Jack Saltarelli is a bounty hunter. His job is to hunt down fugitives. Any given day, he’s going after rapist, murderers, and people who skip court. Most bounty hunters carry lethal weapons, but not Jack. He goes door-to-door carrying a stun gun and a training revolver that fires rubber bullets. 

You may be asking yourself what’s the difference between a cop and a bounty hunter? First, bounty hunters have more authority than local police. Cops have jurisdictions, and they need warrants in order to enter your home. Bounty hunters, on the other hand, can hunt you down anywhere, and they can even barge into your homes if they have to.

How can they get away with this? Simple. Let’s say you get arrested and sign a bail bond contract to get out of jail. The moment you sign that contract, you’re waiving your constitutional rights.

I met up with Jack at his bail bonds office in Gulfport, Mississippi. Let’s just say that Jack isn’t your ordinary bounty hunter. His story is much more complicated than that. Find out the secret Jack Saltarelli has been hiding for more than 30 years.

Part 2 is available right now for my Patreon supporters.

Retired FBI Agent Jerri Williams

You know, people always ask me, “Javier, where do you find these stories?” The answer is all sorts of places. But not this one. I learned about this story from my podcast from my friend Jerri Williams. Jerri is a retired FBI agent who has a podcast called FBI Retired Casefile Review. You may remember Jerri from the episode with the telemarketing con artist named Carl. If you haven’t check out FBI Retired Casefile Review, do yourself a favor and subscribe. Jerri is on every week featuring real former FBI agents describing their case. She is the real deal. You can listen to Jerri's interview with Jack Saltarelli and retired FBI agent Judy Tyler here.

Also, you should check out her new book, it’s called FBI Myths and Misconceptions: A Manual for Armchair Detectives. Jerri debunks clichés and misconceptions about the FBI in books, TV, and movies.

And thank you to you for helping me fund this story. If it weren’t for my Patreon supporters, I couldn’t be able to support the flight down to Gulf Port, MS, or the rental car and hotel. Seriously, this story was great because I was able to be there with Jack. If you want to hear more stories like this, please consider donating one dollar to the show. It really goes a long way.

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Story idea?

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Credits

Pretend is produced by Javier Leiva

Theme music by The Chicken

Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions

Promos this week for Beyond the Obituary and Spy Stories Podcast

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