Category Archives: Podcasts

INTERVIEW: MILLION DOLLAR STORIES

It was a pleasure to be a guest on Mike Fallat’s “MILLION DOLLAR STORIES” podcast, a platform from which he interviews authors. Among other things, he asked me to explain the techniques I used to win the confidence of criminals that do not normally trust anyone. We discussed how I was trained to maximize my ability to persuade and negotiate, including the 9 critical elements listed below. These factors do not only help undercover agents. They can also enhance a business leader’s ability to effectively interact with peers, subordinates, and superiors:

  • Care enough about success with your target audience: DO YOUR HOMEWORK
  • Develop an operational / business plan: CREATE YOUR OWN VIRTUAL REALITY
  • Study and interpret verbal & non-verbal signs: THE LITTLEEST THINGS CAN SPEAK THE LOUDEST
  • Find answers with silence & active listening: SILENT PAUSE + EYE CONTACT COMPELS
  • Earn trust: PEOPLE DON’T CARE HOW MUCH YOU KNOW UNTIL THEY KNOW HOW MUCH YOU CARE
  • Use passive reinforcements: LET VISUALS TALK TO YOUR ATTRIBUTES
  • Conveyances by unwitting sources: LET OTHERS SELL YOU
  • Neutralize obstructors: FOLLOW THE ABRAHAM LINCOLN EXAMPLE
  • Train to be the “Best You”: TREAT HEALTH AS A CORE VALUE (CONDITIONING / MIND / FOOD / SLEEP)

During Keynotes and Masterclasses, I offer significant details about how one can perfect their ability to employ these techniques, and share video excerpts of my use of these elements while interacting undercover with drug cartel leaders.


INTERVIEW: THE JORDAN HARBINGER SHOW (EPISODE 8)

During Episode 8 of the Jordan Harbinger interview, the final episode of this series, I explain why I decided to stop working deep undercover. We also discuss the treats made against my life back in the day, and now. Ultimately, we explore the bottom line about why international banks throughout the world and countless financial service providers cross the line and launder illicit funds. In the end, it’s all about banking the more than $2 trillion a year in capital seeking secrecy from governments. Those funds evolve from every walk of crime. Whether it is drug trafficking, money laundering, illegal arms dealing, tax evasion, the pilfering of treasuries, white collar crime, or some other ugly event, the fortunes of rouges corrupt many and create the battle lines that professionals in anti-money laundering fight every day. Thank you all for the sacrifices those of you in the private and public sector make every day to make this a better world.

INTERVIEW: THE JORDAN HARBINGER SHOW (EPISODE 7)

Episode 7 from Jordan Harbinger’s interview addresses the key to a truly successful undercover money laundering operation, the cartel’s corruption of countries, what happens to a launderer that loses $1 million of cartel profits, and details about a true discussion I had with an influential international banker about the laundering of hundreds of millions in drug money through the U.S. Federal Reserve.

During the interview, I mistakenly referred to the late-night social club where the discussion about laundering through the Federal Reserve occurred as “Renee’s”. My bad. It was actually “Regine’s”, a 25-club empire spanning from Rio de Janeiro to Kuala Lumpur that was built by nightlife powerhouse Regine Zylberberg. I frequented the Miami, NYC, Paris, and London locations of her clubs during my undercover life. At those hot spots, I ran into movie stars, sports greats, famous musicians, and high-profile wise-guys. It was a magnet for the rich and famous.


INTERVIEW: THE JORDAN HARBINGER SHOW (EPISODE 6)

Episode 6 from Jordan Harbinger’s interview takes you inside some of the undercover meetings that nearly got me killed, and we talk about techniques undercover agents can practice to enhance their survival. For those of you that study money laundering, I explain some of the fundamentals about black money markets and how they operate around the world.

INTERVIEW: THE JORDAN HARBINGER SHOW (EPISODE 5)

Episode 5 from Jordan Harbinger’s interview of me takes you inside the underworld, exploring techniques used by experienced undercover agents to win the hearts and minds of their underworld adversaries. We also address techniques undercover agents can use to maintain their cover, even when they are threatened with accusations that they are cops. We discuss what often occurs during criminal trials, when crafty defense attorneys sometime use dirty tricks to try to undermine the credibility of undercover agents and undercover operations.

INTERVIEW: THE JORDAN HARBINGER SHOW (EPISODE 4)

Welcome to Episode 4 of the 8-part interview conducted of me by the amazing Jordan Harbinger. During this episode we discuss how and why some people are vulnerable to corruption. We also explore some of the techniques undercover cops and everyday people can use to establish rapport and improve communication with others that are reluctant to let you know their deepest secrets.

INTERVIEW: THE JORDAN HARBINGER SHOW (EPISODE 3)

Jordan, host of THE JORDAN HARBINGER SHOW, is an amazingly talented host who was eager to drill into issues that have not been addressed on other shows. We have broken this interview into 8 episodes, which will be posted weekly. During this third episode, Jordan draws out details about the “Takedown” of The Infiltrator undercover operation, a typical day in Mazur’s undercover life, how undercover agents are trained to stay grounded, and how criminals compromise a cop.

INTERVIEW: THE JORDAN HARBINGER SHOW (EPISODE 2)

Jordan, host of THE JORDAN HARBINGER SHOW, is an amazingly talented host who was eager to drill into issues that have not been addressed on other shows. We have broken this interview into 8 episodes, which will be posted weekly. During this second episode, Jordan draws out details about how my cover was built, and why it enabled me to convince Pablo Escobar’s closest advisers that I was a sophisticated money launderer they could trust. That same cover convinced senior bank officials that it was safe for them to offer me their laundering services.

INTERVIEW: THE JORDAN HARBINGER SHOW (EPISODE 1)

I recently had the privilege of being a guest on THE JORDAN HARBINGER SHOW. Jordan is an amazingly talented host who, after reading my books, was eager to drill into issues that have not been addressed on other shows. We have broken this interview into 8 episodes, which will be posted weekly. During this first episode, Jordan draws out details concerning my role as an Executive Producer on the set of THE INFILTRATOR, interacting with Bryan Cranston, other actors, and Director Brad Furman.

We then move on to a discussion about how my journey as a U.S. federal agent led me to becoming a long-term undercover agent, and segway into details about the undercover assignment that led to my infiltrating the leadership of Pablo Escobar’s Medellin Cartel and senior management of what was the 7th largest privately held bank in the world, the Bank of Credit & Commerce International (BCCI).

Thanks to Jordan, you will hear a discussion about what it is like for a major criminal to deal with corrupt bank officials that knowingly serve clients with money seeking secrecy from governments, an event that happens far more often than many people are willing to believe. The link below will take you to this first episode of my interview on The Jordan Harbinger Show. Watch for Episode 2 next week.


INTERVIEW: BBC HOST NICKY CAMPBELL PROBES THE INFILTRATOR’S MIND (EPISODE 2)

Episode 2 takes you deeper into what you can expect if you chose to become a long-term undercover agent within the underworld. BBC host NICKY CAMPBELL probes what it was like to be asked by my cartel “friends” to kill for them, and how they shared secrets with me about corrupting country leaders that facilitated their massive drug trafficking empires.

During this episode, I explain how my journey within the “underground empire” of crime opened my eyes to the reality that laundering billions is not a challenge for powerful cartels, even today. The reality is that governments around the world fail to identify and seize more than 1% of the $400 billion in illicit funds generated from the sale of illegal drugs each year.

NICKY also got me to answer the question that defines my view of the value of what I did as an undercover agent. He asked, “If the clock were turned back to the day you decided to become a long-term undercover agent, would you do it again?” Click on the image to the left to hear my response, and the rest of Episode 2. I think you will be surprised.