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- [00:02]
A
This is exactly right.
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B
This story contains adult content and language. Listener discretion is advised. Welcome to the Knife Off Record. I'm Hannah Smith.
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A
I'm Pasha Eaton.
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B
And Pasha, today I have a story to tell you.
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A
I can't wait.
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B
It is about an FBI undercover operation.
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A
Oh, I know I'm gonna love this.
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B
Okay. So fun.
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A
I often think I would have been a great FBI agent minus all the push ups that I'm guessing you have to do to get to that point.
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B
Right. Would you be an undercover agent?
- [00:53]
A
Yeah, I feel like I am for my friends.
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B
Well, I heard about this case. It's pretty fun. I tried to get in contact with the agent who. This was a really long operation. It ran for six years, and there were multiple agents, but there was one agent who was involved the whole time. Lou Calveris. I tried to get a hold of him. Turns out retired FBI agents are difficult to find unless they have written a book or have their information out there publicly, intentionally. Like, he's not on any of the websites where we look for people's information. His information is not public.
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A
Yeah, maybe if you spent your whole career, like, pretending to be other people around criminals. You're like, you know what? In retirement, I'm gonna go even more undercover.
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B
I'm gonna be hard to find.
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A
Yeah.
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B
Yeah. I did end up tracking him down eventually and spoke to him on the phone. He's so nice. And he declined to do an interview. But then we ended up chatting for like an hour, and he was just telling me, like, all the old stories. I'm like, oh, my gosh.
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A
The best.
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B
Lou, are you sure you don't want to do an interview? But he declined. He's retired. He's like, I'm enjoying my life. I've told this story before. I. I don't want to have to revisit it. Fair. But I told him I was still going to talk about it. Okay, so this is Operation Royal Charm. There have been some podcasts that have covered this and some television shows. There was an episode of a show called Double Life, which was sort of hard to find. I had to rent it to watch it. I think it was done in the early 2000s. So I thought, well, there's not a ton about it out there, so let's talk about it.
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A
Yeah.
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B
So it takes place in Newark, New Jersey. The story starts in the fall of 1999. So Agent Lou Calvarise, he gets a tip. He has an informant who calls him and says, I want to let you know about this husband and wife team. They are Importing goods from China, mainly counterfeit cigarettes. And he clues them into their operation, lets Lou know who they are, and he says, I have a feeling that they're smuggling other things as well.
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A
Counterfeit cigarettes. So, like fake Marlboro. Mar. How do you say that word?
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B
Marlboro.
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A
Mar.
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B
Oh, my gosh. Marlboro.
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A
Losers. Yeah. So they are cigarettes, but they're branded dupes.
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B
Yes. Okay. So I asked Lou about this, and their cigarettes made, you know, this specific operation. They were making these cigarettes in China. Right. And using whatever tobacco lucid. Sometimes they actually did use the same tobacco. Like, if it was a Newport or a Marlboro, they would maybe have access to some of that tobacco, but then they would always mix it with some other tobacco they were growing there that was cheaper.
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A
Sounds super safe. And, you know, cigarettes, they're so safe when they're the actual brand that you think you're ordering.
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B
Right. And then they had replicas of the packaging that looked exactly the same. And this sounds like it was quite a profitable business. We'll get into that in a minute. So he heard about this couple. Okay. They're making counterfeit cigarettes. They're importing them. They were moving merchandise through the Port of Newark, New Jersey. Well, Lou brings us to the FBI because he thinks it has potential to be a bigger case. And Lou has actually worked as an undercover agent before, posing as someone in the Italian Mafia. And so he already kind of has that Persona.
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A
Is it like a fine line between FBI agent and Italian mobster?
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B
Yeah. And I mean, you know, Lou kind of has the vibe and the accent, and it's also, Lou told me, fairly well known that the Italian Mafia had their hand involved with the Newark port shipping dock. So the FBI decided this would be the perfect cover. They assigned Lou and then another agent named Tom Zykowski. Apparently, these guys had worked together before undercover.
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A
Okay.
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B
They're like, okay, you're going undercover. You're going to play these mafiosos. So Lou Calvarise became Louis Calvarici, and Tom Zykowski becomes mobster Tommy Zeko, but mostly known just as Z Man. And I asked Lou if he was ever nervous that posing as a mobster, he would run into someone from the actual Italian mobile. And he said, no, they weren't.
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A
Oh, so he wasn't getting in with the Mafia to get these other people. He was just pretending to be someone who they might typically work with anyway.
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B
Yeah.
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A
Okay.
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B
And it turns out that this husband and wife team, they had not had any contact with the Italian Mafia. So how are they going to know? But also, it sounds like everything's very hush hush and secretive. So he was pretty sure that this would be a good cover. It wouldn't be blown. So they set a meeting. November 23, 1999. They arrange to meet with this husband and wife smuggling couple. They meet in an upscale apartment that the FBI is providing that's decked out to look like someone really rich and someone in the Italian mafia might live there. But it's also filled with wires and recording devices.
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A
I'm picturing leopard print pillows and lots of ornate furniture and gold, probably.
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B
I didn't see any pictures of it, but that sounds about right.
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A
Okay. Perfect.
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B
Funny to me that the FBI is having to fund that.
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A
I want to be the set designer for the FBI.
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B
Yeah. So this husband and wife team arrive to the meeting. Their names are Charles and May Liu. Charles also goes by Charlie. And the agents are really surprised when Charlie and May walk in the room because they're not exactly what they expected. Charlie and May are described as a Ma and PA couple. Z man is quoted to have said they seemed like the unassuming couple next door you'd invite over to play bingo or pinochle on a Friday night. Little bit about Charlie and Mei Liu. They immigrated from China around 1980, and they lived in a suburb of Washington, D.C. in Maryland. Charles received a master's degree from Seton Hall University in political science, and he is described as kind of having a professorial look to him, often wearing chinos and sweaters. And they're in their 60s by the time the FBI operation is taking place. Mei Lu was described as a true lady. She wore pantsuits and loved ballroom dancing. And they were U.S. citizens, but they still had a lot of connections in China. And it looked like they were the masterminds behind this cigarette smuggling operation.
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A
And how long had it been going on when the FBI gets involved, or do you know what the informant said about.
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B
I'm not sure.
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A
Okay.
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B
Yeah. That wasn't listed.
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A
Okay. But we're in Y2K 1999, and they are in their 60s.
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B
Yeah. And this is like. Seems like the operation has been happening for a while.
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A
Okay.
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B
Apparently in this first meeting, Mae is kind of enamored with Lou and Tom and their sort of big Italian mafia personalities. And at one point she leaned in and asked them, are you in the Mafia?
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A
She's like, finally, we get to work with the Mafia.
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B
And they're like, no, no, no, we're just businessmen, because. Which was the right answer because they know a Person in the Mafia is not going to have a first meeting with someone and say, yeah, I'm in the Mafia.
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A
It's on my business card.
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B
Yeah. And so the meeting went really well. Charlie and May. Charlie and May end up explaining their business model to Lou and Tom. And we talked a little bit about it. But the cigarette smuggling operation is really profitable. Remember, this is 1999. They estimated production of these cigarettes to fill one shipping container might cost them around $125,000 in China. When they sell it in the US they're getting over a million dollars for these cigarettes. So the profit margin is enormous. They're bringing it in. They've been bringing these containers into different ports in the US and then having them delivered to different cities. I know, like, New York, Chinatown was a big place where they would sell these.
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A
I mean, that's a huge return.
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B
Huge return. They're selling them to bodegas and little shops. So not like huge companies. Right, right. And getting away with it. Although they have had some issues of their containers being searched and seized, because the shipping log doesn't list, obviously, counterfeit cigarettes or even cigarettes. It's like something else entirely. So sometimes the containers get through, but they've had issues with them being stopped and then flagged, and then they're having to deal with that. Right.
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A
Okay.
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B
So basically, the FBI undercover agents Louis Calvaricci and Zman offer them is like, hey, we have connections at the Newark port, and if you work with us and let us know, we'll make a deal. Per container that comes in, we will make sure that it gets through, no problem. So we can deal with the customs, we'll make sure it's never flagged, and we'll actually even deliver it wherever you want it to go. So if you want it delivered to New York, we will drive it there for you. If you want it delivered to California, we'll drive it there for you. And they're going to charge them between 50 and 60 thousand dollars per container for this arrangement, which is still, if you're going to make over a million dollars in profit, pretty good.
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A
Yeah. And it opens up a lot of doors as far as where they can sell their product.
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B
Yeah. So Charlie and May like this idea, but they're hesitant because they don't know these guys. So they say, let's build a relationship first. And the FBI is willing to do that because, again, there's a suspicion that there's more items being smuggled into the US Other than cigarettes. And so they know they're going to have to spend the time for Lou and Z Man to build trust with Charlie and May to really get in and infiltrate the smuggling operation. So they have this idea that they're going to do a deal, but it's not happening yet. So for the next three months, these undercover agents are wining and dining Charlie and May. They're going out to fancy dinners regularly, like, nice restaurants in New York.
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A
Wow.
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B
And Lou is always picking up the tab. And at one point, he kind of expressed annoyance that Charlie, like, never offered to pay the bill.
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A
Like, come on. Yeah, Yeah. I mean, hey, making friends in adulthood can be kind of weird.
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B
Yeah. He wants to get in good with them. Yeah. I think it's an interesting part of this undercover operation because Tom and Lou, they have to look the part of these wealthy mafioso guys, right? And that's all happening on the FBI's dime. So there's a penthouse that they can use when they need to. They drive Porsches and Cadillacs, which I read one place that these were cars in Pensacola hounded by the FBI from previous cases from, like, drug dealers.
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A
They are, like, very resourceful.
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B
They're wearing, like, expensive watches and fancy clothes. They have, you know, money to go to these nice restaurants, order the most expensive wine on the menu.
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A
You have to imagine their boss was like, how much more time do you need? And they're like, three months. We have a reservation. It's.
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B
Yeah. So they're definitely, like, racking up some bills. You know, Lou called it a double life. Eventually, later on, he'll travel for this operation. And they're flying. You know, he's flying first class. So he's sort of getting to live the life of this very wealthy person, when in reality, you know, he's not.
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A
Yeah.
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B
He said the maitre d's at nice restaurants know him and, like, get him a table quickly. And then you go back to your real life, and he's like, and then I go on vacation with my family, and we're just, like, in economy. He's like, oh, yeah, this is a reality check.
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A
Seriously.
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B
So this goes on for months and months. They're building trust with Charlie and May again. They haven't even started doing business yet together. So finally, one year into this, one year In November of 2000, they're on the verge of striking a deal. And, you know, this has to go well. Like, this is just, like, one deal to get one container of counterfeit cigarettes into the US Right?
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A
After a year of putting all of this time and money into the relationship to make the steal happen so you can catch them.
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B
Yeah. So that you can have evidence that this is really happening. So they're like, okay, it's happening, it's happening. And then there's a snag with the FBI. So Tom, or Z Man, as he's known, you know, they're both working on other cases as well. So it's not like they're living full time as these undercover laws.
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A
It's like, you get back to your desk, you take off your gold chain,
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B
and then you're like, okay, I have to do some paperwork. So Z Man has also been working on another case that I guess wrapped up. And there was some snafu with the fact that he didn't get his paperwork done in time. And this upset his superiors, and they just pulled him from the undercover operation of Operation Royal Charm over paperwork. You have things happening at the FBI as well. And one of the things that Lou and then another agent he was interviewed with on another podcast I listened to mentioned was sometimes, you know, you're having to also deal with office politics. And there were some people at the FBI that did not respect undercover operations and had this sort of view of like, are you really working, or are you just going out and drinking nice wine?
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A
Yeah. Like, what a sweet gig.
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B
Yeah. Yeah. And so there was a little bit of maybe pushback in that way. But Lou was really upset because he's thinking, we've invested a year. We're on the verge of making this deal. You pull one of my agents. This could look really suspicious. He ends up telling Charlie and May some story like, well, we're reassigning him within the family.
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A
I'd be like, we had to off him. Yeah.
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B
And that kind of goes over again. They don't ask a lot of questions because you're not going to sit there and question another illegal operation that you're working with.
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A
It's like the unspoken rule.
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B
Yeah. So it ends up being fine. But Lou also knows eventually Z Man's gonna have to show his face. And so sometimes Z Man will show up to a meal and sort of be like, hey, guys, you know, check in with Charlie and May without telling the FBI. So the FBI does not know they're doing this.
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A
Oh, so he's gone rogue.
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B
He's gone rogue.
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A
Oh, I love that. Okay.
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B
And they talk about it now. So apparently, because, spoiler alert, this operation was a success. The FBI doesn't care about that. But, yeah, the FBI did not approve that.
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A
That's funny.
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B
Then the FBI assigns a new guy to the case, Jack Garcia, who again, has a nickname. He goes by Big Jack. He's like a really tall, big guy. And according to Lou, he was nervous. Will May and Charlie like this new guy because the vibe was that May had had a crush on Z Man, sort of.
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A
And they ripped him away from her.
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B
And they ripped him away from her. I mean, she's married to Charlie.
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A
Sorry, Charlie.
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B
So Big Jack comes in, and Lou was like, I knew it was going to be okay, because on the first dinner, Big Jack gets up to go to the bathroom, and May leans into me, and she's like, he's pretty cute.
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A
She's like, I've got a new crush.
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B
So May is just having crushes on all these undercover agents.
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A
I love that.
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B
So the first deal goes through the summer of 2001, and the container comes in. Lou handles the transport of it, the drivers, to get it delivered, and that's a really big deal. He's like, okay, now that we've had one successful delivery, the door is open to us. They trust us, we trust them. Now let's invest time and see how far we can get. What he really wants is to be able to understand if they're importing other things. So he needs to build enough trust with them to be able to ask that question, like, what about weapons? What about drugs?
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A
I see. So the counterfeit cigarette shipping container that they're bringing in, that's just, like, we're just scratching the surface, and we need to make sure, like, we're using that as our foot in the door here.
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B
Yeah, because they have a feeling this is a much bigger operation. And while it is illegal to import counterfeit goods and these counterfeit cigarettes, I think it wasn't looked at as so much a threat. It wasn't gonna be these enormous charges. But if they could uncover that they were bringing in drugs or weapons or human beings, then that would be a huge deal. Right. And he has a feeling like that's happening.
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A
Was it just a gut feeling, or do you know if the informant who tipped him off in the first place was like, you might want to look into this.
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B
I think the informant indicated you could dig deeper here, and it got really bad.
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A
Okay, gotcha.
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B
And so I think that's also why the FBI was willing to foot this bill and go through all of this to get them into this operation, but they're also banking on that. Like, what if it didn't turn out that way?
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A
Yeah, you don't want to bring those expense reports to your boss and be like, we didn't come up with anything.
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B
Yeah, yeah, exactly. But Lou does say that he would get frustrated with Charlie because he would have a container of these cigarettes and, okay, we're going to drive them to New York for you. Where should we meet you? And he's envisioning they're going to drive into a secure warehouse or something. And he said sometimes Charlie would just have them meet in a back alleyway and back two trucks up together and have guys be transferring the goods. And Lou, he said this happened one time and he was there and he's freaking out because it's so out in the open. And he's looking at the end of the alleyway and there's cop cars driving by and he's like, oh my gosh. If one curious cop just comes down this alleyway, you're done. This whole operation is busted, you know?
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A
Yeah, yeah.
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B
And so he would sort of get on the phone and yell at Charlie and be like, you gotta do this, you know? But he said that actually helped him. Cause it sort of played into his Persona as this mob boss guy who was like, don't mess with me.
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A
Like, yeah, don't mess with me. And like, we have a shared fear of being caught.
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B
Yeah, totally. Then about two years into the initial operation, Charlie and Mae finally open up to Lou about like, some of their connections. They say that they are connected to someone high ranked who is in the Chinese Ministry of Intelligence and that they have access to military grade weapons that they want to import into the U.S. oh.
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A
And he's gotta be like, mm.
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B
He's just like, yes.
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A
Is he wearing a wire in all of these interactions?
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B
I don't know. That's a great question. I don't know. I think that a lot of these meetings happen at this penthouse. That's where there's recording devices. But I don't know if all of them are okay. But he's reporting it all back and he is like, this is the big break that we need. If we can catch them bringing in even one container of these weapons, we can like wrap up the operation and arrest them. Because we're talking AK47s, rocket launchers, like things that like, is really scary to think are coming into our country. Yeah.
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A
And not being tracked.
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B
Yeah. So they make an arrangement to have a shipment of military weapons come in. But like, all of this stuff just takes months to get going, you know? Cause then they're having to talk with the people in China, and I don't even know where the weapons were coming from. I think from China. But then the shipment, this whole deal becomes interrupted. Because by this point, It's September of 2001, and the 911 attacks happen. And Charlie starts to panic just because security is immediately amped up everywhere, even on the docks. So he's like, this isn't the right time. We gotta delay. Like, we're gonna cancel this shipment. Let's just keep doing the cigarettes. But, like, it's too risky. And of course, Lou in character is like, you're right. You're right. But he's devastated. Cause he's like, I've been working on this case for two years.
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A
You know, it's so, like, now that we are 25 years past 9 11, I feel like in our story research all the time, I'm seeing stories that were big for a second. And then when 911 happened, understandably, that's all we read about.
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B
Yeah. Like the Robert Courtney case that we covered on a season of the Opportunist. That was the FBI's, like, number one case until 911 happened. And then it was just like, basically forgotten about. I mean, not forgotten about, but clearly
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A
it no longer was newsworthy.
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B
It wasn't. And it wasn't the most important thing that the FBI was dealing with.
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A
Yeah. Crazy to think about that.
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B
Yeah.
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A
So this is all happening, and then they're right on the cusp of the weapon shipment in 9 11.
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B
911 happens. Lou doesn't get pulled from this case, and neither does Big Jack, the other agent, but this development stops. And so now they're kind of back to where they were, where he's kind of having to fight for this case now at the FBI, because they're like, okay, when are we going to be able to make these arrests? How big is this case going to be? And he's like, okay, I just need a little more time. I think this is gonna be big. But now we're still in that waiting game of building trust, trying to figure out what's going on. And this continues on till December 2003. So at this point, he's been working on this case for four years.
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A
That's a long time. Especially when you think about keeping up the facade. Like, fancy New York apartment, nice restaurants.
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B
Yeah. And he's in New Jersey, and Charlie and May live in Maryland. So I get the feeling like they're not in constant contact, but they're still in pretty, pretty regular contact over the course of four years, you know? And one of the people that Lou has met is this guy named Keith Tang. Because at this point, Lou has met a Bunch of people that work for Charlie and May and are part of this smuggling operation.
- [23:37]
A
So people that are aware of what's going on.
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B
Oh, yeah. And so they are starting to get names as well. So every time he's like, gonna do a shipment, maybe there's Charlie's right hand guy. He's gonna come help you and meet you. And Lou's getting to know that guy. So they're like making a list, I imagine a graph of who involved in the smuggling operation. He meets this guy, Keith Tang. He's worked with this guy before. He talked about one shipment that they had going to Chicago to this new buyer of Charlie's. And I don't know the full details, but Lou says that the buyer guy was weird and shady and didn't want to pay them. When they left, Keith turned him and was like, do you want me to take care of that guy for you?
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A
Like, threatened to take him out.
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B
Threatened to take him out? Keith.
- [24:25]
A
No, I don't.
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B
Sort of was like, you know, shows you at that point. He's like, oh, I really trust you. There's loyalty here. And Lou's like, no, no, no, don't worry.
- [24:35]
A
Maybe next time.
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B
He's like, I can't have you killing someone.
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A
Yeah, it was all part of the operation.
- [24:40]
B
Yeah. And so he talks about how he and Keith become friends. Basically. Like, they have a good relationship. And it is Keith who ends up sort of opening the door for this to go bigger. Out of the blue, reaches out to Lou and says, I want to meet with you, Just you and me. And Lou's like, okay. So they meet, and Keith is like, I've been working on the smuggling operation. I'm ready to go bigger and do my own smuggling operation.
- [25:07]
A
Perfect. Always advocate for yourself.
- [25:10]
B
Right? Give yourself the promotion that you want.
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A
Yes.
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B
And at first he's like, I'm going to bring in cigarettes. And Lou's like, no. So he's like, okay, is he just trying to rip off Charlie's business? But as this sort of mafia personality, he's like, I don't need cigarettes. I already have cigarettes. Like, give me something better. What do you have? Like, do you have weapons? Because I have buyers for weapons. Right. And so Keith's like, okay, okay. I do have a contact who's very connected in China. His name's Jimmy Horn. And he's like, let me meet with him. I think I could probably arrange, like, military grade weapons to come in. So Lou's like, okay, great. So he's waiting for, you know, Keith to get back but he's like, this could be the big break that we're looking for in the case. So then a few months later, Keith meets up with him also. I have to imagine, you know, this is before cell phones are prevalent, so there's a lot of people flying back and forth from New York and different parts of the US To China to meet with people. Right.
- [26:19]
A
Imagine that is, like, now. No, you would not be doing that.
- [26:22]
B
Yeah. It takes so long. So it's like, okay, great, let's make this deal. I'll see you in three months, and let's talk about it. So In June of 2004, Keith and Lou meet up again. And Lou's ready for the update. Keith is like, okay, I actually have another product that I want to import, but I think you're really going to like it. And he pulls out three $100 bills.
- [26:44]
A
Oh, counterfeit money. Uh, oh.
- [26:47]
B
And Lou looks at them and he's like, I don't understand. You want to import, like, US Money? And Keith's like, these are counterfeit. And Lou says he's so taken aback because they look exactly like real U.S. money. And he's like, okay, okay, you know what? Let me take these back to my people and let me talk, and maybe we can make a deal.
- [27:10]
A
So he's like, oh, this was so worth it. No one's gonna come for me with these agreements. Expense reports.
- [27:16]
B
Yeah. So he takes these $100 bills, US $100 bills, back to the FBI. They get sent to a Secret Service lab to analyze, and they come back and say, this is a super note, which is a super high quality counterfeit paper money. And now this is the early 2000s. So this is before, like, I looked up when the US added the, like, hologram to the $100 bill. And that wasn't until 2013. But these were such good fakes. Whoever was making them was using the exact same type of paper that the US Makes and the same presses.
- [27:57]
A
So I wonder how they could even tell that they were fake. Is it just because he said they were?
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B
I don't know how they, you know, whatever the Secret Service, they probably don't tell us.
- [28:08]
A
Yeah, here's what we're looking for.
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B
But apparently the Secret Service had been aware of these supernotes since, like, the 80s, and they'd been trying to figure out where they were coming from and track them down.
- [28:19]
A
Oh, so he just unknowingly gets handed this, like, thing that's been on their radar.
- [28:25]
B
They're like, okay, now, wallet is open. Anything you need wow. Yes. We need to find out where these are coming from, so try to move forward and get a container of these supernotes delivered. Also, this is, like, enough for us to charge and make the arrest. And this will be a much bigger case than just counterfeit cigarettes.
- [28:46]
A
But now, is it only Keith on the hook? Because the other couple, so far, they only have the counterfeit cigarettes for them.
- [28:55]
B
I think it's like that other couple would still be charged.
- [28:58]
A
Okay.
- [28:59]
B
But, you know, so you think about the people that will be charged in this. There's all these different branches. Keith, you know, sadly, Lou really liked him, but he's like, yeah, I mean, don't get attached. You know, now Keith really trusts him, and. And now Keith is really upping the ante for his own potential criminal prosecution, because now he's trying to bring in supernotes to the US So Lou meets with him again and says, okay, let's do it. I definitely want these. How do we go about this? And so Keith says, I want you to meet my supplier, Jimmy Horn, in person. Let's all meet in Phuket, Thailand. And Lou's like, why in Phuket? And Keith's like, that's where I went on my honeymoon. And it's a nice place, but I think probably it's a neutral place. It's not China. It's not the US and they have connections there. Keith comes out and says he knows some of the local law enforcement, and they're able to just have this very luxury experience there.
- [30:05]
A
Oh, my gosh. That would be terrifying, actually.
- [30:09]
B
Yeah. I can't imagine. Also, now you're not on US Soil if something goes wrong. But of course, Lou's like, great. Sounds like kind of a vacation. Let's do it. And as they're sort of leaving, Keith makes this comment to Lou, says, like, yeah, you're going to love it there. Also, I know a guy who, and this is how Keith supposedly described it, who has a stable of women sex workers, and I'm going to show you a really good time. And Lou's like, great. Yeah. But sort of then thinking like, oh, God. Because Lou is married and has a family and is like, okay, this could be potentially awkward because I'm playing this part of this mafioso guy, but I'm
- [30:52]
A
not gonna partake in this.
- [30:54]
B
What excuse can I have? How do I navigate this situation?
- [30:58]
A
I would say food poisoning.
- [31:01]
B
Yeah. So that's one option. He's also sort of worried because Keith has said he's very connected to local law enforcement. Obviously, they're gonna stay in this five star resort that Jimmy and Keith know everyone. And so he's wondering, there's a good chance they're gonna go through my room. There's a good chance that also maybe these women that come in are working for them. So we'll be reporting back. You just never know the scenario. So he's at the FBI telling them this, and they're like, we got to figure out a plan. And they decide that they need to bring on another agent, a woman to pose as his girlfriend who sort of is coming along on the trip. And now. Oh, bummer. Now I can't be with any of these women.
- [31:47]
A
Oh my gosh. So do you have to kiss your colleague? Oh, Lord.
- [31:52]
B
So that's where Melissa Anderson comes in. She was younger. In an interview, she said she had just finished recently undercover school and had been on one operation. And they approached her and she was like, yeah, this sounds like a really exciting job. But they had to talk about it a lot because Melissa was in a relationship with a man she later married and Lou is married. And they're like, we're going to have to stay in the same hotel room because we're all staying together at this resort. And it will look really weird if Lou brings his girlfriend on the trip and she's like, I want my own room. So now you have a situation where you're work colleague and you're going to have to for 10 days stay in the same room with them. And also when you're out in public at a nice dinner, you have to look like you're together.
- [32:40]
A
See, here's where I would feel completely. Up until then, I thought you wanted
- [32:44]
B
to be an undercover agent.
- [32:45]
A
Pesha, I'm not cut out for this.
- [32:49]
B
And so they both have to talk to their partners and they're okay with it. But yeah, it would be sort of awkward. I think it would be more awkward having to stay in the same room.
- [33:00]
A
Yeah. Well, I guess if they hadn't worked together before, maybe that would help in a way because you're like, this is the context that we're first working together on. We just have to like do this. But then if you have like a long standing friendship or I don't know, I mean, wow, that would be an intense situation. Yeah. Sharing a room. I mean. No, that. Wow. But what? Yeah, I mean, that's all they could do.
- [33:27]
B
I know. And I guess there was another couple who were not a couple, they were FBI agents. That went as well. And I don't know, it sounds like according To Lou and Melissa. Like, Lou and Melissa ended up getting along great. They're like friends. They're like, this brought us closer. It was totally fine. We worked out a system. It was okay. The other agents, like, it sounds like it didn't go so well. And so then they're just, like, having to, like, live in the same room with each other for 10 days.
- [33:50]
A
I was like, you're kissing me for too long.
- [33:59]
B
Okay, they're off. They're off to Phuket. And, like, I have to imagine that would just be so nerve wracking because the whole operation, which has been going on for years now, is hinging on. Don't blow it. Like, you cannot blow it. You cannot let them know that you're an agent. Like, you have to play this part. And not just for one meeting, but for 10 full days.
- [34:21]
A
And how do they even have any protection out there if something goes wrong? I mean, these are people who are clearly dangerous. Keith had offered to kill someone for Lou.
- [34:32]
B
Yeah. And Jimmy Horn, as Lou says, when they get there, it's just so clear that he's incredibly wealthy. He has his hand in other things. Like he's smuggling drugs into different countries. He's very.
- [34:44]
A
He's up to absolutely no good.
- [34:45]
B
Yeah. And so they did say that there. And I don't know if this was that other, like, quote unquote couple that wasn't a couple that was there with them, but there were other FBI agents that they were pretending not to be connected with that were in the country, in the area, maybe, like, staying at the resort. Yeah, like, watching. And then I think there was probably some communication with whatever agency the US Already had in Thailand, but still, it seems dangerous to me.
- [35:14]
A
Yeah.
- [35:15]
B
So they meet with Jimmy when we're there. Also, they're wining, they're dining, they're traveling, they're doing all this fun stuff. But then they have a meeting. And at first, Lou says that Jimmy proposes they start with a $5 million shipment. And he's freaked out by this, but he says, we don't know each other that well. Let's start off with something smaller and build trust. Jimmy proposes, okay, I will sell you $339,000 worth of supernotes for $100,000. And they make this deal. And Jimmy tells him these supernotes come from North Korea. That's where they're being made.
- [35:53]
A
Oh.
- [35:54]
B
Which is really valuable information because this is also what the Secret Service wanted to know. And so he's already gotten a piece of intel that is important. They try to Arrange an arms deal because Jimmy has access again, to military grade weapons, but they can't really agree on a price. So they decide to table that for the moment. Lou is fine with that. If they can get these super notes through, this is so valuable that it's enough.
- [36:21]
A
Yeah. I wonder if he was just in that negotiation being a little bit difficult. Like, I don't want to waste money on this transaction. Like, I guess we can't come to a deal. Let's just focus on the supernotes.
- [36:32]
B
Yeah, I don't know. But the difference between importing something like supernotes or weapons versus cigarettes is that the US Government is not okay with those actually getting out into society. Whereas, like, what's really happening is that these counterfeit cigarettes are going on to be sold in the US and the FBI knows this.
- [36:54]
A
They're like, that's a problem for another day.
- [36:56]
B
Yeah. But they can't let a container of weapons go through and accidentally get out into society. Or these supernotes. The Secret Service is nervous. If anything goes wrong or somehow these get out into the world, they could cause problems with the economy, inflation. This could be very bad. But the difference between the cigarette importing deal and this is that Lou has said, we will buy these supernotes for you, and we're going to deal with where that goes. And the same with the weapons. Like, instead of delivering them, we'll be the buyers, and then we're gonna resell them, basically.
- [37:33]
A
Okay, so Keith has become a middleman between Lou and Jimmy.
- [37:37]
B
Yeah. And so In October of 2004, the first shipment of supernotes enters Newark Port. It's hidden in a shipment of toys. And it works. It happens. And so this is a huge win. And then one month later, Jimmy sends Lou a package. It's a weapons catalog, and it lists all these different kinds of weapons. And he's basically like, what do you want? What do you want to buy?
- [38:01]
A
Oh, my gosh.
- [38:02]
B
And Liu says, it looks like it comes from somewhere inside the Chinese military is like, what this catalog looks like. He's not sure. He places an order for $1 million of weapons, and he's like, okay, great. We get the weapons container, we get the supernote container, we have the cigarettes. Then we can charge this case and wrap it up. And this is gonna be a huge case. Well, on July 7, 2005, there was another terrorist attack in London. And the same thing happens where Jimmy gets really nervous about security internationally. And he's like, we gotta delay the weapons. We can't send this right now. But at this Point. Lou has sent the money, and so there's some transaction on record as evidence. And. And they have the supernotes and the cigarettes. And so the FBI is like, we're not gonna wait for this weapons shipment. We need to charge this because Jimmy
- [38:58]
A
lives not in the US In China, right? So they're gonna have to go get him.
- [39:03]
B
Well, here's the deal. So the FBI has identified 57 people that they're gonna charge connected with these smuggling operations. And they want to take them down, but now they have this problem of how to get everyone at the same time, ideally, right? You arrest Keith, Jimmy's gonna know he's gone. So they come up with this plan, and this is my favorite part of this whole operation. They decide that they're gonna throw a wedding. Lou's like, everybody loves me. All these criminals love me, and they respect me, and I'm making them money. I don't know if it's his idea or not, but basically he's like, well, Melissa already came with me, and they know that I have this girlfriend. So how about we say we're getting mar.
- [39:48]
A
Genius.
- [39:49]
B
And they're all going to feel pressure to come celebrate my wedding because they want to keep doing business with me.
- [39:54]
A
I would have loved an invite to this wedding, truly.
- [39:58]
B
So the FBI decides to throw this wedding for them, and they actually mail out invitations with RSVB cards, the whole deal. They say it's going to take place on a yacht. The whole thing will take place on a yacht.
- [40:12]
A
So they're trapped. Okay, great.
- [40:14]
B
The yacht's name is the Royal Charm, which the operation is Operation Royal Charm. And so they're also saying we've already arranged all of the hotels, like upscale lodging and limousine transportation for everybody. I mean, this is like if royalty we're getting married. Right?
- [40:32]
A
It's not giving FBI budget. So I feel like they're doing a good job here.
- [40:36]
B
And so everybody flies in in August of 2005 into the U.S. yes.
- [40:41]
A
Okay.
- [40:42]
B
I don't know if it takes place in Newark or in New York, but anyway, they all fly in. Charlie and May, of course, are there, but they live in Maryland. Jimmy Horne comes into the US Keith Tang is there. All the other people that live internationally, everyone that they've been able to identify as part of this. On August 20, 2005, Lou has a series of bachelor parties. And all of these men are invited, and they all come out, and they're just partying together.
- [41:07]
A
Oh, my gosh.
- [41:08]
B
Apparently, it's super fancy. They have the nicest food and wine and they're like. They go to a piano bar, and they're singing karaoke all night.
- [41:17]
A
So I wonder if Lou just pretends to be drunk.
- [41:20]
B
I don't know. That's a great question. I should have asked him that.
- [41:23]
A
Like, are you just taking one shot and the rest are just water or what's going on? Like. Cause your bartender would have to be in on it.
- [41:29]
B
I mean, multiple times he said he drank, like, the nice wine. So.
- [41:32]
A
Okay, so he's partying.
- [41:35]
B
Yeah. Like, this is where they sometimes get the bad reputation, right, at the FBI. Cause they're like, you guys are just literally out partying with these people.
- [41:42]
A
Right? I mean, you can't blow your cover. These people could kill you.
- [41:45]
B
Totally. It's noted that at the bachelor party, Jimmy Horn gifts Lou a Rolex watch.
- [41:51]
A
Thank you. I wonder if he gets to keep it.
- [41:53]
B
I don't know. Probably not, right?
- [41:55]
A
Yeah, probably not. Probably not.
- [41:58]
B
And Lou was like, is this counterfeit kind of joking? And Jimmy's like, no, this is real. And so it kind of shows how these people really respect Lou, and they want to be in his good graces because he's making them money. They have multiple bachelor parties. At the end of the night, Lou and the other agent, Big Jack, apparently tell Keith Tang and Jimmy Horn that they're gonna go to yet another spot together to keep the party going. I think they say it's a strip club. So they get in the car with Keith and Jimmy, but instead they head to the FBI office, and.
- [42:30]
A
Oh, no, no, no, no, no. So they're stuck in the car with them while that's happening, though.
- [42:34]
B
Yeah. But then the FBI arrests all of them. Oh, right. Oh, I mean, you know.
- [42:40]
A
Yeah.
- [42:40]
B
It looks like they arrest all of them and take them into the office, but none of the other partygoers know this. Right. They're all, like, asleep or whatever. The wedding's the next day. But they wanted to get Keith and Jimmy first just because they didn't want them to flee or anything to happen. Right. So they take them into a room, and agents come in, and apparently, it's like, they don't even believe that Lou is an FBI agent. They're like, no. Until Lou has to come in to the room and be like, yeah.
- [43:08]
A
Oh, my gosh. I wonder if there's, like, any just on a human level sense of betrayal that you feel in that moment, because, you know. You know that you're doing important work keeping these people from doing the bad business that they are doing. But, you know, you've become Important to them.
- [43:27]
B
Yeah.
- [43:28]
A
And, you know, their life is now over, in a sense. Their freedom is going to be gone. And I'm not saying it shouldn't be, but I wonder if that feels a bit weird.
- [43:38]
B
Yeah. Well, I asked Lou about this on the phone because at this point, he's known Keith for years, and he said he really liked him. Like, they were actually friends. And he was like, you know, you meet all kinds of people. Charlie, for instance. Lou never really liked him that much. I think he didn't like the way he did business. And so he just. Personally, they didn't click as much. Right. But he's like, keith and I really clicked. We were really good friends. And I thought he was a really good guy. He's like, no, I understand. He's a criminal. And actually he was doing criminal activity that he should be caught for. He offered to kill someone for me. So. Good guy. But he's like. But actually, he just. Despite all of that, I felt like he was a really good person deep down.
- [44:23]
A
They hit it off, they got along.
- [44:25]
B
And he was like. It was really hard. I had to walk in and I talked to Keith, and he was like. And I just was like, look, man, this is just business. Had a conversation to be like, this isn't personal. And he said that Keith was like, I understand.
- [44:41]
A
Rough in all the ways that's.
- [44:43]
B
Yeah, yeah. I mean, awkward.
- [44:45]
A
Yeah, very awkward.
- [44:46]
B
So the next day, the rest of the wedding guests have no idea this has happened. August 21, 2005, they get up, they get ready for the wedding. Everyone's dressed to the nines. You know, they got their wedding gift with them, and the limos pull up to their hotel, like, ready to pick them up and take them to this fancy yacht wedding. And, you know, it's like champagne and the. All this stuff. The driver then says, you know, we got one last stop, one more person to pick up. But then they drive to the FBI field office. And then doors open. Agents, you're arrested. You're under arrest. You know.
- [45:20]
A
Oh, my gosh. I mean, I would have loved to witness that. And also, I'm just thinking, like, logistically, in a limo, like, crouching in there to arrest someone.
- [45:30]
B
Also, like, how do you know that no one has a weapon?
- [45:32]
A
That's what I was thinking is, like, if you're a bad guy, wouldn't you just scoot to the back and get your weapon out?
- [45:38]
B
I know. Yeah. I don't know how that exactly went down.
- [45:40]
A
Not that I would suggest that. Horrible. But, like, you think about dangerous Criminals who have nothing left to lose at that point.
- [45:47]
B
Right. And, I mean, all of these people are criminals. Right. So one of the things that Lou said was there was some surprise, but the fact that they're being arrested, like, isn't that shocking because they're criminals, but they didn't connect it to Lou. So, like, Charlie, when he's getting arrested, he's like, well, we have a wedding to get to
- [46:08]
A
Charlie. There is no wedding.
- [46:10]
B
There is no wedding. So the operation took six years to complete, and in the end, 57 people were arrested. Jimmy Horn ended up getting four years in prison for racketeering. He pled guilty. Keith Tang also pled guilty and was given six years in prison. Apparently, he was looking at a potential life sentence, but he ended up getting six years. Charlie pled guilty to racketeering. He got 11 years. I don't know if that's because they had more evidence of him importing goods. I think they said over 20 containers or something over time. And Mei, Lou, I just read that she said she suffered a stroke, and so she wasn't able to stand trial. So I don't actually know what ended up happening with her or the other people, but the FBI sees between 4 and 5 million dollars of supernova, and, yeah, that was the operation. It was considered a huge success.
- [47:03]
A
Operation Royal Charm.
- [47:04]
B
Operation Royal charm only took six years. And, oh, the other thing was, like, you know, even though the FBI did have to fund this, when they were importing those 20 containers of counterfeit cigarettes, they were paying them 50 to 60k per container. Right. So the FBI was making money on that.
- [47:26]
A
I love that.
- [47:27]
B
And that money was going back into fund the operation.
- [47:30]
A
Okay, that's cool.
- [47:31]
B
Yeah.
- [47:32]
A
Yeah. It actually reminded me. I don't know. This is a little off topic, I guess, but that feeling that Lou had when he had to go in and tell Keith, it reminded me of, like, I don't know if you had this feeling in junior high and high school where you would be assigned to, like, a group project with kids that you normally didn't hang out with. They just weren't in your social circle, and you had the best time. And then when the project's over, the. Well, I guess this is 10.
- [47:58]
B
Never speak to them again.
- [47:59]
A
Never speak to each other again.
- [48:00]
B
Yeah, I think that did happen to me. Yeah. It's so awkward.
- [48:05]
A
It's awkward because you're just like, there's no good reason we wouldn't keep hanging out. We just. We're living different lives.
- [48:11]
B
Yeah. I think, to me, that's the most awkward moment of the story, even though there's all these moments that would be really nerve wracking when you're pretending to be someone else. The reveal that you've betrayed your friend, even though, like, you. You're doing it because, you know, you're a law enforcement agent and they're committing a crime, it still just feels so cringe. Yeah.
- [48:35]
A
I mean, I imagine if they felt like they had a friendship or if Keith at least did, he probably shared things, like personal things or, you know, even just the sense of like, hey, I know we met through my boss, but I want to do more. And, yeah, he should have chosen a different path. He should have, you know. Yeah. Well, that was a great story, and I love that nobody died.
- [48:58]
B
Yeah.
- [48:59]
A
And we got what we wanted.
- [49:02]
B
I know. Real big success.
- [49:04]
A
Yeah. Good for us.
- [49:05]
B
And Lou got to live this sort of double life, you know, driving a Porsche.
- [49:08]
A
And. Really good for Lou.
- [49:10]
B
Really good for Lou.
- [49:12]
A
Yeah. The unrequited crushes for Mei Lou is
- [49:16]
B
unfortunate, but I don't know if those ever went anywhere, but.
- [49:20]
A
But guessing they didn't.
- [49:21]
B
Probably not. Yeah.
- [49:22]
A
That's a great story.
- [49:23]
B
Yeah. Do you have a recommendation for us today?
- [49:26]
A
I do.
- [49:27]
B
All right, let's hear it. Okay.
- [49:29]
A
I have a recommendation today, which I've been holding off telling you. And you know that because I've been telling you consistently that I'm holding on telling you. Yeah. So it's called Adults in the Room.
- [49:41]
B
Okay.
- [49:41]
A
It's a podcast, an investigative series that examines allegations of sexual abuse of a very popular teacher at Garfield High school back in 1999. So the host of is an investigative journalist, and she is telling a story that is her own story. She went to this high school when this was all happening, and she worked for the high school newspaper, and she reported on allegations.
- [50:06]
B
She did. Wow.
- [50:07]
A
She did. And there was major fallout for her and her friend, who also reported on it. They both worked at the newspaper, they were both editors, and there was a lot of fallout. And then the teacher who was accused of this ended up dying by suicide. And so she and her friend now in, you know, well into adulthood and their careers take this look at what actually happened, and if they were right in reporting on that and why the high school handled it the way that they did. And it's a very intense subject matter, but I really like the host. It's just a very fair reporting that she's doing. You know, I think she's looking at people in a very multidimensional way and not excusing any behavior at all that shouldn't have happened. But kind of a bigger examination of the school culture and why this went on.
- [51:09]
B
Interesting. Yeah, that sounds really intriguing.
- [51:12]
A
Yeah.
- [51:13]
B
Especially making an allegation like that at that age.
- [51:16]
A
It's brave.
- [51:17]
B
Yeah. And then also my head goes to Isn't there like a teacher who has to read over the newspaper before anything is published? Yeah, I imagine they address that.
- [51:28]
A
They do. And that teacher has an unfortunate response to the fallout of the article. And yeah, I'll let you listen because it's really a well done show. But yeah, highly recommend. Actually, as of right now, five episodes are out. I listened to the most recent one on my way into the studio today.
- [51:48]
B
Yeah, nice. Thank you for the recommendation, of course.
- [51:51]
A
Thanks you guys for listening and we'll see you next week. If you have a story for us, we would love to hear it. Our email is the knifexactlyrightmedia.com or you can follow us on Instagram at the Knife Podcast or Blue sky at the Knife Podcast.
- [52:05]
B
This has been an exactly right production, hosted and produced by me, Hannah Smith
- [52:09]
A
and me, Paisha Eaton. Our producers are Tom Breyfogel and Alexis Amorosi.
- [52:14]
B
This episode was mixed by Tom Breyfogle.
- [52:17]
A
Our associate producer is Christina Chamberlain.
- [52:19]
B
Our theme music is by Birds in the Airport.
- [52:21]
A
Artwork by Vanessa Lilac.
- [52:23]
B
Executive produced by Karen Kilgariff, Georgia Hardstark and Danielle Krame.