WEBVTT - Gary Vider 0:00:00.720 --> 0:00:02.960 I went to three high schools, so I was kind 0:00:03.000 --> 0:00:06.680 of able to like reinvent myself when I would go 0:00:06.720 --> 0:00:09.360 to each high school. So I saw, okay, you know, 0:00:09.680 --> 0:00:11.879 I had friends of my first high school kids I 0:00:11.880 --> 0:00:14.319 grew up with. They think I'm funny, but you know, 0:00:14.400 --> 0:00:16.920 they know me. So I need to figure out am 0:00:16.960 --> 0:00:19.040 I funny? At this next high school I go to, 0:00:19.440 --> 0:00:21.760 and I remember I was funny, and then I remember 0:00:21.800 --> 0:00:24.919 I came out a little too strong, eventually being too funny, 0:00:25.079 --> 0:00:27.080 and then that becomes annoying. And then I went to 0:00:27.080 --> 0:00:28.720 a third high school, I'm like, all right, I kind 0:00:28.720 --> 0:00:30.400 of get the idea I could tone it down. And 0:00:30.400 --> 0:00:31.880 then I went to college and I'm like, all right, 0:00:32.000 --> 0:00:40.040 kind of have a good balance. Hi. I'm Gary Veeter 0:00:40.360 --> 0:00:43.680 and I am the host of the limited series podcast 0:00:43.840 --> 0:00:44.640 Number one Dad. 0:00:52.560 --> 0:00:56.120 Hello again, everybody, and welcome back to the place you 0:00:56.240 --> 0:00:59.760 want to be right here on Off the Beat with 0:01:00.920 --> 0:01:05.080 your host Brian Bongertner. Of course, my guest today is 0:01:05.120 --> 0:01:11.280 an extremely talented stand up comedian, Gary Veader. He really 0:01:11.319 --> 0:01:16.360 tickles me. He's dry and understated, but very very clever 0:01:16.440 --> 0:01:20.280 and sharp my kind of humor for sure. He's performed 0:01:20.280 --> 0:01:23.480 on Conan, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and he 0:01:23.600 --> 0:01:27.720 was even a finalist on America's Got Talent. He tours 0:01:28.040 --> 0:01:31.040 and performs all over the country, or if you prefer 0:01:31.120 --> 0:01:33.800 to stay home, He has a stand up special out 0:01:33.840 --> 0:01:38.480 now on YouTube called It Could Be Worse. For his 0:01:38.760 --> 0:01:42.880 most recent act, Gary is going back to his very 0:01:43.480 --> 0:01:47.800 unique childhood, I love this. You see. Gary's dad was 0:01:47.880 --> 0:01:52.120 a real deal con artist. Now we're talking a list 0:01:52.160 --> 0:01:57.520 of aliases, fake accounts, shady deals, rated by federal agents. 0:01:58.000 --> 0:02:01.200 Kind of con artist. And he even brought his young 0:02:01.360 --> 0:02:06.040 son Gary in on some of his scams, like sneaking 0:02:06.040 --> 0:02:10.440 into Disneyland or photo copying dollar bills for lunch money, 0:02:10.600 --> 0:02:13.800 and even making Gary pretend to be a reporter to 0:02:13.840 --> 0:02:19.280 get access to Madison Square Garden, interviewing players including even 0:02:19.520 --> 0:02:24.000 Michael Jordan himself. Now, even though he cut his dad 0:02:24.040 --> 0:02:26.800 out of his life over twenty years ago, Gary is 0:02:26.840 --> 0:02:30.600 now revisiting all of these memories, plus the stories he's 0:02:30.600 --> 0:02:34.680 heard from other people, and attempting to reconnect and reconcile 0:02:35.040 --> 0:02:39.080 with his father. Luckily, he has recorded his journey for 0:02:39.120 --> 0:02:41.480 you and me to listen to on his new podcast, 0:02:42.040 --> 0:02:46.440 Number one, Dad Give It a listen. I promise you 0:02:46.520 --> 0:02:52.680 won't be disappointed. Please welcome my fascinating, upstanding and well 0:02:52.919 --> 0:02:56.040 very funny new friend, Gary Veder. 0:03:00.200 --> 0:03:07.680 Bubble and squeak. I love it, Bubble and squeak, Bubble 0:03:07.760 --> 0:03:11.720 and squeak. I cook get every mole lift over from. 0:03:11.520 --> 0:03:12.720 The night before. 0:03:23.120 --> 0:03:23.919 What's up, Gary? 0:03:24.400 --> 0:03:26.480 What's up man? How's it going. 0:03:27.919 --> 0:03:28.119 Good? 0:03:28.160 --> 0:03:29.760 I'm a big fan of the Office, so this is 0:03:29.800 --> 0:03:30.400 super cool. 0:03:31.000 --> 0:03:33.399 Oh you you are you've seen it before? 0:03:33.840 --> 0:03:36.960 Oh, I mean many times over, So this is super cool. 0:03:37.360 --> 0:03:38.200 I love it now. 0:03:38.760 --> 0:03:42.280 Well, thank you. That's very nice. I mean mostly people 0:03:42.280 --> 0:03:44.880 don't say nice things to me. Thank you so much. 0:03:45.040 --> 0:03:48.320 You deserve it. And you were are you? 0:03:48.480 --> 0:03:50.800 Were you an og or did you find it later? 0:03:51.640 --> 0:03:54.240 No og? I watched it when I was in college, 0:03:54.960 --> 0:03:57.160 so it was pretty. It was super cool. And then 0:03:57.200 --> 0:04:00.200 I mean it hit, it hit big time. I loved it. No, 0:04:00.320 --> 0:04:02.640 I mean, you know it was different than you know 0:04:02.680 --> 0:04:04.840 when you find a good show. It's just so nice 0:04:05.280 --> 0:04:08.200 and uh yeah, I mean I love Seinfeld. And then 0:04:08.400 --> 0:04:10.320 I put for me, I put it right up there 0:04:10.360 --> 0:04:13.600 with Seinfeld, and I mean, it was just an incredible show. 0:04:13.920 --> 0:04:15.480 And I was said when it when it when it 0:04:15.640 --> 0:04:17.960 went off the you know, I mean obviously you completed it. 0:04:17.960 --> 0:04:20.080 It was it was a completed show. But I was 0:04:20.120 --> 0:04:21.800 sad when it happened when it went on. 0:04:22.640 --> 0:04:23.839 Where did you go to college? 0:04:25.080 --> 0:04:28.160 No, we're good University at Buffalo. 0:04:28.640 --> 0:04:29.880 Why is that nowhere? Good? 0:04:30.640 --> 0:04:33.000 I mean it's a college and you know you pay 0:04:33.120 --> 0:04:37.880 for it, but it's not really educational experience. You're just 0:04:37.960 --> 0:04:40.760 going to get a degree. And anybody, I feel they 0:04:40.760 --> 0:04:42.440 would you know, if a dog went there, it's as 0:04:42.440 --> 0:04:45.400 good as a dog. It's like a dog college. That's 0:04:45.400 --> 0:04:47.480 probably never happened back, you know, I know it. 0:04:48.000 --> 0:04:50.160 Yes, this is your all, my moter. You can't say 0:04:50.200 --> 0:04:53.680 things like that. I just had a couple of uh, 0:04:54.480 --> 0:04:59.599 very entertaining days and evenings and in in Buffalo. I 0:04:59.640 --> 0:05:03.279 it was, it was good. What's the place Pink's Pinkies 0:05:04.320 --> 0:05:05.200 with the steaks? 0:05:06.440 --> 0:05:11.320 Oh, I don't know. Very late, I don't know about Pinky's. 0:05:11.360 --> 0:05:14.479 I know Anchor Bar. I mean there's Anchors and Duffs. 0:05:15.240 --> 0:05:17.279 Anchor Bar is a famous one. Duffs. 0:05:18.200 --> 0:05:22.080 That's the whole what do you call it? The wings? Right? 0:05:22.240 --> 0:05:26.240 Yeah, the supposedly supposedly they started the wings and that 0:05:26.360 --> 0:05:28.880 was the big that was the big thing for Anchor Bar, 0:05:29.080 --> 0:05:31.680 and they make great wings. They make great wings, duff says, 0:05:31.680 --> 0:05:34.080 great wings, and it's kind of if you're from Buffalo. 0:05:34.240 --> 0:05:36.800 Those they'll argue who has the best wings. And I 0:05:36.800 --> 0:05:39.520 think the people, yeah, I think people from Buffalo. They 0:05:39.640 --> 0:05:42.839 go with Duffs a lot. That's their thing. So they 0:05:42.880 --> 0:05:45.960 could tell an outside if they pick Ancher Bar. But 0:05:46.440 --> 0:05:49.680 my friend actually saw O J. Simpson OJ I said 0:05:49.720 --> 0:05:50.359 it was weird. 0:05:50.480 --> 0:05:50.880 But O J. 0:05:51.040 --> 0:05:53.760 Simpson at Anchor Bar, Yeah, yeah, yeah, he was a 0:05:53.760 --> 0:05:54.120 good guy. 0:05:54.120 --> 0:05:54.320 O J. 0:05:54.440 --> 0:05:55.479 Simpson was a good guy. 0:05:55.600 --> 0:05:56.120 But O J. 0:05:56.279 --> 0:05:57.360 Simpson not so good. 0:05:57.800 --> 0:05:58.840 Uh but yeah O J. 0:05:59.000 --> 0:06:02.360 Simpson at ankle Or Bar once and uh yeah he 0:06:02.400 --> 0:06:03.039 stabbed them. 0:06:04.480 --> 0:06:10.520 Wow he like everybody that I didn't hear that news. 0:06:10.920 --> 0:06:14.719 Yeah was this before OJ's problem or after this? 0:06:14.839 --> 0:06:15.479 Was this was? 0:06:16.480 --> 0:06:21.920 Is that yeah his little miss out? Yeah yeah it's 0:06:21.440 --> 0:06:25.640 yeah LEAs right, Yeah, but no, yeah this was after. 0:06:25.800 --> 0:06:28.240 This was after this is when he got away you know, 0:06:28.400 --> 0:06:32.560 doing it. But hey, so that's it J talk. 0:06:33.400 --> 0:06:37.440 Ye're yeah, that's a race we're talking about. 0:06:38.800 --> 0:06:39.919 Shimpson are Yeah. 0:06:39.960 --> 0:06:46.880 Shims Look, we did our crack research team here analyzed 0:06:46.880 --> 0:06:49.400 your life, put you at a computer, spit out a 0:06:49.400 --> 0:06:53.200 bunch of data to me. I am totally fascinated, so fascinating. 0:06:53.200 --> 0:06:56.960 In fact, i've I have not started your show, but 0:06:57.080 --> 0:07:00.440 I have seen all of your teasers and tray. I 0:07:00.480 --> 0:07:03.120 am so excited to listen to it. This is not 0:07:03.200 --> 0:07:08.760 a joke. Thank you podcast number one Dad, which is 0:07:08.760 --> 0:07:13.200 is rolling out as we speak. This is fascinating. You 0:07:13.720 --> 0:07:19.600 partnered with Big Money Players podcast, Will Ferrell's podcast Empire. 0:07:20.120 --> 0:07:22.880 It's about Gary's family. So I want to start. Usually 0:07:23.000 --> 0:07:26.400 I sort of go more chronological here, but this is 0:07:26.440 --> 0:07:29.440 a This is a part of your newest project, which 0:07:29.520 --> 0:07:32.440 was your your childhood growing up? So where did where 0:07:32.440 --> 0:07:33.200 did you grow up? 0:07:33.880 --> 0:07:36.520 I grew up on Long Island in a town called 0:07:36.600 --> 0:07:37.600 dick Hills. 0:07:37.920 --> 0:07:39.840 And yeah the Unfortunate game. 0:07:40.600 --> 0:07:43.720 Yeah, I know, unfortunate name, and we're thinking about changing 0:07:43.720 --> 0:07:46.200 it for the podcast, even though the podcast is completely true, 0:07:46.520 --> 0:07:48.840 like can we get rid of that? But yeah, it's 0:07:48.880 --> 0:07:51.960 a podcast called and at least it was not called 0:07:52.000 --> 0:07:57.200 Little dick Hills. But anyway, I enjoy. You know, when 0:07:57.200 --> 0:07:59.800 I decided to do this podcast, you have to be 0:07:59.880 --> 0:08:03.640 very vulnerable, and I was not. Uh when I when 0:08:03.640 --> 0:08:07.360 I pitched the idea, I didn't expect it necessarily to happen. 0:08:07.440 --> 0:08:09.480 And then as soon as they're like, oh, we're gonna 0:08:09.480 --> 0:08:11.560 we agree to this. Nobody ever agrees to anything that 0:08:11.640 --> 0:08:15.000 I ever pitched or but they agreed, and there Now 0:08:15.400 --> 0:08:19.600 the whole plan is that I go and I tracked 0:08:19.680 --> 0:08:21.440 down my father, who I haven't talked to in twenty 0:08:21.440 --> 0:08:24.200 four years. And my dad is a con man. So we, 0:08:24.400 --> 0:08:29.600 uh we ran a bunch of cons together, which sounds. 0:08:29.040 --> 0:08:31.080 No, but so but this so I want. So you're 0:08:31.120 --> 0:08:34.040 grow you're growing up there in Long Island, and are 0:08:34.080 --> 0:08:36.839 you aware that your dad is a con man? As 0:08:36.880 --> 0:08:38.839 a kid, Now, I know we're going to talk about 0:08:38.880 --> 0:08:42.160 your Madison Square Garden experiences, so obviously there were things 0:08:42.200 --> 0:08:44.920 that happened. Are you aware that he is growing up 0:08:45.000 --> 0:08:45.840 or is he just dad? 0:08:47.280 --> 0:08:49.520 Well, he's dad, but I wouldn't say I knew that 0:08:49.559 --> 0:08:52.079 he was a con man. I knew that he would 0:08:52.360 --> 0:08:54.840 kind of cut corners to get around, you get around. 0:08:54.880 --> 0:08:58.040 I didn't know the name con man necessarily, but as 0:08:58.120 --> 0:09:00.040 I got older, I was like, oh, this, this, this 0:09:00.160 --> 0:09:02.920 is what a con artist is. And my dad is 0:09:03.440 --> 0:09:05.560 I think one of the best at this because he 0:09:05.760 --> 0:09:07.720 never doesn't seem to ever get caught. He gets what 0:09:07.760 --> 0:09:12.200 he wants. He's able to manipulate different situations, and yeah, 0:09:12.240 --> 0:09:15.240 I would just watch him, you know, could be small things, 0:09:15.280 --> 0:09:19.200 but we would be going to Disneyland, and this is 0:09:19.240 --> 0:09:21.679 back when Disneyland used to get a stamp on your hand, 0:09:22.000 --> 0:09:24.880 and he would have my entire family lick their hands 0:09:24.920 --> 0:09:26.880 and then just press it against his, which would get 0:09:26.880 --> 0:09:29.160 the stamp, and then we would have all get access 0:09:29.200 --> 0:09:31.280 to Disneyland, you know, a simple thing. 0:09:31.880 --> 0:09:34.880 And he'd pay one on one ticket, one ticket. Yeah, 0:09:34.880 --> 0:09:35.880 he would pay for one. 0:09:35.720 --> 0:09:39.400 Ticket and he would get four other people and for free, 0:09:39.960 --> 0:09:42.440 and they you know till they you know, this is 0:09:42.600 --> 0:09:45.439 back in the eighties early nineties when you were able 0:09:45.440 --> 0:09:47.960 to do this. And he would always find ways, creative 0:09:47.960 --> 0:09:52.240 ways to cut corners and wouldn't really care if the 0:09:52.360 --> 0:09:55.280 kids were involved or were aware of like what he 0:09:55.320 --> 0:09:59.480 was doing. And yeah, pretty much, you know, it was 0:09:59.559 --> 0:10:02.560 everything his businesses the same thing. He was involved in 0:10:03.520 --> 0:10:06.120 different scams where he had a furniture company and he 0:10:06.160 --> 0:10:09.240 wasn't delivering the furniture. And these are a lot of 0:10:09.240 --> 0:10:11.040 these scams were things that you could get away with 0:10:11.120 --> 0:10:13.720 in the eighties and the nineties, because it's pretty hard 0:10:13.760 --> 0:10:16.600 when somebody doesn't get their furniture delivered to figure out 0:10:16.640 --> 0:10:18.480 who do I complain to? And am I going to 0:10:18.559 --> 0:10:22.320 start making ninety phone calls and waiting on hold for 0:10:22.480 --> 0:10:25.160 hours to get to the bottom of this and then 0:10:25.320 --> 0:10:28.480 there not to be any resolution. So my dad would 0:10:28.520 --> 0:10:31.680 figure out these ways to yeah, definitely rip people off 0:10:32.040 --> 0:10:35.000 and get away with it, and he was successful at that. 0:10:35.600 --> 0:10:38.600 Wait. So he was the furniture delivery person. 0:10:39.040 --> 0:10:44.120 He owned the whole sorry, he owned the showroom. And 0:10:43.559 --> 0:10:46.160 there are people that would get their furniture, but then 0:10:46.160 --> 0:10:48.120 there are also people that he just would not deliver 0:10:48.160 --> 0:10:50.840 their furniture too. So it was, you know, kind of 0:10:50.840 --> 0:10:54.160 a plus minus game where maybe let's say, you know, 0:10:54.280 --> 0:10:56.320 ninety percent of people were getting their furniture, but then 0:10:56.360 --> 0:10:58.559 ten percent was just handing him money and then he 0:10:58.559 --> 0:11:03.120 would never deliver it. Eventually, the Attorney General of New 0:11:03.200 --> 0:11:06.000 York State got wind of it and went after him. 0:11:06.280 --> 0:11:09.760 But for years he was very successful in doing this 0:11:09.840 --> 0:11:12.080 and then just collecting one hundred percent profit and not 0:11:12.120 --> 0:11:13.080 delivering the furniture. 0:11:15.040 --> 0:11:20.800 So you mentioned before, he he didn't have any sort 0:11:20.840 --> 0:11:27.960 of he had no qualms about including you the children, correct, 0:11:28.760 --> 0:11:30.400 and how many how many siblings were there? 0:11:31.080 --> 0:11:32.640 I have two older sisters. 0:11:32.920 --> 0:11:37.840 Okay, so the three of you and is he is 0:11:37.840 --> 0:11:42.840 is it? Is there an attitude of hey, son, let me, 0:11:43.120 --> 0:11:45.000 let me, let me, let me show you what we 0:11:45.040 --> 0:11:47.640 can do here, like is heching you? 0:11:49.080 --> 0:11:53.280 Yeah. It was all lesson absolutely grooming me to be 0:11:53.440 --> 0:11:55.439 him and kind of showing me, oh, this is how 0:11:55.520 --> 0:11:59.679 life works. And we you know, we're seeing I'm seeing 0:11:59.679 --> 0:12:01.760 this at his kneeland. I'm seeing this, you know, if 0:12:01.760 --> 0:12:04.800 we're going to the movie theater, you know, sometimes you 0:12:04.840 --> 0:12:06.400 know you're gonna go with the movie theater with your 0:12:06.400 --> 0:12:09.560 parent and my dad and my experience was we would 0:12:09.600 --> 0:12:13.199 sneak in. There was no there was no difference except 0:12:13.200 --> 0:12:15.679 that he wouldn't want to pay, and he just found 0:12:15.720 --> 0:12:17.880 this easy way to do it. You know whatever. It's 0:12:17.960 --> 0:12:20.079 me going under the ropes, just like I mean, kids 0:12:20.120 --> 0:12:22.320 sneak in all the time, but not with their parents. 0:12:22.760 --> 0:12:25.040 So my dad would have me going under the ropes 0:12:25.080 --> 0:12:27.520 and then I would be down the corridor and then 0:12:27.559 --> 0:12:29.720 he would tell the usher, hey, my son has my ticket. 0:12:29.760 --> 0:12:33.120 And I'm you know, seven to ten years old at 0:12:33.120 --> 0:12:36.559 the time, and I looked even younger when I would 0:12:36.559 --> 0:12:39.680 be ten, I would look like I'm seven. So it 0:12:39.840 --> 0:12:41.920 worked to his advantage the way that I looked and 0:12:41.960 --> 0:12:43.800 for him to have access. And of course we would 0:12:43.800 --> 0:12:45.880 see his movies at the same time. It wouldn't be 0:12:46.040 --> 0:12:47.760 movies that I would want to see. What we would 0:12:47.800 --> 0:12:50.640 be saying. You know, we'd be seeing Rambo and I 0:12:50.640 --> 0:12:54.040 would see I remember seeing dances with wolves. So there 0:12:54.120 --> 0:12:56.520 was all the things that he was interested in. Going 0:12:56.559 --> 0:13:00.000 to say, but but yeah, but I was growing up 0:13:00.160 --> 0:13:03.920 quick and taking the life lessons that he taught me. 0:13:04.640 --> 0:13:06.439 Well, I want to talk about that, but before I've 0:13:06.440 --> 0:13:10.079 got to mention Madison Square Garden. So you guys would 0:13:10.200 --> 0:13:14.320 consistently how would you get into Madison Square Garden? Because 0:13:14.360 --> 0:13:16.880 that feels like, yeah, it's you know what's funny is 0:13:16.960 --> 0:13:21.440 I heard a story a few years ago about there 0:13:21.520 --> 0:13:23.840 is a vip entrant. Did you utilize that? 0:13:24.280 --> 0:13:26.520 No, I don't know if they had that back in 0:13:26.559 --> 0:13:29.000 the day, but I do remember taking the elevator and 0:13:29.040 --> 0:13:31.520 the vip I've been in that vip entrance and that 0:13:31.679 --> 0:13:34.080 is so I'm very familiar with it. 0:13:34.679 --> 0:13:38.000 I've heard of people sneaking in there. But how would 0:13:38.040 --> 0:13:39.439 you get into Madison Square Garden. 0:13:39.960 --> 0:13:44.640 Okay, so back when Sports Illustrated for Kids was very relevant, 0:13:44.679 --> 0:13:47.440 I was getting the magazine and I was I adored 0:13:47.480 --> 0:13:49.920 sports everything, and especially the New York Knicks and the 0:13:49.960 --> 0:13:53.559 New York Rangers. And my dad and I we went 0:13:53.600 --> 0:13:55.560 to a few games, not at Madison Square Garden but 0:13:55.600 --> 0:14:00.160 at Nasau Coliseum, and we would never have access to 0:14:00.160 --> 0:14:02.319 any of the players or anything. And I remember one 0:14:02.360 --> 0:14:06.080 time we tried meeting players and I just waited with 0:14:06.160 --> 0:14:08.280 the rest of the kids, and kind of the players 0:14:08.360 --> 0:14:10.640 leaving that entrance, that VIP entrance that you're talking about 0:14:10.640 --> 0:14:12.559 at Madison Square Garden. They had something very similar in 0:14:12.679 --> 0:14:15.440 NASA Colisseum. But you're waiting. If you're waiting over there 0:14:15.480 --> 0:14:17.800 for players to leave, you're waiting with a whole bunch 0:14:17.840 --> 0:14:20.040 of other people, and hopefully maybe you're going to get 0:14:20.040 --> 0:14:23.120 an autograph. And I remember we did that. And then 0:14:23.400 --> 0:14:26.920 soon after that, my dad said, the Rangers are playing, 0:14:26.920 --> 0:14:29.800 We're going to go to a game at Madison Square Garden. 0:14:29.960 --> 0:14:31.280 And I didn't think much of it. I thought it 0:14:31.280 --> 0:14:33.800 would be just like every other time we've went. And 0:14:33.920 --> 0:14:37.480 this time he called up Madison Square Garden and told 0:14:37.520 --> 0:14:40.680 them that Sports Illustrated for Kids would be there, and 0:14:41.000 --> 0:14:44.880 on the way to the garden, he told me that 0:14:45.000 --> 0:14:47.960 I would act as a reporter for Sports Illustrate for 0:14:48.040 --> 0:14:50.160 Kids and he's going to be the photographer, and I 0:14:50.160 --> 0:14:53.240 don't have to say anything, just follow my lead. And 0:14:53.480 --> 0:14:56.560 we went to Madison Square Garden for the first time 0:14:56.680 --> 0:14:58.360 this is back in like the nineteen ninety two to 0:14:58.400 --> 0:15:02.040 ninety three season, to a Knicks first game, and it 0:15:02.160 --> 0:15:05.640 plan worked flawlessly. They gave us press passes when we 0:15:05.680 --> 0:15:07.680 walked in, and then I went into the locker room 0:15:07.720 --> 0:15:09.760 and I would interview the players on the Knicks and 0:15:09.800 --> 0:15:13.240 which would be Patrick Ewing and John Starrks, Charles Oakley, 0:15:13.280 --> 0:15:16.200 Anthony Mason, they were all on the team at the time. Yeah, 0:15:16.320 --> 0:15:19.640 and completely rolled out the red carpet for us. And 0:15:20.080 --> 0:15:23.120 after that happened, we just kept doing it and nobody 0:15:23.120 --> 0:15:28.280 suspected a thing, especially because you're doing it frequently enough, 0:15:28.360 --> 0:15:32.000 they just become acquainted with you. So everybody would go 0:15:32.360 --> 0:15:35.200 assuming that we're there as Sports Illustrated for Kids, and 0:15:35.440 --> 0:15:38.080 I go into the visiting team's locker rooms, and then 0:15:38.080 --> 0:15:41.800 I started going to Ranger games also, and we went 0:15:41.840 --> 0:15:45.040 to some big games for basketball I mean, the biggest 0:15:45.040 --> 0:15:47.800 that I consider is when I went to Michael Jordan's 0:15:47.800 --> 0:15:50.040 double Nickel game where he came back to the Garden 0:15:50.080 --> 0:15:52.120 for the first time. He scored fifty five points, and 0:15:52.480 --> 0:15:54.320 after the game, I went into locker room and I 0:15:54.400 --> 0:15:58.520 interviewed him and sat with him and got an autograph card, 0:15:58.520 --> 0:16:02.080 an autograph picture or photograph card, and he took a picture. 0:16:02.480 --> 0:16:06.160 And then I went to Rangers were in the Stanley 0:16:06.160 --> 0:16:08.840 Cup in nineteen ninety four, and I went to game one, 0:16:08.880 --> 0:16:11.040 Game five, and Game seven, and we're going to all 0:16:11.120 --> 0:16:12.800 these games. Every game that I ever went to with 0:16:12.840 --> 0:16:15.640 my dad. We never paid for a ticket, We never 0:16:15.680 --> 0:16:18.880 had a seat. We would always find a great seat. 0:16:18.960 --> 0:16:21.440 He would be off taking pictures with the rest of 0:16:21.480 --> 0:16:24.640 the photographers because he's keeping up the scam, and I 0:16:24.680 --> 0:16:27.240 would be sitting either in the press area by myself, 0:16:27.400 --> 0:16:30.120 or he would locate a seat that was open that 0:16:30.160 --> 0:16:33.320 would be like a special area. So when the Rangers 0:16:33.360 --> 0:16:35.920 won the Stanley Cup Game seven, I was sitting pretty 0:16:35.960 --> 0:16:39.800 much right behind the goalie of I want to say 0:16:39.800 --> 0:16:43.440 it was yeah, of the Vancouver Canucks goalie, and right 0:16:43.480 --> 0:16:46.440 there I'm sitting glass and I witnessed everything and then 0:16:46.480 --> 0:16:49.160 after the game, I go into the locker room and 0:16:49.360 --> 0:16:52.360 I interview the players for the Rangers, and then I 0:16:52.400 --> 0:16:55.560 went to the team after party. And this is all 0:16:55.560 --> 0:16:59.120 without a ticket everything. And then after that my dad did. 0:16:59.680 --> 0:17:02.400 Nothing was ever too big or too scary for my dad. 0:17:02.880 --> 0:17:06.440 The Rangers celebrated at Gracie Mansion, which is Mayor Giuliani 0:17:06.560 --> 0:17:08.840 was the mayor at the time, which was his house, 0:17:09.160 --> 0:17:12.280 and we went there and we went to the team 0:17:12.600 --> 0:17:15.359 like whatever celebration that was a few days later there, 0:17:15.600 --> 0:17:18.000 and he went past the security detail for the mayor 0:17:18.080 --> 0:17:20.959 and everything, and not a problem because they believe that 0:17:21.520 --> 0:17:23.879 we were pressed. And so this is something that of 0:17:23.920 --> 0:17:30.439 course is definitely worth jail time for trespassing. But my 0:17:30.520 --> 0:17:32.800 dad didn't get He was bringing his kid there and 0:17:32.840 --> 0:17:36.639 he just keeping up appearances. Nothing phased him, and his 0:17:36.680 --> 0:17:39.880 camera definitely helped give him access. But of course, his 0:17:39.880 --> 0:17:42.800 his you know, it's his quick talking, his thinking, and 0:17:42.880 --> 0:17:46.399 he was always able to maneuver. He always seemed like 0:17:46.440 --> 0:17:48.280 he was somebody who could get out of anything or 0:17:48.320 --> 0:17:52.080 figure out a plan to get whatever he needed, and 0:17:52.359 --> 0:17:54.800 that was definitely beneficial. A lot of people look at 0:17:55.160 --> 0:17:58.480 scamming as they become a little bit fearful. I'm not 0:17:58.480 --> 0:18:00.439 going to do this because I might get caught. My 0:18:00.520 --> 0:18:03.640 dad never seemed like that person. He didn't he didn't care, 0:18:03.800 --> 0:18:06.359 he didn't getting caught. They never never crossed his mind. 0:18:08.520 --> 0:18:10.520 How did it? How did it turn sideways? 0:18:12.320 --> 0:18:14.919 Because everything he was doing was a lie. Everything was 0:18:14.920 --> 0:18:17.520 a scam. So, you know, I mentioned the furniture stuff, 0:18:17.520 --> 0:18:19.760 and chronologically we're a little bit out of order, but 0:18:19.840 --> 0:18:23.040 that was going on around the same time the Sports 0:18:23.040 --> 0:18:25.879 Illustrated stuff was going on. And then he had other businesses. 0:18:26.440 --> 0:18:26.800 Uh. 0:18:26.960 --> 0:18:30.600 Mainly it was a telephone business where he would help 0:18:30.840 --> 0:18:35.680 install telephone systems to different various businesses and payphones as well. 0:18:35.720 --> 0:18:39.240 Payphones were big in the in the nineties, and he 0:18:39.280 --> 0:18:41.240 would he would say that he, you know, in the 0:18:41.240 --> 0:18:43.520 payphone business. He would say that he was at and 0:18:43.560 --> 0:18:45.440 T and that's how he's getting accounts. He's getting big 0:18:45.440 --> 0:18:49.240 accounts Toys r US and Costco and a lot of 0:18:49.320 --> 0:18:52.280 a lot of different gyms that were big balleys had 0:18:52.400 --> 0:18:54.119 you know, had a had a gym back in the 0:18:54.280 --> 0:18:56.560 in the nineties, and so he'd have these access to 0:18:56.600 --> 0:19:00.280 it by just basically, you know, saying he was certain 0:19:00.280 --> 0:19:03.600 person great at impersonating people. Eventually, AT and T got 0:19:03.600 --> 0:19:05.960 wind of this and then took him a court and 0:19:06.000 --> 0:19:09.119 we had the US Marshall's Raidar house because he was 0:19:09.119 --> 0:19:11.280 saying that he was somebody that he wasn't, and they 0:19:11.680 --> 0:19:14.560 brought a big case against him, which is that this 0:19:14.600 --> 0:19:16.960 is all talked about in the podcast. But all this, 0:19:17.280 --> 0:19:20.560 all this heat, all all these problems that happened with 0:19:20.600 --> 0:19:22.920 my dad really took a toll in the family. And 0:19:22.960 --> 0:19:26.280 then on top of that not the greatest father. You know, 0:19:26.560 --> 0:19:29.560 part of being a father is being selfless, and he 0:19:29.680 --> 0:19:33.480 lacked a lot of selflessness and it definitely hurt where 0:19:33.520 --> 0:19:36.080 you're kind of wondering as I got older, were you 0:19:36.160 --> 0:19:38.600 doing those things at the garden for me or were 0:19:38.600 --> 0:19:42.159 you doing it more for you? And you're it starts 0:19:42.160 --> 0:19:45.160 crossing your mind. Was it just the need to lie 0:19:45.320 --> 0:19:48.879 into to con people and to scheme or did you 0:19:48.960 --> 0:19:51.280 really want to just take your son to the game 0:19:51.280 --> 0:19:52.879 and this is the only way that you could do it. 0:19:53.080 --> 0:19:57.439 And the podcast really dives into trying to figure out if, uh, 0:19:57.880 --> 0:20:00.560 if if that was his goal, if his goal really 0:20:00.720 --> 0:20:04.520 was for me, and also maybe has he changed has 0:20:04.520 --> 0:20:07.640 he changed his ways because I want to track him down. 0:20:07.680 --> 0:20:09.080 I want to find out what he's been doing for 0:20:09.119 --> 0:20:11.480 the last twenty four years, because yeah, we stopped talking 0:20:11.480 --> 0:20:12.639 when we were fifteen. 0:20:12.760 --> 0:20:13.920 You and you were fifteen. 0:20:14.119 --> 0:20:33.760 Right, have you found him? 0:20:34.200 --> 0:20:37.760 So that's what the that's what the pod in the podcast, Uh, 0:20:38.240 --> 0:20:40.160 right now, I'm trying to figure that out. I'm trying 0:20:40.160 --> 0:20:42.040 to I'm trying to locate him. You know, a con 0:20:42.119 --> 0:20:44.920 man and a guy. You know, numbers get changed a lot, 0:20:45.080 --> 0:20:48.479 things aren't, things aren't as easy, but you kind of 0:20:48.520 --> 0:20:52.080 have an idea, like hopefully where he is. And definitely 0:20:52.119 --> 0:20:56.280 when I decided to do this, I I believe that 0:20:56.320 --> 0:20:58.560 I would be able to find him. And the reason 0:20:58.600 --> 0:21:01.040 why is as soon as I start talking about him, 0:21:01.080 --> 0:21:04.960 I think that he'll make himself more present. So you 0:21:05.000 --> 0:21:07.760 know that there there are things that I didn't I 0:21:07.800 --> 0:21:09.960 didn't think that it wasn't wasn't going to happen. So 0:21:10.160 --> 0:21:12.440 and that's kind of where I'm at in the podcast, 0:21:12.520 --> 0:21:14.800