1. In early 2011, I was a special agent
assigned to wiretaps.
Copy !req
2. - What's happening?
- What's going on?
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3. I had this case where a corrupt cop
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4. had been stealing drugs outta evidence
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5. before redistributing them
onto the very streets
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6. he's supposed to be keeping them from.
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7. The guy wants three more packages.
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8. Whoo-hoo!
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9. But then,
right in the middle of the conversation,
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10. they started talking
about something else entirely.
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11. We have this great TV show.
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12. Everything was going great.
Then, all of a sudden, boom!
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13. Don't kill the project.
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14. I was like, "Is this
some elaborate Hollywood hoax on us?"
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15. I mean, very few cases in my 25 years
have had such a strange story behind it.
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16. The idea of the reality show,
P.I. Moms of San Francisco,
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17. was a very ingenious idea.
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18. They are private investigator moms
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19. going undercover on sting operations
and making busts,
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20. all in time to get home
and help the kids with homework.
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21. Check this out.
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22. Oh my God, this is not happening.
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23. I was like,
"Wow! We're gonna be on a billboard."
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24. As a showrunner,
I've got tons of great characters.
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25. This is gonna be
the easiest show I've ever produced.
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26. Chris, why women?
You say they're great multitaskers.
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27. That's correct.
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28. Also, no one
really challenges my authority.
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29. This story was supposed
to be about the P.I. Moms,
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30. but by the deeds
of a few men, it was gone.
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31. It was taken from us.
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32. It was constantly one problem
and disaster after another.
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33. Who the fuck
just completely sabotaged everything?
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34. I didn't want this
to be like a Real Housewives,
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35. and this has become worse
than a Real Housewives.
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36. We were all completely unaware
what was really going on.
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37. Somebody is blatantly lying
on my stage again!
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38. Holy shit.
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39. What is happening here?
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40. There was so much lying,
cheating, and psychosis.
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41. I mean, it was just crazy town.
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42. We're talking about the crystal.
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43. He wants the sample.
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44. It was all over the place.
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45. Methamphetamine,
P.I. Moms, police corruption,
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46. wiretapping, potential threats...
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47. and reality TV.
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48. Time out. Time out.
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49. My name is Lucas Platt.
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50. And in 2010,
I was living in New York City.
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51. As a reality TV showrunner,
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52. I was just wrapping up the first season
of Steven Seagal: Lawman.
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53. No scripts, no stunt doubles,
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54. no second chances.
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55. At the time, shows like that
were big business and huge money spinners,
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56. and everyone wanted
the next Keeping Up with the Kardashians
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57. or Real Housewives,
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58. and there seemed to be
no end to the reality boom.
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59. For me, though,
I just really loved the adrenaline rush
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60. and the quick thinking
that you had to do to— to come up with
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61. a— a great hour of television.
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62. I was looking for my next job,
and I got an email from Lifetime.
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63. They were interested in making a series
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64. about this private investigation firm
out in the Bay Area,
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65. with a really interesting twist.
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66. They are private investigator moms.
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67. Thanks very much for being here.
This is fascinating.
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68. First of all,
how did you get started in this?
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69. Before becoming a private investigator,
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70. I had worked in the legal world
in different capacities.
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71. I had just become a new mom,
and I had very small children
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72. and was trying to figure out
how I could still have a career,
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73. but also be with my kids.
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74. And that's when it popped up,
this job at Butler & Associates.
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75. Who wanted this?
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76. My name is Chris Butler.
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77. I am the owner of Butler & Associates
Private Investigations.
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78. Uh, what we do here is, uh,
uncover the truth.
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79. I find each person at this table
very valuable.
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80. Working for Chris was great.
He was very professional.
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81. You know, it seemed like he stumbled upon,
like, the secret of investigative work,
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82. of, like, hiring moms.
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83. Oh, here we go.
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84. For me, it was exciting,
and every case was different.
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85. And there was just
an empowering feeling of knowing
Copy !req
86. one part of you is taking the kids
to school and the daycare,
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87. and the other part's
doing undercover work,
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88. investigating fraud,
or surveillance on some cheating spouse.
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89. It was pretty cool.
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90. My background is in law enforcement,
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91. and it was
a very tumultuous ten-year career.
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92. I push the envelope.
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93. And that's— I carry that over
into this work. I don't stop.
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94. Testing. Testing.
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95. - Alright, let's go.
- Beautiful, let's go.
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96. My first impression of Chris
was definitely like a businessman,
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97. but I also saw his vision.
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98. And I thought,
"Wow, he's got a great idea."
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99. I mean, he's really trying
to give mothers an opportunity,
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100. and at that time,
I wanted that opportunity as well.
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101. I had just come from the sheriff's office,
where I worked 12-hour days, um,
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102. so my kids were in daycare a lot.
I wasn't—
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103. I missed a lot of birthday parties,
a lot of holidays.
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104. So, with this new job,
it was not only more flexible,
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105. I also knew right away
that I— I loved it.
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106. 'Cause I was out in the field,
I was moving,
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107. and I was working
with these amazing, powerful women
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108. with various backgrounds.
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109. We obviously had
a lot of women in the office.
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110. There was Michelle, Charmagne, and Ami,
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111. but we also had one guy.
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112. His name was Carl Marino.
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113. He was former law enforcement,
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114. and he had come on board
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115. because there were times
where you just needed a male partner
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116. or a male, like,
to be in a particular case.
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117. And, you know, initially, we were like,
"Wow, he's very attractive."
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118. And, "He kind of looks like a model."
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119. And we started to learn
that he was interested in acting
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120. and did some extra roles on TV.
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121. - Find someone else to flirt with.
- She's my fucking girlfriend, asshole!
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122. I thought that was interesting.
"You got this side thing you do."
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123. Chris definitely gravitated
more towards Carl,
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124. and I think a lot of that
had to do with his acting.
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125. I mean, Chris was always
chasing the limelight,
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126. and we were all aware
that he was trying to brand P.I. Moms
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127. and really push both us and him
out into the media.
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128. Welcome, Chris Butler
and three of his P.I. Moms,
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129. Denise, Michelle, and Charmagne.
Copy !req
130. Chris, why women?
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131. You say they're great multitaskers.
What do you mean?
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132. When I switched to women,
specifically P.I. Moms,
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133. it was more of a team mentality.
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134. More nurturing, more— more caring,
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135. and that translated directly
into, uh, happier clients.
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136. After I saw the Dr. Phil clips...
Copy !req
137. I immediately flew out to California
to meet Chris and the P.I. Moms.
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138. I just loved the idea
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139. of showing this group of women
busting criminals together.
Copy !req
140. I liked Lucas from the get-go.
Like, he seemed to be great.
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141. He seemed to be very interested
in doing this show and this story,
Copy !req
142. but I told him, "I don't want this
to be like a Real Housewives."
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143. You... stupid bitch! Get...
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144. Reality TV, it shows
the worst of people, I feel like.
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145. - I'll... hurt you. Don't do that.
- Stop!
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146. If this show's gonna be
about us internally fighting
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147. and all this kind of stuff, like,
I really wasn't interested.
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148. The moms were really concerned
about the show,
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149. but I reassured them we weren't looking
for infighting or drama,
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150. just good cases and personal stories.
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151. When Lucas approached me about the show
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152. and wanting to put me
on there as a P.I. Mom,
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153. I just didn't wanna have
anything to do with it.
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154. Ami struck me as a person
who had been through
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155. some pretty traumatic stuff,
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156. but smart and decisive and— and just a—
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157. You know, like, a good person
who would be really good for TV.
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158. I had a little bit of a rough background,
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159. and Lucas said that
we could definitely incorporate my traumas
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160. into the show itself.
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161. And so I decided I wanted to show
other women that you can survive,
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162. you can make it,
and don't let anyone tell you you can't.
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163. After that initial meeting
with the P.I. Moms,
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164. I just thought, "This is a home run."
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165. They're articulate and funny and smart.
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166. We're gonna make a great series.
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167. My name is Theresa Moore-King.
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168. I was the line producer for P.I. Moms.
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169. If there is a problem in the production,
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170. be it people, personnel,
schedule, locations, money,
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171. it is my job to fix it.
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172. So you're the real boss, then?
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173. Okay.
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174. Sure.
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175. Lifetime was a thousand percent
behind this show.
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176. They knew the possibilities were endless.
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177. You know, it could break off into New York
or into Chicago or into Atlanta.
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178. You know, those were all opportunities.
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179. But the spark of that
had to be with this show in San Francisco.
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180. For a reality show,
this was a pretty big-scale production.
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181. There were three camera crews,
multiple locations,
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182. and just a lot of different elements.
Copy !req
183. I think our budget
was about four million for eight episodes,
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184. which is obviously a healthy budget,
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185. but only if you're getting all the things
you need to make a show happen.
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186. Before we started shooting,
I went to Butler's offices,
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187. and there was a guy
at the front desk, this guy Carl Marino.
Copy !req
188. I think he was manning the phones
while everybody else was at lunch,
Copy !req
189. and, uh, he just kind of grabbed me
and told me that he really felt strongly
Copy !req
190. that he should be, um...
Copy !req
191. one of the main characters in the series.
Copy !req
192. Carl's argument was
that because of the work that he had done
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193. on this series Trauma...
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194. Premature ventricular contractions,
probably too much green tea.
Copy !req
195. that that fan base, particularly women,
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196. would tune in to see
the P.I. Moms series because of him.
Copy !req
197. It just felt like egotism run amok.
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198. I explained to him
that the show is called P.I. Moms,
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199. and he's not a mom.
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200. "I'm so sorry,
but the network has already decided
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201. that it's gonna be Chris and the moms,
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202. and that was that."
Copy !req
203. So I thought, "Okay."
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204. "He's out of the picture.
We're good to go."
Copy !req
205. That first day of shooting,
it was very exhilarating.
Copy !req
206. They showcased us training,
they showcased us doing certain cases.
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207. And I was thinking, "Hopefully,
this will inspire other women."
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208. "Hey, you can do this job too," you know?
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209. "We're ordinary people
doing this cool thing,
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210. and you can do it too."
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211. I was having so much fun.
I loved production. We were a family.
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212. I'd say we were like the Charlie's Angels
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213. because we were so different,
yet so powerful.
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214. At that point, I just thought,
"I've got tons of great characters."
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215. "This is gonna be
the easiest show I've ever produced."
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216. And, was it?
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217. I feel this is the point in the story
Copy !req
218. where everything takes a left turn.
Copy !req
219. I'm a journalist, and one day,
I got a really interesting pitch.
Copy !req
220. A Beverly Hills publicist
emailed me and said,
Copy !req
221. "Hey, you might not know this,
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222. but there's a group
of private eye investigators
Copy !req
223. who are also sort of soccer moms."
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224. "They're filming for a new reality series
for Lifetime Television."
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225. "Would you like to ride along
on an investigation
Copy !req
226. on a day off from filming?"
Copy !req
227. And I really smelled a great story here.
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228. It was your typical infidelity case.
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229. The client believed
that her fiancé was cheating on her.
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230. And so she wanted
to make sure before she got married,
Copy !req
231. "Is this guy for real?"
Copy !req
232. So I got in the minivan
with the P.I. Moms.
Copy !req
233. Denise is slouched down
in the passenger seat
Copy !req
234. with the video camera shooting.
Copy !req
235. As a huge fan of detective stories,
I had butterflies.
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236. It's an exciting job, so...
Copy !req
237. You know, and I was hoping
that would come through in the article.
Copy !req
238. Oh! Oh, look!
Copy !req
239. Here he comes.
Copy !req
240. Within just a few minutes,
Copy !req
241. the fiancé came roaring up the driveway
and took off.
Copy !req
242. Charmagne hit the gas hard.
Copy !req
243. The chase was on.
Copy !req
244. The guy pulled into a nice lunch spot.
Copy !req
245. Look! Look, look!
Copy !req
246. But he's got a young brunette
in the passenger seat.
Copy !req
247. They stopped right in front of our car
with Denise filming on video.
Copy !req
248. We have a cheater, people.
Copy !req
249. And then, boom... case closed.
Copy !req
250. I'm not a reality show watcher,
Copy !req
251. but this one felt like
it would make for a gripping show.
Copy !req
252. These were likable moms.
Butler was an interesting character.
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253. I felt like this idea can't miss.
Copy !req
254. And then, all of a sudden,
an email comes in...
Copy !req
255. that completely changes
my perspective on the story.
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256. It's from somebody
named Ronald Rutherford.
Copy !req
257. "I'm writing this as a courtesy to you."
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258. "It'd be a mistake to publish the article
on the P.I. Moms and Chris Butler."
Copy !req
259. "Chris totally played you."
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260. "The case that you sat in on
was totally scripted."
Copy !req
261. "All the participants
were employees or paid actors."
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262. "I'm not sure
what your intentions are with the article,
Copy !req
263. but I hope that publishing it
is not in your plans."
Copy !req
264. "Thanks. A concerned citizen."
Copy !req
265. It was just wild,
Copy !req
266. because I had never suspected
that this had been staged at all.
Copy !req
267. I was angry
that I had been exploited like this,
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268. and that I had been played for a chump.
Copy !req
269. But I also thought if Chris Butler
was willing to do this to a local magazine
Copy !req
270. and go to such elaborate lengths,
Copy !req
271. what's to stop them
from doing it for this reality show?
Copy !req
272. I needed to talk to whoever
was running the whole P.I. Moms show.
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273. Because, after all,
Copy !req
274. everybody wonders
how fake reality television is.
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275. Oh, shit.
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276. We've got a big problem.
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277. If somebody decided to publish a story
about how this show was fake,
Copy !req
278. that would just ruin us.
Copy !req
279. I explained to him
that what we were doing was 100% real,
Copy !req
280. and I was very clear
that all the cases were legitimate.
Copy !req
281. He told me that they were doing
backflips trying to make a reality show
Copy !req
282. about real cases and— and real people.
Copy !req
283. I appreciated
that he was being transparent with me,
Copy !req
284. and I believed him.
Copy !req
285. The first email comes in
to Diablo magazine...
Copy !req
286. Pete told me
about this Ronald Rutherford character,
Copy !req
287. and at that point, then I did get worried,
Copy !req
288. because it was very clear
that someone's trying to ruin the series.
Copy !req
289. Ugh.
Copy !req
290. There was a certain irony
to suggesting that we had fake cases,
Copy !req
291. because, at that point,
part of the problem with the TV show
Copy !req
292. was there weren't that many cases
to begin with.
Copy !req
293. Lucas told me that Chris had over-promised
Copy !req
294. how many cases he was actually working on.
Copy !req
295. So I was brought on to find cases...
Copy !req
296. that the P.I. Moms could sleuth out.
Copy !req
297. Yeah, in effect,
I was drumming up business for Chris.
Copy !req
298. On top of that, as we started shooting,
I really saw Chris as the weak link.
Copy !req
299. Approaching left turn.
Copy !req
300. But I wanna go right.
Copy !req
301. That's okay. It'll reset.
Copy !req
302. I couldn't tell
if, you know, he was the type of person
Copy !req
303. who played everything
really close to the vest, or shy,
Copy !req
304. or what it was,
Copy !req
305. but I was concerned
Copy !req
306. because quiet, inarticulate,
awkward characters in reality TV
Copy !req
307. are death.
Copy !req
308. Oh!
Copy !req
309. Did I just hear that?
Copy !req
310. But I knew
we were gonna be able to overcome it,
Copy !req
311. because the moms,
they were big characters,
Copy !req
312. and their stories were so rich,
Copy !req
313. and I knew that if we focused
on them, not him,
Copy !req
314. we could make something great.
Copy !req
315. - Nice to meet you.
- Yeah.
Copy !req
316. - Wanna see what I worked up for you?
- Yes.
Copy !req
317. One scene we shot,
Ami wanted to get a tattoo.
Copy !req
318. It was a way of her
kind of working through personal trauma.
Copy !req
319. I thought, "I wanna take this opportunity
Copy !req
320. to tell my story on camera."
Copy !req
321. Ami interview, take one, mark.
Copy !req
322. I sat down, and Lucas said,
Copy !req
323. "Tell me about your son."
Copy !req
324. When my son was 13 months old,
Copy !req
325. I trusted somebody being around my child,
Copy !req
326. but my son was attacked,
Copy !req
327. which caused brain damage,
Copy !req
328. and, a few years later,
my son ultimately died.
Copy !req
329. He was a special boy.
Copy !req
330. That was the first time
Copy !req
331. that I had really talked about it
with anybody, including my family.
Copy !req
332. It was so difficult,
and it took everything in me.
Copy !req
333. Prior to the show,
I didn't know that about her.
Copy !req
334. It was very emotional,
Copy !req
335. because, to me,
Ami was just such a tough woman.
Copy !req
336. When I heard that story,
I thought to myself,
Copy !req
337. "Wow, something that big
and that serious?"
Copy !req
338. "That was really cool that the show
wanted to take something like that on."
Copy !req
339. After we filmed that scene,
we started to really ramp up shooting.
Copy !req
340. "The Unlicensed P.I."
was one of our show ideas.
Copy !req
341. The P.I. Moms, they were going to sting
an actual unlicensed private investigator
Copy !req
342. by setting him up with a pretend case,
Copy !req
343. and then bust him,
Copy !req
344. like, "Hey, you're not supposed
to do this without a license."
Copy !req
345. The network, me, the producers,
we all were very excited about it.
Copy !req
346. So then that way, if he makes a left
and goes west, you can follow him.
Copy !req
347. - And I'll have a chance to get behind you.
- All right.
Copy !req
348. Lucas and the crew had already filmed
Copy !req
349. all of our hard work, uh,
Denise researching,
Copy !req
350. Michelle preparing
and making contact with him.
Copy !req
351. So all we needed was the final sting...
Copy !req
352. to close out that case
Copy !req
353. and have a great episode
for the P.I. Moms show.
Copy !req
354. On the day of the final scene,
Michelle and I were supposed to meet
Copy !req
355. the unlicensed private investigator
in Walnut Creek.
Copy !req
356. I was in my production office,
waiting to hear back from my producers.
Copy !req
357. Ten o'clock, nothing.
Copy !req
358. Eleven o'clock, nothing.
Copy !req
359. Noon, nothing.
Copy !req
360. Lucas was just pacing back and forth.
Copy !req
361. And I was kind of just looking around,
going, "What is going on?"
Copy !req
362. We were like,
"Oh no, he's not gonna show up."
Copy !req
363. And so the production crew
asked Michelle to call him one more time.
Copy !req
364. And, finally, he actually answered...
Copy !req
365. and told Michelle,
"I'm not coming. I've been tipped off."
Copy !req
366. My initial thought was, "Who the fuck
just completely sabotaged everything?"
Copy !req
367. I was just...
Copy !req
368. livid.
Copy !req
369. But I wasn't just gonna kinda let it go.
Copy !req
370. I thought, first, we needed
to figure out who's the tipster.
Copy !req
371. Maybe that's who was sending
Copy !req
372. the crazy Ronald Rutherford emails
to Pete.
Copy !req
373. So I called the unlicensed P.I.,
Copy !req
374. and I said, "Listen, you're right,
you were going to be filmed,
Copy !req
375. but if you don't mind,
call the guy who called you,
Copy !req
376. and let us hear the voice."
Copy !req
377. And he did.
Copy !req
378. He dialed the phone...
Copy !req
379. it rang a few times...
Copy !req
380. and, finally, phone connected.
Copy !req
381. Hello?
Copy !req
382. I couldn't fucking believe it.
Ronald Rutherford was Carl Marino.
Copy !req
383. I felt rage.
Copy !req
384. Like, in my mind, I was thinking,
"You're a fucking idiot."
Copy !req
385. "Why would you fucking do this?"
Copy !req
386. It didn't make sense.
Copy !req
387. He was sabotaging the show
and sabotaging the shoot,
Copy !req
388. yet he wanted to be on camera.
Copy !req
389. I think he was completely naive
Copy !req
390. to think that he was gonna get
a spot on the show.
Copy !req
391. At that point,
I had a come-to-Jesus with Chris,
Copy !req
392. and I told him, I said, "Listen,
if you wanna have a show at all,
Copy !req
393. you're gonna have to fire Carl
and just get rid of him."
Copy !req
394. Chris's reaction was,
"Don't worry about it,"
Copy !req
395. like it was some minor infraction.
Copy !req
396. I was gobsmacked.
Copy !req
397. It's kind of surprising that Chris
isn't beating the fuck out of Carl.
Copy !req
398. I mean, it was just...
Copy !req
399. It was insane.
Copy !req
400. The only explanation I could come up with
was they were lovers.
Copy !req
401. Why else wouldn't somebody
fire this— this person
Copy !req
402. who was behaving so badly?
Copy !req
403. After that conversation with Chris,
Copy !req
404. I talked to the network
about how to handle Carl,
Copy !req
405. and they decided they were going
to send him a cease-and-desist letter.
Copy !req
406. Carl was given notice,
Copy !req
407. "You have to stop talking about the show."
Copy !req
408. "You can't ruin our cases."
"You're not— You're not a part of it."
Copy !req
409. Our hope was that it would stop.
Copy !req
410. So the good side
is that the network took care of it.
Copy !req
411. The bad side is
that now they're eagle eyes on the show.
Copy !req
412. Way more stress on Lucas
to get things going.
Copy !req
413. So after the production found out
that Carl was interfering with cases,
Copy !req
414. something was off with Chris.
Copy !req
415. Sit down. Would you put
your camera down and sit down?
Copy !req
416. It felt like
he wasn't connected to any of us.
Copy !req
417. We didn't understand
when he was there and wasn't there,
Copy !req
418. and it just seemed like
he was doing his own thing.
Copy !req
419. Clearly, he had other things
that were happening
Copy !req
420. that were taking precedence.
Copy !req
421. After our initial meeting, Lucas told me,
Copy !req
422. "I know who sent you that email."
Copy !req
423. "Carl Marino
who has been sabotaging the cases."
Copy !req
424. Lucas said Carl was out of the picture.
Copy !req
425. But, apparently,
he still had more secrets to tell me.
Copy !req
426. "I am hesitant to tell you this,
Copy !req
427. but Mr. Butler is involved
Copy !req
428. in some serious criminal activity
right now."
Copy !req
429. "Butler is selling
large amounts of marijuana,
Copy !req
430. along with other drugs,
prescription Xanax, and steroids
Copy !req
431. that has been confiscated
by the Contra Costa County Task Force."
Copy !req
432. "You see, the commander of the task force
Copy !req
433. is taking the drugs from raids
Copy !req
434. and giving them to Chris to move,
Copy !req
435. and then he gives them to, well, me."
Copy !req
436. "I have not sold any and don't want to."
Copy !req
437. "I am not a drug dealer
and do not want anything to do with this."
Copy !req
438. This was just mind-blowing,
mind-melting information.
Copy !req
439. You know,
this all started with me being invited
Copy !req
440. to write a fluffy lifestyle piece
about a reality show.
Copy !req
441. Now I'm being brought into this,
what sounds like,
Copy !req
442. very dangerous conspiracy
involving stolen drugs
Copy !req
443. and dirty cops who are putting them
back out on the street
Copy !req
444. after they've already been confiscated.
Copy !req
445. Suddenly, this was a much bigger issue
than I felt I could share with Lucas.
Copy !req
446. I mean, this wasn't just a staged case
for a reality television show.
Copy !req
447. This was serious criminal activity.
Copy !req
448. So I continued to correspond with Carl
Copy !req
449. and said to him,
"You need to go to the police."
Copy !req
450. But he wasn't sure who he could trust
and asked me for my help.
Copy !req
451. My phone rang,
Copy !req
452. and it was a journalist
by the name of Peter Crooks.
Copy !req
453. And he begins to tell me about a case...
Copy !req
454. that potentially involved
police corruption,
Copy !req
455. and that we needed to speak
Copy !req
456. to an individual
by the name of Carl Marino.
Copy !req
457. I arranged for him
to meet me at our DA's office after hours.
Copy !req
458. And I said,
"Carl, tell me, why are we here?"
Copy !req
459. Then, he starts talking
about Chris Butler, police corruption,
Copy !req
460. drug dealers, a reality TV series,
Copy !req
461. the Dr. Phil show, Peter Crooks,
Copy !req
462. P.I. Moms, marijuana, methamphetamine.
Copy !req
463. It was all over the place.
Copy !req
464. I stopped him, and I said, "Time out."
Copy !req
465. And I remember shaking my head.
Copy !req
466. I said, "Maybe it's 'cause I'm older..."
Copy !req
467. "... my synapses
aren't firing like everybody else's."
Copy !req
468. But, at the time,
I didn't really understand anything,
Copy !req
469. but that changed.
Copy !req
470. A pound of weed,
plop, right on top of the table.
Copy !req
471. Carl told me
Chris had given him the weed to sell,
Copy !req
472. and he couldn't get out of it.
Copy !req
473. It was obvious there was something
to the story that he was telling me,
Copy !req
474. because I do have
the marijuana in front of me.
Copy !req
475. At that point, I knew I had a job to do.
Copy !req
476. My perception of reality TV is,
Copy !req
477. I don't believe it's— it's real life.
Copy !req
478. I'm mostly interested in true crime.
Copy !req
479. Using Carl, we were asked
Copy !req
480. to help build a case
against Chris Butler and this corrupt cop.
Copy !req
481. So we came up with a plan
to try and get Chris to mention drugs.
Copy !req
482. And then we met Carl, and we wired him up.
Copy !req
483. You're comfortable?
Everything's all right?
Copy !req
484. Yeah, I'm a little nervous,
but we do undercover stings,
Copy !req
485. so it's kind of the same feeling.
Copy !req
486. It's a little different
when I'm doing it with my boss.
Copy !req
487. - That'll do it. Good luck, buddy.
- Thanks.
Copy !req
488. The device that Carl had
Copy !req
489. broadcast on a frequency
that was on my police radio,
Copy !req
490. so I could turn the channel
and listen to what was going on.
Copy !req
491. What's happening?
Copy !req
492. I sold the one package that I had.
Copy !req
493. Whoo-hoo!
Copy !req
494. And the guy wants three more packages.
Copy !req
495. Tell him yeah.
Copy !req
496. As soon as I heard that,
Copy !req
497. I knew this was gonna end
with somebody going to jail.
Copy !req
498. But very few cases in my 25 years
were like this.
Copy !req
499. The guy ID'd your voice.
Dude, I don't know.
Copy !req
500. I felt like just fucking shooting myself.
Copy !req
501. You've got to let this go
with the network,
Copy !req
502. because the network
are ready to pull the plug.
Copy !req
503. I'm gonna lose my fucking show.
Copy !req
504. Then, I'll close my business
and will have nothing left.
Copy !req
505. I don't have a career.
Copy !req
506. I don't have movie-star good looks.
I look like this.
Copy !req
507. I was like, "This is weird."
Copy !req
508. To me, they're more interested
in Carl ruining the TV show
Copy !req
509. than the drugs.
Copy !req
510. I understand why you did it,
because if I was in the same position,
Copy !req
511. I probably would've done
the same fucking thing,
Copy !req
512. but maybe I'd have thought
it out a little better.
Copy !req
513. Don't kill the project!
Copy !req
514. So, initially, when we were doing
the first operation or two, uh,
Copy !req
515. we obviously didn't tell them,
but we were looking at the TV show
Copy !req
516. just to see everything that was going on.
Copy !req
517. I noticed there were
a lot of, uh, police cars.
Copy !req
518. And I thought that was strange
for being such a really calm, sleepy town.
Copy !req
519. It was odd to have
the local police department show up
Copy !req
520. while we were filming.
Copy !req
521. They were just sitting there watching.
Copy !req
522. You got this feeling in the air
Copy !req
523. of, like, something's not right
with this entire production at this point.
Copy !req
524. What is happening here?
Copy !req
525. At that point, I felt like
we were barely holding things together.
Copy !req
526. But we had this one case
that was our chance to save the series.
Copy !req
527. The East Bay couple is convinced
that its teenage daughter is in danger.
Copy !req
528. The 15-year-old
is classified as a runaway.
Copy !req
529. A real girl really missing.
Copy !req
530. This case really felt big.
Copy !req
531. The parents woke up Monday
to find her gone,
Copy !req
532. they say, with no warning, no provocation,
Copy !req
533. taking only a laptop,
a few clothes, $20, and a backpack.
Copy !req
534. It was kind of like
a do-or-die situation at that point,
Copy !req
535. and Lucas was like,
"You're gonna do this."
Copy !req
536. "You're gonna find her
and you're gonna save the show."
Copy !req
537. Our resources that were spent were big.
Copy !req
538. There were helicopters in the air
trying to find out where she was.
Copy !req
539. In terms of the TV part of things,
Copy !req
540. it's great to have lots of leads
and follow them
Copy !req
541. and have lots of story to tell,
Copy !req
542. but, ultimately, of course,
what you really wanna do
Copy !req
543. is find the girl
and get her back to her family.
Copy !req
544. Her parents have shared
what they know with detectives.
Copy !req
545. Now, they wait.
Copy !req
546. The next thing I know, I got a call.
Copy !req
547. And they say,
"You're not gonna fucking believe this."
Copy !req
548. "Carl... has found the missing girl."
Copy !req
549. Once again, he's fucking things up.
Copy !req
550. We were angry.
Copy !req
551. One of my producers,
I thought I had to go give her a sedative,
Copy !req
552. because she wanted to murder him.
Copy !req
553. It turned out
that Chris had initially assigned Carl
Copy !req
554. to look for the missing girl
before handing it over to the P.I. Moms,
Copy !req
555. but that Carl was still pursuing
the case on his own.
Copy !req
556. And I thought that
he was basically trying to set things up
Copy !req
557. so that he would be filmed finding her
Copy !req
558. and reuniting her with her family.
Copy !req
559. Carl called the police,
but he didn't let the P.I. Moms take over.
Copy !req
560. The producers told us
to meet at a certain place,
Copy !req
561. because we believed
that the girl could be at this location.
Copy !req
562. The first thing
I wanted to do was find Carl,
Copy !req
563. confront him, and just, like,
have it out with him.
Copy !req
564. When I got down there, it was...
Copy !req
565. a clusterfuck of the highest order.
Copy !req
566. There were red and blue
flashing lights everywhere.
Copy !req
567. People were screaming at each other,
and the crew was yelling,
Copy !req
568. and the missing girl wasn't even there.
Copy !req
569. But, lo and behold, there was Carl,
like, in the middle of all of that.
Copy !req
570. He was determined,
come hell or high water,
Copy !req
571. to have his 15 minutes of fame.
Copy !req
572. In my mind, I was thinking,
"You're so selfish,"
Copy !req
573. because Carl knew where she was
Copy !req
574. and didn't share it with anybody
until it would benefit him.
Copy !req
575. I mean, how fucking dumb are you
to think they're really gonna push us out,
Copy !req
576. and then you're gonna be
the star of the show?
Copy !req
577. Who the fuck do you think you are?
Copy !req
578. I didn't want this
to be like a Real Housewives,
Copy !req
579. and this has become worse
than a Real Housewives.
Copy !req
580. Crazy chaos and people fighting.
Copy !req
581. How did we get to this place?
Copy !req
582. Almost immediately,
the network called me for a crisis call.
Copy !req
583. At that point, they had invested hundreds
of thousands of dollars in the show,
Copy !req
584. and they were furious.
Copy !req
585. We were told
that if anything else went south,
Copy !req
586. they would pull the plug.
Copy !req
587. Now,
what we're talking about is the crystal.
Copy !req
588. We're ready now.
Copy !req
589. He wants the sample, right?
Copy !req
590. If he likes it, he'll buy it today.
Copy !req
591. Right after the missing juvenile case,
Copy !req
592. we heard Chris mention that he had
three pounds of methamphetamine for sale.
Copy !req
593. That pushed it over the edge for us.
Copy !req
594. We knew then that this needed to stop.
Copy !req
595. The next thing we needed to do
Copy !req
596. was arrange a— a buy
between the corrupt cop, Chris, and Carl.
Copy !req
597. We met with Carl, we wired him up,
Copy !req
598. provided him with $10,000 cash,
Copy !req
599. and instructed him
to go to the P.I. firm to meet Chris.
Copy !req
600. What's up?
Copy !req
601. Okay, come on back here.
Let's see that salad.
Copy !req
602. Holy... This is a lot!
Copy !req
603. That moment
when Chris took the money from Carl
Copy !req
604. and was counting it out...
Copy !req
605. One pound, one ounce.
Copy !req
606. and the methamphetamine
was essentially given to Carl...
Copy !req
607. Let me get rid of this as quick as I can.
Copy !req
608. Once that happens, it's game over.
Copy !req
609. We got you.
Copy !req
610. A private investigator,
Copy !req
611. connected to a police corruption scandal,
cut a deal.
Copy !req
612. Think you did anything wrong?
Copy !req
613. Facing seven felony charges,
Copy !req
614. a lot of damning evidence,
and a possible life sentence,
Copy !req
615. Chris Butler decided to take a plea deal.
Copy !req
616. Holy shit! What just happened?
Copy !req
617. Chris just got arrested for selling drugs.
Copy !req
618. I was just...
Copy !req
619. I was floored.
Copy !req
620. I was at home when I learned
that Chris Butler had been arrested.
Copy !req
621. I couldn't believe
that that was happening.
Copy !req
622. Chris was my friend,
Copy !req
623. and so seeing him on TV
in, like, the jumpsuits and stuff,
Copy !req
624. it was, like—
it was very sad, it was very scary.
Copy !req
625. I got a phone call
that Chris Butler had been arrested,
Copy !req
626. and that was it.
Copy !req
627. The network was like,
"You know what, fuck it."
Copy !req
628. "We're done."
Copy !req
629. I gathered everybody
back at the production office,
Copy !req
630. the crew, the moms,
Copy !req
631. and I... I broke the news.
Copy !req
632. I was crying through that whole speech.
Copy !req
633. I just felt terrible
Copy !req
634. that, you know, I put them through
everything that I put them through...
Copy !req
635. for nothing.
Copy !req
636. Chris and Carl
just took it away from everybody.
Copy !req
637. They put their desires
above everybody else's,
Copy !req
638. and, like, so many people
were affected by that show.
Copy !req
639. And I know for a lot of people,
they're like, "It's just a show."
Copy !req
640. But it was a show
that we were really passionate about,
Copy !req
641. sharing our stories
Copy !req
642. and empowering other women
to do this kind of work.
Copy !req
643. And then it was gone.
It was taken away from us.
Copy !req
644. When our show was canceled,
Copy !req
645. that opportunity that I had
of me sharing my story was taken away.
Copy !req
646. So that was another reason
why I was so disappointed,
Copy !req
647. was because I opened up,
and I shared so much for the first time,
Copy !req
648. and who knows who I could have touched
Copy !req
649. if my story got out,
and I shared all of this with the world.
Copy !req
650. He doesn't realize
what he took personally from me.
Copy !req
651. Chris, got any reality TV ideas?
Copy !req
652. Sorry, excuse me.
Copy !req
653. After the damning information came out
about Chris Butler,
Copy !req
654. I worked straight through a weekend
Copy !req
655. and wrote a 10,000-word piece.
Copy !req
656. The news coverage was instant,
Copy !req
657. and it gave Carl the dynamite
to blow up the building.
Copy !req
658. I've always been that type of person
who's always wanted to— to, uh,
Copy !req
659. you know, to serve, to help people.
Copy !req
660. I had no idea what it was,
Copy !req
661. how I was gonna do it,
when I was gonna do it.
Copy !req
662. Knowing where the drugs came from,
I knew something had to be done.
Copy !req
663. I was just like, "Oh, now, I get it."
Copy !req
664. "Now, I understand."
Copy !req
665. I thought they were lovers,
Copy !req
666. and then, I finally saw all the leverage
that Carl had over Chris
Copy !req
667. because of the illegal activity.
Copy !req
668. Ah my God, I get it.
Copy !req
669. Despite everything Carl did,
Copy !req
670. he was basically hailed as a hero
Copy !req
671. because he rolled on them
and then went undercover,
Copy !req
672. and that was Carl's big moment.
Copy !req
673. If you had not stepped forward,
who knows how far this would've gone?
Copy !req
674. Maybe it would've turned into
a murder case.
Copy !req
675. But the moms, we were just all attacked
and made fun of and embarrassed.
Copy !req
676. You say these women had visions of being
on the red carpet with the Kardashians?
Copy !req
677. I think everybody involved here
Copy !req
678. had visions that they were gonna be
on, you know, Access Hollywood every night
Copy !req
679. and making a million dollars.
Copy !req
680. The P.I. Moms took a lot of that heat
Copy !req
681. because of the fact
that their name was the show.
Copy !req
682. It wasn't the Chris Butler show.
And it wasn't the Carl Marino show.
Copy !req
683. It was the P.I. Moms show.
Copy !req
684. So I think
there may have been an assumption
Copy !req
685. that the P.I. Moms
were involved in the whole setup,
Copy !req
686. and that couldn't have been
further from the truth.
Copy !req
687. People were calling us frauds and fake,
and drug dealers, and all sorts of things,
Copy !req
688. and we didn't get
to say anything about it.
Copy !req
689. But Carl's 15 minutes of fame
seemed to continue on
Copy !req
690. when he became a regular on some TV show.
Copy !req
691. Yes, this is Lt. Kenda
from Colorado Springs Police Department.
Copy !req
692. I'm working a homicide...
Copy !req
693. Having made a lot of reality TV,
Copy !req
694. there is a certain type of person
Copy !req
695. who has some kind of emotional hole
Copy !req
696. in the center of their psyche,
Copy !req
697. and they really feel
Copy !req
698. that, like, the adulation of fans
is gonna fill that hole.
Copy !req
699. And I think that maybe
that's what happened with Carl.
Copy !req
700. You would hope somebody in your group,
the success that he had with that show,
Copy !req
701. you'd want to cheer them on,
Copy !req
702. but the fact of how he got there,
Copy !req
703. can't do it.
Copy !req
704. Can't do it.
Copy !req
705. - Was he any good in it?
- No.
Copy !req
706. He ruined us
and became the center of attention.
Copy !req
707. He got what he wanted.
Copy !req
708. Let's hold for two minutes.
I'm just gonna pop out.
Copy !req
709. Everyone stay there.
Copy !req
710. - Please do not bring Carl in here.
- No!
Copy !req
711. I will sock that motherfucker.
Copy !req