Introducing Spotlight: Snitch City

Summary

Deep Cover: Introducing Spotlight: Snitch City

Release Date: March 31, 2025
Producer: Amy Gaines McQuade
Hosted by: Pushkin Industries

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Overview

"Introducing Spotlight: Snitch City" serves as the inaugural episode of Snitch City, a new podcast series produced by the Boston Globe's award-winning Spotlight team and featured on Pushkin Industries' Deep Cover. This episode delves deep into the murky world of police informants, focusing on the troubling case of George Santos, a former Republican Congressman from New York, who is now embroiled in criminal trials due to a web of deceit and misconduct uncovered by investigative reporter Dugan Arnett.

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The George Santos Case

George Santos, once a rising star in New York politics, has faced a dramatic fall from grace as numerous fabricated stories about his life and credentials have come to light. With an impending criminal trial, the episode explores the intricate details of Santos' double life, his rise within the police department, and the eventual exposure of his corrupt practices.

Key Points:

• Background: Santos grew up in a tight-knit fishing community in New Bedford, Massachusetts, where he joined the city's marine police unit.
• Behavioral Red Flags: Despite lacking necessary qualifications, Santos secured his position and quickly earned a reputation for aggressive and often illegal tactics in his pursuit of drug-related offenses.
• Conflict with Colleagues: Officer Mark Raposo, a veteran member of the marine unit, becomes increasingly suspicious and uneasy with Santos' methods, leading to internal conflicts and attempts to expose his wrongdoing.

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Critical Events and Investigations

The episode meticulously recounts several pivotal moments that illustrate the depth of Santos' misconduct and the challenges faced by those attempting to bring him to justice.

1. The 911 Call Incident (00:00 - 04:43):

   • Setting the Scene: On a warm summer night in 2018, a fisherman aboard the "Little Tootie" reports an intruder dressed in black with a gun, claiming to be a police officer searching for drugs.
   • Dispatch Confusion: The dispatcher acknowledges the caller’s claims but is uncertain about the intruder's legitimacy.

2. Officer Mark Raposo's Investigation (05:05 - 23:09):

   • First Impressions: Raposo recognizes Santos and immediately distrusts his motives, suspecting him of conducting an unauthorized drug rip.
   • Internal Affairs Resistance: Efforts to obtain information from the New Bedford Police Department (NBPD) are met with resistance, highlighting systemic issues in transparency and accountability.

3. Freddy Loya's Encounters (25:12 - 28:33):

   • Personal Testimonies: Freddy Loya, a seasoned fisherman, shares his experiences with Santos, detailing instances where Santos illegally searched his vehicle and extorted drugs under the guise of being a police officer.
   • Pattern of Abuse: Multiple fishermen corroborate similar stories, painting a picture of Santos abusing his authority to exploit vulnerable individuals.

4. The Confrontation and Aftermath (30:32 - 44:51):

   • Escalating Tensions: Highlights include a mysterious fire at Santos’ home and Raposo's increasing frustration with departmental indifference.
   • Grand Jury and Lack of Accountability: Despite substantial evidence and Raposo’s testimony, prosecutors decide not to press charges, leading to Santos’ resignation without consequences.

Notable Quotes:

• Mark Raposo (07:14): “I'm like, oh.”
• Freddy Loya (26:10): “He wanted to know what people is bringing drugs in the new airport. I said, I don't know nothing about it, you know?”
• Mark Raposo (23:09): “George is a street guy. Reputation is kind of a reckless and wild guy.”

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Systemic Issues in Policing and Informant Use

A significant portion of the episode critiques the broader informant system within American policing, using Santos' case as a lens to explore systemic corruption and lack of oversight.

Key Insights:

• Lack of Transparency: Arnett uncovers that many police departments, including NBPD, offer minimal information about their informant programs, often leaving the public in the dark.
• Accountability Failures: Despite multiple complaints and internal reports against Santos, higher-ups in the NBPD prioritize arrest statistics over ethical conduct, allowing misconduct to flourish unabated.
• Whistleblower Challenges: Officer Raposo’s attempts to expose Santos are met with retaliation and institutional barriers, illustrating the dangers faced by internal whistleblowers.

Notable Quotes:

• Dugan Arnett (10:30): “Do your officers lie?”
• Mark Raposo (45:21): “You can’t manipulate this as a grand jury now. You can’t, this can’t be manipulated now. This is just, this is going to go, this is, this has wheels now. This is it.”

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Consequences and Current Status

The episode concludes with reflections on the aftermath of the investigations and the ongoing impact on those involved.

• George Santos: Having resigned from the NBPD, Santos now resides quietly in Florida. When approached for comments, he declined to discuss the allegations.
• Mark Raposo: Continues to feel ostracized and retaliated against by the police department, leading to professional and personal hardships. His attempts to engage federal authorities have been unsuccessful, leaving him disillusioned with the justice system.
• Freddy Loya and Others: Many fishermen and community members remain fearful and distrustful of the police, wary of further exploitation.

Notable Quotes:

• Mark Raposo (47:29): “We have to testify against another police officer. Culturally, you keep your mouth shut and that's it. And at this point I kind of throw my hands up as I can't do anything else.”
• Freddy Loya (53:20): “You gotta get the fuck up out of here.”

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Final Thoughts and Future Episodes

"Snitch City" promises to further explore the intricate and often hidden dynamics of police informant systems, corruption, and the personal toll on those who dare to challenge the status quo. Upcoming episodes will continue to shed light on additional cases, unearthing the layers of deception and misconduct that pervade certain law enforcement circles.

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Conclusion

"Introducing Spotlight: Snitch City" offers a compelling and deeply investigative look into the dark underbelly of policing and informant misuse through the lens of George Santos' case. With firsthand accounts, thorough investigative journalism, and poignant storytelling, the episode sets the stage for a series that promises to unveil the complex interplay between law enforcement, informants, and the communities they serve.

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Notable Speaker Quotes with Timestamps:

• Amy Brown (00:25): "Can'T believe how good humans have it with DirecTV..."
• Mark Raposo (05:05): "I think at that point I'm probably already putting two and two together." (05:05)
• Freddy Loya (26:10): "He wanted to know what people is bringing drugs in the new airport. I said, I don't know nothing about it, you know?" (26:10)
• Mark Raposo (23:09): "George is a street guy. Reputation is kind of a reckless and wild guy." (23:09)
• Dugan Arnett (10:30): "Do your officers lie?" (10:30)
• Mark Raposo (45:21): "You can’t manipulate this as a grand jury now..." (45:21)
• Mark Raposo (47:29): "We have to testify against another police officer..." (47:29)
• Freddy Loya (53:20): "You gotta get the fuck up out of here." (53:20)

These quotes underscore the intensity and gravity of the issues discussed throughout the episode, providing listeners with authentic voices that drive the narrative forward.

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References

• Deep Cover Podcast Series Information
• Transcript Excerpts from "Introducing Spotlight: Snitch City" Episode

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This comprehensive summary encapsulates the essence of the "Introducing Spotlight: Snitch City" episode, highlighting key events, personal testimonies, and systemic critiques, all while providing actionable insights and poignant quotes to engage and inform potential listeners.

Transcript

[Dugan Arnett]

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[Amy Brown]

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[Dugan Arnett]

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[Mark Raposo]

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[Dugan Arnett]

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[Amy Brown]

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[Mark Raposo]

Pushkin hey listeners, it's Jake. So today we're sharing the first episode of this brand new podcast, Snitch City. It's produced by the Boston Globe's award winning Spotlight team. Snitch City brings you inside the secret world of police informants through one small city right at the forefront of America's drug war, New Bedford, Massachusetts. Featuring never before told cases, this podcast looks at how officers have exploited the secrecy of the informant system to enrich themselves, break laws, protect drug dealers, and attack perceived enemies, all with impunity. In this episode, you'll find yourself on the docks in New Bedford hearing whispers about a rogue police officer who's harassing fishermen and stealing drugs. All of which comes to a head one late night aboard a scalloping boat. And it turns out this officer's abuse is just the tip of the iceberg in this historic city. Before we get into the full episode, be sure to follow Spotlight Snitch City on your favorite listening app.

[Dugan Arnett]

Now here's the episode before we begin. This story includes strong Language. Please take care when listening. It's a warm summer night in 2018 and there's a strange situation unfolding aboard a scalloping boat docked in New Bedford, Massachusetts.

[Mark Raposo]

9 1:00 emergency. Yeah, but you don't got no problem.

[Dugan Arnett]

To be on this boat. The caller says there's an intruder on board. And you said that someone's on your boat and that's not supposed to be on the boat.

[Mark Raposo]

Where at, sir?

[Dugan Arnett]

The Crystal Ice dock in New Bedford, Massachusetts. The caller is a fisherman on the Little Tootie, a boat docked for the night along the city's waterfront. And he said it's by the docks? Yes, sir. The call comes in at about 9:30. Some crew members are sleeping. Others are making final preparations for the next day's fishing trip down the Atlantic coast when suddenly there's a loud banging on the door and a frenzied man pushes his way inside. Does he have any weapons on him? Yeah, he has the. He's dressed in all black, his eyes are bloodshot and he has a gun. Is the person still there?

[Mark Raposo]

I don't know what's going on.

[Dugan Arnett]

The scene is chaotic. Hold on a moment. And the dispatcher's trying to figure out what's going on.

[Mark Raposo]

It's a.

[Dugan Arnett]

He says he's a cop, but he doesn't have no warrants. The fisherman is telling the dispatcher that the guy on his boat claims he's a police officer.

[Mark Raposo]

So you think he's lying?

[Dugan Arnett]

He's not an officer, no, sir, but he does have a badge. He said he's a security or something. Around this time, a call goes out to police radios across town. Control to all units. Do I have anybody out at the Crystal Ice dock? We have a mail calling stating that he's speaking with somebody who's claiming to be a police officer, but he thinks.

[Mark Raposo]

That this person is lying.

[Dugan Arnett]

Control to unit 10. 10, could you make your way down to the Crystal Ice warehouse just to see exactly what's going on? As police try to figure out exactly what's going on, the message reaches an officer in a nearby patrol car.

[Mark Raposo]

A male identifying himself as a police officer is breaking into a boat.

[Dugan Arnett]

Here's Mark Raposo.

[Mark Raposo]

I think at that point I'm probably already putting two and two together.

[Dugan Arnett]

Immediately, he has a bad feeling because he suspects he knows who might be causing the trouble. A colleague he's spent the past year trying to avoid, a young officer named George Santos. The waterfront is quiet when Raposo arrives. He parks his cruiser, makes his way down to the dock. Cautiously steps aboard the boat and into a scene that defies explanation.

[Mark Raposo]

It's. It's George wearing a black marine SRT shirt, sweatpants. He's there in his own car. He's got a gun.

[Dugan Arnett]

Raposo's colleague George Santos is off duty.

[Mark Raposo]

And I don't even think he has a radio. What do you. What is going on here? And I'm already going, oh, man, give me a break. Like, why did I, why did I have to be working right now? You know?

[Dugan Arnett]

Dispatch lets the caller know, okay, sir, that is an officer. We checked. You said it is officer. Yes, it is an officer. When Reposo boards the boat, he finds a bunch of angry fishermen shouting over each other. They're convinced that this officer with bloodshot eyes is here to rob them.

[Mark Raposo]

He just shows up and he just says, I'm looking for drugs. I know there's drugs on the boat.

[Dugan Arnett]

Nothing about the situation makes sense to Raposo. What possible reason could Santos have to be here?

[Mark Raposo]

Jude. What. What the fuck are you doing? What is this? Well, they got drugs. My CI says there's drugs on the boat.

[Dugan Arnett]

Santos tells Raposo he's got a confidential informant who told him that there were drugs aboard the little tootie. These two words, confidential informant, are like magic. As soon as they're uttered, a cloak of secrecy takes over. What's exchanged between a cop and a CI is known only to them and can open doors that are otherwise closed shut. These words triple wire for Raposo.

[Mark Raposo]

I'm like, oh. And I immediately start to back out, back out of the boat. And I think I tell George, hey, George, get out of the boat, get out of the boat. And I tell one of the crewmen, lock the boat, close these doors, don't let anybody in here.

[Dugan Arnett]

This whole situation looks really bad to Raposo. He thinks it's a crime scene. It looks like George Santos is here using his power as a cop and the supposed word of a confidential informant to force his way onto a boat and steal drugs.

[Mark Raposo]

You know, is this really, what's. Is this really happening?

[Dugan Arnett]

What did it look like?

[Mark Raposo]

It looked, it looked, it looked like a drug rip. It looked like a drug rip. It looked like something out of a fucking movie.

[Dugan Arnett]

A drug rip.

[Mark Raposo]

Pretty much. Bad guy robbing a drug dealer. That's what it is. Except in this instance, the bad guy is a cop.

[Dugan Arnett]

The cop who showed up on the little tootie that night wild eyed, flashing a gun and demanding drugs, says he was tipped off by a confidential informant. A claim he knew would grant him a police officer certain Liberties. You see, informants are the backbone of nearly every drug investigation in America. With little more than the word of a CI, cops can launch investigations, break down doors, and upend lives. Today, police are allowed to direct and oversee this vast, anonymous army with no oversight, no regulation, and no transparency. Until relatively recently, many departments didn't even have rules in place about using informants. Surprisingly, some still don't. How it works is all up to police, and it's nearly all done in secret. It is shadowy, it is underground, and it's a game to a lot of these police officers.

[Mark Raposo]

And to win, they have to think.

[Dugan Arnett]

Like the criminal, and they start acting like the criminal. I'm Dougan Arnett, an investigative reporter with the Boston Globe Spotlight team. I've spent the last two years inside the secret world of police informants, where the stakes can be life and death. And no one wants you to know how it really works. Not prosecutors, not judges, not police, and certainly not the informants themselves, who can pay dearly for cooperating with cops. Trying to get to the bottom of all this has taken me to the heart of one small city at the forefront of America's drug war. New Bedford, Massachusetts.

[Mark Raposo]

Snitch, informant, CI. You didn't want to be labeled a rat, not around here.

[Dugan Arnett]

In a nation addicted to drugs, police across the country have become addicted to informants. And nowhere is that more apparent than in this historic port city, the backdrop of Moby Dick, where police have been empowered to use informants to take down dealers by almost any means necessary. If there's a level playing field, there would be no war on drugs, because they wouldn't succeed.

[Mark Raposo]

You live and die in this business on informants and information. Did I lie? Yes.

[Dugan Arnett]

Do your officers lie?

[Mark Raposo]

Yes.

[Dugan Arnett]

Everybody lies. My investigation has taken me from the docks of New Bedford to the homes of drug traffickers, to remote parking lots where skittish cops will only meet at night. I'm going to tell you about several cases of police misconduct, all involving informants, and you'll hear from the people on all sides of this, including informants themselves. Reluctant to snitch and yet still caught up. I've reviewed thousands of pages of court records and internal police documents going back more than three decades. And what I found in case after case is officers who've exploited this informant system in almost every way imaginable to enrich themselves, break laws, protect kingpins, and attack perceived enemies. And they've done it all with impunity. This podcast is an unvarnished, behind the scenes look at this clandestine world where Total secrecy has allowed corruption and misconduct to fester. From the Boston Globe Spotlight Team, this is Snitch City. Episode one. Officer Pastillas.

[Amy Brown]

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[Dugan Arnett]

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[Dugan Arnett]

All right, Duke, kind of busy today, but looks like construction types. I'm at New Bedford's waterfront with my editor Brendan, walking the docks where the Fisherman made that 911 call. This story begins at the site of the Little Tootie. Because what happened here is a glaring example of abuse within the confidential informant system. Alright, give me a little walkie talk here. We're heading back to the docks, hoping to run into some fishermen throughout the day today and see what we can find out. In many ways, the waterfront is the heart of New Bedford. And Officer George Santos was detailed to the city's marine unit. This was his territory. His job was to check boat licenses, patrol the harbor, that sort of thing. Beautiful morning, clear sky. I've been told that the fishing community here is tight knit and that if I want to learn more about Santos, this is the place to start. No, go ahead. He can follow me. Brendan and I approach a couple of grizzled fishermen throwing lobster traps. So for those who don't understand or know New Bedford, how important is the industry? How important are folks like you to the city, to the state, to the country? Well, New Bedford is the largest producing fishing port in the entire world. He tells us he's been fishing here for 50 years. What are you. What are you piling in today, Erin? A boat named Maxine Emma, a 90 foot steel offshore lobster and crab boat. New Bedford's fortunes have always been tied to the ocean. If you know anything about the place, it's probably that it was once the hub of the whaling industry, and in the 19th century, that made it one of the richest cities in the world. This is where Herman Melville set off on the whaling voyage that inspired Moby Dick. Today, New Bedford still has an old world feel, with cobblestone streets running through the city center. There are fish houses lining the waterfront, and the scent of briny ocean air is hard to escape. The city's fishing port still brings in the most valuable haul in the country, but few people here actually perceive that, and the city can feel a little down on its luck. Drugs are a big problem.

[Freddy Loya]

How many clinics they got in the.

[Dugan Arnett]

City, You've noticed that? You've seen that play out of the docks? Yeah, absolutely. The reason I sold my boat, I was in Westport Point. We couldn't get no help. I had to get rid of at least five or six different American kids Because of drugs. They can't show up. They don't show up on time. If they show up, they're screwed up. In this city of 100,000, overdoses are routine. The local drug court is one of the busiest in the state. It seems like there's a bit of a pill problem in New Bedford. I mean, a little bit, yeah, a little bit.

[Freddy Loya]

Yeah.

[Dugan Arnett]

Real bad. Everywhere you go, the search for drugs and especially pills draws a lot of folks to the docks, Santos included.

[Freddy Loya]

I don't know. I don't know the officer name, but the nickname is the People, he said pastillas, because he all time looking for drugs, you know, he has told me like two times. He said, hey, I'm looking for drugs, man. I'm here for job, you know.

[Dugan Arnett]

This fisherman, Tony says he's had multiple run ins with Santos and that everyone down here, here knew the officer by a nickname. Pastas pills in Spanish.

[Mark Raposo]

He stopped you every.

[Freddy Loya]

Everywhere, everywhere. When they stopped, when the cop stop, you know, he said, hey, Jimmy, just driving. L. Nothing. No, just put the windows down and looking for pastillas. What the man, what are you doing? You know, he looking for pastilla, you know, like, just like that, you know, it's incredible, man. Everybody is scared, you know.

[Dugan Arnett]

Tony says Santos would pull people over and immediately begin searching their cars, squeezing them for information.

[Mark Raposo]

And he push, oh, you go to the jail, you got a lot of.

[Freddy Loya]

Drug, let me know who move drug, let me know who do it.

[Dugan Arnett]

He wants people to be informants, to. To tell him and forgive him information.

[Mark Raposo]

Yeah, that's what he.

[Dugan Arnett]

That's what he wants.

[Freddy Loya]

Yeah. I got to come.

[Dugan Arnett]

What Tony's describing is wild. Santos stopping people without cause, searching them for drugs, and then pressuring them to become informants. But he wasn't a drug cop, and cultivating informants wasn't part of his job description. When I first came to the story, I had the same sense of how police use informants that you might. They build relationships with people who are supposedly in or close to the drug trade and offer them a pass, a plea bargain, occasionally a few bucks in exchange for information. Now, more than 50 years into America's war on drugs, law enforcement's reliance upon confidential informants has become nearly absolute. Still, it's not supposed to look anything like what Santos was doing. George Santos was a local kid. He attended the city's vocational high school. He's short. In photos I've seen, he's got round cheeks, a bit of dark stubble, and a sweet smile. People who know him say he's friendly, hard working, if a little unpolished. One story I heard sticks out to me, that as a police cadet, he sometimes had to be told not to wear sweatpants to work. But as an officer, Santos quickly got a reputation. Other cops were wary of him. Some kept their distance, including Mark Raposo.

[Mark Raposo]

You know, George is a street guy. Reputation is kind of a reckless and wild guy. He made a lot of contacts on the street, made a lot of brazen, bold moves on the street. Chased people into houses, searches, extraordinary amount of vehicle searches.

[Dugan Arnett]

Before his life collided with Santos Raposa was part of New Bedford's police marine unit. A dream job.

[Mark Raposo]

When I got the job, I was ecstatic. I loved being on the water. I loved everything about the job. The boats, the waterfront, the people, the fishermen. The best job in the department in my opinion.

[Dugan Arnett]

Working on the marine unit was pretty straightforward. Maintain relationships with fishermen and boat owners and provide security on the docks.

[Mark Raposo]

You get to ride around on boats in the summer, you get a take home car. You're diving. You're not dealing with, you know, you're dealing with some fishermen, but you're not dealing with very difficult people. That job is a prize.

[Dugan Arnett]

But it also required a lot of training. Diving certifications, Coast Guard licenses, years of experience, qualifications that George Santos didn't have.

[Mark Raposo]

So to my surprise, when I start hearing George's name being floated around, I. I can't even really believe it. He doesn't know how to run the boats. He doesn't dive. He doesn't know anything we do down there at all.

[Dugan Arnett]

Nonetheless, Santos gets the job. And almost immediately, there's fireworks. One night after a training exercise on Martha's Vineyard, a bunch of cops go out for drinks. Raposo says he watches Santos try to pick a fight with one of the police instructors.

[Mark Raposo]

And the worst of it all is we're wearing shirts that say, New Bedford Police. Like, what the fuck are you doing? We're not even in our city. We're guests over here. What are you doing?

[Dugan Arnett]

Santos gets sent back to his hotel room, and from there he calls Raposo, screaming and threatening to tear the hotel room apart.

[Mark Raposo]

Now, I'm nervous now because he's in there, my gun's in there, and he's hanging out of our hotel room window screaming, suck my dick. Loud like, loud.

[Dugan Arnett]

Their boss, the marine unit supervisor, is there too. So Raposo expects some kind of fallout the next day.

[Mark Raposo]

I thought that was it. I said, hey, he's done. After this, there's no way, you know, he's not gonna be able to stay here.

[Dugan Arnett]

But there are no consequences. And this wouldn't be the last time police higher ups let things slide. When it came to Santos, Raposo says that's because the department valued one thing above all. Stats, car stops, citations, arrests. These numbers are the lifeblood of modern policing. They make for good headlines, lead to promotions. Bosses can point to them to show they're getting results. And in New Bedford, nobody could fill a stat sheet like George Santos. He was constantly among the department's most active officers. Supervisors raved about his work ethic. His numbers were written up in the local news.

[Mark Raposo]

The only reason George was there is because they look at a piece of paper and if those numbers are high, that's it. It doesn't matter the baggage that you bring. Nobody cares about what you did or what rules you bent to get them at that point in time, that would put you on the top, bringing numbers, numbers, numbers.

[Dugan Arnett]

Many officers told me what Santos really wanted was to be a drug cop. And he tried to turn his cushy Marine unit gig into just that. Searching for pills, squeezing people, and trying to build up a stable of informants.

[Mark Raposo]

He would mention that he was always working to cultivate informants because his real goal was to get into narcotics, but they would never take him there.

[Dugan Arnett]

Drug cops are encouraged to develop informants, and they do this by finding people who are on the outs and forming a relationship. Of course, it's largely one sided and fraught in a lot of ways, but still a partnership, one that's shrouded in secrecy. In theory, this protects informants and their identities because it's dangerous to snitch. But the secrecy has another effect. It leaves the role of police and the rules they play by and completely unknowable and opaque to anyone else. Trust me. I tried. The Globe requested information about informants from every law enforcement agency in the state. We weren't asking for names or identifying information, but basic things. How many do you have? How much do you pay them, if at all? And a number of the 400 or so agencies just didn't respond. New Bedford was especially resistant to my questions. For over a year, I requested records that are supposed to be available to the public. Time and again, the department delayed or didn't respond at all. New Bedford city attorney got involved. Then the Globe's attorney got involved. We're still battling with the city over the records, but we're using some of the ones we did receive to tell this story. All told, this secrecy makes accountability almost impossible. Raposo says it was this lack of transparency that enabled Santos to get away with everything.

[Mark Raposo]

There were CIS who were even reporting this stuff back to certain people, and still nothing was getting done. CIS that were telling guys in the drug unit that this kid is doing stuff that he ain't supposed to. And it just carried on and on and on.

[Dugan Arnett]

Around this time, another person was watching George Santos become increasingly erratic. A fisherman named Freddy Loya, who's been coming into New Bedford's port for nearly 35 years.

[Freddy Loya]

I was born in Texas, raised in Mexico. 91 I got here into Massachusetts.

[Dugan Arnett]

Freddy's a jovial Guy with long salt and pepper hair. He's also captain of the Little Tootie. Tell me about the first time you encountered Pastillas.

[Freddy Loya]

Honestly, he was polite, and he didn't have no reason to pull us over, you know? So he explained to me, I'm kind of on a task force to combat all these opioids and pills, smuggling and dealing, you know, like he was doing a good thing.

[Dugan Arnett]

At first, Freddy was glad to hear that someone might actually be doing something about the pill problem plaguing the docks. But then Santos pulled him over again and again and again.

[Freddy Loya]

So it got to the point where if we be here for a week, we get pulled over for four times in a week, you know, trying to search for drugs and drugs and pills.

[Dugan Arnett]

And one afternoon, it all comes to a head.

[Freddy Loya]

He pulls me over. Oh, you know the drill. We got to check the car, you know, so. So he still checked the car. He said, you're okay. You can go.

[Dugan Arnett]

Santos doesn't find anything and sends Freddy on his way. But soon after, Freddy's son in law, who was in the truck with him, notices something. There'd been a bottle of prescription pills, Adderall in the truck, Medicine that Freddy's wife had legally, and now it's missing.

[Freddy Loya]

I said, what? No, he didn't. Yes, he did, Freddie. I saw him. So I opened the middle compartment and checked for the pills. The pills weren't there.

[Dugan Arnett]

Freddy speeds back to the waterfront and find Santos parked near the docks.

[Freddy Loya]

I mean, I was pissed. I ain't gonna lie. I was pissed. So I go immediately up to him, and he's sitting inside his car. He doesn't even bother. He's just like sitting over here. What you want? Talking to me like he's the big boss or something. I say, I want my pills back. I say, those are not your pills. Those are my wife's pills. And she's gonna be pissed on me if I don't got those pills when I get back.

[Dugan Arnett]

Santos says he'll give Freddie the pills back, but he wants something in return.

[Freddy Loya]

So he's like, well, you're gonna help me out. He wanted to know what people is bringing drugs in the new airport. I said, I don't know nothing about it, you know?

[Dugan Arnett]

So he steals your pills and then when you go to get them back, tries to basically turn you into an informant for him.

[Freddy Loya]

Yeah, that's kind of what he wanted. Yeah, like an exchange.

[Dugan Arnett]

Santos wants Freddy to snitch to Freddy. It seems more like extortion than a police tactic. Either way, he has no intention of working with Santos. Eventually he gets his wife's pills and they go their separate ways.

[Freddy Loya]

What can you do? Put a complaint on the police, to the captain of the police. Nothing's gonna happen.

[Dugan Arnett]

Freddy's lack of faith in the New Bedford police would turn out to be pretty well founded. I examined countless police reports, internal affairs files, and department disciplinary records. And I can say Freddy and the other fishermen I talked to are just the tip of the iceberg. I've identified half a dozen people who say they had drugs taken from them by Santos. Not seized as part of a drug arrest, but stolen. Many of their stories are remarkably similar. A questionable car stop, an illegal search, and then a robbery.

[Mark Raposo]

George picked his people he would deal with specifically due to their immigration status.

[Dugan Arnett]

Officer Mark Raposo.

[Mark Raposo]

They don't speak English. You know, I think in his mind, I believe, less likely to complain, less likely to understand that they're being subjected to an illegal search.

[Dugan Arnett]

Santos cast a pall over the waterfront. For decades, the docks had served as a gathering place for immigrant fishermen. A kind of safe haven where they could swap stories or blow off steam. But as his behavior escalated, even those who never touched drugs grew increasingly uneasy. Some began avoiding the waterfront altogether. And Freddie says fishermen began to whisper about taking matters into their own hands.

[Freddy Loya]

It starts getting the frustration out. They start getting mad, you know, like, yeah, we should do something about him. Fuck him. He's just a poor cop. He's only one. You know, we're on this and that. You know, people was thinking, you know, about really getting rid of him.

[Dugan Arnett]

You know, it could have just been some alcohol infused bravado, but to hear him tell it, there were honest conversations about violent revenge. And around this time, early One morning in September 2017, there was a suspicious fire at Santos home.

[Mark Raposo]

His Crown Vic, the front of it just caught on fire. It was early, early early in the morning. 4, 5, 6 in the morning, George.

[Dugan Arnett]

Santos take home, cruiser was on fire. Authorities said the blaze was likely caused by an electrical issue or equipment failure. But Raposo and a bunch of current and former officers I spoke with don't believe the official version.

[Mark Raposo]

He. He ruffles so many feathers that someone lights his. Well, his cruiser catches itself on fire in front of his house.

[Dugan Arnett]

A mysterious fire threats, illegal search and seizures. It was all getting to be too much for Raposo. At one point, he tells his supervisor he no longer wants anything to do with George Santos.

[Mark Raposo]

And I said, you know, I'm not gonna be part of this. This is not a secret what this guy Does I flat out telling him, I'm not backing that kid up. I'm not. I'm not doing it.

[Dugan Arnett]

But Raposo is complaining about a guy who is a rock star in the department. And he quickly learns that speaking up against a fellow officer can have consequences. Raposo says it happens fast. The schedule he's had for years suddenly changes. He loses his take home cruiser. His supervisor starts to target him for minor infractions. It's clear to him that this is the price of sticking his neck out.

[Mark Raposo]

Okay, no problem. I'll take the hit.

[Dugan Arnett]

Repose. As a veteran cop, he's seen a lot in his 20 years on the job. But his problems with Santos were far from over. And even he couldn't foresee what was coming.

[Mark Raposo]

I was thinking, I can't be around this stuff. This guy's gonna get in big trouble. And in the end, I get in trouble.

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[Dugan Arnett]

The night of the 911 call aboard the Little Tutti in summer 2018, that's when the stories of George Santos, Mark Raposo, and Freddy Loya converge. So tell us. Tell us about that that night. So you're docked.

[Freddy Loya]

Well, that night, it was the end of a long day for me.

[Dugan Arnett]

Freddy was exhausted after a day aboard the Little Tutti, captaining a crew of a half dozen. He hopped into his truck to run an errand before bed. I think.

[Freddy Loya]

I was like minutes away when I got the cold.

[Dugan Arnett]

It was a member of his crew, and the guy sounded panicked.

[Freddy Loya]

He calls me and he tells me there's a cop in here. And now he's searching. I asked him, how do you. How does this cop look? So he tried describing me, the cop I knew exactly the description of Santos. And then he tells me, but he's not wearing a uniform.

[Dugan Arnett]

What's going through your head when you get this call?

[Freddy Loya]

First of all, I'm upset. I start getting upset and mad immediately, you know? Second of all, as I am on the call, you know, I realize that he's doing this illegally and that he's not on duty, you know. So that's when I asked to call 911-910-language emergency.

[Dugan Arnett]

Yeah, we got it. But you don't got no problem to.

[Mark Raposo]

Be on this boat.

[Dugan Arnett]

Within minutes, Mark Raposo steps aboard the Little Tootie and tries to make sense of what he's seeing.

[Mark Raposo]

I mean, he's. He's a cop, but he's not working as a cop. He's not really dressed as a cop. He tells us, hey, I have information that there's drugs on this boat. But he doesn't call anybody about it. I'm gonna see what I can grab and I'm gonna make my way home.

[Dugan Arnett]

It's yet another of Santos questionable searches, another push for drugs. Vague talk about informants. But this time, Freddy's certain that Santos has taken it too far. As he races back to the boat, he slams the steering wheel. He's elated.

[Freddy Loya]

Oh, I finally got you, motherfucker. Yeah, I'm never gonna forget that. Never. Yeah, finally he made a mistake that I was kind of waiting, you know?

[Dugan Arnett]

Despite all the chaos and tension aboard the boat, the encounter on the Little Tutti Ends pretty anticlimactically. Raposo coaxes Santos from the boat. A supervisor arrives. They tell the fishermen to lock up. Everyone goes their separate ways. Raposo returns to the station and tries to tell a sergeant what he just witnessed.

[Mark Raposo]

I even get a fucking piece of paper and I were back at the station after everybody leaves. And I write drug rip and I fold it and I put it on his desk.

[Dugan Arnett]

In the most blunt terms possible. Raposo advises the sergeant that another officer just tried to rob some fishermen of drugs. In his words, a drug rip like Freddie. Raposo is sure that the little Tutti has to be the final straw. Both of these guys, each terrorized by Santos in their own way, think this time police can't ignore Santos anymore. And they were right. This is an administrative interview taking place at the Office of Professional Standards of the new Betro police department. Subject of this interview is Officer Jorge Santos, and he is accompanied by representation Mr. Andrew Gambasini. Could you state your name for the record, please?

[Freddy Loya]

George Santos.

[Dugan Arnett]

I got my hands on the internal affairs file as well as recordings of some of the interviews, including this one with Santos, where he struggles to recall even basic details. I can't recall now.

[Freddy Loya]

I've been under a lot of stress, understandable financially, everything going on at home.

[Dugan Arnett]

I mean, to expect me to remember every detail. That's why we're here. We're just asking. Okay. I've read a lot of internal affairs reports from many different police departments, and they all tend to follow a similar pattern. But the 230 pages dedicated to George Santos and the little Tutti are unlike anything I've ever seen. And what quickly becomes clear with each new interview is that the department's George Santos problem extends far beyond a single night aboard a scalloping boat. I'm familiar with Santos outside of work, so I kind of know his behaviors. So I kind of figured that it was something that I would suspect for him to do. Caitlin. Sylvia was working 911 dispatch when the call from the little tootie came in. I mean, it's not a call we get every day. It's never happened before. So I would say I hope to never come across it again. At first it was frightening. She tells police she. She immediately had an inkling that Santos might be involved, because by then she'd already had some troubling experiences with him. Just coming over the radio screaming. And then when you try to raise him, you can't get him and you have no idea where he is. She's not the only one who tells Police about his misconduct. A half dozen fishermen also come forward saying that Santos took their drugs. Some said they were harassed, searched illegally. And almost all say there are other victims, people who are too nervous to speak up. State your name for the record, please.

[Mark Raposo]

Michael Roussel.

[Dugan Arnett]

And Michael you all. Investigators also interview a former police officer who now works security at a hotel where a lot of fishermen stay. Michael Roussel tells police that Santos was illegally searching hotel guests.

[Mark Raposo]

They told him he could not be bothering our customers like that.

[Dugan Arnett]

Roussel says he repeatedly heard stories from fishermen about a rogue cop obsessed with pills.

[Mark Raposo]

What I was told by the guys was that he was stopped them, asked if they had drugs, if they had pills. Do you have pills on you? And if they had pills on them, he would take the pills, give them back.

[Dugan Arnett]

A couple keep the pills even. A couple of them had coke and heroin.

[Mark Raposo]

He gave him the coke and heroin.

[Dugan Arnett]

Back, and he kept the pills.

[Mark Raposo]

No arrests, no charges.

[Dugan Arnett]

I said, look, you guys are going to come forward. I says, he can't do this.

[Mark Raposo]

But they're afraid to come forward because he says, listen.

[Dugan Arnett]

I don't know why Santos was stealing pills. After the little Tutti, he was ordered to take a drug test, and the results came back negative. That surprised some of his colleagues, who told me they believed he had a drug addiction. Either way, it's clear that Santos behavior was an open secret to almost anyone working on or near the waterfront. That's why when Raposo got that call from dispatch, right away he figured it was Santos on the boat acting erratically. And he suspected Santos had no good reason for being there, that it wasn't police work. Here's what Santos told investigators about what happened that night. He's home that evening when an informant calls with a tip. It's big. 100 grams of opiates. Aboard a scalloping boat docked in the harbor. Santos says he tells the supervisor, hurries over, boards the boat, and you've heard the rest. But as the investigation unfolds, police records show significant problems with that story. After reviewing all these police files, listening to the tapes, and talking to dozens of sources, I can tell you his account doesn't really hold water. Crew members say they never gave Santos permission to board the boat. Phone records suggest he lied about notifying a supervisor. But the biggest, most glaring issue is the supposed confidential informant. At some point during the June 21, were you contacted by.

[Freddy Loya]

Yes, sir.

[Dugan Arnett]

The audio from the police department is heavily redacted. And what time was that?

[Freddy Loya]

I don't recall the exact time.

[Dugan Arnett]

How do you contact him? When you call him, how do you. How do you contact him?

[Freddy Loya]

He calls me. We talk often.

[Dugan Arnett]

Do you have his cell phone number on you?

[Freddy Loya]

He has different numbers.

[Dugan Arnett]

Would you be able. Would you be willing to share your call records with the department? Santos's attorney jumps in. No. No, sir. Santos repeatedly tells investigators that his story about the CI is true. But when they try to drill down on details, he's evasive and cagey.

[Freddy Loya]

I'm not 100 certain if I called him that that night or he called me. I'm not 100% certain.

[Dugan Arnett]

Let me rephrase that. When they try to push him further about his justification for boarding the boat, his answer is pretty telling.

[Freddy Loya]

Based upon the advice of my attorneys, I invoke my federal and state constitutional rights to remain silent and decline to answer that question.

[Dugan Arnett]

Okay. George Santos said an informant told him there were drugs on the little Tutti. But after months of investigating the story, I can tell you there was no informant that night. At least not by any reasonable definition of the word. In fact, it doesn't appear Santos ever had any registered informants. I wish I could tell you for sure, but the department refused to hand over that information. So either Santos invented a CI out of thin air or he took the word of an off the book source. And remember, Santos isn't a drug cop. He's in the Marine unit. So no, Santos story doesn't hold up. And Mark Raposo, well, he's blunt about what he saw. A drug rib.

[Mark Raposo]

Even if he did say in perfect world, he does have this person as a CIA. They tell him, hey, we got this stuff on the boat. The last thing anybody's gonna do is put their sweatpants on, throw a radio in their back pocket, drive their car down there, not tell anybody what they're doing, and start ransacking a boat with four or five guys in it.

[Dugan Arnett]

In New Bedford, as internal investigators work the Santos case officer Mark Raposo gets a letter, a subpoena. Prosecutors are considering potential criminal charges against Santos and a grand jury has been convened. Raposo is asked to testify.

[Mark Raposo]

So I get the grand jury summons and I go there. I want to say I go there to testify that day and I walk in and I said, hey, let's have a little sit down. Let's talk.

[Dugan Arnett]

He's leery. For months, he'd been sounding the alarm on Santos, having his complaints ignored. Now he's being asked to breach policing's most fundamental code, to testify against another officer, to break the blue wall of silence in a way he's being asked to snitch. Think about it. Prosecutors are asking Raposo to work with them. It's a big step and he wants reassurances.

[Mark Raposo]

Well, I says it depends what you're gonna do. Are you gonna follow this through? And his words to me is, I'm gonna take this wherever the evidence takes me. He tells me this.

[Dugan Arnett]

So Raposo agrees.

[Mark Raposo]

You know, you can't manipulate this as a grand jury now. You can't, this can't be manipulated now. This is just, this is going to go, this is, this has wheels now. This is it. These guys are, these guys are going to have to answer now.

[Dugan Arnett]

Still, a number of anxiety inducing scenarios play out in his head. Will he be targeted or scapegoated? Is he a whistleblower? Most importantly, Raposo wonders whether he and his family are safe.

[Mark Raposo]

George, at the time was, was erratic as can be. And this is a guy who's proficient with firearms. Not only on patrol level, this guy worked on SWAT for a little while. You know, he was off the wall at this time. You know, he was really upset with, with, with his former co workers and I can't imagine he was upset with any of them more than he was with me.

[Dugan Arnett]

Expecting an indictment, Raposo even makes plans to send his wife and kids to stay with his in laws.

[Mark Raposo]

My wife knew, you know, I confided in her and told her a lot about what was going on and she was very nervous.

[Dugan Arnett]

Eventually the grand jury wraps and Raposo's worst case scenario plays out. There are no charges, no arrests, and no one gives Raposo a heads up. He only finds out when he calls the prosecutor for an update. And this is when Mark Raposo, police officer for nearly two decades, seemingly loses faith in the criminal justice system.

[Mark Raposo]

You can be a police officer asked to testify at a grand jury, stick your neck out there, go in there, tell the truth. If I knew this was going to happen, I would have refused to testify. I took a lot of grief over this. It is not, it's not a, it's not a great place to be. We have to testify against another police officer. Culturally, you keep your mouth shut and that's it. And at this point I kind of throw my hands up as I can't do anything else.

[Dugan Arnett]

While the criminal case peters out, the internal affairs case is much more definitive. Investigators don't ignore the evidence they gathered. The findings are scathing. They show that Santos essentially turned a mile long stretch of the waterfront into his own personal pharmacy, systematically targeting and preying upon some of the city's most vulnerable. And it makes clear that people in the department knew about it. I found at least four complaints that went directly to the deputy chief. So when it comes time to hand down punishment, it looks like there could be some accountability, something that would send a message. Nope, not here. Santos was allowed to resign before any discipline was handed out. He's free to go on his way. No penalty, no problem. Today he lives on a quiet street in a small Florida town not far from the Gulf Coast. Shortly before wrapping this podcast, I knocked on Santos door. Hi, George. My name is Dugan Arnett. I'm a writer at the Boston Globe newspaper. He answered the door in sweatpants and a T shirt. He was soft spoken and polite. He invited me in and we chatted for a few minutes. I told him what would be in the story, and he made clear that he didn't want to comment at all. The New Bedford Police Department wouldn't make anyone available for an interview. In response to my written questions, they emailed a statement. It said that these allegations have been investigated to resolution and made public or lacked a credible basis to pursue further investigation. The department also pointed to a 2023 audit with roughly 90 recommendations, including two generic ones related to the use of CIs. One recommends that officers be aware of the informant policy. As for Mark Raposo, after the Santos court case collapsed, things get complicated.

[Mark Raposo]

I'll tell you, they made my life pretty hard over this. They took years off my life. With this.

[Dugan Arnett]

He feels ostracized by other officers. The boss has changed his job duties and his work schedule, and it's impossible for him to see it as anything other than retaliation.

[Mark Raposo]

The most upsetting thing was the people who were our leaders during this that let this all ride. I mean, George is. George is one thing, but to have my supervisor have the deputy chief of police brush these concerns off, a DA's office, brush them off, and then on top of it, I get removed from my position. It was pretty disheartening.

[Dugan Arnett]

Not long after the grand jury and IA cases peter out, it occurs to Raposo there's one last option, one more call he can make. Did you have to sort of talk yourself into making that call? Like, build yourself up to it?

[Mark Raposo]

Yeah, because what I. What I figured was, hey, I'm now going to have to go on the record with a federal agency and I'm going to get fucking fried.

[Dugan Arnett]

The FBI is his last hope. He's on a side job at a shipyard. He finds a quiet spot, pulls out his cell phone and dials I make.

[Mark Raposo]

A call to the. The Lakeville FBI office. I talked to a female FBI agent, give him my info. It's some issues in New Bedford. I'm a police officer.

[Dugan Arnett]

My editor Brendan, is with me for the interview. Did you say exactly what the issues were?

[Mark Raposo]

Yeah, I told her there's. Listen, this. There's a police officer who was involved in criminal activity. I think it's going to get covered up. I'd like somebody to talk to. And that was it.

[Dugan Arnett]

FBI. That's a big f Cking deal.

[Mark Raposo]

You would think. You would think.

[Dugan Arnett]

After making the call, he waits and.

[Mark Raposo]

Waits and I never heard back. Ever. I mean, even I call the FBI and they don't fucking call me back. It's. It's fucking mind numbing.

[Freddy Loya]

I mean, you could have been an.

[Dugan Arnett]

Informant for the FBI.

[Mark Raposo]

Yeah, right?

[Dugan Arnett]

I mean, you were like, hey, I'm willing.

[Mark Raposo]

Yeah, they, yeah, they weren't interested, I guess.

[Dugan Arnett]

I reached out to the FBI for comment. They said, quote, as a matter of long standing policy, we cannot confirm or deny the existence of investigations. Mark Raposo took a huge risk talking to me, going on the record with his name, to speak out against the police department where he's still employed today.

[Mark Raposo]

It's in the interest of the leadership to keep it quiet. They don't want that brought to light because it casts the negative light on the department.

[Dugan Arnett]

I don't know. He doesn't know what kind of consequences he'll face when this comes out.

[Mark Raposo]

Because I know that these guys always. They always pay you back, you know, and they're not known for the disgrace, you know, the upper echelon that are involved in this, they're not known for letting things go.

[Dugan Arnett]

If the saga of Jorge Santos sparked even a hint of departmental soul searching, I haven't found any evidence of it. In fact, I found a lot of other cases like this in New Bedford involving many of the same players. And it goes all the way to the top of the department. Marco Pozzo is not the only one who's tried to get the attention of the FBI. The feds know a lot about the police department's problems and alleged misconduct. And you're going to hear all about it. But first I'm gonna tell you about an informant whose life is in danger right now. We heard you, you was working with the police and shit.

[Freddy Loya]

Now you gotta get the fuck up out of here.

[Dugan Arnett]

Yeah, you're gonna get stabbed. He trusted New Bedford police and they burned him. Now he's cowering in a prison cell. I'm so stressed out, dude.

[Mark Raposo]

I mean, you're the only number I can call.

[Amy Brown]

I'm so stressed out.

[Dugan Arnett]

I'm gonna tell you his story next. Through the course of this podcast, you'll hear how America's informant system has been corrupted. My investigation has uncovered numerous cases of informant misconduct, lies, corruption, coverups of coverups, misdeeds that could cast doubt on countless drug cases with consequences for drug enforcement everywhere. Regular people who do not spend a lot of time around the criminal system would just be shocked that we permit this kind of thing to happen in.

[Freddy Loya]

A modern constitutional democracy.

[Dugan Arnett]

Did he try to turn you?

[Mark Raposo]

Yeah. Yeah, he tried to turn all of us.

[Dugan Arnett]

This is a very serious allegation.

[Mark Raposo]

We can't have offices involved in anything like what's being alleged here. You're a drug dealer who has the advocacy of one of the top police detectives. We used to call it a license to deal. There's absolutely no way that they're.

[Dugan Arnett]

They're telling the truth. I am 100,000% sure I am the informant. You motherfuckers go rat on each other. So don't start telling my client what delegates he or she should do. Now shut the up and leave me alone. That's coming up on Snitch City. Spotlight Snitch City is reported and hosted by me, Dugan Arnett. Additional reporting by Andrew ryan and Brendan McCarthy. The podcast is written by Max Green and Kristen Nelson. Along with me and Brendan McCarthy. Max Green is senior producer. Executive producers are Spotlight editor Brendan McCarthy and Kristen Nelson, the Globe's head of audio. Additional editing and support from Gordon Russell and Kathleen Goldar. Thanks also to Taylor Dalvin for her help translating on the docs. Nancy Barnes is the Boston Globe's Executive editor. Sound design and mix by Stephen Jackson. Episode artwork by Julian D. Paulsen. Art direction by Ryan Huddle. Podcast visualization by Olivia Jarvis and Anoush Elbakian. Heather Cyrus is the audience editor. Tim Rasmussen is visuals editor. Legal review by John Albano. Fact checking by Matt Mahoney Marketing support for this podcast comes from the podglomerate.

[Mark Raposo]

Hey, it's Jake again. If you've enjoyed this episode, well, you're in luck. There are plenty of other episodes from this series that are available to binge right now, so follow Spotlight Snitch City on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you're listening now.

[Amy Brown]

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[Freddy Loya]

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