I Was a CIA Officer for 18 Years — Here's What They Never Tell You About the Job | Charles Finfrock
2026-06-17 | 1h 45 mins.
Charles Finfrock grew up with one dream — to become a spy. In this episode of Locked In with Ian Bick, Charles takes us through the extraordinary journey it took to make that dream a reality — from the US Navy to the National Air Intelligence Center to 18 years as a Senior Operations Officer at the CIA living and working across Europe the Middle East and Asia. He pulls back the curtain on CIA interrogation tactics and how to spot when someone is lying — skills he used in some of the most sensitive operations conducted at the direction of the President. He opens up about what nobody talks about — leaving the CIA with no support no follow up and a wave of trauma that led to struggles with alcohol. He shares how he rebuilt — moving to Tesla where he built their Insider Threat Program before founding Vigilance his own intelligence and security firm in 2018. He also gets into the cyber security threats most people don't take seriously enough — what to actually worry about with AI the Nancy Guthrie case and accessing home video systems whether your phone is really listening to you and what corporations and individuals need to know to stay safe.
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#CIA #CyberSecurity #truecrimecommunity
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Connect with Charles Finfrock: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charles-finfrock-302021109 Website: https://vcci.io/charles-finfrock/
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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 Former CIA Officer Finally Tells the Truth About What the Job Really Looks Like 02:27 His All American Upbringing and the Early Aspirations That Set Everything in Motion 05:27 His Path to the Military and What That Journey Really Looked Like From the Beginning 09:00 Military Boot Camp SEAL Ambitions and the Realities Nobody Prepares You For 13:10 From SEAL Training to Navy Law Enforcement — the Unexpected Path That Changed Everything 16:18 His First Assignments in Bahrain and the Early Lessons That Defined His Career 19:40 Developing the Investigation and Interrogation Skills That Would Define His CIA Career 23:09 Moving Beyond the Navy — Education and Setting His Sights on the CIA 27:27 Getting Into Intelligence — the Student Years Mentors and Internships That Opened the Door 32:09 Joining the CIA — the Preparation the Culture and What Public Perception Gets Completely Wrong 38:00 The Impact of 9/11 on His Training and How That Moment Changed Everything About the Job 43:24 His First Field Assignments as a CIA Officer and What That World Really Looked Like 47:00 The Reality of the Job — the Early Excitement and the Daily Grind Nobody Talks About 51:40 Living Undercover — the Psychological Difficulty of Secrets and Hidden Identity 54:52 The Interagency Relationships and CIA Ethics That Defined How the Job Really Works 59:41 Career Longevity and What the Transition From CIA to Civilian Life Actually Required 01:03:40 The Mental Health Struggles and Bureaucratic Disconnect Nobody in Intelligence Talks About 01:09:01 Coping After CIA Service — the Reinvention and Finding New Purpose That Followed 01:14:11 Corporate Security and Insider Threats — What Life After the CIA Really Looks Like 01:20:31 The Tech Threat — Privacy Data and What Everyone Needs to Know About Everyday Security 01:32:00 Digital Forensics Data Deletion and What Your Car Knows About You That You Don't 01:36:07 The Life Lessons and Advice for Success He Learned From a CIA Career 01:38:53 His Final Reflections and What He Wants Everyone to Take Away From His Complete Story
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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
I Was a Soccer Mom — Then I Got 32 Felonies | Lara Love Hardin
2026-06-16 | 1h 50 mins.
Lara Love Hardin had the perfect cul-de-sac life: a million-dollar home, kids, the soccer-mom routine. What no one knew was that she and her husband were funding a heroin addiction by stealing their neighbors' credit cards. When the police finally knocked, she was charged with dozens of felonies and became inmate S32179. In this conversation, Lara takes us inside her descent into opioid addiction, what her time in county jail was like and the unlikely path that took her from a jail cell to ghostwriting New York Times bestsellers and an Oprah's Book Club pick for her own memoir, The Many Lives of Mama Love. We talk addiction, shame, the criminal justice system, second chances, and how she rebuilt a life most people thought was over.
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#addictionrecovery #TrueCrime #secondchances
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Connect with Lara Love Hardin: Website: https://www.laralovehardin.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laralovehardin/?hl=en Book: https://www.amazon.com/Many-Lives-Mama-Love-Stealing-ebook/dp/B0BPDNW33W/ref=books_amazonstores_desktop_mfs_author_smart_catalog_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_w=NMLe6&content-id=amzn1.sym.aec507cb-142c-4f68-9ae5-803b8e7b33f1&pf_rd_p=aec507cb-142c-4f68-9ae5-803b8e7b33f1&pf_rd_r=136-6178201-4449817&pd_rd_wg=GRZoL&pd_rd_r=3432d7e9-c686-4577-8237-d731c18fd71a
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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: Laura Love Harden's Story 00:30 Her Childhood and Upbringing 01:45 Escaping Through Books and Education 03:42 Family Secrets No One Talked About 06:07 Trying to Fit In During High School 07:00 College and a Fresh Start 08:48 Marriage, Motherhood & Quiet Struggles 09:54 The First Painkillers 11:02 The Hidden Pattern of Family Addiction 13:45 Fighting Pill Addiction—and Denial 16:26 Sobriety, Remarriage & New Beginnings 17:41 The Day She Found Out: Heroin Relapse 20:08 The Rapid Downfall Into Crime 22:15 What Daily Life as an Addict Was Really Like 24:50 How She Justified the Crimes 27:02 The Arrest That Broke the Family Apart 31:15 First Days in Jail 36:33 A Mental Health Crisis Behind Bars 41:03 The Legal System and Family Fallout 47:00 The Plea Deal & Gender Disparities in Sentencing 53:13 Motherhood, Shame & the Community's Reaction 01:00:02 Life After Jail: Rebuilding From Zero 01:11:20 Starting Over: A Career in Literary Agency 01:20:28 Facing Stigma & Earning Redemption 01:26:20 Advocacy and Supporting Incarcerated Women 01:33:01 Writing the Modern Memoir 01:38:18 Regrets, Lessons & Parenting Reflections 01:41:45 What's Next: Fiction and TV
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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
I Was in Prison With Mackenzie Shirilla — Here's What She Was Really Like | Kat Crowder
2026-06-15 | 1h 32 mins.
Kat Crowder grew up in Alabama with an alcoholic father and started getting into trouble as a teenager — eventually getting sent to a troubled teen program that was supposed to help but couldn't prepare her for what came next. When she got out her father took his own life. That loss derailed everything. In this episode of Locked In with Ian Bick, Kat tells the complete story — from her teenage years spiraling into identity theft check fraud and in and out of Tennessee jails to eventually catching a case in Ohio and spending nearly a year inside an Ohio state prison. But what makes her story completely unique right now is who she was locked up with. Kat was in Ohio prison with Mackenzie Shirilla — the subject of the viral Netflix crash documentary — and she went viral for sharing what Mackenzie was really like inside. The Netflix documentary got it wrong. Kat was there. This is the complete unfiltered truth.
Thank You To CASH APP For Sponsoring This Episode: Download Cash App Today: https://click.cash.app/ui6m/6pao71et #CashAppPod Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App’s bank partner(s). Prepaid debit cards issued by Sutton Bank, Member FDIC. Cash App Visa® Debit Flex Cards issued by Sutton Bank, Member FDIC, and The Bancorp Bank, N.A., pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. See terms and conditions for the Sutton prepaid card, Sutton debit flex card, and Bancorp debit flex card. Discounts and promotions provided by Cash App, a Block, Inc. brand. Visit cash.app/legal/podcast for full disclosures.
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Connect with Kat Crowder: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@boujeebehindbars Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/boujeebehindbars/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@boujeebehindbars
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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 She Was Locked Up With Mackenzie Shirilla — Kat's Complete Story 02:30 Her Struggles at Home and the Teenage Turmoil That Started Everything 05:30 The Rebellion the Troubled Teen Program and the Family Tragedy That Changed Everything 09:30 What the Troubled Teen Program Was Really Like From the Inside 12:00 Coming Home to Find Her Dad Gone — Grief and the Coping Mechanisms That Followed 16:20 College Substance Abuse and the Escalating Behavior That Nobody Could Stop 19:30 The Legal Troubles That Started the Criminal Justice Cycle She Couldn't Break 24:30 Probation Drug Court and the Setbacks That Kept Setting Her Back 28:20 The Criminal Lifestyle and the Consequences That Finally Caught Up With Her 32:00 The High Speed Chase and What Jail Really Felt Like for the First Time 36:00 Getting Pregnant in Jail and the Turning Point That Changed How She Saw Everything 41:00 Sentencing Day and What Heading to Ohio State Prison Actually Felt Like 45:00 Her First Impressions of Ohio State Prison and What Nobody Prepares You For 47:40 What Women's Prison Is Really Like — The Truth Nobody Talks About Publicly 50:30 The Prison Programs That Kept Her Out of Trouble and What She Learned From Them 53:00 Being Locked Up With Mackenzie Shirilla — What She Was Really Like Inside 57:00 Prison Hierarchy Gossip and How Perceptions of Mackenzie Shifted Inside 01:00:00 Contraband Relationships and the Everyday Challenges of Ohio State Prison 01:05:00 Prison Hustles and Pen Pals — The Underground World Nobody On the Outside Sees 01:09:00 Ohio Prison Food Commissary Life and the Halfway House Transition 01:15:00 Coming Home — Reuniting With Family and What Moving Forward Really Looked Like 01:19:00 Why She Finally Decided to Share Her Story Online and What Happened Next 01:22:00 The Lessons She Learned and the Reflections That Changed How She Sees Everything 01:25:00 Rebuilding Family Bonds and Her Advice to Anyone Who Needs to Hear It 01:26:30 Her Final Words and the Message She Wants to Leave With Everyone Watching
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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
I Hunted America's Most Wanted Fugitives as a US Marshal — Then the Agency Destroyed Me | Robert Ledogar
2026-06-14 | 1h 58 mins.
Robert Ledogar spent over 30 years serving his country — first in the Navy then as a Supervisory Deputy US Marshal for the Eastern District of New York. He spent decades hunting down and capturing some of America's most wanted fugitives, transporting federal prisoners including El Chapo during his trial, and running some of the most dangerous operations the US Marshals Service has ever seen. In this episode of Locked In with Ian Bick, Bob pulls back the curtain on what it really looks like to hunt fugitives in New York City — the process the stories and the cases he'll never forget. He opens up about transporting El Chapo on Con Air and what that experience was really like. And then he tells the story nobody inside the agency wants told — how after 30 years of unblemished service he stood up for a female deputy marshal being harassed and assaulted by her own colleagues — and how the agency spent the next four and a half years trying to destroy him for it. Fired two months before retirement eligibility. He fought back. And in August 2021 — he finally won.
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#USMarshal #ElChapo #truecrimecommunity
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Thank You To CASH APP For Sponsoring This Episode: Download Cash App Today: https://click.cash.app/ui6m/6pao71et #CashAppPod Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App’s bank partner(s). Prepaid debit cards issued by Sutton Bank, Member FDIC. Cash App Visa® Debit Flex Cards issued by Sutton Bank, Member FDIC, and The Bancorp Bank, N.A., pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. See terms and conditions for the Sutton prepaid card, Sutton debit flex card, and Bancorp debit flex card. Discounts and promotions provided by Cash App, a Block, Inc. brand. Visit cash.app/legal/podcast for full disclosures.
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Connect with Robert Ledogar: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-ledogar-276277146
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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 US Marshal Who Hunted Fugitives and Worked the El Chapo Case — Robert's Full Story 01:00 Growing Up in Queens and the Early Life That Led to Federal Law Enforcement 03:00 The Early Influences That Set Him on the Path to the Navy and Eventually the Marshals 06:00 Navy Service and What Desert Storm Really Looked Like From the Inside 08:00 The Investigative Work Overseas That Prepared Him for Everything That Followed 11:00 Transitioning Out of the Navy and What That Career Change Really Required 13:00 Joining the US Marshals Service and What That Process Actually Looked Like 15:00 Marshal Academy Training and the Early Days That Defined His Career 18:00 Learning to Track Fugitives and What That Education Really Looked Like 21:00 Task Forces and How His Responsibilities Expanded Into Major Operations 23:00 Working Big Cases and the Surveillance Tactics That Most People Never Hear About 26:00 The Most Memorable Fugitive Capture Stories From His Entire Career 29:00 The Challenges of Probation Violations and What That World Really Looks Like 32:00 Supervising Warrants and the Team Dynamics That Define the Job 35:00 The Realities and Risks of Arresting Fugitives That Nobody Talks About Publicly 38:00 Transporting Detainees and What the Court Logistics Process Really Involves 41:00 Bounty Hunters Escape Attempts and the Stories That Still Surprise Him 44:00 High Profile Cases and His Connection to the El Chapo Investigation 47:00 The Investigative Successes and Lessons That Defined His Career 50:00 Probation Halfway Houses and the Escape Attempts That Kept Him on His Toes 53:00 What Working With Different Agencies Actually Looks Like From the Inside 56:00 Serving Warrants in New York City and What Makes That Environment Unique 59:00 The Big Arrests That Required the Most Due Diligence and Preparation 01:02:00 Balancing Duty Family and Legacy After a Career Hunting America's Most Wanted 01:05:00 His Honest Reflections on the System and the Personal Lessons That Changed Everything
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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
I Was a Border Patrol Agent for 18 Years — Here's What They Never Show You | Frank Vallejo
2026-06-11 | 1h 41 mins.
Frank Vallejo grew up in Texas dreaming of serving his country. After six years as a police officer across two cities he was recruited to join the Border Patrol — and spent the next 18 years on the front lines of one of America's most complex and controversial assignments. In this episode of Locked In with Ian Bick, Frank pulls back the curtain on what border patrol work really looks like — from the human smuggling operations he dismantled to the major drug busts that defined his career. He breaks down exactly how smugglers operated and how agents spotted them, shares the heartbreaking stories from the job that never leave you, explains why the border wall actually increased security, and reveals how the catch and release policies of the early 2000s allowed millions of people into the country unchecked. This is the conversation about the border that nobody in the media is having.
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#BorderPatrol #TrueCrime #bordersecurity
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Thank you to RAYCON for sponsoring this episode: Upgrade your dad’s everyday routine. Go to https://buyraycon.com/IANBICKOPEN to get 15% off.
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Connect with Frank Vallejo: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/franciscovallejo544?igsh=MWU0ZzFzbzR3MTVzMA== Buy his book: https://www.amazon.com/Thin-Lines-Patrol-Betrayal-Enforcement-ebook/dp/B0GRPXBYP1
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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 - Border Patrol Agent Interview 03:54 Frank's Early Life and Background 07:31 How to Become a Police Officer: First Jobs & Academy 14:49 Why Police Officers Switch Departments 21:27 Border Patrol Training: Academy & What to Expect 28:17 What Does Border Patrol Actually Do? Duties Explained 36:08 Day in the Life of a Border Patrol Agent 44:00 How Drug Smuggling Works at the Border 51:46 Border Patrol Chase & Pursuit Stories 58:28 Border Patrol Catch Rates & Community Impact 01:07:28 Drug Smuggling, Tip-Offs & Police Corruption 01:13:13 Border Patrol Policy Changes & Supervisor Roles 01:20:17 Does the Border Wall Work? Wall vs Technology 01:27:27 Emotional Toll & Public Misconceptions About Border Patrol 01:33:35 Career Reflections & Writing a Book 01:36:19 Closing & Where to Buy the Book
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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
Real stories from the people everyone else judges first. Locked In with Ian Bick is a podcast hosted by Ian Bick, a former federal inmate turned podcaster. The show features raw conversations with former inmates, recovering addicts, bikers, law enforcement officers, attorneys, investigators, and people who have lived through crime, prison, addiction, trauma, and redemption. Each episode dives deep into real prison stories, life inside prison, the criminal justice system, street life, addiction recovery, mental health, and what it takes to rebuild after incarceration. Guests share what really happens behind bars, how people survive prison, and the difficult road to second chances after hitting rock bottom. If you’re interested in prison stories, criminal justice experiences, life after prison, and honest conversations with people who have lived through the darkest chapters of their lives, you’ll feel at home here.
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