WEBVTT - To Crack Wu-Tang Album's Secrets, FOIA FOIA Y'All (Feat. Open Mike Eagle)

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<v Speaker 1>I gotta be honest. I never thought I'd be doing

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<v Speaker 1>a lawsuit about a single copy of a Wu Tang record.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah. I love this story and how the album ends

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<v Speaker 2>up in the hands of the US marshals and it

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<v Speaker 2>just sits there in a vault for like two years.

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<v Speaker 2>Cue the music. I'm investigative journalist Jason Leopold. I spend

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<v Speaker 2>most of my days getting documents from the government.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm attorney Matt Tapik, and I fight them in court

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<v Speaker 1>to open their files when they don't want to.

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<v Speaker 2>From Bloomberg and no smiling. This is Disclosure, a podcast

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<v Speaker 2>about buying loose government secrets, the Freedom of Information Act,

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<v Speaker 2>and the unexpected places that takes us. Matt, what T

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<v Speaker 2>shirt you wearing today?

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<v Speaker 1>I've warned this thing a thousand times.

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<v Speaker 2>It's a bacon mobile. Bacon mobile. Nice, It's like a

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<v Speaker 2>food truck looking thing. It says, a bacon mobile one dollar.

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<v Speaker 1>So. Prices have gone up quite a bit on bacon

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<v Speaker 1>since I got this shirt.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, they have also the health risks as well. Matt, Oh,

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<v Speaker 2>don't believe that. What do you say that this T

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<v Speaker 2>shirt is like amazing? Is it the quality of the shirt,

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<v Speaker 2>the material? Yes, there were instances in my life where

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<v Speaker 2>I would find a shirt that I loved, and it's

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<v Speaker 2>usually a band T shirt that was so comfortable that

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<v Speaker 2>I have to buy two in case the one got ripped.

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<v Speaker 1>This is one of those.

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<v Speaker 2>And the funny thing about this weird tick that I

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<v Speaker 2>had of needing two of everything and how it relates

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<v Speaker 2>to the foyer, is that back in the day, agencies

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<v Speaker 2>would say to me when they're conducting a search, Hey,

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<v Speaker 2>do you mind if we remove the duplicates, like duplicate emails,

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<v Speaker 2>And I'm like, yes, I mind. I want two of everything,

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<v Speaker 2>So like two of everything, even like extended to whatever.

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<v Speaker 2>Like they're telling me, like, may take longer. I'm like,

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<v Speaker 2>but I want both. I need to have two of everything.

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<v Speaker 2>I finally, you needed someone to tell me, like, listen,

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<v Speaker 2>you're not going to miss anything. If you tell them

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<v Speaker 2>to remove, it's not going to break. But for some reason,

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<v Speaker 2>it was just like, no, I want both. You're deeply distrustful.

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<v Speaker 2>That's very true, as you should be. It's your job,

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<v Speaker 2>which is why we fought as hard and long as

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<v Speaker 2>we did against the government to get that bill of

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<v Speaker 2>sale that showed finally how much the government sold Once

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<v Speaker 2>upon a Time in Shellin. For do we need like

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<v Speaker 2>a drum roll?

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<v Speaker 1>Drum roll? No, not for Wu Tang, we need like

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<v Speaker 1>a record scratch. Hey on, let's do the backstory first.

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<v Speaker 1>Can we start with what is Once upon a Time

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<v Speaker 1>in Shallin?

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<v Speaker 2>Okay? So the Justice Department didn't get his hands on

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<v Speaker 2>some used Wu Tang CD. This album Once upon a

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<v Speaker 2>Time in shall In wasn't just rare, it was singular,

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<v Speaker 2>a creature of myth in an age of mass production.

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<v Speaker 2>It's Riza, the architect of the Wu Tang clan, wanted

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<v Speaker 2>the album to be treated like a sacred artifact. It

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<v Speaker 2>was a way to restore value to music by making

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<v Speaker 2>it scarce, untouchable. In his view, people only truly value

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<v Speaker 2>what they can have.

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<v Speaker 1>We've only made one copy and and it's gonna you

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<v Speaker 1>got to go to a museum to hear it.

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<v Speaker 2>The album's creation defied every convention of the music industry.

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<v Speaker 2>No labels, no corporate fingerprints. It was all a shadow

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<v Speaker 2>operation known only to Rizza and the producer, not even

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<v Speaker 2>other Wu Tang members. I didn't know anything about anything,

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<v Speaker 2>not method Man, not ghost face Killer. That was never

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<v Speaker 2>really know what I Over six years, the album took

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<v Speaker 2>shape in fragments recorded mostly in Staten Island, forged in Marrakech,

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<v Speaker 2>and finally pressed into a double disc set sealed inside

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<v Speaker 2>a vault at one of Africa's finest hotels. This was

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<v Speaker 2>Rizza's Phantom Treasure. Thirty one tracks. Every member of Wu

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<v Speaker 2>Tang on the record, with guest appearances from Redman, a

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<v Speaker 2>few FC Barcelona players, and apparently the Goddess of pop.

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<v Speaker 2>That voice sounds familiar, yes, a.

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<v Speaker 1>Little bit like share.

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<v Speaker 2>Apparently because very few people have heard the album, and

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<v Speaker 2>that's the point. In March twenty fourteen, Riza announced that

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<v Speaker 2>he was about to put out an album like no

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<v Speaker 2>one had ever done in the history of modern music.

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<v Speaker 2>It's like the Illis package right there.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, the Hillis album covering the history of the world.

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<v Speaker 2>The plan was for once upon a time in Shaolin

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<v Speaker 2>to disappear into private hands, sold to a single chosen bidder.

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<v Speaker 2>Its new master would be bound by an oath of silence.

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<v Speaker 2>Only the owner or those summoned to private, heavily guarded

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<v Speaker 2>listening rituals would ever hear it. No recordings, no leaks,

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<v Speaker 2>no exceptions. The album wouldn't be released publicly for eighty

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<v Speaker 2>eight years. Once the world got wind of Once upon

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<v Speaker 2>a Time in shall In it indeed became a living legend.

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<v Speaker 2>A guy from Forbes flew to Morocco to be one

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<v Speaker 2>of the first to hear the record before it got

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<v Speaker 2>auctioned off. I'm going to drive about one hundred and

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<v Speaker 2>fifty miles to Marrakesh, and then I'm going to go

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<v Speaker 2>into the foothills of the Atlas Mountains to hear part

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<v Speaker 2>of the Wu Tang plant's new secret album at a

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<v Speaker 2>MoMA PS one unveiling. Roughly one hundred and fifty hand

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<v Speaker 2>picked guests endured tsa level security, surrendering phones, passing double

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<v Speaker 2>metal detector scans, and facing guards checking for bugs just

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<v Speaker 2>to hear a thirteen minute excerpt of the album, which

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<v Speaker 2>by the way, was locked behind velvet ropes and hulking

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<v Speaker 2>security men.

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<v Speaker 3>We are all in the very privileged situation to witness

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<v Speaker 3>the first, the last, and the only public listening session

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<v Speaker 3>of Once Upon a Time in Shao Lein.

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<v Speaker 2>But not everyone was so enthusiastic about the record. Fans

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<v Speaker 2>were upset that they couldn't hear it. Other Wu Tang

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<v Speaker 2>members agreed, and many of them felt shut out of

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<v Speaker 2>the project entirely they took issue with the idea of

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<v Speaker 2>their music being locked away like a private treasure, not

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<v Speaker 2>to mention how the producer went about the project.

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<v Speaker 1>Everybody else just got paid whenever they got paid for

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<v Speaker 1>their feature.

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<v Speaker 2>But you accept me that you're gonna build the album

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<v Speaker 2>around it. That's the sneaky. That's ghost Face Killer on

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<v Speaker 2>the bootleg keV podcast saying he didn't know his track

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<v Speaker 2>would be turned into a secret Wu Tang Clan album

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<v Speaker 2>and sold for millions without the group being cut in.

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<v Speaker 2>Didn't y'all gonna do that? It didn't even bring nobody off.

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<v Speaker 2>Do you show that for that much? I'll be honest

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<v Speaker 2>with you. I do like Wu Tang Clan and I

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<v Speaker 2>thought it was just wow, that's interesting. But it wasn't

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<v Speaker 2>until they auctioned it off and then finding out who

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<v Speaker 2>the buyer was where it suddenly became a little bit

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<v Speaker 2>more interesting to me.

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<v Speaker 1>Bill Ball comes on, right, is that Rizza?

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<v Speaker 2>That's Riza on an interview series build and he.

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<v Speaker 1>Goes, hey, you guys, hear about this comeback and it's

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<v Speaker 1>ma scurelly like.

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<v Speaker 3>Wait a minute, hey baby, that's the guy that bought

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<v Speaker 3>the album.

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<v Speaker 2>So Martin Screlly is the farmer Bro, the farmer.

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<v Speaker 1>Bro, farmer Bro, the notorious farmer Bro. He's best known

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<v Speaker 1>as the farmer Bro Martin Screlly.

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<v Speaker 2>If I was aware of that, I may have every

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<v Speaker 2>different approach to put that in his head. And I

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<v Speaker 2>want to describe him.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm going to look and see how the Internet has

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<v Speaker 1>described him. I mean, I immediately found on Reddit Screlly

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<v Speaker 1>is a piece of that raised prescription drug prices thousands

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<v Speaker 1>of percent. He's also been called a moor Ley bankrupt sociopath,

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<v Speaker 1>a garbage monster, and everything that's wrong with capitalism.

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<v Speaker 2>And why is he hated?

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<v Speaker 3>Well, tonight, the head of a drug company who's accused

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<v Speaker 3>of gouging patients says he should be thanked.

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<v Speaker 2>I don't really care about people hating me. He was

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<v Speaker 2>a farmer executive and a hedge fund manager. He had

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<v Speaker 2>this company and this is what earned him that notorious

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<v Speaker 2>nickname farmer Bro. He jacked up the price of this

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<v Speaker 2>life saving drug by like five thousand percent. There's no

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<v Speaker 2>excuse from going from thirteen dollars and fifty cents to

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<v Speaker 2>seven hundred and fifty dollars for one pill.

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<v Speaker 1>This is a capitalist society, capitalist system and capitalist rules

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<v Speaker 1>and my investors expect me to baximize profits.

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<v Speaker 2>People started calling him the most hated man in America.

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<v Speaker 1>What do you say to that signal pregnant woman who

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<v Speaker 1>might have aids she needs terre prihim in order to survive.

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<v Speaker 2>He had testified before Congress about the drug, the price

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<v Speaker 2>of what he raised. He was very, very smug.

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<v Speaker 4>On the advice of counsel, I invoke my Fifth Amendment

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<v Speaker 4>privilege against self incrimination.

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<v Speaker 2>Then he was charged with securities fraud, nothing to do

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<v Speaker 2>with any price gouging, but for defrauding investors in his

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<v Speaker 2>hedge fund. Busy guy. People hated him, They had choice

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<v Speaker 2>words for him, and anyway along the way, he purchased

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<v Speaker 2>Once upon a Time in Shallon. What did you think

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<v Speaker 2>the first time you listened to it? He was mad,

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<v Speaker 2>but I don't think it was ever about the music,

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<v Speaker 2>not exactly thirty six shapers.

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<v Speaker 1>So he wins the auction and he pays for the

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<v Speaker 1>album with drug blood money basically, oh man, So how

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<v Speaker 1>much exactly did he pay for it? Most reports put

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<v Speaker 1>it out two million Shtrelli himself has said one point

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<v Speaker 1>five million. So how did the government get the album?

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<v Speaker 2>Eventually gets to a point where they put him in jail.

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<v Speaker 2>He's convicted of securities fraud, has a seven year sentence,

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<v Speaker 2>and as part of that, the government seesed a bunch

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<v Speaker 2>of his assets, including Once upon a Time in Shallon.

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<v Speaker 1>After he's convicted of securities fraud, he owes a bunch

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<v Speaker 1>of restitution and then they seize his assets order to

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<v Speaker 1>pay back the victims.

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<v Speaker 2>Is that the idea exactly?

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<v Speaker 1>I got to say, as a piece of performance art,

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<v Speaker 1>if that's what you look at the album is, it's

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<v Speaker 1>doing pretty good right now?

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah? Right?

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<v Speaker 1>It ends up in the hands of this crazy guy

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<v Speaker 1>and then it gets seized by the federal government right

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<v Speaker 1>in an asset seizure to pay off the guy's restitution. Like,

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, how amazing is that. You couldn't have made

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<v Speaker 1>a better storyline for this album.

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<v Speaker 2>It's amazing. So they seize this album and that's kind

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<v Speaker 2>of the last thing we hear about it for probably

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<v Speaker 2>about three, you know, over three years.

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<v Speaker 1>So what's going on in the summer I move twenty

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<v Speaker 1>twenty one, Jason, that causes you to make this request?

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<v Speaker 2>There was so much secrecy around this. What was happening

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<v Speaker 2>at that time was the Justice Department and the US

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<v Speaker 2>marshals had this joint announcement where they sold once upon

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<v Speaker 2>a time in Shoulin to whom. They didn't say who

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<v Speaker 2>they sold it to. But here's what the announcement said,

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<v Speaker 2>read by rapper and comedian open Mike Eagle, the contract

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<v Speaker 2>of sale contains a confidentiality provision that protects information relating

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<v Speaker 2>to the buyer and price. It was that secret. So

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<v Speaker 2>I followed requests with the DOJ Criminal Division after the announcement,

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<v Speaker 2>and they were taking an unnecessarily long time to respond.

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<v Speaker 2>I sent this to you because I wanted to sue.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, you wanted your records and you realized it was

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<v Speaker 1>going to take a lawsuit to get it. I assume

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<v Speaker 1>you didn't just like want to sue.

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<v Speaker 2>Why would you assume that I was just trying to

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<v Speaker 2>make you sound good, buddy. But let's fine.

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<v Speaker 1>Jason enjoys the combat, yes, Matt, I enjoy the government

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<v Speaker 1>fulfilling their duty to release records that below to the public,

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<v Speaker 1>and sometimes that takes a lawsuit. Okay, fair enough, let

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<v Speaker 1>me read the email.

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<v Speaker 2>Start us up, buddy, all right?

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<v Speaker 1>I get an email from Jason about a request that

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<v Speaker 1>he made to the Criminal Division of the Justice Department.

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<v Speaker 1>I request disclosure from the Asset Recovery Section in the

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<v Speaker 1>Office of the Criminal Division for the following records. One.

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<v Speaker 1>A copy of the receipt of sale of the album

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<v Speaker 1>Once Upon a Time In shall In by the recording

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<v Speaker 1>group Wu Tang Clan. A copy of the contract in

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<v Speaker 1>returns of sale by the Government of Once Upon a

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<v Speaker 1>Time in shall In any and all photographs in video,

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<v Speaker 1>and possession of the Asset Recovery Section of Once Upon

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<v Speaker 1>a Time In shallon any, all legal memos, opinions and

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<v Speaker 1>guidance provided to the Asset Recovery Section related or referring

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<v Speaker 1>to the sale of Once Upon a Time in shall In,

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<v Speaker 1>and just a bunch of other communications about all this stuff.

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<v Speaker 1>This is like the most formal email I've ever gotten

0:11:55.240 --> 0:11:57.640
<v Speaker 1>from you. May I have some lawsuits?

0:11:57.679 --> 0:12:02.119
<v Speaker 2>Please please, sir? Can I? It's not even any profanity

0:12:02.120 --> 0:12:04.720
<v Speaker 2>in this anyway? So we filew the lawsuit and in

0:12:04.800 --> 0:12:07.960
<v Speaker 2>only a few short months I actually did get some records,

0:12:08.080 --> 0:12:11.040
<v Speaker 2>which is surprising because sometimes it can take years before

0:12:11.080 --> 0:12:14.520
<v Speaker 2>we'll see anything. It's January twenty twenty two and the

0:12:14.559 --> 0:12:17.800
<v Speaker 2>first batch of records hits my inbox. And what's the

0:12:17.840 --> 0:12:21.959
<v Speaker 2>first thing that catches my eye photos. There are photos

0:12:22.120 --> 0:12:25.000
<v Speaker 2>of the mythical Once upon a Time in shall Lin

0:12:25.400 --> 0:12:28.640
<v Speaker 2>take a look at these photos, Matt? What do you see? So?

0:12:28.880 --> 0:12:31.640
<v Speaker 1>The first thing I see is this black box with

0:12:31.720 --> 0:12:35.040
<v Speaker 1>a Wu Tang insignia on tap that kind of looks

0:12:35.240 --> 0:12:37.280
<v Speaker 1>like a large cigar humidor.

0:12:37.559 --> 0:12:40.520
<v Speaker 2>It's not just a black box. It's a cedar wood

0:12:40.520 --> 0:12:45.200
<v Speaker 2>box covered in black cow leather with light beige velvet lining.

0:12:45.360 --> 0:12:47.040
<v Speaker 2>According to the asset list.

0:12:46.960 --> 0:12:49.280
<v Speaker 1>Looking at this, someone has not taken very good care

0:12:49.280 --> 0:12:51.880
<v Speaker 1>of this. It's like scratched up. It looks like there's

0:12:51.920 --> 0:12:54.960
<v Speaker 1>like cigarette ash on it. Like I don't know what

0:12:55.080 --> 0:12:58.280
<v Speaker 1>this thing's been through, but I don't think mister Scrilly

0:12:58.400 --> 0:13:01.199
<v Speaker 1>just put this in like somewhre re safe keeping, like

0:13:01.240 --> 0:13:02.320
<v Speaker 1>it's a little worn for wear.

0:13:02.920 --> 0:13:04.040
<v Speaker 2>What's inside the box?

0:13:04.520 --> 0:13:07.280
<v Speaker 1>So you open up the box and then there's another

0:13:07.320 --> 0:13:11.760
<v Speaker 1>box inside that is like gold and it's got really

0:13:11.840 --> 0:13:16.280
<v Speaker 1>sort of intricate patterns on it, and another Wu tang

0:13:16.800 --> 0:13:18.040
<v Speaker 1>it's singing on top of it.

0:13:18.040 --> 0:13:22.000
<v Speaker 2>It's a nickel silver box and an inner jewel case

0:13:22.240 --> 0:13:27.079
<v Speaker 2>containing two CDs over cedar wood with black cow leather lining.

0:13:27.400 --> 0:13:29.240
<v Speaker 2>To be precise, this one looks like.

0:13:29.200 --> 0:13:32.680
<v Speaker 1>It's maybe gotten a little bit of use to.

0:13:33.280 --> 0:13:35.760
<v Speaker 2>These descriptions are so damn sexy.

0:13:35.920 --> 0:13:36.959
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, it's real sexy.

0:13:37.000 --> 0:13:39.520
<v Speaker 2>Wait if there's also a leather battle lyric book that

0:13:39.640 --> 0:13:43.480
<v Speaker 2>looks like it came from Jandolf yet totally.

0:13:43.200 --> 0:13:47.199
<v Speaker 1>It's like, got this like medieval kind of like leather

0:13:47.360 --> 0:13:49.839
<v Speaker 1>look with some fancy metalwork on it.

0:13:49.960 --> 0:13:52.959
<v Speaker 2>And look, the certificate of purchase has its own book.

0:13:53.240 --> 0:13:56.719
<v Speaker 1>You've got a gold certificate with some insignias on it.

0:13:56.720 --> 0:13:58.920
<v Speaker 1>And then it looks like we've got like a wax imprint,

0:13:59.160 --> 0:14:01.400
<v Speaker 1>something that would have been used hundreds of years ago.

0:14:01.760 --> 0:14:02.959
<v Speaker 2>What does it say, Matt.

0:14:02.800 --> 0:14:07.439
<v Speaker 1>Dear mister Martin Screlley, here by your purchase certificate from Squoze.

0:14:07.640 --> 0:14:11.120
<v Speaker 1>Congratulations on your purchase. Right, Martin Screlly's name is now

0:14:11.160 --> 0:14:15.080
<v Speaker 1>permanently associated with this album. For just one point five

0:14:15.080 --> 0:14:17.520
<v Speaker 1>million dollars, hip hop culture could be yours.

0:14:17.800 --> 0:14:20.400
<v Speaker 2>But I wanted to know how much the DOJ sold

0:14:20.400 --> 0:14:27.640
<v Speaker 2>it for more on that after the break, So I

0:14:27.680 --> 0:14:30.680
<v Speaker 2>get the first batch of records and they are incredible.

0:14:31.080 --> 0:14:34.240
<v Speaker 2>The majority of good fifty pages are just photos. I'm

0:14:34.280 --> 0:14:36.320
<v Speaker 2>seeing once upon a time and shell in for the

0:14:36.360 --> 0:14:39.200
<v Speaker 2>first time. But how much did the government auction it

0:14:39.240 --> 0:14:43.360
<v Speaker 2>off for I was dying to know. And right there

0:14:43.400 --> 0:14:45.840
<v Speaker 2>before my eyes at the end of the batch of

0:14:45.920 --> 0:14:50.080
<v Speaker 2>records is the purchase agreement. I was about to find

0:14:50.120 --> 0:14:58.680
<v Speaker 2>out there toward the bottom purchase price quote, the price

0:14:58.880 --> 0:15:05.400
<v Speaker 2>is redacted. They redacted the price. But wait, the very

0:15:05.480 --> 0:15:12.359
<v Speaker 2>last page the United States Marshals bill of sale quote. Now, therefore,

0:15:13.000 --> 0:15:15.640
<v Speaker 2>and in consideration of the payment of the sum of

0:15:16.880 --> 0:15:22.880
<v Speaker 2>redacted the reason for trade secrets, Matt, can you explain that?

0:15:23.400 --> 0:15:27.000
<v Speaker 1>So there's an exemption in FOYA that says the government

0:15:27.080 --> 0:15:30.520
<v Speaker 1>isn't required to release trade secret kind of information that

0:15:30.560 --> 0:15:33.440
<v Speaker 1>they receive from people or companies in the course of

0:15:33.840 --> 0:15:37.400
<v Speaker 1>doing government stuff. So the government's argument is that this

0:15:37.480 --> 0:15:40.160
<v Speaker 1>is a trade secret and they're not supposed to release it.

0:15:40.200 --> 0:15:43.480
<v Speaker 1>But our counter to that was basically that the buyer

0:15:43.520 --> 0:15:45.320
<v Speaker 1>had already publicly announced.

0:15:44.880 --> 0:15:48.040
<v Speaker 2>What they paid for it. Right In October twenty twenty one,

0:15:48.320 --> 0:15:51.480
<v Speaker 2>The New York Times revealed that the new owners of

0:15:51.560 --> 0:15:54.240
<v Speaker 2>Once Upon a Time in Shell in, a digital art

0:15:54.320 --> 0:15:58.880
<v Speaker 2>and crypto collective known as Pleaser Dow, had paid the

0:15:59.040 --> 0:16:03.640
<v Speaker 2>equivalent of four million dollars in a cryptocurrency tied to

0:16:03.800 --> 0:16:07.440
<v Speaker 2>the dollar for the album according to the story, please

0:16:07.480 --> 0:16:10.360
<v Speaker 2>are now obtained it through an intermediary, which then paid

0:16:10.400 --> 0:16:12.440
<v Speaker 2>the government. I wanted to see if the bill of

0:16:12.480 --> 0:16:16.240
<v Speaker 2>sale back that up, so I was furious. The people

0:16:16.400 --> 0:16:19.160
<v Speaker 2>absolutely deserve to know what their government is off to,

0:16:19.240 --> 0:16:22.360
<v Speaker 2>how much they're auctioning off for. But it would take

0:16:22.360 --> 0:16:25.800
<v Speaker 2>another three years to find out why because there was

0:16:25.920 --> 0:16:29.160
<v Speaker 2>still more records to come, and I couldn't challenge the

0:16:29.240 --> 0:16:32.600
<v Speaker 2>exemptions until all records were in. What happened next was

0:16:32.640 --> 0:16:37.200
<v Speaker 2>at times illuminating, other times it was maddening. I get

0:16:37.200 --> 0:16:39.840
<v Speaker 2>the next batch of records nearly four months later. I

0:16:39.880 --> 0:16:42.200
<v Speaker 2>opened them up and they appear to be emails between

0:16:42.240 --> 0:16:45.640
<v Speaker 2>the attorneys Matt and open Mike Eagle want to read them.

0:16:45.880 --> 0:16:50.280
<v Speaker 2>So this is an email thread titled Screlly Update Wednesday,

0:16:50.320 --> 0:16:53.200
<v Speaker 2>fourteen July twenty twenty one, twelve twenty oh one.

0:16:53.440 --> 0:16:57.240
<v Speaker 4>Hi Jackie and Alex rejected. Then another reduction it's even bigger,

0:16:57.480 --> 0:17:00.040
<v Speaker 4>thanks Laura. And then we've got another part of the

0:17:00.080 --> 0:17:03.800
<v Speaker 4>email from Claire that says dear Jackie and Alex, and

0:17:03.840 --> 0:17:06.800
<v Speaker 4>it's an even bigger redacted box. So we know who's talking,

0:17:06.880 --> 0:17:08.800
<v Speaker 4>but we have no idea what they're saying. Because they've

0:17:08.800 --> 0:17:11.440
<v Speaker 4>rejected it all based on some Foyer exemptions.

0:17:11.880 --> 0:17:15.680
<v Speaker 2>The government stripped out all the behind the scenes discussions

0:17:16.000 --> 0:17:19.560
<v Speaker 2>that were taking place in emails that would kind of

0:17:19.560 --> 0:17:24.880
<v Speaker 2>give us a window into how they were managing and

0:17:24.960 --> 0:17:27.840
<v Speaker 2>setting up the sale of the album. And this is

0:17:27.920 --> 0:17:30.080
<v Speaker 2>kind of how it went for a few months. I'd

0:17:30.119 --> 0:17:34.359
<v Speaker 2>get a slow trickle of records and inside was nothing much,

0:17:34.880 --> 0:17:37.600
<v Speaker 2>but a few things were kind of hilarious. So here's

0:17:37.640 --> 0:17:40.200
<v Speaker 2>an email from one of the attorneys at the US

0:17:40.240 --> 0:17:43.840
<v Speaker 2>Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York. The

0:17:43.880 --> 0:17:48.360
<v Speaker 2>subject line is Screlly Wu Tang Clan album and Picasso.

0:17:48.359 --> 0:17:52.399
<v Speaker 3>All earlier this morning and following yesterday's denial of Screlley's

0:17:52.440 --> 0:17:55.720
<v Speaker 3>cert petition, the Marshalls took custody of the Wu Tang

0:17:55.760 --> 0:17:58.919
<v Speaker 3>Clan album and Picasso sketch that he owned.

0:17:59.400 --> 0:18:04.200
<v Speaker 2>Then somebody responds to that email and says, today's call.

0:18:04.040 --> 0:18:06.359
<v Speaker 3>Focused on the album only. We will follow up to

0:18:06.400 --> 0:18:10.400
<v Speaker 3>discuss the Picasso, which is worth far less. It's more

0:18:10.480 --> 0:18:12.359
<v Speaker 3>like a sketch, and I believe it was a praise

0:18:12.440 --> 0:18:16.120
<v Speaker 3>to being worth less than thirty thousand dollars. It's more

0:18:16.280 --> 0:18:19.200
<v Speaker 3>like a sketch Wu Tang's single copy album is worth

0:18:19.320 --> 0:18:22.199
<v Speaker 3>more than a Picasso sketch, eh. I mean, you know,

0:18:22.880 --> 0:18:25.520
<v Speaker 3>I'm not an art collector. That seems kind of low

0:18:25.680 --> 0:18:28.600
<v Speaker 3>to me for a Picasso sketch. But he's got like

0:18:28.640 --> 0:18:29.440
<v Speaker 3>a million of them.

0:18:29.520 --> 0:18:31.360
<v Speaker 1>You know, this is the only copy. I mean, it's

0:18:31.440 --> 0:18:33.800
<v Speaker 1>kind of a brilliant idea. Right, they make an album,

0:18:33.920 --> 0:18:35.960
<v Speaker 1>they make one copy of it, it's going to be worth,

0:18:36.640 --> 0:18:38.040
<v Speaker 1>you know, a fair amount.

0:18:38.320 --> 0:18:40.840
<v Speaker 2>He also had a copy of the Carter five by

0:18:40.880 --> 0:18:44.000
<v Speaker 2>Lil Wayne, and they considered seizing that too, but we

0:18:44.119 --> 0:18:46.199
<v Speaker 2>never got how much that's worth. I don't know what

0:18:46.200 --> 0:18:48.440
<v Speaker 2>that is. You got to leave that part in where

0:18:48.440 --> 0:18:52.080
<v Speaker 2>Matt says, I don't know what that is. So these

0:18:52.080 --> 0:18:55.320
<v Speaker 2>records were interesting just in terms of getting a little

0:18:55.400 --> 0:18:59.240
<v Speaker 2>understanding on how they were communicating behind the scenes. There

0:18:59.240 --> 0:19:02.280
<v Speaker 2>were some emails about prospective buyers, and this one is

0:19:02.359 --> 0:19:06.479
<v Speaker 2>kind of funny. It's from an attorney representing an interested buyer.

0:19:06.720 --> 0:19:09.080
<v Speaker 3>Hi, Claire and Laura, I just wanted to let you

0:19:09.160 --> 0:19:12.080
<v Speaker 3>know that my client is still interested in buying at

0:19:12.440 --> 0:19:13.720
<v Speaker 3>one million dollars.

0:19:14.240 --> 0:19:16.639
<v Speaker 2>To be clear, he doesn't have.

0:19:16.600 --> 0:19:19.680
<v Speaker 3>One million dollars right now, but things he could raise

0:19:19.720 --> 0:19:22.840
<v Speaker 3>it in a realutable amount of time. Please let me

0:19:22.880 --> 0:19:26.160
<v Speaker 3>know if there's any interest or also, please do make

0:19:26.240 --> 0:19:30.960
<v Speaker 3>a counter offer if you have one, Thanks best, redacted.

0:19:31.320 --> 0:19:33.240
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, I think he's going to have to do better

0:19:33.280 --> 0:19:36.920
<v Speaker 1>than that. That's not even close to what Screlly paid. Yeah,

0:19:36.960 --> 0:19:40.240
<v Speaker 1>this is like a classic low ball. Hey, I'm giving

0:19:40.280 --> 0:19:44.400
<v Speaker 1>you this garbage offer, but please counter As somebody who

0:19:44.440 --> 0:19:46.720
<v Speaker 1>negotiates all the time, that's always kind of annoying, like,

0:19:46.760 --> 0:19:48.080
<v Speaker 1>come on, give me a real offer.

0:19:48.520 --> 0:19:51.239
<v Speaker 2>And then there's this one from an attorney in the

0:19:51.240 --> 0:19:54.639
<v Speaker 2>Isset Forfeiture unit asking for a background check on a

0:19:54.640 --> 0:19:59.520
<v Speaker 2>potential buyer who QUO may have a large wallet. Large

0:19:59.640 --> 0:20:00.680
<v Speaker 2>in all caps.

0:20:01.000 --> 0:20:03.960
<v Speaker 3>It says, Hi, Will, could you please look into both

0:20:04.119 --> 0:20:06.520
<v Speaker 3>redacted and let me know if there are any red

0:20:06.560 --> 0:20:10.199
<v Speaker 3>flags that would raise concerns or due diligence, criminal history,

0:20:10.480 --> 0:20:14.520
<v Speaker 3>issues with dirty funds, et cetera, any indication that they

0:20:14.520 --> 0:20:16.840
<v Speaker 3>could have a conflict of interest with Martin Screlly.

0:20:17.600 --> 0:20:20.440
<v Speaker 2>Thanks. At least from what we saw, there's no one

0:20:20.600 --> 0:20:24.320
<v Speaker 2>discussing holy crap. We got Wu Tang clan Once upon

0:20:24.320 --> 0:20:26.879
<v Speaker 2>a time in Shaolin. We got to go, you know,

0:20:26.960 --> 0:20:30.800
<v Speaker 2>have a listening party. It was really centered on business,

0:20:30.880 --> 0:20:35.120
<v Speaker 2>on legal business. The closest we get to any kind

0:20:35.119 --> 0:20:38.360
<v Speaker 2>of excitement about the record is this email between two

0:20:38.400 --> 0:20:41.560
<v Speaker 2>assistant US attorneys on the case when they're getting close

0:20:41.680 --> 0:20:42.640
<v Speaker 2>to closing a deal.

0:20:42.920 --> 0:20:46.240
<v Speaker 3>I'm going to wear my shaolin lid.

0:20:46.640 --> 0:20:47.240
<v Speaker 2>What is it?

0:20:47.440 --> 0:20:51.480
<v Speaker 3>Shaolin lid for good luck all week? Dot dot dot

0:20:51.680 --> 0:20:53.800
<v Speaker 3>exclamation point.

0:20:53.400 --> 0:20:57.040
<v Speaker 1>Like a hat. Yeah, I mean that's what's coming to

0:20:57.080 --> 0:21:00.359
<v Speaker 1>mind for me. I actually looked up shaolin lid and

0:21:00.480 --> 0:21:03.560
<v Speaker 1>didn't find much on Google. Shallin has been part of

0:21:03.600 --> 0:21:05.960
<v Speaker 1>the Wu Tang mythology all along.

0:21:05.760 --> 0:21:08.959
<v Speaker 2>But Shallin lid, I mean, I don't know.

0:21:09.160 --> 0:21:10.679
<v Speaker 1>He's gotta be talking about a hat.

0:21:10.960 --> 0:21:13.480
<v Speaker 2>She's gotta be talking about a hat. But you can't

0:21:13.520 --> 0:21:16.399
<v Speaker 2>tell if their ascitement is because they're interested in the

0:21:16.440 --> 0:21:19.520
<v Speaker 2>record or if they're just ready to be done with Screlley.

0:21:19.960 --> 0:21:22.760
<v Speaker 2>There's one email while the attorneys are shoring up loose

0:21:22.840 --> 0:21:25.520
<v Speaker 2>ends with the sale, when one comment.

0:21:25.560 --> 0:21:29.359
<v Speaker 3>Hopefully this will mean the end of all things screlly

0:21:29.400 --> 0:21:32.080
<v Speaker 3>for us exclamation point.

0:21:32.080 --> 0:21:32.720
<v Speaker 2>In the end.

0:21:32.760 --> 0:21:37.000
<v Speaker 1>It all kept the end, and by July twenty twenty one,

0:21:37.119 --> 0:21:40.639
<v Speaker 1>the assistant US attorneys seem to relish a little hardball

0:21:40.680 --> 0:21:43.679
<v Speaker 1>from a judge presiding over yet another case, one in

0:21:43.800 --> 0:21:44.520
<v Speaker 1>civil court.

0:21:44.640 --> 0:21:47.800
<v Speaker 2>Screlly was involved in. The subject says.

0:21:47.880 --> 0:21:51.359
<v Speaker 3>See attached decisions from Judge Nathan looks like she isn't

0:21:51.359 --> 0:21:53.720
<v Speaker 3>going to tolerate any more delays.

0:21:53.280 --> 0:21:56.720
<v Speaker 2>From Screlly, and the email reads it's about time someone

0:21:56.760 --> 0:21:58.400
<v Speaker 2>stopped tolerating his nonsense.

0:21:59.280 --> 0:22:02.720
<v Speaker 1>Also, that's a ridiculously long subject line. It's like two sentences.

0:22:02.840 --> 0:22:04.680
<v Speaker 2>I mean, basically they put the body of the email

0:22:04.720 --> 0:22:05.480
<v Speaker 2>in the subject line.

0:22:05.520 --> 0:22:08.080
<v Speaker 1>It's a little invasive to the inbox in my opinion.

0:22:09.160 --> 0:22:13.480
<v Speaker 2>So during the course of this litigation, you know, we

0:22:13.560 --> 0:22:16.560
<v Speaker 2>got to a point where it was kind of interesting

0:22:16.600 --> 0:22:19.600
<v Speaker 2>at first, but certainly the redactions didn't help, and it

0:22:19.600 --> 0:22:22.600
<v Speaker 2>became just boring and I'm not really getting what I need.

0:22:22.640 --> 0:22:26.000
<v Speaker 2>And to make matters worse, after a year of document dumps,

0:22:26.160 --> 0:22:28.800
<v Speaker 2>the government tells us we're not even close to the end.

0:22:29.160 --> 0:22:32.960
<v Speaker 2>They miraculously found ten thousand more emails. I don't know

0:22:33.000 --> 0:22:35.959
<v Speaker 2>how you misplace those, but I'm getting about one hundred

0:22:36.000 --> 0:22:38.760
<v Speaker 2>at a time, and it could be years before I

0:22:38.760 --> 0:22:42.920
<v Speaker 2>could challenge the redactions. So I did something I've never

0:22:42.960 --> 0:22:53.000
<v Speaker 2>done before. That's after the break. So I wanted to

0:22:53.040 --> 0:22:56.400
<v Speaker 2>get everything I wanted to know how much the government

0:22:56.520 --> 0:22:59.479
<v Speaker 2>auctioned the album off, for who they sold it to,

0:23:00.080 --> 0:23:02.399
<v Speaker 2>the name of the corporate entity that purchased the album,

0:23:02.520 --> 0:23:05.479
<v Speaker 2>pretty much everything, but they were withholding and so I

0:23:05.560 --> 0:23:08.200
<v Speaker 2>was like, Okay, I'm done with these emails. They're really

0:23:08.240 --> 0:23:11.600
<v Speaker 2>not telling me anything. I said, let's just move forward

0:23:12.160 --> 0:23:14.639
<v Speaker 2>with getting what I want. I told my attorneys that

0:23:14.680 --> 0:23:16.600
<v Speaker 2>I was willing to give up the rest of the

0:23:16.680 --> 0:23:20.040
<v Speaker 2>emails so they could challenge what we believed was the

0:23:20.080 --> 0:23:24.520
<v Speaker 2>agency's improper use of the trade secrets and privacy exemptions.

0:23:25.160 --> 0:23:29.280
<v Speaker 2>And so we entered into negotiations, you know, with the government,

0:23:29.560 --> 0:23:34.520
<v Speaker 2>and the government maintained that this person had a privacy

0:23:34.560 --> 0:23:38.359
<v Speaker 2>interest and that his or her name, you know, would

0:23:38.359 --> 0:23:41.320
<v Speaker 2>not be disclosed. Making a long story short, you know,

0:23:41.400 --> 0:23:45.440
<v Speaker 2>got to an agreement that basically the government said if

0:23:45.560 --> 0:23:50.040
<v Speaker 2>I didn't pursue the name of the individual buyer, meaning

0:23:50.119 --> 0:23:53.280
<v Speaker 2>like if I were to just drop that, they would

0:23:53.600 --> 0:23:56.480
<v Speaker 2>give us the name of the corporate entity that purchased

0:23:56.560 --> 0:23:59.720
<v Speaker 2>the album as well as the purchase price. And I

0:23:59.760 --> 0:24:04.000
<v Speaker 2>thought that that was a good deal one because I figured, like, Okay,

0:24:04.119 --> 0:24:06.160
<v Speaker 2>if I get the name of the corporate entity, then

0:24:06.160 --> 0:24:08.919
<v Speaker 2>maybe I could use that to kind of chase down

0:24:08.960 --> 0:24:13.040
<v Speaker 2>who the buyer is, who actually purchased the album.

0:24:13.520 --> 0:24:16.399
<v Speaker 1>But once we came to the decision like okay, we

0:24:16.440 --> 0:24:18.520
<v Speaker 1>want to like give up this to get that, I

0:24:18.520 --> 0:24:20.359
<v Speaker 1>don't think that was more than weeks or maybe like

0:24:20.400 --> 0:24:21.240
<v Speaker 1>a few months.

0:24:21.520 --> 0:24:25.919
<v Speaker 2>So finally in July twenty twenty five, it came the

0:24:25.960 --> 0:24:31.560
<v Speaker 2>purchase agreement with a lot of redactions lifted. This asset purchase.

0:24:31.240 --> 0:24:34.680
<v Speaker 3>Agreement is made as of July nineteenth, twenty twenty one,

0:24:34.840 --> 0:24:37.879
<v Speaker 3>by the United States Marshall Service four and on behalf

0:24:37.880 --> 0:24:42.440
<v Speaker 3>of the United States of America and redacted and WTC

0:24:42.800 --> 0:24:46.160
<v Speaker 3>Endeavors Limited, a Hong Kong Limited company.

0:24:46.359 --> 0:24:52.000
<v Speaker 2>And then scrolling down it says purchase price. So the

0:24:52.040 --> 0:24:56.240
<v Speaker 2>government sold the album.

0:24:55.640 --> 0:24:58.840
<v Speaker 3>For two million, two hundred and thirty eight, four hundred

0:24:58.840 --> 0:25:02.560
<v Speaker 3>and eighty two dollars and thirty cents for the assets.

0:25:02.000 --> 0:25:05.440
<v Speaker 2>And purchasers will also reimburse the US Marshall Service for

0:25:05.520 --> 0:25:06.880
<v Speaker 2>its expenses in.

0:25:06.840 --> 0:25:09.400
<v Speaker 3>The amount of seven thousand, one hundred and sixty two

0:25:09.440 --> 0:25:12.760
<v Speaker 3>dollars and twenty seven cents, for a total payment of

0:25:13.640 --> 0:25:17.240
<v Speaker 3>two million, two hundred and forty five thousand, six hundred

0:25:17.240 --> 0:25:19.840
<v Speaker 3>and forty four dollars and fifty seven cents.

0:25:21.240 --> 0:25:26.040
<v Speaker 2>That's what the government withheld under trade secrets for Genius

0:25:26.119 --> 0:25:27.520
<v Speaker 2>for more than three years.

0:25:27.880 --> 0:25:29.760
<v Speaker 1>How did they get to that number?

0:25:30.400 --> 0:25:33.639
<v Speaker 2>So it's interesting and a good question. And what I

0:25:33.720 --> 0:25:37.879
<v Speaker 2>discovered was is that they basically were just looking to

0:25:37.960 --> 0:25:41.080
<v Speaker 2>sell the album to cover what he owed the government.

0:25:41.160 --> 0:25:44.480
<v Speaker 1>But might it not have been worth more than that? Well,

0:25:44.520 --> 0:25:46.640
<v Speaker 1>if there was more money to be had, it might

0:25:46.640 --> 0:25:50.320
<v Speaker 1>be that that's money that would have to go to screlly.

0:25:50.720 --> 0:25:54.360
<v Speaker 1>It's like if you're in foreclosure on your house. If

0:25:54.359 --> 0:25:57.159
<v Speaker 1>you owe like one hundred thousand in your house is

0:25:57.200 --> 0:25:59.760
<v Speaker 1>worth three hundred thousand. I don't think the bank and

0:25:59.800 --> 0:26:01.920
<v Speaker 1>most states gets to just like pocket the other two

0:26:01.960 --> 0:26:05.920
<v Speaker 1>hundred thousand. But I'm not a specialist in the sale

0:26:05.960 --> 0:26:10.400
<v Speaker 1>of one of a kind albums to satisfy government debts.

0:26:10.400 --> 0:26:13.560
<v Speaker 2>In total, Shcrelli old the government more than seven million,

0:26:13.960 --> 0:26:17.840
<v Speaker 2>and the album satisfied the outstanding balance. That's what I thought.

0:26:18.000 --> 0:26:20.720
<v Speaker 1>So that invites an inquiry into whether they really got

0:26:20.760 --> 0:26:22.800
<v Speaker 1>as much for it as they could have, because you

0:26:22.800 --> 0:26:24.560
<v Speaker 1>could see how they don't really have a whole lot

0:26:24.600 --> 0:26:27.520
<v Speaker 1>of incentive to get any more money for it than

0:26:27.560 --> 0:26:30.119
<v Speaker 1>whatever it is to satisfy the judgment. If the money's

0:26:30.160 --> 0:26:32.359
<v Speaker 1>just going to go back to Screlly, the guy who's

0:26:32.440 --> 0:26:34.800
<v Speaker 1>case they can't wait to be done with, and probably

0:26:34.840 --> 0:26:37.920
<v Speaker 1>for good reason, then you know, that's why there's an

0:26:37.960 --> 0:26:40.960
<v Speaker 1>interest in knowing what the amount is, because I think

0:26:40.960 --> 0:26:42.879
<v Speaker 1>that's a fair thing to scrutinize on.

0:26:43.320 --> 0:26:45.359
<v Speaker 2>So what we ended up with and the end was

0:26:45.720 --> 0:26:48.240
<v Speaker 2>the purchase price, and that was a big deal to

0:26:48.320 --> 0:26:51.240
<v Speaker 2>get that. I mean, it felt like, holy crap, we

0:26:51.880 --> 0:26:55.879
<v Speaker 2>pride lose a significant amount of information. And by the way,

0:26:56.240 --> 0:26:59.000
<v Speaker 2>the DOJ made it clear to us that please her Now,

0:26:59.400 --> 0:27:03.480
<v Speaker 2>the crypto collective that currently owns the album, wasn't connected

0:27:03.520 --> 0:27:06.480
<v Speaker 2>in any way to the corporate entity or the individual

0:27:06.520 --> 0:27:09.280
<v Speaker 2>who purchased the album. So I thought that was very

0:27:09.280 --> 0:27:13.439
<v Speaker 2>interesting that please er Now was not the direct purchaser

0:27:13.600 --> 0:27:15.679
<v Speaker 2>of any of this. So I found this, you know,

0:27:15.800 --> 0:27:19.240
<v Speaker 2>kind of fascinating. So the name of the company that

0:27:19.480 --> 0:27:22.119
<v Speaker 2>was set up to purchase Once upon a Time in

0:27:22.160 --> 0:27:26.800
<v Speaker 2>Shaolan is WTC Endeavors Limited, Right, so assuming WTC and

0:27:26.840 --> 0:27:30.680
<v Speaker 2>Devor's limited at Wu Tang Clan Endeavors Limited, It's incorporated

0:27:30.680 --> 0:27:35.640
<v Speaker 2>in Hong Kong in May twenty twenty, and then dissolved

0:27:36.040 --> 0:27:39.800
<v Speaker 2>in March twenty twenty three. So just through a little

0:27:39.840 --> 0:27:43.800
<v Speaker 2>slew thing, after we get the unredacted documents with the

0:27:43.840 --> 0:27:46.800
<v Speaker 2>purchase price, you know, we were able to see various

0:27:46.840 --> 0:27:51.199
<v Speaker 2>officers who are affiliated with WTC endeavors, but none of

0:27:51.200 --> 0:27:54.960
<v Speaker 2>those names were well known. So to me, it appears

0:27:55.000 --> 0:27:59.520
<v Speaker 2>that the actual name of the person who bought Once

0:27:59.560 --> 0:28:02.600
<v Speaker 2>upon a Time I'm in shall Lynn is not even noteworthy.

0:28:03.440 --> 0:28:05.399
<v Speaker 2>So the best read I have is that the Justice

0:28:05.440 --> 0:28:08.439
<v Speaker 2>Department sold the album to someone we still don't know

0:28:08.480 --> 0:28:11.160
<v Speaker 2>who for two point two million dollars, a bit more

0:28:11.200 --> 0:28:15.040
<v Speaker 2>than Screlly paid, and that person or entity basically turned

0:28:15.040 --> 0:28:17.359
<v Speaker 2>around and sold it again to please her now for

0:28:17.440 --> 0:28:20.400
<v Speaker 2>four million dollars worth of crypto. So that's not really

0:28:20.440 --> 0:28:21.080
<v Speaker 2>a bad deal.

0:28:21.560 --> 0:28:24.480
<v Speaker 1>It sold for a fair amount more than Screlly paid

0:28:24.520 --> 0:28:25.880
<v Speaker 1>for it, right, like double.

0:28:25.880 --> 0:28:27.280
<v Speaker 2>Right, which is good for rizz.

0:28:27.320 --> 0:28:30.000
<v Speaker 3>I guess just like an appreciates like a house or something,

0:28:30.040 --> 0:28:32.000
<v Speaker 3>It's like it is more and more valuable with tom.

0:28:32.200 --> 0:28:34.720
<v Speaker 1>Now, do you think any curious people in the Justice

0:28:34.720 --> 0:28:36.600
<v Speaker 1>Department decided they would just go ahead and give it

0:28:36.600 --> 0:28:37.200
<v Speaker 1>a little listen?

0:28:37.320 --> 0:28:40.200
<v Speaker 2>Yes? Yes, so that was part of like what I

0:28:40.280 --> 0:28:46.440
<v Speaker 2>was hoping that all of the emails that we obtained

0:28:46.720 --> 0:28:50.680
<v Speaker 2>through FOYA, through the lawsuit that we filed would actually yeah,

0:28:50.680 --> 0:28:56.280
<v Speaker 2>they would actually have someone inside DOJ saying hey, I

0:28:56.400 --> 0:29:00.120
<v Speaker 2>just listened to Wu Tang last night. Oh man, you

0:29:00.160 --> 0:29:02.760
<v Speaker 2>know what an incredible album. But no, luck, you didn't

0:29:02.880 --> 0:29:06.800
<v Speaker 2>need I mean, there were ten thousand more emails we

0:29:06.880 --> 0:29:09.480
<v Speaker 2>never got to see. But I will say to this day,

0:29:09.760 --> 0:29:13.000
<v Speaker 2>even though we do not have evidence that the government

0:29:13.240 --> 0:29:15.920
<v Speaker 2>through a listening party, you know, for once upon a

0:29:15.960 --> 0:29:17.200
<v Speaker 2>time in Sheldon the.

0:29:17.240 --> 0:29:20.000
<v Speaker 1>Saddest listening party that there ever was in the world.

0:29:19.880 --> 0:29:22.680
<v Speaker 2>I know, but I absolutely believe they listened to it.

0:29:22.720 --> 0:29:23.960
<v Speaker 2>Come on, I mean you could.

0:29:24.040 --> 0:29:25.720
<v Speaker 1>They could take the position of like, look, if we're

0:29:25.720 --> 0:29:27.560
<v Speaker 1>going to sell this asset, we have to listen to

0:29:27.600 --> 0:29:29.960
<v Speaker 1>it first so we know what we're selling right right,

0:29:30.360 --> 0:29:32.080
<v Speaker 1>you know, we need to make sure it's authentic.

0:29:32.320 --> 0:29:35.160
<v Speaker 2>It's really Wu Tang. Yeah, of course they listen to it.

0:29:35.400 --> 0:29:37.840
<v Speaker 2>By the way, we'll need to contact the OJAY and.

0:29:37.880 --> 0:29:39.880
<v Speaker 1>Ask them whether anyone listened to it.

0:29:39.880 --> 0:29:41.080
<v Speaker 2>Whether anyone listened to it.

0:29:41.200 --> 0:29:44.720
<v Speaker 1>You could also ask, like any credit card receipts or

0:29:44.840 --> 0:29:49.160
<v Speaker 1>reimbursement for any food or beverages that were purchased for

0:29:49.200 --> 0:29:51.800
<v Speaker 1>the purposes of a Wu Tang listening party, and you

0:29:51.800 --> 0:29:54.120
<v Speaker 1>could kind of indirectly get the answer through that.

0:29:54.720 --> 0:29:57.440
<v Speaker 2>Okay, We asked the US Attorney's Office for the Eastern

0:29:57.520 --> 0:30:00.280
<v Speaker 2>District in New York if anyone listened to the album them,

0:30:00.880 --> 0:30:03.360
<v Speaker 2>and they said no comment.

0:30:03.760 --> 0:30:07.080
<v Speaker 1>I mean, I suspect that just their policy is just

0:30:07.160 --> 0:30:09.320
<v Speaker 1>always going to be no comment. But that really kind

0:30:09.320 --> 0:30:11.280
<v Speaker 1>of feels like if they were going to deny it,

0:30:11.280 --> 0:30:12.120
<v Speaker 1>they would have said no.

0:30:12.360 --> 0:30:15.600
<v Speaker 2>It's the equivalent Matt of a Glomar response.

0:30:16.240 --> 0:30:19.040
<v Speaker 1>Is it is exactly a Glomar response.

0:30:19.240 --> 0:30:21.920
<v Speaker 2>There's actually a stipulation in the purchase agreement that says

0:30:21.920 --> 0:30:24.760
<v Speaker 2>at closing, the buyer could play quote.

0:30:24.560 --> 0:30:27.920
<v Speaker 3>At least the first ten seconds of each track, but

0:30:27.960 --> 0:30:32.040
<v Speaker 3>they had to bring their own CD player. Look, we're

0:30:32.040 --> 0:30:33.479
<v Speaker 3>not giving you the CD player.

0:30:33.600 --> 0:30:35.320
<v Speaker 1>And that's funny because I know the government has a

0:30:35.360 --> 0:30:38.000
<v Speaker 1>lot of CD players because they're always producing US documents

0:30:38.000 --> 0:30:38.680
<v Speaker 1>on CDs.

0:30:38.760 --> 0:30:41.320
<v Speaker 2>So it sounds like they followed through. There's an email

0:30:41.560 --> 0:30:44.640
<v Speaker 2>from an attorney with the Marshalls asking for a meeting

0:30:44.720 --> 0:30:48.840
<v Speaker 2>room with an electrical outlet so the buyer can plug

0:30:48.960 --> 0:30:50.360
<v Speaker 2>in their CD player.

0:30:50.560 --> 0:30:52.320
<v Speaker 1>I guess it's fair right, like they don't want to

0:30:52.320 --> 0:30:54.720
<v Speaker 1>get home, Like, what the hell? This thing doesn't work?

0:30:54.760 --> 0:30:57.480
<v Speaker 1>I can't even play in the government's like sorry, buyer, beware,

0:30:57.560 --> 0:30:58.240
<v Speaker 1>you're out of luck.

0:30:58.400 --> 0:31:01.640
<v Speaker 2>Or if it skips right skip and this is kind

0:31:01.680 --> 0:31:04.240
<v Speaker 2>of interesting, so pleaseer now is bound by the same

0:31:04.360 --> 0:31:07.960
<v Speaker 2>restrictions as Screlley was when he purchased the album. Right,

0:31:08.160 --> 0:31:11.480
<v Speaker 2>they can't stream it or duplicate it until two thousand,

0:31:11.840 --> 0:31:15.640
<v Speaker 2>one hundred and three. That sounds like way far in

0:31:15.680 --> 0:31:19.800
<v Speaker 2>the future. Last year, however, they found a workaround. Following

0:31:19.880 --> 0:31:23.520
<v Speaker 2>discussions with the original artists and producer, the album was

0:31:23.560 --> 0:31:28.200
<v Speaker 2>turned into an NFT and for the equivalent of a dollar,

0:31:28.720 --> 0:31:31.200
<v Speaker 2>fans can listen to a five minute sampler of Once

0:31:31.240 --> 0:31:34.120
<v Speaker 2>Upon a Time in shell In. Each sale will speed

0:31:34.200 --> 0:31:37.200
<v Speaker 2>up the release of the album by eighty eight seconds.

0:31:37.880 --> 0:31:40.920
<v Speaker 1>Eighty eight seconds, okay, So how much would it cost

0:31:41.080 --> 0:31:42.800
<v Speaker 1>to speed it up by a year? Then?

0:31:43.120 --> 0:31:46.400
<v Speaker 2>Okay, we actually did this math. It would cost more

0:31:46.480 --> 0:31:50.640
<v Speaker 2>than three hundred and fifty thousand dollars to speed up

0:31:50.680 --> 0:31:52.640
<v Speaker 2>the release of Once Upon a Time in shell In

0:31:52.680 --> 0:31:53.280
<v Speaker 2>by one year.

0:31:53.480 --> 0:31:55.200
<v Speaker 1>WHOA, so have you heard it?

0:31:55.320 --> 0:31:58.640
<v Speaker 2>I didn't buy a sample with bitcoin, but Screlly did

0:31:58.640 --> 0:32:00.920
<v Speaker 2>make a video of himself playing the record.

0:32:01.080 --> 0:32:07.480
<v Speaker 3>Let me play at least a little bit of that's

0:32:07.520 --> 0:32:07.920
<v Speaker 3>the intro.

0:32:08.440 --> 0:32:09.800
<v Speaker 2>I guess you can get a little bit of check

0:32:09.880 --> 0:32:15.840
<v Speaker 2>to to when it sounds theatrical, like you're getting ready

0:32:15.880 --> 0:32:16.800
<v Speaker 2>for something big.

0:32:17.160 --> 0:32:20.320
<v Speaker 1>It definitely sounds like wu tang. I mean, I could

0:32:20.320 --> 0:32:24.520
<v Speaker 1>see it in a movie mission impossible, But watching it

0:32:24.840 --> 0:32:30.760
<v Speaker 1>with Shrelly's reaction to it is so distracting and disturbing,

0:32:30.920 --> 0:32:35.080
<v Speaker 1>like he's bobbing his head in the haircut like he's

0:32:35.120 --> 0:32:37.440
<v Speaker 1>a keeper. Help.

0:32:40.560 --> 0:32:43.640
<v Speaker 2>You know. My advice is to close your eyes and

0:32:43.920 --> 0:32:46.720
<v Speaker 2>just do not look at Screlly while listening to this.

0:32:47.360 --> 0:32:51.760
<v Speaker 2>But this was a pretty amazing use of foy if

0:32:51.800 --> 0:32:54.360
<v Speaker 2>I do say so myself patting myself on the back here,

0:32:55.360 --> 0:32:58.160
<v Speaker 2>it felt like we really knocked down some walls here.

0:32:58.360 --> 0:33:00.920
<v Speaker 2>That's you know that the government put up trade secrets,

0:33:01.160 --> 0:33:04.239
<v Speaker 2>which didn't make sense to me at least, you know,

0:33:04.320 --> 0:33:07.760
<v Speaker 2>getting over that hurdle to obtain the purchase price and

0:33:07.800 --> 0:33:10.800
<v Speaker 2>then the name of the corporate entity that then bought

0:33:10.800 --> 0:33:14.959
<v Speaker 2>it and then sold it immediately sold it to another entity.

0:33:15.360 --> 0:33:16.280
<v Speaker 2>It's kind of amazing.

0:33:17.040 --> 0:33:20.840
<v Speaker 1>And we learned that Foye is so broad it can

0:33:20.920 --> 0:33:23.640
<v Speaker 1>even get you records about a one of a kind

0:33:23.760 --> 0:33:26.080
<v Speaker 1>Wu Tang album that ended up in the hands of

0:33:26.120 --> 0:33:28.480
<v Speaker 1>a farmer bro and then ended up in the hands

0:33:28.480 --> 0:33:30.520
<v Speaker 1>of the government, who sold it so that the farmer

0:33:30.560 --> 0:33:33.160
<v Speaker 1>bro could pay off what he owes for the damage

0:33:33.160 --> 0:33:36.320
<v Speaker 1>he caused. That's the power of FOYA. And if it

0:33:36.360 --> 0:33:40.120
<v Speaker 1>wasn't clear already, Dox rule everything around us.

0:33:40.320 --> 0:33:43.560
<v Speaker 2>Boy, your boy, your request, y'all. Hey open Mike Ego.

0:33:43.760 --> 0:33:46.200
<v Speaker 2>By the way, what do you think about all this did?

0:33:46.280 --> 0:33:49.880
<v Speaker 3>Further emphasizes how dumb this all is. That there's a

0:33:49.920 --> 0:33:52.480
<v Speaker 3>two million dollar Woo Sang album, some weird guy bought it,

0:33:52.520 --> 0:33:54.240
<v Speaker 3>and that weird guy went to jail, and now the

0:33:54.320 --> 0:33:56.560
<v Speaker 3>government is selling it to people and he won't tell

0:33:56.600 --> 0:33:58.600
<v Speaker 3>you who they sold it to. It's all very stupid,

0:33:58.960 --> 0:34:00.800
<v Speaker 3>and there's real problems in the world that I wish

0:34:00.920 --> 0:34:03.920
<v Speaker 3>these millions of dollars could be addressing somehow instead of

0:34:04.160 --> 0:34:06.560
<v Speaker 3>the government doing a weird deal with a secret album

0:34:06.600 --> 0:34:08.360
<v Speaker 3>that's probably not even good.

0:34:09.600 --> 0:34:14.320
<v Speaker 2>And there you have it from Bloomberg and no smiling.

0:34:14.760 --> 0:34:17.840
<v Speaker 2>This is disclosure. The show is hosted by Matt Topic

0:34:17.920 --> 0:34:21.839
<v Speaker 2>and me Jason Leopold, It's produced by Heather Schroering and

0:34:21.920 --> 0:34:25.000
<v Speaker 2>Sean Cannon. For No Smiling, our editor for Bloomberg is

0:34:25.080 --> 0:34:29.440
<v Speaker 2>Jeff Grocott. Our executive producers for Bloomberg are Sage Bauman

0:34:29.640 --> 0:34:33.360
<v Speaker 2>and me Jason Leopold, and our executive producers for No

0:34:33.520 --> 0:34:37.680
<v Speaker 2>Smiling are Sean Cannon, Heather Schroering and Matt Topic. The

0:34:37.760 --> 0:34:42.120
<v Speaker 2>disclosure theme song is by Nick, with additional music by Nick.

0:34:42.560 --> 0:34:46.720
<v Speaker 2>An Epidemic sound, sound design and mixing is by Sean Cannon.

0:34:47.239 --> 0:34:50.719
<v Speaker 2>Emails were read this week by open Mic Eagle. For

0:34:50.840 --> 0:34:54.680
<v Speaker 2>more transparency news and important document thumps, you can subscribe

0:34:54.680 --> 0:34:58.760
<v Speaker 2>to my Weeklyfoya Files newsletter at Bloomberg dot com slash

0:34:58.840 --> 0:35:04.360
<v Speaker 2>Foya Files. That's Foia Files. To get every episode early

0:35:04.400 --> 0:35:08.120
<v Speaker 2>on Apple podcasts. Become a Bloomberg dot com subscriber today.

0:35:08.760 --> 0:35:11.520
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0:35:11.560 --> 0:35:14.759
<v Speaker 2>dot com Slash podcast offer, or click the link in

0:35:14.800 --> 0:35:18.360
<v Speaker 2>the show notes. You'll also unlock deep reporting data and

0:35:18.440 --> 0:35:20.680
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0:35:21.160 --> 0:35:26.120
<v Speaker 1>We'll see you again next Tuesday, Boy, you get the

0:35:26.200 --> 0:35:26.719
<v Speaker 1>records