EPISODE 5: “All this for nothing”

Summary

Spotlight: Snitch City
Episode 5: “All this for nothing”
Release Date: April 1, 2025

Hosted by The Boston Globe Spotlight Team

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Introduction

In Episode 5 of Spotlight: Snitch City, investigative reporter Dugan Arnett delves deeper into the murky world of police informants within the New Bedford Police Department. Titled “All this for nothing,” the episode unravels the intricate web of misconduct, manipulation, and betrayal that entangles both informants and law enforcement officers.

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Carly Medeiros' Story

The episode opens with a poignant warning from Dugan Arnett about the sensitive content ahead (00:00).

Carly Medeiros shares her harrowing journey:

• Struggling with Addiction: “I was on drugs, and my life was spiraling out of control. You know, like, who's gonna believe me over a police officer?” (00:08)
• Relationship with Detective Jared Lucas: Carly recounts how her affair with Lucas, a New Bedford detective, began during her deepening heroin addiction (01:14). She expresses the turmoil of being torn between her fiancé, Stephen Ortiz, and Lucas, describing Lucas's fixation on Ortiz (02:20):

  “It felt like he was secretly in love with Steven. Like it was just all about Stephen all the time.” (02:49)

A pivotal moment occurs on Stephen Ortiz's birthday in 2017 when Carly and Stephen are ambushed by police, orchestrated by Lucas (03:09). Carly describes the traumatic event:

“And next thing I knew, I had a gun to my head. And he... he told me, bitch, don't fucking move...” (03:20)

This incident marks Carly's inadvertent entanglement in the confidential informant system, setting the stage for her quest for accountability within the New Bedford Police Department.

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The Investigation Deepens

After a series of advertisements, the narrative resumes with Carly Medeiros seeking answers about her role as an informant and the broader implications for the justice system.

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Russ's Testimony

A key figure in this investigation is Russ, a former informant whose testimony sheds light on systemic abuses:

• Early Involvement in Drug Trade: Russ begins his involvement at a young age, stating, “I was raised in the gutter, and I turned to drug dealing when I was just 12” (10:01).
• Relationship with Paul Oliveira: Russ details his complex relationship with then-narcotics detective, now Police Chief Paul Oliveira:

  “I was led to believe, like, you can do whatever the fuck you want...” (12:03)

Russ reveals how Oliveira exploited informants to orchestrate numerous drug-related setups, expressing deep regret over the innocent lives affected:

“They were working-class people and good people. More than a majority are.” (13:46)

He further elaborates on his desire to exit the informant role, culminating in a sense of betrayal when Oliveira reneges on promises to help him leave the system (14:13).

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Expert Analysis: Alexandra Nadopoff

Alexandra Nadopoff, a Harvard law professor and author of Criminal Informants and the Erosion of American Justice, provides critical insight into the informant system:

• Systemic Issues: Nadopoff highlights the lack of safeguards, noting, “In the informant world, we throw all those protections out the window” (19:02).
• Impact on Vulnerable Populations: She emphasizes the exploitation of marginalized groups, including those with substance abuse disorders and mental health issues (22:18).

Her analysis underscores the pervasive and often unchecked power wielded by police through the informant system, advocating for significant reforms to protect innocent individuals.

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Search Warrants Analysis by Andrew Ryan

Andrew Ryan, a fellow Spotlight reporter, conducts an exhaustive analysis of search warrants across Massachusetts:

• High Approval Rates: Ryan discovers that nearly 99.8% of search warrants are approved, with only three rejections out of nearly 2,000 examined (20:03).
• Reliance on Unnamed Informants: A staggering nine out of ten drug raids depend on confidential informants whose identities remain undisclosed, undermining the reliability of evidence (20:18).

Ryan's findings reveal a troubling overreliance on informants without adequate verification, contributing to wrongful convictions and perpetuating corruption within the justice system.

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Confronting Police Chief Paul Oliveira

The investigation intensifies as Dugan Arnett and his team attempt to confront Police Chief Paul Oliveira:

• Destroyed Records: It emerges that Oliveira authorized the destruction of over 25 years' worth of internal affairs records shortly after becoming chief, a move unprecedented in over six decades (37:23).
• Official Response: Mayor John Mitchell defends Oliveira, dismissing the allegations as baseless and promising to refer the Globe's reporting to the FBI for review (40:15):

  “None of these allegations that are in the Boston Globe had any inkling of.” (40:32)

Despite attempts to reach Oliveira, he remains silent, and authorities refrain from addressing the mounting evidence of misconduct.

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Aftermath and Retaliation

Following the podcast's release, significant consequences unfold:

• Carly Medeiros' Court Testimony: Carly testifies in a special Franks Hearing, asserting her unintentional role as an informant and accusing Lucas of manipulation (30:31). Her testimony supports the narrative of systemic abuse and coercion by law enforcement.
• Miguel Martinez's Release: After nearly three years in jail, Miguel Martinez is freed as court rulings deem the evidence against him tainted (29:46).
• Chief Oliveira's Early Retirement: Two years before his contract expires, Oliveira retires, with insiders speculating that the intense scrutiny from the investigation played a role.

Mayor Mitchell publicly rebukes the Globe’s reporting, maintaining trust in Oliveira despite overwhelming evidence contradicting his integrity.

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Conclusion

Episode 5 of Spotlight: Snitch City paints a grim picture of the intertwined relationships between drug informants and law enforcement in New Bedford. Through the personal stories of Carly Medeiros and Russ, combined with expert analysis and investigative prowess, the episode highlights the deep-seated issues within the informant system—issues that lead to wrongful convictions, exploitation of the vulnerable, and a lack of accountability among police officials.

As the Boston Globe continues to pursue accountability, the episode underscores the courage of those who come forward, the systemic failures that enable misconduct, and the urgent need for comprehensive reforms to restore trust and integrity within the criminal justice system.

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Notable Quotes

• Carly Medeiros (02:49):

  “It felt like he was secretly in love with Steven. Like it was just all about Stephen all the time.”

• Russ (12:03):

  “I was led to believe, like, you can do whatever the fuck you want...”

• Alexandra Nadopoff (19:02):

  “In the informant world, we throw all those protections out the window.”

• Mayor John Mitchell (40:32):

  “None of these allegations that are in the Boston Globe had any inkling of.”

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Attributions

• Carly Medeiros: Former informant and central figure in the misconduct narrative.
• Russ: Former drug dealer and informant who cooperated with Spotlight.
• Alexandra Nadopoff: Harvard law professor and author.
• Andrew Ryan: Investigative reporter focused on search warrants.
• Paul Oliveira: Former New Bedford Police Chief implicated in informant misuse.
• John Mitchell: Mayor of New Bedford defending Oliveira.

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This comprehensive summary captures the essence of Spotlight: Snitch City Episode 5, providing an in-depth look at the systemic issues within the informant system and the personal stories that highlight its human cost.

Transcript

[Dugan Arnett]

Before we begin, this story includes strong language and descriptions of violence. Please take care when listening.

[Carly Medeiros]

I was on drugs, and my life was spiraling out of control. You know, like, who's gonna believe me over a police officer?

[Dugan Arnett]

Carly Medeiros is the very first New Bedford informant I reported on.

[Carly Medeiros]

A snitch is by far the worst thing you can be called. I wouldn't doubt it if there's a few people that if they seen me, they wouldn't mind putting a bullet in me.

[Dugan Arnett]

Carly's story came to my attention three years ago when an email she sent landed in my inbox. The subject line, written in all caps, was, I need help.

[Carly Medeiros]

It's too long to tell the story. I wanted to start from, like, the beginning, like, how I lost my dad and, like, the whole thing. And it's just so long. It's such a long story. It really is.

[Dugan Arnett]

Carly grew up in New Bedford, and like so many others, her dad worked on the water.

[Carly Medeiros]

That's my dad.

[Dugan Arnett]

She points to a cherished photo of him posing in front of a boat there.

[Carly Medeiros]

He got to be, like, in his. In his late 30s, hard life. He was a fisherman. He looks like he was about 40, 50 there, right? He does. That's his cousin right there. I don't know who that is.

[Dugan Arnett]

Carly and her dad were close, and when he died in his early 50s, she was devastated. To cope, she started using drugs. Eventually, she turned to heroin. By the summer of 2014, she was deep into addiction. And that's when she met a cop named Jared Lucas. He approached her one day while she was leaving the beach and started flirting.

[Carly Medeiros]

Initially, I just felt like he wanted me. That's what I felt in the beginning, like. Like he wanted me.

[Dugan Arnett]

She was right. And even though she was engaged at the time, Carly and Lucas, who was a New Bedford detective, started sleeping together.

[Carly Medeiros]

And the more we had contact with each other, the further our relationship got. Deeper. I realized something's not. Like, something's not right here.

[Dugan Arnett]

Carly says that Lucas would always steer the conversation toward her fiance, Stephen Ortiz, an alleged drug dealer who she was cheating on with a New Bedford police officer.

[Carly Medeiros]

He would ask me, like, oh, who is he with today? Like, oh, is he going to meet his dude today? And I'm like, what? What dude are you talking about? And what does he do at the casino when he goes to the casino? What does he talk to his lawyer about? I don't know. Who's in his mother's house all day? And why do you care about that? Why are you even asking me? These questions, it has nothing to do with anything going on between me and you.

[Dugan Arnett]

It got so intense that Carly started to feel like Lucas was obsessed with her fiance.

[Carly Medeiros]

The only way, like, I can honestly explain it is like it felt like he was secretly in love with Steven. Like it was just all about Stephen all the time.

[Dugan Arnett]

This affair went on in secret for years, until one explosive night in 2017. It was Stephen's birthday.

[Russ]

The.

[Dugan Arnett]

They were just about to set off for a night on the town. Carly was sitting in the car.

[Carly Medeiros]

I. I remember my head was down because I was rolling a blunt.

[Dugan Arnett]

Suddenly, the car was surrounded by cops.

[Carly Medeiros]

And next thing I knew, I had a gun to my head. And he. He told me, bitch, don't fucking move. Don't fucking move or I'll blow your head off right now, bitch.

[Dugan Arnett]

What seemed like an army of cops descended on them.

[Carly Medeiros]

They take me out, they put me in cuffs, and then all of a sudden, when I turn my head, I see Jared. I was like, what is he doing here?

[Dugan Arnett]

It was an incredible scene. She and her fiance in cuffs, and the police officer she'd been sleeping with standing off to the side watching it all go down.

[Carly Medeiros]

He's just, like, staring at me, like, looking at me. And that just stuck in my head.

[Dugan Arnett]

The police took them in. Carly was charged with a minor offense, being present where heroin is kept. But Steven faced much more serious charges. Police accused him of heading up a sprawling heroin trafficking ring. But to Carly, it all seemed like too much of a coincidence. Her fiance busted by the cop she was having a secret affair with. Carly doesn't know it yet, but this moment, this bust, it's the start of a realization that she's now part of the undercover world of confidential informants. And when she does finally figure that out, it'll have major consequences for herself, the New Bedford Police Department, and criminal justice. But first, she'll need answers. I've been looking for answers, too, throughout this investigation, and it hasn't been easy. Our attempts to shine a light on misconduct within the informant system have been stymied by a cloak of secrecy. And accountability remains elusive, at least so far. I've been trying to track down New Bedford Police Chief Paul Oliveira, the former narcotics cop who misused informants and now runs a department rife with misconduct. And my spotlight colleague, Andrew Ryan, has been doing his own digging, and there's a lot to share about what he's discovered and what's gone missing. Once she figures out the full picture, Carly Medeiros is going to search for her own accountability after going through what.

[Carly Medeiros]

I went through, there's nothing about a.

[Dugan Arnett]

Police officer that I trust and another informant who I wasn't sure even existed tells me everything.

[Russ]

It's all deception. It's all fucking lies created to confuse people. And the informants involved are just as confused as the people that were the targets.

[Dugan Arnett]

I'm Dugan Arnett and this is snitch city. Episode five, all this for nothing.

[Brendan McCarthy]

Hi, I'm Brendan McCarthy, editor of the.

[Dugan Arnett]

Boston Globe Spotlight Team. Thanks for listening to this podcast. Don't forget to follow or subscribe wherever you're listening so you don't miss a thing. We have a lot more in store. To learn more about this project, visit globe.comsnitchcity that's globe.comsnitchcity you'll find a link to an animated video version of this podcast on YouTube.

[Brendan McCarthy]

And while you're there, sign up for our newsletter. Thanks again.

[Carly Medeiros]

The PC gave us computing power at home. The Internet connected us, and mobile let us do it pretty much anywhere. Now, generative AI lets us communicate with technology in our own language, using our own senses. But figuring it all out when you're living through it is a totally different story. Welcome to Leading the Shift, a new podcast for Microsoft Azure. I'm your host, Susan Ettlinger. In each episode, leaders will share what they're learning to help you navigate all this change with confidence. Please join us, listen and subscribe wherever.

[Dugan Arnett]

You get your podcasts. This has been a story full of flawed characters with complicated motivations. It's pretty much impossible to draw a simple line between the good guys and the bad ones. Either way, it's taken a lot of courage for everyone who's spoken to us to come forward. People who want to see reform, who want a light shone on this darkest corner of the criminal justice system, police sources who violated the so called blue wall of silence, like Mark Raposo and Bobby Richard and others I haven't even told you about. And maybe the most courageous of all are the people who've worked as police informants themselves. People like Carly who knew that talking to me would mean they'd be shunned or worse for breaking street code. And others and law enforcement who don't want informants revealing the ugly truth. But I found yet another former informant who's seen it all, because a long time ago his handler was New Bedford Police Chief Paul Oliveira.

[Russ]

I haven't talked about it in years, but like, I feel it should come out. But you have to be careful. That is sensitive information there. It's not about getting in a fight with someone who thinks I ratted him out. These dudes are fucking dangerous, man. Trust me when I tell you, I.

[Dugan Arnett]

Heard whispers about this man for months. I'm going to call him Russ, but that's not his real name. And in fact, he says talking to me is so dangerous that we're using someone else to read his exact words.

[Russ]

I'm really dependent on you for my safety, for my family's safety.

[Dugan Arnett]

Russ has been out of the game for a long time. He left New Bedford decades ago, living in exile. In his words, a kind of self imposed witness protection program. When I first got in touch with.

[Russ]

Him, I knew it was something to do with that era. I knew it was something I didn't want to talk about. Even now, I'm like, damn, why am I talking about this?

[Dugan Arnett]

But once he got going, he unburdened himself.

[Russ]

I never paid my debt for all this. And karma's a motherfucker. So I guess you showing up is fitting.

[Dugan Arnett]

Russ lives his life looking over his shoulder.

[Russ]

If a reporter knocking on your door is all it is, it beats a Colombian with a machine gun.

[Dugan Arnett]

These days, Russ lives a quiet life. He's married, works a 9 to 5 job, talks about 401 s. I should.

[Russ]

Have got a job at the fucking post office. Yeah, I'd be doing good.

[Dugan Arnett]

Russ got into the drug game early. He says, quote, I was raised in the gutter, and he turned to drug dealing when he was just 12.

[Russ]

School clothes and fucking food and shit like that. You know, sadly, a couple hundred bucks to a kid with nothing, you know, that's a lot of money. It's probably what a normal kid would be provided with if they had parents who had means.

[Dugan Arnett]

Russ was first convicted as a teenager for selling coke.

[Russ]

Pure cocaine. It sells itself in a weird way. Most cocaine. I've never tried cocaine. You guys believe that or not. But pure cocaine is the key to making big, big money. Like I'm talking about.

[Dugan Arnett]

Russ started out low level, but he made his way to the top of the chain.

[Russ]

There was no middleman between the cocaine and I. For the most part. It's such an adrenaline rush. The rush of it, the danger of it, the cash of it. It's a high that I miss some days.

[Dugan Arnett]

Russ got to know the now police chief back when Oliveira was a young narcotics detective. And he's still scared of his old.

[Russ]

Handler to this day. 100%. That's. That dude's fucking bad. Like, look, here's the thing, you know, I don't fear Many people at all. I can usually judge the dangerous ones from the harmless ones, and I've done that. But I put that mother right at the top of the list.

[Dugan Arnett]

Paul Oliveira took notice of Russ when he was just a teenager, but already a serious drug dealer. His value as a potential drug informant was clear.

[Russ]

I was a bad seed in a perfect situation, and I think he hit the jackpot there. I think once he realized what he had, he took that and ran.

[Dugan Arnett]

Like everyone else I talked to in the drug trade, Russ disdains snitching and snitches, but Oliveira made a convincing pitch.

[Russ]

Look, we know what you're doing out here, and it seems like it's relatively lucrative. He's like, look, you know, throw me a bone here, and then I can protect you.

[Dugan Arnett]

Russ says Oliveira was charming and took a personal interest in him, Seemed to care for him in a big brother kind of way. The relationship was totally off the books just between the two of them. And Russ quickly learned there were advantages to cooperating with this older copy.

[Russ]

I was led to believe, like, you can do whatever the fuck you want, and you tell a young man with money and no moral compass that you're creating fucking animals, man. And that's what I was for.

[Dugan Arnett]

The first time he was being told he'd be able to deal, essentially free from fear of the police. To start, Russ threw Oliveira a few what he called small bullshit cases.

[Russ]

So I gave him a couple of those, and they kicked in a few doors and grabbed, you know, a few quarter pound weed or whatever it was, and then he was content. But he started to realize the bigger picture.

[Dugan Arnett]

The bigger picture was that by forming an alliance with Russ, Oliveira could make a lot of cases. For Russ. It would mean sacrificing some smaller guys on the food chain, but in exchange, he'd be left alone. Remember those setup cases where a cop and dealer would work together and essentially entrap someone? Well, Russ was the key to a number of them. He says he worked with Oliveira on at least 20 setups. It didn't bother Russ then, but now he's full of regret. And there's one guy in particular he still thinks about.

[Russ]

He was just a normal, average Joe, good guy, nonviolent person, as I perceived him at least, liked to party on the weekends. And rather coming out of his own pocket, he liked to have a little bit extra.

[Dugan Arnett]

Russ arranged to have drugs put in this guy's house, and hours later, Oliveira busted him. He wound up spending years in prison.

[Russ]

And he took it on the chin, but that's one that stands out that I don't like. That haunts me a little.

[Dugan Arnett]

Yeah, there are other people he thinks about, too. Not hardened criminals deep in the drug world.

[Russ]

They were working class people and good people. More than a majority are. I don't want to say innocent victims, but they're civilians who don't deserve the punishment or the treatment or the treachery of getting entangled in this fucked up game.

[Dugan Arnett]

Cops want to hold on to their CIs. They're valuable and help with their careers. Getting out is not always in the cards. But it didn't take long before Russ started to want out.

[Russ]

I'm looking for an exit at this point.

[Dugan Arnett]

Oliveira told Russ he could help him make a clean break, but not before Russ helped him make one last bust. I can't get into the details because they might give away Russ identity, but I know that Russ did help Oliveira pull off a big arrest. I found police files and court records to back up his story. And afterward, Russ waited for Olivera to hold up his end of the bargain, but he didn't. I wish I could tell you more of the specifics here, but just understand that Russ says he felt betrayed.

[Russ]

It's all my fault. I was young, but still knew right from wrong. But as I look back, you know, it was pressure. You know, pressure to keep going, pressure to perform. And like a lot of it, you know, I felt like I had done enough that I could have bought myself some safe time. But it was never enough.

[Dugan Arnett]

Russ did eventually get out, not with any help from Oliveira, but on his own. He made a bunch of money, cashed in his chips, and left New Bedford behind. Russ was never charged for any of the drug crimes he says he committed with Oliveira's knowledge.

[Russ]

I was a piece of man. I did all this for nothing. And it's a waste of a life, to be honest. It's tough. It is, man. I regret it. And I wish, you know, I live in shame a lot of times because of it.

[Dugan Arnett]

Despite the shame, despite what Russ calls a waste of a life, when he thinks back, he can't help but still feel affection for Oliveira.

[Russ]

But we were close, you know, on the surface, he's a nice guy. We had a good relationship. I don't know if it was bullshit or it was the truth, but as I look back now, it's kind of fucking sad, isn't it?

[Dugan Arnett]

Believe it or not, Russ told me that when he first learned I was trying to get in touch with him for this story, his initial instinct hadn't been to Talk to me. It had actually been to reach out to Paul Oliveira, a man he hadn't spoken to in years, not to confront him, but to warn him.

[Russ]

You do sketchy shit like that, you build some weird bond. I still can't help but think, like, if I called him, could he have helped me with this rather than call you guys?

[Dugan Arnett]

You know, Russ never did make that call to tip off Paul Oliveira about my reporting. Instead, this time, he decided to cooperate with me.

[Russ]

And yet I still feel like I'm betraying one more person that's close to me.

[Dugan Arnett]

As a dealer and an informant, Russ had the ultimate vantage point into the war on drugs. He operated on the front lines, and he saw how it worked. Or didn't.

[Russ]

It's all deception. It's all fucking lies created to confuse people. And the informants involved are just as confused as the people that were the targets. And these reports are based on search warrants, you know, provided to a judge. You are lying under oath, but you, you obtained a warrant under lies. You're a fucking criminal. And if you're breaking laws to catch a criminal, by definition, you are a fucking criminal. It's a fucked up system.

[Dugan Arnett]

Russ take on the drug war doesn't sound too different from a Harvard law professor I spoke with.

[Alexandra Nadopoff]

Regular people who do not spend a lot of time around the criminal system would just be absolutely flabbergasted and shocked that we permit this kind of thing to happen in a modern constitutional democracy.

[Dugan Arnett]

Alexandra Nadopoff literally wrote the book on informants. It's called Criminal Informants and the Erosion of American Justice.

[Alexandra Nadopoff]

I have heard so many stories, stories of violence, of exploitation, of corruption, of deceit. And yet, as hard as I am to surprise, every once in a while a new story will come along, and I think they got me again. I can't believe that this actually happened.

[Dugan Arnett]

The stories we've uncovered in New Bedford and across Massachusetts are clearly pretty disturbing, but they're not all that different from ones Nadopoff has been examining for years.

[Alexandra Nadopoff]

In the end, we are asking the criminal system to rely almost entirely on the accuracy and integrity of a single police officer's word. We have permitted the practice to be so confidential and secretive, with so few checks and balances. It is very, very rare, for example, for a judge to require a police officer to prove that the informant is reliable, that they actually said what they allegedly said, or even that they actually exist.

[Dugan Arnett]

She says the confidential informant system is a pocket of criminal justice where the typical rules just don't seem to apply.

[Alexandra Nadopoff]

And in Effect. In the informant world, we throw all those protections out the window. We don't give people lawyers. We keep everything secret. We permit individual officers and law enforcement officials to cut deals off the record, in secret, on the street, in dark alleys, in their own cruisers. That is not actually the way our criminal system is supposed to work.

[Dugan Arnett]

There's a vacuum of data about how police departments use informants. But my Spotlight colleague, Andrew Ryan is relentless.

[Brendan McCarthy]

I went to local courts across Massachusetts and went through over two 2000 search warrants, many of which were from the year 2023.

[Dugan Arnett]

He pulled every single publicly available search warrant from a dozen courts covering 16 municipalities across Massachusetts. He dug through hundreds of drug cases, reviewed appellate rulings, and spoke to dozens of attorneys.

[Brendan McCarthy]

My analysis found that nearly nine out of 10 drug raids hinged on confidential informants whose identities were only known to police. Of those, a large majority were based on a single unnamed source.

[Dugan Arnett]

And even when police rely on a single unnamed CI, few questions are asked. Andrew found that almost every search warrant submitted in Massachusetts is approved.

[Brendan McCarthy]

What we found is that there were only records of three rejected applications. That's three among the nearly 2,000 warrants we examined. That's an approval rate of about 99.8%.

[Dugan Arnett]

Prosecutors do have the power to push back on officers with problematic histories around search warrants or informants, but they almost never do.

[Brendan McCarthy]

A cop's word is treated as gold. The courts here are not verifying if the informant is truthful or even exist beyond an officer's sworn statement. Essentially, as long as an officer raises his hand or her hand and promises that they're telling the truth, that's good enough for the court.

[Dugan Arnett]

What we found was that when suspicions about the credibility of a cop or their informant arise, prosecutors circle the wagons. They fight inquiries from defense attorneys who who say their clients cases are tainted. They'll sooner drop charges or offer generous plea deals than dole out any information that could reveal misconduct. We've uncovered more than a dozen cops that records show have lied, broken rules, and even the law. But district attorneys continue to put faith in their work. All this secrecy and lack of accountability can have serious consequences.

[Alexandra Nadopoff]

The use of informants is problematic for so many reasons. First, they're unreliable. We have seen so many wrongful convictions that flow from the use of criminal informants.

[Dugan Arnett]

Just think about the 20 people, at least, that Russ says he helped the police set up. And Nadopoff adds that police policies around the use of informants are flimsy.

[Alexandra Nadopoff]

As a result, we have left no millions of vulnerable people completely unprotected from the pressures and the exploitation and coercion of law enforcement. Young people, children, people with substance abuse disorders, people with mental health issues, people afraid of deportation, sex workers, people who don't know their rights, people who are afraid of police. We give these individuals almost no protection from the threat of an individual law enforcement officer threatening them with arrest, with jail, with prosecution if they don't cooperate and don't provide information.

[Dugan Arnett]

And then there are people like Carly Medeiros who don't even realize they've been pulled into this world.

[Carly Medeiros]

This kind of stuff, it might happen in the dark, but it always comes to the light one way or another. The public is supposed to trust you. How can I ever trust a police officer from New Bedford again? At Capella University, you can learn at your own pace with our Flexpath Learning format. Take one or two courses at a time and complete as many as you can in a 12 week billing session. With Flexpath, you can even finish the Bachelor's degree you started in 22 months for $20,000. A different future is closer than you think with Capella University. Learn more at capella.edu. fastest 25% of students cost varies by pace, Transfer credits and other factors. Fees apply.

[Dugan Arnett]

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[Carly Medeiros]

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[Dugan Arnett]

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[Carly Medeiros]

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[Dugan Arnett]

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[Russ]

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[Brendan McCarthy]

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[Dugan Arnett]

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[Russ]

The SparkCashPlus card from Capital One. What's in your wallet?

[Brendan McCarthy]

Terms and conditions apply. Find out [e-mail] SparkCashPlus let's get back.

[Dugan Arnett]

To that night, the summer of 2017 when Carly Medeiros was expecting a night out for her fiance's birthday but instead wound up surrounded by police in an Apartment building, parking lot.

[Carly Medeiros]

Then all of a sudden, I put my hands up. I was like, I'm not moving. And.

[Dugan Arnett]

And there's a lot of cops.

[Carly Medeiros]

Yeah, you would think we just, like, try to, like, rob the Federal Reserve. Jared's standing in the parking lot, like, right by the gates where you drive out, and he has his arms crossed, and he's just like. He's just, like, staring at me, like, looking at me. And that just stuck in my head.

[Dugan Arnett]

So Carly's fiance, Stephen Ortiz, was facing serious drug trafficking charges. And the cop she'd been seeing behind his back, Jared Lucas, helped make the bust. Carly and Ortiz broke up not long after. And for a while, her relationship with Detective Jared Lucas tapered off, too. And for the next couple years, Carly spiraled, falling deeper into heroin addiction. And it was during this period that she started dating another guy, another alleged drug dealer named Miguel Martinez.

[Carly Medeiros]

As soon as I meet Miguel, Jared is starting his shit again.

[Dugan Arnett]

To Carly, it seemed like the cop was jealous of this new guy. He regularly made his disdain known. And when the relationship with Martinez started to deteriorate, when Carly says he became abusive, Detective Jared Lucas offered to help.

[Carly Medeiros]

That's when he put it in my head, like, hey, you know, just give me the word and I can get rid of him.

[Dugan Arnett]

She says that Lucas and another New Bedford detective came up with a plan with Carly's help. They'd set Martinez up. They'd give her cocaine, and she'd plant it in Martinez's car. Then they'd bust him. And she says, that's exactly what happened.

[Carly Medeiros]

And he told me what to do. From there, I did it. And Miguel went to jail.

[Dugan Arnett]

After Miguel Martinez was locked up, the whole situation kept nagging at Carly. She was sleeping with Jared Lucas, a detective, and he was very interested in her other romantic partners. First, her ex fiance, Stephen Ortiz, who he helped bring down in a dramatic bust. Then Miguel Martinez, who Lucas arrested after an alleged setup. She knows she helped with the arrest of Martinez. But now Carly's wondering, was she somehow part of what happened to her ex fiance, Stephen Ortiz?

[Carly Medeiros]

It was just like once I started putting all the pieces together, it just, like, I don't know, just kind of started making lights go off. It seemed like any man that I had in my life, he wanted to take out of my life.

[Dugan Arnett]

It all crystallized for Carly when. When she saw the paperwork in Ortiz's case, Lucas name wasn't just in the file. It turns out he'd initiated the entire investigation.

[Carly Medeiros]

The paperwork says that he has an informant. It doesn't mention who it is, but he has an informant. And the informant tells him what Steven does and how he does it. Yeah, that's basically what it said.

[Dugan Arnett]

It dawns on her, that informant. It's her.

[Carly Medeiros]

I knew he was using things I said and turn them. Turn them into his own words and using some of the stuff I said, but he was making his own narrative with it.

[Dugan Arnett]

The alleged details that the police had used to build a case against Stephen Ortiz, they were Carly's words, attributed to an anonymous CI.

[Carly Medeiros]

I am the informant. I am 1000% the informant. There is not nobody else. I never signed no paperwork to be an informant. I never did any of that. It was just like I felt like a slap in the face.

[Dugan Arnett]

This whole sordid tale came to light in a lengthy story I wrote in March of 2023. In it, Carly admitted to working with Lucas to set up Martinez. When police searched his apartment afterwards, they found cocaine and fentanyl. But in the wake of the Globe story, when Martinez was awaiting trial, his attorney pushed the issue in court. Good afternoon.

[Carly Medeiros]

Good afternoon.

[Brendan McCarthy]

In a nice, loud, clear voice. Can you please begin by introducing yourself to the court?

[Carly Medeiros]

My name is Carli Medeiros.

[Dugan Arnett]

This recording is from a special hearing that was called after our story ran. But how did you first become acquainted with Mr. Lucas?

[Carly Medeiros]

I came acquainted with him by him stopping me at the beach one day when I was at the beach.

[Dugan Arnett]

It's what's called a Franks Hearing, A special court proceeding to determine if a police officer lied to get a search warrant. Can you describe the court, what pictures.

[Brendan McCarthy]

Are included in that text thread?

[Carly Medeiros]

The pictures that are included in the text thread is a picture of Jared Lucas standing in his bathroom with the rag over his private area.

[Dugan Arnett]

Private area?

[Carly Medeiros]

Yes, standing in the mirror.

[Brendan McCarthy]

You recognize that image to be Jared Lucas?

[Carly Medeiros]

Yes.

[Dugan Arnett]

Detective Jared Lucas.

[Carly Medeiros]

Yes.

[Dugan Arnett]

Under oath, Carly outlines how Lucas exploited her for information without her knowledge. He. You testified that he would ask you.

[Brendan McCarthy]

Questions or talk to you about people you were hanging around, correct?

[Carly Medeiros]

Yep.

[Brendan McCarthy]

Did you ever consider yourself at that time a confidential informant?

[Carly Medeiros]

No.

[Dugan Arnett]

You never served as a confidential informant prior to that date?

[Carly Medeiros]

No.

[Dugan Arnett]

Carly also tells the court how Lucas used her to set up Martinez.

[Carly Medeiros]

I was given a bag, what they told me was cocaine.

[Dugan Arnett]

Okay.

[Brendan McCarthy]

And what were you.

[Dugan Arnett]

Were you instructed to do anything at that time?

[Carly Medeiros]

Yes, I was instructed to plant it on Miguel Martinez.

[Dugan Arnett]

At that time, prosecutor Patrick Bomberg accused Carly of being dishonest because, as you.

[Brendan McCarthy]

Say in your story.

[Dugan Arnett]

You are, in.

[Brendan McCarthy]

Fact, a person who lies.

[Carly Medeiros]

Did I lie? Yes. Do your Officers lie. Yes. Everybody lies.

[Dugan Arnett]

The prosecutor's trying to poke holes in the idea that Carly is an innocent victim in all this. And to be honest, I've always wondered whether Carly was more aware of what she was doing than she let on, in terms of giving Officer Jared Lucas information a about her partners, Stephen Ortiz, then Miguel Martinez. But the state trooper who led the investigation backed up her version of the story that Carly was an unwitting source of information. Her testimony took three days. But Jared Lucas, the cop she carried on a secret affair with for years, never appeared.

[Carly Medeiros]

Why isn't he here? Why isn't he answering none of these questions? And I guess that makes you mad. Does it make me mad? It makes me a little upset that he don't have to come in and go in front of anybody to say what he did wrong. It makes me mad that I'm dragged into here. It makes me mad that you're dragged into here. And we all have to answer for something he was a part of as well.

[Dugan Arnett]

What?

[Carly Medeiros]

What makes him better than me?

[Dugan Arnett]

In 2021, before my story came to light, Jared Lucas retired from the New Bedford Police Department. He was only in his 30s at the time. Lucas didn't respond to the allegations put forth in our reporting. He currently collects a pension of about $60,000 a year. Carly says she spoke out because she wanted accountability. And since she went public with her story, there have been consequences. After that Franks hearing, a Superior Court judge excoriated Lucas for gross misconduct. The judge ruled that much of the evidence in the case against Martinez was essentially tainted and couldn't be used against him. Last summer, after almost three years in jail, Miguel Martinez walked free. But his case might just be the first domino to fall. Today, Carly and her original partner, Stephen Ortiz, are back together, engaged again. And Steven's lawyers are heading to court in a few weeks to argue that the evidence against him should also be dismissed. Of course, prosecutors don't want to drop the case against a man they say is at the center of a major drug trafficking ring. But if it does go forward, it could reveal even more misconduct. When Stephen Ortiz's next court date comes up, the Globe will be there. The man in charge when Jared Lucas retired was Police Chief Paul Oliveira. Oliveira condemned Lucas behavior as disappointing and unethical. In a statement back in 2023, he said, quote, lucas egregious behavior while in our employment is an anomaly and does not reflect the true caliber of the men and women of the New Bedford Police Department. But Oliveira said then that his hands were tied that disciplining Lucas was impossible because he'd already left the department. I've been trying for nearly three years to get an interview with Paul Oliveira. Yeah, my name is Dugan Arnett. I'm a writer at the Boston Globe. Sent him an email yesterday about a story that we're preparing to publish. And before this podcast dropped, I tried multiple times to reach the police chief. All right. Westport, Massachusetts, home of Paul Oliveira. It's the fifth day that we've tried to reach out. Haven't heard anything. Sent a detailed list of questions the other day. Oliveira lives a few miles outside New Bedford in a sprawling house at the end of a dead end street. So obviously, just giving him the chance to respond, we're stopping by his house, see if he wants to talk. After all the official channels failed, my colleague Andrew Ryan and I went straight to the source.

[Brendan McCarthy]

So we'll. We'll go knock on the door and try.

[Dugan Arnett]

Yeah. All right.

[Russ]

Let's give it a whirlwind.

[Dugan Arnett]

No one answered. Andrew's been a huge part of this investigation. He's been especially focused on documents.

[Brendan McCarthy]

All of our reporting has been built on documents. Human sources are really important, but records are the lifeblood of all investigative reporting because records capture moments in time. And so with Chief Oliveira, one of the things that we wanted to do very early was to look at all the records about him.

[Dugan Arnett]

Andrew tried like hell to get records about Paul Oliveira.

[Brendan McCarthy]

There's a million different things that you can learn from internal affairs records. It can show us what kind of officer he was. It can point us towards other people who knew him, who might have gotten in trouble with him, or who may have investigated him.

[Dugan Arnett]

But these documents have proven difficult to shake loose.

[Brendan McCarthy]

And after a long series of back and forth, the city said that there were a number of those files that no longer existed.

[Dugan Arnett]

In fact, almost all of Oliveira's internal affairs files have been destroyed.

[Brendan McCarthy]

It stuck out to me because I couldn't understand why they would get rid of files for an active duty officer. So I went digging. And in Massachusetts, to legally get rid of public records, you actually have to apply for a permit.

[Dugan Arnett]

And that's exactly what the police department did.

[Brendan McCarthy]

Chief Oliveira signs a form that looks like any other kind of bureaucratic document that he might sign. But this one was called an application for destruction permission. And we can still see his signature because we got a copy of the document.

[Dugan Arnett]

The piece of paper sought permission to destroy five file cabinets worth of documents.

[Brendan McCarthy]

Which included 25 years worth of Internal affairs records. This included his own cases but here's the interesting thing. They did it just three months after Paul Oliveira became police chief. And we should say that this is perfectly legal at this point.

[Dugan Arnett]

Since then, a state regulation has been put in place that prevents police departments from purging records for active duty officers. But in 2021, there was nothing to stop Oliveira.

[Brendan McCarthy]

At the state archives. They have records going back 60 plus years. And I asked for all records like that that had been filed by the police department. And this was the only time in at least the last 60 years that the New Bedford Police Department has ever asked to get rid of internal investigative files.

[John Mitchell]

So, so we. This is, this is breaking news. We are extending the contract of Police Chief Paul Oliver three years.

[Dugan Arnett]

Last summer, New Bedford Mayor John Mitchell took to local radio to make this announcement.

[John Mitchell]

We are giving him another three year contract. And I think the reason is simple. He's performed.

[Dugan Arnett]

That's it?

[John Mitchell]

That's it.

[Dugan Arnett]

This contract extension was a show of confidence in the chief and would keep him in place through 2027.

[John Mitchell]

So Chief Oliveira is going to continue to do what he's been doing. He's committed to the city and I think he's grown into the job. And so I forward to continued good work.

[Dugan Arnett]

But shortly after we started promoting this investigative podcast, things changed and there was another surprise announcement. Chief Oliveira is retiring early. He didn't say why he's leaving two years before his contract expires. But my police sources are pretty confident it's because of this investigation. And while neither the chief, nor the mayor nor the will talk to me directly, they have responded publicly to the reporting. Good morning. Good morning. Beautiful day here in Fairhaven. The sun is out. Hopefully you'll get an opportunity to enjoy it. Today we have the mayor of New Bedford here in studio. Mayor Mitchell appeared on South Coast.

[John Mitchell]

Now, it is very difficult for us to sort of accept any of this stuff on faith. Despite the Boston Globe, spotlight teams, vaunted reputation, they dubbed the entire city a snitch city. It's obvious why they're doing it. Because they want to promote their podcast, they want to promote their reporting. I think it's entirely irresponsible.

[Dugan Arnett]

Mitchell spoke in defense of Oliveira, who he knew from the old days when the mayor was a federal prosecutor and Oliveira was a rising star in the department. So you're working with Paul Olivera. Obviously you never detected any of this or you wouldn't have made him the chief.

[John Mitchell]

Yeah, no, that's. My experiences with Paul were entirely positive. And in the cases I worked with him on, I Found him to be entirely professional. None of these allegations that are in the Boston Globe had any inkling of. And look, you know, we're going to this. The department's going to dig into those allegations to see whether they are. Have any. They hold any water.

[Dugan Arnett]

While Mitchell claimed the Globe's reporting was based on a false narrative, he also said the city would refer the Globe's work to the FBI for review.

[John Mitchell]

Nevertheless, I don't dismiss what they have to say. I take the allegations seriously, and I think there's a lot I want people.

[Dugan Arnett]

To know that we work and we continue to work very hard. I want to give the last word of this podcast to the informants, the ones who risked their lives by talking. There's Daniel, who's still in prison, worried about the wrong person finding out he was an informant.

[Russ]

There's been a bunch of close calls. You know, I try to avoid it.

[Dugan Arnett]

You know what I'm saying?

[Russ]

But there have been a bunch of close calls. I wake up, and I should be hoping for the best.

[Dugan Arnett]

And Carly Medeiros, who wants other informants to hear her story, I know I'm.

[Carly Medeiros]

Not the only one. So I just hope that when they do hear my story, they don't have to feel like they're obligated to do stuff for the police because they're in this situation. So I know by the end of this, I'm gonna get proven right. I just have all the hope in the world, and nobody's taking that from me. I don't care who calls me a liar.

[Dugan Arnett]

Over the course of my reporting, I've learned how easy it can be to get swept into this shadowy, dangerous corner of policing in America and how hard it can be to get out. And as Russ Oliveira's former informant told me, even if you do get out, you never truly leave it behind.

[Russ]

I think everybody in this shit's a victim at certain levels. I certainly am. And maybe I'm not the worst victim, but, like, I do suffer from it daily. You know, it is a drug war, and I think I suffer from PTSD like any other soldier would. You know, you guys coming out of nowhere. Twenty years later, I finally settled in. In life and got this stuff behind me. I'm dealing with it here again, you know, not poor me. I fucking deserve it. You know, say, like, explain the whole story to someone that I was born into this shit, another victim of the drug game. People will just read it and say, you know what? They're fucking drug dealers and they got what they deserve because they're breaking laws. We can do anything we want to them and maybe they're right. I don't know. It's a fucked up system that few people understand and I wouldn't know how to change it. I know it would be tough.

[Dugan Arnett]

Snitch City is reported and hosted by me, Dugan Arnett. Additional reporting by Andrew ryan and Brendan McCarthy. The podcast is written by Max Green and Kristen Nelson, along with me and Brennan McCarthy. Max Green is Senior Producer. Executive producers are Spotlight editor Brendan McCarthy and Kristin Nelson, the Globe's head of audio. Additional editing and support from Gordon Russell and Kathleen Goldar. Nancy Barnes is the Boston Globe's Executive Editor. Special thanks to the Boston Globe's Editor at large, Mark Morrow, for everything he added to this project. Sound design and mix by Steven Jackson thank you to our colleague Travis Anderson for voicing Russ's words in this episode and to Jasmine Aguilera for helping us throughout and jumping in at key moments. Episode artwork by Julian D. Paulson Art direction by Ryan Huddle Podcast visualization by Olivia Jarvis and Anoush Elbakian. Heather Cyrus is the audience editor. Tim Rasmussen is visuals editor. Legal review by John Albano Fact checking by Matt Mahoney Marketing support for this podcast comes from the podglomera.