Locked In with Ian Bick

Kai "Verse" Tyler had every advantage — a great upbringing in New Jersey a successful mother who pushed him to do better an Ivy League education and a promising career in the music business. But despite all of that he was a hustler. What started as selling weed as a teenager scaled into the big leagues — flying pounds across the country working with major connects and generating $60,000 a week in profit at his prime. He made millions in the weed game while simultaneously building a strong reputation as a music executive. Then someone in his crew set him up and the feds caught up with everything — resulting in a 5 year federal sentence.

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#college #prison #truecrimestories

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Connect with Kai "Verse" Tyler:
https://www.instagram.com/clothtalkverse/?hl=en

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Hosted, Executive Produced & Edited By Ian Bick:
https://www.instagram.com/ian_bick/?hl=en
https://ianbick.com/

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Timestamps:
00:00 Intro & Guest Background
03:33 Upbringing & Early Influences
09:07 Private School, College, and Family Lessons
15:28 Early Hustles & Legal Troubles
21:48 Music Industry Ambitions & Double Life
26:39 Scaling Up: From Small Time to Big Weight
34:52 Making Major Connections & Going Nationwide
43:22 The Downfall: Setups, Betrayal, and the Bust
54:34 Getting Caught, Legal Maneuvers & Sentencing
01:00:12 Federal Time: Prison Strategy & Survival
01:13:40 Lessons, Regrets, and Reentry
01:22:38 Life After Prison & Staying Out of Trouble
01:34:08 Detailed Prison Stories & Takeaways
01:52:33 Final Reflections & Closing Thoughts

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To advertise on the show, contact sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/LockedInWithIanBicka
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John Krupinsky grew up in Danbury Connecticut in a law enforcement family — his father and brother were both cops. He followed that path starting in Ridgefield before joining the Danbury Police Department where he spent 45 years working undercover becoming a sergeant and a detective running drug busts and working alongside federal agencies. In this episode of Locked In with Ian Bick, John shares the complete truth about what 45 years in law enforcement really looked like — from policing in the 80s and 90s to undercover work to drug busts to the city's relationship with federal agencies to his take on local cops working with ICE to why it is harder to be a cop today to dealing with social media and first amendment auditors to massage parlor busts to encountering Ian personally when he owned a club in Danbury to going viral to the Black Lives Matter movement.

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#cops #police #truecrimestories

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Thank you to GLD & FACTOR for sponsoring this episode:
GLD: New customers get 40% Off with code LOCKEDIN at https://www.gld.com/

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Factor: Head to http://factormeals.com/lockedin50off and use code lockedin50off to get 50 percent off and free daily greens per box, with new subscription only, while supplies last until 09/27/2026. (See website for more details).

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Connect with John Krupinsky:
https://www.instagram.com/johnkrupinsky/

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Hosted, Executive Produced & Edited By Ian Bick:
https://www.instagram.com/ian_bick/?hl=en
https://ianbick.com/

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Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction to John Karpinsky
00:54 Growing Up in a Policing Family
02:27 Starting a Career in Richfield and Danbury
05:48 Life and Work in Small Town Policing
07:41 Homelessness and Community Solutions
10:54 The Evolution of Policing Culture
14:04 Changing Crime Trends and the Drug Epidemic
18:48 Danbury's Unique Crime Profile and Law Enforcement Tactics
21:52 Gangs, Task Forces, and Major Cases
27:03 Undercover Work and Policing Methods Then vs. Now
34:44 Tech Advancements & Challenges in Modern Policing
39:35 Working with Federal Agencies & Major Takedowns
47:00 Cooperating with ICE and Local vs. Federal Law Enforcement
01:00:44 Navigating Police Department Administration and Patrol
01:04:38 Stories from the Danbury Nightclub Scene
01:11:28 Dive Team Dangers and Notable Local Cases
01:15:01 Drug Busts, Asset Forfeiture, and Ongoing Enforcement
01:20:27 Massage Parlors, Prostitution, and Community Issues
01:23:50 Most Impactful Cases and Coping with Trauma
01:32:00 Community Policing, Respect, and Building Relationships
01:37:07 Going Viral and Entering the Media Spotlight
01:44:42 Career Reflections and Lessons Learned
01:53:00 First Amendment Auditors and Modern Challenges
01:58:14 Closing Thoughts and Reflections

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To advertise on the show, contact sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/LockedInWithIanBicka
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Sabu Stanley grew up in Brooklyn and lost his father to cancer as a child. His mother kept him grounded and out of trouble — until she passed from cancer too. Without her the streets of Brooklyn became his family. His first run in with the law sent him to Rikers Island where he became a Blood. Gang life eventually led to a 16 year sentence in New York State prison. In this episode of Locked In with Ian Bick, Sabu tells the complete story — from losing both parents to the streets taking him in to Rikers Island in the 90s and early 2000s to becoming a Blood to rising as a major drug player in Brooklyn to the 16 year sentence that defined the next chapter of everything.

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#brooklyn #rikersisland #crime

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Thank you to FACTOR & GLD for sponsoring this episode:
Factor: Head to http://factormeals.com/lockedin50off and use code lockedin50off to get 50 percent off and free daily greens per box, with new subscription only, while supplies last until 09/27/2026. (See website for more details).

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GLD: New customers get 40% Off with code LOCKEDIN at https://www.gld.com/

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Connect with Sabu Stanley:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therealflytye/?hl=en
facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sabu.stanley.2025

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Hosted, Executive Produced & Edited By Ian Bick:
https://www.instagram.com/ian_bick/?hl=en
https://ianbick.com/

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Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction & Early Life
03:39 Losing His Parents & Impact on Upbringing
07:03 Staying Out of Trouble & Influences
10:55 Financial Pressures and Turning Point
14:20 First Steps Into the Streets
18:31 Early Drug Dealing & Dropping Out
21:11 From Streets to Running With Marcy Projects Crew
24:47 Music, Hustling, and Getting Caught
27:26 First Arrests and Introduction to Bloods
30:28 Life in Rikers Island & Joining the Bloods
33:12 Return to the Streets After Jail
43:01 Running His Own Block & Conflicts
47:15 Brooklyn Hustler Lifestyle in His 20s
53:05 Getting Shot by Police & Arrest
01:03:52 Fighting His Legal Case & Jail Lessons
01:13:04 Serving 16 Years & Mental Transformation
01:21:01 Lessons From Prison & Pursuing a New Path
01:29:40 Final Reflections & Future Plans

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To advertise on the show, contact sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/LockedInWithIanBicka
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Julio Almanza grew up in Chicago after his father walked out — and that loss set everything in motion. The streets became his family the Satan Disciples became his identity and the Mexican cartel became his employer. At just 17 years old he was caught smuggling drugs on the Mexico side of the border and spent the next four years locked up in a Mexican prison before being transferred to federal custody in the United States. When he got out he went straight back. Ten more years in federal prison followed. He left the Satan Disciples and joined the Latin Kings — and his former gang immediately put hits out on him. He survived moved to Arizona to start over ended up back inside and finally turned his life around completely.

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#cartel #prison #truecrimestories

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Thank you to GLD & FACTOR for sponsoring this episode:
GLD: New customers get 40% Off with code LOCKEDIN at https://www.gld.com/

_____________________________________________

Factor: Head to http://factormeals.com/lockedin50off and use code lockedin50off to get 50 percent off and free daily greens per box, with new subscription only, while supplies last until 09/27/2026. (See website for more details).

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Connect with Julio Almanza:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wrongtostrong/?hl=en
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/wrongtostrong
Website: https://wrongtostrong.com/

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Hosted, Executive Produced & Edited By Ian Bick:
https://www.instagram.com/ian_bick/?hl=en
https://ianbick.com/

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Timestamps:
00:00 Julio's Early Life and Family Pain
05:00 Surviving Abuse and Finding the Streets
10:00 Gang Life and Chicago's Dark Side
15:00 Early Cartel Ties & First Smuggling Runs
20:00 Inside the Drug Trade as a Teen
25:00 Getting Caught and Surviving Mexican Prison
35:00 Mental Health, Trauma & Hustling in Prison
42:00 Addiction, Rock Bottom and Hard Lessons
48:00 Transfer to US Prison & Early Federal Release
54:00 Life After Prison: Back in the Game
01:00:00 Cartel, Betrayal, and Escaping Chicago
01:07:00 Arizona: Trying to Go Straight & More Mistakes
01:12:00 Turning Point: Inside for the Last Time
01:18:00 Final Release and True Transformation
01:24:00 Reflections, Redemption & Helping Others

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To advertise on the show, contact sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/LockedInWithIanBicka
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Howard Robertson had every reason to go down the wrong path. His parents died. His siblings were in the streets. But instead of following them he chose corrections — and over a 22 year career from the late 1970s to the early 2000s he rose from correctional officer to captain to deputy warden to warden of Rikers Island — the largest and most violent jail in America. In this episode of Locked In with Ian Bick, Howard pulls back the curtain on everything — from his brutal upbringing to what made him choose corrections to what Rikers Island looked like from the inside during its most violent era to the notorious inmates he encountered to how programs reduced violence to how politicians destroyed what it could have been to the problems with closing it and what the future of Rikers Island really looks like.

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#rikersisland #jail #truecrimestories

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Thank you to FACTOR & GLD for sponsoring this episode:
Factor: Head to http://factormeals.com/lockedin50off and use code lockedin50off to get 50 percent off and free daily greens per box, with new subscription only, while supplies last until 09/27/2026. (See website for more details).

_____________________________________________

GLD: New customers get 40% Off with code LOCKEDIN at https://www.gld.com/

_____________________________________________

Connect with Howard Robertson:
https://www.amazon.com/Student-Game-Become-Unstoppable-Smarts/dp/1977283896

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Hosted, Executive Produced & Edited By Ian Bick:
https://www.instagram.com/ian_bick/?hl=en
https://ianbick.com/

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Timestamps:
00:00 Howard Robertson's Unlikely Journey
01:12 Overcoming Tragedy and Choices
02:29 Early Mindset: Learning from Role Models
03:53 Shooting for the Moon: Mentorship & Goals
05:02 Rising Above Average Through Hard Work
07:01 Is Drive Innate or Learned?
07:42 Family, Bad Paths, and Purpose
08:03 Helping Inmates and Preventing Recidivism
09:36 From Speaking to Writing: Reaching Youth
10:16 Authenticity in Storytelling: Why the Book Matters
11:01 Personal Stories: Bullying, Friendship, and Impact
13:02 How the Past Shapes Leadership Style
14:47 Navigating Street Ties Inside Rikers
18:00 Inmate Politics and Safe Resolutions
21:22 Respect, Boundaries & Saying No
23:40 Life Lessons and Staying Clean
24:43 Sponsor Segment: Factor Meals
27:40 Entering Corrections: Career Choice
29:34 Knowing the Community: Double-Edged Sword
30:14 Respect, Fairness, and Avoiding Violence
32:00 Overcrowding, Programs, and Jail Services
34:49 Correctional Culture: Then and Now
36:32 Political Changes & Rikers' Decline
41:13 Burough Jails, Funding, and Flawed Solutions
44:43 Sponsor Segment: GLD Chains
45:56 Corrections Leadership & Barriers to Progression
47:13 Mass Incarceration, Bad Policy, and Population Issues
51:01 Physical Conditions & Racial Makeup
54:35 Bail, Releases, and Systemic Injustice
56:39 Promotions, Process & Rules of the System
01:00:31 Programs: Entertainment and Violence Reduction
01:03:35 The Winner's Dorm: Transforming Inmates
01:04:41 Solitary Confinement: Problems & Alternatives
01:08:06 Expanding Special Housing and Culture Change
01:10:44 Medical, Mental Health, and Malingering
01:13:36 Mental Health, Career Impact and Life After
01:14:50 Defining Real Success for Youth
01:15:55 Numbers that Shock: Mass Incarceration
01:17:00 Notorious and Celebrity Inmates
01:18:36 Retirement, New Mission, and Legacy
01:18:56 Biggest Takeaways: Excuse-Free Success
01:19:56 Book Recommendation & Final Thoughts

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To advertise on the show, contact sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/LockedInWithIanBicka
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices