Podcasts about hudson county

On the week the state's largest newspaper, The Star-Ledger and several other papers print their last editions and the venerable Hudson County daily The Jersey Journal closes, Jersey Angle hosts Mark Bonamo and Brian Donohue discuss what's being covered and what's being missed in a state where two decades of media downsizing have left huge swaths of the state as news deserts. Also: is there hope emerging on the media landscape in form of new startups sprouting all over?

Rabbi Dr Naomi Kalish uncovers what Jacob teaches us about listening and how it paves the way for peace.Rabbi Kalish is the Harold and Carole Wolfe Director of the Center for Pastoral Education and assistant professor of Pastoral Education at JTS. Prior to coming to JTS, Rabbi Kalish taught clinical pastoral education (CPE) at New York–Presbyterian Hospital (NYP) to students from diverse religious, denominational, national, and cultural backgrounds. Rabbi Kalish has extensive experience in interreligious dialogue and its application for peace-building and community relations. She was a founding national co-chair of the Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom's Sadaqah-Tzedakah Day. Rabbi Kalish received a JTS Seeds of Innovation Grant in 2018 for her volunteer work in coordinating teen interreligious dialogue activities in her home community of Hudson County, New Jersey, one of the most religiously and ethnically diverse communities in the United States.

Elki Camacho is a Business Consultant specializing in Strategic Growth and Operational Excellence. By focusing on people, process, and technology, Elki aids businesses in transforming their business models, scaling intentionally, and transforming cultures to create more profitable businesses. As a consultant, Elki operates in various capacities to strengthen business acumen, hone operational execution, deliver training and development, act as an extended part of your business, and provide ongoing coaching to meet your business needs. As a champion of Women in Business and Diversity and Inclusion, Elki is an avid community mentor and provides coaching and professional development to women rising in their careers. She sits on the Leadership team of BNI Chapter 25, is on the Board of Women Entrepreneurs of Hudson County as well as Hudson County Chamber of Commerce, and is the founder of WeMentors. She is the Principal and CEO of Elki Consulting Group.   Links and Resources; (I sometimes use affiliate links and I am grateful if you choose to use them.) Now What by Laura Berman Fortgang You Just Don't Understand by Deborah Tannen Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter by Liz Wiseman The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven Covey Interior Elegance by Elki (Some of the links I provide, specifically to Amazon and a few others, require me to let you know that if you use those links and make a purchase, I will make some money.  I won't make a million dollars, but I might be able to get a cup of coffee, so thank you!)   The Sew Much More Podcast is sponsored by;     Klimaka Studios   The Workroom Channel   Scarlet Thread Consulting   The WCAA   The Curtains and Soft Furnishings Resource Library   Merril Y Landis, LTD   Angel's Distributing, LLC   National Upholstery Association   Workroom Tech    

***Episode Continued ***In this episode of Pleasure Pathways, we dive into the world of in-person dating with special guest Mercedes from Date Columbus. Whether you're tired of the dating app scene or eager to make real-life connections, this episode offers practical tips to help you date confidently. We explore everything from how to make a great first impression, approach conversations with ease, and avoid common dating pitfalls like burnout and frustration.Learn how to maximize your experience at events like Date Columbus—from mastering icebreakers to reading body language and staying focused on what you truly want in a relationship. Mercedes shares expert advice on creating meaningful connections, overcoming fear of rejection, and the best ways to approach someone without outdated clichés.Plus, we discuss why women do want to be approached—just not in the old ways you might think—and how to keep things fun and light while searching for love. Tune in for actionable insights, dating tips, and a fresh perspective on in-person dating that will leave you feeling empowered and excited to attend your next event!Follow Date Columbus on IG!Mercedes IGLook out for hosting IRL dating events in Cleveland, Dayton, Philadelphia, Hudson County, Chattanooga TN, Detroit, MI soon to be in Nashville, TN and Pittsburgh, PA. Get Your FREE Dating In The Wild Guide HERE!Laurens IG

In this episode of Pleasure Pathways, we dive into the world of in-person dating with special guest Mercedes from Date Columbus. Whether you're tired of the dating app scene or eager to make real-life connections, this episode offers practical tips to help you date confidently. We explore everything from how to make a great first impression, approach conversations with ease, and avoid common dating pitfalls like burnout and frustration.Learn how to maximize your experience at events like Date Columbus—from mastering icebreakers to reading body language and staying focused on what you truly want in a relationship. Mercedes shares expert advice on creating meaningful connections, overcoming fear of rejection, and the best ways to approach someone without outdated clichés.Plus, we discuss why women do want to be approached—just not in the old ways you might think—and how to keep things fun and light while searching for love. Tune in for actionable insights, dating tips, and a fresh perspective on in-person dating that will leave you feeling empowered and excited to attend your next event!Follow Date Columbus on IG!Mercedes IGLook out for hosting IRL dating events in Cleveland, Dayton, Philadelphia, Hudson County, Chattanooga TN, Detroit, MI soon to be in Nashville, TN and Pittsburgh, PA. Get Your FREE Dating In The Wild Guide HERE!Laurens IG

Murph interviews Giovanni Rocco, a 27-year veteran of law enforcement in Hudson County, New Jersey.  Rocco shares stories from his time working undercover with the DEA and FBI, and discusses his book “Giovanni's Ring: My Life Inside the Real Sopranos.”   Rocco was able to infiltrate the DeCavalcante mafia family.  Some believe the TV series “The Sopranos” was based on this crime family.  Rocco describes the emotional challenges of developing relationships with criminals while maintaining his loyalty to law enforcement, and he recounts the challenges and dangers he faced.  Rocco discusses the importance of trust and loyalty in the mafia world, and how he navigated the complex dynamics between different factions. But Rocco also reflects on the toll that undercover work takes on personal relationships and mental health, and the work he's doing now in the field of addiction recovery and mental health for first responders.

Murph interviews Giovanni Rocco, a 27-year veteran of law enforcement in Hudson County, New Jersey.  Rocco shares stories from his time working undercover with the DEA and FBI, and discusses his book “Giovanni's Ring: My Life Inside the Real Sopranos.”   Rocco was able to infiltrate the DeCavalcante mafia family.  Some believe the TV series “The Sopranos” was based on this crime family.  Rocco describes the emotional challenges of developing relationships with criminals while maintaining his loyalty to law enforcement, and he recounts the challenges and dangers he faced.  Rocco discusses the importance of trust and loyalty in the mafia world, and how he navigated the complex dynamics between different factions. But Rocco also reflects on the toll that undercover work takes on personal relationships and mental health, and the work he's doing now in the field of addiction recovery and mental health for first responders.

 Mike Kelly, columnist for The Bergen Record/NorthJersey.comTopic: "Menendez just another crooked Hudson County politician" (Op Ed)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After a 2 week hiatus, we are back on the podcast and we are celebrating another Hudson County Championship for our Basketball Team, a clean sweep of Marauders advancing to the Wrestling Regions, and Fencing heading to the Quarterfinals of the State Tournament. (0:00) Introduction (3:30) News Of The Week Intro (4:39) Basketball Results (29:40) Bowling Results (31:20) Hockey Results (32:34) Swimming Results (35:14) Wrestling Results (40:18) Indoor Track Results (42:03) Fencing Results (43:39) This Week's Schedule (45:10) Podcast Announcement (46:26) Closing Thoughts --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/stateofthemarauders/message

We are now in the crux of our winter season as we have playoffs and championships galore throughout our program as Track, Swimming, and Wrestling all continued their streaks as Hudson County Champions, with the Fencing Team clinching a spot in the state tournament as well as Basketball winning 10 games in a row. (0:00) Introduction (2:50) News Of The Week Intro (3:43) Basketball Results (9:38) Bowling Results (11:39) Hockey Results (12:54) Swimming Results (16:31) Wrestling Results (26:28) Indoor Track Results (30:41) Fencing Results (34:25) This Week's Schedule (36:13) Marauder Player Of The Week Award News (37:52) Closing Thoughts --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/stateofthemarauders/message

"He's just mad at me cause I'm not trying to f&*k": Police Bodycam of Exotic Dancer in Stolen Car On October 27, 2023 at around 7:40 PM Officer Joseph Fuardo with the Secaucus Police Department observed a gray colored Honda CRV swerving on the road with no lights on. As Officer Fuardo began his investigation he noted that the vehicle had a single white female occupant within. A check of the vehicle registration revealed the vehicle to be stolen out of Patterson, NJ. As Officer Fuardo prepared to conduct a felony stop on the vehicle he awaited additional backup officers. Once backup arrived a felony traffic stop was initiated. While attempting to instruct the driver to exit the vehicle, the vehicle began backing, colliding with the push bumper of Ofc. Fuardo's police vehicle. Eventually, the driver of the vehicle, later identified as Rosemary Torres, was removed and detained as the sole occupant of the vehicle. Torres stated upon exiting the vehicle: “I didn't know the car was stolen, he didn't tell me it was stolen. He's just mad at me cause I'm not trying to fuck”. Torres was secured in the rear of a police vehicle while the investigation into the recovery of the stolen vehicle was conducted. While in custody, Torres made statements to another on-scene officer that the owner of the vehicle had left the keys on the table at the strip club. Torres stated “I saw it, I took it” with regard to the vehicle keys left on the table at the strip club. Further conversation with Torres revealed that she dances at the club where the theft occurred, Sunrise Sports Go Go Strip Club in Patterson, NJ. Officer Fuardo then, in furtherance of his investigation conducted field sobriety tests on Torres in which the video shows Torres being unable to follow instructions or balance herself several times. Torres is then placed back into the rear of the police vehicle. No charges for DWI were placed against her in reference to this incident. Torres was eventually transported to the police station for processing and later remanded to the Hudson County jail for an outstanding warrant and a new charge of receiving stolen property for being in possession of the stolen vehicle. It does not appear at this time that Torres has been charged by Patterson for the actual theft of the vehicle.

"He's just mad at me cause I'm not trying to f&*k": Police Bodycam of Exotic Dancer in Stolen Car On October 27, 2023 at around 7:40 PM Officer Joseph Fuardo with the Secaucus Police Department observed a gray colored Honda CRV swerving on the road with no lights on. As Officer Fuardo began his investigation he noted that the vehicle had a single white female occupant within. A check of the vehicle registration revealed the vehicle to be stolen out of Patterson, NJ. As Officer Fuardo prepared to conduct a felony stop on the vehicle he awaited additional backup officers. Once backup arrived a felony traffic stop was initiated. While attempting to instruct the driver to exit the vehicle, the vehicle began backing, colliding with the push bumper of Ofc. Fuardo's police vehicle. Eventually, the driver of the vehicle, later identified as Rosemary Torres, was removed and detained as the sole occupant of the vehicle. Torres stated upon exiting the vehicle: “I didn't know the car was stolen, he didn't tell me it was stolen. He's just mad at me cause I'm not trying to fuck”. Torres was secured in the rear of a police vehicle while the investigation into the recovery of the stolen vehicle was conducted. While in custody, Torres made statements to another on-scene officer that the owner of the vehicle had left the keys on the table at the strip club. Torres stated “I saw it, I took it” with regard to the vehicle keys left on the table at the strip club. Further conversation with Torres revealed that she dances at the club where the theft occurred, Sunrise Sports Go Go Strip Club in Patterson, NJ. Officer Fuardo then, in furtherance of his investigation conducted field sobriety tests on Torres in which the video shows Torres being unable to follow instructions or balance herself several times. Torres is then placed back into the rear of the police vehicle. No charges for DWI were placed against her in reference to this incident. Torres was eventually transported to the police station for processing and later remanded to the Hudson County jail for an outstanding warrant and a new charge of receiving stolen property for being in possession of the stolen vehicle. It does not appear at this time that Torres has been charged by Patterson for the actual theft of the vehicle.

Some more end of season awards to talk about as the HCIAL announced the soccer division all-team recipients with the winter season just around the corner. We will preview the Bowling season by having our two senior captains, Rocco Barone '24 and Andrew Diaz '24. Plus, we recapped the fall season and previewed the winter season with Athletic Director Rich Hansen on the AD's Corner. Timestamps: (0:00) Introduction (3:54) News Of The Week Intro (5:39) Cross Country Northeast Race Results (6:33) Soccer Hudson County Awards (8:05) Winter Tryouts Underway (8:30) Bowling Preview (10:27) Bowling Interview w/ Rocco Barone & Andrew Diaz (16:17) AD's Corner (42:12) Closing Thoughts Join our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/StateOfTheMarauders --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/stateofthemarauders/message

This is the All Local 6am update for Friday, November 24th, 2023.

A story of unimaginable trauma, unwavering courage, and the transformative power of #justice and support. As a young girl, Krystan endured the horrific reality of domestic abuse at the hands of her stepfather. His violence extended to her mother, culminating in a chilling act of arson – he set her mother on fire. ▷ A Childhood Marred by Fear and Violence Krystan's childhood was a far cry from the safe and nurturing environment every child deserves. Her stepfather's abusive behavior created an atmosphere of constant fear and insecurity. The physical, emotional, and psychological torment he inflicted left deep scars on Krystan's young mind. Despite the fear that gripped her, Krystan knew she couldn't remain silent. She sought justice for herself and her mother by pursuing legal action against her stepfather. This decision marked the beginning of a daunting journey, but Krystan was determined to find her voice and reclaim her life. ▷ A Landmark Court Case and a Beacon of Hope with one time Prosector Bob Bianchi Krystan's case found its way to the courtroom, where she faced the daunting task of confronting her abuser and recounting the harrowing details of her ordeal. With the unwavering support of former prosecutor Robert Bianchi, a champion of victims' rights, Krystan bravely stepped forward to seek justice. The trial was a grueling process, demanding Krystan's resilience and determination. Yet, she stood tall, her voice resonating with the truth of her experiences, despite the remembrance of the terrible act of violence on Krystan's, leading to her mother's untimely death. Bob Bianchi's expertise and unwavering commitment to justice proved invaluable, guiding Krystan through the complexities of the legal system. In the end, Krystan's courage and Bob's unwavering support in the law cumulated in a moment of justice. Her stepfather was convicted and sentenced to prison, marking a significant victory for Krystan and her mother. But beyond the legal outcome, Krystan's case served as a beacon of hope for other survivors of domestic abuse. ▷ Bob Bianchi: A Pillar of Support Throughout Krystan's journey, Bob Bianchi and his team remained a steadfast pillar of support. He recognized the profound trauma she had endured and provided her with the emotional and legal guidance she needed to navigate the complexities of her case. Overcoming Trauma and Finding Hope Krystan's story is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit. Despite the trauma she endured, she emerged from her experience stronger and more determined. Her journey is a reminder that healing is possible, even in the face of unimaginable adversity. A Message of Hope and Healing Krystan's message is one of hope and empowerment for survivors of domestic abuse. She encourages victims to seek help, reminding them that they are not alone. Her story is a powerful call to action, urging us to stand with victims and fight for their justice. ▷ Resources for Survivors of Domestic Abuse If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic abuse, there are resources available to help. Here are a few organizations that can provide support: State of #NewJersey Department of Children & Families https://www.nj.gov/dcf/women/hotlines/ The National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233 The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence: https://ncadv.org/ The National Resource Center on Domestic Violence: https://www.thehotline.org/ Together, we can break the silence and create a world free from #domesticviolence. With Your Host Bob Bianchi and David Bruno #NothingButTheTruth "I had the privilege of meeting Mr. Bianchi during a murder trial when he was a prosecutor in Hudson County. I was able to witness first hand how he handled the case with integrity, honesty, and a tireless commitment to his client's well-being. Now Mr. Bianchi and his team of former prosecutors turned criminal defense lawyers embodies an exceptional blend of experience and unwavering dedication to their clients and the principles of the justice. If you are in need of legal representation, their services are highly recommended for their commitment to justice and their outstanding track record of delivering top-tier legal support." Krystan Williams 

For the first time since 2019, the Soccer Team defeated Kearny in the Hudson County Final and became the Hudson County Champions while the Cross-Country Team won Hudson County for the 7th consecutive year. We discussed everything that happened within the program this week and also revealed the winner of the Marauder Player Of The Week Award this week with the candidates revealed for next week's award. Timestamps: (0:00) Introduction (3:58) Soccer Recap & Highlights (19:31) Cross Country Recap (22:40) News Of The Week Intro (24:25) Water Polo Recap (25:04) Crew Recap (26:22) Football Recap & Scoring Plays (31:36) Turning Point Of The Game (32:47) Offense (34:46) Defense (35:57) Seton Hall Preview (39:00) Rest Of The News (39:44) What's On The Docket (40:51) Player Of The Week Award (44:08) Closing Thoughts --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/stateofthemarauders/message

Gianni and Milly-May McLaughlin, the creators of the award-winning independent mob film "Bless Me Father," join the Burn Down Podcast to share their unique story and how they made their own movie.   In August 2020, when their lavish destination wedding was canceled due to the pandemic, Gianni and Milly-May McLaughlin decided to use the money to pursue their passion for filmmaking. Their debut feature film, "Bless Me Father," set primarily in Hudson County, New Jersey, follows Vinny Dapello, a hitman for the New Jersey Italian Mob who is killing the same man who killed his father. Vinny, portrayed by Gianni, confesses his sins, and unveils the dirty history of his life. The film is also unique as the cast is comprised entirely of family and friends; a technique known as neorealism.   "Bless Me Father" is competing with larger, better-funded studio films on Amazon Prime. It has won multiple awards at both domestic and international film festivals. In 2022, it was named "New Jersey's Film of the Year!".   “Bless Me Father” is available to rent or buy on Amazon Prime Video. Rent or buy it now! LINK: https://www.amazon.com/Bless-Me-Father-Gianni-McLaughlin/dp/B0C54FN6R2   Order Our Cigar! - The Blueprint  https://www.burndownpodcast.com/the-blueprint-cigar Become a member on our website! Exclusive discounts & giveaways! https://www.burndownpodcast.com/

In 2020, a mission-driven group of volunteers from across the construction industry came together with the goal of saving lives. They collaborated to launch the inaugural Suicide Prevention Week for the industry — a week dedicated to raising awareness about the higher-than-average number of suicides in the construction industry, and to providing resources to help prevent those deaths.Every year, during September — National Suicide Prevention Month — the construction industry will dedicate a week to raising awareness about the unique challenges workers face in construction that lead to suicide and what we can do to prevent it.Join Liz, Hamilton and Chris Lalevee as they discuss the difficulties construction workers face and how he is working to change the system.ABOUT CHRIS in his own words:As for me, I spent many years in the field on cranes. Land, water, mobile and tower. I throughly enjoy what I do. I was asked to work in our referral hall, where I worked for 8 years. Now out as a business agent, in the Hudson County area, I work with our contractors, new contractors & our members on turning out the best in the heavy equipment industry. I also run a program within our union called MAP. This stands for Member Assistance Program. Together with a team of peers, we assist members in getting help for various life issues such as mental health & addiction. I truthfully love doing this and know that helping people is my true calling. I'm always looking to collaborate, present, assist, etc with anything you and/or your company may need. An uncomfortable subject? , yes. Much needed? ABSOLUTELY!Feel free to reach out to me about speaking on these uncomfortable but very real topics and their effect on the construction industry. Available for safety meetings, kick off meetings, conventions, etc.My passion and goal is to raise awareness, inspire and help those in need throughout the construction industry.A healthy workforce is a productive workforce and Local 825 strives to make that possible through constant training, care for our members & contractors as well as possessing the skills needed to bring your jobs in ahead of time and ahead of budget.Reach out and let's talk about how this skilled workforce of over 8000 members, can help you succeed.Follow me:Twitter: CLaleveeInstagram: chris_lalevee

We welcome civil trial attorney Michael Warshaw to the NJ Criminal Podcast. Michael began his career clerking at the courthouse in Hudson County.

Here are some things you might have done. First, you might have heard James Urbaniak as the voice of Dr. Venture in the hit animated series, The Venture Bros. Secondly, you might have seen James acting in The Fabelmans, Difficult People, Henry Fool, and American Splendor. Thirdly, and most importantly for our program, you may have wished to know a lot more about what it's like to spend one's early childhood in Bayonne, New Jersey. Fortunately, James is with us to fill you in and extensively on that third point. As you listen to James's mellifluous voice and prepare to drift off to sleep, you will gain knowledge of what it's like to be dispatched to the deli to retrieve a pound of bologna.Hey Sleepy Heads, is there anyone whose voice you'd like to drift off to, or do you have suggestions on things we could do to aid your slumber? Email us at:  sleepwithcelebs@maximumfun.org.Follow the Show on:Instagram @sleepwcelebsTwitter @SleepWithCelebsTikTok @SleepWithCelebsJohn is on Twitter @johnmoe.John's acclaimed, best-selling memoir, The Hilarious World of Depression, is now available in paperback.Join | Maximum FunIf you like one or more shows on MaxFun, and you value independent artists being able to do their thing, you're the perfect person to become a MaxFun monthly member. 

The playoffs continue at Grand and Warren as the Baseball, Track and Tennis Teams are Hudson County Champions with the Lacrosse Regular Season ending and the state playoffs are about to begin program wide. We will break down what to expect in Marauder Land and we will also break down who won this week's edition of the Marauder Player Of The Week plus reveal who are the candidates for next week's award. (0:39) Initial Thoughts (3:11) News Of The Week (7:04) Tennis Results (10:15) Baseball & Lacrosse Results (23:42) Lacrosse Analysis (Featuring Ignacio Marro '25) (28:03) Volleyball, Track & Crew Results (40:55) Marauder Player Of The Week Award & New Nominees (44:24) Closing Thoughts --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/stateofthemarauders/message

Another big week for our Marauders as the Crew Team makes history, Tennis and Baseball with great weeks overall against Hudson County foes, and the Lacrosse team gets a victory after it was declared a loss. We will break down the rest of what happened in Marauder Land and we will also break down who won this week's edition of the Marauder Player Of The Week plus reveal who are the candidates for next week's award. (0:00) Initial Thoughts (2:23) News Of The Week (8:54) Golf & Tennis Results (12:17) Baseball & Lacrosse Results (26:23) SOTM Hotline Featuring Ignacio Marro '25 & Jackson Briamonte '25 (29:45) Volleyball, Track & Crew Results (34:28) State Of The Marauders Sports Reporters Club Announcement (35:31) Marauder Player Of The Week Award & New Nominees (37:20) Closing Thoughts --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/stateofthemarauders/message

Welcome Back From The Spring Break as The Track Team Wins The Hudson County Relays once again and Pat Laguerre gets his 300th win as the Baseball Team had a split week overall. We will break down everything that happened in Marauder Land and we will also break down who won the first spring edition of the Marauder Player Of The Week plus reveal who are the candidates for the next edition of the award. (0:00) Initial Thoughts (2:57) News Of The Week (10:12) Golf & Tennis Results (13:27) Baseball & Lacrosse Results (20:24) SOTM Hotline Featuring Ignacio Marro '25 (25:40) Volleyball & Track Results (38:59) State Of The Marauders Sports Reporters Club Announcement (39:27) Marauder Player Of The Week Award & New Nominees (41:57) Closing Thoughts --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/stateofthemarauders/message

We will talk about the upcoming baseball season as expectations remain high again at Grand and Warren coming off a Hudson County Title and the Marauders looking to make noise in the state as well. Also, we will talk about the news of the week in Marauder land as tryouts are beginning for the spring season and we will bring back Sports Reporters Ignacio Marro '25 and Jackson Briamonte '25 to give us their perspective on the upcoming Lacrosse season as they start scrimmages next week! (1:04) Initial Thoughts (2:36) News Of The Week (10:20) Lacrosse Analysis (21:48) Baseball Preview (38:48) State Of The Marauders Sports Reporters Club Announcement (39:18) Closing Thoughts --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/stateofthemarauders/message

Your Basketball Marauders are back on top of the county Mount Olympus as they regain the county title for the first time since 2020 as they defeated Hudson Catholic 61-46. We will break down everything from their path to the title as well as talk about how our wrestlers did in their district tournament (hint, very well), how our tracksters did at the Non-Public A Championships, and how the rest of the program did this week. We will also reveal who won this week's Marauder Player Of The Week award and reveal 5 new candidates for next week's award. (1:57) Initial Thoughts (3:43) News Of The Week (7:58) Hockey Results & Analysis (9:46) Basketball Results & Analysis (26:08) Wrestling Results (32:46) Swimming & Track Results (38:42) Fencing & Bowling Results (40:59) State Of The Marauders Sports Reporters Club Announcement (41:38) Marauder Player Of The Week Winner & New Nominees (44:24) Closing Thoughts --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/stateofthemarauders/message

We all go through it - relationship ruts. Are you in one now? Listen to this if you are trying to get past your rut or trying to prevent one from happening!John Ryan De Oca is a relationship expert and board-certified Nurse Practitioner and Nurse Coach residing in Hudson County, NJ. He offers more than 10 years of experience in the healthcare industry with his ultimate passion being in relationships. Instagram @therelationshipprescriberWebsite https://www.therelationshipprescriber.com/________________________________________________________________Did you love this episode? BUY ME A COFFEE for support!Find me on Instagram@balkanina@mamaknowspodcastFind me on TikTokBalkaninaSubscribe to my NewsletterPrivate Facebook Motherhood-Podcast CommunityMama Knows FBDisclaimer: This podcast does not provide any medical advice, it is for informational purposes only!

Air Date 1/3/2022 Today, we take a look at the emerging implementation of facial recognition technology in public and commercial spaces along with the tracking and "amplifagandizing" capabilities of TikTok Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com  Transcript BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Get AD FREE Shows and Bonus Content) Join our Discord community! SHOW NOTES Ch. 1: Twitter, Facial Recognition and the First Amendment - The Lawfare Podcast - Air Date 4-15-21 This week on Arbiters of Truth, the Lawfare Podcast's miniseries on our online information ecosystem, Evelyn Douek and Quinta Jurecic spoke with Jameel Jaffer and Ramya Krishnan of the Knight First Amendment Institute. Ch. 2: Addressing the TikTok Threat Part 1 - Your Undivided Attention - Air Date 9-8-22 TikTok, the flagship app of the Chinese company Bytedance, recently surpassed Google and Facebook as the most popular site on the internet in 2021, and is expected to reach more than 1.8 billion users by the end of 2022. Ch. 3: https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/lifematters/privacy,-your-face-and-the-rise-of-facial-recognition/13946990 Several large retailers, including Kmart and Bunnings, already use facial recognition technology in their stores – collecting biometric data that is as unique as a fingerprint – but are customers aware of how their facial data is being captured and used? Ch. 4: NJ Legal Rights & NYPD's Facial Recognition Technology - The Brian Lehrer Show - Air Date 9-30-22 Alexander Shalom, senior supervising attorney and director of Supreme Court advocacy at the ACLU-NJ, talks about the implications of a case in Hudson County, NJ, where a suspect was identified using the NYPD's facial recognition technology. Ch. 5: The problem with banning TikTok - Vox - Air Date 8-29-20 TikTok's in trouble. But so is the internet as we know it. Ch. 6: Are You Feeding a Powerful Facial Recognition Algorithm? - NOVA PBS Official - Air Date 4-23-21 Facial recognition technology has great potential to help law enforcement identify suspects. But collecting and storing data from online photos has raised concern among critics. Ch. 7: Addressing the TikTok Threat Part 2 - Your Undivided Attention - Air Date 9-8-22 Ch. 8: Why Facial Recognition Technology Is So Dangerous - Second Thought - Air Date 7-3-20 Government crackdowns, hyper-personalized ads, real-time location tracking of citizens. Mass surveillance is a growing threat in the modern world. In this episode, we'll take a look at why it's so dangerous. MEMBERS-ONLY BONUS CLIP(S) Ch. 9: The Real Danger Of ChatGPT - Nerwriter1 - Air Date 12-30-22 The Nerdwriter is a series of video essays about art, culture, politics, philosophy and more. Ch. 10: Hustle / Grind Alpha Bro vs. Random ChatGPT Guy - Andrew Rousso - Air Date 12-13-22 Inside everyone, there are two wolves but inside me... there are three. FINAL COMMENTS Ch. 11: Final comments on the new ad system for the show MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions): Opening Theme: Loving Acoustic Instrumental by John Douglas Orr  Voicemail Music: Low Key Lost Feeling Electro by Alex Stinnent Activism Music: This Fickle World by Theo Bard (https://theobard.bandcamp.com/track/this-fickle-world) Closing Music: Upbeat Laid Back Indie Rock by Alex Stinnent   Produced by Jay! Tomlinson Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com Listen Anywhere! BestOfTheLeft.com/Listen Listen Anywhere! Follow at Twitter.com/BestOfTheLeft Like at Facebook.com/BestOfTheLeft Contact me directly at Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com

All Local Morning for 12/01/22

Wayne Cabot has the top stories from the WCBS newsroom, including the death of a Yonkers Police Sergeant, numerous fires occurring in Hudson County, New Jersey, and 5th Ave. in Midtown's first ever ban on cars this holiday season. 

Renato and Justin breakdown the Marauders' 42-27 defeat to Bergen Catholic and talk about the rest of the program, including Cross-Country winning the Hudson County Title, Water Polo taking on Pingry, Soccer finishing up their Hudson County schedule, and the results from Crew's Overpeck Fall Classic last week. They also revealed this week's Marauder Player Of The Week as well as the nominees for next week's award. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/stateofthemarauders/message

Jose Lisa, robert, Rosario, Julio, Moncayo, and Tiza… for top real estate agent in the Hudson County area we had lunch and talked about the good old days and what's happening now here's a sneak peek for what's coming in the real estate junkie secrets --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/realestatejunkiesecrets/message

In this episode you'll meet Maureen Recalde, an Administrative Business Partner at Google! You'll learn about her story, how she found her voice, how being diagnosed with ADHD changed how she operates as an admin, her perspective on the evolution of the admin role, what class she believes all admins and execs should take, and so much more!---Maureen joined Google as part of the Looker acquisition in March 2020, about a week before COVID lockdowns. Before joining Google, she worked as an EA at Shoretel (now Mitel), Amazon, CBS Interactive/CNET Networks, among other wonderful organizations.Maureen was born and raised in Queens, NY to Ecuadorian parents, but now calls Hudson County, NJ home. Outside of work, she enjoys the simple pleasures of binge watching a multitude of shows (both old and new), responding to conversation using song lyrics and the never ending quest of trying to find a hobby that sticks. Note all of these activities are mostly done with her multi-generational family that all live under one roof… did I mention 3 dogs.You can find and connect with Maureen on LinkedIn here.--Website: www.morethananadmin.com Email: team@morethananadmin.comInstagram | Twitter | LinkedIn | TikTokAbout Host: Mallory Rothstein - www.malloryismore.com Instagram | LinkedIn | Twitter *Disclaimer: This podcast reflects the views of the host and guests, not any of their current or former employers.*

Renato and Justin breakdown the Marauders' 35-26 defeat to #1 Don Bosco and talk about the rest of the program, including Soccer continuing to face Hudson County teams as the county tournament starts next week, Water Polo taking on Pingry, Cross-Country competing in Holmdel, and Crew competing in the Head Of The Riverfront. They also revealed this week's Marauder Player Of The Week as well as the nominees for next week's award. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/stateofthemarauders/message

Alexander Shalom, senior supervising attorney and director of Supreme Court advocacy at the ACLU-NJ, talks about the implications of a case in Hudson County, NJ, where a suspect was identified using the NYPD's facial recognition technology. The NJCLU has filed an amicus brief on behalf of the suspect's request for more information on how the identification was done.

1993-94 How did I survive? Money was drying up and I knew I had to make some sort of income. I started with some peppermint patty machines and went door-knocking in the Hudson County area… I met a guy from Pepsi-Cola who gave me free machines, On one condition I buy him an expensive steak lunch once a month. It was like meeting VITO from the Sopranos… Forget about it! jajajaja Life in NJ was always crazy, never a dull moment... I love jersey.... #hoboken #vendingmachines #derbyperez #section8offices #realestateagenttraining #coaching #realestatescripts #prospecting #realestatementor #realestateleads #leadgeneration #realestatepresentations #objectionhandling #overcomingobjections #howtogetlistings #youtuberealestate #newrealestateagentguide #newrealtortraining #realestatecoaching #newrealestatetraining --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/realestatejunkiesecrets/message

Kathleen Smith's first career was as a lawyer, particularly an assistant prosecutor working in juvenile justice in New Jersey's Hudson County. Smith loved her work, but after giving birth to the second of her three children her career became overwhelming, and she gave it up to raise them. After fifteen years away from her industry, Smith found herself with no connections and no idea what to do next. Feeling stuck, she decided to reach out to other women in the same predicament for inspiration. She traveled around the country interviewing women on video, a project that grew into the lifestyle website MorphMom.com. Smith went on to teach classes and speak at conferences before launching a radio show, a podcast, and most recently a television show. Listen in to her conversation with CoveyClub founder,  Lesley Jane Seymour, to learn how she handled the challenges of starting all over from scratch and mastered working from home in a post-Covid world. Smith also shares her advice for starting your own business and for avoiding the mistakes most people make when first stepping into entrepreneurship.  FREE GIFT! Don't start your reinvention without downloading CoveyClub's starter guide called “31 Badass Tips for Launching Your Reinvention Without Fear!”   Bio: Kathleen Butler Smith is the founder of morphmom.com. After graduating from Holy Cross and from Georgetown Law, she served as an Assistant Prosecutor in Hudson County, New Jersey for six years. She stopped working following the birth of her second child, and later discovered that re-entering the workforce would be difficult. Kathleen quickly noticed that she was not alone and that there were, in fact, many women who found themselves in a similar position, struggling to discover their next step, be it work related, volunteer-based, or simply rediscovering their passion. She began to chronicle the inspirational stories of women (whom she named "Morphmoms") who had managed to chart their own course with the hope of helping other women do the same. Since its launch in 2012, Morphmom has become a platform to promote and to support these women and their remarkable stories. Kathleen and her husband, Jim, have three children in various stages of leaving the nest.   Key Links: Website Facebook LinkedIn Instagram Twitter   Join CoveyClub: If you like what you hear, you can support the CoveyCast podcast with a five-star rating, and subscribe to CoveyClub for more inspiring conversations. 

The right resources will get you going, But the right mindset will get you far.   Jason A. Duprat, Entrepreneur, Healthcare Practitioner, and Host of the Healthcare Entrepreneur Academy podcast, sits down with Noha Polack, accomplished board-certified pediatrician and owner of Progressive Pediatrics. From working for a bankrupt business to growing her own, Noha's story is an inspiration for all entrepreneurs. Tune in to learn about the life lessons she'd developed over years of trial and error.   3 KEY POINTS: Build your brand. Hire the right people. Always go beyond when serving clients.   EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS: 22 years ago, Noha decided to create her own work environment after experiencing unfavorable working conditions. Marketing was different back then. Noha did face-to-face speaking engagements in childbirth education classes to market herself. Back in 2009. Noha took on a mutual friend's business and grew it significantly. Noha boosted her Social Media presence through YouTube videos and Facebook Live videos. Find a superstar for your front desk with an intelligent, understanding, and eloquent voice. Find physicians who mesh with your mindset so there's consistency in your practice. When hiring people, no one finds the right fit right away. It takes a little trial and error. When hiring, ask them what they want from the job besides money. If money is all they want, that's not the right fit. Post about other things aside from your primary practice. Noha highly recommends listening to the EntreMD Podcast by Dr. Una, as she considers it to be greatly instrumental in her journey. To avoid burnout, remember to take care of your health by taking frequent rests.   TWEETABLE QUOTES: “Go one or two steps beyond what others are doing.” – Noha Polack “You can go and make money anywhere, but if you don't enjoy the work, it's unlikely you're going to be good at it or stick to it.” – Noha Polack   CONNECT WITH JASON DUPRAT LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram | Youtube Email: support@jasonduprat.com   ABOUT THE GUEST Noha Polack, MD, is an accomplished board-certified pediatrician in Hudson County and proud owner of Progressive Pediatrics. Dr. Polack was an employed physician since 1996 before her employer went bankrupt and soon decided to start her own private practice in the year 2000. Twenty-two years later, she grew Progressive Pediatrics from solo to 5 providers and two locations.   CONNECT WITH THE GUEST LinkedIn (Noha Polack) - https://www.linkedin.com/in/noha-polack-b402b212/ Founded company (Progressive Pediatrics) https://progressivepediatrics.com Youtube (Progressive Pediatrics) - https://www.youtube.com/c/ProgressivePediatrics   RESOURCES Want to become an IV Nutritional Therapy provider? JOIN our FREE masterclass: https://www.ivtherapyacademy.com/podcast Have a healthcare business question? Want to request a podcast topic? Text me at 407-972-0084 and I'll add you to my contacts. Occasionally, I'll share important announcements and answer your questions as well. I'm excited to connect with you! Do you enjoy our podcast? Leave a rating and review: https://lovethepodcast.com/hea Don't want to miss an episode? Subscribe and follow: https://followthepodcast.com/hea   RELATED EPISODES: #258: How To Hire the Best Candidates for Your Business - https://jasonduprat.com/listen/2022/06/14/how-to-hire-the-best-candidates-for-your-business/ #94: Tactical Tuesday: Marketing Your Business During The Coronavirus - https://jasonduprat.com/listen/2020/04/14/94-tactical-tuesday-marketing-your-business-during-the-coronavirus/ #241: Tactical Tuesday: 5 Ways To Scale & Expand Your Business Market - https://jasonduprat.com/listen/2022/03/29/241-tactical-tuesday-5-ways-to-scale-expand-your-business-market/   #HealthcareEntrepreneurAcademy #healthcare #HealthcareBoss #entrepreneur #entrepreneurship #podcast #businessgrowth #teamgrowth #digitalbusiness

Ann Lewis has had a legendary career as a Democratic strategist...from her time as Communications Director in the Clinton White House...as a Senior Advisor to Hillary Clinton's 2000 Senate run and both 08 & 16 Presidentials...to her time as a Senate Chief of Staff and working at institutions like Planned Parenthood, the DNC, ADA, & more. In this conversation...Ann talks growing up in New Jersey in the shadow of the Hudson County Democratic machine, key moments in her career path as a woman in politics in the 1970s and 80s, intersecting with Bill and Hillary Clinton in the 80s, her work in both the Clinton White House and Clinton campaigns for 20+ years, and her best practices for smart communication strategies.IN THIS EPISODE…Ann grows up in New Jersey in a family who instilled in her the importance of politics…Ann's early political memories of Harry Truman's upset win in 1948…Ann talks the Hudson County, NJ political machine of her youth…A political light-bulb goes off for Ann when canvassing for JFK…Ann talks the challenges of working up the political ladder as a woman in the 1970s and 80s…Ann goes deep on the her time working for Hillary Clinton's 2000 Senate race…Ann on the importance of Americans for Democratic Action…Ann talks her time as campaign manager and Chief of Staff for Senator Barbara Mikulski…Ann first crosses path with Bill & Hillary Clinton in the early 1980s…Ann gets to know then-First Lady Hillary Clinton in 1994…Ann gets pulled into the 1996 Clinton Presidential…Ann's time as Communication Directions in the White House, including during the Clinton Impeachment saga…Ann's communications best practices…Ann's involvement in the '08 and '16 Hillary Clinton Presidentials…Ann talks Bill Clinton's legendary retail skills and Hillary Clinton's intellect…Ann talks growing up with her brother, and fellow legendary political figure, Congressman Barney Frank…Ann's advice to the next generation of political operatives…AND Aunt Fanny, the Baltimore Museum of Art, basement offices, battlefield promotions, Bayonne, blankety-blank campaigns, George H.W. Bush, chattering classes, childish bullies, the Clinton Library, cocktail parties, the Colossus of Rhodes, Democratic Majority for Israel, Thomas Dewey, Bob Dole, Facebook, Fells Point, flaming parachutes, Boss Hague, the George Washington Bridge, Newt Gingrich, Rudy Giuliani, Margaret Hague, Jesse Helms, Harold Ickes, Jewish Women for Hillary, Junior Advisors, John Kennedy, Rick Lazio, Nita Lowey, Chuck Manatt, Mac Mathias, moderate ethnics, Pat Moynihan, the New York Post, Richard Nixon, NOW, one-and-a-half computers, Norm Ornstein, George Pataki, Planned Parenthood, Charlie Rangel, Joe Rauh, Walter Reuther, Eleanor Roosevelt, Adlai Stevenson, sturdy women, third wives, tugboats, the Unpleasantness, upstate winegrowers, Henry Wallace, Anne Wexler, Maggie Williams, the Women's Political Caucus & more!

HBB Group is a real estate team in Hoboken, New Jersey. They specialize in luxury rentals and sales across Hudson, Essex and Bergen County. The team has over 10 years of experience and they're looking to help out clients with all their real estate needs. The HBB Group is eagar to do more for their clients by always providing above and beyond expectations.Whether you are selling your home or searching for that amazing next place to call your own, you deserve to work with someone local that you trust, who has your best interests in mind, and works with integrity. Our goal is to bring sellers and buyers together harmoniously to get you to the next place you are going! We are well versed in Hoboken & Jersey City, Hudson County and will work hard to make sure that you are completely satisfied. In this market, you really need to work with an agent with their finger on the pulse, that knows what property values are going for, and are fully immersed in the process. We have the knowledge, experience, and dedication that it takes to get results. We promise to work incredibly hard to sell your home and or find you a great new one in a timely fashion all the while keeping it a pleasurable experience, not a painful one!  We look forward to working with you to determine the best solution for your needs.

We talk to Hudson County Community College about how they are helping students succeed with their Hudson Scholars Program. Guests include: Dr. Christopher Reber, Hudson County Community College (HCCC) president HCCC student Latisha Straker Dr. Gretchen Schulthes, associate director, advising and transfer John Urgola, institutional effectiveness coordinator Some supporting data:  Fall 2021 Hudson Scholars | Fall-to-Spring Retention Fall 2021 Hudson Scholars | Meetings and Stipends 2021-2022 Hudson Scholars Return on Investment

We talk about this week's results for the program, including Tennis winning the Hudson County Title for the first time since 2019, the Crew Team competing in Nationals, and the Track Underclassmen competing in the NJCTC Frosh Novice Championships. We also reveal who is the winner for the State Of The Marauders Player Of The Week Award and announce who are this week's nominees. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/stateofthemarauders/message

Dean's determination, ambition, and creativity are vital parts of his make-up. Dean has sold over $150 million in personal sales since 2012. Dean has an innate ability to give his clients the confidence they need to make the right decisions for them and their families. He enjoys spending quality time with his wife, Ashley and daughters, Demi and Hadley. He most enjoys his active lifestyle and currently resides on the Gold Cast, giving him a personal connection to the area. He is passionate about creating an experience for buyers and sellers because he lives where he sells. Dean Clark's knowledge and expertise in Real Estate is second to none. Dean's finance background gave him the rare ability to launch himself into the Real Estate industry with ease and in short order. He brings a strategic yet personable approach to the home buying and home selling process. With his market savvy and bottom-line oriented attitude, he knows how to get real results for his clients. Drawing from years of experience as a sales professional, Dean has built a reputation for his refreshingly friendly customer care, high energy, proven ability to guide sellers to obtain the best value for their dream home, and to assist sellers to a smooth, stress-free sale of their home. Dean has extensive knowledge of the different cities and neighborhoods in Hudson County and Lower Bergen County; including the rules and regulations of new developments along the Hudson. Dean is also a Certified Relocation Specialist and a Certified Marketing Specialist. For more info about the Multi-Family Investment Club, visit https://my.captivate.fm/MFIclub.com (MFIclub.com)

Scott Somsel is a highly dedicated Real Estate Agent from Hoboken, NJ (Jersey City, Hudson County). In this episode, we talk about how Scott adapted throughout living in the pandemic, the foundation he works closely with, and the importance of helping small businesses within the community. Scott shares stories of the important influence his family shined upon him. To reach Scott Somsel: ssomsel@gmail.com scott@maridianrealestate.com Faundations: http://bestdayfoundation.org/ --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/dreaminspireobtain/support

Fajardo Jr. born in New York City, New York on January 29, 1972. Coming from a musical family, Fajardo Jr. became a musician playing congas at the age of 3, then Timbales at the age of 4. At that tender age, he began his musical journey with father " Jose Fajardo" leader of the band "Fajardo Y Sus Estrellas".Fajardo Jr. made his first TV appearance at the age of 3 in Miami. On his first tour, in 1977 at the age of 5, he and his father performed in Africa sponsored by RMM (Ralph Mercado Management). With his father at his side, he became knowledgeable in the world of music. He was destined to follow the Fajardo tradition. At the age of 6 Fajardo Jr. was already exposed to promoters and business giants, they referred to him as a prodigy child and nicknamed him EL NINO PRODIGIO. Earlier on in his childhood, his father would sit down with him and show him positions on the flute, he also tried to teach him how to read music to see if Fajardo Jr. could catch on and play like his father. In high school, Fajardo Jr. had the opportunity to study flute once again and began playing second flute chair in the concert band for Memorial High school. At this time, Fajardo Jr. was also Drum Captain for the school's Concert, Jazz and Marching bands. He was well liked and had is own fame in school as one of the best percussionist in Hudson County. “Nothing could take the place of my salsa music and the limelight.” Fajardo Jr. exclaimed. His first love was and will always remain his TIMBALES and percussion instruments.As a percussionist, he developed his own style by watching and learning from famous percussionists like Tito Puente, Johnny Almendra, Ralph Irizarry and others.Throughout the years Fajardo Jr. has had the privilege of performing along side the likes of Johnny Pacheco, Oscar D' Leon, Jose Alberto (El Canario), La Sonora Mantancera, Johnny Ray, Grupo Imagen, Luisito Carrion, Pedro Jesus, Cano Estremerra, Johnny Almendra, Tito Puente, Sheila E., Nino Segarra, Cachao and many more. Fajardo Jr. has also had the opportunity to travel with many of these artists to such places like Africa, Mexico, Canada, France, Martinique, Guadelupe, St. Marten, Germany, Russia, Holland, Colombia as well as throughout the United States. In New York and Miami he has performed in some of the most famous night clubs such as THE COPACABANA, LATIN QUARTERS, LA MAGANETTE, CASA BLANCA, THE PALM TREE, CLUB MYSTIQUE and more.Fajardo Jr. has appeared on recordings with artist such as Jose Fajardo (his father), Javier Vasquez (Sonora Mantancera), David Cedeno, Grupo Imagen, Glen Vargas, Felipe Mercado and more. In his career he has also appeared on TV shows such as "SIEMPRE EN DOMINGO", "EL SHOW DE ROLANDO BARRAL", "EL SHOW DE EL MEDIO DIA", "ACCESS HOLLYWOOD", "PRIMERA EDICION", "SALSA EN LA CALLE".Fajardo Jr. has become the musical director of his father's band FAJARDO Y SUS ESTRELLAS in 2001. This 6-11 piece latin band brings much excitement to the stage in any event. Besides performing latin music this band can also perform some american classics to satisfy all dancers alike.Bio Credit: The BashPodcast hosted byConcert Photographer Adrian Montanez & DJ Broadway!Support the show (https://cash.app/$AdrianLMontanez)

Host Renato Rodrigues ‘10 talks about the results from the past week in the program, including Basketball getting an out of state victory at the NJ vs. NY Showcase, Bowling continuing to dominate in Hudson County play and Wrestling dominating at the Pine Barren Duals. Ben Novosyolok ‘24 join us on the State Of The Marauders Hotline this week to give us his analysis on the Hockey Team. Rich Hansen is back with his segment of the AD's Corner to give us all of the updates on the state of the program. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/stateofthemarauders/message

Host Renato Rodrigues ‘10 talks about the results from the past week in the program, including Wrestling going to 2-0 on the year, Bowling continuing to dominate in Hudson County play and Hockey getting their 4th win of the season. Ben Novosyolok ‘24 and Kevin Connelly ‘16 join us on the State Of The Marauders Hotline this week to give us their analysis about the Hockey and Basketball weeks. Rich Hansen is back with his segment of the AD's Corner to give us all of the updates on the state of the program. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/stateofthemarauders/message

The Gate 15 Interview: RILA Perspective on Organized Retail Crime, plus Mama's Meatballs, Country Music and Jersey Rock n' RollIn this episode of The Gate 15 Interview, Andy Jabbour speaks with two leaders from the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA), Ms. Lisa LaBruno, RILA's Senior Executive Vice President of Retail Operations, and Mr. Michael Hanson, RILA's Senior Executive Vice President of Public Affairs. The RILA “is the U.S. trade association for leading retailers. RILA partners with leading retailers to meet the challenges of a dynamic economy. Through collaboration and thought leadership, we advance ideas that foster free markets, competition, economic growth, and sustainability.” RILA on Twitter, @RILATweeets.In the discussion we address: The enduring threat of Organized Retail Crime (ORC) Private sector activity relating to ORC Private-public partnership and legislative action on ORC RILA's focus for 2022 Country music, meatballs, Springsteen, and more! A few references mentioned in or relevant to our discussion include: RILA website - https://www.rila.org Real Estate Information Sharing and Analysis Center (RE-ISAC) RILA: CEOS Call on Congress to Address Surge of Retail Crime, 09 Dec 2021 The Buy Safe America Coalition Impact of Organized Retail Crime and Product Theft, Buy Safe America The INFORM Consumers Act of 2020, Buy Safe America Retailers Press Amazon to Back INFORM Consumers Act, Buy Safe America, 27 Aug 2020 Durbin, Cassidy, Grassley, Hirono, Coons, Tillis Introduce Bill to Ensure Greater Transparency for Third-Party Sellers of Consumer Products Online (The Integrity, Notification, and Fairness in Online Retail Marketplaces for Consumers [INFORM Consumers] Act), 23 Mar 2021 Amazon: INFORM Act punishes small businesses and favors one particular business model, 28 Apr 2021 Buy Safe release announcing the study: Retail Theft Balloons to over $68 Billion, Buy Safe America Homeland Security Express Concern on Retail Crime, Buy Safe America ‘What is organized retail crime? Organized retail crime (ORC) refers to professional shoplifting or other theft occurring in retail stores. These criminals are increasingly turning to online marketplaces to quickly and discretely move mass quantities of stolen merchandise. Unfortunately, these criminal rings are growing more brazen and violent, putting the safety of customers and store employees in jeopardy. Organized rings are often involved in other crimes within the community, including narcotics, money laundering and human trafficking.' – Buy Safe America, https://www.buysafeamerica.org/myth-vs-facts Lisa LaBruno is RILA's Senior Executive Vice President of Retail Operations. In this role, LaBruno leads RILA's efforts in the association's key retail disciplines including asset protection, store operations, supply chain and e-commerce. She directs all research initiatives, educational programming for the annual LINK and Retail Asset Protection conferences, and executive networking to promote operational excellence within the industry. She has 30 years of relevant experience in both the public and private sector, including as an assistant prosecutor (Hudson County, NJ), in-house attorney at the Archdiocese of Newark and in-house attorney at The Home Depot and serves on the Board of Directors of the Loss Prevention Foundation. Michael Hanson is RILA's Senior Executive Vice President of Public Affairs, overseeing the Association's government affairs and communications arms. Hanson is responsible for identifying the industry's top public policy challenges and working with both leading retailers and key stakeholders to elevate the industry in Washington, DC and across the country. Hanson most recently served as chief public policy officer at Sabre, a leading travel technology company, where he led legi

#002 - In this episode, Roxana Marroquin of Agua de Jade Apothecary shares about the journey of remembrance and reconnection in healing with ancestral medicines. And there is such a sweet radiance beaming in her relationship with the plants and how she connects with them directly from the heart. We first recorded this interview for the Plant Spirit Herbalism Summit, and it was such a gem of a discussion that I wanted to share it with you here.Roxana Marroquin (she/her/ella) is a spiritual herbalist, artist, art therapist, organizer and gardener. Trained under master herbalist Karen M. Rose of Sacred Vibes Apothecary, Roxana centers ancestral wisdom and Earth based spirituality in her herbal practice. Agua de Jade Apothecary is the vessel from which she creates and distributes herbal offerings, provides individual consultations, and facilitates sharing of knowledge among her community.Roxana has facilitated herbal knowledge shares (workshops) at GreenThumb's 34th Annual GrowTogether Conference, Annual NYC Spiritual Herbalism Conference, Make The Road NJ, The Youth Farm, and various other community gardens, organizations, coffee shops, and pop up locations around her community of Hudson County, NJ and beyond.A perpetual student of self, plants, and all her relations, Roxana is in a lifelong journey of remembrance and reconnection.You can find her at www.aguadejade.com and on IG @aguadejade.For more info, please visit: www.saraartemisia.com and IG @multidimensional.nature

Today we will be talking to Rob Menendez, a member of the Board of Commissioners of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. We will be discussing a major intermodal transit hub in Manhattan's Times Square, serving 65M people per year, known as the Port Authority Bus Terminal. Located in the heart of Times Square, this project is not only the nation's largest bus terminal but the busiest in the world. As Rob notes, the current plan for the project's expansion tackles the need to make transit more environmentally friendly in the face of the current climate crisis.In the last 24-hours, New York City has witnessed an unprecedented amount of rainfall with massive flooding overnight in the state as a result of Hurricane Ida. Join us on this week's episode as we speak to Rob about how he plans to tackle the rising concerns of the climate crisis, including what the future may hold for green bus transit. We will also discuss how he plans to coalesce the need for minimizing the harmful effects of carbon emissions with The Port Authority.About Rob MenendezRob Menendez is a lawyer by trade as well as being a counsel at Lowenstein Sandler, where he focuses on investment management clients, particularly early-stage companies. He also does pro-bono work through the Lowenstein Center for Public Interest, particularly in voter rights, and is a board member of the Hudson School in Hoboken. As the son of U.S. Senator Bob Menendez, he grew up in Hudson County and has always had a profound fascination for real estate and public policy. He seeks to incorporate design elements that will improve the experience of individuals by adhering to the latest and best trends of sustainable architecture.About your host: Atif Qadir is the Founder & CEO of REDIST, a technology company making it easy for commercial real estate professionals to find and use the $100B of real estate incentives given out every year in the US.Resources & Links:Connect with Rob on Lowstein Sandler.Learn more about Lowstein Sandler.Connect with The Port Authority on Instagram.Learn more about The Port Authority.Check out The Port Authority on LinkedInGrab our exclusive guide Seven Tips on How to Stand Out in Your FieldConnect with Host Atif Qadir on LinkedInFollow American Building on Instagram

In this episode, Jim McCloskey, MDiv '83, a lay minister and founder of Centurion, the first nonprofit dedicated to the vindication of the wrongly convicted, speaks to this question in his book, When Truth Is All You Have: A Memoir of Faith, Justice, and Freedom for the Wrongly Convicted. He shares his minister-turned-prisoner-advocate experience, which inspired author John Grisham's book, The Guardians. Listen to Jim's astonishing story of faith, justice, and liberation and how this work provides a beacon of hope for those seeking justice in a flawed judicial system.Jim McCloskey spent three years as a U.S. Naval Officer, including a year in Vietnam, subsequent to graduating from Bucknell University in 1964. He spent the next 12 years working for two different management consulting companies specializing in Japanese business affairs, the first in Tokyo and the second with the Hay Group in his hometown of Philadelphia. In 1979 Jim felt a call to leave the business world and enter the ministry. In 1983, upon graduating with a Master of Divinity degree from Princeton Theological Seminary and freeing an innocent man he met as a student chaplain at Trenton State Prison, Jim founded Centurion Ministries. After 35 years, although still a member of Centurion's Board of Trustees and still managing several cases he has been working on for years, Jim retired from the active management of Centurion's organizational affairs in May 2015. He is co-author of When Truth Is All You Have: A Memoir of Faith, Justice, and Freedom for the Wrongly Convicted, a book about Centurion's experiences with our nation's criminal justice system. Dayle Rounds (00:00:00): Have you ever been face-to-face with the truth in such a way that you just couldn't ignore it? In this episode, you will hear from Jim McCloskey, a lay minister and founder of Centurion, the first nonprofit dedicated to freeing individuals who are wrongly incarcerated. He talks with Sushama Austin-Connor about how he met a prisoner who insisted on his innocence, and why he decided to take a year off of seminary to work full-time towards this prisoner's freedom. You will not want to miss Jim's astonishing story of faith, justice, and liberation. Interlude (00:00:36): [percussion music + water droplet sound] Dayle Rounds (00:00:36): You are listening to The Distillery at Princeton Theological Seminary. Sushama Austin-Connor (00:00:40): Well, Jim, thanks so much for doing this. Princeton Seminary is obviously, for all the reasons, really excited to have this conversation with you and Continuing Education at Princeton Seminary. And me, of course, personally I'm just thrilled. And just, this is just a joy to be able to speak with you about your book and about Centurion Ministries, which means so much to the seminary and to me and to my family. Jim McCloskey (00:01:05): Well, thank you very much. So I've been looking forward to this ever since we had it scheduled with the seminary. Well, Princeton Theological Seminary has changed my life, and I might add the life of many others because it provided me with an opportunity. Although I had no idea what was around the corner of meeting the first person in whose innocence I came to believe which kicked off and inspired me to, to rather than going... ordained after I received my MDiv, which I did in 1983, to begin the work of Centurion Ministries to help free people who we believe are innocent, wrongly convicted, sentenced to life or death with pretty much no way of getting out, except for maybe our effort. Interlude (00:01:56): [water droplet sound] Sushama Austin-Connor (00:02:00): Amazing. I want to go back a little bit though, and start with life maybe right before you decided to enter seminary and going from business to seminary, what a huge deal that is. What a life changer that is. What were some of the thoughts that made you pivot from business to seminary life? Jim McCloskey (00:02:21): Well, I was 37 years old, living in the suburbs of Philadelphia and a working... employed by a management consulting firm in Philadelphia called Hay Associates, H-A-Y Associates. And my job was to build its business, its consulting business, with Japanese companies in the United States, and to eventually establish our office in Tokyo, Japan. The reason they hired me to do that was because I had spent the prior five or six years in Tokyo working for a Japanese joint venture consulting firm between American bank and the Japanese bank in aiding American firms, interested in entering the Japanese market. So I had that Japan background, so they brought me aboard. Everything was going well. Now, we're in the 1970s, from '74 to '79. I'm well in my thirties. And during that time the business was going well, I was making a good... you know, it was a nice salary position. I'm bringing in Japanese clients. But when you get underneath that surface, I was not happy with my personal life, with my conduct in my personal life. I had kind of gone off track. I was kind of like the prodigal son. And I was, for the first time in my adult life, I decided, you know, I got to start developing some spiritual element to my life 'cause that was lacking. And it was, there was a total void there. So I attended Paoli Presbyterian Church in Bailey, Pennsylvania, and the minister there, Dick Streeter, who is a Princeton Theological Seminary grad, I found his preaching compelling because this constant theme was to serve others, to wash the feet of others, particularly folks who did not have the advantages that we did in the suburbs of Philadelphia, the economic and social advantages that we did. Jim McCloskey (00:04:38): And at the same time, you know, I was hungry. The scriptures became my meat and drink rather than -- at the same time, my business aspirations were waning. I was losing interest in the business world. It wasn't real. It wasn't real to me. What became real was the truth of this, of the gospel and the scriptures. That's what was real to me. And over a period of years, slowly but surely, I was -- every Saturday, practically every Saturday night, I was in a scripture study, reading the prophets of the Old Testament and the Gospels and Paul's letters. And I saw -- this is the truth of life as I saw then. So anyway, I consulted with no one, except Dick Streeter. I didn't consult with my mother or father, although I'm very close to my family. I had a ton of friends. Because I was thinking about Dick Streeter as a minister was touching the hearts and souls of people in a transformative way, including my own. Jim McCloskey (00:05:51): I was touching nobody's heart and soul. I was touching my own pocketbook and the pocketbook of the company, but that was, that proved to be very unsatisfactory and unfulfilling. So I felt a call to follow in Dick Streeter's footsteps, go to the seminary and become an ordained, church, Presbyterian pastor. So that was what was going on within me and externally, internally and externally, that led me to go... Now I was going to go to Eastern Baptist, which would have been easier because it's only about a 20-minute ride from my house. And Dave said, no, Jim, if you're going to do this, you have to go to Princeton. That's where you're going to get the best education. And so I took his advice, sold my house on the Mainline, and came up to Princeton. One thing I did not sell was my 1976 Lincoln Continental Town Car. I just couldn't. I couldn't part with that. So I pulled up, I pulled up to Brown Hall, with my Lincoln Continental. People thought I was on the lam or something, but anyway, that's what brought me to the seminary. Sushama Austin-Connor (00:07:09): Yeah. That's awesome. So you know, Jim, I feel like I learned so much about you personally in this book. [laughter] Jim McCloskey (00:07:16): Yeah, of course, all the good, bad, the ugly, you heard a lot. [laughter] Sushama Austin-Connor (00:07:22): I learned so much! There were parts where I had to stop. I was reading it aloud to my husband, Rob, who you know, and so I was reading some parts to him, and we were like, wow, we have so much to cover. But talk to me about this idea of kind of your personal conduct that you mentioned in the book that you just referred to, and that I've heard you talk about in some other interviews that I listened to as I prepared. What was going on for you? And it wasn't atypical, I don't think, in some ways to what maybe 20-somethings go through, or the kind of risks you may take, not even knowingly really; inherently we're a little more risky in our twenties. But talk to me about that personal conduct. What was life like? What were you doing? What were you up you? Jim McCloskey (00:08:03): Well, what I was doing was I was -- again, this is in my, well, in my twenties and in my thirties. Yeah. Yeah. I was very... let's just say promiscuous. And I had relationships with women that -- I was selfish, self-centered, I used women for my own gratification. And I came to realize that this was wrong. This was immoral. I was leading an immoral life. And, that was in contrast to the way I was raised by my mother and father. And, I didn't feel good about my, I lost my self-esteem. Who am I, what is my real identity? And, you know, I had one foot in the secular world and one foot in the spiritual world, the church world. And, you know, as an example, when I told my boss at Hay Associates -- Bill Densmore was his name, great, a great human being. Jim McCloskey (00:09:05): I said, Bill -- this is 19-early-79 -- I said, "Bill, I need to talk to you about something very serious." He said, "Okay." So I went into his office and I told him that I was not only leaving Hay, but I was leaving the business world to go into ministry. He said -- I'll never forget this. His first words were, "Jim. I didn't even know you went to church." So I was two people. I was one person to the secular world and another person to the spiritual church world. And it was time for me to announce to the world who I really was, and that I considered myself to be, although a deeply flawed, but nevertheless convicted Christian. And that's -- it's about time that I showed the world who I was, and not -- I didn't hide that anymore. And once I made that announcement, then it was amazing. Jim McCloskey (00:09:58): The reaction I got from my corporate colleagues... They were very supportive, surprised, shocked, as I found out. I'm still very close to my fraternity brothers at Bucknell, every year 20 or 25 of us get together with a golf outing up at Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. And a number of them have told me that when I told them what I was doing, they were afraid that I had gone off the deep end and had lost... and they were going to lose my friendship, that somehow I was going to change, my own personality, which I didn't do. And my poor mother and father, they were, you know, they were supportive, but skeptical. You're 37, 38 years old. And you know, my mother told me, she said, Jim, you're never going to be a church pastor. You're just not cut out to do that. And as it turned out, she was right, but I didn't know that at the time. So she knew. She knew. But getting back to your question. Yes, I was -- I had descended into what I thought was an immoral life and I wanted to... I needed redemption as much as anybody else. That was part of it. And, and, and -- I wanted to really touch people's lives in a meaningful, significant transformative way. And I thought by being a church pastor, that would give me the opportunity to do that. Sushama Austin-Connor (00:11:29): To touch people. Yeah. But you weren't without religion. So growing up in your childhood, your family is Presbyterian. Can you talk a little bit about your childhood and some of the religious upbringing and also your mother's illness and how that manifests in your spiritual life, in finding redemption and finding hope. Jim McCloskey (00:11:53): Right. And that's -- thank you for bringing that up. That's a good subject to talk about a little bit. First of all, when I was in grade school -- I wanted to reclaim my boyhood faith,, because it was authentic. It was real. I was a standup Christian, young boy in grade school. That was what was most important to me. And then as soon as I hit junior high, that started going south, because the most important thing to me at that point was peer pressure. I wanted to be liked and popular. And I, you know, I let myself drift in that direction. So, another element was, in deciding to leave the business world and go into ministry, I wanted to reclaim my boyhood faith. And that was inculcated into me, by my mom and dad, who were very active in the church, that my upbringing was very in the church was very important. It was the foundation that ultimately I yearned to reclaim. So that was very important. Interlude (00:12:55): [water droplet sound] Jim McCloskey (00:12:55): When I was five years old, in 1947, my mother who was 30 years old went to bed one night in June of 1947, feeling fluish -- tired, fever, whatever, body ached. She -- Su, she woke up the next morning and was paralyzed from the waist down. It was like the polio virus hit her like a bolt of lightning, and doing some research about that, that phenomenon occurred in about 10,000 men and women across the United States. Sushama Austin-Connor (00:13:35): So out of nowhere? Jim McCloskey (00:13:37): Out of nowhere. Out of nowhere. Yeah. So, friends of our family -- now in those days, people were afraid that if they even came near our house, they would catch the virus. They would walk on the other side of the street. However, only one -- good friends of my parents, Katie and Tom Boyd, who were also the parents of my best friend, Tom Boyd. We lived around the corner from each other, and they offered to take me in, so my dad could get, could settle in and start to find the right resources to take care of Mom who was home-bound and paralyzed. And they took me in. Now, that was a great thing. That was a courageous thing because they didn't know, maybe I'll bring the polio virus into their home to attack their family. But nevertheless, they went way out on the limb and took me in for six months. Another family took my brother in. So I never forgot that -- what the Boyds did for me and what the [inaudible name] did for my brother. So that was kind of formative as well. Yeah. Sushama Austin-Connor (00:14:48): Absolutely. Absolutely. So you get -- so let's go back to Princeton Seminary. So, you get to Princeton Seminary. And I, you know, I was so familiar with some of the places that you mentioned -- Route One and Library Place -- like actually, Continuing Ed offices are now on Library Place in Adams House. Jim McCloskey (00:15:09): Oh yes. Sushama Austin-Connor (00:15:09): So I know where you are. So it was really nice to have like the visual of where everything is. So you get to Princeton Seminary and it's year two, and you're doing field education. Jim McCloskey (00:15:19): That's correct. Sushama Austin-Connor (00:15:20): And what happened? Jim McCloskey (00:15:21): All right. The first year, my junior year, I did not do field ed 'cause I just wanted to focus on the studies. In my second year, I decided to do my field education as a student chaplain at Trenton State Prison. Now, why did I do that? Why did I choose that? I don't really know why I chose that, other than I've always had an adventuresome spirit and I've never been in a prison before. Who are these people? What are they like? Sushama Austin-Connor (00:15:53): I mean, were there options, Jim? Like were you -- Jim McCloskey (00:15:53): Oh yeah. Sure. I could have been a youth pastor. I didn't want any of that. I could have been assigned to a church as a student intern in a church, a hospital. There was all kinds of options available, but I chose Trenton State Prison. Joe Ravenell, the chaplain at Trenton State Prison, also a Princeton Seminary grad, had set up a program between the seminary field education department and the prison administration every year, they would bring in six or seven Princeton Seminary students to be student chaplains for the full school year. So that's what I decided to do. And then, Joe Ravenell, he assigned me to what they call the Vroom Readjustment Unit, which is a real euphemistic term for the maximum security -- people who are sent to the Vroom Readjustment Unit, they had been in trouble in whatever state prisons in New Jersey they had come from. So they put the bad boys in that prison for however long a punishment they were to serve. And that's where I was assigned. And the reason Joe -- I said, Joe, why did you send me there to this day? I'm good friends with him. He said, I'll tell you why I sent you there. Because you were cocky that I wanted to bring you down a couple of notches, one or two. And I said, well, you did a good job there, Joe. But anyway, to the Vroom Building I went. There for the -- now we're talking about September of 1980, which was the beginning of my middler year at the seminary. Sushama Austin-Connor (00:17:45): And then you go there with another seminarian, and you guys are... Jim McCloskey (00:17:51): There were two of us and Joseph Checa who was a friend of mine who also lived in Brown Hall. Joe assigned him to two cell blocks and assigned me to two cell blocks. And so we would go there together. We would drive down at my very comfortable plush Lincoln Continental Towncar [laughter] which by the way, I got about seven miles per gallon. [inaudible] But the first day we went down there in September of 1980, I'm 37, 38. I've been in Vietnam. I've been all over the world. And Joseph was 28. He'd been -- he's had some secular experience, but we were both scared to death. Sushama Austin-Connor (00:18:38): Yeah, I can imagine. Yeah, yeah. Jim McCloskey (00:18:38): Because, you know, they tell you, they tell stories, they are myths, this myth, that -- don't stay, don't get too close to their selves. They're locked in their cell. And we go down a cell block from cell to cell. We're wearing the collar. I looked like an Irish Catholic priest. And you just go cell to cell. You just want to make friends. And you know, they don't get any visitors, by and large. Interlude (00:19:03): And are you wearing a collar because they, like -- Princeton suggested it or you just decided to, or... Jim McCloskey (00:19:10): No, Joe Ravenell. No, it was part of the uniform, if you will, that Joe Ravenell wanted us to wear, as being student chaplains. We pulled up to the parking lot of the prison, you know -- a fence with all concertina wire. And it was such an intimidating, forbidding building. I said to Joseph, let's have a word of prayer. So we held hands, we asked God to give us a spirit of calmness and courage. And, that didn't happen. That was an unfulfilled prayer. Anyway, we walked in there and that began my student chaplaincy at Trenton State Prison and encountering a life-changing opportunity, a life-changing event where I met... One of the 40 men on the two cell blocks I was assigned was a man by the name of Jorge de Los Santos. And, he was... So I'd go, you know, cell to cell. And he was gregarious. He was friendly. He put me at ease. He was very open-hearted. He talked about himself and everything that he had done in the past, which was not murder. He was in prison for a Newark, New Jersey murder. He was convicted of an attempted robbery, which ended up to be a fatal shooting of the proprietor of a used car lot in Newark. And he was the only one, by the way, who was proclaiming his innocence. Sushama Austin-Connor (00:20:45): I mean, I'm wondering too, before you even hear his story, is he standing out because of that openness? How, why is he standing out more than the rest of the guys on that floor? Or was that once you heard the story? Jim McCloskey (00:20:58): That's a good point. There was something about him. We just clicked. Our personalities just clicked because he was an engaging personality. He was friendly, open, funny. But he would also speak from his heart. He was married to Elena, a Native American Cherokee. And, you know, from day one, he said, Jim, you know, they caught me, Jim. And he said, I didn't do what I'm here for. I'm an innocent man. So that got my attention. But I also, at the same time, you know, I was under the -- oh, they all say they're innocent. Well, first of all, that's a canard. They don't all say they're innocent. He was the only one of the 40 who did say he was innocent. So, but anyway, to answer your question, he was just a gregarious, very human -- just the opposite of what I imagined a hardened murder convict would look like, or be like. Jim McCloskey (00:22:06): He's in his cell, hot outside, standing in front of his cell, cell bars. I could see him perfectly, standing in his shorts with his thongs on, with long brown hair, down to his shoulders. And 'Elena' was tattooed on his heart, name of his wife. And I'm standing there in my priestly garb. And, you know, we just... I had to be careful because I couldn't spend too much time with him, because that would create some problems with other inmates. And by the way, my reception there was surprisingly friendly. Most of the inmates in their cells were -- they wanted somebody to talk to. Sushama Austin-Connor (00:22:53): Of course. Of course. Jim McCloskey (00:22:53): They wanted a friend, they wanted somebody who didn't judge them or in any way be critical of them, just to basically listen. There was a lot, they all wanted to say -- 'cause nobody would listen to them. [crosstalk] It was not hard for me to feel comfortable every day I went there, nor to establish some relationships and rapport with most of the inmates. New Speaker (00:23:22): [water droplet sound] Sushama Austin-Connor (00:23:24): So in those first meetings, Chiefy [de Los Santos] is sort of pushing you and challenging you and telling you his story. And you're getting -- I hear you say, "Well, I didn't believe him of course, because who would believe him?" But what changes you or changes your mind in how he is sharing the stories? He's saying, you know, actually, no, I'm actually innocent. Jim McCloskey (00:23:45): Yeah. Well, yeah. Well, first of all, he wasn't pushing me, but he was -- that's all he wanted -- he only wanted to talk about two things: his innocence and his wife, Elena. And he spent a lot of time. I mean -- I actually have chills right now -- because he loved her, and she was completely devoted to him. She was a hair salon person up in Newark. She had three kids by a prior relationship that she was, you know, raising. And she would visit him twice a week, for limited visits. She was an incredible woman who I got to know and really have a nice relationship with, a good friend. Jim McCloskey (00:24:31): But anyway, up until hitting up the cell block, I never had any involvement with the criminal justice system whatsoever. I was never asked to be on a jury. I'd never been in a courthouse before. I knew absolutely nothing. So I was bringing with me what turned out to be a complete ignorance and naiveté about our criminal justice system, in that I thought police and prosecutors were very honorable men and women who were serving the community. It was a great noble service of catching criminals and putting them away. And surely they would never suborn perjury or lie themselves, or... They wanted to catch the real people who did this, not innocent people. And the same with the judges. I held those positions -- police, prosecutors, judges -- in the highest esteem from my suburban mainline perch. And as far as I was concerned, they were there to protect and serve -- at least my white community in the suburbs. So anyway, I found it very hard to believe two things. Number one, that he was innocent. Number two, not only was he saying he was innocent, he was saying the Newark, the Essex county prosecutor's office in Newark framed him, knowingly framed him. Sushama Austin-Connor (00:26:05): Right. Right. Jim McCloskey (00:26:08): I said, "So Chiefy, are you telling me that the prosecutor himself knew that his witnesses were lying and he brought them in just to get a conviction?" He said, "That's exactly what I'm telling you." I said, "Why would they care about you?" He was a heroin addict. And he had a number of drug-related arrests, never spent any time in prison, but he was in and out of the local jails for drugs. And he was a full-blown addict, off and on over those -- you know, he was 28 years old when he got convicted for this crime. I said, "Chiefy, why should they even believe -- why should they be conspiring --" [crosstalk] Jim McCloskey (00:26:51): You're a throw away. He said "That's why!" He said, "Because I was an easy prey. I was an easy target for the police -- to arrest and make them look good and clearing a murder -- and for the prosecutors to get a conviction, to make their trial record good. Slowly but surely, over the next couple of months, we would talk about this. And we became close. I mean, I couldn't wait to get down there to talk to him. And secretly -- I didn't tell Joe Ravenell or anyone else -- I gave him permission to call me at 72 Library Place. Thanksgiving comes. And I said, "Look, Chiefy, I've heard your story time immemorial, you've gone, we've gone over it. Many times. I need your trial. I want to read your trial transcripts. And by the way, we were told by both the administration and Joe Ravenell -- don't get involved [crosstalk] whether it's personal or their case work. Jim McCloskey (00:27:57): That's a no-no. If you do, you're out of here, banned from the prison. But I was so provoked by the possibility that he might be what he's saying he is. I said, "Chiefy, there are two sides to every story. I want to get -- so I got ahold of his trial transcripts. That took some work, but I got ahold of them. And I took them home over Thanksgiving of 1980. That's all I did during the Thanksgiving holiday was read 2000 pages of transcripts. I was obsessed with them. Sushama Austin-Connor (00:28:30): Yes. Jim McCloskey (00:28:30): Totally into this. And so I learned that whatever -- all the details he gave me were born out by the trial transcripts. So it came to really provoke me and to say, I'm taking it to another level. Maybe this guy is innocent. All right. So come back from Thanksgiving. He knows I've read the trial transcripts. He's nervous as a cat when I approach his cell. He said, "What do you think?" I said, "Well, Chiefy, you know, you know, it backs up everything you've been telling me over the prior couple of months. He said, "Well, let me ask you." He said, "Jim, I answered a million of your questions over the last couple of months. I have a question for you." And I gulped. I said, "Oh boy." [inaudible]. Jim McCloskey (00:29:20): He said, "Do you believe I'm innocent?" And I said, "Yeah, I do believe you're -- I don't know you're innocent, but I do believe, I believe you, Chiefy." I said, "I don't know if I believe that the prosecutors framed you, but I do believe you're innocent. Then he said to me, and it took me completely aback, he said, "What are you going to do about it?" I said, "What do you mean, what am I going to do about it? I'm a... I don't know anything about criminal justice or murders or courts of law, investigation. I'm a former businessman, and I'm now at the seminary studying church history and scriptures and... Sushama Austin-Connor (00:30:01): Becoming a minister! Jim McCloskey (00:30:01): And he said, "I've been on my knees for the last seven years, praying to God to bring somebody to me, to help free me. And whether you know it or not, and whether you like it or not, you're that man. God has sent you to my cell to liberate me, to bring me home to Elena. I'm asking you -- God works -- He said, "What are you going to do? Go back to your seminary? And, in that nice, secure little environment and pray for me? That's not going to get me out. God works through human hands. And it's your hands that I believe God has assigned to get me out of here, to free me." Jim McCloskey (00:30:49): I said, "Well, let me think about that, Chiefy." But it stunned me. Sushama Austin-Connor (00:30:55): Yeah. It stunned you. It's a stunning ask, or [crosstalk]. Jim McCloskey (00:30:59): It was a real challenge. He was challenging my faith. Sushama Austin-Connor (00:30:59): Yes, that's what I'm thinking, right. Jim McCloskey (00:31:03): You claim to be a man of God. Well, what are you going to do, leave an innocent man behind and just go about your business, like, I don't even exist anymore? I mean, it was, it really got me. Were it not for that challenge, Su, I don't think I would have worked for him. He made me, he compelled me. So I got back to the seminary. And I'm praying. And again, I'm consulting with nobody, because nobody's going to believe this. And so, but I go to the scriptures and I opened them up to the book of Isaiah, where Isaiah is talking about how people go to law and they lie. And there is no justice. Truth has fallen from the public squares. The Lord wondered why there was no one to intervene to bring about justice, to find the truth. And it bothered the Lord. And so I saw that and I'm saying, is this a sign that I'm to intervene on behalf of Chiefy? I felt that it was. And so, that was a turning point, in addition to his challenge, and other factors. I said, you know, I think I'm going to take a year off and work on his behalf. I believe he's innocent. And that's what I did. That's what I did. Sushama Austin-Connor (00:32:21): That's what you did. At that point, you're founding Centurion at this point... Jim McCloskey (00:32:22): No, I'm not founding Centurion. All I'm doing is taking a year off from school. I had completed three of the six semesters for a Masters of Divinity. Now we're in February of 1981. Okay. And I decided to take a year off, independent leave, from the seminary and work full-time to see if I can free him, and I could move the ball forward. And now, you know, you're a parent. Imagine -- now a year and a half before this, I told my mom and dad, I was gonna leave the business world and go into the ministry. And now here I am a year and a half later. Can you imagine if your eldest son, if your eldest son, came to you and said, Su and Rob, I've decided to take a year off from school. And I'm going to -- I believe that a former Newark heroin addict is innocent of murder, and I'm going to investigate the case and try and free him. Well, that was very, very unsettling to my parents... Sushama Austin-Connor (00:33:33): To say the least. Yeah, right. I don't know what I would have said. Jim McCloskey (00:33:37): Well, I'll tell you what my mother said. Sushama Austin-Connor (00:33:39): What did she say? Jim McCloskey (00:33:39): My mother said, "Jimmy, this is going to be Vietnam all over again. I could never sleep for that year you were over there. [crosstalk] And now, you're going to go investigate a murder, which you know nothing about, in a city like Newark, which, you know, you've never been there before, for God's sake. What do you know about it? And I'm going to worry about you every single night." Now, I had not thought of that. I didn't put myself in my mother's -- Sushama Austin-Connor (00:34:07): No, of course. But it's natural. The reaction is natural. Jim McCloskey (00:34:07): I said, "Mother, I completely understand, but I got to do it. I just have to do it." And so ultimately they supported me. But they were obviously very concerned for my safety. Sushama Austin-Connor (00:34:20): Of course. Of course. Jim McCloskey (00:34:22): So then, I announced to Jim McCord [crosstalk] -- when you take an independent leave of absence, you get an exit interview tp the president of the seminary. At that time, it was Jim McCord. Sushama Austin-Connor (00:34:38): That's so intimidating. Actually, I looked up the dates just to see who the president was at that time. And I was like, how intimidating is that? You had to go see Jim McCord? Jim McCloskey (00:34:45): Did you know him at all? Or have you ever had any encounters with him? Sushama Austin-Connor (00:34:52): I just know of him, and that's [inaudible] Jim McCloskey (00:34:52): Right. He had this deep voice. It was like God was talking down to you, you know? So, I'm ushered into his office for this exit interview and..."Jim, what church are you -- where are you gonna -- what church you go to serve while you're off?" So then I explained to him what I was doing. [laughter] Now, what I didn't know. So he had a button at his desk. He would press that button. And that was his secretary's signal to come in and get this person out of there. Sushama Austin-Connor (00:35:24): Oh no! Jim McCloskey (00:35:24): Oh yeah. So, no sooner do I tell him what I'm going to do than I'm ushered out of his office. And he sends me over to Dean Mass's office and I told him the same thing and they both want to know -- are you sure what you're doing is legal? Is that legal, Jim? I said, yeah, it's legal. Nothing illegal about it. Anyway, that was my exit. And then I moved in -- because when you have a leave of absence, you can't live in the seminary. Sushama Austin-Connor (00:35:55): The dorms, right. Jim McCloskey (00:35:55): So I moved out of Brown Hall and then found a place to live on 72 Library Place. Sushama Austin-Connor (00:36:01): So cool. Yeah. Jim McCloskey (00:36:02): It was a home owned and occupied by a lovely, delightful octogenarian, Mrs. Yateman, and in exchange for me doing errands for her, I had a second floor bedroom, free of cost, which turned out to be the first headquarters for Centurion Ministry. Sushama Austin-Connor (00:36:20): Wow. Jim McCloskey (00:36:21): My bedroom in that home. Sushama Austin-Connor (00:36:22): In that home -- on Library Place. Yeah. Jim McCloskey (00:36:26): When you turn onto library place, it's the first house fully facing Library Place. 72. It's a white Victorian home. Sushama Austin-Connor (00:36:37): Yeah. I know the street. I passed by -- pre-COVID I passed by all the time. Yeah. So talk... Finish your thought and talk about the end of Chiefy's case. And then I want to get to some of your work when Centurion is kind of up and running. Jim McCloskey (00:36:53): Right. Right. Well, so I took that year off and ended up doing several things. I became the investigator. And so I did two things. One is -- well, three things. One is to investigate the case. Sushama Austin-Connor (00:37:08): Like yourself. Like you are [crosstalk] ...to be clear, because I was so impressed with your true crime investigative skills. Jim McCloskey (00:37:17): Well, you know, it just, you know, it... All it is, is common sense, you know. You know, you just knock on people's doors and you're trying to get them to -- one leads to another, you know. My main purpose, one of the main things was, there were two... Chiefy was convicted based on two prosecution witnesses. One of them was Pat Cuccillo, who claimed that when he was driving his tow truck by the used car lot, he heard shots and he saw Chiefy and another man he identified as Lamont Harvey (nickname Grasshopper) flee the used car lot. So it was an eye witness, the claim to see Chiefy and this other man flee. So they arrest Chiefy based on that eyewitness account. Then, now he's in the Essex County jail awaiting trial, based on that one eyewitness account, and what the police did, which I was able to prove, to the satisfaction of a federal judge, they placed a career criminal Richard Dellasante on that tier, to enable Richard Dellasante to talk with Chiefy, and come into the court, to his trial and say that Chiefy confessed the crime to him. It's called the jailhouse confession. So those two, those were the two witnesses against him. Jim McCloskey (00:38:38): There was a lot of work to do in terms of investigation. And I finally met up with Richard Dellasante and... About a year after I started this work... And he was in the Hudson County jail at the time. And I visited with him for two days straight. And by that time, he had agreed to talk to me and tell me the whole story. He was a lifelong informant for the Essex County prosecutor's office. He testified at trial that he's never testified in any other situation against anybody. He did this because what Chiefy did was a bad thing. And he thought he should come forward. When in fact, he had testified in numerous other cases, both before the Chiefy del Los Santos trial and after. He was a professional snitch. And the payment for all his different testimonies by the prosecutor was -- he never went to prison. They would excuse his crimes. So he was free to be out there, to be a thief and an arsonist. And all this, that, and the other, he did all sorts of crimes. But he would do the bidding of the prosecutor, particularly this one detective in the prosecutor's office, Ronnie Donahue. He would -- Donahue was his handler. And it was Donahue put them on the tier with Chiefy and told him what to do, and he would do it. But he got tired of being their pawn. He just got tired of them using him for 10 years of doing this work. And so also, he had testified in the same manner, jailhouse confession against his first cousin, Danny Dellasante. He put Danny away another murder. [crosstalk] Sushama Austin-Connor (00:40:30): There's so many characters. Jim McCloskey (00:40:32): Yeah. And I got to know the Dellasante family. Dotty Dellasante, Danny's mother, and his aunt. Richard [inaudible]. Anyway, she kept asking Richard, please talk to this Jim McCloskey, you got to talk to him. If you help him out with Chiefy, maybe that'll help free my son, your first cousin, Danny Dellasante. He resisted for a year. And he finally agreed to talk to me. And then he told me the whole story. And so, he led us to other cases where he had in fact testified and helped the police prior to Chiefy's case. And then, we got an evidentiary hearing, and Pat Cuccillo, I met him. And, you know, one of the things that the trial prosecutor, Kevin Kelly, told the jury was, "Ladies --" (this was the summation), "Ladies and gentlemen, you heard Pat Cuccillo's eye witness account. You heard Richard Dellasante. So I think these two men, they didn't know each other, that they independently, they come forward and they give this incriminating evidence against Mr. del Los Santos. They're very credible. There's no reason to think that they're lying." Jim McCloskey (00:41:41): When in fact, my investigation, I discovered -- and it's got the documentation to prove it -- Richard del Los Santos and Pat Cuccillo went to grade school together. They were fast friends. They were both drug addicts. They would shoot up together, you know, so we were able to establish that. So we have an evidentiary hearing in federal court in March of 1983. Now in February of '82, I finished my one-year leave of absence. I returned to the seminary to finish my Master of Divinity degree. And I found a great lawyer to work for, with me, on behalf of Chiefy. Paul Castalero. He was instrumental in freeing Chiefy with me. And Paul, leading up to the evidentiary hearing in March of '83, the judge, the federal judge gave Paul authority to go into the prosecutor's files and see what information [crosstalk] files that might be exculpatory or go towards this, a bad conviction. Jim McCloskey (00:42:49): And Paul discovered in Kevin Kelly's own handwriting in the file, he was the trial prosecutor, that he said Richard Dellasante had a habit of giving testimony. So he knew [crosstalk] that he had given that testimony in prior instances, and he had him do it anyhow. He hadn't yet under direct examination, Dellasante, under Kevin Kelly's direct examination, testified that he's never done this before. Kelly knew he was lying. He wanted to present him as a, you know, as just a concerned citizen, even though he's in county jail. And I talked with Kevin Kelly on two different occasions. And on the second occasion when I told him, "Hey, Kevin, I still think it might not -- I tell you that I'm working for Chiefy... If I can convince Kevin Kelly that through no fault of his own, that he convicted an innocent man, maybe he can help me free the man he convicted. Jim McCloskey (00:43:51): That was my idealistic naiveté. Well, when I told him what I had on... I met him one time, then a year later I met him another time. I telephoned him. And he got very, very angry with me and said, "Jim, I don't care if 10 people confess that they did this crime and not Chiefy -- he's guilty." And he hung up on me. But, at the evidentiary hearing, Paul Castalaro really unmasked him for his [crosstalk]. The judge found that as a fact in his opinion, which ended up freeing and exonerating Chiefy in July of 1983. So by July of 1983, Chiefy was free and exonerated. I had finished my MDiv degree. And... but by that time I had met two or actually three other New Jersey inmates who Chiefy introduced me to, by the way, in whose innocence I had come to believe. So now I have a choice. Do I get -- do I go on and get ordained as a church pastor? Or do I set up a nonprofit organization, which I ultimately called Centurion Ministries to work to free innocent people at present? Obviously I chose the latter and set up Centurion. Sushama Austin-Connor (00:45:19): So from the beginning, you take on these two cases and... Talk more about like the trajectory for Centurion. Jim McCloskey (00:45:27): First of all, I named it Centurion after the centurion at the foot of the cross in the gospel of Luke, who looked up in chapter 23, verse 47, and said, "Surely this one was innocent," looking up at the crucified Christ. That's where the name comes from. So, but anyway, yeah, so I set up and I'm still working out of Mrs. Yateman's house, and long story short, of the three people whose cases I took on after Chiefy was freed, by 19 -- by November of '86, I was able to free two of those three people. The third one I freed two years later, 1989, but the seminal case that really puts Centurion and me on the map, on the map, was Paul Castalero, again, and I, he's a solo practitioner out of Hoboken. He and I worked for Nate Walker. Nate was convicted and given life plus 50 years for an Elizabeth, New Jersey sexual assault and kidnapping, and Paul and I together met with the Union County and Elizabeth, New Jersey, we met with a senior prosecutor there, and we had several discussions. Some of them pretty intense because by this time, 11 years after Nate was convicted in '75, this is now '86, 1986. We provoked that senior prosecutor in that office. We said, look, 11 years ago, when the victim was assaulted in this manner, a rape kit was taken from her. And there's a vaginal swab taken from her as part of the rape kit. If semen is on that swab, if you could find that swab. Now this is before DNA now, right? Sushama Austin-Connor (00:47:27): Yep. I remember. Jim McCloskey (00:47:30): Can you send that to a lab to see if they could determine the blood type of the semen on that swab? And he agreed to do that. Richard Reibart was his name. Richard Reibart, 11 years earlier, was the prosecutor that put Nate Walker away. Now he's a senior executive in that office and I give him full credit. He found that swab and he sent it down the FBI crime lab and they came back and said, the donor of this semen on that swab has blood type B. Nate Walker, and the victim, have blood type A, because some of her vaginal fluids might've got mixed up there. So it completely exonerated Nate Walker. We freed him, we freed him in November, early November of '86. And, I'm still working alone out of Mrs. Yateman's house. This got us a lot of publicity nationwide because at that time, very few --I mean, this was unheard of, exonerating innocent -- Sushama Austin-Connor (00:48:40): No, 'cause it's pre- what many people may know of, innocence movements and the innocence projects. Yeah. Jim McCloskey (00:48:50): Exactly. So, next thing I know Nate Walker and I are on the Today Show with Bryant Gumbel. And this was obviously seen nationwide. Now letters are pouring in from all over, from state prisons all over the United States because nobody else was doing this at the time. And, asking me, Centurion, to help free them like you did Mr. Walker. And not only that, but... And also Kate Germand, who is still, was my lifelong partner at Centurion. She had just moved to New York with her husband and she read about the Nate Walker exoneration in New York Times, she saw a photo of me in my bedroom with transcripts spilling all over the place. And she said, this man needs help. And besides that, she had always fancied herself as an investigator. She, as we were in our generation, we were raised on Perry Mason. She idolized Paul Drake, the investigator for Perry Mason, not Perry Mason himself. So anyway, she contacted me and here we are some 30 years later still working together. Sushama Austin-Connor (00:50:15): [crosstalk] so many people over the years, working with you, with the passion and the vocational pull to this work for people who are around you as well is incredible. Jim McCloskey (00:50:26): Absolutely. We, you know, in the movie The Field of Dreams that said, if you build it, they will come. You know, so many good, talented, dedicated justice-seeking people, volunteers, staff members. You know, Centurion now... Let's see, Kate joined me in January of '87, 13 plus... Some 33, 34 years later. We have a staff of 14 paid employees, lawyers, investigators, case development people. We get over 1200 letters a year from people asking us to, to serve on their, to work on their cases. Now, not all of them are innocent, of course. The vetting process is a real large undertaking. But anyway, yes, so, so many -- and not only that, but you know, we've gone national and have been, ever since Nate Walker was freed, people who saw Nate and me on the Today Show, one of them contacted me, Ozell Brandley, his brother Clarence was on Texas death row, was going to be executed three months later. And that got the attention of Kate and me. And we decided, we got the record and transcripts and all that. So we got to do something here. I've never been to Texas, never worked at death row case. We just went where the current took us, and the current took us to Texas. And then many other states after that. Interlude (00:51:59): [water droplet sound] Sushama Austin-Connor (00:52:01): How many exonerees are there? What [inaudible] Jim McCloskey (00:52:06): We have taken, since I started this work in 1981, early '81, really, we have freed 65 people. And collectively -- we only take cases where somebody has been given a life or death sentence for either a murder and/or sexual assault. They're the only cases we take on, the most serious cases. Well, we've taken a total of a hundred cases on since the beginning. 65 are free. Collectively, those 65 people have spent 1,388 years falsely combined. We are currently working for 20 -- so we have finished, we have finished 79 cases, 65 have been free. And the other 14 or so or 15 have not. We did not free them. Six of those 15 or so, we determined that our original assessment of innocence, after we had fully vetted the case and began our investigation, we made a mistake. We came to believe they were guilty. We dropped them. Jim McCloskey (00:53:26): And you know, several died in prison before we were able to complete our work on their behalf. And then five, although we still believe in their innocence, we had to leave them behind, because we were not able to develop enough new evidence or find a good legal basis to go back to court with. Two were executed; one in Louisiana, one in Virginia. So... but of the 79 cases we've concluded, 65 were freed. That's a little over 80%. The other 21 cases we're still working, Centurion is still working. You know, of the 65 that we have freed, 41 are African-American, 20 are white, and 4 Hispanics, including Chiefy. Of the 21 we're currently working for, 19 are African-American and one is a Native American out of Minneapolis. Sushama Austin-Connor (00:54:27): Yeah. And that actually takes me straight to -- what has this taught you about the justice system, where race is concerned? Jim McCloskey (00:54:34): Well, in, in my view of 40 years of work, in a hundred cases, in addition to thousands of pleas for help all over this country, there is no question in my mind that the racial bias and prejudice on the part of juries, police, prosecutors accounts, or is one important reason, for African-Americans in particular to bear the brunt of being falsely accused and wrongly convicted. You know, you take as an example, several examples, I'd like to point out in that regard.Since 1989, the National Exoneration Research Center, they document all the exonerations that have taken place in America since 1989. 1065 mostly men have been exonerated. In other words, they got convicted of murder, sent away for life or death, and later were exonerated, just like we exonerated Chiefy de Los Santos. 50% of those exonerees are African-American. Same thing with sexual assaults. 360-some men have been exonerated from life sentences for sexual assault. 60% African-American. So people of color bear the brunt of this, because, you know, I believe that there is a strong undercurrent, implicit, explicit, both, of racial that, you know, first of all, these folks have no resources. Jim McCloskey (00:56:29): They are poor. They have no way to defend themselves. There's a pre-- when, if you're a person of color sitting in that dock, and you have an all-white jury or a mostly white jury, the presumption of guilt is going to be there. And that's going to be a very difficult invisible barrier to overcome from the outset. As far as death row, 170 men, and a few women, have been exonerated off of death row, and 50% of them are African American. So it goes on and on. You take New York City, the stop-and-frisk policy. For 18 years, it was legal for police officers throughout New York City to stop people on the street and frisk them. They did that to 5 million people over 18 years. Now, 80% of those who were stopped and frisked are brown or black people. Sushama Austin-Connor (00:57:27): That's incredible. Jim McCloskey (00:57:32): I mean, you know, so it's, it's there. And, oh, sorry. That's not even to mention all these fatal shootings of innocent black citizens by white police officers all over the country. I mean, my view and I -- I include myself in this -- we, the Caucasian folks like myself... There's still a segregation between African American people and their social environment. I'm talking about regular law abiding people where, you know, regardless of the social economic status, and white people, we don't, we don't intermingle very much. And because of that, and you know, I think we're, we -- whites -- are raised, are programmed. We're raised with these erroneous assumptions and fears and expect-- We categorize people of a different race in a way that's wrong and unfair. We falsely profile them. I don't think there's any question, given what I've just tried to explain, that law enforcement people have within them both explicitly and implicitly, this racial bias that triggers them to come down on the Black population, much more than [inaudible]. There is systemic racism across America. It always has been, you know, for 400 years, and there might be a greater awareness now because of these fatal uncalled-for murders. Sushama Austin-Connor (00:59:21): And video. And evidence. Jim McCloskey (00:59:22): But now if it weren't for the videos, nothing would have happened. Sushama Austin-Connor (00:59:29): Earlier, you touched on it a couple of times, I think what is always startling to me, and it was an important part of your book too, is the presumption that white folks, good white folks, and other white folks have that the system's fair, then it's like just fair. And that all is fair. And that you must've done something. You must've done something. I think it's that -- it's changing those hearts and minds that is so difficult. Like, no, the system's actually not fair. Let's, let's start there as the baseline. Jim McCloskey (01:00:01): Well, we have two different perceptions of the criminal justice system, based on our own human experience. We, and I'm generalizing, but it's true. We, whites have not been abused generally by law enforcement. They're out there to protect and serve. And we whites have no idea what's going on in communities of color with the interaction and the interfacing between police and the communities of color. We have no idea about that. And you know, another thing is, another thing is, that... In my work, Su, the last 40 years, I bet I've been in a thousand Black homes, every major city in the United States. I don't care where it is. South LA, south Dallas, Harlem... Newark. And I know from my conversations with African-Americans in their homes, that... what goes on, and the heavy hand of the police that they've experienced. And you can even be of a higher socioeconomic status, and... You know, I know of no white family, and I know a lot of white families in my world, not one that I'm aware of have their parents ever sat their kids down and said, if you get stopped by the police, here's how you must conduct yourself. Otherwise, you're going to be in danger right. Now, I was watching a Major League Baseball racial, race seminar by Black baseball players, not too long ago. And one of them pointed out that when white people get stopped by a police officer for a motor vehicle violation versus black people get stopped. We have two different objectives. The white person is going to be very nice and polite to prevent from getting a ticket. The Black person is going to be very nice and polite to save their lives, to save their lives. And that is, I don't have to tell you, but you know, that's a conscious thing that African American families have to contend with, regardless of their station in life. We have no idea. We don't know. We're ignorant about that, talking about whites. So, you know, I've had the good fortune. I'm no expert, I don't claim to be an expert, but I do have more experience in this field and this interaction with, between communities of color and myself than most of my white friends do. And they just don't get it. They don't know. [inaudible] Sushama Austin-Connor (01:02:52): They don't get it. Yeah. Yeah. That's an important point. Jim, one final question. We, our audience is gonna want to know what, what can we do? What can we as clergy and faith leaders and people interested in you and your work and in Centurion and in freeing people who deserve to be freed, what can we do for Centurion? And what can we do to learn more about this justice system that is so different for so many of us? Jim McCloskey (01:03:26): Well, first of all, I read the Philadelphia Inquirer every day. That's where I'm from, that's my home paper. And if you... It's just, you know, Philadelphia is a war zone. The violence down there and fatal shootings. And I mean, it's just, it's out of control. But what I'm trying to say is, read the newspapers with an open mind, understand what's going on in your local community. One example could be, there have been a number of progressive men and women who have been elected district attorneys. As an example, in Baltimore, in Chicago, in St. Louis, in Boston, in Orlando, there are a number of Black women who have been, Black women have been elected as prosecutors, county prosecutors, and what have they done there? And it is a -- that's a tough job if you're Black and you're a woman. And the police, the white police unions and the white police entrenched, you know, you have your hands full, because they resist you with all their might and abase you, and all of that. Jim McCloskey (01:04:56): They're having a lot of problems. I'm thinking particularly of Kim Gardener out in St. Louis. Boy, she's going through hell, dealing with the police unions there. And even Larry Krasner down in Philadelphia, a white male. He having a -- he's a progressive, reform-minded prosecutor, but what's going on there in those offices, and in other offices around the country, they've recognized that this wrongful conviction, this is a phenomena that is far wider, deeper than we ever... Our criminal justice system is flawed, to a far greater extent than we ever imagined. So even district attorneys are setting up what they call conviction integrity units, to review, a separate unit within the office, to review former convictions where an innocent person may have been convicted. I mean, Larry Krasner down in Philadelphia, when he took office three and a half years ago, he set up a conviction integrity unit, and they have freed and exonerated 17 men who have been wrongly convicted of Philadelphia murders. Jim McCloskey (01:06:09): And I might add 16 of the 17 are African-American. It happens that way. But what people can do, you know, who am I to tell people how to vote? But, you know, voting is so important. If you have a choice between a progressive-minded candidate for the local district attorney and an entrenched, "tough-on-crime," old school person. Look at that very carefully. If you want justice and you want change, then you got to go with a progressive person. You just have to. Lives are at stake. Lives are at stake. And it's so important who we, the electorate put in authority in the criminal justice system. That's one thing. Now, as far as Centurion, you know, look, when this pandemic is past us, one way that they can -- we -- I'll just flat out say it -- we depend on financial benefactions from the public. If you think that you want to explore the possibility of giving financial support to us, just go on our, you know, just Google Centurion Ministries and find out all about us. Go to our website, and then you make your determination, if you think this is something that deserves your support. As far as volunteers go, I don't think we're -- we're not taking any more volunteers at this time, because of the pandemic. But when that ceases, if you're a local person, local being in the Princeton area, then you might want to, you might want to contact Centurion with the idea of becoming a volunteer. Right now, we have 20 volunteers, from all walks of life, you know, so there are a lot of different ways that you can support not only Centurion, but those reform-minded, people who want to do who want to make change. Sushama Austin-Connor (01:08:08): [percussion music begins] Awesome. You're a delight. We salute you. We salute your work and your ministry, Jim, this is just a gift. Centurion is a gift. And I'll say personally that I don't really know a more worthy cause to support in helping people and in saving people's lives. And we're just really -- Princeton Seminary is proud of you. And, you know, I just find the work so compelling. I hope people read the book. I hope people get to know what you're doing and what your amazing staff is doing. And we just salute you and your ministry and your amazing, fascinating life. Jim McCloskey (01:08:46): Well, you know, thank you, Su. And I appreciate that very much. There would be no Centurion Ministries were it not for Princeton Theological Seminary. Dayle Rounds (01:08:56): You've been listening to The Distillery. Interviews are conducted by me, Dayle Rounds. Sushama Austin-Connor (01:09:00): And me, Sushama Austin-Connor. Shari Oosting (01:09:03): And I'm Shari Oosting. Amar Peterman (01:09:06): I'm Amar Peterman, and I am in charge of production. Dayle Rounds (01:09:08): Like what you're hearing? Subscribe at Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or your preferred podcast app. The Distillery is a production of Princeton Theological Seminary's Office of Continuing Education. You can find out more at thedistillery.ptsem.edu. Thanks for listening. [water droplet sound]