August 4, 2025 • 37 mins
The brutal physicality of the Shock program begins to take its toll on Marc as he braces for two consecutive Hell Weeks. Meanwhile, he learns no good deed goes unpunished as Marc’s decision to help his twin brother out of a deep financial hole has dire consequences.
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Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
Right out of Full Metal Jackie. I mean screaming, let's
go your motherfuckers. I mean just picture the meanest drill
instructor going. It was him, and you were intimidated from
the minute you walked in there, and his biggest saying
he said it almost every day. My platoon is high
and tight. We are known as high and tight. And
you will not make me look any otherwise. And I'm like, well, fuck,
(00:25):
what is this guy gonna do to us?
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Man from iHeartRadio in Doghouse Pictures, this is shock incarceration.
I'm Jeff Keating.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
So when you walk into the dorm, it's a rectangular room.
It's probably thirty feet wide by eighty feet long, and
it's set up as an h but you can't go
through the middle. That's what's known as the danger zone.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Here's drill instructor Clark describing the morning routine before PT began.
Speaker 3 (01:19):
So the officers on a podium overlooking four squads of cubicles.
Speaker 4 (01:24):
Them has his own cube. He has to maintain that
cube and keep it perfect.
Speaker 3 (01:27):
He has only two things, and it is locker in
his brack that has to be made just like military
hospital corners. The sheets tight the blanket polled tight. Bill
has got to be a tuck a certain way. The
shoes has to be lined up underneath his rack in
a certain order, from largest the smallest tolls in the
perfect line. And they have to be clean. And then
(01:48):
everything in the locker has a specific thing. You're not
allowed a lot of property, only what we give them,
and it's not a lot. Soap tray has to be centered.
Then your toothpaste off to the side. It's got to
be clean. The soap tray's got to be dry. There
can't be any hair on the so everything was inspectable.
Their underwear had to be five inch square. Over here,
their clothes all had to be hung up as worn.
(02:08):
All the buttons buttoned facing the same direction, hangers off
facing and two fingerspaced had to be perfect displayed. And
guess what they had to do that in that three
minutes they had in the morning to get ready to
go out to the PT.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
Mark compared Shock Incarceration to the film Groundhog Day, where
everything was repeated over and over again, and most of
it was tough physical training.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
Joel instructor Egilson stood in the danger zone, which is
the center of the dorm and just started right into it.
He said, we're gonna start off with one hundred jumping jack.
So we do one hundred jump and everything one two
three one one two three two, and we're all screaming
stop after about forty them, stop stop stop. So yes, sir,
(02:56):
I don't hear you. Let's start all over, about two
hundred of those and scissor kicks, just back and forth,
back and forth to where your stomach is just in cramps.
There was no stopping. We didn't have brakes. He would
have us roll our mattresses and we put it on
our back and he'd say, all right, let's go outside
and run, and we would just run around the prison,
(03:19):
laps around the prison.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
Here's former shot in mate Ed Revere.
Speaker 4 (03:23):
How weak is exactly like it? Says?
Speaker 5 (03:26):
It was at least ten hours every day at pet.
Every morning we did fifty jumping jacks. After fifty jumping jacks,
you have to make your bed, put on all your
pt gear. You also have to shave and piss and
be on a tar mat. Really in eight minutes. So
at the beginning, nobody could do it. No one could
(03:48):
put their shoes on. I mean it was impossible, but
they made you do it. You had to eat standing
up because you weren't good enough to sit down with
the other inmates, because you haven't improving yourself.
Speaker 4 (04:02):
And this was day after day.
Speaker 5 (04:05):
You were not allowed to sit down from time you
woke up until the time you went to sleep.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
Drill instructors had all types of creative exercises to take
inmates to the point of total exhaustion. One was to
jump on and off their bed frames, or as they
called them, racks.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
So when I tell you to jump up, jump on
your rack, jump, jump down, jump, I mean doing it
until you're throwing up. I mean literally people were throwing up.
It was brutal.
Speaker 4 (04:36):
Get the beginning. You'd come through. You're hired as hell
on them.
Speaker 5 (04:39):
From there, they would bring us behind the gym because
we were not good enough to go to the PT
deck because those are where people already went through hell
week till you know you're doing regular PT work, leglifts,
rolling over, face down in the mud, get up, jog,
go back. Then like fifteen minutes, roll up your mattress,
(05:02):
run back down to the gym, come back. This was
day after day.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
We lost three people in the first two weeks. Three
people because they just physically couldn't do it. They said,
screw this, I'd rather go to prison, sit there and relax,
have three meals, laying a cod all day, and do
what I want.
Speaker 3 (05:21):
When you got him at that point, you know when
you're ready to break.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
There was one point where I don't think I could
have gotten through it. And I really mean that, and
I actually I started crying. I started crying. I was
on the floor and I just couldn't move. I couldn't move,
and these other guys are still jumping up and down,
up and down, and I couldn't do it. I felt dizzy.
(05:51):
I mean, it was mental torture.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
Down and almost out. Mark was ready to quit. He
had nothing left to give and didn't think he could
go on. Then he heard a voice from behind him.
Speaker 1 (06:04):
There was a person behind me that helped me overcome this,
and I will never forget this person as long as
I live. His name was La Bird. I remember specifically
La Bird saying, Lombardo, come on, Lombaro, keep going, keep going.
I have to give him credit because I was like,
you know what he wants me to get through this.
(06:26):
I got to get through this.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
With inspiration from the bird and a strong desire to
get home in six months so he could see family
and friends again. Mark picked himself off the ground, continuing
on in the program and dealing with whatever the drill
instructors threw at him. This proved particularly difficult when they
often had tricks up their sleeves.
Speaker 3 (06:48):
I'd ride these guys and ride these guys until they
were ready to blow, and they start almost fighting with
each other. I'd come in the morning and I'd throw
cigarette butts inside the shower just to get him.
Speaker 4 (06:59):
At the point.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
And then I'd come in and say, oh, cigarettes in
the shower, And then it was just relentless day, and
I just keep referring to the cigarette. But then at
the end of the day, I put them down in
their cubes and we played the song the Man in
the Mirror, and they can take out their mirror and
you see grown men just start crying their eyeballs out,
and you to tell them, you set them up and
tell them the real problem is the guy in the marror.
Speaker 1 (07:19):
That's who needs to be fixed, not me, not the
guy to your left or right. You're going.
Speaker 4 (07:23):
That's got to focus on your own behaviors and that.
Speaker 3 (07:25):
But sometimes you need a catalyst to get them there
in that cigarette, but in the shower would be it.
Speaker 4 (07:29):
So everything we did was in their best interest.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
It was the last day of Hell week and we
were out on a jog. We were basically ran into
the ground for two weeks, and we finished up our
last job and we were coming back into the dorm
and we again, as you always do, you stand that
attention at the end of the IRAQ and drill Instructor
Egleston said, all right, look under your pillows, and we
(07:59):
lift up our pillow and there was our green hat.
And it was a cool feel, like I'm getting chills
even thinking about it, and I know that sounds so minimal,
but you're like, cool, I'm one step closer to getting
out of this fucking place, and now I'm a green hat.
I'm not a brown hat anymore.
Speaker 2 (08:14):
Drill Instructor Stack shared his mentality as the inmates finished
the two hell weeks and finally got their green hats,
the first step towards completing the shock incarceration program.
Speaker 4 (08:27):
I love doing that because I love to see these guys.
Speaker 6 (08:29):
Hated me, absolutely hate me during that first two weeks,
and then to see him so happy, you know, because
they did achieve a lot.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
I mean, we get put through a lot in those first.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
Two weeks, and ed Revere learned there were new challenges
with getting a green hat.
Speaker 5 (08:46):
You moved to a green hat, and literally at this point,
no one had a problem with getting out of a
tarmat in eight minutes. Now we've learned how to clean.
I'm kind of reflecting from where I am at this
point of my life looking back. All of these lessons
had great means that I'm applying today to my life.
So now you worked really hard to get this one
(09:07):
little goal, and now there's another goal, and you're a
green hat. So you're in the middle. You're not at
the advance and you're not at the bottom. But there's
more challenges alsome. You're also there's a lot more tension
in your platoon because now you're kind of on top
of each other.
Speaker 4 (09:24):
You've been with these same people.
Speaker 5 (09:26):
There's some people that are not pulling their own weight
that's dragging down the whole platoon. There's tension and you
can feel it amongst each other.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
It was a moment, you know, if you were high
fiving people. It was kind of cool, but it was
short lived. It was okay, all right, all right, you
got your hat. Now you shut the fuck up, you
know what I mean, Get ready for bed, and let's
go to sleep. Tomorrow's another night.
Speaker 2 (10:08):
Things started to snowball in their marriage after Liz discovered
what Mark had been hiding.
Speaker 7 (10:14):
I don't specifically remember the first time I found out,
but we just started getting inundated with phone calls, and
every time Mark went to the mailbox, he would literally
just rip up the stuff and he would just be angry.
So that's when I think I maybe pressed him and
said what's going on?
Speaker 4 (10:30):
And then he had told me that that's what he
had done.
Speaker 8 (10:33):
And she didn't have the trust in me, I went
behind her back? How would you do that? How would
you not tell me about it? And then also ultimately
the trust for my brother, right, I mean, he wasn't
being honest with me. You know, he did not inform
me of any of these letters that he was evidently receiving.
I would have to imagine there was multiple attempts before
I got the letter, you know, at my current condo
(10:53):
in New York address.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
So I called him up and immediately, oh, yeah, you know,
it's a tough time right now, I know I haven't
paid for a couple of whatever the excuse was. But
I'll get back on track. If I have to set
up a payment plan, I will, okay. And that was it.
I just let it go. I just let it go.
Say all right, he'll take care of it.
Speaker 9 (11:13):
But he's got a house, he's got a wife, and
with a house, this goes wrong, that goes wrong. And
I would say to Dave, I got my bills too.
You tell me, mom, try my best and try my best.
I said, is that what you tell the telephone company,
(11:34):
the gas and electric company? Do you tell them you're
trying your best and you'll pay them when you can.
I don't think so, I said, So I'm like one
of your credits.
Speaker 4 (11:46):
You know.
Speaker 9 (11:48):
That mom goes along with your bills. I said, but
it's because it's mom. It's okay. That's how you feel.
Speaker 1 (12:01):
Honestly, never would have thought he would have done anything
like that. I guess everybody. You can't judge them, all right, Well.
Speaker 9 (12:12):
The big deal never came in, So that set off
for very uncomfortable feelings, very bad feelings. And my husband
and Dave would they'd have talks back and forth, back
and forth to where my husband set up a time schedule,
(12:36):
pay me so much at this point, pay me so
much here, and it would just.
Speaker 1 (12:42):
Go on and on and on.
Speaker 10 (12:45):
He was my.
Speaker 9 (12:45):
Husband, he was good enough to do this for him.
I'm feeling bad because it's my son putting us in
this position. And I just figured, you know, as much
as I talked to Dave and plead with Dave and
never really amounted to anything.
Speaker 10 (13:04):
God damn it, he did a lot wrong here. I
still can't believe it. And it's not like, you know,
you can really trust anything that he's doing or saying now.
Speaker 1 (13:20):
And I feel bad saying that.
Speaker 10 (13:22):
I really feel bad saying all this stuff, but it's
kind of like that's what was going through my.
Speaker 1 (13:28):
Head when I was.
Speaker 10 (13:32):
Finding all of that stuff out, and then I found
out all the money with the family, and then more
of that money wasn't being paid back and he was
living his life.
Speaker 2 (13:46):
Mark's ex wife, Liz, witnessed a change in his behavior.
Speaker 1 (13:51):
I noticed tension.
Speaker 7 (13:52):
I noticed anger built up, and he probably at that
point knew, oh my god, what did I do. My
brother's not taking care of this, and now I'm kind
of screwed. I guess more anger deep down and not
outright to me, just more tension, like constantly, and the
phone would ring and he would just slam it. He
was always happy, go lucky, the life of a party,
(14:15):
and very positive energy, and something was changing.
Speaker 2 (14:19):
Mark and Liz were days away from a long planned
trip to Ireland when they received a devastating letter.
Speaker 8 (14:26):
The IRS drained my bank account three days before I
was going to Ireland.
Speaker 1 (14:30):
It was taken out of my account. It was like
a withdrawal that they took. So when I had checked
and I wanted to go to the bank and get
money for the trip, it was wiped out. And she's
definitely not seen me as hot as I was. I mean,
I was absolutely ballistic. Three days to go to a
trip and I have nothing to my name. So I
(14:54):
went to his house. Yeah, the feeling was a feeling
I never had towards my twin brother. It upset me,
it really did. But the emotions that were going through me,
the frustration, how pissed off could somebody be? I wanted
to wreck his house. I wanted to just flip tables.
I wanted to punch holes in the walls. I wanted
to fucking smash his windshield. After I got the check,
(15:16):
and now you pay for it, you know what I mean,
because that's what you're doing to me right now. You're
fucking killing me. You're killing me. And it took me
a lot to be somewhat restrained, somewhat calmed down. And
you're going to a foreign country you've never been to before,
you're really excited about this trip. I mean, it was,
(15:36):
without a doubt, the most frustrated upset I've ever been
with him. A lot of blood boiling there. So I
went to his house and told him exactly what happened.
You're giving me a check right now, give me a check,
and I'm going to the bank and a better fucking cash.
Is it gonna cash? Is it gonna catch? It'll catch,
it'll catch. And I went to the bank in cash,
and that's the thing that kills me. He's got it, and.
Speaker 10 (16:01):
I just I just didn't understand it. Like it's almost
like I sort of shut off about it. And I
didn't want anything to be wrong, you know, like for
for everything else I was dealing with, I wanted to
see my family and I wanted everything to be okay.
I think my mother's a lot like that too. She
just wants everything to be all right, no matter what
(16:22):
the problem is. About five minutes after that problem, everything's okay,
everything's oh, what's on TV? What's on you know, like
the subject changes, and then hopefully everything's going to be okay.
Very shortly after whatever problem we had just happened.
Speaker 1 (16:39):
The way we looked at this trip was this could
be it, this could rekindle it, this could be the
trip that says, hey, you know what, we can be
great as a team and move forward. And from the
minute we checked into the airport Stewart Airport, we had
a mimosa all right, let's get going whatever, and you
get on the plane. I think we had another one,
(17:00):
you know. We landed in Dublin, Ireland. I mean, I
was just excited to be in Dublin. I've never been
there before. It was tight quarters with her sister and
her brother in law, and I think his sister was
living with them at the time, so there wasn't too
much room to bang the walls all night. We rode
bikes on a beach, going to all these little tiny
(17:21):
local breweries and you know, having a Guinness here, and oh,
let's go to the next place, have a Guinness there
and just experiencing Ireland's It was a beautiful country, beautiful country.
I'm sure it came up. I'm sure it came up,
but it was pretty much put probably. I put it
to the side, more like, hey, listen, let's worry about
it when we get back. Let's enjoy the trip on,
let's have a great time with your sister and brother
(17:41):
in law, and let's see Ireland, and don't worry about that.
We'll talk about it later.
Speaker 10 (17:46):
Nobody's talking about any other problems that we all face,
money problems. Nobody is bringing it up, not as a family,
not individually, not in the corner. Nobody's bringing anything up.
Speaker 1 (18:06):
When we got back from Ireland, we weren't doing too well,
and many nights I slept on the couch. Okay, arguments, yelling,
But at the end of the day I said, Liz,
my brother's going to take care of it. He'll pay
these back. We got to let him get on his feet.
He'll pay him back and we'll get back to square one.
Because I was sold in my head that that's exactly
(18:28):
what was going to happen. You couldn't tell me any different.
At that time. I didn't care who you were. I
was still backing up my brother, I really was. I
did not take her side in any way, shape or form.
My brother will take care of it and we'll be fine.
But clearly wasn't the case.
Speaker 7 (18:46):
I didn't really want to judge, because he's such a
good guy, and he would help any of his friends
or his family. He'd take the shirt off his back
to help anyone and everyone who knows Mark, that's who
he is. So I couldn't judge. I couldn't get angry
because that's what I fell in love with in the
first place. But now it was affecting us and his personality,
and again I did not know the scope of how
(19:06):
big it was getting. I mean, I was hoping that
a world play out and just take care of itself.
I guess maybe a little naive on my part.
Speaker 2 (19:14):
Mark was on the hook for nearly two hundred and
fifty thousand dollars more death than he could handle. Surely
he'd take action and break the Lombardo trade of not
discussing the tough topics that all families face. As Mark said,
this was a very serious issue.
Speaker 1 (19:32):
The heated conversation continued, but ultimately there was no resolution.
There was no solution, There was no answers. There was
no answers. And if anybody hears this or listeners that,
they would say, what the hell's wrong with you?
Speaker 11 (19:47):
Mark?
Speaker 1 (19:48):
Why didn't you pursue this? You didn't get an attorney involved,
You didn't have anybody authorities get involved. You didn't do
any of the research yourself. No, I didn't. I didn't.
I absolutely didn't, because again he would tell me Mark,
I'm going to take care of it, Mark, I'm gonna
make a payment, or he would even send sometimes he
(20:09):
made a payment. Here's a payment. He would send me
the stub ard I made a payment, whatever amount was,
and whether that was his way to just put me
off for another three months or another six months. Any
other person would have a lawyer involved or an attorney
in this. I just never did.
Speaker 10 (20:24):
I drove twelve hours with Dave, and I didn't say
a word about anything.
Speaker 1 (20:31):
I didn't talk about money.
Speaker 10 (20:32):
We talked about the road and talked about cars, we
talked about whatever it was. We complained about Dad, but
we didn't talk about money. And none of us, including me,
nobody ever said that's it, Dave, that's it, We're done,
because what would he do after everybody said we're done.
Speaker 9 (20:50):
Being the mother is Jef you know, I'm in the
middle of everybody.
Speaker 2 (20:55):
Mark's childhood friend Darren reflected on a common human habit.
Speaker 12 (21:00):
Well, when the serious stuff happens, you know, when life happens,
I don't know, we kind of show, we push it aside.
It's kind of weird being such close friends and not
really talking about those issues.
Speaker 10 (21:10):
But then months go by, and then more shit happens,
and months go by, and then more things happen, and
then it snowballs into.
Speaker 12 (21:18):
This After all these years, I never thought of how
did we not like confront them and to drill him
and ask what was going on.
Speaker 2 (21:25):
Mark's sister Judy knew he was in a tough position.
Speaker 13 (21:29):
Peter and I basically were like, this is it. Like
he doesn't get a second pass, you need to turn
him in, and he wouldn't do it. And the main
reason because if I turned Dave in, He's going to
go to jail and I won't do that to my mother.
Speaker 1 (21:43):
I didn't want to because I trusted him. I just
simply said, he's put him in this position, He'll get
himself out of it. I have too much other stuff
to worry about, not so.
Speaker 13 (21:54):
Much because of Dave himself as much as because you
wanted to protect your mother from the pain of having
a go to jail, and then because you so much
wanted to help, you know, put that financial situation.
Speaker 1 (22:08):
Right by me taking my brother's side instead of Liz's
side ultimately created a lot of issue and concern on
her part. For the time we found out and these
letters started rolling in, I mean, it was pretty much
evident that it wasn't going to work out.
Speaker 2 (22:26):
Mark's ex wife, Liz felt the weight of his decision.
Speaker 7 (22:30):
It was all thinking in because basically we were buried
before we even got started. So now, why is their
life more important than ours?
Speaker 1 (22:38):
We live humbly.
Speaker 7 (22:39):
We have a little two bedroom condo, we're not flashy,
we're not out spending crazy money. And nothing was ever
enough for his brother and his wife, and it was
always bigger, more and more and more than.
Speaker 4 (22:50):
What cost for us.
Speaker 7 (22:53):
So and we started fighting a lot. And I grew
up with parents that fight, and that's one thing I
realized this cannot be in my life because I do
not want to be angry and fighting all the time.
It was very sad, It was very very sad because
it changed him into an angry person. I don't know
what conversations he used to have with Dave regarding it.
I don't know, because I never really heard anything get addressed.
(23:14):
I mean I never heard a conversation between him and
Dave about what was going on.
Speaker 1 (23:21):
This is going to prevent us from doing what we
want to do as far as purchasing a house and
raising a family and all that stuff. It was never
going to stop coming up unless it was completely solved.
And because of that, it was a lot of frustration
and negativity. I can't deal with this. I don't know
how the situation is going to get better or when
(23:43):
it's going to get better, and we can't just keep
prolonging this.
Speaker 2 (23:47):
Mark finally realized the repercussion of his decision, and ultimately,
because he really loved Liz, he knew they had to
dissolve their marriage.
Speaker 1 (23:57):
Go find somebody that's going to love you to let
you buy a house, have kids with you. I'm not
the guy. I clearly am not the guy, because hey,
I don't know when this is ever going to be
resolved and be how far into it am I I
don't know, but I didn't want to prolong it for
her because I wanted her to have some type of
(24:19):
a marriage and children and all that stuff, because she
deserved it, she really did.
Speaker 2 (24:41):
Earning their green hats was an accomplishment, but it didn't
mean the inmates were anywhere near the finish line. Six long,
difficult months remained ahead, and one slip up could have
any one of the inmates back to square one or worse,
kicked out of the program.
Speaker 5 (24:58):
Entirely, it raised the expectations, but I think also in
reality is oh shit, we got to step this up.
In my mind's like I wasn't expected to know anything.
Now I'm expected to know basically everything. And that's one
(25:20):
thing is when you're a green hat, there will always
be consequences if you didn't do something right. If you
and I could get in a fistfight, we both are
getting kicked out. You might get recycled and start all over,
or you might end up back in a MYIRA, and
drill instructors would even say at any moment, I can
take your program, So you're on eggshells all the time.
Speaker 6 (25:44):
Going from one colored cap to the next is about
progress and their achievements and things that they have achieved
in between.
Speaker 1 (25:54):
Each hat that you got was a sign of relief.
It was one step closer to being home. And it's
essentially like you know, the analogy I used was a freshman, sophomore, junior, senior.
As far as the colored hats, you're coming as a freshman,
not knowing anything. You quickly adapt and learn and figure
out exactly what it needs to get done to get
(26:15):
to the green.
Speaker 5 (26:16):
I was like, okay, this is great, and in my mind,
I'm like, I'm one more step closer to getting out
of here.
Speaker 4 (26:24):
That's what it represented to me.
Speaker 5 (26:26):
As far as like a platoon celebration, I think it
definitely raised a morale.
Speaker 1 (26:35):
The first day of phase one or wearing a green hat,
we marched out like we did every day, you know,
to the PT deck and that went back to regular routine.
Five thirty in the morning. We're now out in PT deck,
but we're in green hats. And it was funny you
looked at the left there as the brown hats, you know,
to the rights the red hats, and then the far
right as the gold. So we go for a two
(26:57):
to three mile job, go back to the mess hall,
have breakfast, go back to your dorm and then that's
when we were given our work detail that we were
going to have for the next six months. That morning,
when we came back from the mess hall, drinal Instructor
Eggleston and drill Instructor Stack gave us our work detail
and told us where to report and who to see.
Speaker 2 (27:20):
Upon receiving their green hats, Mark and the rest of
the platoon six month clock had officially started. The inmates
had been properly broken down, but now the program intended
to build them in back up with work detail, counseling,
and continued education.
Speaker 1 (27:38):
There was a lot of inmates that still don't have
high school diplomas, so they had to go to school.
They actually went to school, They got a ged before
they graduated. Would it have been nice to sit in
a classroom maybe, I don't know.
Speaker 2 (27:52):
But Mark didn't have a choice in the matter. As
a high school graduate. He was sent to meet Di
I Clark for his work assigns.
Speaker 1 (28:01):
So we went out there and nobody's holding signs or
anything like that. But you went out and you're looking
at the drill instructors and you see Clark, Sir, I'm
here to report for duty, Sir. What's your name?
Speaker 10 (28:11):
Sir.
Speaker 1 (28:12):
Inmate Lombarro, Sir, get in line, and you were hoping
you'd see somebody that you knew come up, and Yin.
It was in my platoon, so he came. He was
the only one. Yen and I were the only ones
from my platoon that were in the work detail with
drill Instructor Clark. We had other inmates from different platoons,
different classes. We had some red hats, we had some
(28:33):
gold hats. They do that specifically because they want you
to mix in and see how these guys are acting
and what they're doing and how you're going to work
with them.
Speaker 2 (28:43):
Work assignments at Lakeview were based on several factors, including
an unquestioning obedience to orders, the ability to work well
with others, and security risk level. Using this criteria, marking
another inmate rated as two at the top in their
platoon and were assigned highly coveted landscaping positions, jobs that
(29:04):
allowed them outside the razor wired perimeter of the prison
each day for fresh air and just a tiny taste
of freedom.
Speaker 1 (29:13):
As far as the work detail goes. We hopped in
our van every day and we went through the gate.
It was nice to look back and see that side
of it. You know, hey, I'm out here again. But
we didn't go too far. We didn't leave the parking lot.
The grounds were massive at Lakeview Correction Facility, huge surroundings
(29:33):
with grass and fields and trees, and our job was
to cut the grass in the spring and summer and
shovel the snow in the winter. But anytime it was
dry or clean, it was just like, if we don't
have anything to do, let's sleep the parking lot. And
they would take us out there with these big push rooms,
nine of us, all lined up and just pushing together.
(29:56):
The only thing I didn't like. You had to be
searched before you went out. When we came back, we
would have to line up with our hands up on
the wall and they'd pat you down, They rub you,
they grab you in every place you didn't want to
be grabbed. If they thought anything was suspicious, you had
to get stripped down completely.
Speaker 2 (30:13):
Despite the indignities of the daily searches, Mark found the
nearly eight hours of manual labor each day to be
a respite from the relentless pt and heavy handed drill
instructors who were on his ass every single second of
the day.
Speaker 1 (30:29):
Inside the prison, but I have a strong work I think,
and quite honestly, it made me feel, if this makes
any sense, it made me feel a little normal. It
really did. It made me feel a little normal to
have a rake a shovel of riding Lawnmark.
Speaker 2 (30:45):
Moving to the next stage with green hats and getting
a work assignment by no means meant Mark or anyone
in his rough Rider platoon was safe from the wrath
of the drill instructors. This was still prison, and Lakeview
is a hands on facility, meaning the inmates had to
watch their step and their mouths. Twenty four to seven.
(31:06):
Here's fellow inmate Ed Revere sharing a confrontation between a
yse ass inmate and a DII that kept him on
edge for the duration of his sentence, and.
Speaker 5 (31:18):
The drill instructure stops and goes, what are you doing?
He goes, f you just had this attitude really going off.
Drillstru goes, okay, he took one step away. The drill
instructor turned around and smacked him. Were squaring the face,
knocked him out cold, grabs them by his ankle, drags
them into the danger zone. The guy comes around, he
(31:42):
gets crawls in his rack. He wakes up and he's like,
what happened. We're like, dude, you can't mess with these guys.
There's no cameras. They say, it's a hands on facility,
and they don't play.
Speaker 2 (31:57):
Undoubtedly the best thing about advancing out of the pre
shock orientation was that incarcerated individuals who earned their green
hats could now have visitors. And Mark loved his family
more than anything. Visits from his mom, brothers, sisters, and
friends always lifted his spirits and more importantly, helped him
(32:18):
keep on the right track towards graduation.
Speaker 1 (32:21):
I was so excited, Oh my god, I have a visitor.
I have somebody's here to see me.
Speaker 9 (32:26):
You know, the first time I saw him at Shock,
it was thinner, but he seemed.
Speaker 10 (32:33):
Happier.
Speaker 9 (32:34):
I can't say happier, but he seemed he was all right.
You know, he held it together, that hugged him. I
could only hug ones and you try to talk normal.
You know, there's no sense talking about where you are
or what you you know.
Speaker 10 (32:53):
I was like, don't screw up. What can I tell you?
Don't screw up? You can't screw up. You gotta do this,
do whatever you need to do. To get out of here.
Please just do it for everybody, get the hell out
of this place. And he's like, I'm going to do that.
I'm going to do that. I'm going to get out
of here as quickly as i can, and I'm not
(33:14):
going to fail.
Speaker 9 (33:16):
There were all coin operated machines, sodas, candies, chips and whatever.
He couldn't have any of that. That was not allowed,
and he couldn't handle money.
Speaker 1 (33:27):
So there was a red line.
Speaker 9 (33:30):
And we'd walk them up to the line and say, okay,
what do you want. You want chips, you want this,
you want that, So we would get them everything and
then you'd give it.
Speaker 10 (33:40):
To him at the table.
Speaker 9 (33:42):
But he couldn't cross that line to put the money in.
Speaker 2 (33:47):
When they weren't doing intense pt running for miles on
end in the brutal winter cold of western New York,
cleaning the dorm, or doing hard labor. The Shock program
also had asat classes for alcohol, substance and abuse treatment.
This counseling ran from the moment they arrived through graduation
(34:07):
and helped inmates, many of whom were addicts, acquire the
skills needed to stay clean upon their release.
Speaker 1 (34:14):
Counselor Rose she was one of the AFAT counselors. She
was very good. She had a lot of patience because,
let's face it, you have a room full of people
doing drugs, selling drugs, enjoying alcohol, and you're basically teaching
a class to tell them why they shouldn't. It wasn't
like a drill instructor in your face, treating you like
(34:35):
you're an inmate. She actually spoke to you as you
were a human being and she wanted to help you.
You were taught things, you had to take tests, you
had to pass them, you had to get up. Occasionally
she would give you a topic and you would have
to get up and discuss it, bringing awareness to everybody
and hopefully making you realize that drugs and alcohol aren't
the best thing for you.
Speaker 2 (34:57):
Another aspect of counseling, known as confrontation or pull ups,
was where bad behavior was called out and no matter
what was said about an inmate, he was expected to
take the criticism and learn from it.
Speaker 1 (35:12):
So confrontation is a way to throw somebody under the bus,
and you basically had to fill out a slip on
a piece of paper of somebody you saw doing something wrong,
and you're gonna call him out on it, and you
would put it into a little basket that they would
(35:33):
have up front, and the drill instructor would get up
there and he'd pull him out one by one. They'd
say it meant Lombardo, please stand He says, who you
calling out today, Sir? I'm calling out Nash. Sir Nash
stand up? All right, Lombardo? Why are you calling him out?
And that was a written there, so I couldn't make
it up. Whatever I put down there, I had to say.
(35:53):
You know, those were the types of things that you
could see the blood boiling. I can't believe you just
fucking ratted me out. I stole food, you know. And
they do this for a reason. They want to see
if you're going to retaliate.
Speaker 6 (36:05):
They all hold each other accountable, not just the drone instructor.
And they need to know that because I don't have
eyes everywhere at all times. And it's about integrity, so
they know that they can't get away with something even
if I'm not there. Integrity is a big deal.
Speaker 4 (36:21):
No matter who's watching, you try to do the right thing.
Speaker 2 (36:25):
Rarely did anyone act out during the counseling sessions as
doing so in front of the d i's would certainly
result an ejection from the program. Oh inmate, settle the score.
They just waited until the time was right.
Speaker 11 (36:54):
Shock Incarceration is a joint production from iHeartRadio and Doghouse Pictures,
produced and hosted by Jeff Keating. Executive producers are Mark Lombardo,
Tommy James, Noel Brown, and Jeff Keating. Written by Jim Roberts,
Tommy James, Chris Rigotzo and Jeff Keating. Story edited by
Jim Roberts, Edit mix and sound design by Lane Crofts.
Speaker 1 (37:15):
From Herd's Creek Productions.
Speaker 11 (37:17):
Music composed by Diamond Street Productions, accompanied by Tyler Greenwell,
Danny Wattanas, Sean Thompson and Spencer Garne. Special thanks to
Trinity Investigative Group and Mark Lombardo's family and friends who
contributed to the podcast.
Right out of Full Metal Jackie. I mean screaming, let's
go your motherfuckers. I mean just picture the meanest drill
instructor going. It was him, and you were intimidated from
the minute you walked in there, and his biggest saying
he said it almost every day. My platoon is high
and tight. We are known as high and tight. And
you will not make me look any otherwise. And I'm like, well, fuck,
(00:25):
what is this guy gonna do to us?
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Man from iHeartRadio in Doghouse Pictures, this is shock incarceration.
I'm Jeff Keating.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
So when you walk into the dorm, it's a rectangular room.
It's probably thirty feet wide by eighty feet long, and
it's set up as an h but you can't go
through the middle. That's what's known as the danger zone.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Here's drill instructor Clark describing the morning routine before PT began.
Speaker 3 (01:19):
So the officers on a podium overlooking four squads of cubicles.
Speaker 4 (01:24):
Them has his own cube. He has to maintain that
cube and keep it perfect.
Speaker 3 (01:27):
He has only two things, and it is locker in
his brack that has to be made just like military
hospital corners. The sheets tight the blanket polled tight. Bill
has got to be a tuck a certain way. The
shoes has to be lined up underneath his rack in
a certain order, from largest the smallest tolls in the
perfect line. And they have to be clean. And then
(01:48):
everything in the locker has a specific thing. You're not
allowed a lot of property, only what we give them,
and it's not a lot. Soap tray has to be centered.
Then your toothpaste off to the side. It's got to
be clean. The soap tray's got to be dry. There
can't be any hair on the so everything was inspectable.
Their underwear had to be five inch square. Over here,
their clothes all had to be hung up as worn.
(02:08):
All the buttons buttoned facing the same direction, hangers off
facing and two fingerspaced had to be perfect displayed. And
guess what they had to do that in that three
minutes they had in the morning to get ready to
go out to the PT.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
Mark compared Shock Incarceration to the film Groundhog Day, where
everything was repeated over and over again, and most of
it was tough physical training.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
Joel instructor Egilson stood in the danger zone, which is
the center of the dorm and just started right into it.
He said, we're gonna start off with one hundred jumping jack.
So we do one hundred jump and everything one two
three one one two three two, and we're all screaming
stop after about forty them, stop stop stop. So yes, sir,
(02:56):
I don't hear you. Let's start all over, about two
hundred of those and scissor kicks, just back and forth,
back and forth to where your stomach is just in cramps.
There was no stopping. We didn't have brakes. He would
have us roll our mattresses and we put it on
our back and he'd say, all right, let's go outside
and run, and we would just run around the prison,
(03:19):
laps around the prison.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
Here's former shot in mate Ed Revere.
Speaker 4 (03:23):
How weak is exactly like it? Says?
Speaker 5 (03:26):
It was at least ten hours every day at pet.
Every morning we did fifty jumping jacks. After fifty jumping jacks,
you have to make your bed, put on all your
pt gear. You also have to shave and piss and
be on a tar mat. Really in eight minutes. So
at the beginning, nobody could do it. No one could
(03:48):
put their shoes on. I mean it was impossible, but
they made you do it. You had to eat standing
up because you weren't good enough to sit down with
the other inmates, because you haven't improving yourself.
Speaker 4 (04:02):
And this was day after day.
Speaker 5 (04:05):
You were not allowed to sit down from time you
woke up until the time you went to sleep.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
Drill instructors had all types of creative exercises to take
inmates to the point of total exhaustion. One was to
jump on and off their bed frames, or as they
called them, racks.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
So when I tell you to jump up, jump on
your rack, jump, jump down, jump, I mean doing it
until you're throwing up. I mean literally people were throwing up.
It was brutal.
Speaker 4 (04:36):
Get the beginning. You'd come through. You're hired as hell
on them.
Speaker 5 (04:39):
From there, they would bring us behind the gym because
we were not good enough to go to the PT
deck because those are where people already went through hell
week till you know you're doing regular PT work, leglifts,
rolling over, face down in the mud, get up, jog,
go back. Then like fifteen minutes, roll up your mattress,
(05:02):
run back down to the gym, come back. This was
day after day.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
We lost three people in the first two weeks. Three
people because they just physically couldn't do it. They said,
screw this, I'd rather go to prison, sit there and relax,
have three meals, laying a cod all day, and do
what I want.
Speaker 3 (05:21):
When you got him at that point, you know when
you're ready to break.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
There was one point where I don't think I could
have gotten through it. And I really mean that, and
I actually I started crying. I started crying. I was
on the floor and I just couldn't move. I couldn't move,
and these other guys are still jumping up and down,
up and down, and I couldn't do it. I felt dizzy.
(05:51):
I mean, it was mental torture.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
Down and almost out. Mark was ready to quit. He
had nothing left to give and didn't think he could
go on. Then he heard a voice from behind him.
Speaker 1 (06:04):
There was a person behind me that helped me overcome this,
and I will never forget this person as long as
I live. His name was La Bird. I remember specifically
La Bird saying, Lombardo, come on, Lombaro, keep going, keep going.
I have to give him credit because I was like,
you know what he wants me to get through this.
(06:26):
I got to get through this.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
With inspiration from the bird and a strong desire to
get home in six months so he could see family
and friends again. Mark picked himself off the ground, continuing
on in the program and dealing with whatever the drill
instructors threw at him. This proved particularly difficult when they
often had tricks up their sleeves.
Speaker 3 (06:48):
I'd ride these guys and ride these guys until they
were ready to blow, and they start almost fighting with
each other. I'd come in the morning and I'd throw
cigarette butts inside the shower just to get him.
Speaker 4 (06:59):
At the point.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
And then I'd come in and say, oh, cigarettes in
the shower, And then it was just relentless day, and
I just keep referring to the cigarette. But then at
the end of the day, I put them down in
their cubes and we played the song the Man in
the Mirror, and they can take out their mirror and
you see grown men just start crying their eyeballs out,
and you to tell them, you set them up and
tell them the real problem is the guy in the marror.
Speaker 1 (07:19):
That's who needs to be fixed, not me, not the
guy to your left or right. You're going.
Speaker 4 (07:23):
That's got to focus on your own behaviors and that.
Speaker 3 (07:25):
But sometimes you need a catalyst to get them there
in that cigarette, but in the shower would be it.
Speaker 4 (07:29):
So everything we did was in their best interest.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
It was the last day of Hell week and we
were out on a jog. We were basically ran into
the ground for two weeks, and we finished up our
last job and we were coming back into the dorm
and we again, as you always do, you stand that
attention at the end of the IRAQ and drill Instructor
Egleston said, all right, look under your pillows, and we
(07:59):
lift up our pillow and there was our green hat.
And it was a cool feel, like I'm getting chills
even thinking about it, and I know that sounds so minimal,
but you're like, cool, I'm one step closer to getting
out of this fucking place, and now I'm a green hat.
I'm not a brown hat anymore.
Speaker 2 (08:14):
Drill Instructor Stack shared his mentality as the inmates finished
the two hell weeks and finally got their green hats,
the first step towards completing the shock incarceration program.
Speaker 4 (08:27):
I love doing that because I love to see these guys.
Speaker 6 (08:29):
Hated me, absolutely hate me during that first two weeks,
and then to see him so happy, you know, because
they did achieve a lot.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
I mean, we get put through a lot in those first.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
Two weeks, and ed Revere learned there were new challenges
with getting a green hat.
Speaker 5 (08:46):
You moved to a green hat, and literally at this point,
no one had a problem with getting out of a
tarmat in eight minutes. Now we've learned how to clean.
I'm kind of reflecting from where I am at this
point of my life looking back. All of these lessons
had great means that I'm applying today to my life.
So now you worked really hard to get this one
(09:07):
little goal, and now there's another goal, and you're a
green hat. So you're in the middle. You're not at
the advance and you're not at the bottom. But there's
more challenges alsome. You're also there's a lot more tension
in your platoon because now you're kind of on top
of each other.
Speaker 4 (09:24):
You've been with these same people.
Speaker 5 (09:26):
There's some people that are not pulling their own weight
that's dragging down the whole platoon. There's tension and you
can feel it amongst each other.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
It was a moment, you know, if you were high
fiving people. It was kind of cool, but it was
short lived. It was okay, all right, all right, you
got your hat. Now you shut the fuck up, you
know what I mean, Get ready for bed, and let's
go to sleep. Tomorrow's another night.
Speaker 2 (10:08):
Things started to snowball in their marriage after Liz discovered
what Mark had been hiding.
Speaker 7 (10:14):
I don't specifically remember the first time I found out,
but we just started getting inundated with phone calls, and
every time Mark went to the mailbox, he would literally
just rip up the stuff and he would just be angry.
So that's when I think I maybe pressed him and
said what's going on?
Speaker 4 (10:30):
And then he had told me that that's what he
had done.
Speaker 8 (10:33):
And she didn't have the trust in me, I went
behind her back? How would you do that? How would
you not tell me about it? And then also ultimately
the trust for my brother, right, I mean, he wasn't
being honest with me. You know, he did not inform
me of any of these letters that he was evidently receiving.
I would have to imagine there was multiple attempts before
I got the letter, you know, at my current condo
(10:53):
in New York address.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
So I called him up and immediately, oh, yeah, you know,
it's a tough time right now, I know I haven't
paid for a couple of whatever the excuse was. But
I'll get back on track. If I have to set
up a payment plan, I will, okay. And that was it.
I just let it go. I just let it go.
Say all right, he'll take care of it.
Speaker 9 (11:13):
But he's got a house, he's got a wife, and
with a house, this goes wrong, that goes wrong. And
I would say to Dave, I got my bills too.
You tell me, mom, try my best and try my best.
I said, is that what you tell the telephone company,
(11:34):
the gas and electric company? Do you tell them you're
trying your best and you'll pay them when you can.
I don't think so, I said, So I'm like one
of your credits.
Speaker 4 (11:46):
You know.
Speaker 9 (11:48):
That mom goes along with your bills. I said, but
it's because it's mom. It's okay. That's how you feel.
Speaker 1 (12:01):
Honestly, never would have thought he would have done anything
like that. I guess everybody. You can't judge them, all right, Well.
Speaker 9 (12:12):
The big deal never came in, So that set off
for very uncomfortable feelings, very bad feelings. And my husband
and Dave would they'd have talks back and forth, back
and forth to where my husband set up a time schedule,
(12:36):
pay me so much at this point, pay me so
much here, and it would just.
Speaker 1 (12:42):
Go on and on and on.
Speaker 10 (12:45):
He was my.
Speaker 9 (12:45):
Husband, he was good enough to do this for him.
I'm feeling bad because it's my son putting us in
this position. And I just figured, you know, as much
as I talked to Dave and plead with Dave and
never really amounted to anything.
Speaker 10 (13:04):
God damn it, he did a lot wrong here. I
still can't believe it. And it's not like, you know,
you can really trust anything that he's doing or saying now.
Speaker 1 (13:20):
And I feel bad saying that.
Speaker 10 (13:22):
I really feel bad saying all this stuff, but it's
kind of like that's what was going through my.
Speaker 1 (13:28):
Head when I was.
Speaker 10 (13:32):
Finding all of that stuff out, and then I found
out all the money with the family, and then more
of that money wasn't being paid back and he was
living his life.
Speaker 2 (13:46):
Mark's ex wife, Liz, witnessed a change in his behavior.
Speaker 1 (13:51):
I noticed tension.
Speaker 7 (13:52):
I noticed anger built up, and he probably at that
point knew, oh my god, what did I do. My
brother's not taking care of this, and now I'm kind
of screwed. I guess more anger deep down and not
outright to me, just more tension, like constantly, and the
phone would ring and he would just slam it. He
was always happy, go lucky, the life of a party,
(14:15):
and very positive energy, and something was changing.
Speaker 2 (14:19):
Mark and Liz were days away from a long planned
trip to Ireland when they received a devastating letter.
Speaker 8 (14:26):
The IRS drained my bank account three days before I
was going to Ireland.
Speaker 1 (14:30):
It was taken out of my account. It was like
a withdrawal that they took. So when I had checked
and I wanted to go to the bank and get
money for the trip, it was wiped out. And she's
definitely not seen me as hot as I was. I mean,
I was absolutely ballistic. Three days to go to a
trip and I have nothing to my name. So I
(14:54):
went to his house. Yeah, the feeling was a feeling
I never had towards my twin brother. It upset me,
it really did. But the emotions that were going through me,
the frustration, how pissed off could somebody be? I wanted
to wreck his house. I wanted to just flip tables.
I wanted to punch holes in the walls. I wanted
to fucking smash his windshield. After I got the check,
(15:16):
and now you pay for it, you know what I mean,
because that's what you're doing to me right now. You're
fucking killing me. You're killing me. And it took me
a lot to be somewhat restrained, somewhat calmed down. And
you're going to a foreign country you've never been to before,
you're really excited about this trip. I mean, it was,
(15:36):
without a doubt, the most frustrated upset I've ever been
with him. A lot of blood boiling there. So I
went to his house and told him exactly what happened.
You're giving me a check right now, give me a check,
and I'm going to the bank and a better fucking cash.
Is it gonna cash? Is it gonna catch? It'll catch,
it'll catch. And I went to the bank in cash,
and that's the thing that kills me. He's got it, and.
Speaker 10 (16:01):
I just I just didn't understand it. Like it's almost
like I sort of shut off about it. And I
didn't want anything to be wrong, you know, like for
for everything else I was dealing with, I wanted to
see my family and I wanted everything to be okay.
I think my mother's a lot like that too. She
just wants everything to be all right, no matter what
(16:22):
the problem is. About five minutes after that problem, everything's okay,
everything's oh, what's on TV? What's on you know, like
the subject changes, and then hopefully everything's going to be okay.
Very shortly after whatever problem we had just happened.
Speaker 1 (16:39):
The way we looked at this trip was this could
be it, this could rekindle it, this could be the
trip that says, hey, you know what, we can be
great as a team and move forward. And from the
minute we checked into the airport Stewart Airport, we had
a mimosa all right, let's get going whatever, and you
get on the plane. I think we had another one,
(17:00):
you know. We landed in Dublin, Ireland. I mean, I
was just excited to be in Dublin. I've never been
there before. It was tight quarters with her sister and
her brother in law, and I think his sister was
living with them at the time, so there wasn't too
much room to bang the walls all night. We rode
bikes on a beach, going to all these little tiny
(17:21):
local breweries and you know, having a Guinness here, and oh,
let's go to the next place, have a Guinness there
and just experiencing Ireland's It was a beautiful country, beautiful country.
I'm sure it came up. I'm sure it came up,
but it was pretty much put probably. I put it
to the side, more like, hey, listen, let's worry about
it when we get back. Let's enjoy the trip on,
let's have a great time with your sister and brother
(17:41):
in law, and let's see Ireland, and don't worry about that.
We'll talk about it later.
Speaker 10 (17:46):
Nobody's talking about any other problems that we all face,
money problems. Nobody is bringing it up, not as a family,
not individually, not in the corner. Nobody's bringing anything up.
Speaker 1 (18:06):
When we got back from Ireland, we weren't doing too well,
and many nights I slept on the couch. Okay, arguments, yelling,
But at the end of the day I said, Liz,
my brother's going to take care of it. He'll pay
these back. We got to let him get on his feet.
He'll pay him back and we'll get back to square one.
Because I was sold in my head that that's exactly
(18:28):
what was going to happen. You couldn't tell me any different.
At that time. I didn't care who you were. I
was still backing up my brother, I really was. I
did not take her side in any way, shape or form.
My brother will take care of it and we'll be fine.
But clearly wasn't the case.
Speaker 7 (18:46):
I didn't really want to judge, because he's such a
good guy, and he would help any of his friends
or his family. He'd take the shirt off his back
to help anyone and everyone who knows Mark, that's who
he is. So I couldn't judge. I couldn't get angry
because that's what I fell in love with in the
first place. But now it was affecting us and his personality,
and again I did not know the scope of how
(19:06):
big it was getting. I mean, I was hoping that
a world play out and just take care of itself.
I guess maybe a little naive on my part.
Speaker 2 (19:14):
Mark was on the hook for nearly two hundred and
fifty thousand dollars more death than he could handle. Surely
he'd take action and break the Lombardo trade of not
discussing the tough topics that all families face. As Mark said,
this was a very serious issue.
Speaker 1 (19:32):
The heated conversation continued, but ultimately there was no resolution.
There was no solution, There was no answers. There was
no answers. And if anybody hears this or listeners that,
they would say, what the hell's wrong with you?
Speaker 11 (19:47):
Mark?
Speaker 1 (19:48):
Why didn't you pursue this? You didn't get an attorney involved,
You didn't have anybody authorities get involved. You didn't do
any of the research yourself. No, I didn't. I didn't.
I absolutely didn't, because again he would tell me Mark,
I'm going to take care of it, Mark, I'm gonna
make a payment, or he would even send sometimes he
(20:09):
made a payment. Here's a payment. He would send me
the stub ard I made a payment, whatever amount was,
and whether that was his way to just put me
off for another three months or another six months. Any
other person would have a lawyer involved or an attorney
in this. I just never did.
Speaker 10 (20:24):
I drove twelve hours with Dave, and I didn't say
a word about anything.
Speaker 1 (20:31):
I didn't talk about money.
Speaker 10 (20:32):
We talked about the road and talked about cars, we
talked about whatever it was. We complained about Dad, but
we didn't talk about money. And none of us, including me,
nobody ever said that's it, Dave, that's it, We're done,
because what would he do after everybody said we're done.
Speaker 9 (20:50):
Being the mother is Jef you know, I'm in the
middle of everybody.
Speaker 2 (20:55):
Mark's childhood friend Darren reflected on a common human habit.
Speaker 12 (21:00):
Well, when the serious stuff happens, you know, when life happens,
I don't know, we kind of show, we push it aside.
It's kind of weird being such close friends and not
really talking about those issues.
Speaker 10 (21:10):
But then months go by, and then more shit happens,
and months go by, and then more things happen, and
then it snowballs into.
Speaker 12 (21:18):
This After all these years, I never thought of how
did we not like confront them and to drill him
and ask what was going on.
Speaker 2 (21:25):
Mark's sister Judy knew he was in a tough position.
Speaker 13 (21:29):
Peter and I basically were like, this is it. Like
he doesn't get a second pass, you need to turn
him in, and he wouldn't do it. And the main
reason because if I turned Dave in, He's going to
go to jail and I won't do that to my mother.
Speaker 1 (21:43):
I didn't want to because I trusted him. I just
simply said, he's put him in this position, He'll get
himself out of it. I have too much other stuff
to worry about, not so.
Speaker 13 (21:54):
Much because of Dave himself as much as because you
wanted to protect your mother from the pain of having
a go to jail, and then because you so much
wanted to help, you know, put that financial situation.
Speaker 1 (22:08):
Right by me taking my brother's side instead of Liz's
side ultimately created a lot of issue and concern on
her part. For the time we found out and these
letters started rolling in, I mean, it was pretty much
evident that it wasn't going to work out.
Speaker 2 (22:26):
Mark's ex wife, Liz felt the weight of his decision.
Speaker 7 (22:30):
It was all thinking in because basically we were buried
before we even got started. So now, why is their
life more important than ours?
Speaker 1 (22:38):
We live humbly.
Speaker 7 (22:39):
We have a little two bedroom condo, we're not flashy,
we're not out spending crazy money. And nothing was ever
enough for his brother and his wife, and it was
always bigger, more and more and more than.
Speaker 4 (22:50):
What cost for us.
Speaker 7 (22:53):
So and we started fighting a lot. And I grew
up with parents that fight, and that's one thing I
realized this cannot be in my life because I do
not want to be angry and fighting all the time.
It was very sad, It was very very sad because
it changed him into an angry person. I don't know
what conversations he used to have with Dave regarding it.
I don't know, because I never really heard anything get addressed.
(23:14):
I mean I never heard a conversation between him and
Dave about what was going on.
Speaker 1 (23:21):
This is going to prevent us from doing what we
want to do as far as purchasing a house and
raising a family and all that stuff. It was never
going to stop coming up unless it was completely solved.
And because of that, it was a lot of frustration
and negativity. I can't deal with this. I don't know
how the situation is going to get better or when
(23:43):
it's going to get better, and we can't just keep
prolonging this.
Speaker 2 (23:47):
Mark finally realized the repercussion of his decision, and ultimately,
because he really loved Liz, he knew they had to
dissolve their marriage.
Speaker 1 (23:57):
Go find somebody that's going to love you to let
you buy a house, have kids with you. I'm not
the guy. I clearly am not the guy, because hey,
I don't know when this is ever going to be
resolved and be how far into it am I I
don't know, but I didn't want to prolong it for
her because I wanted her to have some type of
(24:19):
a marriage and children and all that stuff, because she
deserved it, she really did.
Speaker 2 (24:41):
Earning their green hats was an accomplishment, but it didn't
mean the inmates were anywhere near the finish line. Six long,
difficult months remained ahead, and one slip up could have
any one of the inmates back to square one or worse,
kicked out of the program.
Speaker 5 (24:58):
Entirely, it raised the expectations, but I think also in
reality is oh shit, we got to step this up.
In my mind's like I wasn't expected to know anything.
Now I'm expected to know basically everything. And that's one
(25:20):
thing is when you're a green hat, there will always
be consequences if you didn't do something right. If you
and I could get in a fistfight, we both are
getting kicked out. You might get recycled and start all over,
or you might end up back in a MYIRA, and
drill instructors would even say at any moment, I can
take your program, So you're on eggshells all the time.
Speaker 6 (25:44):
Going from one colored cap to the next is about
progress and their achievements and things that they have achieved
in between.
Speaker 1 (25:54):
Each hat that you got was a sign of relief.
It was one step closer to being home. And it's
essentially like you know, the analogy I used was a freshman, sophomore, junior, senior.
As far as the colored hats, you're coming as a freshman,
not knowing anything. You quickly adapt and learn and figure
out exactly what it needs to get done to get
(26:15):
to the green.
Speaker 5 (26:16):
I was like, okay, this is great, and in my mind,
I'm like, I'm one more step closer to getting out
of here.
Speaker 4 (26:24):
That's what it represented to me.
Speaker 5 (26:26):
As far as like a platoon celebration, I think it
definitely raised a morale.
Speaker 1 (26:35):
The first day of phase one or wearing a green hat,
we marched out like we did every day, you know,
to the PT deck and that went back to regular routine.
Five thirty in the morning. We're now out in PT deck,
but we're in green hats. And it was funny you
looked at the left there as the brown hats, you know,
to the rights the red hats, and then the far
right as the gold. So we go for a two
(26:57):
to three mile job, go back to the mess hall,
have breakfast, go back to your dorm and then that's
when we were given our work detail that we were
going to have for the next six months. That morning,
when we came back from the mess hall, drinal Instructor
Eggleston and drill Instructor Stack gave us our work detail
and told us where to report and who to see.
Speaker 2 (27:20):
Upon receiving their green hats, Mark and the rest of
the platoon six month clock had officially started. The inmates
had been properly broken down, but now the program intended
to build them in back up with work detail, counseling,
and continued education.
Speaker 1 (27:38):
There was a lot of inmates that still don't have
high school diplomas, so they had to go to school.
They actually went to school, They got a ged before
they graduated. Would it have been nice to sit in
a classroom maybe, I don't know.
Speaker 2 (27:52):
But Mark didn't have a choice in the matter. As
a high school graduate. He was sent to meet Di
I Clark for his work assigns.
Speaker 1 (28:01):
So we went out there and nobody's holding signs or
anything like that. But you went out and you're looking
at the drill instructors and you see Clark, Sir, I'm
here to report for duty, Sir. What's your name?
Speaker 10 (28:11):
Sir.
Speaker 1 (28:12):
Inmate Lombarro, Sir, get in line, and you were hoping
you'd see somebody that you knew come up, and Yin.
It was in my platoon, so he came. He was
the only one. Yen and I were the only ones
from my platoon that were in the work detail with
drill Instructor Clark. We had other inmates from different platoons,
different classes. We had some red hats, we had some
(28:33):
gold hats. They do that specifically because they want you
to mix in and see how these guys are acting
and what they're doing and how you're going to work
with them.
Speaker 2 (28:43):
Work assignments at Lakeview were based on several factors, including
an unquestioning obedience to orders, the ability to work well
with others, and security risk level. Using this criteria, marking
another inmate rated as two at the top in their
platoon and were assigned highly coveted landscaping positions, jobs that
(29:04):
allowed them outside the razor wired perimeter of the prison
each day for fresh air and just a tiny taste
of freedom.
Speaker 1 (29:13):
As far as the work detail goes. We hopped in
our van every day and we went through the gate.
It was nice to look back and see that side
of it. You know, hey, I'm out here again. But
we didn't go too far. We didn't leave the parking lot.
The grounds were massive at Lakeview Correction Facility, huge surroundings
(29:33):
with grass and fields and trees, and our job was
to cut the grass in the spring and summer and
shovel the snow in the winter. But anytime it was
dry or clean, it was just like, if we don't
have anything to do, let's sleep the parking lot. And
they would take us out there with these big push rooms,
nine of us, all lined up and just pushing together.
(29:56):
The only thing I didn't like. You had to be
searched before you went out. When we came back, we
would have to line up with our hands up on
the wall and they'd pat you down, They rub you,
they grab you in every place you didn't want to
be grabbed. If they thought anything was suspicious, you had
to get stripped down completely.
Speaker 2 (30:13):
Despite the indignities of the daily searches, Mark found the
nearly eight hours of manual labor each day to be
a respite from the relentless pt and heavy handed drill
instructors who were on his ass every single second of
the day.
Speaker 1 (30:29):
Inside the prison, but I have a strong work I think,
and quite honestly, it made me feel, if this makes
any sense, it made me feel a little normal. It
really did. It made me feel a little normal to
have a rake a shovel of riding Lawnmark.
Speaker 2 (30:45):
Moving to the next stage with green hats and getting
a work assignment by no means meant Mark or anyone
in his rough Rider platoon was safe from the wrath
of the drill instructors. This was still prison, and Lakeview
is a hands on facility, meaning the inmates had to
watch their step and their mouths. Twenty four to seven.
(31:06):
Here's fellow inmate Ed Revere sharing a confrontation between a
yse ass inmate and a DII that kept him on
edge for the duration of his sentence, and.
Speaker 5 (31:18):
The drill instructure stops and goes, what are you doing?
He goes, f you just had this attitude really going off.
Drillstru goes, okay, he took one step away. The drill
instructor turned around and smacked him. Were squaring the face,
knocked him out cold, grabs them by his ankle, drags
them into the danger zone. The guy comes around, he
(31:42):
gets crawls in his rack. He wakes up and he's like,
what happened. We're like, dude, you can't mess with these guys.
There's no cameras. They say, it's a hands on facility,
and they don't play.
Speaker 2 (31:57):
Undoubtedly the best thing about advancing out of the pre
shock orientation was that incarcerated individuals who earned their green
hats could now have visitors. And Mark loved his family
more than anything. Visits from his mom, brothers, sisters, and
friends always lifted his spirits and more importantly, helped him
(32:18):
keep on the right track towards graduation.
Speaker 1 (32:21):
I was so excited, Oh my god, I have a visitor.
I have somebody's here to see me.
Speaker 9 (32:26):
You know, the first time I saw him at Shock,
it was thinner, but he seemed.
Speaker 10 (32:33):
Happier.
Speaker 9 (32:34):
I can't say happier, but he seemed he was all right.
You know, he held it together, that hugged him. I
could only hug ones and you try to talk normal.
You know, there's no sense talking about where you are
or what you you know.
Speaker 10 (32:53):
I was like, don't screw up. What can I tell you?
Don't screw up? You can't screw up. You gotta do this,
do whatever you need to do. To get out of here.
Please just do it for everybody, get the hell out
of this place. And he's like, I'm going to do that.
I'm going to do that. I'm going to get out
of here as quickly as i can, and I'm not
(33:14):
going to fail.
Speaker 9 (33:16):
There were all coin operated machines, sodas, candies, chips and whatever.
He couldn't have any of that. That was not allowed,
and he couldn't handle money.
Speaker 1 (33:27):
So there was a red line.
Speaker 9 (33:30):
And we'd walk them up to the line and say, okay,
what do you want. You want chips, you want this,
you want that, So we would get them everything and
then you'd give it.
Speaker 10 (33:40):
To him at the table.
Speaker 9 (33:42):
But he couldn't cross that line to put the money in.
Speaker 2 (33:47):
When they weren't doing intense pt running for miles on
end in the brutal winter cold of western New York,
cleaning the dorm, or doing hard labor. The Shock program
also had asat classes for alcohol, substance and abuse treatment.
This counseling ran from the moment they arrived through graduation
(34:07):
and helped inmates, many of whom were addicts, acquire the
skills needed to stay clean upon their release.
Speaker 1 (34:14):
Counselor Rose she was one of the AFAT counselors. She
was very good. She had a lot of patience because,
let's face it, you have a room full of people
doing drugs, selling drugs, enjoying alcohol, and you're basically teaching
a class to tell them why they shouldn't. It wasn't
like a drill instructor in your face, treating you like
(34:35):
you're an inmate. She actually spoke to you as you
were a human being and she wanted to help you.
You were taught things, you had to take tests, you
had to pass them, you had to get up. Occasionally
she would give you a topic and you would have
to get up and discuss it, bringing awareness to everybody
and hopefully making you realize that drugs and alcohol aren't
the best thing for you.
Speaker 2 (34:57):
Another aspect of counseling, known as confrontation or pull ups,
was where bad behavior was called out and no matter
what was said about an inmate, he was expected to
take the criticism and learn from it.
Speaker 1 (35:12):
So confrontation is a way to throw somebody under the bus,
and you basically had to fill out a slip on
a piece of paper of somebody you saw doing something wrong,
and you're gonna call him out on it, and you
would put it into a little basket that they would
(35:33):
have up front, and the drill instructor would get up
there and he'd pull him out one by one. They'd
say it meant Lombardo, please stand He says, who you
calling out today, Sir? I'm calling out Nash. Sir Nash
stand up? All right, Lombardo? Why are you calling him out?
And that was a written there, so I couldn't make
it up. Whatever I put down there, I had to say.
(35:53):
You know, those were the types of things that you
could see the blood boiling. I can't believe you just
fucking ratted me out. I stole food, you know. And
they do this for a reason. They want to see
if you're going to retaliate.
Speaker 6 (36:05):
They all hold each other accountable, not just the drone instructor.
And they need to know that because I don't have
eyes everywhere at all times. And it's about integrity, so
they know that they can't get away with something even
if I'm not there. Integrity is a big deal.
Speaker 4 (36:21):
No matter who's watching, you try to do the right thing.
Speaker 2 (36:25):
Rarely did anyone act out during the counseling sessions as
doing so in front of the d i's would certainly
result an ejection from the program. Oh inmate, settle the score.
They just waited until the time was right.
Speaker 11 (36:54):
Shock Incarceration is a joint production from iHeartRadio and Doghouse Pictures,
produced and hosted by Jeff Keating. Executive producers are Mark Lombardo,
Tommy James, Noel Brown, and Jeff Keating. Written by Jim Roberts,
Tommy James, Chris Rigotzo and Jeff Keating. Story edited by
Jim Roberts, Edit mix and sound design by Lane Crofts.
Speaker 1 (37:15):
From Herd's Creek Productions.
Speaker 11 (37:17):
Music composed by Diamond Street Productions, accompanied by Tyler Greenwell,
Danny Wattanas, Sean Thompson and Spencer Garne. Special thanks to
Trinity Investigative Group and Mark Lombardo's family and friends who
contributed to the podcast.
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