While Erik is recovering from that gunshot wound to the head and has the mental capacity of a 6-year-old, a woman from his past suddenly reappears in his life offering to help. Red flag # 1 of every single con artist working today. At first she seems to have Erik’s best interests at heart. But Erik’s childhood friend suspects something sinister afoot. 

Though Erik’s mother and father meet and fall madly in love with one another, married life for the Karmers is unexpectedly fraught with tension and misery. Erik grows up, in a weird way, completely estranged from his mother. She raises him at arm’s length and the two don’t actually become close until the last year of her life when Erik is in his late 40’s. And when his mother dies, it starts a chain of events that leads Erik to ‘The Good Night Inn” with a gun in his hand and a headstrong determination to end his life.

Another force that profoundly shapes the breadth and depth of Erik’s life is his father Karl Kramer. Karl was the visionary and sole architect of Erik’s football career. All he ever wanted was for his son to go pro. And growing up, that singular focus and steadfast determination cost Erik enormously. 

The path that leads Erik to try and end his life is circuitous and stricken with tragedy and depression. A dark turning point is the sudden and unexpected death of his 18 year-old-son Griffen.

"The pain of being alive" Erik battles crippling depression for decades. It starts during his tenure with the Chicago Bears, and continues throughout the rest of his NFL career and retirement. His condition is possibly attributed to CTE, a brain disease common amongst football players. But when Erik survives his suicide attempt, the last thing in the world his freinds and family are expecting is a devious con woman showing up out of nowhere and moving into Erik’s home - under the guise of taking care of him.

"She was a gold digger" We meet a mentally incapacitated Erik Karmer, unaware that he is now marrying a con artist at a top secret Santa Barbara wedding ceremony which she orchestrates. None of his friends or family are there. And Erik is a sitting duck, highly susceptible to suggestion. How did a celebrated and storied career in the NFL all lead up to this?

When retired NFL quarterback Erik Kramer puts a gun to his head and pulls the trigger, he thinks all his problems will finally be over. But really, they were just getting started. After Erik miraculously survives his suicide attempt, he is mentally incapacitated, stricken with the mind of a 6 year-old boy. And during his recovery, a tall blonde con woman deftly insinuates herself into Erik’s life, secretly marries him, and begins to rob him blind. This sophisticated scammer has sheriff’s deputies, lawyers and judges all doing her bidding. But a childhood friend of Erik’s figures out what's going on and moves heaven and earth to try to stop the scam.

"Second Chances" TJ gets a mountain lion for a pet and takes that mountain lion EVERYWHERE. His name is 'Top Cat' and he eventually turns on TJ and sends him, bitten and bleeding profusely, to the hospital. 

It's interesting, TJ got scammed by a couple of conniving con artists and turned it into a $500 million cocaine business. I got scammed by 'The Irish Heiress' and wrote: 'Anatomy of a Con Artist' for Penguin Random House to teach people how to spot the con artist in their lives BEFORE they get scammed.

"My breakfast with TJ" TJ made hundreds of millions of dollars smuggling cocaine. He had money stashed in the US, in Switzerland and even buried millions in cash under his brother-in-law's house! But where is all that money today? TJ has some explaining to do in this episode. 

It's interesting, TJ got scammed by a couple of conniving con artists and turned it into a $500 million cocaine business. I got scammed by 'The Irish Heiress' and wrote: 'Anatomy of a Con Artist' for Penguin Random House to teach people how to spot the con artist in their lives BEFORE they get scammed.

"Flying with Princes" What do TJ's children think about the 'Cocaine Air' podcast? What caused TJ to punch the Emperor of Japan in the nose? And how did President Ronald Raegan's 'War on Drugs' make TJ a much, much, MUCH wealthier cocaine kingpin? This episode will stay with you. 

It's interesting, TJ got scammed by a couple of conniving con artists and turned it into a $500 million cocaine business. I got scammed by 'The Irish Heiress' and wrote: 'Anatomy of a Con Artist' for Penguin Random House to teach people how to spot the con artist in their lives BEFORE they get scammed.