Locked In with Ian Bick

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).

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

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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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Pasquale Sementilli was born to Italian immigrants who built their life in America — and he became an American citizen himself in his late teens after passing the test. What nobody knew was that as a child he had been sexually abused by a neighbor — something he carried completely alone for years while navigating construction work womanizing and alcohol abuse after high school. Then he lost two close friends on 9/11. And that loss pushed him toward something bigger — the NYPD. In this episode of Locked In with Ian Bick, Pasquale shares the complete story — from his Italian immigrant upbringing to the childhood abuse nobody knew about to his years in construction to losing friends on 9/11 to becoming an NYPD officer in 2003 to working some of the worst precincts in New York City to responding to child abuse cases as a victim himself to the calls that still haunt him to his medical retirement after a line of duty injury in 2011 and what he carries from all of it today.

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#nypd #survivor #truecrimecommunity #cops

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Connect with Pasquale Sementilli:
https://www.instagram.com/pasqny757575?igsh=MW5iOThiYWZkcno1dw==

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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 Son of Italian Immigrants Who Became an NYPD Officer — Pasquale's Full Story
04:41 Growing Up in an Immigrant Family and the Values That Shaped Everything
07:20 The Childhood Experience He Carried Completely Alone and What That Did to Him
13:01 The Impact of That Trauma and the Self Destruction That Followed
22:00 Choosing Construction and Trucking and What That Career Path Really Looked Like
25:53 Becoming a US Citizen and What Joining the NYPD Really Required
33:34 His NYPD Application Journey and What That Process Really Involved
40:00 Starting as a Police Officer in New York City and What Those First Days Required
47:42 Responding to the Hardest Cases on the Job and What That Personally Triggered in Him
54:00 Coping With Difficult Calls and the Emotional Impact That Followed
01:01:12 Street Policing — the Lessons the Risks and the Stories That Defined His Career
01:10:06 Handling Pressure Pranks and What Working the Street Really Looked Like
01:16:40 The Policing Culture Shift and What Discretion Really Means in Practice
01:20:20 Discretion Humanity and the Challenges That Define Modern Policing
01:27:04 The Memorable Cases That Still Stay With Him Today
01:31:00 Child Neglect and the Reality of City Life That Most People Never See
01:34:39 Community Family Structures and the Cycles That Define Generational Struggle
01:36:12 His Retirement His Injury and What Moving On Really Required
01:40:07 Finding Closure Healing and What Life After the Job Really Looks Like
01:46:01 Finding Meaning Support and the New Purpose That Followed Everything He Survived

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To advertise on the show, contact sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/LockedInWithIanBicka
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Frankie Rosario grew up in Florida after being born in Connecticut — raised by a good family with strong morals and an exceptional mind that made him stand out academically from an early age. He was headed toward a career in medicine. Then his cousin made him an offer that changed the entire direction of his life — $15000 a week to get involved in a drug operation shortly after graduating college in his early twenties. What followed was not street level dealing. Frankie operated in an administrative capacity — handling logistics organizing shipments and laundering money for an operation that moved kilos of heroin and generated thirty to forty million dollars a year. They used his father's flooring business as a front. And when federal investigators finally caught up with the operation Frankie was sentenced to ten years in federal prison — starting in the penitentiaries and working his way down. In this episode of Locked In with Ian Bick, Frankie tells the complete story — from his exceptional childhood and academic success to the cousin's offer that changed everything to building and running a logistics and money laundering operation inside a massive heroin empire to federal charges and sentencing to what ten years inside the federal prison system really looked like and what it finally took to walk away and rebuild his life.

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#drugs #prison #truecrimecommunity

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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 Honor Student Who Moved Kilos of Heroin for $30 Million a Year — Then Got 10 Years Federal — Frankie's Full Story
03:00 His Childhood and Upbringing in Florida and the Good Family That Raised Him
07:00 Excelling in School Gifted Programs and the Early Influences That Shaped Everything
13:00 His Academic Success His Family Values and the Medical Career He Was Heading Toward
17:00 His Teenage Years — the Fun the Trouble and His Early Attitude Toward Money
23:00 The Moment Everything Changed — His Transition From College to Criminal Activity
29:00 Running the Heroin Operation and Laundering Money — What That World Really Looked Like
36:00 Everyday Life Inside a Drug Organization and What Operating at That Level Required
45:00 The Federal Bust — How Investigators Caught Up and What That Moment Really Felt Like
54:00 Navigating the Legal System and What Facing a Federal Prison Sentence Really Looked Like
01:00:00 Life Inside Federal Prison — the Politics the Violence and What Survival Really Required
01:10:00 Prison Rules Culture Shocks and What Adapting to the Federal System Really Involved
01:18:00 The Family Impact the Reentry Struggles and What Building a New Life Really Required
01:26:00 Rehabilitation Recidivism and What Reintegrating Into Society After Federal Prison Looks Like
01:36:00 His Reflections His Regrets and the Lessons He Wants Everyone to Take Away

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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

Kasey Hagan grew up in England — and moving to America as a teenager with his father introduced him to a culture that was completely different from everything he had ever known. He got big into sports found his footing and decided he wanted to help people. He started as an animal control officer in his late teens responding to calls that most people never imagine exist. Then he discovered his first dead body on the job. Eventually Kasey became a Florida cop. For three years he responded to the worst calls dealt with the mental health weight that the job never properly prepares you for and witnessed the fundamental problems with policing that nobody in training ever talks about. The calls that haunted him. The culture that wore him down. The truth about law enforcement that only someone who lived it can tell. Then he quit. To build a content creation platform with his wife Christie — who was also a cop he met on the job — that generated hundreds of thousands of dollars.

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#florida #police #cops

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Connect with Kasey Hagan:
https://www.instagram.com/kc_in_motion_/

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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 British Cop Who Left Law Enforcement for Content Creation — Full Story
03:50 Adjusting to Life in America and What That Culture Shock Really Looked Like
06:46 High School Differences Between England and America and the Sports World He Discovered
11:10 His First Steps Toward Law Enforcement and What Drew Him to the Job
15:15 Animal Control Stories That Will Shock You — Where Everything Really Started
19:00 Animal Cruelty Cases and the Dog Adoptions That Defined That Chapter
22:00 The Most Common Cruelty Cases and the Hoarding Situations Nobody Prepares You For
25:56 The Psychology Behind Animal Abusers and What the Research Really Shows
28:59 England Versus America on Animal Issues — the Differences That Shocked Him Most
31:02 Florida Wildlife and the Crazy Exotic Pets That Defined That World
34:30 His Transition From Animal Control to Police Work and What That Required
37:32 Applying to Become a Cop — the Process Most People Never Hear About
42:00 Police Academy Versus Real Life Policing — What Nobody Tells You Before You Start
45:16 His First Calls and What Training on the Job Really Looked Like
49:45 The Culture Shock of American Law Enforcement From a British Officer's Perspective
54:22 The Mental Health Toll of Policing and the Coping Mechanisms That Got Him Through
59:00 Changing Agencies and What the Team Dynamics Really Looked Like
01:04:03 The Rough Calls That Still Stay With Him and the Emotional Impact They Left
01:09:00 The Challenges Inside the Policing System That Nobody Talks About Publicly
01:13:10 Meeting Christy and What Relationship Life Really Looks Like Inside Law
Enforcement
01:17:00 His Transition to Content Creation and What That Decision Really Required
01:21:30 Morality Purpose and the Life Changes That Followed Leaving Law Enforcement
01:25:00 His Injury His Back Surgery and What the Recovery Process Really Required
01:29:06 Life After Policing and What Finding Purpose Again Actually Looked Like
01:31:26 His Advice for Anyone Considering a Career in Law Enforcement
01:32:54 His Closing Thoughts and the Fun Revelations He Wants Everyone to Hear

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Christie Leigh grew up on a military base in a strict family — and the rebellion that followed eventually led her down the wrong path before she turned everything around in her late teens and decided she wanted to help people. She became a hospital tech. Then a cop in Florida. For five years Christie worked as a female police officer in Florida — one of the most challenging environments for a young woman in law enforcement. She shares what it was really like as a rookie female cop in her early twenties the way colleagues and superiors treated her the hardest calls she ever responded to her own experience with domestic violence and what dating inside the department really looks like. And then she made a decision that nobody expected. She quit after five years to pursue content creation full time — with her husband who was also a cop she met on the job. They built a platform together that generated hundreds of thousands of dollars and she never looked back.

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#florida #cops #model #police

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Connect with Christie Leigh:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christieleighhq/
Website: https://www.christieleighofficial.com/
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/christieleighofficial?utm_source=linktree_profile_share<sid=d565d0ec-92c0-4d6b-bbbd-08f0030f5057

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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 Female Police Officer Who Left the Badge for Content Creation — Christie's Full Story
00:43 Growing Up Between City and Country and the Environment That Shaped Everything
01:59 Her Strict Upbringing and the Family Dynamics That Defined Her Early Years
03:13 Teen Rebellion and the Family Struggles That Followed
05:07 Finding Direction After Her Toughest Teen Years
06:16 Working as a Hospital Tech and What That World Really Looked Like
08:11 How Her Medical Experience Prepared Her for Law Enforcement
09:28 Leaving a Troubled Crowd and What That Decision Really Required
10:42 The Perspective Shift That Led Her Toward Police Work
11:32 Improving Her Family Relationships and What That Process Looked Like
12:56 Her Transition Into Police Work and What Those First Days Required
14:03 Her Experience With Domestic Violence and What That Work Really Involved
16:35 Helping Others Through Similar Situations and What That Mission Meant
18:35 Becoming a Young Police Officer and What That World Really Looked Like
21:23 Training Hiring and the Prejudice She Experienced in Policing
25:49 Handling Low Pay and What Law Enforcement Benefits Really Look Like
29:30 Navigating the Toxic Work Environments That Define Too Many Departments
33:44 The Specific Challenges of Being a Female Officer Nobody Talks About
37:33 Her Early Job Challenges and the Harassment That Followed
44:17 Dating Relationships and the Department Drama That Came With Them
52:17 Responding to Dangerous Calls Without Backup and What That Really Felt Like
54:41 The Hardest and Most Emotional Calls That Still Stay With Her Today
57:31 Hard Arrests and What Officer Discretion Really Looks Like From the Inside
01:02:28 Meeting Her Husband and What Workplace Relationships in Law Enforcement Look Like
01:07:07 Leaving Policing for Content Creation and What That Decision Really Required
01:12:40 Reflecting on OnlyFans Her Regrets and the Advice She Wants Everyone to Hear
01:18:16 Her Transition Into Music and Social Media and What That Journey Required
01:22:01 Her Advice to Her Younger Self and Her Final Thoughts on Everything She Survived

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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