Deep Cover Presents: Snowball

Episode 3: The Coconut Wireless

Release Date: November 17, 2025
Host: Ollie Wards (Pushkin Industries / ABC Unravel Podcast team)

Episode Overview

In this episode, Ollie Wards continues his family’s investigation into Leslie Manookian, the enigmatic Californian con woman who destroyed their financial world. Episode 3, “The Coconut Wireless,” dives into Leslie’s time in Hawaii. With the help of police records, witness interviews, and former associates, Ollie reveals a pattern of manipulation and fraud perpetrated by Leslie across Maui’s close-knit community. As he uncovers various first-hand accounts and police reports, a clear picture of Leslie’s tactics and the damage she left behind emerges.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Leslie’s Arrival in Hawaii and Charming Persona

• Leslie’s backstory: Leslie told dramatic stories about being chased out of Hawaii by “murderous locals.” Multiple people remember her recounting situations where she had to flee for her life.
  • Quote: "There's something about some cash bar and she was like hiding under a table and these guys... she was trying to call her dad." ([03:44])
  • Leslie claimed locals “were going to kill me tonight, dad.” ([03:59])
• Family involvement: Ollie’s brother Greg, suspicious after his own dealings with Leslie, contacts the Hawaiian police for information, receiving a package of police reports validating some of Leslie’s fraudulent activities.
  • Quote (Greg): “Finally I had something that was real and genuine and could cast light on her character and what she was really about.” ([04:35])

2. The Breakwater Bar Scheme – Recruiting and Manipulation

• Pattern emerges: Leslie recruited people (mainly hospitality workers) to come to Maui and help open “the Breakwater,” a new bar/nightclub.
  • Multiple interviewees confirm Leslie drew them in with promises of partnership and profit:
    • “She wanted me to come to Hawaii with her and help her open this fucking bar.” – Former associate ([05:58], [09:25])
    • “We were like her little ducklings following behind her.”– Trinity ([11:44])
• The allure: Leslie’s charisma and entrepreneurial image convinced others to invest their labor, time, and often money, with little or no pay in return.
  • “She can make everything seem perfect.” – Trinity ([10:43])

3. The Short-Lived Success and Gradual Collapse of The Breakwater

• Initial optimism: The bar launches successfully with fanfare, long lines, and excitement (“people queuing around the block”). ([18:53])
• Operational issues: Key infrastructural problems appear, including health code violations (unfixed grease traps), unpaid utility bills leading to power cutoffs, and eviction from staff housing.
  • “We were buying bags of ice from the local shop and filling cool boxes full of beers. But Leslie was still trying to sell her little dreams.” – Will ([20:58])
• Mounting suspicion: As payments to staff and suppliers stopped, word spread rapidly through Maui’s “coconut wireless”—the local gossip network.
  • “This town is very small. We call it the coconut wireless. So everyone talks to everyone about everything.” – Trinity ([22:14])

4. Victim Testimonies and Allegations of Financial Crimes

• Direct victims: Several associates report stolen checks and credit card fraud.
  • Georges: “Leslie had already picked up my checkbook and went to town on it... fake checks sent out to the whole fucking city under my name.” ([23:24])
  • Scott: “She took my credit cards, went and charged all that money on them... all restaurant-related supplies.” ([25:35])
• Leslie defends: Leslie claimed her accusers consented to these transactions, but police initially sided with her until multiple allegations surfaced.
  • “She was so slick... the police told me that I was full of it. And she convinced them that I was lying.”– Scott ([26:17])

5. Police Investigations, Legal Inaction, and Bureaucratic Failures

• Police reports and background checks: Leslie’s criminal history (bad checks, burglary, suspended sentences) in California is documented.
  • “The cops had actually done a criminal history check on Lesley... seven months earlier, Lesley had ended up pleading guilty to burglary related to check fraud.” ([26:38])
• Missed justice: Police reports recommend prosecution for financial crimes in Maui, yet the cases never advance. The Maui prosecutor’s office claims it never received the reports, perhaps due to non-computerized records at the time.
  • Quote (Maui Police Chief Tivoli Faaumu): “How? What happened to the case? I can’t give you an answer to that.” ([31:10])

6. The Aftermath – Betrayal, Retaliation, and Psychological Impact

• Community anger: As reality sets in, associates and local workers suffer emotional, reputational, and financial blows—some retorting with violence.
  • Memorable moment: Trinity describes confronting Leslie and physically assaulting her after losing hope of payment, grabbing “every bit of money” out of Leslie’s bag ([40:24])
  • “The cop said, ‘Do yourself a favor. Get out of here right now.’” ([41:15])
• Devastation of David Parks: David, a respected local manager, invests his life savings ($25,000) and reputation, only to be left broke and humiliated.
  • “He was broke. She took every fucking thing he had.” ([44:46])
  • His police statement: “He had learned that Leslie is a really good talker and can make you believe things that are not true.” ([46:22])
  • After the collapse, David leaves Hawaii, dies soon after (reason unclear), marking a tragic ending for one of Leslie’s most significant victims.

7. Leslie’s Escapes and Continuing Pattern

• Leaving Hawaii: Leslie dodges full legal consequences, possibly due to local bureaucratic mishaps. She leaves the island under mounting pressure and threats.
  • “She’s lucky she left.” – Trinity ([42:13])
• Recycling stories and fabricating evidence: Leslie allegedly sustained her schemes by shuffling money between victims, forging legal and financial documents, and spinning lies based on kernels of truth.
  • “It’s like a Rob Peter to pay Paul situation... a house made with IOUs written on bar napkins.”– Ollie ([31:22])

8. Family Reflection and Parental Involvement

• Leslie’s parents: Questions arise about whether her parents are complicit or just in denial about their daughter’s antics.
  • “They know exactly what she’s doing. They know all of it.” – Scott ([35:57])
  • Ollie’s dad: “That Lesley’s been, if you like, nurtured into continuing by her parents.” ([36:27])
  • Ollie’s mum: “It makes you feel really dumb and angry; makes me feel vindicated that we’re not dumb, that we were so powerfully used. The power that she has is amazing.” ([36:43], [36:50])

9. Setting Up for Next Episode: The Mystery of “Eric T. Weiss”

• Clues in Leslie’s old diary: Ollie finds entries referencing Leslie’s supposed lawyer Eric T. Weiss long before the events in New Zealand—suggesting Eric’s role in Leslie’s scams is longstanding, not fabricated on the fly. ([47:54])
• Next steps: Ollie prepares to travel to the US in pursuit of more answers and to uncover the real story behind Eric T. Weiss.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Leslie as sociopath: “She loves the sucking a person in... and just destroying that person. Those things never leave you... She’s a manipulative con artist that is like a serial killer. She loves what she’s doing.” — Interviewee ([46:22])
• “A lot of the time when you have nothing and somebody has something and they make it seem like such this beautiful painted picture, you try to believe in that.” – Trinity ([19:09])
• On Maui’s gossip network: “This town is very small. We call it the coconut wireless. So everyone talks to everyone about everything.” – Trinity ([22:14])
• On Leslie's pattern: “It’s like a Rob Peter to pay Paul situation. Or make that rob Scott to pay Georges... It’s like a house of cards, but even flimsier.” – Ollie ([31:22])
• After the brawl: “I looked at my uncle and I said, hey, man, she’s out there. I’m gonna go get her... I just punched her directly into her face... Her purse was filled with cash. So when I punched her, her purse flew. So her money was flying everywhere.” – Trinity ([40:24])
• On David Parks: “It was his life savings and his reputation that was being plundered.” – Will ([44:38])
• Ollie’s reflection: “It’s easier to tell a lie when it’s built on a truth. I’m learning that as I’m starting to understand Leslie’s world.” ([42:39])

Key Timestamps

• 03:01 – Introduction to Leslie’s dramatic Hawaii backstory and police reports
• 05:54 – Multiple victims recognize Leslie as a “sociopath” and “con artist”
• 10:43 – New recruits describe being captivated by Leslie’s vision
• 18:53 – Launch of the Breakwater bar and its temporary success
• 21:27 – Utility cutoffs and the unraveling of the business
• 22:14 – The role of “the coconut wireless” in spreading the truth
• 23:24–26:38 – Victim accounts of check and credit card fraud, police reaction
• 31:10 – 31:22 – Discussion with Maui police chief, failure of prosecution
• 35:32 – Scott confronts Leslie’s parents
• 40:24 – Trinity attacks Leslie in public, leading to Leslie’s escape from Hawaii
• 44:09 – 46:22 – David Parks’ downfall and tragic aftermath
• 47:54 – Discovery of Eric T. Weiss mentioned in Leslie’s diary, set-up for next episode

Tone and Atmosphere

Ollie’s tone blends incredulity, empathy, and dark humor, as he tries to both piece together the facts and reflect on the profound and lasting psychological impact Leslie has had on her victims—his own family included. The episode builds tension with first-person storytelling, striking interviews, and a sense of increasing urgency as Ollie uncovers ever-darker layers in Leslie’s methods.

Episode Summary

Episode 3, “The Coconut Wireless,” sees Ollie Wards traveling back in time and across the Pacific to Maui, shining a light on Leslie Manookian’s pattern of scams, broken dreams, and manipulation. Survivors in Hawaii recount similar tales as those told by Ollie’s family in New Zealand—each story adding a piece to the puzzle of Leslie’s con artistry. Police records and statements confirm that Leslie orchestrated an elaborate scheme of business fraud, check and credit card theft, and manufactured drama that damaged reputations and livelihoods. The community’s response, eventual retribution, bureaucratic mishaps, and lasting trauma set the stage for the next chapter—Ollie’s search for the truth behind Leslie’s mysterious lawyer and the broader web of deception she spun.

Next Episode Tease:
Ollie chases new leads on the enigmatic Eric T. Weiss—the lawyer who may hold the key to Leslie’s global web of scams. The investigation heads to the United States, as Ollie ramps up his efforts to settle scores and finally get answers.