All language subtitles for American Greed s09e01 A Con Mans Deadly Revenge.eng

In this episode of American Greed, the
Romano brothers of Long Island are

working the phones, selling $75 million
worth of coins to eager and naive

investors. The salesmen knew who they
could trick and confuse, and they kept

going back to the well. But when the
family's arrested for mail and wire

Joseph Romano wants payback from the
ones who put him away.

A total of $40 ,000 would be paid for
the killing of the judge and the

prosecutor.

Prison cameras catch Romano plotting
with a hired

killer.

But murder is only part of the gruesome
plan.

For the first time, Romano's chosen
hitman tells the whole story.

His hatred towards these two people was
so great.

He wants her in a 35 -gallon drop. Not a
50, but a 35 -gallon drop.

That's a little freaky.

In Levittown, Long Island, 18 -year -old
Michael Romano is an entrepreneur with

a plan.

He's recently graduated from Division
Avenue High School, and now he's selling

collectible coins for a local
telemarketing company.

He knows nothing about coins, but he's a
strong -willed salesman, says Assistant

U .S. Attorney Lara Gatz.

He enjoyed the power that he had over
people, and he enjoyed manipulating them

and pulling their strings.

and getting them to do what he wanted
them to do.

Romano quickly decides he's learned
enough to run his own company.

He lives in this suburban home where
he's already planting the seeds of a

criminal empire.

The Romanos were from a middle -class
family on Long Island.

From a business purpose, they were not
very that sophisticated. I don't think

they were highly educated, but yet their
plan was ingenious, what they did.

In 1988, Romano sets up shop in this
storefront in nearby Massapequa and

it Wall Street Rare Coins.

He hires a small sales staff to work his
phones, including his oldest brother,

Joseph, who has recently left the Navy.

None of these people had any experience
in the coin industry. None of them

collected coins themselves. None of them
even liked coins from what we

understand. It was just a quick way to
make money.

Joseph, weighing in at nearly 300 pounds
and well over six feet tall, is loud

and imposing.

He's the sales manager running the shop
with an iron fist.

They're hawking a variety of coins, but
Ben Franklin half dollars are

particularly easy to move.

Investors like them because they are 90
% silver and because they can be very

cheap. at the ground level with their
starting, can't go wrong. So they'll

on, and for $110 or $120 or $150,
they'll buy a couple of rounds of Ben

half dollars.

Real coin experts, known as
numismatists, carefully grade coins on a

to 70.

Coins falling between 60 and 70 are the
most prized.

Romano salesmen are claiming they've
landed a windfall.

Near -perfect coins recently discovered
at estate sales.

And they came across the hundred rolls
of Benjamin Franklin half dollars that

hadn't seen the light of day in 40
years.

All day long, salesmen worked the
phones, targeting mostly retired and

amateur collectors with once -in -a
-lifetime deals.

So the idea was start people small with
silver coins, tell them they're going to

increase in value, get them to buy more
and more coins, and ultimately steal

their life savings. And that's really
their business model.

The pitch snares anyone willing to
listen, especially those new to buying

If you were a savvy coin collector, you
would never have bought coins from

Michael or Joe Romano because you would
have known right away that something was

up.

What's up is that the Romanos aren't
selling rare mint condition coins

discovered at estate sales.

They were buying the coins locally.

They had wholesalers located throughout
Long Island. One of them was in Queens.

And Michael is grading the coins
himself, giving them arbitrary numbers

inflate their value.

Michael Romano decided what he wanted to
sell that coin for and then slapped the

grade on as an afterthought, frankly.

So Michael Romano...

Only job in his life was defrauding
people, selling them bogus coins.

And he's good at it.

Michael Romano is on his way to
pocketing nearly $7 million.

But that success leads to serious
sibling rivalry.

And in 2001, Joseph quits to start his
own company.

It's been described as a falling out
over money. It's been described as a

falling out over sales practices.

Joe Romano doesn't leave empty -handed.

He takes his brothers Salvatore and
Vincent with him.

Joe had an amazing ability to get people
across the board to do what he wanted

them to do. Things they knew were wrong,
things that they didn't even want to

do. But he had an incredible way of
convincing people to do his bidding.

He opens Last Quarter Coin, Inc. in
nearby Copeg, using all the tricks he's

learned from his kid brother.

They were running identical scams.

into two different locations on Long
Island.

They had a rivalry amongst themselves of
who's making more money, who's the

smarter one, and who could outdo the
other one.

Soon, millions will be flowing into
Joseph Romano's pockets as well.

Next on American Greed, we go inside the
Romano brothers' boiler room fraud to

see just how well it pays.

Over the course of the time, I think I
made over $3 million.

Brothers Michael and Joseph Romano will
each perfect separate coin telemarketing

frauds on Long Island between 2001 and
2008.

But Washington State AARP director Doug
Shadel says the real maestros are their

salesmen who work the phones tirelessly.

It's like going one -on -one with
Michael Jordan, you know. You're not

win. These guys are really good on the
phone. That's all they do all day long.

Michael likes to hire fronters, young
men that he can easily control.

He would select people to work for him
who he knew he could manipulate, people

with drug problems, people with
emotional problems, people with family

Artie, who asks that his identity not be
revealed, begins working for Michael

Romano in 2006.

He's 25 years old and addicted to the
club drug GHB.

Although he knows nothing about coins,
he's offered a job on the spot.

They originally didn't describe the job
to me. They kind of did a very good job

of showing me all their beautiful cars
and boats and houses and money and

watches and jewelry.

For a drug addict with no money, seeing
Michael's lifestyle is the only pitch

Artie needs to hear.

I want that. I want money. I want a
boat. I want a house. I want a nice car.

Soon, Artie's making a straight 17 %
commission selling collectible coins.

His office is a textbook boiler room, a
high -pressure cooker designed to make

money fast.

No windows, no light, just desks,
phones, and edges.

Artie works the phone all day long,
selling coins to anyone he can keep on

line. This coin has... been trending for
upwards of $500.

Today, you can get it for $350.

Out of 100 leads, I would say maybe once
or twice, somebody would actually say

yes.

Each pitch is carefully scripted. Every
word is written down.

Incredible condition.

Beautiful luster.

Lowest price in years.

Very limited supply.

We just got back into town from a great
coin show, and something very exciting

came in.

You know, we're trying to create a sense
of urgency to purchase something.

Artie, the 25 -year -old drug addict,
will make $250 ,000 during his two -and

-half years working for Michael Romano.

He admits that kind of money takes the
sting out of ripping people off.

When you're getting a job that's paying
you $2 ,000 a week, your conscience

really isn't playing a factor in it.

Drugs are prohibited in the office.

But after work, anything goes, says
attorney Mateen Emuna, who represents

another Romano salesman.

After work, a lot of these salesmen
would go do lines together, go to strip

clubs, go to bars, and spend a lot of
money.

Emuna says Michael Romano routinely
partied and did drugs with employees

hours.

He had that godfather mentality.

He's the one that called the shot.

He wanted to pretty much say, not only
do I control your life during business

hours, I control your life after
business hours as well.

Joseph Romano runs his job differently.

His closers are top salesmen that won't
take no for an answer.

These were guys that weren't kids, and
they knew every angle.

38 -year -old Tom Arnold is Joe Romano's
top closer.

His trick is to befriend his clients so
that he can get into their wallets.

You would keep in touch with them. They
would become your new best friend.

The nicer you spoke to people, the
better results you would get.

Arnold works the phones with precision,
earning 25 % commission on everything he

sells. Tom Arnold would inevitably close
the deal because Tom Arnold knew how to

get people to buy coin. He was excellent
at it. He's an excellent lawyer.

This video of Arnold and Romano brother
Salvatore shows the men talking and

enjoying smoke breaks outside the
company.

But these images, recorded by Joe Romano
himself, provide a rare look behind the

scenes of a working boiler room.

He's installed ten security cameras in
the office to make sure his employees

sticking to the script.

It was like Oz pulling the strings.

Joe's idea was, no matter where I am, I
can check on them and see what they're

doing at any time.

In these videos, the salesmen are
relentless.

Repeat customers with deep pockets are
called whales.

Arnold's job is to get those whales to
keep spending money.

He does that by offering deals on
increasingly expensive coins.

You want to sell them as much as you
can.

It escalated from the Ben Franklin's.

up to extremely rare sets of coins that
were $50 ,000, $100 ,000 each.

Under the watchful gaze of his boss,
Arnold keeps closing sales.

And if his marks claim that they are out
of money, he always has a helpful

solution. He would encourage them to
take out an equity loan or any type of

to get the money for the coins.

Big sales mean big paydays.

In five years, Arnold says those 25 %
commissions add up quickly.

Over the course of the time, I think I
made over $3 million.

But the problem with the Romano boiler
rooms is no matter how smooth the

promises, how polished the lies, sooner
or later customers realize they're not

getting what they paid for.

Criminals have a way of knowing.

when the House of Cards is about to
fall. And Michael and Joe both knew when

was time to move on.

For the Romanos, that's part of the
business plan.

Between 2001 and 2008, both Joseph and
Michael Romano will each own three coin

fraud companies on Long Island.

And they are all the same.

Nondescript storefronts designed to hide
the past.

If someone says to you, at the new
company, well, aren't you part of that

company? They can say, well, no, that
company's gone. This is a new company.

Next on American Greed, it doesn't
matter who the Romanos have to destroy

keep the good times going.

He was just devastated.

And later, when his back is against the
wall, Joseph Romano plots a grisly

revenge.

Joseph, good morning.

Judge Bianco.

and prosecutor Gatz killed.

In the summer of 2008, Tina Morton is
making a heartbreaking discovery in San

Diego.

Her uncle, Ray Gibbons, has been caught
in the Romano's coin fraud snare.

Ray mortgaged his house.

He sold anything of value, emptied his
bank account. He had nothing by the time

it was over.

Gibbons has been secretly giving the
Romanos nearly $370 ,000, practically

bankrupting himself in the process.

These common are experts. They know what
to say, how to prey on them, and they

just have no scruples whatsoever.

Born in 1923, Ray Gibbons has survived
the Great Depression and World War II,

where he served in the Navy aboard the
USS Warhawk.

After the war, Gibbons becomes a design
engineer, settles in Texas, and

eventually retires from Lockheed
Aircraft in 1991.

He worked his whole life, lived very
frugally, and was looking forward to

a nice life in retirement.

But when Romano's salesmen targeted him
in 2007, Ray Gibbons isn't a war hero.

He's just a source of easy cash.

They're very smart.

He's a sports aficionado, so they would
talk baseball, football, basketball with

him, gain his trust.

So he called them his most trusted
friend.

2 ,600 miles away in Virginia, John is a
recently retired federal parole officer

who spent 30 years dealing with bad
guys.

But that experience won't protect him
either when the Romanos come calling in

2004.

I feel that I should have been wise in
terms of how this thing went down, but

these guys, they had it down pat.

Because his family and friends don't
know the full story, he's asked that his

identity be kept secret.

When Joe Romano's top salesman Tom
Arnold calls with a deal on rolls of Ben

Franklin coins for $390, he jumps on it.
So I thought, well, this must be a good

investment, and I would make some money,
and needless to say, that point didn't

work out.

To keep John buying more coins, Tom
Arnold sweetens the deal.

He says he's found a wealthy and
mysterious third -party investor who

purchase all of John's coins for a hefty
profit.

They would explain that the large
investor was a very rich

that he didn't want to go through the
trouble of buying individual rolls.

Ray Gibbons is also hearing the same
promise.

His so -called benefactor is a Japanese
businessman named Mr.

Ahita. Mr. Ahita represented his payday.
He never met him, but he talked

about him like he knew him. I mean, he'd
say, oh, he has a private plane, he has

all these things.

But to complete the sale, John and Ray
Gibbons are told they must buy more

coins, $10 ,000.

$12 ,000, $30 ,000, even a $44 ,000 roll
of coins.

The idea was, again, to move the finish
line. The investor that was going to buy

their coins didn't only want rolls now.
That investor wanted gold coins. That

investor wanted silver coins.

But each time Romano investors are
scheduled to buy John and Ray Gibbons

the deals fall apart.

Well, the investor decided that he
wanted to buy a couple additional rolls.

was always...

There's a good reason these deals never
happened, admits salesman Tom Arnold.

But John and Ray Gibbons don't know
that.

They both borrow money from friends and
family, digging themselves in deeper and

deeper.

life insurance policy that I had.

I basically cleaned out a good part of
my savings account.

It was almost the never -ending scheme
because once they got involved, they

they couldn't extricate themselves until
they got their money, and they were

never going to get their money.

While John, Ray Gibbons, and thousands
of other Romano clients are buying

themselves into bankruptcy, Michael and
Joseph are basking in the fruits of

their spoils.

They lived in a middle -class
residential area. They didn't do

extravagant, but yet their bank accounts
work for themselves.

Michael puts much of the $7 million he's
raking in straight into savings.

He put his money in a checking account
like every average person because he has

convinced himself over the years that he
did nothing wrong.

But he does like to splurge, says former
employee Artie.

He had a Range Rover, had a nice BMW,
nice boat, and a nice house.

He parties it up in his West Islip
bachelor pad, and when he hits the town,

money flows freely.

He was definitely a single guy, trying
to bring home different women every

night, and, you know, rocking the nice
cars, you know, the nice watches, and

nice clothes.

Oldest brother Joseph Romano still lives
down the street from the Levittown

house he grew up in. But the suburban
facade he's created for himself on Long

Island doesn't tell the full story.

Over a five or six year period, Joseph
Romano made over $13 .5 million.

Joe Romano spends his money on Florida
real estate.

He dumps more than a million dollars
into a Palm Beach mansion he's built in

this gated community.

The children were in private school.

His wife didn't work.

He was able to, with the coins for
proceeds, live a very nice lifestyle.

One of Joe's passions is collecting
antique cars.

He spends tens of thousands of dollars
rebuilding his prizes from scratch.

He came to New York regularly, took
people out. He liked to be the big man

the bar, so to speak.

He was really a very flashy, flamboyant
person.

And it's all built on proceeds from a
coin fraud draining thousands of victims

dry, so long as they don't fight back.

Next on American Greed.

The Romanos are about to

meet their 78 -year -old match.

I called him a lot. I called him what he
was.

I should have called him a whole lot
worse.

By the fall of 2008, 78 -year -old Walt
Shepard is furious with the Romano

salesman who hound him constantly,
particularly top closer Tom Arnold.

Shepard spent $141 ,000 on coins he's
bought over the phone.

Now he's out of money.

At first I was paying $300 or so for the
first roll of coins, but by the time I

got to the end, it was something like
$30 ,000.

Shepard's begun secretly taping the
conversations he's having with Tom

I knew that somebody ought to do
something about it.

The tapes gave me the proof, you know,
and it was perfectly evident what had

happened.

Shepard lives deep in the oak -covered
hills of North Carolina, and he's never

been afraid to fight for what he
believes.

In 1944, 14 -year -old Shepard lies
about his age and enlists in the Army

Force, where he sees action in the
Pacific.

A year later, he's already a sergeant at
Iwo Jima, when his captain discovers

his age and threatens to ship him back
home.

I said, no, I'm not going anywhere.

I'm going to stay right here.

After the war, Shepard spends his life
selling life insurance, designing mobile

homes, and patenting four inventions.

But none of that matters once Tom Arnold
gets his number.

Arnold's always got good news.

He says Shepard's coins are worth ten
times what he's paid for them.

Okay, let me get your portfolio up on
the screen over here.

I've got $1 ,431 ,000.

Arnold's even found an investor to buy
Shepard coins.

but the deal never quite works out.

There was always an excuse that
something happened or they couldn't

and there'd be a few more days and
they'd drag it out.

And then after that had time to kind of
cool off, then

they'd hit you back for another roll of
coins.

They never left you alone. They called
and called and called.

Now, all Shepard has to show for $141
,000 is a pile of unopened coins that he

can't sell.

On tape, he eventually loses patience
with Tom Arnold.

Well, I called him a liar. I called him
what he was.

I should have called him a whole lot
worse.

Thanks to Arnold's lies, Shepard hopes
his coins are worth seven figures.

But a local appraiser is less
optimistic.

So he's being told they're worth $1 .4
million, and they're really worth $20

,000. That's how egregious the lies were
here. He just confirmed what I probably

already knew.

In 2008, Shepard hands over his
recordings to state investigators.

He's not the only one filing complaints
about the Romano brothers' coin ring,

says Assistant U .S. Attorney Lara Gatz.

If it was one or two complaints, it
wouldn't have called for a full federal

investigation. But there were dozens and
dozens and dozens of complaints.

Gatz and Postal Inspector Bill Hessel
begin surveillance on the Romano

operations.

They interview victims and examine
thousands of bank transactions.

Hessel even goes undercover, using a
hidden camera to capture Tom Arnold hard

work.

The evidence they collect is astounding.

3 ,000 victims across the country have
lost more than $60 million to Romano

telemarketers.

On November 24th, federal agents swoop
in on the boiler rooms run by Michael

Joseph Romano.

Salesmen were arrested.

Coins were seized.

People were confessing. It certainly was
a good day for the Coins Board

investigation.

Among those arrested are salesmen Artie
and Tom Arnold.

When he meets with Prosecutor Gatz,
Artie is offered a sobering choice.

I'm either going to quit the business,
accept the responsibility, straighten

my life, or I'm going to jail, 100%.

No ifs, ands, or buts.

So I chose creating out my life.

Artie's not the only one to turn on his
former boss.

Tom Arnold and several of the other
salesmen will rat out the Romanos to

plea deals.

We had videos, we had the audios, we had
the victims.

But to have the salesman come up and
say, I was wrong and I know I was lying,

that's the icing on the cake.

Both Artie and Tom Arnold plead guilty
and are currently awaiting sentencing.

All four Romano brothers, Michael,
Joseph, Salvatore, and Vincent, will be

charged with mail and wire fraud.

Their cases are overseen by federal
judge Joseph Bianco. Judge Bianco was a

former prosecutor.

He's known as being a very competent
judge and a tough judge.

Judge Bianco allows the brothers to post
bail, so long as they promise no more

telemarketing operations.

But Joseph's already made $12 million,
and when he gets back to his Florida

mansion, he starts a new operation with
the help of a friend named David

Merkovic.

Merkovic was a car salesman in Florida,
which is how Joe and he met as neighbors

and through the car business.

Murkovic, a six -and -a -half -foot
-tall, 240 -pound former Marine, has

Joseph Romano living large in Florida.
And now he wants a taste, too.

Remember, David Murkovic was selling
cars.

He knew nothing about coins, either.
This fraud doesn't require anything more

than the ability to lie and manipulate.

In 2009, they opened Collectible Coins
in Palm Beach County.

Murkovic will run the operation.

while Joe sits quietly in the background
collecting more money.

It turns out to be a boiler room coin
company very similar to the one that was

established in New York.

David Merkovic was the store operator of
that company.

Romano is able to pad his bank account
nicely for almost a year until the feds

figure out what he's up to.

When we got wind of what was going on...
The financial records we obtained

indicated that Joe had earned over a
million dollars during that time.

In March 2010, Joseph Romano's bail is
revoked, and soon after, Judge Joseph

Bianco sentences him to 15 years in
federal prison.

Romano is shocked.

He's been expecting a slap on the wrist.
Not serious prison time.

Former salesman Tom Arnold says Joseph
Romano made it clear he holds Judge

Joseph Bianco and prosecutor Lara Gatz
personally responsible.

Joe said if they give me 20 years, I'll
kill them.

And I thought he was kidding.

And then there was history.

People say, I'm going to kill that
person. I'm going to break his legs.

I'm going to beat him up.

Usually it stops right there.

Mr. Romano didn't stop there.

Next on American Greed.

An exclusive interview

with the hitman Romano hires to commit
murder.

He says he has lists of people he needs
taken care of.

Go inside a boiler room at cnbcprime
.com slash American Greed.

Feeling greedy?

Want more than your share of behind -the
-scenes dirt?

Follow us at AmericanGreedTV on Twitter.

We'll be right back.

In the spring of 2012, Joseph Romano is
behind bars, sentenced to 15 years in

prison for his share of a $60 million
series of telemarketing coin scams.

Now he's thirsty for revenge, says Lara
Gatz, the assistant U .S. attorney who

put him and his three brothers away.

He was the one that stole from people,
but ultimately it came to light that he

blamed me personally for his
predicament.

Gatz isn't allowed to talk about what
happens next, but FBI Special Agent

Ronaldo Terici says Romano begins
plotting a gruesome way to reduce his

sentence. He felt that if he was able to
eliminate the judge and prosecutor on

this case, that somehow another
prosecutor and judge would see his

differently and thus reduce his time in
prison.

Prison cameras catch him plotting with a
sympathetic ear, a career criminal who

has also been sentenced by federal judge
Joseph Bianco.

Joe proceeded to ask the other inmate

if... He knew somebody on the outside
that could help eliminate the judge or

kill the prosecutor in the case, Lara
Gatz.

Romano's new buddy has good news.

He knows a freelance killer named Bobby
Russo who handles this type of work all

the time.

You get this guy to come in on Monday?

No, probably by the end of the week.

In an American Greed exclusive
interview, Bobby Russo says he first

Romano on August 21st at the Nassau
County Correctional Facility.

He's a big, big man. He's a mountain of
a man. He's got to be 6 '6", and at the

time he must have been about 310 pounds.

He's definitely an imposing,
intimidating guy.

Romano and Russo get straight to
business.

Neither seems aware that prison security
cameras are recording their

conversation.

Joe is vetting Bobby out. He's never met
Bobby before, though

Joe is obviously being very careful in
his first meeting with Bobby.

Romano starts off with small talk, but
Russo's in no mood to chat.

And I said, I'm here for the other
thing.

And when I said that, his eyes lit up
and there was a little smile on his

It was a doubt in my mind that he knew
what I was saying to him, and he wanted

me to do it.

Romano has a smaller job to test Russo
first.

He wants him to beat up a Long Island
mechanic who has repossessed two of his

prized classic cars and is demanding $70
,000.

Romano will pay Russo $3 ,000 to teach
the mechanic a lesson.

He wanted to see if I could follow
through with that act of violent

And if I could, then we were off to the
races.

Russo's contact on the outside will be
Romano's partner, David Merkovic.

Russo's given a down payment of $1 ,500
and told to bring back proof after he

deals with the mechanic.

Upon the completion of the beating,
Bobby was to call David and say the

was a success, and that's exactly what
happened.

On September 25, 2012, Russo and
Merkovic meet in the parking lot of a

Island Home Depot.

He shows Merkovic proof that the
mechanic's been beaten.

This photo taken of the victim during
the assault.

I show him the photograph of what we did
to the mechanic, and he's thrilled. He

loves it.

It may be a little cheap, but I do the
work.

Satisfied, Murkovic hands Russo the $1
,500 he's owed.

When Murkovic calls his boss with the
good news, Romano can't hide his joy.

I'm in my cell, dancing around and
singing and stuff, you know?

And I just laugh at my balls off
thinking about that.

Later that day, Murkovic calls Russo
again and asks for another sit -down to

talk more business.

Russo is careful to record the meeting
as it goes down.

We met.

And he sat in my car and he told me,
Joseph wanted Judge Bianco and

Prosecutor Gatz killed.

What are we talking as far as money?

I got to go for $20 ,000.

I say $40 ,000, and he was fine with it.

He did not say a word about the price
that I had wanted to charge.

But for that price, Murkovic says his
boss isn't satisfied with just murder.

He's looking for revenge.

He wants both of her heads from now on.

David. instructs Bobby that Joe would
like trophies to include decapitations

the heads retained in formaldehyde as
well as mutilation of the prosecutor.

Gatsby, you've got to make this appear.

He wants her in a 35 -gallon drum. Not a
50, but a 35 -gallon drum.

Stop her in there. Yeah, yeah. She
should fit.

It was so bizarre.

It didn't catch me off balance for a
second.

Definitely not an equal plot.

Murkovic gives Russo $22 ,000 cash as a
down payment, but it needs to happen

fast.

This needs to get done immediately
within the next two weeks. Now

the clock is ticking, and two lives are
on the line as this dangerous hitman

closes in.

I collected $22 ,000 to kill the judge
and to kill the prosecutor.

Markovic's stressing, I have to by a
certain date. I have a deadline. I have

due date.

Up next on American Greed, as Joseph
Romano's murderous plot moves to the

stage. We got a plan together.

We saddled up. Will Bobby Russo be able
to carry out his boss's orders?

Everything is going great for Joe,
except for one thing.

October 2012.

Joe Romano sits behind bars, waiting for
word that hitman Bobby Russo has killed

the judge and prosecutor who put him
away.

Joe believes it's a plot to kill the
judge, and the prosecutor's moving along

well. He believes that his scheme is
working like a charm.

Russo's been given $22 ,000 and a
deadline.

Now it's up to him to make a move.

I have duty.

I have to deliver.

I have to take care of these two people
to collect my money.

But Russo has chosen not to share one
key detail with Joseph Romano and his

partner David Merkovic until now.

There's only one problem.

I'm a psychiatrist.

And we have been on to Merkovic and
Romano from day one.

And we've been recording every step of
this investigation.

Bobby Russo is really 18 -year veteran
Suffolk County undercover narcotics

detective Robert Strecker, and he's
eager to take these men down.

Really, what Romano and Markovic were
doing was striking at the foundation of

the judicial system. They were trying to
undermine what keeps our society

together.

Strecker doesn't mind that his real name
is used, but he does ask his face be

concealed to protect future undercover
operations.

He says the entire murder -for -hire
plot has been carefully monitored and

overseen by FBI Special Agent Ronaldo
Terici.

The whole case was really a
collaborative effort by all the agencies

Suffolk County Police, FBI, National
County Police, the U .S. Attorney's

National County Corrections.

Federal Judge Joseph Bianco and
Prosecutor Lara Getz.

have been carefully protected by U .S.
Marshals since the plot was uncovered.

The prison buddy who connected Romano
with Bobby Russo originally has been

wearing a wire for the FBI all along.

He felt that even in the world of
criminals, that there was a line not to

crossed, and the line was being crossed
by Joe Romano asking him to kill the

judge and the prosecutor.

And the photo of the beaten Long Island
mechanic that sold Strecker's cover

story? It was faked, with the help of
the mechanic.

So we basically asked him to lie down as
if he had been beaten, and then took a

blurry picture as if somebody would be
running away after having beaten the

mechanic. It worked great.

The entire plot has been carefully
documented, and now Agent Torichi shuts

down.

FBI agents swarm Romano's cell.

After being Mirandized, he provided a
full confession and a science warrant

statement about his hatching this plot
to kill the judge and the prosecutor.

At the same time, Agent Terici is in
Florida, arresting David Merkovic.

While at his house, we found in his safe
$18 ,000 in two bundles of 9 ,000,

as well as a loaded pistol in that same
safe.

Caught red -handed, David Merkovic
pleads guilty to conspiracy to commit

and is sentenced to 24 years in August
2013.

Five months later in federal court,
Joseph Romano claims the whole murder

has been blown out of proportion.

He had about an hour -long speech.

as to his view of this case, his view of
the government, and also made

references to Moby Dick, and he felt
targeted like Moby Dick was targeted.

The man who once referred to his coin
scam victims as whales now compares

himself to the most famous whale of all.

He made an analogy to himself being the
whale with harpoons plunging into him.

The judge doesn't buy his whale of a
tale.

and Joseph Romano is sentenced to two
life sentences on top of the 15 he is

currently serving.

He went from numbers to letters.

You never want letters in the federal
system because it's L -I -F -E.

It's the end of the line for the Romano
family.

Michael Romano is sentenced to 20 years
in prison for mail and wire fraud.

Brothers Salvatore and Vincent plead
guilty to mail and wire fraud as well

are sentenced to seven years.

I think their next family reunion is
going to be paid for by the Department

Justice.

Today, 3 ,000 victims across the country
struggle to recover.

The coins Walt Shepard spent $141 ,000
on have been appraised for less than $20

,000. He's swamped with taxes and
struggles to survive on Social Security.

If I didn't own my home here and I had
to rent somewhere, I couldn't do it.

You know, I couldn't live.

Ray Gibbons lost $370 ,000.

Today, he lives in an assisted care
facility in California where the

of his day is playing dominoes with his
niece, Tina Morton.

She says the one -time war hero suffers
from dementia.

If there's one benefit to that, it's he
doesn't remember the coin scam because

that's all he talked about for months
and months and months.

It is just devastating.

Targeting the defenseless, the Romano
brothers built a $60 million criminal

empire. They lived a life of lies and
fraud, and ultimately they caught up

them. And when Joseph Romano flipped the
coin from greed to murder...

He lost it all. Next, welcome to the
Mile High Club.

You're at 32 ,000 feet in a Gulfstream
jet with a stewardess feeding you

A $31 million con.

American Greed scams, scouts, and
suckers. Next on CNBC.

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