EP 8 - The Cutting Room Floor - Part 2

Summary

Cocaine Air: EP 8 - The Cutting Room Floor - Part 2

Release Date: July 23, 2025
Host/Author: Jonathan Walton
Executive Producers: Evan Goldstein and TJ Dominguez

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Introduction

In Episode 8 of Cocaine Air, titled "The Cutting Room Floor - Part 2", host Jonathan Walton delves deeper into the tumultuous life of TJ Dominguez, offering listeners a rare glimpse into untold stories that didn’t make it into the first seven episodes. This installment navigates through themes of loyalty, fortune, near-death experiences, and personal revelations, all while maintaining the raw authenticity that defines TJ's narrative.

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TJ's Treatment of His Team

Timestamp: [00:14] – [04:07]

TJ Dominguez opens the episode by reflecting on his leadership and the way he treated his associates. He emphasizes loyalty and unwavering dedication, ensuring his team remained steadfastly under his command.

Notable Quote:

TJ Dominguez [00:14]: "I treated my people well. I gave them a brand new Rolex. I gave them an Excalibur. I gave them a Lotus, a Ferrari. These are bonuses that I've given my guys. And when my guys were not working, you're either at home, you're in church, or you're spending money, but you're not working for anybody else. That was mandatory."

TJ's generosity extended beyond material gifts; he cultivated an environment where his team was fully committed to his operations, preventing any of them from diverting their efforts elsewhere.

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The Lamborghini Dealership: Building an Empire

Timestamp: [04:09] – [05:07]

Evan Goldstein and an unnamed guest delve into one of the most intriguing aspects of TJ's life—the establishment of the world's largest Lamborghini dealership. They express astonishment at how TJ transitioned from smuggling activities to running a high-end automotive empire.

Notable Quotes:

Evan Goldstein [01:14]: "One of the things that fascinates me about the life of TJ Dominguez is his Lamborghini dealership."

TJ Dominguez [02:19]: "Because all the money that I made, I pumped right back into it. And I'd go to Italy a lot and network myself because my money is in Switzerland."

TJ meticulously reinvested his illicit earnings into building a luxurious dealership, complete with opulent features like chandeliers, champagne racks, and antique pool tables. His commitment to excellence and high standards set a new benchmark in the automotive industry.

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Guardian Angels and Life-Threatening Encounters

Timestamp: [05:07] – [18:22]

A significant portion of the episode focuses on near-death experiences and the concept of guardian angels. TJ recounts a harrowing mission in Colombia where he defied orders to retrieve holy water from a dangerous, war-torn town despite warnings from Pablo Escobar himself.

Notable Quote:

TJ Dominguez [05:51]: "I went to a town in Colombia that 125, 150 people have been killed... I had to go to get holy water for the mother of one of my friends."

While navigating the perilous landscape, TJ encounters a stranger who saves his life by guiding him safely through the war zone, refusing any payment for his crucial assistance.

Guardian Angel Discussion: Evan Goldstein shares his personal experiences with what he believes to be guardian angels, reinforcing the theme of divine intervention and fate.

Evan Goldstein [09:27]: "I think he was a guardian angel."

TJ Dominguez [10:52]: "There's nobody that has blown cars upside down, and I'm talking bazookas, not guns... Nobody's anywhere."

These stories underscore the recurring theme of survival against all odds, suggesting that TJ's life was continually protected by unseen forces.

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Jonathan Walton's Personal Journey and Suicide Ideation

Timestamp: [14:18] – [16:22]

In a candid and vulnerable segment, host Jonathan Walton pauses the main narrative to share his own struggles with suicidal ideation. Jonathan recounts a pivotal moment when he nearly took his own life but was saved by what he describes as an external voice encouraging him to seek happiness and fulfillment.

Notable Quote:

Jonathan Walton [15:06]: "A voice in my bedroom said, like, in a whisper, you will make her proud."

This interlude serves as a heartfelt message to listeners contemplating suicide, emphasizing the importance of reaching out for help.

Jonathan Walton [16:22]: "If you're thinking about taking your own life... Call or text 988 and speak to a professional counselor for free."

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Cuckold Situation Theory: Analyzing Infidelity

Timestamp: [18:04] – [28:22]

Evan Goldstein and the unnamed guest explore a controversial theory suggesting that TJ may have been involved in a cuckold situation during his time in the Bahamas. They dissect TJ’s account of an encounter with a woman and her husband, analyzing inconsistencies that hint at possible arranged infidelity.

Notable Quotes:

Evan Goldstein [20:03]: "I think this is 100% a cuckold situation."

TJ Dominguez [27:02]: "Well, if you're asking me my opinion now, in my opinion, then, no."

Through this dialogue, the hosts investigate the dynamics of TJ's relationships, ultimately concluding that while the theory is intriguing, TJ himself denies such arrangements.

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Reflections on TJ’s Character: Honor Among Thieves

Timestamp: [28:22] – [31:28]

The conversation turns to the essence of TJ Dominguez's character. The unnamed guest and Evan Goldstein paint TJ as an anti-hero—a man of honor navigating the treacherous waters of the criminal underworld with a unique moral compass.

Notable Quotes:

Unnamed Guest [30:09]: "What’s so endearing about him is just you get a sense of a man of honor among thieves."

Evan Goldstein [31:16]: "He is a man of honor, full stop."

This portrayal humanizes TJ, contrasting his illicit activities with his personal ethics and loyalty, thereby adding depth to his persona beyond the stereotypical portrayal of a drug smuggler.

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Closing Remarks and Teasers for Future Episodes

Timestamp: [31:28] – End

As the episode concludes, Evan Goldstein and the unnamed guest express anticipation for future stories, hinting at more revelations from TJ’s past and the impact of the podcast on his life. They emphasize that Episode 8 only scratches the surface of TJ's complex life, promising listeners more in-depth explorations in upcoming episodes.

Notable Quote:

Evan Goldstein [31:28]: "We think we've heard everything, but we've really only kind of scratched the surface."

The episode wraps up with production credits and a heartfelt appeal for listeners to support the podcast, while reiterating the importance of seeking help for mental health struggles.

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Final Thoughts

Episode 8 of Cocaine Air serves as a multifaceted exploration of TJ Dominguez's life, intertwining tales of loyalty, extraordinary business acumen, miraculous survivals, and personal demons. Through engaging dialogues and poignant storytelling, Jonathan Walton and his team present a nuanced portrait of a man who defies simple categorization. The episode not only entertains but also offers profound insights into the human condition, resilience, and the search for meaning amidst chaos.

For more captivating stories and to view exclusive photographs documenting TJ's life, visit cocainair.com. If you found this episode compelling, please share it with friends and family, and consider leaving a five-star review to support the Cocaine Air community.

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This summary is based on the transcript provided and aims to present the key points, discussions, and insights from Episode 8 of "Cocaine Air" in a structured and engaging manner.

Transcript

[Jonathan Walton]

The following episode of Cocaine Air deals with suicide and suicide ideation. Listener discretion is advised.

[TJ Dominguez]

I treated my people well. I gave them a brand new Rolex. I gave them an Excalibur. I gave them a Lotus, a Ferrari. These are bonuses that I've given my guys. And when my guys were not working, you're either at home, you're in church, or you're spending money, but you're not working for anybody else. That was mandatory. I do not let any one of my guys go farm out and work for somebody else. They were strictly employed by me.

[Jonathan Walton]

I'm Jonathan Walton, and this is Cocaine Hair. The TJ Dominguez Story, episode eight, where executive producers, producer Evan Goldstein and I discuss more crazy TJ Dominguez stories that we could not fit into the previous seven episodes.

[Evan Goldstein]

One of the things that fascinates me about the life of TJ Dominguez is his Lamborghini dealership.

[Unnamed Guest]

Yeah.

[Evan Goldstein]

Like, it just comes out of left field for me. Like, he's smuggling marijuana, then he's smuggling coke, then he's got a Lamborghini dealership. Like, how did he become the largest Lamborghini dealership in the world, selling the most Lamborghinis?

[Unnamed Guest]

At least for me, when I was little, Lamborghinis were the car. If you saw a Lamborghini on the street, it was like seeing a unicorn in a glade. You were just like, oh, look at that thing. Yeah, beautiful. Like, and then you always, you know, who's in it, who's driving it.

[Evan Goldstein]

What does a Lamborghini cost now?

[Unnamed Guest]

I don't know.

[Evan Goldstein]

In 2025, the starting price for the cheapest of cheap Lamborghinis. How much do you think?

[Unnamed Guest]

300 grand?

[Evan Goldstein]

600. $8,000.

[Unnamed Guest]

Wow. Really?

[Evan Goldstein]

You need $600,000 and then find another eight to buy a Lamborghini today?

[Unnamed Guest]

Yeah. And that Lamborghini comes with, like, a CD player.

[Evan Goldstein]

How did it become the largest Lamborghini dealership?

[TJ Dominguez]

Because all the money that I made, I pumped right back into it. And I'd go to Italy a lot and. And network myself because my money is in Switzerland. So now I jump over to Italy and I network with those guys over there. Say I brought a camera and to take pictures. And the guy says to him, I remember this incident. Oh, it's a beautiful camera. You know, in Italian, I said, oh, I brought this for you here. And, oh, about that yellow Lamborghini. What are you doing with that one? What's going to go to the guy in California. California, go. Wait, I'm the guy Here. I don't see anybody else. I need a yellow one. So that I started getting more and more cars, more and more cars. And I was the only franchise at the time that put like 100 cars under the roof. It was just incredible. Chandeliers, you know, champagne, wine rack, cappuccino machine that. Jesus. Thousands and thousands of dollars. This thing was like seven feet long, brass, with glass domes of a brass eagle on top of. I can show you pictures of that wall. It was very impressive pool table that would send me back about 100 grand. That pool table. It's an antique back in the day to the king and queen stuff from England. And it was a real class, classy place. So we became the standard of the industry. Beautiful girls that were the hostess, which I would lose them all the time to all these guys that would come in, you know, they'd be the future wife or the. Or the main squeeze, whatever you want to call them. And matter of fact, whenever we advertise for Lamborghini dealership hostess, you would think you were advertising for a Playboy interview or something. They're.

[Unnamed Guest]

They're.

[TJ Dominguez]

They're like trophy girls, every one of them. They're not dumb. They know what they. Who's coming in. They're guys with a big, deep pocket. So it was fun. It was fun. And we. And we. And we had a lot of fun living that world.

[Evan Goldstein]

It was profitable. You made money with Lamborghinis.

[TJ Dominguez]

Yeah, but I didn't really care. Look, If I'm making 100 or $200,000 of Lamborghini and I'm making 5, $10 million of cocaine, what's my priority?

[Evan Goldstein]

Agreed.

[TJ Dominguez]

You know, people say do money laundering. I don't give a damn about money laundering. I'm having a hard time spending what I've got. I've got so much already. I've got airplanes, I got cars. I didn't really need cash anymore. You know, it was one of the first American Express cards. I remember spending 100, $120,000 on one mic a month on my Express card.

[Unnamed Guest]

That's like putting $500,000 on a credit card today. It's insane.

[Evan Goldstein]

Half a million dollars.

[Unnamed Guest]

Half a million dollars on a credit card? Yeah.

[Evan Goldstein]

I can't even imagine who.

[Unnamed Guest]

Let me put, like, a house on. Well, a house in. Not in Los Angeles, but in Topeka, Kansas. Let me throw that on it. My credit card. Just the credit line alone.

[Evan Goldstein]

I know. TJ had so much money.

[Unnamed Guest]

He looks good. Like, I saw his picture. Like his Reese. He looks good.

[Evan Goldstein]

He's He's. He's almost. You know, it's like in the prime of life. But he's 73 now. Yeah, he's 73 years old.

[Unnamed Guest]

He looks younger.

[Evan Goldstein]

He does. He's got the energy and spark of a man in his 30s. And when you talk to him, there's this ferocity about his voice, like he's passionate about stuff and he wants to. He wants to car. Pay the dm. But the most impressive attribute about TJ Dominguez in my mind is he is a man of his word. If he tells you he's going to do something, he's going to do it. If he promises you something, he's going to keep that promise. And it doesn't matter if it might cost him his life.

[TJ Dominguez]

I went to a town in Colombia that 125, 150 people have been killed. There's a war between the paramilitano and the guerrillas. They told me not to go there, including Pablo Escobar. Said it was out of bounds. I couldn't go there. And I went there. And one guy says to me, what, do you have a death wish or something? When I'm walking into town, I had to go and get holy water for the mother of one of my friends that had cancer that had been born in that church. And she was in New York dying, and. And her son came, asked me if I would help him get holy water from this little church. And I said, can we just get it from. I mean, I don't really think it makes that big of a difference, though. My mother said it had to be that church. I said, then we're going to honor your mom's wishes, because my dad passed away from cancer. And I know what love is all about, you know, and having a dying person in your family. So I said, we're going to go to that little church up on top of the mountain.

[Jonathan Walton]

Easier said than done, because this region on the outskirts of Colombia has been decimated by war. All the buildings where a town once stood reduced to rubble. There are shelves of burnt out abandoned vehicles everywhere. And the unmistakable scent of death pervades the air. TJ is now trudging through a veritable no man's land. He's in grave danger, and he knows it.

[TJ Dominguez]

There's nobody that has blown cars upside down, and I'm talking bazookas, not guns. I'm talking about holes in building, like a war zone, you know, with heavy, heavy artillery and buildings burned. Nobody's anywhere. And as I'm walking up there, a little Car shows up, guy pulls up, he says, this is a war zone. What are you doing here? Do you want to die? And I said, I'm going to die, yeah, but I'm not going to die today. And that I'm sure of. I've got to go to that little church up there and get some holy water from my friend. The guy said, jump in the car. I'm going to take you up there. And so what would you do that? He says, because I don't want you to die. So he took me up there.

[Jonathan Walton]

And when TJ and this random stranger get to the church, it is barely standing. It looks like a bomb went off inside. Talk about an unsafe structure. But TJ goes in anyway, frantically searching.

[Evan Goldstein]

For holy water, you know, so we.

[TJ Dominguez]

Will go in these little rooms. I'm fumbling all over the place. We find two flasks of water. So I said, okay, we got it. So I and the guy, the whole time is standing by the door looking out like some sort of guard or something.

[Jonathan Walton]

Eventually, TJ jumps back in the car of this stranger. And for the next two hours, through winding mountain roads and rocky terrain, this guy drives TJ to safety and drops him off.

[TJ Dominguez]

I tried to give the guy money, right, you know, for gas and his time and all that. When he brought me all the way back to where I was at, and I said, so I said, here's a couple of dollars for your time in trouble. And the guy goes, no, it's okay. I said, well, for gas money. He said, no, that's okay. I said, so why did you do it? And he said to me, because today was not your day to d. And he disappeared. Nobody says no to money in South America. Cash, dollars. Nobody says no.

[Evan Goldstein]

I think he was a guardian angel.

[Unnamed Guest]

I know you'd say that.

[Evan Goldstein]

I know. I know you think I'm woo woo. But I do believe in guardian angels. Have you had experiences with guardian angels? You've never had a guardian angel in your life?

[Unnamed Guest]

No, I'd like to. Believe me. I need one.

[Evan Goldstein]

Well, they really only show up when you're about to die.

[Unnamed Guest]

Okay, never mind. I don't need one.

[Evan Goldstein]

I've had three guardian angels in my life that I look back, and even at the time, I knew something was up. The first guardian angel to appear to me, I was like 7 or 8 years old. I was a latchkey kid, you know, So I was out on the street with my friends in the neighborhood, and I was about to run across the street this one time, and as I got in the Stance to run. Something held me. I couldn't move. Something froze me. It felt like an invisible force field. And I stopped. And at the second I stopped, a car zoomed by.

[Unnamed Guest]

Oh, yeah.

[Evan Goldstein]

And in that moment, I knew if I didn't stop. But I didn't stop. Something stopped me. But if that didn't happen, that car would have mowed me down. I'd be dead. And I was a kid. And even looking back at that memory, that was a guardian. What else stopped me? I didn't stop me.

[Unnamed Guest]

Yeah. I wish everyone could see how animated Jonathan is right now.

[Evan Goldstein]

It's. Dude, when I look back at it, what else was that?

[Unnamed Guest]

Yeah. Yeah. It's possible.

[Evan Goldstein]

I'm not discounting about to dart across the street. And as I put my foot forward, it's like a force field.

[Unnamed Guest]

Yeah.

[TJ Dominguez]

Yeah.

[Evan Goldstein]

Okay, cut to another guardian angel experience in my life. I'm 19 years old. I'm driving. I'm living in Miami, going to college. We're going to the Mariah Carey concert. I'm in my red Isuzu amigo driving south on i95 at night, going to the Mariah Carey concert. My brother is in the car and my two cousins are in the backseat. And it's dark on the highway. There's construction, right? And I'm in the fast lane because I'm 19, going fast. And all of a sudden the steering wheel moves and I change lanes. I didn't consciously change lanes. I didn't. I didn't consciously change lanes. I just drifted over to the center lane. And the moment I drifted over to the center lane, we passed a stopped bus with no lights on it that had been abandoned in the fast lane. Like, the bus broke down and I zoomed by it, nearly hit it.

[Unnamed Guest]

Oh, my God.

[Evan Goldstein]

And my brother and my two cousins thought that I changed lanes to avoid the bus. I didn't see the bus. It was dark. I'm going 70 or 80. I didn't see it.

[Unnamed Guest]

Yeah, you just did it.

[Evan Goldstein]

Something. I didn't even do it, though. Something moved me, like I didn't consciously. You know, when you're driving, you consciously change the layer. I didn't do that. It drifted over.

[Unnamed Guest]

I see a theme emerging. I think. I don't know if it's a guardian angel. I think it's like the saint of motor vehicles.

[Evan Goldstein]

No, man, I get chills talking about it. Like I didn't. There but for the grace of whatever that was, I would be dead. Not only me, my brother and my two cousins. I do believe in guardian angels. Okay. Third guardian angel in my life. I was 30 years old. You know, through many different circumstances in life events, I realized I'm gay. I don't want to be gay. You know, I grew up believing being gay is like the worst thing in the world you could be. It's like the devil. I went to a Catholic school. Like, my family would never accept it. Like. So I decided to end my life. And it was a very rational decision. And I started planning my suicide. So what was brilliant about my suicide was because it was going to be flawless. I'm kind of proud of this plan, you know, just as a creative, as a producer. Like, this is how you go out if you don't want anyone to know you're going to kill yourself. I worked on the morning show that was in Houston. A reporter at CBS in Houston. And I had to wake up at 3am So I started telling everyone. So over this two week period, I started telling everyone I having trouble sleeping. So I'm taking over the counter sleeping pills and they're not working. I'm taking more and more. I took five, I took six, and I can't sleep. I can't sleep. So all my friends and co workers thought I was having trouble sleeping. And I let them tell me, well, you should get prescription sleeping pills. And I'm like, okay. So it was their idea, not mine, but it was mine to give them to give me. And this is over a two week period. So my plan was I was just going to overdose in a bottle of sleeping pills, prescription, no note. No one would ever know I committed suicide because I thought it would be easier for my mother to accept that I died of an accidental overdose than that I was gay.

[Unnamed Guest]

Yeah. That's sad.

[Evan Goldstein]

I believe that though.

[Unnamed Guest]

Yeah.

[Evan Goldstein]

In my mind I was doing the right thing.

[Unnamed Guest]

You also grew up in Jamaica where.

[Evan Goldstein]

You know, but dead.

[Unnamed Guest]

Yeah. Kill you.

[Evan Goldstein]

Yeah, I know. I know. So I was battling all of that. So again I made the decision this is how it's going to go. The, the die is cast. I started telling people the sleeping thing. They suggested the prescription. I had this whole plan and obviously nobody knew. I was the funny guy in the morning news, making everyone laugh. I wasn't telling anyone what. I'm like, no, when people are really going to kill themselves, like no one knows. Like they don't tell anyone. I didn't tell anyone. I didn't hint, no jokes, no gallows humor, nothing. I was determined this is going to happen.

[Unnamed Guest]

Yeah.

[Evan Goldstein]

So I'm two weeks into this plan. I know it's Inevitable. This is what I have to do. And I would go to bed crying every night. And on this particular night, I go to bed crying. And the refrain in my head is, you know, I can never make my mother proud. I can never make my mother proud. Like, I have to do this. Like, I can't live anymore. I can't make my mother proud. Which is such a gay boy concern, right? Yeah. Make my mother proud. And then in that moment, a voice in my bedroom said, like, in a whisper, you will make her proud. Swear to God. Like, outside of my. And I. I got up out of bed, and I'm looking around my bedroom like, who the fuck just said that?

[Unnamed Guest]

Yeah.

[Evan Goldstein]

And it said it again. You will make her proud.

[Unnamed Guest]

Oh, wow.

[Evan Goldstein]

As you can hear me talking, that is the. I heard it. I decided to kill myself. Like, I knew what I was doing. This was a voice outside. And in that. In that moment when he said it the second time, it sounded like a male voice, Everything lifted, like I knew. Oh, okay, well, maybe I don't have to kill myself then. Maybe if I can still make her proud somehow I can stay on this earth.

[Unnamed Guest]

You know, who knows? Maybe there. Maybe you do have a guardian angel.

[Jonathan Walton]

If you're thinking about taking your own life, believe me, I understand. I've been there. I know it feels like it's the only option you have left, but I assure you, it is not. And the one thing I can guarantee you in this life is that everything changes. And how you're feeling right now is no different. It will change. You just have to hang on until it does. One year after I decided not to end my life, I fully accepted and even embraced being gay. I met the man who would become.

[Evan Goldstein]

My husband and my soulmate.

[Jonathan Walton]

And we've been together and madly in love and happy for the past 18 years. I also went on to have amazing adventures, producing TV shows like Shark Tank and American Ninja Warrior. I started doing podcasts like Queen of the Con and Cocaine Air. I even wrote a book for a major publisher, Penguin Random House. Becoming a published author was way above and beyond any of my wildest dreams. And I've had some wild ones. I am truly ecstatic to be alive, and I'm fulfilled and excited about the future. And most importantly, I'm happy. And I am so grateful I never committed suicide because I would have missed all of this. Take the fact that you are listening to these words right now as a sign or even just dumb luck. I'm talking to you. If you're thinking about ending your Life. Call or text 988 and speak to a professional counselor for free. Talking to someone about what's going on always helps. Just call or text 988. Now back to Cocaine Air episode eight, where Evan and I are talking about that random stranger in TJ's life who showed up out of nowhere and protected and guided him on his mission to get holy water from that tiny church on a hill.

[Evan Goldstein]

I do believe in guardian angels, and I do believe that guy who materialized out of effing nowhere in the Colombian.

[Unnamed Guest]

Region of Nowheresville and won't take your.

[Evan Goldstein]

Money, refused to take money, saved TJ's life, guided him to the church to get the holy water, guided him back and disappeared. Wouldn't take any money.

[Unnamed Guest]

God, there's so many crazy stories.

[Evan Goldstein]

I think he was a guardian angel. I think TJ was surrounded by guardian angels. You know, how do you make all these flights in and out of Columbia with the military shooting at you? Oh, my God. In episode two, when the Bahamian drug team in the helicopter with the bazooka and the guns are shooting at his boat, like, how is he not dead? He should be dead.

[Unnamed Guest]

Yeah.

[Evan Goldstein]

So many times he should have been killed and he lived. I think he just has, like this. If you could lift the veil and see all the guardian angels, it's probably like a. A choreographed, like, theatrical armada of, like, stage hands, like, running and grabbing the ropes and doing the thing and pulling him out and blocking the bullet and blocking, you know, like. I don't know, my mind.

[Unnamed Guest]

Yeah, Maybe. I also like that he has this kind of karate background that kind of informs everything. He's like the Hispanic Chuck Norris. He is like, he's a man of action. When Tito Dominguez does a push up, he's not pushing himself up. He's pushing the earth down.

[Evan Goldstein]

Was that a Chuck Norris joke?

[Unnamed Guest]

That was a Chuck Norris joke, yeah.

[Evan Goldstein]

I mean, another thing about tj, he really loved the ladies. He really loved the ladies?

[Unnamed Guest]

Yeah.

[Evan Goldstein]

Or did the ladies really love him?

[Unnamed Guest]

Probably a bit of both.

[Evan Goldstein]

Have you ever heard of a cuckold? A cuckold is a guy who derives pleasure from another man sleeping with his wife. Sometimes they're watching, Sometimes they're just listening at the door.

[Unnamed Guest]

Or sometimes they just know and get off on the thought.

[Evan Goldstein]

Yeah, they'll go in another room and just the thought of their wife with someone else gets them off. That guy's a cuckold.

[Unnamed Guest]

Yeah.

[Evan Goldstein]

Now, until the proliferation of mass porn when I was younger, I didn't know what a cuckold was.

[Unnamed Guest]

Yeah, no, me neither.

[Evan Goldstein]

Right. But it's a porn category now. You type cuckold and millions of videos pop up with, you know, share my wife and do this to my wife and blah, blah, my wife and then some. Sometimes the guys participate, whatever. So I'm telling you this because this next story TJ is about to divulge, I believe is a cuckold situation.

[Unnamed Guest]

Intriguing.

[TJ Dominguez]

I'm in the Bahamas and I'm there with Jack, as a matter of fact. And we're having. We're having dinner, and there's this hot chick that's having dinner and the other opposite table, she's looking at me, I'm looking at her. And I guess her husband can't see me because I see the back of his head, but I see the eyes wondering. And she kind of gives me a wink. I wink back. So. And, you know, now she's smirking and, you know, she's basically flirting, right? So Jack is, what are you doing? I says, chick over there, man, she's really hot. Look at her, you know? And yeah, she's with that guy. Why is she looking at me when she walks? Winking, you know? So I just had to get a little bit more braced in and I said, go to the bathroom. Bathroom. And I turned around and I said to Jack, if this girl gets up, we're going to stay here an extra day. And she got up, she went to the bathroom, and as soon as she went in that hallway, you know, we're not going to sit here and introduce ourselves. We basically had the same thoughts in mind. I said, what are you doing with this guy? That's my husband. He's down here on a fishing expedition trip. So they fly in on their jet, they send the boat ahead of time. We were staying at the big game. The guy was loaded, you know, a lot, a lot of money. And so I said, fishing expedition, like the tournament that's going on? She goes, yeah. Says, when does he leave? He said, first thing in the morning, daybreak. I said, I'll be right there. I sat there like a bird dog. The guy left, I walked in, and the next thing I know, I. We were in the bedroom, you know, when I heard they were staying in a bungalow, which was a room in the back, a living room, little kitchenette, and then the door. Next thing I hear. I hear some noise, and it sounds like a joke, but it really was. And I just said to myself, I don't think that's housekeeping. Next thing I know, he walked in on me and I'm with her in the bed. I just jumped up, though, when I heard the door. Had a bad feeling it wasn't housekeeping. So I reached for my pants. I put on my pants. I'm buttoning my pants. I don't have a shirt on. I don't have shoes on. The guy looks at me, looks at her. She's in the bed. I turned around, I said to the guy, look, man, what do you want me to tell you? I know her from school or something? I said, if you touch me, I'm gonna break your arm and beat you with your own arm. Don't touch me. If you help me find the other shoe, I'll get the hell out of here a little quicker. I looked around and got my other shoe put on my shirt. The guy stepped out of my way. I walked out. That was that.

[Evan Goldstein]

I think this is 100% a cuckold situation.

[Unnamed Guest]

You think that the guy. You think this was pretty preset? Where. Okay, you come back at this time, I'm gonna be in bed with this guy, and. And you can watch. You can watch or potentially join.

[Evan Goldstein]

Well, TJ was never gonna let that happen.

[Unnamed Guest]

No.

[Evan Goldstein]

But I do believe the guy did not mean to be. I don't think the guy meant to make a noise. I think the guy was trying to slip back into the room to watch his wife with TJ and got busted. Yeah, I think. I think he was a cuckold.

[Unnamed Guest]

Because the story from her was he's out fishing. He's out fishing in a tournament.

[Evan Goldstein]

Right.

[Unnamed Guest]

So. So why is he back?

[Evan Goldstein]

Yeah, that's a huge flaw in her story.

[Unnamed Guest]

If he's out my rod. Oh, I see you have one right there.

[Evan Goldstein]

If he's out fishing all day, how is he suddenly back in the room quietly, quiet as a titmouse?

[Unnamed Guest]

Yeah, it's definitely possible. There are, you know, there are. There are cuckolds.

[Evan Goldstein]

Yeah.

[Unnamed Guest]

This is a thing. Did Tito notice a cuck chair in the corner?

[Evan Goldstein]

What's a cuck chair? For the uninitiated, it's the chair that.

[Unnamed Guest]

A cuckold sits in while he watches his significant other with another man.

[Evan Goldstein]

And the other reason I think it's a cuckold situation. Not just because she said, my husband's gonna be gone all day in a tournament, suddenly he's back, but because the husband wasn't enraged. If you came home and saw your wife in bed and you're on a Bahamian vacation and your wife's banging some guy she met in a restaurant.

[Unnamed Guest]

Although TJ the first thing he says is, like, you touch me, I break your arm and, like, rip it off and beat you to death with it or something like that. I think guys size each other up immediately. And you could kind of, you know, if you see someone in a kind of. In a situation like that, one, you're in shock. And two, it's like, on top of it, this guy is having sex with my wife, and then I'm going to get my ass kicked.

[Evan Goldstein]

Okay, here's how I poke a hole in that theory. Two reasons I think he's a cuckold. If he was not a cuckold, he would have reacted one of two ways. Either he would have been outwardly furious, shouting, yelling, threatening violence. Even if he's not threatening violence, he would have been angry, crying, something, some kind of reaction. But it sounds like he didn't have much of an emotional reaction. The only other way a real husband. A real husband. The only other way a non cuckold husband would have reacted, he would have just ran away. I can't believe you did this. And disappeared.

[Unnamed Guest]

Yeah, totally.

[Evan Goldstein]

He didn't. He stayed.

[Unnamed Guest]

Yeah, he stayed with it. He left and TJ left.

[Evan Goldstein]

He let TJ leave.

[Unnamed Guest]

And then they. And then they reviewed the security footage that they carefully planted before.

[Evan Goldstein]

I'm sure. I'm sure she. You know, and again, I'm not judging cuckolds. More power to them. But it is an arrangement a husband and wife have with each other. The husband's the cuck. The wife is going to have these adventures with other men, and the cuck's going to watch. I think this was that in the 1980s in the Bahamas, before we knew what that was.

[Unnamed Guest]

Yeah.

[Evan Goldstein]

Thanks to the Internet, we know what everything's. What everything is.

[Unnamed Guest]

Yeah.

[Evan Goldstein]

Yeah.

[Jonathan Walton]

With all this talk of cuckolds, I wanted to run this unconventional theory by tj, so I called him up on a recorded line.

[TJ Dominguez]

Can you hear me?

[Evan Goldstein]

I can hear you. Can you hear me?

[TJ Dominguez]

Yeah, I hear you loud and clear.

[Evan Goldstein]

All right, we're recording. So I'll just ask you, looking back now, do you think it might have been a cuckold situation? The. The woman in the Bahamas with the husband?

[TJ Dominguez]

Well, if you're asking me my opinion now, in my opinion, then, no.

[Evan Goldstein]

Why don't you think that guy was a cuckold? You think? Was he upset when he caught you guys?

[TJ Dominguez]

Absolutely. Absolutely upset. Not only was he upset, but he was pale. He was, like, in shock. He was like. He couldn't believe me, you know, And I can't take Pride. By saying this, I really mean it is a horrible thing. But the way I look at it, hey, listen, if she says yes, it's open game. If it's not me, it's somebody else. And I'm 20 something years old at the time, you know, and if she wants to play, I'm there.

[Jonathan Walton]

As for the guy suddenly showing up at the bungalow when he was supposed to be out fishing all day, TJ says it was because the weather suddenly changed, which happens all the time in the Bahamas.

[TJ Dominguez]

The weather change in the Caribbean, you get thunderstorms down there.

[Evan Goldstein]

Yeah.

[TJ Dominguez]

And you can't go out there on a boat, man, you're gonna, you're gonna turn green because the seas will kick up and you know, done fishing for the day. And so they came back and when they came back an hour or two later, whatever it was, I wasn't keeping track of because he was going to be gone all day. When he came back, he was clearly, clearly upset.

[Jonathan Walton]

So maybe it wasn't a cuckold situation or maybe it was. Regardless, TJ is not into that kind.

[Evan Goldstein]

Of thing at all.

[Jonathan Walton]

His underling Jack, on the other hand, could very well be.

[TJ Dominguez]

I'm in Colombia and Jack says to me, hey Tito, man, you're gonna hook me up, right? So I'm like, yeah, sure, Jack. Then he would get nervous, he'd stutter, he'd go, give me four, Tito, get me four. I said, jack, what are you gonna do with four of them? It's too much for you? He goes, just give me four, man. So I said, okay, four it is. So I make arrangements to have four hot chicks. And these are not like street walkers. These are four or $5,000 chicks. Back in the day, nowadays, all these sites that you have, no, these are like college girls, you know, friend of a friend, and all of a sudden you hook up with a group of girls that, oh, my friend would love to go to a party. Party animals. And you know, they're not doing it even for money. But you give them, here's five grand, Next thing you know you got four or five of them lining up. And that's how these things work. And that's the kind of exposure that we had with Jack and those guys. I can't even go into detail kind of perverted stuff that they would do too perverted for me. I didn't want to stay in the room with them. They're all naked like a, like a regular, you know, not even a lovin because it was just. They had toys and things like that. Just stuff that I don't, I don't, I don't like. I don't need another guy in the room with me. I don't want to touch another guy. Just women, you know. And yeah, I don't mind laying in bed with a couple of them, you know, it's not, it's nice, you know, nothing wrong with that. But I just don't want to do the perverted stuff, you know.

[Unnamed Guest]

I think that's why TJ is so endearing. Because you, you imagine, you know, top line cocaine smuggler for Pablo Escobar. You're expecting someone that is ruthless, that is killing people, that is fighting it out, machine guns everyday. People aren't kind of privy to that world, you know, and all we have to go by is, you know, what we've seen in movies and TV and stuff like that. But what's so endearing about him is just you get a sense of a man of honor among thieves and among.

[Evan Goldstein]

Non thieves, he is a man of honor, full stop.

[Unnamed Guest]

Yeah, and it's endearing the way he values fairness. Like there is something to be said. Sure, he's doing something illegal, but he is the anti hero because sure, he's running afoul of the law with doing all this stuff, but he's not out to hurt anyone necessarily. He's just out to supply and demand. You know, people want cocaine, he's providing it for him. It's the same thing with prohibition. People were going to drink and people broke the law to give people alcohol. It's the same thing. The most fascinating thing is this would have never happened had he not been conned.

[Evan Goldstein]

Exactly.

[Unnamed Guest]

Because you go down one path, there's two ways to go. You, you, you, you cower in the corner and lick your wounds or you go after it. And TJ just flipped the script.

[Evan Goldstein]

Yes, I see myself in him. That's my story too. Yeah, that is my story too. Getting con changed me. It turned me into this vigilante. I, I have a book coming out in August. Anatomy of a Con Artist. I've investigated hundreds of cases. I've helped a lot of people. And I would not be on this path had I not been conned. Similar to tj, he'd not be on his path unless he got conned. We just changed in different ways. But ultimately we became good people. And what's crazy is here we are all the way in Episode eight. We think we've heard the TJ Dominguez story. We think we've heard everything, but we've really only kind of scratched the surface. There is so much more to this man. We're gonna talk in the next few episodes to some of the people in his life and we're gonna hear from TJ himself about the impact the podcast has had. And a crazy story. I had no idea that right when they arrested him he was getting out of the cocaine business. And then he got busted.

[Jonathan Walton]

To see some incredible photographs documenting TJ's life, go to cocainair.com and if you're enjoying Cocaine Air, please hit that share button and text it to your friends and family right now. And if you feel comfortable, leave us a five star review. Reviews really help other listeners find us Cocaine Air was created, written and executive produced by me, Jonathan Walton for Jonathan Walton Media Executive producers Evan Goldstein and the inimitable TJ Dominguez. Audio engineering by me, Jonathan Walton. Sound design and editing for this episode was done by Mike Smith and the Cocaine Air cover art is by Bobby Animation. We've got a lot of fascinating untold stories like Cocaine Air coming down the pike at Jonathan Walton Media, so subscribe and keep an ear out.