1 00:00:03,000 --> 00:00:08,680 Speaker 1: All right, March from the second twenty twenty three, literally 2 00:00:08,800 --> 00:00:15,160 Speaker 1: twelve o'clock on the dot, I have taken that long 3 00:00:15,280 --> 00:00:22,040 Speaker 1: drive to f Daly, Orlando Lab. Start the clock on 4 00:00:22,120 --> 00:00:26,120 Speaker 1: this process of trying to solve the case through science. 5 00:00:29,440 --> 00:00:32,760 Speaker 2: In October of nineteen eighty six, the body of twenty 6 00:00:32,800 --> 00:00:36,040 Speaker 2: eight year old Billy Halpern was discovered in his town 7 00:00:36,120 --> 00:00:40,839 Speaker 2: home in Miramar, Florida. Billy, who was a bodybuilder and 8 00:00:40,920 --> 00:00:44,800 Speaker 2: former firefighter, had been bound with electrical tape before being 9 00:00:44,840 --> 00:00:49,240 Speaker 2: strangled and nearly decapitated in what appeared to be a 10 00:00:49,280 --> 00:00:56,440 Speaker 2: brutal and bloody execution style murder. With no witnesses, no leads, 11 00:00:56,920 --> 00:01:00,880 Speaker 2: and little forensic evidence left at the scene, Billy's murder 12 00:01:01,320 --> 00:01:09,800 Speaker 2: went unsolved for months, but then there were four more 13 00:01:09,840 --> 00:01:14,240 Speaker 2: slayings in the span of eight days. Twenty six year 14 00:01:14,240 --> 00:01:16,800 Speaker 2: old Mitch Hall had gone to high school with Billy 15 00:01:16,840 --> 00:01:21,920 Speaker 2: Hawburn and was also a competitive bodybuilder. He and his 16 00:01:22,000 --> 00:01:25,240 Speaker 2: living girlfriend, twenty three year old shar Linda, were found 17 00:01:25,319 --> 00:01:29,080 Speaker 2: inside their town home just twenty minutes away, with their 18 00:01:29,160 --> 00:01:35,080 Speaker 2: throats slashed in a scene eerily similar to Billy's. A 19 00:01:35,160 --> 00:01:38,639 Speaker 2: week later, another fellow bodybuild a friend of Billy's named 20 00:01:38,840 --> 00:01:42,600 Speaker 2: Jimmy Hinoe, along with a man identified as a New 21 00:01:42,680 --> 00:01:47,800 Speaker 2: Jersey resident, Harry Collier, were found murdered in nearby Pembroke Pines, 22 00:01:48,520 --> 00:01:52,920 Speaker 2: each shot once in the back of the head, five 23 00:01:53,320 --> 00:02:00,560 Speaker 2: execution style homicides in less than eight months. Hectives from 24 00:02:00,560 --> 00:02:04,080 Speaker 2: Miramar and the Brower County Sheriff's Office were convinced they 25 00:02:04,080 --> 00:02:08,280 Speaker 2: were all connected. Not only did Billy, Mitch, and Jimmy 26 00:02:08,480 --> 00:02:12,440 Speaker 2: all know each other, they were all bodybuilders. They worked 27 00:02:12,480 --> 00:02:18,040 Speaker 2: out together, competed together, and police suspected were involved in 28 00:02:18,320 --> 00:02:22,600 Speaker 2: something that got them all killed was a drugs a 29 00:02:22,639 --> 00:02:27,359 Speaker 2: string of robberies. Police didn't know, but one thing had 30 00:02:27,400 --> 00:02:31,919 Speaker 2: become clear. The motive behind the killing spree, and more importantly, 31 00:02:32,320 --> 00:02:35,919 Speaker 2: who was behind it, would likely be found in one 32 00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:39,600 Speaker 2: place that Billy and the other victims had in common, 33 00:02:40,240 --> 00:02:47,440 Speaker 2: a bodybuilding mecca in Hollywood Beach called the Apollo Gym. 34 00:02:47,520 --> 00:02:50,839 Speaker 3: It's difficult enough to go back in time and try 35 00:02:50,880 --> 00:02:55,400 Speaker 3: to investigate it one particular case, but if there's an 36 00:02:55,400 --> 00:03:00,480 Speaker 3: association with another homicide, I'm essentially working two homicide cases. 37 00:03:01,120 --> 00:03:03,560 Speaker 3: And then if that branches off to a third homicide, 38 00:03:03,880 --> 00:03:06,799 Speaker 3: now I've got that much more work to do, so 39 00:03:07,160 --> 00:03:11,519 Speaker 3: I think the complexity of this case is unique, and 40 00:03:11,560 --> 00:03:14,640 Speaker 3: I've actually never heard of any other cold case that 41 00:03:14,760 --> 00:03:17,160 Speaker 3: has this many complexities. 42 00:03:18,480 --> 00:03:23,440 Speaker 2: I'm Scott Weinberger, investigative journalist and former deputy sheriff, and 43 00:03:23,600 --> 00:03:35,320 Speaker 2: this is cold blooded. The Apollo Jim murders. Nearly forty 44 00:03:35,400 --> 00:03:38,600 Speaker 2: years after his murder, cold case Detective Danny Smith and 45 00:03:38,640 --> 00:03:42,400 Speaker 2: I knew that tracking down people that knew Billy Hauburn 46 00:03:42,680 --> 00:03:46,040 Speaker 2: and could shed light on why he was killed would 47 00:03:46,120 --> 00:03:50,280 Speaker 2: not be an easy task. But Billy's sister Laurie was 48 00:03:50,360 --> 00:03:52,920 Speaker 2: able to provide us with a couple of names of 49 00:03:53,000 --> 00:03:57,480 Speaker 2: friends that were still living in South Florida. 50 00:03:58,480 --> 00:04:01,200 Speaker 4: I don't know. I wasn't. 51 00:04:02,400 --> 00:04:04,440 Speaker 5: I was wondering when I was going to hear something 52 00:04:04,480 --> 00:04:05,240 Speaker 5: from somebody. 53 00:04:06,440 --> 00:04:09,320 Speaker 2: Yeah, it's been a long time and lots of answers 54 00:04:09,360 --> 00:04:11,080 Speaker 2: had not come fair to. 55 00:04:11,040 --> 00:04:15,760 Speaker 5: Say, yeah, well, there's a lot of unsolved murders that 56 00:04:15,800 --> 00:04:18,160 Speaker 5: I think are all tied to the same people. 57 00:04:19,960 --> 00:04:23,680 Speaker 2: Day Fasano met Billy Hauburn when he was still a teenager, 58 00:04:24,000 --> 00:04:26,920 Speaker 2: it was clear from the beginning that the two aspiring 59 00:04:26,960 --> 00:04:31,880 Speaker 2: bodybuilders were cut from the same cloth, or more accurately, 60 00:04:32,320 --> 00:04:34,480 Speaker 2: from the same piece of granite. 61 00:04:36,600 --> 00:04:40,920 Speaker 5: I was a bodybuilder and a competitive bodybuilder. I won 62 00:04:41,000 --> 00:04:46,040 Speaker 5: Mister Teenage Florida, Mister America third Place, Mister Hollywood, Mister 63 00:04:46,080 --> 00:04:49,160 Speaker 5: brit like a bunch of titles. I was a hardcore 64 00:04:49,240 --> 00:04:53,159 Speaker 5: teenage bodybuilder that was doing very well. Billy was a 65 00:04:53,200 --> 00:04:57,000 Speaker 5: little older than me, and he was bigger than me 66 00:04:57,120 --> 00:05:00,320 Speaker 5: and my friends that were teenagers that were starting out, 67 00:05:00,360 --> 00:05:03,000 Speaker 5: and we kind of became good friends with. 68 00:05:03,000 --> 00:05:07,839 Speaker 2: Billion Fasano is now in his early sixties, and while 69 00:05:07,880 --> 00:05:10,360 Speaker 2: he might not be as big as he was when 70 00:05:10,440 --> 00:05:14,360 Speaker 2: he was competing, he's still in great shape. He sports 71 00:05:14,400 --> 00:05:17,120 Speaker 2: a Goals Jym T shirt, a pair of flip flops, 72 00:05:17,520 --> 00:05:21,039 Speaker 2: and a deep South Florida tan. I ventured to guests 73 00:05:21,400 --> 00:05:22,159 Speaker 2: is year round. 74 00:05:23,800 --> 00:05:26,560 Speaker 4: Billy and I became very good friends. 75 00:05:26,720 --> 00:05:29,680 Speaker 5: And we would go out and we would go He 76 00:05:29,680 --> 00:05:32,159 Speaker 5: would come to the swimming pool every day, hung out. 77 00:05:32,000 --> 00:05:33,760 Speaker 4: With me, and then we went out a couple times. 78 00:05:33,920 --> 00:05:36,560 Speaker 5: We'd go out partying together and picking up girls and 79 00:05:36,880 --> 00:05:40,200 Speaker 5: doing bodybuilding and partying basically is what we did. 80 00:05:41,800 --> 00:05:45,400 Speaker 2: Dave also reiterated something I had heard from more than 81 00:05:45,480 --> 00:05:49,479 Speaker 2: one person who knew Billy Hoppurn that despite looking like 82 00:05:49,520 --> 00:05:53,160 Speaker 2: a TV action hero who could take anyone out two 83 00:05:53,240 --> 00:05:58,640 Speaker 2: at a time. He was just really a nice guy. 84 00:05:58,800 --> 00:06:00,520 Speaker 5: I mean, he'd give you the shirt up his back, 85 00:06:00,560 --> 00:06:04,000 Speaker 5: and he was handsome, and he had charisma, he was 86 00:06:04,040 --> 00:06:05,640 Speaker 5: good looking, he was built. 87 00:06:05,760 --> 00:06:08,479 Speaker 4: He was just a nice, humble guy. 88 00:06:09,120 --> 00:06:11,479 Speaker 5: And him and a bunch of the other guys we 89 00:06:11,600 --> 00:06:13,560 Speaker 5: kind of looked up to them, and they kind of 90 00:06:13,600 --> 00:06:16,120 Speaker 5: mentored us a little bit, and then we ended up 91 00:06:16,640 --> 00:06:18,360 Speaker 5: all ended up at Apollo Gym. 92 00:06:18,400 --> 00:06:18,880 Speaker 4: In the end. 93 00:06:22,240 --> 00:06:25,600 Speaker 2: Bodybuilding and keeping fit was something of an obsession in 94 00:06:25,640 --> 00:06:29,680 Speaker 2: South Florida in the nineteen eighties. I was a young 95 00:06:29,720 --> 00:06:32,600 Speaker 2: deputy sheriff from Browere County back then, and it seemed 96 00:06:32,640 --> 00:06:37,560 Speaker 2: like new gyms were opening on every corner. But in 97 00:06:37,640 --> 00:06:41,839 Speaker 2: nineteen eighty six, for the serious muscleheads, there was really 98 00:06:41,920 --> 00:06:45,000 Speaker 2: just one place to go, a hole in the wall 99 00:06:45,200 --> 00:06:49,000 Speaker 2: on Route four forty one near the Seminole Indian Reservation. 100 00:06:50,320 --> 00:06:52,760 Speaker 2: It was called the Apollo Gym. 101 00:06:53,680 --> 00:06:57,320 Speaker 5: When we went into Apollo Gym, it was the best 102 00:06:57,880 --> 00:07:01,600 Speaker 5: gym around and it had all the best bodybuilders. 103 00:07:02,800 --> 00:07:06,160 Speaker 2: Billy's friend Mark Lopez also worked out at the Apollo 104 00:07:06,440 --> 00:07:09,960 Speaker 2: and described it to me as a no frills, concrete 105 00:07:10,000 --> 00:07:12,720 Speaker 2: box dedicated to painting game. 106 00:07:14,600 --> 00:07:20,880 Speaker 6: The Apollo was very unusual because it was a hardcore gym. 107 00:07:21,280 --> 00:07:24,200 Speaker 6: I try to tell people today, it's not like walking 108 00:07:24,240 --> 00:07:25,920 Speaker 6: into an La Fitness today. 109 00:07:26,600 --> 00:07:26,800 Speaker 2: You know. 110 00:07:26,800 --> 00:07:30,280 Speaker 6: It was very dungeon esque. The air conditioner wasn't always 111 00:07:30,320 --> 00:07:34,880 Speaker 6: working great in the place, The ceilings leaked, the equipment 112 00:07:35,000 --> 00:07:37,080 Speaker 6: a lot of it, you know, needed maintenance. 113 00:07:36,760 --> 00:07:37,480 Speaker 4: Or was broken. 114 00:07:40,960 --> 00:07:43,360 Speaker 2: Safe to say, this was not a place for the 115 00:07:43,440 --> 00:07:45,040 Speaker 2: casual weekend warrior. 116 00:07:46,400 --> 00:07:49,000 Speaker 6: There was a reputation about the place, and it was 117 00:07:49,560 --> 00:07:52,080 Speaker 6: if you were a little skittish, it wasn't the place 118 00:07:52,120 --> 00:07:54,760 Speaker 6: that you were going to go because you never knew 119 00:07:54,800 --> 00:07:58,280 Speaker 6: what was gonna happen there, like you know, fights in 120 00:07:58,360 --> 00:08:02,880 Speaker 6: the gym that ice, scrap and write in the gym. 121 00:08:02,960 --> 00:08:05,600 Speaker 2: I also got the feeling from Dave and Mark that 122 00:08:05,840 --> 00:08:08,680 Speaker 2: kind of like the rest of South Florida, the Apollo 123 00:08:09,320 --> 00:08:13,760 Speaker 2: was in anything goes kind of place. How prevalent was 124 00:08:13,840 --> 00:08:16,880 Speaker 2: story t at the Jim that you remember. 125 00:08:18,040 --> 00:08:18,840 Speaker 4: All over the place. 126 00:08:19,240 --> 00:08:21,160 Speaker 5: You'd walk in the bathroom, you look in the trash 127 00:08:21,200 --> 00:08:24,200 Speaker 5: cannon be filled with syringes. You could buy anything you wanted, 128 00:08:24,200 --> 00:08:25,760 Speaker 5: and back then you didn't go to jail for you 129 00:08:25,760 --> 00:08:28,160 Speaker 5: could walk into gym'sa I need some testosterone. 130 00:08:28,360 --> 00:08:30,280 Speaker 4: People would talk about it, Bam, you have it in 131 00:08:30,280 --> 00:08:30,720 Speaker 4: a week. 132 00:08:32,840 --> 00:08:36,640 Speaker 2: Along with the serious bodybuilders like David Mark, the Apollo 133 00:08:36,840 --> 00:08:40,960 Speaker 2: also attracted cops, firefighters, and a fair share of guys 134 00:08:41,280 --> 00:08:45,800 Speaker 2: who were probably using their bulk for less law abiding purposes. 135 00:08:47,200 --> 00:08:50,320 Speaker 2: I'm talking about the dealers, the hustlers, and the low 136 00:08:50,400 --> 00:08:54,440 Speaker 2: level gangsters that occupied the same South Florida streets and 137 00:08:55,040 --> 00:08:59,080 Speaker 2: at the Apollo the same bench presses as local law. 138 00:08:59,000 --> 00:09:04,640 Speaker 6: Enforcement at that time the Apollo, there are several Hollywood 139 00:09:04,640 --> 00:09:08,320 Speaker 6: cops that were members there, you know, generally the local cops, 140 00:09:08,320 --> 00:09:11,840 Speaker 6: the Hollywood cops, the Davy cops that I knew, they 141 00:09:11,920 --> 00:09:14,760 Speaker 6: knew the element that hung out there, and that they 142 00:09:14,800 --> 00:09:17,360 Speaker 6: were kind of outnumbered good guys the bad guys, so 143 00:09:17,480 --> 00:09:20,840 Speaker 6: to speak. So there was a lot of fear from 144 00:09:20,920 --> 00:09:25,320 Speaker 6: local law enforcement about the element there. I saw that firsthand. 145 00:09:27,400 --> 00:09:29,600 Speaker 2: But there was kind of a don't ask, don't tell 146 00:09:29,640 --> 00:09:33,520 Speaker 2: policy at the Apollo, creating an environment where cops and 147 00:09:33,600 --> 00:09:39,280 Speaker 2: crooks could share a safe space to push iron. But 148 00:09:39,400 --> 00:09:43,120 Speaker 2: as we will learn, that would ultimately prove to be 149 00:09:43,280 --> 00:09:52,560 Speaker 2: a volatile and dangerous mix. The Apollogym had two owners 150 00:09:53,000 --> 00:09:56,720 Speaker 2: Bert Christy was originally from New Jersey and had moved 151 00:09:56,720 --> 00:10:02,079 Speaker 2: to Fort Lauderdale in the late nineteen sixties. Christy was 152 00:10:02,120 --> 00:10:05,800 Speaker 2: a former Mister Florida who in his fifties had become 153 00:10:05,960 --> 00:10:10,320 Speaker 2: kind of a mentor to young bodybuilders. This is Mark 154 00:10:10,400 --> 00:10:12,800 Speaker 2: Lopez describing Bert Christie. 155 00:10:14,280 --> 00:10:16,520 Speaker 6: Bert at the time, I'm guessing was probably in his 156 00:10:16,600 --> 00:10:21,320 Speaker 6: early fifties. Not a big guy. Bert probably stood I'm 157 00:10:21,360 --> 00:10:25,040 Speaker 6: guessing about five to nine. And you know, it was 158 00:10:25,120 --> 00:10:27,880 Speaker 6: kind of a not a flashy guy, like not a 159 00:10:27,880 --> 00:10:30,319 Speaker 6: guy that was loud and brash or anything like that. 160 00:10:31,000 --> 00:10:35,720 Speaker 6: Pretty soft spoken. But you know, even though he wasn't 161 00:10:35,840 --> 00:10:39,400 Speaker 6: like a big scary looking guy, he probably wasn't the 162 00:10:39,440 --> 00:10:40,760 Speaker 6: guy you want to piss off. 163 00:10:42,120 --> 00:10:45,800 Speaker 2: Bert Christie's partner was a former Miami Dade Police officer 164 00:10:46,040 --> 00:10:48,480 Speaker 2: by the name of Gil Fernandez. 165 00:10:49,679 --> 00:10:52,640 Speaker 6: When I first met Gil, I had no idea he 166 00:10:52,760 --> 00:10:54,960 Speaker 6: was a former cop, right, I didn't know anything about it. 167 00:10:54,960 --> 00:10:57,200 Speaker 6: I just know him some guy in the gym that 168 00:10:57,320 --> 00:10:58,800 Speaker 6: worked in the same gym I did. 169 00:10:59,600 --> 00:11:00,880 Speaker 4: And you know, he's a. 170 00:11:00,840 --> 00:11:04,840 Speaker 6: Big, scary looking guy with his physique and the tats 171 00:11:04,920 --> 00:11:07,920 Speaker 6: and the New York accent, and like I said, Gills's 172 00:11:07,960 --> 00:11:12,079 Speaker 6: voice was like a combination of West Side New York 173 00:11:12,280 --> 00:11:15,920 Speaker 6: with cut gravel, and when he walked in the room, 174 00:11:16,280 --> 00:11:18,600 Speaker 6: he got your attention, believe me, one way or the other. 175 00:11:20,240 --> 00:11:24,360 Speaker 2: At one time, then officer Fernandez had been singled out 176 00:11:24,360 --> 00:11:28,880 Speaker 2: by the local paper from multiple complaints of excessive. 177 00:11:28,400 --> 00:11:32,599 Speaker 6: Violence during the McDuffie riots. He basically built a reputation 178 00:11:32,800 --> 00:11:36,920 Speaker 6: there as Miami's meanest cop. And you know, I'm sure 179 00:11:37,840 --> 00:11:39,360 Speaker 6: the steroids didn't help. 180 00:11:40,320 --> 00:11:44,679 Speaker 2: A Fasano was also well aware of Gil's reputation. 181 00:11:45,840 --> 00:11:47,920 Speaker 5: I knew he was a cop, and I heard he 182 00:11:48,000 --> 00:11:51,080 Speaker 5: was a racist cop, and that he was a bad cop. 183 00:11:51,120 --> 00:11:51,800 Speaker 4: That's what I heard. 184 00:11:53,160 --> 00:11:57,480 Speaker 2: Gil's famous temper, coupled with his enormous physique, earned him 185 00:11:57,720 --> 00:12:01,760 Speaker 2: an appropriate, if predictable name, the Hulk. 186 00:12:03,120 --> 00:12:06,360 Speaker 4: People were afraid of Gil. He was very aggressive and 187 00:12:06,880 --> 00:12:07,600 Speaker 4: he was a bully. 188 00:12:08,520 --> 00:12:10,520 Speaker 6: I knew from the beginning, like, this is not a 189 00:12:10,559 --> 00:12:12,880 Speaker 6: guy that you want to piss off. He's just not 190 00:12:13,720 --> 00:12:15,800 Speaker 6: I knew that within the first couple of days and 191 00:12:15,920 --> 00:12:16,400 Speaker 6: knowing the. 192 00:12:16,360 --> 00:12:20,440 Speaker 2: Guy at first glance. Burt and Gill were a couple 193 00:12:20,440 --> 00:12:24,640 Speaker 2: of older bodybuilders mentoring young guys and drumming up attention 194 00:12:24,720 --> 00:12:28,880 Speaker 2: for their business, which included sponsoring young bodybuilders like Dave 195 00:12:28,880 --> 00:12:30,880 Speaker 2: Farsano in local competitions. 196 00:12:32,440 --> 00:12:35,960 Speaker 5: So when I went to Apollo Gym, they immediately took 197 00:12:35,960 --> 00:12:38,120 Speaker 5: me under their wing and they gave me free membership. 198 00:12:38,120 --> 00:12:40,160 Speaker 5: I didn't even have to pay. They gave me free 199 00:12:40,200 --> 00:12:43,400 Speaker 5: supplements and clothing. Because I was representing the gym and 200 00:12:43,440 --> 00:12:47,240 Speaker 5: I was winning pretty much everything, they gave me the 201 00:12:47,320 --> 00:12:51,520 Speaker 5: keys and we formed a team of bodybuilders, and Gil 202 00:12:51,760 --> 00:12:55,199 Speaker 5: and Bert were best friends, and Bert was my training partner. 203 00:12:55,440 --> 00:12:57,720 Speaker 5: When I won the Mister Florida, we all went and 204 00:12:57,720 --> 00:13:02,000 Speaker 5: Mister Florida together as a team. 205 00:13:02,280 --> 00:13:06,360 Speaker 2: These competitions were pretty low stakes, prize money in the hundreds, 206 00:13:06,600 --> 00:13:10,400 Speaker 2: not thousands. It was all about the bragging rights, and 207 00:13:10,440 --> 00:13:13,520 Speaker 2: the guys from the Apollo Gym were in it to 208 00:13:13,640 --> 00:13:14,000 Speaker 2: win it. 209 00:13:16,160 --> 00:13:19,360 Speaker 5: Billy didn't compete, but there was Guild Fernanders who was competing. 210 00:13:19,559 --> 00:13:22,360 Speaker 5: There was Tommy Felts who was competing. There was Bert 211 00:13:22,440 --> 00:13:23,720 Speaker 5: Christie who was competing. 212 00:13:24,000 --> 00:13:26,120 Speaker 4: There was me a bunch of other guys. 213 00:13:26,320 --> 00:13:29,000 Speaker 5: Now Billy wasn't part of that because he didn't compete, 214 00:13:29,480 --> 00:13:32,120 Speaker 5: but Billy was in the gym all the time training. 215 00:13:33,120 --> 00:13:36,439 Speaker 2: And by Billy he means Billy Halpern, who a short 216 00:13:36,440 --> 00:13:40,360 Speaker 2: time later would end up dead, his throat slashed from 217 00:13:40,360 --> 00:13:44,720 Speaker 2: ear to ear. Tommy Felts he was murdered too, but 218 00:13:45,280 --> 00:13:49,480 Speaker 2: we'll get to that. And while on the surface, Christy 219 00:13:49,559 --> 00:13:53,400 Speaker 2: and Fernandez appeared to be running a first class gym, 220 00:13:53,679 --> 00:13:56,440 Speaker 2: there were rumors that the ex cop and the former 221 00:13:56,520 --> 00:14:00,680 Speaker 2: mister Florida were doing more than just mentoring young muscle. 222 00:14:02,240 --> 00:14:05,160 Speaker 6: Like I would be in the gym sometimes and Gil 223 00:14:05,240 --> 00:14:08,960 Speaker 6: would be there with me, and Bert would show up. 224 00:14:09,080 --> 00:14:11,840 Speaker 6: Might be the middle of the afternoon while it's quiet, 225 00:14:11,880 --> 00:14:15,439 Speaker 6: there not a lot of people around, and they would 226 00:14:15,480 --> 00:14:17,760 Speaker 6: go out front and they would do a walk and 227 00:14:17,800 --> 00:14:20,200 Speaker 6: talk and they would walk up and down the plaza 228 00:14:20,280 --> 00:14:22,360 Speaker 6: the whole length of the plaza, the whole way back, 229 00:14:22,600 --> 00:14:25,080 Speaker 6: and then just keep turning around doing laps until they 230 00:14:25,080 --> 00:14:27,360 Speaker 6: were done with their conversation. And then they would come 231 00:14:27,400 --> 00:14:30,240 Speaker 6: back in the gym. So that was like an everyday occurrence. 232 00:14:31,160 --> 00:14:34,080 Speaker 6: That was street smart enough to know that when I 233 00:14:34,120 --> 00:14:36,280 Speaker 6: see certain things, I don't need anybody to tap me 234 00:14:36,320 --> 00:14:38,400 Speaker 6: on the shoulder and say, hey, this is what's happening. 235 00:14:39,080 --> 00:14:41,400 Speaker 6: I just put two and two together and I'm like, Okay, 236 00:14:41,400 --> 00:14:42,200 Speaker 6: this is what's up. 237 00:14:43,920 --> 00:14:48,480 Speaker 2: Dave Fasano had also heard the stories about Gil and Burt. 238 00:14:49,440 --> 00:14:53,280 Speaker 5: So there was always rumors around the gym, and I 239 00:14:53,320 --> 00:14:57,080 Speaker 5: always thought it was people. People talk, and people think 240 00:14:57,080 --> 00:15:01,320 Speaker 5: they're cool when they talk. And I'm from New York 241 00:15:01,720 --> 00:15:03,720 Speaker 5: and I never thought it was cool when people sat, Oh, 242 00:15:03,800 --> 00:15:05,760 Speaker 5: my father's in the mafia or my uncle. 243 00:15:05,800 --> 00:15:07,800 Speaker 4: And this they wear like a badge bond. 244 00:15:08,520 --> 00:15:10,560 Speaker 5: There was rumors circulating in the gym all the time 245 00:15:10,600 --> 00:15:15,360 Speaker 5: that Bert and Dial were somehow connected and they were 246 00:15:15,440 --> 00:15:18,120 Speaker 5: drug dealers and they were bad people. But I never 247 00:15:18,160 --> 00:15:20,840 Speaker 5: believed it. I always thought it was just talk, you know. 248 00:15:22,680 --> 00:15:24,840 Speaker 2: But the truth was that the Apollo Gym was not 249 00:15:25,200 --> 00:15:29,000 Speaker 2: just a clubhouse for like minded gym rats. The Apollo 250 00:15:29,080 --> 00:15:31,880 Speaker 2: Gym was a front for some of the most ruthless 251 00:15:31,920 --> 00:15:33,800 Speaker 2: criminals in South Florida. 252 00:15:34,960 --> 00:15:37,360 Speaker 6: And there was a lot of craziness in the place. 253 00:15:37,480 --> 00:15:40,000 Speaker 6: And of course not when you first walk in and 254 00:15:40,040 --> 00:15:43,080 Speaker 6: see it from the surface, but won't just spend time 255 00:15:43,120 --> 00:15:45,960 Speaker 6: around the place and realize kind of what's going on 256 00:15:46,040 --> 00:15:49,320 Speaker 6: beneath the surface. It wasn't just a gym. It was 257 00:15:49,360 --> 00:15:50,480 Speaker 6: a criminal enterprise. 258 00:15:58,720 --> 00:16:01,360 Speaker 2: The more Danny and I learned about the Apollo, the 259 00:16:01,440 --> 00:16:05,200 Speaker 2: more we were convinced that the truth behind Billy Halpern's 260 00:16:05,280 --> 00:16:10,320 Speaker 2: murder was hidden somewhere behind its doors and its many secrets. 261 00:16:12,320 --> 00:16:16,400 Speaker 2: But to better understand how a bodybuilding gym could double 262 00:16:16,760 --> 00:16:20,040 Speaker 2: as a headquarters for a criminal operation, we have to 263 00:16:20,080 --> 00:16:26,920 Speaker 2: go back a few years. Mark Lopez is a New 264 00:16:26,960 --> 00:16:29,120 Speaker 2: Jersey native, and he was able to give us a 265 00:16:29,120 --> 00:16:32,680 Speaker 2: little history lesson on the origins of the South Florida 266 00:16:32,720 --> 00:16:36,680 Speaker 2: criminal underground and how the mob came to Miami. 267 00:16:38,600 --> 00:16:41,520 Speaker 6: The town that I grew up in is called South Amboy. 268 00:16:41,640 --> 00:16:45,280 Speaker 6: It's a little town right across from Staten Island, and 269 00:16:45,360 --> 00:16:49,680 Speaker 6: my family on both sides, my mother's side and my 270 00:16:49,760 --> 00:16:53,240 Speaker 6: dad's side, were both in the bar business. The house 271 00:16:53,280 --> 00:16:58,080 Speaker 6: that I grew up in was a normal ranch style 272 00:16:58,160 --> 00:17:01,960 Speaker 6: home in a residential zone in town. But when I 273 00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:05,520 Speaker 6: grew up there, the basement, the whole basement of the 274 00:17:05,520 --> 00:17:08,919 Speaker 6: house was a nightclub. A lounge was my dad's lounge 275 00:17:08,960 --> 00:17:12,280 Speaker 6: called the Hideaway, which at the time was, you know, 276 00:17:12,440 --> 00:17:15,240 Speaker 6: the most hop and spot in town. 277 00:17:17,080 --> 00:17:21,400 Speaker 2: Upstairs, Mark lived with his parents, four sisters, and his grandmother. 278 00:17:22,480 --> 00:17:27,720 Speaker 2: But downstairs the family speak easy attracted a colorful cast of. 279 00:17:27,760 --> 00:17:34,760 Speaker 6: Characters, bikers, hell's angels, mob guys, you know, just miscellaneous craziness. 280 00:17:34,800 --> 00:17:38,040 Speaker 6: But my dad ran a very tight ship there, like 281 00:17:38,080 --> 00:17:40,800 Speaker 6: he didn't put up in any nonsense and if you 282 00:17:40,920 --> 00:17:42,640 Speaker 6: acted up, you were going to go out the front 283 00:17:42,680 --> 00:17:43,480 Speaker 6: door head first. 284 00:17:45,119 --> 00:17:47,960 Speaker 2: But it wasn't just live music and booze flowing out 285 00:17:48,000 --> 00:17:48,600 Speaker 2: of the basement. 286 00:17:50,000 --> 00:17:53,199 Speaker 6: My dad was in the cannabis smuggling business, like a 287 00:17:53,240 --> 00:17:56,359 Speaker 6: lot of guys were in those days, and you know, 288 00:17:56,440 --> 00:18:00,560 Speaker 6: guys were bringing in product from Mexico, from Columbia. At 289 00:18:00,560 --> 00:18:03,000 Speaker 6: that time, it was you know, it's cannabis is not 290 00:18:03,080 --> 00:18:06,320 Speaker 6: look the way it is today. It was very taboo 291 00:18:06,920 --> 00:18:09,760 Speaker 6: and if you were caught, you were going to get 292 00:18:09,880 --> 00:18:11,919 Speaker 6: probably some type of draconian sentence. 293 00:18:12,680 --> 00:18:15,639 Speaker 2: Safe to say that Mark was exposed to the inner 294 00:18:15,640 --> 00:18:19,320 Speaker 2: workings of the criminal underworld at a very early age. 295 00:18:20,760 --> 00:18:23,600 Speaker 6: You know where I grew up, I know, knew guys 296 00:18:23,680 --> 00:18:25,800 Speaker 6: from the time I was in my early to mid 297 00:18:25,840 --> 00:18:29,080 Speaker 6: teens that were guys that what I would call, you know, 298 00:18:29,200 --> 00:18:32,520 Speaker 6: young and up and coming wanna be gangsters, right, And 299 00:18:32,560 --> 00:18:35,359 Speaker 6: they were guys that were from my neck of the 300 00:18:35,359 --> 00:18:38,960 Speaker 6: woods or Staten Island or Brooklyn. And these guys from 301 00:18:38,960 --> 00:18:41,560 Speaker 6: the time that they're like fifteen years old were out 302 00:18:41,960 --> 00:18:47,480 Speaker 6: committing crimes, selling drugs, doing collections. When they got in 303 00:18:47,520 --> 00:18:50,000 Speaker 6: their late teens, they were robbing banks, they were doing 304 00:18:50,000 --> 00:18:53,760 Speaker 6: home invasions, they were trying to impress the powers that be. 305 00:18:54,040 --> 00:18:58,159 Speaker 6: So they were brazen, and so I saw a side 306 00:18:58,200 --> 00:19:01,359 Speaker 6: of I guess adulthood at that point that I realized 307 00:19:01,400 --> 00:19:04,480 Speaker 6: that it's not all pieces and cream, Like there's some 308 00:19:04,600 --> 00:19:07,520 Speaker 6: rough stuff that you're going to encounter. And I was 309 00:19:07,560 --> 00:19:10,160 Speaker 6: always smart enough to keep my distance away from guys 310 00:19:10,160 --> 00:19:12,920 Speaker 6: that were just out of control. So, you know, before 311 00:19:12,960 --> 00:19:15,840 Speaker 6: I came to Florida, which was at nineteen, I had 312 00:19:15,880 --> 00:19:19,320 Speaker 6: already been exposed to a pretty rough element. 313 00:19:22,040 --> 00:19:24,760 Speaker 2: But it was that experience and a few points from 314 00:19:24,760 --> 00:19:28,440 Speaker 2: his dad that would give him such a unique perspective 315 00:19:28,680 --> 00:19:32,119 Speaker 2: on the goings on in South Florida, or what he 316 00:19:32,320 --> 00:19:36,520 Speaker 2: called the life my dad. 317 00:19:36,600 --> 00:19:40,280 Speaker 6: He would tell me my entire life, like, if you're 318 00:19:40,320 --> 00:19:44,480 Speaker 6: ever going to do anything illegal, you want to be invisible. 319 00:19:45,040 --> 00:19:48,360 Speaker 6: You want to blend into the background. You want to 320 00:19:48,400 --> 00:19:51,600 Speaker 6: look like an upstanding member of society. You want to 321 00:19:51,600 --> 00:19:55,600 Speaker 6: make sure you have the legitimate business running parallel to 322 00:19:55,640 --> 00:19:59,400 Speaker 6: your illegitimate business to show that you have legitimate income. 323 00:20:00,240 --> 00:20:04,479 Speaker 6: Don't drive a flashy car, don't wear flashy jewelry. You know, 324 00:20:04,520 --> 00:20:08,720 Speaker 6: the common mistakes that guys tied up in that element, 325 00:20:09,080 --> 00:20:11,640 Speaker 6: you know, get taken down from eventually, right. 326 00:20:12,800 --> 00:20:16,080 Speaker 2: Mark's family would eventually move to South Florida in the 327 00:20:16,119 --> 00:20:20,200 Speaker 2: mid nineteen eighties, opening the Steakhouse in the Hollywood Beach Hotel, 328 00:20:20,760 --> 00:20:25,119 Speaker 2: about twenty miles outside of Miami, which at that time 329 00:20:25,600 --> 00:20:29,880 Speaker 2: was already a playground and profit center for the organized 330 00:20:29,920 --> 00:20:31,800 Speaker 2: crime families from up north. 331 00:20:33,040 --> 00:20:36,760 Speaker 6: Almost directly across the street from the Hollywood Beach Hotel 332 00:20:36,760 --> 00:20:40,320 Speaker 6: at the time was the Gold Coast Restaurant, which was 333 00:20:40,720 --> 00:20:44,080 Speaker 6: the most mobbed up joint in South Florida. I tell people, 334 00:20:44,240 --> 00:20:47,000 Speaker 6: like when you see that scene in Goodfellas where they 335 00:20:47,080 --> 00:20:49,040 Speaker 6: kind of tore you through the bar showing you all 336 00:20:49,080 --> 00:20:52,679 Speaker 6: the cast of characters, the Gold Coast on a Friday 337 00:20:52,720 --> 00:20:55,159 Speaker 6: or Saturday night in December or January back in the 338 00:20:55,240 --> 00:20:59,159 Speaker 6: day was exactly like that. I mean, they're all, you know, 339 00:20:59,240 --> 00:21:05,520 Speaker 6: mob guys from New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, New England, Chicago, Cleveland, 340 00:21:06,119 --> 00:21:08,040 Speaker 6: from all over the country. So it was kind of 341 00:21:08,080 --> 00:21:10,720 Speaker 6: like a mutual meeting ground, if you will, And there 342 00:21:10,800 --> 00:21:14,560 Speaker 6: was a lot of business done there all types of business. 343 00:21:15,640 --> 00:21:21,240 Speaker 2: And along with some mafia specialties like bookmaking, prostitution, and extortion, 344 00:21:21,800 --> 00:21:25,600 Speaker 2: South Florida was becoming a hub for the most profitable 345 00:21:25,640 --> 00:21:26,800 Speaker 2: business of all. 346 00:21:28,119 --> 00:21:30,080 Speaker 6: You know at South Florida, right, and at that time 347 00:21:30,119 --> 00:21:33,640 Speaker 6: it was kind of the cocaine cowboys era, if you will. 348 00:21:34,080 --> 00:21:38,919 Speaker 6: When I came here, I would say that, without exaggerating, 349 00:21:39,600 --> 00:21:42,720 Speaker 6: most of the guys that I met, probably seventy five 350 00:21:42,760 --> 00:21:45,399 Speaker 6: percent of them were in the cocaine business on some level. 351 00:21:45,920 --> 00:21:50,440 Speaker 6: You know, you'll hear frequently when mob guys are interviewed that, oh, 352 00:21:51,040 --> 00:21:54,800 Speaker 6: we don't sell drugs, it's against our rules to sell drugs. Well, 353 00:21:54,840 --> 00:21:57,240 Speaker 6: that might be against the rules, but most of them 354 00:21:57,240 --> 00:21:57,840 Speaker 6: are doing it. 355 00:21:59,440 --> 00:22:02,439 Speaker 2: But of course this isn't just a movie. And along 356 00:22:02,520 --> 00:22:06,239 Speaker 2: with the crime and the drugs came the potential. 357 00:22:06,080 --> 00:22:10,040 Speaker 6: For violence because you didn't just have the mob, right 358 00:22:10,080 --> 00:22:12,680 Speaker 6: in different factions of the mob, different families of the mob, 359 00:22:13,480 --> 00:22:16,840 Speaker 6: but you had cartel guys. And some of these guys 360 00:22:16,840 --> 00:22:19,800 Speaker 6: were scary too, because you know, all they know how 361 00:22:19,800 --> 00:22:20,800 Speaker 6: to do really is killed. 362 00:22:22,480 --> 00:22:25,040 Speaker 2: Not that Mark needed much help, by the way, a protection. 363 00:22:25,560 --> 00:22:30,520 Speaker 2: At nineteen, the aspiring bodybuilder was already pushing two hundred 364 00:22:30,560 --> 00:22:32,639 Speaker 2: and forty pounds of pure muscle. 365 00:22:35,440 --> 00:22:38,200 Speaker 6: So you know, most guys really didn't want to mess 366 00:22:38,240 --> 00:22:40,800 Speaker 6: with me, just because I wasn't a small guy and 367 00:22:40,880 --> 00:22:42,840 Speaker 6: I was only a young kid. But I was full 368 00:22:42,840 --> 00:22:45,679 Speaker 6: of piss and vinegar, and at the time, I was 369 00:22:45,760 --> 00:22:49,919 Speaker 6: using steroids, and that doesn't help the matter, because you know, 370 00:22:50,000 --> 00:22:54,240 Speaker 6: you're basically pumping artificial testosterone into your body, and at 371 00:22:54,359 --> 00:22:57,840 Speaker 6: nineteen you're already really at peak levels naturally, So I 372 00:22:57,920 --> 00:23:01,480 Speaker 6: was probably at ten fifteen, twenty times a distosterone of 373 00:23:01,480 --> 00:23:05,040 Speaker 6: a natural guy my age, and that makes you very aggressive, 374 00:23:05,720 --> 00:23:09,200 Speaker 6: and you know, when you're big in ornery and kind 375 00:23:09,200 --> 00:23:12,159 Speaker 6: of have my background, you know, in that situation, I 376 00:23:12,200 --> 00:23:15,040 Speaker 6: probably wasn't the right guy who antagonized. 377 00:23:15,720 --> 00:23:18,960 Speaker 2: Which is probably why when he walked into Burton Gill's 378 00:23:19,200 --> 00:23:22,760 Speaker 2: stripped down shrine to piss in vinegar, the Apollo, Jim 379 00:23:23,320 --> 00:23:27,480 Speaker 2: Mark felt right at home, and for someone who had 380 00:23:27,520 --> 00:23:30,480 Speaker 2: grown up in the life, it was no secret that 381 00:23:30,600 --> 00:23:32,960 Speaker 2: its owners were in on the action. 382 00:23:35,119 --> 00:23:39,760 Speaker 6: When those two were together, they were like John Gottie 383 00:23:39,800 --> 00:23:40,640 Speaker 6: and Sammy the Bull. 384 00:23:41,520 --> 00:23:45,880 Speaker 2: He had a particularly memorable first encounter with Gil Fernandez. 385 00:23:47,200 --> 00:23:51,119 Speaker 6: So he walks out of the aerobics room to the 386 00:23:51,160 --> 00:23:53,560 Speaker 6: men's room, which goes right in front of me where 387 00:23:53,560 --> 00:23:56,920 Speaker 6: I'm sitting behind the front desk. And you know, he's 388 00:23:56,960 --> 00:24:01,720 Speaker 6: a big, scary looking guy, you know, tat it up. 389 00:24:02,080 --> 00:24:05,399 Speaker 6: He's wearing a tank top. The first impression to me 390 00:24:05,440 --> 00:24:08,280 Speaker 6: in my mind was that guy is a fucking gangster. 391 00:24:09,440 --> 00:24:11,560 Speaker 6: He says, well, what the fuck is the matter with you? 392 00:24:11,680 --> 00:24:14,200 Speaker 6: He says, don't don't you ever check the fucking ben's room? 393 00:24:14,720 --> 00:24:16,200 Speaker 6: And I said, what are you talking about? I said, 394 00:24:16,200 --> 00:24:18,440 Speaker 6: I just cleaned the whole men's room a half hour ago. 395 00:24:19,200 --> 00:24:22,240 Speaker 6: So he said, well, somebody's got the goddamn toilet clogged. 396 00:24:23,160 --> 00:24:26,639 Speaker 2: Okay, a little warning here if you have a weak's stomach, 397 00:24:26,960 --> 00:24:29,359 Speaker 2: you might want to brace yourself for the next part. 398 00:24:30,880 --> 00:24:32,240 Speaker 6: And it's almost filled to the top. 399 00:24:32,280 --> 00:24:33,400 Speaker 4: It's almost overflowing. 400 00:24:34,119 --> 00:24:38,000 Speaker 6: So he, without hesitation, kneels down in front of the 401 00:24:38,040 --> 00:24:41,480 Speaker 6: ball and jams his whole you know, arm up to 402 00:24:41,960 --> 00:24:45,480 Speaker 6: past his elbow into the bowl and he is reaching 403 00:24:45,520 --> 00:24:48,160 Speaker 6: around down there trying to see what's clogged. 404 00:24:48,960 --> 00:24:51,239 Speaker 7: And then he looks at me and he says, now 405 00:24:51,280 --> 00:24:54,800 Speaker 7: you owe me one. And I said to myself, well, 406 00:24:54,840 --> 00:24:57,040 Speaker 7: what the hell just happened? I've been here for three hours, 407 00:24:57,080 --> 00:24:59,760 Speaker 7: I'm already into this maniac for a favor, you know. 408 00:25:00,119 --> 00:25:03,080 Speaker 6: So that was my introduction to Gil. 409 00:25:03,560 --> 00:25:03,840 Speaker 4: Right. 410 00:25:04,320 --> 00:25:06,600 Speaker 6: It made an impression on me, like this guy's a 411 00:25:06,640 --> 00:25:11,359 Speaker 6: little nuts, right, Like. 412 00:25:11,320 --> 00:25:13,720 Speaker 2: A lot of the guys that hung out at the Apollo. 413 00:25:13,920 --> 00:25:17,520 Speaker 2: Mark was there every day, and over that time he 414 00:25:17,520 --> 00:25:21,760 Speaker 2: heard some things and he saw some things. 415 00:25:22,720 --> 00:25:26,359 Speaker 6: And it's just exposure over time that you kind of 416 00:25:27,280 --> 00:25:29,560 Speaker 6: see these little things and you start putting two and 417 00:25:29,600 --> 00:25:32,359 Speaker 6: two together. You know, it doesn't take long for somebody 418 00:25:32,359 --> 00:25:34,520 Speaker 6: that street smart to kind of figure out the big picture. 419 00:25:35,920 --> 00:25:41,240 Speaker 2: And part of that big picture involved drugs. For one, steroids. 420 00:25:41,760 --> 00:25:44,800 Speaker 6: I know Gil was selling steroids as well as I was. 421 00:25:45,320 --> 00:25:47,800 Speaker 6: It was you have to remember too, at that time. 422 00:25:48,640 --> 00:25:51,600 Speaker 6: I think the Antebout the Control Act passed in eighty eight, 423 00:25:52,480 --> 00:25:55,240 Speaker 6: so up until that point it wasn't even in controlled substance, 424 00:25:55,280 --> 00:25:59,920 Speaker 6: so getting it selling it was very commonplace. We saw 425 00:26:00,080 --> 00:26:02,120 Speaker 6: to everybody, including the local cops. 426 00:26:03,400 --> 00:26:06,040 Speaker 2: And this being the go go eighties, there was also 427 00:26:06,119 --> 00:26:10,480 Speaker 2: a fair share of marijuana and cocaine moving through the Apollo. 428 00:26:12,040 --> 00:26:16,280 Speaker 2: But apparently an ex cop provided great protection against too 429 00:26:16,359 --> 00:26:18,840 Speaker 2: much scrutiny from local law enforcement. 430 00:26:19,880 --> 00:26:22,200 Speaker 6: A lot of the local cops the Hollywood cops, the 431 00:26:22,280 --> 00:26:24,520 Speaker 6: Davy cops. They were friendly with them, right. I mean 432 00:26:24,560 --> 00:26:26,439 Speaker 6: they were scared of them, don't get me wrong, but 433 00:26:26,520 --> 00:26:27,640 Speaker 6: they were friendly with him. 434 00:26:29,080 --> 00:26:33,800 Speaker 2: And Mark should know. He was Gill's partner pushing steroids 435 00:26:33,800 --> 00:26:36,960 Speaker 2: and other drugs to customers at the Apollo. 436 00:26:38,280 --> 00:26:41,600 Speaker 6: So we didn't really fear law enforcement. I can remember 437 00:26:41,600 --> 00:26:44,439 Speaker 6: getting stopped on a traffic stop one time, having my 438 00:26:44,560 --> 00:26:47,000 Speaker 6: gym bag and the car and it was. 439 00:26:47,000 --> 00:26:50,120 Speaker 4: Open and the cop had flight was at night. 440 00:26:50,119 --> 00:26:52,240 Speaker 6: He stuck his flashlight in and saw that I had 441 00:26:52,720 --> 00:26:55,359 Speaker 6: some vials in there, and he said, watch in your bag, 442 00:26:55,400 --> 00:26:57,320 Speaker 6: and I showed him up was in there. He said, yeah, okay, 443 00:26:57,400 --> 00:27:00,960 Speaker 6: no problem. So I didn't say thing to me about it. 444 00:27:02,160 --> 00:27:05,119 Speaker 2: But as you might imagine, selling steroids out of the 445 00:27:05,160 --> 00:27:08,320 Speaker 2: trunk of their cars was not the only stream of 446 00:27:08,359 --> 00:27:12,640 Speaker 2: illicit revenue. Some members of the Apollos team of star 447 00:27:12,760 --> 00:27:16,119 Speaker 2: bodybuilders were moonlighting as local muscle. 448 00:27:17,680 --> 00:27:21,960 Speaker 6: Those guys, under the direction of Bert Christie, they were 449 00:27:22,000 --> 00:27:25,120 Speaker 6: doing shakedowns. It was well known a. 450 00:27:25,119 --> 00:27:30,080 Speaker 2: Shakedown for the uninitiated is another word for extortion, an 451 00:27:30,119 --> 00:27:35,560 Speaker 2: activity especially suited to men of a particular size and temperament. 452 00:27:37,080 --> 00:27:40,119 Speaker 6: They were basically going to guys that were, you know, 453 00:27:40,160 --> 00:27:43,879 Speaker 6: in the drug business generally just you know, little crews 454 00:27:43,920 --> 00:27:47,760 Speaker 6: that banded together that were selling drugs, smuggling drugs, and 455 00:27:47,800 --> 00:27:49,760 Speaker 6: these guys knew that they could go step on their 456 00:27:49,800 --> 00:27:53,280 Speaker 6: neck more or less by saying, hey, listen, you're going 457 00:27:53,359 --> 00:27:56,840 Speaker 6: to pay us. You're going to pay us, or we're 458 00:27:56,880 --> 00:27:57,439 Speaker 6: going to kill you. 459 00:27:58,720 --> 00:28:03,040 Speaker 2: And apparently Bert's crew wasn't afraid to make good on 460 00:28:03,160 --> 00:28:06,920 Speaker 2: their threats. 461 00:28:06,160 --> 00:28:11,040 Speaker 6: If you didn't pay, like they were clicked to, you know, 462 00:28:11,760 --> 00:28:16,239 Speaker 6: shoot up your house, beat you down, like whatever it 463 00:28:16,240 --> 00:28:19,320 Speaker 6: took to make that impression like we're enough fucking around here, 464 00:28:19,359 --> 00:28:22,600 Speaker 6: like give me the money or you're going to end 465 00:28:22,680 --> 00:28:25,960 Speaker 6: up dead. They knew what their strong points were, which 466 00:28:26,119 --> 00:28:29,880 Speaker 6: was they were true muscle right, they were big, scary 467 00:28:29,920 --> 00:28:34,320 Speaker 6: guys that weren't afraid to be violent. Bert was like 468 00:28:34,440 --> 00:28:38,560 Speaker 6: the Batman villain, sending his goons out on the city 469 00:28:38,600 --> 00:28:39,680 Speaker 6: to wreck havoc. 470 00:28:40,840 --> 00:28:44,480 Speaker 2: Which begs a serious question. Could Billy Halpern have been 471 00:28:44,720 --> 00:28:48,160 Speaker 2: a target of one of Burt Christie's extortion crews or 472 00:28:48,840 --> 00:28:51,240 Speaker 2: was this all just a bunch of rumors. 473 00:28:52,400 --> 00:28:55,239 Speaker 5: There was always talk about them being some type of 474 00:28:55,400 --> 00:28:58,840 Speaker 5: organized crime ring and that Burt was the head of 475 00:28:58,960 --> 00:28:59,800 Speaker 5: the crime. 476 00:29:00,480 --> 00:29:01,600 Speaker 4: He was like the godfather. 477 00:29:01,680 --> 00:29:04,640 Speaker 5: There was always talk about that in the gym, and 478 00:29:04,680 --> 00:29:07,920 Speaker 5: again I always thought it was bullshit until the end 479 00:29:08,320 --> 00:29:09,800 Speaker 5: when I realized it was all true. 480 00:29:13,320 --> 00:29:17,040 Speaker 2: Mark Lopez worked at the Apollo Gym, reporting directly to 481 00:29:17,120 --> 00:29:19,720 Speaker 2: its owners, Bert Christie and Gil Fernandez. 482 00:29:21,080 --> 00:29:24,080 Speaker 6: I saw Bert basically every day, and that's because he 483 00:29:24,200 --> 00:29:27,520 Speaker 6: was around Gil Fernandez, who I saw every day. Bert 484 00:29:27,560 --> 00:29:29,840 Speaker 6: at the time, I'm guessing was probably in his early 485 00:29:29,880 --> 00:29:35,440 Speaker 6: fifties and he had had some issues with I don't 486 00:29:35,440 --> 00:29:37,520 Speaker 6: know if it was colitis or what it was, but 487 00:29:37,640 --> 00:29:39,840 Speaker 6: he had part of his culin removes who had a 488 00:29:39,840 --> 00:29:40,920 Speaker 6: colostomy bag. 489 00:29:42,280 --> 00:29:46,400 Speaker 2: But colitis or not. Christie's reputation as a mafia tough 490 00:29:46,440 --> 00:29:49,720 Speaker 2: guy and a bag man preceded him. 491 00:29:50,320 --> 00:29:53,040 Speaker 6: Bert was basically muscle for hire for many years for 492 00:29:53,160 --> 00:29:55,880 Speaker 6: the mob. But after he got sick, he couldn't do 493 00:29:55,920 --> 00:29:59,080 Speaker 6: the heavy work anymore. He couldn't do the beatdowns and 494 00:30:00,040 --> 00:30:01,640 Speaker 6: some of the other stuff he wented done when he 495 00:30:01,680 --> 00:30:06,400 Speaker 6: was younger and healthy. So to me, Gil became his sword. 496 00:30:07,160 --> 00:30:09,800 Speaker 6: I think he nurtured Gil when he met him when 497 00:30:09,800 --> 00:30:12,440 Speaker 6: he was younger and a cop and said, this guy 498 00:30:12,600 --> 00:30:13,640 Speaker 6: is going to be my tool. 499 00:30:14,920 --> 00:30:18,120 Speaker 2: We heard the same thing from multiple people that either 500 00:30:18,200 --> 00:30:21,600 Speaker 2: worked for or worked out at the Apollo Gym that 501 00:30:21,680 --> 00:30:25,360 Speaker 2: its owners, Bert Christie and Gil Fernandez were suspected of 502 00:30:25,440 --> 00:30:29,040 Speaker 2: using cruise of young muscle to run a protection racket 503 00:30:29,200 --> 00:30:34,120 Speaker 2: in and around Hollywood Beach. So is it plausible that 504 00:30:34,160 --> 00:30:37,920 Speaker 2: Billy Halbert, someone that worked out alongside Bert and Gil 505 00:30:38,160 --> 00:30:40,800 Speaker 2: and all of the other guys at the Apollo, could 506 00:30:40,800 --> 00:30:43,240 Speaker 2: have found himself the target of one of Bert and 507 00:30:43,320 --> 00:30:47,400 Speaker 2: Gil's shakedown cruise and could that really be the motive 508 00:30:47,680 --> 00:30:53,680 Speaker 2: behind his brutal murder. It's possible, but Mark Lopez is skeptical. 509 00:30:54,640 --> 00:30:58,160 Speaker 6: I know when he was killed that you know, I 510 00:30:58,280 --> 00:31:02,000 Speaker 6: created credit up war because he was well liked. I 511 00:31:02,080 --> 00:31:05,000 Speaker 6: knew that and just was a guy that I don't 512 00:31:05,000 --> 00:31:08,560 Speaker 6: think anybody thought was tied up. And you know, a 513 00:31:08,560 --> 00:31:12,040 Speaker 6: lot of craziness, right, It was like somebody came there 514 00:31:12,040 --> 00:31:14,720 Speaker 6: and essentially ambushed him in his own home and killed him, 515 00:31:15,200 --> 00:31:17,920 Speaker 6: and like he didn't fit the mold. 516 00:31:19,680 --> 00:31:23,000 Speaker 2: In other words, as far as anyone knew, Billy was 517 00:31:23,040 --> 00:31:25,200 Speaker 2: not known to be in the life. 518 00:31:26,840 --> 00:31:30,400 Speaker 6: It was obviously some type of gangland style killing, right. 519 00:31:30,480 --> 00:31:33,360 Speaker 6: I don't think anybody thought that Billy was dealing drugs, 520 00:31:33,920 --> 00:31:36,400 Speaker 6: So I think it was just shocked for most people, 521 00:31:36,480 --> 00:31:39,720 Speaker 6: like why would anybody kill this guy? The people that 522 00:31:39,840 --> 00:31:43,320 Speaker 6: I knew that I talked to were just like, who 523 00:31:43,400 --> 00:31:44,320 Speaker 6: would kill Billy? 524 00:31:46,760 --> 00:31:50,320 Speaker 2: But Dave Fasano was also close to Burtngil and was 525 00:31:50,400 --> 00:31:53,680 Speaker 2: part of the Apollo in a circle. He has a 526 00:31:53,720 --> 00:31:56,920 Speaker 2: theory of his own that Billy might have run a 527 00:31:56,920 --> 00:32:00,440 Speaker 2: foul of one of those other small crews that were 528 00:32:00,440 --> 00:32:02,480 Speaker 2: dealing drugs around South Florida. 529 00:32:04,120 --> 00:32:08,320 Speaker 5: The story I was told from the gym people talking 530 00:32:08,640 --> 00:32:09,920 Speaker 5: like why would they kill Billy? 531 00:32:09,960 --> 00:32:11,000 Speaker 4: Why would they kill Billy? 532 00:32:11,560 --> 00:32:14,800 Speaker 5: And the rumor that circulated again it's all here said 533 00:32:15,480 --> 00:32:18,640 Speaker 5: was that Billy had the best coke and that they 534 00:32:18,720 --> 00:32:20,120 Speaker 5: couldn't compete, that he had. 535 00:32:19,960 --> 00:32:24,440 Speaker 4: The best coke around. That's the stories that circulated that 536 00:32:24,520 --> 00:32:24,960 Speaker 4: I heard. 537 00:32:25,840 --> 00:32:28,479 Speaker 5: I never heard anything that it's because he was talking 538 00:32:28,520 --> 00:32:31,920 Speaker 5: about them. The story I heard was that he had 539 00:32:32,120 --> 00:32:35,040 Speaker 5: his coke was so good that they wanted to take 540 00:32:35,120 --> 00:32:36,920 Speaker 5: him out because he was in their territory. 541 00:32:38,640 --> 00:32:42,040 Speaker 2: Now, as a reminder, no drugs were ever found at 542 00:32:42,080 --> 00:32:45,480 Speaker 2: Billy's home, and most people we talked to did not 543 00:32:45,520 --> 00:32:50,160 Speaker 2: believe Billy was involved in the drug trade at all, 544 00:32:50,200 --> 00:32:53,080 Speaker 2: but his girlfriend did tell police that the contents of 545 00:32:53,120 --> 00:32:56,320 Speaker 2: the safe had been stolen from their town home. Could 546 00:32:56,360 --> 00:32:58,520 Speaker 2: a stash of drugs have been the target of a 547 00:32:58,560 --> 00:33:02,640 Speaker 2: fatal robbery? According to the forty year old police report, 548 00:33:02,800 --> 00:33:05,800 Speaker 2: as Danny reminded me, it was a lead police were 549 00:33:05,880 --> 00:33:08,640 Speaker 2: running down in the aftermath of his murder. 550 00:33:10,440 --> 00:33:14,960 Speaker 3: There was mentioned in the lead detective Bell Rose's report 551 00:33:15,120 --> 00:33:20,760 Speaker 3: about home invasion crews that were hitting people and ripping 552 00:33:20,800 --> 00:33:26,840 Speaker 3: them for drugs, and there was mentioned about they thought 553 00:33:26,880 --> 00:33:31,160 Speaker 3: that Halpern came into a large quantity of cocaine and 554 00:33:31,200 --> 00:33:32,440 Speaker 3: they were going to rip him for that. 555 00:33:35,200 --> 00:33:38,480 Speaker 2: But after interviewing so many friends of Billy and getting 556 00:33:38,520 --> 00:33:41,480 Speaker 2: to know the players in this scene, I just can't 557 00:33:41,480 --> 00:33:44,600 Speaker 2: see Billy Halpert as being the kind of person that 558 00:33:44,640 --> 00:33:47,240 Speaker 2: would have been moving the kind of weight that would 559 00:33:47,280 --> 00:33:52,360 Speaker 2: attract that kind of attention. For one thing, where would 560 00:33:52,360 --> 00:33:55,320 Speaker 2: he have gotten the money? Even in the eighties, it 561 00:33:55,360 --> 00:33:59,200 Speaker 2: took a bit of upfront investment to acquire a significant 562 00:33:59,200 --> 00:34:02,840 Speaker 2: amount of cocaine. Billy was making a little over minimum 563 00:34:02,920 --> 00:34:06,160 Speaker 2: wage as a paramedic for the Hollandale Fire Department, and 564 00:34:06,240 --> 00:34:08,680 Speaker 2: after he heard his back on the job he was 565 00:34:08,760 --> 00:34:10,160 Speaker 2: living on far less. 566 00:34:11,600 --> 00:34:14,680 Speaker 6: I think Billy, like I said, just he never seemed 567 00:34:14,680 --> 00:34:16,719 Speaker 6: like the type of guy to me that would be 568 00:34:16,960 --> 00:34:19,600 Speaker 6: tied up in that kind of life, even on the 569 00:34:19,719 --> 00:34:21,600 Speaker 6: drug dealing side. 570 00:34:22,360 --> 00:34:26,080 Speaker 2: But he certainly was exposed to it, which does raise 571 00:34:26,560 --> 00:34:30,160 Speaker 2: another possibility. 572 00:34:30,280 --> 00:34:33,680 Speaker 6: I don't think Billy was necessarily tied up in anything specifically. 573 00:34:33,719 --> 00:34:37,719 Speaker 6: I think he may have just inadvertently been exposed to 574 00:34:37,840 --> 00:34:45,480 Speaker 6: some information that probably got him killed, right because somebody 575 00:34:45,719 --> 00:34:48,680 Speaker 6: thought that, hey, he may have been told something, or 576 00:34:48,840 --> 00:34:52,160 Speaker 6: whether it was secondhand information, or maybe he had overheard something, 577 00:34:52,840 --> 00:34:56,560 Speaker 6: and the powers that be thought, why take a chance, right, 578 00:34:57,320 --> 00:34:59,920 Speaker 6: It's just one more guy that's going to need to go. 579 00:35:02,840 --> 00:35:05,040 Speaker 2: But what could Billy have known that might have put 580 00:35:05,080 --> 00:35:09,799 Speaker 2: his life at risk? Was it something about Christie or 581 00:35:09,840 --> 00:35:13,360 Speaker 2: Gil Fernandez? Or did it even go deeper than that 582 00:35:14,360 --> 00:35:15,440 Speaker 2: and deadlier? 583 00:35:16,480 --> 00:35:20,880 Speaker 6: Maybe nine months or so after I moved to Florida, 584 00:35:21,120 --> 00:35:22,640 Speaker 6: there was a series of murders. 585 00:35:22,960 --> 00:35:25,000 Speaker 3: They were out in the Everglade and their fingers were 586 00:35:25,080 --> 00:35:25,680 Speaker 3: chopped off. 587 00:35:25,960 --> 00:35:27,480 Speaker 2: It was getting really dark. 588 00:35:27,680 --> 00:35:30,239 Speaker 6: The three men would line we gagged and driven to 589 00:35:30,320 --> 00:35:31,520 Speaker 6: Jones Fish Camp. 590 00:35:31,280 --> 00:35:32,440 Speaker 2: Way out in the Everglade. 591 00:35:32,719 --> 00:35:34,240 Speaker 1: One by one they were shot. 592 00:35:34,080 --> 00:35:37,600 Speaker 2: In nineteen eighty three, three years before Billy was killed, 593 00:35:37,880 --> 00:35:40,520 Speaker 2: the bodies of three men were found on what was 594 00:35:40,600 --> 00:35:45,399 Speaker 2: the swampy Florida backstreet called Angel Road, and the main 595 00:35:45,520 --> 00:35:49,520 Speaker 2: suspect in those murders none other than the meanest cop 596 00:35:49,640 --> 00:35:54,479 Speaker 2: in Miami, Gil Fernandez. Could those killings be the key 597 00:35:55,000 --> 00:35:56,680 Speaker 2: to solving Billy's murder? 598 00:35:56,920 --> 00:36:00,520 Speaker 3: And it's almost incestuous that everyone knew each other, everyone together, 599 00:36:00,840 --> 00:36:02,520 Speaker 3: and then ultimately almost vere was. 600 00:36:02,560 --> 00:36:14,640 Speaker 2: Killed cold blooded. The Apollo Jim Murders is a production 601 00:36:14,760 --> 00:36:21,120 Speaker 2: of iHeart Podcasts and Authentic Wave Media. Scott Weinberger, Kevin Bennett, 602 00:36:21,160 --> 00:36:26,680 Speaker 2: and Walker LeMond are executive producers. Sabrina Siree is our 603 00:36:26,719 --> 00:36:32,640 Speaker 2: line producer, scoring sound design and mixing by Mark lamar 604 00:36:32,760 --> 00:36:38,120 Speaker 2: j Z For iHeart Podcasts, Christina Everett is executive producer, 605 00:36:38,440 --> 00:36:42,600 Speaker 2: and David Wasserman is brand marketing manager. And with special 606 00:36:42,640 --> 00:36:46,520 Speaker 2: thanks to the Miramar Police Department, Chief del Rich Moss, 607 00:36:46,960 --> 00:36:51,280 Speaker 2: Pio Tanya Ardaz, and Detective Susie Smith.