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The Sham vol.1This week, I turn the mic over to you. Two listeners share stories about their run-in with a con artist.Our first story is from a long-time listener named Paul Schiffbauer Jr. He tells us about the time he learned the truth about the family business.Our second story is about a listener whose con artist husband destroyed her life.Links from the episode:Amusement Only by Paul Schiffbauer Sr.https://amzn.to/3uxsbtoDo you have a story to share?Leave me a voicemail 919-444-2800or email me at javier@pretendradio.orgTo get early releases and bonus episodes go to pretendradio.org/donateToday's episode was written and edited by Javier Leiva Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

There are two sides to Billy. There's Billy, who just wants to do the right thing. And then there's the criminal lurking from within.So which way did he go? Did Billy end up becoming a criminal? Or did he choose to be the good guy in his own story? Well, he decided to do both.If you've listened to this show long enough, you know I go to great lengths to fact-check my episodes. But today is different because it's tough to corroborate Billy's stories. And that's okay. One of my favorite movies is Big Fish with Ewan McGregor. It's about a man who lived an extraordinary life. In the end, it turned out that most of his tall tales were true--but just a little skewed due to time.And that's how I feel about Billy. Some of these stories are too incredible to be real. But they might be. He's always wrestled between being the good guy and the bad guy. And in the end, managed to be both a criminal and a cop.      So lean back, relax, and grab your adult beverage of choice. Because today we're going to spend the next half hour or so chatting with Billy the Liquor Guy.Get a copy of Under Too Long by Billy the Liquor Guy:https://amzn.to/3sWlmjo    Story idea?If you have a story to share, email Javier at info [at] pretendradio [dot] org.For more episodes like this visit pretendradio.org.To get early releases and bonus episodes go to pretendradio.org/donateToday's episode was written and edited by Javier LeivaFeatured promo for Missing Persons and DNA:ID podcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week's episode is actually the first episode of my other podcast CRIMINAL CONDUCT.I wanted you, PRETEND listeners to get a sneak peek before it's debut on April 16th. If you like this episode, subscribe to the CRIMINAL CONDUCT feed to listen to the full episode.--------Criminal Conduct is back with a brand new case.This season, John and Javier investigate a rogue constable in Kentucky who is accused of planting drugs, stealing money, and shaking people down.Like a police officer, a constable can carry a gun, a badge and drive around town with blue lights. However, unlike police, a Constable has all the powers of a sheriff. He answers to no one but the voters on election day.Criminal Conduct season 2 returns April 16th.http://criminalconduct.net/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Doug Williams, the former Oklahoma City police officer who is best known for his crusade against the polygraph industry, teaches an undercover federal agent how to beat the lie detector test. The agent confessed that he had sex with a minor and was smuggling drugs into a prison. Should Doug Williams continue the training? What if Doug William's techniques get into the wrong hands?Watch the undercover sting on YouTube.________Story idea?If you have a story to share, email Javier at javier@pretendradio.org.For more episodes like this, visit pretendradio.org.To get early releases and bonus episodes, go to pretendradio.org/donateToday's episode was written and edited by Javier LeivaFeatured promo for Die-alogue Podcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Learn how to cheat a polygraph test. Ex-cop, Doug Williams, says it's a lot easier than you think. Doug Williams is looking over his shoulder because, since 1979, he's been on a crusade to defeat the polygraph machine. In 1996, he started a website called polygraph.com, offering a handbook and one-on-one training teaching people how to pass the test. "There is no Pinocchio response. Your nose does not grow when you lie." - Doug Williams, polygraph criticAccording to Doug Williams, a lie detector test is about as accurate as a coin toss. He claims the machine doesn't work, and as a result, innocent people are paying the price. Many innocent people have pleaded guilty and skipped trial because they failed a polygraph during an interrogation. And employers routinely administered polygraph tests as part of their hiring process. If you fail a lie detector test in the US federal government, you're potentially placed on a blacklist and never allowed to apply for that government agency job again. Doug Willams says that the polygraph is just a stage prop used to scare people. How does he know this? Because he spent most of his law enforcement career using it as what he calls a psychological billy club. To him, it was just a tool to beat a confession out of a bad guy. But over the years, he realized that a polygraph test is just that... a test. It can be cheated. And he was going to devote the rest of his life to destroy it. Doug Williams made a career giving people polygraphs exams. Now, he's going to prison for teaching people how to cheat the test.    To listen to the undercover tape that led to his arrest. Check out my latest episodes on YouTube:CreditsThis episode was reported by Javier Leiva. Special thanks to George Maschke with antipolygraph.orgSupport PRETEND by becoming a member today at pretendradio.org/donate  Featured promo for Movie Pitch Challenge  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If you haven't listened to The Prophet series, start here:http://pretendradio.org/the-prophet-word-of-faith-fellowship-revisited/When I first started this podcast, I reported on a secretive church located in the foothills in western North Carolina called the Word of Faith Fellowship.The church is accused of being a cult and separating families—forcing them to break ties with non-believers.One teenager named Matthew Fenner pressed charges against five church ministers because he said they beat the gay demons out of him.And that's just the beginning. Several former members reported being forced into isolation in what is known as the lower building. Some male congregants say they lived in this makeshift storage unit for over a year. But perhaps they're best remembered for their signature style of prayer. It's known as blasting. As you can hear in this secret audio recording, blasting is a form of deliverance meant to cast out the devil.It has been said that crying babies were often held down and yelled at until the devil released its grip on the child. I've experienced blasting first hand. In 2018, I was personally invited by the church's leader,Jane Whaley, to spend the day at the Word of Faith Fellowship. While interviewing her in her office, Jane Whaley looked me straight in the eyes, opened her mouth, and began shouting. It was terrifying. To this day, I still get chills.It's been 2 years since I finished my 11-part series on the Word of Faith. Since then, I've been flooded with emails asking me to give them an update. They want to know, have there been any new allegations of abuse?Have any of the church leaders faced any criminal charges? Is Jane Whaley still running the church? Today, I plan to answer some of these questions.______Story idea?If you have a story to share, email Javier at javier@pretendradio.org.For more episodes like this, visit pretendradio.org.To get early releases and bonus episodes, go to pretendradio.org/donateToday's episode was written by Javier Leiva and edited by Logan CastrodaleReference:Covid-19 Timelines:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_COVID-19_pandemic_in_the_United_States_(2020)https://ourworldindata.org/coronavirusThreats against Word of Faith church over coronavirus rumor https://www.charlotteobserver.com/article242307531.htmlWord of Faith church in NC received a PPP loan amid COVID https://www.charlotteobserver.com/living/religion/article244084852.htmlLotz International LLC v. Burnette: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/17404523/lotz-international-llc-v-burnette/Case against Facebook commenters moves to state court:https://www.shelbystar.com/story/special/2020/09/23/case-against-facebook-commenters-moves-to-state-court/43180133/Former Word of Faith member charged with breaking into minister's home: https://wlos.com/news/local/former-world-of-faith-member-charged-with-breaking-into-ministers-homeWord of Faith member reaches plea deal in fraud scam:https://wlos.com/news/local/word-of-faith-member-reaches-plea-deal-in-fraud-scamTrump March:https://youtu.be/yxUksEHZGag?t=350Trump Rally:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7VJtRZBy-M Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tori Telfer, author of Confident Women: Swindlers, Grifters, and Shapeshifters of the Feminine Persuasion joins us to talk about female con artists. Today, we're focusing on one of the women in her book—Bonny Lee Bakley, the wife of Hollywood actor Robert Blake.______Story idea?If you have a story to share, email Javier at javier@pretendradio.org.For more episodes like this, visit pretendradio.org.To get early releases and bonus episodes, go to pretendradio.org/donateToday's episode was written by Javier Leiva Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In today's episode, we're going to take another look at the opioid crisis, but this time from a pharmacist's perspective. But this is not just any pharmacist. Dan Schneider is a vigilante who helped bring down his son's killer, a pill mill, and one of Earth's largest pharmaceutical companies.Watch the Pharmacist on Netflix:https://www.netflix.com/title/81002576______Today's episode was written by Javier Leiva and edited by Logan Castrodale.______Story idea?If you have a story to share, email Javier at javier@pretendradio.org.For more episodes like this, visit pretendradio.org.To get early releases and bonus episodes, go to pretendradio.org/donateToday's episode was written by Javier Leiva and edited by Logan Castrodale Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A doctor caught trading prescriptions for cash leaves a trail of bodies behind. A respected anesthesiologist ran a pain-management clinic on the weekends out of a basement in Flushing Queens, New York.Each Saturday, Dr. Stan Li saw more than seventy patients a day, writing prescriptions for Oxycontin, Xanax, and other opioids.Today's episode features Charlotte Bismuth, author of Bad Medicine. LinksHere's a link to the Birth of a Con Man series.Also, subscribe to the new PRETEND YouTube channel for a chance to win a t-shirt.——-Story idea?If you have a story to share, email Javier at info [at] pretendradio [dot] org.For more episodes like this visit pretendradio.org.To get early releases and bonus episodes go to pretendradio.org/donate Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Johnny Depp played Donnie Brasco in the Academy Award-nominated film. But the real-life story of Donnie Brasco is even more fascinating. Joe Pistone, an FBI agent, went deep undercover as Brasco and spent six years inside the Bonanno and Columbo crime families.The movie, if you remember, starts with Joe Pistone immediately infiltrating with the mob. In today's episode, we will talk about everything that happened before the movie even begins.What was Donnie Brasco's backstory? Where did he come from, and how did he earn money? The FBI needed to figure out every single detail about this fictional character before Joe Pistone ever made the first contact with the mafia. They decided that Donnie Brasco was going to be a jewel thief. That required Pistone to learn how gemology, how to break into safes, and how to disable alarms.In this episode, you will hear from Joe Pistone himself. You'll even get to listen to a real wiretap recording between Donnie Brasco and his associate Lefty Ruggiero.If you want more, check out the new podcast "Deep Cover-The Real Donnie Brasco," Joe Pistone shares the true stories of his time with the mob to his friend and host actor Leo Rossi.PRETEND is on YouTubeMake sure to subscribe to the PRETEND YouTube channel. I will pick 10 subscribers at random and mail them a screen printed PRETEND t-shirt."Fuhggedaboutit"-------Story idea? If you have a story to share, email Javier at info@pretendradio.org.For more episodes like this visit pretendradio.org.To get early releases and bonus episodes go to pretendradio.org/donate Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices