1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:07,760 Speaker 1: Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, radio News. 2 00:00:09,440 --> 00:00:12,600 Speaker 2: Previously on seven oh one in the breaking news at 3 00:00:12,640 --> 00:00:16,280 Speaker 2: Tech executive is dead. He was stabbed in San Francisco's 4 00:00:16,320 --> 00:00:17,280 Speaker 2: South of Market Street. 5 00:00:17,320 --> 00:00:17,520 Speaker 3: Yeah. 6 00:00:17,520 --> 00:00:20,320 Speaker 4: The latest reports have identified the victim as Bob Lee, 7 00:00:20,360 --> 00:00:24,079 Speaker 4: the founder of cash app and an executive of mobile Coin. 8 00:00:24,200 --> 00:00:26,200 Speaker 5: One of our best friends called and said, I just 9 00:00:26,200 --> 00:00:28,920 Speaker 5: saw on the news and my heart shattered. 10 00:00:28,920 --> 00:00:32,360 Speaker 6: Elon Musk even weigh in with his tweet quote, violent 11 00:00:32,440 --> 00:00:35,560 Speaker 6: crime in San Francisco is horrific, and even if attackers 12 00:00:35,600 --> 00:00:38,320 Speaker 6: are caught, they are often released immediately. 13 00:00:38,560 --> 00:00:41,519 Speaker 7: They're saying he took a kitchen knife from his sister's 14 00:00:41,560 --> 00:00:46,239 Speaker 7: apartment to his car, you know, with Bob got in 15 00:00:46,240 --> 00:00:50,839 Speaker 7: the car, went somewhere else and then attacked him. It 16 00:00:50,960 --> 00:00:53,920 Speaker 7: just didn't make sense. Didn't make sense to me. 17 00:01:04,720 --> 00:01:08,000 Speaker 8: In the criminal justice system, the people are represented by 18 00:01:08,040 --> 00:01:11,720 Speaker 8: two separate yet equally important groups, the police who investigate 19 00:01:11,760 --> 00:01:15,480 Speaker 8: crime and the district attorneys who prosecute the offenders. These 20 00:01:15,520 --> 00:01:16,360 Speaker 8: are their stories. 21 00:01:18,800 --> 00:01:22,480 Speaker 1: On January twenty fifth, twenty twenty four, less than the 22 00:01:22,560 --> 00:01:26,120 Speaker 1: year after Bob Lee's murder, Lawn and Order aired the 23 00:01:26,160 --> 00:01:30,000 Speaker 1: second episode of its twenty third season. It was called 24 00:01:30,520 --> 00:01:31,560 Speaker 1: human innovation. 25 00:01:32,360 --> 00:01:33,920 Speaker 9: D o wa, it's a born in the chest. 26 00:01:34,400 --> 00:01:37,480 Speaker 10: No wallet, no phone odegoinger down the street heard the 27 00:01:37,480 --> 00:01:38,759 Speaker 10: shot around two am and called. 28 00:01:38,640 --> 00:01:39,919 Speaker 3: It in but didn't say anything. 29 00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:40,400 Speaker 8: Okay. 30 00:01:40,760 --> 00:01:43,840 Speaker 1: In the episode, a young tech executive is killed on 31 00:01:43,920 --> 00:01:46,760 Speaker 1: the street in the middle of the night in what 32 00:01:46,880 --> 00:01:48,480 Speaker 1: looks like a random mugging. 33 00:01:48,960 --> 00:01:55,240 Speaker 10: Evan Marx, the tech guy CEO of Venzip Damn. 34 00:01:55,080 --> 00:01:57,960 Speaker 1: Venzip, is on I pay for everything these days, you 35 00:01:57,960 --> 00:01:58,440 Speaker 1: don't use it. 36 00:01:58,800 --> 00:02:00,560 Speaker 3: No man, I'm not trusting my bad thank give photo 37 00:02:00,560 --> 00:02:00,960 Speaker 3: an app. 38 00:02:02,040 --> 00:02:05,120 Speaker 1: Immediately after the death, still on the show, the tech 39 00:02:05,160 --> 00:02:09,120 Speaker 1: community starts posting on social media blaming the NYPD. 40 00:02:09,400 --> 00:02:12,160 Speaker 5: Evan Marx was one of the greatest minds of our generation. 41 00:02:12,360 --> 00:02:15,960 Speaker 5: The NYPD should be ashamed. Violent street crime is out 42 00:02:16,000 --> 00:02:18,960 Speaker 5: of control and Evan's blood is on their hands. 43 00:02:19,639 --> 00:02:23,200 Speaker 8: So Marx's murders somehow are fault No. Apparently, according to 44 00:02:23,280 --> 00:02:24,200 Speaker 8: James Sawyer. 45 00:02:23,919 --> 00:02:26,240 Speaker 4: It is, and that guy has got millions of followers 46 00:02:26,280 --> 00:02:27,040 Speaker 4: that worship. 47 00:02:26,760 --> 00:02:27,480 Speaker 11: Him as a genius. 48 00:02:27,639 --> 00:02:31,280 Speaker 1: Sounds familiar. This is a thing that Law and Order does. 49 00:02:31,960 --> 00:02:35,640 Speaker 1: They take a story from the headlines for inspiration, in 50 00:02:35,680 --> 00:02:39,160 Speaker 1: this case the story of Bob Lee's murder, but it's 51 00:02:39,160 --> 00:02:41,280 Speaker 1: hard to know if Bob's death would have risen to 52 00:02:41,320 --> 00:02:44,440 Speaker 1: the level of network TV drama if it wasn't for 53 00:02:44,480 --> 00:02:45,520 Speaker 1: the next plot point. 54 00:02:46,000 --> 00:02:50,280 Speaker 7: There's an underground scene for people of a certain caliber. 55 00:02:51,280 --> 00:02:52,360 Speaker 9: It's called the Lifestyle. 56 00:02:52,720 --> 00:02:54,800 Speaker 12: Lifestyle I did not name it. 57 00:02:55,919 --> 00:02:57,280 Speaker 9: Evan was super into the whole thing. 58 00:02:58,160 --> 00:03:03,959 Speaker 1: The Lifestyle a normal underground group of elite individuals into drugs, 59 00:03:04,240 --> 00:03:06,320 Speaker 1: wild parties, and promiscuous sex. 60 00:03:06,400 --> 00:03:09,519 Speaker 8: It's just a way to create safe space for powerful 61 00:03:09,639 --> 00:03:15,200 Speaker 8: and famous people to relax, expanding the mind, to break 62 00:03:15,200 --> 00:03:15,920 Speaker 8: old paradigms. 63 00:03:16,320 --> 00:03:20,799 Speaker 2: And by expanding the mind, you mean taking ketamine mushrooms. 64 00:03:24,520 --> 00:03:26,799 Speaker 1: In May of twenty twenty three, about five and a 65 00:03:26,840 --> 00:03:29,880 Speaker 1: half weeks after Bob was killed, The Wall Street Journal 66 00:03:29,919 --> 00:03:34,200 Speaker 1: published an article with this headline. Before his killing, tech 67 00:03:34,240 --> 00:03:38,640 Speaker 1: executive Bob Lee led an underground life of sex and drugs. 68 00:03:39,280 --> 00:03:43,840 Speaker 1: Here's how it opens. In certain wealthy tech circles, it 69 00:03:43,920 --> 00:03:48,240 Speaker 1: is known as the Lifestyle, an underground party scene featuring 70 00:03:48,320 --> 00:03:53,880 Speaker 1: recreational drug use and casual sex. A successful tech executive 71 00:03:53,960 --> 00:03:56,360 Speaker 1: named Bob Lee liked to hang out with that crowd, 72 00:03:56,760 --> 00:04:00,760 Speaker 1: according to people who also participated, and so too did 73 00:04:00,800 --> 00:04:06,880 Speaker 1: Kazar Momenti, the wife of a prominent plastic surgeon. Television 74 00:04:06,880 --> 00:04:08,640 Speaker 1: coverage picked up on a similar theme. 75 00:04:08,800 --> 00:04:12,000 Speaker 12: We now know the cash app founder had drugs and 76 00:04:12,200 --> 00:04:14,960 Speaker 12: alcohol in his system the night he was stabbed to 77 00:04:15,040 --> 00:04:16,200 Speaker 12: death in San Francisco. 78 00:04:16,560 --> 00:04:19,640 Speaker 13: Was a romantic affair behind the stabbing death Earlier this 79 00:04:19,680 --> 00:04:21,200 Speaker 13: spring of the founder of cash app. 80 00:04:21,279 --> 00:04:24,320 Speaker 12: An underground sex party and an affair maybe what led 81 00:04:24,320 --> 00:04:28,000 Speaker 12: to the fatal stabbing of cash app founder Bob Lee. 82 00:04:32,760 --> 00:04:35,760 Speaker 1: But for Bob's friends, this version of him that they 83 00:04:35,760 --> 00:04:37,920 Speaker 1: heard about in the news seemed all wrong. 84 00:04:38,480 --> 00:04:40,080 Speaker 4: It just didn't seem like the same person. 85 00:04:40,760 --> 00:04:44,240 Speaker 1: Here's Joshua Block, a software engineer who hired Bob Lee 86 00:04:44,279 --> 00:04:47,440 Speaker 1: at Google. Josh knew Bob for twenty years. 87 00:04:47,960 --> 00:04:50,440 Speaker 4: None of the articles that I read at the time 88 00:04:51,080 --> 00:04:53,960 Speaker 4: mentioned what a special person he was. They just said, yeah, 89 00:04:54,040 --> 00:04:57,479 Speaker 4: tech tech bro. Basically, No, he wasn't. I've known plenty 90 00:04:57,480 --> 00:04:59,560 Speaker 4: of tech bros, and he wasn't one of them. He 91 00:04:59,600 --> 00:05:04,000 Speaker 4: wasn't the life that Bob was Bob. So, all of 92 00:05:04,000 --> 00:05:07,000 Speaker 4: a sudden, his name became household word for the worst 93 00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:10,360 Speaker 4: of reasons. And this was before his body was even cold, 94 00:05:11,320 --> 00:05:12,960 Speaker 4: And it just pissed me off. 95 00:05:14,720 --> 00:05:17,920 Speaker 1: Once again. What happened to Bob Lee was being squeezed 96 00:05:17,960 --> 00:05:21,159 Speaker 1: into a narrative that had been established well before his death. 97 00:05:22,320 --> 00:05:24,920 Speaker 1: We talked in episode one about how his death was 98 00:05:25,000 --> 00:05:27,200 Speaker 1: used to epitomize the decline of San Francisco. 99 00:05:27,440 --> 00:05:33,479 Speaker 13: These elected leaders, they are setting loose on us a predatory, 100 00:05:33,960 --> 00:05:38,520 Speaker 13: criminal or psychotic element that jeopardizes our safety and makes 101 00:05:38,520 --> 00:05:39,680 Speaker 13: these cities unlivable. 102 00:05:43,120 --> 00:05:45,640 Speaker 1: Of course, the story that Bob died in a random 103 00:05:45,640 --> 00:05:50,000 Speaker 1: act of violence proved to be wrong. After Bob's toxicology 104 00:05:50,080 --> 00:05:54,040 Speaker 1: report was released, a new narrative emerged, one that was 105 00:05:54,120 --> 00:06:01,560 Speaker 1: much more salacious. The report found that Bob died with ketamine, cocaine, alcohol, 106 00:06:02,000 --> 00:06:06,560 Speaker 1: and an antihistamine in his system. And when rumors surfaced 107 00:06:06,600 --> 00:06:09,719 Speaker 1: about Bob's personal life, he became a stand in for 108 00:06:09,800 --> 00:06:13,840 Speaker 1: the secret world of wealthy elites, one filled with sex, 109 00:06:14,200 --> 00:06:18,479 Speaker 1: partying and illicit drugs. How much truth was there to 110 00:06:18,560 --> 00:06:28,479 Speaker 1: this story? I'm Sean Wehn. This is foundering the killing 111 00:06:28,520 --> 00:06:47,760 Speaker 1: of Bob Lee. When I started reaching out to Bob's 112 00:06:47,760 --> 00:06:50,560 Speaker 1: friends and family, I found no shortage of people who 113 00:06:50,560 --> 00:06:53,440 Speaker 1: were happy to talk about him. People would say the 114 00:06:53,520 --> 00:06:57,240 Speaker 1: meme anything for Bob. He was a deeply social person 115 00:06:57,760 --> 00:07:01,720 Speaker 1: and beloved multiple people. I'm talking adult men in their 116 00:07:01,760 --> 00:07:04,680 Speaker 1: forties here told me that Bob was their best friend. 117 00:07:05,360 --> 00:07:07,960 Speaker 3: Bob never really got older. He always had this smile 118 00:07:08,040 --> 00:07:09,920 Speaker 3: of an eight year old or ten year old, like 119 00:07:10,760 --> 00:07:13,640 Speaker 3: just this little boyish grin that he was just so cute. 120 00:07:13,760 --> 00:07:18,080 Speaker 14: People were naturally drawn to Bob. It was his charming, 121 00:07:18,160 --> 00:07:21,680 Speaker 14: his personality, as humor is laughter. You've got a good 122 00:07:21,680 --> 00:07:24,400 Speaker 14: looking guy with a brilliant mind. You've got a doting father. 123 00:07:24,920 --> 00:07:29,280 Speaker 10: He was very endearing and very cool. But when you 124 00:07:29,440 --> 00:07:32,280 Speaker 10: really got close to Bob, you realized had genuinely sweet 125 00:07:32,440 --> 00:07:34,920 Speaker 10: and honest he was about his feelings. 126 00:07:35,520 --> 00:07:37,880 Speaker 1: People I spoke to felt like the real Bob had 127 00:07:37,920 --> 00:07:41,480 Speaker 1: been lost behind waves of headlines, rumors, and what they 128 00:07:41,560 --> 00:07:45,720 Speaker 1: called misinformation. So I wanted to try and understand the 129 00:07:45,760 --> 00:07:50,440 Speaker 1: Bob they knew, the friend, the dad, the talented programmer. 130 00:07:53,280 --> 00:07:56,360 Speaker 1: Bob Lee had a humble upbringing. He was born in 131 00:07:56,400 --> 00:08:00,680 Speaker 1: Saint Louis, Missouri, in nineteen seventy nine. His dad worked 132 00:08:00,680 --> 00:08:04,400 Speaker 1: as a warehouse supervisor at Annheuser Busch. His mom was 133 00:08:04,400 --> 00:08:07,800 Speaker 1: a mail carrier for the Postal Service and later a journalist. 134 00:08:09,000 --> 00:08:12,240 Speaker 1: Bob started toying around with computers in middle school. He 135 00:08:12,280 --> 00:08:15,760 Speaker 1: went to Southeastern Missouri State University on a full ride 136 00:08:16,160 --> 00:08:20,000 Speaker 1: after designing the school's admissions website. By the way, that 137 00:08:20,080 --> 00:08:23,200 Speaker 1: website was so well implemented that the school kept using 138 00:08:23,240 --> 00:08:26,800 Speaker 1: it for fifteen years. He met his wife, Christa in 139 00:08:26,840 --> 00:08:28,080 Speaker 1: their hometown. 140 00:08:28,120 --> 00:08:31,480 Speaker 5: Twenty two years old, and Bob and I met the 141 00:08:31,520 --> 00:08:34,920 Speaker 5: old fashioned way at a bar one night. The only 142 00:08:34,960 --> 00:08:37,280 Speaker 5: thing I could think of when I first met him was, oh, 143 00:08:37,280 --> 00:08:40,559 Speaker 5: my god, this guy is wearing Khaki's in a pink polo, Like, wow, 144 00:08:40,600 --> 00:08:41,240 Speaker 5: what a nerd. 145 00:08:42,080 --> 00:08:45,600 Speaker 1: They started dating. They were only twenty four when Christa 146 00:08:45,640 --> 00:08:47,040 Speaker 1: called Bob to say. 147 00:08:46,920 --> 00:08:50,400 Speaker 5: I'm pregnant, and he didn't even hesitate. He put the 148 00:08:50,440 --> 00:08:53,920 Speaker 5: phone out and did this woo guys owed me a dad, 149 00:08:54,720 --> 00:08:58,040 Speaker 5: And of course I'm like, that's not really the conversation 150 00:08:58,120 --> 00:09:00,760 Speaker 5: I was playing on having with you and you sharing 151 00:09:00,800 --> 00:09:03,400 Speaker 5: with everyone, you know, pump the brakes, babe, Like I'm 152 00:09:03,480 --> 00:09:05,000 Speaker 5: kind of freaking out of here, and he's like, don't 153 00:09:05,000 --> 00:09:07,360 Speaker 5: worry about it. And he was excited, and he point 154 00:09:07,400 --> 00:09:11,720 Speaker 5: blank said, let's do this. Let's have this baby. You 155 00:09:11,720 --> 00:09:13,800 Speaker 5: know I love you and I know you love me, 156 00:09:14,000 --> 00:09:15,199 Speaker 5: and we can do this. 157 00:09:19,160 --> 00:09:22,760 Speaker 1: Around this time, there was another big development in Bob's life. 158 00:09:23,200 --> 00:09:26,320 Speaker 1: He attracted the attention of Josh Block, Bob's friend that 159 00:09:26,360 --> 00:09:29,640 Speaker 1: we heard from at the top of this episode. Josh, 160 00:09:29,800 --> 00:09:32,800 Speaker 1: who didn't know Bob at the time, was posting little 161 00:09:32,800 --> 00:09:35,960 Speaker 1: brain teasers online involving the Java programming language. 162 00:09:36,200 --> 00:09:38,640 Speaker 4: He started getting these very very good answers from this 163 00:09:38,679 --> 00:09:40,559 Speaker 4: guy that I had never heard of, you know, in 164 00:09:40,840 --> 00:09:42,080 Speaker 4: the Midwest somewhere. 165 00:09:42,280 --> 00:09:45,600 Speaker 1: According to Josh, Bob's skills were almost savant like. 166 00:09:46,000 --> 00:09:47,960 Speaker 4: He didn't have a computer science degree, He had a 167 00:09:47,960 --> 00:09:51,760 Speaker 4: working class background. He was sort of clearly too good 168 00:09:52,080 --> 00:09:55,280 Speaker 4: for the league that he was playing in. You know 169 00:09:55,280 --> 00:09:57,160 Speaker 4: where did he learn all this stuff? Well, he just 170 00:09:57,559 --> 00:10:01,120 Speaker 4: picked it up. He had an amazing capacity for doing that. 171 00:10:03,000 --> 00:10:05,240 Speaker 1: All the people in tech I spoke to about Bob 172 00:10:05,320 --> 00:10:08,200 Speaker 1: Lee told me some version of the same thing. He 173 00:10:08,320 --> 00:10:13,000 Speaker 1: was a hacker, a code god, a guru. At Google, 174 00:10:13,240 --> 00:10:17,040 Speaker 1: Bob made two big contributions. First, he worked on the 175 00:10:17,040 --> 00:10:21,000 Speaker 1: ads platform, which became the financial engine that powers Google. 176 00:10:21,840 --> 00:10:25,160 Speaker 1: And second, Bob helped write the foundational software for the 177 00:10:25,160 --> 00:10:28,720 Speaker 1: Android operating system. Here he is talking about it on 178 00:10:28,760 --> 00:10:29,240 Speaker 1: a panel. 179 00:10:29,720 --> 00:10:30,440 Speaker 12: It was really fun. 180 00:10:30,440 --> 00:10:31,559 Speaker 8: There was no iPhone at the time. 181 00:10:31,600 --> 00:10:33,199 Speaker 12: We were just trying to we were creating Basic, like 182 00:10:33,320 --> 00:10:35,680 Speaker 12: a BlackBerry competitor, like the big challenge for me, Like, 183 00:10:35,679 --> 00:10:37,800 Speaker 12: but really had to take this code that was meant 184 00:10:37,800 --> 00:10:40,200 Speaker 12: for desktops and servers and make them work on a 185 00:10:40,240 --> 00:10:42,640 Speaker 12: really low powered mobile device. 186 00:10:43,160 --> 00:10:44,760 Speaker 10: And phones are so much more powerful now. 187 00:10:45,200 --> 00:10:48,400 Speaker 12: But also nobody foresaw how big this stuff was going 188 00:10:48,440 --> 00:10:48,880 Speaker 12: to get. 189 00:10:50,480 --> 00:10:55,800 Speaker 1: Bob's work helped make smartphones cheap and universal. An estimated 190 00:10:55,840 --> 00:10:59,360 Speaker 1: seventy five percent of cell phones globally now run on Android. 191 00:11:06,880 --> 00:11:08,600 Speaker 6: I met Bob on my wedding night. 192 00:11:08,960 --> 00:11:11,480 Speaker 1: This is Jim McKelvey, co founder of Square, the mobile 193 00:11:11,480 --> 00:11:15,040 Speaker 1: payments company now known as Block. The two were introduced 194 00:11:15,040 --> 00:11:16,000 Speaker 1: by mutual. 195 00:11:15,679 --> 00:11:18,600 Speaker 6: Friend Bob Lee knew Jack Dorsey. 196 00:11:19,080 --> 00:11:21,400 Speaker 1: Jack Dorsey is one of the most famous people in 197 00:11:21,440 --> 00:11:24,960 Speaker 1: the tech industry. He's a founder of Twitter. And one 198 00:11:25,000 --> 00:11:27,840 Speaker 1: thing that Dorsey, Bob, and Jim all have in common 199 00:11:27,960 --> 00:11:29,480 Speaker 1: is that they're all from Saint Louis. 200 00:11:29,800 --> 00:11:32,120 Speaker 6: He came up and said hi, and Jack said hi 201 00:11:32,240 --> 00:11:35,479 Speaker 6: and introduced Bob Lee as the best job of programmer 202 00:11:35,559 --> 00:11:38,840 Speaker 6: in the world. And Jack isn't prone to hyperboles, so 203 00:11:39,080 --> 00:11:44,520 Speaker 6: I took it very seriously. So my mission was to 204 00:11:44,679 --> 00:11:47,840 Speaker 6: recruit Bob Lee to come join us and help us 205 00:11:47,920 --> 00:11:49,440 Speaker 6: build the company. 206 00:11:50,200 --> 00:11:53,840 Speaker 1: At Square, Bob became CTO, He built the engineering team, 207 00:11:54,000 --> 00:11:56,760 Speaker 1: and he also created cash app, the service that would 208 00:11:56,760 --> 00:12:03,480 Speaker 1: eventually become his legacy. For the past five years, cash 209 00:12:03,480 --> 00:12:06,440 Speaker 1: app has been responsible for two thirds of the revenue 210 00:12:06,440 --> 00:12:10,720 Speaker 1: of its parent company Block It hasn't estimated fifty seven 211 00:12:10,800 --> 00:12:12,040 Speaker 1: million users. 212 00:12:12,600 --> 00:12:16,040 Speaker 6: If you are a poor person or a marginalized person, 213 00:12:16,720 --> 00:12:21,560 Speaker 6: cash app is access to the financial world. It's a 214 00:12:21,559 --> 00:12:24,560 Speaker 6: bank in your pocket. So if you've always had banking 215 00:12:24,600 --> 00:12:27,600 Speaker 6: accounts and access to credit, you'll look at cash app 216 00:12:27,600 --> 00:12:29,800 Speaker 6: and go, oh, that's kind of cool. But if you've 217 00:12:29,800 --> 00:12:32,240 Speaker 6: been shut out, it's magic. 218 00:12:33,720 --> 00:12:37,320 Speaker 1: It's also become something of a cultural sensation. It's famously 219 00:12:37,320 --> 00:12:38,480 Speaker 1: featured in rap lyrics. 220 00:12:39,160 --> 00:12:42,840 Speaker 14: You oh you want some thirty eighth what's your cash out? 221 00:12:43,080 --> 00:12:45,400 Speaker 9: You use my cash app car? When I cash rout? 222 00:12:45,800 --> 00:12:47,319 Speaker 9: Supposed to be what I Am? 223 00:12:47,880 --> 00:12:50,400 Speaker 1: Here's a video Bob made for his kids with will 224 00:12:50,440 --> 00:12:52,320 Speaker 1: I Am from the Black Eyed piece. 225 00:12:52,240 --> 00:12:54,600 Speaker 12: What's up Dagne and Scott and chilling hand with your pops, 226 00:12:55,120 --> 00:12:57,240 Speaker 12: Hey babies, Will I Am? 227 00:12:57,920 --> 00:12:58,120 Speaker 15: Yeah? 228 00:12:58,080 --> 00:12:58,560 Speaker 16: It rocks. 229 00:13:00,040 --> 00:13:03,280 Speaker 1: Bob was crucial to the creation and growth of this massive, 230 00:13:03,440 --> 00:13:07,000 Speaker 1: massive brand, both as a coder himself and as someone 231 00:13:07,040 --> 00:13:11,720 Speaker 1: who managed other engineers. While there is a stereotype of 232 00:13:11,760 --> 00:13:15,800 Speaker 1: engineers as introverted or socially awkward, this wasn't true of Bob. 233 00:13:16,120 --> 00:13:17,760 Speaker 1: He loved to party. 234 00:13:19,200 --> 00:13:22,160 Speaker 6: I don't have a full three hundred and sixty degree 235 00:13:22,480 --> 00:13:26,120 Speaker 6: picture of Bob cause I go to bed at about 236 00:13:26,120 --> 00:13:29,720 Speaker 6: ten o'clock and Bob goes to bed the next day 237 00:13:30,440 --> 00:13:34,880 Speaker 6: sometime maybe or maybe not. I don't know. I've never 238 00:13:34,920 --> 00:13:37,280 Speaker 6: made it like I've never made it through a full 239 00:13:38,040 --> 00:13:39,400 Speaker 6: cycle with Bob Lee. 240 00:13:39,679 --> 00:13:43,360 Speaker 1: Jim McKelvey from Square was clear while he was Bob's 241 00:13:43,360 --> 00:13:46,600 Speaker 1: boss and friend, he didn't know the entirety of the man. 242 00:13:47,160 --> 00:13:49,920 Speaker 6: He was a hard partier and I am not, and 243 00:13:50,000 --> 00:13:53,959 Speaker 6: so at those moments are paths diverged. But the beautiful 244 00:13:54,000 --> 00:13:56,840 Speaker 6: thing about Bob is that he wasn't defined by his 245 00:13:56,880 --> 00:13:59,800 Speaker 6: hard party like some people bring that with them twenty 246 00:13:59,840 --> 00:14:02,720 Speaker 6: five or seven. Bob could switch it on and switch 247 00:14:02,720 --> 00:14:03,120 Speaker 6: it off. 248 00:14:04,200 --> 00:14:06,600 Speaker 3: I will be the first to tell you that most 249 00:14:06,640 --> 00:14:09,479 Speaker 3: people couldn't survive Bob's lifestyle. 250 00:14:10,120 --> 00:14:14,079 Speaker 1: That's Cameron Purdy, an engineer and tech executive from Massachusetts. 251 00:14:14,520 --> 00:14:16,920 Speaker 1: He and Bob met at a JAVA conference when Bob 252 00:14:16,960 --> 00:14:19,960 Speaker 1: was twenty three years old. Over the years, they went 253 00:14:20,000 --> 00:14:23,400 Speaker 1: to many conferences together, and that's how their friendship blossomed. 254 00:14:23,880 --> 00:14:27,640 Speaker 3: I would fly into San Francisco late at night, get 255 00:14:27,640 --> 00:14:31,800 Speaker 3: off the plane, drop my bags at the hotel, and 256 00:14:31,880 --> 00:14:34,120 Speaker 3: meet Bob at the bar at you know, eleven twelve 257 00:14:34,120 --> 00:14:37,520 Speaker 3: at night, and then we would stay out all night, 258 00:14:38,040 --> 00:14:40,000 Speaker 3: bar to bar wherever we could find it was still 259 00:14:40,040 --> 00:14:43,280 Speaker 3: open and he knew them all. Or go buy Stanford 260 00:14:43,320 --> 00:14:45,760 Speaker 3: and hang out at the frats, at the parties there 261 00:14:45,840 --> 00:14:50,040 Speaker 3: or whatever, and then we'd go to work, like if 262 00:14:50,080 --> 00:14:52,240 Speaker 3: I was lucky, I'd have time for a shower before 263 00:14:52,280 --> 00:14:53,400 Speaker 3: I went to work in the morning. 264 00:14:55,920 --> 00:14:59,320 Speaker 1: For Cameron's part, he loved seeing Bob because with Bob, 265 00:15:00,000 --> 00:15:02,640 Speaker 1: I've always seemed like an adventure. He was the kind 266 00:15:02,680 --> 00:15:04,240 Speaker 1: of person that things just happened to. 267 00:15:05,160 --> 00:15:07,360 Speaker 3: So I was with Bob when we met Lady Gaga. 268 00:15:07,400 --> 00:15:10,080 Speaker 3: I was with Bob when we met Dennis Rodman, I 269 00:15:10,160 --> 00:15:15,480 Speaker 3: was with Yeah. We ended up at Dennis Rodman's birthday 270 00:15:15,480 --> 00:15:18,600 Speaker 3: party at the Spearmint Rhino in Vegas. That was interesting. 271 00:15:18,960 --> 00:15:22,920 Speaker 1: Spearmint Rhino is a strip club. Cameron guessed that during 272 00:15:22,920 --> 00:15:26,120 Speaker 1: a conference over the course of four or five days, 273 00:15:26,600 --> 00:15:29,000 Speaker 1: Bob might sleep around eight hours total. 274 00:15:29,600 --> 00:15:32,360 Speaker 3: The human body's not meant to go NonStop. You gotta sleep. 275 00:15:33,120 --> 00:15:35,480 Speaker 3: So he'd sleep for half an hour and then I'd 276 00:15:35,480 --> 00:15:35,960 Speaker 3: wake him up. 277 00:15:36,240 --> 00:15:36,960 Speaker 9: Are you ready to go? 278 00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:37,800 Speaker 3: He's like, yeah, let's go. 279 00:15:41,920 --> 00:15:44,680 Speaker 1: Bob's mid thirties were a turning point in his life. 280 00:15:45,280 --> 00:15:48,880 Speaker 1: In twenty fourteen, he left Square. The next year, he 281 00:15:48,920 --> 00:15:52,920 Speaker 1: and Christa separated. They remained close friends and co parents. 282 00:15:53,240 --> 00:15:58,120 Speaker 1: They still had weekly dinners and went on family vacations. Bob, 283 00:15:58,280 --> 00:16:02,680 Speaker 1: by all accounts, was a great dad, very loving, sweet 284 00:16:02,800 --> 00:16:06,480 Speaker 1: and present. Most people I spoke to, whether they knew 285 00:16:06,480 --> 00:16:09,800 Speaker 1: Bob from work or partying, also had stories about hanging 286 00:16:09,800 --> 00:16:12,320 Speaker 1: out with his kids. Here's a video he sent them 287 00:16:12,320 --> 00:16:13,320 Speaker 1: while on the work trip. 288 00:16:14,160 --> 00:16:17,080 Speaker 15: Hey girls, on getting on a flight to Chicago, I'm 289 00:16:17,120 --> 00:16:19,600 Speaker 15: going to go talk about science. I appreciate the picture 290 00:16:20,040 --> 00:16:23,520 Speaker 15: and the video you said. I'd love it if you'd 291 00:16:23,520 --> 00:16:25,360 Speaker 15: make me another video and send it. I love you. 292 00:16:26,800 --> 00:16:29,360 Speaker 1: At the same time, Bob was a single man with 293 00:16:29,440 --> 00:16:33,360 Speaker 1: a lot of money and a restless personality. Jessica Trainor 294 00:16:33,440 --> 00:16:35,560 Speaker 1: dated Bob after he and Krista divorced. 295 00:16:36,320 --> 00:16:38,200 Speaker 16: He was kind of, I guess you could say, like 296 00:16:38,240 --> 00:16:41,920 Speaker 16: a playboy. It wasn't really looking for anything serious when 297 00:16:41,920 --> 00:16:45,240 Speaker 16: I met him. Understandably, he had been married before and 298 00:16:45,840 --> 00:16:48,520 Speaker 16: just had a huge background and was also trying to 299 00:16:48,520 --> 00:16:51,840 Speaker 16: get to know himself still. I think in some ways. 300 00:16:52,000 --> 00:16:54,360 Speaker 1: When Jessica met Bob, she felt like he was in 301 00:16:54,400 --> 00:16:55,720 Speaker 1: the middle of a reinvention. 302 00:16:56,800 --> 00:16:59,360 Speaker 16: When you have free time and you've achieved so much, 303 00:16:59,440 --> 00:17:03,440 Speaker 16: you're kind of chasing a new kind of rush in 304 00:17:03,480 --> 00:17:06,760 Speaker 16: your life. There is a truth to this ability to 305 00:17:06,840 --> 00:17:09,680 Speaker 16: travel over the world and hang out and meet cool 306 00:17:09,720 --> 00:17:13,320 Speaker 16: people and kind of you know, party if you will. 307 00:17:14,880 --> 00:17:19,040 Speaker 1: He was getting more into electronic dance music. Sometimes he'd 308 00:17:19,119 --> 00:17:22,320 Speaker 1: fly around the world following specific DJs on tour. 309 00:17:22,520 --> 00:17:25,120 Speaker 16: They gave him backstage. She'd always have like a table 310 00:17:25,240 --> 00:17:26,320 Speaker 16: right next to the DJ. 311 00:17:26,880 --> 00:17:31,160 Speaker 1: Jessica says that she and Bob started working out together afterwards. 312 00:17:31,320 --> 00:17:33,479 Speaker 1: They'd lay in the sun and work on their tands. 313 00:17:33,920 --> 00:17:34,919 Speaker 17: Felt really cool. 314 00:17:35,280 --> 00:17:38,159 Speaker 16: You know, Bob came from it, you know, nerdy background 315 00:17:38,200 --> 00:17:40,480 Speaker 16: as you know, someone who worked in tech. You know, 316 00:17:40,560 --> 00:17:44,159 Speaker 16: this kind of cool tech bro. You know, image that 317 00:17:44,200 --> 00:17:47,280 Speaker 16: he got later in time came, you know, after he 318 00:17:47,400 --> 00:17:53,679 Speaker 16: had a little bit more freedom. 319 00:17:56,960 --> 00:18:00,679 Speaker 1: In the years after Square Bob's next project's flop, he 320 00:18:00,720 --> 00:18:03,800 Speaker 1: founded a startup, which failed. He tried his hand at 321 00:18:03,800 --> 00:18:06,960 Speaker 1: becoming an angel investor. About a year and a half 322 00:18:07,000 --> 00:18:10,240 Speaker 1: before his death, Bob became the chief product officer of 323 00:18:10,280 --> 00:18:14,359 Speaker 1: a cryptocurrency company called mobile Coin. This job allowed Bob 324 00:18:14,400 --> 00:18:17,040 Speaker 1: to live in Miami, fly back to San Francisco a 325 00:18:17,040 --> 00:18:20,000 Speaker 1: week every month to work and travel as he wanted. 326 00:18:22,720 --> 00:18:25,160 Speaker 1: When The Wall Street Journal published its piece on Bob 327 00:18:25,240 --> 00:18:29,240 Speaker 1: Lee and the so called lifestyle, it had an explosive effect. 328 00:18:29,760 --> 00:18:32,080 Speaker 1: The Daily Mail and The New York Post followed up 329 00:18:32,119 --> 00:18:36,280 Speaker 1: with more salacious stories about Bob. Details about sex and 330 00:18:36,359 --> 00:18:39,840 Speaker 1: drugs turned Boble's death from a news story into one 331 00:18:39,920 --> 00:18:42,000 Speaker 1: that true crime shows had a field day with. 332 00:18:42,400 --> 00:18:45,359 Speaker 18: The Wall Street Journal reported that Bob was part of 333 00:18:45,400 --> 00:18:48,400 Speaker 18: an underground party scene. 334 00:18:47,840 --> 00:18:51,240 Speaker 1: This is from a podcast called serialusly, which has more 335 00:18:51,280 --> 00:18:54,880 Speaker 1: than one point five million subscribers on YouTube alone. 336 00:18:54,760 --> 00:18:58,919 Speaker 18: Filled with recreational drugs and casual sex, and that this 337 00:18:59,040 --> 00:19:03,080 Speaker 18: party scene called the Lifestyle, and that he was involved 338 00:19:03,080 --> 00:19:05,960 Speaker 18: in this for several years prior to his death. 339 00:19:07,520 --> 00:19:10,800 Speaker 1: Bob's friends, at least the ones I spoke with, were 340 00:19:10,840 --> 00:19:12,879 Speaker 1: furious about the portrayal in the article. 341 00:19:13,440 --> 00:19:16,719 Speaker 2: It was disgusting, Honestly, when I saw it, I was 342 00:19:16,800 --> 00:19:20,880 Speaker 2: we were all shocked. And I know most of the 343 00:19:20,960 --> 00:19:24,040 Speaker 2: people that were quoted, even reading between like before I 344 00:19:24,080 --> 00:19:26,639 Speaker 2: even talked to them, I'm like, wait, like this stuff 345 00:19:26,720 --> 00:19:28,200 Speaker 2: is taking so out of context. 346 00:19:28,600 --> 00:19:31,359 Speaker 1: Lorne Winneger is a tech founder. She had known Bob 347 00:19:31,400 --> 00:19:34,359 Speaker 1: for almost a decade. They became friends after meeting at 348 00:19:34,400 --> 00:19:38,160 Speaker 1: south By Southwest. She and others will be the first 349 00:19:38,200 --> 00:19:42,199 Speaker 1: to admit Bob liked to party, he took drugs, but 350 00:19:42,280 --> 00:19:44,160 Speaker 1: she took issue with the idea that he was part 351 00:19:44,240 --> 00:19:48,200 Speaker 1: of an underground, secret society spread out across San Francisco. 352 00:19:48,640 --> 00:19:52,679 Speaker 2: Does San Francisco have a lot of polly? And is 353 00:19:52,680 --> 00:19:55,400 Speaker 2: there a lot of drugs? And I'm not even there's 354 00:19:55,400 --> 00:19:57,760 Speaker 2: no judgment on these things. It's just these are statements 355 00:19:57,800 --> 00:20:00,560 Speaker 2: that are true of San Francisco more than many places. 356 00:20:01,000 --> 00:20:06,800 Speaker 2: But the statements in that article weren't even made about Bob, 357 00:20:07,240 --> 00:20:09,480 Speaker 2: So they tried to create this story about this dark 358 00:20:09,600 --> 00:20:11,159 Speaker 2: underbelly of the tech world. 359 00:20:13,520 --> 00:20:15,960 Speaker 1: There is a fair amount of what many people consider 360 00:20:16,119 --> 00:20:20,800 Speaker 1: vice within the tech industry. Drug use is common. Bob 361 00:20:20,880 --> 00:20:24,800 Speaker 1: Leeve was hardly an outlier. Elon Musk has spoken openly 362 00:20:24,840 --> 00:20:28,600 Speaker 1: about his ketamine use. Sam Altman said that psychedelics were 363 00:20:28,680 --> 00:20:32,440 Speaker 1: life changing. Even Bill Gates has admitted to drug use, 364 00:20:33,320 --> 00:20:36,360 Speaker 1: and there's a subculture of sex parties that my colleague 365 00:20:36,359 --> 00:20:40,760 Speaker 1: Emily Chang has written about extensively. Though when I interviewed 366 00:20:40,800 --> 00:20:43,640 Speaker 1: people who knew Bob, no one could tell me definitively 367 00:20:43,680 --> 00:20:48,800 Speaker 1: that he attended any of these. In response to our questions, 368 00:20:49,160 --> 00:20:52,639 Speaker 1: a spokesperson from The Wall Street Journal said, we stand 369 00:20:52,680 --> 00:20:53,480 Speaker 1: by our reporting. 370 00:20:57,240 --> 00:20:59,280 Speaker 17: There's been a lot of questions about the lifestyle, and 371 00:20:59,320 --> 00:21:03,439 Speaker 17: I don't actually know where it came from. It feels 372 00:21:03,560 --> 00:21:06,400 Speaker 17: like something that is a thing for a specific group 373 00:21:06,400 --> 00:21:08,600 Speaker 17: of people, but I think is misused and to turn 374 00:21:08,640 --> 00:21:09,560 Speaker 17: it into something. 375 00:21:09,240 --> 00:21:12,879 Speaker 1: Else that's harper read. He's also a friend of Bob's. 376 00:21:13,320 --> 00:21:16,800 Speaker 1: They knew each other for fifteen years. He's a programmer 377 00:21:16,840 --> 00:21:20,239 Speaker 1: and a tech entrepreneur, best known for being CTO of 378 00:21:20,280 --> 00:21:23,280 Speaker 1: Barack Obama's twenty twelve reelection campaign. 379 00:21:23,800 --> 00:21:26,480 Speaker 17: When I have it described back to me by people, 380 00:21:26,600 --> 00:21:30,840 Speaker 17: oftentimes it seems like they're talking about, honestly, just going 381 00:21:30,880 --> 00:21:33,040 Speaker 17: outside and going to listen to DJs, and going to 382 00:21:33,040 --> 00:21:36,320 Speaker 17: clubs and having underground parties and like really having a 383 00:21:36,359 --> 00:21:39,600 Speaker 17: part of your life be about nightlife. My experience with 384 00:21:39,640 --> 00:21:44,679 Speaker 17: Bob specifically, it was much more about just nightlife, like 385 00:21:44,840 --> 00:21:48,000 Speaker 17: DJ's having fun, partying, hanging out. 386 00:21:48,400 --> 00:21:49,960 Speaker 1: Why do you think it's taken on such a life 387 00:21:49,960 --> 00:21:50,440 Speaker 1: of its own? 388 00:21:50,960 --> 00:21:52,840 Speaker 17: And I think this is probably a story as old 389 00:21:52,840 --> 00:21:56,359 Speaker 17: as time. There is a fascination with the other and 390 00:21:56,480 --> 00:21:58,520 Speaker 17: like we want to hear about rich people and what 391 00:21:58,600 --> 00:21:59,520 Speaker 17: crazy things they do. 392 00:22:00,359 --> 00:22:00,760 Speaker 9: I do. 393 00:22:00,960 --> 00:22:03,399 Speaker 17: I want to read that, like how often are you 394 00:22:03,520 --> 00:22:06,240 Speaker 17: like what this is happening to this rich person that 395 00:22:06,280 --> 00:22:09,520 Speaker 17: I don't know? This is wonderful. All my experience with 396 00:22:09,520 --> 00:22:13,160 Speaker 17: Bob and the nightlife was nothing sketchy. I will say 397 00:22:13,200 --> 00:22:16,920 Speaker 17: that making the choice to participate in nightlife the way 398 00:22:16,960 --> 00:22:18,560 Speaker 17: that Bob I know Bob did and the way that 399 00:22:18,600 --> 00:22:22,479 Speaker 17: I did, is a lifestyle that is a thing. Like 400 00:22:22,520 --> 00:22:25,720 Speaker 17: I was, I was going out every single night to 401 00:22:26,080 --> 00:22:27,840 Speaker 17: you know, I was sleeping weird so I could go 402 00:22:27,880 --> 00:22:30,200 Speaker 17: out more like it was wild. It was really fun. 403 00:22:30,240 --> 00:22:33,520 Speaker 17: I highly recommend it. 404 00:22:33,520 --> 00:22:36,560 Speaker 1: It was a genuine clash of cultures. For those close 405 00:22:36,600 --> 00:22:39,040 Speaker 1: to Bob, it felt like the media was clutching its 406 00:22:39,080 --> 00:22:43,880 Speaker 1: pearls passing moral judgment on Bob's personal choices, choices they 407 00:22:43,880 --> 00:22:46,840 Speaker 1: felt had little, if anything to do with Bob's death. 408 00:22:47,840 --> 00:22:51,760 Speaker 1: For more conservative media outlets, Bob's personal life seemed far 409 00:22:51,880 --> 00:22:55,840 Speaker 1: outside the bounds of what most Americans might consider normal behavior, 410 00:22:56,440 --> 00:23:01,159 Speaker 1: normal partying, and given the toxicology report, it was easy 411 00:23:01,200 --> 00:23:05,160 Speaker 1: to draw connection between Bob's partying and the two am stabbing. 412 00:23:06,480 --> 00:23:10,119 Speaker 1: The Wall Street Journal article, in particular, profoundly changed public 413 00:23:10,200 --> 00:23:14,680 Speaker 1: perception of Bob. Crystal Leep, his former wife, the mother 414 00:23:14,760 --> 00:23:17,840 Speaker 1: of his children, who knew him for twenty years, had 415 00:23:17,840 --> 00:23:20,720 Speaker 1: trouble reconciling the portrayal with the man she knew. 416 00:23:22,160 --> 00:23:23,800 Speaker 5: I would sit there and read these things, and I 417 00:23:23,800 --> 00:23:26,760 Speaker 5: would get angry, and then I would start second guessing 418 00:23:27,320 --> 00:23:29,600 Speaker 5: Bob himself, Like, you know, is there something I didn't know? 419 00:23:31,400 --> 00:23:34,119 Speaker 5: This man is an open book. Was there some weird 420 00:23:34,240 --> 00:23:36,840 Speaker 5: side life that I had no clue about? 421 00:23:37,320 --> 00:23:40,120 Speaker 1: After Bob's death, Krista went to Miami to clear out 422 00:23:40,119 --> 00:23:40,720 Speaker 1: his apartment. 423 00:23:41,440 --> 00:23:45,520 Speaker 5: I was expecting to find something that I would have 424 00:23:45,520 --> 00:23:49,000 Speaker 5: been shocked by, and it was nothing. There was absolutely 425 00:23:49,040 --> 00:23:52,360 Speaker 5: nothing that was shocking. I was perfectly aware that he 426 00:23:52,520 --> 00:23:56,440 Speaker 5: was microdosing ketamine for depression, perfectly aware that he would 427 00:23:56,520 --> 00:23:59,800 Speaker 5: use cocaine from time to time. So do I you know, 428 00:24:00,800 --> 00:24:03,879 Speaker 5: it's not that uncommon of a drug these days. You know, 429 00:24:03,960 --> 00:24:05,720 Speaker 5: let's be real. I know that there's a lot of 430 00:24:06,000 --> 00:24:08,159 Speaker 5: more conservative people out there that will be shocked by that, 431 00:24:08,280 --> 00:24:10,560 Speaker 5: but sorry, just kind of a reality. 432 00:24:13,359 --> 00:24:18,200 Speaker 1: Christa's response reveals something important. The way people interpret this 433 00:24:18,280 --> 00:24:21,399 Speaker 1: part of Bob Lee's story depends on how they perceive 434 00:24:21,480 --> 00:24:25,560 Speaker 1: illegal drug use. There are many people, especially in the 435 00:24:25,600 --> 00:24:30,640 Speaker 1: Bay Area, who see it as fine, common whatever, and 436 00:24:30,800 --> 00:24:34,160 Speaker 1: others who see it as something so dirty, so illicit. 437 00:24:34,800 --> 00:24:40,919 Speaker 1: The implication becomes maybe Bob had it coming. After the 438 00:24:40,960 --> 00:24:44,879 Speaker 1: break Niema enters the picture, We'll be right back. 439 00:25:01,359 --> 00:25:04,560 Speaker 4: We can confirm that mister Lee and miss Momenti knew 440 00:25:04,560 --> 00:25:04,960 Speaker 4: each other. 441 00:25:05,320 --> 00:25:07,480 Speaker 11: I think now that we know the facts and understand 442 00:25:07,560 --> 00:25:09,439 Speaker 11: that this is somebody that mister Lee knew, that this 443 00:25:09,600 --> 00:25:13,720 Speaker 11: was a targeted killing. This is not indicative of the 444 00:25:13,800 --> 00:25:16,680 Speaker 11: state of affairs here in San Francisco on our streets. 445 00:25:17,400 --> 00:25:21,080 Speaker 1: San Francisco officials wanted to make it very, very clear 446 00:25:21,240 --> 00:25:25,720 Speaker 1: that Bob Lee knew his killer, Nima Momenti. During the trial, 447 00:25:25,880 --> 00:25:28,240 Speaker 1: it came up that Bob and Nima met at Czar's 448 00:25:28,240 --> 00:25:32,080 Speaker 1: house the weekend he was killed. Though I also came 449 00:25:32,080 --> 00:25:38,119 Speaker 1: across a few instances where their social circles overlapped. In 450 00:25:38,119 --> 00:25:42,600 Speaker 1: twenty twenty one, they both pursued Jessica Traynor. She met 451 00:25:42,680 --> 00:25:44,640 Speaker 1: Nima at a nightclub in San Francisco. 452 00:25:45,480 --> 00:25:47,000 Speaker 16: He had come up to the bar and I just 453 00:25:47,080 --> 00:25:48,840 Speaker 16: kind of met him there and we just kind of 454 00:25:48,840 --> 00:25:51,920 Speaker 16: started talking, and he was kind of slouched over and 455 00:25:52,000 --> 00:25:54,240 Speaker 16: you know, didn't really make great eye contacts, so we 456 00:25:54,359 --> 00:25:56,280 Speaker 16: just had the signs of someone, you know, without a 457 00:25:56,280 --> 00:25:57,159 Speaker 16: lot of confidence. 458 00:25:58,119 --> 00:26:00,840 Speaker 1: Nima asked for her phone number, and later he sent 459 00:26:00,880 --> 00:26:03,000 Speaker 1: her a text inviting her to hang out. 460 00:26:03,640 --> 00:26:07,080 Speaker 16: I said, okay, sure, you know, not thinking anything necessarily romantic, 461 00:26:07,080 --> 00:26:11,679 Speaker 16: but just to you know, friendly. And then his suggestion was, 462 00:26:11,760 --> 00:26:13,920 Speaker 16: I have a boat, let's go out on the water 463 00:26:14,160 --> 00:26:19,960 Speaker 16: this afternoon. And I was like, I don't know that 464 00:26:20,080 --> 00:26:22,240 Speaker 16: this is a good idea to go one on one 465 00:26:22,359 --> 00:26:24,679 Speaker 16: on a boat out into the water STrenD in the 466 00:26:24,720 --> 00:26:27,520 Speaker 16: middle of a lake or wherever, you know, with just 467 00:26:27,560 --> 00:26:29,680 Speaker 16: somebody I met. So it started to feel a little 468 00:26:29,680 --> 00:26:30,240 Speaker 16: creepy in. 469 00:26:30,200 --> 00:26:30,920 Speaker 2: That way too. 470 00:26:31,840 --> 00:26:34,680 Speaker 1: Jessica said that another time Nima reached out to her, 471 00:26:34,880 --> 00:26:37,080 Speaker 1: she said no, and actually she was going out with 472 00:26:37,119 --> 00:26:37,600 Speaker 1: Bob that. 473 00:26:37,680 --> 00:26:41,639 Speaker 16: Night and we ended up at the same party a 474 00:26:41,640 --> 00:26:45,399 Speaker 16: little after party, so we ended up there and it 475 00:26:45,440 --> 00:26:46,480 Speaker 16: was kind of awkward. 476 00:26:46,640 --> 00:26:47,720 Speaker 9: So I'm not sure if. 477 00:26:47,920 --> 00:26:50,880 Speaker 16: Nima or Bob remembered meeting out that moment. They didn't 478 00:26:50,880 --> 00:26:54,240 Speaker 16: really exchange much conversation, and I never mentioned to Bob that, 479 00:26:54,359 --> 00:26:56,760 Speaker 16: you know, oh yeah, this guy had my phone number, 480 00:26:57,200 --> 00:26:59,280 Speaker 16: so it was just kind of a short, brief interaction. 481 00:27:00,160 --> 00:27:02,280 Speaker 1: She said that Nima's displeasure was clear. 482 00:27:02,520 --> 00:27:04,600 Speaker 16: It was pretty clear that I showed up with Bob 483 00:27:04,640 --> 00:27:07,560 Speaker 16: and left with Bob, and he was pretty quiet the 484 00:27:07,600 --> 00:27:09,560 Speaker 16: whole time. But yeah, I would say he had like 485 00:27:09,720 --> 00:27:12,800 Speaker 16: glaring looks, like you know, piercing stairs. 486 00:27:17,760 --> 00:27:20,480 Speaker 1: Can you contrast what Nima's like at a party versus 487 00:27:20,520 --> 00:27:21,959 Speaker 1: what Bob is like at a party? 488 00:27:23,320 --> 00:27:26,000 Speaker 16: Nima is the guy that's kind of standing off to 489 00:27:26,040 --> 00:27:30,040 Speaker 16: the side, not interacting with anybody, even so, you know, 490 00:27:30,080 --> 00:27:32,560 Speaker 16: I only had a couple real interactions with him in 491 00:27:32,600 --> 00:27:36,280 Speaker 16: a social setting, but every time he stood off to 492 00:27:36,320 --> 00:27:39,080 Speaker 16: the side, not really talking to anybody and just kind 493 00:27:39,080 --> 00:27:42,600 Speaker 16: of staring maybe you know, just yeah, kind of like 494 00:27:42,680 --> 00:27:47,480 Speaker 16: that outsider vibe. And in contrast, Bob was the guy 495 00:27:47,640 --> 00:27:51,719 Speaker 16: in the center of attention talking to everybody. So it 496 00:27:51,760 --> 00:27:53,480 Speaker 16: was a huge contrast. 497 00:27:53,760 --> 00:27:57,159 Speaker 1: Jessica saw that Bob attracted many people to him, and 498 00:27:57,200 --> 00:27:59,200 Speaker 1: she was less trusting of some of the people he 499 00:27:59,280 --> 00:27:59,960 Speaker 1: spent time with. 500 00:28:00,600 --> 00:28:02,760 Speaker 16: His close friend group always had his back and he 501 00:28:02,800 --> 00:28:05,120 Speaker 16: had some really amazing close friends, and I don't want 502 00:28:05,119 --> 00:28:07,920 Speaker 16: to take away from that at all, but a Nia 503 00:28:07,960 --> 00:28:09,919 Speaker 16: and I think, you know, he still ended up with 504 00:28:10,040 --> 00:28:14,360 Speaker 16: people that were not necessarily great for the last week 505 00:28:14,400 --> 00:28:15,119 Speaker 16: kind of his life. 506 00:28:16,080 --> 00:28:19,520 Speaker 1: That last weekend, Bob hung out with Nima twice and 507 00:28:19,560 --> 00:28:23,439 Speaker 1: at least three times with Nima's sister, Kazarmomenti. Some of 508 00:28:23,440 --> 00:28:24,600 Speaker 1: her friends called her Tina. 509 00:28:25,800 --> 00:28:28,720 Speaker 10: As far as I knew, Bob's relationship with Tina was 510 00:28:28,840 --> 00:28:31,880 Speaker 10: solely his friends. I didn't think there was anything more 511 00:28:32,119 --> 00:28:32,480 Speaker 10: than that. 512 00:28:33,240 --> 00:28:36,600 Speaker 1: This is Doug Dalton. Doug used to be a computer 513 00:28:36,640 --> 00:28:40,520 Speaker 1: programmer and tech executive. Nowadays, he owned several well known 514 00:28:40,560 --> 00:28:44,040 Speaker 1: bars in San Francisco, including Rick House and Bourbon and Branch. 515 00:28:44,640 --> 00:28:46,800 Speaker 1: He's also one of Bob Lee's best friends. 516 00:28:47,520 --> 00:28:54,200 Speaker 10: I think that Tina was just somebody that Bob gravitated towards. 517 00:28:54,680 --> 00:28:57,320 Speaker 10: Tina was just always fun to kind of hang around with. 518 00:28:57,560 --> 00:29:00,479 Speaker 10: She was always kind of a life of a party. 519 00:29:00,680 --> 00:29:03,560 Speaker 10: If she mostly hosted her own parties within her house 520 00:29:04,200 --> 00:29:06,840 Speaker 10: or having mutual friends who are going from one party 521 00:29:06,880 --> 00:29:09,560 Speaker 10: to another within that same Millennium Tower. 522 00:29:10,240 --> 00:29:13,560 Speaker 1: And do you know why she wanted to mostly host 523 00:29:13,560 --> 00:29:14,760 Speaker 1: parties in her own house. 524 00:29:15,480 --> 00:29:18,040 Speaker 10: Probably you just to be away from prying eyes. 525 00:29:20,720 --> 00:29:24,120 Speaker 11: So at this time, what we've revealed is that mister 526 00:29:24,160 --> 00:29:27,800 Speaker 11: Momeni and mister Lee were both at the Millennium Tower, 527 00:29:27,840 --> 00:29:30,880 Speaker 11: which is where mister Momeni's sister resides with her husband. 528 00:29:31,040 --> 00:29:35,320 Speaker 1: This is Brooke Jenkins, San Francisco's district attorney. The day 529 00:29:35,360 --> 00:29:38,800 Speaker 1: after Nima Momeni was arrested, she gave a press conference 530 00:29:39,160 --> 00:29:41,600 Speaker 1: outlining the last minutes of Bob's life. 531 00:29:42,280 --> 00:29:46,960 Speaker 11: The two gentlemen, late in the early morning hours, I 532 00:29:46,960 --> 00:29:50,160 Speaker 11: should say, leave the Millennium Tower together. They are seen 533 00:29:50,200 --> 00:29:54,120 Speaker 11: on video leaving the tower and getting into mister Momeni's vehicle. 534 00:29:54,840 --> 00:29:58,960 Speaker 11: They then proceed to drive away and that subsequently to 535 00:29:59,040 --> 00:30:00,880 Speaker 11: that is when the staf having takes place. 536 00:30:03,640 --> 00:30:06,320 Speaker 1: Can you tell me, like what you found out about 537 00:30:06,400 --> 00:30:10,040 Speaker 1: his final hours, like like who he was hanging out with, 538 00:30:10,120 --> 00:30:13,160 Speaker 1: where was he and like what led to him getting 539 00:30:13,160 --> 00:30:14,080 Speaker 1: in the car with Nima. 540 00:30:14,520 --> 00:30:16,840 Speaker 10: All I can say is they tracked down two of 541 00:30:16,840 --> 00:30:18,880 Speaker 10: his friends they had been with Tina. 542 00:30:19,600 --> 00:30:23,880 Speaker 1: That's Doug Dalton again. According to court testimony, on the 543 00:30:23,960 --> 00:30:28,640 Speaker 1: afternoon of April third, Bob Kazar and two other friends 544 00:30:28,640 --> 00:30:30,720 Speaker 1: were hanging out at the apartment of a guy named 545 00:30:30,800 --> 00:30:35,040 Speaker 1: Jeremy Boyven. Multiple people describe him as Bob's drug dealer. 546 00:30:35,800 --> 00:30:40,200 Speaker 1: Remember his name, Welcome back to Jeremy Boyven a few times. 547 00:30:41,200 --> 00:30:44,160 Speaker 1: People have different views about whether rich people doing drugs 548 00:30:44,240 --> 00:30:46,720 Speaker 1: is a big deal, but there's no way around it. 549 00:30:47,000 --> 00:30:51,760 Speaker 1: There were lots of drugs involved in Bob Lee's final hours. Kazar, 550 00:30:51,960 --> 00:30:57,720 Speaker 1: by her own admission, took ketamine, acid, whippets, cocaine, and GGB. 551 00:30:58,520 --> 00:31:01,800 Speaker 1: GGB is also known as the date rape drug. When 552 00:31:01,800 --> 00:31:06,600 Speaker 1: mixed with alcohol, it can make you blackout. At some point, 553 00:31:06,800 --> 00:31:11,880 Speaker 1: Bob left the party and sometime thereafter Kauzar lost consciousness. 554 00:31:12,360 --> 00:31:15,520 Speaker 1: When she woke up, she was distraught. She called Niama 555 00:31:15,640 --> 00:31:16,320 Speaker 1: to come get her. 556 00:31:17,560 --> 00:31:22,600 Speaker 10: Tina had called Nima her ride home, and Nima came 557 00:31:22,760 --> 00:31:25,680 Speaker 10: picked her up. Was upset that she had been drinking 558 00:31:25,680 --> 00:31:29,920 Speaker 10: throughout the day and asked who she was with, and 559 00:31:30,520 --> 00:31:35,280 Speaker 10: then called Bob and was yelling at Bob over the phone. 560 00:31:36,400 --> 00:31:39,160 Speaker 1: Bob was actually hanging out with another friend. When he 561 00:31:39,200 --> 00:31:42,680 Speaker 1: took Nima's call, he had the phone on speaker, so 562 00:31:42,800 --> 00:31:46,959 Speaker 1: his friend, a guy named Bo Mohazabi, overheard their conversation. 563 00:31:48,360 --> 00:31:51,640 Speaker 1: Bob's front would later testify and trial that Nima sounded 564 00:31:51,720 --> 00:31:55,800 Speaker 1: quote almost like a detective, asking questions, what were you 565 00:31:55,840 --> 00:31:58,280 Speaker 1: guys doing, What was going on with my sister? What 566 00:31:58,360 --> 00:32:02,680 Speaker 1: did she take? How about the girl getting naked? This 567 00:32:02,880 --> 00:32:05,720 Speaker 1: was really confusing to Bob and his friend, who hadn't 568 00:32:05,720 --> 00:32:09,040 Speaker 1: been there to see the girls getting naked. That's when 569 00:32:09,080 --> 00:32:11,800 Speaker 1: the friend says to Bob, who the hell is this person? 570 00:32:12,040 --> 00:32:13,320 Speaker 1: Get off the phone with this person. 571 00:32:13,400 --> 00:32:23,440 Speaker 9: This person is crazy. 572 00:32:23,680 --> 00:32:26,640 Speaker 10: Bob was one of those people who can't stand when 573 00:32:26,640 --> 00:32:29,160 Speaker 10: somebody's upset with him. It will just eat out of 574 00:32:29,200 --> 00:32:32,880 Speaker 10: him knowing that somebody's upset with him, so he wanted 575 00:32:32,920 --> 00:32:34,080 Speaker 10: to smooth that over. 576 00:32:35,040 --> 00:32:37,480 Speaker 1: When Bob took the call, he had been hanging out 577 00:32:37,480 --> 00:32:40,200 Speaker 1: with his friend in his hotel room, talking through the 578 00:32:40,240 --> 00:32:44,200 Speaker 1: friend's business idea. Then they facetimed to people they knew, 579 00:32:44,360 --> 00:32:47,440 Speaker 1: including Christa. They had a drink at the hotel bar. 580 00:32:48,120 --> 00:32:50,640 Speaker 1: They had a drink at the Battery, a private social 581 00:32:50,640 --> 00:32:54,120 Speaker 1: club that was once popular among the tech elite. Then 582 00:32:54,160 --> 00:32:56,280 Speaker 1: they went to the friend's house to wind down the night. 583 00:32:57,960 --> 00:33:01,160 Speaker 1: At twelve point thirty, Bob left his friends apartment. He 584 00:33:01,160 --> 00:33:03,760 Speaker 1: headed for Kazar's place at the Millennium. 585 00:33:03,320 --> 00:33:08,000 Speaker 10: Tower, and Nima was the hair and so Bob was 586 00:33:08,200 --> 00:33:11,360 Speaker 10: apt to go smooth things over with Nima for sure, 587 00:33:12,200 --> 00:33:15,040 Speaker 10: because Tina was not upset in any way with Bob 588 00:33:15,640 --> 00:33:19,360 Speaker 10: at least you can see from their text messages. As 589 00:33:19,360 --> 00:33:22,360 Speaker 10: far as I understand, it was very calm. It was 590 00:33:22,400 --> 00:33:26,360 Speaker 10: not like a huge fight or an altercation or anything 591 00:33:26,360 --> 00:33:30,160 Speaker 10: of that nature. Even in the video that you can 592 00:33:30,200 --> 00:33:34,040 Speaker 10: see that the police released, they're not fighting. There's no altercation. 593 00:33:34,480 --> 00:33:39,440 Speaker 10: They're like walking calmly out to Nema's car. It was 594 00:33:39,480 --> 00:33:44,320 Speaker 10: not like they were tussling. They seemed totally fine. So 595 00:33:44,360 --> 00:33:47,640 Speaker 10: the only thing I can imagine is Nima had harbored 596 00:33:47,680 --> 00:33:53,959 Speaker 10: something and attacked Bob for no reason. I mean, it's 597 00:33:54,040 --> 00:33:59,280 Speaker 10: just absurd. The only thing Bob was probably doing was 598 00:33:59,320 --> 00:34:02,800 Speaker 10: trying to that Nima wasn't mad at him. He just 599 00:34:02,960 --> 00:34:04,000 Speaker 10: was that kind of guy. 600 00:34:05,440 --> 00:34:08,480 Speaker 1: In fact, Bob's last text to Nima was a suggestion 601 00:34:08,640 --> 00:34:11,280 Speaker 1: that they go to a strip club together, Gold Club. 602 00:34:11,480 --> 00:34:30,720 Speaker 1: Question Mark. Doug said that after Bob died. He started 603 00:34:30,760 --> 00:34:33,160 Speaker 1: calling around to his friends asking what happened. 604 00:34:33,480 --> 00:34:39,279 Speaker 10: I was just shocked that he felt comfortable enough to 605 00:34:39,400 --> 00:34:43,360 Speaker 10: leave with someone that ended up killing him. And I 606 00:34:45,040 --> 00:34:50,160 Speaker 10: can't even put that into words. That's just he was 607 00:34:50,200 --> 00:34:53,160 Speaker 10: so excited about everything that he had going on. Friends 608 00:34:53,160 --> 00:34:56,200 Speaker 10: were getting ready to fly back with him to Miami 609 00:34:56,680 --> 00:34:59,160 Speaker 10: to see kind of all the stuff that he was 610 00:34:59,200 --> 00:35:03,800 Speaker 10: excited about. It's unbelievable. I just can't. I can't grasp 611 00:35:03,840 --> 00:35:06,759 Speaker 10: my head around it. And when I do it, it's 612 00:35:06,800 --> 00:35:08,080 Speaker 10: just heartbreakingly sad. 613 00:35:10,640 --> 00:35:13,799 Speaker 3: I couldn't bear to listen to the nine to one 614 00:35:13,880 --> 00:35:18,520 Speaker 3: one recording, but I did. I did read the transcript, 615 00:35:18,800 --> 00:35:27,000 Speaker 3: and you know, I've never heard anyone else point this out, 616 00:35:27,000 --> 00:35:27,279 Speaker 3: but it. 617 00:35:27,280 --> 00:35:32,000 Speaker 1: Was so Bob Cameron Purdy again, Bob's conference buddy from Massachusetts. 618 00:35:32,239 --> 00:35:35,000 Speaker 3: Here he is. He's on the phone. He's just been 619 00:35:35,040 --> 00:35:38,600 Speaker 3: stabbed and he's bleeding profusely. I mean, he's bleeding out 620 00:35:38,800 --> 00:35:42,959 Speaker 3: and it's cold, and he's outside and he can't get help. 621 00:35:43,360 --> 00:35:47,040 Speaker 3: And he calls nine to one one and he says, 622 00:35:47,040 --> 00:35:51,839 Speaker 3: I've been stabbed. He tells him where he is, and 623 00:35:52,640 --> 00:35:54,440 Speaker 3: he knows how he got there. He was in a 624 00:35:54,480 --> 00:36:00,120 Speaker 3: car with a guy whose name he knew, and he 625 00:36:00,160 --> 00:36:02,960 Speaker 3: knows the guy did it like he was like he 626 00:36:03,040 --> 00:36:05,880 Speaker 3: was there, he saw it, he felt it right like 627 00:36:06,000 --> 00:36:07,920 Speaker 3: and he came there with the guy in the car 628 00:36:08,000 --> 00:36:12,000 Speaker 3: from the guy's sister's apartment like like plain his day. 629 00:36:12,480 --> 00:36:16,600 Speaker 3: And he never said who did it, He never gave 630 00:36:16,640 --> 00:36:21,720 Speaker 3: the name. He never blamed anyone. And that was Bob. 631 00:36:22,040 --> 00:36:25,800 Speaker 3: Like he wasn't trying to get the guy in trouble. 632 00:36:26,160 --> 00:36:28,560 Speaker 3: He just wanted help. He just needed help. 633 00:36:32,200 --> 00:36:33,600 Speaker 1: Bob was a trusting person. 634 00:36:34,239 --> 00:36:35,360 Speaker 9: He was a social person. 635 00:36:36,200 --> 00:36:39,240 Speaker 1: He loved his work and his family, and he also 636 00:36:39,360 --> 00:36:42,200 Speaker 1: wanted to stay out late and do drugs. And he 637 00:36:42,239 --> 00:36:45,000 Speaker 1: didn't like it when people were mad at him. Like 638 00:36:45,080 --> 00:36:50,960 Speaker 1: all of his friends would acknowledge, he was complex. But 639 00:36:51,080 --> 00:36:55,360 Speaker 1: as can happen in death, Bob's story was reduced to stereotypes, 640 00:36:56,120 --> 00:37:00,560 Speaker 1: convenient narratives that were easy to understand about violence, cities, 641 00:37:01,000 --> 00:37:05,960 Speaker 1: and hedonistic rich people that had it coming. This provided 642 00:37:06,000 --> 00:37:10,279 Speaker 1: an opportunity not just for network television, but also for 643 00:37:10,320 --> 00:37:12,239 Speaker 1: Nima Momeni's defense team. 644 00:37:12,560 --> 00:37:17,080 Speaker 4: Cocaine is not recreational. He was a guy that had flaws, 645 00:37:17,160 --> 00:37:18,520 Speaker 4: just like every one of us. 646 00:37:18,400 --> 00:37:21,880 Speaker 13: Has flaws, and it could have been that one of 647 00:37:21,880 --> 00:37:24,440 Speaker 13: those flaws was that he got angry and it split 648 00:37:24,520 --> 00:37:26,440 Speaker 13: second and made a bad decision. 649 00:37:34,040 --> 00:37:38,200 Speaker 1: On the next episode, Nima Momeni goes to trial and 650 00:37:38,280 --> 00:37:55,520 Speaker 1: he claims it was actually Bob who had the knife. 651 00:37:56,360 --> 00:38:00,560 Speaker 1: Foundering is reported hosted and executive produced by me Sean 652 00:38:00,680 --> 00:38:05,520 Speaker 1: when Eric Mesiti's mental producer. Our show, Bart Warshaw is 653 00:38:05,520 --> 00:38:10,000 Speaker 1: our audio engineer. Our story editors are Joshua Brustin, Tom 654 00:38:10,080 --> 00:38:14,800 Speaker 1: Giles and Vandermay and Nicolebeamster Bower. Be sure to subscribe 655 00:38:15,080 --> 00:38:16,759 Speaker 1: and if you like our show, leave her a view. 656 00:38:17,440 --> 00:38:20,520 Speaker 1: Most importantly, tell your friends see you next time.