1 00:00:00,460 --> 00:00:03,031 [Remy Ma] How far would you go to come up 2 00:00:03,031 --> 00:00:05,262 within a system built to hold you down? 3 00:00:05,262 --> 00:00:08,361 ♪ It’s time to push it up A level high ♪ 4 00:00:08,724 --> 00:00:11,998 [Remy Ma] These are the true stories of real people 5 00:00:11,998 --> 00:00:14,658 who had good intentions but got caught up 6 00:00:14,658 --> 00:00:16,592 by bad decisions. 7 00:00:19,427 --> 00:00:22,295 It’s a wild ride from all the way up 8 00:00:22,295 --> 00:00:26,229 to all the way down and back around again. 9 00:00:26,229 --> 00:00:27,031 I’m Remy Ma, 10 00:00:27,031 --> 00:00:29,998 and I’m proof that even a wrong turn 11 00:00:29,998 --> 00:00:32,064 can still lead to redemption. 12 00:00:32,064 --> 00:00:35,526 This is "My True Crime Story." 13 00:00:38,832 --> 00:00:40,967 [Victor] As we're walking off the plane 14 00:00:40,967 --> 00:00:42,268 I'm feeling like a movie star 15 00:00:42,268 --> 00:00:43,603 I know what I'm about to go do 16 00:00:43,603 --> 00:00:47,540 I'm about to go get 500 grand in 30 seconds. 17 00:00:49,175 --> 00:00:50,977 [Remy Ma] This is a cautionary tale 18 00:00:50,977 --> 00:00:52,579 about how a gutsy little guy 19 00:00:52,579 --> 00:00:54,314 from Strong Island, New York, 20 00:00:54,314 --> 00:00:57,384 started out just trying to outrun poverty. 21 00:00:58,151 --> 00:00:59,352 We had nothing. 22 00:00:59,352 --> 00:01:01,321 I was already stuck in the cycle 23 00:01:01,321 --> 00:01:05,358 because my life consisted of a battered family 24 00:01:05,358 --> 00:01:06,526 living in poverty, 25 00:01:06,526 --> 00:01:08,328 going to domestic violence shelters 26 00:01:08,328 --> 00:01:11,264 and being the underdog just as my size is now. 27 00:01:11,364 --> 00:01:13,199 I got beat down every single day. 28 00:01:13,199 --> 00:01:16,269 There was no statistics saying that I was 29 00:01:16,269 --> 00:01:18,872 legally going to be able to ever become something. 30 00:01:18,872 --> 00:01:22,442 [Remy Ma] But went straight into a notorious den of thieves, 31 00:01:22,442 --> 00:01:24,044 with an airtight scheme. 32 00:01:24,110 --> 00:01:26,179 These guys are already on top of the food chain, 33 00:01:26,179 --> 00:01:28,882 pretty much bigger than the president of the United States, 34 00:01:28,882 --> 00:01:30,183 in my eyes at this point. 35 00:01:30,550 --> 00:01:33,386 [Remy Ma] To grab and dash diamonds in order to come up. 36 00:01:33,653 --> 00:01:34,921 ♪ You can't stop me now ♪♪ 37 00:01:35,355 --> 00:01:37,857 [Victor] I look at the doors and it's a clear shot. 38 00:01:38,692 --> 00:01:40,560 And I'm like, it's now or never, Vic. 39 00:01:40,660 --> 00:01:43,063 I jump up and I say, thank you. 40 00:01:43,063 --> 00:01:43,963 Boom! 41 00:01:44,931 --> 00:01:48,568 This is so much more clever than robbing stupid banks. 42 00:01:49,269 --> 00:01:53,840 He wanted to get this money and live the party lifestyle 43 00:01:53,840 --> 00:01:55,275 and have no cares in the world. 44 00:01:55,709 --> 00:01:58,778 He was for the money and the fame and the thrill. 45 00:01:58,778 --> 00:02:02,582 [Remy Ma] And quickly found out, diamonds aren't forever. 46 00:02:02,816 --> 00:02:05,752 [Victor] I will never forget this lady's face 47 00:02:05,752 --> 00:02:07,087 of this police officer. 48 00:02:07,787 --> 00:02:10,890 And she locks eyes on me like no other, 49 00:02:10,890 --> 00:02:12,692 she knows I'm him. 50 00:02:15,595 --> 00:02:17,964 [Remy Ma] So how did this underdog, Victor Lupis, 51 00:02:17,964 --> 00:02:21,735 end up heisting millions worth of ice and bling? 52 00:02:22,335 --> 00:02:25,605 Like any good caper, let's review the blueprint. 53 00:02:26,840 --> 00:02:30,143 Portland, Oregon, nicknamed Rip City, 54 00:02:30,143 --> 00:02:32,078 was once a busy shipping port. 55 00:02:32,078 --> 00:02:36,282 Now home to the highest number of strip clubs in the country 56 00:02:36,282 --> 00:02:40,286 deadass from shipping to stripping, [indistinct]. 57 00:02:40,286 --> 00:02:42,956 For 25-year-old rebel without a cause, 58 00:02:42,956 --> 00:02:46,393 Victor Lupis, Portland would be a landing strip 59 00:02:46,393 --> 00:02:49,796 for joining an infamous crew of diamond thieves. 60 00:02:53,600 --> 00:02:56,403 I was on a plane to go steal diamonds. 61 00:03:00,140 --> 00:03:03,610 [Remy Ma] Vic and his boy Trey, who was also on the plane, 62 00:03:03,610 --> 00:03:06,312 were small-time hustlers in Charlotte, North Carolina. 63 00:03:06,713 --> 00:03:09,215 Vic was the fearless underdog 64 00:03:09,215 --> 00:03:10,884 running from the shadow of poverty. 65 00:03:10,884 --> 00:03:13,920 You know, we didn't have a lot of money growing up. 66 00:03:13,920 --> 00:03:16,289 Back then, I just thought it was, you know, money, 67 00:03:16,289 --> 00:03:17,657 property, prestige. 68 00:03:17,657 --> 00:03:19,793 That's what success meant to me. I wanted more. 69 00:03:19,859 --> 00:03:22,696 The way I ran my day to day, it was always more. 70 00:03:22,896 --> 00:03:25,165 [Remy Ma] Trey, Vic's boy from his hood 71 00:03:25,165 --> 00:03:29,502 had recently done a few licks an ill-famed diamond heist crew 72 00:03:29,502 --> 00:03:31,404 and pitched Vic on joining. 73 00:03:31,404 --> 00:03:33,606 Me and Trey had history already. 74 00:03:33,940 --> 00:03:35,342 He started coming to me and he's like, 75 00:03:35,342 --> 00:03:36,810 I got these diamond guys 76 00:03:36,810 --> 00:03:39,813 that I was the driver for a couple of times. 77 00:03:39,813 --> 00:03:42,115 These guys are already on top of the food chain. 78 00:03:42,115 --> 00:03:43,616 So Trey was like, yo, he's like, 79 00:03:43,616 --> 00:03:45,552 you gotta, you gotta meet these guys. 80 00:03:45,552 --> 00:03:47,620 [Remy Ma] So let's meet them. 81 00:03:48,121 --> 00:03:49,789 [Victor] Gio is the mastermind. 82 00:03:49,989 --> 00:03:52,592 He is the guy that sets the stage, 83 00:03:52,592 --> 00:03:54,861 finds and does all the homework. 84 00:03:55,161 --> 00:03:59,466 He is the one that appoints the roles to every part. 85 00:04:00,100 --> 00:04:02,268 Dom is his right hand. 86 00:04:02,569 --> 00:04:03,837 He's the money mover. 87 00:04:03,837 --> 00:04:08,174 He is the enforcer of Gio's master plan. 88 00:04:08,341 --> 00:04:10,410 Trey, the minivan bandit. 89 00:04:10,677 --> 00:04:13,680 He can rob a minivan quicker than anybody I've heard of. 90 00:04:13,680 --> 00:04:15,482 Then you got Jack Cannon. 91 00:04:15,582 --> 00:04:17,817 Literally the loose cannon of the group. 92 00:04:17,917 --> 00:04:20,920 He was the experienced guy that can run in, 93 00:04:21,087 --> 00:04:23,156 get the diamonds and run out. 94 00:04:23,156 --> 00:04:24,691 But he was hot. 95 00:04:25,425 --> 00:04:27,727 He had gotten caught in Florida. 96 00:04:27,794 --> 00:04:29,662 He wasn't supposed to have a gun on him. 97 00:04:29,829 --> 00:04:30,764 And he did. 98 00:04:30,930 --> 00:04:32,432 And that pissed everybody off. 99 00:04:32,432 --> 00:04:34,834 My role is to take his place as the runner. 100 00:04:34,834 --> 00:04:37,570 [Remy Ma] Run that, run and get them diamonds. 101 00:04:38,204 --> 00:04:40,607 So, getting off the plane, I was feeling great, 102 00:04:40,607 --> 00:04:43,176 I was like, man, these guys know something. 103 00:04:43,176 --> 00:04:44,944 These guys are somebody. 104 00:04:44,944 --> 00:04:46,680 I'm feeling like a movie star. 105 00:04:47,313 --> 00:04:52,218 And Gio and Dom pull up in the big white dually truck. 106 00:04:52,952 --> 00:04:55,555 I'm in a city that I've never been in. 107 00:04:55,555 --> 00:04:59,659 I'm meeting to very high executive guys in my game, 108 00:04:59,659 --> 00:05:01,995 pretty much bigger than the president of United States 109 00:05:01,995 --> 00:05:03,563 in my eyes at this point. 110 00:05:03,563 --> 00:05:05,699 [Remy Ma] Then straight out of baggage claim-- 111 00:05:05,699 --> 00:05:09,135 Gio says, whoa, don't say anything about business. 112 00:05:09,135 --> 00:05:11,471 I need you to turn your phone off right now. 113 00:05:12,038 --> 00:05:14,007 We're going to go inside and check for a wire. 114 00:05:14,474 --> 00:05:17,944 So Gio goes into the bathroom with me 115 00:05:18,845 --> 00:05:21,981 and I strip down, butt naked, do a whole little dance. 116 00:05:23,416 --> 00:05:25,785 I'm like, hey, do you want me to turn over and cough? 117 00:05:25,785 --> 00:05:27,387 [Remy Ma] Nah, that was on some 118 00:05:27,387 --> 00:05:29,723 New Jack City Pookie type [bleep]. 119 00:05:29,956 --> 00:05:31,858 And then we roll up to the house. 120 00:05:37,697 --> 00:05:40,200 I didn't weigh the consequences in my mind 121 00:05:40,200 --> 00:05:43,236 and I didn't question why I'm there at all. 122 00:05:43,236 --> 00:05:45,538 [Remy Ma] Now it was time to talk business. 123 00:05:46,072 --> 00:05:49,843 Heisting diamonds, Gio, the mastermind, 124 00:05:49,843 --> 00:05:53,346 explained the whole operation, starting with the role 125 00:05:53,413 --> 00:05:55,181 Vic was there to take over. 126 00:05:55,648 --> 00:05:58,351 What the runner did is they ran the diamonds. 127 00:05:59,319 --> 00:06:01,388 They had to look the part, play the part of 128 00:06:01,454 --> 00:06:04,190 a sophisticated, successful person. 129 00:06:04,824 --> 00:06:07,594 You literally had to look like a million bucks, 130 00:06:07,594 --> 00:06:09,162 smell like a million bucks 131 00:06:09,162 --> 00:06:11,931 and act like a million bucks. 132 00:06:12,365 --> 00:06:14,634 [Remy Ma] And there were three other players 133 00:06:14,634 --> 00:06:16,002 needed to make it go smooth. 134 00:06:16,636 --> 00:06:18,705 So the hero stopper would be in place, 135 00:06:18,772 --> 00:06:23,810 kind of like at third base coach and either trip up the hero 136 00:06:23,810 --> 00:06:28,348 or stand between the hero and the runner by accident. 137 00:06:29,082 --> 00:06:31,818 The risk reducer is setting the stage to make sure 138 00:06:31,818 --> 00:06:35,588 there is no high risk of getting caught. 139 00:06:36,823 --> 00:06:38,725 The getaway driver, all they had to do was 140 00:06:38,725 --> 00:06:41,861 drive the van and get away. 141 00:06:43,530 --> 00:06:45,899 [Remy Ma] And there were levels to this, too. 142 00:06:45,965 --> 00:06:49,669 The crew had a simple way to assign difficulty to the hit. 143 00:06:49,669 --> 00:06:51,538 Level one being the easiest, 144 00:06:51,938 --> 00:06:53,606 level five being the hardest. 145 00:06:53,606 --> 00:06:56,209 [Remy Ma] Straight up, Rip City's Ocean's Eleven. 146 00:06:56,609 --> 00:07:00,146 We already know Vic's gonna need an attorney. 147 00:07:00,146 --> 00:07:01,548 So here he is. 148 00:07:01,681 --> 00:07:03,817 Federal criminal defense attorney Matt Schindler. 149 00:07:03,817 --> 00:07:08,088 This is so much more clever than robbing stupid banks. 150 00:07:08,855 --> 00:07:12,125 From a planning standpoint, from a routine, 151 00:07:12,125 --> 00:07:15,061 from the way that they managed the business 152 00:07:15,061 --> 00:07:17,397 when they did these particular crimes. 153 00:07:17,397 --> 00:07:19,566 I've never seen anything comparable. 154 00:07:19,933 --> 00:07:22,635 [Remy Ma] And Vic, who had recently become a new dad, 155 00:07:22,769 --> 00:07:25,472 initially saw Portland as an exit plan 156 00:07:25,572 --> 00:07:28,008 from a hard knock life of poverty. 157 00:07:28,908 --> 00:07:31,945 [Victor] Growing up, I didn't never have nice things. 158 00:07:32,612 --> 00:07:33,847 We had nothing. 159 00:07:34,748 --> 00:07:39,986 My life consisted of a battered family living in poverty 160 00:07:40,053 --> 00:07:42,255 going to domestic violence shelters. 161 00:07:43,523 --> 00:07:47,160 What was there every day of my life was the streets. 162 00:07:48,762 --> 00:07:51,631 [Remy Ma] Knickerbocker, the street that raised him, 163 00:07:51,631 --> 00:07:53,533 taught Vic how to knuckle up. 164 00:07:53,833 --> 00:07:55,535 Where the black was hot 165 00:07:55,535 --> 00:07:59,305 and the lure of the dope boys lurked around every corner. 166 00:07:59,572 --> 00:08:01,107 So I come down there and they're like, 167 00:08:01,107 --> 00:08:02,575 we're just going to make you tough. 168 00:08:03,209 --> 00:08:05,545 So what they would do is beat me down every day. 169 00:08:06,713 --> 00:08:09,149 All I grew up knowing was my mind, 170 00:08:09,582 --> 00:08:11,651 my heart and my two fists. 171 00:08:11,651 --> 00:08:13,186 I didn't know anything outside of that. 172 00:08:14,888 --> 00:08:16,556 [Remy Ma] Victor's wife, Brooke, 173 00:08:16,556 --> 00:08:19,759 learned about the hard times her husband had growing up. 174 00:08:20,694 --> 00:08:22,429 He's always been a smaller guy. 175 00:08:22,729 --> 00:08:24,998 He struggled getting bullied. 176 00:08:25,799 --> 00:08:26,933 When I hit high school, 177 00:08:26,933 --> 00:08:28,401 that's when it really changed for me 178 00:08:28,401 --> 00:08:31,571 because, you know, I started idolizing the dope men. 179 00:08:32,038 --> 00:08:34,974 They were driving a Honda Civic sitting on twenty sixes. 180 00:08:34,974 --> 00:08:37,310 I'm learning how to smoke weed and roll blunts. 181 00:08:37,644 --> 00:08:38,912 That's the life I want to live 182 00:08:38,912 --> 00:08:40,847 because I see them being successful. 183 00:08:40,847 --> 00:08:42,582 [Remy Ma] And baby sis' Michelle, 184 00:08:42,582 --> 00:08:44,517 witnessed her brother's turn 185 00:08:44,551 --> 00:08:46,519 toward the south side of the law. 186 00:08:46,686 --> 00:08:48,822 I was around 13 when I noticed 187 00:08:48,955 --> 00:08:52,859 that he was really getting into some bad things. 188 00:08:52,859 --> 00:08:55,261 I could just tell he was going towards a crowd 189 00:08:55,261 --> 00:08:58,331 that leaned towards criminal behavior. 190 00:08:59,032 --> 00:09:02,736 My goal was to get two to three million dollars, 191 00:09:03,069 --> 00:09:05,939 hustle, get out of the game, retire 192 00:09:06,139 --> 00:09:10,377 and be living in Belize owning a tiki hut. 193 00:09:10,777 --> 00:09:12,012 And that was my wash. 194 00:09:12,012 --> 00:09:13,847 [Remy Ma] Now in striking distance 195 00:09:13,847 --> 00:09:16,249 with what was queued up: Christmas time. 196 00:09:16,983 --> 00:09:21,154 Twas the night before Vic's very first diamond heist. 197 00:09:22,288 --> 00:09:24,557 It was Vic's debut with the crew. 198 00:09:25,225 --> 00:09:27,060 You know, I'm starting to feel the jitters. 199 00:09:27,060 --> 00:09:29,396 You know, my stomach's turning. 200 00:09:30,563 --> 00:09:32,332 And now me and Trey are praying, like, in the car, 201 00:09:32,332 --> 00:09:33,733 literally praying, 202 00:09:33,733 --> 00:09:35,068 was like, Lord, just protect us. 203 00:09:35,068 --> 00:09:37,737 We're not here to hurt anybody. 204 00:09:37,737 --> 00:09:39,939 We're actually doing a good cause. 205 00:09:40,106 --> 00:09:41,775 These diamonds got blood on them. 206 00:09:41,775 --> 00:09:43,276 God in your name. 207 00:09:43,276 --> 00:09:45,378 [Remy Ma] Not blood diamonds, now you draggin' it. 208 00:09:45,879 --> 00:09:48,982 But Mama says prayer changes things. 209 00:09:48,982 --> 00:09:51,951 Now I'm like, aight, Gio, let's get the music on. 210 00:09:51,951 --> 00:09:54,154 Like the Tupac comes on. 211 00:09:54,320 --> 00:09:58,291 You know the California song and now I'm psyched out. 212 00:09:59,025 --> 00:10:02,195 [Remy Ma] The scheme was underway just as they planned. 213 00:10:02,262 --> 00:10:05,231 They had rehearsed the story a million times. 214 00:10:05,231 --> 00:10:07,667 [Victor] Dom says you're gonna go find Cathy, 215 00:10:07,667 --> 00:10:09,135 the jewelry store clerk. 216 00:10:09,536 --> 00:10:11,838 Jason Shaw was my character. 217 00:10:12,072 --> 00:10:14,274 And your fiancee is right down the street 218 00:10:14,274 --> 00:10:16,009 eating dinner with your in-laws 219 00:10:16,009 --> 00:10:18,445 that you just flew in from out of town. 220 00:10:18,578 --> 00:10:21,815 And you need to tell her this entire story and get her 221 00:10:21,815 --> 00:10:24,918 to show you the diamonds that are in this case. 222 00:10:25,018 --> 00:10:26,986 [Remy Ma] Story airtight. 223 00:10:26,986 --> 00:10:30,023 They'd use that over and over again. 224 00:10:30,023 --> 00:10:32,025 [Victor] So everybody's in place. 225 00:10:33,693 --> 00:10:36,563 And I'm about to walk into a level four, 226 00:10:36,963 --> 00:10:38,898 biggest diamond like I've ever seen 227 00:10:39,366 --> 00:10:40,367 [Remy Ma] On your mark-- 228 00:10:41,434 --> 00:10:43,837 [Victor] And then as I'm walking up to the jewelry store doors, 229 00:10:43,837 --> 00:10:47,774 this is a big glass door, I can see my reflection 230 00:10:48,341 --> 00:10:52,312 and I feel like a completely different person. 231 00:10:52,679 --> 00:10:53,780 [Remy Ma] Get set-- 232 00:10:54,247 --> 00:10:57,217 I never felt this way. So I'm like exhilarated now, 233 00:10:57,217 --> 00:10:58,485 I'm like, whoa, 234 00:10:58,485 --> 00:11:01,855 I'm 'bout to go get 500 grand in 30 seconds. 235 00:11:01,855 --> 00:11:03,123 [Remy Ma] Go! 236 00:11:04,557 --> 00:11:06,026 [Victor] So I pop the door open. 237 00:11:06,026 --> 00:11:07,761 I use the side of my hand 238 00:11:07,761 --> 00:11:09,696 so I didn't leave fingerprints behind. 239 00:11:09,696 --> 00:11:11,197 That was the plan. 240 00:11:15,568 --> 00:11:19,439 I went in and I go right up to the jewelry store clerk 241 00:11:19,439 --> 00:11:21,975 and I say, hey, Kathy, this is Jason Shaw. 242 00:11:22,409 --> 00:11:24,377 I'm like, you don't remember me, do you? 243 00:11:24,444 --> 00:11:26,713 And she's like, no. I was like, 244 00:11:26,713 --> 00:11:28,715 I was just sitting here two weeks ago. 245 00:11:28,715 --> 00:11:30,483 You don't remember me with my fiancee? 246 00:11:30,817 --> 00:11:32,385 And she's like, oh, my God. 247 00:11:32,385 --> 00:11:34,721 I've talked to so many people since then. 248 00:11:36,289 --> 00:11:40,627 So I sit down and this is where all the big diamonds were at. 249 00:11:41,127 --> 00:11:43,797 So she starts pulling out the diamonds. 250 00:11:45,065 --> 00:11:47,167 And I have one ring on my finger. 251 00:11:47,467 --> 00:11:50,303 And I know it's for like 113 thousand dollars. 252 00:11:51,604 --> 00:11:55,842 I said, but I think she might have wanted another cushion cut. 253 00:11:57,344 --> 00:12:01,715 Now, on the second one, it's like 240 thousand. 254 00:12:03,016 --> 00:12:05,785 I'm watching the doors and I'm feeling nervous 255 00:12:05,785 --> 00:12:08,488 and I'm feeling like she might be catching on 256 00:12:08,488 --> 00:12:10,323 to my nervousness. 257 00:12:12,759 --> 00:12:14,594 And I'm like that one right there, 258 00:12:15,095 --> 00:12:16,730 and she pulls it out. 259 00:12:20,900 --> 00:12:23,370 I look down and look at the doors 260 00:12:23,370 --> 00:12:27,407 and it's a clear shot and I'm like, it's now or never Vic. 261 00:12:32,358 --> 00:12:34,457 [Remy Ma] Tis the season to be jolly, 262 00:12:34,457 --> 00:12:36,886 and instead of fa la la la la, 263 00:12:36,886 --> 00:12:41,391 it’s go time for 25 year old Victor Lupis. 264 00:12:41,391 --> 00:12:43,424 with half a million dollars 265 00:12:43,424 --> 00:12:45,820 worth of diamonds on his fingers. 266 00:12:45,820 --> 00:12:51,193 So I’m looking up like this. And look at the doors. 267 00:12:52,292 --> 00:12:54,787 And it’s a clear shot. 268 00:12:56,886 --> 00:12:59,919 And I’m like, it’s now or never Vic. 269 00:13:06,853 --> 00:13:10,457 I hit the doors and I remember I had the rings here 270 00:13:10,457 --> 00:13:13,325 and I went like that to open it. 271 00:13:13,325 --> 00:13:16,325 [Remy Ma] Rewind! Remember the plan? 272 00:13:16,325 --> 00:13:20,018 When I went in there, I used the side of my hands 273 00:13:20,018 --> 00:13:20,952 to open up the door 274 00:13:20,952 --> 00:13:23,358 so I didn’t leave fingerprints behind. 275 00:13:23,358 --> 00:13:24,193 That was the plan. 276 00:13:24,193 --> 00:13:26,160 [Remy Ma] Unreal. Rookie move, 277 00:13:26,160 --> 00:13:29,325 supposed to leave Santa cookies and milk, 278 00:13:29,325 --> 00:13:31,051 Vic, not your fingerprints. 279 00:13:31,051 --> 00:13:32,919 He was like, I was freaking out 280 00:13:32,919 --> 00:13:36,820 that I had just left fingerprints on this door. 281 00:13:36,820 --> 00:13:40,051 Like, my only thing was get to that van. 282 00:13:40,051 --> 00:13:41,523 [tires screeching] 283 00:13:41,523 --> 00:13:43,886 And I’m blowing past people. 284 00:13:43,886 --> 00:13:45,952 The adrenaline was pumping so bad 285 00:13:45,952 --> 00:13:47,127 that I probably looked like 286 00:13:47,127 --> 00:13:49,952 I was running from my own ghost. 287 00:13:53,018 --> 00:13:54,457 [Remy Ma] Queue Trey, the getaway driver. 288 00:13:54,457 --> 00:13:57,424 He’s like, did you get them? And I’m like, [mimics coughing] 289 00:13:57,424 --> 00:14:00,358 like, literally almost throwing up from coughing 290 00:14:00,358 --> 00:14:03,226 and I can’t even get a word out. 291 00:14:03,985 --> 00:14:06,051 And I know what I got in my hand. 292 00:14:06,051 --> 00:14:09,919 I got at least 500 grand worth of diamonds. 293 00:14:09,919 --> 00:14:12,391 So I just pulled it off. I just did it. 294 00:14:12,391 --> 00:14:15,424 [Remy Ma] What about that handprint you left? 295 00:14:15,424 --> 00:14:17,084 Queue the risk reducer. 296 00:14:17,084 --> 00:14:19,886 He told me that one of the other guys had went back 297 00:14:19,886 --> 00:14:23,952 and wiped the door down and he got away. 298 00:14:25,589 --> 00:14:27,424 I mean, it’s all crazy. 299 00:14:27,424 --> 00:14:29,589 There was this whole process behind it 300 00:14:29,589 --> 00:14:34,457 that they knew to wipe the doors for him to get away. 301 00:14:34,457 --> 00:14:36,919 [Matt] There was an inherent recklessness 302 00:14:36,919 --> 00:14:39,985 involved in walking into a jewelry store where you know 303 00:14:39,985 --> 00:14:43,391 you’re going to be exposed to closed circuit. 304 00:14:43,391 --> 00:14:44,457 [Remy Ma] But Vic got away, 305 00:14:44,457 --> 00:14:47,490 on the come up to a better life. 306 00:14:47,490 --> 00:14:48,259 Then what? 307 00:14:48,259 --> 00:14:50,655 So we went back to the house and we had to stay super low. 308 00:14:50,655 --> 00:14:53,952 -- Watch the clean-Cut diamond thief rip it off -- 309 00:14:53,952 --> 00:14:55,886 And then when the news came on, it was, 310 00:14:55,886 --> 00:14:57,358 "ohhh, he’s on the news!" 311 00:14:57,358 --> 00:14:59,127 I was like, you can’t even tell it’s me. 312 00:14:59,127 --> 00:15:02,556 [Remy Ma] Now it was time for Vic to get his money. 313 00:15:02,556 --> 00:15:05,051 [Victor] So that’s where Dom had to come in 314 00:15:05,051 --> 00:15:08,259 and he had to fly over to Philly and fence them 315 00:15:08,259 --> 00:15:10,622 so we could all get paid. 316 00:15:11,084 --> 00:15:12,325 And Gio’s like, you did so well. 317 00:15:12,325 --> 00:15:16,160 I’ma throw you a five thousand dollar bonus. 318 00:15:16,160 --> 00:15:18,127 I made 35 thousand dollars the quickest money 319 00:15:18,127 --> 00:15:19,490 I ever made in my entire life. 320 00:15:19,490 --> 00:15:22,391 [Remy Ma] I spit bars in seconds, but damn, 321 00:15:22,391 --> 00:15:24,523 that’s a crazy ass grab. 322 00:15:24,523 --> 00:15:27,259 Now the celebrating hits, with the clubs, 323 00:15:27,259 --> 00:15:31,018 Dom Perignon on me for all the tables. 324 00:15:34,018 --> 00:15:36,985 [Remy Ma] Vic was off to a running start 325 00:15:36,985 --> 00:15:38,457 and doing more liks with the crew. 326 00:15:38,457 --> 00:15:44,424 [Brooke] He was out every single night spending tons of money. 327 00:15:44,424 --> 00:15:48,424 He would drop thousands and thousands of dollars 328 00:15:48,424 --> 00:15:50,457 just on a bottle of liquor. 329 00:15:50,457 --> 00:15:54,226 Anything that he wanted, he would get it. 330 00:15:55,391 --> 00:15:57,193 [Victor] So this girl, I remember, 331 00:15:57,193 --> 00:15:58,292 she’s like, what do you do? 332 00:15:58,292 --> 00:16:00,160 I’m like, I’m a professional gambler. 333 00:16:00,160 --> 00:16:01,424 And she’s like, oh, you must be lucky. 334 00:16:01,424 --> 00:16:04,051 I’m like, I don’t believe in luck. No such thing. 335 00:16:04,051 --> 00:16:06,084 Opportunity and preparation, baby. 336 00:16:06,084 --> 00:16:08,292 [Remy Ma] Slick Vic was feeling himself 337 00:16:08,292 --> 00:16:11,084 on his way to leaving Lac behind and realizing 338 00:16:11,084 --> 00:16:16,051 those Belizean Tiki Hut millionaire dreams. 339 00:16:16,259 --> 00:16:17,721 Now Gio believes in me more. 340 00:16:17,721 --> 00:16:20,018 I’m bringing more value to the game. 341 00:16:20,018 --> 00:16:22,589 So he’s like, all right, let’s level up some more. 342 00:16:22,589 --> 00:16:24,622 We’re going to do two licks in a day. 343 00:16:24,622 --> 00:16:25,622 [Remy Ma] Two in one day? 344 00:16:25,622 --> 00:16:28,018 You’re doing the most, in Cali, at that, 345 00:16:28,018 --> 00:16:31,523 not HQ in Portland, because Cali was easier? 346 00:16:31,523 --> 00:16:32,556 Clock that for later. 347 00:16:32,556 --> 00:16:35,556 For now, Vic was making his own quiet moves. 348 00:16:35,556 --> 00:16:39,018 So I masterminded this idea with Trey that we were 349 00:16:39,018 --> 00:16:42,292 going to learn everything that Gio and Don were doing. 350 00:16:42,292 --> 00:16:44,424 So this way, we could go run our own crew 351 00:16:44,424 --> 00:16:47,051 and actually make the millions of dollars 352 00:16:47,051 --> 00:16:47,886 that they were making. 353 00:16:47,886 --> 00:16:51,193 And nobody else knew about that other than me and Trey. 354 00:16:51,193 --> 00:16:53,084 [Remy Ma] There was something else 355 00:16:53,084 --> 00:16:54,358 Victor Lupis kept from the crew. 356 00:16:54,358 --> 00:16:58,226 I was not morally ready to ever take part 357 00:16:58,226 --> 00:17:00,193 in some type of violence. 358 00:17:00,193 --> 00:17:02,688 I knew from a very young age 359 00:17:02,688 --> 00:17:04,358 that I would never prey on people 360 00:17:04,358 --> 00:17:07,018 that couldn’t protect themselves. 361 00:17:07,018 --> 00:17:09,226 It felt just dead wrong. 362 00:17:09,226 --> 00:17:10,655 He didn’t want to hurt people, 363 00:17:10,655 --> 00:17:12,556 which I think would lead back 364 00:17:12,556 --> 00:17:16,325 to his childhood domestic abuse. 365 00:17:16,622 --> 00:17:21,358 He didn’t want anybody else to feel that same pain. 366 00:17:21,556 --> 00:17:23,655 [Victor] The no violence absolutely came from 367 00:17:23,655 --> 00:17:27,018 experiencing the domestic violence inside my home. 368 00:17:27,018 --> 00:17:29,084 And watching what my mother went through 369 00:17:29,084 --> 00:17:33,160 and what my sisters went through and what I went through. 370 00:17:33,424 --> 00:17:35,193 [Remy Ma] A thief with a heart? 371 00:17:35,193 --> 00:17:36,655 Vic wasn’t about that violence life 372 00:17:36,655 --> 00:17:40,655 because of his past, which shaped who he was. 373 00:17:41,622 --> 00:17:45,787 There’s no single risk factor that predicts whether a child 374 00:17:45,787 --> 00:17:48,556 will develop criminal behavior or not. 375 00:17:48,556 --> 00:17:51,193 But usually there’s several at play. 376 00:17:51,193 --> 00:17:55,655 Education, poverty, neighborhood, role models. 377 00:17:55,655 --> 00:17:57,226 But please be clear, 378 00:17:57,226 --> 00:17:58,688 one of the major risk factors linked 379 00:17:58,688 --> 00:18:03,358 to future criminality and violence applies to children, 380 00:18:03,358 --> 00:18:06,127 like Victor, who grow up victimized. 381 00:18:06,127 --> 00:18:09,358 Victor’s childhood made him twice as likely 382 00:18:09,358 --> 00:18:10,556 to become a criminal. 383 00:18:10,556 --> 00:18:13,391 And that’s a hard odd to shake. 384 00:18:13,391 --> 00:18:16,820 Now, before Vic could get in on the next heist, 385 00:18:16,820 --> 00:18:18,853 he had to get a monkey off his back. 386 00:18:18,853 --> 00:18:21,688 Probably about three or four months 387 00:18:21,688 --> 00:18:24,226 before we had gone out there, 388 00:18:24,226 --> 00:18:26,325 I started doing oxys, 389 00:18:26,325 --> 00:18:28,556 and my addiction is now really starting 390 00:18:28,556 --> 00:18:30,820 to spiral out of control. 391 00:18:30,820 --> 00:18:33,754 So Gio and Dom knew this and they’re like, listen, 392 00:18:33,754 --> 00:18:37,688 you can’t do this unless you’re 100 percent clean. 393 00:18:37,688 --> 00:18:38,589 [Remy Ma] Ironic. 394 00:18:38,589 --> 00:18:41,886 People that steal rocks are the ones that get him off drugs. 395 00:18:41,886 --> 00:18:43,490 [Victor] So I went through ’bout 396 00:18:43,490 --> 00:18:45,358 four to five days of withdrawals, 397 00:18:45,358 --> 00:18:47,853 just cold turkey, no alcohol, no weed, 398 00:18:47,853 --> 00:18:50,820 nothing to take over the edge. 399 00:18:51,292 --> 00:18:52,622 [Matt] You know, I think he was embarrassed 400 00:18:52,622 --> 00:18:54,754 that he was a drug addict, embarrassed 401 00:18:54,754 --> 00:18:57,490 that he couldn’t work a legitimate job. 402 00:18:57,490 --> 00:19:00,490 There was a desperation in Vic. 403 00:19:00,490 --> 00:19:02,886 And so in some respects, I think that cleaning up, 404 00:19:02,886 --> 00:19:07,292 getting off drugs, there was an element of relief there. 405 00:19:11,688 --> 00:19:14,358 [Remy Ma] Now, detoxed, Vic and the crew 406 00:19:14,358 --> 00:19:16,358 were ready to breeze through California 407 00:19:16,358 --> 00:19:19,886 and brazenly pull off two licks in a day, 408 00:19:19,886 --> 00:19:20,754 making twice the money. 409 00:19:20,754 --> 00:19:23,259 ♪ Everybody let me take you to the place to be ♪ 410 00:19:23,259 --> 00:19:25,589 ♪ the infallible West at the hottest degree ♪ 411 00:19:25,589 --> 00:19:28,193 ♪ we blazin’ up the track gettin’ hotter than Quint ♪ 412 00:19:28,193 --> 00:19:31,292 ♪ California is the spot where they romping the shade ♪ 413 00:19:31,292 --> 00:19:35,688 They find a couple of jewelry stores in San Mateo 414 00:19:35,688 --> 00:19:37,226 and Palo Alto. 415 00:19:37,226 --> 00:19:39,985 Jack Cannon was the driver, I’m the runner. 416 00:19:39,985 --> 00:19:42,688 The wash vehicle was gonna be parked up the block, 417 00:19:42,688 --> 00:19:45,622 probably about six football fields away 418 00:19:45,622 --> 00:19:47,556 [Remy Ma] Hold up, the wash vehicle? 419 00:19:47,556 --> 00:19:49,754 The wash vehicle is the clean vehicle 420 00:19:49,754 --> 00:19:52,622 That’s the vehicle that nobody’s looking for 421 00:19:52,622 --> 00:19:55,226 It’s registered, it’s licensed 422 00:19:55,226 --> 00:19:58,292 and it’s never used in any crime. 423 00:19:58,292 --> 00:19:59,919 So that’s the safe vehicle. 424 00:19:59,919 --> 00:20:01,292 [Remy Ma] Bet. Carry on. 425 00:20:01,292 --> 00:20:04,259 And they found this beautiful yellow canary diamond 426 00:20:04,259 --> 00:20:08,358 And it was 350 thousand dollars off of one diamond 427 00:20:08,358 --> 00:20:11,853 So this was a big hit and it was a level one. 428 00:20:11,853 --> 00:20:14,754 [Remy Ma] A level one because the jewelry store 429 00:20:14,754 --> 00:20:16,820 kept their doors flung wide open 430 00:20:16,820 --> 00:20:18,655 Oh, yeah, dumb, where they do that at? 431 00:20:18,655 --> 00:20:20,721 [Victor] So it’s a beautiful California day 432 00:20:20,721 --> 00:20:27,226 And we’re going to go steal a 3.5 carat canary diamond 433 00:20:27,226 --> 00:20:29,325 valued over 350 thousand dollars. 434 00:20:29,325 --> 00:20:32,622 [Remy Ma] OK, Silicone Valley’s Jacob, the jeweler 435 00:20:32,622 --> 00:20:35,721 That’s a big ass rock. 436 00:20:35,919 --> 00:20:37,985 [Victor] So I do everything that I normally do 437 00:20:37,985 --> 00:20:41,688 in my same routine, get the music going 438 00:20:41,688 --> 00:20:44,820 And I’m fitting the part, in a nice Armani sweater 439 00:20:44,820 --> 00:20:47,985 I got the same nice watch on and of course, 440 00:20:47,985 --> 00:20:52,721 the rubber soled shoes, I’m just like game time. 441 00:20:52,985 --> 00:20:53,787 Hey, how you doing? 442 00:20:53,787 --> 00:20:57,589 [Victor] So, as soon as I go in, the guy automatically greets me. 443 00:20:57,589 --> 00:20:58,919 The door’s wide open. 444 00:20:58,919 --> 00:21:01,754 I’ll say, hey, you know, I’m just out here with my wife 445 00:21:01,754 --> 00:21:05,688 And we were looking at this beautiful canary diamond. 446 00:21:05,688 --> 00:21:09,589 And he pulls out the canary diamond right away. 447 00:21:14,325 --> 00:21:17,523 And immediately puts it in my hand, 448 00:21:18,490 --> 00:21:20,820 I said thank you--boom! 449 00:21:21,018 --> 00:21:24,523 I was out of the store in like two seconds. 450 00:21:24,523 --> 00:21:27,655 I didn’t realize how quick I was moving. 451 00:21:28,051 --> 00:21:30,325 So Jack wasn’t set up yet. 452 00:21:30,325 --> 00:21:33,622 He’s still fumbling around in the parking lot. 453 00:21:33,622 --> 00:21:35,622 And I know the guy is right behind me. 454 00:21:35,622 --> 00:21:39,754 I feel him, no safety net, no risk reducer. 455 00:21:39,754 --> 00:21:44,457 This was a level one which I kind of screwed up 456 00:21:44,457 --> 00:21:47,985 and now I’m freaking out. And I ran. 457 00:21:47,985 --> 00:21:50,721 I’m like, don’t let me get caught. 458 00:21:53,588 --> 00:21:56,591 Victor Lupis was dead smack in the midst of heisting 459 00:21:56,657 --> 00:22:00,194 a rare 3.5 carat canary diamond ring 460 00:22:00,194 --> 00:22:03,764 worth 350 thousand dollars. 461 00:22:04,165 --> 00:22:06,300 When somebody in the crew screwed up. 462 00:22:06,901 --> 00:22:08,536 [Victor] Jack wasn't set up yet. 463 00:22:08,870 --> 00:22:11,339 He's still fumbling around in the parking lot. 464 00:22:11,639 --> 00:22:13,574 And I just keep running down the block. 465 00:22:13,574 --> 00:22:15,810 And I know the guy is right behind me. 466 00:22:15,810 --> 00:22:16,777 I feel him. 467 00:22:30,858 --> 00:22:32,827 So I go running all the way to the parking garage 468 00:22:32,827 --> 00:22:35,496 and I'm looking around for the wash car. 469 00:22:36,764 --> 00:22:38,799 I'm like, oh, [bleep] he's not here. 470 00:22:39,333 --> 00:22:41,002 [Remy Ma] Minor misstep, be damned. 471 00:22:41,002 --> 00:22:44,739 The crew really had big out here truly [bleep] up. 472 00:22:45,306 --> 00:22:47,575 [Victor] So I grab my bag of clothes 473 00:22:47,575 --> 00:22:49,410 and I know I'm out of time. 474 00:22:49,644 --> 00:22:51,412 And now all of a sudden I see the cops 475 00:22:51,412 --> 00:22:53,681 whoosh, whoosh, flying past me. 476 00:22:53,681 --> 00:22:56,684 So then I see this little coffee shop. 477 00:22:58,786 --> 00:23:00,655 My first goal is to get out of the description 478 00:23:00,655 --> 00:23:02,757 that I just left the jewelry store. 479 00:23:07,061 --> 00:23:09,830 I've got a canary diamond bigger than my fist, 480 00:23:09,830 --> 00:23:12,567 and I'm freaking out, I put it in my shoe 481 00:23:12,567 --> 00:23:15,102 and I can feel it digging into my foot 482 00:23:15,436 --> 00:23:17,705 I take the lid of the garbage can off 483 00:23:17,705 --> 00:23:19,173 and I take the bag out 484 00:23:19,173 --> 00:23:21,275 and I throw my clothes inside the trash bin, 485 00:23:21,275 --> 00:23:22,510 and then I put the bag back in 486 00:23:22,510 --> 00:23:23,945 and I put the lid back on. 487 00:23:24,011 --> 00:23:25,079 [Remy Ma] Smart! 488 00:23:26,013 --> 00:23:27,281 I'm like, I'm good. 489 00:23:27,848 --> 00:23:29,550 And I go up to the counter I'm like, 490 00:23:29,550 --> 00:23:31,719 I lost my phone and I'm sick, 491 00:23:31,719 --> 00:23:33,454 I don't have my inhaler. 492 00:23:33,921 --> 00:23:36,891 And she's like, oh, no, sweetie. Use the phone. 493 00:23:37,124 --> 00:23:40,361 [distant sirens blaring] 494 00:23:40,761 --> 00:23:42,063 And while I picked up my phone-- 495 00:23:42,463 --> 00:23:46,200 [Remy Ma] Here enters Lalla, Vic's homegirl from back east, 496 00:23:46,200 --> 00:23:47,602 she was new to the game, 497 00:23:47,602 --> 00:23:49,503 training to be a part of the crew. 498 00:23:50,104 --> 00:23:51,739 [Victor] She's like, you guys get caught? 499 00:23:51,739 --> 00:23:53,174 I'm like, no, I'm calling you right now, 500 00:23:53,174 --> 00:23:53,941 I'm not caught. 501 00:23:54,508 --> 00:23:55,643 She said, Gio said we can't go back. 502 00:23:56,277 --> 00:23:58,112 I'm like, I don't care. You guys come get me 503 00:23:58,112 --> 00:24:00,314 I'm like, give me a place right now. 504 00:24:00,314 --> 00:24:01,782 And I see him drive by. 505 00:24:02,783 --> 00:24:04,819 They're like, go over to the parking garage. 506 00:24:06,420 --> 00:24:07,555 And she hangs up. 507 00:24:07,855 --> 00:24:09,724 Oh, now, I got to come out of the coffee shop 508 00:24:09,724 --> 00:24:12,059 I can't run because there's cops everywhere. 509 00:24:12,059 --> 00:24:14,595 [sirens blaring] 510 00:24:14,595 --> 00:24:18,432 I still got this big canary rock sitting in my shoe, 511 00:24:18,432 --> 00:24:19,667 so I'm limping now 512 00:24:19,667 --> 00:24:22,003 because it dug so far into my foot. 513 00:24:29,176 --> 00:24:33,447 I'll never, ever, ever forget this police officer. 514 00:24:34,749 --> 00:24:37,552 She locks eyes on me like no other. 515 00:24:41,656 --> 00:24:43,724 She knows I'm him. 516 00:24:45,126 --> 00:24:48,162 And I look paranoid like a deer in headlights. 517 00:24:48,796 --> 00:24:51,499 [Remy Ma] That cop glare is so real. 518 00:24:51,699 --> 00:24:54,936 [Victor] But I don't think she had enough audacity 519 00:24:54,936 --> 00:24:56,837 to actually call me out on it 520 00:24:56,837 --> 00:24:59,173 because, number one, I'm just a civilian. 521 00:24:59,173 --> 00:25:01,909 Number two, you better be 100 percent sure 522 00:25:01,909 --> 00:25:03,644 if you're going to stop and frisk me. 523 00:25:03,711 --> 00:25:05,279 So I just turn like, 524 00:25:05,279 --> 00:25:06,681 I'm going to the second level 525 00:25:06,681 --> 00:25:09,050 and I act like I'm fumbling for my key. 526 00:25:09,050 --> 00:25:11,252 [Remy Ma] Hmmm That was some quick thinking 527 00:25:11,319 --> 00:25:14,722 on your 3.5 carat canary diamond feet, Vic. 528 00:25:14,722 --> 00:25:16,123 [Victor] I'm out of time. 529 00:25:16,791 --> 00:25:20,228 Now I see the wash vehicle and I see them 530 00:25:20,228 --> 00:25:21,495 and they're pointing 531 00:25:21,696 --> 00:25:23,631 and I'm thinking they're pointing at a cop, 532 00:25:23,631 --> 00:25:25,032 but they're pointing at a dumpster 533 00:25:25,032 --> 00:25:27,001 with the dumpster lid closed. 534 00:25:27,802 --> 00:25:29,170 So in like two seconds, 535 00:25:29,170 --> 00:25:30,872 as soon as I identified that dumpster lid, 536 00:25:30,872 --> 00:25:32,206 I didn't even think about it, 537 00:25:32,206 --> 00:25:34,575 I didn't think, well, I could break a leg, 538 00:25:34,575 --> 00:25:35,943 I didn't think about the height. 539 00:25:35,943 --> 00:25:37,979 I just dove over that wall, 540 00:25:37,979 --> 00:25:40,181 swung around, held on to the ledge. 541 00:25:41,282 --> 00:25:42,817 And it's a drop. 542 00:25:46,294 --> 00:25:49,558 While pulling off the first of two licks in a day 543 00:25:49,558 --> 00:25:53,723 in Silicon Valley, California, 25 year old diamond thief, 544 00:25:53,723 --> 00:25:57,987 Victor Lupis, was left hanging, literally. 545 00:25:57,987 --> 00:26:00,185 [Victor] As soon as I identified that dumpster lid 546 00:26:00,185 --> 00:26:01,152 I didn’t think about it. 547 00:26:01,152 --> 00:26:06,053 I just dove over that wall, held onto the ledge 548 00:26:06,987 --> 00:26:10,558 and fell right onto the lid of that dumpster. 549 00:26:11,591 --> 00:26:13,789 And the door of the wash vehicle was right there. 550 00:26:13,789 --> 00:26:15,723 [man] You weren’t supposed to be there! 551 00:26:15,723 --> 00:26:18,789 [Remy Ma] That was a crazy-ass getaway 552 00:26:18,789 --> 00:26:21,525 Vic narrowly escaped, again. 553 00:26:21,525 --> 00:26:22,789 We can’t make this stuff up. 554 00:26:22,789 --> 00:26:28,492 That’s why the show was called "My True Crime Story." 555 00:26:28,723 --> 00:26:29,723 [Victor] We just pulled off 556 00:26:29,723 --> 00:26:31,218 our second biggest diamond heist. 557 00:26:31,218 --> 00:26:34,624 And in my world, a 350 thousand dollar 558 00:26:34,624 --> 00:26:36,086 rare canary diamond 559 00:26:36,086 --> 00:26:38,086 that’s bigger than my fist itself. 560 00:26:38,086 --> 00:26:39,789 And now we’re going to pull off 561 00:26:39,789 --> 00:26:41,492 a second heist in the same day, 562 00:26:41,492 --> 00:26:45,086 only 10 miles away from the heist that we just did. 563 00:26:45,086 --> 00:26:46,020 [Remy Ma] Dude, bro. 564 00:26:46,020 --> 00:26:48,624 You’re really down for a second heist 565 00:26:48,624 --> 00:26:50,756 after what just happened with the first one? 566 00:26:50,756 --> 00:26:51,624 Freak for pain. 567 00:26:51,624 --> 00:26:54,327 Just call that a win and go home. 568 00:26:54,327 --> 00:26:57,723 And now it’s my turn to be the driver. 569 00:26:57,723 --> 00:26:58,624 [Remy Ma] Switch! 570 00:26:58,624 --> 00:27:00,954 Role reversal for the second hit in Palo Alto, 571 00:27:00,954 --> 00:27:03,888 where now Jack Cannon is supposed to run with 572 00:27:03,888 --> 00:27:07,822 close to half a mill worth of diamonds. 573 00:27:09,294 --> 00:27:09,987 He goes in 574 00:27:09,987 --> 00:27:13,251 and he’s in there for a good, solid 15 minutes 575 00:27:13,251 --> 00:27:15,657 And I look out and I see him running. 576 00:27:15,657 --> 00:27:17,251 He’s hightailing. 577 00:27:17,251 --> 00:27:18,591 And I’m sitting there with the door open 578 00:27:18,591 --> 00:27:21,624 and somebody right on his tail. 579 00:27:24,954 --> 00:27:30,152 He dives into the minivan and turns around and boom, 580 00:27:30,152 --> 00:27:32,855 kicks the guy right to the ground. 581 00:27:32,855 --> 00:27:34,723 [tires screeching] 582 00:27:37,020 --> 00:27:40,119 So I blow through the red light 583 00:27:40,690 --> 00:27:43,152 and then I see a cop that blows right past 584 00:27:43,152 --> 00:27:47,756 and I just start driving crazy, I’m hightailing it now. 585 00:27:49,822 --> 00:27:52,020 [Remy Ma] Till finally-- 586 00:27:52,020 --> 00:27:52,822 We dumped the dirty car 587 00:27:52,822 --> 00:27:55,251 and we jumped straight into the wash vehicle. 588 00:27:55,251 --> 00:27:58,756 We just pulled off a 450 thousand dollar heist, 589 00:27:58,756 --> 00:28:00,218 second heist of the day, successful. 590 00:28:00,218 --> 00:28:03,954 And we get out of California and cross state lines 591 00:28:03,954 --> 00:28:06,690 all the way back to Salem, Oregon. 592 00:28:06,690 --> 00:28:07,954 ♪ Yeah, yeah ♪ 593 00:28:07,954 --> 00:28:10,218 When they got back, Gio and Dom 594 00:28:10,218 --> 00:28:13,855 start a scheme in something else. 595 00:28:14,822 --> 00:28:17,756 They wanted to plan out a one time lay down 596 00:28:17,756 --> 00:28:20,020 where we would clean out the jewelry store 597 00:28:20,020 --> 00:28:22,294 and we would all make three million a piece, 598 00:28:22,294 --> 00:28:25,690 and that would be the end of the game for us right there, 599 00:28:25,690 --> 00:28:27,327 [Remy Ma] Lay downs, for this swan song, 600 00:28:27,327 --> 00:28:33,053 which meant using a weapon to get people to, well, lay down 601 00:28:33,053 --> 00:28:34,690 while being vic by Vic. 602 00:28:34,690 --> 00:28:35,954 But remember Vic’s golden rule? 603 00:28:35,954 --> 00:28:37,954 He didn’t want to do anything with weapons. 604 00:28:37,954 --> 00:28:40,888 He knew he had a line that he wasn’t going to cross 605 00:28:40,888 --> 00:28:42,987 and he had that morals like deep in him 606 00:28:42,987 --> 00:28:45,921 because he’s such a good person down in there. 607 00:28:45,921 --> 00:28:49,053 He had created this distinction in his own conduct 608 00:28:49,053 --> 00:28:52,921 between what’s a robbery and what’s a burglary or a theft. 609 00:28:52,921 --> 00:28:55,327 [Remy Ma] Pay attention. This is important. 610 00:28:55,327 --> 00:28:58,723 A robbery is any time that you’re getting something 611 00:28:58,723 --> 00:29:02,053 from somebody else and there’s an element of force 612 00:29:02,053 --> 00:29:05,921 or threat or intimidation involved. 613 00:29:05,921 --> 00:29:10,053 If he had grabbed it from her, it would have been a robbery. 614 00:29:10,053 --> 00:29:10,855 He asked for it. 615 00:29:10,855 --> 00:29:15,723 She said, sure, he receives it and then he runs away. 616 00:29:15,723 --> 00:29:17,360 What these guys did was effectively 617 00:29:17,360 --> 00:29:20,152 a very, very sophisticated shoplift. 618 00:29:20,152 --> 00:29:22,053 [Remy Ma] Victor wasn’t stupid either. 619 00:29:22,053 --> 00:29:26,020 He knew more time for robbery versus theft. 620 00:29:26,020 --> 00:29:28,327 [Victor] I’m not gonna do anything with a weapon. 621 00:29:28,327 --> 00:29:30,119 That’s an automatic 20 years. 622 00:29:30,119 --> 00:29:34,251 But I don’t think that just the legal consequences of it 623 00:29:34,251 --> 00:29:38,360 were entirely what caused him to think that way. 624 00:29:38,360 --> 00:29:41,723 [Remy Ma] Vic not only thought differently, 625 00:29:41,723 --> 00:29:44,020 he saw things differently, too. 626 00:29:44,020 --> 00:29:45,921 We’re all dyslexic. 627 00:29:45,921 --> 00:29:48,426 Yeah, we’ve all had issues. 628 00:29:48,426 --> 00:29:51,218 We transpose everything and yeah, 629 00:29:51,218 --> 00:29:52,987 it gets in the way a lot. 630 00:29:52,987 --> 00:29:54,855 [Victor] So I spell my name backwards, 631 00:29:54,855 --> 00:29:57,888 which was like to you guys ’rotciv’ 632 00:29:57,888 --> 00:30:00,086 I see it as Victor. 633 00:30:00,086 --> 00:30:01,327 [Brooke] It’s just second nature to him 634 00:30:01,327 --> 00:30:05,152 that he will read from the right to left 635 00:30:05,152 --> 00:30:06,327 instead of the left to right. 636 00:30:06,327 --> 00:30:09,251 I call it an ability because I found out 637 00:30:09,251 --> 00:30:11,888 a lot of great, great scientists of the world 638 00:30:11,888 --> 00:30:15,888 and great minds of the world are extremely dyslexic. 639 00:30:15,888 --> 00:30:21,327 Albert Einstein, for example, could never even tie his shoes. 640 00:30:21,327 --> 00:30:22,393 Like one of the best tricks 641 00:30:22,393 --> 00:30:24,822 I remember teaching myself at a very young age. 642 00:30:24,822 --> 00:30:26,525 There’s a birthmark on my right hand. 643 00:30:26,525 --> 00:30:28,789 So I know and this is my right hand 644 00:30:28,789 --> 00:30:32,185 by looking at that birthmark. 645 00:30:32,393 --> 00:30:33,294 [Remy Ma] Still, for some, 646 00:30:33,294 --> 00:30:36,218 dyslexia means when you can’t read, 647 00:30:36,218 --> 00:30:38,152 you see no other way out. 648 00:30:38,152 --> 00:30:39,756 Dyslexia is a learning disorder 649 00:30:39,756 --> 00:30:41,987 that involves difficulty reading, 650 00:30:41,987 --> 00:30:45,218 and it’s much more common than you probably think. 651 00:30:45,218 --> 00:30:46,218 Most of the time, 652 00:30:46,218 --> 00:30:49,020 instead of it being properly diagnosed, 653 00:30:49,020 --> 00:30:51,327 it gets kids labeled as problems 654 00:30:51,327 --> 00:30:54,020 which can lead to antisocial outcomes. 655 00:30:54,020 --> 00:30:56,855 One state that screened their prison population 656 00:30:56,855 --> 00:30:59,360 found that almost half were dyslexic. 657 00:30:59,360 --> 00:31:01,327 But it doesn’t have to be that way. 658 00:31:01,327 --> 00:31:04,360 Many successful people are dyslexic, 659 00:31:04,360 --> 00:31:05,492 from Whoopi Goldberg, 660 00:31:05,492 --> 00:31:08,327 Steven Spielberg, Jennifer Aniston, 661 00:31:08,327 --> 00:31:10,921 Octavia Spencer to Steve Jobs. 662 00:31:10,921 --> 00:31:12,822 Their learning difference, forced them 663 00:31:12,822 --> 00:31:14,987 to find their own way through life 664 00:31:14,987 --> 00:31:19,053 by being creative and thinking out of the box. 665 00:31:19,053 --> 00:31:21,591 At this point, Vic could use his superpower 666 00:31:21,591 --> 00:31:23,218 for good or for bad. 667 00:31:23,218 --> 00:31:26,393 [Victor] I’m deep enough into the diamond heist crew 668 00:31:26,393 --> 00:31:29,426 to where we’re a family. 669 00:31:29,426 --> 00:31:34,426 But they were wanting us to do actual armed robberies. 670 00:31:36,327 --> 00:31:38,020 These guys were planning some stuff 671 00:31:38,020 --> 00:31:41,053 that was so over the top that he was afraid. 672 00:31:41,053 --> 00:31:43,954 [Victor] We would obviously have to use weapons. 673 00:31:43,954 --> 00:31:45,888 Somebody is going to wind up dead. 674 00:31:45,888 --> 00:31:47,218 Somebody is gonna get shot. 675 00:31:47,218 --> 00:31:49,624 And I didn’t really want to go that route. 676 00:31:49,624 --> 00:31:51,987 [Remy Ma] Was it time for Vic to chuck the juices 677 00:31:51,987 --> 00:31:58,218 and leave the crew or get down with doing lay downs? 678 00:31:58,947 --> 00:32:02,277 Looking for one big final, pay day, the bling rings 679 00:32:02,277 --> 00:32:04,244 planning of their next heist 680 00:32:04,244 --> 00:32:07,046 started to take a dangerous turn. 681 00:32:07,046 --> 00:32:09,980 I’m deep enough into the diamond heist crew 682 00:32:09,980 --> 00:32:12,013 to where we’re family, 683 00:32:12,013 --> 00:32:16,211 but they were wanting us to do actual armed robberies, 684 00:32:16,211 --> 00:32:20,343 lay downs. We would obviously have to use weapons. 685 00:32:20,343 --> 00:32:24,277 I was not morally ready to ever take part 686 00:32:24,277 --> 00:32:26,442 in some type of violence. 687 00:32:26,442 --> 00:32:27,310 I was always the one 688 00:32:27,310 --> 00:32:30,079 that wanted the smart, sophisticated ways. 689 00:32:30,079 --> 00:32:32,541 [Remy Ma] An exit ramp was coming close. 690 00:32:32,541 --> 00:32:34,980 Vic rolled on a few more licks with the crew 691 00:32:34,980 --> 00:32:38,409 while secretly planning on starting his own crew. 692 00:32:38,409 --> 00:32:40,442 I had enough money to where I can, 693 00:32:40,442 --> 00:32:44,112 you know, pair up with Trey, Lala was down, 694 00:32:44,112 --> 00:32:46,848 she was game, she was gonna be the driver. 695 00:32:46,848 --> 00:32:50,409 So we said North Carolina bound let’s put our crew together. 696 00:32:50,409 --> 00:32:54,244 [Remy Ma] Eventually, Vic left Gio and Dom for good 697 00:32:54,244 --> 00:32:56,475 to do his own thing. 698 00:32:56,475 --> 00:32:57,376 ♪ Go get the money, go, go ♪ 699 00:32:57,376 --> 00:33:00,442 ♪ Go get the money, go, go ♪ 700 00:33:08,145 --> 00:33:10,508 [Victor] So when I got back, me and Trey 701 00:33:10,508 --> 00:33:13,541 went to work right away. 702 00:33:13,914 --> 00:33:16,244 But now I’m back at the clubs 703 00:33:16,244 --> 00:33:19,508 and my addiction is roaring at this time. 704 00:33:19,508 --> 00:33:23,343 Those Roxie’s have me going. 705 00:33:23,574 --> 00:33:26,980 [Remy Ma] Vic’s addiction was a coping mechanism. 706 00:33:26,980 --> 00:33:28,442 He turned back to drugs 707 00:33:28,442 --> 00:33:31,947 because he didn’t wanna face reality. 708 00:33:33,046 --> 00:33:34,475 And now I’m getting farther away 709 00:33:34,475 --> 00:33:36,574 from making my couple of million to go retire 710 00:33:36,574 --> 00:33:40,541 and go get away from this lifestyle and go get clean. 711 00:33:40,541 --> 00:33:42,947 But now I don’t have to get clean 712 00:33:42,947 --> 00:33:44,574 because I’m not with Gio and Dom. 713 00:33:44,574 --> 00:33:49,046 So I knew that I was starting to lose my self-image 714 00:33:49,046 --> 00:33:55,046 of the successful G that I was putting off as my persona. 715 00:33:55,947 --> 00:33:58,409 And I knew that was gonna be my downfall. 716 00:33:58,409 --> 00:34:02,013 [Remy Ma] A couple of fumbled robberies and clumsy casings 717 00:34:02,013 --> 00:34:04,980 resulted in a failed attempt at forming his own crew, 718 00:34:04,980 --> 00:34:08,574 and then Vic’s world truly came crashing down. 719 00:34:08,574 --> 00:34:10,980 Woke up in the morning, I get a phone call 720 00:34:10,980 --> 00:34:15,013 and I’m ’bout still half lit from the night. 721 00:34:30,013 --> 00:34:32,211 I get swarmed by undercovers, 722 00:34:32,211 --> 00:34:35,442 U.S. Marshals and everybody. 723 00:34:35,442 --> 00:34:40,112 Search warrant, fugitive arrest warrant, 724 00:34:40,112 --> 00:34:43,343 I’m like fugitive arrest warrant for what? 725 00:34:43,343 --> 00:34:46,310 And he’s like for the diamond theft 726 00:34:46,310 --> 00:34:48,574 in Portland, Oregon. 727 00:34:49,277 --> 00:34:54,046 [Remy Ma] Unbeknownst to Vic, Portland police and the feds 728 00:34:54,046 --> 00:34:55,211 had been tracking the crew 729 00:34:55,211 --> 00:34:58,376 since Vic’s first Christmas time heist. 730 00:34:58,376 --> 00:35:02,244 [Victor] They had flight tickets that they had found. 731 00:35:02,244 --> 00:35:05,749 I thought I disposed of them and I was like, 732 00:35:05,749 --> 00:35:06,574 give me a lawyer. 733 00:35:06,574 --> 00:35:09,343 And as soon as I said that, Detective McDaniel was like, 734 00:35:09,343 --> 00:35:11,343 you’re gonna need one. 735 00:35:15,820 --> 00:35:17,348 ♪ I’m a big bad, bona fide boss ♪ 736 00:35:17,348 --> 00:35:20,150 ♪ paid all the bills, I don’t care what it cost ♪ 737 00:35:20,150 --> 00:35:22,249 ♪ diamonds in my thrill oh yeah, I’ma floss ♪ 738 00:35:22,249 --> 00:35:25,282 ♪ to the fakes and the frauds, yeah I see you get lost ♪ 739 00:35:25,282 --> 00:35:28,612 [Remy Ma] Twenty five heists, nine states, 740 00:35:28,612 --> 00:35:32,678 and 27 million dollars total for the crew. 741 00:35:32,678 --> 00:35:34,315 And 25 year old, Victor Lupis, 742 00:35:34,315 --> 00:35:39,777 just got caught by U.S. Marshals and Portland police. 743 00:35:39,777 --> 00:35:43,150 They sat me in a cold room for over 12 hours, 744 00:35:43,150 --> 00:35:44,117 belly chained and shackled 745 00:35:44,117 --> 00:35:47,315 and US marshals out there doing their paperwork, talking, 746 00:35:47,315 --> 00:35:51,051 and then they finally booked me into Monroe County Jail. 747 00:35:51,051 --> 00:35:52,919 [Remy Ma] It got worse. 748 00:35:52,919 --> 00:35:53,480 [Victor] Through the, the discovery 749 00:35:53,480 --> 00:35:56,777 I find out that Trey, and an anonymous source, 750 00:35:56,777 --> 00:35:59,018 we’re talking to the detectives 751 00:35:59,018 --> 00:36:03,117 and to the feds before I got arrested. 752 00:36:03,348 --> 00:36:05,150 [Remy Ma] Damn, Vic’s man Trey, 753 00:36:05,150 --> 00:36:09,645 the one who brought him into the crew, snitched. 754 00:36:09,645 --> 00:36:10,886 [Victor] Where’s the fair in that? 755 00:36:10,886 --> 00:36:12,777 Where’s the honor amongst the thieves? 756 00:36:12,777 --> 00:36:14,249 Where’s everything that we all talked about? 757 00:36:14,249 --> 00:36:17,051 [Remy Ma] Boy, the problem is, you’ve got the cliche wrong. 758 00:36:17,051 --> 00:36:19,216 Everybody knows there’s no honor among thieves. 759 00:36:19,216 --> 00:36:24,381 Now I see I’m the scapegoat, so I’ve nowhere to turn. 760 00:36:24,381 --> 00:36:26,744 So I said, can I tell my side of the story? 761 00:36:26,744 --> 00:36:29,777 [Remy Ma] So he cooperated. 762 00:36:42,886 --> 00:36:44,678 Victor was extradited to Portland, 763 00:36:44,678 --> 00:36:46,282 and while awaiting trial, 764 00:36:46,282 --> 00:36:48,282 his journey to redemption began. 765 00:36:48,282 --> 00:36:52,447 I mean, an old shot-caller literally tattooed down, 766 00:36:52,447 --> 00:36:57,414 mafia hitman with a beard, basically down to his belly. 767 00:36:57,414 --> 00:36:59,919 And like this handlebar mustache. 768 00:36:59,919 --> 00:37:04,282 And here he is walking around with a Bible like smiling, 769 00:37:04,282 --> 00:37:05,150 saying, "I’m free, free, indeed," 770 00:37:05,150 --> 00:37:07,018 I’m like, you’re a looney tune. 771 00:37:07,018 --> 00:37:10,985 And he winds up leading me to Christ and explain Christ 772 00:37:10,985 --> 00:37:13,216 to me that nobody ever has. 773 00:37:13,216 --> 00:37:15,777 And break it down in such a format 774 00:37:15,777 --> 00:37:17,348 that it just made sense. 775 00:37:17,348 --> 00:37:20,315 And whether that was some prison God 776 00:37:20,315 --> 00:37:22,513 or whether it was the Holy Spirit, 777 00:37:22,513 --> 00:37:24,051 that’s not what changed me. 778 00:37:24,051 --> 00:37:26,381 What had changed me was all the actions 779 00:37:26,381 --> 00:37:30,853 that led up to where I was at in my point of life 780 00:37:30,853 --> 00:37:34,348 and my my entire belief system being shattered 781 00:37:34,348 --> 00:37:35,513 and taken away from me. 782 00:37:35,513 --> 00:37:36,820 I’ve seen what religion can be 783 00:37:36,820 --> 00:37:40,744 and how people can be duped by it and manipulated with it. 784 00:37:40,744 --> 00:37:44,985 And, and Vic isn’t that, he’s not some fake Jesus guy 785 00:37:44,985 --> 00:37:46,348 who does this because it’s you know, 786 00:37:46,348 --> 00:37:50,744 he thinks it’s cool and it looks good to his neighbors. 787 00:37:50,744 --> 00:37:51,414 It’s who he is. 788 00:37:51,414 --> 00:37:56,952 That’s when I really knew that he was done with his past 789 00:37:56,952 --> 00:37:58,381 and he was moving forward. 790 00:37:58,381 --> 00:38:01,084 [Remy Ma] Then, in a strange twist of fate-- 791 00:38:01,084 --> 00:38:05,447 It was Valentine’s Day, February 14th, 2013. 792 00:38:05,447 --> 00:38:08,084 And I got pretrial released 793 00:38:08,084 --> 00:38:11,853 after serving 22 and a half months. 794 00:38:12,985 --> 00:38:14,183 A little over a year later, 795 00:38:14,183 --> 00:38:17,513 Victor Lupis returned back to court to be sentenced. 796 00:38:17,513 --> 00:38:19,952 He came back on a pathway to sobriety 797 00:38:19,952 --> 00:38:22,381 and new dad for a second time to a son born 798 00:38:22,381 --> 00:38:26,150 while he was behind bars, newly engaged to Brooke 799 00:38:26,150 --> 00:38:28,348 and growing as a man of faith. 800 00:38:28,348 --> 00:38:30,886 [Victor] And I read to the courts. 801 00:38:30,886 --> 00:38:34,985 My first words would be to say, sorry. 802 00:38:34,985 --> 00:38:37,150 I come here today showing you through the actions 803 00:38:37,150 --> 00:38:38,853 of true sorrowfulness. 804 00:38:38,853 --> 00:38:40,579 Since I’ve been on pretrial release, 805 00:38:40,579 --> 00:38:45,853 I’ve done everything to become a better father. 806 00:38:46,051 --> 00:38:48,381 [sniffs] 807 00:38:51,150 --> 00:38:55,282 [Remy Ma] On top of 22 months time served, Vic the runner, 808 00:38:55,282 --> 00:38:57,952 got three years supervised federal probation, 809 00:38:57,952 --> 00:39:01,513 the lowest sentence of them all because he cooperated. 810 00:39:01,513 --> 00:39:04,447 Gio the mastermind, was sentenced to nine 811 00:39:04,447 --> 00:39:06,820 and a half years in federal prison. 812 00:39:06,820 --> 00:39:08,447 Dom the money mover, 10, 813 00:39:08,447 --> 00:39:10,447 Trey the getaway driver, seven, 814 00:39:10,447 --> 00:39:13,315 and Jack the loose cannon, got a whopping 30, 815 00:39:13,315 --> 00:39:16,183 football numbers, for robbery with a weapon. 816 00:39:16,183 --> 00:39:20,249 When Vic was free to go after 22 months time served, 817 00:39:20,249 --> 00:39:21,381 he moved to Tampa, Florida, 818 00:39:21,381 --> 00:39:23,645 and started Dynasty Building Solutions, 819 00:39:23,645 --> 00:39:26,183 a roofing and construction company. 820 00:39:26,183 --> 00:39:28,645 [Brooke] You would never know that he runs 821 00:39:28,645 --> 00:39:30,348 a 22 million dollar company. 822 00:39:30,348 --> 00:39:33,315 You would never know that Victor gives back 823 00:39:33,315 --> 00:39:37,919 one hundred plus thousands of dollars to charities, 824 00:39:37,919 --> 00:39:39,348 and thst he volunteers his time 825 00:39:39,348 --> 00:39:41,612 to help raise money for different charities. 826 00:39:41,612 --> 00:39:45,952 He would give the shirt off of his back to literally anybody. 827 00:39:45,952 --> 00:39:48,886 [Remy Ma] So nowadays, when Vic walks past 828 00:39:48,886 --> 00:39:49,645 a jewelry store-- 829 00:39:49,645 --> 00:39:51,348 [Victor] I still get a little antsy. 830 00:39:51,348 --> 00:39:57,612 But I know deep down inside that was an old person 831 00:39:57,612 --> 00:40:00,480 and I’ve paid my dues. 832 00:40:00,480 --> 00:40:02,579 [Michelle] Victor has definitely taught me personally that 833 00:40:02,579 --> 00:40:06,117 when there’s good inside you, there’s always hope, 834 00:40:06,117 --> 00:40:08,985 no matter what your past has brought. 835 00:40:08,985 --> 00:40:10,414 You can pull yourself out. 836 00:40:10,414 --> 00:40:12,018 You can push forward. 837 00:40:12,018 --> 00:40:15,117 And his future is very bright. 838 00:40:15,117 --> 00:40:18,117 [Remy Ma] The outcome is his name, Victor. 839 00:40:18,117 --> 00:40:21,480 He ditched the diamonds and ran away with a victory. 840 00:40:21,480 --> 00:40:23,612 I live a very humble life today. 841 00:40:23,612 --> 00:40:25,183 I have a beautiful family. 842 00:40:25,183 --> 00:40:28,381 I have a great relationship with my kids today. 843 00:40:28,381 --> 00:40:30,348 My wife believes in me. 844 00:40:30,348 --> 00:40:31,711 And the greatness that I’m doing 845 00:40:31,711 --> 00:40:36,480 is truly just following my core principles 846 00:40:36,480 --> 00:40:41,150 that I’ve followed since the day I got released. 847 00:40:41,348 --> 00:40:42,952 [Remy Ma] And this part right here-- 848 00:40:42,952 --> 00:40:44,348 I just celebrated my sober day. 849 00:40:44,348 --> 00:40:48,414 That’s a decade of no minor mood altering substance. 850 00:40:48,414 --> 00:40:52,546 [Remy Ma] So use Victor’s story as a life lesson learned. 851 00:40:52,546 --> 00:40:57,381 And be careful what you chase, because in the blink of an eye, 852 00:40:57,381 --> 00:40:59,183 anyone can get caught up. 853 00:40:59,183 --> 00:41:02,480 And you don’t want that, trust.