Encore: The Rise and Fall of Girls Gone Wild | Part 4

Summary

Infamous Podcast: "Encore: The Rise and Fall of Girls Gone Wild | Part 4" – Detailed Summary

Release Date: April 17, 2025

---

Introduction and Recap

Host Vanessa Grigoriadis kicks off Episode 4 of the "Boy Gone Wild" series by urging new listeners to start from Episode 1 to fully grasp the unfolding narrative. She emphasizes the complexity and depth of the story they've meticulously crafted, ensuring that listeners follow the journey from the beginning.

---

The Incident in Las Vegas (00:36 - 04:21)

The episode transports us to Fall 2004 in Las Vegas, specifically the Hard Rock Hotel, where Paris Hilton is celebrating her birthday. Amidst the revelry, Will Wright, a future defendant indicted for cocaine trafficking, converses with Paris about the notorious robbery involving Joe Francis, the controversial founder of Girls Gone Wild.

Key Point: The conversation seeds doubt and misinformation, as Will suggests knowledge about the robbery, which Paris attempts to clarify, hinting at underlying connections and setting the stage for future revelations.

Vanessa Grigoriadis [02:13]: "Paris is hanging out with a friend of Riley's. His name is Will Wright... he's allegedly bringing up that robbery in Bel Air, the one involving Joe Francis."

---

Riley's Arrest and Initial Aftermath (04:21 - 07:47)

Fast forward to March 28, 2005, Riley Perez drives to his Hollywood apartment on Whitley Avenue. Uncharacteristically, he forgets to secure his pistol, a departure from his usual cautious routine. This oversight leads to a dramatic confrontation as a U.S. Marshals team, accompanied by LAPD, apprehends him under multiple charges, including kidnapping and robbery.

Key Points:

• Unexpected Arrest: Riley is detained without prior knowledge of the specific charges, creating confusion and uncertainty about his legal predicament.
• Legal Strategy: Despite the severity of the charges, Riley maintains his innocence publicly, preparing to contest the case vigorously.

Riley Perez [06:00]: "I have to play that part. I knew I was gonna have to sit for a while and fight this case out."

---

Legal Proceedings and Negotiations (07:47 - 14:25)

After nine months in jail, Riley faces a preliminary hearing where his attorney successfully gets one kidnapping charge dropped. The focus shifts to negotiating a plea bargain, where Riley aims for a reduced sentence, ultimately securing a deal of eight years and eight months.

Key Points:

• Legal Maneuvering: The negotiation process highlights the complexities of plea bargaining, especially in high-stakes cases involving celebrity figures.
• Prison Life: Riley's adjustment to jail life contrasts sharply with Joe Francis's ongoing legal battles, emphasizing different coping mechanisms and challenges within the prison system.

Riley Perez [12:38]: "We wanted something in a single digit range, so getting to 10 years, eight months, that was his goal."

---

Joe Francis's Continued Turmoil (14:25 - 26:50)

Meanwhile, Joe Francis grapples with his own set of legal challenges stemming from the Chateau Motel case. Allegations arise that he engaged in inappropriate activities with underage girls, leading to both criminal charges and a civil lawsuit seeking substantial financial reparations.

Key Points:

• Public Persona vs. Legal Reality: Joe's confrontational demeanor during mediation sessions illustrates his inability to navigate the legal system constructively, exacerbating his legal woes.
• Media Interactions: Interviews with reporters like David Andier reveal Joe's antagonistic stance towards the media and his legal opponents, further complicating his public image.

Joe Francis [19:10]: "I'll have some fun with it. I have absolutely nothing to lose."

---

Contrasting Jail Experiences (26:50 - 29:25)

As Riley serves his sentence, he reflects on his survival instincts within the prison environment, contrasting sharply with Joe's deteriorating situation. While Riley adapts to the harsh realities of jail life, maintaining his sense of self, Joe becomes increasingly volatile, leading to further infractions and eventual transfer to a more restrictive facility.

Key Points:

• Adaptation vs. Descent: Riley's ability to maintain his individuality and focus on survival stands in stark contrast to Joe's spiral into aggression and non-compliance.
• Systemic Challenges: The episode underscores the varying impacts of incarceration on individuals, influenced by personal resilience and external circumstances.

Riley Perez [27:41]: "I have to keep my humanity and not just turn into some ogre. That's a balancing act."

---

Ongoing Legal Struggles and Future Implications (29:25 - End)

The episode concludes by juxtaposing Riley's extended prison term with Joe's relatively short stint, posing critical questions about the justice system's treatment of high-profile individuals. As both men navigate their respective legal battles, the narrative sets the stage for introspection on the nature of punishment and redemption.

Key Points:

• Justice Disparities: The stark difference in sentencing between Riley and Joe raises concerns about equity within the legal framework.
• Anticipation of Future Episodes: The unresolved tensions and ongoing legal maneuvers hint at further developments in the story, maintaining audience engagement.

Vanessa Grigoriadis [29:25]: "Riley, the guy who kidnapped and extorted Joe. He served nine years in prison compared to Joe's total of 11 months."

---

Conclusion

Episode 4 of "Infamous" delves deep into the contrasting lives of Riley Perez and Joe Francis, exploring themes of power, corruption, and the quest for justice. Through meticulous storytelling and compelling interviews, the podcast paints a multifaceted portrait of individuals entangled in a web of scandal and legal turbulence, inviting listeners to ponder the broader implications of their actions and the system that adjudicates them.

---

Notable Quotes:

• Vanessa Grigoriadis [01:07]: "You don't want to listen to episode four. You want to listen to episode one if you haven't heard it yet."
• Riley Perez [07:47]: "We're U.S. marshals... we're just here to grab you."
• Joe Francis [24:18]: "I'll have some fun with it. I have absolutely nothing to lose."
• Riley Perez [27:41]: "I have to keep my humanity and not just turn into some ogre."

---

This comprehensive summary encapsulates the key discussions, insights, and narrative progression of Episode 4, providing a clear and engaging overview for both regular listeners and newcomers to the "Infamous" podcast series.

Transcript

[Narrator]

Cold weather means more time indoors for both me and my cats, but the last thing I want is my cozy space ruined by litter box odors. Pretty Litter's advanced odor control keeps my apartment fresh even when the windows stay shut. My old litter left a lingering smell no matter how often I cleaned it. But Pretty Litter traps odor lasts longer, plus it ships right to my door. So no dragging heavy litter around on the subway. And Pretty Litter gives me peace of mind. It changes color to warn me about potential health issues in my cats, like UTIs or kidney problems so I can catch them early. Indoor cats and indoor humans agree. Pretty Litter helps my apartment smell fresh and clean. Go to PrettyLitter.com infamous to save 20% on your first order and get a free cat toy. That's PrettyLitter.com infamous to Save 20% on your first order and Get a free cat toy. PrettyLitter.com infamous terms and conditions apply. See site for details.

[Campside Media]

Campsite Media.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

Hey everyone. This is episode four of Boy Gone Wild. As always, a reminder, you don't want to listen to episode four. You want to listen to episode one if you haven't heard it yet, so please scroll back in your feed. We worked too hard on these to have you not enjoy the story from the beginning, so please go back to episode one.

[Narrator]

This episode contains descriptions of violence that may be disturbing for some listeners.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

So now it's fall 2004. We're in Las Vegas. We're in the Hard Rock Hotel, to be exact. It's after hours for Nikki Hilton's birthday, and the usual crowd is just dancing and drinking late into the night. Around 4am Paris Hilton is playing bartender. She's at the height of her stardom. That's hot.

[Campside Media]

That's hot.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

That's hot, that's hot. She's out every night. She's got the sex tape. She's getting national attention for being on the Simple Life. I've always heard that people hang out at Walmart.

[Campside Media]

Why? I don't know what is Walmart?

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

But on this night, Paris is hanging out with a friend of Riley's. His name is Will Wright. Now, he'll eventually be indicted for for moving what law enforcement told CBS was a cool 200 kilos of cocaine from California to New York. But tonight, he's doing something slightly less covert. He's hanging with Paris. He's leaning in close to give her a piece of gossip. And for whatever reason, he is allegedly bringing up that robbery in Bel Air, the one involving Joe Francis. Now, Paris had heard rumors of what happened To Joe. I just heard what I heard and like, I really. I don't remember what I. That's a law enforcement tape. Why Paris is on tape will become clear in a minute. And she's saying the people have been talking about it, but she didn't know any details. That is, according to Paris, until this guy Will Wright started talking Riley Perez again.

[Campside Media]

Will says he never said that because why would he?

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

But it sort of doesn't matter who told Paris. It's what happened next that's critical because a month or so later, Paris is out again and she sees another one of her pals, Joe Francis. When I saw Joe at a party.

[Campside Media]

I went up to him and I.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

Was like, oh, I heard in Vegas.

[Campside Media]

That darn it all, a tattoo up.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

It's been 10 months since Joe Francis was robbed at home, and Joe still has no idea who robbed him. But now Joe is going to tell the authorities what he just heard from Paris. And the detectives are going to ring up Paris and ask her themselves. That's this tape I was asking, like, is it true that this happened now for the very first time from Paris Hilton, Joe has heard a name, Darnell.

[Campside Media]

AKA Darnell Riley Perez. My family call me Riley, but I'll answer to anything.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

And answer he would when the cops came. Knock. From Campside Media and Sony Music Entertainment, I'm Vanessa Grigoriadis and this is infamous. We're on episode four of our five part series, Boy Gone Wild. So last episode, we got a blow by blow account of exactly how Riley broke in and kidnapped Joe. This episode, we're looking at the aftermath of the crime and all the legal ramifications to come for both Riley and for Joe. For now, though, we're going back to Los Angeles.

[Campside Media]

2005, March 28th.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

It's in the afternoon and Riley is driving to his apartment in Hollywood. He turns up his street. It's called Whitley Avenue.

[Campside Media]

I drive up my driveways as I do every day. I always carried a pistol.38 snub nose was my go to gun. Don't have to worry about even if you dropped it, it's not just gonna fire by itself. So every day I got the same routine. Get out the car, the gun's already secured in your waist. But this day, at that moment, for whatever reason, I didn't put the gun in my waist. So as I step out of my car, I see the van racing up my driveway. For a second, I thought, maybe it's a hit. I was about to reach for my gun or run because I had some exit points I could have made. The van stops at a decent enough distance. And I see the passenger, older white guy. I see him draw his pistol. And then I see the driver. He looks to be Hispanic, younger guy. And they're screaming something, but it's like I couldn't hear. And then as I look past them, my eyes focus past them. I see the calvary coming up the driveway. And that's when I realized, okay, it's the cops. Then, like, my hearing restored, and I can hear them now. Freeze. Freeze. Police. Police. The younger guy who was the driver, driver of the minivan, he walks towards me. He had never pulled his gun. The passenger, the older white guy, he kept his gun trained on me. And the younger guy said, turn around. They put me in the back of the minivan. And they start with the questions. Are you Darnell Reilly? I'm just looking at him. And he kept asking. And then they showed me the warrant. Are you Darnell Reilly? I'm like, yeah, well, my name's Darnell Riley Perez. Like, yeah, yeah, whatever, whatever. Like, who are you guys? We're U.S. marshals. So I say, what is this for? We don't know. We're just body baggers. We're just here to grab you. U.S. marshals, I guess, had teamed up with LAPD to clear backlog of, like, high value warrants they had to execute. I just happened to be one of them.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

So Riley sits in the back of the van. He waits to find out what's going to happen to him. That's after the break.

[Campside Media]

Infamous will be right back. Psst. Here's a list of reasons to use Instacart. The game is on. The game just ended. The next game is on. Life is busy. But with Instacart, you really don't ever have to leave the couch. Do with this information what you will. So download the Instacart app and get whatever you crave for the game and whatever else you need delivered in as fast as 30 minutes. Plus, enjoy $0 delivery fees on your first three grocery orders. Instacart. We're here. Service fees apply. Three orders in 14 days. Excludes restaurants.

[Narrator]

When a young woman named Patty vanishes without a trace, her best friend launches a desperate search. And the trail leads to Kat Torres, a charismatic influencer with millions of followers. Her social media presence showcases a picture perfect life, and she promises her followers a spiritual awakening. All they have to do is follow her lead. But behind the glamorous posts and inspirational quotes, a sinister truth unravels from wondery Don't Cross Kat is a chilling investigation that asks the question, if an influencer promised you a dream life, what would you sacrifice? Based on the Brazilian true crime saga that captivated a nation, Don't Cross Cat is a story of ambition, control, and the lives destroyed by empty promises. What starts as an investigation into a missing persons case explodes into a story of manipulation, coercion, prostitution, and human trafficking, all orchestrated behind a curated social media facade. You can binge all episodes of Don't Cross Cat early and ad free right now by joining Wondery.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

So now that he's been arrested, U.S. marshals take Riley to LAPD headquarters downtown.

[Campside Media]

My guy tells me, you know, we don't know what it's for, but you know, we're gonna work on bail.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

At this point, Riley has no idea what he's being booked for. As far as he's concerned, the Joe Francis robbery is a cold case. Since the marshals forgot to take his phone, he's got it in the interrogation room.

[Campside Media]

I called another guy, and once again, no one knew what exactly I had been arrested for. I called my girlfriend at the time who had lived with me. I didn't know that they had brought her down as well. And she was in the interrogation room next to me. And she tells me, yeah, they say this is because you robbed Joe Francis. So now I knew what I was in for. Out of all the possibilities of what it could have been for, that was, like, the last thing on my list. So now I know, okay, we gotta fight.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

Riley doesn't know what else the detectives have on him, but he makes a decision there and then.

[Campside Media]

I'm innocent. I don't know what you're talking about. I have to play that part. I knew I was gonna have to sit for a while and fight this case out.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

He's transported to a jail downtown.

[Campside Media]

Two counts of kidnapping, home invasion, robbery, extortion, two kidnapping charges, the kidnap for ransom held, a penalty of life without parole, two life sentences. Yeah, I mean, how do you do one life sentence?

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

Overnight, Riley becomes a pariah. How do you feel now being in a case where these people are all going to say they don't know you?

[Campside Media]

At that point, it becomes survival.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

Did you feel hurt at all?

[Campside Media]

No. Didn't have time for that. It would have been a wasted emotion. I was sitting in the county jail with gang bangers, rioting daily, facing the real potential of death every day while still waging this war in the courts where if I lose, I go away for life. So, yeah, wondering who's not going to want me back in their club was the farthest thing from my mind. It was, how am I going to Survive this?

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

In December 2005, after nine months in jail, Riley has his preliminary hearing. He walks into the courtroom, takes a seat next to his lawyer and looks around.

[Campside Media]

Stale courtroom, wood paneled walls. The judge was about 800 years old, you know, tried and tested, veteran of the legal system.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

Riley's lawyer, Ron Richards is able to get one of the kidnapping charges dropped. And after the hearing, Ron started negotiating a plea bargain.

[Campside Media]

Ron asked me, you know, where do you want to start? I said, give me probation. He's like, yeah, they're not going to go for that. I said, all right, seven. He said, well, they're looking at 13. So now it's the back and forth. You know, we'll say eight, they'll come back maybe at 10.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

It kind of sounds like haggling over something on Craigslist. You start really low, the other person counters, but then you come up a little to meet them in between. Except this isn't a bike or a used couch. It's years of a person's life.

[Campside Media]

First off, the potential that I could be busted, that always existed. I did the crime. So in the negotiating and talking with Ron in our private talks, you know, his question to me is, what can you live with? Okay, well, we wanted something in a single digit range, so getting to 10 years, eight months, that was his goal. Once we were in the, in the bargaining stage, I was okay with it because I did the crime. After sitting in jail for a year and witnessing the insane asylum, being involved in riots that are gang based, that have nothing to do with you, just get me to a point where the amount of time that I'm gonna do, I can still have a life afterwards, I won't be an old man walking the prison yard. Coming out. With very few options left in life.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

Riley shipped away to supermax. But pretty soon, Joe's about to do some fighting of his own back in Florida. More after the break. Killer Privilege is a new podcast available.

[Campside Media]

Exclusively on Wondery Plus.

[Narrator]

It follows Katya Faber's fight for justice.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

After her son, Alex Morgan was savagely killed by an ultra rich socialite.

[Narrator]

Katya spent years working as a barrister.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

In some of London's most shocking criminal cases before her son was killed.

[Narrator]

Yet the truth about what happened to.

[Campside Media]

Him turned out to be more extraordinary.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

Than any case she'd ever dealt with before. For this is a story about the psychology of wealth, a mother's love, and.

[Campside Media]

The terrifying consequences that can play out when the 1% stand accused of homicide.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

Listen to Injustice Killer Privilege exclusively and.

[Campside Media]

Ad free on Wondery Plus.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

Join Wondery plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts or spot.

[Campside Media]

Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile with a message for everyone paying Big Wireless way too much.

[Narrator]

Please, for the love of everything good.

[Campside Media]

In this world, stop with Mint. You can get premium wireless for just $15 a month. Of course, if you enjoy overpaying. No judgments. But that's weird. Okay, one judgment anyway. Give it a [e-mail] Switch upfront payment.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

Of $45 for 3 month plan equivalent to $15 per month required intro rate first 3 months only, then full price plan options available, taxes and fees extra. See full terms at Mintmobile.

[Campside Media]

You're listening to Infamous from Campside Media.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

Riley's case is winding its way through the courts, but Joe's facing problems of his own. Remember all that stuff in Panama City Beach, Florida when he battled Mayor Lee?

[Campside Media]

He was putting on the big show. I mean, this wasn't just low key. I need to do this. This is low key. Low key. This is. I am the JoJo. I am the most narcissistic piece of human crap you have ever met. And if you don't believe it, I'm gonna prove it to you. He's playing tennis with the wrong boy.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

Yeah, that stuff in Panama City beach doesn't seem to be going away. Joe still needs to answer for those girls from the chateau motel. Room 320 Room Hey, I'm Joe Francis. Two of those girls were filmed in a shower scene and two of them alleged that Joe paid them $50 to masturbate him. They were underage and one of them, according to a book, was feeling guilty and told her parents and that's what brought the cops down on Joe. Now I should make clear that the Chateau Motel situation is a bit more complex than it was initially thought by law enforcement. Joe's arguing that all of the girls said they were 18 to his cameramen cuz they were super excited to get on the tapes. Plus, Girls Gone Wild is adamant that it's been flying straight and doing right by girls who flash or do more and then realize afterwards they didn't want to do it.

[Joe Francis]

If at any time during that post process they said, look, I did it, I was drunk or my friend made me feel it or I feel bad about it, I don't want to be.

[Campside Media]

In it, I want to be out.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

We would remove them regardless. The legal system has been trying to get Joe and the case has been Dragging on for years. Here's David Andier, a local Florida reporter. David was present many days during Joe's legal troubles. He calls Joe's case the most voluminous, most talked about case in Bay county history. So the first time that I actually encountered Joe Francis, we were waiting for an elevator at the federal courthouse. His first words were, you know this is all bullshit, right? David was covering Joe's legal fight for the Panama City News Herald, but he also wrote a whole book about it. It's called the Madness of Joe Francis. The actual last thing that I've ever heard from Joe Francis was he texted me and he said that he had read the book. It was awful. He was going to sue me and he hoped that I died young.

[Narrator]

Oh, that's nice.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

Joe is just sort of going off on everyone.

[Campside Media]

If somebody wants to abuse the federal court system and file a frivolous lawsuit.

[Joe Francis]

I'll have some fun with it.

[Campside Media]

It's. I have absolutely nothing to lose. My lawyers are all full time. It's like, you know, who cares?

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

Jo's dealing with the criminal charges regarding the girls at the Chateau Motel, but they're also bringing a civil suit, meaning they want money. And when Joe gets into mediation with the Chateau Motel's girls lawyers, things get very wild and not at all in a good way. According to David's book, it's March 21, 2007. Yeah, the 2003 case has gone on this long. So Joe's at the Bay Point Marriott in Panama City beach, and he's finally trying to settle the civil suit. He's sitting at a table, shorts, baseball cap, playing a handheld video game. And the lawyers come in. He announces to them that they aren't gonna get a dime. I think he said something along the lines of, here's my offer. You can suck my dick.

[Joe Francis]

I was only in a room with seasoned trial lawyers, and what I said is, I'm gonna bury you. And then these guys said, you're an asshole. And then they demanded $70 million, and I told them to suck my dick. Okay. Which I think is an appropriate reaction to that. I have to tell you, that rolled off my tongue.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

The thing is, when the judge heard this, he upped the tension because he ordered Joe back to mediation. Or else David's paper had a particular way of putting it, which made it sound pretty definitive, even if the judge didn't quite mean it that way. The headline was, Judge Tells Joe Francis, Settle or jail. And that right there told everybody else in the nation that this judge is very sympathetic in Other words, lawyers all across the south may have thought, huh, I could bring a case against this guy. That's for sure. But in this moment, even though the judge has said that Joe Francis should do meaningful mediation, you can guess that Joe's next attempt at mediation doesn't go much better than the first. He even tells the Associated Press in his fury that he's stuck in a case of Judges go wild, sort of starting here. Okay, now I'm sitting here with my producer, Lily Smith, and she is going to read a few of the things that Joe's lawyers wrote to a court around this time, because they really capture his state of mind.

[Narrator]

This story is a new version of an old classic, a story of Southern justice gone awry. Nina Simone sang about it. William Faulkner wrote about it. Historians teach about it. A young man imprisoned in a Florida jail cell for what? Not giving millions of dollars to deceitful plaintiffs and dishonorable lawyers in a civil suit to satiate the avaricious appetite of a cavernous. Oh, God, I think that's a cavernous.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

I think that's enough. I don't think we need to hear anymore. That's fine.

[Narrator]

I feel like I love Joe.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

And his situation's unfortunate. That's Kim Kardashian talking to a TMZ reporter. She's just, you know, minding her business, getting into her car in a parking lot, and the TMZ reporter is filming her. That's why I'm wearing a Free Joe shirt. Yes, Kim is wearing a T shirt, which in big block letters says Free Joe. But David Angier doesn't feel bad for him. Ultimately, what landed him in jail was his attitude, the fact that he just could not reel himself in and be respectful. While in jail, he allegedly tries to bribe a guard. He just wants one bottle of water, and he's willing to pay 500 bucks for it. And that's not all. The guards claim to find sleeping pills, prescription medication, 700 bucks in cash. And this is just the beginning. Even though Joe signs the settlement with the Chateau Motel women, he's taken into federal custody and transported to another jail. This one is on the other side of the country. Reno, Nevada.

[Campside Media]

The 35 year old is accused of deducting more than $20 million in bogus business expenses.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

Out in the desert, hot sun burning down on him, he's imprisoned. It's an accusation of tax issues. In 2002 and 2003, he has his own cell. He's in a special housing unit because of his celebrity status. And he gets to Do a bunch of interviews. Here he is on a radio show. It's Bubba the Love Sponge.

[Campside Media]

Joe, you there? I'm here, Joe. How are you, buddy?

[Joe Francis]

Good, man.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

Now, how long.

[Joe Francis]

How long is subject to monitoring and reporting. That'll interrupt us every once in a while.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

That's all right.

[Campside Media]

That makes it kind of like legitimize us. Joe, how long have you been in this particular jail?

[Joe Francis]

Well, I've been in jail for eight months now and I haven't been convicted of a single crime.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

He sounds pretty outraged.

[Joe Francis]

No one Bubba gets held without bail in this country. Lindsay Lohan gets charged with cocaine twice, walks in and out of the friggin facility in a day. You know, Bill Spector, O.J. simpson.

[Campside Media]

Joe, you got so much money and you got so much going for you, but you're always getting into all kinds of problems.

[Joe Francis]

Well, but it kind of seems that way, but not really. It's all from this town. Like every problem I've ever had, other than the tax issue, every single problem has come out of one incident. In 2003, what these guys did in Panama City. Come on, man. You know, Bay County, Florida is a scary place.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

Bubba, come on, this is a pretty welcoming audience. Bubba the Love Sponge. And they feel bad for Joe.

[Campside Media]

Joe, like what does some of the shit that they, that these assholes did to you.

[Joe Francis]

No, I'm telling you, they belly chained me, handcuffed and shackled me naked in the shower, okay? I'm in civil contempt of court, okay? They house me in a murder wing in a solitary cell. They put a street lamp over me 24 hours a day. They won't give me toilet paper, they wouldn't give me prescription medications, they would deny me food. I mean, he was constant, constant torturing me.

[Campside Media]

Now this is something I don't know.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

If you want to touch on or.

[Campside Media]

Not, but you know, I remember the story about you getting held on a bed with a dildo around your ass and all these, all these things. What's your take on that?

[Joe Francis]

Well, my take, I thought I was gonna die. I mean, that night I really thought I was going to die. I mean, look, I'm not a homophobic guy, so it didn't bother me, but you could clearly see there was a gun on my. This call is subject to monitoring and recording.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

What Riley's robbery has to do with homophobia is a bit unclear, but it is clear that Joe feels that he is being maligned and many news organizations are willing to hear him out.

[Joe Francis]

I sit in a cell every night.

[Campside Media]

I wake up And I scream.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

I'm like, I haven't.

[Campside Media]

I haven't done anything. I mean, these people are just getting off on destroying my life.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

Eventually, Joe comes to terms in part of the Chateau Motel case with the underage girls. He pleads no contest to one count of child abuse and two misdemeanor counts of prostitution. He also pleads no contest for violating jail rules with the sleeping pills and the cash. This is Joe on the steps of the Panama City Courthouse.

[Campside Media]

I am 100% innocent of anything that.

[Joe Francis]

I just pled to.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

But by the time Joe gets out, spring 2008, Riley is only a few years into his sentence, and he's having a very different time in jail. So what did you say when people asked you, what's your crime?

[Campside Media]

Yeah, no one's just going to ask you that. The main reason they ask that question is because they want to make sure you're not a child molester or you're not a rat. So, yeah, your folks, the folks you run with, they're going to want to know. You give them your paperwork, they see it. Now, granted, my paperwork was on the COVID of LA Times. There were guys there with life sentences, 40 year sentences. So, you know, there's very few Boy Scouts just walking around and daily violence exists.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

So what are you thinking when you hear that Joe is in jail trying to get a water bottle?

[Campside Media]

It's comical. I mean, yeah, he's fish out of water and he realizes that the life he had, even with him just being in a city jail that he was in initially, that. That probably made his skin crawl. Yeah, I know the feeling, Joe, but just, you know, just adapt, buddy. You expect him to be running up the walls, trying to. Trying to control the narrative initially, trying to hold on to folks that he's associated with. You know, I'm innocent. I tell you I'm innocent. So I understand. At that point, it's sink or swim. I guess the. The biggest thing is you, you don't want to lose yourself in there. But how do I maintain my individuality in a place where everything is uniformed and rules are set? Long way before I ever came in here. Rules are set. How do I keep my individuality? How do I keep my humanity and not just turn into some ogre? That's a balancing act. What you're doing inside is what you're going to be doing when you come out. There are dudes that hit the yard and they're just slanging dope and the gambling, the this, the that. Okay, well, you're conditioned. You've conditioned yourself. He's such a bad guy. I did a good thing. I never thought in that way. I still don't. You know, he was my victim. I was the perpetrator.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

Riley, the guy who kidnapped and extorted Joe. He served nine years in prison compared to Joe's total of 11 months. But after all this, Joe still can't stay out of trouble. How much punishment does he really deserve? We'll get to that question next time on Infamous.

[Campside Media]

I don't understand it. I mean, Elliot Spitzer gets to have sex with her for four grand and I gotta pay 10 million because we shot some naked pictures?

[Narrator]

If a girl's a slut, I mean.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

She should be abused.

[Campside Media]

Girls Gone Wild has always been about free expression, which is a right guaranteed.

[Joe Francis]

By the US Constitution.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

I don't think anybody knows that he has a warrant out. I really don't.