but the house was somewhat of a mess. I told her that they took all of our money. I called Shelby my daughter as well and told her I was alright too and would see them later tonight,
After I called them I had a couple of hours before they got there so I started checking on our accounts. Just as I suspected they were all frozen except one of Peggy's bank accounts that still had $30,000 in it and a PayPal account that had $125.00 in it, there was about $1,500,000 in cash and in the bank that they took.
I had just bought a home in Hamilton Proper in Fishers Indiana and we paid $450,000 cash for it and I was upgrading it and planning to move into it in the spring. This home was on a beautiful golf course called the Hawthorne's and there is a large pond in the back overlooking the picturesque fairway of the 13th green on the other side of the pond. I Put about $30,000 in upgrades and even bought a pool table which they took it all, what a crime in itself.
They can take your money, your possessions, ruin your life and not arrest you or charge you with anything, you would think they would do that first but it goes to prove that you are "Guilty 'Til Proven Innocent"
That evening when Peggy came home from work she was not too happy about the house as she always has it in perfect shape. Shortly Shelby and Ryan came over. We cried a little and hugged each other for a minute then starting recapping the event. I told them how it happened and said at least they did not come in with their guns drawn after breaking the door down, he just rang the doorbell. I told them that Lewis and the other people were quite friendly and polite; they treated me with respect and I treated them with respect. You always hear that you should never say anything when you are arrested or interrogated, but with this, I thought that it would be best to cooperate from the beginning, I still today think it was the right move. I told Peggy and Shelby that they never searched me and I had $2,000 cash in my pocket, my Rolex watch on my wrist and Peggy had a lot of expensive jewelry on the dresser in the bedroom and none of that was touched.
We talked, why did we not bury or have all our property in another name, but we never thought this would happen to us, that is only the criminals you see on TV. I do not see myself as a criminal.
We were all hungry and tired from the stress of the day, so we went to Outback Steakhouse and had dinner. As we sat there and drinking our margarita's we decided that this was not going to change our lives, at least for now.
Chapter Two
They can lie to you but you better not lie to them.
The next day we got up fixed our coffee, Peggy got ready for work and went to work as usual, but not as rich! I called Gary an attorney friend of mine and told him what happened; he was sick that they did that, and it happened to me. He is a real estate and entertainment attorney and he referred to a criminal attorney he knows and his name is Richard Keefer with the law firm of Greenbaum, Doll LLC. I called Mr. Keefer and told him some of what happened, and we set up an appointment for the next day at 2 pm. I called Gary back, and we decided to meet at Daddy Jacks for lunch at 1 pm and I called my accountant as well and told him and he met us there too. Over lunch, I told them everything that happened and how corrupt the DOJ can be. I told Kirk, my accountant, to shut down Real Feel Products Inc, which was the name of the corporation we were using.
The next morning Peggy and I went to the bank and pulled that $30,000 out of the bank with a cashier’s check made out to the attorneys for a retainer. At 2 pm I went to the attorney’s office, and it was just off the circle in downtown Indianapolis and their office is on the 27th and 28th floors must be doing well to have such lavish Offices. I walked up to the receptionist which was a very nice lady and I told her my name and said that I was here to see Mr. Keefer, she said have a seat and I will let him know you are here. I sat down at a couch just in front of a wall of glass overlooking the skyline of the city and could see the building where Shelby and Ryan got married.
About five minutes later Mr. Keefer walked to me with another gentleman. I shook hands with Mr. Keefer and introduced myself and he said I am Richard Keefer, and this is Mike Gaerte. Mr. Keefer said lets meet in here and let us see if we can help you Keefer said. I started telling my story from the beginning when I started manufacturing the product. And thru to Lewis buying a product off me and then raiding me on February 12th. I told them as I told Lewis that I had never heard of the product that they said I had in my products which were XRLII.
Mr. Keefer said that this is a gray area and the Feds are unclear on how to handle these cases, so they try to get you by scare tactics to get you to a plea deal. Mr. Keefer said if you go to a supermarket and buy a bag of flour and when you open it and it is cocaine are you guilty of possession? I do not think so. I believe we can help you, but I am not sure that a trial would be the best thing, we can push for probation.
I said what about the money and assets that they took including about $50,000 that Peggy had in her retirement account years before I got into this business. Keefer said they would see what they could do about that. Mike here will be your guy that you will work with him as he is billed out at $300 an hour, I am $500 an hour. I knew it would be expensive and that probably the going rate for criminal attorneys, so I handed the cashier’s check for $30,000 and agreed to hire them. They said OK and that they will contact Lewis with the DEA and find out who the prosecutor will be and then set up another meeting soon. I said OK and then left. Two days later Mike called me and told me that he talked to Lewis and they had conversations that were recorded by Lewis as he was wearing a wire when meeting me and they wanted me to listen to it. Mike called me a few hours later and said that we can go the next morning to listen to the tapes. He also said that a Mr. Sardelli was our Prosecutor, and he was working out of Washington DC.
The next morning, I met Mike at the DEA’s office which was a sizeable building and was the social security building as well. We get to their office and Lewis came out and handed Mike a recording and we listened to it. I did not hear any real damaging comments or nothing positive either. I wish I would have said something as I would never do anything illegal, but I did not. The next day Mike called, and he talked to Mr. Sardelli and said that he seemed like a likable guy and wanted to make a plea deal and wanted to meet soon. They would be in contact with me to schedule a day and time.
Mike and I met for lunch the next day downtown then went to his office for more discussions. I told him that in the middle of August 2013 a customer of mine Gary that lived in Fishers Indiana was buying products off of us and did not want to go thru Andrew in L.A. He said that he only wanted to deal with me. He brought Lewis to meet me and buy some products. I knew that I should have not trusted Gary and Lewis and I should have been smarter. He said he was a buyer and his family-owned stores in Indiana and Kentucky and wanted to sell our products. Which was all lies. He also said he was interested in buying me out, which was another lie. Lewis bought a small amount with cash. He said that he would get back to me about more products and buying me out.
"The government can lie to you, but you better not lie to them"
I am not sure what kind of deal Gary made with the DEA but no doubt it benefited him. He was a snitch or a “Whistle Blower” and I have not seen or heard from Gary again and the next time I saw Lewis was that February morning in 2014
We were always careful of what we bought and having our products tested randomly to make sure we were not selling banned products. I knew that I may be borderline but technically I was not buying anything banned so it was not illegal, technically. They said that I had a chemical called XRL11 and that was banned in March 2013.
Our powder came from China and one company that I worked with had a salesgirl and I called her Gorgeous. I had a good relationship with her, and she kept me in products. All the powder looks the same so without lab testing, you just to have to take their word for it. I trusted Gorgeous.
Andrew has bought chemicals from
