S4|E37: The Combo Plate King | Part 2

Summary

Gone South: S4|E37 - The Combo Plate King | Part 2

Release Date: July 2, 2025

Introduction

In the gripping second part of "The Combo Plate King" episode, host Jed Lipinski delves deeper into the tragic tale of Greg Leone, a successful restaurateur in Lexington County, South Carolina. This episode unpacks the complex interplay between Greg's community standing, his legal battles, and the eventual downfall that culminated in his untimely death.

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Background of Greg Leone

Greg Leone, a Mexican immigrant, built a thriving restaurant empire in Lexington County, amassing millions while becoming a beloved pillar of the community. His success was intertwined with a powerful relationship with the Lexington County Sheriff's Office, where he exchanged favors and free meals for protection of his undocumented employees.

Quote:

"Greg was a pillar of the community." — Jed Lipinski [01:17]

However, his ties to law enforcement deteriorated following a federal bribery investigation targeting the sheriff. To mitigate his own charges, Greg cooperated, leading to the sheriff's indictment and Greg serving nine months in prison for labor violations. Despite this setback, his restaurants continued to flourish until the fateful night of Valentine's Day in 2016.

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The Crime: Valentine's Day Shooting

On February 14, 2016, Greg Leone shocked the Lexington County community by fatally shooting his wife, Rachel. The incident unfolded after Greg, monitoring his wife's activities due to suspicions of drug use or infidelity, received a GPS alert indicating she had stopped at a park and ride lot near a John Deere dealership.

Quote:

"I shot his wife in her lover, dude." — Greg Leone [02:16]

Greg arrived at the scene to find Rachel's Mercedes parked beside a black Toyota Tundra pickup truck. Surveillance footage captured his frantic search inside the parking lot. Greg later claimed he discovered Rachel in the backseat of the truck with Arturo Santos, a 28-year-old Mexican immigrant, and upon suspecting Santos of reaching for a weapon, he shot him in self-defense.

Quote:

"He could also be a murderer. So there's more to a story than just what's on the surface." — Kristen Bell [31:36]

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Legal Proceedings

After the shooting, Greg fled the scene and contacted his attorney, Eric Bland. Eric, along with Greg's close friend and now prominent criminal defense lawyer Dick Harpoutlian (famously associated with serial killer Pee Wee Gaskins), orchestrated Greg's surrender and legal strategy. Despite initial cooperation, the discovery that Greg had disposed of the weapon—throwing it into a pond—complicated his defense.

Quote:

"The wheels of the justice system turn slowly." — Jed Lipinski [03:28]

Greg was charged with four felonies: murder, attempted murder, discharging a weapon into a vehicle, and possession of a firearm during a violent crime. He was granted bond and placed under house arrest while awaiting trial, which was significantly delayed due to COVID-19 and other procedural hurdles, ultimately setting the trial date seven years post-crime.

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Allegations of Witness Tampering

As the trial approached, rumors emerged around 2019 that Greg was engaging in witness tampering. It was alleged that he attempted to influence witnesses Maria Moreno, a longtime employee, and Ruby Sierra, a former roommate and transgender woman. These allegations surfaced through secret meetings orchestrated by Greg, which were eventually intercepted by South Carolina law enforcement.

Quote:

"Maria urged Cierra to testify falsely that Arturo was the violent leader of a Mexican gang called El Tigre." — Jed Lipinski [13:06]

These actions forced Dick Harpoutlian to withdraw from the case due to a conflict of interest, compelling Eric Bland to secure a new defense attorney, Jack Swirling, a seasoned criminal defense lawyer known as "Mr. Murder."

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The Trial

Jack Swirling took the reins of Greg's defense, steadfastly maintaining Greg's narrative of self-defense. Central to the defense was the timing and physical evidence surrounding the shooting, particularly the pathologist's interpretation of the bullet trajectories.

Quote:

"He was not prepared to go ahead and shoot anybody. He had the gun, but it was in his pocket... he shot him." — Jack Swirling [17:00]

A pivotal moment occurred when the original pathologist unexpectedly contradicted her initial findings on the stand, undermining the self-defense claim. Despite seeking a new pathologist who endorsed the original analysis, the reversal had a lasting impact on the defense's credibility.

Quote:

"She does a 180 and said that no, it did not corroborate what Greg Leone said." — Jack Swirling [19:27]

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Verdict and Aftermath

After two and a half hours of deliberation, the jury delivered a unanimous murder conviction against Greg Leone, a verdict that stunned both Greg's legal team and supporters. Jack Swirling expressed profound surprise, attributing the decision to the pathologist's conflicting testimony and the state's portrayal of Greg's motives.

Quote:

"Jury came back with a murder conviction. It was unanimous. That just was totally something that just shocked me." — Jack Swirling [23:57]

Subsequent to the verdict, Greg was sentenced to 30 years in prison. Shortly after sentencing, Greg attempted suicide and was placed on life support. His family made the heart-wrenching decision to end his life-support, leading to his passing.

Quote:

"Greg's funeral... Hundreds of people showed up." — Jed Lipinski [28:59]

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Reflections and Conclusion

Greg Leone's story is a poignant reflection on the duality of human nature and the complexities of the American Dream. Gustavo Arellano, a columnist for the Los Angeles Times, encapsulated this duality in his piece, highlighting how Greg's life embodied both generosity and exploitation.

Quote:

"Mexicans are humans, Mexican Americans are Americans, and Americans come in all sorts of facets." — Kristen Bell [31:36]

Meanwhile, Eric Bland, Greg's attorney and friend, found it difficult to reconcile the man he knew with the actions that led to his downfall. Despite Greg's conviction, Eric maintains a nuanced view, refusing to label Greg as inherently bad, while grappling with grief and loss.

Quote:

"Anybody in any given time can put themselves in a position that they will do something that they would never, ever do again in their life." — Jake Brennan [31:51]

The episode concludes with a somber reminder of the fragility of human life and the profound impacts of our actions on ourselves and those around us.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• "Greg was a pillar of the community." — Jed Lipinski [01:17]
• "I shot my wife in her lover, dude." — Greg Leone [02:16]
• "Mexicans are humans, Mexican Americans are Americans, and Americans come in all sorts of facets." — Kristen Bell [31:36]
• "He was not prepared to go ahead and shoot anybody." — Jack Swirling [17:00]
• "Jury came back with a murder conviction. It was unanimous. That just was totally something that just shocked me." — Jack Swirling [23:57]
• "Anybody in any given time can put themselves in a position that they will do something that they would never, ever do again in their life." — Jake Brennan [31:51]

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Conclusion

"The Combo Plate King | Part 2" is a compelling exploration of Greg Leone's rise and fall, offering listeners a deep dive into the intersections of community, law, and personal tragedy. Through meticulous storytelling and insightful commentary, Jed Lipinski paints a nuanced portrait of a man whose life was as complex as it was inspiring, ultimately serving as a cautionary tale about the precarious nature of success and the shadows that can linger beneath the surface.

Transcript

[Jake Brennan]

Do you know what went down at the Viper Room the night River Phoenix died? Or how about the mysterious death of Brittany Murphy? Are you aware of how Steve McQueen escaped murder at the hands of the Manson family? The obsessive killing of Dorothy Stratton. The real life murder that inspired David Lynch's Twin Peaks. The three conspiracies surrounding Marilyn Monroe's death.

[Jed Lipinski]

These stories and more are told in.

[Jake Brennan]

The Hollywoodland podcast, where true crime and Tinseltown collide. Hollywoodland is hosted by me, Jake Brennan, creator of the award winning true crime podcast, Disgraceland. Follow and listen to Hollywoodland wherever you get your podcasts.

[Kristen Bell]

Hi, I'm Kristen Bell, and if you know my husband Dax, then you also know he loves shopping for a car. Selling a car, not so much.

[Jed Lipinski]

We're really doing this, huh?

[Kristen Bell]

Thankfully, Carvana makes it easy. Answer a few questions, put in your VIN or license, and done. We sold ours in minutes this morning and they'll come pick it up and pay us this afternoon.

[Jake Brennan]

Goodbye, Truckee.

[Kristen Bell]

Of course, we kept the favorite.

[Jed Lipinski]

Hello, other Truckee.

[Kristen Bell]

Sell your car with Carvana today. Terms and conditions apply.

[Jed Lipinski]

In the last episode, we told you about Greg Leone, a Mexican immigrant who built a restaurant empire in Lexington County, South Carolina, and made millions in the process. Greg was a pillar of the community. For years, he maintained a powerful relationship with the Lexington County Sheriff's Office, offering them favors and free food in exchange for protecting his undocumented employees. But when a federal bribery investigation targeted the sheriff, Gregg cooperated to avoid harsher charges. The sheriff was indicted and Gregg served nine months in prison for labor violations. After his release, Gregg's ties to law enforcement soured, but his restaurants remained packed. Then, on Valentine's Day in 2016, he stunned the community when he shot and killed his wife'.

[Jack Swirling]

Emergency.

[Kristen Bell]

Yes, I saw my wife in love.

[Jed Lipinski]

I'm sorry, what's going on?

[Kristen Bell]

I pulled up and found him and.

[Jed Lipinski]

I shot him behind the 370. Okay, what's the problem? I shot my wife in her lover, dude. After fleeing the scene of the shooting and calling 911, Greg called Eric Bland, his longtime attorney and close friend. Eric convinced Greg to turn himself in. He also convinced him not to talk to investigators. Still, Eric was a civil attorney. He had no intention of representing Greg in a criminal case. Instead, Eric retained Dick Harpoutlian, one of South Carolina's most high profile criminal defense lawyers. You may remember him from the episode we did about serial killer Pee Wee Gaskins. Dick took the lead while Eric stayed on as an advisor. As we mentioned in the last Episode the cops had searched Greg's Range Rover for the gun he'd used in the shooting, but it wasn't there. With Dick on board, Greg revealed what he'd done with it.

[Jake Brennan]

And Greg said, when I was coming in with Eric, I slowed down and I threw it in a pond. And so they found the gun. The next day, they put divers in the pond. They found the gun.

[Jed Lipinski]

The regional solicitor, South Carolina's version of a district attorney, charged Gregg with four felonies. Murder, attempted murder, discharging a weapon into a vehicle, and possession of a firearm during a violent crime. Dick and Eric pushed for Greg's release. The judge agreed, setting bond at $500,000. Gregg paid it and was placed under house arrest while he awaited trial. According to Eric, Greg's version of what really happened that night never wavered. His fate would depend on whether the jury believed it. I'm Jed Lipinski. This is gone south. The wheels of the justice system turn slowly. A typical murder defendant, represented by a public defender might go to trial within two or three years. But Greg was not a typical murder defendant. He was beloved in the community, he was politically connected, and most importantly, he was a millionaire. He'd hired Dick Harpoutlian, perhaps the most expensive criminal defense attorney in the state. Thanks to Dick and to delays caused by COVID 19, Greg's trial did not take place until seven years after the crime occurred. During that time, according to Greg's friend and civil attorney, Eric Blandford, Greg stood by his version of events. In the months leading up to the incident, Greg told Eric his wife had been acting suspiciously. A few weeks before Valentine's Day, Greg had put a GPS tracking device on.

[Jake Brennan]

Her Mercedes because in those months before, she had lost a lot of weight. There was cash missing from the home safe. Not that he thought she was cheating on him, but he thought she was taking drugs because she lost like £40.

[Jed Lipinski]

On Valentine's Day, Greg and his wife Rachel had gone to an Italian restaurant for dinner with friends and family. Greg bought her flowers and a ring. Afterwards, he went back to work at one of his restaurants on Highway 1. Rachel returned home with the kids. But then, around 8 o' clock that night, the GPS tracker pinged Greg's phone. It indicated that his wife had stopped at a park and ride lot adjacent to a John Deere dealership in Lexington County. Greg left the restaurant and sped to the location. There he found his wife's Mercedes parked next to a black Toyota Tundra pickup truck.

[Jake Brennan]

He gets out of the car, there's the Toyota truck, his Wife's Mercedes. He looks into his wife's Mercedes. Nothing's there. He goes around the front of the car in front of the truck, and his wife pops her head up and so he ducks down. He reaches in his pocket. He had a license to carry because he carried cash every night from the restaurants to the bank accounts. He opens the door.

[Jed Lipinski]

A surveillance video captured Greg's arrival in the parking lot and his harried search for his wife. But the scene inside the car was not visible, and neither was Greg when he opened the door. It's impossible to know exactly what he saw. Greg later claimed he found his wife having sex with a man in the backseat. He says the man, who was naked, then appeared to reach for a weapon, so Greg shot him and fled. The man was a 28 year old Mexican immigrant named Arturo Santos. Eric Bland, who investigated Arturo's background with Dick Harpoutlian, characterized him this way.

[Jake Brennan]

The guy was an absolute scumbag. We found out that he started blackmailing Rachel. That's why there was money missing from the safe. He threatened her that he was going to kill Greg. I'm going to out you in front of your children. I got affidavits from women that he would sexually molest and then take their money. And he just was a bad, bad guy.

[Jed Lipinski]

In a memorandum, Dick Harpoutlian claimed Arturo had ties to the Zetas drug cartel in Mexico, though no credible evidence ever emerged to support that claim. Eric later said that he and Dick received threats as a result of representing Greg.

[Jake Brennan]

Homeland Security called us and said, there's chatter that not only is the family in danger, but Dick and I were in danger after Greg shot Arturo, and we were very worried. And then there was an intermediary that met with some pretty important people in Mexico. And then we were told that there's nothing that's going to happen to us. But yeah, I was shitting bricks for a couple weeks.

[Jed Lipinski]

Eric said that Greg knew Arturo prior to the shooting, but not well. Some months earlier, Greg had allegedly kicked Arturo out of one of his restaurants after Arturo became disorderly and threatened to fire a gun. In his statements to Eric, Greg insisted he didn't know that Arturo was having an affair with his wife. Whatever the truth was, Greg's wife seemed genuinely taken with Arturo. Days before the shooting, she'd bought him the $40,000 Toyota Tundra, in which Greg later caught them having sex. She'd told the car dealer that she planned to move in with him. When Rachel pulled into the parking lot the night of the shooting, the surveillance video Captured her jumping into Arturo's arms. He handed her a teddy bear, a bottle of champagne in a heart shaped box of chocolates. Police later found these gifts in the truck, but no sign of a gun. After posting bond, Greg was placed under house arrest. The judge allowed him to work and to attend marriage counseling sessions with his wife under the supervision of a priest and security. He was also allowed to see Eric Bland.

[Jake Brennan]

So, you know, it became our new normal. I'd see Greg at the restaurant, or he'd come down to meet with me at my office. I would call the monitoring company. Hey, Greg's at my house, or Greg's at my office, or, you know, he's staying later than 10 o' clock because I got to talk business with him. And then all of a sudden, Dick calls me on the phone and says, hey, they want to call this case.

[Jed Lipinski]

It was February of 2022, six years after the shooting, and the state was finally ready to set a trial date. But Eric and Dick thought they still had a shot at a plea deal. They reasoned that if the case went to trial, at least one juror would sympathize with Greg, A husband who discovered his wife with another man and refused to convict. This could lead to a hung jury or even a mistrial. Eric hoped that kind of uncertainty would pressure the state to make a deal. He explained his reasoning to Greg.

[Jake Brennan]

And so we get this great plea from Greg. But Greg was not willing to do any more prison time. He did not like the prison time in Richmond, Virginia, that he did. It was in an old, old federal prison. It didn't have air conditioning, and it was a rough nine months for him. So he said, I'm just not going to plea.

[Jed Lipinski]

And what did the plea deal look like?

[Jake Brennan]

We never really got it nailed down, but I felt like I probably could get him less than five years. He'd do three or two, and then he has his whole life ahead of him. But he wouldn't do it.

[Jed Lipinski]

Greg knew he was taking a huge risk. He was facing a murder charge with a possible life sentence plus a separate five year term for using a gun during a violent crime. But Greg was a gambler. He seemed to enjoy taking risks, which may help explain what he did next.

[Jake Brennan]

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[Kristen Bell]

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[Jed Lipinski]

Just get it done, Terry.

[Jake Brennan]

So talk to California psychics and receive the career guidance you need. We only connect you with the very best. So guarantee if your reading isn't life changing, it's free. California psychics call 1-800-PREDICT today and get 20 minutes for just $20. Hey, what's up flies? This is David Spade. Dana Carvey. Look at I know we never actually left, but I'll just say it. We are back with another season of Fly on the Wall.

[Jed Lipinski]

Every episode, including ones with guests, will.

[Jake Brennan]

Now be on video.

[Jed Lipinski]

Every Thursday you'll hear us and see.

[Jake Brennan]

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[Jed Lipinski]

It's not clear exactly when Greg Leone began engaging in witness tampering, but Eric Bland first heard the rumors around 2019.

[Jake Brennan]

Greg wanted to find out who's testifying against him and so there were these allegations that Dick and I started hearing that he's starting to witness interfere and witness payoffs.

[Jed Lipinski]

When Eric asked Greg if the rumors were true, Greg denied it. But as the trial date approached, those rumors started to look more like facts. The full scope of the alleged witness tampering scheme and the role South Carolina law enforcement played in uncovering it didn't come into focus until trial, but it dealt a serious blow to Greg's defense and delayed the trial yet again. So here's the story as simply as I can tell it. The scheme involved two women. One was murder victim Arturo Santos, former roommate, a transgender woman named Ruby Sierra. The other was Maria Moreno, one of Greg's longtime employees and someone Eric Bland knew well.

[Jake Brennan]

I knew Maria a long time. Greg would always give her money. She was in a horrible marriage. Greg felt sorry for her, would always give her a job. You know, she'd come to him for a car payment. He just pulled the money out of his pocket.

[Jed Lipinski]

In 2019, South Carolina state agents working for SLED, the state law enforcement division, learned that Maria and Cierra had met in secret. At that meeting Maria, allegedly acting on Greg's behalf, asked Cierra to lie about Arturo on the stand. Specifically, Maria urged Cierra to testify falsely that Arturo was the violent leader of a Mexican gang called El Tigre, that he had a taste for child pornography, and that he once raped her with a gun in her mouth. Covid delayed the trial for years, but when a new trial date was set for early 2022, Maria arranged another meeting with Cierra. This time, sled agents were ready. They convinced Cierra to wear a wire. Maria and Sierra met at the law office of Dick Harpoutlian, Greg's defense attorney. Maria again asked Sierra to lie under oath. Later that day, Sierra said she received $500 from Greg Leone. Dick was not present for the meeting between Maria and Cierra, but the fact that it happened in his office made him a potential witness. That created a conflict of interest and forced him to withdraw from the case. Eric was outraged, but he quickly found Greg a new defense attorney, another titan of South Carolina's defense bar. Tell me first your name and who you are.

[Jack Swirling]

Jack Swirling. I'm a criminal defense lawyer in Columbia, South Carolina. I graduated law school in 1973, so I'm in my 52nd year of practicing law.

[Jed Lipinski]

In those 52 years, Jack swirling has tried hundreds of murder cases, a record that earned him the nickname Mr. Murder. Jack did not personally know Greg Leone, but he'd enjoyed many meals at his restaurants, and he knew his reputation in Lexington County.

[Jack Swirling]

Anybody who went to the restaurants, you know, he would come over and sit down with you and say hello. I mean, he just had this big, oversized personality, and when he walked in a room, you knew Greg was in the room, and he was liked all over. Nobody ever had anything negative to say about Greg Leone.

[Jed Lipinski]

In preparing for trial, Jack and Greg spent hours together. Greg repeated the story. He told Eric Bland that he didn't know his wife and Arturo Santos were seeing each other until he discovered them in the truck that night.

[Jack Swirling]

He said, and he never moved off of that position, that the reason he put the tracking device on the car was that she was losing weight, she was missing a lot from family activities and things like that, and he thought she was doing drugs and dealing in drugs, taking drugs, buying drugs. So his position was, I put the tracking device on the car because I thought my wife had gotten involved in drugs.

[Jed Lipinski]

Greg also insisted that he had no intention of killing Archero that night and that he'd acted purely out of self defense.

[Jack Swirling]

He maintained that at that time, he was not prepared to go ahead and shoot anybody. He had the gun, but it was in his pocket. It was for safety, his safety. But when Arturo was sitting there, Arturo, according to Greg, reached forward, presumably to go ahead and get a gun because he was known to carry a gun. That's at the point that Greg shot him.

[Jed Lipinski]

In the lead up to trial, perhaps the biggest question hovering over the case was would Greg's wife Rachel take the stand? And if so, whose side would she take? That of her dead lovers or that of her husband of 20 years, the father of her six children? Rachel was the sole eyewitness. She would have known if Arturo did in fact reach for a weapon of some kind. But as the trial got underway, it became clear that the state would not be calling her to testify. Jack chose not to call her either. In the absence of eyewitnesses, a large part of Greg's defense came down to timing and physics, namely when Greg started shooting Arturo, where Greg was standing, and the angle of the bullets that entered Arturo's body. As such, the pathologist's findings were critical. Did her interpretation of the autopsy suggest that Greg had shot Arturo in self defense or not?

[Jack Swirling]

The pathologist in the case was a woman who had been doing pathology for many, many years, did thousands of autopsies and in my opinion, had sort of reached her prime. I think most of the lawyers around sort of felt like she was, had overstayed her welcome doing pathology.

[Jed Lipinski]

Jack's being polite here. What he means is that the pathologist was too old. She was in her early 80s, and Jack didn't trust that she was capable of accurately interpreting the forensic evidence. None of this mattered at first because the pathologist's initial interpretation supported Greg's self defense claim.

[Jack Swirling]

She had told Harpoutlian and the investigators back when the case first happened that where the shot took place supported and corroborated Greg's story that he shot upwards, that the guy was reaching for a weapon. That was the critical thing.

[Jed Lipinski]

But when the trial finally took place, more than seven years had passed since the pathologist delivered her initial findings. And then on the stand, she blindsided the defense.

[Jack Swirling]

She gets on the witness stand and we're trying the case and she does a 180 on the testimony. Complete. 180. And said that no, it did not corroborate what Greg Leone said. According to her, it was not a self defense wound. He was not reaching for anything.

[Jed Lipinski]

Jack was stunned by her reversal. The solicitor, he learned, hadn't found out about it until just hours before she took the stand.

[Jack Swirling]

At that point, we stopped the trial and I told the judge, you know, we had been relying all these years on the fact that the pathologist was going to corroborate what Greg Leone said about the fact that it was self defense and he fired the gun when the guy's arm was extended, which would support his testimony that he was reaching for something. And how could we continue the trial of the case? We were entitled to a mistrial.

[Jed Lipinski]

The judge rejected Jack's request for a mistrial, but he agreed to give the defense some time to find a new pathologist. It took Jack a few days, but he eventually tracked one down in Florida who agreed with the original pathologist's initial ruling.

[Jack Swirling]

He completely believed exactly what the pathologist's original diagnosis was and what she originally said. And we started the trial again on that Wednesday.

[Jed Lipinski]

Jack believes the pathologist's stunning reversal probably hurt Greg's defense. Even so, by the end of the trial, he felt confident in Greg's chances. After all, South Carolina is a stand your ground state. If you're somewhere you have a legal right to be and you reasonably believe you're in danger of being killed or seriously hurt, you don't have to retreat before using deadly force. And even if Greg was wrong, if it only seemed like Arturo was reaching for a gun, he could still claim what's known as the defensive appearances. As long as his fear was reasonable, the law protected him. The burden was on the state to disprove self defense beyond a reasonable doubt. But self defense was only part of the equation. The jury also had to weigh why Greg showed up in the parking lot in the first place. Did he really believe his wife had lost 40 pounds and started skipping family barbecues because she was using drugs? Or did he install that GPS tracker on her car because he suspected she was having an affair? When that tracker showed she'd pulled into a parking lot at 8pm on Valentine's Day? Did Greg already have a good idea who he might find there? And if so, did he know what he planned to do when he found them? It was up to the jury to decide.

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[Jed Lipinski]

The trial of Greg Leone concluded on July 6th of 2023. Before the jury began deliberating, the judge gave them several possible charges to consider. Murder, voluntary manslaughter, and involuntary manslaughter, depending on what they believed about Greg's intent and state of mind when he pulled the trigger. Murder, of course, means killing with premeditated malice. Involuntary manslaughter means killing someone by accident. Involuntary manslaughter means killing someone in the heat of passion. If the jury found Greg Leone guilty, Jack figured that's what they'd find him guilty of.

[Jack Swirling]

You know, the classic situation always has been textbook spouse finding their spouse in bed with somebody. I mean, that's a manslaughter. Clear as hell.

[Jed Lipinski]

The jury deliberated for two and a half hours before, before reaching a verdict. It wasn't what Jack expected.

[Jack Swirling]

Jury came back with a murder conviction. It was unanimous. That just was totally something that just shocked me and surprised me, really just blew me away. And I certainly thought even if they didn't come back with self defense, which I still thought we had a great shot at, you know, manslaughter would be a compromise verdict. Certainly wouldn't hold. A guy who found his wife in the backseat of a car with a guy naked as a jaybird, you know that he did that with murder, with premeditation, malice, a forethought. I probably tried a couple hundred, maybe over 150, 200 murder cases. But this was one of two, maybe that I was totally shocked about.

[Jed Lipinski]

Once he recovered from the shock, though, Jack put himself in the mind of the jury. He thought they may have been swayed by the pathologist's testimony that did not support Greg's self defense claims. He also figured the jury thought Greg was lying about why he put the tracking device on his wife's car in addition to surveillance video from the scene of the shooting. The state had presented security camera footage from Greg's restaurant that night. This video captured the moment Greg got the alert from the GPS tracking app that his wife had parked in an obscure parking lot off i20. Greg can be seen darting out to his car. The state had argued that at that moment, Greg knew what was happening and who else he might find in that parking lot.

[Jack Swirling]

You know, if a jury doesn't believe you about a major factor in the case, they may not believe you about the critical issue, which was self defense. That's the only explanation I have.

[Jed Lipinski]

Eric bland was in the courtroom when the verdict was read. He was just as shocked as Jack swirling, only more so.

[Jake Brennan]

I was crushed. I mean, crushed.

[Jed Lipinski]

Cameras were allowed inside the courtroom. A photo taken moments after the guilty verdict was read shows Eric crying as Greg smiles and tries to console him. Eric had handled Greg's bond hearing years earlier. Now he stepped in to handle Greg's sentencing.

[Jake Brennan]

And I had people speak, and I got up and I talked about Greg and what I've seen him do for the community and what I saw him do for his family and me and my family and my kids and, you know, cried during it. I talked for an hour. And he got 30 years. You know, he got the full metal jacket.

[Jed Lipinski]

In my conversation with Eric, he told me that Greg was not the type of guy who would serve out 30 years in prison. He didn't say exactly what he meant by that, but he did say that he visited Greg in jail a few days after sentencing. During their meeting, Greg promised that he would go through at least one appeal, which Jack swirling thought he had a good shot at getting. Greg also asked Eric to bring him some items from his house.

[Jake Brennan]

Bring me my reading glasses on Monday. They're on the kitchen table. They're Oakley's. And get my phone and get me my contact list and bring me some salt. They got no salt on their food.

[Jed Lipinski]

That was a Thursday. Two days later, Eric got a phone call from the head of South Carolina's department of corrections.

[Jake Brennan]

It's like a Saturday afternoon. He calls me on the phone. He says, eric, I got some bad news. So what he said, Greg Leone tried to hang himself. And he said, richmond Memorial, right now, not conscious. You know, we need you there. So I go there, his family's there. We go in, and Greg's, you know, on life support. His family comes in, his workers come in. Over the next nine hours, hundreds, when I tell you, hundreds of people descend on this hospital, touching so many lives. People driving from Georgia, People driving from Virginia. His room was at the end of the hospital hall. That hallway was filled with people. Wall to wall for 125 yards. People in the lobby, people in the parking lot. And I dealt with the doctors all day. There was no improvement. And the family basically put it on me. What should we do? And I said, look, Greg told me he would never do this. He would never live like this. And so I told Rachel, pull the plug.

[Jed Lipinski]

Greg's funeral was held at the Corpus Christi Catholic Church in Lexington County. Hundreds of people showed up. Many flew in from Mexico. They included more than a dozen families whom Greg had supported over the years. Eric delivered the eulogy.

[Jake Brennan]

I've been Greg Leone's lawyer, Abogado, for 25 years. I have been his friend. This was a day that I never envisioned would come.

[Jed Lipinski]

Eric described Greg as a larger than life figure. A tireless worker, a devoted father, and a natural born giver. He compared Greg to a mountain. The closer you got, the bigger he became. He told Greg's children that their father was certain they would be able to carry on the family's legacy and continue running the restaurants as they had for the past 20 years.

[Jake Brennan]

There's a hole in my heart that I don't believe will ever be filled. Yes, we all should grieve, but we need to let it go, because grief will only take you down a sad trail. George Bernard Shaw said, write your sorrow in the sand and write your happiness in concrete. Greg Leone is in stone with me.

[Jed Lipinski]

After Greg Leone's death, Gustavo Arellano, the columnist and food critic for the Los Angeles Times, published a long, thoughtful piece titled the Death of South Carolina's Mexican Combo Plate King. He reflected on Greg's astonishing rise and his dramatic fall. Gustavo had previously written about the darker side of the American dream pursued by Greg and other migrant restaurateurs from his hometown of San Jose de la Paz. Specifically, how their success often relied on the exploitation of undocumented workers. In his news story, he wrote about how Greg's life personified both the darkness and the light.

[Kristen Bell]

The story of Greg Leon. It really is a cautionary tale. Like my community, the Mexican community, we try to portray ourselves as saints that could do no wrong. And people who do not like us portray us as sinners. But look, Mexicans are humans, Mexican Americans are Americans, and Americans come in all sorts of facets. So with Greg Leon, yeah, he was beloved in his community. He gave work to a lot of people. He gave money to his people back home. He obviously cared for his children. He could be that but he could also be an exploiter of his own people. He could also be a murderer. So there's more to a story than just what's on the surface.

[Jed Lipinski]

Gustavo lives in Los Angeles, and though he wanted to, he never met Greg in person. Eric Bland, by contrast, spent the better part of 25 years by Greg's side. He refuses to see Greg as a murderer.

[Jake Brennan]

Anybody in any given time can put themselves in a position that they will do something that they would never, ever do again in their life. It's uncharacteristic of them. I mean, what are the odds that he's going to catch his wife in that situation? I mean, he's not a violent man. I've never seen him fight. I never saw him pull a gun. You know, you hear, well, he's a chicken guy. You hear, he's illegal immigration. You hear, he's a murderer. He must be a bad guy. Oh, hell no. I refuse to ever say he's a bad guy. I'm mad that he took his own life, but I don't begrudge him for what he did. But I miss him terribly. And that is the story Foreign.

[Jed Lipinski]

If you have information, story tips, or feedback you'd like to share with the Gone south team, please email [e-mail] that's gone southpodcastmail.com and for bonus content, you can follow us on Facebook, TikTok and Instagram. On South Podcast. You can also sign up for our newsletter on substack. Gone south with Jed Lipinski. Gone south is an Odyssey original podcast. It's created, written and narrated by me, Jed Lipinski. Our executive producers are Jenna Weiss Berman, Maddy Sprung, Keyser, Tom Lipinski, Lloyd Lockridge, and me. Our story editors are Tom Lipinski, Matty Sprung, Keyser, and Joel Lovell. Gone south is edited by Chris Baseline and Perry Crowell. It's mixed and mastered by Chris Basel. Production support from Ian Mont and Sean Cherry. Special thanks to J.D. crowley, Leah Reese, Dennis, Maura Curran, Josephina Francis, Kurt Courtney, and Hilary Schuff.

[Kristen Bell]

Imagine if you could ask someone anything you wanted about their finances. How much do you make? Who paid for that fancy dinner? What did your house actually cost? On every episode of what We Spend, a different guest opens up their wallets, opens up their lives, really, and tells us all about their finances. For one week, they tell us everything they spend their money on.

[Jed Lipinski]

My son slammed like $6 with the blueberries in five minutes.

[Kristen Bell]

This is a podcast about all the ways money comes into our lives and then leaves again. Which, of course, we all have a lot of feelings about.

[Jake Brennan]

I really want these things.

[Kristen Bell]

I want to own a house. I want to have a child. But this morning, I really wanted a coffee. Because whatever you are buying or not buying or saving or spending, at the end of the day, money is always about more than your balance. I'm Courtney Harrell, and this is what we spend, listen to, and follow what We Spend. An Odyssey original podcast available now wherever you get your podcasts.