We had a rash of those robberies when I was in the anti-crime and housing and the west side like three Chinese takeout places or within they would call up and they'd order like $50 worth of Full O notes bring change of ahead. Exactly. That's what I was gonna say. After that. That was the next thing it will pull guy would come with the two shopping bags were, you know filled with chicken and fries it's you know, catchment hot sauce. And you know, I wish I had some of that and you know, he'd get by Popped over the head they take the full take the money. And so and this was going on and on and on. Welcome back the police off the cuff Bill. What episode is this? Shit? I think this is come on every day. You called me up at 22 and this is going to be 22 and 23. This is going to show until July. Okay? Yeah, so we have Irma it's going to be 18 and 19 Eric Reynolds is going to be 20 and 21 side right? Scott Wagner will be 22 and 23 was the one before Scott was Eric Reynolds. Okay, that's the Central Park five and then we should be International. Podcast stores its exploding. We're about to hit you know, before we start I just want to say that we've both been getting a lot of feedback from a lot of positive feedback in the form of emails and a lot of Facebook messages and to those who reached out and said how much they enjoy the show. I just want to say thank you. So no one's for will for that guy in a radio car driving in the hood who's listening to police off the cuff and it's given him hope in his study mentioned that somebody mentioned. That it was interesting to hear a guest. You know, everybody's got a big fan of Dan bib. Now, they like to hear a guest that wasn't actually a cop but from you know, it was a district attorney. So to hear other the other side of it or other sides of it people have been saying that was really interesting to so we're going to try to expand it and get you know people that were involved in law enforcement but all less Precinct broom. Should we get him? That would be a great one man. That would be a grown-up. I also know who the broom is you think that you still use that term. Well, we got to cover the whole bunch of those terms couple episodes before I wanted to say one more thing before we bring out our guest. Oh the fact that you called me, you know, this is a cool thing about this wet love working with Bill because we are the exact opposite people. You know, I'm saying like a lot of people say I'm really laid back I'm saying, I'm just like I just Cruise along man, maybe the Pod has a lot to do with it. But no man. I just chill man and then if The bill is like he calls me up where it's 12:45. I'm getting off the exit where I am like I'm right here man. He goes. All right, because it's 1250. I'm like no, it's 12:45. Oh, yeah, you're right. I said well relax he chomping at the bit. I could see you then. He gets all pumped up you get psyched in and he walked and walked in and I had his tea ready from like a little bitch. I handed him his tea, you know what it is. It's you need that balance when I think we've got a good thing worse and thanks for the once again. Thanks for all the positive feedback that we've been getting its really much. Get it in your suggestions are welcome. And on that note. What I want to do is I want to welcome in our guests. He's been he's been highly touted by Bill Bill. Why don't you do some you know, okay while now today, I'm going to introduce Scott Wagner. He actually worked with me when I get transferred to the 2/3 Squad in 1997, and he's excellent detective. He's a hostage negotiator. And when he saw me posting this stuff on LinkedIn I could see he was hinting that he wanted to be on the show. He loved the show too much that to be honest. So I think it's Scott. Let me find your day and I'll get you a date new. We're going to have you on anyway, you are welcome. Scott Wagner. Thank you. I'm glad to be here. What's up, buddy? I feel like I know you already I feel like I know you don't like my type of dude, nothing like it soon as you know, when you go to a party and you gonna grab your tape with somebody, you know, the saying say, all right, that guy looks like I could have like something out with him somebody I know from the neighborhood, you know, the saying, where did you grow up Scott Brooklyn? Part of Brooklyn, I grew up in Crown Heights Bed-Stuy area, uh-huh the seven one and we were like, what year was that? We were how old are you? I'm 61. Oh, yeah, you look good. Oh, thanks. Yeah. Yeah straight up straight down. Well you the nice Jewish boy with the warehouse in Crown Heights. Oh, no, you know it's funny to this day. You know, of course, I have a Puerto Rican wife which you know par for the course, but you know, you're you're Irish. No George. Are you Jewish a hundred percent? 100 all right cotton everything I could see you when Andrew I gotta Bond you knew right away, but did you know John fish? No. Yeah, he was I went through the academy with him. He got every Friday and Saturday. No, I wasn't didn't go through with it, you know because you know what, it's funny like to this day. My oldest daughter has an appointment in Borough Park actually right around the corner from the 6 6 K be in a safer neighborhood and Call me up and she'll say well what's going on is everyone out there. Is it what holidays? I only took me off the email list. They took this little text me anymore. I don't know. Oh, yeah, I have no idea, you know Walter decides his friend thing. Okay, that's it. Yeah, it's good enough for me. I like I said, I was raised I was with the Hebrew school locked in Lee bom. It's it then that was it. Yeah, there's a lot of a lot of my comedian friends. They are not their Jewish, but they don't practice I guess. That much almost the same way. Anybody else would be my wife is Jewish. I wanted to pick a good earner when I got married here. It's a funny thing to wait with my wife, you know, one of her friends had set up your lucky marrying a Jewish guy and she says really why and she's 60 said well, you know the money he said cop what money if there's a full bar somewhere you let me see you gotta have a fallback. It doesn't work out you're in a tight spot. You could open up huh? Like I said, we weren't on the list. He was Paul Glory, you know, you're supposed to be entrepreneurial just in your blood the actually - well, like I said growing up where I grew up, you know, all my friends were black and Puerto Rican. Uh-huh. And basically I was like an honorary member, you know, I'm not gonna lie. I carried it down when I was 15. Yeah. No, it's on the bottom. Oppressor Park Lake on this show. We call that strapped. It was trapped all that. Well, we called it other things but it was one of those things that you had to do to survive. So what year are we talking about? Well, we got out of there. What were you really just graduated high school? For example, 75. All right. So in 1975, I was that you were 15 16 years old. You'll probably walking around like when I was in a story, we just play that game. What the fuck are you looking at? Right? Well it was you play that game what the whole thing was? The good part about it was in the neighborhood became a big influx of West Indians and in the western the community. They look down on the American blacks because these guys had you know jobs a lot of jobs the hustle, you know, and they wanted to make a better life the same thing when the Puerto Rican started coming into the neighborhood now and taking over the candy stores and opening up all day if they would work 17 18 hours a day and and Make a life for himself. And the good thing was it took the heat off of me because if that, you know, the Haitians are Jamaicans of fighting the other black kids to leave me alone also, and you know, I gravitated towards the Puerto Rican kids. What high school did you go to Brooklyn Tech? I was smarter one. Yeah, if I didn't play football is that the right thing records we were talking before you said he had a football player. Yeah, what position defensive tackle? I have like six two five six. So yeah, probably about you especially back then before I was right before the roads, you mean, you know, as far as predominantly in sports, you know, I was like the lead leads 70s early 80s, like you said you your coach said to you you run like you hate the ground. I love the areas of the earth. I love that one that was here until we don't trip over the life and the court that the basketball that's like you. He used to put me in the game just to get like to hack up the other guy like I used to go with I used to pick up four thousand two minutes. I was given I was a third-string center. I used to give the to get it while whoever was starting that particular game a break and I used to like kind of sort of beat up the other Center a little bit. That's you know him on his hands when he's trying to shoot like, you know Scarab that was my job. Did you speak Spanish to him? You're fluent, right? I speak a little Spanish, but you have fluent I can speak. It's been very open X. What are you a model of the night? Listen, I speak good enough. Like I can get over. Okay. Goodbye. Drugs again. Like yeah like the same way. You could probably you know, I know some Hebrew by the way. Well, I know one word mock Barrett, you know, I know that it is when I went to Queensborough Community College and we had we were online back then when you used to register for a class wasn't online you did. I mean you actually stood on line right like that weren't doing on the computer and He will we had to pick a language. So the rabbi comes over he goes. Hey, why don't you Trey we on the line for Spanish? Because why don't you try taking Hebrew I said, I'm sorry man. I'm not Jewish rabbi because you don't have to be Jewish come said it's gonna die already knows where he goes. Listen take my class. If you don't want to come all the time. You don't have to come I said, how often do I have to come because I you know, you come once in a while. So I took me and my friend Peter Paul bustle and we took Hebrew 1 and 2, I gotta I gotta see an edema and He in the Hebrew wanted to have you and we always to do is come out of the cold. So I used to show up there with like, you know, nothing, you know, no pain no paper. Nothing else in the class to get out of the cold, you know, and he's go Maya, where's your mock Barrett? And I was like, I don't know I forgot in the car for have I did you have to wear a yarmulke to class or no? No, but we they had this one cool videos would have been up about this high and yeah cool day was when they brought the food ever. Year, he put out a spread, you know, the locks the bagels was nice hummus. Well, yeah, it was well, that's how we got introduced to corned beef and all that stuff from the rabbits. Good dude. She liked my son. He calls himself a Jew you Rican. How how old is he? He's 18. Oh, really? I got a 19 year old daughter. Keep them away from us. That's good. Flame has good buddy that he's a ballplayer. What is this way baseball? My son play baseball too. And this is gonna be my first better go to me. This is gonna be my first summer in maybe 13 years that I'm not spending being a baseball debt because he's taking the summer off and how many kids you got he's my brother's son and I have three step 2. Okay. My oldest is you had am late. What did you have him like 41, right 44. I had it before T3. Yeah, but my wife had three children and I took on responsibility believe me. They were interventions that we're going on in my office. I mean And you would you would have thought I was strung out. They don't know the way they were the kids when you guys well that was 11 my son and the girls were seven and five. Wow, so my wife and I together over 25 years. They're my kids and my oldest is on the job now. Oh, really? Yeah, he is is he a fan of police officer? Hi. I've been wearing Doctrine dating him with a tell everybody big Flyers up and the mouth. He's getting I know. The night. Oh, yeah. He wanted it. I still got a couple of hooks. So I was at he has rabbis that he don't even know about that. He was even know tonight. That's a good cook to have on the job the rabbi. No, I'm not talking about it real Rabbi Rabbi. Is it as a form of expression? Yeah hooks looking out for you. It's still really good to have a rabbi though, but he's got he's around by the recommends you like you go where we want. Well, sir the head of the head chaplain is this guy Rabbi blank? Who was the housing chaplain? He's the head of all the chaplains. He has the three starched. He's a 3-1 housing. Right? Let's go back. Let's backpedal a little bit and talk about us talk about police work there what you sow so you went to college right? Because I know I did for well this would happen. I had a football to Temple - well then and then you hurt you didn't I Yeah, I broke my knee in a playoff game my senior year. So yeah, so everything went out the window because it was contingent on health. You know, even if you're a pro and you get a knee injury, you know, your value is Click next. Yeah. So again, when we got to that what I did was I went to New York City Community, you know hung out for a year. I mean College 13th grade Zach and I played Semi-Pro for a couple of teams. And then I had a someone was talking about walk-on. Tryout at Hofstra sort of jet. It's so I said what the hell let me give it a shot and I went out there and I made the practice squad. So you need got better. Oh, yeah the old well and of course, you know, they shoot me up a cortisone Iwata what they call the Lenox Hill brace, which was the actually the orthopedist to operate on Joe Namath for years kept him going with the Advent is your name is Matt. Yeah. He had like seven operations, but this guy kept him playing and It's because of that I was able to get on the job because automatic disqualification was College removal and you know from that job you mean yeah, and I ask for an appeal and the doctor was very nice about it. But he said son, it's written here black and white, you know, it's College removal whether it's from your knee or hip or shoulder it's automatic. You know, I said, can I appeal he goes you can if you want. Want hmm? So I called Nichols was the orthopedist from the Jets and I called my orthopedist and they got the medical records and they came down on the 3rd fret me and they went in I sat on the bench outside, you know, waiting to get in the game freaking out and they were in there for about a half hour and they come out and both of them are smiling. My doctor shakes my hand my orthopedist and we big young strapping guy. Anyway, it doesn't matter. I know you have it doesn't matter that Affliction you look at what's going on in the academy right now. Yeah. Well, it's Sarah. It's all set will play. But again, there you go. Where did you go when you so you can now you read your able to get in the academy? Well, it made me sign a waiver that I couldn't use it that need for 3/4 once I was to get shot and into something like all right, so I yeah it was good. You said you were you wanted to Academy and then when he was it you were part of the it was Broken up, right it was housing will see you in those days. I used it and I came off the 79 list 79 wow, and some won't and thanks and it is those are people I graduate high school same years. I'm 75. Oh, really? Yeah, I wrote that. I've read it somewhere. This is a this is like a meme that if somebody asked you, you know, you think the 70s or 30 years ago. All right, don't you think that but it's not I know. I know it's unbelievable. He writes 40 45 days. It was 30 years ago one time I know but I'm kind of like 50 year high school. Wow Benson. Will you 275? Yeah, 2025 believe me. I don't want to go back. Hello 2025 and that's unbelievable. Right? It's a sad scary. Scary when I see my like I said when I see my oldest son, you know, and he was in the academy and I went I got to you know finish yelled on him, you know, and you know, it's funny. They you know, I call the shield desk. I want them to have my share number which was 205, but it was a housing Shield. See, I we merged after I already became a detective. So my shield number doesn't register. There's no lineage for my cops yelling. All right, so I make a couple of calls and I find out that it's out there and it's getting the six seven hundred. So I call the admin lieutenant and the six seven and I talked to him and he puts me in touch with the guy nicest kid in the world. Nice got two years 20 years on the job the perfect gentleman. He says, Keeps calling me, sir. I said please don't you know, he's a saucer if that was your Shield number and you want your son to have it. I'll give it up a notch p and you know, I was so touched by that and he's not a that's nice because you don't have the I think you feel personally attached to it to do its nobody doing the way he's someone who wanted to give up my shield media. You know, why cause now you got to remember another one right away leases with all three years of listen to this one my fault. The killed a polar bear windshield like fuck him I want is my shield with the funny thing is again the kid was so willing to do it. That was nice. He said if my father if I was in that situation, I would expect someone to do it for me. I said wow, this this is a good kid. Yeah, you want Hebrew words. We obviously use a man. She's so now, you know, I call the shield desk and I get whoo. It's like an acronym I could surely hit the shield us use your imagination of our surely surely. He's got the long fingernails. Just the dial the phone with a pen. Yeah pencil, you know, she's in a bad mood all the time. Thanks a lot of breaks. Yeah moves any slower. She be comes on back we minutes later since breakfast worse than DMV. And anyway, shall we answer the phone? And I tell her this is the situation and I said the admin Lieutenant is is with it. I said it's just the 49, you know, for those who don't know. It's just the to from and the police department saying from this cap. I'm willing to trade Shield numbers or whatever and 49 from $4,000 and quite a beating like that. And what happened nothing. In do it. They just wouldn't do it. They gave me every excuse in. Well, he's already been assigned as Shields off switch its whiteout. You just gotta wait it out switch. No couldn't do it. But ironically his shield is a 5-digit. She'll put it has when she'll never in it. Okay. I don't want to give any she'll know but it all worked out then. Yeah, it's so he starts his own but my detective shows on hold that's definitely on hold, you know, because even my youngest son, that's great. That's precious. Follow your footsteps. The job I've even want my kids on the job. What would he do if he wouldn't listen to me 11 years ago. They were calling him. He was 12 credits. Shy hmm, and I told them I said I got you you're at home until I got you the wasted, you know, and I said even his girlfriend at the time we don't have to go out to dinner. We could bust it out. I said the refrigerator slowly fold. I got you. He'd be definitely be a sergeant or Lieutenant by now. He'd have the 20 and out. He the or we have a goal shared by now. That was the name of Fox show 20 an hour, but now he's got to do twenty two and a half. He came on at 33, but it's what it is. Yeah, there's nothing you can do but he's happy he's oh how come when the job ends never went on the charm. You know, it's funny men. Neither one of my son's wanted any part of it. And that's I know I told my oldest would have been interested. He's actually going for his master's degree in International Security, but neither one of them want to come on the job, but he's interested in some form. Yes some sort of law enforcement, but he worked for the The Westchester DA's office for a while as an investigative analyst and but he has no interest in coming on the job. Did you have cops in your family my father and my brother he really added a new one. No Jake they want the youngest one Jake forget it Jake's foot. He's been to Paris seven times. He's flown in private jets with celebrities. He's going nowhere near the police department. He's an assistant film that the right now. I was the first one in my family it me to my father. He was in a big fan of the police and there's a matter of On his deathbed. He said my dear One X because that's my real name because I always hated the police but I loved you. That's nice. This is nice beautiful Father's son. Yeah, he's tell me whenever I see the police. I walk across the street, but he's a dark-skinned Dominican, you know, and he went through he was City College and then radicalized at a young age when he entered he come here. 1964 so he was right in the thick of the yeah. Yeah. They were he was he was in all of it. I use my earliest Recollections with the hanging out with my dad was we used to go hang up posters of Lenin and the subway as it matches our Moxie Vladimir walks his partner. He's to have the glue and he's have these little posters and for the meetings and he's to go and I used to be as look at and I hated the funeral of skittishness Manifesto, right? That's what he wrote. Well, yeah, whatever Lydia but let it roll. Yeah. Yeah, but I was talking about there they'd have these meetings I guess and he was promoting the meetings the same way. We I guess we do comedy in a way but back then instead of you know, putting a flower on Facebook yet. That's what they call Post. No bills if we see that same post no bills. Yeah, so that's what that's me. And my dad. I wonder what it would have been like their social media as a kid. Now. I'm happy. We didn't I'm glad we didn't see so happy. We were normal. Oh my God. What if I'm so scared of what's kind of love it one of us right now is addicted to it because you're addicted to your phone, right? That's like your right hand. If you don't leave at the end of your right hand is going to be a phone. There's something water and water. Carry water with us. Uh, what are you going to have in a backpack with a straw right by your mouth to breathe the air when we were kids we didn't walk around the water. No, no, even in the academy. Do you know the any if you're in the academy right now, they give you your own little bottle of water and has your name on it. Now when you go to the gym, everybody has their own water. Let's imagine that I can't imagine that that I could you know, first of all speed doing that run, especially when it came up, you know sister don't want water. And these guys never met Skippy. Do you remember Scooby Skippy did you do on the job when Skippy was this giving was the guy final medical? Yeah. That guy was a fucking legend of the NYPD called everybody Skippy after psychological. They had the little lady from the little lady. Oh good. It was cameras in the room there and they used to watch you. And if you said something I think that's how you they psyched you out didn't get who was the because again, I went to the house and Academy. I didn't go through the PD Academy, but there was a legendary Go to hell go to hell go to you who was like, why does anyone up for me? He was a she was a gymnast right here. He was like who's from housing to it? Yeah, it was always a cool dude, but he was like a karate. Yeah, it was cool. It was some degree and if you mess with him, he take your thumb and put you on the ground beside second you Jutsu or something because he actually went to a courtroom a case one time and they were trying to call nunchucks a deadly weapon and he demonstrated them in court and like factly destroying the desk with them and they say I think they are deadly weapons demonstrated them know he was one of those guys whose hands were registered kind of yeah. I remember him. He was cool. Dude. You know what the funny thing is. I'm about the Academy. I remember we had a swim. Oh, yeah. I remember that. It was fun. I never got into the damage, but you see guys my size and they get in the water can't swim is the funniest thing ever. No, but they feel safe little life life life. All that other things have like a pole a stick and they used to stick it in the water and he's have to hold onto the stick. And yeah the wrong this isn't Navy SEAL training, but we had to be certified in like water rescue like how to hold the guy up and all that and I'm saying to myself my God son was on the news on the job and then he got inadvertently jammed up with the summons thing in the Bronx. Yeah, and he was nine away from Sergeant. I at him in the Yankee Stadium detail. He was doing great and he just got so disgusted because they put her money years probation. They told him he's got to make sausage nine names. That's a guarantee night-night and Again, he had a ba you know, this is he was he was the real deal and he decided I'm going to be fine - he can't swim now. How do you be a firefighter? Can't swim? No, I don't think I'll do it in the economy, but I could be wrong here. But I think fireman go into fires, right? Right. Yeah, but they also do water rescue and fire ball starts building up in the room. They're in the that would also they go on the ice. You fucked this way. I'm not going in there. It's so weird man, because like every job description, you know, there's certain things we talked about this last week. I think you know, sometimes you talk to a teacher and you find out what they have to go through or nursing like man. I don't know how you could do that job so hard and then same thing like people look at us and like firemen. I took that test I could it's a I dropped right hindsight. It was better off that I you know that I had to stay in the PD because I don't think I could go on a fireman. I'll tell you a funny style of chicken out. It's not funny, but it's true. People have to check it out. But this one happened. I got caught for the fire department right away immediately. It was it seemed like maybe within two weeks of taking the test again, these are all 79 testing. We even went my friends out to Jersey to take the state trooper exam and then they brought out the guy that looked like the the Swedish guy for Rocky, you know, we got a box and we were like we're out, you know box somebody, you know, yeah and So we took every test and fire department call me right away. So you had to go to these classes because that time there was no females, you know, you had gold eight-foot walls you had put on the Scott are pack and walk on a 2x4 and saw a lot of stuff. So you went for that training and like you said I play ball I was in great shape and it was the physical was in the Sumner Avenue Armory in Brooklyn. And the thing was one of the largest buildings I've ever seen it look like Grand Central Station inside. I'm so huge and hot as hell. It was like you could see the you know the like in the desert when you see the way he was yeah, that's what it looked like in here at the end of the whole thing. The whole thing that you're in groups of seven and you start bonding with the guys your width because you're all in the same boat. So, you know, we're in groups of seven at the end of the whole thing you had to do a mile run around that track. So we're all laying there with throwing water on us and everything and suddenly here whistles blowing and all kinds of Hell breaking loose. So we look over the balcony is this guy dead as a doornail explain it guy was a Green Beret. He had just gotten out a Green Beret just got out of the service and he died although in the mile run good. I said I'm out of here. Where do I sign and here begging me and playing on messaging on another? Yeah, but that's the thing. With you that happens on the PD to for you, but it was something that said to me. No, this is not for me. If the guy did the Green Berets in phenomenal shape. It's just a question of the heart. It's congenital whatever. I'm sure that's what happened and there's an electronic thing. You know, I had I was teaching CPR for a while, you know, but in those days there was no CPR there was no but you know, this is the thing with the heart and if it loses his rhythm and he go into cardiac arrest that's what the artificial the fibula the shock. Yeah Chuck started its supposed to put it back in a certain Rhythm here. And for some reason, you know, sometimes people that the heart just loses that Rhythm and that's it. Well, I just if you don't have access to freak me out somehow it freaked me out and I said I'm out of here and they were begging and pleading with me and you know, because he said I was a big guy, you know, it's not this this is not for me and besides, you know growing up where I grow up especially the anti-crime cops were friendly to me in those days. They used to ride around in their own car. Or they used to use let's rehab was wrong Friedman. We used to do that. Yeah, nobody used to use recovered stolen car. Yeah, and it's ironic that the anti-crime cop who kind of took me under his wing was Louis eppolito who helped the mafia kit? Yaps. Yeah, and let's say I worked through it the other guy caracappa. Yeah his brother The Mills Brothers my little tiny. They were both in Omaha caracappa. His brother was housing with time. Okay, so I worked in any way make a long story short Louise to take me under his wing and he would like if he saw me in the schoolyard late at night, you know, they run to the schoolyard the gravity could grab whatever take would grab me. Throw me in the back alley out of their car drive me right home. Give me a kick in the butt and you know, maybe it's it was also a thing of when something would happen and you you know, the cops would come in in those days, you know, cops are all baked. They're all stalkers know I require. No, that's not what I heard. 510 511 was that he had to be over five eight and a half. I think that was a shortage of that disqualifies a lot of people. Yeah and after job not now, but that being said something would happen, you know in my neighborhood was followed by my block or the next block over and you'd want to you know, you'd be looking and trying to see and look through what's going on and you know, don't try to ask the cop what's going on because he would just you know, she got the way but I used to stay on my side while they know what's going on. Take a walk and I wanted to know we used to hang out on the corner of 47th Street 31st Avenue and we'd have a little radio there. We getting fucked up cop car would pull up little guy would roll down window the the recorder and fellas take a walk and you know, what we picked up the radio and we started heading to the park. That's what just was. All right intent part. That's nice. Tommy had some words. He mouthed off something. So the guys are what did you say the guy gets out of the car and with little did we know but he had a slap. Yeah in his palm of his hand. So he whacks my friend Tom in the back of the head not Tommy's head splits wide open and there's blood gushing everywhere. But we just keep walking. He takes his T-shirt off arrested around his head and I will walk into 10 Park and that the city it looks just look like, you know like that Fourth of July thing because one kid's got the radio. No Civilian Complaint. He just tied like a mouth right the cops brought me home. My mother answered the door and she sees the cop standing behind me. She just smacks me right in the face doesn't ask a question. Nothing. What the hell you doing? Whack I could have been robbed. We're gonna we're gonna be taken hostage here mature smack when we were younger. Like I said, you know growing up in a with my brother was a child of the 60s. He's eight years older than me and he's gone now, but he's eight years old and me, so he fell into that, you know heroin use fennel in it. Probably the cleanest healthiest looking junkie ever saw in your life, but Has he lived at home? You know, but his fun would be doing Harold call the 1300. You know, how you can say Do not house no in our house at 4 o'clock in the morning. Well 13 at your house. Yeah, so you pick up the phone and dial nine one one and it called, you know 13 in our appointment just to mess with my father over our civilian. The listeners a 1013 is a emergency calls this patrolman for that's the most serious. Assist call there is right please Department because you fought well, why would he do that to you fight? Because he thought it was funny and the father wasn't on the job the ranch. So my father was a Salesman and you know, Dad, you know, you get the police knock at the door. Holy kick that kid right out, but you know one know he did it, you know, he wasn't admitted he would even be laughing like pass pretty funny though. He's 60 years old. You're high as a kite. It is pretty fun with no. No, I think the Chinese restaurants first got caller ID. You know because they would vet was honest because they were getting robbed right left and right and once they got caller ID. They were like all these are the people that are at us this number here. They robbed us. This is a beautiful thing and they order again they call us same people same we set up on I could tell you a funny story about that real quick. Bring it on. We had we had a rash and those robberies when I was in the anti-crime and housing on the west side in the in the to for Douglas house. Yeah, and they were All that was like three Chinese takeout places or within like four or five blocks of each other and they would call up and they'd order like $50 worth of food. I know bring change of ahead exact. That's what I was gonna say that that was the next thing and I only got a hundred. Can you break any water $50 worth of food? So for the poor guy would come with the two shopping bags right now filled with you know, you know chicken and fries it's little ketchup and hot sauce and you know, I wish I had some of that ready and You know, he'd get popped over the head they take the full take the money. And so and this was going on and on and on and we were we were taking off our regular, you know stuff to do this. So no one's making money. No one's making overtime know what's making collars. All we're doing is following change delivery boys. And the worst was, you know, we could only be in some way we had two cars. So we have one was a van an extra one fan and the other was a regular Martha. Okay, so, you know, it's got to be the point that It was getting ridiculous. So one of the guys had an idea, so let's go down to Chinatown and talk to somebody. So we did and we made a few inquiries on our own, you know right by court and we spoke to somebody and because I work all these Chinese places they play protection. Yeah, so we would tell them look you guys take care of this because you've your own people losing money and what's going to happen is they're going to shut down and that you know, they actually do sir. All I know is we get we showed where shirt off the three or four days. We're out there again following delivery boys were here job come over the radio for a number of men assaulted in 840 Columbus. So we respond, you know, I was just showing progress but it said a number of victims. So we respond and they are Five Guys. All you couldn't tell which body part matched who they were all discombobulated. Was it a machete attack? You know know they were they weren't bleeding. They were bleeding internally good but most have been Andrew. I don't know if it was what gang was was it was somebody that came and that was a conditions or initial heart condition correctly Justice that was it condition erector Justice man, you know five what the hospital and that was it condition. Correct you Thing and no one could ID it was great when you went to when he graduated the academy. When did they tell you that you were going to go to housing was it that so p120 Academy obviously at that time. It was a three in one rule, which I don't know how the city ever got away with it. We're literally they had three lists. Hmm a whitelist and Blacklist in Hispanic list. and if if you were let's say you scored a 99 on the white list and Guy behind you is in 98. He's not going they have to go to The Black List and see who's the highest Under The Blacklist and then he goes and then they go to the Hispanic list and see who's the highest on the Hispanic list. I mean, that's a legend was going to housing you mean. Oh that's what was going on the job period period of the was one and three now the whole thing was you could pick housing or Transit. Because you know people were familiar with your hands it because you know, everybody everyone writes. It's all right, but your people unless you have family on the job that told you about about how unless you lived in the projects. I had you know know about you you had no idea it was a thousand police and they were there was a little I was holding. I was supposed to go in the July 81 class and my PD get what I'm saying, though is when you go when you got when he went to the account when I And that night when you got sworn in you still on the line you gave me a text number and they looked on the list and they said City but is that what they did with you know, what happened was with me. I was due to go in the July 81 class in March. There was a little blurb in the chief the chief the Civil Service and sometimes paper and was a little blurb that said housing had their minority quota filled. So they were looking to have a non-minority class. Wow. So we were we were a Class of 55. five women to Black no Hispanic and we went in in between we were sworn in in April 13th of 81. We were the last housing Academy class solely house until I was a different test to housing to know we came off the regular NYPD test. But if they're after everyone went to the NYPD police academy and they tow right and then they will house and they were either told or picked or whatever. Yeah, but we chose the ones who were in that class called blush the ones don't All yeah, and the reason I know about it housing was because when I grow up and also the fact that one of my good friends who I know prior to the job his brother was a housing top and we used to it now those days they worked specifically out of projects different projects and he used to do vacation relief. So he basically looked at his trunk so he would be let's say in a certain project in Brooklyn won't know so we would go visit them bring them food or you know, whatever Libations snow and we go down in the, you know the call room and she was gone instead of phone books and stuff and I was a great job and no he wouldn't see a boss for months or whatever and It was it was just a wonderful thing. We went to John Jay Alex. That's all we were trying. It was on 54th and 10. Hmm. There was a parking lot across the street pay parking. I had a big car. I was I had been a narcotic investigated for health and hospital for two years prior so I had prior law enforcement and so I didn't count and the India pension or what? Yeah, I have my it back. Okay, I didn't kick taken care of your sister so much of Quasi City agency helping us so that give you 22 years ago when you wanted 323. Yeah cool. So what happened was it was great. I used to make money because we stuck our people and that would cover the gas and the parking and do you know, which house is you working it broke when I grant now never I never worked in Brooklyn because I never want to shit, right? You know, this world is to stay sane New York's a big place. It's real. It's too small. I never wanted to run into someone in the King's Plaza mall or something that I had to deal with on the street. You know, I never wanted to go take a walk out or do whatever, you know be at a restaurant when you young lady or something and run into some they had it only once in the city and I wasn't carrying my gun. It was in the summer and it was a very uncomfortable isn't it uncomfortable and just he still turned out I had no idea this day. I have no idea who the guy was but he sent the bottle of wine to my table. He came and thanked me he said if it wasn't for you, I never be healed my wife and kids today. I don't know. Maybe I printed them for someone. I have no idea. I might have give him a cigarette. I don't know. I had no idea what this guy. What kind of wine did he get you? Goodbye? So good Merlot, but I'm just saying I was telling the girls drink this and get the hell out of me because I you know, I Stole panicking, you know and it just tells the show you you never know. They remember you. I'll remember you know, what you know what you have something that's probably so many arrests why they always tell you always treat everyone like well, that's no I was very fortunate. See that's the one thing about housing when the guys graduated the NYPD Academy they had to go for like two weeks of like brain surgery to get them into the housing mode of thinking and and the housing mode of thinking was What everyone is claiming that Slayers community policing? Right? Right, because let's face it you would basically you were thrown into a project on foot and every project is like a little world unto itself. Yeah, you know, even if it's two blocks away from another project that it's so different the the authenticity is that you know, that's the way people act it's like you going from another country to run the country sometimes and even the town. Yeah, exactly and and the moods are different the people that there You know and you'd be thrown in there and you again thank you said treat my father always drum. Listen to me you get more flies with honey than vinegar. Absolutely and or and these old time is because remember we were dealing we were the first group to come in. From when these guys were laid off in 75 the 73 class there were two and they were huge classes and all these guys were there at most of our Vietnam Vets. They like, okay, we're back. We got jobs with stable. We got married. We bought houses bang we get pink slips. So they're all just going through the paces, you know, was this so disgruntled and now we come and we're all full of piss and vinegar. We want to hit the streets. We brought them back to life. And these guys would teach us the right way to deal with people. You know, your mouth is your best. Yeah. No, absolutely your best weapon and I try to teach this and still listen my son now and I can't even tell my son War stories that you know what I think you know what I think happened a lot. I think that when the PD became so numbers driven and so compstat driven and that was that they threw out a lot of that good that good, you know, I remember you'd go into someone's apartment and they were The Target and you were in there for some reason someone would seaweed and lock the guy up. What was the point of that you just made an enemy exact and he had nothing to do with you know, what I was doing or this murder know what I was thinking I would get let's say, you know, we had to do vertical patrols. Yeah. All right, and I wasn't I was only in uniform for 10 months and very rarely that I walk or footballs if there was only if we had like double squads working then and even then I try to find the worst Pompey the one with the two by fours holding up the front seats and you know it leaked in You had to put duct tape around the windshield without that was all across just saying that you know, if I could write I wrote If I couldn't there was certain places. I wanted War conflict because that's what a nice is growls Wireless whatever and you know, a lot of the projects there was a lot of decent Working Class People and that's who you were doing the job for yes, and you go in there and you'd be surprised, you know, you pull someone would pull your coat and say, you know watch Johnny over there. He's Starting to hang with the wrong people or whatever and that carried over to being a you know into anti-crime and to this day. I have the same cell phone number that I've had for over 20 years and I will occasion that form from John slager. My original one. Does he always don't cause that but that being said I still think about seven months ago. I got a call at 4:00 in the morning that someone was shot. I don't do that. No more and I said, okay and I called over to the 2/3 and I got to squat and I told him listen there's a guy Shad over on $145 in like we owe your whole white tired and I told him listen to former CI a man called me and this guy is basically telling me to go screw the detected yet. And and I said listen pal. I'm just passing information. I'm trying to do the right thing. Okay, and in the background, you hear it come over here beeps come over. The radio and you know V if you wanted to the two or three be advised we have 10 10 male shot while 401 what did you and I said, you're welcome and I hung up, you know. Meanwhile, he may be a been able to get the name of your CI like soil, but the idiot, you know the new police. Yeah doesn't want to know what just happened, you know, and I had that Captain to me quite a few times when you know you had because they you notice they think you're buffing out. Yeah, I think your boss. I'm trying. To do it right there. Yeah, but they don't think you were buff exactly. But look they can take whatever they say. It's a gift to to be able to schmooze to rule my wife's from the neighborhood. I think my mother-in-law still loved all three of us probably age doesn't know there's no way he has that but us three we have that and I'm just kidding but the engine will have it after the twenty seventh episode of this. That's a funny. It's a funny thing that and it works really well if you can do it as a police officer. You know, yeah, you have to be able to get into you wants to you know, some bullshit your way in and talk and and almost politic around. You know, that's what I taught. My son. I said listen, if you let a foot-post, you know along a stretch of you know, Knickerbocker Avenue or whatever, you know poke your head into every store and know she's got a no skills that you learn on a foot-post stay with you when you become a detective. Oh what happened then that's how it becomes your interview skills. Yeah interviewing interrogate all That that all comes from learning at it didn't take me long. How would I call on the job? I was 25 already and I had a good sense of you know picking up and I wasn't out there three days before I knew this guy in the one of the bodegas and they had the back room over there. He's to grab a soda. Go back there with a sandwich eat watch the game. You know, I keep the radio on it doesn't take you long to figure it out. No, but some pictures some do take some a real long time like where I live, you know in the 6 1, I mean you got to hear some of these key. These three I see kids these caps talk to people. Yeah, you know and meanwhile if you stuck them in a seven-five they be peeing in their pants, you know, and and these yet they're all big and tough right over there. I mean, you know, you should remember they used to have the touch the a house to be house a house. Of course, that's not politically correct anymore. All right, you know, but I don't believe you should be allowed to go to appreciate like that. Unless you have a certain amount of time. You've been how many people that come on up. Lease department day one have no intention of ever doing police work. They come on next thing, you know, they're accountant in there in law school. Yeah, and they never did you think anybody's was on the job like that. Yeah, I think I'd are are are you are a few I don't think you have to know somebody and then have to tell like your parent would have to tell you. This is what you're going to do. You going to go on and do this that and the other because for me, I don't know. Maybe I'm not like The Hobbit someone that goes into the academy with two years on and never leaves. Well these people exist to win with this maybe it's in the very back of their mind, you know, just be careful. Well, I can and take advantage of those opportunities and then when you get out you see all this is possible. I could I could go back to the academy work with ironic thing with my son, even though he was basically 11 years older than most of his contemporaries in his class. My son's been a gym rat 4 years. So he's got like zero body fat and he was pacing at 33. He's pacing these 20s Heroes, huh? Does he have abs he's got everyone has apps. I'll just let you know. He's he's good. Now. They told him they said hey, you know, I figure is by suggest but think about giving think about becoming Jimmy thought of you it's coming out faster. If you ever think about become a gym instructor, give us a call and he not mean who doesn't want to be a gym instructor. I mean, it's the pleasure. Back to the campus its first of all the Academy I go to academy every week because I work there is a worked in the CIT. I do the acting there but you gotta see the facilities amazing. The gym is the worst all excuse me under the second College I could tell you even when I went and I come to your class without being a member of the NYPD just to watch it's like a show. It's like a comedy show right now. It's not show. It's not a comedy show it off. I'm trying to commit suicide because they try to kill his suicidal EDP. Yeah, I play soon. Aside cop. Okay, I'll suicide I'm hot. Okay. Well I shouldn't listen. I don't want to be sure your future. Oh EDP, by the way from non police Personnel is emotionally disturbed person and they even clean that up too emotionally distressed person, right Disturbed was too harsh and forward the change it to distressed as if they're really changes everything just the word. I know remember when they used to come in the squad and they took the Sergeant's AO from now on we do your fives. You can't use this word anymore and people's to get up. Best of all, it is fucking bullshit and I'm like who gives a shit that change the word? No, they couldn't use the word housing project. It was a house album envelopment. Yeah, the beings I refuse to say that work that was ridiculous choke on but if you set it at times that if you said I was in the project they build. Oh my God, you mean the developments? Yeah. Yes. That's what I mean to develop. That's exactly what I'm talking about people getting Matt bent on it. But uh, but you know what? It's all shuttered. What's up with that? TPO? Remember every five minutes. They don't want the Sage Steele. This is right. I know but they didn't want it anymore. So, you know people here although you'll take Dana's Mike either on the five. The undersigned they didn't like that. Yeah, that's what happens. Hi. I well what do they call it? FBI Pros or something the way of writing po a PR o SE. Yeah, that's the style of writing and the underside that's the undersigned I / out. It's right to getting over. That's right. If you didn't know how to write a 5 out for a particular thing. You just went through the book like Bernice. Now the NVC rest of the session exact perfect was big on all that shit man. He used to heat the most obnoxious thing you could do as a boss to a detective was physically write on their 500 like this socks or something to like, are you kidding me and Resident used to tell you to do that? Yeah, right on the detectives five if he doesn't do what you ask them to do. So you need to take the wood free bring up Resnick Robin's right? And you bring up Resnick Resnick again. I know I know for years. Is he was the to tree at the crime Sergeant when I was in a house of crime and we had such units had such great Rapport that if our boss wasn't around, you know, he would take us so we'd have to go in the bag and we worked join investigations together. We would use to hook up in Jefferson Park and we would do you know our own little you take the north under the block will take the South under the block will converge, you know, like a military operation and through my career narcotics well in housing, we didn't have a narcotics unit. Time so the ant think we worked five and two and we had Sundays Mondays off. And I mean you have studied reading a lot of what we did we did three days and narcotics usually observation sales, you know, we used to have look, you know, empty apartments and stuff we have with the master keys. The overheat the GOP is the open observational and we do sometimes we use a flash roll, you know, you put like a 10 with newspapers around it and because you know an offer constitutes a by and we would do three days of drugs. And then two days of Robert patterns or go out and he said an offer constitutes a by yeah, in other words, it could mean I said, hey, do you have pot? That's a by know, if if you have a conversation with me and you say to me you're looking And you specify what you're looking for? Yeah, I want the guys I'm looking for I'm looking for I'm looking for dope look whatever 40 whatever it bag. Whatever. So the guy says I got now you take out your / Ro. All right, and then he takes out the dope to make the exchange that constitutes a sale and if without having to make because you didn't because we didn't have by money why not? First of all, they will let they will let these guys do buys. Well again now that's just what you say that's not have you of narcotics, but when you say letting us there was no narcotics unit in house, so we get the drugs were rampant. Yeah, you know Those days we had certain spots like a hundred twelve and Lennox doubt was the angel dust capital in the world at that time. Dustin is a must if dust is a must for the people. That's what we decided, you know and dust once man like 15 years old. This kid Teddy, he's got may he rest in peace. He just passed away a couple months ago. He's the right Teddy and he said to me he want to go get some smoke. So I was like, yeah, right, so he He says who how old how old were you at this 15 or 15? Maybe 14. He says I got it. We got to get your bike. We got to take a ride. So he gets me a BMX bike and I might jump 14 years old. I was I've been six with what since I was like six birth. So I'm like, I'm just BMX bike. We're in Astoria Queens and we start writing to get this smoke and next thing, you know, we're going over the Triborough Bridge. I'm like yo where the fuck is this smoke because I will get it to the height. So we go to Washington Heights. He runs in this building he comes out and Then he rolls one and we light it up and then I take two pulls on it. I'm like this to take sporty feel my feet are so just a second sweet taste funny because it's not weed management. Let us it's like what they didn't use wait next thing. You know. All six foot for me is driving BMX bike back over the Triborough Bridge, but now dusted man scariest thing. I've had to do my life. I literally saw a kid on Dust get hit by the Madison Avenue bus. Just going northbound the bus driver nearly had a heart attack kid got up and walked away. Oh man now, I don't know what I'm doing the next day, but he got up and walked away always used to say I just want to preface it's not preface because it's the preface comes before I was just want I just want to say about that story that somebody somebody drugged me. Isn't it was Teddy. It's not what I wanted to do and I conspired to do that. I was actually physically trucked and I'd imagine the statue of limitations on that client. Its oversight. So rest them and plus he's dead. So when you got interviewed to the police, Apartment did you bring up that story now? I know that story the first time I'm remembering that story and all these yes, but it may not even happen. I can make stuff up on the spot but we're gonna take a break. We're going to refill our tea even though you didn't drink tea. He drank water. I'm going to refill my tea no tea for your bill. You're not due until animals drinking water. All right. All right, we're going to Went to the the second half with Scott Wagner. But before we do that, what do we want? What do we want to cover in part to want to talk about is the homicide case could really Iron Key maybe as hostage negotiator. So let's cover that. We want to talk about his antique business doing. Well. I don't know if he wants to talk about we sing. That was September we cover everything on this show like Jack's of all trades here. All right, so that that concludes part one police off the cuff here. R with Scott Wagner. I'm excited about part two men who?
Scott F. Wagner has more than 39 years experience as a professional investigator, and hostage negotiator, solving criminal cases of murder and narcotics trafficking to civil cases of insurance fraud and property theft. In his 23 years with the New York City Police Department, Scott advanced from a housing project beat cop to detective, earning a promotion into the elite Manhattan North Homicide Squad, as well as the Hostage Negotiation Team. Scott was a first responder to the 1993 WTC bombing, as well as to 9/11. Scott has earned numerous awards and commendations during his law enforcement career. He is regarded as an expert in Hostage Negotiations and at cracking “cold cases”, where the passage of time lessens the chance for justice. In his career, Scott has solved 95% of all his cases while maintaining a 100% conviction rate, - a clearance rate among the highest in the NYPD. He’s also a skilled hostage negotiator, adept at handling emergencies of all types. While a member of the NYPD’s dignitary protection unit and later as a private eye, Scott has guarded and planned security for VIPs ranging from heads of state to “Hip Hop” celebrities. Scott has headed up security operations for one of the largest philanthropic organizations in the City of New York-with assets over $4.5 billion dollars. He’s been featured in documentaries, (Most recently Lifetime channel’s “Faith Under Fire), books and numerous newspaper and magazine articles, TV shows “The Shopping Cart Killer” & Murder by the book with Linda Fairstein, for his work helping to catch a serial killer & rapist who preyed on young girls in East Harlem. Scott has also been sought out and interviewed for several internet magazines in regards to his expertise as a hostage negotiator. Scott has worked as a law enforcement technical advisor on three television shows as well as two novels. 