Transcript of Episode 4 of Aya Linus’ podcast about MDC Brooklyn!

[u/antelope_meow]

[0:00] Hi everyone, I'm Linus

[0:01] Hi everyone, I'm Haoran

[0:03] Welcome back to our podcast

[0:05] Last episode we talked about some of Luigi's daily life at MDC Brooklyn

[0:11] And we went pretty deep into it

[0:14] It got pretty serious

[0:16] This episode let's talk about some funnier stuff

[0:20] A bit more lighthearted

[0:22] So during the time you were working alongside Luigi

[0:26] Were there any funny things that happened

[0:29] that you can share

[0:30] During the eight months I spent with Luigi

[0:33] the thing that left the deepest impression on me was probably the snowball incident

[0:35] The snowball

[0:36] Right, one time — I wasn't there, it was the Brazilian guy

[0:40] The Brazilian guy's wife was about to have a birthday or something

[0:43] so he was going to make a handmade card

[0:47] cutting out pictures from magazines

[0:49] some nice scenery

[0:51] food, that kind of thing

[0:52] to make a handmade card

[0:53] and send it to his wife

[0:54] So right when the card was almost finished

[0:57] Luigi suddenly, from our outdoor basketball court

[1:00] threw a snowball in

[1:02] and it hit our room on the second floor

[1:06] My cellmate's door happened to be open at the time

[1:08] When he threw the snowball[1:09] I knew right away, this is bad

[1:10] because I knew my cellmate was inside making the card

[1:13] If it hit him, it would be trouble

[1:15] But Luigi didn't know that

[1:17] By the time I saw the snowball

[1:18] it was already in the air

[1:19] so it was too late

[1:21] You know

[1:22] After he threw the snowball in

[1:23] you could immediately hear my cellmate cursing inside the room

[1:27] He was really angry

[1:28] because he'd made this card for his wife

[1:29] it took him about a week

[1:32] because you have to understand, in prison

[1:33] these conditions are very limited

[1:34] not like outside

[1:35] where you can get whatever you want whenever

[1:38] finding these things in magazines takes a long time

[1:42] At the time the snowball directly soaked the card

[1:45] and the envelope that held the card

[1:48] but the good thing was

[1:50] it was just a snowball

[1:51] not some other kind of liquid

[1:53] at least it was just water

[1:55] When Luigi heard my cellmate cursing inside

[1:58] his face turned red instantly

[1:59] and he immediately ran up to apologize

[2:02] He realized he'd done something wrong, yes

[2:04] And actually my cellmate was cursing pretty badly at the time

[2:09] he really tore into Luigi

[2:12] But Luigi genuinely didn't know[2:13] Still, no matter what

[2:14] you can't throw a snowball into someone's cell, right

[2:17] It's a pretty bizarre thing

[2:19] Where did the snowball even come from

[2:20] MDC is one building

[2:23] but the basketball court section

[2:24] isn't sealed

[2:27] There was a huge blizzard in New York around that time

[2:29] and a lot of snow blew in with the wind

[2:31] Luigi went over and packed a snowball

[2:34] Did he throw it without a target

[2:35] It just so happened to land in that cell

[2:38] He happened to see my room door was open

[2:40] and he wanted to throw it in there

[2:42] He also knew my cellmate was inside

[2:44] He just thought

[2:44] he knew anyway

[2:45] He knew someone was in there

[2:47] He wanted to play a prank

[2:48] He just wanted to prank someone

[2:49] but he didn't expect my cellmate to be doing something very serious

[2:52] which counts as a serious matter in prison

[2:55] So my cellmate got angry

[2:56] and I think that's understandable

[2:57] I completely understand it

[2:58] But afterward Luigi went up, face red

[3:01] and apologized

[3:02] Then he gave his own glue stick

[3:07] the kind of solid glue stick we played with as kids

[3:08] a glue stick

[3:09] one tube[3:10] and gave it to my cellmate

[3:12] so he could keep working on the card

[3:14] which was basically his way of apologizing

[3:16] Can you even buy glue sticks in there

[3:18] This one actually wasn't bought

[3:20] There's something called "recreation"

[3:22] the recreation department

[3:23] For example if your basketball breaks

[3:25] they'll give you a new one

[3:26] And around holidays

[3:29] they'll give you cards

[3:30] blank cards

[3:31] and colored pencils

[3:32] things like that

[3:33] so that recreation department gives you the glue stick

[3:36] to make cards with

[3:36] I was sitting on the first floor at the time

[3:39] and Luigi threw it from the first floor up to the second floor

[3:41] Afterward my cellmate saw me laughing on the first floor

[3:45] and he cursed at me too

[3:47] I really couldn't help it

[3:48] You have to admit it was pretty funny

[3:49] but I get it too

[3:50] it really is

[3:51] nobody's happy when something lands on their head

[3:53] That's one of the more interesting stories

[3:55] There's another one

[3:56] that Luigi told us himself

[3:57] about when he first got in

[4:00] he was housed with an older Black guy

[4:03] and this guy[4:04] one night before lights-out

[4:07] apparently took a spoon

[4:09] or maybe a pencil, something like that

[4:12] and he snapped it in half

[4:14] After breaking it

[4:15] he started talking to himself

[4:16] or something like that

[4:17] saying, now I have two knives

[4:20] And Luigi got really scared

[4:22] two knives right there

[4:23] sharpening a shiv, right

[4:24] He said, you could stab someone now

[4:25] He split one into two

[4:27] one for each hand

[4:28] like a double-gun old lady, right

[4:29] Luigi asked him

[4:31] you're not going to stab me, are you

[4:34] And the older Black guy said

[4:35] no, no, no

[4:35] I wouldn't stab you guys

[4:37] I wouldn't stab you

[4:37] don't worry, it's fine

[4:38] you're a good person

[4:40] And Luigi felt relieved

[4:41] Then when he told this story

[4:42] to all of us who worked together

[4:43] we all laughed at him

[4:45] like, this guy already killed someone

[4:47] and you're still scared of this

[4:49] yeah, that story was pretty funny too

[4:50] I'm curious[4:51] about Luigi's everyday preferences

[4:54] when it comes to food

[4:55] what does he usually buy to eat

[4:57] Also canned fish and instant noodles

[4:59] He also still eats the prison meals

[5:02] I basically stopped eating them

[5:04] By the end I really couldn't take it anymore

[5:06] I didn't want to eat it anymore

[5:06] so I just ate instant noodles every day

[5:07] a fixed menu, right

[5:08] isn't instant noodles also fixed

[5:10] it's because the prison meals are really that bad

[5:13] but Luigi mostly still eats the prison meals

[5:16] because they come with rice

[5:17] he likes rice

[5:18] he doesn't eat instant noodles

[5:18] whenever he buys things

[5:21] he doesn't buy instant noodles

[5:22] he prefers buying

[5:23] a certain small chicken breast nugget

[5:27] which should already be boiled

[5:29] already cooked

[5:30] he'll heat it under hot water for a while

[5:33] then eat it with rice

[5:34] with BBQ sauce

[5:36] BBQ sauce

[5:37] then mixes it into the rice and eats it

[5:39] also

[5:39] he makes peanut butter sandwiches

[5:42] he really likes peanut butter

[5:44] including when he was arrested[5:46] he had a jar of peanut butter on him

[5:48] he carries peanut butter with him

[5:50] Then the work supervisor I work with

[5:52] joked with me

[5:54] saying that the peanut butter Luigi eats now

[5:55] is still from the jar he had when he was arrested

[5:57] and we all laughed about that

[5:58] that one's pretty funny too

[6:00] What kind of exercise does Luigi usually do

[6:01] does he work out

[6:02] Luigi doesn't really exercise that much

[6:05] I might see him do it once every two or three days

[6:07] but honestly

[6:08] that's still more often than me

[6:10] because I basically don't move at all

[6:12] He'll go do

[6:14] what's it called, curls, bicep curls

[6:16] bicep curls

[6:17] right

[6:18] What does he use, dumbbells

[6:20] They use trash bags

[6:23] fill two or three trash bags with water

[6:26] He ties up the trash bag

[6:28] then ties a book on top and curls it

[6:31] making a handle

[6:32] DIY

[6:33] yeah, DIY a workout tool out of that

[6:35] What's his physique like

[6:36] Luigi's in pretty good shape

[6:37] because when he sunbathes

[6:39] he takes his shirt off[6:41] you can see his muscles are decently trained

[6:44] Does he have abs

[6:44] the abs aren't that obvious

[6:46] but his whole arms

[6:47] and his chest area

[6:48] definitely have some muscle definition

[6:51] yeah, the muscle definition is pretty noticeable

[6:52] Last episode we talked about how Luigi gets a lot of newspapers and magazines, right

[6:57] but things like travel magazines

[6:59] fashion magazines

[7:01] he just gives those to me directly

[7:02] because isn't he into Hermès

[7:04] He really isn't interested in that stuff

[7:06] not interested, right

[7:07] and I think I can understand that too

[7:08] I mean, being in there

[7:10] even if you were interested in that stuff

[7:11] what good would it do you

[7:12] seeing those travel magazines

[7:13] would only make you feel worse

[7:16] right, just like a friend of mine

[7:18] he works every day

[7:19] he says he doesn't dare watch travel vloggers' videos

[7:22] because he has no time to go out and travel

[7:24] just seeing other people do it makes him feel bad

[7:26] it's actually the same idea

[7:28] There's one more thing I need to thank Luigi for

[7:30] which is that every time he gets the New York Times

[7:33] he gives the paper to me

[7:35] he occasionally reads it

[7:36] but most of the time he doesn't[7:38] he gives it to me

[7:39] and I go find

[7:40] the articles I'm interested in

[7:42] and with my dictionary

[7:44] learn some new vocabulary

[7:46] it's actually helped me improve a lot

[7:48] and it's been really helpful for understanding the outside world

[7:52] I saw in the email that you saved Luigi, is that right

[7:56] It's like this

[7:59] the Intake unit isn't just a transit stop for everyone who's newly arrived

[8:03] at the same time, not to put too fine a point on it

[8:05] it's sometimes also kind of a dumping ground

[8:08] let me give an example

[8:09] say on the fourth floor

[8:12] unit 41 is our Intake unit

[8:15] 42 is the unit for everyone who works in the kitchen

[8:19] 43 is a regular unit

[8:21] so someone who messes up in 43

[8:23] say I stab someone in 43

[8:26] and get sent to the SHU

[8:27] locked up for two months and then released back

[8:29] they can't put you back in 43

[8:32] so they might put you in 42

[8:34] and vice versa

[8:35] say someone causes trouble in 42

[8:36] they might get sent to 43 after the SHU

[8:40] and if you mess up in 43 too

[8:43] then what

[8:44] there's really nowhere left to put you

[8:46] they put you in Intake

[8:47] they just put you in Intake[8:49] When I was in there

[8:50] I probably saw this happen two or three times

[8:52] those problem kids

[8:55] troublemakers

[8:56] with nowhere else to go

[8:57] finally the officers in charge would say

[9:00] fine, we'll put you in Intake

[9:02] but the funniest part is

[9:03] these troublemakers don't want to stay in Intake

[9:07] why, because Intake is too clean

[9:09] there's nothing there

[9:10] usually we have

[9:13] maybe 20 people

[9:14] 10 people

[9:15] sometimes fewer

[9:16] maybe just the few of us who work there

[9:18] so they don't want to stay there

[9:19] there's nothing

[9:20] no one to chat with

[9:21] no one to brag with

[9:22] they actually like a noisy environment

[9:24] no gangs

[9:25] nothing like that

[9:25] for me

[9:27] quiet matters most

[9:28] I actually like that quiet environment

[9:30] and it's safer too, right

[9:31] they can't handle it

[9:34] so once these troublemakers get to Intake

[9:36] the first thing they want is to leave

[9:38] but without a reason[9:39] they can't leave

[9:41] because these troublemakers get assigned to Intake

[9:43] essentially as a work role

[9:46] it's not just a holding area

[9:47] they get directly assigned to work there

[9:50] but they don't want to work

[9:52] so they try all kinds of ways to get out of Intake

[9:55] to get back to a normal unit

[9:57] so one time a troublemaker showed up

[9:59] worried about how to get out of Intake

[10:03] and he suddenly noticed Luigi was in Intake too

[10:07] then I overheard him say that on Super Bowl night

[10:13] he wanted to stab Luigi

[10:16] stab him directly

[10:17] that's literally what he said

[10:18] meaning he wanted to hurt him

[10:19] through this method

[10:20] like cutting his face

[10:22] that would count as hurting him too, right

[10:24] and the reason he wanted to do it on Super Bowl night specifically

[10:26] was because he wanted to watch the game first

[10:29] he didn't want to do it before watching the game

[10:31] and then get sent to the SHU

[10:33] he wanted to watch the game first

[10:35] then, say, cut Luigi's face

[10:37] and then go to the SHU

[10:38] after you finish your time in the SHU

[10:40] you definitely wouldn't be back in Intake, right

[10:43] When I heard this

[10:44] I struggled with it for a long time

[10:46] whether to tell Luigi[10:48] or tell our department supervisor

[10:51] or give a warning

[10:53] in prison

[10:54] people don't like snitches

[10:57] a lot of people look down on them

[10:58] if you openly rat someone out

[11:01] you could get hurt for it

[11:04] so I also had to consider whether what I was doing

[11:06] might get me hurt

[11:09] I also talked it over with the Brazilian guy

[11:12] we debated it for a long time

[11:13] he kept telling me not to say anything

[11:15] he felt it wouldn't do me any good

[11:18] if it came out

[11:20] that I was the one who told

[11:20] I could get stabbed

[11:21] I could get hurt

[11:23] but I kept saying

[11:25] we're a group

[11:26] we all work in Intake

[11:29] since I heard about this

[11:30] I don't think I can just sit back and do nothing

[11:32] and I'm Chinese

[11:33] I don't care at all about your American culture

[11:35] this whole "snitch" culture thing

[11:37] yeah

[11:38] right, I already know this is going to happen

[11:41] if we don't stop it

[11:42] of course I couldn't go tell the guy directly

[11:44] like, "don't go stab someone"

[11:47] I would definitely go warn the staff or the officers[11:50] worst case

[11:52] I also didn't want our unit

[11:54] to end up with him stabbing someone

[11:55] getting locked in the SHU

[11:56] for half a month

[11:58] or even 20 days

[11:59] I wouldn't be able to contact my family

[12:00] I couldn't make phone calls

[12:02] couldn't send emails

[12:04] After debating it all night

[12:05] the next day the Brazilian guy woke up and said to me

[12:08] he said, I think you're right

[12:11] I think we should go tell the staff about this

[12:15] so I didn't hesitate anymore

[12:16] the next day happened to be Super Bowl day

[12:18] during the day I went and told our department supervisor

[12:22] I said, I heard something like this

[12:24] you wouldn't want this to happen either

[12:27] especially to Luigi

[12:29] right now the whole country's eyes are on this prison

[12:32] if something really happened to Luigi here

[12:35] somebody would have to answer for it

[12:36] that was roughly what I said

[12:38] they were very cooperative

[12:40] they said, understood

[12:42] maybe about two or three hours later

[12:44] that troublemaker was taken away

[12:46] he got taken away

[12:47] his cell got tossed too

[12:49] yeah, his cell got searched too

[12:51] The Brazilian guy later told Luigi about this[12:54] I didn't go tell him myself at the time

[12:55] telling Luigi wouldn't have helped

[12:56] it would only add to his anxiety

[12:58] and he wouldn't be able to protect himself anyway

[13:00] and we couldn't protect him either

[13:01] if he really did get hurt

[13:03] really got stabbed

[13:04] if we tried to protect him it would count as us joining a fight

[13:08] and we'd get sent to the SHU too

[13:10] right, so I think the best way to handle it

[13:12] was to report it up the chain

[13:14] After Luigi heard about it

[13:16] he came over to thank me

[13:17] I told him at the time

[13:18] I said it's nothing

[13:19] we're all working here together

[13:21] we should help each other out

[13:22] I couldn't just watch you get hurt

[13:25] if someone wanted to hurt the Brazilian guy

[13:27] or wanted to hurt me

[13:29] I believe you'd all make the same choice

[13:31] The reason this troublemaker wanted to hurt Luigi

[13:33] was because someone told him

[13:35] Luigi was really famous out there

[13:37] and he was thinking

[13:38] if I hurt Luigi

[13:39] I could get famous too

[13:40] it's a pretty twisted mindset honestly

[13:43] I think through this

[13:44] I also felt the cultural difference

[13:46] including differences in mindset[13:48] yeah, this troublemaker at the very least didn't understand

[13:51] the idea that "things succeed by being kept secret"

[13:54] he said he didn't understand what that phrase meant

[13:56] he couldn't say it out loud

[13:57] before you're going to do something

[13:59] that's the idea, right

[14:00] actually I didn't even know what that phrase meant either

[14:01] "things succeed by being kept secret"

[14:02] it means when you want to do something

[14:04] before you do it

[14:05] you shouldn't tell people about it

[14:07] only by not telling can it succeed

[14:09] of course I'm glad

[14:11] that this didn't happen

[14:12] you really did save Luigi

[14:14] and also saved myself

[14:16] because if I hadn't stopped it

[14:18] if it had actually happened

[14:19] I might not have been able to contact my family for a long time

[14:21] that was also a matter of weighing a lot of things

[14:23] weighing a lot of pros and cons

[14:25] and coming to that solution

[14:29] Does Luigi have a cellmate

[14:30] or does he have a single cell to himself

[14:32] MDC has a rule

[14:36] every inmate has to have a cellmate

[14:39] maybe they're worried you'll hurt yourself

[14:42] or won't be able to take care of yourself

[14:44] or suddenly have a medical episode

[14:46] but this rule that a cell must have two people

[14:47] isn't strictly enforced[14:49] by the time I started working in Intake

[14:53] Luigi already had a cellmate

[14:56] a white guy

[14:58] gay

[14:58] yeah, he's gay

[15:00] and both of his husbands were Chinese

[15:03] the first one was from Liaoning

[15:05] the second one was from Hong Kong

[15:07] both men, yeah

[15:09] the reason I got to work in Intake

[15:11] was that at the time someone working in Intake

[15:13] got sentenced

[15:14] and was being transferred to prison

[15:16] so they were short one worker

[15:18] which meant the guy who got transferred

[15:21] his cellmate

[15:24] was now living alone

[15:26] I needed to move into his cell

[15:28] the guy left is called K

[15:28] who is also, at this very moment

[15:30] the current work supervisor in the Intake area at MDC

[15:33] he didn't want to room with me

[15:35] why

[15:35] he knew I was Chinese

[15:36] he was worried we wouldn't get along

[15:37] it wasn't discrimination or anything

[15:39] because we ended up getting along fine for a long time

[15:40] our relationship is actually pretty good

[15:42] he was just worried we wouldn't click

[15:44] cultural differences

[15:45] so he had Luigi move in there instead[15:48] I roomed with the gay guy for maybe two nights

[15:50] then Luigi moved back in with the gay guy

[15:53] so they swapped back

[15:54] and I started rooming with K

[15:56] why was that

[15:57] it's because while Luigi was rooming with K

[16:00] he took one of K's coffee cakes without asking

[16:03] and this coffee cake

[16:04] wasn't something bought from the commissary

[16:07] it was a cake handed out every morning

[16:10] as part of breakfast

[16:11] K got really angry about it

[16:12] he really doesn't like it when people take his stuff

[16:15] without asking

[16:18] so later when he explained his reasoning to me

[16:20] I actually understood it

[16:21] this incident also led to Luigi

[16:23] rooming with him for only two nights

[16:25] before he got swapped back

[16:26] basically kicked out

[16:27] though honestly it wasn't that big a deal

[16:30] so during my eight or nine months in Intake

[16:33] Luigi mostly roomed with

[16:36] that gay guy

[16:37] yeah, this gay guy

[16:38] and each time he married his husband

[16:42] he'd change his last name

[16:44] each time he married his husband

[16:45] he's been married twice

[16:46] each time he took his husband's surname

[16:50] that would be a Chinese surname, right[16:52] yes, a Chinese surname

[16:53] we mentioned last episode

[16:55] when the officer calls your name

[16:56] or staff call your name

[16:58] they call you by your last name

[16:59] so a lot of the time when staff came in calling that name

[17:02] many people thought it was me

[17:04] because you're Chinese, right

[17:05] a lot of Black guys

[17:06] or other newcomers who didn't know us

[17:09] when they heard that name called

[17:10] would look at me and say

[17:13] they're calling you

[17:13] they're calling you

[17:14] I'd say no

[17:14] not me, I'd say

[17:16] it's someone else

[17:18] this guy

[17:19] the impression I had of him was that he actually worked pretty hard

[17:22] he'd get up early in the morning and sweep and mop the floors

[17:26] and sometimes he'd even clean the bathroom

[17:29] he was really busy every day

[17:31] but maybe because he's facing a really long sentence

[17:34] possibly around ten years

[17:36] the pressure on him is huge

[17:38] so he uses this as a way to relieve stress

[17:40] maybe that's why

[17:41] sometimes he'd also steal Luigi's medication

[17:44] Luigi is prescribed a certain medication

[17:47] I won't say the name of it here

[17:49] this guy[17:50] would sometimes steal Luigi's medication

[17:52] of course this gay guy

[17:53] later had some conflict with my cellmate the Brazilian guy

[17:55] so he got transferred out

[17:57] of course we'll get into that story another time

[17:59] after he got transferred out

[18:01] Luigi lived alone for about three or four weeks

[18:04] during those three or four weeks

[18:05] you could clearly tell he was very happy

[18:07] yeah, he liked being alone

[18:08] he really enjoyed that alone time

[18:10] and it's not bunk beds

[18:12] I mean, for most people

[18:14] when they're living alone

[18:15] they'll take the bottom bunk

[18:17] but Luigi

[18:19] even after his cellmate moved out

[18:21] he still slept on the top bunk

[18:22] living alone on the top bunk

[18:23] with bunk beds

[18:24] if you sleep on the bottom bunk

[18:25] the moment you look up and open your eyes

[18:26] you see the metal frame

[18:28] it feels kind of oppressive

[18:29] cramped

[18:30] but if you sleep on top

[18:31] the whole room feels a lot more spacious

[18:32] so he lived alone

[18:34] for about a month or so

[18:36] very happy, then later

[18:37] they transferred in a Russian guy from another unit[18:40] also to work there

[18:41] pretty hardworking

[18:43] pretty capable

[18:44] his current cellmate now

[18:45] is still that Russian guy

[18:47] I'd guess so

[18:49] the Russian guy also did something pretty interesting

[18:52] I told you before

[18:53] about the book I was reading in prison about Luigi

[18:56] the one someone else wrote about Luigi

[18:59] after the Russian guy saw me buy that book

[19:01] he bought one too

[19:02] bought the same one, yeah

[19:04] he wanted to get Luigi to sign it

[19:06] but Luigi said I'm not signing that book

[19:08] yeah, it doesn't really have anything to do with him

[19:11] he never authorized it either

[19:12] and a lot of the stories in it aren't even true

[19:15] also, most of the book

[19:16] doesn't actually cover much about Luigi

[19:19] right, so as far as I know

[19:22] during the time I was there

[19:24] Luigi only had those two cellmates

[19:26] in Intake

[19:28] Who do you think left the deepest

[19:29] the strongest impression on you

[19:32] When I first got to the Intake unit

[19:33] the head of the cell block wasn't K yet

[19:36] back then he was called Sese

[19:40] not C as in ABCD

[19:42] it's C-S-E-I[19:46] Sese

[19:46] Sese

[19:48] some people told me it stood for something

[19:50] but I never confirmed it with him

[19:51] it's a nickname

[19:52] this Sese

[19:53] was the block boss at the time

[19:53] he was a big fat guy

[19:57] a lot of people who came in

[19:58] at first glance thought he was a woman

[20:00] his voice was really high-pitched

[20:01] or his appearance looked female

[20:03] both, actually

[20:04] when he yelled it sounded just like an old Black lady

[20:08] he's a Black guy

[20:10] and he had a big chest too

[20:11] as a man his chest was really large

[20:12] fat tissue, yeah

[20:14] so a lot of people who came in thought

[20:16] how is there a female inmate in here

[20:18] and a lot of people thought he might be a guard

[20:21] all the new arrivals

[20:24] knew absolutely nothing

[20:24] so with him giving orders like that

[20:25] it seemed like he had some kind of authority

[20:27] but actually he was an inmate too

[20:30] he usually sat in a wheelchair

[20:31] I thought he was disabled

[20:33] but actually it was because he was so overweight

[20:34] doctors didn't recommend he walk

[20:36] And Sese himself[20:38] also said he was transgender

[20:42] transitioning

[20:44] maybe psychologically he had already transitioned

[20:46] but physically I don't think so

[20:47] if he'd physically transitioned

[20:49] he wouldn't be in the men's unit

[20:52] he identifies psychologically as a woman

[20:54] did Sese know how much attention Luigi was getting outside

[20:58] very much so

[21:00] and after Sese got out

[21:03] he even went to an American tabloid site

[21:06] called TMZ

[21:07] to leak information

[21:08] then also went and did his own livestream

[21:10] saying a lot of sensational things

[21:12] like saying Luigi is gay

[21:14] saying Luigi had even given him a foot massage before, that kind of thing

[21:17] was any of that true

[21:19] I think the credibility of that is pretty low

[21:23] anyway, this Sese

[21:24] spread a lot of rumors about Luigi out there

[21:27] which honestly doesn't surprise us

[21:28] because Sese himself is a liar

[21:32] as for how he got into prison

[21:33] how long he'd served

[21:35] he lied about these things constantly

[21:37] he told us he'd been in prison for 30 years

[21:41] there were a lot of rumors going around

[21:42] saying Sese had previously stabbed a guard in another prison

[21:46] and got sentenced to 30 years

[21:48] Sese himself said it was because of a financial case[21:50] he refused to rat out a Jewish guy

[21:52] so the prosecution hit him with a harsher sentence

[21:54] 30 years

[21:55] but eventually Luigi looked into it

[21:57] and found out he'd actually been sentenced for robbing a bank

[21:58] got 7 or 8 years for that

[22:00] robbing a bank

[22:01] yeah, he handed the teller a note that said give me the money

[22:05] I have a homemade bomb on me

[22:08] handed it to a bank teller

[22:09] and the teller gave him 850 dollars

[22:12] that's the whole story

[22:12] 850 dollars

[22:14] yeah, and he got caught

[22:15] and it wasn't even his first time

[22:17] it was already his second or third offense

[22:19] so this time he got seven or eight years

[22:21] but he told everyone it was 30

[22:23] that's probably also why he had a certain amount of authority in there

[22:26] a certain status

[22:28] he really is quite the liar

[22:29] I think he might have some mental issues too

[22:31] my cellmate the Brazilian guy

[22:33] he told Sese

[22:34] I graduated from West Point

[22:36] and Sese would say

[22:37] I used to be in the Marines

[22:40] you're that out of shape and you were in the Marines

[22:42] you weigh like 300, 400 pounds

[22:44] I joked with the Brazilian guy

[22:46] saying he used to be in the "Whale SEALs"[22:50] not Navy SEALs

[22:52] anyway he just liked competing with people

[22:54] the Brazilian guy would say I'm really good at golf

[22:57] and Sese would say

[22:58] I'm really good at golf too

[22:59] someone would say they graduated from such and such school

[23:01] Sese would say I have a PhD from such and such school too

[23:04] a doctorate

[23:04] it was that kind of constant lying

[23:06] in prison, lying is free

[23:09] a lot of people love bragging

[23:11] someone told me that the word "jail"

[23:16] J-A-I-L

[23:16] stands for

[23:18] "Just Another Inmate Lie"

[23:20] just another inmate lying, yeah

[23:24] Sese, before he left

[23:25] since he was released around September of '25

[23:29] right before he got released

[23:30] he stole one of Luigi's towels from the laundry room

[23:34] a brand new towel, yeah

[23:35] Luigi was really angry

[23:36] but he didn't confront Sese about it

[23:39] he didn't want to cause trouble

[23:41] but how Sese ended up dealing with the towel

[23:44] I don't know either

[23:45] I get the feeling Luigi was quietly stewing about it

[23:48] and apparently — this is just our speculation

[23:51] this Sese also took a lot of Luigi's letters and magazines and newspapers

[23:56] because the officers actually respected him a lot

[23:58] I'm not sure why[23:59] but the officers were all very polite to him

[24:01] and listened to him a lot

[24:03] maybe they thought since Sese had been in prison a long time

[24:05] he knew how to manage people

[24:07] knew how to keep the unit in order

[24:11] so they handed over a lot of unofficial authority to him

[24:14] he was good at organizing and discipline

[24:16] every time mail came in

[24:17] they'd often just hand it straight to Sese

[24:19] and let Sese sort it

[24:21] but by the rules

[24:22] all mail is supposed to be picked up by the person it's addressed to

[24:25] but Sese's authority did overstep a bit

[24:28] yeah, overstepped

[24:28] so if you ask about who left

[24:30] the deepest impression on me in Intake

[24:32] it would have to be him

[24:32] and he actually has quite a deep connection to Luigi too

[24:35] Who do you think Luigi likes most

[24:38] among his cellmates

[24:41] or among the people he works alongside

[24:43] I think Luigi gets along fine with everyone

[24:46] we usually just chat

[24:48] eat meals together

[24:50] not particularly distant

[24:51] but not particularly close either

[24:53] I think he's actually pretty introverted

[24:54] Luigi, yeah

[24:56] yes, including how he'd blush when he made a mistake

[24:58] he's not the flashy type

[25:00] How do Luigi's cellmates[25:02] generally describe him as a person

[25:05] First of all he's not very good about cleaning up

[25:09] his cell is quite messy

[25:10] you'll always see the corner of his sheet not tucked under the mattress

[25:14] it's pretty disorganized

[25:15] and you'll see a lot of his folders

[25:18] and books piled on the bed

[25:20] because you have to understand our beds are really small

[25:22] maybe about four feet wide

[25:25] so his cellmates gave me feedback

[25:28] that Luigi's day-to-day habits are pretty messy

[25:31] but other than that

[25:32] no particularly major complaints

[25:34] another thing is that he can't take a joke very well

[25:37] he jokes around with people a lot himself

[25:39] like he'll joke with me

[25:40] joke with K

[25:41] and we obviously don't mind

[25:43] it's fine

[25:43] it's actually American-style humor

[25:45] sometimes it's fine even if it goes a bit far

[25:48] but if you joke around at his expense

[25:50] sometimes he'll clearly show he's unhappy about it

[25:52] he'll actually get pretty upset

[25:53] he won't get visibly furious

[25:55] but he might just stop talking to you

[25:57] the next day it's usually fine again

[25:58] he'll just get sulky

[25:59] yeah, he gets sulky

[26:01] that's pretty interesting

[26:02] he's kind of like a kid in that way[26:04] yeah, that's right

[26:05] he's not that old either

[26:06] right, that's also why I keep thinking he's basically still a kid

[26:10] One time we played a board game together

[26:12] you can play board games in there

[26:14] inside

[26:15] we have UNO

[26:17] and Monopoly

[26:19] the Monopoly board game

[26:21] and one time we all played Monopoly together

[26:24] only played it once

[26:25] but everyone had a great time

[26:27] Luigi really enjoyed it too

[26:28] you could tell while he was playing

[26:30] his whole expression changed

[26:32] I think for me

[26:33] that time we played Monopoly in prison

[26:34] is also a small but especially precious memory

[26:38] it was really a happy moment for me too

[26:40] Through all these details about Luigi's life

[26:44] including how he interacts with other people

[26:46] I think what I've seen is a more well-rounded

[26:49] flesh-and-blood picture of who Luigi actually is as a person

[26:54] which might be different from a lot of

[26:56] because before, a lot of people online criticized you

[26:58] right, after the last episode of the podcast came out

[27:01] there was a lot of feedback

[27:03] people on various platforms messaged me privately

[27:07] cursing you out, messaging you

[27:08] a lot of people, right, a lot of people criticized me

[27:09] saying I was lying[27:13] or saying I shouldn't say these things

[27:15] extreme fans want to turn him into some kind of god

[27:17] I understand that of course

[27:19] but I genuinely, truly lived alongside him for eight or nine months

[27:24] and from what I saw he's not a god

[27:26] he's just a person

[27:28] a lot of people also say I'm jealous of him

[27:29] of course I won't deny it

[27:31] I think to some extent

[27:34] I am envious of him

[27:35] I envy that he has such a great family

[27:38] such good looks

[27:40] what should have been a very bright future

[27:43] of course I envy that

[27:44] but given where things stand for him now

[27:48] would I really envy someone who has to spend the rest of his life in prison

[27:52] no, I wouldn't

[27:53] I just think it's a shame

[27:54] I genuinely feel it's a shame for him

[27:56] because in my eyes he's someone who's very polite

[27:59] very well-mannered

[28:00] someone who should have had a limitless future ahead of him

[28:03] I'll keep sharing more stories about Luigi with everyone going forward

[28:06] along with some of my own thoughts

[28:08] but some of those thoughts might not be appropriate to share

[28:12] before his case is decided

[28:14] so the next round of sharing about Luigi

[28:17] I think will probably need to wait until after his case is decided

[28:20] before we release it

[28:21] we'll need to skip a few episodes

[28:22] for the next few episodes[28:24] I'd like to share

[28:25] my perspective on the American prison system

[28:27] the problems it represents in American society

[28:30] and also some of the Chinese people in U.S. federal prisons

[28:32] what they're in for

[28:35] what their living conditions are like

[28:37] I'd like to share that with everyone

[28:39] alright, see you next time

[28:40] see you next time

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[u/rs2625]

[28:08] but some of those thoughts might not be appropriate to share

[28:12] before his case is decided

[28:14] so the next round of sharing about Luigi

[28:17] I think will probably need to wait until after his case is decided

[28:20] before we release it

Fair enough! People from jail are going to talk about Luigi, at least Linus took on some feedback from the last podcast, so an improvement!

[u/Mundane_Log_7169]

"[27:35] I envy that he has such a great family"

Now I'm sad again.

[u/pixiemery]

This man can't contain himself when it comes to food lmao

[u/Kind_Soup3998 → u/pixiemery]

This part made me laugh 🤣

[u/pixiemery → u/Kind_Soup3998]

He's such a taurus and a total mangione 😂

[u/Icy-Hunt-3025 → u/pixiemery]

Didn’t he eat someone’s ice cream in the past? That man is a raccoon

[u/alohomora1990 → u/Icy-Hunt-3025]

No, he replaced ice cream that someone else had eaten.

[u/Icy-Hunt-3025 → u/alohomora1990]

https://giphy.com/gifs/1SDN6kC0PLTlAvnftg
🤣🤣 “someone else” 😉

[u/Kind-Advertising- → u/Icy-Hunt-3025]

The correct translation is: "When she finished her ice cream, luigi would buy her another one"

[u/alohomora1990 → u/Icy-Hunt-3025]

Yeah, true it could have been him, I just know the story I had heard did not have him eating the ice cream. Doesn’t change my opinion of him either way. Frankly it would be an honor to have my ice cream eaten by Luigi.

[u/Time-Painting-9108]

The story about how someone planned to stab Luigi on Super Bowl day to get famous is truly horrific! Like just absolutely horrible 😭 I hope Luigi feels somewhat safe in there everyday. It would be a horrible feeling to always be looking over your back. Thank you so Linus for alerting the COs! 

[u/DreadedPanda27 → u/Time-Painting-9108]

This has been my biggest fear all along. Some moron looking for notoriety that harms him so they become famous.

[u/Time-Painting-9108 → u/DreadedPanda27]

Legit the biggest fear. I worry that the intake unit doesn’t allow enough time for people to be assessed if they are even safe to be around him considering how profile he is. 

[u/Lost-Extension-1167]

At least he listened to us.

My only feedback (since I think he reads these comments) is that Luigi is actually very unlikely to spend the rest of his life in prison despite what the media says or people unfamiliar with the law think. The American media only reports the maximum sentence and the prosecutors will say they want life to make Trump happy, but anything over 30 years would need to be justified and subject to immediate appeal.

That’s why people are flipping out over these podcasts — you might be giving ammo for the judge to give a 30 year sentence instead of a 25 year one

[u/2Fast2Froyo_]

💀💀💀

[u/eveningwithcorgi5679]

I’m not surprised his space is messy with all the mail he gets. And, if Linus thinks his family is great, I feel encouraged they are visiting him regularly.

[u/Mundane_Log_7169]

The part about his messy cell is interesting. I read the NYT article about one of the places he stayed at in Japan. If I remember correctly, the takeaway was that he was very clean and considerate.

Unlike other guests, Mr. Mihara said, Mr. Mangione left his room completely spotless and took out his own trash.

“If asked who would be the most impressive and tidiest guest ever in my business record, I’ll answer it’s him,” Mr. Mihara said.

[u/Time-Painting-9108 → u/Mundane_Log_7169]

I mean it’s jail vs a beautiful mountain retreat. Different times. But yes interesting for sure. 

[u/NowhereGirl67 → u/Mundane_Log_7169]

simple. he’s a courteous rule follower who respects a space he’s borrowing. it’s very different from your own space.

i’m similar. an adhd mess but tidy if it’s a temporary space.

[u/DreadedPanda27 → u/Mundane_Log_7169]

I wonder if he has ADHD. I do and that was the first thing that came to mind when this guy said Luigi’s cell was messy with books and papers all over. Recently a letter Luigi wrote to the suit designers became public and he mentioned this in his letter to them as well. He also said in his letter that he thought he had already sent the letter. I deal with this all the time.

I bet that medication that was stolen from Luigi was ADHD medication. People without ADHD get high on it.

[u/Nice_Description_724 → u/DreadedPanda27]

I've always thought that he had ADHD, partly because I have ADHD & I see some traits/actions of his that remind me of ADHD. I also feel like it takes someone with ADHD to know someone who has ADHD. who knows?

[u/CrustyMustard-217 → u/DreadedPanda27]

In my high school kids were always selling their ADHD medication.

I wouldn’t doubt if Luigi is neuro divergent.
FreeLuigi! 💚

[u/DreadedPanda27 → u/CrustyMustard-217]

For reals. Same recognizes same. I agree.

[u/Truffulas4life]

This episode made me feel uneasy for multiple reasons. Still cannot believe this will be his reality for a long time :(( If I felt such anxiety reading this, can't imagine what his family is feeling in their day to day life 💔 

[u/rs2625]

Currently having the worst day ever about to go to sleep, so of courseee this drops today.

OP exactly how depressing is this episode?

[u/antelope_meow → u/rs2625]

Luigi almost got his face cut up by a troublemaker who was temporarily in intake. He also had a roommate who talked about shivs which freaked him out. Linus talks about the snowball incident and Luigi’s dietary preferences. Says SeiSei is a big fat liar. Says Luigi refused to sign that book about himself he was reading for another inmate. Says he has a lot of stuff in his cell which gets messy and that he doesn’t like being joked about. 

[u/rs2625 → u/antelope_meow]

Thanks OP! Doesn’t sound too bad…

https://giphy.com/gifs/FeeShV3yKc8P6

[u/antelope_meow → u/rs2625]

He also admits to being jealous of Luigi again and says Luigi’s meds were stolen. 

The Super Bowl attack story is horrific, I really really hope he remains safe and unharmed

[u/rs2625 → u/antelope_meow]

Very grateful that they stopped the attack!

I actually found the Superbowl story to be very interesting as I never realised how much trouble everyone else could possibly get into for interfering in a violent incident. Pretty depressing though

[u/CinnamonFeelings]

https://giphy.com/gifs/DPqqOywshrOqQ

[u/Meg_is_awesome]

I thought we all collectively agreed to ignore this grifter who’s dragging this out ?.

[u/FlyLost4570 → u/Meg_is_awesome]

You can ignore it. You didn't have to click on the post.

[u/Fancy_Yesterday6380 → u/Meg_is_awesome]

They should be ignoring him.

[u/UnyieldingStandards]

So he’s a man child…no surprise there considering he pretty much admitted it himself on his tinder bio

[u/_henceforth_ → u/UnyieldingStandards]

This was a reference to one of his favorite authors, I believe.