1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:03,960 Speaker 1: My father grew up in South Philadelphia, a Catholic Italian household. 2 00:00:04,200 --> 00:00:06,600 Speaker 1: Pretty sharp guy. He was street smart growing up in 3 00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:10,120 Speaker 1: the city, and a lot of my father's friends made 4 00:00:10,160 --> 00:00:11,840 Speaker 1: a left and my dad made a right. 5 00:00:12,320 --> 00:00:15,280 Speaker 2: Desperate for answers on what might have happened to his sister, 6 00:00:15,880 --> 00:00:18,120 Speaker 2: John and Tobray set up a meeting with some people 7 00:00:18,120 --> 00:00:21,360 Speaker 2: from South Philly who were connected. 8 00:00:23,960 --> 00:00:27,120 Speaker 1: Out of respect for my father, they met with me. 9 00:00:28,160 --> 00:00:31,479 Speaker 2: John said, if somehow the mob was involved, they'd know 10 00:00:31,560 --> 00:00:32,920 Speaker 2: about it, or. 11 00:00:32,840 --> 00:00:36,400 Speaker 1: If something happened in their neighborhoods, they would know about it. 12 00:00:36,400 --> 00:00:39,960 Speaker 2: It was a surreal moment for John, standing in front 13 00:00:40,000 --> 00:00:44,720 Speaker 2: of made guys, scary guys, asking for any information in 14 00:00:44,800 --> 00:00:46,440 Speaker 2: his sister's murder. 15 00:00:47,200 --> 00:00:49,560 Speaker 1: He said, you know, Johnny, if I knew something, I 16 00:00:49,600 --> 00:00:54,600 Speaker 1: would tell you. But I don't know anything. She's gone 17 00:00:54,640 --> 00:00:55,720 Speaker 1: and there's nothing we can do. 18 00:01:00,400 --> 00:01:03,920 Speaker 2: Gunning and this is there and gone South Street, episode 19 00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:06,800 Speaker 2: six Streets of Philadelphia. 20 00:01:08,240 --> 00:01:16,040 Speaker 3: Plato Is I say you in my dream, reached out 21 00:01:16,120 --> 00:01:23,080 Speaker 3: on the dog, for you've been lost to me. I'll 22 00:01:23,160 --> 00:01:28,280 Speaker 3: never give up, no matter how long. 23 00:01:30,319 --> 00:01:32,160 Speaker 1: I open my eyes. 24 00:01:34,840 --> 00:01:41,200 Speaker 3: Define gone. 25 00:01:42,200 --> 00:01:44,880 Speaker 2: Just a note the views and opinions expressed in this 26 00:01:44,920 --> 00:01:48,720 Speaker 2: podcast are solely those of the individuals participating. This podcast 27 00:01:48,800 --> 00:01:52,320 Speaker 2: also contains subject matter which may not be suitable for everyone. 28 00:01:52,760 --> 00:02:05,160 Speaker 2: Discretion is advised. Danielle Imbo and Richard Petrone vanished in 29 00:02:05,200 --> 00:02:09,240 Speaker 2: February of two thousand and five. Later that summer, whispers 30 00:02:09,280 --> 00:02:12,959 Speaker 2: between the victims' families about who was responsible caused them 31 00:02:12,960 --> 00:02:17,560 Speaker 2: to stop talking to each other. By late two thousand 32 00:02:17,560 --> 00:02:21,040 Speaker 2: and five, another wave of frustration had set in. Both 33 00:02:21,080 --> 00:02:24,160 Speaker 2: families were tired of waiting for answers from law enforcement. 34 00:02:25,280 --> 00:02:28,040 Speaker 2: Danielle's brother John, all. 35 00:02:27,919 --> 00:02:30,600 Speaker 1: They tell me is we're working on something, and they 36 00:02:30,680 --> 00:02:34,040 Speaker 1: use these hand gestures like merging into a road. We're 37 00:02:34,080 --> 00:02:36,600 Speaker 1: working on something and we're leading this down this path 38 00:02:36,639 --> 00:02:39,760 Speaker 1: and we're just missing one piece. We just need this 39 00:02:39,800 --> 00:02:40,760 Speaker 1: one piece to connect. 40 00:02:42,280 --> 00:02:45,040 Speaker 2: You heard how John took matters into his own hands 41 00:02:45,080 --> 00:02:47,720 Speaker 2: and set up a meeting with members of the Philadelphia Mob. 42 00:02:48,639 --> 00:02:51,680 Speaker 1: I've met with the shadiest of shady people. I've been 43 00:02:51,720 --> 00:02:55,560 Speaker 1: in helicopters, I've been in boots. I mean, I've done 44 00:02:55,919 --> 00:02:59,480 Speaker 1: everything to try to figure it out. How do two 45 00:02:59,520 --> 00:03:03,119 Speaker 1: adults to pick up truck vanish? You know, I thought 46 00:03:03,120 --> 00:03:06,120 Speaker 1: about all of this a million times it's got to 47 00:03:06,120 --> 00:03:09,239 Speaker 1: be more than one person. How do you adduct to adults? 48 00:03:09,760 --> 00:03:11,760 Speaker 1: How to drive a pickup truck? And then what do 49 00:03:11,800 --> 00:03:13,840 Speaker 1: you leave your car there? Or did you walk there? Like? 50 00:03:13,880 --> 00:03:19,160 Speaker 1: What can't be just one person abducting to adults? Are 51 00:03:19,200 --> 00:03:24,320 Speaker 1: these the two most tight lipped, cleanest professional hit men 52 00:03:24,360 --> 00:03:27,560 Speaker 1: in the history of the world. I just don't get it. 53 00:03:28,560 --> 00:03:34,880 Speaker 1: That's what upsets me. That's somewhere someone a smile thinking 54 00:03:34,920 --> 00:03:35,680 Speaker 1: they got away with this. 55 00:03:37,760 --> 00:03:40,680 Speaker 2: It's been a delicate dance for law enforcement. They know 56 00:03:40,760 --> 00:03:44,240 Speaker 2: the families want to know something anything, but for the 57 00:03:44,280 --> 00:03:46,960 Speaker 2: sake of the investigation, they are limited in what they 58 00:03:47,000 --> 00:03:50,320 Speaker 2: can reveal to the families. And accepting that was a 59 00:03:50,400 --> 00:03:51,320 Speaker 2: challenge for John. 60 00:03:52,680 --> 00:03:54,720 Speaker 1: I was just adamant for answers, and I was kind 61 00:03:54,720 --> 00:03:58,400 Speaker 1: of losing my patience, and I was very unprofessional in 62 00:03:58,400 --> 00:03:59,440 Speaker 1: the way I was handling it. 63 00:04:00,560 --> 00:04:03,839 Speaker 2: Whatever John did, it worked, he said. Back in late 64 00:04:03,880 --> 00:04:06,640 Speaker 2: two thousand and five, the cops allowed him to join 65 00:04:06,680 --> 00:04:08,000 Speaker 2: them for a meeting, one. 66 00:04:07,880 --> 00:04:10,640 Speaker 1: Of those whiteboard meetings where that everybody just kind of 67 00:04:11,200 --> 00:04:13,760 Speaker 1: spitballs and throws out ideas and they're write it on 68 00:04:13,800 --> 00:04:15,560 Speaker 1: the whiteboard. They let me sit in one of those. 69 00:04:16,600 --> 00:04:21,599 Speaker 1: It was Self Detective's Mount Laurel Police, Burlington counter Prosecutor's office, 70 00:04:21,760 --> 00:04:22,479 Speaker 1: and the FBI. 71 00:04:23,200 --> 00:04:26,040 Speaker 2: What John described happened that day sounds like something you'd 72 00:04:26,040 --> 00:04:29,040 Speaker 2: see in a TV show. Fluorescent lighting with a bunch 73 00:04:29,040 --> 00:04:32,280 Speaker 2: of cops sitting around a table drinking coffee out of 74 00:04:32,320 --> 00:04:36,440 Speaker 2: styrofoam cups while discussing who in this case had a motive. 75 00:04:36,720 --> 00:04:39,040 Speaker 1: They put like Joe's name up top, they put Richard's 76 00:04:39,120 --> 00:04:41,599 Speaker 1: name up pop, they put Danielle's name up top, and 77 00:04:41,640 --> 00:04:44,040 Speaker 1: they started writing in like little bullet points. 78 00:04:44,320 --> 00:04:47,400 Speaker 2: John remembers the police spent a lot of time on 79 00:04:47,400 --> 00:04:47,960 Speaker 2: one name. 80 00:04:48,640 --> 00:04:51,880 Speaker 1: They were all adamant about Joe, adamant, and they're writing 81 00:04:51,880 --> 00:04:56,159 Speaker 1: all these things down about the reason why, and Self 82 00:04:56,240 --> 00:04:59,120 Speaker 1: Detectives is saying, well, wait a minute, it's probably this 83 00:04:59,279 --> 00:05:02,200 Speaker 1: because this, And they're bickering back and forth and they're 84 00:05:02,320 --> 00:05:05,560 Speaker 1: deleting and posing all things. And then the Mount Laurel 85 00:05:05,680 --> 00:05:09,440 Speaker 1: detective he said, Johnny, can you excuse us for a second, 86 00:05:10,240 --> 00:05:13,040 Speaker 1: And he took the two officers out in the hallway, 87 00:05:13,720 --> 00:05:17,200 Speaker 1: and then they came back in and everybody's demeanium was 88 00:05:17,200 --> 00:05:19,520 Speaker 1: completely different, like everybody just like took it down five 89 00:05:19,600 --> 00:05:22,760 Speaker 1: notches and at the end I grabbed them. I said, 90 00:05:22,920 --> 00:05:25,159 Speaker 1: what happened? What did you say? And he said, we 91 00:05:25,240 --> 00:05:31,240 Speaker 1: have no evidence of anything like we don't know who's responsible, 92 00:05:31,720 --> 00:05:35,320 Speaker 1: but I can tell you it's irresponsible to insinuate anything 93 00:05:35,360 --> 00:05:38,240 Speaker 1: in front of you and disuay your judgment either way. 94 00:05:39,880 --> 00:05:41,599 Speaker 1: And that was the last time I was invited in 95 00:05:41,600 --> 00:05:42,720 Speaker 1: the room. 96 00:05:43,040 --> 00:05:45,800 Speaker 2: John can laugh about it now, but he's still waiting 97 00:05:45,839 --> 00:05:50,279 Speaker 2: for answers, and so are the patrons. Since this happened 98 00:05:50,320 --> 00:05:53,560 Speaker 2: in two thousand and five, there haven't been charges brought 99 00:05:53,800 --> 00:05:58,120 Speaker 2: or even a named suspect, not Joe Embo or anyone 100 00:05:58,160 --> 00:06:00,960 Speaker 2: for that matter. And that's the thing with this case. 101 00:06:01,400 --> 00:06:06,600 Speaker 2: Without physical evidence, motive, or practically anything, law enforcement is 102 00:06:06,640 --> 00:06:11,000 Speaker 2: stuck with a whiteboard full of hypotheticals and possibilities. In 103 00:06:11,040 --> 00:06:14,240 Speaker 2: the last episode, we learned from FBI agent Fudo Rosselli 104 00:06:14,279 --> 00:06:17,320 Speaker 2: that Danielle and Richard might have been victims of a 105 00:06:17,400 --> 00:06:18,440 Speaker 2: murder for higher plot. 106 00:06:19,000 --> 00:06:22,680 Speaker 4: If in fact it was a targeted act of violence, 107 00:06:23,160 --> 00:06:26,640 Speaker 4: it was most likely targeted against one person, either Danielle 108 00:06:26,800 --> 00:06:29,480 Speaker 4: or Richard, and the other one was in the wrong 109 00:06:29,560 --> 00:06:30,719 Speaker 4: place at the wrong time. 110 00:06:31,600 --> 00:06:34,680 Speaker 2: It's a theory that John isn't entirely on board with. 111 00:06:35,279 --> 00:06:37,919 Speaker 1: Let's just say you wanted to kill Richard. You know 112 00:06:37,960 --> 00:06:40,400 Speaker 1: where he lives. You know he works in the bakery 113 00:06:40,440 --> 00:06:42,880 Speaker 1: every day from this time to this time. I mean, 114 00:06:43,000 --> 00:06:44,560 Speaker 1: all you got to do is follow the guy for 115 00:06:44,600 --> 00:06:49,159 Speaker 1: a week. And there's a pattern. Danielle, she lives in 116 00:06:49,200 --> 00:06:52,120 Speaker 1: a condo, she works from home, she's by herself half 117 00:06:52,120 --> 00:06:54,760 Speaker 1: the time, with just a little baby like you could 118 00:06:54,760 --> 00:06:58,360 Speaker 1: get either one of them if you wanted to. They 119 00:06:58,360 --> 00:06:59,760 Speaker 1: had to have been targeted together. 120 00:07:00,720 --> 00:07:03,440 Speaker 2: Let's rewind back to that night. It happened to be 121 00:07:03,480 --> 00:07:06,560 Speaker 2: the first time they were together in over three weeks. 122 00:07:06,920 --> 00:07:09,560 Speaker 2: So was it a mere coincidence that something happened to 123 00:07:09,600 --> 00:07:12,720 Speaker 2: them that very night? I feel like John is on 124 00:07:12,920 --> 00:07:16,920 Speaker 2: to something here. Up until now, we've heard from the 125 00:07:16,960 --> 00:07:21,080 Speaker 2: respective families and law enforcement, but we haven't explored theories 126 00:07:21,120 --> 00:07:25,760 Speaker 2: outside of that bubble. So I started asking around friends, coworkers, 127 00:07:25,800 --> 00:07:28,840 Speaker 2: people in my neighborhood, anyone who might have heard something, 128 00:07:29,720 --> 00:07:32,320 Speaker 2: because remember I've lived all over this city for the 129 00:07:32,360 --> 00:07:35,680 Speaker 2: majority of my adult life. Today I'm blocks away from 130 00:07:35,680 --> 00:07:39,440 Speaker 2: South Street and Richard Patron's apartment for a case without 131 00:07:39,440 --> 00:07:43,720 Speaker 2: any evidence, DNA or witnesses. All you're left with is 132 00:07:44,120 --> 00:07:47,880 Speaker 2: we'd on the street. Philly is a city of neighborhoods, 133 00:07:48,160 --> 00:07:50,440 Speaker 2: and I quickly learned when I started working on this 134 00:07:50,520 --> 00:07:54,720 Speaker 2: project that there were stories about this case, rumors, if 135 00:07:54,760 --> 00:07:58,320 Speaker 2: you will, that existed in different neighborhoods. In the different 136 00:07:58,360 --> 00:08:02,800 Speaker 2: stories in each neighborhood matter, because here's another thing about Philly. 137 00:08:03,600 --> 00:08:08,560 Speaker 2: People stay. Families pass down their row homes generation after generation, 138 00:08:09,200 --> 00:08:13,240 Speaker 2: and neighbors are like family, almost like ken, deeply loyal 139 00:08:13,280 --> 00:08:16,440 Speaker 2: to one another. And just as real estate is passed 140 00:08:16,480 --> 00:08:19,800 Speaker 2: down from parent to child, so are the stories and 141 00:08:19,840 --> 00:08:23,960 Speaker 2: the lore of the city in which they live. I'm 142 00:08:23,960 --> 00:08:26,400 Speaker 2: going to start with South Philly. Just as I mentioned, 143 00:08:26,400 --> 00:08:31,440 Speaker 2: you'll find generations of Italian Americans. It's also where famous 144 00:08:31,480 --> 00:08:36,000 Speaker 2: mobsters like Joey Merlino and Little Nikki Scarfo lived. And 145 00:08:36,080 --> 00:08:40,200 Speaker 2: I will say this about South Philly. People talk a lot. 146 00:08:40,880 --> 00:08:43,600 Speaker 2: And I found one couple willing to talk who heard 147 00:08:43,679 --> 00:08:47,280 Speaker 2: all about Danielle and Richard. They were South Philly lifers 148 00:08:47,440 --> 00:08:50,600 Speaker 2: who agreed to be recorded, provided I didn't use their 149 00:08:50,679 --> 00:08:52,120 Speaker 2: names for their own safety. 150 00:08:53,679 --> 00:08:57,720 Speaker 5: Then say, Philadelphia my life. I could have rooved at 151 00:08:57,760 --> 00:09:00,920 Speaker 5: any time, but I never did cause I'd loved it, Like. 152 00:09:00,840 --> 00:09:04,800 Speaker 2: I said, lifers, proud lifers. 153 00:09:05,280 --> 00:09:08,160 Speaker 5: First we heard that the two families, of course, were 154 00:09:08,200 --> 00:09:13,000 Speaker 5: devastated and beside themselves and together. Then we heard that 155 00:09:13,120 --> 00:09:19,320 Speaker 5: the families stopped talking because the girl's family felt that 156 00:09:19,400 --> 00:09:21,800 Speaker 5: he was involved in something illegal. 157 00:09:22,640 --> 00:09:23,760 Speaker 2: He is Richard. 158 00:09:24,559 --> 00:09:27,120 Speaker 5: Either he owed money or he had a lot of 159 00:09:27,160 --> 00:09:31,959 Speaker 5: money on him from some kind of deal. I don't know, 160 00:09:32,440 --> 00:09:35,199 Speaker 5: but there were rumors that he was involved in something. 161 00:09:36,120 --> 00:09:39,720 Speaker 2: She felt strongly that whatever happened to Richard and Danielle 162 00:09:40,520 --> 00:09:43,080 Speaker 2: wasn't some random crime like a robbery. 163 00:09:43,720 --> 00:09:48,440 Speaker 5: Normal robbery. They don't take you and your car. So 164 00:09:48,520 --> 00:09:52,240 Speaker 5: you're leaving a bar, you're walking to your car. What 165 00:09:52,480 --> 00:09:55,000 Speaker 5: happens next? Does somebody put a gun in your back 166 00:09:55,040 --> 00:09:56,000 Speaker 5: and say follow me? 167 00:09:57,040 --> 00:09:59,480 Speaker 6: I heard some stories, but they did a hit on 168 00:09:59,559 --> 00:10:00,240 Speaker 6: him and every. 169 00:10:01,760 --> 00:10:05,040 Speaker 2: A hit on them, like a murder for hire. The 170 00:10:05,160 --> 00:10:08,320 Speaker 2: rumors swirling around South Philly didn't seem too far off 171 00:10:08,400 --> 00:10:10,560 Speaker 2: from what the FBI had leaked to the public in 172 00:10:10,600 --> 00:10:13,440 Speaker 2: two thousand and eight. He didn't know who ordered the killing, 173 00:10:13,640 --> 00:10:16,040 Speaker 2: but mentioned that there were groups around that time that 174 00:10:16,160 --> 00:10:19,520 Speaker 2: could have been involved. Then they mentioned what a hit 175 00:10:19,640 --> 00:10:20,600 Speaker 2: like this could cost. 176 00:10:21,559 --> 00:10:23,640 Speaker 5: I know, it's somebody to pay for a hit. It 177 00:10:23,760 --> 00:10:28,880 Speaker 5: makes me sick. Three hundred dollars? Could you imagine? Could 178 00:10:28,880 --> 00:10:30,440 Speaker 5: you imagine. 179 00:10:30,679 --> 00:10:34,000 Speaker 2: That hit was unrelated to Danielle and Richard? But I 180 00:10:34,080 --> 00:10:37,880 Speaker 2: found that information eye opening. The fact that someone's life 181 00:10:37,960 --> 00:10:42,400 Speaker 2: was worth just three hundred dollars, it absolutely blew my 182 00:10:42,520 --> 00:10:44,439 Speaker 2: mind and broke my heart. 183 00:10:45,520 --> 00:10:47,800 Speaker 5: I would think, like ten day thousand, it's all been. 184 00:10:48,960 --> 00:10:51,920 Speaker 2: Was it possible that Richard was involved in something, something 185 00:10:51,960 --> 00:10:54,800 Speaker 2: big enough that someone would put a bounty on his 186 00:10:54,920 --> 00:10:58,559 Speaker 2: head or both of theirs, Because the FBI said Danielle 187 00:10:58,559 --> 00:11:01,120 Speaker 2: and Richard might have been the victims of a murder 188 00:11:01,120 --> 00:11:05,160 Speaker 2: for higher plot, It's entirely possible. Then again, Special Agent 189 00:11:05,240 --> 00:11:08,520 Speaker 2: Vito Rocelli said the FBI didn't find anything in Richard 190 00:11:08,559 --> 00:11:12,160 Speaker 2: and Danielle's background. Of course, there's another reason someone orders 191 00:11:12,160 --> 00:11:15,720 Speaker 2: a hit money. So I asked them how much money 192 00:11:15,720 --> 00:11:17,439 Speaker 2: could cost you your life? 193 00:11:18,400 --> 00:11:21,199 Speaker 6: If it was in the thousands that were serious, but 194 00:11:21,520 --> 00:11:24,200 Speaker 6: you're barred five hundred or something like that. There wasn't 195 00:11:24,240 --> 00:11:27,240 Speaker 6: that serious thing. You know, guys would let you slide. 196 00:11:27,360 --> 00:11:30,360 Speaker 6: But when your own thousands of dollars and everything, that 197 00:11:30,520 --> 00:11:33,480 Speaker 6: was serious money, and you got hurt fee then pay up. 198 00:11:34,160 --> 00:11:38,040 Speaker 2: The conversation didn't end there. The couple had more like 199 00:11:38,200 --> 00:11:40,800 Speaker 2: what would happen if you did get hurt? They knew 200 00:11:40,800 --> 00:11:43,200 Speaker 2: where the mob used to get rid of evidence. 201 00:11:43,360 --> 00:11:48,880 Speaker 6: Down at the Hinds, down at the wetlandsdown Tittcum. That 202 00:11:49,040 --> 00:11:51,400 Speaker 6: was a normal thumping ground for the mob and everything. 203 00:11:52,080 --> 00:11:54,080 Speaker 6: They found a lot of them bob guys down there. 204 00:11:54,559 --> 00:11:56,520 Speaker 2: I had to look this up because I had never 205 00:11:56,559 --> 00:11:59,120 Speaker 2: heard of this, But the Hines is a twelve hundred 206 00:11:59,120 --> 00:12:03,680 Speaker 2: acre wildlife refuge hidden in the shadows of Philadelphia International Airport. 207 00:12:04,280 --> 00:12:07,800 Speaker 2: It's in Tenaham Township, which is not a notable part 208 00:12:07,840 --> 00:12:10,600 Speaker 2: of the city. And hearing that it was a dumping ground, 209 00:12:12,280 --> 00:12:15,000 Speaker 2: it kind of tracks. And I have to say the 210 00:12:15,040 --> 00:12:17,720 Speaker 2: top hit in my Google search was a twenty twenty 211 00:12:17,760 --> 00:12:20,600 Speaker 2: three story about a bird watcher finding a dead body there. 212 00:12:20,960 --> 00:12:23,400 Speaker 6: They used to just try the car into the wildlife 213 00:12:23,440 --> 00:12:26,320 Speaker 6: down there. What's they would find so many bodies and everything. 214 00:12:26,320 --> 00:12:27,680 Speaker 6: That's wherever dumping ground was. 215 00:12:28,480 --> 00:12:30,679 Speaker 2: And there's another way to dispose of a truck. 216 00:12:31,760 --> 00:12:34,880 Speaker 6: Schredder used to be add one past Young Gavenue. They 217 00:12:34,960 --> 00:12:36,679 Speaker 6: used to shred the cars out there. 218 00:12:37,200 --> 00:12:40,560 Speaker 2: Paste Young Avenue is also near the Philly Airport. It 219 00:12:40,600 --> 00:12:43,920 Speaker 2: cuts through an industrial area where you'll find several auto 220 00:12:43,960 --> 00:12:47,240 Speaker 2: repair shops, junkyards, and a handful of strip clubs. 221 00:12:48,160 --> 00:12:50,240 Speaker 6: They were your ownly tredder around. They were the only 222 00:12:50,280 --> 00:12:52,880 Speaker 6: ones that tredded everybody else. They just flattened about. 223 00:12:54,120 --> 00:12:57,480 Speaker 2: I had not even thought about this possibility. Richard's truck 224 00:12:57,520 --> 00:12:59,760 Speaker 2: could have been shredded or even flattened. 225 00:13:00,720 --> 00:13:03,240 Speaker 6: Don't even recognized it was a car. They were shred 226 00:13:03,320 --> 00:13:04,200 Speaker 6: him in, not pieces. 227 00:13:05,240 --> 00:13:07,400 Speaker 2: The reason this guy knew all of this came from 228 00:13:07,400 --> 00:13:10,400 Speaker 2: his years of living in the neighborhood and, as he said, 229 00:13:10,559 --> 00:13:12,679 Speaker 2: knowing a guy or two who does stuff like this. 230 00:13:13,240 --> 00:13:15,800 Speaker 2: If you've lived your whole life in South Philly, there 231 00:13:15,840 --> 00:13:18,400 Speaker 2: is a strong chance you know some people in the 232 00:13:18,400 --> 00:13:22,959 Speaker 2: neighborhood connected to some shady shit. But our conversation didn't 233 00:13:23,000 --> 00:13:26,360 Speaker 2: focus solely around the mob. They also talked about another 234 00:13:26,520 --> 00:13:29,240 Speaker 2: organized crime group and that could pull something like this off. 235 00:13:30,280 --> 00:13:33,000 Speaker 2: Biker gangs, Pagans. 236 00:13:33,240 --> 00:13:35,959 Speaker 6: They were the one that killed. They were involved in 237 00:13:36,040 --> 00:13:38,600 Speaker 6: a lot of it, hire for hits and everything. All 238 00:13:38,640 --> 00:13:41,679 Speaker 6: the hits that were being made was because the Pagans 239 00:13:41,720 --> 00:13:43,280 Speaker 6: were involved with the drugs. 240 00:13:43,760 --> 00:13:47,640 Speaker 2: This conversation didn't paint the prettiest of pictures, but it 241 00:13:47,679 --> 00:13:50,520 Speaker 2: gave me a lot to think about. And like John 242 00:13:50,559 --> 00:13:53,719 Speaker 2: said earlier, at least two people had to have been 243 00:13:53,760 --> 00:13:57,640 Speaker 2: involved to pull this off. But why this couple? Threw 244 00:13:57,640 --> 00:14:00,320 Speaker 2: out a few different theories, but I wanted them to 245 00:14:00,360 --> 00:14:03,440 Speaker 2: tell me what they thought was the most likely theory 246 00:14:03,520 --> 00:14:05,680 Speaker 2: of what happened to Richard and Danielle. 247 00:14:06,240 --> 00:14:10,400 Speaker 6: They saw something that they shouldn't have seen. I understand 248 00:14:10,440 --> 00:14:12,080 Speaker 6: that's what they got the hit on. That's why the 249 00:14:12,160 --> 00:14:14,040 Speaker 6: car and then disappeared. 250 00:14:26,680 --> 00:14:29,280 Speaker 2: It wasn't just the police who heard and investigated a 251 00:14:29,280 --> 00:14:32,440 Speaker 2: lot of these rumors about Danielle and Richard. In covering 252 00:14:32,480 --> 00:14:35,200 Speaker 2: this story, I've talked to a number of local journalists, 253 00:14:35,480 --> 00:14:38,720 Speaker 2: news anchors, and reporters who've each heard different versions of 254 00:14:38,760 --> 00:14:42,440 Speaker 2: the same theories. I came across one investigative reporter it 255 00:14:42,480 --> 00:14:45,080 Speaker 2: had clearly spent a lot of time on Richard and 256 00:14:45,160 --> 00:14:48,600 Speaker 2: Danielle's disappearance, so we asked one of our contacts to 257 00:14:48,680 --> 00:14:49,640 Speaker 2: make an introduction. 258 00:14:50,040 --> 00:14:53,400 Speaker 7: I'm Dave Schratweiser, a former investigative reporter for Fox twenty 259 00:14:53,520 --> 00:14:54,600 Speaker 7: nine in Philadelphia. 260 00:14:54,760 --> 00:14:57,880 Speaker 2: Every city is lucky to have that one fearless TV 261 00:14:57,960 --> 00:15:02,440 Speaker 2: news reporter in Philadelphia. That guy was Dave Stratweiser. 262 00:15:03,800 --> 00:15:07,680 Speaker 7: I covered crime, and the streets of Philadelphia has quite 263 00:15:07,680 --> 00:15:11,760 Speaker 7: an illustrious history of crime. They always talk about slow 264 00:15:11,840 --> 00:15:14,840 Speaker 7: news days in the news business, and no day was 265 00:15:14,880 --> 00:15:16,160 Speaker 7: ever slow in Philadelphia. 266 00:15:16,960 --> 00:15:20,200 Speaker 2: Before his recent retirement, Dave reported on breaking news for 267 00:15:20,240 --> 00:15:23,040 Speaker 2: thirty some years in Philly, and not from behind the 268 00:15:23,080 --> 00:15:26,200 Speaker 2: anchor desk. He was out in the streets where it happened. 269 00:15:26,760 --> 00:15:30,920 Speaker 7: I've covered somewhere between three thousand and five thousand homicides 270 00:15:30,920 --> 00:15:33,440 Speaker 7: in the city over the course of my career, and that. 271 00:15:33,320 --> 00:15:37,000 Speaker 2: Includes Danielle Imbo and Richard Patrone. He said, it's a 272 00:15:37,040 --> 00:15:39,920 Speaker 2: case that mystifies him today as much as it did 273 00:15:39,960 --> 00:15:41,200 Speaker 2: when the story first broke. 274 00:15:41,760 --> 00:15:45,120 Speaker 7: It kind of leaves you puzzled to the nth degree. 275 00:15:47,720 --> 00:15:51,120 Speaker 7: There were a lot of unanswered questions. Did they run 276 00:15:51,160 --> 00:15:54,120 Speaker 7: into somebody, did somebody try to carjack them? Did somebody 277 00:15:54,160 --> 00:15:57,720 Speaker 7: try to rob them? Were words exchanged? Was there a fight? 278 00:15:58,280 --> 00:16:00,880 Speaker 7: Was there something like that that might have touched off 279 00:16:01,200 --> 00:16:04,920 Speaker 7: the disappearance. We're missing not only the couple, but the 280 00:16:05,000 --> 00:16:07,360 Speaker 7: car turns up nowhere. 281 00:16:07,520 --> 00:16:10,040 Speaker 2: And that's another reason I wanted to talk with Dave. 282 00:16:10,640 --> 00:16:13,800 Speaker 2: Up until now, we haven't really discussed the three thousand 283 00:16:13,800 --> 00:16:18,560 Speaker 2: pounds elephant in the room, Richard's Dodge Dakota. 284 00:16:18,680 --> 00:16:22,280 Speaker 7: There were no cameras that caught anything leaving Abilene's. There 285 00:16:22,320 --> 00:16:25,320 Speaker 7: were no cameras on the street that caught anything. There 286 00:16:25,400 --> 00:16:27,640 Speaker 7: was no camera on a highway that might have picked 287 00:16:27,680 --> 00:16:31,720 Speaker 7: up a road rage situation or somebody following them across 288 00:16:31,760 --> 00:16:33,880 Speaker 7: the bridge or down South Street. 289 00:16:34,880 --> 00:16:37,560 Speaker 2: Most of my conversation with Dave focused on all the 290 00:16:37,600 --> 00:16:40,600 Speaker 2: possible scenarios of what happened to Richard's truck. 291 00:16:41,280 --> 00:16:45,080 Speaker 7: Okay, so the first initial theories were it ended up 292 00:16:45,080 --> 00:16:48,040 Speaker 7: in the water, and there were multiple searches by FBI 293 00:16:48,160 --> 00:16:51,920 Speaker 7: dive teams, independent dive teams. I think there's a group 294 00:16:52,040 --> 00:16:54,440 Speaker 7: now that are trying to help out see if they 295 00:16:54,440 --> 00:16:55,280 Speaker 7: could find a vehicle. 296 00:16:55,840 --> 00:16:58,760 Speaker 2: The group Dave is talking about is called Avengers with Purpose. 297 00:16:59,200 --> 00:17:02,160 Speaker 2: Back in twenty two, they got involved in the investigation 298 00:17:02,280 --> 00:17:05,960 Speaker 2: and conducted several searches of local waterways places where the 299 00:17:06,000 --> 00:17:09,399 Speaker 2: police did not focus. But they never found Richard's truck, 300 00:17:09,840 --> 00:17:13,640 Speaker 2: and neither has law enforcement. The FBI has never ruled 301 00:17:13,640 --> 00:17:16,480 Speaker 2: out Danielle and Richard being involved in an accident which 302 00:17:16,480 --> 00:17:19,639 Speaker 2: put Richard's truck into the river. However, they said it 303 00:17:19,720 --> 00:17:23,840 Speaker 2: was unlikely. It's also unclear if Danielle and Richard even 304 00:17:23,960 --> 00:17:25,960 Speaker 2: made it from the bar to where his truck was 305 00:17:26,000 --> 00:17:29,920 Speaker 2: parked that night, So I asked FBI agent Peter Rosselli. 306 00:17:30,480 --> 00:17:33,760 Speaker 4: Considering that no gunshots were reported that night. It wasn't 307 00:17:33,920 --> 00:17:37,359 Speaker 4: pools of blood, so they weren't knife anywhere in the vicinity, 308 00:17:37,720 --> 00:17:41,280 Speaker 4: so that would indicate that they were alive when they 309 00:17:41,400 --> 00:17:45,520 Speaker 4: drove away from South Street. Now they were either captive 310 00:17:46,040 --> 00:17:49,719 Speaker 4: or they drove off on their own. We don't know. 311 00:17:51,400 --> 00:17:55,120 Speaker 2: It's something else to consider. Was someone waiting inside Richard's 312 00:17:55,160 --> 00:17:59,159 Speaker 2: truck if not. There's also no evidence Danielle and Richard 313 00:17:59,280 --> 00:18:02,720 Speaker 2: even made it to Danielle's condo in New Jersey. If 314 00:18:02,760 --> 00:18:06,320 Speaker 2: they did drive there, reporter Dave Stratweiser said they would 315 00:18:06,359 --> 00:18:08,920 Speaker 2: have crossed one of the three bridges to go over 316 00:18:09,040 --> 00:18:09,840 Speaker 2: the Delaware River. 317 00:18:10,320 --> 00:18:13,320 Speaker 7: So they started pulling video from the Ben Franklin Bridge, 318 00:18:13,320 --> 00:18:16,640 Speaker 7: the Wall Whitman Bridge, trying to see the car go 319 00:18:16,680 --> 00:18:18,760 Speaker 7: over to Jersey because the couple that they had had 320 00:18:18,840 --> 00:18:22,280 Speaker 7: drinks with at Abilene told them that Richard was going 321 00:18:22,359 --> 00:18:24,240 Speaker 7: to drive her home to New Jersey. They would have 322 00:18:24,280 --> 00:18:26,560 Speaker 7: had to gone over to Ben Franklin, the Betsy Ross 323 00:18:26,560 --> 00:18:29,359 Speaker 7: that to Cony Pelmyra, one of those bridges. They checked 324 00:18:29,359 --> 00:18:32,879 Speaker 7: those bridge videos like super carefully, over and over and 325 00:18:32,920 --> 00:18:35,520 Speaker 7: over again, looking for some hint of a tow truck, 326 00:18:36,280 --> 00:18:39,320 Speaker 7: the car, the actual truck, somebody else drive in the truck, 327 00:18:39,840 --> 00:18:42,399 Speaker 7: you know that kind of thing. They pulled all the video, 328 00:18:42,560 --> 00:18:43,480 Speaker 7: didn't see his truck. 329 00:18:43,960 --> 00:18:47,280 Speaker 2: But here's the problem. It's free to drive into Jersey. 330 00:18:47,920 --> 00:18:50,399 Speaker 2: You only pay a toll to cross the bridges to 331 00:18:50,520 --> 00:18:53,800 Speaker 2: leave and back. Then the only cameras on those bridges 332 00:18:53,880 --> 00:18:57,159 Speaker 2: were at toll boots leaving the state, so there was 333 00:18:57,200 --> 00:18:59,880 Speaker 2: no way to know if Danielle and Richard actually meet 334 00:18:59,920 --> 00:19:02,639 Speaker 2: up it to Jersey, which again brings us back to 335 00:19:03,119 --> 00:19:04,760 Speaker 2: what could have happened to the truck. 336 00:19:06,960 --> 00:19:10,800 Speaker 7: There was a rumor that the car was taken one 337 00:19:10,840 --> 00:19:14,280 Speaker 7: place and the bodies were taken to a funeral home, 338 00:19:15,119 --> 00:19:18,879 Speaker 7: and that the bodies were cremated after the crime. We 339 00:19:18,960 --> 00:19:22,240 Speaker 7: did a lot of digging on that couldn't find one thing, 340 00:19:23,200 --> 00:19:25,359 Speaker 7: one thing that would lead you to believe that that happened. 341 00:19:28,160 --> 00:19:30,960 Speaker 7: But it was a strong rumor for a period of time, 342 00:19:31,040 --> 00:19:34,440 Speaker 7: and then there was some thoughts about the car must 343 00:19:34,480 --> 00:19:37,479 Speaker 7: have been destroyed, that it must have been crushed at 344 00:19:37,520 --> 00:19:41,359 Speaker 7: a junk yard, something must have happened to it along 345 00:19:41,400 --> 00:19:44,960 Speaker 7: those lines, and I will tell you there were kind 346 00:19:45,000 --> 00:19:48,800 Speaker 7: of a bunch of different incidents that involved junkyards and 347 00:19:48,880 --> 00:19:50,560 Speaker 7: toe companies and stuff like that. 348 00:19:50,880 --> 00:19:54,400 Speaker 2: Dave Stratwiser said. One such incident happened in January two 349 00:19:54,440 --> 00:19:58,560 Speaker 2: thousand and five, almost exactly one month before Danielle and 350 00:19:58,680 --> 00:20:02,440 Speaker 2: Richard vanished. That was when the Hell's Angels motorcycle gang 351 00:20:02,640 --> 00:20:05,879 Speaker 2: were embroiled in a feud with their rivals, the Pagans. 352 00:20:07,520 --> 00:20:12,240 Speaker 7: And the Pagans are well known for drug dealing Hill's methamphetamine, 353 00:20:12,280 --> 00:20:16,639 Speaker 7: cooking meth over the years. They have connections with organized crime. 354 00:20:18,400 --> 00:20:22,040 Speaker 2: That's interesting, the Pagans, that's the same biker group the 355 00:20:22,080 --> 00:20:25,760 Speaker 2: older couple in South Philly mentioned. Dave started describing why 356 00:20:25,800 --> 00:20:29,560 Speaker 2: the Pagans were relevant to his reporting on Richard and Danielle. 357 00:20:29,880 --> 00:20:32,480 Speaker 2: On the night of January thirteenth, two thousand and five, 358 00:20:32,600 --> 00:20:35,840 Speaker 2: a man named Tommy Woods was out celebrating he had 359 00:20:35,880 --> 00:20:39,080 Speaker 2: just changed allegiances from the Pagans to the Hell's Angels. 360 00:20:39,760 --> 00:20:42,320 Speaker 7: He's at a gentleman's club in South Philadelphia, a very 361 00:20:42,359 --> 00:20:44,640 Speaker 7: popular one, and Tommy Wood is there with a guy 362 00:20:44,680 --> 00:20:50,840 Speaker 7: named Byron Evans, and they're leaving the establishment. Evans is 363 00:20:50,880 --> 00:20:53,520 Speaker 7: on a motorcycle. Tommy Wood is in a vehicle. 364 00:20:54,000 --> 00:20:56,080 Speaker 2: According to a two thousand and five article in the 365 00:20:56,119 --> 00:21:00,320 Speaker 2: Philadelphia Daily News, both vehicles got onto the highway when 366 00:21:00,320 --> 00:21:03,119 Speaker 2: a white Chevy Suburban pulled up an open fire on 367 00:21:03,160 --> 00:21:05,960 Speaker 2: Byron Evans, who was driving his motorcycle. 368 00:21:11,080 --> 00:21:16,119 Speaker 7: Tommy Wood pulls up to place his vehicle between the 369 00:21:16,200 --> 00:21:20,720 Speaker 7: vehicle that's firing at Byron and the shooters who were 370 00:21:20,800 --> 00:21:26,399 Speaker 7: in another truck, and Tommy Wood takes the bullets and 371 00:21:26,400 --> 00:21:27,040 Speaker 7: gets killed. 372 00:21:29,560 --> 00:21:32,480 Speaker 2: The shooter was never identified and the shooter's truck was 373 00:21:32,560 --> 00:21:35,600 Speaker 2: never seen again. This stood out to Dave because it 374 00:21:35,720 --> 00:21:40,680 Speaker 2: happened about a month before Danielle Richard and Richard's truck vanished. 375 00:21:40,680 --> 00:21:44,080 Speaker 7: And a rumors surfaces that the truck used to shoot 376 00:21:44,320 --> 00:21:47,600 Speaker 7: at Tommy Wood speeds down the highway and gets off 377 00:21:47,720 --> 00:21:51,280 Speaker 7: at passiunc Avenue and hads to a junkyard. And inside 378 00:21:51,280 --> 00:21:56,240 Speaker 7: that junk yard is a huge dumpster looking like thing 379 00:21:57,000 --> 00:22:00,399 Speaker 7: that you could put a vehicle in. It would crush 380 00:22:00,440 --> 00:22:06,200 Speaker 7: the vehicle and shrink the vehicle fast forward a little bit. 381 00:22:06,760 --> 00:22:10,719 Speaker 7: Some people start to theorize, could that have happened to 382 00:22:10,800 --> 00:22:13,840 Speaker 7: the Dakota? Is that why there's no sign of the vehicle? 383 00:22:14,560 --> 00:22:16,639 Speaker 7: Could that have gone there as well? 384 00:22:20,520 --> 00:22:22,879 Speaker 2: This is now the second time I've heard about a 385 00:22:22,960 --> 00:22:26,280 Speaker 2: junk yard off past Younk Avenue. The couple from South 386 00:22:26,320 --> 00:22:27,959 Speaker 2: Philly mentioned that too. 387 00:22:28,520 --> 00:22:31,919 Speaker 7: If you spend any time out there on past Junk Avenue, 388 00:22:31,960 --> 00:22:33,920 Speaker 7: at some of the junk yards out there, you'll see 389 00:22:34,400 --> 00:22:39,160 Speaker 7: blocks of crushed, shredded metal picked up with a forklift 390 00:22:39,240 --> 00:22:41,520 Speaker 7: and put on a truck, strapped down and driven away. 391 00:22:41,960 --> 00:22:45,640 Speaker 2: Where there's smoke, there's usually fire. So I asked Veto 392 00:22:45,800 --> 00:22:48,000 Speaker 2: about where Richard's truck may have gone. 393 00:22:48,720 --> 00:22:51,520 Speaker 4: You have this patch code of pickup truck. A big 394 00:22:51,560 --> 00:22:55,600 Speaker 4: black pickup truck doesn't just disappear, So you. 395 00:22:55,600 --> 00:22:58,000 Speaker 7: Start looking at all the chop shops. 396 00:22:58,520 --> 00:23:03,239 Speaker 4: Philadelphia is notorious for its chop shop operations, and there 397 00:23:03,240 --> 00:23:05,360 Speaker 4: are a lot of different gangs that are very capable 398 00:23:05,800 --> 00:23:08,600 Speaker 4: of grabbing a high end vehicle and making it disappear 399 00:23:08,880 --> 00:23:11,520 Speaker 4: overnight without a trace, no problem. 400 00:23:12,080 --> 00:23:15,320 Speaker 2: Just like we heard earlier, Veto explained how a vehicle 401 00:23:15,440 --> 00:23:17,480 Speaker 2: quote unquote disappears. 402 00:23:18,000 --> 00:23:19,600 Speaker 4: You're grabbing it on the road and you got a 403 00:23:19,600 --> 00:23:22,320 Speaker 4: garage to put it in. You'll come back later and 404 00:23:22,320 --> 00:23:26,760 Speaker 4: you shride it down to actually crush a vehicle like 405 00:23:26,840 --> 00:23:28,720 Speaker 4: you would see on the highway where you see these 406 00:23:28,920 --> 00:23:34,640 Speaker 4: cubes of metal that takes an industrial crusher. And at 407 00:23:34,640 --> 00:23:38,359 Speaker 4: the time, there was only one in Philadelphia, Gianna's Junkyard, 408 00:23:38,680 --> 00:23:41,679 Speaker 4: and it was popular because it was co located with 409 00:23:42,000 --> 00:23:43,040 Speaker 4: a strip joint. 410 00:23:43,600 --> 00:23:46,280 Speaker 2: So let's break this down. We heard about this junk 411 00:23:46,359 --> 00:23:50,080 Speaker 2: yard near the airport called Gianna Salvage, which happens to 412 00:23:50,119 --> 00:23:53,159 Speaker 2: be near the Hinz Wildlife Refuge or the Mob and 413 00:23:53,200 --> 00:23:57,320 Speaker 2: other gangs commonly discarded cars and bodies. Then you have 414 00:23:57,400 --> 00:24:00,320 Speaker 2: a well known gang related drive by shooting where the 415 00:24:00,359 --> 00:24:03,439 Speaker 2: car used in the shooting is destroyed, never to be 416 00:24:03,520 --> 00:24:07,159 Speaker 2: found again. That car was last seen pulling off the 417 00:24:07,240 --> 00:24:12,040 Speaker 2: highway onto Patch Young Avenue, the same road Gianna's was located, 418 00:24:12,560 --> 00:24:15,440 Speaker 2: and Gianna Salvage sat on the same piece of property 419 00:24:15,480 --> 00:24:19,440 Speaker 2: as a popular strip club. Then Vito left me with this. 420 00:24:20,240 --> 00:24:23,480 Speaker 4: Then you start peeling the onion a little bit and 421 00:24:23,560 --> 00:24:27,879 Speaker 4: you find out that the mother of Richard Petron's daughter 422 00:24:29,200 --> 00:24:32,919 Speaker 4: was a dancer and had danced at that bar in 423 00:24:32,960 --> 00:24:33,840 Speaker 4: the past. 424 00:24:35,280 --> 00:24:39,080 Speaker 2: Vito's talking about Richard's ex girlfriend Julie, who used to 425 00:24:39,160 --> 00:24:43,960 Speaker 2: dance at this club. We had to get back in 426 00:24:44,000 --> 00:24:59,520 Speaker 2: touch with Julie. Reporter Dave Stratweiser and special agent Vito 427 00:24:59,560 --> 00:25:03,520 Speaker 2: Rosselli provided me with a lot of new information, new 428 00:25:03,600 --> 00:25:05,800 Speaker 2: leads that gave me a renewed sense of hope and 429 00:25:05,840 --> 00:25:09,080 Speaker 2: our search for answers. Getting back in touch with Richard's 430 00:25:09,119 --> 00:25:13,200 Speaker 2: extrually was necessary, but understanding the whereabouts of the truck 431 00:25:13,640 --> 00:25:17,320 Speaker 2: was equally important to me. Making a car and two 432 00:25:17,359 --> 00:25:22,359 Speaker 2: bodies disappear sounds complicated, if not impossible, but according to 433 00:25:22,440 --> 00:25:26,440 Speaker 2: Vito Rosselli, it's entirely possible if. 434 00:25:26,240 --> 00:25:29,800 Speaker 4: This was an organized effort, for example, a murder for 435 00:25:29,880 --> 00:25:33,960 Speaker 4: hire scenario to target either Richard or Danielle. After they 436 00:25:34,040 --> 00:25:37,040 Speaker 4: killed either Danielle or rich they knew how to get 437 00:25:37,119 --> 00:25:39,520 Speaker 4: rid of the vehicle. So you want to look at 438 00:25:39,560 --> 00:25:43,639 Speaker 4: somebody with the capability, with the underground connections, or just 439 00:25:43,720 --> 00:25:45,920 Speaker 4: to know how to make a truck and a couple 440 00:25:45,960 --> 00:25:51,239 Speaker 4: of bodies disappear, and the FBI that's kind of our 441 00:25:51,280 --> 00:25:54,520 Speaker 4: bread and butter, is we got our fingers into the 442 00:25:54,600 --> 00:25:58,919 Speaker 4: underbelly of Philadelphia and South Jersey, meaning you have informance 443 00:25:58,920 --> 00:26:02,240 Speaker 4: in the different criminal organizations that would be very capable 444 00:26:02,640 --> 00:26:04,880 Speaker 4: of disappearing a truck in a couple of bodies. 445 00:26:07,920 --> 00:26:10,480 Speaker 2: Earlier, Vito said, how back in two thousand and five, 446 00:26:10,640 --> 00:26:14,920 Speaker 2: Philly had one industrial crusher that turns cars into little cubes. 447 00:26:15,440 --> 00:26:17,520 Speaker 2: It was something I felt like I needed to see 448 00:26:17,560 --> 00:26:21,080 Speaker 2: for myself, so I started calling around to local junkyards 449 00:26:21,080 --> 00:26:24,320 Speaker 2: in Philly. Unsurprisingly, no one wanted to take my call. 450 00:26:24,880 --> 00:26:27,400 Speaker 2: I only found one person who was willing to talk 451 00:26:27,440 --> 00:26:31,120 Speaker 2: with me, a woman who goes by the name Junkyard Barbie. 452 00:26:31,200 --> 00:26:34,080 Speaker 2: She and her brother run pick Apart Junkyard then an 453 00:26:34,080 --> 00:26:37,359 Speaker 2: hour out of Philly in Morrisville, Pennsylvania. On a warm 454 00:26:37,400 --> 00:26:40,080 Speaker 2: spring day in twenty twenty four, my colleague Ben and 455 00:26:40,119 --> 00:26:44,159 Speaker 2: I went there to see firsthand how crushing a car works. 456 00:26:45,040 --> 00:26:48,359 Speaker 8: So I heard it was a pickop, so we're gonna 457 00:26:48,359 --> 00:26:50,840 Speaker 8: say that there's the pickop got here. 458 00:26:52,840 --> 00:26:55,399 Speaker 2: Barbie didn't have a Dodge Dakota at her yard, but 459 00:26:55,520 --> 00:26:58,040 Speaker 2: she did have a Ford F one fifty, which is 460 00:26:58,119 --> 00:27:05,920 Speaker 2: comparable in size and weight. Before crushing the F one fifty, 461 00:27:06,040 --> 00:27:09,040 Speaker 2: her brother explained that they removed all the fluids from 462 00:27:09,040 --> 00:27:12,239 Speaker 2: the vehicle so the thing didn't explode on us, and 463 00:27:12,280 --> 00:27:14,600 Speaker 2: then he did what was known as a soft crush, 464 00:27:14,640 --> 00:27:17,840 Speaker 2: where he used an excavator to flatten the truck. Yeow, 465 00:27:18,880 --> 00:27:25,320 Speaker 2: he like raises the arm matches it down. My god, 466 00:27:28,000 --> 00:27:30,920 Speaker 2: the whole soft crush process took less than a minute. 467 00:27:31,400 --> 00:27:35,080 Speaker 2: Up until now, I've heard about this process, but seeing 468 00:27:35,119 --> 00:27:40,280 Speaker 2: it in person that made everything so real, really quick, 469 00:27:42,000 --> 00:27:50,399 Speaker 2: really ansense. It's like completely flattened within seconds, completely flattened, 470 00:27:51,680 --> 00:27:55,760 Speaker 2: eye opening. Honestly, just an emotional experience that I didn't anticipate. 471 00:27:59,160 --> 00:28:03,359 Speaker 2: It was emotional because of how violent. It was, emotional 472 00:28:03,400 --> 00:28:07,520 Speaker 2: because of how violating. It was emotional because for the 473 00:28:07,560 --> 00:28:10,720 Speaker 2: first time I had the thought, what if they were 474 00:28:10,760 --> 00:28:14,679 Speaker 2: still in the vehicle. All I can say is it 475 00:28:14,800 --> 00:28:20,280 Speaker 2: was devastating to watch. When Ben and I got back 476 00:28:20,280 --> 00:28:23,320 Speaker 2: from the junk yard, we started to piece together some 477 00:28:23,400 --> 00:28:28,960 Speaker 2: of the new information we learned. So if Philly only 478 00:28:29,040 --> 00:28:32,680 Speaker 2: had one place with an industrial car crusher back in 479 00:28:32,680 --> 00:28:35,840 Speaker 2: two thousand and five, that feels like a logical place 480 00:28:35,840 --> 00:28:36,360 Speaker 2: to look. 481 00:28:36,160 --> 00:28:39,600 Speaker 9: Don't you think, Yeah, it sounds like that was at 482 00:28:39,640 --> 00:28:43,720 Speaker 9: a junk yard called Gianna's and I did a quick 483 00:28:43,760 --> 00:28:47,720 Speaker 9: search for Gianna's and yeah, down in and around the 484 00:28:47,760 --> 00:28:53,960 Speaker 9: airport is Gianna Salvage doesn't look like it exists anymore. 485 00:28:54,640 --> 00:28:56,000 Speaker 9: Did you find a location for that? 486 00:28:56,600 --> 00:28:59,600 Speaker 2: Yeah, it looks like it had two addresses, one on 487 00:28:59,680 --> 00:29:04,520 Speaker 2: pat Chunk Ab and then the other Onessington Ab. I'm 488 00:29:04,520 --> 00:29:06,920 Speaker 2: seeing sixty eight hundred Essington Avenue. 489 00:29:07,560 --> 00:29:10,240 Speaker 9: Okay, so that's Gianna's sixty eight hundred Essington. 490 00:29:10,800 --> 00:29:11,080 Speaker 5: Yeah. 491 00:29:11,120 --> 00:29:13,880 Speaker 2: So not only that, but there's a strip club at 492 00:29:13,960 --> 00:29:18,360 Speaker 2: sixty seven ninety eight Essington Avenue address that's called Oasis 493 00:29:18,400 --> 00:29:19,120 Speaker 2: Gentlemen's Club. 494 00:29:20,040 --> 00:29:23,240 Speaker 9: That's literally what Veto told us is that it was 495 00:29:23,280 --> 00:29:28,160 Speaker 9: co located with the strip club. So I think that 496 00:29:28,240 --> 00:29:33,520 Speaker 9: kind of narrows down that this location on Essington Avenue. 497 00:29:33,560 --> 00:29:35,640 Speaker 9: And I'm actually looking at a map right now. It's 498 00:29:35,640 --> 00:29:39,640 Speaker 9: interesting that it has a Pastyunk Avenue and an Essington 499 00:29:39,640 --> 00:29:42,360 Speaker 9: Avenue because you hit an intersection and it goes from 500 00:29:42,360 --> 00:29:46,320 Speaker 9: pass Younk to Essington. I mean, this is the spot, 501 00:29:47,480 --> 00:29:50,640 Speaker 9: right if we're starting to connect some of these stories 502 00:29:50,640 --> 00:29:54,240 Speaker 9: we heard from Dave and Veto, if you go back 503 00:29:54,280 --> 00:29:57,680 Speaker 9: to that hit on the Hell's Angels by the Pagans 504 00:29:58,520 --> 00:30:01,440 Speaker 9: that car that they used in the by shooting turns 505 00:30:01,440 --> 00:30:05,880 Speaker 9: off of seventy six on to Passion Gavinue and there's 506 00:30:05,920 --> 00:30:10,680 Speaker 9: only one industrial treader whatever we're calling this thing. Mm hmm, 507 00:30:11,480 --> 00:30:16,200 Speaker 9: it's logical to track that it's headed to Gianna Salvage. 508 00:30:17,440 --> 00:30:17,640 Speaker 1: Yeah. 509 00:30:17,720 --> 00:30:21,200 Speaker 2: I think what's standing out for me comes from the 510 00:30:21,200 --> 00:30:23,320 Speaker 2: conversation with Dave is that the car used in the 511 00:30:23,400 --> 00:30:27,080 Speaker 2: drive by shooting disappeared, just like Richard's truck disappeared. 512 00:30:27,720 --> 00:30:32,680 Speaker 9: And the fact that Julie was a dancer at that club. 513 00:30:32,960 --> 00:30:35,560 Speaker 9: I mean, we need to ask Julie. Was she a 514 00:30:35,640 --> 00:30:37,400 Speaker 9: dancer at Oasis? 515 00:30:37,720 --> 00:30:41,480 Speaker 2: Yeah, we got to hear from Julie. Maybe she knows something. 516 00:30:43,360 --> 00:30:46,600 Speaker 8: Oh yeah, we talked to the please the FBI several times. 517 00:30:47,120 --> 00:30:50,840 Speaker 2: Julie explained she had conversations with investigators about this very 518 00:30:50,960 --> 00:30:52,720 Speaker 2: topic back in two thousand and five. 519 00:30:53,800 --> 00:30:56,520 Speaker 8: There was some questions that were asked to me that 520 00:30:56,600 --> 00:30:59,760 Speaker 8: I filmed were weird. Yeah, where I used to work? 521 00:31:00,120 --> 00:31:03,600 Speaker 8: Can you know if I knew certain people? And questions 522 00:31:03,600 --> 00:31:05,000 Speaker 8: about bikers and stuff like that. 523 00:31:05,520 --> 00:31:08,840 Speaker 2: Julie was able to confirm she did work at club Oasis, 524 00:31:09,240 --> 00:31:11,720 Speaker 2: and that the line of questioning was centered around the 525 00:31:11,760 --> 00:31:14,240 Speaker 2: time she spent working at that strip club. 526 00:31:14,800 --> 00:31:18,600 Speaker 8: They asked me if I knew the owner of a 527 00:31:18,680 --> 00:31:21,560 Speaker 8: club that I used to work at. He used to 528 00:31:21,600 --> 00:31:23,120 Speaker 8: have a salvage yard. 529 00:31:24,040 --> 00:31:26,320 Speaker 2: I paged through business records that I was able to 530 00:31:26,360 --> 00:31:30,400 Speaker 2: find on Club Oasis and Gianna Salvage. According to filings 531 00:31:30,400 --> 00:31:33,720 Speaker 2: with the Secretary of State's office, both businesses were owned 532 00:31:33,760 --> 00:31:37,520 Speaker 2: and operated by a wealthy, young Philadelphia businessman named Rob 533 00:31:37,560 --> 00:31:42,120 Speaker 2: Laflor Junior. That name didn't ring any bells for Julie. 534 00:31:42,680 --> 00:31:45,520 Speaker 8: I didn't know. I didn't know these people, you know 535 00:31:45,520 --> 00:31:48,720 Speaker 8: what I mean, So I couldn't really give them any information. 536 00:31:51,360 --> 00:31:53,840 Speaker 2: But that was all Julie could tell me about Rob Lafleor. 537 00:31:54,280 --> 00:31:57,400 Speaker 2: So my team and I started looking into him. Along 538 00:31:57,440 --> 00:32:01,000 Speaker 2: with Club Oasis, I learned Rob also owned another strip 539 00:32:01,040 --> 00:32:06,200 Speaker 2: club called Christine's Cabaret, which was part steakhouse, part strip club. 540 00:32:06,680 --> 00:32:10,200 Speaker 2: But as I learned from Dave Stratweiser, Rob's fortune didn't 541 00:32:10,200 --> 00:32:13,840 Speaker 2: come from his strip steak but rather his industrial crusher. 542 00:32:15,960 --> 00:32:19,720 Speaker 7: The guy who owned the junkyard and owned that piece 543 00:32:19,760 --> 00:32:24,840 Speaker 7: of equipment ended up selling that patent for that crusher 544 00:32:25,120 --> 00:32:29,320 Speaker 7: shredder for millions of dollars. I believe he kept one, 545 00:32:29,560 --> 00:32:32,160 Speaker 7: but the patent on how to build that and make 546 00:32:32,200 --> 00:32:33,880 Speaker 7: that happen. This guy been in the junkyard business for 547 00:32:34,000 --> 00:32:36,959 Speaker 7: years and came up with this. So instead of a 548 00:32:37,000 --> 00:32:40,560 Speaker 7: big block of a crush car, you have a shredded, 549 00:32:40,800 --> 00:32:42,960 Speaker 7: smaller block crush car. 550 00:32:43,640 --> 00:32:46,160 Speaker 2: All of that money afforded Rob one of the largest 551 00:32:46,160 --> 00:32:50,360 Speaker 2: homes in Pennsylvania. According to Kurbed Philadelphia, that home had 552 00:32:50,360 --> 00:32:54,720 Speaker 2: ten bedrooms, fourteen bathrooms, and a driveway that stretched two 553 00:32:54,800 --> 00:32:55,560 Speaker 2: city blocks. 554 00:32:55,960 --> 00:32:58,120 Speaker 7: I think it was twenty five thousand square feet, had 555 00:32:58,120 --> 00:33:00,600 Speaker 7: a football field, in a basketball corps, in a theater. 556 00:33:01,200 --> 00:33:03,360 Speaker 2: He even owned the mansion next door. 557 00:33:03,640 --> 00:33:07,160 Speaker 7: There was some reports that Brad Pitt was going to 558 00:33:07,200 --> 00:33:09,480 Speaker 7: rent that house from him for a time while he 559 00:33:09,560 --> 00:33:12,120 Speaker 7: was in Philadelphia, potentially making a movie. 560 00:33:12,400 --> 00:33:15,840 Speaker 2: In twenty eleven, Rob told the Philadelphia Inquirer that Brad 561 00:33:15,840 --> 00:33:18,960 Speaker 2: Pitt and Angelina Jolie planned to stay at his house 562 00:33:19,000 --> 00:33:22,400 Speaker 2: while filming the movie World War Ze. Although the movie 563 00:33:22,440 --> 00:33:25,600 Speaker 2: was set in Philadelphia. They ended up filming elsewhere, but 564 00:33:25,720 --> 00:33:29,200 Speaker 2: Rob Laflor told the Inquirer that Brad and Angelina visit 565 00:33:29,280 --> 00:33:32,200 Speaker 2: him once a year. He said his friendship with Brad 566 00:33:32,320 --> 00:33:35,080 Speaker 2: dates back to his teen years when the two met 567 00:33:35,120 --> 00:33:38,440 Speaker 2: on the set of a TV commercial. That aside, It's 568 00:33:38,520 --> 00:33:41,800 Speaker 2: also important to note that Rob laflor was never named 569 00:33:41,800 --> 00:33:44,520 Speaker 2: a suspect in the disappearance of Danielle and Richard. 570 00:33:45,040 --> 00:33:47,440 Speaker 7: Nobody's ever been accused of that, nobody's been charged with that. 571 00:33:47,520 --> 00:33:49,880 Speaker 7: It's never been in any police report I've seen or 572 00:33:49,880 --> 00:33:53,520 Speaker 7: anything like that. But that was a very, very hot 573 00:33:53,640 --> 00:33:54,800 Speaker 7: rumor at the time. 574 00:33:54,920 --> 00:33:58,720 Speaker 2: But according to FBI agent Vido Rosselli, Rob laflora got 575 00:33:58,800 --> 00:34:01,160 Speaker 2: himself into trouble for something else. 576 00:34:01,920 --> 00:34:05,680 Speaker 4: He was a criminal subject of a separate FBI investigation 577 00:34:06,480 --> 00:34:10,120 Speaker 4: that had to deal with his strip joint, Club Oasis. 578 00:34:11,560 --> 00:34:15,480 Speaker 2: According to a twenty eleven Philadelphia Daily News article, the 579 00:34:15,640 --> 00:34:18,800 Speaker 2: FBI was looking into Rob in an alleged kickback scheme 580 00:34:19,120 --> 00:34:22,760 Speaker 2: that involved the Philadelphia Police Department and the Philadelphia Department 581 00:34:22,800 --> 00:34:27,240 Speaker 2: of Licenses and Inspections. And there was more, a lot more. 582 00:34:27,960 --> 00:34:30,920 Speaker 2: In two thousand and nine, Rob was charged with attempted 583 00:34:31,000 --> 00:34:33,280 Speaker 2: murder after a fight with a patron in the parking 584 00:34:33,320 --> 00:34:36,520 Speaker 2: lot of Club Oasis. All of this was a shock 585 00:34:36,600 --> 00:34:38,759 Speaker 2: to Richard's ex girlfriend, Julie. 586 00:34:39,080 --> 00:34:42,319 Speaker 8: Oh yeah, I'm thinking I worked at a place and 587 00:34:42,360 --> 00:34:44,480 Speaker 8: maybe this guy had something to do with this. Like 588 00:34:44,520 --> 00:34:45,560 Speaker 8: this is insane. 589 00:34:45,840 --> 00:34:48,960 Speaker 2: But Julie said her interactions with law enforcement wasn't just 590 00:34:49,000 --> 00:34:52,520 Speaker 2: to answer their questions. She said she also provided them 591 00:34:52,800 --> 00:34:53,440 Speaker 2: with a lead. 592 00:34:53,920 --> 00:34:57,560 Speaker 8: I had a friend who was in prison, and when 593 00:34:57,560 --> 00:34:59,319 Speaker 8: he had gotten out, he had told me that he 594 00:34:59,440 --> 00:35:03,640 Speaker 8: was in prison with somebody that was claiming to have 595 00:35:04,480 --> 00:35:08,160 Speaker 8: did something to Richard and Danielle. So I don't know 596 00:35:08,200 --> 00:35:10,440 Speaker 8: if that's true, you. 597 00:35:10,440 --> 00:35:14,080 Speaker 2: Know, Julie said she passed that information onto the FBI. 598 00:35:14,480 --> 00:35:16,080 Speaker 8: I'm not sure if I called Vito or I called 599 00:35:16,080 --> 00:35:18,560 Speaker 8: the hotline and made his thing saying there was somebody 600 00:35:18,560 --> 00:35:21,400 Speaker 8: in prison that had said that had admitted to doing 601 00:35:21,480 --> 00:35:24,000 Speaker 8: something to rich and Danielle. And they said the guy 602 00:35:24,160 --> 00:35:27,480 Speaker 8: apparently killed himself committed suicide. 603 00:35:27,920 --> 00:35:30,520 Speaker 2: Julie said the guy who took his own life was 604 00:35:30,560 --> 00:35:33,120 Speaker 2: the one who claimed to be responsible for doing something 605 00:35:33,120 --> 00:35:34,400 Speaker 2: to Danielle and Richard. 606 00:35:35,239 --> 00:35:38,200 Speaker 8: No, I don't remember the name of the guy. I 607 00:35:38,239 --> 00:35:40,080 Speaker 8: don't even know or my friend as I mean, he 608 00:35:40,080 --> 00:35:41,759 Speaker 8: could be dead for all I know. Yeah, I mean, 609 00:35:41,760 --> 00:35:42,720 Speaker 8: it was so long ago. 610 00:35:43,320 --> 00:35:46,520 Speaker 2: I started researching through old newspaper articles in search of 611 00:35:46,560 --> 00:35:49,160 Speaker 2: this guy's name, and very quickly I found a twenty 612 00:35:49,200 --> 00:35:53,000 Speaker 2: ten article in the Philadelphia Daily News. It said a 613 00:35:53,000 --> 00:35:56,080 Speaker 2: man named Robert Carey was the mastermind behind a huge 614 00:35:56,160 --> 00:35:59,720 Speaker 2: drug operation in which he allegedly forged tens of thousands 615 00:35:59,760 --> 00:36:03,640 Speaker 2: of oxyconton prescriptions, and that Carrie was believed to be 616 00:36:03,680 --> 00:36:06,440 Speaker 2: the hit man hired to get rid of Danielle and Richard. 617 00:36:07,400 --> 00:36:10,120 Speaker 2: The article even cited a source in law enforcement that 618 00:36:10,200 --> 00:36:14,120 Speaker 2: said authorities eyed Carrie but never declared him a suspect. 619 00:36:14,280 --> 00:36:18,600 Speaker 2: And here's what's even more interesting. According to Vito, Robert 620 00:36:18,680 --> 00:36:20,919 Speaker 2: Carey was close with a guy who owned the junk 621 00:36:21,000 --> 00:36:23,120 Speaker 2: yard and strip clubs, Rob Lafleur. 622 00:36:23,640 --> 00:36:23,839 Speaker 6: Yeah. 623 00:36:24,200 --> 00:36:26,040 Speaker 4: I don't want to call him best buddies, but they 624 00:36:26,040 --> 00:36:29,680 Speaker 4: were associates, close associates. Maybe. 625 00:36:29,800 --> 00:36:33,040 Speaker 2: Robert Carey was arrested in April of twenty ten. A 626 00:36:33,120 --> 00:36:35,759 Speaker 2: day later, he was found dead in his jail cell. 627 00:36:36,440 --> 00:36:39,239 Speaker 2: I think that Robert Carey was the hit man. 628 00:36:40,040 --> 00:36:43,680 Speaker 7: There were reports that he told an inmate in prison 629 00:36:43,880 --> 00:36:46,200 Speaker 7: that he was involved in I and Boone for Trunk case. 630 00:36:47,040 --> 00:36:50,840 Speaker 7: And there were rumors that before he died, he penned 631 00:36:51,160 --> 00:36:55,200 Speaker 7: some type of note in which he talked about this case. 632 00:36:55,640 --> 00:36:58,200 Speaker 2: The fact that we don't know what's in that suicide 633 00:36:58,200 --> 00:37:00,000 Speaker 2: note says more than any. 634 00:37:00,160 --> 00:37:00,640 Speaker 1: Thanks. 635 00:37:02,920 --> 00:37:08,840 Speaker 2: That's next time on There and Gone. If you have 636 00:37:08,960 --> 00:37:12,920 Speaker 2: any information about the disappearance of Danielle Imbo and Richard Patron, 637 00:37:13,320 --> 00:37:16,440 Speaker 2: please call the Citizens Crime Commission tip line at two 638 00:37:16,520 --> 00:37:20,520 Speaker 2: on five five four six eight four seven seven, or 639 00:37:20,600 --> 00:37:22,399 Speaker 2: you can reach out to the show in our team 640 00:37:22,440 --> 00:37:26,640 Speaker 2: by email at varrengonpod at gmail dot com. That's There 641 00:37:26,760 --> 00:37:31,440 Speaker 2: and Gone pod at gmail dot com. Thank you so 642 00:37:31,560 --> 00:37:34,200 Speaker 2: much for listening. One way for you to show support 643 00:37:34,280 --> 00:37:37,799 Speaker 2: is by subscribing to our show on Apple Podcasts. Don't 644 00:37:37,840 --> 00:37:40,480 Speaker 2: forget to rate and review because five star reviews go 645 00:37:40,520 --> 00:37:43,279 Speaker 2: a long way. A big thank you to all of 646 00:37:43,320 --> 00:37:47,239 Speaker 2: our listeners. Varin Gone is a production of Glass Podcasts, 647 00:37:47,360 --> 00:37:51,120 Speaker 2: a division of Glass Entertainment Group, in partnership with iHeart Podcasts. 648 00:37:51,560 --> 00:37:54,640 Speaker 2: The show is executive produced by Nancy Glass, Ben Fetterman, 649 00:37:54,760 --> 00:37:57,880 Speaker 2: and me Andrea Gunning. It's hosted and written by me 650 00:37:58,080 --> 00:38:01,560 Speaker 2: Andrea Gunning, with the additional report and writing by Ben Fetnerman. 651 00:38:02,120 --> 00:38:05,080 Speaker 2: The series is also written and produced by Todd Gans. 652 00:38:05,680 --> 00:38:10,160 Speaker 2: Our associate producer is Kristin Melcurie. Research by Mason Klinder, 653 00:38:10,200 --> 00:38:13,839 Speaker 2: Annah Hamilton, and Bella Riki. Our iHeart team is Ali 654 00:38:13,920 --> 00:38:18,480 Speaker 2: Perry and Jessica Crincheck. Audio editing and mixing by Matt Delvecchio, 655 00:38:18,960 --> 00:38:23,160 Speaker 2: additional editing support by Nico Ruka there In. Gonn's theme 656 00:38:23,200 --> 00:38:26,680 Speaker 2: and original compositions were composed by Oliver Bains and Darry 657 00:38:26,800 --> 00:38:31,920 Speaker 2: mcaulay of Neuser Music Library, provided by my Music Special 658 00:38:31,960 --> 00:38:35,080 Speaker 2: thanks to both the Patrone and tow Ray families. For 659 00:38:35,200 --> 00:38:39,359 Speaker 2: more podcasts from iHeart, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 660 00:38:39,440 --> 00:38:41,880 Speaker 2: or wherever you get your podcasts