This three part-interview takes us through the amazing career and true-crime adventures of Texas native Zeke Flatten, who grew up knowing he wanted a career in law enforcement, got himself hired as a bail bondsman at 18, and became an undercover cop at 20. Initially placed undercover in a high school to investigate gun sales and other crimes, he ended up buying a bomb from a student  who was later convicted of murder.

In 2000, while working undercover, he discovered an ecstasy ring that led to the arrest of Mafia leader Sammy (the Bull) Gravano in Phoenix. In 2017, Zeke, then retired from law enforcement, gained attention as a national whistleblower after exposing a major public corruption scandal involving high-ranking law enforcement officials in Northern California. He was unlawfully detained by local officers posing as U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) agents, leading him to uncover a complex web of corruption and money laundering involving local law enforcement engaged in a criminal enterprise. His revelations prompted FBI and IRS investigations resulting in multiple federal indictments and convictions, department policy changes and highlighted systemic corruption within local law enforcement in California’s Emerald Triangle.

In the summer of 2018, while attending a high school reunion in San Antonio, Zeke learned about the murder of a teenage friend named Gary Osborne. Gary had been shot to death on the night of April 8, 2009 by two men who kicked in his front door. No suspect had ever been arrested until Zeke launched an investigation that led him to a convicted burglar named Trey Fisher, who was also part of a pedophile ring responsible for one of the most famous child murders in Texas history..

Heroes Behind Headlines
Executive Producer Ralph Pezzullo
Produced & Engineered by Mike Dawson
Music provided by ExtremeMusic.com

This three part-interview takes us through the amazing career and true-crime adventures of Texas native Zeke Flatten, who grew up knowing he wanted a career in law enforcement, got himself hired as a bail bondsman at 18, and became an undercover cop at 20. Initially placed undercover in a high school to investigate gun sales and other crimes, he ended up buying a bomb from a student  who was later convicted of murder.

In 2000, while working undercover, he discovered an ecstasy ring that led to the arrest of Mafia leader Sammy (the Bull) Gravano in Phoenix. In 2017, Zeke, then retired from law enforcement, gained attention as a national whistleblower after exposing a major public corruption scandal involving high-ranking law enforcement officials in Northern California. He was unlawfully detained by local officers posing as U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) agents, leading him to uncover a complex web of corruption and money laundering involving local law enforcement engaged in a criminal enterprise. His revelations prompted FBI and IRS investigations resulting in multiple federal indictments and convictions, department policy changes and highlighted systemic corruption within local law enforcement in California’s Emerald Triangle.

In the summer of 2018, while attending a high school reunion in San Antonio, Zeke learned about the murder of a teenage friend named Gary Osborne. Gary had been shot to death on the night of April 8, 2009 by two men who kicked in his front door. No suspect had ever been arrested until Zeke launched an investigation that led him to a convicted burglar named Trey Fisher, who was also part of a pedophile ring responsible for one of the most famous child murders in Texas history..

Heroes Behind Headlines
Executive Producer Ralph Pezzullo
Produced & Engineered by Mike Dawson
Music provided by ExtremeMusic.com

U.S. Government whistleblower Martin Rodil breaks down the Venezuelan efforts to steal elections in the U.S. and also explains how that country's Cartel de los Soles–the largest criminal organization in the world–aims their drug trafficking and other activities at the United States.

Martin, along with his partner Gary Berntsen, were tracking down cartel bank accounts and other assets for the U.S. government to rightfully seize, when they tripped over an enormous election theft program created and maintained by Venezuela, (aided by Cuba, China, Iran, and Russia) aimed at America and dozens of democracies around the world. Martin gives us his first-person account of how he recruited the disillusioned engineers who originally helped create the source code and malware that lives inside our electronic voting machines, and how this unexpected discovery proved difficult to share with D.C. officials.

Martin made his career in international intelligence working alongside the DEA for over twenty years. He is also a principal source, along with Gary, in host Ralph Pezzullo’s recent book, “Stolen Elections." (Available on Amazon Books.)

Heroes Behind Headlines
Executive Producer Ralph Pezzullo
Produced & Engineered by Mike Dawson
Music provided by ExtremeMusic.com

Former CIA agent and Boston native Ralph Mariani shares the real-life thriller account of the 1975 murder of his boss, Richard Welch, the then-CIA station chief in Athens, and the twenty-seven-year investigation that was only solved when two grandmas came forward when a new description of the culprits was circulated.

On the night of December 23, 1975, CIA Station Chief Dick Welch and his family attended a Christmas party at the American Ambassador’s residence. Upon returning home, Dick exited the car to open the main gate. A man appeared amid the darkness and shot him dead. Five days after the attack, a terrorist group called “Revolutionary Organization 17 November” claimed responsibility for Dick’s death. It wasn’t until 2003—almost 28 years later— after 17 November had killed 23 people as a bomb exploded in the hands of Savvas Xiros, one of the organization’s most ruthless killers, that the people responsible for the murder of Dick Welch and several other foreign diplomats were caught. 

Because of the  steadfast efforts of Ralph Mariani, other colleagues and members of Welch’s family, together with fears about poor publicity ahead of the 2004 Olympics did Greek authorities finally take action against the group, and bring them to justice. The question Mariani helps answer is: Why did it take so long? And why did the Greek government not accept US help in solving the crime?   

Heroes Behind Headlines
Executive Producer Ralph Pezzullo
Produced & Engineered by Mike Dawson
Music provided by ExtremeMusic.com

Over his career as a journalist, reporting from mainly Afghanistan and Pakistan, Jere Van Dyk has worked for the New York Times and CBS News and has appeared widely as a commentator on international affairs. His also the author of several books. 

In 2008 Jere was captured and held by the Taliban, an experience that he wrote about in his fascinating book Captive, which received a Foreign Press Award in 2022. 

He is with us today to talk about his long experience in Afghanistan that began with  a trip he made as a young man. He recounts the friendship he developed with both Jalaluddin Haqqani and his son Sirajuddin Haqqani, leaders of the famed Haqqani network; (allies of the United States during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan of the 1980s and later some of our fiercest enemies) the significance of the Durand line drawn by the British in 1893; and how all this relates to the current rise of Muslim nationalism. 

Heroes Behind Headlines
Executive Producer Ralph Pezzullo
Produced & Engineered by Mike Dawson
Music provided by ExtremeMusic.com

With the country of Venezuela and the criminal behavior of the Maduro regime currently headline news, today’s guest is particularly timely – petroleum executive, kidnapping victim and author Jose Angel Pereira. 

At first glance, Jose Angel Pereira’s career looks like that of someone who reached the pinnacle of corporate success – that of a seasoned executive with over three decades in the oil and gas industry. Jose Angel once led CITGO Petroleum as CEO, navigating billion-dollar deals and international joint ventures across five continents. But in 2017, he was summoned from Citgo's Texas headquarters by the Maduro regime to make a presentation. As he and his executive team left the meeting, they were arrested. Later named the CITGO 6, the six executives were imprisoned in Venezuela and tortured for five years. Conditions were so harsh that one of them perished. Jose Angel is with us today to talk about the experience and what he learned about resilience, purpose and leadership, as detailed in his recent book from Hero to Villain: My True Story of the CITGO6. 

Heroes Behind Headlines
Executive Producer Ralph Pezzullo
Produced & Engineered by Mike Dawson
Music provided by ExtremeMusic.com

On the evening of  January 7, 2025 several destructive wildfires swept through the Los Angeles area, including the fast-moving Eaton Fire near the neighborhoods of Altadena and Pasadena. Firefighters and three night-flying helicopters with the Los Angeles County Fire Department were ordered to respond. They intended to drop water on the Eaton fire but, buffeted by ferocious updrafts and downdrafts, aborted the operation at 6:45 p.m. By midnight, the fire expanded to over 1,000 acres fueled by strong Santa Ana wind blowing northeast to southwest with gusts of up to 100 mph.

As flames threatened neighborhoods, Pasadena Transit operators from Transdev were called on to help. Working around the clock for three days, fourteen bus drivers led by their manager and dispatcher Letty Ochoa and assistant general manager Erasmo Rodriguez, drove through flames, flying embers and overwhelming smoke and managed to rescue 500 people living in senior centers and getting them out of harm’s way. Letty Ochoa is with us to talk about that dramatic experience and the heroic response of members of Transdev when their community was threatened. 

The Eaton Fire eventually killed 19 people and destroyed more than 9,000 buildings, becoming the 5th deadliest and 2nd most destructive wildfire in California history. It burned simultaneously with the deadly and destructive Palisades Fire in the Santa Monica Mountains, which spread to 23,448 acres, killed 12 people and destroyed 6,837 structures.

Heroes Behind Headlines
Executive Producer Ralph Pezzullo
Produced & Engineered by Mike Dawson
Music provided by ExtremeMusic.com

HBH is so proud of this episode--we think this breakdown of an important and ongoing issue bears repeating:

Award-winning journalist Sam Quinones lays out the facts behind the meth and fentanyl drug crisis in the U.S.:

He expertly describes how mass manufacturing has made these drug ubiquitous, cheap, and infinitely more potent, and thus unlike any other drugs--legal or illegal--ever consumed by human beings. Sam explains how today’s meth has triggered an abrupt rise in homelessness, and why these drugs and so destructive to users, their families, and ultimately all of us.

Heroes Behind Headlines
Executive Producer Ralph Pezzullo
Produced & Engineered by Mike Dawson
Music provided by ExtremeMusic.com

In 1944, Sgt. Donald D. Fida was tortured and gutted by Japanese solders and left to die in the Philippine jungle, when his childhood friend miraculously came upon him and saved his life.  Because of this experience, Donald survived and continued to fight til the war's end, living to finally tell his tale at age 99.

Twice a Purple Heart recipient, Donald shares his first-person account of his numerous adventures as an Army Scout in the wartime Pacific Theater, describing his combat in the Aleutian Islands, the Marshall Islands (Sitka, Attu), the Philippines (Leyte), and the brutal Battle of Okinawa.

This video is airing posthumously; we salute and honor the spirit of this remarkable yet humble man, and are proud to help his voice reach across time and inspire all of us.

Part two of Dash's awesome interview: 

Former Navy SEAL Dash Dong Wong’s journey from growing up as a street urchin in Hawaii to becoming a Navy special operations operator is a powerful testament to resilience and inner strength. Says Dash, “I grew up in paradise, but was raised in hell.” Through all the trauma he faced as a kid, including battling in a child fight club at ten years old, he learned to find hope and beauty in even the worst situations. Though he never knew his real father, he was adopted by a friend of his mother, a delivery man named Andrew Wong. Dash has faced numerous challenges throughout his life – including his career in the military, being diagnosed with cancer, and reconnecting with his adoptive father after a 37-year separation. Prepare to be inspired and learning the importance of faith and resilience in overcoming trauma and finding meaning in life’s challenges.    

Heroes Behind Headlines
Executive Producer Ralph Pezzullo
Produced & Engineered by Mike Dawson
Music provided by ExtremeMusic.com