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Hi, it's Andrea Gunning, the host of Betrayal. I'm excited to announce that the Betrayal podcast is expanding. We are going to be releasing episodes weekly, every Thursday. Each week, you'll hear brand new stories, firsthand accounts of shocking deception, broken trust, and the trail of destruction left behind. Listen to Betrayal Weekly on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
I'm John Walczak, host of the new podcast Missing in Arizona. And I'm Robert Fisher, one of the most wanted men in the world. We cloned his voice using AI.
In 2001, police say I killed my family and rigged my house to explode before escaping into the wilderness. Police believe he is alive and hiding somewhere. Join me. I'm going down in the cave. As I track down clues. I'm going to call the police and have you removed. Hunting. One of the most dangerous fugitives in the world. Robert Fisher. Do you recognize my voice? Listen to Missing in Arizona every Wednesday on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your favorite shows.
Curious about queer sexuality, cruising, and expanding your horizons? Hit play on the sex-positive and deeply entertaining podcast Sniffy's Cruising Confessions. Join hosts Gabe Gonzalez and Chris Patterson Rosso as they explore queer sex, cruising, relationships, and culture in the new iHeart podcast, Sniffy's Cruising Confessions.
Sniffy's Cruising Confessions will broaden minds and help you pursue your true goals. You can listen to Sniffy's Cruising Confessions, sponsored by Gilead, now on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes every Thursday. In the spring of 2020, two amazing things happened in my life. I became a dad and The Last Dance came out, the documentary about Michael Jordan and his final season with the Chicago Bulls.
All right, so one of those is obviously a bit more amazing than the other, but that documentary took me right back to the 90s when I was a kid, and I couldn't wait to share everything I loved with my son Sullivan, or Sully as we call him, the most important thing being sports. So over the course of the first few weeks of Sully's life, he and I bonded while watching The Last Dance. I told him how Jordan was the most clutch athlete who ever played and how he could dunk a basketball from the free throw line.
Sully had no idea we were having this conversation or that he was in a Michael Jordan onesie, but hearing that Jordan intro under the iconic Alan Parsons song with my son by my side, I loved every second of it. Now, while this was happening, I couldn't help but think about my relationship with my own dad, which was very complicated and chaotic. But the one thing we did have was going to games together, except my experience was very different.
So in June of 2020, as a brand new father, I decided to share something on Instagram I had only ever told a few people. And the next thing I knew, it blew up. It may have been the greatest scam for a sports fan, posing as a Sports Illustrated kids reporter with your dad and getting into all of the games, not to mention the locker rooms.
On Instagram, I posted the story of how in the 90s, my father and I ran a con for years where I impersonated a Sports Illustrated for kids reporter and my father impersonated a photographer. So right after I put that online, tons of media outlets got in touch. USA Today, Fox Sports, even Sports Illustrated asked if I would write an article about the whole experience.
Joining me now is comedian Gary Beder. Gary, you and your dad banned this scam from 1993 to 1997, and it allowed you to talk to and meet players like John Elway, Shaq,
Michael Jordan, you have to tell me more about this and how it worked. We started doing it in 1993. I would be going as a reporter and my dad would look the part of a photographer. We'd go to the games, he would give my name and my dad himself, he would use an alias. Usually went by the name Emmanuel Wolf, but he had a few aliases. It's incredible. I cannot believe that you guys were able to do it, but you did it.
My father's actual name is Manny Veeder, and he scammed his way through life. Throughout my childhood, I witnessed this seemingly unsuspecting man from the suburbs of Long Island get away with defrauding people through forgery, fake businesses, and I even watched him wage war against a billion-dollar company. With all the attention my story received, everyone wanted to know if my father and I would talk about it together. I told them, unfortunately not.
You see, the thing is, when your father's a con artist, the people who get hurt the most are the ones he's closest to. I'm Gary Veeder, and I haven't spoken to my dad in 24 years. His never-ending string of lies ultimately broke apart my family.
He wasn't like the other dads. I saw my friends had a normal dad and you know what? That's all I wanted. The last time he and I spoke, I was still a teenager. I asked him, "Why do you choose to live your life this way?" And he told me when I get older, I'd understand.
Well, I'm older now and I still don't get it. How did my father become this scheming mastermind? What drove him to do the things he did? And is it possible after all these years he's actually changed? I have no idea where he lives or what he's up to, but my goal with this podcast is to track him down and get to the truth about who my father, Manny Veeder, really is. This is Number One Dad.
Can I ask a question? Yeah, it's a podcast. That's my wife, Allie. We've been together for 10 years, married for seven, and she knows me better than anyone. Do you think that you becoming a father makes you more empathetic towards your dad or makes you angrier towards your dad?
I think that I am, over time, I am way less angry than I was. I think that when I stopped talking to him as a 15-year-old, I was so angry that, you know, I made it a point where in my head I'm like, I'm never talking to this person again. But having a kid absolutely changes you. I can't imagine not talking to Sullivan for, you know, a day. I look at your dad and your relationship, and that's the total opposite of what I experienced.
I grew up in a small town in Long Island called Dix Hills in the 90s with two older sisters and a chocolate lab named Kobe. And it was a great place to live. Imagine kids playing on their front lawn and riding their bikes down the street.
As the youngest of three kids to Manny and Sherry Veeder, and the only boy, I would spend a lot of time with my dad. He even coached me in Little League. Gary, Gary, listen to Gary. I'll tell you what to do. You run fast and don't look at the ball. Go, go, go, go, go, go. He's safe. No force, he's safe.
Yeah, that was my dad yelling at an umpire in my t-ball game. I was five years old. The guy would do anything to win. Growing up, my dad and I, we'd do everything together. I loved sports as a kid. I was obsessed. I was basically a sports encyclopedia. I mean, you could say the name of any pro athlete in the 90s, and I could rattle off all of their stats. I knew everything.
So every morning, I'd read Long Island's main newspaper, Newsday, and I'd see how my favorite teams, the Knicks and the Rangers, did the night before. On the morning of March 28, 1995, the Knicks were hosting the Bulls at Madison Square Garden. And the
these are the Bulls of the 90s, the greatest, most popular sports franchise ever. For the third year, Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls have climbed the Mount Olympus of the NBA. They're the world champions of basketball.
This wasn't just going to be any game. It was going to be Jordan's first game back in New York since he announced he was coming out of retirement. And I had never seen MJ play in person. So I ran downstairs to my dad and I asked him if we could go to the game. And even though it was already sold out, he didn't hesitate. He said that he'll make it happen. And I knew from experience that we were golden. But what neither of us knew was that this would be the time we almost got busted.
I remember I had school that day and I couldn't concentrate. I was just staring at the clock. Then at 1 p.m., there was an announcement on the classroom intercom telling me to go to the main office. And from there, a teacher just led me out to the school parking lot where my dad was waiting for me in his blue Chevy Caprice. The thing that's special about the Chevy Caprice is that it's used as an unmarked cop car by police detectives, which was 1,000% why my dad bought it. And a drive from Long Island to Madison Square Garden should take...
an hour but when you're riding an unmarked cop car with my dad behind the wheel people will get out of the way when they see you behind them we did it in 40 minutes
They would give you credentials. It's not like you had to show up with credentials. Yeah, didn't have to show up with credentials. They would give them to you. And this is in the 90s, so there's no way of actually checking if we're with Sports Illustrated for kids. I mean, yeah, they could make a phone call, but my dad always said that people don't want to go through that work. That's me talking to my buddy, comedian Nate Bargetzi. My dad was a con man in everyday life, but this was just like, to him, you know, just a fun, you know, con that he could do with his son. I love sports. He loved lying. We've
Go. I mean, that was his thing. Like that was, you know, we love comedy. He loves lying. He's like, do you care? You asked him, do you care about the game? He's like, I care about getting in the game. That's what I love. I was getting a monthly subscription to Sports Illustrated for kids as a fourth grader. And my dad ran with the idea that we could just start posing as a reporter and a photographer.
So before every game we went to, my dad would call up the press office at MSG and tell them that we were arriving. And next thing you know, our press passes would be waiting for us. He had to have a camera, like a real camera. He had a real camera. He looked professional. He had a vest and everything. He had pockets where he would keep extra film.
And my dad just talks a good game. He's confident. Yeah, very confident. And obviously that's a huge part of it. So he was able to bypass people to even have them even think that this was a scam. Yeah, that's crazy. We never went straight to the garden. We would stop at B&H. It's an electronics and camera superstore that's in Manhattan. B&H had everything that would make my dad look
official and at games he made sure that I looked the part too. I'd be neatly dressed carrying around a notepad and a pen and to go along with it I had a fresh 90s style bowl haircut that is very regrettable when I look back at pictures. The first time that we ran the con was at a Knicks vs. Bucks game during the 1992-93 season.
And my dad had a plan where from day one, the first rule was when we walked into the garden, he was not my father. I had to call him by whatever alias he was using that day. And he had them all, you know, he had like eight different aliases. That first game we ever went to went according to plan. I was able to get pictures and autographs with all my favorite Knicks, John Starks, Charles Oakley, and my favorite Knick, Patrick Ewing. After that, we never looked back.
So when do you think that you're going to tell Sully about your relationship with your father, the experiences and overall? I mean, I think depending on how this goes, hopefully my dad could be a part of our life. But if that doesn't happen, I think the plan would be to tell him the good stuff. Maybe, you know, when he's seven or eight and maybe if Sullivan's into sports, I would tell him the cool stuff that we did and who I met and give him the autographs that I have.
On September 17, 2009, 24-year-old Mitrice Richardson was released from the Malibu Lost Hill Sheriff's Station. She had no money, no phone, and no ride. She walked out of the station and into the night. And she never made it home. Nearly a year later, Mitrice's naked, skeletonized remains were discovered in a canyon six miles from the station.
I'm Dana Goodyear. Five years ago, I started reporting on the Mitrice Richardson case. Everyone knows something horrible happened to Mitrice. Nothing about her case makes sense. And for 15 years, the Sheriff's Department has failed to solve it. In Lost Hills, Dark Canyon, we're investigating what happened to Mitrice Richardson.
Listen to Lost Hills, Dark Canyon on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Back in 1969, this was the hottest song around. So hot that some guys from Michigan tried to steal it. My name is Daniel Ralston.
For 10 years, I've been obsessed with one of the most bizarre and audacious cons in rock and roll history. A group would have a hit record, and quickly they would hire a bunch of guys to go out and be the group. People were being cheated on several levels. After years of searching, we bring you the true story of the fake zombies. I was like blown away. These guys are not going to get away with it. Listen to the true story of the fake zombies on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Welcome to Criminalia. I'm Maria Tremarcki. And I'm Holly Frey. Together, we invite you into the dark corridors of history and true crime. For each season, we explore a new theme. From poisoners to stalkers, art thieves to snake oil salesmen. We uncover the secrets of history's most interesting figures, such as Walter Minx, the man who built his own submarine hoping to escape with his blackmail payout under Lake Michigan. It sounds made up.
but it's 100% true. We'll explore the crimes as well as societal forces at play, from unfair sentencing to jaw-dissolving health risks. And tune in at the end of each episode as we indulge in cocktails and mocktails inspired by each story. Listen to Criminalia on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
We pulled the scam at least 50 times. I was able to meet the best athletes in the world, and it wasn't just at Madison Square Garden. I met two-time Super Bowl champion, Denver Broncos quarterback, John Elway. I met him at a celebrity golf tournament where I was given my own personal press room.
I met Olympic figure skater Nancy Kerrigan. I interviewed her as we skated around Chelsea Piers ice rink in New York. Somehow, my dad got us the entire rink to ourselves. And I also met my favorite hockey player, NHL Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux. And on goal, he's out!
My dad found out he was on Long Island for an event, tracked down the hotel where he was staying, and pretended to be a chauffeur so we knew exactly when he was going to be in the lobby, which then led me to getting an interview with him in a private banquet hall.
Celebrities would be at the games all the time. And one of the people that I met was Cindy Crawford. And this is when she was Pepsi Cindy Crawford. And I'll never forget this. As we were taking a photo, her husband at the time, Richard Gere yelled over to me, hey, get off my wife. I guess he felt threatened by the bull haircut. We pulled a scam over and over and nobody ever suspected a thing.
Having a kid there is enormous. Absolutely. That's enormous because no one's really going to tell a kid no. Yeah. And no one wants to be like, I think you're lying. That's very uncomfortable to do. My face and my dad's skills was like a free pass into the world's most famous arena. And I got to see the most iconic hockey game that ever took place in New York.
June 14, 1994. It is game seven of the Stanley Cup Finals, perhaps the greatest night of sports history here in New York.
I'm 11 years old. We have no tickets. I sat glass as the New York Rangers broke their 54-year drought and they went on to beat the Vancouver Canucks to win the Stanley Cup. And this is how crazy my dad is. Not only did we go into both locker rooms after the game, we went to the team after party. And a few days later, the team celebrated at Gracie Mansion, which is where the mayor lives.
who at the time was Rudy Giuliani. And my dad didn't care about this. He was like, let's go in there. Let's get past the security detail. Let's go to the mayor of New York's private residence. And this is where I found myself taking pictures with the Stanley Cup. And I even played street hockey with the mayor's son. Looking back on it, I knew everything we were doing was wrong, but I'm a kid. It's hard not to get caught up in the excitement.
Obviously, Sully is very young, but let's say that he hears about all the stuff that you and your dad did, Madison Square Garden, meeting all these athletes. What if he wants to try it with you? What would you say? Yeah.
I would say that those were different times and that it's always best to be honest. And my role model wasn't the best role model. And I'm trying to be the best role model for you. And I would show him cool stuff, but I would show him those things in a legal way.
My father's scam worked flawlessly until it almost didn't. Like I said, we almost got busted. For 21 months, the NBA was without its supreme artist. There may be many interesting peripheral aspects to both his departure and return, but at the heart of it is simply this. The best in the world is back.
It was the afternoon of Jordan's return to the Garden. We get there early enough to pick up our press passes and take some pictures during shoot-around. And the arena was already packed. Jordan, by the way, some people don't know exactly. Jordan's come back. He's wearing number 45. I mean, this is one of the more iconic... I mean, most everybody's going to know what this is. But...
some people were younger and they don't remember Jordan. And this was a very iconic game in the garden. He's always done very well in the garden. And the Knicks playing the Bulls, which was an incredible rivalry. So this was an extremely hard ticket to get. And out of all the years that we've been doing, we've been doing probably about like two and a half, three years at this point doing the scam. We never ran into anybody from Sports Illustrated for kids, but at
this game, the actual Sports Illustrated for Kids was there. Then Sports Illustrated for Kids back then, they didn't have a kids reporter, so it was two adults. It was an adult writer and an adult photographer. You were making them more legit. And it didn't stop my dad. He actually made us go up to them and we got like their business cards and everything. He didn't lead on that that's...
what we were posing as. He just found, you know, just had us meet, got their cards. I guess just, he always loved getting information. So getting information like, oh, this is who this is in case I see them again. Him getting the business cards of those guys that y'all are pretending to be is pretty smart because he knows if someone goes, who are you here with? He's like, oh, I'm with Johnny and Jim. They're the sports ocean. They're over there. Go ask, talk to them about it.
Right before tip-off, my father found a seat for me in the fourth row behind the Knicks basket. And here's the thing. My dad and I, we never sat together during the games. He would be off with the other camera guys taking pictures on the floor. And I didn't find this odd until years later. I mean, here I am. I'm a young kid, and I'm going to games with my father, and we never once actually sat together. It's the magical, mystical Jordan Road Tour 1995.
And one of the most asked questions in America is, is he as good now as he was before? So the garden is sold out. The crowd is electric. Celebrities are filling seats. And I was right near Diane Sawyer, Tom Brokaw, Phil Donahue, and Maury Povich. I mean, this was a big deal. I mean, these people mean absolutely pretty much nothing right now. But they were a big deal back then. Everyone was hoping for a show, and we got one. Yeah!
The game came down to the final seconds with the Bulls and the Knicks tied at 1-11. And just like always with the game on the line, the ball was in Michael's hands.
So to go along with his game-winning assists, he went 21-37 that night, scoring 55 points, which is now known as his double nickel game. And it was just crazy. The final horn sounded. Every member of the press immediately rushed towards the Bulls locker room, including my dad and me. And security was tight. I mean, you could not move.
That's when, at the corner of my eye, I saw the real Sports Illustrated for kids guys closing in. And I was like, this is not good. This is where our whole plan is foiled. We're never getting back in the garden. We're banned for life. We're going to be on the cover of Newsday. I'm going to be humiliated.
And my dad, though, he knew how to get past everybody. He knew the security guards because he'd always say hello. He'd always take pictures and hand them to them whenever we'd go to the games. And we were a familiar face. And that consistent presence at MSG paid off for us and gave us an advantage. When they saw us, they gave us the head nod to go through.
We get past security. The corridor leading to Bull's locker room was a madhouse. People are shoulder to shoulder. Everyone was looking for an interview from Michael. My dad and I were trying to figure out our next move. I see Scotty Pippen on his way out, and I grabbed a picture and autograph. Soon after that, a PR person led me and my dad into a private locker room. And there he was, sitting alongside Phil Jackson, Michael Jordan.
And I mean, I started shaking immediately. My dad, on the other hand, was ever so cool. I mean, this is something my dad, my dad was just, meeting Michael Jordan meant nothing to my dad. It's just, you know, this is what he was all about.
And next thing I knew, I had to pull out my pad and my pen. I could only remember one of my silly questions, although all three were written down on the pad. And I asked him what his favorite food is. Michael said steak. Not exactly Pulitzer Prize winning journalism, but give me a break. I'm talking to Michael Jordan. I had no business being there. He even noticed I was wearing Fila sneakers and commented that I needed to get a pair of Nikes. My dad snapped a bunch of pictures of us and I got a signed card and just
Just like that, it was over. My dad and I, we're riding an adrenaline high at this point. We're making our way out of the garden, and as we're going out, we see the real Sports Illustrated for Kids guys. They were still trying to get past security.
Well, as a kid, did you love it? Like, or is it like in the moment or would you get tired of it? Eventually I got tired of it. By the time I was 14, I didn't want to keep on lying. It became a thing. It becomes a little bit draining. And my dad, again, he was doing this in all aspects of his life. Over the years, my mom would argue with my dad, begging him to stop taking me to games. She completely disapproved of his lifestyle and the example he was setting as a parent. And I was frustrated too.
Over time, it wasn't just at sporting events. Everything my dad did was a lie. There are so many schemes and cons I wasn't involved in, which ultimately destroyed my family, my father's shady furniture business, his countless lawsuits against companies big and small, and his attempt to defraud the biggest payphone corporation of the 90s, AT&T.
When federal agents start banging on the front door of your childhood home with a search warrant, signed basketballs and hockey sticks start to seem less important. Eventually, when I was 15 years old, it became too much and I cut my father completely out of my life.
But how much can you really cut someone out of your life if they were the person that raised you? Whether I like it or not, he had a huge effect on me. You know, I think there's two parts to it. I think you have the things that you did with your dad. So in that sense, I'm like, wow, this is unbelievably interesting. And then the second part of it is
the part that is the actual relationship or lack thereof with your father. And I think that even as stoic of a person as you are, that has to bring up stuff. I mean, it has to. You'd have to be like a crazy person to not feel anything about it. And I have my own feelings about your father, obviously. But I think you're ready for it. And I think if there's anybody that can handle something like that, it's you. When I think back to watching that Jordan documentary, The Last Dance, with my son,
I realized why I was so fascinated by it. I was finally getting to know the truth about one of my childhood heroes. And with this podcast, I'm trying to do the same. To me, my father was just like Mike, a man who had stopped at nothing to win. But what is the truth about him? Manny Veeder.
Throughout this series, I'm going to meet with family and friends as I search for a better understanding of my father and hopefully my own childhood. I want to learn more about the cons I know of and even the ones I don't. Then my plan is to meet him and find out what he's been doing for the past 24 years.
On the next episode of Number One Dad. When is the last time that you spoke about your father with your mother? We've been together 10 years and I have not once heard your mom mention your dad ever. Like ever. Yeah, she's not a big fan. I don't know if you know. It sounds like you had to find ways to...
to survive at a young age. Instead of giving me money, he's just started helping me photocopy dollar bills to make them look more realistic. It'd be great if at the end of this podcast, your dad just like charms you today, he cons you, and you're just another victim of it. It's possible, that's the thing. Number One Dad is a production of Radio Point, Big Money Players Network, and iHeart Podcasts.
Created and hosted by Gary Veeder. Executive producers are Gary Veeder, Adam Lowitt, Alex Bach, Daniel Powell, Houston Snyder, Kenneth Slotnick, and Brian Stern.
Written by Gary Veeder and Adam Lowit. Produced by Bernie Kaminsky. Co-producer is Taylor Kowalski. Edited and mixed by Ian Sorrentino at Little Bear Audio. Recording engineer is Kat Iosa. Original music by Andrew Gross. Special thanks to Charlotte DeAnda. Jonathan Karsh is creative consultant. Executive producers for Big Money Players Network and iHeart Podcast are Will Farrell, Hans Sani, and Olivia Aguilar.
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Hi, it's Andrea Gunning, the host of Betrayal. I'm excited to announce that the Betrayal podcast is expanding. We are going to be releasing episodes weekly, every Thursday. Each week, you'll hear brand new stories, firsthand accounts of shocking deception, broken trust, and the trail of destruction left behind. Listen to Betrayal Weekly on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
I'm John Walczak, host of the new podcast Missing in Arizona. And I'm Robert Fisher, one of the most wanted men in the world. We cloned his voice using AI.
In 2001, police say I killed my family and rigged my house to explode before escaping into the wilderness. Police believe he is alive and hiding somewhere. Join me. I'm going down in the cave. As I track down clues. I'm going to call the police and have you removed. Hunting. One of the most dangerous fugitives in the world. Robert Fisher. Do you recognize my voice? Listen to Missing in Arizona every Wednesday on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your favorite shows.