1 00:00:15,316 --> 00:00:27,516 Speaker 1: Pushkin. Previously on deep cover, Ned Timmins was finally getting somewhere. 2 00:00:28,036 --> 00:00:30,836 Speaker 1: His big breakthrough came in the spring of nineteen eighty five, 3 00:00:31,156 --> 00:00:34,956 Speaker 1: when Clinton shined Anderson flipped. Shine was in charge of 4 00:00:35,036 --> 00:00:38,876 Speaker 1: vetting everyone in this smuggling network. I know it was 5 00:00:38,916 --> 00:00:43,276 Speaker 1: a massive operation, and I knew that we had the 6 00:00:43,356 --> 00:00:46,556 Speaker 1: key to the safety deposit box to open it all up. 7 00:00:48,316 --> 00:00:51,116 Speaker 1: Shine pointed Ned to a spot on the North Carolina 8 00:00:51,196 --> 00:00:54,596 Speaker 1: coast where he said his bosses had smuggled marijuana into 9 00:00:54,636 --> 00:00:57,716 Speaker 1: the country. So Ned picked up the phone and called 10 00:00:57,756 --> 00:01:01,356 Speaker 1: the FBI down in Wilmington, North Carolina, asked them if 11 00:01:01,356 --> 00:01:03,916 Speaker 1: they have any intel on drug smugglers who were using 12 00:01:03,956 --> 00:01:07,756 Speaker 1: shrimp boats. They tell them, yeah, actually we had this 13 00:01:07,836 --> 00:01:11,756 Speaker 1: one case in particular involving an abandoned drug boat, a 14 00:01:11,836 --> 00:01:18,236 Speaker 1: ghost ship. Ned quickly begins to realize that so many 15 00:01:18,276 --> 00:01:21,836 Speaker 1: of the answers he's seeking about the ghost ship, the smugglers, 16 00:01:21,876 --> 00:01:26,676 Speaker 1: their system are right in Beaufort, North Carolina, perfectly camouflaged 17 00:01:26,996 --> 00:01:30,716 Speaker 1: in the underbrush. Well, we're heading out of Beaufort right now. 18 00:01:31,276 --> 00:01:35,156 Speaker 1: We're actually going Highway seventy east. It's about a twenty 19 00:01:35,156 --> 00:01:39,636 Speaker 1: minute ride to Back Creek, twenty minute ride, so yeah, 20 00:01:39,716 --> 00:01:41,396 Speaker 1: you'll get to see a little bit of the country. 21 00:01:41,916 --> 00:01:45,716 Speaker 1: That's Carl Cannon Jr. He's a big, strapping guy with 22 00:01:45,756 --> 00:01:51,316 Speaker 1: this epic beard. The word swashbuckling suits him well. Carl's 23 00:01:51,356 --> 00:01:54,236 Speaker 1: a local guy, born in Bred and Beaufort. He's showing 24 00:01:54,276 --> 00:01:56,796 Speaker 1: me around the area. Now, if you can picture a 25 00:01:56,876 --> 00:02:00,116 Speaker 1: map in the United States, We're on this little marshy 26 00:02:00,276 --> 00:02:03,276 Speaker 1: spit of land that sticks out from North Carolina into 27 00:02:03,316 --> 00:02:06,796 Speaker 1: the Atlantic Ocean. This whole area is just a tangle 28 00:02:06,836 --> 00:02:11,636 Speaker 1: of overlapping inlets and waterways, a giant aquatic maze. Really, 29 00:02:12,596 --> 00:02:14,676 Speaker 1: this is where Ned and Shine came back in the 30 00:02:14,756 --> 00:02:17,476 Speaker 1: nineteen eighties. It was just one of many trips they 31 00:02:17,516 --> 00:02:21,356 Speaker 1: took together across the country to gather evidence. I went 32 00:02:21,396 --> 00:02:25,196 Speaker 1: down to Beaufort to retrace their steps. So as you 33 00:02:25,196 --> 00:02:28,516 Speaker 1: can tell, like I say, the stuff's getting dense. You 34 00:02:28,556 --> 00:02:30,876 Speaker 1: see all these little canals that come up in these 35 00:02:30,916 --> 00:02:35,276 Speaker 1: little areas. This is North River to our right. We're 36 00:02:35,276 --> 00:02:38,396 Speaker 1: headed to Back Creek, to the very spot where the 37 00:02:38,436 --> 00:02:41,556 Speaker 1: ghost ship was supposed to unload its cargo if everything 38 00:02:41,596 --> 00:02:44,076 Speaker 1: had gone according to plan. You know, as you can 39 00:02:44,116 --> 00:02:46,876 Speaker 1: see now, the trees are starting to thick end, which 40 00:02:46,916 --> 00:02:49,276 Speaker 1: is pretty typical for most of our country roads and areas, 41 00:02:49,436 --> 00:02:52,156 Speaker 1: you know, in land and coastal. You're basically going to 42 00:02:52,236 --> 00:02:56,316 Speaker 1: cross several places that are basically wide open either swamps 43 00:02:56,476 --> 00:03:00,836 Speaker 1: or wooded swamps, much like you have in Everglades. The 44 00:03:00,956 --> 00:03:04,436 Speaker 1: little road that we're driving on, it eventually ends at 45 00:03:04,436 --> 00:03:15,516 Speaker 1: the water's edge. I take this a baby eagle. It 46 00:03:15,596 --> 00:03:18,276 Speaker 1: sounds like it. Carl and I get out and walk 47 00:03:18,316 --> 00:03:21,316 Speaker 1: along the shore for a bit. The vegetation is dense, 48 00:03:21,716 --> 00:03:25,356 Speaker 1: insanely thick. Carl starts pointing down the shore at what 49 00:03:25,436 --> 00:03:29,156 Speaker 1: looks like just another clump of overgrown bushes. They would 50 00:03:29,156 --> 00:03:32,236 Speaker 1: have come up through the canal, which is the darker 51 00:03:32,276 --> 00:03:34,356 Speaker 1: set of trees. You can't see the entrance because it 52 00:03:34,476 --> 00:03:36,836 Speaker 1: kind of disappears. I can't. I can't see it at 53 00:03:36,876 --> 00:03:39,036 Speaker 1: all from here. No, it's just I can tell by 54 00:03:39,076 --> 00:03:41,196 Speaker 1: the line of the woods where it's at, where the 55 00:03:41,276 --> 00:03:43,196 Speaker 1: opening is. But you can if you kind of see 56 00:03:43,196 --> 00:03:46,036 Speaker 1: a drop and then another drop, that drop is where 57 00:03:46,036 --> 00:03:49,916 Speaker 1: that creak is. As they looked out on this vast, 58 00:03:50,116 --> 00:03:55,076 Speaker 1: watery expanse, I started to get it, started to see it. Here. 59 00:03:55,116 --> 00:03:57,476 Speaker 1: You had a spot with enough boat traffic that a 60 00:03:57,516 --> 00:04:00,916 Speaker 1: decent sized ship would not attract attention. But then you 61 00:04:00,996 --> 00:04:03,916 Speaker 1: also had a maze of coves and inlets where that 62 00:04:03,996 --> 00:04:09,076 Speaker 1: same boat could suddenly disappear. It was perfectly concealed, invisible. 63 00:04:09,196 --> 00:04:18,436 Speaker 1: Really clearly someone knew what they were doing. I'm Jake 64 00:04:18,476 --> 00:04:25,636 Speaker 1: Albert and this is Deep Cover, Episode four, The Gentleman Smuggler. 65 00:04:52,596 --> 00:04:54,796 Speaker 1: There are a few things to know about my local 66 00:04:54,836 --> 00:04:59,316 Speaker 1: guide Carl. First off, he has a not so secret identity. 67 00:04:59,716 --> 00:05:04,916 Speaker 1: We name be Captain Carl Cannon Junior, I portrayed Blackbeard. Yep, 68 00:05:05,436 --> 00:05:09,396 Speaker 1: Carl is a pirate reinactor. Fiddler's Green is a please 69 00:05:09,476 --> 00:05:13,316 Speaker 1: I've heard too well. Pirus good when they don't go 70 00:05:13,476 --> 00:05:16,556 Speaker 1: to hell with the girls who are all pretty, and 71 00:05:16,596 --> 00:05:20,316 Speaker 1: the beer is all free and there's bottles over him 72 00:05:20,516 --> 00:05:28,196 Speaker 1: hanging from every tree. Wrap me up in the Carl 73 00:05:28,276 --> 00:05:32,196 Speaker 1: volunteers at the local museum. He became Blackbeard because he 74 00:05:32,316 --> 00:05:36,836 Speaker 1: had the one major job requirement. His beard he was 75 00:05:36,996 --> 00:05:40,036 Speaker 1: born kind of dangling down his chest. He was already 76 00:05:40,036 --> 00:05:42,836 Speaker 1: braiding it too. People would tell him, hey, you look 77 00:05:42,876 --> 00:05:48,956 Speaker 1: like Blackbeard. And then came the job opening. Because the 78 00:05:48,996 --> 00:05:53,996 Speaker 1: former black Beard kind of might have a fall from grace, 79 00:05:54,036 --> 00:05:56,596 Speaker 1: so to speak, and he was dismissed by the museum 80 00:05:57,036 --> 00:05:59,516 Speaker 1: fall from grace. What do you mean he was doing 81 00:05:59,556 --> 00:06:04,876 Speaker 1: some things that wasn't thought to be quite family friendly appropriate. 82 00:06:05,316 --> 00:06:07,436 Speaker 1: You might say that he was had a side job 83 00:06:07,476 --> 00:06:12,796 Speaker 1: that he was performing as Blackbeard and a funny kind 84 00:06:12,796 --> 00:06:22,276 Speaker 1: of you adult manner. He was doing adult parties. Carl 85 00:06:22,396 --> 00:06:25,276 Speaker 1: is kind of the mascot at Beaufort, North Carolina, because 86 00:06:25,356 --> 00:06:28,996 Speaker 1: the place now sells itself as Pirate Town, USA, and 87 00:06:29,156 --> 00:06:31,876 Speaker 1: every other storefront you'll see a skull and crossbones the 88 00:06:31,956 --> 00:06:35,996 Speaker 1: Jolly Roger flag. But Carl is not just some random reenactor. 89 00:06:36,476 --> 00:06:39,476 Speaker 1: His family has lived here for generations, and he says 90 00:06:39,476 --> 00:06:42,916 Speaker 1: that the ghost ship wound up here precisely because of 91 00:06:42,956 --> 00:06:46,476 Speaker 1: this pirate legacy, and these pirates they tended to come 92 00:06:46,476 --> 00:06:49,156 Speaker 1: and go depending on the boom and bus cycle of 93 00:06:49,196 --> 00:06:53,916 Speaker 1: a local fishing economy. Carl remembers how after a few 94 00:06:53,956 --> 00:06:57,436 Speaker 1: bad shrimp seasons, some fresh faces showed up in town. 95 00:06:58,436 --> 00:07:03,676 Speaker 1: Some of the drug cartel folks came in and just 96 00:07:03,796 --> 00:07:06,436 Speaker 1: gently started asking questions around some of the fish market 97 00:07:06,436 --> 00:07:09,596 Speaker 1: and boat owners, and then encouraged them to get their 98 00:07:09,596 --> 00:07:12,876 Speaker 1: friends to come together and basically they'd presented to them 99 00:07:12,996 --> 00:07:16,716 Speaker 1: around town. They had secret meetings. It was all word 100 00:07:16,716 --> 00:07:21,076 Speaker 1: of mouth. My dad was made an offer the same way. 101 00:07:21,596 --> 00:07:23,196 Speaker 1: One of his friends came to him and he said, 102 00:07:23,196 --> 00:07:25,556 Speaker 1: I've got a deal for you. Dad had bought a 103 00:07:25,596 --> 00:07:29,276 Speaker 1: boat in seventy four, had mostly paid it off, but 104 00:07:29,876 --> 00:07:32,276 Speaker 1: as all commercial fishermen find out, hards a couple of 105 00:07:32,316 --> 00:07:35,316 Speaker 1: hard seasons, you need a new engine, or something happens. 106 00:07:35,836 --> 00:07:37,796 Speaker 1: They offered my dad if he would come make a 107 00:07:37,836 --> 00:07:40,436 Speaker 1: certain amount of runs for him, run out and meet 108 00:07:40,436 --> 00:07:42,876 Speaker 1: a mothership, come back and go up into the base 109 00:07:42,916 --> 00:07:47,916 Speaker 1: and unload away from pride and eyes. Carl says his dad. 110 00:07:48,156 --> 00:07:50,476 Speaker 1: He never went to any of these meetings, never took 111 00:07:50,516 --> 00:07:54,876 Speaker 1: the offer, but a lot of people that Carl knew, did, So, 112 00:07:54,996 --> 00:07:57,156 Speaker 1: you know, the temptation was there, and they knew, and 113 00:07:57,316 --> 00:07:59,276 Speaker 1: they knew the temptation was there that they could offer 114 00:07:59,316 --> 00:08:02,636 Speaker 1: to pay someone's boat off. You know, when three much 115 00:08:02,716 --> 00:08:05,196 Speaker 1: your boats paid for and you'll never see us again. 116 00:08:06,076 --> 00:08:09,716 Speaker 1: So this is pirate Town, USA, a place where pirates 117 00:08:09,716 --> 00:08:13,476 Speaker 1: and smugglers had been plying their trade for well centuries. 118 00:08:13,996 --> 00:08:16,916 Speaker 1: And this only made me wonder more what exactly went 119 00:08:16,996 --> 00:08:20,076 Speaker 1: wrong with the ghost ship if these smugglers were such 120 00:08:20,196 --> 00:08:24,356 Speaker 1: probs and this setting was so perfect, what the hell happened? 121 00:08:24,996 --> 00:08:27,876 Speaker 1: Why was the ship abandoned the twenty nine thousand pounds 122 00:08:27,876 --> 00:08:35,316 Speaker 1: of drugs in the hold? To find out, I visited 123 00:08:35,396 --> 00:08:38,276 Speaker 1: Doug McCullough, who at the time was the first assistant 124 00:08:38,396 --> 00:08:41,636 Speaker 1: US Attorney in the Eastern District of North Carolina. He 125 00:08:41,716 --> 00:08:44,196 Speaker 1: still lives in Beaufort. We met down at the harbor 126 00:08:44,396 --> 00:08:47,316 Speaker 1: just as the storm was coming in. Some wind up here. 127 00:08:47,316 --> 00:08:49,236 Speaker 1: It looks like there's some weather coming in here. So 128 00:08:49,476 --> 00:08:53,756 Speaker 1: where are we? We're standing in Beaufort, downtown Beaufort. Doug 129 00:08:53,796 --> 00:08:56,516 Speaker 1: points out to the spot where the ghost ship first 130 00:08:56,516 --> 00:08:59,556 Speaker 1: appeared on the horizon as it was coming in from sea, 131 00:09:00,196 --> 00:09:03,596 Speaker 1: and there was another boat with it too, a small skiff, 132 00:09:03,676 --> 00:09:06,556 Speaker 1: almost like a guide boat, leading it in. They came 133 00:09:06,596 --> 00:09:10,116 Speaker 1: through this narrow passageway known as Beaufort Inlet, and Doug 134 00:09:10,196 --> 00:09:12,076 Speaker 1: kind of points it out to me in the distance. 135 00:09:12,836 --> 00:09:15,316 Speaker 1: And there's something else that Doug wants to show me. 136 00:09:15,796 --> 00:09:19,356 Speaker 1: As you and I look out, there's an island right 137 00:09:19,356 --> 00:09:21,116 Speaker 1: in front of us. And then over the top of 138 00:09:21,116 --> 00:09:22,956 Speaker 1: that island you can see a big flagpole with the 139 00:09:22,956 --> 00:09:27,276 Speaker 1: American flag and that's at the US Coastguard station. That 140 00:09:27,436 --> 00:09:30,396 Speaker 1: station was here back in eighty two. In fact, that night, 141 00:09:30,676 --> 00:09:34,596 Speaker 1: two coastguardmen known as coasts noticed the shrimper and the 142 00:09:34,636 --> 00:09:38,276 Speaker 1: little guideboat coming in through the inlet, and both vessels 143 00:09:38,276 --> 00:09:40,996 Speaker 1: appeared to be drifting out of the channel. They were 144 00:09:41,036 --> 00:09:43,956 Speaker 1: just a bit off course, so the coasts went out 145 00:09:43,996 --> 00:09:47,196 Speaker 1: to investigate. First, they pull up alongside the little guide 146 00:09:47,236 --> 00:09:50,076 Speaker 1: boat and in it they see someone who is clearly 147 00:09:50,436 --> 00:09:57,196 Speaker 1: not a fisherman. He was dressed for a disco. This 148 00:09:57,316 --> 00:10:00,916 Speaker 1: is the eighties member Saturday Night fever, flared pants. He 149 00:10:00,996 --> 00:10:02,916 Speaker 1: had a shirt that was a silk and it was 150 00:10:02,956 --> 00:10:07,036 Speaker 1: open to his sternham. He had gold chains, he had 151 00:10:07,036 --> 00:10:11,156 Speaker 1: the stacked heel shoes, and all these items you don't 152 00:10:11,156 --> 00:10:14,436 Speaker 1: wear on an open boat in carter At County. The 153 00:10:14,516 --> 00:10:18,396 Speaker 1: coasties knew something wasn't right. Eventually they decided they want 154 00:10:18,396 --> 00:10:20,996 Speaker 1: to check out the shrimp boat too. It had since 155 00:10:21,036 --> 00:10:24,476 Speaker 1: pulled up alongside and nearby fuel dock. So one of 156 00:10:24,516 --> 00:10:27,236 Speaker 1: the coast's boards of the shrimp boat and makes a 157 00:10:27,356 --> 00:10:29,996 Speaker 1: move to go down below deck. He said he was 158 00:10:30,036 --> 00:10:32,316 Speaker 1: going to inspect the hold, and that's when heard a 159 00:10:32,316 --> 00:10:36,196 Speaker 1: shotgun rack around makes a very distinctive chunk sound, and 160 00:10:36,236 --> 00:10:38,956 Speaker 1: anybody's ever been around a gun has heard that sound 161 00:10:38,996 --> 00:10:42,076 Speaker 1: would recognize it immediately the coast. He's back away and 162 00:10:42,116 --> 00:10:44,716 Speaker 1: go to get help. A short while later, the police 163 00:10:44,716 --> 00:10:47,996 Speaker 1: show up. The shrimp boat's still there, but its crew 164 00:10:48,076 --> 00:10:52,876 Speaker 1: has fled. From the outside it was it had its nets, 165 00:10:52,916 --> 00:10:56,596 Speaker 1: and it had the boom and the other accouterments that 166 00:10:56,636 --> 00:10:59,356 Speaker 1: you would expect on a shrimper. It's only when you 167 00:10:59,396 --> 00:11:03,156 Speaker 1: got inside that you saw things that didn't match. All 168 00:11:03,156 --> 00:11:07,156 Speaker 1: that remained was the cargo twenty nine thousand pounds of pot. 169 00:11:11,116 --> 00:11:13,996 Speaker 1: They had a few early leads names that turned out 170 00:11:13,996 --> 00:11:17,516 Speaker 1: to be bogus, all dead ends. The story made headlines 171 00:11:17,796 --> 00:11:20,796 Speaker 1: in part because the FEDS had almost nothing on the 172 00:11:20,836 --> 00:11:25,396 Speaker 1: ship except that it was there. What was like a 173 00:11:25,476 --> 00:11:28,156 Speaker 1: ghost was the fact that we didn't get any people 174 00:11:28,356 --> 00:11:31,116 Speaker 1: at that time. You know, everybody got away. It was 175 00:11:31,156 --> 00:11:34,276 Speaker 1: a very frustrating investigation because case just sat on the 176 00:11:34,316 --> 00:11:38,316 Speaker 1: shelf for almost three years. All the law enforcement agencies 177 00:11:38,356 --> 00:11:40,596 Speaker 1: just kind of moved on, and we were all just 178 00:11:41,036 --> 00:11:45,276 Speaker 1: in a state of waiting until Ned Timmans contacted the 179 00:11:45,356 --> 00:11:48,796 Speaker 1: nearest FBI office to Wilmington, and he says, I've got 180 00:11:48,796 --> 00:11:53,556 Speaker 1: the witness you're going to need, and that witness was Shine. 181 00:11:55,516 --> 00:11:57,196 Speaker 1: If we had to turn one person, this is the 182 00:11:57,196 --> 00:12:00,796 Speaker 1: guy we wanted. So after Ned calls down to the 183 00:12:00,836 --> 00:12:04,156 Speaker 1: Wilmington office, Ned and Shine make their trip down to 184 00:12:04,196 --> 00:12:07,916 Speaker 1: North Carolina. They meet with Doug McCullough. But that's not all. 185 00:12:08,316 --> 00:12:11,316 Speaker 1: Shine also take Ned on a little swamp tour to 186 00:12:11,396 --> 00:12:14,876 Speaker 1: a hidden cabin that the smugglers used. They just laughed 187 00:12:14,876 --> 00:12:18,196 Speaker 1: at They all still mattresses all over and coffee and 188 00:12:18,916 --> 00:12:22,076 Speaker 1: stale food, and they just got the hell out of there. 189 00:12:22,076 --> 00:12:25,116 Speaker 1: And whoever owned the cabin never came back either. So 190 00:12:25,156 --> 00:12:29,116 Speaker 1: far Shine's story was checking out, and Ned was slowly 191 00:12:29,196 --> 00:12:32,276 Speaker 1: building his case. We're out in the swamp, were identifying 192 00:12:32,276 --> 00:12:35,316 Speaker 1: where they stayed, where they rented cars, the hotels, they 193 00:12:35,316 --> 00:12:40,956 Speaker 1: stayed in, motels, any tracks that we can establish evidence 194 00:12:41,116 --> 00:12:46,236 Speaker 1: that these specific people were there. Shine explains that everything, 195 00:12:46,756 --> 00:12:51,276 Speaker 1: every last detail was orchestrated by the syndicates. Master smuggler, 196 00:12:51,596 --> 00:12:59,716 Speaker 1: a guy who went by the name Skip. He says, 197 00:12:59,756 --> 00:13:03,236 Speaker 1: this Skip character, he was so sure of himself that 198 00:13:03,356 --> 00:13:06,636 Speaker 1: just six months after the ghost ship was captured, he 199 00:13:06,796 --> 00:13:11,876 Speaker 1: tried it again. Dare to pull off the exact same operation, 200 00:13:12,396 --> 00:13:16,836 Speaker 1: same route, same offloading site, used another shrimp boat, only 201 00:13:16,916 --> 00:13:22,076 Speaker 1: bigger this time, and it worked basically. Shine explains, while 202 00:13:22,116 --> 00:13:24,556 Speaker 1: you guys were scratching your heads over the mystery of 203 00:13:24,556 --> 00:13:27,836 Speaker 1: the ghost ship, we doubled down and slipped another shipment 204 00:13:28,076 --> 00:13:32,956 Speaker 1: right under your noses. Skip was so confident of his system, 205 00:13:32,996 --> 00:13:35,556 Speaker 1: of the camouflage that he had created, that he was 206 00:13:35,716 --> 00:13:38,956 Speaker 1: unfazed by the loss of a single ship. So not 207 00:13:38,996 --> 00:13:42,756 Speaker 1: a fiasco, but a tiny glitch in the system. They'd 208 00:13:42,756 --> 00:13:44,996 Speaker 1: steered a bad course into the harbor and had led 209 00:13:44,996 --> 00:13:47,356 Speaker 1: a guy on board who shouldn't have been there. Remember 210 00:13:47,356 --> 00:13:50,556 Speaker 1: the guy in the disco outfit. Yeah, him. It's a 211 00:13:50,596 --> 00:13:55,076 Speaker 1: mistake they wouldn't make again, because Skip, he was a perfectionist. 212 00:13:56,236 --> 00:14:00,156 Speaker 1: Coming up after the break, I tracked down the legendary's Skip. 213 00:14:00,596 --> 00:14:04,236 Speaker 1: Turns out his real name is Stephen Kalish, and he 214 00:14:04,316 --> 00:14:21,956 Speaker 1: lives in a beautiful mansion in Hawaii. So I'm in 215 00:14:21,996 --> 00:14:25,596 Speaker 1: my rental car heading out to the house of Stephen Kaylish, who, 216 00:14:25,676 --> 00:14:28,836 Speaker 1: back in the eighties was a master smuggler, the guy 217 00:14:28,916 --> 00:14:31,876 Speaker 1: sneaking in tons and tons of marijuana into the US. 218 00:14:33,276 --> 00:14:39,956 Speaker 1: Looking for a big house with a red roof. Oh wow, 219 00:14:40,876 --> 00:14:43,716 Speaker 1: that's gotta be it. That's beautiful. That is a big 220 00:14:43,756 --> 00:14:48,076 Speaker 1: house with a red roof. Eventually, I pull into this 221 00:14:48,276 --> 00:14:50,876 Speaker 1: big gate, you know, one of those imposing things with 222 00:14:50,996 --> 00:14:53,876 Speaker 1: a keypad on the side. So I punch in the 223 00:14:53,916 --> 00:15:05,276 Speaker 1: code that Stephen texted me and there goes Kate is opening. Okay, 224 00:15:05,356 --> 00:15:09,636 Speaker 1: the Kingdom has opened. I pull up to the house. 225 00:15:09,996 --> 00:15:12,956 Speaker 1: It's this mansion with a perfect view of the Pacific. 226 00:15:13,436 --> 00:15:16,196 Speaker 1: I mean, imagine the last scene in the Hollywood movie 227 00:15:16,236 --> 00:15:20,316 Speaker 1: where the hero lands. Well, very well, this is the place. 228 00:15:20,876 --> 00:15:23,356 Speaker 1: So get out of the car and I see him 229 00:15:23,676 --> 00:15:32,596 Speaker 1: skip aka Stephen kaylish him to see you, and I 230 00:15:32,676 --> 00:15:36,156 Speaker 1: gotta tell you at sixty seven, he's this really handsome 231 00:15:36,196 --> 00:15:39,196 Speaker 1: guy with a perfect tan and a ponytail and a 232 00:15:39,196 --> 00:15:42,636 Speaker 1: trim muscular physique. And almost right away he takes me 233 00:15:42,676 --> 00:15:45,356 Speaker 1: to the stables on his estate because well he's got 234 00:15:45,356 --> 00:15:53,236 Speaker 1: to feed his horses. RB nice. Stephen starts preparing their meal, 235 00:15:53,436 --> 00:15:58,996 Speaker 1: which starts off simply enough, so let's just facene for 236 00:15:59,116 --> 00:16:04,796 Speaker 1: their coach. Now. I don't know if you've ever seen 237 00:16:04,876 --> 00:16:07,836 Speaker 1: someone feed horses, but I can promise you that's not 238 00:16:07,916 --> 00:16:11,196 Speaker 1: what's going on here. I see Stephen mix at least 239 00:16:11,236 --> 00:16:15,636 Speaker 1: half a dozen different pretty obscure seeming ingredients with such precision. 240 00:16:15,836 --> 00:16:18,476 Speaker 1: It's like I'm watching a world class pharmacist prepare a 241 00:16:18,556 --> 00:16:23,036 Speaker 1: highly complicated drug. And then this is organic sea kelp, 242 00:16:24,316 --> 00:16:32,476 Speaker 1: which has minerals in it. This is bokashi. It's organic, 243 00:16:33,396 --> 00:16:36,716 Speaker 1: it's made here on the island. It's like a probiotic. 244 00:16:38,316 --> 00:16:41,036 Speaker 1: They get this in the morning, in the evening. I 245 00:16:41,156 --> 00:16:45,076 Speaker 1: feed them about seven fifteen in the morning, in about 246 00:16:45,076 --> 00:16:48,076 Speaker 1: four thirty and one alfternoon. And just watching you feed 247 00:16:48,116 --> 00:16:49,756 Speaker 1: your horses gives me a little bit of sense of 248 00:16:49,836 --> 00:16:54,876 Speaker 1: your organizational nature. I like things to be in their place. 249 00:16:55,276 --> 00:16:58,316 Speaker 1: It makes life easier. Did you have some version of 250 00:16:58,316 --> 00:17:02,316 Speaker 1: that philosophy when you're running your your smuggling business hundred percent? 251 00:17:02,756 --> 00:17:06,676 Speaker 1: And it's all about being organized and having plants in 252 00:17:06,756 --> 00:17:12,516 Speaker 1: place and backup plans in got plans always, always, always. 253 00:17:15,276 --> 00:17:17,956 Speaker 1: As we walk through the stables, Stephen explains to me 254 00:17:18,116 --> 00:17:22,156 Speaker 1: that there is a very deliberate feeding sequence based on 255 00:17:22,356 --> 00:17:27,756 Speaker 1: where the horses are in the pecking order Archie's number one, 256 00:17:29,476 --> 00:17:37,156 Speaker 1: Danish number two, Sonoma's number three, Sky Guy our quarter 257 00:17:37,276 --> 00:17:40,956 Speaker 1: horses number four. How do you see that pecking order 258 00:17:41,116 --> 00:17:44,716 Speaker 1: like they figure it out. Do you think that's true 259 00:17:44,716 --> 00:17:49,116 Speaker 1: of people too to some extent er, Well, yeah, there is. 260 00:17:49,316 --> 00:17:53,076 Speaker 1: I mean some people are natural born leaders and some 261 00:17:53,156 --> 00:17:57,236 Speaker 1: people are or not. By was a natural By was 262 00:17:57,276 --> 00:18:01,996 Speaker 1: a born leader. Growing up. By was always the leader, 263 00:18:02,556 --> 00:18:05,836 Speaker 1: but the neighborhood kids. I had a paper out from 264 00:18:05,836 --> 00:18:08,836 Speaker 1: the time I was twelve years old to about fifteen, 265 00:18:09,636 --> 00:18:15,356 Speaker 1: and I had the neighborhood kids working for me. Later, 266 00:18:15,396 --> 00:18:17,516 Speaker 1: when he was in high school, he made headlines when 267 00:18:17,516 --> 00:18:20,036 Speaker 1: he organized a protest in front of the state capitol 268 00:18:20,116 --> 00:18:24,636 Speaker 1: in Austin his cause marijuana. In a newspaper article that 269 00:18:24,676 --> 00:18:27,716 Speaker 1: I found, Stephen is identified as the leader of the 270 00:18:27,796 --> 00:18:31,636 Speaker 1: quote beautiful People's Republic, and he makes the case for 271 00:18:31,676 --> 00:18:37,596 Speaker 1: a decriminalization. Meanwhile, back at home, his father, an arch conservative, 272 00:18:38,316 --> 00:18:41,596 Speaker 1: wasn't too happy. His dad was a heavy drinker who 273 00:18:41,676 --> 00:18:45,636 Speaker 1: sometimes beat him. Stephen ran away to California for a time, 274 00:18:46,036 --> 00:18:49,436 Speaker 1: taking and selling LSD, but he eventually came back to 275 00:18:49,516 --> 00:18:52,316 Speaker 1: Texas and re enrolled in high school. He lived with 276 00:18:52,316 --> 00:18:56,156 Speaker 1: some friends to support himself. He started selling pot and 277 00:18:56,236 --> 00:18:58,436 Speaker 1: found out he was good at it, and he was 278 00:18:58,476 --> 00:19:02,316 Speaker 1: even better at teaching others how to follow his lead. Basically, 279 00:19:02,356 --> 00:19:05,356 Speaker 1: I started buying a few pounds a pot and breaking 280 00:19:05,436 --> 00:19:08,116 Speaker 1: it up and then letting my friends sell it to 281 00:19:08,156 --> 00:19:11,676 Speaker 1: their friends. So, while still in high school, he created 282 00:19:11,716 --> 00:19:15,836 Speaker 1: his own multi level marketing scheme the way Avon sells perfume, 283 00:19:16,156 --> 00:19:21,076 Speaker 1: only it's weed. Eventually, the market grew and Harve's buying 284 00:19:21,116 --> 00:19:26,276 Speaker 1: more pot, Dan shoving more pot. I finished my junior 285 00:19:26,396 --> 00:19:28,596 Speaker 1: year at Beller High School, and by that time I 286 00:19:28,756 --> 00:19:32,916 Speaker 1: was making a couple of thousand dollars a month. Stephen 287 00:19:32,956 --> 00:19:37,236 Speaker 1: eventually expands his efforts begins smuggling larger quantities of weed 288 00:19:37,316 --> 00:19:40,836 Speaker 1: in from Mexico across the Rio Grande, and then he 289 00:19:40,956 --> 00:19:44,356 Speaker 1: ups his game again. He teams up with some Columbians 290 00:19:44,396 --> 00:19:47,396 Speaker 1: and starts using shrimp boats to bring in even bigger 291 00:19:47,396 --> 00:19:50,476 Speaker 1: loads to a small marina in Texas. At this point, 292 00:19:50,516 --> 00:19:53,996 Speaker 1: he's in his late twenties, and then in nineteen seventy nine, 293 00:19:54,276 --> 00:19:56,796 Speaker 1: a guy at the marina they were using turned out 294 00:19:56,836 --> 00:20:00,436 Speaker 1: to be an informant, so Stephen gets indicted and is 295 00:20:00,436 --> 00:20:03,316 Speaker 1: facing a four year sentence. He was out on a 296 00:20:03,356 --> 00:20:06,996 Speaker 1: federal appeal bond when he made the biggest decision of 297 00:20:07,076 --> 00:20:14,116 Speaker 1: his life. Bye got them fake ID together. I got 298 00:20:14,116 --> 00:20:19,276 Speaker 1: a birth certificate of a deceased person, got a passport 299 00:20:19,316 --> 00:20:24,276 Speaker 1: in the name of Thomas Franklin, and flew Downder the 300 00:20:24,276 --> 00:20:31,036 Speaker 1: Cayman Islets, and he just pretty much vanished, making himself 301 00:20:31,036 --> 00:20:34,836 Speaker 1: a fugitive. In the coming years, law enforcement occasionally got 302 00:20:34,876 --> 00:20:37,996 Speaker 1: wind of this guy who went by so many different names, 303 00:20:38,596 --> 00:20:45,116 Speaker 1: mister Franklin, Frank William Brown, Stephen Sloane, and simply Skip. 304 00:20:45,676 --> 00:20:48,916 Speaker 1: And this Skip character. He flickered on and off the 305 00:20:48,996 --> 00:20:53,436 Speaker 1: radar of law enforcement like a UFO, and with time 306 00:20:53,476 --> 00:20:56,636 Speaker 1: he became kind of a legend. People called him the 307 00:20:56,796 --> 00:21:04,236 Speaker 1: gentleman smuggler. Roy Fuget, the detective down in Louisiana who 308 00:21:04,236 --> 00:21:07,556 Speaker 1: had investigated one of Skip ships. He heard about him. 309 00:21:07,756 --> 00:21:10,196 Speaker 1: They said he never wore gone, that he was not violent, 310 00:21:10,316 --> 00:21:14,636 Speaker 1: that he was really smart, really organized, very intelligent, good 311 00:21:14,636 --> 00:21:16,996 Speaker 1: with the ladies. If he had been in the military, 312 00:21:17,116 --> 00:21:19,636 Speaker 1: he'd probably be a general, I mean good organizer. He 313 00:21:19,716 --> 00:21:23,196 Speaker 1: had a really professional army of drug smugglers that he 314 00:21:23,276 --> 00:21:26,676 Speaker 1: was supervising. And as it turns out, around this time 315 00:21:26,716 --> 00:21:30,236 Speaker 1: the FBI was also getting interested in this Skip character. 316 00:21:31,196 --> 00:21:34,436 Speaker 1: We heard this name Skip, and apparently we realized that 317 00:21:34,556 --> 00:21:36,796 Speaker 1: Skip was a pretty pretty much a shaker and a 318 00:21:36,836 --> 00:21:41,156 Speaker 1: mover in the organization. That's Stan Jacobson, an FBI agent 319 00:21:41,276 --> 00:21:44,236 Speaker 1: down in Tampa who'd been on Skip's trail for some time. 320 00:21:44,876 --> 00:21:48,356 Speaker 1: Skip's name kept coming up in various drug investigations, but 321 00:21:48,796 --> 00:21:52,036 Speaker 1: he was a master at eluding the authorities, beginning with 322 00:21:52,076 --> 00:21:55,876 Speaker 1: that nickname. It's very frustrating because you know, you go 323 00:21:55,956 --> 00:21:58,356 Speaker 1: to have a major player, and I'm sure there are 324 00:21:58,356 --> 00:22:00,956 Speaker 1: a lot of people named Skip in the country, so 325 00:22:01,676 --> 00:22:04,796 Speaker 1: you know, trying to find out who that was. Because 326 00:22:04,836 --> 00:22:07,836 Speaker 1: he maintained a pretty low profile. I mean, this guy, 327 00:22:08,476 --> 00:22:10,796 Speaker 1: he wasn't out there like, you know, like a mafia 328 00:22:10,876 --> 00:22:13,996 Speaker 1: done who sometimes liked to like the sound of their 329 00:22:14,036 --> 00:22:18,876 Speaker 1: own press. He may have kept a low profile, been anonymous, 330 00:22:18,996 --> 00:22:22,516 Speaker 1: but they knew that he was no ordinary smuggler. We 331 00:22:22,516 --> 00:22:24,756 Speaker 1: weren't dealing with someone that robbed the bank and you know, 332 00:22:24,796 --> 00:22:27,596 Speaker 1: with a note, we were dealing with a major operator. 333 00:22:28,596 --> 00:22:32,356 Speaker 1: If he had been in a major US corporation, he'd 334 00:22:32,356 --> 00:22:40,796 Speaker 1: have probably been a CEO. Stephen Keelis should become almost invisible, 335 00:22:41,116 --> 00:22:45,076 Speaker 1: which was basically his entire business model, staying under the radar, 336 00:22:45,196 --> 00:22:49,756 Speaker 1: making sure everything was unseen. He didn't hire speedboats to 337 00:22:49,796 --> 00:22:53,156 Speaker 1: make deliveries or get planes to drop bails from the sky. 338 00:22:53,796 --> 00:22:56,876 Speaker 1: For a fishing village like Beaufort, North Carolina, he leased 339 00:22:56,916 --> 00:23:00,396 Speaker 1: shrip trawlers and just motored right up to the offload site. 340 00:23:00,956 --> 00:23:03,756 Speaker 1: He had his own crew, but he also used locals, 341 00:23:04,076 --> 00:23:06,436 Speaker 1: the folks that felt most at home there and had 342 00:23:06,476 --> 00:23:10,076 Speaker 1: the right vibe. Guys like Bobby Webb, a local Vietnam 343 00:23:10,156 --> 00:23:15,196 Speaker 1: vat who was looking for work Vietnam did something to me. 344 00:23:15,316 --> 00:23:19,236 Speaker 1: You know, we got adrenaline, and you know, you live 345 00:23:19,276 --> 00:23:23,996 Speaker 1: one adrenaline and it kind of chad changes you. It 346 00:23:23,996 --> 00:23:27,596 Speaker 1: makes you take chances that you wouldn't take before. Bobby 347 00:23:27,716 --> 00:23:30,836 Speaker 1: was a gunner in Vietnam on a small fifty foot 348 00:23:30,876 --> 00:23:35,716 Speaker 1: aluminum vessel known as a swift boat. We're in at 349 00:23:35,756 --> 00:23:39,276 Speaker 1: twenty four hours a day, twelve hours on, twelve hours off, 350 00:23:40,076 --> 00:23:42,716 Speaker 1: and by the time that skipped met him, he was 351 00:23:42,756 --> 00:23:46,916 Speaker 1: still jones in for that adrenaline. Oh yet excitement, because 352 00:23:46,956 --> 00:23:49,036 Speaker 1: you know you're on that boat. We had two fifty 353 00:23:49,076 --> 00:23:51,876 Speaker 1: calibra machine guns, a fifty calibual on this side, at 354 00:23:51,876 --> 00:23:55,156 Speaker 1: fifty calor on this side, and sometimes at M sixty 355 00:23:55,196 --> 00:23:58,116 Speaker 1: in the wheelhouse, and we always had two in fourteens 356 00:23:58,836 --> 00:24:01,436 Speaker 1: shooting news guns, you know, and one of us had 357 00:24:01,476 --> 00:24:04,556 Speaker 1: to run the boat or the others shoot the damn guns. 358 00:24:04,556 --> 00:24:08,036 Speaker 1: Shooting this side and run of that side. What's that 359 00:24:08,156 --> 00:24:13,476 Speaker 1: feel like? Oh? Doesn't like it when you're doing it? 360 00:24:13,476 --> 00:24:19,796 Speaker 1: Doesn't like it. Bobby was the perfect guy for the job, 361 00:24:20,076 --> 00:24:22,996 Speaker 1: a gutsy dude with the resume of a modern day pirate. 362 00:24:23,436 --> 00:24:25,756 Speaker 1: It makes sense why Steven would want guys like this. 363 00:24:25,996 --> 00:24:27,836 Speaker 1: I mean, why not go right to the folks who'd 364 00:24:27,876 --> 00:24:31,476 Speaker 1: hunted and fish this land for generations, the guys who 365 00:24:31,516 --> 00:24:34,236 Speaker 1: may have been the very descendants of Blackbeard's own men. 366 00:24:35,076 --> 00:24:38,196 Speaker 1: Bobby remembers being approached by a guy who worked for Skip. 367 00:24:38,916 --> 00:24:41,836 Speaker 1: Skip had an army of advanced men. He used them 368 00:24:41,956 --> 00:24:44,636 Speaker 1: kind of like a movie director would use a location scout. 369 00:24:44,996 --> 00:24:48,236 Speaker 1: They traveled the country looking for possible sights. One of 370 00:24:48,236 --> 00:24:51,636 Speaker 1: them reached out to Bobby. He called me up, just 371 00:24:52,236 --> 00:24:58,076 Speaker 1: to shoot the boom, he said. Bobby united place. Some 372 00:24:58,156 --> 00:25:02,716 Speaker 1: of us boards unled some pop, I says, oh yeah. 373 00:25:03,236 --> 00:25:06,916 Speaker 1: Once Stephen committed to a given location, he began managing 374 00:25:07,116 --> 00:25:10,996 Speaker 1: every aspect of the operation and Beaufort. He began by 375 00:25:10,996 --> 00:25:14,876 Speaker 1: studying road maps and topographical maps. His guys measured the 376 00:25:14,956 --> 00:25:17,556 Speaker 1: depths of the water along the inlet. He moved his 377 00:25:17,636 --> 00:25:20,636 Speaker 1: security team down to the area months before a load 378 00:25:20,676 --> 00:25:23,796 Speaker 1: would come in just to do reconnaissance. He set up 379 00:25:23,796 --> 00:25:25,996 Speaker 1: a safe house just for him in the top brass 380 00:25:26,036 --> 00:25:29,396 Speaker 1: in the organization. He had his guy's tail. The local 381 00:25:29,436 --> 00:25:32,596 Speaker 1: police study the patterns of where they patrolled and when 382 00:25:33,196 --> 00:25:36,276 Speaker 1: they monitored parking lots which might serve as staging grounds 383 00:25:36,276 --> 00:25:40,556 Speaker 1: for large scale police raids, and he listened to everything. 384 00:25:41,116 --> 00:25:45,556 Speaker 1: We would monitor all the police frequencies, coach guard frequencies. 385 00:25:46,596 --> 00:25:50,316 Speaker 1: We would by a variety of speedboats depending on the 386 00:25:50,356 --> 00:25:53,076 Speaker 1: area we were operating in. We would have boats that 387 00:25:53,156 --> 00:25:57,196 Speaker 1: we could use to evacuate crew members or off float 388 00:25:57,236 --> 00:26:01,276 Speaker 1: personnel in case of an emergency. Over the next couple 389 00:26:01,276 --> 00:26:04,796 Speaker 1: of years, it got to be very precision and very 390 00:26:04,836 --> 00:26:10,596 Speaker 1: military four innit. Eventually Stephens started using airplanes. He had 391 00:26:10,596 --> 00:26:13,876 Speaker 1: Assessna two ten lookout plane, which he used to make 392 00:26:13,916 --> 00:26:16,556 Speaker 1: sure that his boats weren't being tailed by a coastguard 393 00:26:16,596 --> 00:26:19,556 Speaker 1: cutter or a navy boat. And as for his own 394 00:26:19,596 --> 00:26:23,556 Speaker 1: smuggling ship, he customized it. I mean I outfitted the 395 00:26:23,596 --> 00:26:29,596 Speaker 1: boat so it wouldn't be detected from there Coastguard over 396 00:26:29,676 --> 00:26:31,836 Speaker 1: flights that they were making at this point using it 397 00:26:31,876 --> 00:26:35,836 Speaker 1: for red technology to detect heat signatures in the holds 398 00:26:36,316 --> 00:26:41,396 Speaker 1: of shrimp boats. So to avoid that, we installed refrigeration 399 00:26:41,556 --> 00:26:44,556 Speaker 1: units on our shrimp boat. One thing that Stephen says 400 00:26:44,596 --> 00:26:48,476 Speaker 1: he didn't do is arm himself. Said he was a 401 00:26:48,516 --> 00:26:51,836 Speaker 1: pacifist at heart, and that usually neither he nor his 402 00:26:51,916 --> 00:26:55,396 Speaker 1: men carried guns. It's a little hard to imagine, right, 403 00:26:55,756 --> 00:26:59,076 Speaker 1: I mean, all these guys, all this marijuana, and no 404 00:26:59,116 --> 00:27:03,636 Speaker 1: one is armed. For Stephen, the no guns thing, it 405 00:27:03,676 --> 00:27:06,316 Speaker 1: was all part of his philosophy, you know, being the 406 00:27:06,396 --> 00:27:10,716 Speaker 1: gentleman smuggler, a consummate profession. He even took all of 407 00:27:10,756 --> 00:27:15,076 Speaker 1: his employees and their significant others on accompany cruise as 408 00:27:15,116 --> 00:27:19,476 Speaker 1: if everything he was up to was totally legit. By 409 00:27:19,596 --> 00:27:22,796 Speaker 1: July nineteen eighty four, Stephen was poised to pull off 410 00:27:22,836 --> 00:27:27,356 Speaker 1: his biggest feet yet he'd smuggle one million pounds of 411 00:27:27,396 --> 00:27:31,956 Speaker 1: marijuana in a single load. There was just one problem. 412 00:27:32,116 --> 00:27:34,156 Speaker 1: More on that. When we come back after the break, 413 00:27:35,156 --> 00:27:39,076 Speaker 1: I'm surrounded by fat and they say, Stephen paylicks, you're 414 00:27:39,156 --> 00:27:52,676 Speaker 1: under arrest. Just to give you a sense of how 415 00:27:52,756 --> 00:27:56,596 Speaker 1: much one million pounds of weed is in Colorado, where 416 00:27:56,636 --> 00:27:59,636 Speaker 1: weed is now totally legal, that's more than they sell 417 00:27:59,756 --> 00:28:03,636 Speaker 1: in an entire year. Stephen Kaylish planned to smuggle it 418 00:28:03,876 --> 00:28:06,876 Speaker 1: right up the Mississippi River and unloaded at an old 419 00:28:06,956 --> 00:28:10,916 Speaker 1: turkey farm in Missouri. He'd have twenty five tractor trailers 420 00:28:10,916 --> 00:28:15,476 Speaker 1: on standby twenty five and unloaded quickly. Stephen would have 421 00:28:15,516 --> 00:28:18,396 Speaker 1: to invent a new machine. He actually had a conveyor 422 00:28:18,436 --> 00:28:21,996 Speaker 1: system custom made that he paid three hundred thousand dollars for. 423 00:28:22,596 --> 00:28:26,116 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, it was my pride and joy. Stephen gave 424 00:28:26,156 --> 00:28:31,876 Speaker 1: the operation a special code name, Operation America's Heartland, because 425 00:28:31,996 --> 00:28:34,796 Speaker 1: we were bringing the barts up through the Port of 426 00:28:34,836 --> 00:28:37,836 Speaker 1: New Orleans, up the Mississippi River all the way up 427 00:28:37,876 --> 00:28:42,316 Speaker 1: to Saint Louis, headed east in the Missouri River into 428 00:28:42,396 --> 00:28:46,116 Speaker 1: America's Heartland in the middle of Missouri in a thousand 429 00:28:46,196 --> 00:28:49,676 Speaker 1: acre turkey farm that I at least America's Hartland. I 430 00:28:49,716 --> 00:28:52,396 Speaker 1: thought it was a perfect name for my last stop, 431 00:28:53,356 --> 00:28:57,756 Speaker 1: his last op. But isn't that they always say, yeah, 432 00:28:57,756 --> 00:29:00,396 Speaker 1: his last op. He could quit any time he wanted. 433 00:29:00,996 --> 00:29:04,436 Speaker 1: But if he did quit this time, he'd retire a 434 00:29:04,716 --> 00:29:07,556 Speaker 1: very wealthy man. There'd be about one hundred and sixty 435 00:29:07,596 --> 00:29:11,236 Speaker 1: million dollars in profits. But he knew that the Feds 436 00:29:11,236 --> 00:29:14,676 Speaker 1: were snooping around. He'd been tipped off one of his planes, 437 00:29:14,836 --> 00:29:17,556 Speaker 1: a lear Jet. He heard it was being watched, so 438 00:29:17,596 --> 00:29:19,956 Speaker 1: he told his guys, put it away, hide it in 439 00:29:19,996 --> 00:29:23,516 Speaker 1: a hangar. We can't even risk going near it. Stephen 440 00:29:23,556 --> 00:29:25,916 Speaker 1: was used to living like this, He'd been a fugitive 441 00:29:25,956 --> 00:29:29,276 Speaker 1: for years, but he was worried, so worried, in fact, 442 00:29:29,356 --> 00:29:31,396 Speaker 1: that he'd begun to move all of his assets to 443 00:29:31,476 --> 00:29:34,516 Speaker 1: a secret location in another country where he had a 444 00:29:34,556 --> 00:29:37,356 Speaker 1: home and a whole nother life lined up. He was 445 00:29:37,396 --> 00:29:40,356 Speaker 1: ready to leave the US for good. There was just 446 00:29:40,676 --> 00:29:44,316 Speaker 1: one last thing he had to do. I had to 447 00:29:44,356 --> 00:29:47,436 Speaker 1: go to Tampa to get my files and my documents 448 00:29:47,436 --> 00:29:50,716 Speaker 1: out of my Tampa house and close it down. That 449 00:29:50,876 --> 00:29:53,796 Speaker 1: was his safe house, and his documents were still there, 450 00:29:54,156 --> 00:29:57,556 Speaker 1: his address book and some floppy disks and those discs. 451 00:29:57,556 --> 00:30:01,156 Speaker 1: They contained a lot of logistical information about America's heartland, 452 00:30:01,396 --> 00:30:05,636 Speaker 1: including names and job assignments of folks involved. Stephen was 453 00:30:05,716 --> 00:30:08,036 Speaker 1: nervous not having all of this with him. It was 454 00:30:08,076 --> 00:30:11,356 Speaker 1: a loose end, and Stephen he didn't like loose ends, 455 00:30:12,476 --> 00:30:14,756 Speaker 1: so he flew to Florida to go to his safe house, 456 00:30:15,116 --> 00:30:17,716 Speaker 1: and when Stephen landed, it's about one thirty in the morning. 457 00:30:18,156 --> 00:30:22,196 Speaker 1: He looks out the window and he freaked because there 458 00:30:22,476 --> 00:30:25,916 Speaker 1: on the tarmac was his lear jet just sitting there. 459 00:30:27,756 --> 00:30:31,316 Speaker 1: I'm still pissed off. I mean, it was like totally unnecessary. 460 00:30:31,756 --> 00:30:34,476 Speaker 1: There was no reason to pull that jet out of 461 00:30:34,516 --> 00:30:38,316 Speaker 1: the hangar because we knew there was heat on it, 462 00:30:39,156 --> 00:30:42,156 Speaker 1: you know, we just knew there was heat somewhere. But 463 00:30:42,236 --> 00:30:44,676 Speaker 1: he sees that no one's there. The coast is clear, 464 00:30:45,156 --> 00:30:47,236 Speaker 1: so he grabs a car and heads to the safe 465 00:30:47,276 --> 00:30:50,196 Speaker 1: house to close it down. The next day, he drives 466 00:30:50,236 --> 00:30:52,876 Speaker 1: back to the airport in his Bronco with two of 467 00:30:52,916 --> 00:30:56,596 Speaker 1: his guys and drops them off with instructions tell the 468 00:30:56,596 --> 00:30:59,156 Speaker 1: pilots to fly all of the jets out of Tampa 469 00:30:59,316 --> 00:31:02,396 Speaker 1: right away, because if the jets are hot, you know, 470 00:31:02,596 --> 00:31:06,116 Speaker 1: he doesn't want them anywhere near him. The logic here 471 00:31:06,396 --> 00:31:09,596 Speaker 1: is kind of kooky because by going back to the airport, 472 00:31:09,836 --> 00:31:13,756 Speaker 1: he's right there alongside the jets. But you gotta remember, 473 00:31:13,996 --> 00:31:16,516 Speaker 1: Stephen has a lot on his plate at this moment, 474 00:31:16,836 --> 00:31:21,156 Speaker 1: and he likes to micromanage everything. We barked about a 475 00:31:21,236 --> 00:31:23,676 Speaker 1: mile away or a half mile away, and I wait 476 00:31:23,716 --> 00:31:27,436 Speaker 1: in the bronco. So I'm sitting out in the bronco. 477 00:31:27,516 --> 00:31:31,636 Speaker 1: After about twenty minutes, just enough time that Stephen's spidy 478 00:31:31,716 --> 00:31:35,676 Speaker 1: senses start tingling, and then he knows time to go. 479 00:31:36,636 --> 00:31:39,276 Speaker 1: He's got to just slip away. So he gets out 480 00:31:39,276 --> 00:31:43,316 Speaker 1: of the bronco. Go and I'll start walking away, knowing 481 00:31:43,436 --> 00:31:46,476 Speaker 1: something's up. And I get about, but I don't know 482 00:31:46,516 --> 00:31:49,796 Speaker 1: a quarter mill away, not even that, and I'm surrounded 483 00:31:49,836 --> 00:31:55,036 Speaker 1: by fete and they say, Stephen, kayleish're under arrest. And 484 00:31:55,156 --> 00:32:01,196 Speaker 1: I said who. I said, My name's Frank Brown. I said, dare. 485 00:32:01,356 --> 00:32:04,476 Speaker 1: Here's my driver's license. They go, no, when we know 486 00:32:04,516 --> 00:32:09,516 Speaker 1: who you are? And I go nope. They go, well, 487 00:32:09,556 --> 00:32:12,796 Speaker 1: you're under arrest. They said, okay, five. Well they arrest 488 00:32:12,876 --> 00:32:18,716 Speaker 1: me and they take me to their headquarters. He's taken 489 00:32:18,756 --> 00:32:22,036 Speaker 1: to the FBI offices in Tampa. As Stephen walks into 490 00:32:22,076 --> 00:32:24,356 Speaker 1: a room, he can see up on a big board 491 00:32:24,516 --> 00:32:28,196 Speaker 1: the names of various suspects and their connections. He takes 492 00:32:28,236 --> 00:32:31,036 Speaker 1: one look at the board and he realizes this investigation 493 00:32:31,796 --> 00:32:36,996 Speaker 1: it's made very little progress. They don't know anything about 494 00:32:36,996 --> 00:32:40,316 Speaker 1: our smuggling operation, and they're trying to figure out who's who. 495 00:32:40,796 --> 00:32:43,716 Speaker 1: Stephen searched the board for his own name. He didn't 496 00:32:43,716 --> 00:32:47,796 Speaker 1: see Stephen Kaylish up there. What he does see his Skip, 497 00:32:48,436 --> 00:32:51,796 Speaker 1: and he realized these guys they haven't put two and 498 00:32:51,836 --> 00:32:55,836 Speaker 1: two together. They don't know that he is Skip. All 499 00:32:55,876 --> 00:32:58,516 Speaker 1: they seem to know is that they've arrested some fugitive 500 00:32:58,716 --> 00:33:01,876 Speaker 1: named Stephen Kaylish who's skipped town a few years ago 501 00:33:01,916 --> 00:33:04,836 Speaker 1: in Texas. They don't seem to get that they had 502 00:33:04,956 --> 00:33:08,716 Speaker 1: the master smuggler right there. So he tells the cops, 503 00:33:09,276 --> 00:33:11,796 Speaker 1: I have nothing to say to you. Guys, take me 504 00:33:11,836 --> 00:33:15,196 Speaker 1: to jail. So they take me to Hillsboro County. Joel, 505 00:33:15,476 --> 00:33:19,196 Speaker 1: what is your emotion that first night or two in jail? Well, 506 00:33:20,556 --> 00:33:26,316 Speaker 1: partially relief. Relief because Stephen Kaylish, the small time drug dealer, 507 00:33:26,636 --> 00:33:29,556 Speaker 1: was happy to take the rap in order to protect Skip, 508 00:33:29,956 --> 00:33:33,676 Speaker 1: the global smuggling entrepreneur. And was there a chance that 509 00:33:33,676 --> 00:33:37,076 Speaker 1: you would talk at that point? No, no, there was. 510 00:33:39,876 --> 00:33:42,676 Speaker 1: The story was way too big for the Feds. I 511 00:33:42,756 --> 00:33:47,396 Speaker 1: mean literally, it was this is something you know, the 512 00:33:47,516 --> 00:33:51,956 Speaker 1: guys on the task force just these guys couldn't even 513 00:33:51,996 --> 00:33:57,636 Speaker 1: comprehend the story. And so Stephen goes to jail, starts 514 00:33:57,636 --> 00:34:00,596 Speaker 1: serving those four years for the charges in Texas, the 515 00:34:00,596 --> 00:34:02,956 Speaker 1: ones he's skipped out on. He ends up in a 516 00:34:03,036 --> 00:34:06,516 Speaker 1: medium security prison in Texas, and he's prepared to do 517 00:34:06,556 --> 00:34:11,356 Speaker 1: his time operation America's heartland. It's on ice for now. 518 00:34:15,156 --> 00:34:18,916 Speaker 1: Unbeknownst to Stephen, another story was unfolding up in Michigan. 519 00:34:19,356 --> 00:34:24,116 Speaker 1: Clinton Shine Anderson had become the FBI's star informant. He 520 00:34:24,196 --> 00:34:28,156 Speaker 1: was talking revealing all the details of who Stephen Klish 521 00:34:28,196 --> 00:34:31,916 Speaker 1: really was and how he operated. So this would mean 522 00:34:31,956 --> 00:34:36,516 Speaker 1: trouble for Stephen. Meanwhile, Stephen starts hearing chatter that the 523 00:34:36,596 --> 00:34:39,756 Speaker 1: FEDS are making progress in their case against him. He'd 524 00:34:39,796 --> 00:34:42,596 Speaker 1: been hoping to get released to a low security camp 525 00:34:42,676 --> 00:34:46,316 Speaker 1: outside the prison, but now the Fed said no. They 526 00:34:46,316 --> 00:34:49,116 Speaker 1: were apparently worried that he might run for it, and 527 00:34:49,356 --> 00:34:53,196 Speaker 1: they were right to worry, because Stephen he was a planner, 528 00:34:53,556 --> 00:34:58,236 Speaker 1: and long ago he had anticipated being in this exact situation. 529 00:35:00,316 --> 00:35:05,356 Speaker 1: I had a serious escape plan. Oh, I had one 530 00:35:05,396 --> 00:35:09,076 Speaker 1: before I ever got arrested. So a friend of mine 531 00:35:09,116 --> 00:35:15,596 Speaker 1: and brother had ran a special forces team. I put 532 00:35:15,676 --> 00:35:18,756 Speaker 1: him on one hundred thousand dollars retainer to come and 533 00:35:18,796 --> 00:35:22,516 Speaker 1: rescue me no matter where I was. So after I 534 00:35:22,516 --> 00:35:25,716 Speaker 1: got arrested and I was in text or cannon, I 535 00:35:25,876 --> 00:35:29,076 Speaker 1: had his brother come visit me, and I said, okay, 536 00:35:29,956 --> 00:35:32,756 Speaker 1: I think it's time that we need to look at 537 00:35:32,796 --> 00:35:35,836 Speaker 1: how we're going to get me out of here. So 538 00:35:36,196 --> 00:35:39,796 Speaker 1: they did a recon of the prison facility and his 539 00:35:39,876 --> 00:35:43,396 Speaker 1: brother came back to visit me and said, okay, we're ready. 540 00:35:43,876 --> 00:35:46,436 Speaker 1: They can get you out. They were coming in with 541 00:35:46,516 --> 00:35:50,196 Speaker 1: a helicopter to pick me up off the wreck yard. 542 00:35:52,116 --> 00:35:55,636 Speaker 1: But there's only one catch. Problem was their guard towers 543 00:35:55,716 --> 00:36:00,276 Speaker 1: with guards with rifles in them. They couldn't guarantee that 544 00:36:00,356 --> 00:36:03,316 Speaker 1: one of the guards wouldn't be killed if they opened 545 00:36:03,316 --> 00:36:07,156 Speaker 1: fire on the helicopter. They can't guarantee there won't be 546 00:36:07,196 --> 00:36:12,436 Speaker 1: any loss of life. And this leaves Stephen Kaylish, the 547 00:36:12,596 --> 00:36:16,756 Speaker 1: gentleman smuggler and devowed pacifist, in a bit of a quandary. 548 00:36:17,356 --> 00:36:20,436 Speaker 1: Freedom is within his grasp as long as he doesn't 549 00:36:20,436 --> 00:36:27,396 Speaker 1: mind getting some blood on his hands. Kaylish has arrest 550 00:36:27,516 --> 00:36:30,796 Speaker 1: is a massive setback for the smugglers, but it's not 551 00:36:30,876 --> 00:36:34,156 Speaker 1: a death blow. And this is essentially what Ned learns. 552 00:36:34,836 --> 00:36:39,036 Speaker 1: There's someone else at the top of the syndicate, a kingpin, 553 00:36:39,716 --> 00:36:42,996 Speaker 1: a long time money wanderer, a guy with deep ties 554 00:36:43,076 --> 00:36:47,076 Speaker 1: to the suppliers in Columbia. And this guy, he's safe 555 00:36:47,596 --> 00:37:04,476 Speaker 1: living down in the Cayman Islands, untouchable. Next time, a 556 00:37:04,636 --> 00:37:08,156 Speaker 1: deep Cover Ned travels down to the Caymans and finds 557 00:37:08,156 --> 00:37:13,036 Speaker 1: the kingpin. The stress is unbelievable, the mental stress. You 558 00:37:13,036 --> 00:37:15,916 Speaker 1: don't sleep, You're worried about your door getting kicked in 559 00:37:15,956 --> 00:37:19,476 Speaker 1: any minute. You have no weapons down there, you have 560 00:37:19,516 --> 00:37:21,876 Speaker 1: no backup. You're not gonna be able to hit the 561 00:37:21,996 --> 00:37:24,996 Speaker 1: radio and call nine on one. You're you're not gonna 562 00:37:25,116 --> 00:37:41,036 Speaker 1: be able to call for help because nobody's coming. Deep 563 00:37:41,076 --> 00:37:44,956 Speaker 1: Cover is produced by Jacob Smith and edited by Karen Shakerji. 564 00:37:45,516 --> 00:37:49,116 Speaker 1: Our story editor is Jack hit. Original music and our 565 00:37:49,196 --> 00:37:52,636 Speaker 1: theme was composed by Louise Gara and Flawn Williams is 566 00:37:52,676 --> 00:37:57,276 Speaker 1: our engineer. Fact checking by Amy Gaines. Mia Lobell is 567 00:37:57,316 --> 00:38:01,756 Speaker 1: Pushkin's executive producer. Ned's novel is read by Walton Goggins. 568 00:38:02,476 --> 00:38:06,316 Speaker 1: Special thanks to Julia Barton had their Fame, Carly mcgliori, 569 00:38:06,636 --> 00:38:12,356 Speaker 1: Lee Tall, Mullatt, Maya Caning, Eric Sandler, Maggie Taylor, Kadija Holland, 570 00:38:12,636 --> 00:38:17,116 Speaker 1: Zoe Gwenn and Jacob Weisberg at Pushkin Industries. Special thanks 571 00:38:17,116 --> 00:38:21,396 Speaker 1: also to Jeff Singer at Stowaway Entertainment. Additional thanks to 572 00:38:21,556 --> 00:38:25,796 Speaker 1: Terry Peters and to Doug McCullough, author of Ce of Greed, 573 00:38:26,236 --> 00:38:29,796 Speaker 1: which tells the story of his investigation in North Carolina. 574 00:38:30,916 --> 00:38:31,916 Speaker 1: I'm Jake Calbern.