1:41

It's

2:00

a glamorous, glitzy beat, populated

2:03

with movie stars and billionaires. But

2:06

despite this, the crimes committed

2:09

here can be every bit as dark

2:11

as in any other city. And

2:13

the phone call he's about to answer will

2:16

begin one of the most disturbing cases

2:19

in Zoller's career. On

2:23

the other end of the line is a woman named

2:25

Blanche Sturkey. She

2:28

sounds frantic as she tells Zoller that

2:30

her employer, Mr. Ron Levin, has

2:33

gone missing.

2:35

Grabbing his pin, Zoller asks for

2:37

the details. Blanche

2:39

tells him that Ron is a 42-year-old

2:42

single man

2:43

who lives alone on South Peck Drive

2:46

with a small dog named Kosher. He's

2:48

about 6'1", has white

2:50

hair, a beard, and typically

2:52

dresses in impeccably tailored

2:55

suits.

2:56

Blanche is his housekeeper, and

2:58

she's certain that something dreadful must

3:00

have happened to him. She

3:05

explains that yesterday afternoon,

3:08

Ron told her that he was planning on leaving

3:10

for New York City early the next day. He

3:13

said he was going on a business trip with two

3:16

young friends who were coming to pick him

3:18

up at around 7am.

3:21

However, when those two men arrived

3:23

this morning to collect him, nobody answered the door. They

3:28

then noticed that Ron's alarm system

3:31

wasn't on, which

3:33

was strange as Ron always set the alarm before leaving the house.

3:37

Fearing that he might be in trouble, they

3:40

phoned Blanche, who immediately came

3:42

over with her spare keys.

3:44

But when the three of them gained access to the property,

3:47

there was no sign of Ron. However,

3:51

his beloved little Kosher was still

3:53

there, visibly shaking and

3:55

having peed the carpet. There

3:58

are a number of other odd things. Blanche

4:00

explains, for instance, it

4:03

doesn't seem as though Ron has taken anything

4:05

with him. His address book

4:07

is still on the premises,

4:09

and Blanche insists Ron never

4:11

goes anywhere without that.

4:14

Zoller asks the housekeeper if

4:16

anything seems to have been stolen from

4:18

the property. She

4:20

doesn't think so, despite the home

4:23

boasting an impressive art collection, as

4:25

well as many expensive abjay d'are.

4:30

Unfortunately, Zoller tells Blanche

4:32

he can't file a missing persons report

4:35

for at least 48 hours.

4:37

If Ron hasn't resurfaced by then,

4:40

she should call back. But

4:44

as soon as the call ends,

4:47

Zoller turns to the nearest computer. He's

4:49

pretty sure he's heard the name Ron Levin

4:52

before,

4:53

probably from other cops. Running

4:56

it through the system, it soon becomes

4:58

apparent that Ron Levin is

5:00

not just any missing person.

5:03

According to his case file, Ron

5:05

is currently out on bail. He has 10

5:08

counts of grand larceny against him.

5:11

If convicted of these crimes, he

5:13

faces a potential 8-year

5:15

prison sentence. It

5:19

immediately occurs to Zoller that

5:21

Levin may have skipped town

5:24

ahead of his approaching trial. A

5:27

fair assumption given his impressive

5:29

rap sheet.

5:31

But little does Detective Zoller know

5:33

that this case is

5:35

far more complex than it appears.

5:39

Over the coming weeks,

5:40

shocking secrets will emerge surrounding

5:43

the life of Ron Levin and the dangerous

5:46

company he keeps.

5:48

As Zoller tries to make sense of what's happened,

5:51

he'll delve into a world of money-hungry

5:53

yuppies and high-functioning con

5:56

artists,

5:57

people who embody the most extreme

5:59

cartoon.

5:59

tunished stereotypes of Reagan-era

6:02

America. It sounds

6:04

like a story ripped from the pages of American

6:07

Psycho

6:08

by Brad Easton Ellis.

6:11

But this story is true. My

6:21

name is Mark Dotson and welcome

6:23

to Detectives Don't Sleep.

6:25

Each week we'll shadow the world's most remarkable

6:28

sleuths, real detectives who

6:31

worked extraordinary cases. This

6:33

week we're following famed LA detective

6:36

Leslie Zoller as he cracks one

6:38

of the biggest investigations of his

6:40

career. What starts

6:43

off as a simple missing persons case

6:46

quickly snowballs into a tale

6:48

of murder and conspiracy beyond

6:51

even the most seasoned cop's wildest

6:53

imagination. Seeing

6:55

it

6:55

will take months of dedication, but

6:58

that's the thing about great detectives. They're

7:00

all in. They never truly

7:03

rest until they've closed the case.

7:06

From Noiser, this is the story

7:08

of the billionaire boys club. And

7:11

this is Detectives Don't Sleep.

7:20

Two days later, Ron's mother,

7:22

Carol Levin, phoned Zoller to

7:25

say that her son is still missing. By

7:28

now, Zoller has already begun looking

7:31

into the Levin case.

7:32

His theory that Ron skipped town

7:35

ahead of trial has

7:36

evolved.

7:37

It appears that the handsome businessman

7:40

isn't who he appears to be.

7:44

If the files and the rumors are to be

7:46

believed,

7:47

Ron is a con artist on a

7:50

grand scale. His

7:52

wealthy lifestyle based entirely

7:54

on false presentation, fraudulent

7:56

activities, and broken promises.

8:00

Throughout his 20s and 30s,

8:02

Ron set up dozens of businesses,

8:05

including record companies, advertising

8:07

agencies, and a mail-order firm

8:09

called the Super Sex Catalog.

8:13

He'd order stock and costly equipment

8:15

from suppliers.

8:17

But when the enterprises failed,

8:19

Ron would keep it all,

8:21

rarely paying back what he owed.

8:23

So, the lawsuits piled up

8:26

and he gained a reputation as a

8:28

deeply untrustworthy businessman.

8:31

But recently, his methods

8:33

have become even more brazen. You

8:40

see, now he's begun setting up

8:42

bank accounts all over LA,

8:45

with small sums in them. He even has

8:47

a Swiss bank account,

8:49

though there's less than $200 in it.

8:52

This hasn't stopped him writing six-figure checks.

8:56

Through

8:56

these fraudulent payments, he'd spoil

8:58

himself with the newest designer clothes,

9:01

leased beautiful sports cars, and

9:03

appear to the world

9:05

like a bonafide millionaire. Bizarrely,

9:09

not long before he disappeared,

9:11

Ron had even been accused of swindling $130,000

9:16

worth of camera equipment.

9:18

Kinda odd for a guy who didn't even work in

9:20

the film industry. It seems

9:22

he doesn't really care how many bouncing

9:25

checks he leaves in his wake, just

9:27

as long as he can keep living the high life.

9:31

Given Ron's habit of spending other

9:34

people's money,

9:35

it seems plausible to Detective

9:37

Zoller that he could have run afoul

9:40

of some dangerous people. On

9:43

the phone, Zoller asks Carol

9:45

what she knows about Ron's more recent

9:47

dealings. But she angrily

9:50

accuses him of being more interested

9:52

in investigating her son's alleged

9:54

crimes than in finding him. She

9:57

insists that her son is just

9:59

an innocent

11:45

The

12:05

first break in the case comes nearly two

12:07

months into the investigation.

12:12

Zoller learns that on June 7, 1984, the

12:15

day

12:16

after Ron was reported missing, someone

12:19

tried to cash one of his checks for

12:22

over $1.5 million.

12:26

Unfortunately for the person concerned,

12:28

the account had only $40 in it. Considering

12:32

Ron's habit of writing out checks

12:35

that he can't cash, this isn't

12:37

necessarily suspicious.

12:40

Apart from one thing, it

12:42

was dated for June 6, the

12:45

same day that Ron went missing.

12:49

So could the person who tried to cash

12:51

the check be behind Ron's disappearance?

12:55

Detective Zoller decides to find out

12:57

who it was and fast. Luckily,

13:01

he doesn't have long to wait. In

13:04

early August,

13:05

Zoller is contacted

13:07

by a pair of young men through their attorney.

13:10

They claim to have information about

13:12

the disappearance of Ron Levin.

13:15

What they tell him will take this case to

13:18

a whole new level.

13:27

It's August 9, 1984. Zoller

13:31

will always remember it as

13:33

the day he first heard about

13:35

the billionaire boys'

13:39

club. It sounds like a celebration of conspicuous

13:42

wealth, but the truth is

13:44

much darker than that. Zoller

13:52

sits in a glass-walled office overlooking

13:54

Beverly Hills. Seated

13:56

across the table from him are Tom

13:59

and Dave Menz.

15:54

and

16:00

was presenting himself as some kind

16:03

of investment guru.

16:05

Joe gathered together a group of promising

16:07

young men from the wealthiest families

16:09

in Beverly Hills

16:11

and announced that he was starting an

16:13

elite investors club.

16:16

Joe originally called it the BBC

16:19

after the Bombay Bicycle Club,

16:22

a restaurant he used to frequent in Chicago.

16:26

But

16:26

it soon became known as

16:28

the Billionaire Boys Club. Joe

16:32

was incredibly persuasive, Tom says,

16:36

and all the guys who'd once looked down

16:38

their noses at him

16:40

were now clamoring to join

16:42

his exclusive group.

16:50

Joe wanted these privileged young people to

16:53

persuade their moneyed parents and

16:55

high society contacts

16:57

to invest in the club.

16:59

The BBC would then put that money

17:02

into up and coming, can't lose

17:04

companies, resulting

17:06

in huge returns for the investors.

17:10

Ah, word got around, the money

17:13

started rolling in. And

17:16

as soon as it did, Joe and the boys

17:19

began spending it.

17:21

Joe's attitude was that they needed

17:23

to look the part.

17:24

If they were to gain the trust of future investors.

17:28

So they gave themselves

17:31

all the trappings of success,

17:33

expensive cars, pricey watches,

17:36

luxury apartments. They even

17:38

had a swanky office on the fifth

17:40

floor of the Wells Fargo building in

17:42

West Hollywood. There,

17:45

Joe would regale the others with

17:47

inspiring speeches. He

17:49

dismissed people outside of their club as normies.

17:53

He talked philosophy a lot, which

17:55

really impressed the boys.

17:57

For instance, Joe once asked

17:59

his members.

21:59

of Europe and unmasking con

22:02

men in Beverly Hills. These

22:05

detectives, they all have one thing

22:07

in common. They can never truly

22:09

rest until they've closed the case.

22:13

Listen to Detectives Don't Sleep, wherever

22:16

you get your podcasts.

22:21

The May twins explained to Zolar how,

22:24

over the following weeks,

22:26

Joe and Ron became inseparable.

22:30

The two men regularly dined together and

22:33

would discuss Joe's grand business

22:35

ideas. Ron was wonderful

22:38

company, and Joe would invite him to all

22:40

his glitzy parties.

22:44

A month after the first meeting, Levin

22:47

told Joe some spectacular news.

22:50

He wanted to put up $5 million

22:52

for Joe to trade

22:54

in the commodities market.

22:56

Then they would split the profits.

22:59

Ron introduced Joe to Jack

23:02

Friedman

23:03

of Clayton Brokridge, with whom

23:05

he'd set up the account.

23:07

Ron explained that Joe would have to

23:09

trade over the phone to Friedman,

23:11

who would then carry out his instructions

23:14

and send him regular statements. Joe

23:16

was thrilled. This was exactly the lifeline

23:19

he and the BBC had been waiting

23:21

for. Within just

23:24

a few months, Joe was able to bring

23:26

the original $5 million up to $13 million, meaning

23:32

that he was entitled to $4 million in profit.

23:36

It was a huge vindication for Joe.

23:39

Despite the BBC's losses in other

23:42

areas,

23:43

he now had the statements to prove that

23:45

he was a genius trader after all.

23:50

There was one problem.

23:52

Joe still hadn't received the money he was

23:54

owed.

23:56

In fact, Ron was now proving

23:58

evasive whenever Joe

23:59

tried to talk to him.

24:02

Months passed. Joe became

24:04

increasingly anxious.

24:06

Was he ever going to get his money?

24:09

Toward the end of the year, he decided

24:12

to phone Clayton Brokerage to discuss

24:14

it. When Jack Friedman

24:16

answered the phone, he sounded delighted

24:18

to hear from the young trader.

24:21

But his first question puzzled

24:23

Joe. And what

24:25

happened with the story that you and Ron Levin

24:28

were doing on the trading? Joe

24:30

asked the broker what he meant, and that was

24:32

when Friedman dropped the bombshell. So

24:36

when did you learn that the Levin account wasn't

24:38

real? He asked.

24:41

It seemed that Clayton Brokerage

24:43

had been under the impression that Ron Levin

24:46

was a TV producer for a company

24:48

called Network News.

24:51

He claimed that they were making a TV

24:53

documentary about commodities trading

24:56

and Ron wanted Friedman to appear

24:58

in it.

25:00

Thinking it would be a great advertisement for

25:02

the firm, Friedman had agreed. So

25:05

Ron showed up with a large camera crew

25:07

and interviewed him in his office.

25:11

Ron had then asked Friedman to let

25:13

him set up a bogus account in his

25:15

name for a hotshot trader named

25:18

Joe Hunt to play with.

25:20

The trader wouldn't be told that the money wasn't

25:22

real until soon after the documentary

25:25

was finished.

25:27

The stunning truth was crashing in

25:30

on Joe. The Levin account, as

25:32

well as the statements he'd been sent, had

25:34

only been a simulation

25:36

and a cruel one at that. Joe

25:39

Hunt was understandably furious.

25:42

From

25:46

what the May twins were told, Joe

25:48

went straight to Ron's duplex. When

25:51

Ron answered the door, he was wearing a

25:53

bathrobe and holding his little dog

25:55

kosher in his arms. Joe confronted

25:57

Ron about the fake account.

25:59

Why on earth would he pull such a bizarre,

26:02

elaborate stunt?

26:04

Now listen close, because the answer to that

26:06

question can be a bit confusing

26:09

for those of us who aren't multi-million

26:11

dollar scam artists.

26:13

Remember how Ron makes his living by setting

26:16

up fake accounts? Using them

26:18

to write checks that he knows full well

26:20

will bounce?

26:21

Essentially, the whole documentary

26:24

ruse with Clayton Brokerage was

26:26

just an extension of that.

26:29

When the brokerage agreed to do Ron's

26:31

bogus documentary,

26:33

they also agreed to provide fake

26:35

account statements.

26:37

Ron then brought these multi-million

26:39

dollar statements to banks and

26:42

used them as leverage

26:43

to take out big loans.

26:45

Joe Hunt was just a pawn

26:47

in another one of Ron's outlandish get-rich-quick

26:50

schemes. After Ron

26:52

explained all this, he assured

26:55

Joe that he wasn't planning on scamming

26:57

him.

26:58

He'd invested the loans in some big

27:00

projects that he was sure would turn

27:02

a major profit.

27:04

Joe would get his money when those loans paid

27:06

out,

27:07

Ron said as he struck the dog. But

27:09

that didn't placate Joe at all. In

27:12

fact, from that day forth, whenever

27:15

he spoke of Ron Levin to the other

27:17

BBC members, it was always

27:19

with undisguised hatred.

27:27

So Zoller needs a break, his

27:29

head's spinning. It's a lot to take in,

27:31

right? Out

27:33

the window, the sprawl of Los Angeles

27:36

extends to the ocean.

27:37

Countless boulevards, streets

27:40

and back streets.

27:41

So easy to pick a route with a bird's

27:43

eye view.

27:45

But on the ground, just like working

27:47

a case,

27:48

so easy to take a wrong turn

27:51

into a blind alley.

27:55

The interview with the May twins resumes.

27:58

They tell him that on June 20th,

28:02

24, 1984. A BBC meeting had been held

28:04

in the luxury condo where Joe Hunt

28:07

lived.

28:08

This was two weeks into Ron Levin's

28:10

disappearance, Zoller notes.

28:13

A select group of BBC members

28:15

were there,

28:16

including the May twins.

28:18

Also present was Jim Pittman,

28:20

the BBC's intimidating head

28:23

of security and a former athlete.

28:26

Essentially,

28:27

Jim was Joe's muscle, the

28:29

twins explained to Zoller.

28:31

The room was buzzing with discontent.

28:34

By now, Joe had frittered away

28:36

over $900,000 of his investors' money. And

28:41

considering how Levin had played him,

28:43

a lot of the boys had lost faith in him

28:46

as their leader. But

28:47

Joe told them he had something

28:50

very sensitive to announce that

28:52

he hoped he would regain their trust.

28:54

But if anyone present feels they can't

28:57

handle it, they should leave now. Nobody

29:00

budged, so he continued. Jim

29:03

Pittman and I knocked off Ron Levin.

29:08

A horrible pause hung over the room.

29:11

Then there were a few snickers. It

29:13

was obvious that many of the boys thought

29:15

he was just fooling around.

29:17

But the May twins believed him.

29:19

Joe ended the meeting by heavily hinting

29:22

that if any of them wanted to go to the police,

29:25

they too would be dealt with

29:27

like Ron Levin.

29:32

Zoller is astonished by what the May twins

29:35

have told him.

29:36

I mean, wouldn't you be? A

29:38

secret society of money-grabbing

29:40

young bucks,

29:41

prepared to do anything, even

29:44

kill for profit?

29:46

Sounds like the plot of a Marxist horror

29:48

film,

29:49

but he has to admit that a lot of

29:51

what he's heard tallies with the

29:53

things he's already learned.

29:55

Remember when Zoller discovered

29:58

that Levin owed a company?

29:59

around $130,000 for camera equipment? Well,

30:03

his fake TV documentary

30:06

explains what that was for.

30:08

He must have used the expensive equipment

30:11

to convince Clayton Brokridge

30:13

that his project was legitimate.

30:17

Solar calls Levin's parents. It's

30:19

time to take a look inside Ron's duplex.

30:21

On August 16, one week after his

30:24

explosive interview

30:26

with the May twins, Detective Zolar

30:28

heads to Ron Levin's home on

30:32

South Peck Drive in Beverly Hills. Removing

30:38

his sunglasses, Zolar

30:41

rings the

30:42

doorbell of the impressive duplex.

30:44

Ron's stepfather, Martin,

30:46

answers the doorbell

30:49

Ron's stepfather, Martin,

30:51

answers.

30:53

Zolar shows him his ID.

30:55

Martin welcomes the detective into Ron's

30:57

home while holding his stepson's

31:00

small dog kosher in his arms.

31:04

First, Zolar inspects the

31:07

bedroom. There's

31:08

no sign of any struggle.

31:10

No visible bloodstains on the white walls

31:13

and carpet.

31:14

Perhaps Joe Hunt was bluffing after

31:16

all.

31:18

Zolar asks Martin if anything

31:20

looks out of place.

31:22

He tells him that the green bedspread

31:24

looks unfamiliar.

31:27

Could the killer have murdered Ron on the bed

31:29

and replaced the linens?

31:32

It's a stretch, but Martin insists

31:34

he's found more evidence of foul play. He

31:38

takes Zolar into Ron's study and

31:41

shows him a waste paper basket beside

31:43

Ron's desk.

31:45

Inside are seven pages

31:47

from a legal notepad.

31:49

All of them have been scribbled on.

31:51

At the top are the words, at

31:54

leavens in block capitals. Under

31:57

that is written, to do.

31:59

What follows

32:02

is a list of instructions.

32:05

Close blinds. Scan

32:07

for tape recorder. Tape

32:10

mouth. Handcuff. Put

32:13

gloves on.

32:16

Zoller looks up at Martin and surprise.

32:19

It appears that he's discovered somebody's

32:22

to-do list

32:23

for how to assault and abduct Ron

32:26

Levin.

32:28

Zoller asks him if he recognizes

32:30

the handwriting.

32:32

Martin shakes his head.

32:35

Reading on, Zoller becomes even more

32:38

intrigued.

32:40

Put answering service on, the document

32:42

says.

32:43

Get alarm access code. Kill

32:46

dog. Use

32:49

corporate seal. Have Levin

32:51

sign documents. Carefully,

32:55

Zoller places the papers onto

32:57

the desk and tells

32:59

Martin not to touch him again. He'll

33:02

get forensics down here to bag them

33:04

as evidence. By

33:09

the time Zoller leaves Ron's duplex,

33:12

he's left behind the notion that the

33:14

con man skipped town to

33:16

avoid his trial date. And

33:19

now, this really is

33:21

a murder investigation.

33:24

And if the May twins were telling the truth,

33:27

then Detective Zoller already has

33:29

a prime suspect in Joe Hunt.

33:38

It's September 28, 1984.

33:43

For the past month, Detective

33:45

Zoller has been doggedly investigating

33:48

Joe Hunt, collecting

33:51

the evidence needed to bring him in.

33:54

And now, he's finally sitting

33:56

in an interrogation room across

33:58

the table from the map. himself. Joe

34:03

Hunt is every bit the cocky, fast-talking

34:06

financier the May twins have

34:08

made him out to be.

34:10

He seems at ease, confident,

34:13

flashing his Hollywood smile as he answers

34:16

Detective Zoller's questions.

34:19

He hasn't even asked for a lawyer.

34:22

Zoller asks Hunt how he first met

34:24

Ron Levin.

34:26

Hunt's account of their first meeting

34:28

closely matches the one that the May twins

34:30

gave. He confirms

34:33

that Ron tricked him into thinking he

34:35

had invested 5 million with the BBC,

34:39

and he admits to being furious when

34:42

he learned of the deceit. I

34:44

last saw him in early June, Joe says,

34:48

but without a calendar I can't be

34:50

more specific.

34:52

Zoller then brings up the BBC

34:54

meeting that took place in his condo

34:57

on June 24th.

34:59

He asks if it's true that Joe confessed

35:02

to killing Ron Levin

35:03

with the help of a man named Jim

35:06

Pitman.

35:08

Hunt smiles like he's been expecting

35:10

this question.

35:12

He admits he did say this, but

35:15

it isn't true. The

35:17

speech was simply a motivational tactic,

35:20

he insists.

35:22

He only wanted to hype up a room full

35:24

of excitable young men who were

35:26

feeling low after losing money on their

35:28

investments.

35:30

He was hoping they'd appreciate his provocative

35:32

sense of humor.

35:34

Of course, he didn't actually kill

35:37

Ron Levin, but

35:39

his easy manner shifts when

35:41

Detective Zoller pulls out the macabre

35:44

list found in Ron Levin's apartment.

35:48

What do you know about these, Zoller says,

35:50

dropping the papers in front of him.

35:54

Zoller watches with satisfaction

35:56

as the color drains out of Hunt's face.

36:00

Without skipping a beat,

36:02

he asks Hunt if this is his handwriting.

36:05

Hunt's silence suggests that

36:08

it is. Making

36:11

bad taste jokes is one thing,

36:13

but this is hard evidence of a premeditated

36:16

assault that won't look good in

36:18

front of a jury.

36:20

I don't want to answer that without

36:23

my attorney, Hunt Stammers.

36:27

It turns out to be a good move.

36:29

This defense attorney gets him released

36:31

without charge.

36:34

If this sounds strange, now just remember

36:37

that regardless of the list,

36:39

there's no actual evidence that Ron Levin

36:42

has been harmed.

36:44

He could reappear at any moment.

36:47

Zola responds with a warrant to search

36:49

Hunt's condo.

36:51

He doesn't find anything directly linking

36:53

him to a murder.

36:55

But he does retrieve

36:58

handwriting samples, which he sends

37:00

to an expert analyst. But

37:03

the truth is,

37:05

Joe won't be easy to prosecute.

37:09

Even if Hunt's handwriting matches the list,

37:12

the defense could argue that it was

37:14

just written to scare Ron into paying

37:16

back what he owed.

37:18

Still, Zola's cop instinct

37:21

is telling him that Joe Hunt killed

37:23

Ron Levin with the help of his bodyguard,

37:26

Jim Pittman.

37:28

He just isn't sure that he has enough

37:30

yet

37:31

to put him behind bars.

37:34

However, very soon Zola

37:36

will learn of an unexpected dimension

37:39

to this case that will change

37:41

everything. A

37:49

A Around the same time that Zola is investigating

37:52

the Levin case, 400

37:53

miles away, in San Francisco,

37:57

another detective is also searching

37:59

for a missing

37:59

person.

38:01

California Department of Justice agent

38:03

Oscar Breiling is on the hunt

38:06

for an Iranian businessman who disappeared

38:09

from his condo in Belmont, San

38:11

Mateo County on July 29, 1984.

38:17

Hedayat Eslaemeniya

38:20

was once a high official

38:21

in the Shah of Iran's government. But

38:25

he fled the country when the Ayatollah

38:27

Khomeini took power. As

38:30

a result,

38:31

Eslaemeniya is hated by those

38:33

in power in Tehran.

38:36

So, when his girlfriend first

38:38

reported his disappearance,

38:40

it immediately set off alarm bells for

38:43

US law enforcement.

38:46

Has Eslaemeniya been executed by

38:48

an Iranian hit squad on American

38:50

soil? If so,

38:53

it would be a major diplomatic incident.

38:56

But by mid-October 1984, Agent

39:00

Breiling begins to suspect that a

39:02

very different organization is

39:04

behind Eslaemeniya's disappearance.

39:08

You guessed it,

39:09

the billionaire boys club. Breiling

39:16

has heard about Detective Zoller's investigation

39:19

into the disappearance of Ron Levin.

39:21

You see, a name has come up

39:24

in his own investigation that links

39:26

the two cases. That

39:28

name is Joe Hunt.

39:32

Agent Breiling gives Zoller a call

39:35

to compare notes.

39:36

He explains that Eslaemeniya's own son,

39:39

Reza, has become their primary

39:41

suspect. And the Department

39:43

of Justice believes that Hunt is

39:46

somehow involved. And that Reza

39:49

is a member of the BBC.

39:54

Reza is 24 years old,

39:57

and by all accounts, has a toxic

39:59

relationship. with his father. Apparently,

40:02

the two are barely on speaking terms.

40:05

And yet, on the days following Hidayat's

40:08

disappearance, Reza

40:10

was visiting every bank in San Mateo

40:12

County, looking for accounts bearing

40:14

his father's name.

40:16

He had papers which supposedly granted

40:19

him power of attorney over the $30 million

40:21

dollars held in his father's name.

40:25

Eslamenia's business associates

40:27

told the FBI

40:28

that this was suspicious for two

40:31

reasons. For one thing, Hidayat

40:34

didn't trust his own son, so

40:37

he was hardly likely to grant him that kind of

40:39

access. And secondly,

40:42

Eslamenia didn't actually have $30

40:44

million dollars. Like Ron

40:46

Levin,

40:47

he was a man who grossly misrepresented

40:50

his wealth,

40:51

even to Reza. Eslamenia's

40:54

girlfriend told the FBI

40:56

that Reza had visited her a few

40:58

days before his dad vanished.

41:01

He had a handsome friend with him, and together

41:03

they asked if she knew where Hidayat

41:06

kept his money. She replied

41:08

that she had no idea. But

41:11

during their short chat,

41:13

Reza referred to his father in the past

41:15

tense,

41:16

which made her uncomfortable. Was

41:18

he assuming that Hidayat was already dead?

41:21

When the FBI asked her who the handsome friend

41:24

was, she told him that Reza introduced

41:26

him as, my associate Joe

41:29

Hunt.

41:34

Zola is stunned to hear this.

41:36

It's starting to look like Joe Hunt

41:38

is involved in the disappearance of not

41:41

one, but two men.

41:43

Is the BBC targeting people they

41:45

think are rich

41:47

and then abducting them to gain control

41:49

of their money? Are

41:51

Ron Levin and Hidayat Eslamenia

41:54

still alive somewhere,

41:56

or have they been murdered?

42:00

And is Joe Hunt's influence so

42:02

powerful that he can convince

42:05

a son

42:06

to murder his own father?

42:12

So far, the only evidence Detective

42:15

Zoller has against Joe Hunt is

42:17

circumstantial.

42:19

What he needs is proof, evidence

42:23

that definitively links him to the suspected

42:25

murders of Ron Levin and

42:27

Hadiad Eslamenia.

42:30

As luck would have it,

42:32

Zoller gets the report back from the handwriting

42:34

expert in October,

42:36

not long after his conversation with

42:39

Agent Breiling.

42:40

The expert confirms that the

42:42

to-do list found in Ron's office

42:45

was indeed written by Joe Hunt.

42:49

Now Detective Zoller has enough to arrest

42:51

him.

42:56

On October 22, 1984, Hunt

43:00

is charged with murder, special circumstances,

43:03

in the death of Ron Levin and

43:06

brought into custody. This

43:08

time Detective Zoller is determined

43:11

to make it stick.

43:14

But to do that, he'll need more members

43:16

of the BBC to come forward

43:18

and testify against their former leader

43:20

Joe Hunt.

43:23

Unlike Dean Carney, Joe's

43:25

right-hand man,

43:27

Zoller serves Carney with a subpoena.

43:30

To his surprise, he discovers

43:32

that Dean is no longer under the BBC's

43:35

spell.

43:36

In fact, he agrees

43:39

to tell the police everything in

43:41

exchange for immunity. It's

43:43

the biggest breakthrough of the case so

43:46

far.

43:52

It's November 29, 1984, at the Beverly Hills Police Department.

43:58

Dean Carney sits in an interior.

43:59

congregation room next to his attorney.

44:03

Zola is struck by how terrified

44:05

the young man looks

44:07

and it's perhaps not just the police

44:09

that got him scared. Dean

44:13

was Johan's closest friend in the BBC.

44:16

Now he's ready to tell him everything

44:19

he knows about the disappearance

44:21

of both Ron Levin and Hadayat

44:23

Eslamenya.

44:24

But first he wants assurances.

44:28

As well as full immunity, he

44:30

wants to be placed in the witness protection

44:32

program

44:33

so that Hun can't seek revenge.

44:36

Zola agrees on one condition

44:39

that Dean leads them to the whereabouts

44:41

of the missing man.

44:43

Dean tells him that he only knows for

44:46

sure

44:47

where Eslamenya is.

44:49

He reveals that Eslamenya's son

44:51

Reza had wanted to join the BBC

44:54

so badly he'd agreed

44:56

to betray his own father. He

44:59

told Johan Dean that if they staged an

45:01

abduction,

45:02

everyone would blame the Iranian government.

45:06

Then they could force a diet to sign

45:08

over his supposed 30 million dollar

45:11

fortune to Reza, who

45:13

would in turn help the BBC

45:15

out of their financial problems.

45:19

Dean explains how Johan and another

45:21

BBC member named Ben Dosti

45:24

went to Eslamenya's home disguised

45:26

as UPS men.

45:27

There

45:30

they assaulted him

45:31

and forced him into a large box which they drove

45:33

to another location.

45:37

The plan, Dean says,

45:39

was to torture Eslamenya into signing over his

45:41

fortune.

45:43

But it had been a disaster.

45:46

By the time they arrived at their destination,

45:49

their victim was dead, suffocated in transit. Dean

45:52

tells investigators that

45:53

they then decided to dispose

45:56

of the body. Without

46:02

skipping a beat, Detective Zoller

46:04

orders him to take them to the remains.

46:13

That very afternoon, they drive

46:15

out to Angeles National Forest.

46:18

It's a sprawling expanse of wilderness,

46:21

nestled between the San Gabriel and

46:23

Sierra Polona Mountains.

46:25

Filled with dense shrubland and

46:28

deep ravines, the forest is

46:30

a place of great beauty. It's

46:33

also the perfect spot to hide a body.

46:37

Zoller and an LA County coroner's

46:39

team follow Dean Carney through

46:41

thick undergrowth and rocky outcroppings.

46:45

Finally, he

46:47

leads them to a sloping cliff edge

46:49

within Soledad Canyon. This

46:52

is the spot,

46:54

he says. The

46:55

investigators scramble down the slope.

47:00

Suddenly, one of them makes a

47:02

horrific discovery.

47:05

25 feet down, there's

47:07

a decaying human rib cage that's

47:10

been fed on by coyotes. Nearby,

47:14

they find more bones, including

47:16

a skull.

47:21

Tests will reveal that these are

47:24

indeed the remains

47:25

of missing millionaire Hedayat Eslamenia.

47:29

Detective Zoller now has a strong

47:32

case against Joe Hunt

47:34

for the murder of Eslamenia.

47:37

But the question still remains.

47:40

Where is Ron Levin?

47:44

According to Dean's testimony, Ron

47:46

Levin was killed on the 6th of June, 1984.

47:51

Hunt and his head of security, Jim Pittman,

47:54

ambushed Ron in his home and

47:56

handcuffed him,

47:58

brandishing a 25-caliber

47:59

pistol. They threatened his dog

48:02

and forced Ron to sign over a

48:04

check for $1.5 million.

48:09

After he signed, the two men

48:11

took Ron into his bedroom and

48:14

ordered him to lie face down on his bed.

48:17

Then, Pittman shot

48:19

him in the head.

48:24

Dean explains how the killers wrapped

48:27

Levin's body in a thick comforter, which

48:29

helped to bandage the head wound before the blood

48:32

could seep out. Hunt

48:34

and Pittman carried Levin's body to their

48:37

car and transported him to

48:39

Soledad Canyon.

48:41

They threw him into an open grave that

48:43

they dug earlier.

48:45

But before burying him, they

48:47

repeatedly fired into his body

48:50

with their shotgun

48:51

to make identification impossible. They'd

48:54

supposedly laughed while doing it.

48:59

Zolder wonders if the jury will buy

49:01

Dean's story.

49:03

No trace of an unmarked grave can

49:05

be found in Soledad Canyon,

49:07

nor any of Levin's remains.

49:09

To verify Dean's account,

49:11

they'll need to rely on forensic evidence

49:14

that the murder really did take place

49:16

in Levin's house.

49:19

But when forensic teams searched Ron's

49:21

bedroom for traces of blood,

49:23

they found nothing.

49:26

Zolder knows

49:27

that without a body or any forensic

49:30

evidence against him, there's

49:32

a strong chance that Joe Hunt might

49:34

be found innocent at his trial.

49:38

But the detective has done all he can.

49:41

Now, Joe Hunt's fate rests

49:43

in the hands of a jury.

49:50

It's February 2nd, 1987, at

49:53

the Santa Monica Courthouse, LA.

49:57

Three years after Ron Levin went missing.

50:00

Joe Hunt is finally on trial for

50:02

his murder.

50:04

His trial for the kidnapping and murder

50:07

of Hedayat Eslamenya

50:08

is scheduled for a later date.

50:11

It's one of the most publicized court cases

50:14

in recent memory. Joe

50:16

seems like such an unlikely killer that

50:19

it's captured the public's imagination.

50:23

There's even an upcoming NBC miniseries

50:26

based on these events, with The Breakfast

50:28

Club star Judd Nelson playing

50:30

Joe.

50:32

However,

50:33

aside from the incriminating to-do list, there's

50:36

little physical evidence for the prosecution

50:38

to work with.

50:40

No weapon, no bloodstains,

50:43

no eyewitnesses, and, crucially,

50:46

no body. As

50:50

the defense reminds the jury, Ron

50:52

Levin could still reappear.

50:55

The defense even manages to produce some

50:57

witnesses who claim to have seen

50:59

Ron working as a gas station

51:01

attendant in Tucson, Arizona.

51:05

At this point in the trial, it looks

51:07

like things might be going Joe's way. But

51:10

all that changes on March 17th,

51:12

when his former friend Dean Carney takes the stand.

51:17

Avoiding eye contact with the accused,

51:20

Dean tells the jury that after

51:22

learning that Ron had tricked him, Joe

51:24

openly said,

51:26

I'm going to kill Ron Levin one day. He

51:32

proceeds to tell how Ron's death had

51:35

been premeditated

51:37

and that Dean himself had been charged

51:39

with providing an alibi for it.

51:42

With Joe's girlfriend and another BBC

51:44

member,

51:45

Dean had gone to see a movie that night

51:47

and had purchased a ticket for Joe. A

51:52

stillness descends over the court as

51:54

Dean relates how, on the following

51:57

day, Joe had laughed

51:58

about shooting a movie.

51:59

up Ron's body before burying it in

52:02

an undisclosed location. As

52:05

soon as Dean's testimony is over, he's

52:08

taken into the Federal Witness Protection Program

52:11

for his own safety.

52:13

He will never see his family

52:15

again. However,

52:17

his testimony has

52:20

the required impact. On

52:22

April 22, 1987, two and a half months after the

52:24

trial began, the verdict is returned.

52:34

They find Joe Hunt guilty

52:36

of murder in the first degree.

52:41

He's ultimately sentenced to life

52:43

imprisonment

52:45

without the possibility of parole.

52:50

Five years into his sentence in 1992,

52:53

Joe Hunt

52:54

is again brought to trial

52:57

for the eslaminia murder.

52:59

This time, the prosecution has

53:02

a lot more to go on.

53:06

First-hand witness testimony from

53:08

Hunt's alleged accomplice Dean Carney

53:11

and, of course,

53:13

a body to prove it. Plus,

53:17

Joe Hunt has made the utterly bizarre

53:19

decision to defend himself,

53:23

despite the fact that he has no formal

53:25

legal training whatsoever. During

53:29

his testimony, Hunt doesn't deny

53:31

participating in the kidnapping of eslaminia,

53:34

but he does claim that it

53:36

was Carney who killed him.

53:39

The trial lasts a staggering nine

53:41

months. And shockingly,

53:44

it

53:45

ends up in a hung jury.

53:49

Incredible, right? How

53:52

is this even possible

53:53

given all the evidence the prosecution

53:56

had against him?

53:57

Well, here's how it went. In

54:02

spite of his lack of legal training, Joe

54:04

Hunt put on a masterful performance in

54:07

the courtroom. He made a very

54:09

convincing argument and appeared sympathetic.

54:12

As we said, he's charismatic, he's likeable.

54:16

Several jurors were so convinced by Joe

54:19

that they offered to help him prove his innocence

54:22

if the case gets retried. But

54:26

in another incredible turn of events,

54:29

the prosecution drops the charges

54:31

against him in 1993, perhaps fearing another

54:34

mistrial. This

54:39

is a true testament to Joe Hunt's

54:41

magnetism. The

54:44

very same magnetism that

54:46

persuaded some of the country's richest

54:48

and most powerful people to invest

54:51

millions of dollars in the BBC.

54:55

To this day,

54:56

he remains the only person in San

54:58

Mateo County legal history to

55:01

defend himself in a capital murder case

55:04

and not receive the death penalty.

55:13

As Joe Hunt serves out his life sentence,

55:16

questions continue to swirl around

55:18

the exact whereabouts of Ron Levin

55:21

and whether he'd been murdered at all.

55:24

In fact, sightings of the missing

55:26

con artist have become the stuff of

55:28

legend.

55:30

Five separate witnesses have

55:32

come forward to say they've seen

55:34

Ron Levin alive in far-flung

55:36

places such as Mykonos

55:38

in Greece

55:40

or even during a funeral at home in Los

55:42

Angeles.

55:43

However,

55:45

in 1973, the

55:47

BBC bodyguard and Joe's

55:49

alleged murder accomplice, Jim Pittman,

55:52

seemed to put an end to the speculation.

55:56

Tried separately to Joe,

55:59

Pittman had

58:04

Next time on Detectives Don't Sleep

58:08

We're in Chicago The year 1913