The Dark Knight of Brentwood w/ Jenny Slate, Gabe Liedman, & Max Silvestri

Summary

Scam Goddess: "The Dark Knight of Brentwood" w/ Jenny Slate, Gabe Liedman, & Max Silvestri

Release Date: November 4, 2025
Host: Laci Mosley
Guests: Jenny Slate, Gabe Liedman, Max Silvestri

Episode Overview

In this episode of Scam Goddess, host Laci Mosley is joined by comedians Jenny Slate, Gabe Liedman, and Max Silvestri. Together, they delve into outrageous personal scam stories, swap comedic life mishaps abroad, and break down the lurid tale of Steve Farzum, a notorious serial cop-impersonator and all-around conman dubbed "The Dark Knight of Brentwood." The show balances hilarious anecdotes about travel fails, scamming, and groupchat energy with a play-by-play of Farzum's escalating pseudo-heroics—and their often dangerous consequences.

---

Opening Banter: Global Travels & Group Chat Vibes

[02:00–13:00]

• Laci introduces herself from Ireland, discusses the kindness of the Irish, and shares how it lulls her into "a false sense of security" as a Black queer woman traveling alone.

  • Memorable quote:
    "Irish people are the nicest white people that I've ever met in my life. And they have lulled me into a false sense of security. I forgot I was black." – Laci Mosley [01:40]

• Jenny, Gabe, and Max are introduced with much fanfare, and Jenny revels in the exuberant introduction.

  • Notable moment:
    Jenny: "Now every other intro I get is just going to sound like a total queef compared to what that was." [04:25]

• The group jokes about driving in Ireland and shared ineptitude with travel logistics, specifically the perils of being a "type B traveler."

• Laci's recent European misadventures, including a TikTok-fueled trip to Berlin’s infamous KitKat Club, encountering "naked lady coat check," club culture shocks, and missing three consecutive flights due to a cybersecurity breach, poor planning, and missed connections.

  • Memorable moment:
    Laci: "I missed three flights...My dumbass type B traveling ass was like, well, I don't need to check in on Thursday for a Saturday flight." [11:34]
    Max: "Ryanair...the spirit of Europe." [13:08]

---

Scamming for Survival: Fake Fainting & Everyday Capers

[13:00–21:00]

• Laci recounts her absolute desperation in a German airport, leading to her fake fainting to get help navigating customs. Fellow guests validate the move as a form of "emotional performance art":
  • Jenny: "Isn't that how you felt emotionally?...Almost performance art." [19:30]
  • Key insight: Sometimes you have to "scam" to survive the bureaucracy of travel—everyone has those moments where logic and decorum break down.

---

Scam Confessions: Personal Histories with Fraud

[21:00–32:00]

Max Silvestri's Story

• Max and his wife have both been scammed:
  • His wife fell for a "fake Amazon Kindle support" tech support scam, installing malware after googling a suspicious number ("Amazon with a zero, not a O" [23:09]).
  • Max himself once responded to a Craigslist ad from a scammer posing as a Dutch artist roommate, nearly wiring money before recognizing the ruse.
    • Laci: "Your scam was different. That lady was basically being like, I'm safe. I'm blonde, white, long hair."' [24:57]

Gabe Liedman's Story

• Gabe claims he's such an easy mark people don’t usually need to scam him: he's just an "open softy book" who spent the Philadelphia '80s getting mugged and losing things.
• Gabe: "I spent like the first 18 years of my life just being mugged like weekly." [27:04]
• A family friend lost fortunes to "Nigerian prince" scams, requiring relatives to repeatedly change his email passwords.

Jenny Slate's Story

• Shares a "small family scam": As a kid, her mom had her fake vomiting during a police stop to help her dad avoid a ticket.
  • Jenny: "My mom took a handful of snow and wiped it on my face, pretending she was wiping barf off..." [33:08]
  • Laci: "I think it was humiliation. I think she was maybe doing it for the plot." [33:14]
• Jenny also reveals a relative lost money to Bernie Madoff:
  Jenny: "I have a relative who is now dead who was formerly, like, traditionally Madoffed by Madoff. He was Madoffed." [29:56]

---

Main Scam Breakdown: The Dark Knight of Brentwood (Steve Farzum)

[35:46–68:00]

Early Obsessions & Criminal Escalation

[35:50–43:30]

• Steve Farzum, a Brentwood-raised hotel nepo baby, routinely impersonated police, feds, and even firefighters.
  • Max: "At the end of the day, I love having a gun and telling people what to do." [37:55]
• Farzum’s over-the-top attempts to belong:
  • Drives a 1996 Crown Vic with fake law enforcement plates, carries badges, directs traffic, even does a citizen's arrest on his 21st birthday.
  • Group consensus: Farzum is "annoying," "narc-y," and fulfills purely bossy impulses.

Serial Impersonation: Cop, Paramedic, Firefighter

[44:00–61:00]

• Steve continues escalating: failing police academy, pretending to be an EMT, taking every “tactical” or weapons course he can find (NRA, batons, Krav Maga).
• Repeatedly fails at legitimate entry, so makes fake companies and buys cop cars outfitted with gear to up his game.
• Even scams onto The Tyra Banks Show as a faux expert, dispensing survival tips ("You need sugar in your kit," [55:07]).
  • Jenny: "His face while she was introducing him was like, I can't believe that this actually worked, that I'm on this show." [55:51]

Peak Chaos and Consequence

[61:00–69:30]

• Steve involves himself (and others) in "citizen’s arrests," trains in bomb response, and even stars in a porn while wearing police uniforms (Dog Fart Network).
  • Laci: "Chris wore an LAPD uniform and watched as several men had sex with his wife on the roof of a car." [60:29]
• Eventually, multiple law enforcement agencies raid his home, finding firearms, fake badges, emergency radios, and a police cruiser.
  • Laci: "43 forged law enforcement badges and a fully marked California Highway Patrol cruiser." [63:20]
  • Serious discussion about the real dangers of fake cops, especially for women—advice to seek well-lit, public places if pulled over.

Final Arrests & Diagnosis

• Even after jail time and probation, Steve is busted again for impersonating first responders, fraud, and shining lasers at helicopters.
• His defense cites a “hero complex addiction”—the group mocks this as a diagnosis aligned with “affluenza”.
  • Jenny: "How are you addicted to your complex too? Isn't a complex enough?" [66:15]
• Farzum receives further jail time but, after release, continues involvement in his family's lucrative hotel business.

---

Notable Quotes & Comedy Highlights

• Jenny Slate on Laci’s Intro: "Now every other intro I get is just going to sound like a total queef compared to what that was." [04:25]
• Max Silvestri on Craigslist Scam: "My name is Fraudiana." [23:51]
• Laci on Real-World Advice: "If you get pulled over and it's dark and there’s no cameras, take your ass to a gas station, put your hazards on so they know you’re not running from them." [64:14]
• Gabe Liedman on Childhood: "I spent like the first 18 years of my life just being mugged like weekly." [27:05]
• Jenny on "Hero Complex Addiction": "How are you addicted to your complex too? Isn't it complex enough?" [66:15]
• Max on Farzum’s Trainings: "Trying out for a hockey team when you can’t skate. Just biffing it over and over." [52:37]

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Key Insights

• Pathology of the Perpetual Pretender: Steve Farzum exemplifies a compulsive need for authority and heroism, enabled by privilege and systemic gaps—ultimately endangering the public.
• Group Chat as Emotional Support: The episode demonstrates how we all need a "group chat" to validate crazy life moments and shared trauma.
• Scam Spectrum: Scamming runs the gamut from fake fainting to avoid travel delays, tech support phishing, to more nefarious impersonation with real public safety impacts.

---

Important Timestamps

• [01:40] Laci on Irish hospitality and false sense of security
• [04:25] Jenny on best-ever podcast intro
• [11:34] Laci, Berlin misadventure & the KitKat Club story
• [18:30] Laci's fake fainting "scam"
• [21:06] Start of personal scam stories
• [29:56] Jenny Slate: Family member scammed by Bernie Madoff
• [33:14] Jenny fakes vomiting for family police scam
• [35:50] Historic Hoodwink: Steve Farzum’s saga begins
• [44:00] Farzum’s cop impersonations escalate
• [52:00] Farzum’s endless first responder course-taking and failures
• [63:30] The big raid: 43 badges, police car, arsenal found
• [64:14] Laci’s safety advice for police stops

---

Conclusion

Laci and her guests highlight the universality of scams—whether for survival, by blunder, or through con artistry like Farzum’s. The comedic tone underscores real safety lessons, while wrapping the absurd saga of one man’s desperate quest for respect and adventure in layers of humor, empathy, and side-eye judgment.

Stay schemin’!

Transcript

[Gabe Wiedman]

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[Laci Mosley]

Don't you hate when you have something important coming up or you just need to look good but your hair is not cooperating and you don't have a lot of time? That's why I love Batiste. They're the number one dry shampoo brand in the US and the world. And I never thought that dry shampoo was for my hair texture, but when I tell you if it gets a little oily and I put in some Batiste, my hair looks full and fluffy again, and I can scam my way into not having to do my hair that day. With Batiste, you can instantly refresh your hair and it absorbs all that oil and that grease. Okay? So your hair feels more clean and it has added volume and texture. It's great on your hair and easy on your wallet. Buy Batiste dry shampoo online or in store at your nearest retailer. Scams C. Robbery and fraud. Scam. Robbery and fraud. What's poppin, Congregation? It's your girl. Lacy Mosley, AKA Scam God, is back with another installment of the podcast, Scam Goddess. It's all about robbery, fraud, and those who practice it. Sometimes we love them, sometimes we hate them. Okay, we're gonna see along the way. And y' all already know I'm very. What? Yes. Excited, thrilled, elated, above the moon. And also, I'm in Ireland. But the first thing I want to say is that Irish people are the nicest white people that I've ever met in my life. And they have lulled me into a false sense of security. I forgot I was black. They were so nice to me that I forgot I was a black queer woman in the world. But y' all know I'm excited, right? I'm thrilled. I'm elated. My guests today are three multi talented comedians who host the podcast I need you guys, the show about their friendship over two decades. This is their group chat made public, where they catch up, spill their guts, and they welcome new and old friends to every single episode. You may have seen the incredibly talented gal in the group on Parks and Rec as Mona Lisa Saperstein. Yeah, yeah, okay, okay, Jenny. I got that one right. Because Jenny, you write to like Jenny. Please know I know your lore. Like I clock your tea. I know your tea, sweetie. Or you might have heard her in shows like Big Mouth. That's what I'm talking about. Clock the Great north. And so, so, so, so much more. Jenny Slay is hilarious and beautiful and honestly, like, God really spilled and I think he was like, oops, I guess we'll just let this one go. But he gave her too much talent and beauty and it was like, nobody should really have this much, like, but she does because.

[Jenny Slate]

And what do I do? What do I do?

[Laci Mosley]

Shout out to God. And our next guest is known for killing it. Not just in entertainment, but, like the TV series Killing it as an producer. And his quarter hour standup special is out now on Netflix. So you can see quarter hour on Netflix, period. And last, but our third guest is known for shows like, like pin 15, which I fucking love. Yes. I didn't realize that. Peanut Q Force. Never have I ever. Brooklyn Nine nine.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Yes, gang.

[Laci Mosley]

Love these shows and so much more. Congregation, wherever you are right now, make some noise. Get up out of your seat. If you in your car, pull over. I don't know. Stand up. Why you got your foot on the gas? Okay. For the three, four funniest people. Jenny Slate, Max Silvestri, and Gabe Leadman. Yeah.

[Max Silvestri]

What an intro.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Wow.

[Max Silvestri]

Thank you.

[Jenny Slate]

Really good intro. Jesus, for real.

[Max Silvestri]

Let's take 10.

[Gabe Wiedman]

No, we still have a. Let's go for a walk and get as.

[Jenny Slate]

Yeah, like stand up comedians that have been introduced many times. I don't think any of us have ever gotten a shout out to God themselves.

[Laci Mosley]

Like.

[Jenny Slate]

That. Now every other intro I get is just going to sound like a total queef compared to what that was like. That made me feel so good and I really needed it today. I needed it. That was great. Thank you.

[Laci Mosley]

I love y', all, for real. I love your work so much. Like, I'm not even joking. Like, I really love your work so much. I'm such a comedy nerd. And so I was so thrilled to have you guys. Here I am in Ireland working my black ass off and I was like, oh, no. I got. I got my. I got my call time. And they were like, yeah, 5am we picking your ass up because I don't drive here. I'm a terrible driver.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Yeah.

[Laci Mosley]

You do not want to see me on the road.

[Max Silvestri]

Are the roads backwards there?

[Jenny Slate]

Is Ireland upside down?

[Max Silvestri]

Yeah, that's tough.

[Gabe Wiedman]

That's crazy. I've never even tried it.

[Laci Mosley]

We have our drivers. They don't let me try it. They're like, ma', am, we Know you gonna kill everybody, so it's easier after a few drinks.

[Max Silvestri]

I've given it a shot. You can. You can do it.

[Laci Mosley]

So then I was like, okay, bet. Cool. They sent me a text and this is what they do. Like, they send you a text and they're like, hey, we're picking you up at 5am And I was like, okay. Yeah. And I knew I was going to be with y', all, so I was like, I got to meet my hero.

[Max Silvestri]

Have you already taken the melatonin? Are you like.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Yeah.

[Laci Mosley]

Yeah.

[Jenny Slate]

Are you going to go down during? Just, Just.

[Laci Mosley]

No, I'm not going to go down.

[Max Silvestri]

I would try to time it perfectly.

[Jenny Slate]

First of all, when I take melatonin, there is something in my body that maybe like. There's just something deep in me, like self sabotage. It's like she just won't sleep. We're just not gonna let her. But the melatonin, if I take it at the right time, it I. I swear to God, it kicks in at like 11am the next day. It never. It doesn't work. Yeah.

[Laci Mosley]

And the other thing, drowsy. That's the worst place to be is like, you're awake but you a little bit asleep.

[Jenny Slate]

It's the worst.

[Gabe Wiedman]

It's dangerous.

[Jenny Slate]

I hate it. Yeah. Yeah. And also, as these guys know, I'm such a bad driver that I don't ever drive when I'm at work because I'm bad. And I think that maybe I'll crash and then the whole thing will get ruined. So I respect your decision and their decision to pick you up.

[Laci Mosley]

Twin, where have you been? Like, I am the exact.

[Jenny Slate]

I shouldn't drive. Yeah.

[Laci Mosley]

No. And also, I'm a magnet for chaos. I used to do it for the plot. I thought I was doing it for the plot. I really thought that's what was going on. My mother, she's a witch. She's very smart and it has spoken so much life into me. But sometimes things that I was like, are you cursing me? This is a spell. She told me that when I went to college. I went to college on scholarship. I'm saying that again for you. You know who you are on Twitter. My mom was like, you're gonna have a lot of friends who can party and bullshit and do all this stuff and then still make straight A's. You are not that person. You have to study, you have to go home. And then she also told me everything that is bad will happen to you.

[Jenny Slate]

Uh oh.

[Laci Mosley]

Which is more important?

[Max Silvestri]

What a beautiful inspirational quote. Yeah.

[Jenny Slate]

Jesus.

[Laci Mosley]

Yeah.

[Gabe Wiedman]

That's a big one, actually.

[Max Silvestri]

Such a long list.

[Jenny Slate]

They should put that on one of those driftwood signs that they sell.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Yeah.

[Jenny Slate]

At home Goods.

[Gabe Wiedman]

The new live laugh love.

[Max Silvestri]

Yeah, yeah, it's one o' clock somewhere.

[Gabe Wiedman]

That can happen.

[Jenny Slate]

Will happen to you.

[Laci Mosley]

She was like, if you feel unsafe, like, get out of that situation because the bad thing will happen to you. And I was like, okay, so. So I told you the Irish people, super nice, super wonderful, love me into a false sense of security. I decided to take my dumbass to Berlin because I heard about KitKat clubs on TikTok.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Wait, what's a Kit Kat club?

[Jenny Slate]

Yeah, what's a Kit Kat club?

[Laci Mosley]

Oh, I'm about to tell you.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Okay, okay.

[Laci Mosley]

I learned about this on TikTok. And there was a lot of videos that were like, oh, I don't know if I'm gonna be accepted into this Kit Kat club. They wore different outfits. They say they tell you to wear all black and to not wear any labels. No designer. Don't be super American. Know a little bit of German and kind of just like, it's a vibe check to get into the club. And for some reason, I took that as a challenge. I was like, oh, a vibe check. I think I could pass a vibe check. So I had a few days off of work, so I went and I'm in Germany. I got to this club, I was influenced from TikTok, got to this club and they let me in by passed. But then immediately when I get in, there was this naked lady and she was very naked, and she was like, hey, can I have your phone and your coat? And I was like, okay, yes, here's my phone and my coat.

[Max Silvestri]

Where are you going to put it?

[Laci Mosley]

And then she was like. And then she was like, also, can I have your shirt? And I was like, oh. And I was like, what? Okay, here's my shirt, but I'm not giving you my. My bra because I don't. I don't want to be titty naked up in here. What's going on? Yeah, it was. They was doing sex to each other in there. It was.

[Jenny Slate]

Did you not expect that? Is that what it is? It's so. Okay. I feel like.

[Laci Mosley]

Was it straight people having sex?

[Max Silvestri]

Yeah.

[Jenny Slate]

What was it?

[Laci Mosley]

It was all.

[Jenny Slate]

What is it?

[Gabe Wiedman]

It was all people.

[Laci Mosley]

All people. And I'm.

[Max Silvestri]

How are they paired off?

[Laci Mosley]

So, like, I. I saw a. A really beautiful young man in the corner. He was smoking a cigarette. And I went up to him because I was like, gay bestie. Oh, my God, I gotta get to safety, gay bestie. Gay bestie. So then I sit next to him. He gives me a cigarette. I don't even smoke, but I was like, I gotta blend in.

[Jenny Slate]

Cool.

[Laci Mosley]

Oh, yeah. I'm trying to be.

[Jenny Slate]

You get it, Max? Yeah.

[Laci Mosley]

He was like, sweetie, I. I think I need to get you out of here. And I thought he was gay bestie. Next thing I know, that man was kissing on me. And I was like, wait, I thought you was gay. And he was like, a lot of people think that, but I'm not. And I was like, okay, cool. And it wasn't weird. I was like, okay. And then I was like, well, I want to dance a little bit. So he took me to the dance floor. He did not let me go.

[Gabe Wiedman]

He was.

[Laci Mosley]

He took me to the dance floor and was like, you can dance for a little bit, but then you have to le because you can't be up in here. And I was like, okay, he's from Romania. He was. Fuck. I was like, well, he was just.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Picking up on your general innocence, I guess.

[Jenny Slate]

What was wearing.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Yeah, good question. Shirt.

[Jenny Slate]

Did he have a shirt?

[Laci Mosley]

No, they took his shirt from him when we let. My God, get his shirt back. To taking everybody's shirt.

[Gabe Wiedman]

That's crazy.

[Laci Mosley]

Like, it's too many shirts going around that are black. You're gonna lose it anyways, Chad. So all of that happened when I was leaving Germany. I missed three flights.

[Jenny Slate]

No, so many.

[Laci Mosley]

The first one, Aer Lingus, was like. They sent me, like, a message on Thursday. I was leaving on Saturday, and the message was like, oh, hey, we have a cybersecurity breach. Like, you need to check in for your flight. My dumbass type B traveling ass was like, well, I don't need to check in on Thursday for a Saturday flight. I'll just wait a little bit. Dumb. So I checked in on the way there.

[Gabe Wiedman]

That's totally normal.

[Jenny Slate]

Yeah, that's what everybody does.

[Laci Mosley]

Yeah, but I guess not in this situation.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Not Europeans, I guess. Crazy.

[Laci Mosley]

I love Irish people, but airline gets y' all played in my face. They were like, oh, okay, well, you can't check in online. Then I got there, and they didn't have anybody at any counters, right? They didn't have a counter. They didn't. So I could not get into the airport, so I had to buy another flight.

[Max Silvestri]

But they haven't even bothered to change their name from Aer Lingus, which I can't believe. We're all just pretending.

[Jenny Slate]

Aer Lingus. And it's making me feel really, like welcoming Like, I'm just like, I'll. I would love to fly with you. I would love to get licked right up front.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Just get licked inside.

[Max Silvestri]

Put your lips together and fly. Yeah.

[Jenny Slate]

Full flight. Take the meal on Aer Lingus.

[Laci Mosley]

I need you guys. And I'm feeling like I'm in your group chat right now. I need you guys real bad. And this is feeling like I'm in your group chat. So thank you.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Oh, my God.

[Laci Mosley]

Missed that flight. Bought another flight. Now I got to get on Ryanair.

[Jenny Slate]

Because I have to work.

[Laci Mosley]

Oh, that spirit is spirit.

[Jenny Slate]

Yeah, but European, right?

[Laci Mosley]

European spirit. And so I have.

[Jenny Slate]

You get like an interesting weird sandwich sometimes on it. Do you ever have that?

[Laci Mosley]

Well, I make that flight either named.

[Max Silvestri]

After, like a guy you dated in your 20s who definitely didn't have a job, like Ryan. Who's Ryan?

[Jenny Slate]

Yeah, Ryan.

[Max Silvestri]

Like yelling at you that you were weird at the party or whatever. Like, Ryan's not.

[Laci Mosley]

Oh, my God, Max, that's exactly what Ryan be doing. That's what Ryan does.

[Jenny Slate]

Yeah, it would either be Ryan. Yeah, Ryan. Oh, God. Ryanair. Anyway, so you. You get on Ryanair. You have to be Ryan.

[Laci Mosley]

I used to always say every Matthew is a scam. And I believe that Matthew also, I think we gotta add Ryan.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Yeah, Ryan is dangerous.

[Laci Mosley]

And Ryan's more dangerous because he's cute. Ryan's are cute. They're very cute.

[Jenny Slate]

There's so many cute Ryans.

[Laci Mosley]

And they be smiling at you and they got braces. They parents got them braces. Ryan always has some braces and then he's smiling and he's cute.

[Gabe Wiedman]

But if he was honest, if he was honest and trustworthy, he'd be Brian.

[Jenny Slate]

Oh, my God, Brian. You're right, Brian. Brian is too good for his own good.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Yeah. Yeah. This is the Greg Craig divide to one of. Craig, don't.

[Jenny Slate]

Craig, you are crazy. Greg, you're my best friend.

[Laci Mosley]

I don't really that way about you.

[Gabe Wiedman]

And a very good therapist named Craig. I don't know why I'm saying this.

[Laci Mosley]

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[Gabe Wiedman]

Howdy, partner. Next time you get chicken at McDonald's, you won't have to choose between the creamy flavors of ranch and the tangy kick of buffalo any longer. This time, enjoy all the flavors you love all at once. Try new creamy and tangy buffalo ranch sauce and participate in McDonald's for a limited time.

[Laci Mosley]

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[Jenny Slate]

Yeah.

[Laci Mosley]

So I was like, can you just please take me to my gate? He started doing the same bullshit because I'm sorry, Max, I'm sorry, Gabe, but men are just unreliable. Yeah, I'm with you all, really. Just don't be doing your jobs. So I was like, fuck, I'm kind of screwed. This is what I thought to do, which is crazy. Jenny, let me know your thoughts.

[Jenny Slate]

I'm ready.

[Laci Mosley]

I need you guys. I need you guys. Please let me know your thoughts. I was like, well, I can't get help, right? I can't get anyone to help me do anything at this point. I was like, well, maybe I can just become a liability, so. Oh, I've never done this in my life and I will never do this again. But I fake fainted.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Wow.

[Max Silvestri]

It's wake up in Ireland.

[Jenny Slate]

Look, it's not like if someone else had fainted at the same time, they would have also not been helped. Like, you didn't take anything from anyone else and you weren't getting any help. And it was the end of a life trial.

[Gabe Wiedman]

A big swing, tribulation. Yeah, it's like a big swing, but you, you took the control, but in this really passive. You literally fell down and had no choice but to come to your assistance. Did they help?

[Laci Mosley]

Two women showed up after I fake fainted. They. And then took me to customs. They waited for me on the other side of customs and they also walked me to my gate and made sure that I got on my plane.

[Jenny Slate]

Yeah.

[Max Silvestri]

Two women are always better than one man.

[Jenny Slate]

That is how I always get. That is exact math. And the other thing is, that's my.

[Max Silvestri]

Google search history also proves that out.

[Jenny Slate]

Yeah. When you, when you need some relief. AKA Exactly.

[Max Silvestri]

Yeah.

[Gabe Wiedman]

When I'm about to faint and you're looking to faint.

[Jenny Slate]

Yeah, when I really want to faint, I definitely look for something with two women and one man. But anyway, I, I, yeah, no, it's like, isn't that how you felt emotionally? Like you just kind of expressed it in, let's say it was like almost performance art. Like, you're just like, you're all making me feel like you want me to fall down on the floor because you're not helping me. So now I'm going to fall down on the floor and change my reality through this action of falling down on the floor. And then you did. I don't have a problem with it at All.

[Max Silvestri]

No, you guys, you have your back.

[Laci Mosley]

Our micro chat.

[Jenny Slate]

It's just honestly not that big of a deal. Yeah, I don't think it's bad.

[Laci Mosley]

Thank you.

[Jenny Slate]

I don't know if you're looking for that validation, but that's my favorite.

[Max Silvestri]

You don't need it from us.

[Laci Mosley]

But, you know, I needed the group chat.

[Max Silvestri]

Often what a group chat is for is just to have you share a horrible thing that you did and then everybody be like, no, no, it's the only thing you could do.

[Laci Mosley]

And everybody's like, no, no, no, it wasn't that crazy.

[Gabe Wiedman]

It was your only choice. It was your only choice.

[Jenny Slate]

That is like, actually a bit of what our podcast is. It's like, what you just. The story that you just brought. Don't you guys feel like that's what we're doing?

[Max Silvestri]

Where somehow the story ends with, like. So, yeah, I, like, in the middle of the night, like, threw 15 pumpkins through my neighbor's window so that they move or whatever, and that the other two are like, yeah, no, of course.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Get out of here.

[Max Silvestri]

That's terrorism, what they're doing.

[Gabe Wiedman]

They had a company through.

[Laci Mosley]

More pumpkin.

[Max Silvestri]

Yeah, yeah. Did I solid at least sell the house now?

[Laci Mosley]

Now I'm going to ask you all and either any of you can start. What is your relationship with scams?

[Max Silvestri]

I have been scammed, okay? And my. My. My wife and I have both been scammed together as a couple, separately. And I kind of forgot about mine. So my. We jokingly. My wife is very bad at computers. And some friends we, like, we call her the cyber minister, kind of as a joke like that. She's the one in charge of the Internet. She's not. She's. She's not great at computers. But one day there was, like, this month where, like, she. Every night she'd read on her.

[Laci Mosley]

She's just a girl. She doesn't have to be good at computers.

[Max Silvestri]

Yeah, she's right. She's regular bad at computers. But her Kindle, she would be reading it and it would just reboot, like, every two pages. And her thing would just be like, yeah, so it just takes longer to read because I have to. And I just was like, you need to fix this. This is making me nuts. I was the one that was like, just Google, like, go to Amazon support. They'll send you a new one. Something's broken. So she's like, all right, I'm actually going to do it today. I'm going to fix my Kindle because you told me it's bad. So I'm in the other room and I hear her go, oh, my God, I was hacked. My Kindle was hacked. And I was like, what? Like that. I didn't. How could you hack a Kindle? I go into, like, the bedroom and.

[Laci Mosley]

She'S hacking a flip phone.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Yeah.

[Max Silvestri]

Like a hacking fridge. Yeah, yeah. Throws our shoes at you or whatever. So I go in and she's like, got the, like, black and white, like, terminal typing window open on her computer. And I was like, what? Why are you hacking? What's going on? And she's like, no, I called. I'm on with Kindle support right now, and they had me install a tool that scans my computer and the Kindle and it's. And if they've. They've proven that there's hacking, I'm like, they're. You're installing a tool. So she had just googled Kindle broken. And a fake website came up that had the, like, the URL, like, Amazon broken problem dot com. But without clicking it, it gave you a little preview and it was like, customer support number is 1-88- Whatever. So she just called this random number off a search result and like, yeah, hey, we're. We're Amazon for sure. We just need to install some stuff.

[Laci Mosley]

They were Amazon with a zero, not a O.

[Max Silvestri]

Literally.

[Jenny Slate]

Oh, my God.

[Max Silvestri]

So I, like, immediately, like, put our router in the, like, you know, sink and turned on the water. Because I was just like, oh, we have to, like, they're in our network.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Full clients.

[Max Silvestri]

Yeah.

[Jenny Slate]

And that is so surprising. Sorry, go ahead.

[Max Silvestri]

No, and then. And then. But I gave her a hard time for it. But I was scammed when I was, like, 24 by a Craigslist scammer who wanted me to wire money to them.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Yeah.

[Max Silvestri]

I was looking for a roommate, and they were like, hello, I'm cute Dutch girl looking to prepay six months of rent and come be an artist. This sounds great. I have too much money. I have a big grant check. And I was like, you seem amazing.

[Laci Mosley]

My name is Fraudiana.

[Max Silvestri]

Literally. I found the email from 2009. Hair. This is just one part of a long, broken English email. But it says hair, blonde, straight, long. Why would you.

[Jenny Slate]

Oh, no.

[Max Silvestri]

Why would you put your whole. Your whole description of your haircut? Yeah, It's.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Because it works.

[Max Silvestri]

It worked, Sadly.

[Laci Mosley]

So I had to pay my white lady.

[Max Silvestri]

Exactly. I'm small and I'm an artist. I'm looking to be a sexual.

[Laci Mosley]

So much money and sex. Okay, yeah, yeah.

[Max Silvestri]

So I fell for that. So I. I'm not immune to falling for scamming.

[Laci Mosley]

And Max, honestly, two things. One, I'mma hold your hand with your wife on. She got. There's a certain type of scam where you get bombarded with a lot of information very quickly, and so then you just start acting because you're in a situation where you're like, okay, well I just need to move quickly and so you don't think about the details. She got bombarded with that type of scam. Your scam was different. And your scam was that this lady was basically being like, I'm safe. I'm blonde, white, long hair.

[Max Silvestri]

Yes.

[Laci Mosley]

Yeah, let me live with you. And this is a living situation. So you're looking for a safe roommate. So she kind of snuck in on some like, I'm a safe person type shit.

[Max Silvestri]

Safety was definitely my priority.

[Laci Mosley]

And also she was doing something that I do innocently, which is like, remember I said I found the nice gay man and I was like, gay bestie. I was innocent in that situation. And he immediately took care of me. And I think, Max, that's what you did.

[Max Silvestri]

Did.

[Laci Mosley]

But in this situation, that lady was trying to rob you. Yeah.

[Max Silvestri]

She basically ended up sending me like a cashier's check for like six months rent, like posted overseas. And she was like, you deposit and give me the difference because I can.

[Laci Mosley]

Also not the check deposit. Damn.

[Max Silvestri]

Yeah, as soon as then I started googling the text from the email and found like, this is a, a total copy pasted scam. And all I ended up losing was I didn't like, it was too late to find a new roommate for that month. So I lost like 1200. Yeah, 1250.

[Laci Mosley]

Not bad. Okay.

[Max Silvestri]

Could have been worse. Could have been worse. She was looking for me to send her like five grand, you know, wire.

[Laci Mosley]

And then she was gonna say, oh, I, I over sent you the money in the chat. That's what she said.

[Max Silvestri]

So what happens is you deposit it. It takes seven days to go through. But you've already wired her the difference. She disappears.

[Laci Mosley]

Yeah, smart.

[Gabe Wiedman]

I gotta get into that.

[Laci Mosley]

Know that one real well. Well, you're. You've survived, Max.

[Max Silvestri]

Smarter for both.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Okay. Yeah. My relationship with scams, like, I think I'm just such an easy victim that people. The bar is so low. Like, I'm the person who like falls asleep with the keys in my front door on the outside. Like, there's no, there's. People don't really have to scam me. I spent like the first 18 years of my life just being mugged like weekly. Like I just am just like a. Like a walking kind of open softy book. And it's just sort of like, I don't think people have to, like, work hard to scam me. So I don't. Nothing. I've never been, like, caught in a trap. Like, Max's. Nothing complicated.

[Max Silvestri]

There's. People will be like, hey, can I have $5? Like, on the.

[Gabe Wiedman]

And I'm like, yeah, here's 10. Yeah, totally. Yeah.

[Jenny Slate]

Yeah.

[Gabe Wiedman]

It was like, growing up, it was like, my bro, I remember, like, my brother got mugged for his bike and like, he fought back and got beat up.

[Laci Mosley]

Family getting mugged so much.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Cause we were like fat white people in downtown philly in the 80s.

[Laci Mosley]

Yeah.

[Gabe Wiedman]

And like. Yeah. And I remember he fought back and, like, got beat up. And my parents were like, just don't fight back. Like, you'll fight. We'll figure out the bike. It's not worth it. So it was just like, I just sort of like, that was like how I learned. It was just like, if someone asked me for something, it's like, yeah, here you go. And you just kind of like, walk away. And then it's like, so no one, really. I've never had to be tricked. Now, I had a friend who's like, dad fell for so many scams.

[Jenny Slate]

I know, I know.

[Gabe Wiedman]

You know this one. He fell for so many basically Nigerian prince scams on email that his family, like, he lost his family's money and they had to like, conspire to keep changing his pass. His email password.

[Max Silvestri]

Oh, my God.

[Gabe Wiedman]

It was like three or four of them in a row, and it was like tens and tens of thousands. So that's someone else's story. Not mine, but interesting.

[Laci Mosley]

I agree with you, Gabe, on the point of it's not worth your life. Yeah, I. I will. If I. If I feel like I'm in a dangerous situation, I'll be like, yeah, you can have the things.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Yeah, goodbye. Like, but I guess that's not a scam. That's just sort of like existing.

[Max Silvestri]

You're, you're, You're. You were a soft target.

[Gabe Wiedman]

I'm just like a soft target and also very forgetful and lazy. So, like. Yeah, like, people, like, literally just forget to lock the door and shit. So I'm just like, if anyone wants anything.

[Laci Mosley]

Oh, you're a type B traveler. Yes, I'm a type B traveler.

[Max Silvestri]

Big.

[Laci Mosley]

Yeah. I'll be losing shit all the time. Yeah, definitely. We're on the same page. And I'm like, you can rob me. Don't Kill me, though. I want my life. I like my life more.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Don't carry your phone in your pocket. I'm like, I don't care. Have it.

[Max Silvestri]

I'm not gonna buy a money belt. Whatever. Yeah, yeah.

[Gabe Wiedman]

I'm just gonna kind of like, stumble through life and be fine.

[Jenny Slate]

Ultimately, Jenny, I participated in a very small, very small family oriented scam. It just was. It was like a trick, really. I don't think it was a scam. Like, does a scam means, like, it's kind of like part of a system that happens over and over again? Or like, could it be kind of like something that was kind of, you know, orchestrated by a group and we just did it like, one time?

[Laci Mosley]

I don't know if frequency comes into play when we talk about scams. I think if you run a scam, even if it's once this time. But I do, like. I do love the reframing, though, of like. Well, we only did it one time, so that doesn't.

[Jenny Slate]

Right. Like, is it racketeering?

[Laci Mosley]

Is it really crime if you do it?

[Max Silvestri]

Bernie Madoff had one bad year.

[Jenny Slate]

Well, here's what I was gonna say. I have a relative who is now dead who was formerly, like, traditionally Madoffed by Madoff. He was Madoffed.

[Max Silvestri]

Oh, wow.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Oh, damn.

[Jenny Slate]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Laci Mosley]

He made up with his money.

[Jenny Slate]

He did happen to me. Yeah, I know. I mean, it's like, whoa, whoa. But, okay, so there was this one time when my dad, who's like a really, really, really bad driver, was driving really bad. So you got it.

[Laci Mosley]

Honest, Jenny.

[Jenny Slate]

What's that?

[Laci Mosley]

Honest? You a bad driver? You a bad driver?

[Jenny Slate]

Yeah. Oh, yeah.

[Laci Mosley]

Bad drivers.

[Jenny Slate]

Yeah. Hereditary. So. So he did something wrong. I forget what he did in driving. And we got pulled over, and it was the wintertime, and I was in the backseat with my sisters. My mom was in the front. And the officer starts to come up to our car, and my mom goes, jenny, get out of the car and pretend to throw up. And I was like, what? And she was like, do it, do it. Get out. And, like, my sisters both start crying, and I was like. And then I got out of the car and there was a snow, and I loudly pretended to vomit. And then my. And my mom got out too and was, like, rubbing my back, and she was, like, whispering in my ear, and she was like, keep going. He can't get another ticket. He can't keep going. Do it. And I like.

[Laci Mosley]

And he.

[Jenny Slate]

Cause he had so many tickets.

[Laci Mosley]

Are you the oldest, Jenny?

[Jenny Slate]

I'm clearly the middle I have every need in the world. I'm the middle. So I'm like, but your mom knew.

[Gabe Wiedman]

You were the actress.

[Jenny Slate]

Oh, of course. Neither one of my sisters would have ever done that, nor would she have ever asked.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Yeah, exactly.

[Jenny Slate]

She's also like, neither one of my other daughters will, like, eat right now. Like, Jenny's the only idiot. Like, let's get her out here. So I'm like. And my dad just, like, looks up at the police officer and is like, she's feeling ill. And the police officer is like, okay. Like, wait, you can't do, like, whatever you did. And my dad's like, obviously, I know that. And then, like.

[Gabe Wiedman]

You can't go a hundred through a red light, turning left.

[Jenny Slate]

Drive through people's houses.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Daughter's nauseous.

[Jenny Slate]

Yeah.

[Laci Mosley]

My middle child is throwing up.

[Jenny Slate]

Yeah. I mean. And again, like, what? You know, anyway, like, I. This story's like, it's not very relatable.

[Gabe Wiedman]

I have to make it 711 and.

[Max Silvestri]

Get her a ginger.

[Laci Mosley]

No, it's beautifully relatable. Like, you. You really rose to the occasion. You were like, oh, we didn't throw up.

[Jenny Slate]

I did it. I got outta the car and I didn't actually throw it, but I just made all the noises and I did my body. How you know it happens when you do it? And then my mom. My mom took a handful of snow and wiped it on my face, pretending that she was wiping barf off my face. This is. My mom has done this kind of thing. She does it, like, many times. She does this where she's like, I'm gonna actually make sure there are no, like, holes in this story. And so she, like, rubs snow on my face and I'm. And then, like, we get in the car, we get. We are laughing.

[Max Silvestri]

She have just rubbed your face. It seems like an extra humiliation kick thing to just be, like, high off it.

[Jenny Slate]

She loved it.

[Laci Mosley]

I think it was humiliation. I think she was maybe doing it for the plot.

[Jenny Slate]

Oh, she just.

[Gabe Wiedman]

She was going, Dr. Zhivago, full production.

[Jenny Slate]

Yeah.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Yeah.

[Jenny Slate]

She's like. She's like, we need wet. We need wet snow, like, to get the barf off or whatever. Then we. We get back in the car.

[Laci Mosley]

She'S.

[Jenny Slate]

Like, get your mouth wet. Get back in the car. So she's. She's like. And I get back in the car and we're all. We were silent for like 10 seconds. And then everyone in the car was like, I can't believe we did that. And it was, like, really exciting. And then, like, for the rest of the car ride. I was like, looking out the back of the car being like, they. They know we were lying. They're gonna, you know, like, they're gonna. To get my dad. But in fact, they did not. And it was like. And none of that ever needed to happen, but I did participate in it.

[Laci Mosley]

Yeah. Honestly, your instincts kicked in very fast. Very smart of you. But honestly, genius robbery.

[Jenny Slate]

Hi, I'm Jenny Slate, and believe it or not, someone is allowing us to have a podcast.

[Gabe Wiedman]

I'm Gabe Wiedman.

[Max Silvestri]

I'm Max Silvestri, and we've been friends for 20 years. And we like to reach out to kind of get advice on how to live our lives.

[Gabe Wiedman]

It's called I need you guys.

[Max Silvestri]

Should I give my baby fresh vegetables?

[Jenny Slate]

Can I drink the water at the hospital?

[Gabe Wiedman]

My landlord plays the trombone and I can't ask him to stop.

[Jenny Slate]

You should make sure that you subscribe so that you never miss an episode.

[Laci Mosley]

I need to go. Here we have the Limu Emu in its natural habitat, helping people customize their car insurance and save hundreds with Liberty Mutual. Fascinating.

[Max Silvestri]

It's accompanied by his natural ally, Doug Limu.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Is that guy with the binoculars watching us?

[Laci Mosley]

Cut the camera.

[Max Silvestri]

They see us. Only pay for what you [e-mail] Liberty Liberty Liberty.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Liberty Savings Ferry Unwritten by Liberty Mutual.

[Max Silvestri]

Insurance Company and affiliates, excludes Massachusetts.

[Laci Mosley]

NetCredit is here to say yes to.

[Gabe Wiedman]

A personal loan or line of credit.

[Max Silvestri]

When other lenders say no.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Apply in minutes and get a decision as soon as the same day. Loans offered by Netcredit or lending partner banks and serviced by Netcredit. Applications subject to review and approval. Learn [e-mail] partners and fraud.

[Laci Mosley]

What a beautiful segue into historic hoodwinks.

[Max Silvestri]

Yes.

[Jenny Slate]

Cool.

[Laci Mosley]

So today we're talking about an ex hotel executive, Steve Farzum. He's been pretending to be a police officer. Oh, gross. A Fed. And other law enforcement personnel since the 1990s. And he got caught again pretending to be a firefighter in the 2025 LA fires.

[Jenny Slate]

No, don't do that.

[Laci Mosley]

So this is Steve.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Oh, my God.

[Laci Mosley]

What?

[Jenny Slate]

Steve, what are you doing?

[Laci Mosley]

He does look like a firefighter. He got firefighter. Okay.

[Gabe Wiedman]

He's got a firefighter haircut.

[Max Silvestri]

His shirt says 911. That's one of the numbers you recall?

[Jenny Slate]

Yeah.

[Laci Mosley]

That's how you know he real. That's how you know it's real.

[Max Silvestri]

You couldn't just put that on a shirt?

[Laci Mosley]

He was like, I'm a cop. I just got 911 on my shirt. That's how y' all know I'm a cop.

[Max Silvestri]

It's like a business card.

[Jenny Slate]

He's verified. What does that mean? At this point? Anything.

[Laci Mosley]

You can just buy it. At this point, it doesn't mean anything.

[Jenny Slate]

I don't have it any. I have Twitter anymore or whatever, so.

[Laci Mosley]

He was a former luxury hotel executive in Santa Monica. He was born in 1978, and he grew up in Brentwood with three brothers and a sister. Honestly, too many brothers. Like, I don't know if you can tell that many brothers. Yeah, okay, you need more sisters. But he had one, so. His father, C. Rose, was an immigrant from Iran who purchased seedy Santa Monica motels before property values in the area skyrocketed. So. So Steve went to Palisades High School, where the movie Carrie was filmed, and it burned down in real life in the LA fires this year. In his youth, he had run ins with the law and was named a suspect in a string of burglaries, extortion attempts, and acts of vandalism. But seemed. He seemed committed to being a cop. And I'm like, well, that makes this.

[Jenny Slate]

Yeah, you're already in there.

[Max Silvestri]

Yeah.

[Laci Mosley]

American police are criminals.

[Max Silvestri]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm committed.

[Laci Mosley]

It's like spy versus spy. The gang, robbing the gang. Like, none of this is surprising.

[Max Silvestri]

At the end of the day, I love having a gun and telling people what to do. So you know what? Maybe the other police don't agree, but it's who I am. It's in my blood.

[Laci Mosley]

Yeah. The law. It's what I make it. It's how I feel. The law.

[Max Silvestri]

It's illegal to deny my truth, actually. And I have a gun saying it's okay.

[Laci Mosley]

Right. Sorry. Not how it works. No, no, no. So after high school, he moved to Santa Barbara and joined the city police cadet program. But he didn't graduate. Was Eddie Murphy in one of those movies?

[Gabe Wiedman]

He's Beverly Hills Cop. Yeah. Santa Barbara Cop.

[Max Silvestri]

Yeah.

[Laci Mosley]

But he didn't graduate.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Right. Because it's just very academically rigorous. Yeah.

[Max Silvestri]

It was more of a police academy situation where he was making the noises of the gun.

[Jenny Slate]

So many flashcards.

[Gabe Wiedman]

He studied really hard. It's just the tests were difficult.

[Max Silvestri]

Yeah.

[Laci Mosley]

I don't know. So why didn't he make it? Are you guys wondering.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Yeah.

[Laci Mosley]

Why he didn't make it through school? Yes, please. We don't know.

[Jenny Slate]

Okay, okay, okay.

[Laci Mosley]

All right.

[Jenny Slate]

I wasn't expecting that. That was. Yeah.

[Laci Mosley]

Okay, well, we know what he did next. Yeah.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Okay.

[Laci Mosley]

I really led y' all up to Thinking I was going, oh, no.

[Max Silvestri]

We don't know no shade. But the bar for graduating police academy is a tripwire. It is low to the ground.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Yeah, well, Santa Barbara is a really rough community, so they really need the best on the streets.

[Laci Mosley]

Yep.

[Jenny Slate]

Get.

[Laci Mosley]

Get serious C students in America. And listen, there's nothing wrong with being a C student. I don't think that every type of education works for everybody. I don't think that grades are indic of how you.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Yeah.

[Laci Mosley]

How much intelligence you have as a human being. I don't think that. So I'm not saying that, but I am also saying, like, come on now, like, you can get through this. Okay.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Yep.

[Laci Mosley]

So In March of 1998, Steve contacted Santa Barbara police about a drunk driver and tailed the suspect in his own car. So now he's doing.

[Gabe Wiedman]

No, don't do that stolen valor shift.

[Max Silvestri]

Yeah.

[Laci Mosley]

But also, like, keeping the watch, Indoctrinated into this type of activity.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Yeah.

[Laci Mosley]

This is a scam that has happened and been perpetuated through media and movies. How many movies have y' all seen where the cop is like, the. The police chief is like, you're off this case, you're too close to it. And then they chasing the person down on their own.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Yeah, yeah.

[Max Silvestri]

They bend the rules because their own principles are more important.

[Laci Mosley]

It's like, they're a good guy.

[Max Silvestri]

Yeah.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Right.

[Laci Mosley]

Yeah. No, we should not. If. If your boss says, sit your ass down, you should go sit your ass down.

[Max Silvestri]

What a gift to be given a break.

[Laci Mosley]

They say, give you.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Yeah, I don't get breaks at work.

[Jenny Slate]

Yeah.

[Max Silvestri]

Oh, my God.

[Laci Mosley]

But they're like, for justice, I gotta go for justice and murder a lot of people and up a lot of property for justice.

[Max Silvestri]

I'm not taking a three month vacation. You can't make me. What?

[Laci Mosley]

So after the driver caused the collision, Steve detained him until the cops showed up. He won public praise for his efforts, including letters of commendation from the local police. In 1999, a firefighter told the Santa Barbara police that a young guy had shown up at an emergency scene and directed traffic like it was his job. That turned out to be Steve.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Ew.

[Jenny Slate]

Hey.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Bad instincts. I hate this guy.

[Jenny Slate]

What are you doing? So bossy.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Dork. Narc.

[Jenny Slate]

Get out of my business. Yeah, bossy narc.

[Max Silvestri]

This is why you can't get costumes with good badges at the Halloween store. Because the guys like this, they make the belt different. Yeah.

[Laci Mosley]

He wanted to be a hero so bad. He was like, I'm gonna be a hero. Like, okay, Hercules. Hercules, Goddamn. He Was spotted pretending to be a public safety officer several other times, including on his 21st birthday. It's your birthday, and that's what you're.

[Jenny Slate]

Doing on your birthday? What? That's what you're doing for your birthday?

[Gabe Wiedman]

Just turning 21. This makes it so much worse. Ew.

[Max Silvestri]

Doogie Howser, ass scamster. Just absolutely precocious.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Dookie Hauser, more like it.

[Jenny Slate]

He's like, I can't. This is a podcast. Directing traffic. I'm directing traffic.

[Laci Mosley]

Okay, But I need you guys again.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Yeah.

[Laci Mosley]

Do we think, like, he was persevering because he couldn't become a cop, and so instead of quitting on becoming a cop, he just decided he was gonna do it on his own?

[Gabe Wiedman]

No. I think he's becoming the most dangerous criminal of all the annoying.

[Jenny Slate]

It's creepy. It's a pathology. It's annoying. And it's not. Not okay.

[Max Silvestri]

I always, like. Like, this is not me libeling or whatever, but I. I do always think there's like a core trauma at the heart of these things. Like that he was like 5 years old and walked into his parents bedroom while they're having sex, and his dad was like, I don't love my son. I love cops or whatever. There's some. Something burned into him where it's like, he'll never outrun this thing. Like, well, daddies love cops and I'm a cop, so daddy loves me or whatever for, you know, Woof.

[Laci Mosley]

Right. Okay.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Is this on his. It was that incident on his Wikipedia. Or should we add it?

[Laci Mosley]

Honestly, it might be. We're getting there. But chat. Y'. All. Y' all have informed me, so. Okay, We. We. We won't say that he might be trying to be a good guy because we really don't know.

[Gabe Wiedman]

So.

[Jenny Slate]

All right.

[Laci Mosley]

He drove a 1996 Crown Vic, which we know is a cop car.

[Max Silvestri]

Yep.

[Laci Mosley]

It had tax exempt plates.

[Gabe Wiedman]

No.

[Laci Mosley]

And he got it by telling the DMV that he was a probation officer, which he was not. The car had red flashing lights, but no police decals. And he would pull people over saying that he worked for the state of California Metro Private Enforcement, a company that was registered in his name. He carried a badge and handcuffs.

[Max Silvestri]

That's illegal.

[Gabe Wiedman]

No. How many people let this man go further, like the dmv? That's crazy. To not check that. Whoever let him, like, start this company like that means they gave him, like, a tax ID number. They gave him, like, paperwork. That's crazy.

[Max Silvestri]

This is like the Amazon scam. My wife, like his, like, company Was called police with a zero or whatever.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Right.

[Max Silvestri]

He's like, yeah. So basically I work for police.

[Gabe Wiedman]

I'm a police officer.

[Max Silvestri]

Look at it written down quickly. It's obviously spelled the same.

[Laci Mosley]

Insane. Real fast, paper back. Now, Gabe, we cannot blame the DMV for not catching this. You know that the DMV is here to create everybody's worst day in their life.

[Gabe Wiedman]

That's true, that's true. They're busy.

[Laci Mosley]

They don't work hard.

[Jenny Slate]

They have a big job doing that. Yeah.

[Max Silvestri]

They let Jenny and her dad have a license. They don't care. They're not obviously locked in.

[Jenny Slate]

They're letting us have it.

[Laci Mosley]

They let me.

[Gabe Wiedman]

It's just crazy that, I mean, so I can just walk down the street to the GMV down the block and say, like, I am. I work for the un and that means I can park anywhere and they're not going to check is.

[Max Silvestri]

But I just had. I was just throwing up a bunch. That's why I have snow all over my face. No, just let me park wherever.

[Laci Mosley]

My producer just, just said he was trying to be Batman. So bad. Yeah, yeah. So bad. He was trying to be Batman.

[Max Silvestri]

Well, Batman at least had the good sense to have generational wealth to start it. You know, like true society changing wealth. You know, it's not just like a guy who, you know, can incorporate something for $400.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Exactly.

[Jenny Slate]

And he like invented his own car.

[Laci Mosley]

The Batmobile. Yes.

[Gabe Wiedman]

So he was an artist.

[Laci Mosley]

Yeah, yeah, you're right, you're right, you're right, Jenny, you're right. He did invent the Batmobile. So we gonna, we're gonna give him that.

[Jenny Slate]

He did. He's like doing a lot of that.

[Max Silvestri]

Yeah, he had his own scissors, making little bat shaped throwing stars. Like that's, that's actually innovation.

[Laci Mosley]

Yeah. And also we need to talk about the fact that the Batman, he wasn't really like shooting people or doing American violence like that. Like, he really put in the time and the work to beat everybody.

[Gabe Wiedman]

He beat everyone up and then kind of hanged them by their feet maybe.

[Max Silvestri]

Yeah. He put them in tiles.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Yeah.

[Max Silvestri]

And then.

[Laci Mosley]

And also he started beating them up before he interrogated them. He'd be like, tell me what you know. But he'll also be like, yeah, tell.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Me what you know.

[Laci Mosley]

It's like, like beat him up after. He just started beating him up immediately. You know, that takes a lot of energy and also a lot of stamina and criticism.

[Jenny Slate]

Direct traffic, like, he didn't direct traffic. That is. That's so annoying. Yeah, that Is so annoying.

[Laci Mosley]

Yeah, that was kind of low brow. I don't know why this man did that. But at this point, this man starts to get recognized. So the cops issue a warrant for Steve's arrest. In 1999, he pled guilty to misdemeanors and was sentenced to three years of probation and community service. I don't think that's long enough. What are we talking about?

[Max Silvestri]

He's also a probation officer. He can let himself off the hook.

[Gabe Wiedman]

That's right.

[Max Silvestri]

Yeah.

[Jenny Slate]

And he was already doing community service by directing traffic.

[Max Silvestri]

Yeah. He's like, I just gave myself a weekend pass in Palm Springs.

[Laci Mosley]

He violated that probation a few months later when he told the woman that he was a copy up investigating a crime that her boyfriend had committed, when the truth was that he had a personal beef with the boyfriend. He probably wanted to date her instead. Now why?

[Gabe Wiedman]

The way to a woman's heart is to arrest her and.

[Laci Mosley]

Yep, arrest her boyfriend.

[Gabe Wiedman]

To arrest her boyfriend in Beauty and the Beast. Right.

[Laci Mosley]

Gotta get him out of the picture.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Right?

[Laci Mosley]

Yeah.

[Max Silvestri]

Aiming a gun at her from her front lawn at 2 in the morning is always the way to charm him.

[Laci Mosley]

Listen, I do not agree with this man's methods, but I do understand that he is choosing the most aggressive way to get through life. Like, we can give him that airport. And he was like, oh, I like this lady. I'm gonna arrest her boyfriend. Yeah, that makes sense.

[Max Silvestri]

Now who are you gonna dance? That guy's gone. Who's next?

[Laci Mosley]

That's terrible. That's fucking terrible. Like, are you weird? Yeah, you're weird as fuck. That is insane. Why would you do that?

[Gabe Wiedman]

And what'd you do on your 21st birthday? Oh, you directed traffic.

[Laci Mosley]

Traffic.

[Jenny Slate]

It was cr.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Got it.

[Jenny Slate]

I was like, you go now.

[Laci Mosley]

You go.

[Jenny Slate]

Yeah, now you stop.

[Gabe Wiedman]

We got w. That's what he did.

[Max Silvestri]

I'm smarter than the lights.

[Laci Mosley]

Literally better at just the traffic cone. I am the traffic cone. Like the. He was like, I'm. I'm orange and I'm white. I'm the traffic cone. Like, what are you doing?

[Gabe Wiedman]

Like, it's your birthday.

[Jenny Slate]

Chill.

[Laci Mosley]

Be serious.

[Max Silvestri]

One of the biggest. One of your last big birthdays for a while. God damn it.

[Laci Mosley]

Like, that's when you turn the age where you can legally drink. You don't want to go to the bar and have yourself a little sip of beer or hang out with your friends in traffic.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Carding. Everyone in the bar. Fucking weirdo. Okay.

[Jenny Slate]

Carding.

[Laci Mosley]

Steve was charged again and sentenced to a small amount of jail time, which made it even more unlikely that he would ever be able to be a real cop. I don't like that it says unlikely. Unlikely, Very likely that you're not a cop at this point.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Right.

[Laci Mosley]

So many jails.

[Max Silvestri]

Okay, the window's closing. It's not closed, but it is closing. Yeah.

[Jenny Slate]

If you do this one more time, it is going to be extremely unlikely.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Also, because you failed the test 10 years ago and didn't try again, it.

[Jenny Slate]

Is not looking good for you, young man. It is not looking good.

[Max Silvestri]

You don't have to move out of the dorms at the police academy yet, but you need to right the ship.

[Gabe Wiedman]

We're calling this strike one.

[Laci Mosley]

All right?

[Gabe Wiedman]

And we're disappointed.

[Laci Mosley]

And we're disappointed. That's all.

[Gabe Wiedman]

That's it.

[Laci Mosley]

Just disappointed?

[Gabe Wiedman]

Yeah.

[Jenny Slate]

Yep. We're just.

[Laci Mosley]

In 2000, Steve finished three training courses in firearms use, including one that was hosted by the NRA and one in tactical.

[Jenny Slate]

Yeah.

[Laci Mosley]

You know, the ra, the best guys ever. The whole pool. And like. Like, we love them, and they pay all of our politicians, and that's fine.

[Jenny Slate]

And they love kids. Yeah, they love school.

[Laci Mosley]

They love kids. They love our school, and they love school.

[Max Silvestri]

They know how to host a course. I'll give them that.

[Laci Mosley]

Yeah. So there was, like, a tactical baton instruction that he also passed. And then one in, like, officer survival in low light conditions. He passed that as well. So two years later, he completed a course with the river.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Yeah.

[Laci Mosley]

Yeah. You know how you need to know. You need to know how to fight at dark.

[Max Silvestri]

It's actually even darker at dusk than at nighttime because your eyes haven't adjusted yet. It's one of those dangerous times to be twirling a baton tactically.

[Laci Mosley]

And also, if you're gonna be a racist cop, you need to know how to see black people. Because at night, I'm just eyeballs and teeth. Like, you really need to have your dusk training up so you can see black.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Right?

[Laci Mosley]

You're not gonna catch me that. Like, if I close my eyes, I don't open my mouth, you're not gonna see me. So he needed to get his dust training so he could really, you know.

[Max Silvestri]

Shoot black people as the sun disappears over the mountain.

[Laci Mosley]

He also failed out of two paramedic internship programs, and the DMV rejected his application for ambulance driver certificates twice. He also tried to drive the ambulance. He was trying to do. Oh, come on.

[Max Silvestri]

It's not even a cop job.

[Gabe Wiedman]

My God.

[Max Silvestri]

Bouncing around first responder stuff.

[Laci Mosley]

Why does he want to do first responders so much? He's really trying To. He's nosy. He's nosy. He's nosy.

[Max Silvestri]

Can I put away the hose? No, you can't even do that. You didn't pass the hose course.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Can I pet the Dalmatian?

[Jenny Slate]

No, you can't touch the dog. We told you that. Don't touch it, sir.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Other people can, though.

[Laci Mosley]

Be serious.

[Jenny Slate]

Back off and don't touch it.

[Laci Mosley]

Golden horses in Krav Maga.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Oh, yeah.

[Jenny Slate]

Oh, yeah.

[Laci Mosley]

So that he could get hand to hand combat so he could pass himself off as a cop again. On the first anniversary of September 11, he was spotted posing as a firefighter in Los Angeles. The LAPD arrested him, and he pled guilty, resulting in a jail sentence, sir.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Okay.

[Max Silvestri]

What the LAFD did on 911 was obviously unbelievably brave.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Yes, absolutely. And we will never forget y. How they were in LA and the thing happened 3,000 miles all the way in New York.

[Jenny Slate]

Yeah.

[Max Silvestri]

The way this guy signs up for courses and then just absolutely eat every time is just like trying out for a hockey team when you can't skate. Just. Just biffing it over and over every time. Coursework's not your way in, brother.

[Laci Mosley]

Wasting your money.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Then came the juggling, and that's how he lost his left hand.

[Jenny Slate]

Yeah, right.

[Laci Mosley]

No, but there. There's nothing to first respond to juggling. Don't need somebody to see.

[Gabe Wiedman]

That's right.

[Laci Mosley]

Ass. He not doing that. In 2004, he started teaching EMT courses at East Los Angeles College. A female student pointed out in class that he said something different from what the textbook said.

[Jenny Slate]

Oh, he did.

[Laci Mosley]

Steve started harassing her, and she got a restraining order. No. In 2006, Steve failed to disclose his criminal record for an application for an EMT permit, and it was denied. Yeah, he did the same thing two years later because he's not gonna stop. He's not Tyra Banks.

[Jenny Slate]

Oh, okay. Well, who knew? Didn't know we were gonna.

[Laci Mosley]

You're gonna say that he was featured on the Tyra Banks show, which must not have vetted their guests, because this is Tyra Banks. You know, she was Harvard.

[Max Silvestri]

Okay.

[Laci Mosley]

I love that lady.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Yeah.

[Laci Mosley]

She could just be doing anything. It's fine. She taught me how to smize. I learned how to do makeup in a Sephora in New Away to an audition. Like, you know, she was problematic, but she taught us a lot. She was right for the time. So, yeah, they didn't vet their guests. Oh, and this is a blurry tape of the segment posted on YouTube by a user by him yeah, by him. He posted, he was there to tell people what to include in emergency preparedness kits. And he recommends you include food. Granulated sugar. That is not correct. Let's see what he got to say real quick because we, we're wrapping this up. We're very close to the end. I can't believe an emergency medical technician who has some life saving tips about emergency survival kits and accident safety. So, yeah.

[Max Silvestri]

I'm saluting, I'm salute.

[Jenny Slate]

How did he get on this show?

[Laci Mosley]

This is crazy survival kit, which my mom is huge on and she's always telling me I should have this and I don't. So what, what's in a home survival kit?

[Max Silvestri]

Home survival kit, you have to have some basic essentials.

[Gabe Wiedman]

First we include is a flashlight, extra battery.

[Laci Mosley]

He looks like a firefighter.

[Max Silvestri]

Yeah.

[Laci Mosley]

Food that has a good shelf life.

[Gabe Wiedman]

You have to have sugar.

[Max Silvestri]

Sugar, sugar, sugar. You're going to want a solo cup for shaving your beard when you're down low on sugar. You can't.

[Laci Mosley]

That's what keeps you going. So like just granule sugar.

[Max Silvestri]

That will absolutely work.

[Jenny Slate]

Okay, okay.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Sugar, sugar.

[Jenny Slate]

He says he's like falling off the chair. First of all, like, get on the chair. I'm saying this to my daughter all the time. Get your, get your whole butt on the chair, hon. Sweetie, get your booty on the chair. Okay. Because when you're eating sugar, you don't want to fall off your chair.

[Gabe Wiedman]

You need a flashlight and sugar.

[Max Silvestri]

Yeah. In an emergency, coffee is going to be really bitter. The coffee you're going to be having during the apocalypse is going to be really bitter because they're going to leave it too long. So you're going to want sugar to make it go down easier.

[Jenny Slate]

What? His face while she was introducing him was like, I can't believe that this actually worked, that I'm on this show. How out of all the people, it's crazy that he scammed his way onto that show.

[Laci Mosley]

I mean, it makes sense because Tyra Banks was just doing anything. So if you go scam your way onto a TV show, it's definitely with that lady.

[Max Silvestri]

Five days a week is a lot of days a week to film.

[Laci Mosley]

I read Model Land like I'm an og. Tyra Banks, like, indoctrinated, baby. So that lady was just doing anything. And I was like, yes, ma'. Am. I don't know what you're doing.

[Jenny Slate]

She's not booking the guests. It's not Tyra's fault, you know, like, like somebody else was like, but like.

[Max Silvestri]

Joaquin Phoenix is not going on and telling a long story on the Tyra, but like, you know the level of guests you need when you're like 1:00pm in.

[Jenny Slate]

Yeah.

[Gabe Wiedman]

You sign up at the DMV. You just walk in and you say.

[Laci Mosley]

Who are we talking to today? Yes, sure. Very much, Gabe. The dmv. It's like, who are we talking to today? Okay, listen, I. Jenny, when I tell you I have DMV stories, like, I didn't get registered in California with my license until the lady that I was working with, Ms. Gertrude, she retired before I got my license registered in la. I came back in, I was like, I'm here for Ms. Gertrude. At that point, we had a vibe. We had a situation and they were like, oh, she is. Is retired. I was like, I still ain't got registered.

[Max Silvestri]

The lady I was working with.

[Laci Mosley]

Yeah. You shouldn't be working with somebody at the dmv.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Kind of in and out usually.

[Max Silvestri]

Yeah. It feels like one and done every three years.

[Jenny Slate]

Like a bit of a back and forth. Yeah.

[Laci Mosley]

Yeah.

[Max Silvestri]

You kind of seem like this guy Lacy, that's like, you know, you're failing the class D motorcycle license test twice a year.

[Laci Mosley]

I had determination. Okay. I had perseverance.

[Gabe Wiedman]

I had bought the sidecar and I was gonna get the rest of the motorcycle soon.

[Jenny Slate]

Right.

[Max Silvestri]

I believe I'm a commercial long haul truck driver. So I shall be with the help of Ms. Gertrude.

[Laci Mosley]

I started with just the sidecar.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Yes.

[Max Silvestri]

Right.

[Laci Mosley]

And I worked my way up to this motorcycle.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Yeah. And that's what took so long.

[Laci Mosley]

Goals, goals, goals. So Christopher Dancel, we're wrapping up here, but Steve, he met Christopher Dancel while they were both working security at a church carnival. Why is he.

[Jenny Slate]

Oh, man, this is so gnarly.

[Laci Mosley]

Yeah. Steve chose to carry a gun and became partners in fake crime fighting. I. Sir, you needed this man needed to play video games because you gotta get these fantasies out. What's happening? They travel to New Mexico together for a five day training course. He's trained it again, Matt.

[Max Silvestri]

He needs to learn about Revolutionary War reenactment stuff. Like there is. There is an outlet for this energy. Redo the Battle of Gettysburg over and over, twice a year.

[Laci Mosley]

So Steve and his new homie went to New Mexico together for a five day training course. And it was entitled Prevention response to suicide bombing incident. Oh, no. Which Steve got them into by pretending to be an emt because that's what he be doing when Chris got married and had a child with British porn star named Mackenzie Lee.

[Jenny Slate]

Oh, get it.

[Laci Mosley]

Chris and Steve lost touch for a while.

[Jenny Slate]

Okay, sure.

[Gabe Wiedman]

That happens in relationships.

[Jenny Slate]

Busy time, newlywed stuff.

[Laci Mosley]

Yeah, I mean, look, Steve was busy getting fired for teaching emergency response classes without proper credentials, so he was busy with that. And Steve was acting in one of MacKenzie's mattress action acting movies.

[Gabe Wiedman]

I see.

[Laci Mosley]

Yeah. And it was on. It was on Dog Fart Network.

[Jenny Slate]

Wait.

[Gabe Wiedman]

That'S what our podcast is on.

[Max Silvestri]

The Dog Fart Network.

[Jenny Slate]

You just gave, like, a lot of information that's really, really, really shocking. Okay, so you're saying Steve, who was not even married. This is his friend's wife was in one of the films. And then Dog Fart. Yeah, Chris's wife. Steve was in Chris's wife's movie. And then Dog Fart.

[Laci Mosley]

What was in his wife's. Chris.

[Jenny Slate]

Chris.

[Laci Mosley]

He was in his wife's house in his wife's movie.

[Jenny Slate]

Okay, okay.

[Laci Mosley]

Oh, God, Jenny, I'm gonna throw something else at you. That's right. It was called Cuckold Session. Oh, sure.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Yeah.

[Laci Mosley]

Chris. Yeah, makes sense. Chris wore an LAPD uniform and watched as several men had sex with his wife on the roof of a car. In the roof.

[Jenny Slate]

The car. Roof of a car.

[Laci Mosley]

Not the hood, the roof.

[Jenny Slate]

How'd they all get up there?

[Gabe Wiedman]

Hurrying up the windows.

[Max Silvestri]

Maybe they were pretending to be firefighters. They used a ladder or something. Yeah, got it.

[Laci Mosley]

And then they grew apart. But eventually, they get back together. Later, they were busy. Yeah, Steve over here doing crime. Chris over here doing Steven.

[Jenny Slate]

Chris grew apart. I see what you're saying.

[Max Silvestri]

Well, Steve tried to get certified to be on Dog Fart Network. And. And did not pass.

[Jenny Slate]

He passed the test, but he couldn't climb the car to get on the roof.

[Laci Mosley]

Check.

[Jenny Slate]

So that final test where you climb a car. Sorry, go ahead.

[Laci Mosley]

Oh, you're amazing. In 2009, Steve appeared to leave fake law enforcement behind and returned to the family business. Business? He worked as the chief operating office, like, officer of one of his dad's properties, The Shore Hotel. Right. He's a Nepo baby. Forgot that. Why is he trying to be a cop? So it's right next to the Santa Monica Pier where he went to work for his family. He accepted awards for environmental stewardship and social responsibility. I don't know when he was doing that, but okay, give him awards. But he also filled out incident reports on suspicious people he saw on his family's properties. At least one he conducted, like, a citizen's arrest. I don't know.

[Max Silvestri]

What you're doing.

[Laci Mosley]

Trayvon Martin.

[Jenny Slate]

Yeah, don't do it.

[Laci Mosley]

Arrest.

[Jenny Slate]

Don't do that.

[Laci Mosley]

You're just a weirdo who wants to do violence to people.

[Jenny Slate]

Yeah.

[Laci Mosley]

So on the back of his black office chair, it had the words Commander in Chief embroidered in red. He kept a Beretta handgun, a shotgun and a rifle on site as hotel. The hotel said he hasn't worked there for five years. Whatever. Anyway, there's a raid. So in 2014, due to his former friend Chris, who was in the porns, acting as an FBI informant, law enforcement was finally able to raid Steve's Brentwood mansion. It was a collaboration between the California doj, the Department of Motor Vehicles, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco Firearms, the FBI, Santa Monica Police Department, all the departments.

[Gabe Wiedman]

DMV finally stepping up.

[Max Silvestri]

Yeah, Alphabets do the right thing.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Okay.

[Laci Mosley]

Can you imagine you getting arrested? And they like, license and registration. How did we get here? They found 16 firearms, 12 emergency radios.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Okay.

[Laci Mosley]

That man was listening to all the emergency radios.

[Jenny Slate]

So much sugar.

[Laci Mosley]

So much granulated sugar.

[Jenny Slate]

So much.

[Laci Mosley]

43 forged law enforcement badges in a fully marked California Highway Patrol cruiser outfitted with lights. So he had the police car that you're not supposed to have if you're not a cop.

[Max Silvestri]

This is what serial killers have to trick people to getting into their car.

[Laci Mosley]

This.

[Jenny Slate]

Yeah.

[Laci Mosley]

This is probably the biggest triggering fact for me because so many women have been been pulled over and assaulted by men in fake cop cars. It is not.

[Jenny Slate]

That is so.

[Laci Mosley]

It's the reason why if I'm on the highway and I'm getting pulled over because I'm a bad driver, I know I'm gonna get pulled over sometimes. I always will, like, put on my hazards and drive to a well lit gas station, to a well lit place with cameras. I'm not gonna get pulled over on the side of the road where nobody can see what's going on, because I don't even know if you're a cop for real.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Like, wow.

[Laci Mosley]

And I recommend this, y', all, please. And it doesn't matter if we're all in danger, woman. Man, they them, all of y'. All. If you get pulled over and it's dark and there's no cameras, take your ass to a gas station, put your hazards on so they know you're not running from them. And take your ass to a gas station where there are cameras.

[Max Silvestri]

That's why when I get in the back of the cab, I always check to see if the lock is sharpened to a point, like in the Bone Collector.

[Gabe Wiedman]

I was thinking about that movie. That is the grossest thing.

[Max Silvestri]

I'm never going to let myself get Bone Collector.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Bone collector.

[Max Silvestri]

The. The person, when they go to leave the car, they. They cut their finger because the. The lock, the little thing sharpened to like a knife.

[Gabe Wiedman]

So gross.

[Max Silvestri]

And then they get boiled.

[Gabe Wiedman]

He's posing as a cab driver, right?

[Max Silvestri]

Yes. Yes. But it's a similar trusting of a, you know, collective back scene.

[Gabe Wiedman]

So scary.

[Max Silvestri]

The worst made up. Unlike this, because we know cab drivers and Uber drivers have never done anything bad, so.

[Laci Mosley]

That's right. Yeah. That's another thing is like, be careful in Ubers, y', all, because. Because there is something that you sign when you sign up for Uber that does not allow you to do public litigation. It's all arbitration. So a lot of things that happen in Ubers that have happened to people you will never know about, because even if they decide to pay you and settle the case or whatever, they make you sign, this situation where you can't.

[Gabe Wiedman]

That's in like the user agreement.

[Laci Mosley]

Yes. Whoa.

[Gabe Wiedman]

I've never read one of those. Okay. Yeah.

[Laci Mosley]

So. The state of California brought 77 charges against Steve, including 73 felonies. In 2015, he was sentenced to 182 days behind bars. Not enough. Of which he served 90. Not enough. Awaiting sentencing. He also got five years probation. His defense said that he had a hero complex addiction.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Nope.

[Laci Mosley]

It's giving affluenza.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Yes.

[Laci Mosley]

Hero complex addiction.

[Max Silvestri]

No.

[Gabe Wiedman]

No. Find heroin, sir.

[Jenny Slate]

How are you addicted to your complex too?

[Gabe Wiedman]

That's.

[Jenny Slate]

Isn't it complex enough? Isn't a complex.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Right.

[Laci Mosley]

Enough.

[Jenny Slate]

Isn't it redundant?

[Gabe Wiedman]

He has a hero complex.

[Laci Mosley]

Being in everybody's business was my crack.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Yeah.

[Jenny Slate]

Yeah.

[Laci Mosley]

It makes sense when you don't think about it.

[Max Silvestri]

Yeah.

[Gabe Wiedman]

You were at my birthday party. You guys know what I'm like.

[Max Silvestri]

Yeah. I'm like a chocoholic, but for using my badge. That's fake to threaten women.

[Laci Mosley]

Jesus Christ. So, yeah, the judge told Steve you violated probation. The consequences would be very serious. Do we understand each other? Steve said yes. And he was released from custody. Custody. And continued to work as the COO of his, you know, Nepo Baby Hotel. We're wrapping up right now. Steve was arrested again because, you know, he gotta get arrested more.

[Max Silvestri]

Yeah. He got that HC.

[Laci Mosley]

In July for pointing a laser pointer at an aircraft, including news helicopters. The helicopters got the license plate on the car that was lasering them and saw that it was registered the States. Another raid on his Brentwood home was found. He had another raid? How you have a multiple raids.

[Jenny Slate]

What is he doing?

[Max Silvestri]

This one's not helpful, though. This like. There's no world where it's like I'm pretending to be a cop who's shining a laser pointer.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Maybe he's trying to direct them.

[Max Silvestri]

Yeah.

[Gabe Wiedman]

To the real crimes.

[Jenny Slate]

How big? If you have that laser pointer, like, how big is it?

[Laci Mosley]

Yeah.

[Gabe Wiedman]

What is that?

[Jenny Slate]

Is it like one of the ones that a cat chases, but it somehow just reaches a plane? Or is it like a big thing? Is like as big as a water.

[Max Silvestri]

Water big.

[Jenny Slate]

It's really big.

[Laci Mosley]

Crazy blue light.

[Gabe Wiedman]

He should do something cooler with that size.

[Max Silvestri]

Yeah.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Yes.

[Laci Mosley]

Wow. It looks like the bat signal. Sir, what are you doing? And why? So this is his second raid on the Brentwood home. We are going in circles. So they came to his home, raided it, and they found that a car as well as a fully functioning fire truck registered to Santa Fire Department that doesn't exist was at his home. We have a video of the truck.

[Jenny Slate]

Where did he get this truck? Where did he get this truck?

[Laci Mosley]

This fire truck seemingly has a fake registration to the Santa Muerte Fire Department. LA fire officials trying to determine if this is the same unit. Unauthorized truck reported entering the Palisades fire zone last January.

[Jenny Slate]

Oh, my God.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Wow.

[Jenny Slate]

Santa Muerte, like saint of death.

[Max Silvestri]

Yeah.

[Jenny Slate]

What is he doing?

[Gabe Wiedman]

That's where you want to raise a family.

[Jenny Slate]

What is he doing? What is he doing?

[Laci Mosley]

He was arrested without bail for impersonating first responders. And he had firearms violations. And the government gave him some fraud charges. Is in relation to his fraud that he did with the Palisades fire because he was pretending to be a cop and a fireman and distracting planes and.

[Max Silvestri]

Distracting planes that are presumably dumping water in there.

[Gabe Wiedman]

I hate this guy.

[Jenny Slate]

He's just a minister.

[Max Silvestri]

I was on the fence right until the end.

[Laci Mosley]

Yeah, it's really a tough minister society. But, hey, thank you guys so much for being here, as I always have at the end of the show.

[Max Silvestri]

This is such a blast.

[Laci Mosley]

Where would you like to be found? Plug anything that you want to plug. And yeah, listen to our new show.

[Gabe Wiedman]

I need you guys. It's on wherever you find your podcast brought to you by Smartless and Sirius. And we're so excited.

[Max Silvestri]

I need you guys. Show on Instagram and all the social media and there's a voicemail number. We take listener questions. So we love also hearing from people. Listen to the show and send us questions and. And yeah, that's it.

[Jenny Slate]

We'll help you figure it out. Yeah, that's it. Thank you for having us.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Thank you for having us. This was so fun.

[Max Silvestri]

You're the best.

[Laci Mosley]

Thank you for being here. You guys are fantastic and this was honestly truly a huge honor. And thank you for being my group chat because I really did feel like this was my group chat. So thank you.

[Jenny Slate]

Thank you. Yay.

[Gabe Wiedman]

Thanks.

[Laci Mosley]

Scamp got us Scam Goddess stars and is hosted by me, Lacey Mosley, AKA Scam Goddess. Our producer is Jessica Cisneros and our audio engineer is Rich Garcia. Research for the show is conducted by Kate Doyle. Stay scheming.

[Jenny Slate]

Hi, I'm Jenny Slate and believe it or not, someone is allowing us to have a podcast.

[Gabe Wiedman]

I'm Gabe Wiedman.

[Max Silvestri]

I'm Max Silvestri and we've been friends for 20 years and we like to reach out to kind of get advice on how to live our lives.

[Gabe Wiedman]

It's called I need you guys.

[Max Silvestri]

Should I give my baby fresh vegetables?

[Jenny Slate]

Can I drink the water at the hospital?

[Gabe Wiedman]

My landlord plays the trombone and I can't ask him to stop.

[Jenny Slate]

You should make sure that you subscribe so that you never miss an episode.

[Gabe Wiedman]

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