Alphabet Boys

The ACLU is suing the FBI. Zebb Hall has a recording to share. And I found Mickey Windecker.

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Ripple is a new investigative series from Western Sound that revisits major stories to understand their lasting impacts. Hosted by Dan Leone, Season One investigates the largest oil spill in American history. Did authorities prevent an environmental disaster? Or have the ongoing effects of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill been ignored? 

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Flaviu says he tried to be a good American. He wanted to help the United States. 

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After their arrests, Flaviu, Cristian, and Massimo are extradited to New York. Flaviu soon finds that everyone has an agenda.

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The arms deal is taking shape. But Flaviu and Cristian need one more person to bring everything together: a flamboyant Italian politician named Massimo Romagnoli.

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Flaviu recruits Cristian Vintila, a Romanian government official, to help him facilitate the arms deal for Juan. But Cristian has some concerns.

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Juan isn’t who he says is. He’s made millions pretending to be someone he’s not.

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Flaviu is talking to a wide-bellied Colombian named Juan about a deal to sell weapons to the FARC, a paramilitary group. But the arms deal hits a snag in Italy.

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With Flaviu’s help, the FBI busts an organized crime ring in Las Vegas. But a death threat causes him to flee to Europe.

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Is Flaviu a trusted source for the U.S. government? In 2001, while living in Las Vegas, Flaviu became a longtime “friend” to the FBI.

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After being approached to procure weapons for Colombian rebels, Flaviu calls the CIA. “I have information for you,” Flaviu tells the agent.

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Flaviu Georgescu is arrested by DEA agents in Montenegro for brokering an illegal weapons deal on behalf of rebels in Colombia. But there’s a wrinkle the arresting agents didn’t consider: Flaviu claims he’s working for the CIA.

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Alphabet Boys, Season 2 is “Up In Arms.” An international weapons deal to arm rebels in Colombia tangles up the DEA, the CIA, and the FBI in the same case. But who’s the good guy? And who’s the bad guy? This spy story is not at all what it seems. 

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Lost Hills investigates the dark side of Malibu, California. Beneath a seductive facade, this city of billionaires, celebrities, and surf bums is hiding something menacing.

Season 3 takes a deep dive into the surf world to explore the legacy of Malibu’s Dark Prince: Miki Dora. A surfer known for his style, grace and aggression, he ruled Malibu from the 1950s to the 1970s. Celebrated for his rebellious spirit, he was also a conman who led the FBI on a 7-year manhunt around the world. To many he’s a hero, but there’s an evil undercurrent that runs through the surf world. And it all leads back to Miki Dora.

Hosted by Dana Goodyear (The New Yorker) and produced by Western Sound and Pushkin Industries.

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When the FBI closes its net, several activists are arrested. And Zebb enters a criminal justice system that’s stacked against him. But has the FBI ignored a much bigger, much more real threat to America? And finally, Trevor tracks down the man in the silver hearse. 

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Mickey takes Zebb to a Bass Pro Shop to buy a gun. Everything seems to be going to plan. But then, Mickey is exposed as an informant by a group in Colorado Springs. With Zebb’s help, Mickey creates a bizarre video railing against the group. Zebb begins to question what’s going on with his friend. But is it too late? 

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The FBI’s investigation into activists spreads beyond Denver. In Colorado Springs, a provocatively dressed woman with pink hair shows up to volunteer at a left-wing nonprofit organization. And just like Mickey, she’s taking orders from the FBI. But after several activists are arrested, the pink-haired woman’s cover is blown. 

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Another mystery man, nicknamed Red, comes to town. He’s Mickey’s so-called “outlaw biker buddy.” Red takes activist Bryce Shelby for a drive to scope out the home of Colorado’s attorney general as part of a budding assassination plot. But Red lets something slip that makes Bryce suspicious.

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Mickey now has two targets: activist Zebb Hall and a verbal bomb-thrower named Bryce Shelby. Mickey takes Zebb and Bryce out to lunch and tells them both that he’s got a guy who can help them do something big. Really big. Will Zebb and Bryce take the bait?  

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Alongside a couple of activists with the Young Democratic Socialists of America, Mickey infiltrates the Denver protest scene. He also starts spreading rumors that a leader of the demonstrations is a snitch. Meanwhile, the protests in Denver are becoming increasingly violent as Mickey leads the way in his silver hearse. 

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Mickey is obsessed with The Punisher, the Marvel Comics antihero who delivers his own brand of arbitrary, violent justice. In this episode, we talk to Casandra Windecker, Mickey’s ex-wife. Cassie met Mickey through the Denver Hearse Association, a community where Mickey was well known for his participation in zombie apocalypse cosplay events and a bit part in a locally produced grindhouse movie. But their relationship quickly turned toxic, and Cassie began to wonder where Mickey was getting thousands of dollars in cash that he’d spread out on the bed.  

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Today, the FBI has more than 15,000 registered informants, and in the summer of 2020, Mickey is one of them. He’s getting paid a lot of money to expose crimes committed by activists. But his official motivation? “To fight terrorists.” The FBI thinks the same way — that racial justice activists are “anti-government extremists.”

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Michael Adam Windecker II, or Mickey, returns to Denver after fighting ISIS in the Middle East. Mickey claims he trained real antifa warriors, that he represents the Kurdish government, and that he has diplomatic immunity. He puts himself right in the middle of the Denver protests. Activist Zebb Hall is enthralled with Mickey’s message — that the fight against racism needs to escalate. “If that's what you want,” Mickey tells Zebb, “I can make it happen.”

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It’s the summer of 2020. After the brutal killings of unarmed Black Americans by law enforcement, the nation is a tinderbox of anger. The pandemic is raging. Protestors and police are violently going toe-to-toe in cities across America. Denver sees some of the most intense protests. Amid the clashes, a new guy rolls into town. He’s got a cigar dangling from his lips and he’s driving a silver hearse filled with guns.

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Alphabet Boys takes you inside the secret investigations that federal agents never wanted you to know about. At the center of this podcast is one disturbing question: Are America’s top cops catching criminals -- or creating them?

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