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Speaker 1: If you're listening to a tenor foot TV podcast, Girls.

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Speaker 2: Krook County is released weekly and brought to you absolutely free.

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Speaker 2: But if you want to hear the whole season right now,

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Speaker 2: it's available ad free on tenderfoot Plus. For more information,

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Speaker 2: check out the show notes. Enjoy the episode.

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Speaker 3: You're listening to Krook County. The views and opinions expressed

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Speaker 3: in this podcast are solely those of the individuals participating

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Speaker 3: in the podcast. This episode also contains subject matter, including

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Speaker 3: graphic depictions of violence, which may not be suitable for everyone.

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Speaker 3: Listener discretion is advised.

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Speaker 4: Hello.

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Speaker 5: Friends, We've come such a long way since we launched

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Speaker 5: Krook County, and I want to thank you for sticking

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Speaker 5: with me as I tell this story, and for all

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Speaker 5: the incredible words of kindness and support showed.

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Speaker 2: Me over these past eight weeks. I'd like to show

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Speaker 2: that appreciation by having an open and honest conversation with you,

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Speaker 2: the listeners, on a bonus episode which will air in

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Speaker 2: a couple weeks. So please visit our instagram at Crook

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Speaker 2: County Podcast and leave me a comment or an audio

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Speaker 2: message with questions about the show or anything that you

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Speaker 2: feel is relevant and I will do my very best

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Speaker 2: to answer as many of them as I can. Thank

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Speaker 2: you so much. Our family is so grateful to know

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Speaker 2: that we are not alone in this journey of discovery

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Speaker 2: and healing, and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

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Speaker 2: Previously on Crook County, I.

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Speaker 6: Really wanted to get back into civilian life. I was

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Speaker 6: ready for it.

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Speaker 2: Ken leaves the outfit for the Chicago Fire Department.

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Speaker 1: Just when you think you're away from all this shit,

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Speaker 1: I'm covering up.

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Speaker 6: Fucking murders that these cops are doing.

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Speaker 2: The cops are just as crooked as the criminals.

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Speaker 7: So the brother of the cops, you know, and you're

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Speaker 7: so dependent on them that I wouldn't even be here

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Speaker 7: today if I hadn't stayed on the right side of that.

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Speaker 2: And Kenny learns that putting his past behind him is

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Speaker 2: an impossible task.

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Speaker 1: And I always had that pendulum swinging over my fucking

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Speaker 1: head that I could be called in at any time.

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Speaker 2: My name is Kyle Tequila. Welcome to Crook County.

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Speaker 1: Just that.

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Speaker 6: Yeah, he's a soldier, but he's a higher end soldier.

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Speaker 1: I've had experiences with them in the past, and I

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Speaker 1: never liked him, never appreciated him, never even wanted to

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Speaker 1: recognize him as a human fucking being. And that was

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Speaker 1: my mission to snuff the fucking light out of this sky.

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Speaker 2: Episode eight, the rear view mirror.

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Speaker 1: I can remember heading off to work with the fire

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Speaker 1: department still and I'm on the Eisenhower Expressway heading east.

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Speaker 6: I see him.

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Speaker 1: There's a lot of traffic in the morning, so there's

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Speaker 1: stop and go, stop and go. So anyway, I managed

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Speaker 1: to warm my way in and stop and go up

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Speaker 1: to him. I was on his left, roll down the

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Speaker 1: window with my we had electric windows even back then.

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Speaker 6: Hey believe it or not, roll.

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Speaker 1: Down the window, spit and of course I knew I

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Speaker 1: were good as Iri up. He heard it, he saw me,

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Speaker 1: He spun out of control, and the race was on.

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Speaker 2: The question I asked him was simple. You spent all

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Speaker 2: these years running around the streets of Chicago working for

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Speaker 2: the outfit, but you are also working these same streets

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Speaker 2: as a firefighter and a paramedic. So what happens when

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Speaker 2: you inevitably run into somebody anew from your days in

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Speaker 2: the mob.

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Speaker 6: So we did weaving in and out of traffic.

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Speaker 1: On the pull off sections right and left, and people

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Speaker 1: actually getting out of the way for two and a

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Speaker 1: half miles with this one hundred mile an hour fucking chase.

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Speaker 1: So I led the son of a bitch right into

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Speaker 1: a kill. We have these concrete embankments in Chicago that

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Speaker 1: the left is the exit and the right is where

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Speaker 1: you continue traveling. So I led this son of a

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Speaker 1: bitch because I knew he was raging.

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Speaker 6: It wasn't even thinking properly. I knew it.

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Speaker 1: So I led him right the right into the exit.

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Speaker 1: I can't remember what street. I led him right into

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Speaker 1: the embankment, and I made a quick chop left and

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Speaker 1: kept going at about seventy miles per hour. But he

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Speaker 1: wasn't fast enough. He hit that concrete embankment and his

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Speaker 1: fucking car exploded. I watched it in my rooview mirror,

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Speaker 1: so I knew nothing was going to happen with this guy.

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Speaker 6: He was just simply dead.

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Speaker 1: So now you're going to ask yourself, how does a

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Speaker 1: guy working for a fire departm go out and snuff

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Speaker 1: out a fucking mobster in front of three hundred people

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Speaker 1: and go home the next morning and feel good about himself. Well,

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Speaker 1: you got to understand this. People. I'll use civilians out there.

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Speaker 1: These people are evil garbage. They deserve to be dead.

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Speaker 1: The world is a better place without them. You have

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Speaker 1: no idea what these people are capable of doing, and

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Speaker 1: have done, and will continue to fucking do, not unless

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Speaker 1: their lives are snatched from them. And this particular incident,

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Speaker 1: I knew this fuck. I knew his fucking history, and

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Speaker 1: I knew I had a snatch the life bier this fuck.

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Speaker 1: So did I feel bad, No, not one fucking bit.

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Speaker 1: I slept, woke up the next morning, and did whatever

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Speaker 1: he had to do without even thinking about it. It

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Speaker 1: was just a normal fucking kill, that's all, and my

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Speaker 1: mind at that time that needed.

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Speaker 2: To be done.

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Speaker 1: I actually feel okay about doing it because I really

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Speaker 1: believe I did the world of favor because the only

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Speaker 1: thing this man could have done was make things worse.

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Speaker 1: That's the people. I don't know what else to fucking

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Speaker 1: tell you. And if you can't live with that, then.

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Speaker 4: I don't know.

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Speaker 6: Grow the fuck.

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Speaker 1: Up to the top of the porch, to the top

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Speaker 1: of the wall, now, dash away, dash away, dash away.

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Speaker 2: Along. It's Christmas Eve in twenty nineteen, So up to.

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Speaker 1: The housetop the courses they flew with sleigh full of

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Speaker 1: toys and Saint Nicholas too, Santa Santa Santa.

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Speaker 6: That's St Nicholas. Saint Nicholas and Santa are the same. Dude,

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Speaker 6: do you know that.

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Speaker 2: My dad has been staying with us for a few

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Speaker 2: days while we recorded these final interviews.

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Speaker 6: Ludoffs. No, there's no Rootoff in this No. Yeah, I

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Speaker 6: don't think there's a Rudolph in this one. No, there's

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Speaker 6: no Rootoff in this one.

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Speaker 4: Whoa, they messed up.

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Speaker 6: I'll maybe they just forgot on this particular Christmas. That

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Speaker 6: doesn't mean he's not gonna be here. It's nice. I

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Speaker 6: can almost guarantee he's gonna be here. It's nice.

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Speaker 1: He might have been out for this Christmas here though,

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Speaker 1: you know, maybe he had a cold.

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Speaker 6: Who knows. Let me think.

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Speaker 3: I don't see any shiny.

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Speaker 1: I don't see it either, But we're not gonna worry

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Speaker 1: about that, right.

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Speaker 2: It's so strange to see my dad switch from this cold,

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Speaker 2: hard killer to the loving grandpa almost instantaneously.

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Speaker 1: Look at that beard, say look at us, what's that

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Speaker 1: cookies and milk?

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Speaker 6: Just like that?

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Speaker 1: Right over there?

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Speaker 6: Buddy? That what is that carrots? Yeah, that's a carrot?

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Speaker 1: Yeah, we're gonna go with that one. That's oh, that's right,

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Speaker 1: that's for the reindeer they gotta eat too.

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Speaker 6: Yeah, smart guy.

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Speaker 2: But it's the perfect example of just how easy it

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Speaker 2: was for him to hide this dark double life from

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Speaker 2: us for all these years.

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Speaker 1: I heard him explain as he drove out of sight,

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Speaker 1: Marry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.

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Speaker 2: As my wife and I sit here by the fire

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Speaker 2: watching our five year old son Lincoln reading the Night

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Speaker 2: before Christmas with his grandfather, I'm also reminded of just

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Speaker 2: how much I loved my dad when I was that age.

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Speaker 6: Good Night, Lincoln, I'll see you a morning, lady.

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Speaker 2: And even after everything that's happened since, I'll always remember

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Speaker 2: the man that he was when I was young. I'm

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Speaker 2: back with my dad's old ambulance partner, Mike. I tell

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Speaker 2: him what I know about Ken's mafia passed and he

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Speaker 2: sits there calmly listening. It's mostly me talking, and I

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Speaker 2: can't tell one way or the other if he's heard

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Speaker 2: any of this before. He's certainly not telling me. If

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Speaker 2: he has, how do you feel in me telling you

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Speaker 2: these things about his mom life?

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Speaker 4: Well, I'm not surprised.

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Speaker 7: You know, none of it's shocking to me because I

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Speaker 7: you know, I knew him at the point where he

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Speaker 7: was transitioning, you know, that's when I first met him,

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Speaker 7: you know, So, I mean I knew he was way

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Speaker 7: different than the other people I was working with, you know,

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Speaker 7: But I saw all the upside potential of your dad,

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Speaker 7: you know, because he was really good at being a

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Speaker 7: paramedic and a firefighter.

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Speaker 2: Amidst all of the awful things that happened in Ken's life,

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Speaker 2: and perhaps maybe even because of it, he threw his

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Speaker 2: entire self into his work as a firefighter.

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Speaker 7: He had a passion for it, you know, he was

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Speaker 7: really good at it, and he loved doing it.

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Speaker 2: I dug up some articles from local papers mentioning Ken's

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Speaker 2: exploits as a first responder. One article from nineteen ninety

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Speaker 2: two interviews Ken, who was fighting for fair pay for

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Speaker 2: his fellow medics and in a sort of twist of fate.

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Speaker 2: Another article from the Daily Herald in nineteen ninety one

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Speaker 2: mentions Ken as the first firefighter on the scene of

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Speaker 2: a fatal plane crash at DuPage Airport. Just a little

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Speaker 2: over a decade after that, American Airlines crash that inspired

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Speaker 2: Ken to join the fire department in the first place.

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Speaker 7: You could see that he liked it. You know that

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Speaker 7: he appreciated the fact that he had helped somebody.

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Speaker 2: There were many occasions over the years where I got

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Speaker 2: to see him in action at the station, on ride alongs,

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Speaker 2: neighborhood events. I witnessed first hand the respect of his

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Speaker 2: peers and his chief. One of my favorite memories of

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Speaker 2: all time was probably in third or fourth grade, when

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Speaker 2: my dad was invited to speak in front of my

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Speaker 2: whole school about fire safety. After the speech, there was

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Speaker 2: a Q and A with the students and one smart

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Speaker 2: ass kid takes the microphone, points at my dad's pants

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Speaker 2: and goes, did you know your fly was open? So

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Speaker 2: my dad looks down and sure enough, his zipper has

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Speaker 2: been open this entire time. So he just looks at

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Speaker 2: this kid right in the eye and he goes, I

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Speaker 2: just wanted to make sure you all were paying attention,

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Speaker 2: and he zips it back up and the whole place

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Speaker 2: just went nuts. I mean, people were crying, laughing, the kids, teachers, everyone.

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Speaker 2: One of the funniest things I've ever seen.

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Speaker 7: The firefighting thing. He liked that more than I did.

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Speaker 7: I mean, sure, you know, it's a lot of fun.

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Speaker 7: It's exciting. You know, there's always the thrill of are

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Speaker 7: you going to get blown up or not? You know, so,

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Speaker 7: I mean it's kind of an adrenaline rush kind of thing.

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Speaker 7: But your dad was more, way more into the firefighting

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Speaker 7: thing than I ever was. He always wanted to be

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Speaker 7: the first guy in, get there and get his airpack on,

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Speaker 7: and get in before anybody else could get in there.

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Speaker 4: You know.

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Speaker 7: He always wanted to be at the front of the

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Speaker 7: line for that. I remember a couple times he got

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Speaker 7: hurt at fire scenes and I was just like, geez,

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Speaker 7: settle down, man, you don't have to be the first

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Speaker 7: guy in all the time. And he was like, I

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Speaker 7: got to get in there. He had to be the

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Speaker 7: first guy in. You know, he really wanted that.

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Speaker 2: And then sometime in the late nineties, the guys at

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Speaker 2: the station had just finished their dinner when the alarm

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Speaker 2: bell sounded and a call came through that would forever

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Speaker 2: change Kenny's life and set in motion a disastrous chain

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Speaker 2: of events that would eventually destroy our entire family.

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Speaker 7: The scariest call I ever did in my life. We

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Speaker 7: had a fire at a It was a grocery store,

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Speaker 7: but it used to be a bowling alley, so it

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Speaker 7: had the bowstring truss roof, you know, the arched roof

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Speaker 7: like that, and it was very high roof in the place.

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Speaker 7: So they had to get a thirty foot extension ladder

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Speaker 7: to get up there. And this thirty foot banger weighs

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Speaker 7: a ton. It's like three guys got to carry it,

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Speaker 7: you know, And they had one guy healing it, and

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Speaker 7: that was your dad. And they had this firefighter and

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Speaker 7: full gear in an airpack going up into the scuttle.

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Speaker 4: And he was a big guy.

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Speaker 7: He was probably a two hundred and sixty pound firefighter

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Speaker 7: and you had fifty pounds of gear in an airpack, so

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Speaker 7: three hundred and ten pounds you're talking about. He was

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Speaker 7: all the way up at the tip of the ladder

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Speaker 7: going in the scuttle, and the ladder kicked out and

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Speaker 7: it fell on your dad, and the firefighter came down

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Speaker 7: and he landed right on top of your dad and

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Speaker 7: he is down on the ground and he looked like shit.

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Speaker 7: He was gray, and I thought, oh my.

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Speaker 4: God, he's really hurt bad, you know.

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Speaker 7: And it was probably the worst call I've ever done

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Speaker 7: in my life because I was so emotionally invested in

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Speaker 7: the call, and everybody's running around and screaming, and people

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Speaker 7: are flying back and forth, and I'm telling him slow down.

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Speaker 7: They're like running with the stretcher. I didn't want him

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Speaker 7: to dump it over and hurt him again, and so

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Speaker 7: everything got under control. We got him in the ambulance,

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Speaker 7: and my partner Joe, was on the phone to the

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Speaker 7: hospital and your Dad's tell him he started coming around

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Speaker 7: a bit, and he says, tell him this, tell him that,

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Speaker 7: tell him this, And my partner hands the phone to

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Speaker 7: your dad and says, do you want to talk to him?

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Speaker 4: Or do you want me to talk to Stills? And

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Speaker 4: your dad goes, no, go ahead. That's when I knew

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Speaker 4: he was going to be okay.

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Speaker 7: But it was really scary because I've seen a lot

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Speaker 7: of people look like he looked at that time that.

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Speaker 4: Have died on us on the way to the hospital.

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Speaker 4: So it was really scary.

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Speaker 2: You know.

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Speaker 7: The doctor even said that, you know, if he hadn't

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Speaker 7: been in such good physical condition at the time that.

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Speaker 4: He would he would have never survived.

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Speaker 8: It.

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Speaker 1: Fractured my left hand, fractured my right and left knee,

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Speaker 1: some damage to my face and skull, and had some surgeries,

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Speaker 1: got a lot of painkillers, and you know, where the

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Speaker 1: hell have you been my whole life? You know, it

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Speaker 1: took a really liking to that, took a really liking

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Speaker 1: the painkillers, and then that's when I started having problems

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Speaker 1: with my addiction.

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Speaker 6: Was after getting those pain pills, after those surgeries.

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Speaker 1: Catalyzed my addiction, and then fueled it after that, after

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Speaker 1: it got catalyzed.

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Speaker 2: In the years following the accident, the painkillers became a

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Speaker 2: constant companion, and as the addiction got worse, Ken gradually

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Speaker 2: shrank inward and distanced himself from his family and friends.

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Speaker 7: He knew he was struggling with stuff, but I couldn't

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Speaker 7: tell what. And I didn't really ask him because I

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Speaker 7: felt like he wasn't gonna tell me anyway. You know,

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Speaker 7: he likes to play his cards very close to the

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Speaker 7: chest when it comes to his personal life and feelings

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Speaker 7: and what he's going through.

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Speaker 2: When the pills stop being enough to satisfy his addiction,

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Speaker 2: he turned to heroin, which isn't as easy to hide.

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Speaker 2: You would look at his arms, they were clear as day.

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Speaker 2: You could see the veins from his fucking his inner

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Speaker 2: elbow all the way down to his wrist and following

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Speaker 2: up towards his shoulder.

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Speaker 6: They were just gross. He knew something was up.

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Speaker 4: You know, it's fucking horrible.

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Speaker 2: I don't need to rehash the pain we all went

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Speaker 2: through during this period of self destruction. But as the

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Speaker 2: years went on and the family fell apart, Holly Corey

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Speaker 2: and myself eventually separated ourselves from Ken physically and emotionally.

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Speaker 2: After all the pain and abuse, what else could we do.

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Speaker 2: I had been a strange from him for nearly five

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Speaker 2: years when he finally reached out to me for help

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Speaker 2: in twenty thirteen, and I checked him into rehab in California,

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Speaker 2: and I always wondered why now, what change had occurred

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Speaker 2: to make him suddenly surrender himself to getting clean. I

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Speaker 2: think Ken's brother Rich may have the answer.

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Speaker 9: Right before he moved out to California, he called me

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Speaker 9: up and we were talking and.

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Speaker 4: I just knew it.

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Speaker 1: You know.

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Speaker 9: I don't want to call it a twin thing, because

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Speaker 9: we never had that, but there was something about his tone, something,

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Speaker 9: And I left work and I went to the apartment

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Speaker 9: and I walked in and he was sitting there in

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Speaker 9: a chair, and that pistol was sitting right next to him,

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Speaker 9: and I looked at him and I said, what are

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Speaker 9: you doing. I remember the response, but I said, you

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Speaker 9: should probably give me that, and he said, I think

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Speaker 9: you're right. So, as far as I'm concerned, I saved

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Speaker 9: his life because he was in a really bad place.

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Speaker 2: Over the last ten years, as my dad sobered up

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Speaker 2: and embarked on the long, painful path to healing, he

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Speaker 2: began to open up to me for the first time.

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Speaker 2: And even though the truth is so much more fucked

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Speaker 2: up than I could have ever imagined, I'm thankful for

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Speaker 2: theopportunity to finally see the man I call father for

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Speaker 2: who he really is.

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Speaker 6: And I just hope that God I get forgiven for this.

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Speaker 6: I just hope he could forgive me. I really do,

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Speaker 6: because I think about it all the time. Man, regret

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Speaker 6: it the second of it.

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Speaker 1: Be careful with choices, people, Be careful the choices you make.

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Speaker 6: We can come back and haunt your lifetime.

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Speaker 2: Throughout this entire process, I have been constantly shocked about

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Speaker 2: how I can still be constantly shocked. Whenever I learned

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Speaker 2: some new, awful truth about the world my dad lived in.

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Speaker 2: My first reaction is how is that even possible? But

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Speaker 2: then a second, even more powerful reality hits me that

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Speaker 2: I have been completely sheltered from the evil that played

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Speaker 2: my dad's entire existence. If his goal to keep this

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Speaker 2: world away from us, then he succeeded, and despite everything else,

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Speaker 2: I'm grateful to him for that much. I also want

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Speaker 2: to express my deep gratitude to the people featured in

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Speaker 2: this story who were so gracious and brave to open

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Speaker 2: themselves up to me during these difficult interviews. To my

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Speaker 2: amazing mom for her strength and perseverance during these last

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Speaker 2: twenty years as she watched her life crumble around her.

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Speaker 2: To my best friend and my brother Corey, who still

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Speaker 2: carries the weight of our father's abuse. To my uncle

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Speaker 2: Rich for crawling back into his painful past and shedding

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Speaker 2: some light on their own abusive childhood, and of course,

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Speaker 2: for saving my dad's life that day in twenty thirteen.

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Speaker 2: To Jeff Cohne of the Chicago Tribune for sharing his

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Speaker 2: unmatched expertise on all things mafia. And finally to my

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Speaker 2: dad's old buddy Mike, who also wanted to share some

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Speaker 2: words of gratitude.

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Speaker 7: He changed my life just being friends with him. He

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Speaker 7: helped me stand up for myself and be more assertive

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Speaker 7: in my life and changed my life, you know, forever.

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Speaker 7: And when I was going into treatment center and I

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Speaker 7: was struggling, I went and sat and talked to your dad.

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Speaker 7: He probably doesn't even remember it. It really helped me

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Speaker 7: get on the path I needed to be on, you know.

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Speaker 7: He really steered me in the right direction, which is

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Speaker 7: kind of funny because he was probably messed up at

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Speaker 7: the time himself, you know, but put me on the

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Speaker 7: path for my recovery. I wish he understood how important

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Speaker 7: that he is to me. I'm basically here because of him,

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Speaker 7: But he doesn't probably realize that.

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Speaker 2: So where does that leave us now? Who the hell knows.

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Speaker 2: I suppose it depends on who you ask. My brother

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Speaker 2: Corey and my uncle Rich have already made up their minds.

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Speaker 9: With everything in consideration. I just I can't, you know,

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Speaker 9: be the better man and forgive and forget. I just

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Speaker 9: can't do it because there's just too many things for

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Speaker 9: too long, you know, just can't do it.

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Speaker 2: My mom has a similar take, but focuses on the good.

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Speaker 1: I have many video tapes to look back on on

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Speaker 1: the happy times. I don't have any tapes of the

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Speaker 1: horrible times.

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Speaker 6: Thanks.

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Speaker 2: This makes me happy. For me, I've come to peace

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Speaker 2: with the past. It has tempered me, made me stronger.

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Speaker 2: I am not ashamed of it. I do not run

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Speaker 2: from it. I look it right in the eyes and

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Speaker 2: embrace it. Learn from it, share it with the world,

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Speaker 2: And one day, when he's old enough, I will share

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Speaker 2: it with my son and he will know how far

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Speaker 2: we have come together in spite of it. That is

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Speaker 2: the real legacy of my father, and that is what

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Speaker 2: I will choose to remember. Crook County is a production

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Speaker 2: of iHeart Podcasts and Tenderfoot TV in association with Common Enemy.

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Speaker 2: All episodes are produced, written and hosted by Me Kyle Tequila.

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Speaker 2: Executive producers are Donald Dolbright and Payne Lindsay. Original score

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00:26:11,320 --> 00:26:14,960
Speaker 2: by Makeup and Vanity Set. Main title song is called

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00:26:15,080 --> 00:26:18,719
Speaker 2: Crush by the band Starry Eyes. End credit song is

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Speaker 2: called Dying Islands, also by the band Starry Eyes. Sound

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00:26:23,359 --> 00:26:27,159
Speaker 2: mix by Cooper Skinner. For more podcasts like Crook County,

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00:26:27,440 --> 00:26:30,840
Speaker 2: search Tenderfoot TV on your favorite podcast app or visit

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00:26:30,920 --> 00:26:34,280
Speaker 2: Tenderfoot dot TV. Thanks for listening to Season one of

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Speaker 2: Crook County. It's been an honor to share this story

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Speaker 2: with you. But don't worry. There's more to come.

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Speaker 8: Die in islands, fade away, leave in me alone, Nansi,

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Speaker 8: my sab it you the show, the deep basbus a

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Speaker 8: call and the deepest bes calling me.

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Speaker 10: Stops call tonight, indifference.

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Speaker 8: Who have everyone leaving? Now? Can't believe.

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Speaker 10: Southeast he was to do all the things I've done.

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Speaker 10: I lay awake at.

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Speaker 8: Night trying to say, here's got some of the first

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Speaker 8: bodies that nobody knows. I can't be.

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Speaker 10: Alone and tell you that straight away. Leaving me alone,

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Speaker 10: that's say my stagger to the shore, the deep basins

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Speaker 10: a calling, stap me a contact colin the deep basbooes,

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Speaker 10: the collarm.

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Speaker 8: Love my Ma, so die a sad way