Encore: The Rise and Fall of Girls Gone Wild | Part 2 I Scroll Back for Part 1

Summary

Infamous Podcast Summary: "Encore: The Rise and Fall of Girls Gone Wild | Part 2"

Episode Overview

In the second installment of the five-part series Boy Gone Wild, hosted by Vanessa Grigoriadis of Campside Media and Sony Music Entertainment, the podcast delves deeper into the tumultuous relationship between Joe Francis, the controversial founder of Girls Gone Wild, and Mayor Lee Sullivan of Panama City Beach. This episode explores the escalating tensions, legal battles, and the broader implications of Girls Gone Wild on the community and its stakeholders.

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1. Renewed Tensions in Panama City Beach

Context Setting The episode picks up in April 2003, a year after Joe Francis was initially arrested in Panama City Beach. Vanessa Grigoriadis sets the scene, highlighting the strained relationship between Francis and Mayor Lee Sullivan.

Key Developments

• Joe Francis' Return: Full of defiance, Francis returns to Panama City Beach with renewed vigor, intent on continuing his controversial film projects despite Mayor Sullivan's opposition.

  Vanessa Grigoriadis [04:37]: "Joe not only decided to return to Panama City Beach, he returned full force. And Mayor Lee was not okay with this."

• Mayor Sullivan’s Stance: Mayor Sullivan remains steadfast in his efforts to curb Francis' activities, emphasizing the negative impact on the community.

  Mayor Lee Sullivan [05:28]: "They had to be 18 to enter. But that wasn't good enough for Joe."

Notable Quote:

Mayor Lee Sullivan [06:01]: "Once he started, once he started swirling around and around and going down, it just nothing for him to hold on to. Filthy. Just a filthy little shit that he was."

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2. Legal Escalations and Public Confrontations

Courtroom Battles Francis leverages his financial resources to mount a formidable legal defense against the numerous charges filed against him.

• Lawsuit Victory: Joe Francis successfully sues the city officials, including Mayor Sullivan, asserting his First Amendment rights to film a documentary.

  Joe Francis [06:20]: "I sue the officials, the mayor, the sheriff, the chief of police, the city personally, in federal court in Tallahassee. Okay, I win. I win. Forcing them to back down."

• Mayor Sullivan’s Retaliation: Despite the legal setback, Mayor Sullivan intensifies his campaign against Francis, refusing to back down.

  Mayor Lee Sullivan [08:06]: "Mr. Mayor, we are not doing anything illegal. My cameraman and myself will not be pushed around by a local tyrant or a city police who barely won an election by 90 votes."

Public Debates and Media Exposure Francis and Sullivan engage in public debates, including appearances on shows like Greta Van Susteren's, further polarizing public opinion.

Notable Quote:

Mayor Lee Sullivan [08:27]: "Cause I'll snatch a knot in your ass, It'll take you three days to untie."

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3. The Arrest and Legal Fallout

The Arrest of Joe Francis Adam Buff, a special investigations officer, orchestrates the arrest of Francis amidst growing pressure from local authorities.

• Confrontation and Arrest: Buff confronts Francis, leading to a physical struggle that results in Francis being handcuffed and taken into custody.

  Adam Buff [18:22]: "He was standing in the underneath of the building where the elevators are. And as I started getting closer and closer to him, he kind of just started sizing me up and I guess figured that I was probably a cop. And he turned to take off running. Told him to stop. He never stopped. So I had to wrestle him to the ground."

• Search Warrants: Subsequent searches of Francis' properties uncover minimal evidence, leading to numerous felony charges.

  Joe Francis [21:09]: "And I have never even had much as a traffic ticket in my whole life, okay. They charged me with 71 felonies totaling 335 years in prison. From everything from racketeering to drug trafficking. They seized my plane."

Legal Maneuvering and Dismissals Despite the overwhelming number of charges, most of them are eventually dismissed due to lack of substantial evidence, showcasing Francis' legal prowess and financial advantage.

Joe Francis [22:44]: "Cost me $1.5 million in legal fees to fight them to win that plane back. That 90 days later, the judge turned it over and said, there's no cocaine. They admitted lying about that."

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4. Business Strategies and Explosive Growth

Revenue Generation Amidst Controversy Girls Gone Wild continues to thrive financially despite legal challenges, capitalizing on public notoriety and aggressive marketing strategies.

• Sales and Marketing: In 2003, the company sold 4.5 million copies of DVDs and invested heavily in advertising, driving significant revenue growth.

  Mayor Lee Sullivan [23:12]: "In 2001, they had 83 different titles for Girls Gone Wild DVDs and sold 4.5 million copies. In 2003, they spent 21 years million on advertising. They were making five times as much on sales."

Exploitation of Talent Contracts Francis' business model involves minimal or no compensation for the talents featured in his productions, prioritizing profit over ethical practices.

Vanessa Grigoriadis [23:27]: "Girls. Gunwale was flush with cash."

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5. Integration into Celebrity Circles and Continued Influence

Networking with Celebrities Post-legal battles, Francis establishes strong ties with Hollywood celebrities, enhancing his brand's visibility and legitimacy.

• Connections with the Kardashians: Francis collaborates with Kris Jenner and other high-profile figures, integrating Girls Gone Wild into mainstream pop culture.

  Joe Francis [25:01]: "Well, we launched the line for the new action page for Girls Gone Wild swimwear. And I want the girls to possibly be the spokesperson."

Social Dynamics and Influence Francis' lifestyle in Los Angeles becomes emblematic of his success, with lavish parties attended by a mix of celebrities, aspiring actors, and influencers.

Vanessa Grigoriadis [24:53]: "It's season one of Keeping up with the Kardashians."

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6. Emerging Threats and Underlying Tensions

Introduction of Riley Perez The episode introduces Riley Perez, a charismatic influencer involved in the nightlife scene who possesses criminal undertones, setting the stage for impending conflicts.

• Riley's Background: Described as a well-connected individual with ties to various underworld elements, Riley becomes a pivotal figure in the unfolding drama.

  Riley Perez [26:13]: "Paris, Nikki, Tara Reid. She was still a young commodity and, you know, bankable in films. Leo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire."

Foreshadowing Future Conflicts Riley's involvement hints at escalating tensions and potential confrontations that could further complicate Francis' empire.

Riley Perez [27:47]: "I had already been a part of a couple clubs, you know, behind the scenes, where I was on the off the books payroll. I'll get my payment in the brown bags, and I always got a table there."

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7. Conclusion and Teasers for the Next Episode

The episode concludes by building anticipation for future developments, particularly focusing on Riley Perez's intentions towards Joe Francis, suggesting impending challenges and possibly dangerous liaisons.

Riley Perez [28:32]: "He knows that if I wanted to kill him, it would have already been done."

Closing Note Vanessa Grigoriadis effectively sets up the narrative for the next episode, promising a deeper exploration into the burgeoning threats against Francis and the intricate web of relationships within his circle.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• "We're gonna spend a lot of money and people will have jobs, government jobs, to save this thing." — Mayor Lee Sullivan [02:29]

• "Cause I'll snatch a knot in your ass, It'll take you three days to untie." — Mayor Lee Sullivan [08:27]

• "I have never even had much as a traffic ticket in my whole life." — Joe Francis [21:09]

• "Riley knows that if I wanted to kill him, it would have already been done." — Riley Perez [28:32]

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Final Thoughts

Episode two of Infamous's Boy Gone Wild series intricately weaves the complex dynamics between Joe Francis and Panama City Beach's leadership, illustrating how ambition, legal maneuvering, and influential connections shape the trajectory of a controversial media empire. As the story unfolds, listeners are left anticipating the next chapter in this high-stakes saga.

Transcript

[Narrator]

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[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

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7Th and 8th of June 2025 Campside Media.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

Hi everyone. Vanessa here you are about to listen to episode two of Boy Gone Wild. Reminder, please scroll back in your feed to get to episode one. All right, thanks so much.

[Narrator]

This episode is intended for mature audiences.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

So while there was all this craziness with Joe Francis and Panama City beach, there was one man watching carefully. He was a defender of the town.

[Mayor Lee Sullivan]

I was the mayor of Whoville from 2000, protecting, if I may say, all the little who's.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

Mayor Lee Sullivan wasn't just a politician. He'd had a long career in law enforcement.

[Mayor Lee Sullivan]

My last tour of duty was as Chief of Police, Panama City Beach. They had encouraged me to retire so they could get a kinder, gentler police chief. I took my retirement in 1997 and then I ran against the mayor. That encouraged me to leave. So I replace the asshole who replaced me.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

Fair enough. That seems fair enough. Mayor Lee is the kind of guy who's always sure he's right and he really liked getting rid of things. He's very well known for his campaign against crawfish.

[Mayor Lee Sullivan]

The state of Florida decided that this specific crawfish was an endangered species. Crawfish. If this crawdad was on your property, basically you just needed to kill yourself because you couldn't do anything with your property anymore.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

Here he is on a local TV program during his election campaign.

[Mayor Lee Sullivan]

We're gonna spend a lot of money and people will have jobs, government jobs, to save this thing. Lord knows I'd have been in prison when I was a young. And there's no telling what we did to them.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

Mayor Lee wanted to blast those crawdads off the face of the earth.

[Mayor Lee Sullivan]

I was encouraging him to fill it up. Okay, Put dirt in it. Kill the crawdad.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

And now he was planning to do the same to Joe Francis. From Campside Media and Sony Music Entertainment, I'm Vanessa Grigoriadis and this is infamous. You're listening to episode two of our five part series, Boy Gone Wild.

[Mayor Lee Sullivan]

Join us as we make the rounds with sorority girls, college cuties and the girl next door. Beautiful, real college girls. Unbuttoned and out of control.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

So when we left off last time, 2002, I just seen Joe Francis get arrested. We were at the Holiday Inn in Panama City Beach. Reminder, you're sometimes hearing an actor play Joe Francis.

[Mayor Lee Sullivan]

Next time I come to town, I want this hotel renamed the Joe Francis Holiday Inn.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

I met up with Joe again the next morning. He looked tired, but he was otherwise his usual arrogant self.

[Mayor Lee Sullivan]

They made me fill out a questionnaire where I had to check off what kind of car I had. I was like, is there a box to check for a plane?

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

This time we're going to find out what happened the following year when I wasn't there. And remember more recently, Joe issued a blanket denial to all the questions I asked him. So we're not hearing his side of the story.

[Mayor Lee Sullivan]

He felt like he had found the promised land. He had found fertile ground. And so the next year, here come JoJo with his jet and his motorhome and all his minions.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

Joe not only decided to return to Panama City beach, he returned full force. And Mayor Lee was not okay with this.

[Mayor Lee Sullivan]

Now, we had Lavila and we had Spinnaker, and if you wanted to see boobies, you could go down there. And the girls were having wet T shirt contests and showing boobies, and everything was good. And I. I mean, that was all right. Cause they had to be 18 to enter. But that wasn't good enough for Joe.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

Don't you know, I don't think Joe has anything to do with the Holiday Inn this time, but pretty much everything is the same. There's shooters, there are girls, there's filming. And obviously Mayor Lee doesn't like this filming, particularly on his roads. You weren't supposed to drink on them, and you definitely weren't supposed to have a peep show.

[Mayor Lee Sullivan]

You couldn't, like, have prayer along the road, but you could have choir practice.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

But as we know, Joe had a defense for that.

[Mayor Lee Sullivan]

He was filming a documentary. He espoused that he had protected constitutionality because he was doing a documentary, a documentary on women's breasts, which. Which he would film and turn into videos and sell and make goblets of money.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

I pressed Leon, whether this defense was actually a good one, because maybe this was protected under the law. You know, we've got the First Amendment. Joe even filed a lawsuit to stop anyone interfering with his efforts to film a spring break documentary.

[Joe Francis]

I sue the officials, the mayor, the sheriff, the chief of police, the city personally, in federal court in Tallahassee. Okay, I win. I win. Forcing them to back down.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

But this lawsuit Just made Mayor Lee even angrier.

[Mayor Lee Sullivan]

Now, I'm going to tell you, we don't have people walking around naked over here. Not even now in this age of enlightenment. We don't have that. But when you have a minion go up there and tell them, they're going to get this really great T shirt to expose their breasts, you know, and then if you can kiss each other, give it a little tongue. Work with your buddy girl there, you know, and so just. It just soft porn.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

But what about bring in the. What about bringing the money? I mean, the more people. Listen, Panama City beach is the spot for Girls Gone Wild. The more they want to come there, the more they want to spend their money in town.

[Mayor Lee Sullivan]

Nobody wants that. Maybe the Holiday Inn, maybe some. You know, I mean, the people that pedal the offside of that, they might have got upset.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

So. But he says you guys targeted him, right? He says, well, they were.

[Narrator]

They were running after us.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

They were surveilling us. They were, you know.

[Mayor Lee Sullivan]

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. Oh, he's got it. He's got it, right? He wanted attention. We gave him attention.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

Okay, here's what happened. Panama City beach began to zero in on Joe Francis. They did it publicly. I mean, Mayor Lee is not exactly a shrinking violet. In fact, Joe Francis and Mayor Lee even went on Greta Van Susteren to debate each other.

[Mayor Lee Sullivan]

Mr. Mayor, we are not doing anything illegal. My cameraman and myself will not be pushed around by a local tyrant or a city police who barely won an election by 90 votes.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

Mayor Lee responded, It was seven votes, if Joe could count that high. But Joe had some T shirts printed up.

[Mayor Lee Sullivan]

He was wearing a Joe Francis for Mayor T shirt. And I said, you know, pretty boy, I said, some things you wear around here cause you to get your ass beat. I said, cause I'll snatch a knot in your ass, It'll take you three days to untie.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

So during spring break 2003, many, many officers and folks in the sheriff's department were on Jo's case. They'd ride on bikes and circle Girls Gone Wild photographers when they were shooting. They even sent a helicopter to sort of hover over the Girls Gone Wild beach house. And Joe was just defiant. This is a recording of a Girls Gone Wild event at a large outdoor theater.

[Mayor Lee Sullivan]

And you know what? The powers of be tried to put the kibosh on Girls Gone Wild in Panama City. But Girls Gone Wild is bigger than that. Much, much bigger than that. So right now, let's bring out the founder and CEO of Girls Gone wild. Please welcome Joe Francis.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

It's Texas and Joe runs on stage, almost doing the Nixon thing. He's lifting his arms up as high as he can.

[Mayor Lee Sullivan]

You know it's good to be you my friend. Now real quick, I just mentioned in Panama City they tried to shut you down, but you did not let that happen. No way. We're coming from Panama City tonight. And you know what? They can come arrest us. We don't care. Come get us. Girls will be naked in Panama City tonight.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

So who is going to be victorious in this battle of wills, Joe Francis or Mayor Lee? More after the break.

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[Mayor Lee Sullivan]

You'Re listening to Infamous from.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

Campside Media So when we left off, we were in Panama City beach, and tensions were ramping between Mayor Lee and Joe Francis, founder of Girls Gone Wild.

[Mayor Lee Sullivan]

And Watch what Good Girls do when they Go Wild.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

They finally went toe to toe on April 2, 2003. Adam Buff worked in a special investigations unit for the sheriff. He was looking into controlled narcotics and prostitution cases. And so your nickname is Buffy? I guess it's cause you're six foot six.

[Adam Buff]

Yeah, well, six, eight, but yeah, same. Same thing if they use that terminology. Just I guess because maybe I make them uncomfortable because I'm a big guy. But that's why I take it as a grain of salt. I don't ever think of it as derogatory, just Terms of Endearment.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

Adam Buff, AKA Buffy, was one of the guys on Joe Francis case. I mean, what was the sort of word that went out like 2003. He's been arrested the year before.

[Adam Buff]

Right, right.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

And now he's back and he's printed up shirts like, I'm the mayor of Panama City, and he's ready to do whatever he wants.

[Adam Buff]

They had a. A beach house, but it was on the water. They had a lot of open house parties there. We did a lot of surveillance work on it and, you know, trying to get a handle on what. What exactly was going on there. Because we just, you know, again, like, kind of like everybody else had heard rumors, and we're trying to substantiate stuff to see if there was a reason.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

To move forward or if not, there was. This was the beginning of Mayor Lee's moment. And it all started with a group of teenage girls. They were probably doing what teenage girls on spring break do. Blasting music, singing along, maybe some backseat dancing. And then all of a sudden, there's a V front of them. It's the Girls Gone Wild fan. And then the cars pull into the parking lot of a gas station, and everybody's talking.

[Mayor Lee Sullivan]

And these girls here in Panama City beach are going wilder by the minute. Sweetheart, what's your name, sweetie? I'm Geralyn. Geralyn, you know what? We're in Panama City. We're in Florida. This is Girls Gone Wild.

[Narrator]

Let me see you girls do something wild.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

Okay, that's not the actual audio, but you. You get the drift. And as usual, the guy from Girls Gone Wild has a suggestion. I want to make clear that the dialogue in this upcoming scene is imagined, even though the action comes from court documents in a book, maybe. He says that they should go over to the Chateau Motel and just film a little something so they go over there to a three story motel, sort of sandy yellow color. And they walk up to room 320. 90 bucks a night. White sheets that you don't want to look at too closely.

[Mayor Lee Sullivan]

Say, why don't you two get in the shower? All right, you two come over here.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

So allegedly. And Joe disputes this. The friends not in the shower sit in the other room. They probably feel sort of awkward listening to softcore porn happening in a bathroom. But something even stranger is about to happen. The founder of Girls Gone Wild has entered the building.

[Mayor Lee Sullivan]

Hey, I'm Joe Francis.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

And according to a book by a former Girls Gone Wild employee, she did. So I imagine the two remaining girls looking at each other just feeling so weird. Maybe they should go into the other room. In fact, allegedly, Joe is leading them into the other room right now.

[Mayor Lee Sullivan]

Come on, sit down over here.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

He gestures to the bed next to him and once again, he takes their hands. Now you can probably imagine what happens next. When Joe finishes, one woman stands up and she throws him a towel. They may be feeling weird and perhaps to make them feel better, I guess. Joe then pulls out a wad of money and he throws it.

[Mayor Lee Sullivan]

You want to go for a ride in my Ferrari?

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

But it doesn't end there. After driving around for a bit, they go back to the motel. One of the girls walks around the back and there's a camera crew waiting. It may have gone something like this. All right, sweetie, let's have you flash for the cameras. All right, There we go. He captures her on camera. It's all on tape. And all of these girls are underage. Joe Francis doesn't know it yet, but this day is about to change everything. More after the break.

[Mayor Lee Sullivan]

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[Narrator]

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[Riley Perez]

In this world, stop with Mint.

[Mayor Lee Sullivan]

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[Narrator]

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[Mayor Lee Sullivan]

But that's weird. Okay, one judgment anyway, give it a.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

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[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

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[Mayor Lee Sullivan]

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[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

Okay, so it's April 2nd, 2003. Buffy, Adam, Buff. He's staked outside of Joe Francis's condo.

[Adam Buff]

I saw his Ferrari pull into the Princess condo out there.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

Buff calls it in and waits for orders from his superior.

[Adam Buff]

They told me to take him into custody. I pulled up in my vehicle. I was in plain clothes. I had a badge around my neck.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

Now, remember, Buffy is a kind of intimidating presence. He's six'six six'eight Whatever. And at this point, Joe's just got back from the gym. He's just wearing a T shirt, baseball cap.

[Adam Buff]

He was standing in the underneath of the building where the elevators are. And as I started getting closer and closer to him, he kind of just started sizing me up and I guess figured that I was probably a cop. And he turned to take off running. Told him to stop. He never stopped. So I had to wrestle him to the ground.

[Mayor Lee Sullivan]

What the fuck is going on? What are you doing? Why are you putting handcuffs on me?

[Adam Buff]

I handcuffed him, stood him up, walked him over to the front of my vehicle and waited for my supervisor to get here.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

Remember how I said that Joe is kind of like a guy who snaps at a waiter? Joe right now is in that headspace and he's asking questions of everyone who's arriving on the scene. So he just wanted to know why he was being arrested, right?

[Adam Buff]

Yes. Yes, ma'am.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

Then that afternoon, Buff was sent to search Joe's private jet.

[Adam Buff]

I actually utilized my K9 partner to do an open air search on his plane that was parked at the airport.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

So you got a dog outside of a plane just sniffing around?

[Adam Buff]

The dog did alert to the presence of narcotics in that aircraft. A search warrant was executed. Drug paraphernalia and drug residue was found in the plane. It was, in my opinion, personal use.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

So not enough to get Joe for intent to distribute or anything like that.

[Adam Buff]

It wasn't damning evidence.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

None of it felt like enough to pin Joe down for anything serious. But they also searched Joe's condo. This is what Ryan Simpkin, who used to work for Girls Gone Wild, says happened in his book. He says that when the officers went inside, they got those T shirts that said Joe Francis for Panama City Beach Mayor. They also got 175 hours of uncut footage. And Joe had just turned 30, right? So they got some birthday cards. The shooters wrote things like, Joe, celebrate your 30s with a couple of fifteens. Or hey, Joe, make sure she's 18 tonight, would ya? Joe was charged with a whole slew of felonies.

[Joe Francis]

And I have never even had much as a traffic ticket in my whole life, okay? They charged me with 71 felonies totaling 335 years in prison. From everything from racketeering to drug trafficking. They seized my plane. Okay.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

Here'S former mayor Lee Sullivan.

[Mayor Lee Sullivan]

Lady, when you flush the Joe Francis toilet, there just all kinds of stains left in the toilet. It's just, listen, once he started, Once he started swirling around and around and going down, it just nothing for him to hold on to. Filthy. Just a filthy little shit that he was.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

He was in jail now with the photographers. And he told one of them, give me your jacket, I'm cold. This is according to a book. And the guy said, no way, man. I don't work for you in here. Prison, the great equalizer. Except it wasn't so equal after all. Since Joe bailed out and soon headed back to la. Plus all those charges he had. Come on, man, it didn't seem like those were gonna stick. Adam Buff again.

[Adam Buff]

Yeah, they threw a lot at him. They. They charged him with what they charged him with. And through all the litigation and most of that got dismissed, but it still.

[Joe Francis]

Cost me $1.5 million in legal fees to fight them to win that plane back. That 90 days later, the judge turned it over and said, there's no cocaine. They admitted lying about that.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

Yeah, it was lots of charges and not a lot of Joe answering to them. Joe sort of snatched victory from defeat. And that's because he had a lot of money to pay some really great lawyers. Girls. Gunwale was flush with cash.

[Mayor Lee Sullivan]

In 2001, they had 83 different titles for Girls Gone Wild DVDs and sold 4.5 million copies. In 2003, they spent 21 years million on advertising. They were making five times as much on sales.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

And it wasn't just because of everybody's appetite for soft porn. Joe had a unique business model, and that model was essentially don't pay the talent. Here's one of the lawyers for a woman who was filmed. I've got a profit and loss statement on that. 2003, first quarter, mantra films paid their legal team $198,000. And under the talent listing it said $3,000. It was built into the Girls Gone Wild business plan to Pay the talent next to nothing or not pay talent at all. And simply wait for someone to have the courage to bring a lawsuit and then simply defend against that. As Joe was using his money to fight the felony charges in Florida, he only became more successful. Now it's 2004 and he's living like a king in LA, on a huge house on a hill. Bel Air. He may be young, but he's rich. Nightclubs, girls, money. He's just out on the Hollywood scene. He's hosting parties attended by those celebrities of the 2000s, like MTV's Carson Daly. I thought it was the Girls Don't Ever Go Wild party actor Pauly Shore.

[Mayor Lee Sullivan]

Yo, what's up? This is Pauly.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

He's friends with the Kardashians. Joe Francis.

[Joe Francis]

Where are you, honey?

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

Here he is on the phone with Kris Jenner. It's season one of Keeping up with the Kardashians.

[Joe Francis]

Well, we launched the line for the new action page for Girls Gone Wild swimwear. And I want the girls to possibly be the spokesman.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

Oh, wow. Joe becomes a plot point on the show. The Kardashians fly down to Mexico to shoot a bikini campaign for him. Joe Francis has the most beautiful airplane. Point is, Joe is very much a man about town. Paparazzi at TMZ would go up to him outside clubs, just shoot the shit.

[Mayor Lee Sullivan]

Did you hear about Madonna has a song on a new record? I did hear that. Madonna's gone Girls Gone Wild. How do you feel about. I'm excited about that.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

At nightclubs, all sorts of people mix, right? You've got a list, stars, gorgeous kids who are trying to make it as actors, rap heavies and gangsters. And so even though Mayor Lee and Buffy had backed off Joe for the moment, someone else had his eye on him. You've actually heard from him before.

[Riley Perez]

Being around town, involved in underworld behavior since a teen, folks knew me. I knew any and everyone that was needed to know to be in the hotspots.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

Riley Perez, who you heard from at the top of the last episode, he's at the clubs too. I'm talking about LA clubs where celebrities would go to see and be seen.

[Riley Perez]

Paris, Nikki, Tara Reid. She was still a young commodity and, you know, bankable in films. Leo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

Let me tell you what Riley looks like. He's about 5 foot 9, built like a boxer. He sort of looks like the Rock. Could be Hispanic, Arab. Actually a black Cuban. He's good looking. And he was a known commodity around town. Kind of like Joe. Sometimes he's seeing Joe Francis at the clubs, too.

[Riley Perez]

He was, you know, in the media, looked at as the next Hugh Hefner because he seems like he had caught lightning in the bottle. He'd hang out, I'd see him at the club, you'd see him at a restaurant. He'd come by my buddy's gym.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

Riley says he was running books at the time. And after nights out, Joe keeps the party going at his place in Bel Air.

[Riley Perez]

He would round up enough folks to get them back to his place for after hours because he's trying to let folks know, you know, I'm the man. I'm the man here. I'm the go to man. Everyone's gonna take the free goodies, the alcohol and a place to hang out and party and rub elbows and exchange lies.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

That's just Riley's opinion, of course. But in terms of what would happen next, it mattered a lot.

[Riley Perez]

I had already been a part of of a couple clubs, you know, behind the scenes, where I was on the off the books payroll. I'll get my payment in the brown bags, and I always got a table there.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

Riley knew all these folks because he was good looking, because he was in the mix, and yet he was also a criminal. And now he was going to do something very off the books regarding Joe Francis. That's next time on Infamous.

[Mayor Lee Sullivan]

Sometimes your mouth will take your ass on a journey you just didn't plan on.

[Joe Francis]

Wealthy people don't kidnap people and bring.

[Mayor Lee Sullivan]

Them to a party with, you know, 30, 40 people. That's all I have to say.

[Riley Perez]

He knows that if I wanted to kill him, it would have already been done.

[Narrator]

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[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

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[Narrator]

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