouldn't have. Check out the guide on marshalls.com and gift the good stuff at marshalls.

Speaker 13 When you need a break, skip the scrolling. Visit myprize.us.
The games are super exciting and you can actually win. Myprize.us is the most fun, free-to-play social casino around.

Speaker 13 Everyone deserves to win big. All the slots and table games you love with incredible bonuses.
Sign up today for an incredible welcome package.

Speaker 3 Myprize.us is a free-to-play social casino. Users must be 18 or older to play.
Voidwear prohibited by law. Visit myprize.us for more details.

Speaker 13 When you need a break, make it memorable. Visit myprize.us.
Real prizes, real winners, real easy.

Speaker 5 Delta Airlines just turned 100 and is already shaping the next century of flight with the Delta Sustainable Skies Lab. Here, they're building the future of flight.

Speaker 5 Think electric air taxis and next-gen aircraft aiming to cut fuel burn significantly. And this isn't just future talk.

Speaker 5 Today, their fleet of Boeing 737s have marine-like finlets designed to reshape reshape airflow that reduces drag. The future of travel is more sustainable, and Delta's leading the way.

Speaker 5 Learn more at delta.com/slash sustainability.

Speaker 1 This is an iHeart podcast.