Episode 7: Publication Day

2024-05-09 00:47:53

<p>A mysterious drug overdose at a posh Pasadena hotel leads our host and LA Times investigative reporter, Paul Pringle, into Los Angeles’ darkest corridors of power and wealth. Pringle discovers that the dean of the University of Southern California's medical school is leading a secret double life. As Pringle and his team at the LA Times untangle a sordid web of lies, drugs, and greed, they encounter obstacles and resistance at every turn—from USC, law enforcement and even within their own organization. <em>Fallen Angels </em>explores how money and privilege can corrupt our most important institutions and destroy people's lives.</p> <p><em>Fallen Angels: A Story of California Corruption is based on Pringle’s book, Bad City: Peril &amp; Power in the City of Angels.</em></p>

2
Speaker 2
[00:00.62 - 00:26.92]

Hi, it's Andrea Gunning, the host of Betrayal. I'm excited to announce that the Betrayal podcast is expanding. We are going to be releasing episodes weekly, every Thursday. Each week you'll hear brand new stories, firsthand accounts of shocking deception, broken trust, and the trail of destruction left behind. Listen to Betrayal Weekly on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[00:31.60 - 00:35.32]

I'm John Walczak, host of the new podcast, Missing in Arizona.

1
Speaker 1
[00:35.56 - 00:38.14]

And I'm, Robert Fisher, one of the most wanted men in the world.

2
Speaker 2
[00:38.24 - 00:46.72]

We cloned his voice using AI. In 2001,, police say I killed my family and rigged my house to explode. Before escaping into the wilderness.

1
Speaker 1
[00:46.96 - 00:49.68]

Police believe he is alive and hiding somewhere.

2
Speaker 2
[00:50.08 - 01:05.82]

Join me. I'm going down in the cave. As I track down clues. I'm going to call the police and have you removed. Hunting. One of the most dangerous fugitives in the world. Robert Fisher. Do you recognize my voice? Listen to Missing in Arizona every Wednesday on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your favorite shows.

[01:08.60 - 01:25.82]

Back in 96, Atlanta was booming with excitement around hosting the Centennial Olympic Games. And then, a deranged zealot willing to kill for a cause lit a fuse that would change my life and so many others forever. Rippling out for generations.

[01:27.88 - 01:33.88]

Listen to Flashpoint on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[01:36.68 - 02:07.04]

In the early morning hours of September 6, 2016,, St. Louis rapper and activist Darren Seals was found murdered. You know what they gonna learn? I went for death, I went for nothing. Every day, Darren would tell her, Alright, Ma, be prepared. They are going to try to kill me. All episodes available now. Listen to After the Uprising, The Murder of Darren Seals on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[02:10.76 - 02:25.40]

I didn't understand what was taking so long, because he literally had all the information. So much time had passed, I washed my hands of the situation. Felt like I had done everything I could do.

1
Speaker 1
[02:26.58 - 03:08.30]

Devon Kahn had been my original source for the story about Carmen Poliofito. But the top editors at the LA Times cut him from the story. The reporters, me, Harriet Ryan, Matt Hamilton, Sarah Parvini, and Adam Mawarik are furious. We're talking about keeping our bylines off the story. But that would just give the editors an excuse not to publish. Devon had told me from the start that he needed to remain anonymous. Now it seems like the editors are looking for any pretext to cut him. For one thing, they argue that I don't have a phone record to prove this person actually called the office of USC President Max Nikias. I know I can get that record from Devon within hours. But he's just about had enough.

2
Speaker 2
[03:09.22 - 03:26.84]

I'm really kind of getting kicked off with him, actually, because he's asking me questions that he's already asked me numerous times. At the time. I'm like, hey man, I've given you everything I could possibly give you. What is this?

1
Speaker 1
[03:27.28 - 03:46.92]

Devon sends me the record of his six-minute phone call to the office of Max Nikias. This seals the deal. The editors who are foot-dragging on the story, Devon Maharaj, Mark Duvison, and Matt Doig, they can't say we don't have overwhelming evidence to support the anonymous whistleblower's claims. But their delays continue.

[03:50.40 - 04:17.22]

So I decide to do something I've never done in my 40 years in journalism. Something that will cause even more trouble than a secret reporting team. I decide to go to HR. My name is Paul Pringle, and this is Fallen Angels. This is a story of an investigation that starts in a hotel room in Pasadena, California, and reaches all the way to the top of two of the most powerful institutions in the city of Los Angeles.

[04:19.98 - 04:23.20]

This is Episode 7, Publication Day.

[04:32.28 - 04:49.58]

It's June 2017.. More than a year since the incident at the Hotel Constance, and four months since Devon Maharaj killed the story. And there are real stakes to more delays. The Warrens are afraid that Poliofido could burst back into their lives at any moment and jeopardize Sarah's sobriety.

[04:51.16 - 05:33.50]

I'm angry all the time. I go to bed angry and wake up angry. It gets to the point that even my family can't take it anymore. My daughter finally says, if you're so angry, why don't you do something about it? So, a day or two later, I file a formal complaint with the Times corporate office about the actions of the top editors. For many months I write, Devon and Mark unconscionably delayed publication of my reporting on a dangerous, drug-abusing former dean of USC's medical school. The head of publishing refers me to Cindy Ballard, the director of HR for Tronc Media, the company that owns the L.A. Times. We meet, and she takes my claims seriously. She calls in my fellow reporters as well.

2
Speaker 2
[05:33.98 - 05:40.50]

I went in, and I sat down at this little desk, and Cindy Ballard was at the desk. She seemed very, like, confident and, like, a nice person.

1
Speaker 1
[05:40.86 - 05:42.20]

Reporter Harriet Ryan.

2
Speaker 2
[05:42.38 - 05:45.18]

I remember she was eating this, like, giant panini.

[05:46.90 - 06:25.84]

I don't know why. She ate it through my whole interview, even when she was, like, patting me on the hand. She was just, like, real aggressive, like, let's go, let's get to the bottom of this. And, like, she had so many appointments that she was eating the panini because she wasn't taking lunch. I knew a lot of stuff about what happened with Puli Fito, but, like, I also had all this other stuff that had happened before. And when she asked me what happened with this other story, the Oxy story, I mean, I literally got, like, two sentences out, and I just started crying because, like, it was so fucked up, and, like, nobody ever acknowledged it. And here was, like, a person in power saying, like, OK, that's not OK. Nobody should speak to you that way.

1
Speaker 1
[06:28.42 - 07:11.06]

Meanwhile, Mark Duvison continues to try to undermine our story. He now says we can't report that Puli Fito uses drugs on a regular basis, despite the fact that we have three on-the-record sources confirming that he does. And we have photos and videos that show him literally using drugs and admitting to it on camera. We point this out to Mark, not that we should have needed to, and he doesn't budge. Then, a couple of days before we're scheduled to finally publish, Mark goes back into the story and deletes all but one of the references to Puli Fito supplying drugs to other people. The fact that he gave other people drugs is the worst of the allegations against Puli Fito and the most legally damaging to his employer, USC.

[07:13.12 - 07:44.76]

When we protest, Mark claims that it's the advice of the paper's internal legal counsel. But when I ask the lawyer, he says Mark had approached him and asked him to come up with, quote, the most conservative version of the story possible. Our editors don't care how well we've nailed this down. By this point, it's too clear that if this story is going to be published at all, it'll have to be this watered-down version, one that skips over most of Puli Fito's own drug use and says next to nothing about him supplying drugs to other people, including 17-year-old Charles Warren.

[07:48.72 - 07:54.34]

Finally, July 17th. We publish, and everything explodes.

2
Speaker 2
[08:02.16 - 09:01.06]

Hi, it's Andrea Gunning, host of Betrayal. I'm excited to announce that the Betrayal podcast is expanding. We are going to be releasing episodes weekly, every Thursday. Each week, you'll hear brand-new stories, firsthand accounts of shocking deception, broken trust, and the trail of destruction left behind. Stories about regaining a sense of safety, a handle on reality after your entire world is flipped upside down. From unbelievable romantic betrayals. The love that was so real for me was always just a game for him. To betrayals in your own family. When I think about my dad, oh, well, he is a sociopath. Financial betrayal. This is not even the part where he steals millions of dollars. And life or death deceptions. She's practicing how she's going to cry when the police calls her after they kill me.

[09:02.74 - 09:08.14]

Listen to Betrayal Weekly on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[09:31.62 - 09:48.84]

They found my wife's SUV. Right on the reservation boundary. And my dog, Blue. All I can think of is him going to sniper me out of some tree. But not me. Police believe he is alive and hiding somewhere. For two years. They won't tell you anything. I've traveled the nation. I'm going down in the cave. Tracking down clues.

1
Speaker 1
[09:48.94 - 09:51.72]

They were thinking that I picked him up and took him somewhere.

2
Speaker 2
[09:51.90 - 09:59.70]

If you keep asking me this, I'm going to call the police and have you removed. Searching for Robert Fisher. One of the most dangerous fugitives in the world. Do you recognize my voice?

1
Speaker 1
[09:59.70 - 10:02.82]

Join An Exploding House. The Hunt. Family Annihilation.

2
Speaker 2
[10:02.98 - 10:11.26]

Today. And A Disappearing Act. Listen to Missing in Arizona every Wednesday on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your favorite shows.

1
Speaker 1
[10:14.86 - 10:18.86]

It started with a backpack at the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games.

2
Speaker 2
[10:19.20 - 10:30.62]

A backpack that contained a bomb. While the authorities focused on the wrong suspect, a serial bomber planned his next attacks. Two abortion clinics. And a lesbian bar.

[10:33.68 - 10:42.34]

But this isn't his story. It's a human story. One that I've become entangled with. I saw, as soon as I turned the corner, basically someone bleeding out.

1
Speaker 1
[10:42.72 - 10:45.54]

The victims of these brutal attacks were left to pick up the pieces.

2
Speaker 2
[10:46.26 - 10:52.66]

Forced to explore the gray areas between right and wrong. Life and death. Their once ordinary lives. And mine.

1
Speaker 1
[10:53.02 - 10:57.06]

Changed forever. It kind of gave me a feeling of pending doom.

2
Speaker 2
[10:57.82 - 11:04.22]

And all the while, our country found itself facing down a long and ugly reckoning with a growing threat. Far right.

1
Speaker 1
[11:04.38 - 11:04.92]

Homegrown.

2
Speaker 2
[11:05.48 - 11:24.92]

Religious terrorism. Listen to Flashpoint on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. From the writer of Amazon Prime's Red, White, and Royal Blue comes a hilarious and demented new audio mystery. Does this murder make me look gay? Master Vandy is dead!

1
Speaker 1
[11:25.10 - 11:36.76]

Then it's probable that whoever killed Vandy is in this very room. Lock her up. Lock her up. You killed your daddy. You don't get anything fizzy.

2
Speaker 2
[11:36.84 - 11:41.30]

911, what's your emergency? I'm in the Monroe Estate and I just caught a murderer.

1
Speaker 1
[11:41.96 - 11:43.10]

Yes, I'll hold.

2
Speaker 2
[11:43.36 - 12:03.90]

Featuring the star-studded talents of Michael Urie, Jonathan Freeman, Douglas Sills, Cheyenne, Jackson, Robin de Jesus, Frankie Grande, Sean Patrick Doyle, Brad Oscar, Nathan Lee Graham, Seth Rudetsky, Leah Delaria, Lea Salonga, and Kate McKinnon as Angela Lansferry. Lick em. Lick those toesies.

[12:05.58 - 12:14.28]

Listen to. Does This Murder? Make Me Look Gay? as part of the Outspoken Network, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[12:17.00 - 12:30.62]

A former dean at USC is now linked to a drug overdose with his alleged prostitute girlfriend. He was the dean of the university's School of Medicine until he resigned last year. Now his secret life is being revealed.

1
Speaker 1
[12:30.90 - 12:43.92]

That CBS affiliate in Sacramento is just one of many news outlets, from California to Japan, to the UK, that pick up the story of the hard-partying dean of the medical school at USC.

2
Speaker 2
[12:44.62 - 13:07.42]

I remember not sleeping the night before and just like sweating in my bed. It felt like just a relief that it was out there. Something that was known to only a few people internally was now suddenly public. I had no concept of what the reaction would be. I knew it would be shocking to people, but I didn't anticipate. I didn't know where it would lead us.

1
Speaker 1
[13:08.78 - 13:14.84]

The reaction of CBS Sacramento is fairly typical. People are stunned by the news.

2
Speaker 2
[13:15.74 - 13:33.04]

Angela, this is nothing short of remarkable, these allegations. Very shocking stuff here, you guys. And the dark side of this dean did come to light following an overdose by an alleged prostitute in his presence. In a report by the L.A. Times, the woman claims the world-renowned doctor, paid for her living expenses, bought her drugs...

1
Speaker 1
[13:34.00 - 13:38.96]

For Devan Khan, it's been a very long road. It's his information that got this story started.

2
Speaker 2
[13:39.64 - 13:54.98]

I felt a sense of justice. I was also very pleased that it was on the front page, above the fold, which I understand is prime real estate in newspapers. There was nothing there that would indicate that I was the person that had given the information.

1
Speaker 1
[13:55.66 - 13:59.04]

And now, USC can no longer sweep it under the rug.

2
Speaker 2
[13:59.78 - 14:23.98]

We are outraged and disgusted. The first public comments from USC president Max Nikias about a scandal at the medical school. He revealed USC is now moving to terminate Pulido Fido and USC has hired a former federal prosecutor to investigate who knew what and when and why the school took no action for so long.

1
Speaker 1
[14:27.50 - 15:19.30]

The KCAL 9 report pretty much sums up the crisis control going on in the office of Max Nikias. There are layers to it. One, make it clear the university is done with Pulido Fido. Two, launch an investigation into how this could possibly have gone unchecked for so long. What's not Nikias' statement is any concern for Sarah Warren or the other young people Pulido Fido did drugs with. But it does offer some tender words for Pulido Fido himself. The school says, quote, we hope that Carmen receives care and treatment that will lead him to a full recovery. Dr. William Tierney, a professor emeritus with USC, remembers the reaction among the faculty. That first article in the LA Times, I mean, who could believe that? I mean, even the picture of him with the pill on his tongue. So Max sends a letter out to the whole university saying,

2
Speaker 2
[15:20.12 - 15:21.42]

I'm shocked, shocked.

1
Speaker 1
[15:21.88 - 15:40.98]

I so hope he gets the counseling he needs. Really? That's like a cardinal finding out that there's a child abuse in his diocese and he says, I'm so amazed that, you know, Father Smith is molesting children. I hope he gets help. So that was kind of tone deaf.

[15:44.68 - 15:53.16]

The day that article came out, I called Max and he didn't talk to me. I've never spoken to him, since. I mean, it's crazy.

2
Speaker 2
[15:53.76 - 15:56.12]

The one quality of a leader should be.

1
Speaker 1
[15:56.12 - 16:03.18]

to talk to your critics, even loving critics, and say, where have I gone wrong? And you can reject what they say,

2
Speaker 2
[16:03.18 - 16:04.84]

but where have I gone wrong?

1
Speaker 1
[16:05.72 - 16:07.62]

But instead he stonewalled.

[16:10.50 - 16:50.10]

USC's internal investigation might be a PR move, but the Medical Board of California seems to want to actually get to the truth. Acting on our reporting, it opens an investigation into Poliofido. The passing of police department faces some backlash too. In response to our story, the city manager sends a memo to the mayor and city council noting that the article, quote, reflects poorly on the city and the passing of police department. And now the city admits it actually has another police recording from that incident at the Hotel Constance. This one features Poliofido in conversation with a police officer at Huntington Hospital, where Sarah Warren was taken after she OD'd.

2
Speaker 2
[16:50.28 - 17:04.12]

How do you know her? Uh, family friend. Friend of her dad. You're a friend of her dad? Yeah. You guys have a romantic relationship between each other? No. Just friends? Just friends. Uh, quiet? No.

[17:06.08 - 17:07.18]

Old family friend.

1
Speaker 1
[17:08.06 - 17:09.56]

In the city of Huntington.

?
Unknown Speaker
[17:11.86 - 17:14.26]

I think that's probably why he's so concerned.

1
Speaker 1
[17:16.74 - 17:33.60]

The release of this recording, way after the fact, just makes me that much more suspicious that this was a deliberate cover-up. Now the story is out, and it's an investigative coup for the L.A. Times with a huge readership. Here's Matt Hamilton.

2
Speaker 2
[17:34.16 - 18:21.90]

Suddenly, this, like, band of five reporters who had been kind of persona non grata, were, like, welcomed with open arms into Gayvon's office, with Mark and other editors present. And it was like the fights and conflict of the past few months had not even happened and that they had been champions of the story all along. It was really disorienting, actually, because suddenly the follows couldn't come fast enough. Suddenly, you know, where are you going to take this story? A lot of the things that we thought were important hadn't been in the story, and so it was, like, now this, like, rush to try to nail those things down, follow a bunch of tips that we had.

1
Speaker 1
[18:23.10 - 18:23.90]

Adam L. Mark.

2
Speaker 2
[18:23.90 - 18:27.74]

Mark said something like, going forward, we're not going to have.

1
Speaker 1
[18:27.74 - 18:29.86]

five people working on this.

2
Speaker 2
[18:30.18 - 18:36.74]

When this story was published and it was this massive hit, there was no question to having five people.

1
Speaker 1
[18:36.74 - 18:38.78]

and even more working on it.

2
Speaker 2
[18:39.20 - 18:59.90]

It was like, wait, did you not just live through the last few months? It just, it was really clear that the editors were basking in the public accolades of the story. It just seemed like they were trying to memory hole the last few months of contentious edits.

1
Speaker 1
[19:01.10 - 19:09.70]

But there's one person, Dave on a Mark haven't forgotten. Shelby Grad, the editor, who supported our work for months when they were trying to kill the story.

2
Speaker 2
[19:10.06 - 19:29.12]

They're basically going to fire Shelby, like, move him to some job that was going to suck, and then they're going to replace him with, like, one of their friends. We felt that he was being punished because they couldn't really do anything to us. Like, what can you do to a reporter? But, like, he was being punished for having not kind of dropped the hammer on us and not told us, like, stop working on it.

1
Speaker 1
[19:29.98 - 19:39.02]

The top editor's treatment of Shelby doesn't play well in the newsroom. And Cindy Ballard, the HR director, starts to hear from many more reporters than just us.

2
Speaker 2
[19:39.70 - 20:04.86]

And then, when other people heard they were trying to punish Shelby, other people started writing their own complaint letters. I mean, I remember seeing that, like, people could write letters together and then multiple people would sign them. And the people that were in other bureaus were just like, yeah, this has to stop. And most of the people had not had a specific— like, they weren't involved with Hussie. They weren't involved with OxyContin. They just, you know, heard, like, finally, somebody is standing up to these guys, and I want to be a part of it.

1
Speaker 1
[20:07.02 - 20:12.28]

Tronk intervenes to stop Shelby's demotion, and the pressure starts to mount on Davon and Mark.

[20:15.38 - 20:29.40]

At 1 p.m. on Monday, August 21st, the staffers of the L.A. Times receive an all-company email from Tronk's CEO. It says that Davon Maharaj, Mark Duvason, and Matt Doig will all be leaving the paper.

2
Speaker 2
[20:29.80 - 21:02.96]

The atmosphere in the newsroom was just— it was almost, like, festive, celebratory. You know, people were high-fiving. People were hugging each other. It was, like, one of the happiest days in the newsroom I'd ever witnessed. I don't want to dance on their graves or anything like that, but I felt that the way that the Oxy project had been handled and then SC was really unprofessional and that it was completely defensible to show them the door. I just thought it would never happen.

1
Speaker 1
[21:04.44 - 21:27.26]

In the email, Tronk's management doesn't say anything about the HR investigation or the move against Shelby or the delays in publishing several important stories. But we do feel vindicated and finally able to get back to doing our jobs as investigative reporters. Now the question is, what will USC's response be to the revelations about Poliofido? Will anyone actually be held accountable?

2
Speaker 2
[21:32.48 - 22:24.98]

Hi, it's Andrea Gunning, host of Betrayal. I'm excited to announce that the Betrayal podcast is expanding. We are going to be releasing episodes weekly, every Thursday. Each week, you'll hear brand-new stories, firsthand accounts of shocking deception, broken trust, and the trail of destruction left behind. Stories about regaining a sense of safety, a handle on reality after your entire world is flipped upside down. From unbelievable romantic betrayals... The love that was so real for me was always just a game for him. ...to betrayals in your own family. When I think about my dad, oh, well, he is a sociopath. ...financial betrayal... This is not even the part where he steals millions of dollars. ...and life-or-death deceptions.

1
Speaker 1
[22:25.74 - 22:28.34]

She's practicing how she's going to cry.

2
Speaker 2
[22:28.34 - 22:31.38]

when the police calls her after they kill me.

[22:33.04 - 22:55.48]

Listen to Betrayal Weekly on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm John Walczak, host of the new podcast, Missing in Arizona. And I'm Robert Fisher, one of the most wanted men in the world. We cloned his voice using A.I. In 2001,. police say I killed my family... My first mom, then the kids. ...and rigged my house to explode... In a quiet suburb...

1
Speaker 1
[22:55.48 - 22:57.56]

This is the Beverly Hills of the Valley.

2
Speaker 2
[22:57.66 - 23:19.20]

...before escaping into the wilderness. There was sleet and hail and snow coming down. They found my wife's SUV... Right on the reservation boundary. ...and my dog, Blue. All I could think of is him going to sniper me out of some tree. But not me. Police believe he is alive and hiding somewhere. For two years... They won't tell you anything. ...I've traveled the nation... I'm going down in the cave. ...tracking down clues...

1
Speaker 1
[23:19.20 - 23:22.04]

They were thinking that I picked him up and took him somewhere.

2
Speaker 2
[23:22.20 - 23:30.56]

If you keep asking me this, I'm going to call the police and have you removed. ...searching for Robert Fisher... One of the most dangerous fugitives in the world. Do you recognize my voice? ...join...

1
Speaker 1
[23:30.56 - 23:32.02]

An exploding house. ...the hunt...

2
Speaker 2
[23:32.02 - 23:41.54]

Family annihilation. ...today... And a disappearing act. Listen to Missing in Arizona every Wednesday on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your favorite shows.

1
Speaker 1
[23:45.40 - 23:49.16]

It started with a backpack at the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games.

2
Speaker 2
[23:49.74 - 23:57.64]

A backpack that contained... A bomb. While the authorities focused on the wrong suspect, a serial bomber planned his next attacks.

1
Speaker 1
[23:58.42 - 23:59.52]

Two abortion clinics.

2
Speaker 2
[24:00.10 - 24:00.90]

And a lesbian bar.

[24:03.94 - 24:12.64]

But this isn't his story. It's a human story. One that I've become entangled with. I saw, as soon as I turned the corner, basically someone bleeding out.

1
Speaker 1
[24:13.06 - 24:15.80]

The victims of these brutal attacks were left to pick up the pieces.

2
Speaker 2
[24:16.54 - 24:23.92]

Forced to explore the gray areas between right and wrong. Life and death. Their once ordinary lives, and mine, changed forever.

1
Speaker 1
[24:24.10 - 24:27.34]

It kind of gave me a feeling of pending doom.

2
Speaker 2
[24:27.98 - 24:53.30]

And all the while, our country found itself facing down a long and ugly reckoning with a growing threat. Far-right, homegrown, religious terrorism. Listen to Flashpoint on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. From the writer of Amazon Prime's Red, White, and Royal Blue comes a hilarious and demented new audio mystery. Does this murder make me look gay?

1
Speaker 1
[24:53.70 - 25:08.38]

Master Vandi is dead! Then it's probable that whoever killed Vandi is in this very room. Lock her up. Lock her up. You killed your daddy. You don't get anything fizzy. 911, what's your emergency?

2
Speaker 2
[25:08.74 - 25:11.56]

I'm in the Monroe Estate and I just caught a murderer.

1
Speaker 1
[25:12.04 - 25:13.40]

Yes, I'll hold.

2
Speaker 2
[25:13.60 - 25:34.20]

Featuring the star-studded talents of Michael Urie, Jonathan Freeman, Douglas Sills, Cheyenne, Jackson, Robin de Jesus, Frankie Grande, Sean Patrick Doyle, Brad Oscar, Nathan Lee Graham, Seth Rudetsky, Leah Delaria, Lea Salonga, and Kate McKinnon, as Angela Lansferry. Lick them. Lick those toesies.

[25:35.90 - 25:44.58]

Listen to. Does This Murder? Make Me Look Gay? as part of the Outspoken Network, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

1
Speaker 1
[25:49.04 - 27:13.68]

The state medical board has suspended the license of former USC medical school dean, Carmen Pugliafito. This is in response to an LA Times investigation that found that Pugliafito was regularly taking meth and other drugs, with other people, having parties in hotel rooms. The Times now reports the board is working on a final decision about whether or not he will be able to continue to practice medicine at all. About two months after the story comes out, we break more news. CVS LA picks up on our reporting that the state medical board is suspending Pugliafito's license. The Warrens believe he should be in jail, but at least he won't be able to treat patients. The Warren family hires celebrity attorney Mark Garagos to represent them in a threatened lawsuit against Pugliafito and USC. He tells them their civil claim could be worth $10 million or more. The Warrens also provide USC with the images of Pugliafito smoking meth with Sarah. In a new statement to the faculty, USC leadership says the images are, quote, and we need to take serious action. The powerful USC board says nothing. Dr. Tierney is not surprised. The board was really in the president's pocket. It's the classic example of what happens to an administration under fire. Anybody who says anything is a bad person.

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Speaker 2
[27:19.70 - 27:37.82]

It is a privilege to be sworn into office on the University of Southern California campus. I thank President Nikias. Now, USC represents so much to me personally. It has been like the iconic center of some of the most important events of my life.

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Speaker 1
[27:40.08 - 28:35.12]

Jackie Lacey is a district attorney for LA County in 2017.. Like a lot of powerful people in LA, she's a USC alum, proud of her connection to the university, and she has helped raise funds for the school. As you can hear in that clip from the DA's office, she even had her swearing-in ceremony on USC's campus. The Pugliafito case, along with the state medical board's recommendation of criminal charges, lands on Lacey's desk in October. But Lacey declines to press charges. In a brief memo, prosecutors say that, quote, the current state of the case does not establish sufficient evidence to prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt. It's clear to me there wasn't much of an investigation, if any. There's no indication that authorities ever searched Pugliafito's car or home for drugs, and the DA's office abandons the case without once speaking to the warrants. Devon Kahn, at least, gets some satisfaction.

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Speaker 2
[28:35.44 - 28:46.76]

As far as I was concerned, as long as he wasn't the dean, as long as he wasn't in charge of the new doctors going out into the world, that was good enough for me.

1
Speaker 1
[28:49.78 - 29:16.02]

As for that $10 million lawsuit, the Garagos firm tells the warrants the best it can do for them is a settlement for $1.5 million, $600,000 of which goes to the firm, and it comes with a strict nondisclosure agreement. The warrants have to agree to never speak publicly about their experiences with Pugliafito and to wipe their devices of the videos and other images featuring his drug use. That's a nice deal for Pugliafito in USC.

[29:21.46 - 29:49.04]

As the weeks pass, I'm bothered by what hasn't happened, because, even though he's been stripped of his medical license and he no longer has a big job at USC, there's nothing stopping Pugliafito from pushing drugs on vulnerable people. Sarah Warren has managed to break free of him, but in the course of our reporting, we found other young users in his circle, and I can't help but think about them as we learn that he won't face any charges. One of those young people is Dora Yoder.

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Speaker 2
[29:50.02 - 30:08.88]

Charles and Sarah Warren had told Paul about Dora Yoder. She was in that circle of people who were addicts and users who were in a lot of the photos. This is a woman who was raised in an Amish household and then had come to L.A. to become a star.

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Speaker 1
[30:09.66 - 30:15.20]

Dora's sister, Miriam, had moved to L.A. first. It was a long way from the world they grew up in.

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Speaker 2
[30:16.42 - 31:04.48]

We grew up in Pennsylvania. My parents had seven children. I'm the oldest. We were born there, and we were part of the Yoder family. We were the second strictest order in Pennsylvania. We didn't have running water, or, I mean, electricity. I mean, obviously, we didn't have anything. We lived on a 200-acre farm, just lived a very conservative, very hardworking Amish lifestyle until my dad decided he wanted to leave. All seven of us left with my parents in 1996, and I was 15.. We then moved to Missouri, and I lived there until I was 23, and I moved to Los Angeles.

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Speaker 1
[31:06.58 - 31:10.76]

Miriam and her brothers and sisters had seen firsthand what drugs could do to people.

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Speaker 2
[31:11.62 - 31:34.16]

So my parents became addicted to meth. We were homeless for a while. I had to take care of all my siblings, and my parents went to rehab. And after a couple of years, they got out of rehab and became born-again Christian. At that point, when they came back from rehab, is when I left for Los Angeles.

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Speaker 1
[31:37.04 - 31:41.18]

Dora came to L.A. to live with her sister a few years later, when she was 23..

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Speaker 2
[31:41.76 - 32:26.74]

Dora's life, her whole lifestyle during her teen years were wild by people's standards who are not conservative. She was a handful for my family. My parents suggested that she move in with me, and, honestly, I don't know why on earth they thought that was a good idea. I think they just didn't know how to control Dora, or I think they were exhausted from her, so they sent her out to live with me. And I was excited at the time because I had lived here for three years on my own. I had a good job. I had a place for her to stay, and I wanted her to stay with me. And Dora and I always got along, so she moved in with me.

[32:31.18 - 33:13.12]

She at first worked at my hair salon. Her modeling career started doing well. She started meeting a lot of people. She got hired to model at parties that were private, where she would just be naked. She would only wear a mask and heels and just be naked at the party, by herself at a stranger's house. And that's how Dora started getting back into her old habits, and she was just wild in Hollywood. And it wasn't long before her and I were fighting all the time. I believe it was in that period of time when she managed to run into Carmen Pulliofito.

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Speaker 1
[33:14.36 - 33:28.74]

Dora met Carmen Pulliofito through her boyfriend, Ariel Franco. Like Kyle Voight and Don Stokes, Ariel is yet another drug user in Pulliofito's Rolodex. He's also a heroin dealer, and he's been arrested multiple times for possession.

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Speaker 2
[33:29.12 - 33:35.86]

In photos and videos, you could see him, like, in the circle with Pulliofito and Sarah, and, you know, various hijinks.

1
Speaker 1
[33:36.52 - 33:46.24]

Pulliofito became infatuated with Ariel's girlfriend, Dora. And, just like with Sarah, he began subsidizing her life in exchange for sex. Harriet Ryan.

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Speaker 2
[33:46.66 - 34:19.68]

She was still very beautiful at this time, very young and stylish and beautiful. And he was, like, kind of underwriting her life. And that life included, like, a boyfriend, but also, like, a house, a rental house and a duplex in Altadena, which is, like, a pretty short drive from his mansion. She was living there and just, she had no job. But she lived in this house at the time. that was pretty expensive rent. And she had everything that she wanted and was paying her bills on time.

[34:21.46 - 34:44.64]

I found that to be odd. And I would go see her, and her house was always sort of messy and stuff. And then she'd have a maid come clean it. And I just never understood how she had the money to do any of these things. And at that point, my sister was not yet a drug addict. She was just her usual normal self. And so I didn't press the issue, because, I mean, it's Los Angeles.

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Speaker 1
[34:45.32 - 34:49.76]

It didn't occur to Miriam that Poliofido was the source of her sister's mystery income.

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Speaker 2
[34:50.34 - 35:15.16]

Initially, when I met Poliofido, I didn't know what his relationship was to my sister. I mean, for all I knew at that moment in time, he was just an acquaintance, or he was the landlord. I never, ever would have guessed that he had any sort of romantic affiliation with her. Aside from his age, he just looked like a loser. My sister was like a supermodel.

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Speaker 1
[35:15.60 - 35:24.48]

Dora had recently dated Hollywood director Todd Phillips. Poliofido couldn't be further out of her league. And he certainly didn't look like the dean of a major medical school.

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Speaker 2
[35:25.12 - 35:58.28]

He was wearing some blue shorts and, like, a white shirt that was really rumpled. It was like a button-down, and it was just wrinkly. And he just looked, like, weird and gross. He wouldn't look me in the eye. He mumbled when he talked. He was very strange. And Dora was like, oh, this is my friend, Carmen. In a million years looking at this man, I would never have believed he was the dean of USC Medical. It's insane.

1
Speaker 1
[35:59.48 - 36:03.28]

Eventually, Dora told Miriam that Poliofido was paying for her lifestyle.

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Speaker 2
[36:03.28 - 36:16.54]

She said, oh, he just really likes me, and he's like my other dad, and he just buys all these things for me. And I'm like, Dora, are you sleeping with him? She's like, ew, no. I would not do that.

1
Speaker 1
[36:16.98 - 36:24.22]

Poliofido was also supplying drugs to both Dora and her boyfriend, Ariel. But at this point, it was clear Dora had a serious problem.

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Speaker 2
[36:24.72 - 37:13.54]

The first time I discovered that she really had an actual drug abuse problem, was it had been a while since I spoke to her. I went to her house, and her house was absolutely disgusting. Food on the stove, overgrown, with mold, piles of trash outside. My sister started flaking a lot on me when we had set up a lunch date. It was really hard to reach her on my phone. And I would show up at her house and knock on the door, and I could tell she was home, but she wouldn't answer. And at one point, she finally let me in to see her, and she was acting strange. And that's when I noticed there were needles, drug needles, on the floor in her house.

[37:15.38 - 37:23.00]

And it's then that I started to realize that she wasn't just recreationally using drugs. She had a real drug abuse problem.

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Speaker 1
[37:26.04 - 37:37.56]

Miriam called their parents. With the help of Dora's ex-boyfriend, Todd, they checked her into rehab. But after three weeks in treatment, Dora left rehab and went back to Missouri. It didn't last long.

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Speaker 2
[37:38.34 - 38:07.64]

It was not long before she was a mess again, and she decided to leave my mom's house, come back out here, and resume her life. And at that time, I did not know she was still talking to Poliofido. I still didn't know at that time, none of us did, that he was providing her with these drugs. I realized she was still on drugs and reached out to my parents again.

1
Speaker 1
[38:08.06 - 38:15.56]

Dora's parents brought her back to Missouri, but Miriam discovered that Dora didn't come by herself. Poliofido had gotten on the flight with her.

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Speaker 2
[38:16.00 - 38:26.62]

Somehow, Dora ended up back at their house again, only this time, my parents told me that Poliofido was at their house.

[38:29.72 - 39:01.76]

And I asked my mom, I was like, Mom, why are you letting this man stay in your house with Dora? I was like, he's giving her endless, limitless money. She's never gonna get off drugs if she has access to that much money. My mom was like, oh, he's nice, he's nice. I talked to him, he's fine, he's not, and this is my mom being so gullible. I'm like, Mom, he's 70 years old. Dora is like 25.. What are you talking about? I was livid.

[39:03.92 - 40:01.40]

It occurred to me that there's more going on than just an exchange of money because he has a thing for her. That clearly, he's having a sexual relationship with her and providing her with money. I still didn't know he was giving her drugs. And I still didn't really know who he was. When I met Ariel, I was confused because I was like, wait, Dora is having some sexual thing with Carmen, and then I think I confronted her at one point and she's like, it's not like that with Carmen. Ariel's my boyfriend and Carmen just gives us money. It just started to become so strange and I was like, is he giving you more than money? Where are you guys getting drugs from? Because Ariel was clearly on drugs. And I just remember Dora getting really upset. We got in a big fight and I threw up my hands at that point and I just stopped talking to Dora.

1
Speaker 1
[40:01.82 - 40:09.78]

Dora and Poliofido went back to LA and finally, Miriam figures out who this man is and the reason for his hold on her sister.

2
Speaker 2
[40:10.08 - 40:27.32]

I found out shortly thereafter. I found out he's the dean of USC Medical. I also found out that he was prescribing drugs to my sister while he was at my parents' house. And I think that's when I finally broke through to my parents.

1
Speaker 1
[40:27.76 - 40:41.64]

Miriam's parents were horrified by this discovery. Poliofido no longer seemed like an old guy who's otherwise harmless. They came out to LA to help Miriam confront Dora about her involvement with the dean and his connection to her drug use.

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Speaker 2
[40:42.00 - 40:47.62]

We tried again to do an intervention with her. We tried again to get her off of drugs.

[40:49.78 - 41:34.46]

We show up at her house and her house is just like a fort. at this point. Poliofido is paying for her house. The outside of her door has a biometric lock on it. She's got cameras pointed from multiple directions to whoever shows up at the porch. But my mom lured her to lunch while they were out here. And she told my mom that Poliofido tracks her, records her phone conversations, tracks who she's calling, tracks her vehicle, and knows everything she does. And so my parents started contacting the police about what was going on.

[41:36.38 - 42:15.60]

My father ended up calling the Altadena Police Department. He made several attempts, but he called them to report the drug use and specifically that Carmen has cameras on her house, that he can't get a hold of his daughter, that he wants them to go do a check on her. I think he did that several times. And the Altadena police responded, but they put as little effort as possible. into the whole situation. from day one. It was very clear they could care less. And so that, again, left my family wondering how we're going to solve this problem.

1
Speaker 1
[42:17.20 - 42:34.50]

Months go by, and the Yoder family is still left wondering. Like the Warrens, they just can't get this man away from their daughter and stop him from giving her drugs. Dora seems unreachable. Then Miriam learns that her sister was pregnant with Ariel's child and has already had the baby.

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Speaker 2
[42:36.98 - 42:43.54]

I found out Dora was pregnant about 3 weeks after she had a baby.

1
Speaker 1
[42:44.16 - 42:50.02]

And as far as she knows, poliofeto is still in the picture. But now the stakes are much higher.

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Speaker 2
[42:50.52 - 43:20.06]

I was just horrified and also very lost. How do you begin to fix a situation like this? It's hard enough when a member of your family is a drug addict, but add to that unlimited access to money. I mean, how do you get them out of that situation? They never hit rock bottom. They're under the control of the person giving them the drugs and giving them the money. They're an adult. How do you get them out of this situation?

1
Speaker 1
[43:22.62 - 43:31.86]

For Miriam and her parents, it seems like the situation could not be worse. But on the morning of October 5th, tragedy strikes. Fire Department, I'm 26..

2
Speaker 2
[43:32.12 - 43:35.10]

Hello? Yes, I'm here. A baby not breathing.

[43:36.70 - 43:40.84]

Yes, baby, not breathing. Are you there at the location right now? No, my girlfriend's there.

?
Unknown Speaker
[43:41.26 - 43:47.90]

How old is this child, sir? 3 weeks. 3 weeks old? Boy. He was just found like this by his parents? I don't know. She called me crying.

1
Speaker 1
[43:49.96 - 44:00.18]

Devon Maharaj, Mark Duvison, and Matt Doig deny that they did anything wrong in their handling of the USC investigation and they maintain that any negative portrayal of their actions is false.

[44:04.10 - 44:11.06]

Next time on Fallen Angels. Matt and Harriet launch an investigation into the death of Doriota's baby.

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Speaker 2
[44:11.32 - 44:19.68]

Harriet's, not someone who's rattled, but there was something about the call that rattled her. I mean, a baby doesn't just have meth in its system.

1
Speaker 1
[44:19.86 - 44:23.68]

And we get a new tip about another bad doctor at USC.

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Speaker 2
[44:23.68 - 44:35.28]

There was like a long pause and then the person just opened the door and we sat down at the kitchen table and they just laid it out. There were actually several instances looking back that I realized, oh, everyone knew.

1
Speaker 1
[44:36.04 - 44:38.64]

That's next time on Fallen Angels.

[44:42.40 - 45:41.44]

Fallen Angels, a story of California corruption, is a production of iHeart Podcast in partnership with Best Case Studios. I'm Paul Pringle. This show is based on my book, Bad City, Peril and Power in the City of Angels. Fallen Angels was written by Isabel Evans, Adam Pincus, and Brent Katz. Isabel Evans is our producer. Brent Katz is co-producer. Associate producers are Hanna Leibowitz, Lockard and Anpaho Locke. Executive producers are me, Paul Pringle, Joe Piccarello, and Adam Pincus for Best Case Studios. Original music is by James Newberry. This episode was edited by Max Michael Miller with assistance from Nisha Venkat. Additional editing, sound design, and additional music by Dean White. Harriet Ryan, Matt Hamilton, Sarah Parvini, and Adam Elmarek are consulting producers. Our iHeart team is Allie Perry and Carl Kadle. Follow and rate Fallen Angels wherever you get your podcasts.

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Speaker 2
[45:46.12 - 46:12.54]

Hi, it's Andrea Gunning, the host of Betrayal. I'm excited to announce that the Betrayal podcast is expanding. We are going to be releasing episodes weekly, every Thursday. Each week, you'll hear brand new stories, firsthand accounts of shocking deception, broken trust, and the trail of destruction left behind. Listen to Betrayal Weekly on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[46:17.26 - 46:20.92]

I'm John Walczak, host of the new podcast, Missing in Arizona.

1
Speaker 1
[46:21.18 - 46:23.76]

And I'm, Robert Fisher, one of the most wanted men in the world.

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Speaker 2
[46:23.88 - 46:51.46]

We cloned his voice using AI. In 2001... Police say I killed my family and rigged my house to explode. ...before escaping into the wilderness. Police believe he is alive and hiding somewhere. Join me... I'm going down in the cave. ...as I track down clues... I'm going to call the police. and have you removed. ...hunting... One of the most dangerous fugitives in the world. Robert Fisher. Do you recognize my voice? Listen to Missing in Arizona every Wednesday on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your favorite shows.

[46:54.32 - 47:00.28]

Back in 96, Atlanta was booming with excitement around hosting the Centennial Olympic Games.

1
Speaker 1
[47:00.96 - 47:04.80]

And then, a deranged zealot willing to kill for a cause.

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Speaker 2
[47:04.80 - 47:09.02]

lit a fuse that would change my life and so many others forever.

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Speaker 1
[47:09.74 - 47:11.48]

Rippling out for generations.

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Speaker 2
[47:13.70 - 47:19.50]

Listen to Flashpoint on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[47:22.76 - 47:52.66]

In the early morning hours of September 6, 2016,, St. Louis rapper and activist Darren Seals was found murdered. That's what they gonna learn. I'm for death, I'm for nothing. Every day, Darren would tell her, All right, ma, be prepared. They are going to try to kill me. All episodes available now. Listen to After the Uprising, The Murder of Darren Seals on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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