Colombo's wife saying he was set to star with Jackie Chan was a WTF moment. She sure was proud of the status of being in the top 3 mob money making schemes (if accurate)

tk for tu juan said:

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Colombo's wife saying he was set to star with Jackie Chan was a WTF moment. She sure was proud of the status of being in the top 3 mob money making schemes (if accurate)

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She seems like someone who wants people to think she knows stuff but doesn't really know anything. I find it hard to imagine the mob made more money off McDonalds Monopoly than selling heroin, bookmaking, or many of the other criminal enterprises they were involved in.

Agree completely.

I did find it funny that the wife said they had the grey M&M's as well. Hopefully we hear some of that backstory as well.

I keep wanting to read about the case but do not want to spoil upcoming episodes. Every time Jacobson's stepbrother talked, I thought he was on the verge of incriminating himself. I'm guessing he has already served his time in prison, or got a plea deal for supplying info.

Has there ever been a study on people that get a potentially deadly/disabling disease and turn to a life of crime after surviving it? Guess I could search a Breaking Bad thread for the same question, haha

Was definitely not one of the top 3 money makers the mob ever had. That is just ridiculous. Probably wouldnt qualify as top 25 in the city of Newark.

One episode in and this is great. Even independent of the Monopoly story, which is crazy, seeing the way the FBI goes about cracking a case like this is really interesting.

tk for tu juan said:

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Colombo's wife saying he was set to star with Jackie Chan was a WTF moment. She sure was proud of the status of being in the top 3 mob money making schemes (if accurate)

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She's a complete nutjob. And a disgusting creature to see on camera.

Makes for some good tv tho!

Agree with everyone above about Agent Mathews, he's a hoot!

Read a lot about this story years ago and have enjoyed the series so far. That said, maybe it's my lack of patience kicking in as I become an old man, but I have to admit that I'm growing weary of the netflix style documentaries that take 6-8 hours to tell a story that could be told really well in 2-3 at most

TCTTS said:

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I mean, this story is INSANE, and goes so much deeper than I imagined. Second episode was just phenomenal. I have a feeling I'm going to end up saying this every week, but the movie version really is going to be amazing.

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So it's clear that Barry Bostwick has to be the lead DA right?

They are essentially identical twins.

This story is just crazy. If you didn't know it was real and you were watching a movie based on this story, you would eye-roll a lot. The mob guy being a Colombo takes it over the top. Crazy!

DAMN!!!!
... is the kid ok....is the kid ok?

Still enjoying but already feeling "stretch it out" fatigue.

360 minutes spanning 6 episodes should have been cut to 240 minutes over 3 80-minute episodes.

It needs more of agent Doug Matthews. I want him telling the whole story. He maximizes the entertainment factor.

Lat night was pretty slow and the lack of Agent Matthews was the main reason why

My wife and I both think this is a great story told by a bad storyteller. There is an incredible amount of crap mixed in to try and make it longer for some reason.

She quit watching and I am going to finish it. I think the Matt Damon movie will be awesome.

I nodded off last night also. Fat mob lady only needs 2.5 minutes of total screen time. No need to go over and over and over the interview questions.

I guess I have two comments:

1) I think the wife of Frank Colombo (Jerrys brother) is completely useless and should be excluded from the interview.

2) I think they are dragging this out simply because they can. They got the participation of everyone... McDonalds, FBI and the perpetrators. That is unheard of. They have so much video they feel they have to use it all. Sure, I think this is being stretched and you could have cut out about 20 minutes from last nights episode. But there is just so much interesting crap going on.

3) Building on the above, they went into a lot of Jerrys side gigs. But I think it shows how all that other crap he was doing affected the McDonalds thing when they showed the montage of all the times he had been on the news for the various things... winning the McDonalds prize, doing the Fuzzy Bunny thing, etc. There were a few other I cant remember. But it showed he was throwing himself out there way too publicly for trying to pull off so high key a scam under the radar.

4) Yes... that FBI agent needs to be on screen every 5 minutes. He is just too great.

exitone said:

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DAMN!!!!
... is the kid ok....is the kid ok?

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Any article I saw last night mentions what happened to Jerry and Robin after the accident, but nothing on Francesco. Robin used past tense a few times about the son. The accident happened in 1998, so he would be in his mid 20's right now

Agreed ,she had her usefulness in the first 2 but she's no longer necessary or credible. It's very clear that she's at best stretching the truth, and at worst flat out lying. And when you are making a documentary, credibility is kind of important.

This last episode seems like they are really trying to drag this thing out. Agreed that this could have probably been really well done in 3 or 4

LARGE COFFEE WITH 10 CREAM AND 5 SUGAR?!?!

panhandlefarmer said:

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This story is just crazy. If you didn't know it was real and you were watching a movie based on this story, you would eye-roll a lot. The mob guy being a Colombo takes it over the top. Crazy!

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It's got a feeling like that movie Pain and again from 6-7 years ago, with Wahlberg and the Rock

Diggity said:

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https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-an-ex-cop-rigged-mcdonalds-monopoly-game-and-stole-millions?ref=home

Someone posted this on the B&I board a while back.

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I remember reading that article.

When this was all going on, the talk amongst my group of friends (early teenagers at the time) was that all of the major prizes were never put in circulation, and were given to hospitals and major corporations, and that regular people would never win.

Had this been for a regional chain like Krystal or, at the time, In 'N Out, I don't know if this would have been as captivating.

The fact that a mega chain, heck, THE mega chain could be associated with this is fascinating.

israeliag said:

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LARGE COFFEE WITH 10 CREAM AND 5 SUGAR?!?!

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I had to rewind that part. That is insane!

In a series of incredible craziness, that had to take the cake.

I didn't even know you could genuinely ask for more than 3 of anything, but 10? TEN! The mob has no limits.

I let curiosity get the best of me and read a little about the case last night.

The main reason I didn't remember any of it happening when it did is because

Uncle Jerry's trial started on September 10, 2001

exitone said:

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DAMN!!!!
... is the kid ok....is the kid ok?

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yes. he's an adult now.

The best/worst part is when he sips it and exclaims that it is perfect.

nai06 said:

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israeliag said:

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LARGE COFFEE WITH 10 CREAM AND 5 SUGAR?!?!

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I had to rewind that part. That is insane!

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Same. I had to listen to it a few times. Then I stared imagining how little coffee is actually in that cup.

I find myself getting a little irritated with Gloria Jean and the crazy flight attendant lady. They are complaining about not getting any of "their money".

Uh...that ain't their money. Gloria Jean is reeeeally hamming it up, too - how her bank account was always low, and she only got $10,000 a year after Jerry's cut and taxes.

nai06 said:

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israeliag said:

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LARGE COFFEE WITH 10 CREAM AND 5 SUGAR?!?!

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I had to rewind that part. That is insane!

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I looked up the nutritional value of McDonald's sugar packets and cream packets out of curiosity.

That cup of coffee has:
250 calories (150 sugar, 100 cream):
10 g of fat (30% daily allowance)
7.5 g of saturated fat (40% daily allowance)
50 mg of cholesterol (15% daily allowance)
15 mg of sodium
40g of carbs
40 g of sugar (80% of daily allowance)

MuckRaker96 said:

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nai06 said:

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israeliag said:

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LARGE COFFEE WITH 10 CREAM AND 5 SUGAR?!?!

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I had to rewind that part. That is insane!

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I looked up the nutritional value of McDonald's sugar packets and cream packets out of curiosity.

That cup of coffee has:
250 calories (150 sugar, 100 cream):
10 g of fat (30% daily allowance)
7.5 g of saturated fat (40% daily allowance)
50 mg of cholesterol (15% daily allowance)
15 mg of sodium
40g of carbs
40 g of sugar (80% of daily allowance)

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MuckRaker96 said:

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nai06 said:

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israeliag said:

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LARGE COFFEE WITH 10 CREAM AND 5 SUGAR?!?!

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I had to rewind that part. That is insane!

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I looked up the nutritional value of McDonald's sugar packets and cream packets out of curiosity.

That cup of coffee has:
250 calories (150 sugar, 100 cream):
10 g of fat (30% daily allowance)
7.5 g of saturated fat (40% daily allowance)
50 mg of cholesterol (15% daily allowance)
15 mg of sodium
40g of carbs
40 g of sugar (80% of daily allowance)

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smango05 said:

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I find myself getting a little irritated with Gloria Jean and the crazy flight attendant lady. They are complaining about not getting any of "their money".

Uh...that ain't their money. Gloria Jean is reeeeally hamming it up, too - how her bank account was always low, and she only got $10,000 a year after Jerry's cut and taxes.

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You do understand they are paying all the taxes. $50k/yr on top of regular income probably put Gloria in a much higher tax bracket. Same with the flight attendant, though I don't know how her "winnings " were paid out. I think their stories show how when folks think they're getting "free" money, it's never free. There are financial, and in this case with the mob involved, emotional consequences. I felt bad for them.
Edit to add: Jerry wasn't paying taxes on sheet.