Renee Fehr knew that Gregory Houser killed her sister Sheryl. There was not a single doubt in her mind. Yet for 27 years Houser walked free.
But Renee wouldn’t rest until he was convicted for murder.
THE WHEELS OF JUSTICE is equal parts the story of a monstrous killer, a harrowing look at domestic violence, and an inspirational story of a family that wouldn’t quit until justice prevailed.
RENEE FEHR is our guest Saturday 2pm pt on True Crime Uncensored. Listen live by clicking this link
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Ron Chepesiuk returns !
Born in 1960, Jesus Ruiz Henao grew up poor, but wanted to be rich like the drug dealers he saw growing up in the cocaine-producing region of Colombia’s Valle of the Cauca. To realize his ambition, Ruiz Henao moved to London, United Kingdom, in 1985. There he and his wife settled in the quiet suburb of Hendon, where he held down mundane but respectable cleaning and bus driving jobs. At least to outward appearances …
Actually, Ruiz Henao kept a low profile while he built a wide-ranging drug distribution network that extended from Colombia to Spain and Europe to the United Kingdom. For years, he stayed one step ahead of law enforcement, making more than a billion pounds over a ten-year period.
However, it was a risky business with law enforcement on one side and ruthless competitors on the other. By the summer of 2003, Ruiz Henao decided to get out of the drug business. But he finally made the one mistake that would get him caught. It cost him a 17-year prison sentence, with more tacked on when he tried to make one last deal from behind prison walls.
THE REAL MR. BIG, co-written by Ruiz Henao with bestselling author Ron Chepesiuk, is the story of how an ambitious Colombian immigrant set up a sophisticated drug trafficking enterprise that earned him law enforcement’s description as “the Pablo Escobar of British drug trafficking.”
Ruiz Henao: “After reflecting a long time, I decided to get out of the business. The police were on to me. I spoke to my boss Sergio in Colombia and my friends there, telling them that I was getting out because of the heat that was on me.”
He paid off his closest associates and thanked them for working for him. He took a nice holiday in the Caribbean, and when he returned, he hoped to relax and enjoy his retirement.
“I made millions of pounds in the drug trade, but money had become less important to me. I had worked hard to make the money, but now the most important thing in my life was to spend time with my wife, son, and daughter. My pursuit of money cost me a good part of my life. Money can make you crazy and do stupid things. When I first started in the drug business, my goal was to make a million pounds, and I did. So l said to myself: ‘I am going to carry on until I make ten million pounds.’ I made that amount. At that point, I could buy a mansion, a yacht, pretty well anything, but I said to myself: ‘Why stop now?’ I then made fifty million pounds.
“At that point, I wanted to say to myself: ‘Enough.’ I had more money than I could ever possibly spend, and it was becoming a headache handling it. I could get out of the drug trade easily. I didn’t have real enemies, so I could leave the drug trade and not be an easy target for anybody.
“I had no idea that Fernando Carranza Reyes had become a police informant, but I kept noticing that I was being followed by different cars. The next day, I called my brother-in-law Mario to meet me in a park near Baker Street. As we normally did when we traveled to a meeting point, we used public transportation.
”As Mario got off at the bus stop, a female brushed him and planted a microphone in his jacket. When we met, we started to walk around the park and talk about many things, unaware that the British police were watching and listening to everything we were doing. I said to Mario: ‘Listen, Mario, at the end of the day, I don’t worry about the millions of pounds we have lost. That’s easy to recover. But the last thing I want to do is to go to prison.’ Information from that conversation became one of the strongest pieces of evidence against me in court.
“After we were done talking, we went to a car dealership to buy a car. That’s when we noticed a van with a lot of antennas following us. We immediately knew it was the police, so we went back to our homes.
“My boss and friends accepted my leaving the drug business, but some of my contacts in Spain started to put pressure on me, telling me that it was an excuse because I didn’t want to work with them anymore. Some of them started threatening me, saying that they would do whatever necessary to get me killed. They warned me never to change telephone numbers or to leave them without any contact. They called me every day. The police managed to identify my numbers and intercept and record all the calls they made to me.
“I told Beto, Wilmar, and Tito that I was out of the business and to lose all contact with me because I was under police radar. Beto and Wilmar listened to me and stayed out of the cocaine business, but Tito continued in the business with a Spanish contact. One day, while he was meeting the Spaniard and unloading fifty kilos of cocaine from a lorry into his car, Tito was arrested. He was sentenced to fourteen years in prison. I was totally unaware of Tito’s drug business at the time, but later it was all linked and used as evidence in my court case.”
Jesus had stopped drug dealing. He felt he had exited at the right time. But then he made a stupid mistake.
“Crime writer Ron Chepesiuk delivers a thrilling page-turner in this incredible first-person account of Jesus Ruiz Henao, his co-author. Ruiz Henao, dubbed the “Pablo Escobar of British drug trafficking” by Scotland Yard, takes the reader along for a front row seat for his wild ride from his poor Colombian family to his rise to become England’s first billion pound cocaine kingpin. “The Real Mr. Big” is a high speed train trip through the modern cocaine trade and is ultimately the story of redemption in a man who discovers that money and power fades in comparison to the importance of family and love.” –Gerald Posner, Pulitzer Prize finalist and Author of Pharma: Greed, Lies and the Poisoning of America
“Ron Chepesiuk in the crime underworld is what Stephen King is to horror novels. Mr Big is a must read filled with twists and turns.” –Markuann Smith, The Creator and Executive Producer of the Emmy Award winning show, GODFATHER OF HARLEM
“A compelling, hypnotic story, full of twists and surprises, told from inside a world few of us are exposed to outside crime fiction. A good part of the book’s pleasure is in how the engaging Mr. Big subverts stereotypes and expectations of what an international drug lord might be like.” — Jerome Clark, author of Hidden Realms
“Reading this telling, well-written account about the menacing cancer of illicit drug manufacture and soliciting has had and continues to have a major impact on crippling world economies and their population. I can tell you; it is a real eye-opener and vividly scares me to no end. Jesus Ruiz Henao easily manipulated the desire for cocaine and those that joined him for a lifestyle of excessive riches gained at the expense and ruination of so many people and families. I highly recommend that everyone read this true story, and I am sure that you will view this arcane business just like me. It’s an amazing, must read.” –Ron Fino, former mob associate, noted FBI and CIA undercover operative and author of the Triangle Exit
“Ron Chepsiuk and Jesus Anibal Ruiz-Henao tell the amazing story of the first billion pound cocaine pipeline from Colombia to the United Kingdom. The beginnings to the new beginning in Jesus Anibal Ruiz-Henao’s life start’s with a phone call by Jesus’ daughter to Ron, that would change both of their lives. So get the book sit back with a double expresso and enjoy the ride without worrying about snitches and sicarios (contract killers).” –Dan Pearson, Author of “Last Don Standing, The Secret Life Of Mob Boss Ralph Natale”
“The Real Mr. Big by Ron Chepesiuk and Jesus Ruiz Henao is an epic tale. One of the largest drug kingpins in modern history, Henao tells his story in vibrant detail, revealing the deep secrets of the billion dollar drug empire he built. Fast-paced and highly engaging, The Real Mr. Big will delight readers who want to know the inner workings of the criminal underworld.” –Bob Batchelor, historian and author of The Bourbon King: The Life and Crimes of George Remus, Prohibition’s Evil Genius
“Over the last ten 10 years I’ve always been one of the first people to read Ron’s latest book. Whether it Sergeant Smack, Gangsters of Harlem or Black Caesar. His books always deliver a great story and move at a swift pace. With his latest, “Mr. Big” delivers a cinematic story about a kingpin I’ve never heard about. Once you start reading, you won’t put it down until you reach the last page. Great job, Ron.” — Jason Brooks, Crime Producer/Podcaster , CrooksnCrimes.com
“What a fun read!!!! The story of Jesus Henao is mind blowing, and the way Ron and Jesus were able to capture the event in this book makes you dive in and be part of all the intricacies and dangers of this complex trade.” –Rodrigo Galavis, Executive Producer, With Sugar, Please LLC
LISTEN LIVE SATURDAY 2pm PT by clicking this link!During the early morning hours of July 17, 1983, fatigue became a factor for the young couple from central Illinois who spent their day under the hot sun at Marriott’s Great America amusement park north of Chicago. On their drive home, the tired teenagers pulled to the shoulder of Interstate 55 to get a restful sleep.
As the teens slept inside their car under the moon and the stars, a dangerous force of evil lurked in the shadows, parking directly behind them.
The summer of 1983 was like no other for Joliet, Ill., a hard-working, rough-and-tough blue-collar industrial city an hour’s drive southwest of Chicago. This was one of the hottest summers on record for Joliet, and an elusive serial-killing madman kept piling up the body count as he showed no signs of being caught.
One overnight killing spree claimed five victims, including members of the Will County Sheriff’s Office. The following month brought more bloodshed: a quadruple murder inside a small Joliet shop best known for its pottery classes.
The plague of senseless violence sparked the controversial New York City-based Guardian Angels to mobilize foot patrols in Joliet, generating more unwanted news media attention for the community. Even the National Enquirer produced its own sensational piece, labeling Joliet “Terror Town, U.S.A.”
Residents shuddered with horror. Determined detectives worked in overdrive, trying to find an overlooked clue or two. Finally, when an arrest seemed to come out of nowhere, area citizens breathed a sigh of relief.
Authorities linked the so-called stone-cold killing machine to a chilling count of 14 homicides, plus three women who miraculously survived their agonizing encounters.
But with multiple murder trials on the horizon, it remained anyone’s guess whether Milton Johnson, whose family nicknamed him “Big’un,” short for “Big One,” was guilty of mass murder and if so, would he die by means of lethal injection at the Illinois Department of Corrections?
It has been many years since Gregg Olsen joined us on True Crime Uncensored, and we are thrilled that he's taken time from his busy schedule of being one of the world's best true crime authors, novelists, and media commentators to join us this Saturday 2pm Pacific Time/5pm Eastern Time.
listen live by clicking THIS LINK
or hear it Monday on iTunes Spotify Anchor.fm and all your favorite podcast sites.
Gregg's latest is THE HIVE
Glamorous messiah or charlatan? A mask of beauty hides deadly secrets in #1 New York Times and Amazon Charts bestselling author Gregg Olsen’s mesmerizing novel of suspense.
In the Pacific Northwest, detective Lindsay Jackman is investigating the murder of a young journalist found at the bottom of a ravine. Lindsay soon learns that the victim was writing an exposé. Her subject: a charismatic wellness guru who’s pulled millions into her euphoric orbit…
To hear Marnie Spellman tell it, when she was a child, a swarm of bees lifted her off the ground and toward the sunlight, illuming her spiritual connection with nature—an uncanny event on which Marnie built a cosmetics empire and became a legend, a healer, and the queen of holistic health and eternal beauty. In her inner circle is an intimate band of devotees called the Hive. They share Marnie’s secrets of success—including one cloaked in darkness for twenty years.
Determined to uncover the possibly deadly mysteries of the group, Lindsay focuses her investigation on Marnie and the former members of the Hive, who are just as determined to keep Lindsay from their secrets as they are to maintain their status.
LISTEN LIVE SATURDAY 2pm Pacific Time, 5pm Eastern Time by clicking this link
Jeff McArthur is an amazingly versatile and prolific author who is an absolute delight to have on our show.
His latest book, Dirty Old War is in the classification of True State Crime -- crime committed by the government of a state or nation.
The Pentagon Papers revealed the mass deception of the American people regarding America's role, behavior, and intentions regarding the country of Vietnam and the war that is regarded as a true crime.
Jeff Says: I have a tendency to overwhelm myself with projects. The problem is that I have too many things that I want to create before I die. In fact, I have currently more ideas in me than I likely have life left. So I try to get as many of them out as possible. I’m like a sinking ship with passengers who I’m trying to put onto lifeboats before I sink into the waters of mortality.
Lori Cooper live on True Crime Uncensored 2 pm pt/5pm et
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CORRUPTION, DECEPTION AND THE INFAMOUS BLUE WALL STOOD IN HER WAY....BUT THAT DID NOT STOP HER SEARCH FOR TRUTH.
Boy. did these scammers send their scam to the wrong guy! True crime author Burl Barer, host of True Crime Uncensored, opened his mailbox and immediately recognized a first-class scam in an express mail envelope!
"My first response was to call the Post Office Investigators, a true law enforcement branch of the Federal Government, and report this criminal use of the United States Mail," said Barer. "Mu second response was to alert fact-checker Mark Boyer that we were going to expose this scam, among others to our worldwide audience."
LISTEN LIVE SATURDAY 2PM PT BY CLICKING THIS LINK!
Burl & Mark
Mark Boyer that we were going to expose this scam, among others on our world wide true crime radio podcast!"
SATURDAY 2PM PT ON OUTLAWRADIOLIVE.COM
Just click the listen live button
There are two parts to every crime story: how they did it and why they got caught.This book is about the second part, and how it changes the way we catch serial killers.
No two stories about the capture of a serial killer are the same. Sometimes, the killers make crucial mistakes; other times, investigators get lucky. And the process of profiling, hunting, and apprehending these predators has changed radically over time, particularly in the field of criminal forensics, which has exploded in the last ten to 15 years. Laser ablation, video spectral analysis, cyber-sleuthing, and even DNA-based genetic genealogy are now crucial tools in solving murders, including the recent capture of the so-called Golden State Killer. This book in the new Profiles in Crime series tells the history of forensics through the “capture stories” of some of the most notorious serial killers, going back almost a century.
The killers include: