February 11, 2025 • 37 mins
With the help of some old home videos, Kyle embarks on a journey to the past to uncover the family secret and try to pick up the pieces of a broken home. Kyle's mom, Holly, tells the harrowing story of an idyllic family destined to fall apart, and the exact moment where everything changed. Kyle's brother, Kory, reveals the violent relationship he had with Ken.
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Speaker 1 (00:09):
If you're listening to a tenor foot TV.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Podcast, Girls.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
Crook County is released weekly and brought to you absolutely free.
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check out the show notes. Enjoy the episode.
Speaker 3 (00:34):
You're listening to Crook County. The views and opinions expressed
in this podcast are solely those of the individuals participating
in the podcast. This episode also contains subject matter, including
graphic depictions of violence, which may not be suitable for everyone.
Listener discretion is advised.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
Previously on Crook County.
Speaker 4 (00:57):
I got recruited into the mob when I was seventeen
years old.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
Meet Kenny the kid Tequila.
Speaker 5 (01:02):
I became a trusted member.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
I ran whorehouses and I did his an enforcer for
the Chicago I.
Speaker 5 (01:08):
Wanted him to know I meant fucking business here.
Speaker 6 (01:11):
So I beat him, put the gun back up to
his forehead, and three of my boys come in.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
He lived a secret double life for over twenty years.
Speaker 4 (01:19):
I had a wife and I had two children. Nobody
knew anything. I didn't want anybody to know. I was
kind of embarrassed, and I wanted to keep them as
far away from it as possible. I wanted them.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
To have a good life.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
How do you keep an entire life of crime away
from your friends, away from your family. It seems impossible,
but I know it's true because Kenny is my father,
and I had no idea about any of this until now.
My name is Kyle Tequila. Welcome to Crook County.
Speaker 7 (02:15):
I didn't know if he was in the lab until
maybe twenty years after your days were born.
Speaker 8 (02:20):
He was a fucking crazy bastard and that type of
lifestyle fits him.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
You cannot control this. It is the devil.
Speaker 6 (02:29):
It lays in wait for you, and it will take
you out at your weakest moments.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
Episode two, The Ties that bind Us? Family? Has there
ever been a more loaded word? To some family means
unconditional love. It means security and support, tradition, values, acceptance, joy,
(02:59):
and spending the holidays together. It's the very foundation upon
which you are built. To some people, family means everything,
But to many others, family is just another four letter
word filled with pain, grief, and discontent. Family is something
you need to escape from, to shun, to forget. For
(03:25):
my father, family meant something else entirely On one hand,
it was his wife who loved him, his two young
boys who idolized him. It meant breaking the chain of
an abusive childhood and starting over to create something new,
something pure, something good. But on the other hand, family
(03:46):
meant something far more sinister. His mafia family took him
in when he was just seventeen alone in the streets
of Chicago. It gave him a job and a support system.
It took away the anxieties of running away from home
with no money and filled that emptiness with purpose, even
if that purpose was criminal, even if it meant doing
(04:09):
things you never imagined possible, never in a million years,
and once you do them, it's all ready too late.
You're a prisoner to that family forever.
Speaker 5 (04:25):
So my goal was to be a good provider, all right,
So my kids had every opportunity in the world that
I didn't have, and my wife could be a wife,
to be a stay at home mom, to raise the family. Okay,
that was my goal, all right. I didn't want anybody
to know.
Speaker 4 (04:43):
I was kind of embarrassed, and I wanted to keep
them as far away from it as possible. I wanted
them to have a good life, you know, raise their
own families.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
And for the most part he succeeded. We never knew
about my father's second family. We were happy, and I
always felt lucky to be a part of this family.
In fact, I have almost exclusively positive memories for my
first eighteen years, a loving, blue collar, suburban middle class
home with a Ford Explorer and a convertible Mustang occupying
(05:18):
the driveway. My dad was a firefighter paramedic and my
mom left work to raise the kids. Both were supportive
and enthusiastic parents, encouraging us to pursue our passions and
follow our dreams. My younger brother, Corey, and I played
just about every sport imaginable, so trips to play it
against sports to buy and sell our gently used equipment
(05:39):
were routine. We didn't have all the latest toys or
clothes like many of the other kids in the neighborhood,
but we never really wanted for anything. Running around the
neighborhood like animals, laughing, building forts, playing tag, walking for
miles along the railroad tracks like the kids and stand
by Me minus the dead body, sleepovers, paintball battles, baseball games,
(06:03):
travel hockey, girlfriends, making out in the basement, breakups, new friends,
movie nights, punk shows. It was a good life, as
good as any kid could ask for.
Speaker 7 (06:17):
My kids grew up happy.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
That's my mom, Holly.
Speaker 7 (06:22):
I worked part time, Ken worked as a firefighter paramedic,
and would have a second job, you know, just to
make ends meet. But it was, you know, my perfect
little life. I you know, had a husband, I had
two beautiful sons. We finally had a beautiful home in
a nice neighborhood. We eventually made good friends with our
(06:43):
neighbors and their kids made good friends with you know,
all the kids in their neighborhood. And you know, it
was my dream coming true.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
We were lucky, at least that's how it felt back then.
But today things couldn't be any more different, and we
couldn't be any further apart. As soon as we could,
my brother and I moved away from home, me to
the West Coast and my brother to the East. My
dad eventually moved away to leaving a trail of destruction
(07:11):
in his wake, and leaving my poor mom with nothing
but sadness, anger, and unanswered questions. I don't know why
I deserve this.
Speaker 7 (07:22):
My life ended.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
I'd like to welcome everyone here to Chicago. With the bears.
Now for you're continued safety to think, give all them
folks you're gonna fall on, please remain see with them
stands and I flew to Chicago to visit my mom.
It's been years since I've been back, and I'm really
not looking forward to the conversation I'm about to have
with her. I don't think she's looking forward to it either.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
Hey, hi, mom, you.
Speaker 9 (07:56):
You look very cuddly.
Speaker 10 (07:57):
A good outfit.
Speaker 2 (07:59):
You are cuddly, that's true.
Speaker 9 (08:01):
Cool.
Speaker 2 (08:03):
Oh my god, Hi, he's not allowed in here.
Speaker 7 (08:05):
You know this is a man freeze out.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
I'll hang out.
Speaker 1 (08:09):
Unfortunately, I'll go back to Duncan Donuts. She lives in
a small house with her friend Kathy. It's old and dated.
The architecture, the furniture like it was pulled straight from
a nineteen seventy series catalog.
Speaker 7 (08:23):
The last time was the one and only time other
than when you was little.
Speaker 10 (08:28):
Was it your mom's ninety.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
Yeah, all right?
Speaker 7 (08:30):
When she said she's who introduced me to your father,
and the two of you went thanks a lot.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
And that's when I said.
Speaker 7 (08:38):
You should be kissing my ask because if there were
not a me, there would not be a use very true.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
I hold no resentment towards you at all.
Speaker 2 (08:46):
Thank you very much.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
We head up to her room so we can talk.
It's full of pictures and mementos from the old days,
the good days.
Speaker 7 (08:57):
I mean, I have tons of pictures and things, and
all my videotapes are in there and in there.
Speaker 1 (09:02):
And she pulls out a small box from under her bed.
Speaker 7 (09:08):
Oh my god, this is one of my favorites. I've
watched because I didn't have TV for a long time
and some of my apartments so I will watch VHS
videotapes of our family. And I love this one and
I love this one. I love them all, but this
is like my favorite. It's like the beginning of our
(09:31):
normal life.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
We pick out an old VHS tape from our childhood
and pop it in. What is he found?
Speaker 10 (09:40):
Kind?
Speaker 2 (09:42):
Look around corners stuff.
Speaker 1 (09:46):
It's Easter morning, nineteen eighty nine. My four year old
self is joyfully running around the house finding candy filled
eggs and baskets, while my brother Corey, two years old
at this time, is trying to keep up.
Speaker 9 (09:58):
You'll find a kite.
Speaker 7 (09:59):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
My dad is behind the camera narrating ladies and gentlemen.
Speaker 9 (10:03):
Here's my son, Kyle. I want you boys to stand back,
and my wonderful family stand back. Let me look at
your faces. My beautiful wife like two beautiful boys, and
look it. See all that candy and stuff there, that's
your first load. We got part two coming up. I
want you to think about this. You know what I
got for Easter. My whole life was one basket with
(10:26):
socks and underwear.
Speaker 1 (10:27):
It is.
Speaker 9 (10:28):
That's all I ever got. Look at my kids. Happy Easter,
you guys.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
The image jumps till later in the day. Some family
has come over to celebrate, and my mom now holds
the camera. There's people everywhere. She pans around to my dad,
who's standing tall in the chaos.
Speaker 10 (10:48):
Here's Can.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
Oh, you're out of your Easter. Where's your easter bonnet?
Speaker 10 (10:53):
Can?
Speaker 1 (10:54):
He's got long hair, wearing a tight white dress shirt
with most of the buttons undone, and sporting a huge
goofy smile on his face.
Speaker 3 (11:04):
Because these eye is taking it.
Speaker 10 (11:06):
That's right.
Speaker 9 (11:06):
So now I'm in a picture.
Speaker 1 (11:09):
He's posing now, showing off his muscles and brimming with
that unique blend of sarcasm, confidence and charm that endeared
him to everyone around him.
Speaker 7 (11:19):
Niece, it's jealous, like, right.
Speaker 1 (11:21):
Now, she's thirty five years old. Here my age. Now,
in those days he was my hero. And I don't
just mean that figuratively. Only a few months after this
home video was made, he literally saved my life. Thanks
(11:45):
for joining me on Crook County for ad free listening
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(12:08):
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Speaker 7 (12:21):
You guys were little. Corey was like two, your four
going on five. Well, our neighbor was a single female
who had moved into the neighborhood with this big dog
and a Nikita huge probably one hundred pound dog at least,
and she had the dog for protection. She also had
a cat. And one day you and me and Corey
(12:46):
were out in the front yard just hanging out, and
her cat was up in our tree. So you went
next door and knocked on the door and it was summertime,
and she just had like a screen door. The other
door was opened, and the dog came up to the
door when you were standing there and pushed open the
(13:08):
green door and started chasing after you and tackled you
and took you down to the ground and started biting
you on your head from your head all the way
down to your calves. And you were like four years old,
forty pounds, and this is like a hundred pound dog
on top of you, tearing you to shreds. I was
in the front yard with you, and I made this
(13:29):
hurdling scream, and thank god Ken was home that day
because he was usually on twenty four off forty eight,
and he heard me scream in the front yard and
he came out running. And by the time he came
out there, I'm on top of the dog trying to
get him off of you. You're bleeding everywhere, and I'm
trying to pull you out of the dog's mouth where
Kenna's trying to pull the dog off of your body.
(13:52):
And in the meantime, there's puncture wounds on your legs
and on your head and on your back. And Ken
comes here, and you know, I get off and he
takes the dog and he opens up the dog's mouth
like really wide and broke the dog's jaw, and I
pulled you out of the dog's mouth. Finally the ambulance
(14:16):
came and they took X rays of your head. You
had two depressed skull fractures from his teeth. It was scary.
I thought I was going to lose you, and I
just say thank God, because if Ken wasn't there, you.
Speaker 3 (14:32):
Wouldn't be here.
Speaker 1 (14:35):
After several months of intensive recovery, the scare had passed
and I was becoming my old self again. So we
packed up our belongings and moved to the house I
would forever consider my childhood home in a small, newly
constructed suburb west of Chicago, the very definition of cookie cutter,
(14:55):
my mom puts in another tape. It's from the day
we moved in. My dad is behind the camera again
while a few of his buddies from the fire department
are carrying in furniture and goofing off.
Speaker 10 (15:08):
Nice.
Speaker 6 (15:08):
If you.
Speaker 10 (15:10):
Take pictures.
Speaker 9 (15:14):
Warm, there's not warm.
Speaker 7 (15:18):
Don't bother about.
Speaker 1 (15:19):
The neighborhood was so new that none of the landscaping
had been planted yet, so the entire yard was mud.
There's a lot of people out here admiring their mud.
Our house a little blue island in a sea of
brown sludge.
Speaker 9 (15:33):
How about that?
Speaker 1 (15:35):
That's something Santa, don't you guys?
Speaker 2 (15:43):
Growing up was great. We had a great childhood.
Speaker 1 (15:49):
That's my brother Corey dead.
Speaker 8 (15:51):
He would take us to the firehouse, seeing all the
fire engines and playing with all the medical supplies and
the and the paramedic truck and everything. You know, rubber gloves,
that was like the coolest thing to like wear, you know,
ship like that.
Speaker 2 (16:04):
And somebody would go on the mic, you know, and
it would be.
Speaker 8 (16:07):
An intercom throughout the whole the whole building, and be
like attention. And then I don't know, maybe what Mike
Eckler or something like that, would just let out a
big rip on the microphone in his sport throughout the
whole building, you know, and everybody would crack up. You know,
this is just fun.
Speaker 1 (16:25):
She pops in another tape, it's my fifth birthday party.
There's about twenty people at some restaurant. I remember this.
Speaker 11 (16:36):
The kids got to make our own pizzas. It's impossible
to describe how I feel watching this video and knowing
now all of the atrocious crimes my father committed in
the years leading up to it, and worse that they
(16:58):
were still being committed, beatings, murders, cover ups, will try
and then coming home to his happy little family and
lying about everything away.
Speaker 7 (17:13):
Why don't we get here, kid, and.
Speaker 1 (17:18):
All of us completely oblivious, celebrating a joyful birthday with
the clear heads and hearts of a simple, average American family,
when in fact we were anything but right here.
Speaker 9 (17:33):
I'll relax, will, Yeah, I haven't an emotion forever in motion?
Speaker 10 (17:38):
All right?
Speaker 9 (17:39):
Lamar stills, Baby, This is.
Speaker 1 (17:40):
The nineties and my poor mother going to bed every
night next to a man she doesn't even know, a
man who has blood on his hands, the same hands
that would comb through my hair the next morning before
going off to work to possibly have them bloodied again.
We never suspected a thing, we had no reason to.
(18:05):
But now looking back, knowing what I know, there were
in fact signs of a darker side, cracks in his
been ear.
Speaker 8 (18:16):
I remember being eight or nine, my dad picking me
up from somewhere. I'm walking out and I see Dad
kind of just like nonchalantly, like hanging out in his
Ford Explorer kind of yelling at a guy. You know,
it looked like there was a confrontation going on, but
he was super calm, super chill. As I'm walking closer
(18:38):
and closer to the car, I see this this big
bald man screaming through the window. Well, Ken, my dad
was just sitting there, and all of a sudden, he
fucking just headbuts this guy knocks the guy fucking flat out,
and I'm like, I didn't, I don't even, I don't
even I don't even think I brought it up to.
Speaker 2 (18:59):
Him, because I think I was just.
Speaker 8 (19:02):
So stunned, like what the hell just happened, you know,
you know, just a typical Sunday morning, that fucking knocking
some guy out through a window in a car.
Speaker 1 (19:11):
With his head and then you just drove away.
Speaker 2 (19:14):
And just like nothing fucking happened.
Speaker 1 (19:16):
I've seen Dad twice. The first time I was really young,
but I do remember him in a fit of road
rage pulling a guy out of his car like we're
behind the car, because you know, he was in front
of us, pulling the guy out of his driver's side
door and dragging him to like the back. So now
(19:38):
I had like a perfect view of this of the crime,
and just pounding a guy and then leaving him just
basically knocked out or like half aware, and then getting
back in the car and then like you know, doing
a little swerve, drive around and then continueing. I was
with the day, So that was the first time I
remember seeing that, and I was so young it almost
felt like a dream. But then I think it was
(19:59):
seventh grade and I remember in like one of my
English classes or something, we were doing like a project,
you know, you'd like create a scene, like a shoebox scene,
you know what I mean. I remember it was sitting
in my lap because I was up all night working
on it. And we're driving to school and some guy
cuts ken off and he chases this dude past the school,
(20:20):
like we go on a chase. I'm screaming, a hunt,
And finally we catch the guy a red light and
he goes and paunches the guy several times through his
driver's side window. Then gets back in the car, does
a U turn, drops me off at school, and you're like,
what do you do? You know, like you just you can't.
(20:40):
There's nothing to say, nothing to do. He just like
kind of walk like a zombie through the rest of
the day, going is that a real thing that just happened.
When things are going well, it's hard to believe they
could ever go wrong. And just because my father showed
a few flashes of violence or said a few questionable
(21:01):
things doesn't mean there's something sinister or terrible lurking behind
the curtain. Besides, he was never violent with any of us.
Life is complex and emotional, and it's human nature to
see the best in people. But a lie this big
can't stay hidden forever. Somehow, some way, it will turn
(21:23):
on you and force its way out.
Speaker 7 (21:27):
One day, I'm cooking dinner in the kitchen and I
hear a commotion in the garage. So I opened up
the door to the garage and there's Ken's brother and
he said, Holly, Ken needs to go to rehab. And
I said, what what are you talking about? And he says,
Ken is addicted to heroin. And I was floored. I
(21:51):
mean I just couldn't believe it, and I was so
much in denial. So that night I took Ken to
rehab and they admitted him right away. You know, Ken
went back and forth through rehab, but the heroine took
over and he just kept doing it, and I kept
(22:14):
finding perfernalitia in the house, and his arms are all
these bruised, and I would find blood splitts on the ceiling.
And he was so bad where he was going crazy,
like he would scream at me. He would come at me.
He looked like he was possessed. He'd be rolling on
(22:35):
the floor screaming like he looked like he was a
possessed devil. And I was scared to death. He would
come at me many times and he would push me
or and I didn't take it. I would push him back.
And when I pushed him back, you know, I wouldn't
either get hit or push against the wall or something.
(23:01):
I had a sleep in my car, or I would
sleep at the bottom of the stairs, so I had
an easy escape. Because he was so crazy, trying to
wean off the drug, that's all he cared about. He
alienated his family, he alienated his friends, he alienated his job.
(23:23):
It destroyed our life, It destroyed our marriage, It destroyed
my kids, it destroyed friendships, it destroyed.
Speaker 2 (23:34):
It really destroyed everything.
Speaker 1 (23:54):
During those ten years of addiction, I had already left
home and started my own life in Atlanta, where I
met my wife, Nicole. We got married in two thousand
and nine. My wedding was the last time that the
four of us were together in the same I did
know my dad was struggling with addiction, and I knew
that my mom was taking him to treatment and assisting
(24:15):
in his recovery, but I never knew just how bad
it really was. And to be honest, during those first
few years, there were so many fights and so much
drama between us, all with them becoming the kids and
me feeling like the parent that I stepped away from them.
I had never felt this kind of emotional pain before,
(24:36):
and I didn't know how to deal with it. So
I ignored it and I hoped it would get better.
I focused all my energy on building a new family
with Nicole. My brother, however, wasn't so lucky. He was
still living at home, watching everything he knew crumble around him.
Speaker 2 (24:58):
Unfortunately for me, I was there when all this went on.
Speaker 8 (25:08):
I first noticed that Dad was on drugs when I
was sixteen years old. I rummaged through Dad's personal shit
in his car to find a couple bucks. When I
opened the globbox, I saw a large freezer bag, and then,
of course, being sixteen, I looked into it, seeing what
(25:29):
the fuck it was?
Speaker 2 (25:30):
Smoking pot?
Speaker 8 (25:31):
I figured it would be like some pot or something,
you know, taking a dug out, you know, not tell.
Speaker 2 (25:37):
But that wasn't the case.
Speaker 8 (25:38):
When I opened the bag, it was a bunch of
little tinfoil squares.
Speaker 2 (25:42):
That I had no idea what the fuck it was.
Speaker 8 (25:45):
But then I saw a syringe and our fucking.
Speaker 2 (25:49):
Soup spoon from our kitchen.
Speaker 8 (25:52):
It was a yellow handle and a lighter, and I go,
what the fuck? I mean, I'm no dummy, but I'm
thinking to myself, what the fuck's going on here?
Speaker 2 (26:04):
Like he's fucking he's shooting heroin and.
Speaker 8 (26:08):
He's cooking fucking heroin on her fucking goddamn soup spoons.
I was so confused, and so I just didn't know
what was going on. There's what one incident that I
remember like it was yesterday.
Speaker 2 (26:23):
I'm twenty one.
Speaker 8 (26:24):
At this time, I needed to come home for a
little bit and save up some money so I could
get back out.
Speaker 2 (26:29):
I just needed I needed my family for a minute,
you know what I mean.
Speaker 8 (26:32):
But I see him on the couch watching the fucking
History channel, of course, always watching the History channel, War
War War. He's eating me fucking yo play yogurt and
some shit I don't know. And what really got me
is that he was really zonked out. But the spoon,
the image of him eating it with a spoon brought
me back to when I first remembered seeing the fucking
(26:55):
spoon next to a bunch of heroin and needles.
Speaker 2 (26:58):
So I got furious. I walked up to him.
Speaker 8 (27:00):
I slapped the fucking yogurt out of his hand, and
I go, fuck.
Speaker 2 (27:04):
You, dad, You're useless. And that started.
Speaker 8 (27:08):
Which would be the most intense fight I've ever had
with my father. He stood up, I pushed him, he
fell back down on the couch. He got back up,
and he fucking clocked me. I got to hazing and dizzy.
But me, I'm a fucking savage.
Speaker 2 (27:27):
I'd attack 'em. I don't.
Speaker 8 (27:29):
I don't stop attacking him, fucking on the floor, beating
the shit out of each other. Blood's flying everywhere, fists
are flying everywhere. We ended up into the kitchen, where
you know, we slam into the cupboards and the and
the cabinets, the drawers. I remember ripping out a drawer
and trying to fucking.
Speaker 2 (27:48):
Hit 'em with it. He knocked it out of my hands.
Speaker 8 (27:50):
He pushed me back into the into the the refrigerator,
and I don't know how.
Speaker 2 (27:58):
The fight stopped. I just remember it was surreal, which is.
Speaker 8 (28:06):
My dad and I are actually fistfighting each other right now,
black eyes, fucking blood cuts. It's crazy to have, you know,
someone that was so strong in my life and just
such a such a man of father figure.
Speaker 2 (28:24):
Every I I looked up to him. He was everything
to me. So we fucking budged him in the face
over drugs cause he was destroying fucking family. Fucking horrible.
Speaker 1 (28:50):
Did you ever recover from all that? Like? Do you
still carry it with you? I?
Speaker 8 (28:55):
I carry it every fucking day, absolutely, And I feel
like that's how I've become so emotional. Just commercials, fucking movies,
anything that has to do with a f the sun.
Speaker 2 (29:09):
If I f it fucking destroys me. It's just it's
so hard.
Speaker 8 (29:14):
I mean I do, I do mask it very well,
and I try to forget all the time about everything.
Speaker 2 (29:24):
But it's it, It will never go away. It. It
fucked me up, absolutely fucked me up. Do you wanna
see him again? I? I I don't know. I mean,
I love him, That's what's so fucked up. I do.
Speaker 8 (29:39):
I mean, I you can't take back my childhood, which
was awesome in my eyes, it was perfect. But now
I don't. I don't know if I can, if I
can be the bigger man, and.
Speaker 2 (29:58):
And I don't know even talk.
Speaker 8 (29:59):
I I don't know Kyle, honestly, I I just I
don't even know my reaction or my feelings that would
come to me if I saw him again.
Speaker 1 (30:08):
I don't know. Eventually, Corey got out and moved to Florida,
where he started a new career, worked hard and did well.
And though I know the scars of those traumatic years
are still raw, I'm impressed by how well he's been
able to cope with them to move on. But Mom
(30:32):
was still there, living in this hell until my dad
either got clean or died trying. And then in twenty thirteen,
I got a disturbing phone call. It was my dad.
He was moaning, crying, barely making any sense, but I
(30:52):
could understand enough he was dying and asking for my help.
I immediately booked him a flight for the following morning
and found a rehab facility that would admit him.
Speaker 7 (31:03):
I remember getting ready next morning because I am driving
him to the airport and He's still screaming at me,
and the song from Bohemian Rhapsody comes on, Mama just
killed the many us cut and he goes perfect song.
(31:25):
JE puts his fingers to my head like it's a gun,
and he goes, you know what, Hollie, I've killed men,
I've killed money men. I could kill you too. And
that was pretty much the last time I saw him.
Speaker 1 (31:47):
When I picked him up from the airport, I barely
recognized him. He was skinny, disheveled, with dead eyes, and
he barely spoke a word. I was stunned. I felt
like throwing up. I drove him straight to rehab and
dropped him off. On my way home, I pulled the
car over and I cried for the first time in
(32:09):
a very long time. I'm still.
Speaker 7 (32:16):
Trying to understand to this day why this happened, Why
he forfeited a great life and relationship with his children.
I mean, my god, I don't care about me, but
how can you not have a relationship with your kids
(32:41):
and a grandson. I mean, my god, That's what life
is about, at least in my world, that's what life
is about.
Speaker 1 (32:54):
I have this old memory of my dad dropping me
off my first day at college, he looked at me
in a very strange way and said, when you're old enough,
I'll tell you everything. No more secrets, no more lies.
It's time I learned the truth. Next week on Crook County.
Speaker 6 (33:20):
Listen, there are girls in and out there for years
and years and years and years and years. All right,
go in there, crap a deal with the client, go
to work, get out quick, and wait for the next guy.
These girls were pure, pure business, and they made a
ton of fucking money.
Speaker 10 (33:44):
Everybody.
Speaker 1 (33:47):
Crook County is a production of iHeart Podcasts and Tenderfoot
TV in association with Common Enemy. All episodes are written, produced,
and hosted by Me Kyle Tequila. Executive producers are Donald
Albright and Payne Lindsay. Original score by Makeup and Vanity Set.
Main title song is called Crush by the band Starry Eyes.
(34:08):
End credit song is called No Show, also by the
band Starry Eyes. Sound mix by Cooper Skinner. Thank you
to Orrin Rosenbaum and the excellent team at UTA for
their support, and to my fearless attorney Wendy Bench for
her guidance to stay updated on all things Crook County.
Follow us on all socials at Crook County Podcast or
(34:29):
leave us a voicemail by visiting crookcountypodcast dot com. For
more podcasts like Crook County. Search Tenderfoot TV on your
favorite podcast app, or visit Tenderfoot dot tv. Thanks for listening.
The story continues next week. Awesome Passage Job.
Speaker 10 (35:02):
Five.
Speaker 5 (35:08):
I want you show no sho.
Speaker 10 (35:31):
S your child.
Speaker 1 (37:00):
Thank you for tuning into Crook County. New episodes are
released weekly completely free, but if you're riching for more,
check out tender Foot Plus on Apple Podcasts or visit
Tenderfoot plus dot com to subscribe for early access to
the full series, plus an ad free experience
If you're listening to a tenor foot TV.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Podcast, Girls.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
Crook County is released weekly and brought to you absolutely free.
But if you want to hear the whole season right now,
it's available ad free on tenderfoot Plus. For more information,
check out the show notes. Enjoy the episode.
Speaker 3 (00:34):
You're listening to Crook County. The views and opinions expressed
in this podcast are solely those of the individuals participating
in the podcast. This episode also contains subject matter, including
graphic depictions of violence, which may not be suitable for everyone.
Listener discretion is advised.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
Previously on Crook County.
Speaker 4 (00:57):
I got recruited into the mob when I was seventeen
years old.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
Meet Kenny the kid Tequila.
Speaker 5 (01:02):
I became a trusted member.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
I ran whorehouses and I did his an enforcer for
the Chicago I.
Speaker 5 (01:08):
Wanted him to know I meant fucking business here.
Speaker 6 (01:11):
So I beat him, put the gun back up to
his forehead, and three of my boys come in.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
He lived a secret double life for over twenty years.
Speaker 4 (01:19):
I had a wife and I had two children. Nobody
knew anything. I didn't want anybody to know. I was
kind of embarrassed, and I wanted to keep them as
far away from it as possible. I wanted them.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
To have a good life.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
How do you keep an entire life of crime away
from your friends, away from your family. It seems impossible,
but I know it's true because Kenny is my father,
and I had no idea about any of this until now.
My name is Kyle Tequila. Welcome to Crook County.
Speaker 7 (02:15):
I didn't know if he was in the lab until
maybe twenty years after your days were born.
Speaker 8 (02:20):
He was a fucking crazy bastard and that type of
lifestyle fits him.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
You cannot control this. It is the devil.
Speaker 6 (02:29):
It lays in wait for you, and it will take
you out at your weakest moments.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
Episode two, The Ties that bind Us? Family? Has there
ever been a more loaded word? To some family means
unconditional love. It means security and support, tradition, values, acceptance, joy,
(02:59):
and spending the holidays together. It's the very foundation upon
which you are built. To some people, family means everything,
But to many others, family is just another four letter
word filled with pain, grief, and discontent. Family is something
you need to escape from, to shun, to forget. For
(03:25):
my father, family meant something else entirely On one hand,
it was his wife who loved him, his two young
boys who idolized him. It meant breaking the chain of
an abusive childhood and starting over to create something new,
something pure, something good. But on the other hand, family
(03:46):
meant something far more sinister. His mafia family took him
in when he was just seventeen alone in the streets
of Chicago. It gave him a job and a support system.
It took away the anxieties of running away from home
with no money and filled that emptiness with purpose, even
if that purpose was criminal, even if it meant doing
(04:09):
things you never imagined possible, never in a million years,
and once you do them, it's all ready too late.
You're a prisoner to that family forever.
Speaker 5 (04:25):
So my goal was to be a good provider, all right,
So my kids had every opportunity in the world that
I didn't have, and my wife could be a wife,
to be a stay at home mom, to raise the family. Okay,
that was my goal, all right. I didn't want anybody
to know.
Speaker 4 (04:43):
I was kind of embarrassed, and I wanted to keep
them as far away from it as possible. I wanted
them to have a good life, you know, raise their
own families.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
And for the most part he succeeded. We never knew
about my father's second family. We were happy, and I
always felt lucky to be a part of this family.
In fact, I have almost exclusively positive memories for my
first eighteen years, a loving, blue collar, suburban middle class
home with a Ford Explorer and a convertible Mustang occupying
(05:18):
the driveway. My dad was a firefighter paramedic and my
mom left work to raise the kids. Both were supportive
and enthusiastic parents, encouraging us to pursue our passions and
follow our dreams. My younger brother, Corey, and I played
just about every sport imaginable, so trips to play it
against sports to buy and sell our gently used equipment
(05:39):
were routine. We didn't have all the latest toys or
clothes like many of the other kids in the neighborhood,
but we never really wanted for anything. Running around the
neighborhood like animals, laughing, building forts, playing tag, walking for
miles along the railroad tracks like the kids and stand
by Me minus the dead body, sleepovers, paintball battles, baseball games,
(06:03):
travel hockey, girlfriends, making out in the basement, breakups, new friends,
movie nights, punk shows. It was a good life, as
good as any kid could ask for.
Speaker 7 (06:17):
My kids grew up happy.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
That's my mom, Holly.
Speaker 7 (06:22):
I worked part time, Ken worked as a firefighter paramedic,
and would have a second job, you know, just to
make ends meet. But it was, you know, my perfect
little life. I you know, had a husband, I had
two beautiful sons. We finally had a beautiful home in
a nice neighborhood. We eventually made good friends with our
(06:43):
neighbors and their kids made good friends with you know,
all the kids in their neighborhood. And you know, it
was my dream coming true.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
We were lucky, at least that's how it felt back then.
But today things couldn't be any more different, and we
couldn't be any further apart. As soon as we could,
my brother and I moved away from home, me to
the West Coast and my brother to the East. My
dad eventually moved away to leaving a trail of destruction
(07:11):
in his wake, and leaving my poor mom with nothing
but sadness, anger, and unanswered questions. I don't know why
I deserve this.
Speaker 7 (07:22):
My life ended.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
I'd like to welcome everyone here to Chicago. With the bears.
Now for you're continued safety to think, give all them
folks you're gonna fall on, please remain see with them
stands and I flew to Chicago to visit my mom.
It's been years since I've been back, and I'm really
not looking forward to the conversation I'm about to have
with her. I don't think she's looking forward to it either.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
Hey, hi, mom, you.
Speaker 9 (07:56):
You look very cuddly.
Speaker 10 (07:57):
A good outfit.
Speaker 2 (07:59):
You are cuddly, that's true.
Speaker 9 (08:01):
Cool.
Speaker 2 (08:03):
Oh my god, Hi, he's not allowed in here.
Speaker 7 (08:05):
You know this is a man freeze out.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
I'll hang out.
Speaker 1 (08:09):
Unfortunately, I'll go back to Duncan Donuts. She lives in
a small house with her friend Kathy. It's old and dated.
The architecture, the furniture like it was pulled straight from
a nineteen seventy series catalog.
Speaker 7 (08:23):
The last time was the one and only time other
than when you was little.
Speaker 10 (08:28):
Was it your mom's ninety.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
Yeah, all right?
Speaker 7 (08:30):
When she said she's who introduced me to your father,
and the two of you went thanks a lot.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
And that's when I said.
Speaker 7 (08:38):
You should be kissing my ask because if there were
not a me, there would not be a use very true.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
I hold no resentment towards you at all.
Speaker 2 (08:46):
Thank you very much.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
We head up to her room so we can talk.
It's full of pictures and mementos from the old days,
the good days.
Speaker 7 (08:57):
I mean, I have tons of pictures and things, and
all my videotapes are in there and in there.
Speaker 1 (09:02):
And she pulls out a small box from under her bed.
Speaker 7 (09:08):
Oh my god, this is one of my favorites. I've
watched because I didn't have TV for a long time
and some of my apartments so I will watch VHS
videotapes of our family. And I love this one and
I love this one. I love them all, but this
is like my favorite. It's like the beginning of our
(09:31):
normal life.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
We pick out an old VHS tape from our childhood
and pop it in. What is he found?
Speaker 10 (09:40):
Kind?
Speaker 2 (09:42):
Look around corners stuff.
Speaker 1 (09:46):
It's Easter morning, nineteen eighty nine. My four year old
self is joyfully running around the house finding candy filled
eggs and baskets, while my brother Corey, two years old
at this time, is trying to keep up.
Speaker 9 (09:58):
You'll find a kite.
Speaker 7 (09:59):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
My dad is behind the camera narrating ladies and gentlemen.
Speaker 9 (10:03):
Here's my son, Kyle. I want you boys to stand back,
and my wonderful family stand back. Let me look at
your faces. My beautiful wife like two beautiful boys, and
look it. See all that candy and stuff there, that's
your first load. We got part two coming up. I
want you to think about this. You know what I
got for Easter. My whole life was one basket with
(10:26):
socks and underwear.
Speaker 1 (10:27):
It is.
Speaker 9 (10:28):
That's all I ever got. Look at my kids. Happy Easter,
you guys.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
The image jumps till later in the day. Some family
has come over to celebrate, and my mom now holds
the camera. There's people everywhere. She pans around to my dad,
who's standing tall in the chaos.
Speaker 10 (10:48):
Here's Can.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
Oh, you're out of your Easter. Where's your easter bonnet?
Speaker 10 (10:53):
Can?
Speaker 1 (10:54):
He's got long hair, wearing a tight white dress shirt
with most of the buttons undone, and sporting a huge
goofy smile on his face.
Speaker 3 (11:04):
Because these eye is taking it.
Speaker 10 (11:06):
That's right.
Speaker 9 (11:06):
So now I'm in a picture.
Speaker 1 (11:09):
He's posing now, showing off his muscles and brimming with
that unique blend of sarcasm, confidence and charm that endeared
him to everyone around him.
Speaker 7 (11:19):
Niece, it's jealous, like, right.
Speaker 1 (11:21):
Now, she's thirty five years old. Here my age. Now,
in those days he was my hero. And I don't
just mean that figuratively. Only a few months after this
home video was made, he literally saved my life. Thanks
(11:45):
for joining me on Crook County for ad free listening
and exclusive content, dive into tenderfootplus dot com right there
in the show notes. Tenderfoot plus is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify,
Google Podcasts, and other podcast players. You'll unlock access to
early episodes, upcoming bonus material, the tenderfoot podcast library of
over four hundred ad free episodes, as well as subscrib
(12:08):
gyber only specials. Subscribe now at tenderfoot plus dot com.
Speaker 7 (12:21):
You guys were little. Corey was like two, your four
going on five. Well, our neighbor was a single female
who had moved into the neighborhood with this big dog
and a Nikita huge probably one hundred pound dog at least,
and she had the dog for protection. She also had
a cat. And one day you and me and Corey
(12:46):
were out in the front yard just hanging out, and
her cat was up in our tree. So you went
next door and knocked on the door and it was summertime,
and she just had like a screen door. The other
door was opened, and the dog came up to the
door when you were standing there and pushed open the
(13:08):
green door and started chasing after you and tackled you
and took you down to the ground and started biting
you on your head from your head all the way
down to your calves. And you were like four years old,
forty pounds, and this is like a hundred pound dog
on top of you, tearing you to shreds. I was
in the front yard with you, and I made this
(13:29):
hurdling scream, and thank god Ken was home that day
because he was usually on twenty four off forty eight,
and he heard me scream in the front yard and
he came out running. And by the time he came
out there, I'm on top of the dog trying to
get him off of you. You're bleeding everywhere, and I'm
trying to pull you out of the dog's mouth where
Kenna's trying to pull the dog off of your body.
(13:52):
And in the meantime, there's puncture wounds on your legs
and on your head and on your back. And Ken
comes here, and you know, I get off and he
takes the dog and he opens up the dog's mouth
like really wide and broke the dog's jaw, and I
pulled you out of the dog's mouth. Finally the ambulance
(14:16):
came and they took X rays of your head. You
had two depressed skull fractures from his teeth. It was scary.
I thought I was going to lose you, and I
just say thank God, because if Ken wasn't there, you.
Speaker 3 (14:32):
Wouldn't be here.
Speaker 1 (14:35):
After several months of intensive recovery, the scare had passed
and I was becoming my old self again. So we
packed up our belongings and moved to the house I
would forever consider my childhood home in a small, newly
constructed suburb west of Chicago, the very definition of cookie cutter,
(14:55):
my mom puts in another tape. It's from the day
we moved in. My dad is behind the camera again
while a few of his buddies from the fire department
are carrying in furniture and goofing off.
Speaker 10 (15:08):
Nice.
Speaker 6 (15:08):
If you.
Speaker 10 (15:10):
Take pictures.
Speaker 9 (15:14):
Warm, there's not warm.
Speaker 7 (15:18):
Don't bother about.
Speaker 1 (15:19):
The neighborhood was so new that none of the landscaping
had been planted yet, so the entire yard was mud.
There's a lot of people out here admiring their mud.
Our house a little blue island in a sea of
brown sludge.
Speaker 9 (15:33):
How about that?
Speaker 1 (15:35):
That's something Santa, don't you guys?
Speaker 2 (15:43):
Growing up was great. We had a great childhood.
Speaker 1 (15:49):
That's my brother Corey dead.
Speaker 8 (15:51):
He would take us to the firehouse, seeing all the
fire engines and playing with all the medical supplies and
the and the paramedic truck and everything. You know, rubber gloves,
that was like the coolest thing to like wear, you know,
ship like that.
Speaker 2 (16:04):
And somebody would go on the mic, you know, and
it would be.
Speaker 8 (16:07):
An intercom throughout the whole the whole building, and be
like attention. And then I don't know, maybe what Mike
Eckler or something like that, would just let out a
big rip on the microphone in his sport throughout the
whole building, you know, and everybody would crack up. You know,
this is just fun.
Speaker 1 (16:25):
She pops in another tape, it's my fifth birthday party.
There's about twenty people at some restaurant. I remember this.
Speaker 11 (16:36):
The kids got to make our own pizzas. It's impossible
to describe how I feel watching this video and knowing
now all of the atrocious crimes my father committed in
the years leading up to it, and worse that they
(16:58):
were still being committed, beatings, murders, cover ups, will try
and then coming home to his happy little family and
lying about everything away.
Speaker 7 (17:13):
Why don't we get here, kid, and.
Speaker 1 (17:18):
All of us completely oblivious, celebrating a joyful birthday with
the clear heads and hearts of a simple, average American family,
when in fact we were anything but right here.
Speaker 9 (17:33):
I'll relax, will, Yeah, I haven't an emotion forever in motion?
Speaker 10 (17:38):
All right?
Speaker 9 (17:39):
Lamar stills, Baby, This is.
Speaker 1 (17:40):
The nineties and my poor mother going to bed every
night next to a man she doesn't even know, a
man who has blood on his hands, the same hands
that would comb through my hair the next morning before
going off to work to possibly have them bloodied again.
We never suspected a thing, we had no reason to.
(18:05):
But now looking back, knowing what I know, there were
in fact signs of a darker side, cracks in his
been ear.
Speaker 8 (18:16):
I remember being eight or nine, my dad picking me
up from somewhere. I'm walking out and I see Dad
kind of just like nonchalantly, like hanging out in his
Ford Explorer kind of yelling at a guy. You know,
it looked like there was a confrontation going on, but
he was super calm, super chill. As I'm walking closer
(18:38):
and closer to the car, I see this this big
bald man screaming through the window. Well, Ken, my dad
was just sitting there, and all of a sudden, he
fucking just headbuts this guy knocks the guy fucking flat out,
and I'm like, I didn't, I don't even, I don't
even I don't even think I brought it up to.
Speaker 2 (18:59):
Him, because I think I was just.
Speaker 8 (19:02):
So stunned, like what the hell just happened, you know,
you know, just a typical Sunday morning, that fucking knocking
some guy out through a window in a car.
Speaker 1 (19:11):
With his head and then you just drove away.
Speaker 2 (19:14):
And just like nothing fucking happened.
Speaker 1 (19:16):
I've seen Dad twice. The first time I was really young,
but I do remember him in a fit of road
rage pulling a guy out of his car like we're
behind the car, because you know, he was in front
of us, pulling the guy out of his driver's side
door and dragging him to like the back. So now
(19:38):
I had like a perfect view of this of the crime,
and just pounding a guy and then leaving him just
basically knocked out or like half aware, and then getting
back in the car and then like you know, doing
a little swerve, drive around and then continueing. I was
with the day, So that was the first time I
remember seeing that, and I was so young it almost
felt like a dream. But then I think it was
(19:59):
seventh grade and I remember in like one of my
English classes or something, we were doing like a project,
you know, you'd like create a scene, like a shoebox scene,
you know what I mean. I remember it was sitting
in my lap because I was up all night working
on it. And we're driving to school and some guy
cuts ken off and he chases this dude past the school,
(20:20):
like we go on a chase. I'm screaming, a hunt,
And finally we catch the guy a red light and
he goes and paunches the guy several times through his
driver's side window. Then gets back in the car, does
a U turn, drops me off at school, and you're like,
what do you do? You know, like you just you can't.
(20:40):
There's nothing to say, nothing to do. He just like
kind of walk like a zombie through the rest of
the day, going is that a real thing that just happened.
When things are going well, it's hard to believe they
could ever go wrong. And just because my father showed
a few flashes of violence or said a few questionable
(21:01):
things doesn't mean there's something sinister or terrible lurking behind
the curtain. Besides, he was never violent with any of us.
Life is complex and emotional, and it's human nature to
see the best in people. But a lie this big
can't stay hidden forever. Somehow, some way, it will turn
(21:23):
on you and force its way out.
Speaker 7 (21:27):
One day, I'm cooking dinner in the kitchen and I
hear a commotion in the garage. So I opened up
the door to the garage and there's Ken's brother and
he said, Holly, Ken needs to go to rehab. And
I said, what what are you talking about? And he says,
Ken is addicted to heroin. And I was floored. I
(21:51):
mean I just couldn't believe it, and I was so
much in denial. So that night I took Ken to
rehab and they admitted him right away. You know, Ken
went back and forth through rehab, but the heroine took
over and he just kept doing it, and I kept
(22:14):
finding perfernalitia in the house, and his arms are all
these bruised, and I would find blood splitts on the ceiling.
And he was so bad where he was going crazy,
like he would scream at me. He would come at me.
He looked like he was possessed. He'd be rolling on
(22:35):
the floor screaming like he looked like he was a
possessed devil. And I was scared to death. He would
come at me many times and he would push me
or and I didn't take it. I would push him back.
And when I pushed him back, you know, I wouldn't
either get hit or push against the wall or something.
(23:01):
I had a sleep in my car, or I would
sleep at the bottom of the stairs, so I had
an easy escape. Because he was so crazy, trying to
wean off the drug, that's all he cared about. He
alienated his family, he alienated his friends, he alienated his job.
(23:23):
It destroyed our life, It destroyed our marriage, It destroyed
my kids, it destroyed friendships, it destroyed.
Speaker 2 (23:34):
It really destroyed everything.
Speaker 1 (23:54):
During those ten years of addiction, I had already left
home and started my own life in Atlanta, where I
met my wife, Nicole. We got married in two thousand
and nine. My wedding was the last time that the
four of us were together in the same I did
know my dad was struggling with addiction, and I knew
that my mom was taking him to treatment and assisting
(24:15):
in his recovery, but I never knew just how bad
it really was. And to be honest, during those first
few years, there were so many fights and so much
drama between us, all with them becoming the kids and
me feeling like the parent that I stepped away from them.
I had never felt this kind of emotional pain before,
(24:36):
and I didn't know how to deal with it. So
I ignored it and I hoped it would get better.
I focused all my energy on building a new family
with Nicole. My brother, however, wasn't so lucky. He was
still living at home, watching everything he knew crumble around him.
Speaker 2 (24:58):
Unfortunately for me, I was there when all this went on.
Speaker 8 (25:08):
I first noticed that Dad was on drugs when I
was sixteen years old. I rummaged through Dad's personal shit
in his car to find a couple bucks. When I
opened the globbox, I saw a large freezer bag, and then,
of course, being sixteen, I looked into it, seeing what
(25:29):
the fuck it was?
Speaker 2 (25:30):
Smoking pot?
Speaker 8 (25:31):
I figured it would be like some pot or something,
you know, taking a dug out, you know, not tell.
Speaker 2 (25:37):
But that wasn't the case.
Speaker 8 (25:38):
When I opened the bag, it was a bunch of
little tinfoil squares.
Speaker 2 (25:42):
That I had no idea what the fuck it was.
Speaker 8 (25:45):
But then I saw a syringe and our fucking.
Speaker 2 (25:49):
Soup spoon from our kitchen.
Speaker 8 (25:52):
It was a yellow handle and a lighter, and I go,
what the fuck? I mean, I'm no dummy, but I'm
thinking to myself, what the fuck's going on here?
Speaker 2 (26:04):
Like he's fucking he's shooting heroin and.
Speaker 8 (26:08):
He's cooking fucking heroin on her fucking goddamn soup spoons.
I was so confused, and so I just didn't know
what was going on. There's what one incident that I
remember like it was yesterday.
Speaker 2 (26:23):
I'm twenty one.
Speaker 8 (26:24):
At this time, I needed to come home for a
little bit and save up some money so I could
get back out.
Speaker 2 (26:29):
I just needed I needed my family for a minute,
you know what I mean.
Speaker 8 (26:32):
But I see him on the couch watching the fucking
History channel, of course, always watching the History channel, War
War War. He's eating me fucking yo play yogurt and
some shit I don't know. And what really got me
is that he was really zonked out. But the spoon,
the image of him eating it with a spoon brought
me back to when I first remembered seeing the fucking
(26:55):
spoon next to a bunch of heroin and needles.
Speaker 2 (26:58):
So I got furious. I walked up to him.
Speaker 8 (27:00):
I slapped the fucking yogurt out of his hand, and
I go, fuck.
Speaker 2 (27:04):
You, dad, You're useless. And that started.
Speaker 8 (27:08):
Which would be the most intense fight I've ever had
with my father. He stood up, I pushed him, he
fell back down on the couch. He got back up,
and he fucking clocked me. I got to hazing and dizzy.
But me, I'm a fucking savage.
Speaker 2 (27:27):
I'd attack 'em. I don't.
Speaker 8 (27:29):
I don't stop attacking him, fucking on the floor, beating
the shit out of each other. Blood's flying everywhere, fists
are flying everywhere. We ended up into the kitchen, where
you know, we slam into the cupboards and the and
the cabinets, the drawers. I remember ripping out a drawer
and trying to fucking.
Speaker 2 (27:48):
Hit 'em with it. He knocked it out of my hands.
Speaker 8 (27:50):
He pushed me back into the into the the refrigerator,
and I don't know how.
Speaker 2 (27:58):
The fight stopped. I just remember it was surreal, which is.
Speaker 8 (28:06):
My dad and I are actually fistfighting each other right now,
black eyes, fucking blood cuts. It's crazy to have, you know,
someone that was so strong in my life and just
such a such a man of father figure.
Speaker 2 (28:24):
Every I I looked up to him. He was everything
to me. So we fucking budged him in the face
over drugs cause he was destroying fucking family. Fucking horrible.
Speaker 1 (28:50):
Did you ever recover from all that? Like? Do you
still carry it with you? I?
Speaker 8 (28:55):
I carry it every fucking day, absolutely, And I feel
like that's how I've become so emotional. Just commercials, fucking movies,
anything that has to do with a f the sun.
Speaker 2 (29:09):
If I f it fucking destroys me. It's just it's
so hard.
Speaker 8 (29:14):
I mean I do, I do mask it very well,
and I try to forget all the time about everything.
Speaker 2 (29:24):
But it's it, It will never go away. It. It
fucked me up, absolutely fucked me up. Do you wanna
see him again? I? I I don't know. I mean,
I love him, That's what's so fucked up. I do.
Speaker 8 (29:39):
I mean, I you can't take back my childhood, which
was awesome in my eyes, it was perfect. But now
I don't. I don't know if I can, if I
can be the bigger man, and.
Speaker 2 (29:58):
And I don't know even talk.
Speaker 8 (29:59):
I I don't know Kyle, honestly, I I just I
don't even know my reaction or my feelings that would
come to me if I saw him again.
Speaker 1 (30:08):
I don't know. Eventually, Corey got out and moved to Florida,
where he started a new career, worked hard and did well.
And though I know the scars of those traumatic years
are still raw, I'm impressed by how well he's been
able to cope with them to move on. But Mom
(30:32):
was still there, living in this hell until my dad
either got clean or died trying. And then in twenty thirteen,
I got a disturbing phone call. It was my dad.
He was moaning, crying, barely making any sense, but I
(30:52):
could understand enough he was dying and asking for my help.
I immediately booked him a flight for the following morning
and found a rehab facility that would admit him.
Speaker 7 (31:03):
I remember getting ready next morning because I am driving
him to the airport and He's still screaming at me,
and the song from Bohemian Rhapsody comes on, Mama just
killed the many us cut and he goes perfect song.
(31:25):
JE puts his fingers to my head like it's a gun,
and he goes, you know what, Hollie, I've killed men,
I've killed money men. I could kill you too. And
that was pretty much the last time I saw him.
Speaker 1 (31:47):
When I picked him up from the airport, I barely
recognized him. He was skinny, disheveled, with dead eyes, and
he barely spoke a word. I was stunned. I felt
like throwing up. I drove him straight to rehab and
dropped him off. On my way home, I pulled the
car over and I cried for the first time in
(32:09):
a very long time. I'm still.
Speaker 7 (32:16):
Trying to understand to this day why this happened, Why
he forfeited a great life and relationship with his children.
I mean, my god, I don't care about me, but
how can you not have a relationship with your kids
(32:41):
and a grandson. I mean, my god, That's what life
is about, at least in my world, that's what life
is about.
Speaker 1 (32:54):
I have this old memory of my dad dropping me
off my first day at college, he looked at me
in a very strange way and said, when you're old enough,
I'll tell you everything. No more secrets, no more lies.
It's time I learned the truth. Next week on Crook County.
Speaker 6 (33:20):
Listen, there are girls in and out there for years
and years and years and years and years. All right,
go in there, crap a deal with the client, go
to work, get out quick, and wait for the next guy.
These girls were pure, pure business, and they made a
ton of fucking money.
Speaker 10 (33:44):
Everybody.
Speaker 1 (33:47):
Crook County is a production of iHeart Podcasts and Tenderfoot
TV in association with Common Enemy. All episodes are written, produced,
and hosted by Me Kyle Tequila. Executive producers are Donald
Albright and Payne Lindsay. Original score by Makeup and Vanity Set.
Main title song is called Crush by the band Starry Eyes.
(34:08):
End credit song is called No Show, also by the
band Starry Eyes. Sound mix by Cooper Skinner. Thank you
to Orrin Rosenbaum and the excellent team at UTA for
their support, and to my fearless attorney Wendy Bench for
her guidance to stay updated on all things Crook County.
Follow us on all socials at Crook County Podcast or
(34:29):
leave us a voicemail by visiting crookcountypodcast dot com. For
more podcasts like Crook County. Search Tenderfoot TV on your
favorite podcast app, or visit Tenderfoot dot tv. Thanks for listening.
The story continues next week. Awesome Passage Job.
Speaker 10 (35:02):
Five.
Speaker 5 (35:08):
I want you show no sho.
Speaker 10 (35:31):
S your child.
Speaker 1 (37:00):
Thank you for tuning into Crook County. New episodes are
released weekly completely free, but if you're riching for more,
check out tender Foot Plus on Apple Podcasts or visit
Tenderfoot plus dot com to subscribe for early access to
the full series, plus an ad free experience
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