Kyle Tequila
Appearances
Behind the Bastards
Part One: In Honor Of Our New Monarchy, Let's Talk About Versailles
My name is Kyle Tequila, host of the shocking new true crime podcast, Crook County. I got recruited into the mob when I was 17 years old.
Behind the Bastards
Part One: In Honor Of Our New Monarchy, Let's Talk About Versailles
Kenny was a Chicago firefighter who lived a secret double life as a mafia hitman. I had a wife and I had two children. Nobody knew anything. He was a freaking crazy man. He was my father, and I had no idea about any of this until now. Crook County is available now. Listen for free on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Behind the Bastards
Part One: In Honor Of Our New Monarchy, Let's Talk About Versailles
My name is Kyle Tequila, host of the shocking new true crime podcast, Crook County. I got recruited into the mob when I was 17 years old.
Behind the Bastards
Part One: In Honor Of Our New Monarchy, Let's Talk About Versailles
Kenny was a Chicago firefighter who lived a secret double life as a mafia hitman. I had a wife and I had two children. Nobody knew anything. He was a freaking crazy man. He was my father, and I had no idea about any of this until now. Crook County is available now. Listen for free on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Behind the Bastards
Part Two: Bruno Bettelheim and The Quest To Make a "Good" Concentration Camp
From iHeart Podcasts and Tenderfoot TV comes a new true crime podcast, Crook County. I got recruited into the mob when I was 17 years old. Meet Kenny, an enforcer for the legendary Chicago Outfit. And that was my mission, to snuff the life out of this guy. He lived a secret double life as a firefighter paramedic for the Chicago Fire Department. I had a wife and I had two children.
Behind the Bastards
Part Two: Bruno Bettelheim and The Quest To Make a "Good" Concentration Camp
Nobody knew anything.
Behind the Bastards
Part Two: Bruno Bettelheim and The Quest To Make a "Good" Concentration Camp
torn between two worlds i'm covering up murders that these cops are doing he was a freaking crazy man we don't know who he is really he is my father and i had no idea about any of this until now welcome to crook county series premiere february 11th listen for free on the iheart radio app apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts
Behind the Bastards
Part Two: Bruno Bettelheim and The Quest To Make a "Good" Concentration Camp
From iHeart Podcasts and Tenderfoot TV comes a new true crime podcast, Crook County. I got recruited into the mob when I was 17 years old. Meet Kenny, an enforcer for the legendary Chicago Outfit. And that was my mission, to snuff the life out of this guy. He lived a secret double life as a firefighter paramedic for the Chicago Fire Department. I had a wife and I had two children.
Behind the Bastards
Part Two: Bruno Bettelheim and The Quest To Make a "Good" Concentration Camp
Nobody knew anything.
Behind the Bastards
Part Two: Bruno Bettelheim and The Quest To Make a "Good" Concentration Camp
torn between two worlds i'm covering up murders that these cops are doing he was a freaking crazy man we don't know who he is really he is my father and i had no idea about any of this until now welcome to crook county series premiere february 11th listen for free on the iheart radio app apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts
Behind the Bastards
Part Two: Bruno Bettelheim and The Quest To Make a "Good" Concentration Camp
My name is Kyle Tequila, host of the shocking new true crime podcast, Crook County. I got recruited into the mob when I was 17 years old.
Behind the Bastards
Part Two: Bruno Bettelheim and The Quest To Make a "Good" Concentration Camp
Kenny was a Chicago firefighter who lived a secret double life as a mafia hitman. I had a wife and I had two children. Nobody knew anything. He was a freaking crazy man. He was my father, and I had no idea about any of this until now.
Behind the Bastards
Part Two: Bruno Bettelheim and The Quest To Make a "Good" Concentration Camp
My name is Kyle Tequila, host of the shocking new true crime podcast, Crook County. I got recruited into the mob when I was 17 years old.
Behind the Bastards
Part Two: Bruno Bettelheim and The Quest To Make a "Good" Concentration Camp
Kenny was a Chicago firefighter who lived a secret double life as a mafia hitman. I had a wife and I had two children. Nobody knew anything. He was a freaking crazy man. He was my father, and I had no idea about any of this until now. Crook County is available now. Listen for free on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Behind the Bastards
Part Two: Tony Alamo: The Worst Preacher
From iHeart Podcasts and Tenderfoot TV comes a new true crime podcast, Crook County. I got recruited into the mob when I was 17 years old. Meet Kenny, an enforcer for the legendary Chicago Outfit. And that was my mission, to snuff the life out of this guy. He lived a secret double life as a firefighter paramedic for the Chicago Fire Department. I had a wife and I had two children.
Behind the Bastards
Part Two: Tony Alamo: The Worst Preacher
torn between two worlds i'm covering up murders that these cops are doing he was a freaking crazy man we don't know who he is really he is my father and i had no idea about any of this until now welcome to crook county series premiere february 11th listen for free on the iheart radio app apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts
Behind the Bastards
Part Two: Tony Alamo: The Worst Preacher
My name is Kyle Tequila, host of the shocking new true crime podcast, Crook County. I got recruited into the mob when I was 17 years old.
Behind the Bastards
Part Two: Tony Alamo: The Worst Preacher
Kenny was a Chicago firefighter who lived a secret double life as a mafia hitman. I had a wife and I had two children. Nobody knew anything. He was a freaking crazy man. He was my father, and I had no idea about any of this until now. Crook County is available now. Listen for free on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Behind the Bastards
Part Two: Tony Alamo: The Worst Preacher
From iHeart Podcasts and Tenderfoot TV comes a new true crime podcast, Crook County. I got recruited into the mob when I was 17 years old. Meet Kenny, an enforcer for the legendary Chicago Outfit. And that was my mission, to snuff the life out of this guy. He lived a secret double life as a firefighter paramedic for the Chicago Fire Department. I had a wife and I had two children.
Behind the Bastards
Part Two: Tony Alamo: The Worst Preacher
He is my father, and I had no idea about any of this until now. Welcome to Crook County. Series premiere February 11th. Listen for free on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Behind the Bastards
Part Two: Tony Alamo: The Worst Preacher
My name is Kyle Tequila, host of the shocking new true crime podcast, Crook County. I got recruited into the mob when I was 17 years old.
Behind the Bastards
Part Two: Tony Alamo: The Worst Preacher
Kenny was a Chicago firefighter who lived a secret double life as a mafia hitman. I had a wife and I had two children. Nobody knew anything. He was a freaking crazy man. He was my father, and I had no idea about any of this until now. Crook County is available now. Listen for free on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Crook County
8 | The Rear View Mirror
Amidst all of the awful things that happened in Ken's life, and perhaps maybe even because of it, he threw his entire self into his work as a firefighter.
Crook County
8 | The Rear View Mirror
I dug up some articles from local papers mentioning Ken's exploits as a first responder. One article from 1992 interviews Ken, who was fighting for fair pay for his fellow medics. And in a sort of twist of fate, another article from the Daily Herald in 1991 mentions Ken as the first firefighter on the scene of a fatal plane crash at DuPage Airport.
Crook County
8 | The Rear View Mirror
Just a little over a decade after that American Airlines crash that inspired Ken to join the fire department in the first place.
Crook County
8 | The Rear View Mirror
There were many occasions over the years where I got to see him in action. At the station, on ride-alongs, neighborhood events. I witnessed firsthand the respect of his peers and his chief. One of my favorite memories of all time was probably in third or fourth grade when my dad was invited to speak in front of my whole school about fire safety.
Crook County
8 | The Rear View Mirror
After the speech, there was a Q&A with the students and one smart ass kid takes the microphone, points at my dad's pants and goes, did you know your fly was open? So my dad looks down and sure enough, his zipper has been open this entire time. So he just looks at this kid right in the eye and he goes, I just wanted to make sure you all were paying attention.
Crook County
8 | The Rear View Mirror
And he zips it back up and the whole place just went nuts. I mean, people were crying, laughing, the kids, the teachers, everyone. One of the funniest things I've ever seen.
Crook County
8 | The Rear View Mirror
And then, sometime in the late 90s, the guys at the station had just finished their dinner when the alarm bell sounded and a call came through that would forever change Kenny's life and set in motion a disastrous chain of events that would eventually destroy our entire family.
Crook County
8 | The Rear View Mirror
In the years following the accident, the painkillers became a constant companion. And as the addiction got worse, Ken gradually shrank inward and distanced himself from his family and friends.
Crook County
8 | The Rear View Mirror
When the pills stopped being enough to satisfy his addiction, he turned to heroin, which isn't as easy to hide.
Crook County
8 | The Rear View Mirror
Crip County is released weekly and brought to you absolutely free. But if you want to hear the whole season right now, it's available ad-free on Tenderfoot+. For more information, check out the show notes. Enjoy the episode.
Crook County
8 | The Rear View Mirror
I don't need to rehash the pain we all went through during this period of self-destruction, but as the years went on and the family fell apart, Holly, Corey, and myself eventually separated ourselves from Ken, physically and emotionally. After all the pain and abuse, what else could we do?
Crook County
8 | The Rear View Mirror
I had been estranged from him for nearly five years when he finally reached out to me for help in 2013, and I checked him into rehab in California. And I always wondered, why now? What change had occurred to make him suddenly surrender himself to getting clean? I think Ken's brother Rich may have the answer.
Crook County
8 | The Rear View Mirror
Over the last 10 years, as my dad sobered up and embarked on the long, painful path to healing, he began to open up to me for the first time. And even though the truth is so much more fucked up than I could have ever imagined, I'm thankful for this opportunity to finally see the man I call father for who he really is.
Crook County
8 | The Rear View Mirror
Throughout this entire process, I have been constantly shocked about how I can still be constantly shocked. Whenever I learn some new awful truth about the world my dad lived in, my first reaction is, how is that even possible? But then a second, even more powerful reality hits me, that I have been completely sheltered from the evil that plagued my dad's entire existence.
Crook County
8 | The Rear View Mirror
If his goal was to keep this world away from us, then he succeeded. And despite everything else, I'm grateful to him for that much. I also want to express my deep gratitude to the people featured in this story, who were so gracious and brave to open themselves up to me during these difficult interviews.
Crook County
8 | The Rear View Mirror
To my amazing mom for her strength and perseverance during these last 20 years as she watched her life crumble around her. To my best friend and my brother, Corey, who still carries the weight of our father's abuse. To my Uncle Rich for crawling back into his painful past and shedding some light on their own abusive childhood. And, of course, for saving my dad's life that day in 2013.
Crook County
8 | The Rear View Mirror
Hello, friends. We've come such a long way since we launched Crook County. And I want to thank you for sticking with me as I tell this story. And for all the incredible words of kindness and support you've showed me over these past eight weeks. I'd like to show that appreciation by having an open and honest conversation with you, the listeners, on a bonus episode which will air in a couple weeks.
Crook County
8 | The Rear View Mirror
To Jeff Cohen of the Chicago Tribune for sharing his unmatched expertise on all things mafia. And finally, to my dad's old buddy Mike, who also wanted to share some words of gratitude.
Crook County
8 | The Rear View Mirror
So, where does that leave us now? Who the hell knows? I suppose it depends on who you ask. My brother Corey and my uncle Rich have already made up their minds.
Crook County
8 | The Rear View Mirror
For me, I've come to peace with the past. It has tempered me, made me stronger. I am not ashamed of it. I do not run from it. I look it right in the eyes and embrace it. Learn from it. Share it with the world. And one day, when he's old enough, I will share it with my son. And he will know how far we have come together in spite of it. That is the real legacy of my father.
Crook County
8 | The Rear View Mirror
Crook County is a production of iHeart Podcasts and Tenderfoot TV in association with Common Enemy. All episodes are produced, written, and hosted by me, Kyle Tequila. Executive producers are Donald Albright and Payne Lindsey. Original score by Makeup and Vanity Set. Main title song is called Crush by the band Starry Eyes. End credit song is called Dying Islands, also by the band Starry Eyes.
Crook County
8 | The Rear View Mirror
Sound mix by Cooper Skinner. For more podcasts like Crook County, search Tenderfoot TV on your favorite podcast app or visit tenderfoot.tv. Thanks for listening to Season 1 of Crook County. It's been an honor to share this story with you. But don't worry, there's more to come.
Crook County
8 | The Rear View Mirror
So please visit our Instagram at crookcountypodcast and leave me a comment or an audio message with questions about the show or anything that you feel is relevant. And I will do my very best to answer as many of them as I can. Thank you so much. Our family is so grateful to know that we are not alone in this journey of discovery and healing. And I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Crook County
8 | The Rear View Mirror
And Kenny learns that putting his past behind him is an impossible task.
Crook County
8 | The Rear View Mirror
bit and of course i knew i would get his irie up he heard it he saw me he spun out of control and the race was on the question i asked him was simple you spent all these years running around the streets of chicago working for the outfit but you are also working these same streets as a firefighter and a paramedic
Crook County
8 | The Rear View Mirror
So what happens when you inevitably run into somebody you knew from your days in the mob?
Crook County
8 | The Rear View Mirror
My dad has been staying with us for a few days while we recorded these final interviews.
Crook County
8 | The Rear View Mirror
It's so strange to see my dad switch from this cold, hard killer to the loving grandpa almost instantaneously.
Crook County
8 | The Rear View Mirror
But it's the perfect example of just how easy it was for him to hide this dark double life from us for all these years.
Crook County
8 | The Rear View Mirror
As my wife and I sit here by the fire, watching our five-year-old son Lincoln reading The Night Before Christmas with his grandfather, I'm also reminded of just how much I loved my dad when I was that age. And even after everything that's happened since, I'll always remember the man that he was when I was young.
Crook County
8 | The Rear View Mirror
I'm back with my dad's old ambulance partner, Mike. I tell him what I know about Ken's mafia past and he sits there calmly listening. It's mostly me talking and I can't tell one way or the other if he's heard any of this before. He's certainly not telling me if he has.
Crook County
4 | Keeper Of A House Of Prostitution
During the years I filmed these conversations with my dad, we spent hours and hours talking about all the sensational mafia bullshit you would come to expect in a story like this. But when he remembers the girls that worked in the club, there's an immediate shift in his demeanor.
Crook County
4 | Keeper Of A House Of Prostitution
A calm washes over him as he smiles in memory and begins diving into dozens of stories from his 10 years as a doorman and eventually manager of the clubs. Many of these stories I will feature in later episodes as they relate to the larger overall story. But first, I need to say what's on my mind. None of this has been an easy pill to swallow for me.
Crook County
4 | Keeper Of A House Of Prostitution
The drugs and the murders make this whole thing bad enough. But where I get the real pit in my stomach is hearing him talk about his time in the clubs with these girls. Especially knowing my mom was very much in the picture during these years. And as hard as that is to digest, the fact is, this is not my story. It's Kenny's story.
Crook County
4 | Keeper Of A House Of Prostitution
And I have a responsibility to let him tell it the way he wants to tell it. And right now, he wants to talk about these girls. So that's what we're gonna do. First up, Cindy.
Crook County
4 | Keeper Of A House Of Prostitution
Some funny shit, man. There's Ming and Ling, the Chinese identical twins.
Crook County
4 | Keeper Of A House Of Prostitution
And I can't help but notice that in its own twisted way, it sounds a lot like how someone would tell stories about their crazy college years. You know, the debauchery and stupidity of 20-year-olds living together with only one thing on their mind. It was just amazing. It was really an experience for me.
Crook County
4 | Keeper Of A House Of Prostitution
For Kenny, who never finished high school, this club was as close as he ever got to the university experience, with a slightly different core curriculum.
Crook County
4 | Keeper Of A House Of Prostitution
Underworld economics, the business of sex, crooked cops and politicians, how to give a beating and stay alive, keeping secrets 101, and the girls, a welcome distraction from the overwhelming dark reality that once you're in the outfit, there's no getting out. I want to be clear here. In no way do I condone my father's infidelities to my mother as acceptable in any way.
Crook County
4 | Keeper Of A House Of Prostitution
I am merely trying to understand the psychology behind his actions during this time. Proposing to my mom at 19 years old, while knowing exactly what kind of lifestyle he lives, is an extremely odd decision, which he must have known would fail miserably. Why would he do that? Why would he put himself and Holly through that? What could he possibly have been thinking?
Crook County
4 | Keeper Of A House Of Prostitution
I asked a psychologist about this and she broke it down to what she calls a sense of normalcy. His engagement to Holly was an attempt to establish a safe space of love and stability that exists outside of the dangerous and chaotic world he was living in.
Crook County
4 | Keeper Of A House Of Prostitution
And by doing so, he was laying the foundation that would eventually fragment his life into two completely separate halves, both mentally and physically. But as fascinating as all that sounds, the reality is much easier said than done.
Crook County
4 | Keeper Of A House Of Prostitution
Well, that is a story I would love to hear. But we've been going for a while now, and he's getting a little hungry, so we decide to take a drive. Of course, he starts talking in the car, so I whip out my phone and hit record.
Crook County
4 | Keeper Of A House Of Prostitution
Crook County is released weekly and brought to you absolutely free. But if you want to hear the whole season right now, it's available ad-free on Tenderfoot+. For more information, check out the show notes. Enjoy the episode.
Crook County
4 | Keeper Of A House Of Prostitution
Keeper of a House of Prostitution, huh? not seeing any greeting cards at the supermarket for that lovely badge of honor. If only that was as bad as it got for Kenny, maybe things would be different for all of us. But unfortunately, that's where this fairy tale ends.
Crook County
4 | Keeper Of A House Of Prostitution
With several years in the outfit under his belt and a few successful busts to boot, Kenny was a rising star in the crew, and word was getting around that he could handle himself. The club became his world, and he made friends with the other guys who worked there.
Crook County
4 | Keeper Of A House Of Prostitution
Sam, the younger brother of Ken's crew boss, Jack Erickson.
Crook County
4 | Keeper Of A House Of Prostitution
After two years in the outfit, Kenny was on his way up.
Crook County
4 | Keeper Of A House Of Prostitution
One night, while Danny was working the door, a gunman broke in and robbed the cash box. Everybody was, of course, questioned, including Ken, who wasn't working that night and had a credible alibi. Eventually, it was discovered to be an inside job.
Crook County
4 | Keeper Of A House Of Prostitution
Why do you think... Dan wanted to rob this place.
Crook County
4 | Keeper Of A House Of Prostitution
Danny had to go, and the powers that be felt this was the perfect opportunity to see what young Kenny was made of.
Crook County
4 | Keeper Of A House Of Prostitution
My head is spinning. I don't know who this man is. And it's now obvious that I never did. But I want to know. I need to know. Next week on Crow County.
Crook County
4 | Keeper Of A House Of Prostitution
Crook County is a production of iHeart Podcasts and Tenderfoot TV in association with Common Enemy. All episodes are written, produced, and hosted by me, Kyle Tequila. Executive producers are Donald Albright and Payne Lindsey. Original score by Makeup and Vanity Set. Main title song is called Crush by the band Starry Eyes. End credit song is called No Show, also by the band Starry Eyes.
Crook County
4 | Keeper Of A House Of Prostitution
Sound mix by Cooper Skinner. Thank you to Oren Rosenbaum and the excellent team at UTA for their support and to my fearless attorney, Wendy Bench, for her guidance. To stay updated on all things Crook County, follow us on all socials at crookcountypodcast or leave us a voicemail by visiting crookcountypodcast.com.
Crook County
4 | Keeper Of A House Of Prostitution
That pretty little redhead at the bar was my mother. My name is Kyle Tequila. Welcome to Crook County.
Crook County
4 | Keeper Of A House Of Prostitution
I'm watching the trailer to the 1977 box office monster, Saturday Night Fever. Believe it or not, I've actually never seen this movie, which obviously is a huge mistake because it looks hilarious.
Crook County
4 | Keeper Of A House Of Prostitution
a 23-year-old unknown actor named John Travolta with his trademark cleft chin, strutting around Brooklyn in silk and polyester, dancing up a storm every night, to what has become the second highest-selling soundtrack of all time, just behind the Bodyguard soundtrack. Fuck, that is a good song. Oh, and how wild is this?
Crook County
4 | Keeper Of A House Of Prostitution
The Bee Gees didn't even write these cultural defining songs until after the movie was filmed because the producers couldn't license the original music. So they scrambled and begged the Bee Gees to write a few songs on spec, which they didn't even want to do because they were in the middle of recording their album in some studio in France.
Crook County
4 | Keeper Of A House Of Prostitution
So they basically threw together four songs in a weekend to get it over with. Those four songs? Night Fever? Night Fever. If I can't have you, more than a woman, and of course, staying alive. If that shit don't make you want to get up and dance, then I can't help you. I can't help you, brother.
Crook County
4 | Keeper Of A House Of Prostitution
Anyway, the reason I'm even going down this rabbit hole in the first place is because apparently Saturday Night Fever might as well be a documentary of my parents' relationship in their first few years. I'll let my mom explain this one.
Crook County
4 | Keeper Of A House Of Prostitution
That other voice is my mom's childhood friend, Kathy, who was with my mom a lot during those disco days.
Crook County
4 | Keeper Of A House Of Prostitution
She was still living at home with her mom. Ken had his own apartment. They had their own separate lives and only spent a few days a week together. Eventually, Holly started hearing things from friends who had seen Ken out at bars talking to other women or rumors of huge parties at his apartment that she didn't know about.
Crook County
4 | Keeper Of A House Of Prostitution
I asked my dad about this. She said you were quite the schmoozer.
Crook County
3 | Coming Clean
Okay, let's jump back to the very beginning. A 17-year-old kid named Kenny just got accidentally recruited into the outfit for robbing a drug dealer.
Crook County
3 | Coming Clean
Oh, that reminds me. Before we dive into this, I had a serious conversation with a criminal defense attorney about all this. He's very worried about this story going public.
Crook County
3 | Coming Clean
So, after talking it through, we both agreed that for his own safety and mine, to give fake aliases to everyone involved in the outfit, and to remove or obscure any specific identifying details about people, places, and dates. I should also note that there's no way for me to prove any of this, since most of the information was never reported anywhere that I'm aware of.
Crook County
3 | Coming Clean
I'm going solely here on my dad's word. And I'll leave it at that. So, without further ado, let's meet our first character in the outfit, the made guy who recruited my dad, Mickey Gennaro.
Crook County
3 | Coming Clean
Mickey was also the son of a notorious street boss they called the Old Man.
Crook County
3 | Coming Clean
Kenny spent his first year working for Mickey until he learned the ropes.
Crook County
3 | Coming Clean
It didn't take long for Kenny to prove his worth. So Mickey gave him a new job.
Crook County
3 | Coming Clean
Crook County is released weekly and brought to you absolutely free. But if you want to hear the whole season right now, it's available ad-free on Tenderfoot+. For more information, check out the show notes. Enjoy the episode.
Crook County
3 | Coming Clean
No selling dope. This is one of the many strange rules the outfit had for itself that I find fascinating. Their entire enterprise is built on crime. But drugs are where they draw the line.
Crook County
3 | Coming Clean
That actually makes good sense. And of course, everyone knew the risks. But many guys did it anyway. The money was just too good. And Kenny, he was happy to take a small slice of it.
Crook County
3 | Coming Clean
As I got deeper into the details of my dad's life story, I began to wonder just how much of this stuff is actually true. The no selling drugs thing, for example. How do I even attempt to verify something like this or any other inner workings of an organization notorious for their secrecy, especially in the 70s and 80s when the mafia moved through the streets with near impunity?
Crook County
3 | Coming Clean
I thought it would be a good idea to find an outside perspective on the inner workings of the outfit, a mafia expert that could weigh in when necessary throughout this series. So I reached out to veteran crime reporter Jeff Cohen of the Chicago Tribune.
Crook County
3 | Coming Clean
Jeff is an expert on organized crime in Chicago and covered one of the largest mafia trials in history, the infamous FBI Operation Family Secrets, that almost single-handedly took out the entire Chicago outfit in 2007. I sent Jeff a few rough versions of these episodes to get him up to speed.
Crook County
3 | Coming Clean
Unfortunately, yes, it is. Yeah. Thankfully, he agreed to add his voice to this story. So I asked him about the no drugs rule.
Crook County
3 | Coming Clean
Eventually, Mickey saw a new opportunity for Kenny within the outfit, something a little more permanent, and introduced him to a man named Jack Erickson, a crew boss who would end up playing a much larger role in entrenching Kenny within the ranks.
Crook County
3 | Coming Clean
Jack also had a very important job within the outfit, one that required a unique kind of personality and responsibility.
Crook County
3 | Coming Clean
And so he made him an offer he couldn't refuse, running the door at one of the brothels in Cook County.
Crook County
3 | Coming Clean
How's that sound? Uh, sounds like my dad was a bona fide pimp. That's how it sounds. You know, you'd think after all this time, nothing would shock me anymore. But you would be wrong. Alright, what was it like once you got inside?
Crook County
3 | Coming Clean
No more secrets. No more lies. It's time I learn the truth. My name is Kyle Tequila. Welcome to Crook County.
Crook County
3 | Coming Clean
I have to keep reminding myself, he's still only 19 at this point. Everybody else's age is fresh out of high school, going to bars and trying to get laid without a care in the world. I can tell you I was an absolute moron at 19, that's a fact. But I can only imagine three years selling drugs and handing out beatings at a brothel for the mafia will make you grow up real fucking fast.
Crook County
3 | Coming Clean
You know. He tells me he wasn't looking for a girlfriend, let alone anything serious. But one night, as things do, all that changed.
Crook County
3 | Coming Clean
I'm sure you've guessed it already, but that pretty little redhead at the bar was my mother. I thought your mother was beautiful.
Crook County
3 | Coming Clean
Crook County is a production of iHeart Podcasts and Tenderfoot TV in association with Common Enemy. All episodes are written, produced, and hosted by me, Kyle Tequila. Executive producers are Donald Albright and Payne Lindsey. Original score by Makeup and Vanity Set. Main title song is called Crush by the band Starry Eyes. End credit song is called Trouble, also by the band Starry Eyes.
Crook County
3 | Coming Clean
Sound mix by Cooper Skinner. Thank you to Oren Rosenbaum and the excellent team at UTA for their support and to my fearless attorney, Wendy Bench, for her guidance. To stay updated on all things Crook County, follow us on all socials at crookcountypodcast or leave us a voicemail by visiting crookcountypodcast.com.
Crook County
3 | Coming Clean
For more podcasts like Crook County, search Tenderfoot TV on your favorite podcast app or visit tenderfoot.tv. Thanks for listening. The story continues next week. Thank you for tuning in to Crook County. New episodes are released weekly, completely free.
Crook County
3 | Coming Clean
But if you're itching for more, check out Tenderfoot Plus on Apple Podcasts or visit tenderfootplus.com to subscribe for early access to the full series, plus an ad-free experience.
Crook County
3 | Coming Clean
Today, I'm visiting my dad for the first time in a year. He's showing me around his place of work, a group of small apartments that serve as a halfway house for people in recovery.
Crook County
3 | Coming Clean
That noise you hear is a carpet cleaning crew getting a unit ready for another client.
Crook County
3 | Coming Clean
He's still not his old, strong, matured self. I don't think he ever will be. But he's come a long way from the shaking, broken-down man I picked up from the airport in 2013.
Crook County
3 | Coming Clean
We decide to do the interview in his room because of the noise. It's a tight space with little but a twin bed against the wall and a crate with a cheap lamp on it.
Crook County
3 | Coming Clean
It honestly reminds me of my freshman year dorm room at SIU. All that's missing is a Bob Marley poster tacked to the wall.
Crook County
3 | Coming Clean
Yeah. This is a big moment. One that I honestly wasn't expecting. I have never in all my life seen my dad cry.
Crook County
3 | Coming Clean
Starting a few months into his recovery, I would regularly visit him. It was during these visits that he started opening up about his past. The story here, the memory there, but never the whole picture. It seems he's finally ready to tell me everything. Thanks for joining me on Crook County. For ad-free listening and exclusive content, dive into tenderfootplus.com, right there in the show notes.
Crook County
3 | Coming Clean
Tenderfoot Plus is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and other podcast players. You'll unlock access to early episodes, upcoming bonus material, the Tenderfoot Podcast Library of over 400 ad-free episodes, as well as subscriber-only specials. Subscribe now at tenderfootplus.com.
Crook County
3 | Coming Clean
I'm gonna warn you, this story is very complex, with a lot of characters over several decades long. I'm going to do the best I can to break it down into easy to digest chapters. Some characters may come in and out of focus as the story progresses, so I may remind you about them with a little description or a previously heard soundbite.
Crook County
3 | Coming Clean
If you still find yourself getting lost, well, that makes me a shitty storyteller, so I'm sorry. But if you do have questions or just want to say hi, please visit us at crookcountypodcast.com. You can even leave me a voicemail, which I may play on a future audience Q&A episode. So that's cool. You can also follow us on all socials at Crook County Podcast.
Crook County
6 | Fire In The Sky
Over the years, while Ken was working the club, he had seen hundreds of girls come in and out of the business. Some lasted longer than others, but many of them would be there one day and gone the next. It seemed to be the nature of the trade. But every now and then, a girl would show up that seemed different than the rest. Somehow out of place in this cruel, dark world they occupied.
Crook County
6 | Fire In The Sky
She must have been special, because Ken was breaking one of the cardinal rules of the business. Never get emotionally involved with a talent.
Crook County
6 | Fire In The Sky
It's a great girl. Ken knew he would need to tread carefully with Honey. But the attraction was too strong. They were lovers and friends and would spend many nights confiding in each other.
Crook County
6 | Fire In The Sky
The simple fact is, Holly was a civilian, an innocent, and not a part of this life. So Ken continued to keep a wall up between his two worlds. But Honey was on the inside, and he could be himself around her. With Honey, there was nothing to hide.
Crook County
6 | Fire In The Sky
and there was certainly a lot to escape from during this period in the outfit. The growing popularity of cocaine in America had given rise to powerful and violent drug cartels, which led to intense warring among rival organizations with origins from all over the world competing for the same Chicago turf.
Crook County
6 | Fire In The Sky
There were gun battles in the streets and attempted takeovers of outfit businesses all across the Chicagoland area.
Crook County
6 | Fire In The Sky
Crook County is released weekly and brought to you absolutely free. But if you want to hear the whole season right now, it's available ad-free on Tenderfoot+. For more information, check out the show notes.
Crook County
6 | Fire In The Sky
Lombardo, who had never been convicted of a... The 1980s was a tumultuous time for organized crime in America. The FBI had ramped up efforts to fight corruption and the mafia's stranglehold on local governments, labor unions, and law enforcement.
Crook County
6 | Fire In The Sky
Unprecedented cooperation across major federal agencies led to many high-profile prosecutions of mafia bosses, corrupt government officials, and crooked cops all over the country.
Crook County
6 | Fire In The Sky
All this chaos was taking its toll on the power structure of the organization, and a feeling that this could be the beginning of the end permeated the outfit.
Crook County
6 | Fire In The Sky
People at all levels of the outfit were panicking. Some turned government informant and entered witness protection. Others staged bold robberies or assassinated high-level operatives.
Crook County
6 | Fire In The Sky
They were turning on each other in fear, and bodies were dropping. Nobody knew what would happen next, and nobody was safe.
Crook County
6 | Fire In The Sky
But the abuse continued, and Kenny, helpless, could only watch as it happened.
Crook County
6 | Fire In The Sky
Ken could never prove what actually happened to Honey. In the same way it's possible that Polly was involved in her disappearance, I suppose it's just as possible that she simply ran away from the abuse and is still out there somewhere. I have no way of knowing. But at the time, Ken had his suspicions. And he made his choice. And he would deal with the consequences if they came.
Crook County
6 | Fire In The Sky
Maybe it was because of all the turmoil taking place at that time. Or maybe Kenny just got lucky. Either way, it seemed he had dodged a bullet. So he continued his studies and looked forward to the day he could leave this hell behind.
Crook County
6 | Fire In The Sky
And now, a new problem had just walked in the front door and put a gun to Kenny's head.
Crook County
6 | Fire In The Sky
Tony the Aunt Spolatro was a feared enforcer who rose to great power within the outfit.
Crook County
6 | Fire In The Sky
In the 70s, he was sent to Las Vegas to head up the organization's ambitions in the growing casino industry.
Crook County
6 | Fire In The Sky
He was violent and unpredictable, but ultimately successful in racking up huge earnings for the outfit. He was greedy and ambitious. He ran a gang of thieves who would break into hotel rooms, wealthy estates, and jewelry stores. Murder rates in Vegas had spiked to unprecedented levels since his arrival.
Crook County
6 | Fire In The Sky
By the end of the 1970s, Spolatro had become a loose cannon, and his illegal antics were becoming public knowledge and attracting heat from local and federal law enforcement.
Crook County
6 | Fire In The Sky
In December of 1979, the Nevada Gaming Commission officially blacklisted Spolatro, which legally barred him from entering any of the state's casinos, the very ones it was his job to oversee. He would spend the next several years going back and forth from Vegas to Chicago, wreaking havoc and asserting his dominance wherever he could.
Crook County
6 | Fire In The Sky
But Ken never saw Tony again, and he never did end up taking over the club. But his reign of terror continued. In 1983, around the time he stuck a gun to Ken's forehead, he was tried for the brutal murder of two Chicago gang members.
Crook County
6 | Fire In The Sky
But that charmed good luck was soon coming to an end. In 1986, the outfit had had enough of Tony the Ant Spolatro and his crew and orchestrated a mass hit of nearly a dozen mobsters, including Tony and his brother Michael. A hit made even more famous by its brutal depiction in the movie Casino.
Crook County
6 | Fire In The Sky
Crook County is a production of iHeart Podcasts and Tenderfoot TV in association with Common Enemy. All episodes are written, produced, and hosted by me, Kyle Tequila. Executive producers are Donald Albright and Payne Lindsey. Original score by Makeup and Vanity Set. Main title song is called Crush by the band Starry Eyes. End credit song is called Aloha, also by the band Starry Eyes.
Crook County
6 | Fire In The Sky
Sound mix by Cooper Skinner. Thank you to Oren Rosenbaum and the excellent team at UTA for their support and to my fearless attorney, Wendy Bench, for her guidance. To stay updated on all things Crook County, follow us on all socials at crookcountypodcast or leave us a voicemail by visiting crookcountypodcast.com.
Crook County
6 | Fire In The Sky
For more podcasts like Crook County, search Tenderfoot TV on your favorite podcast app or visit tenderfoot.tv. Thanks for listening. The story continues next week.
Crook County
6 | Fire In The Sky
In 1979, the tragic crash of American Airlines Flight 191 shocked the country.
Crook County
6 | Fire In The Sky
Ken was leaving a shift at the club and stopped to pump gas at a station near O'Hare Airport when he witnessed the plane make a cartwheel in midair and nosedive into the ground shortly after takeoff.
Crook County
6 | Fire In The Sky
The scene left an enormous impression on Kenny's mind. And over the course of the next few months, an idea began to form that maybe, one day, he could be a firefighter.
Crook County
6 | Fire In The Sky
But it was only an idea, and a crazy one at that. He was deep in the outfit, and there was no way they would ever let him go. So he put it behind him and went back to work.
Crook County
6 | Fire In The Sky
I asked Chicago Tribune reporter Jeff Cohen to weigh in on this general period in the outfit.
Crook County
6 | Fire In The Sky
As the years dragged on, the image of the plane crash still haunted him, and he found himself no longer able to suppress the urge to move on from the outfit.
Crook County
6 | Fire In The Sky
Ken had made up his mind and put a plan in place to eventually leave the outfit. With his current responsibilities taking up most of his time, he knew it would take years to finish all the classes required to get his paramedic license before he could even begin to look for a job. But none of that would even matter without the approval of the higher-ups, which he knew was impossible.
Crook County
6 | Fire In The Sky
So he went back to his old boss, Mickey, the made guy who first saw potential in a young kid who had robbed his nephew and offered him a place in the outfit.
Crook County
6 | Fire In The Sky
I asked Jeff if he's ever heard of anything happen like this before, someone getting out of the mob.
Crook County
6 | Fire In The Sky
But he was still years away from passing any tests. And he still had a job to do, managing the club. And that responsibility came before all else.
Crook County
6 | Fire In The Sky
Part of that responsibility included hiring new girls. And one new girl in particular lit a fire in Ken that almost cost him everything.
Crook County
2 | The Ties That Bind Us
After several months of intensive recovery, the scare had passed and I was becoming my old self again. So, we packed up our belongings and moved to the house I would forever consider my childhood home. In a small, newly constructed suburb west of Chicago. The very definition of cookie cutter. My mom puts in another tape. It's from the day we moved in.
Crook County
2 | The Ties That Bind Us
My dad is behind the camera again, while a few of his buddies from the fire department are carrying in furniture and goofing off.
Crook County
2 | The Ties That Bind Us
She pops in another tape. It's my fifth birthday party. There's about 20 people at some restaurant. I remember this. The kids got to make our own pizzas. It's impossible to describe how I feel watching this video and knowing now all of the atrocious crimes my father committed in the years leading up to it. And worse, that they were still being committed. Beatings, murders, cover-ups.
Crook County
2 | The Ties That Bind Us
Crook County is released weekly and brought to you absolutely free. But if you want to hear the whole season right now, it's available ad-free on Tenderfoot Plus. For more information, check out the show notes. Enjoy the episode.
Crook County
2 | The Ties That Bind Us
And then, coming home to his happy little family and lying about everything. And all of us, completely oblivious, celebrating a joyful birthday with the clear heads and hearts of a simple, average American family, when in fact, we were anything but.
Crook County
2 | The Ties That Bind Us
And my poor mother, going to bed every night next to a man she doesn't even know, a man who has blood on his hands, the same hands that would comb through my hair the next morning before going off to work to possibly have them bloodied again. We never suspected a thing. We had no reason to. But now, looking back, knowing what I know, there were in fact signs of a darker side. Cracks in his veneer.
Crook County
2 | The Ties That Bind Us
I've seen Dad twice. The first time I was really young, but I do remember him in a fit of road rage, pulling a guy out of his car. We're behind the car, because he was in front of us, pulling the guy out of his driver's side door, dragging him to the back.
Crook County
2 | The Ties That Bind Us
So now I have a perfect view of the crime, and just pounding a guy, and then leaving him just basically knocked out or half aware, and then getting back in the car, and then doing a little swerve drive around, and then continuing on with the day. Like nothing. That was the first time I remember seeing that. And I was so young, it almost felt like a dream.
Crook County
2 | The Ties That Bind Us
But then, I think it was seventh grade, and I remember in one of my English classes or something, we were doing a project. You know, you have to create a scene, like a shoebox scene. You know what I mean? And I remember it was sitting in my lap, because I was up all night working on it. And we're driving to school, and some guy cuts Ken off. And he chases this dude past the school.
Crook County
2 | The Ties That Bind Us
Like, we go on a chase. I'm screaming a hunt. And finally we catch the guy at a red light and he goes and punches the guy several times through his driver's side window. Then gets back in the car, does a U-turn, drops me off at school. And you're like, what do you do? You know, like you just, you can't, there's nothing to say. There's nothing to do.
Crook County
2 | The Ties That Bind Us
You just like kind of walk like a zombie through the rest of the day going, is that a real thing that just happened?
Crook County
2 | The Ties That Bind Us
When things are going well, it's hard to believe they could ever go wrong. And just because my father showed a few flashes of violence or said a few questionable things doesn't mean there's something sinister or terrible lurking behind the curtain. Besides, he was never violent with any of us. Life is complex and emotional, and it's human nature to see the best in people.
Crook County
2 | The Ties That Bind Us
But a lie this big can't stay hidden forever. Somehow, someway, it will turn on you and force its way out.
Crook County
2 | The Ties That Bind Us
During those 10 years of addiction, I had already left home and started my own life in Atlanta, where I met my wife, Nicole. We got married in 2009, and my wedding was the last time that the four of us were together in the same room. I did know my dad was struggling with addiction, and I knew that my mom was taking him to treatment and assisting in his recovery.
Crook County
2 | The Ties That Bind Us
But I never knew just how bad it really was. And to be honest, during those first few years, there were so many fights and so much drama between us all, with them becoming the kids and me feeling like the parent, that I stepped away from them. I had never felt this kind of emotional pain before, and I didn't know how to deal with it. So I ignored it, and I hoped it would get better.
Crook County
2 | The Ties That Bind Us
I focused all my energy on building a new family with Nicole. My brother, however, wasn't so lucky. He was still living at home, watching everything he knew crumble around him.
Crook County
2 | The Ties That Bind Us
How do you keep an entire life of crime away from your friends, away from your family? It seems impossible, but I know it's true because Kenny is my father and I had no idea about any of this until now. My name is Kyle Tequila. Welcome to Crook County.
Crook County
2 | The Ties That Bind Us
Did you ever recover from all that? Like, do you still carry it with you?
Crook County
2 | The Ties That Bind Us
Eventually, Corey got out and moved to Florida, where he started a new career, worked hard, and did well. And though I know the scars of those traumatic years are still raw, I'm impressed by how well he's been able to cope with them, to move on. But Mom was still there, living in this hell, until my dad either got clean or died trying. And then, in 2013, I got a disturbing phone call.
Crook County
2 | The Ties That Bind Us
It was my dad. He was moaning, crying, barely making any sense. But I could understand enough. He was dying and asking for my help. I immediately booked him a flight for the following morning and found a rehab facility that would admit him.
Crook County
2 | The Ties That Bind Us
When I picked him up from the airport, I barely recognized him. He was skinny, disheveled, with dead eyes, and he barely spoke a word. I was stunned. I felt like throwing up. I drove him straight to rehab and dropped him off. On my way home, I pulled the car over, and I cried. For the first time in a very long time.
Crook County
2 | The Ties That Bind Us
I have this old memory of my dad dropping me off my first day at college. He looked at me in a very strange way and said, When you're old enough, I'll tell you everything. No more secrets. No more lies. It's time I learn the truth. Next week on Crook County.
Crook County
2 | The Ties That Bind Us
Crook County is a production of iHeart Podcasts and Tenderfoot TV in association with Common Enemy. All episodes are written, produced, and hosted by me, Kyle Tequila. Executive producers are Donald Albright and Payne Lindsey. Original score by Makeup and Vanity Set. Main title song is called Crush by the band Starry Eyes. End credit song is called No Show, also by the band Starry Eyes.
Crook County
2 | The Ties That Bind Us
Sound mix by Cooper Skinner. Thank you to Oren Rosenbaum and the excellent team at UTA for their support and to my fearless attorney, Wendy Bench, for her guidance. To stay updated on all things Crook County, follow us on all socials at crookcountypodcast or leave us a voicemail by visiting crookcountypodcast.com.
Crook County
2 | The Ties That Bind Us
Episode 2, The Ties That Bind Us Family. Has there ever been a more loaded word? To some, family means unconditional love. It means security and support, tradition, values, acceptance, joy, and spending the holidays together. It's the very foundation upon which you are built. To some people, family means everything.
Crook County
2 | The Ties That Bind Us
Thank you for tuning in to Crook County. New episodes are released weekly, completely free. But if you're itching for more, check out Tenderfoot Plus on Apple Podcasts or visit tenderfootplus.com to subscribe for early access to the full series, plus an ad-free experience.
Crook County
2 | The Ties That Bind Us
But to many others, family is just another four-letter word filled with pain, grief, and discontent. Family is something you need to escape from, to shun, to forget. For my father, family meant something else entirely. On one hand, it was his wife who loved him, his two young boys who idolized him.
Crook County
2 | The Ties That Bind Us
It meant breaking the chain of an abusive childhood and starting over to create something new, something pure, something good. But on the other hand, family meant something far more sinister. His mafia family took him in when he was just 17, alone in the streets of Chicago. It gave him a job and a support system.
Crook County
2 | The Ties That Bind Us
It took away the anxieties of running away from home with no money and filled that emptiness with purpose, even if that purpose was criminal, even if it meant doing things you never imagined possible. Never in a million years. And once you do them, it's already too late. You're a prisoner to that family forever.
Crook County
2 | The Ties That Bind Us
And for the most part, he succeeded. We never knew about my father's second family. We were happy, and I always felt lucky to be a part of this family. In fact, I have almost exclusively positive memories from my first 18 years. a loving, blue-collar, suburban middle-class home with a Ford Explorer and a convertible Mustang occupying the driveway.
Crook County
2 | The Ties That Bind Us
My dad was a firefighter paramedic, and my mom left work to raise the kids. Both were supportive and enthusiastic parents, encouraging us to pursue our passions and follow our dreams. My younger brother Corey and I played just about every sport imaginable, so trips to play-it-again sports to buy and sell our gently used equipment were routine.
Crook County
2 | The Ties That Bind Us
We didn't have all the latest toys or clothes like many of the other kids in the neighborhood, but we never really wanted for anything.
Crook County
2 | The Ties That Bind Us
running around the neighborhood like animals, laughing, building forts, playing tag, walking for miles along the railroad tracks like the kids in Stand By Me, minus the dead body, sleepovers, paintball battles, baseball games, travel hockey, girlfriends, making out in the basement, breakups, new friends, movie nights, punk shows. It was a good life, as good as any kid could ask for.
Crook County
2 | The Ties That Bind Us
We were lucky. At least, that's how it felt back then. But today, things couldn't be any more different. And we couldn't be any further apart. As soon as we could, my brother and I moved away from home. Me to the west coast and my brother to the east. My dad eventually moved away too, leaving a trail of destruction in his wake.
Crook County
2 | The Ties That Bind Us
And leaving my poor mom with nothing but sadness, anger, and unanswered questions.
Crook County
2 | The Ties That Bind Us
Unfortunately. I'll go back to Dunkin' Donuts then. I'm just teasing. She lives in a small house with her friend Kathy. It's old and dated. The architecture, the furniture, like it was pulled straight from a 1970s Sears catalog.
Crook County
2 | The Ties That Bind Us
This is very true. I hold no resentment towards you at all. Thank you very much. We head up to her room so we can talk. It's full of pictures and mementos from the old days, the good days.
Crook County
2 | The Ties That Bind Us
We pick out an old VHS tape from our childhood and pop it in.
Crook County
2 | The Ties That Bind Us
Some family has come over to celebrate and my mom now holds the camera. There's people everywhere. She pans around to my dad, who's standing tall in the chaos.
Crook County
2 | The Ties That Bind Us
He's got long hair, wearing a tight white dress shirt with most of the buttons undone, and sporting a huge, goofy smile on his face. He's posing now, showing off his muscles, and brimming with that unique blend of sarcasm, confidence, and charm that endeared him to everyone around him.
Crook County
2 | The Ties That Bind Us
In those days, he was my hero. And I don't just mean that figuratively. Only a few months after this home video was made, he literally saved my life. Thanks for joining me on Crook County. For ad-free listening and exclusive content, dive into tenderfootplus.com, right there in the show notes. Tenderfoot Plus is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and other podcast players.
Crook County
2 | The Ties That Bind Us
You'll unlock access to early episodes, upcoming bonus material, the Tenderfoot Podcast Library of over 400 ad-free episodes, as well as subscriber-only specials. Subscribe now at tenderfootplus.com.
Crook County
1 | Give Me Your F**kin Money
Crook County is released weekly and brought to you absolutely free. But if you want to hear the whole season right now, it's available ad-free on Tenderfoot+. For more information, check out the show notes. Enjoy the episode.
Crook County
1 | Give Me Your F**kin Money
He takes a long pause and seems to be deep in some old memory.
Crook County
1 | Give Me Your F**kin Money
Look, I don't know much about the Mafia. I mean, I guess I know as much as anybody who's seen a movie or TV show about it. But sitting here with him, listening to him talk, watching him remember these terrible things, I feel confused. I just don't see what you would expect to see from someone who's had a life like this. You know, a hardened criminal with bodies under his belt.
Crook County
1 | Give Me Your F**kin Money
Some kind of monster. Instead, I see a tired, sad man, genuinely hurt that this was his life. I have to know, how does someone like that get wrapped up in all this?
Crook County
1 | Give Me Your F**kin Money
It's a place where the cops are just as crooked as the criminals, where drugs and prostitution run rampant, and where a young mafia hitman they call The Kid is parked outside of a dark, dilapidated apartment building, waiting for just the right moment to make his next move.
Crook County
1 | Give Me Your F**kin Money
A rough childhood, a tumultuous marriage, a mother pulling a gun on her own son, homelessness, desperation, all leading to one fateful moment. A bad decision that would define a young kid's entire life and the life of his future family.
Crook County
1 | Give Me Your F**kin Money
How do you keep an entire life of crime away from your friends, away from your family? How does your wife not know? Or your kids? It seems impossible, but I know it's true. I know because I was there. Because Kenny is my father. And I had no idea about any of this until now.
Crook County
1 | Give Me Your F**kin Money
Crook County is a true crime podcast about my father, Kenny the Kid Tequila's rise through the ranks of one of the most notorious organized crime syndicates in the country, the Chicago Outfit. We'll explore in great depth my father's life of crime and its profound and lasting impact on my family to this very day.
Crook County
1 | Give Me Your F**kin Money
Crook County is a production of iHeart Podcasts and Tenderfoot TV in association with Common Enemy. All episodes are produced, written, and hosted by me, Kyle Tequila. Executive producers are Donald Albright and Payne Lindsey. Original score by Makeup and Vanity Set. Main title song is called Aloha by the band Starry Eyes. End credit song is called Crush, also by the band Starry Eyes.
Crook County
1 | Give Me Your F**kin Money
Sound mix by Cooper Skinner. Special thanks to my wife Nicole for not leaving me after she found out about all this shit. And a big thank you to my extended family for sharing their painful memories with me, which no doubt were never meant to see the light of day, not to mention broadcast to the entire world. I hope we can all find some healing through this journey together.
Crook County
1 | Give Me Your F**kin Money
Thank you to Oren Rosenbaum and the excellent team at UTA for their support. And, of course, to my fearless attorney, Wendy Bench, who's an absolute badass and a total rock star. To stay updated on all things Crook County, follow us on all socials at crookcountypodcast. Or leave us a voicemail by visiting crookcountypodcast.com.
Crook County
1 | Give Me Your F**kin Money
For more podcasts like Crook County, search Tenderfoot TV on your favorite podcast app or visit tenderfoot.tv. episode two is available now subscribe to tenderfoot plus at tenderfootplus.com to binge the entire season Thank you for tuning in to Crook County. New episodes are released weekly, completely free.
Crook County
1 | Give Me Your F**kin Money
But if you're itching for more, check out Tenderfoot Plus on Apple Podcasts or visit tenderfootplus.com to subscribe for early access to the full series, plus an ad-free experience.
Crook County
1 | Give Me Your F**kin Money
Holy shit. I'm your host, Kyle Tequila. Welcome to Crook County.
Crook County
1 | Give Me Your F**kin Money
This is a 1970s-era Board of Tourism advertisement for the city of Chicago. Chicago is fun! It's overflowing with sunlit cityscapes and joyful, smiling faces of young people, families, and tourists, all locked in a state of perpetual 8-millimeter textured happiness and wonder of this city of broad shoulders, this great city by the lake.
Crook County
1 | Give Me Your F**kin Money
Uh-huh. All right. I'm interviewing Kenny, the kid, for the first time. Okay. He's a big man, in his mid-60s, with a full head of jet black hair, combed and styled with only a few strands of gray, wearing a clean white t-shirt and reading glasses with thick black frames. He's handsome, in a run-down sort of way. He kind of reminds me of a down-on-his-luck Clark Kent. You know, Superman, but fat.
Crook County
1 | Give Me Your F**kin Money
Let your brain go. He's not used to having a microphone in his face and seems to be having a little trouble getting comfortable with me.
Crook County
1 | Give Me Your F**kin Money
It goes on like this for a while, but eventually he starts talking.
Crook County
1 | Give Me Your F**kin Money
It really does look like a wonderful place to live. A place with endless possibilities, where anybody, no matter who you are or where you came from, can get a fair shot at the brass ring.
Crook County
1 | Give Me Your F**kin Money
Kenny spent over 20 years working deep inside the legendary Chicago Mafia, also known as the South Side Gang, or simply The Outfit, which rose to power in the 1920s during Prohibition under Johnny Torrio and Al Capone.
Crook County
1 | Give Me Your F**kin Money
They were powerful, ruthless, and violent, with tentacles spreading all the way to Florida and California, a vast criminal empire spanning nearly 100 years, making its fortune off bootleg liquor, illegal gambling, prostitution, extortion, political corruption, labor racketeering, loan sharking, and murder for hire.
Crook County
1 | Give Me Your F**kin Money
Since the days of Capone, the outfit has been led by a who's who of powerful bosses like Frank the Enforcer Nitti, Paul the Waiter Rica, Anthony Big Tuna Ocardo, and Salvatore Momo Giancana. When Kenny was there in the 70s, 80s, and early 90s, the bosses were Joseph Joey Dove Zayuba, Sam Black Sam Carlisi, and John No-Nose DiFranzo.
Crook County
1 | Give Me Your F**kin Money
It was a period of great prosperity, and they were stronger than ever.
Crook County
1 | Give Me Your F**kin Money
But only a few miles from the bright lights of Michigan Avenue is a different stretch of road, a dark corner of the Windy City you won't see in any Board of Tourism commercial.
Crook County
5 | Bully
I am my father's son. We spent some time catching up and cracking jokes about my old man. What's the project again? So it's a podcast. So what's the deal? I can tell Rich is a bit hesitant to dig up the past like this. And I get it. From what I've been hearing, it's not like they had the happiest childhood.
Crook County
5 | Bully
He tells me there was a joke in the family that Ken must have had a different father.
Crook County
5 | Bully
That's interesting. If you remember from episode one, Kenny was kicked out of his house by his mom for accusing her of having an affair, which she was, and which of course started off this whole chain of events that led to Ken joining the outfit in the first place. I ask Rich what he remembers.
Crook County
5 | Bully
I loved my grandma Adele. She was the sweetest old woman you could ever meet. She loved science and history and Native American culture. The stories of her younger years are full of intrigue and adventure. She moved out to California in her late teens and was one of the first women ever to work at NASA. She then took a job in the FBI and was only one of a handful of women there.
Crook County
5 | Bully
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Crook County
5 | Bully
She was a trailblazer and painted beautiful landscapes inspired by all her travels that filled the walls of her home. She taught me how to play piano and to appreciate the wild beauty of nature. And to picture this saint of a woman pointing a gun at her teenage son is completely unbelievable to me. But if I've learned anything at this point, it's that nobody is exactly who you think they are.
Crook County
5 | Bully
Okay, so if Grandma was some sort of fearless, knife-fighting street pirate, then I guess you can argue that a hot temper is just in our blood, and Ken was just a chip off the old block? Anything could set him off.
Crook County
5 | Bully
out of control could not stop him temper and until he got past that rage you couldn't stop him it's like he didn't even know what he was doing practically he tells me a few old stories like ken punching out a gym teacher in high school or stealing rich's car at 16 and disappearing for a week apparently driving it all the way to california
Crook County
5 | Bully
Yeah, this one hurt. I know it may sound silly after everything else we've heard, but this one positive character trait was something I held onto my whole life. It was foundational to the image I had of my father. And to learn it was complete bullshit is a fucking hard pill to swallow.
Crook County
5 | Bully
What's interesting about this incident is it would have been in those early years after Ken joined the outfit. So it's very possible it was mob related. I asked him if he knew what his brother was into at that time.
Crook County
5 | Bully
The cops organized a few phony busts. So I took two of those and the girls would come with me and, you know, a little party.
Crook County
5 | Bully
This is Maureen, my dad's high school girlfriend. Thank you for having me and doing this.
Crook County
5 | Bully
And hopefully you'll tell me everything. Maureen. It was a name that would occasionally echo through our childhood home. She was like this mythical creature who at the very mention of her accursed name would send my mother into fits of rage and jealousy.
Crook County
5 | Bully
No, I'm not doing this again. First, my dad is John Travolta from Saturday Night Fever. Okay, fine. But now you're telling me he's John Travolta from Grease? I just, I can't. I'm not going to do it. Okay. Let's move on.
Crook County
5 | Bully
And it just didn't work out that way. I have a million questions for Maureen because she has a truly unique perspective in all this. As someone who saw a softer side of Kenny during those formative teenage years.
Crook County
5 | Bully
She goes on to say that she only recently heard about it from Kenny's mother, Adele.
Crook County
5 | Bully
She's crying. It takes a moment to collect herself. And then, suddenly, she remembers something from long ago.
Crook County
5 | Bully
It was widely known around the family that Ken was a fourth-degree black belt. There were legends about his prowess on the mat, Hao even defeated his own master at one point. Even the style of martial arts he practiced sounded exotic and dangerous to us as kids.
Crook County
5 | Bully
Chung Mu Kwan. I had never heard of it before and never had a reason to look into it. Until, of course, I started down this insane family rabbit hole of mine. I wasn't expecting to find anything interesting at all, to be honest. But when I learned the history of this mysterious brand of Kung Fu, I was absolutely shocked at what I found.
Crook County
5 | Bully
I found this investigative news report from 1989 about Chung Mu Kwan. It's fascinating.
Crook County
5 | Bully
So not only is my dad in the mob, which is bad enough, by the way, he's also in some goddamn kung fu mind control cult. Jesus fucking Christ. He's either an evil genius or the unluckiest man alive.
Crook County
5 | Bully
Now, let's go back to episode one, when my dad talks about mentally preparing himself for a hit.
Crook County
5 | Bully
And there it is. This whole time, I've been struggling to understand just how he could take that enormous leap from doorman to hitman. Or how he could jump back and forth so easily from mob life to family life without us ever even coming close to knowing.
Crook County
5 | Bully
I think it was the perfect storm. Combination of terrible childhood, abusive parents, hitting the streets as a kid, no prospects, finding a father figure who just happens to be in the outfit. And then you introduce Chung Mu Kwan and its meditative mind control techniques.
Crook County
5 | Bully
Crook County is a production of iHeart Podcasts and Tenderfoot TV in association with Common Enemy. All episodes are written, produced, and hosted by me, Kyle Tequila. Executive producers are Donald Albright and Payne Lindsey. Original score by Makeup and Vanity Set. Main title song is called Aloha by the band Starry Eyes. End credit song is called No Show, also by the band Starry Eyes.
Crook County
5 | Bully
Sound mix by Cooper Skinner. Thank you to Oren Rosenbaum and the excellent team at UTA for their support and to my fearless attorney, Wendy Bench, for her guidance. To stay updated on all things Crook County, follow us on all socials at crookcountypodcast or leave us a voicemail by visiting crookcountypodcast.com.
Crook County
5 | Bully
Nixon, Watergate, the end of the Vietnam War, a global recession, gas shortages, rolling blackouts, crime waves, record unemployment, and the ominous shadow of the Cold War. The 1970s was a decade steeped in anxiety and uncertainty, and the curtain had been pulled back on the American dream. Hell, even disco was dead.
Crook County
5 | Bully
History may label this decade the Great Awakening, but for Ken, now in his mid-twenties, it felt more like some terrible dream. And while the world was racing toward the glimmering promise of the 1980s, Ken stood still, feeling nothing at all. No comfort, no hope. He was simply numb. After they hit on Danny, the bosses knew they could count on Kenny for heavy work.
Crook County
5 | Bully
And when the calls came, it wasn't so much of a question as a demand. And Kenny had no choice but to comply. As the pressures of his new reality mounted, he withdrew further and turned to cocaine to numb his pain. In this world, emotion was a weakness, and sympathy could get you killed.
Crook County
5 | Bully
If he wanted to stay alive in his new role within the outfit, he would need to dig deep down to the darkest part of his soul and abandon the light forever.
Crook County
5 | Bully
I remembered something he used to tell my brother and I when we were kids. He would say, when he was young, that he was the bully of the bullies at his school. And if we ever saw someone getting bullied at our school, that we should step in and stop it. He was quite proud of this bit of parenting advice. And to be honest, I was quite proud of him too. I always admired him for it.
Crook County
5 | Bully
And to this day, I think about those very words. I even taught that same lesson to my own kid. Defend the weak and have the courage to fight against those who would fight against you. And now, more than 20 years later, here is my dad telling me that he was hired to apply a version of that logic to the metaphorical bullies of the outfit. At least, that's what he's telling me.
Crook County
5 | Bully
It is very possible that he's just softening the blow about the kind of people that were in his crosshairs. I mean, does it really make me feel any better that the only people he killed were bad guys? Honestly, the answer is yes, it does. But the simple fact is, I will never really know if any of this stuff is true. All I can do is take him at his word.
Crook County
5 | Bully
And now, let me introduce you to the next character in our story. A feared boss within the outfit, and a man who would make an enormous impact on the life of young Kenny. Paul Taglia. Which, I will remind you, for the safety of everyone involved, is not his real name.
Crook County
5 | Bully
We decide to break for the day. He's exhausted, and honestly, so am I. There's so much to unpack here and I don't even know where to begin. I started recording these interviews back in 2017 and it was apparent then that his health was failing him. Since then, he's continued to decline and I honestly don't know how long he has left.
Crook County
5 | Bully
He recently showed me an entire backpack full of prescriptions he's taken for a dozen or so conditions. He's pale, swollen, shakes uncontrollably. His legs are covered in red marks and bruises, and he has a hard time walking. He's about the furthest thing you can get from the fearless mafia heavy of his youth. What the hell happened to this man? How was he able to do the things he did?
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
When I first learned about all this, besides the heroin, the heroin was an ongoing thing for years and years and years. In 2013, he called me and I had been estranged with him for from him for about five years.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
And so when he called me, it was odd because I don't talk to him at this point. And when I do talk to him, it's like, fuck you. You know, it's like really not it's not healthy at all. So when he called me, he was just like he was a wreck and he was like vulnerable and emotional. And I was shocked. It's like, what the what is this? And it was, I, this is basically my last day. Like I'm done.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
I'm dying and I'm done and I need help. And you're the only one that can help me because everyone had cut him out at this point. So he comes to his firstborn son to save the day. And so I, um, I heard him out and I felt, I felt sympathy for him. I mean, he was a great dad growing up until he wasn't until the drugs turned him into a monster. And by this time I was healthy in my career.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
I was healthy. I had a wife and we were already talking about raising a kid. I was, I was healthy. I'm healthy and I'm in a good place and I felt like I could do it. So I immediately kind of like figured out rehabs, like whatever that means. I started calling around and I got him a spot at this detox facility in Southern California and then put him on a flight from Chicago to LA the next morning.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
And I picked him up at the airport and he just was the skeleton of a person. It was, Really awful. I mean, like he didn't have a belt on his pants were just like falling down. He's constantly lifting his pants up. Just really sad, really sad state. And, um, you know, I drove him to the airport and it was pretty much a silent drive. And so I dropped him off and that's what you do.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
You drop him off and you leave. And then he started getting clean as you do, hopefully. And then I would visit him and then he would slowly start opening up all this stuff to me. And it wasn't a lot. It was just like, you don't really know who I am. And, you know, I used to do bad things and, you know, it was just like a lot of little hints, you know, breadcrumbs kind of thing.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
I don't know if he's on drugs. Like, I don't know if it's like some heroin hangover or if, you know, he's just like hallucinating. I don't, I don't really take any of this stuff, you know, on face value. So when he does get sober and I know he's sober and we're having conversations and he's like, kind of like, you know, the old Ken is, I can kind of see it a little bit.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
And then that's when he's really laid it out for me. And it was just like, what are you talking about? Like what? So I gave him an iPad and I said, write this shit down, like just in your time, in your spare time. And he was staying with me for like a couple of days too. And you go back and forth and I'm just like, whatever thought you have, just write it all out.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
Cause it was hard for him to get it out. Like he would say it, then he'd stop and be like, I don't want to talk about that. You know, he like shut it down again. So I'm like, just write it down in your own time. And then like one day, it was probably a year or two later, it was like 40 pages, like, you know, kind of autobiography all over the place, scatterbrained, you know.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
But I read it and it was just like, it's the story. It's the story. It's Crook County. It's insane. So I spent a good amount of time kind of like organizing the thoughts, asking him other questions and telling him to send me little voice memos every now and then if he has a thought. And I just started compiling information and materials. And at the same time, I was really busy doing movie stuff.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
So I just like... There wasn't a podcast. There wasn't anything. It was just like working on my dad, having him purge all these things. And then in 2017, that's when I heard Up and Vanished, like I said. And I was like, this could be...
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
a podcast, you know, and that's when I pulled out the recorder and he was ready and I was ready and he was sober at this time and he was working in a rehab facility, you know, helping people stay clean. It was kind of like his, his penance for his life of crime and what he felt like he had to do. And, and we just started recording.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
And over a couple of years, we got all this material and then I would go and fly out and I, you know,
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
got my mom in chicago got my brother uh got my dad's twin brother rich i you know found his old paramedic firefighter partner his high school girlfriend you know just like all these things started pulling clips started learning about the mafia like just all this research really dive in and then you know and then the rest is history i put it all together and now here we are but uh but yeah you know so the the question was how do you transition from family archives to that and it was
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
Creatively, I had to insert. I realized I had to insert myself into the story to tell the story as opposed to just like having this be like archival footage that I could share. You know, here's an hour interview with your dad kind of thing or your grandpa kind of thing. Right. So that's that was the change. That was the flip that I had to do.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
therapeutic and and very lonely because I was just sitting in my room like just thinking for weeks and weeks and weeks and just like then I'd write a little something and then then I'd tie two pieces of footage together with this little thought that I had right and it was just like this slow like brick laying process that took a long time you know how do you connect all these dots right because it's three it's three four decades of stuff plus my life you know and how it affected us and how to affect everybody else
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
So it was a lot, but I learned a lot. I can be a lot more efficient at that now, I think, through this process. I know how to do it.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
But I will say that this whole process has brought us a lot closer together.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
And I think, you know, one of the morals of this whole thing is secrets kill. And you can't have a functioning family unit when everyone's holding on to shit and burying everything. Burying realities, you know what I mean? Cause they're, they're not fun. They're ugly.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
And so for us, I forced everybody to dig this shit up and say it to me and say it to my face and put it out there and have these conversations. And I think just like it was cathartic for me, it was really cathartic for everybody else too.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
So, yeah, in a way, now that it's all out there and especially now that it's out in the world and people are hearing it and they're getting like my mom's getting Facebooked by people like, holy, like what? You know, it's like there's nothing left to hide. And now and they're almost like it's it's weird. It's like they feel lighter.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
Like I just said, I feel like I can float like everyone feels a lot lighter now. It's like, yeah, like and because they're not being persecuted like they thought they would be persecuted.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
by sharing this stuff people are actually like sympathizing and empathizing and being like oh my god you know and like feeling the need to to help or be friends again or you know reignite an old friendship or whatever or like oh my god now i understand why you were the way you were or why you you know why things happened and why we fell our relationship fell apart it's like all everything has been kind of glued back together again in a weird way so yeah it's very healthy
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
99.9% me. Every now and then he'll text my mom and she just wants nothing to do with him. So she'll just be like, whatever can, you know, kind of thing. That's my mom voice. Whatever can. And then my brother wanted nothing to do with him for years. I mean, really, like high school for him was a nightmare.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
And he hadn't talked to him for over 10 years. So I'll share a little secret with you. We had this sit down on Christmas two months ago, my mom, my brother and myself, and I played him all all the episodes. We sat down in this in this room and we played eight episodes straight and we drank a shit ton of wine. We got really drunk. And we got really emotional and we just hashed all this shit out.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
And it was, again, really healthy. But in the middle of it, it was the craziest thing. In the middle of it, my dad texts me and he says, and he says, I'm going to kill myself today.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
Yes, I have the text. And it's Christmas. He's got no family. He's fucked. His head is fucked still. And, you know, the guy's a mess. He really is. As much as I try to help him, but he's still a fucking mess. And I go, whoa. I pull out my phone like, you guys, Ken just texted me. Read this. And I put it out and they read it. And my brother goes, fuck that. Give me that fucking phone.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
I'm going to FaceTime him right now. It was the first time he ever said anything like that in like over 10 years. And so he FaceTimed my dad. And I have it all recorded. And he just confronted him and just let him have it like 10, 12 years of all of this backlog of hate and pain and things he wanted to say. And he just fucking crushed him. And it was, it was crazy. It was super healthy for him.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
And at the end of it, they were kind of like both kind of laughing a little bit. It was wild. It was wild. And so I'm going to, I'm going to release some bonus episodes that has a lot of this like kind of present day stuff going on in this present day drama.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
Welcome to the tequila family. Never a dull moment.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
It's totally like knocked him off that.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
What am I thinking? Because that's literally what he said. He's like, what the fuck are you thinking?
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
Texting your son who's like done nothing but help you that you're going to fucking kill yourself. Like you're putting that weight on your on Kyle. Like what is wrong with you? And just he just crushed him. It was it was pretty incredible.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
C'est la vie. But yeah, no, you're 100% right.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
Like, it really is. Like, I don't care what people think of me at all. Like, dude, this is exactly who I am.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
And this is my fucked up family. Enjoy.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
Honestly, if you're mad at me for this, fuck you. You're an asshole.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
Yeah, it was a one-man band. I mean, all production was me, all the editing, the music, sound effects, the sound design, whatever, all that. Like, me, me, me. You know, it's like a college film, you know, shot by me, edited by me, all that. But Tenderfoot is, they're so efficient and professional, and they know this space so well.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
Donald is the one I work with day to day on this and, and maps for the score. But Donald's like, it's gotta be eight episodes and two bonus. Like he gives me the format, right? You know, there's gonna be two mid rolls. So plan for that. Okay. So I know I could, I basically 30 minute show, which was always my plan. I didn't want some like droning hour long. It's just too much.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
You know, some things hours perfect, but like, I just felt like it would just be too much at an hour on the show. So I was like, always like 30 minutes. I was like, okay, I can do literally three 10 minute chunks, like, and just break it up, like very episodically, like a TV show. And so, like, the form is tenderfoot. Like, that's their guidance.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
And then, you know, I filled it all with temp music from Mavs, actually. He sent me just his library of stuff, like, you know, to cut to. And then he crafted an original score once everything was locked. Cool. Which is amazing because he's such a beast. He's so talented. He really just elevates everything he touches. So thank you, Mavs, bud. You're great.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
And then as far as trailers and stuff, you know, again, that's them. Like, this wasn't a video thing. He's like, you need a two minute, you need a 60, you need a 30, you need video stuff, you need personal stuff for you. You got to fucking learn how to do TikTok. You got to dance. So yeah, all that stuff is Tenderfoot.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
And, you know, a lot of conversations between Donald and I, I'm like, you know, like, what do you think we should do with this? Like, should I hold this story back? It's like stuff like that. You know, he was kind of like an advisor in that front. But yeah, I mean, for the most part, it's me sitting in a room by myself, just staring at a computer screen, pressing buttons.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
And we played it for him and we sat down with him and it was a lot for him. It's one thing for him to finally unveil all of these things to me. But another to listen to it back in this packaged movie thing, you know, like it kind of messed with him a bit.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
he didn't he was kind of speechless probably he didn't know what to say and then it scared him he's like oh my god like it's it's like a thing like it's not just my it's like a thing now and then so we had to talk about that and that that leads into that well are you comfortable even doing this and so eventually it was like once once that shock of like oh my god this is a thing now
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
wore off and he understands and he knows I'm a film producer. He knows what I do. He knows that I, he trusted me to tell it the right way.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
And so once that all kind of settled itself out, he was totally at peace with it and supportive of it and always asking me if I needed any more stories or, you know, whatever, any more clarification on anything, you know, as I'm in production, as I'm editing all this stuff and, You know, even nowadays, like every now and then he'll hit me up with a voice memo.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
This whole thing's been a whirlwind. I'm kind of speechless. So but thank you very much. It's amazing to hear stuff like that.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
It's just some whacked out crazy thing. And, uh, he's like, I don't know if you need that or not, but there it is. So I've got just a folder just full of insanity, uh, voice memos from him. But, uh, but yeah, so, I mean, he's, and I told him like, Hey, the show's coming out February 11th, dad. That's great, son. You know, congrats. Uh, you know, you're so proud of you, blah, blah, blah, you know?
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
So there are moments where we have like normal human conversations and then they like spiral into like, I'm going to fucking kill myself, you know, kind of stuff. It's very odd. It's a lot of like almost like bipolar conversations. But yeah, so I mean, he's 100% supportive of it to answer your question.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
It's one thing to tell it to a group and the other just to like not even like just pretend it's not even happening. And then it's on the radio, you know.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
And you're not a part of the experience.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
Very much so. Since 100% fiber internet makes any home upgrade possible, I can finally live my dream of having my own smart office.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
That's a good question. Well, yeah, I've been producing movies since 2013. And anyone who is in the industry knows just how much of a behemoth producing a movie is and how awful and stressful and how much of a nightmare it is. And how it can collapse at any moment.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
And if you're not fully committed and like 24-7 on with your brain and you can't live any other life except getting this movie off the ground, it's exhausting and it's a lot. And so I'd done probably seven movies or so in some kind of producer capacity. And I'd also been editing movies and working as what's called like a post-production supervisor on a bunch of other movies.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
I was just really, really burned out, I think, by the time this story really started to kind of come into fruition, production-wise. And I'd finished two movies in a span of two years, and they both were coming out in theaters with pretty significant releases in May and June of 2020. Wow. Which we all know the theaters were completely closed because of COVID.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
So both those movies just were completely decimated. at the box office. And it was like, I killed myself trying to get those two movies made. And so like just all that happening. And then it just kind of going nowhere, just, it really hurt. It really was a big blow. And, and I just wanted nothing to do with the industry for a while.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
Yeah. A lot of external pressures and a forcing of the hand and all that kind of stuff. Yeah. I mean, of course, at the end of the day, they could just say no and walk away or try to. But it's true. It's hard. It's really hard sometimes.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
And, you know, I had been recording the interviews with my dad on this show for, for a while. And, you know, the seed of the idea to turn it into a podcast, besides just being kind of like a family archive, really, which was my original intent was just to get these stories. Because I had no idea how long he had left to live because he was such a mess.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
You know, I got a comment yesterday and it was someone, basically what you just said, like, I wasn't expecting the addiction stuff and I had battled addiction. And that really struck a note with me, how he said that AA saved his life because AA saved my life. So there's that connection I think is going to land with a lot of people.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
Someone this morning reached out to me that I went to high school with that obviously had no idea about any of this stuff. I said, I don't know if you know this, but my dad died of alcoholism when I was 15 and he battled it for a really long time. And it was a private thing that we kept within the family. And hearing your dad's story now and understanding is like, it makes me want to tell
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
my story you know so it's a lot of i think i think it really it's like triggering people in a in a positive way to to like to i guess embrace these really hard things that have happened to them in their past instead of hide it i think that's beautiful so what's next for kirk county Well, there's going to be a bunch of other seasons of it. I'm trying. I have ideas for it. I would love to.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
There's so much going on with my dad currently. Things that I have not even talked to you about yet that are wild. That I might be able to squeeze into a season two, like a continuation story. If I can, great. If I can't, then I'm going to do other stories like Under the Banner of Crook County.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
Because in the same kind of way I did this one, it's going to be thoughtful and a lot of humanity mixed with the bad stuff. But then immediately we are pitching this as a TV series, you know, like a prestige show, you know, like a Sopranos meets Dexter meets Fargo meets Chicago Fire. We didn't even talk about that.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
The whole paramedic firefighter thing, you know, that's such a unique angle to his story, you know, to be a first responder who's a mafia asset. You know, he's a hero by day and a hit man by night. Like, that's that's a show. Let's go, HBO. What are we talking about? We'll see. We're working on that.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
Sure. You just send me a postcard, go to the mail. Yeah, you know, I've got all the social stuff. So I control Crook County Podcast Instagram account. And the website has like an email feature and a contact. And there's also a voicemail thing that actually I want to do. I want people to leave me voicemails and I want to play them on a bonus episode.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
And so I just wanted to have them so I can share them with my family and my son when he was old enough. I didn't really listen to podcasts. I think I probably listened to Serial when it came out, the first one, because it was just like this huge nationwide thing that everyone was talking about. But I wasn't really into the podcast thing.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
So go to crookcountypodcast.com and leave me a voicemail. Ask me a question. Tell me how you feel about the show, whatever. You can call me a douchebag. That's fun. I'll talk to everybody. So pretty, pretty available.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
And then for some reason, someone told me about Up and Vanished, season one. And I listened to that. And I think that kind of blew me away because... It wasn't just people talking, like there was so much production value that Payne put into it, you know, so much sound effects.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
And he really took the time to make it sound good and get the right microphone and mix it and, you know, getting makeup and vanity set to do the music on that. It just felt like a theater of the mind. It felt like a movie. And so that was when I go, oh my God, I could do that with Payne.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
crook county or it wasn't crook county at the time it was just with my dad's fucked up story and so uh so then i started developing it as a podcast series at that time and and then when covet hit and i was just so burned out of the industry it was the perfect time for me to really to do the to do the show to make it happen
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
And so I had a pilot episode prior to COVID actually done, sent it to Mavs. Actually, after I heard Up and Vanished and I heard that score, I was still producing one of those movies that was coming out in 2020. And I wanted him to score the movie. And so I initially reached out to him for that. And we became kind of fast friends. And then when I had the pilot for the podcast, I sent it to him.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
And he was like, this is great. I'm going to send it to to the guys, if you don't mind. And I was like, absolutely. So, and then they loved it and they came to LA and we met up at a coffee shop and we struck a deal. And then we seemed to be off to the races, but I was still so burned out, even though mentally I wanted to do this podcast, I like just physically couldn't sit down and edit.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
Like I was just so done. And so nothing really happened until 2023 when I kind of like cleared that cache, you know, of like,
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
whatever disappointment and pain and anguish and uh and and started getting creative again and just started cutting just crushing episodes just really getting into it and i was i was just in the zone and pumped out a bunch of episodes and i called donald up i'm like you still want to do this show and he's like yeah so over the next year we finished the show and you sold it and we developed a plan to to get it out there and now here we are it's very exciting so
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
It's a long journey to say the least.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
But I think I think it was totally worth the wait to wait till now.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
Yeah, it's a lot of because it's really just me in a room.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
Doing all this by myself. So it's literally just a lot of me just kind of like just staring into space and letting my brain go kind of fucking try to pull threads and like make a story happen. And it's a lot of self-reflection, too. So, yeah, it does. It does take all that time to really get it right.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
Yeah, it's kind of like one of those things. Another reason why I'm glad it didn't happen before 2020 when I first started doing the pilot is because I didn't have a band. I'd always been in music when I was a kid. That was the thing that I wanted to do. I got my first guitar at 10 and I was I started an original band at 10.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
We were called Malice, and it was just, like, really heavy, like, dark alternative, you know? For 10-year-olds? For 10-year-olds, long hair and, like, black fingernails. I was a little goth kid. And I played bands all throughout high school.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
I was in punk bands, and I was in the Chicago scene that, you know, spawned Fall Out Boy and The Academy Is, and we were playing shows with Fall Out Boy in garages and VFWs and community senators. Like, we had this amazing punk rock scene. Obviously, that turned into, like, this huge nationwide phenomenon. And in the early 2000s, it just went crazy.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
But by the time it all went crazy, I had, my dad was dealing with the heroin addiction and our family was falling apart. And it was like, I don't have the freedom anymore to like go out and be like a rock star and, you know, or pretend to be a rock star and, and like, you know, be completely irresponsible and be broke. And like, I had to get a fucking job.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
And I got into film, which almost is dumb.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
There's at least kind of like jobs, you know. And so, yeah, I got into film. And in college, I went to SIU, Southern Illinois University. I met this like group of nerds that had this TV show that aired on the Midwest PBS affiliate. And it was like a docu-series show. Like they would record these little five-minute documentaries. They'd drive all over the country and find these crazy stories.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
They'd interview them, they'd shoot them, they'd come back, they'd edit it themselves, and then we'd package it into this little show and it would air on PBS. It was an amazing show and it was an amazing experience. And we ended up winning a ton of Emmys and it was a huge eye-opener. Like I could actually do this as a career. And so it gave me a huge confidence boost.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
And I met a lot of the people that I ended up working with like in my career through that show. Like a lot of these people moved to LA and before I moved to LA, I actually moved to Atlanta. That's where I started my like real career as an editor. I was editing a bunch of stuff for TNT and TBS and movie trailers and whatnot. But back to the music thing. So music kind of went away.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
The guitar basically was collecting dust on the wall. And then same thing, COVID hits and I'm completely burned out and I hate everyone. And I'm like, I just like, what am I doing with my life? And I started playing guitar again. And it was like this spark just lit. And it was like, oh yeah, I used to fucking love music.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
and so um i just like couldn't i became obsessed and i'm like i need to i need to write songs i need to do something and so i went on craigslist good old craigslist And I found this dude, John, who had like, it was him and a drummer. And they had a bunch of songs that they had written, but it was just instrumentals. And they were like looking for a vocalist singer for like three years.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
And I, you know, Craigslisted them back and I'm like, hey, send me your demos. And they sent me the demos and they were great. They were the songs. And so I started writing the lyrics. And so, yeah, like the songs that are in the main titles and the end titles, Aloha, Crush and No Show.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
A lot of that, I mean, all of it really is about those issues and about my dad's heroin addiction, about me trying to put him through rehab, about him telling me this fucked up story about his life and how am I supposed to deal with that shit? Like, what does that mean? All that.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
So when this whole thing actually came together in 2023 as a show, the music was there, the podcast was there, and it was just this perfect marriage to kind of like put everything together in one package and completely just like purred all, it was like just the biggest therapy session ever to get it out. So- I feel so light. I feel like I can fly right now.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
Just so happy to have all this shit off my back.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
Yeah, I mean, anywhere you stream music, they're out there. Spotify, Apple Music, whatever, you know.
Crook County
Inside Crook County: Behind the Mic with Kyle Tekiela
Starry Eyes. We have two albums out.
Lords of Death
8 | Time Casts a Spell on You
My name is Kyle Tequila, host of the shocking new true crime podcast, Crook County. I got recruited into the mob when I was 17 years old.
Lords of Death
8 | Time Casts a Spell on You
Kenny was a Chicago firefighter who lived a secret double life as a mafia hitman. I had a wife and I had two children. Nobody knew anything. He was a freaking crazy man. He was my father, and I had no idea about any of this until now. From Tenderfoot TV and iHeart Podcasts, Crook County is available Tuesday, February 11th.
Lords of Death
8 | Time Casts a Spell on You
Listen for free on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Lords of Death
8 | Time Casts a Spell on You
He's with me every day. We were robbed, all of us. If it takes me 20 years and I can live that long, I'll be working on this case.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
467 - Nipper & The Hat
My name is Kyle Tequila, host of the shocking new true crime podcast, Crook County. I got recruited into the mob when I was 17 years old. People are dying. Is he doing this every night? Kenny was a Chicago firefighter who lived a secret double life as a mafia hitman. I had a wife and I had two children. Nobody knew anything. He was a freaking crazy man.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
467 - Nipper & The Hat
He was my father, and I had no idea about any of this until now. Crook County is available now. Listen for free on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.