Heeled: The Curious Case of Marla Trump's Shoes
Heeled: The Curious Case of Marla Trump's Shoes
Chapter One | The Shoe Bandit
When Donald Trump's mistress, Marla Maples, discovers that her shoes and other personal property are missing, Trump security launches an investigation that begins the most bizarre true crime case in New York City history.
Good evening, we're coming off the bloodiest year in the history of New York. Even as the governor's....Our criminal justice system is probably at its weakest point it's ever been.
Trisha LaFache:New York City in the early 1990s, was one of the most dangerous places in the world. Each year, there were over 2,000 homicides and over 225,000 violent crimes committed in the Big Apple. It was the Wild Wild West. However, there was one particular case that captured the city's imagination and dominated the headlines. And no, it wasn't a homicide or rape or a robbery. It was the bizarre case of Marla Maples later Marla Trump and her former publicist, Chuck Jones, a man who would become known in New York City lore as the shoe bandit. Who exactly is Chuck Jones? Yeah. Before I became obsessed, let's not say obsessed, let's just say fascinated by the story. I had no idea either. Well, you're about to find out. So sit back and relax because we're about to go on a wild ride together. I'm your host, Trisha LaFache, and this is Heeled: The Curious Case of Marla Trump's shoes. On July 15, 1992, Chuck Jones, 49, was arrested for burglary and other related charges. At the time, police alleged that Mr. Jones stole over 30 pairs of high heeled shoes from Donald Trump's former secret mistress, Marla Maples, from her apartment at Trump Park in New York City. What followed was one of the most bizarre cases in New York City history. A case that, believe it or not, was investigated, prosecuted and tried in New York City courtroom. Before we jump into this outrageous true crime story that kept Donald Trump, Marla Maples and her publicist Chuck Jones in the headlines of the New York City newspapers from the years of 1992 to 1994, when no one else was really talking about Donald Trump for any other reason. Let me tell you a little bit about who I am. I was born and raised in upstate New York. About three and a half hours from Manhattan. I'm Italian-American, which basically means growing up my house always smelled like meatballs and bleach. I grew up in the performing arts dreamed of pursuing a career in the arts. But my father pressured me to follow his footsteps and become a criminal defense attorney. So I accepted an offer to attend Brooklyn Law school in order to maintain my father's love as you do, and still try for a career in television and film in New York City. Turns out many years later now living in Los Angeles, I'm still doing both. Yep. In addition to being a writer, director and actor, I'm a federal criminal defense attorney. I've tried terrorism cases handle the death penalty cases. I can explain to you what Rico is. In short, I've dealt with pretty much every type of case the federal system prosecutes. I've also appeared on all of the Law and Orders, not as an attorney, but I played an attorney on two other network television shows both times as a prosecuting attorney, not a defense attorney, but hey, nobody's perfect. So, how did we get here? How did we get to the story of Chuck Jones, the 90's shoe bandit? Well, it all starts with our President Donald J. Trump and his second wife, Marla, Maples, Trump.
Donald Trump Recording:I mean, my life was so great. In so many ways. The business was so great. And the the I mean, even the concept I mean, a beautiful girlfriend, beautiful wife. Beautiful everything. I mean, life was just a bowl of cherries.
Trisha LaFache:Listen, regardless of what you think about Donald Trump, I think most of us can agree that we are dealing with a severe case of Trump fatigue. As a person who spent much of her life just generally avoiding Donald Trump. I found myself thinking about a time when goofy headlines about Donald Trump didn't revolve around something that was a word that I really hate using but literally a matter of life and death. Simpler times when Trump news It was fun. It was entertainment. Growing up in New York, that's what Trump news was. Whether you loved him or you hated him, whether you wanted to be him or you just thought he was a frickin clown. And the most entertaining headline I remember once when Trump appeared on the cover of The New York Post, and and the story was that Marla Maples had boasted to her friends about Trump that he was the best sex I ever had. For many years, this was considered one of the greatest tabloid headlines of all time. And this kick started my journey into the Curious Case of Chuck Jones, of Marla Maples, and The Donald. So who was Marla Maples? The woman on the giving end of this outrageous boast.
TV News Reporter:She told us it wasn't always easy. Sometimes the doors in the Big Apple slam shut.
Marla Maples Recording:I'm learning to be more patient with it and just make each day count. Use it, each opportunity that you find can be so instrumental in your future. So on a day to day basis, you know, it's important that you you train, you work hard, you get around, you see your agents, you see casting directors, you stay in their minds so that when a project comes up that you are right for you, they're gonna think of you they're gonna say, oh, Marla Maples. Yeah, I'm gonna be here for that.
Trisha LaFache:Maples basically fell off a turnip truck onto New York City met Chuck Jones, who became not only her publicist, but one of her closest confidence. And that relationship remained intact for many years before the shoe escapades that are the subject of this podcast. Born in Cohutta, Georgia, Marla Maples was dubbed by the media as the Georgia Peach. She's blonde, beautiful, a former beauty pageant queen runner up to Miss Georgia in 1984, winner of Miss Hawaiian Tropic in 1985. A model turned want to be actress. In 1986, one year before meeting Donald Trump, she appeared in the film Maximum Overdrive, a Stephen King horror flick, in which her character met her demise when she was crushed to death by a load of watermelons. In stark contrast, Chuck Jones, and ex-marine, looks much like Kevin Spacey in the usual suspects days, but with a five finger forehead. He's the former East Coast head of publicity for Embassy Pictures. Chuck at this time is a prominent New York City publicist. His clients include world famous jazz musician Lionel Hampton and popstar Latoya Jackson are admittedly not Janet, but you know, Latoya. Chuck is living in a $1 million home with his wife Lynne and his two young daughters in Greenwich, Connecticut. Apparently, the walls of his office were lined with pictures signed by movie stars, including people like jack Lemmon and Morgan Fairchild. That guy had it all. So how did this happen? How did Chuck Jones allow his career, his family and his life to completely fall apart over this obsession with Marla Maples's shoes? It was Chuck Jones who introduced Marla to Donald in 1987. By 1988, rumors of Donald and Marla's affair ran rampant. In July of 88, the New York Post ran a blind item reporting that a certain shapely blonde had been seeing one of New York's biggest tycoons, a married man, and that the sad shapely blonde supposedly goes around to all the stores and Trump Tower saying, charge it to Donald. Well, that's not so blind of an item after all. But Chuck as Marla's friend and publicist works overtime to keep Marla's private life private and to keep the Trump Marla affair out of the papers. He's in constant communication with journalists, including New York Post reporter Richard Johnson, who was threatening to blow the whole story wide open. We have Marla's friend Chuck Jones functioning as her publicist and her talent agent getting her acting jobs here and there. By all accounts, Chuck Jones was devoted to Marla after he helped get her cast in the Will Rogers Follies on Broadway. He would watch from the wings and brag of Marla. She'll have the same effect on audiences as Marilyn Monroe.
Marilyn Monroe Sound Clip:I just love finding new places to wear diamonds.
Trisha LaFache:Now when Chuck introduces Trump to Marla and 1987, sparks flew and they began seeing each other secretly. I say secretly because Trump was still very married to his first wife, Ivana. Ivana was in many ways Trump's business partner. She has major roles at the company, including vice president of interior design, overseeing every gaudy fixture placed in the renovation of the Hyatt Hotel, of the Taj Mahal Casino Resort in Atlantic City and in Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue. Towards the end of their marriage, Donald appointed her the head of Trump Castle Hotel and Casino,
Ivana Trump Sound Clip:I build up the Commodore Hotel Grand Hyatt Hotel on 42nd Street and I buildt up the Trump Tower. I run the casinos, three casinos in Atlantic City. I was flying for eight years, every morning on the helicopter, you know, at eight o'clock in the morning to Atlantic City.
Trisha LaFache:Partially to keep her out of the city and in Jersey most the time but also because Ivana was a very good businesswoman. She was responsible for a lot of the early success of the Trump Organization.
Ivana Trump Sound Clip:But you know, if you go into work and if you have four and a half thousand employees, and the Vice President, you cannot be a little pussycat.
Trisha LaFache:She's also the mother of the Trump children you actually know about. Donald and Marla see each other in secret for about two years. How did that work out? Well, that can also be attributed partially to Chuck. See, Chuck was buddies with a guy named Tom Fitzsimmons, a former NYPD officer and want to be actor-producer. Now, Fitzsimmons, remember that name or don't because I'll remind you. But Marla and Fitzsimmons actually dated for a time pre-Marla and Trump. However they broke up, remained besties and Trump and Chuck Jones arranged for Fitzsimmons to act as Marla and Trump's beard in public. This was done so Marla could attend public events where Ivana was also present, but created the appearance that Marla was attending as Fitzsimmons's date. Here's where this gets a little personal for me. It's quite possible that some of my interest in Marla Maples, Donald Trump, Chuck Jones and the case of Marla's missing shoes, stems from the fact that the trajectory of the Marla Trump relationship in some very coincidental and quite candidly, traumatizing ways, parallels the end of my own parents relationship. Like I said, when Donald and Marla got together, he was still married to Ivana.
Ivana Trump Sound Clip:What really attracted me to Donald, to answer your question, was his energy, the look and the brains.
Trisha LaFache:And Donald and Marla were involved in a highly publicized affair.
Various TV News Reporters:By now rumors of Donald's affair with Marla Maples were appearing in the tabloids. The drama started when Donald began cheating on his wife Ivana Trump with aspiring actress Marla Maples. After an ugly public....
Trisha LaFache:It's 1989 when Donald Trump was still married to Ivana, he goes on a ski trip with his entire family, including Ivana to Aspen. Marla was also secretly, not so secretly in Aspen. And she infamously confronted Ivana on the slopes, like she skied on right up to her and said, "I love Donald, do you?" That very same year, 1989, my father's much younger mistress gave birth to a son. While he was still living in our home and prior to my mother, sister and I learning about the child, his mistress marched up to the front door of our family home, bearing religious pamphlets. Telling my mother that my father was in love with her was leaving her and the pamphlets would help her get through. It wasn't until months later that my mother would find out about my father's bastard child and throw my father out. On December 30, 1989, the same day as the Ivana Marla running in Aspen. So, do I feel an odd affinity towards Ivana? Absolutely. Do I feel bad for Marla? Not at all. But let's get back to the best sex ever. I pull it up, and it's hilarious. Okay. It is a full picture of Trump's face on the cover of The New York Post. Almost boyish, hair brushed, eyebrows at Kimbo with this cat Eat shit grin on his face. Nothing close to the scowl that we've all become used to seeing. His expression marks pretty clearly. "Yep, that's me, folks, best sex ever you heard?" Now, this is 1990. Most men in Trump's position, while I'm sure they secretly fantasize about being called the best sex ever on the cover of a major newspaper tabloid, they didn't discuss their sexual prowess publicly because they wanted to be taken seriously.
TV News Reporter:She made front page news when she was quoted as telling a friend that having sex with Donald was quote, "best sex I've ever had." In 1991, Donald Trump spoke to Bill O'Reilly, then the host of Inside Edition. Reporter: "Is it too hot? Do you
think?" Donald Trump:"It's Hot. It's pretty hot. Is it too hot? I don't know, can relationship ever get too hot?
Trisha LaFache:But then again, that's Trump.
Donald Trump Recording:He referred to my hands as if they're small. Something else must be small. I guarantee you there's no problem. I guarantee it. Look at these hands. These are the hands that hit a golf ball 285. No, I only made a joke about my hands. I have very powerful hands. Look at these hands. Aren't they beautiful? I have very powerful hands and large hands and relatively large hands.
Trisha LaFache:By this point, I am locked into a Marla Donald Google crieg and I stumbled upon an article referencing Chuck Jones in the most crazy way possible.
TV News Reporter:The headline,"Marla tells DA Tale of Toe." Well, I mean, I like a pun just as much as the next guy probably more having grown up on Sex in the City. I'm a carry. But I keep looking and I find one more. "Marla's Ex Soul Mate Indicted."
Donald Trump Recording:I called her Imelda Marcos. I said nobody can use this many shoes. And she's not a clothes hog. You know, it's very interesting. But I got very angry at her a number of times. I said how could you be using all these shoes and she said somebody stealing my shoes.
Trisha LaFache:Shoe? Who? What? In these very brief articles, I learned what I've already told you. In the 90's there was some case involving Donald Trump, Marla Maples and a guy named Chuck Jones and some stolen shoes. And look, the internet is a crazy place, right? But what drew me in was starting to drive me bonkers, was the more I dug around about this case, the less I found. Here's the problem. There is a very famous guy named Chuck Jones, but he's not our guy.
Bugs Bunny Sound Clip:And what's up doc?
Trisha LaFache:That Chuck Jones is the famous Bugs Bunny animator. And as far as I can tell, that Chuck Jones didn't have a freaky deaky obsession with spiked heels. But almost every article I pull up on Chuck Jones is on this guy who seems like he's a very lovely man, but he is not my guy. And there is a real dearth of information on the shoe bandit. It seems like the event has been scrubbed clean off the internet. Who would do that? And why? I didn't have the answers to those questions. But I knew I needed more. So I reached out to my friend Lucas Groneman. Lucas is a writer and researcher I met at another job. A New York kid trying to cut it in Hollywood. Sound familiar? He later joined the bandwagon to become a producer on the show. Hey, Luke, how's it going?
Luke Groneman:Hi, Trisha. Hold on just one sec.
Trisha LaFache:Why are we whispering?
Luke Groneman:I'm stepping outside the library.
Trisha LaFache:The what?
Luke Groneman:I'm at the New York Public Library.
Trisha LaFache:That's amazing. Why?
Luke Groneman:To get you those newspaper articles. So I was able to find the New York Daily News online. No problem. They have like a great archive system.
Trisha LaFache:Very cool.
Luke Groneman:But the New York Post has been, it's been a challenge. For some reason. Their online archives only go back to 1999, which is crazy. So I shlept down to the New York Public Library today. And I'm actually looking through some microfiche right now.
Trisha LaFache:What like those tiny film canisters you put on reels that pushed all the exposition in at thriller?
Luke Groneman:Yeah, exactly. And I've got some headline gold for you.
Trisha LaFache:Alright. let's see what you got.
Luke Groneman:How does, "It's Time For a Heeeling as Marla ID's Pinched Shoes," grab you?
Trisha LaFache:Like a girl on crack at Coachella.
Luke Groneman:"Marla Details Chuck's Foot'al attraction."
Trisha LaFache:Oh my god. I'm deceased! Yesss!
Kevin J. Hynes:And my favorite,"Marla's Sole Man, Please Forgive Me."
Trisha LaFache:And just like that, all is right with the world. I got the articles from Lucas and I dove in headfirst. I was fascinated by this guy who took a match to his whole life over a penchant for pumps. I learned that the case went to trial. What? Why wouldn't this guy have taken a plea? He's a publicist by trade. Isn't this exactly the kind of thing that a publicist would want to make go away as quickly as possible for a client and especially for himself? I was captivated by the psychology of the whole thing. I'm poring over the articles Luke sent and I find an article dated February 8, 1994, from the New York Daily News, entitled, "She'd sell Soles for $100." This article described one particularly volatile day at trial, when Chuck's defense team called Gloria De Prado, a tag sale entrepreneur and used shoe expert, who examined each pair of Marla's shoes with this giant magnifying glass and an effort to support the defense's argument that the whole lot of recovered shoes was worth only about $100. This was a very big deal to the defense and the prosecution, because if the jury agreed with De Prado, that the value of the stolen shoes was less than $1,000, then the burglary could be treated as a misdemeanor, rather than a felony. Now at the time, a felony burglary conviction carry with it a sentence of up to 15 years in prison, while a misdemeanor conviction carries with it a sentence of up to one year, which could be served in county jail. However, it was the reporter's description of what took place during the cross examination of none other than Tom Fitzsimmons, that really blew my mind. According to the article, Fitzsimmons got into an argument with the state prosecutor from the stand over who had a reputation for being a bigger drinker. An argument that got so heated that the judge threatened to call a mistrial. The fact that this took place wasn't even the most outrageous part of the story. In this article, I learned that I actually know the Assistant District Attorney who is the subject of the article and who tried the Chuck Jones case. Not only do I know him, he's someone I consider a very good friend. A former Assistant District Attorney in Manhattan and Westchester County's turns successful television and screenwriter and producer, Kevin J. Hynes. I should tell you how I know Kevin, how we became friends. My first semester of my third year of law school, I took a trial advocacy class, because you get to perform like you're in a courtroom and I knew I could crush. Now usually I say if I didn't have bad luck, I'd have no luck at all. But I get assigned the Brooklyn District Attorney as my professor. For those of you that don't know, every county has only one district attorney. Everyone else is an assistant district attorney. So halfway through the second day of class, in between direct and cross examinations, the DA tells me "LaFache, I want to see you in the hallway." I ship bricks. "You're hired." He tells me. "I want you to come work for me next year." What? Assistant district attorney and he just gave me the job, he just gave it to me? But I wanted to be an actor. My father is gonna kill me. Well, I needed to book a show immediately. That didn't happen. Nor did I joined the district attorney's office but I did move to Hollywood. I booked a guest spot on the short lived Fox show, Rake, playing an attorney. First day talking to the writer of the episode. I'm nervous. So I don't fully take in his name, but we're talking I hear his accent and I say, "Are you from Brooklyn?" He says,"yea." I say "Is your paps, Joe Hynes." He says, "How do you know my father?" "He hired me." Charles Joe Hynes was the Brooklyn DA and Kevin's father. I tell him the story. And we've pretty much been each other's connection to back home ever since.
Kevin J. Hynes:Wow, this place is nice.
Trisha LaFache:Yeah, well, only the best for you Kevin J. Hynes. Let me tell you a little more about Kevin. Once he gave up practicing law, he's had a very successful career as a writer. He's written on the TV shows Prime suspect, Rake, Scorpion, Dirty John, where he also served as Co-Executive Producer and on HBO's hit show Perry Mason just to name a few. In addition to that, and aside from being the son of the former Brooklyn district attorney, he had a very colorful life. He was very close friends with John F. Kennedy Jr. and was on Martha's Vineyard Island, the day John's plane went down. He went to John and Carolyn's apartment the day of the tragedy to make sure that no one looted the place. When he was in the Westchester County DA's office, he worked for Jeanine Pirro and investigated Robert Durst. He even appears on several episodes of HBO's the Jinx. Look for the green mock turtleneck.
Kevin J. Hynes:How's this gonna work?
Trisha LaFache:Okay, it's super, super easy. It's a lot like a direct examination. I'll ask you a bunch of questions or you can just talk. Tell me the story.
Kevin J. Hynes:All right.
Trisha LaFache:All right. Let's start at the very beginning. How in the how that this schmuck Chuck Jones managed to get himself arrested for this? I the article say was July 15, 1992.
Kevin J. Hynes:Yeah, so like it all starts with this lunch, right? I mean, well before that Marla Maples who was Donald Trump's mistress, she believed that her shoes were being stolen.
Trisha LaFache:Horrifying.
Kevin J. Hynes:Yeah, I can't believe I'm talking about this out loud. But alright. Anyway, Trump security suspected this guy Chuck Jones, and they summoned him to this lunch at Trump Plaza. Right.
Trisha LaFache:Okay.
Kevin J. Hynes:Chuck was the you know, publicist for Marla and Trump. And, you know, they told him hey, there's a there's a press conference Trump wants to do. Could you come over here to talk about it? Yeah.
Trisha LaFache:Yeah.
Kevin J. Hynes:So obviously does right. He arrives at the Plaza thinking he's there to work, but instead he finds Marla, her mother and the two guys who run Trump security, Matthew Calamari. Yeah, that's his name. And Dominic Pezzo. Now Calamari is this monster, right? He's like 6'5, 280. You know, he's like a defensive lineman type.
Trisha LaFache:Okay.
Kevin J. Hynes:And Pezzo is 5'6. He talks like Joe Pesci. He actually looks a little bit like Joe Pesci. These two geniuses come up with a plan to get Chuck to confess to stealing Marla's shoes. The problem is that you know, as Marla and mom suck down oysters from this huge seafood tower, Chuck aint given it up. In fact, he's proclaiming his innocence. So after a bunch of hours, Calamari, yeah, that's still his name, he decides the team needs to go down to Chuck's office to search for the shoes and Chuck supposedly agrees to go. Now, Chuck will later say at trial that he was kidnapped and that you know, he was taken against as will, but let's get some straight from the beginning Trish. Chuck's said a lot of shit at trial, and most of it was bullshit.
Trisha LaFache:Okay.
Kevin J. Hynes:So the whole squad trapes's down Fifth Avenue, right, on foot, right? So they're walking down the street on Fifth Avenue from Trump Plaza, which you remember is on 59th Street, and they go into Chuck's office.
Trisha LaFache:So they walked down the street.
Kevin J. Hynes:Yeah.
Trisha LaFache:All 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 them.
Kevin J. Hynes:All together. The whole, the whole squad.
Trisha LaFache:Okay, and what time of day do we think this is?
Kevin J. Hynes:It's the middle of the day.
Trisha LaFache:Broad daylight!
Kevin J. Hynes:Broad daylight. So they get to Chuck's office, right, and I go in and remember, it's like the early 90's. Right. And the office looks like it. There's like purple carpet, like mirrored walls, a kitchenette. I mean, it looks more like a cheesy bachelors apartment more than an office. But there was a desk and file cabinets and office phone, you know, whatever. Calamari and Pezzo asj Chuck for permission to search. He refuses. Marla asks him. He refuses. Marla begs him. He says no. So they decided to call the cops.
Trisha LaFache:The security guys call the cops?
Kevin J. Hynes:Yep.
Trisha LaFache:On Chuck?
Kevin J. Hynes:Yep.
Trisha LaFache:Because he wouldn't let them search?
Kevin J. Hynes:Yeah.
Trisha LaFache:Okay. This doesn't make any sense. Why would they call the cops and why would the cops respond to the scene? Chuck has Fourth Amendment rights over his own office, whether it's cheesy purple carpet or not. If anything, I would think that it would be Chuck to call the cops and say I don't want them to search. I'm calling the cops on these Trump's I rescinded my consent it's over with, go home.
Kevin J. Hynes:It's a really interesting legal theory Trish but that's not the way it happened right. instead to beat cops Giannetta and Higgins show up and they talk to Chuck.
Trisha LaFache:Okay.
Kevin J. Hynes:But Chuck refuses to let them search too.
Trisha LaFache:Good for Chuck.
Kevin J. Hynes:Well, so they call their precinct. They speak to the captain and the captain signs a detective. standard shit. And here comes detective William Lynch from the Midtown North Precinct.
Trisha LaFache:Unbelievable.
Kevin J. Hynes:He takes Chuck for a little bit of walk and talk around the block and when he comes back, Chuck, concents to the search.
Trisha LaFache:A little walk and talk. Huh?
Kevin J. Hynes:And here's where it gets fucking crazy right because at this point everyone starts ripping the place apart, right Marla, her mom, Calamari, Pezzo, the cops. The whole crew, they're ripping the place apart. They open up this one closet and an avalanche of shoes falls out and Marla's like, "those are my shoes!" And Chuck is crying and the cops are trying to piece this whole thing together. It's a fucking circus.
Trisha LaFache:Where are the shoes?
Kevin J. Hynes:Shoes were everywhere. They were in that closet, there were shoes were behind the radiator cover. Choose in desk drawers. Inside an air conditioning vent. I mean, there were shoes everywhere. Ended up being over 30 pairs.
Trisha LaFache:No, no, this can't be real! 30 pairs of shoes in a small office!?
Kevin J. Hynes:And that's not all they found Trisha, there was there was a safe.
Trisha LaFache:They opened his safe?
Kevin J. Hynes:Well, I mean Chuck's sitting there with his arms crossed like refusing to have the safe open but Calamari right? He finds his key ring with a bunch of keys on it. And he starts using each key in the safe lock. Now picture this huge guy like with sausage fingers trying to open the safe with these tiny little keys while literally there are shoes falling from the ceiling.
Trisha LaFache:Well did they finally open the safe?
Kevin J. Hynes:Yeah, and inside they found a bunch of Marla's underwear. A fetish magazine called like Spike and three handguns.
Trisha LaFache:Were the handguns registered?
Kevin J. Hynes:No and you know at that point they decided they were going to take Chuck downtown right. I mean, the cops cuffed him up and down to the Midtown North Precinct they go.
TV News Reporter:He is known as Marla Maples publicist, but Chuck Jones may have really walked in her footsteps. For a police say with his arrest, they have solved the mystery of Miss Maples missing shoes, bras and panties. Dozens of items have been stolen from her closet and drawers. And now Jones is suspected of swiping them. Police found the footwear along with two guns and a pornographic shoe fetish magazine called Spike in his Midtown Manhattan office.
Trisha LaFache:Oh yeah, he's definitely going down. What the hell is a publicist doing with three unregistered firearms? These guys find a year's worth of missing shoes, a lot of panties, a fetish mag named Spike and three unregistered firearms in Chuck Jones's office? All on this dude Calamari's hunch? Who is this guy the fucking mentalist?
Kevin J. Hynes:I didn't say anything about a hunch. There were no hunches in this case, Trish. There was a video.
Trisha LaFache:A video?
Kevin J. Hynes:Yeah, so after Marla complained to Trump, like a 100 times that her shoes were being stolen, he ordered Trump's security, Calamari and Pezzo to set up a camera in her apartment to catch the thief.
Trisha LaFache:The shoe thief?
Kevin J. Hynes:Yeah, I mean, after a couple days of watching the video and get nothing, they finally see Chuck. And he comes in the apartment. He's on tape. He comes in the apartment, enters the apartment, turns around, and locks the door behind him, looks out the peep hole. And then like minutes later, he comes back, large trash bag filled with something. He looked like a creepy Santa Claus.
Trisha LaFache:He had it like slung over his shoulder? Did you guys show this tape a trial?
Kevin J. Hynes:Yeah, we did.
Trisha LaFache:Oh my god. Okay, so it doesn't make any sense. Because if y'all got the video, and now you have theshoes, the contraband itself. How in the world do we ever even get to trial? It's an open and shut case.
Kevin J. Hynes:I mean, that's the million dollar question, right? Why did Chuck Jones go to trial? But if he didn't, he took a plea. I guess we wouldn't be talking about this lunacy. Right?
Trisha LaFache:But why didn't Trump just make this go away? You know, he's supposed to be the super rich guy. Why doesn't he just fire Chuck and take Marla on a shopping spree?
Kevin J. Hynes:Believe me Trish? I wish he did. This case is fucking bizarre. And it's a lot more complicated than just a bunch of shoes.
Trisha LaFache:Yeah, I mean, wait, you just said that Chuck's office was searched on consent.
Kevin J. Hynes:That's right.
Trisha LaFache:But I know that I read in at least one of these articles that you guys executed search warrants. What's up with that?
Kevin J. Hynes:Yeah, we we did warrents.
Trisha LaFache:Where did you guys search?
Kevin J. Hynes:Oh, well we went back to his office. Right. Um, we went to his house in Greenwich, Connecticut.
Trisha LaFache:But you already had the shoes and guns. What else could you have been looking for?
Kevin J. Hynes:Well, there were more shoes. Yeah, I mean, we were looking for other stuff too. Personal items, photographs, a diary.
Trisha LaFache:A diary!? You got a judge in Manhattan to authorize a search warrant to go look for photographs and a diary!? Where those items listed individually on the warrant?
Kevin J. Hynes:Yeah, of course. You know how this shit works.
Trisha LaFache:I do know how it works. But I still don't understand it doesn't make any sense. You search the guy's house for a diary and some photographs. Come on!?
Kevin J. Hynes:I mean, the diary was supposedly filled with some personal stuff. Right? So Marla wanted that back and the photos. I mean.
Trisha LaFache:What?
Kevin J. Hynes:Let's just say they were special interest to Trump and Marla for other reasons.
Trisha LaFache:Oh, okay. Now I'm interested. Spill it.
Kevin J. Hynes:Allegedly. There were these sexy pictures of Marla.
Trisha LaFache:Okay.
Kevin J. Hynes:And maybe Trump.
Trisha LaFache:Eww.
Kevin J. Hynes:And possibly Marla and Trump.
Trisha LaFache:What?
Kevin J. Hynes:And a banana.
Trisha LaFache:This season on Heeled. This guy should have pled out. He's sick. He's got a problem.
Kevin J. Hynes:We offered this guy everything. All he had to do was seek some help.
Marla Maples Recording:I just kept asking why did you do this? Why did you do this?
Chuck Jones Recording:It just happens. I don't know why.
Trisha LaFache:You guys were setting Chuck up!
Kevin J. Hynes:There's no setup here Trish. I mean, fucking Trump never called me. He had never had anything to do with this case.
Donald Trump Recording:Everybody's always blaming me for everything.
Trisha LaFache:All of the money that was spent to prosecute this guy for what?
Kevin J. Hynes:He wanted this trial and he fucking got it.
Kevin J. Hynes Recording:This jury could see this note, they would know that Marla lied and and I'm innocent.
Defense Attorney Recording:What is it about shoes that holds your interest?
Chuck Jones Recording:The wear around it, the imprints inside of it. I don't know what the fascination is, but it's there.
Trisha LaFache:Why did you ask Tom the question?
Kevin J. Hynes:Listen, I was I was in the moment. I definitely made a mistake. I will admit that I made a mistake.
Trisha LaFache:But what were you trying to say that he was a drunk so he was a liar?
Kevin J. Hynes:Well, he was a drunk, but then he turned it on me and said I was drunk. I saw exactly what the headline was going to be in the post the next day. Drunk DA.
Chuck Jones Recording:I've never shown anyone Marla's pornographic video tape.
Court Clerk:I'll say you with the count one charging the defendant Charles Jones with the crime of burglary in the second degree.
Trisha LaFache:Heeled is a Justkill Production. Produced by Tandace Khorrami, Luke Groneman and Tyler Patrick Jones. It's written by Kevin J. Hynes and myself Trisha LaFache. The Heeled theme music was written by Chad Crouch. Additional shout out to Mike Shafranak, our editing wizard. Follow us on our Instagram at heeled.podcast or check us out on our website heeledpodcast.com. Tune in next week for another exciting episode of Heeled.