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American Morning

Backyard Wrestling; Spotting Online Fakes; Dogs as Drug Smugglers

Aired February 02, 2006 - 09:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

M. O'BRIEN: Opening bell time on Wall Street. There you go.
S. O'BRIEN: Koppers.

M. O'BRIEN: Excellent producing, I'd say, there, Carl (ph). We got it just -- maybe they are are listening to us. And there's another Steelers fan. The Steelers fans are everywhere these days with those yellow towels.

(STOCK REPORT)

S. O'BRIEN: Let's get to Chad this morning. We've been talking about the severe weather on the Gulf Coast and it sounded pretty bad, Chad. Good morning.

(WEATHER REPORT)

S. O'BRIEN: All right, Chad. Thank you.

M. O'BRIEN: Just when you thought you've heard it all. We'll tell you about the canine connection. The Drug Enforcement Administration here in New York City announcing yesterday they busted a crime ring of Colombian drug dealers and smugglers who used all kinds of way to import heroin into this country, including a half a dozen puppies, surgically implanted heroin inside the puppies. There were ten puppies in all, six of them containing heroin. Just one of the ruses, apparently, attempted by this ring.

Joining me now is the Drug Enforcement Agency special agent in charge, John Gilbride. John, good to have you with us this morning.

We've heard about mules over the years, but not dogs. Is this a first for you? Have you ever seen anything quite like this?

JOHN GILBRIDE, DEA SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE: I have. It's not a usual method for smuggling heroin. In the past there have been animals used, snakes, a dog, other animals. But this is unusual in the fact that there were ten dogs with six puppies with heroin implanted in them. So the number of dogs is unique.

M. O'BRIEN: How did you get tipped to this one?

GILBRIDE: The Colombian National Police received a call on a drug hot line. They responded to a location in Medellin, Colombia, a farm. At the farm they found a veterinary clinic, a makeshift veterinary clinic, and they observed the ten dogs. Upon inspecting the dogs, they found that the dogs had incisions in their bellies. And upon further inspection, they found that the dogs had in fact heroin packets implanted in their bellies.

M. O'BRIEN: It's just -- it's pretty shocking. It's so cruel when you think about it. You have seen it all, but this one has got to shock you a little bit.

GILBRIDE: It is; it's a repulsive method of smuggling heroin into the country. This organization used various techniques to smuggle their heroin in, including human body couriers, swallowers, false- sided luggage, other methods. But the use of puppies is just repulsive, it's outrageous. They are small, they're innocent, and they are being smuggled with heroin inside of their bodies.

M. O'BRIEN: What became of the dogs that were given these incisions and implanted with heroin. Obviously some of them didn't make it, did they?

GILBRIDE: Luckily, when the Colombian National Police arrived, there were four dogs who had not had the heroin implanted into their bellies as of yet. So those dogs were okay.

Three of the dogs that had the heroin implanted unfortunately died from infections. You can imagine that this makeshift veterinary clinic did not put a premium on cleanliness and making sure that the health of the dogs was a prominent focus.

M. O'BRIEN: We've heard over the years of human mules, where these balloons, or whatever, that hold the heroin, burst and that can kill a human being, much less a puppy. What does this tell you about the heroin traffic in this country? It continues unabated?

GILBRIDE: It continues. It tells me that drug trafficking organizations are in the business of making money. They're out there for the purpose of greed. And it shows me that they will go through great lengths to get their poison to the streets of America, and eventually to New York City.

M. O'BRIEN: What about the puppies now? I predict there's a lot of people watching right now who probably would make a home for them. What's going to happen to them.

GILBRIDE: I am told that the puppies are doing well. They are grown dogs. This was approximately a year ago. They are grown dogs now, and they are doing well in Colombia. And as a matter of fact, 10 years ago one dog that came to New York with heroin inside of its body, and that dog was actually adopted by a DEA agent, and that was over 10 years ago. These dogs most likely have been adopted by someone in Colombia.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Even the DEA guys have a soft spot for dogs, huh?

Absolutely. All right. John Gilbride with the Drug Enforcement Administration. Congratulations on that big bust, and we're glad at least those puppies are safe and sound. (NEWSBREAK)

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: They call it wrestling, but of course it really is just fighting. It's pictures are pretty horrible. It's kids taking violent fighting to the extreme, and then they videotape and they call it backyard wrestling.

Adaora Udoji joins us with more on this story. These pictures are horrible.

ADAORA UDUJI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is terribly graphic, and we're not talking just a few teenagers. Backyard wrestling is a booming subculture with an estimated 7,000 young men taking to homemade rings across the country, and many parents simply have no idea how violent it is.

Let's take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UDOJI: How did you guys find this place?

(voice-over): Nearly every weekend, 17-year-old Shawn and his friends head into their Brooklyn field of dreams into a violent and bloody world you are not going to believe

SHAWN: You are going to see some crazy stuff today.

UDOJI: Prepare yourself. It is shocking. This is hardcore backyard wrestling. And it is Shawn's dream to go pro. Shawn, who is studying for his GED, started IBW or the Insane Backyard Wrestling federation with more than a dozen of his closest friends.

(on camera): Why do you call it that?

SHAWN: Because we are insane. If you watch any other backyard tapes and something, there is nothing like this out there.

UDOJI (voice-over): They call it entertainment. A combination of showmanship and choreographed moves using weapons, meant to shed blood but only look painful.

There are no rules. No supervision. Just friends bashing each other with keyboards, whacking themselves with fluorescent light tubes and ramming each other into the ground head first. And that is Shawn, stage name Pyro, setting himself on fire just to get the crowd going.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's lighting himself on fire!

SHAWN: It makes it more interesting. Especially for, like, our fans. If you did a move or something, they'll be like that's cool, but if you hit somebody with one of these, they'll go crazy, they'll be like oh my god that was sick.

UDOJI: Notice there are no trainers. No adults, not even a band-aid. But they insist no one really gets hurt. The blood is just show for the cameras.

SHAWN: We won't wrestle unless it is on tape.

UDOJI (on camera): Because?

SHAWN: Because then you got hurt for nothing.

UDOJI (voice-over): That video ends up on Web sites like these where teenage boys post thousands of clips showing their most daring moves in an online battle to prove who is toughest. There is an estimated 700 amateur backyard wrestling federations nationwide. And with ten to 15 members in each group, we're talking about more than 7,000 young men.

A quick Google search triggers nearly a million hits to sites with names like Megacarnage, New Blood Wrestling, and slogans that brag, brutality is our business.

You might wonder why Shawn doesn't play football or basketball or soccer. We did too.

SHAWN: I'm really bad at sports. This is the only thing I'm good at.

UDOJI: He says backyard wrestling opened up a new world and new friends.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's my best friend here. We can beat each other up and still friends.

UDOJI: But where do they get these ideas?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thumb tacks.

UDOJI: They say they learn the moves watching video games like this one where a wrestler's head is pushed into a deep fryer. And DVDs widely available from World Wrestling Entertainment or WWE in which pro wrestlers use fire and cheese graters for maximum shock value.

(on camera): WWE officials responded in a statement, saying they are adamantly opposed to the concept of backyard wrestling because of the risks of injury to untrained amateurs.

(voice-over): The statement goes on to say, "We urge parents to be proactive in discouraging their children from undertaking this dangerous practice."

Back in Brooklyn, Joe Giardano had no real idea what his son Jordan was up to until he saw it for himself. It was his first time and he watched in horror as Jordan took a beating.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We'll talk about this later.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is right there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Want some water?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is it bad?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not bad.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One of those little ones?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UDOJI (on camera): You're clearly upset.

JOSEPH GIORDANO, FATHER OF BACKYARD WRESTLER: Yes, a little bit. I thought I would handle this a lot better. I thought it was kids wrestling. All I can see is a piece of glass going in his face and his eye, his hand. This isn't what kids should be doing.

UDOJI: And then there is this kind of backyard wrestling, literally in a backyard with well choreographed moves, well developed characters and supervised by parents.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Show Stealer will never be defeated.

UDOJI (voice-over): This is 18-year-old Jared, stage name Brimstone. And his parents' backyard, the matches are elaborate. He and many of his friends go to professional wrestling school.

They spend hours developing detailed plots of good versus evil. Each line, every move perfected before they enter the ring.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As soon as I do it, he comes in.

UDOJI: No weapons are allowed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A well executed move looks ten times better than some idiot smashing themselves over the head with the trash can.

UDOJI: That's good news to Jared's mother Arlene who, along with other parents, watches in the sidelines.

(on camera): You see yourself as supporting his ambitions as opposed to creating a potential risk for him.

ARLENE WERNER, MOTHER OF BACKYARD WRESTLER: The parents have to be more involved with their kids. You can't go in a ditch and wrestle. There is nobody there. What if they really do get hurt?

RENEE CARLSON, DANIEL CARLSON'S MOTHER: Ready to head out.

DANIEL CARLSON: Yes.

UDOJI (voice-over): That risk is now a reality for 16-year-old Daniel Carlson and his parents Renee and Dale. Last summer Daniel was dropped on his head in a backyard wrestling match and broke his neck. Life for the Carlsons changed forever.

CARLSON: Doctor looked at us and said your son is going to be paralyzed. I have to admit, the first thing I thought of was he's 16 years old. This isn't right. He had his whole life ahead of him.

Daniel, can I get you anything else then?

UDOJI: The Carlsons say they thought Daniel was just horsing around, They had no idea he and his friends were staging organized wrestling matches.

CARLSON: They can say they know what they're doing, but they really don't. And you can get seriously hurt and Daniel is proof of that.

UDOJI: But physical injury isn't the only risk according to pediatrician Shari Barkin who studies links between images of violence and aggression. She watched our video of hard core teen wrestling in disbelief.

DR. SHARI BARKIN, PROFESSOR, WAKE FOREST UNIV.: Being violent creates an addictive property. So that once you've done it, just seeing the same thing over and over again is no longer interesting you have to escalate it. And escalate it. And escalate it. So where as the final escalation?

UDOJI: Dr. Barkin says teens who feel invincible through hard core violence may not be learning the coping skills they need to reach their full potential.

Back in Brooklyn, Shawn's match has moved on to thumb tacks, dozens of them, for a favorite big finish. It is hard to believe but he says getting punctured several times in the back is no big deal.

UDOJI (on camera): None of that hurts, Shawn?

SHAWN: No.

UDOJI: It looks painful.

SHAWN: That's the whole point.

UDOJI: But it is a very big deal to Jordan's dad, Joe.

GIORDANO: I'm sure the other parents have no idea what is going on here.

UDOJI: Are you going to tell them?

GIORDANO: Every kid that is here that I know I'm going let their parent know.

UDOJI: OK.

GIORDANO: If they don't believe me, let them come and take a look for themselves and let them get shocked like I did.

UDOJI (voice-over): Adaora Udoji, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE) UDOJI: Every therapist, psychiatrist and doctor we talked to said this backyard wrestling, especially hardcore wrestling, is not only physically risky, but emotionally risky for young men. They say there are two major concerns, first glamorizing violence, they say, teaches teen there are no real consequence tote. And secondly, they say, too many teens can learn to rely on violence as a way of coping with life's stresses.

S. O'BRIEN: What is wrong with these kids? what is wrong with them? I mean, this is just...

M. O'BRIEN: They're jackasses is what comes to mind. What is going on?

UDOJI: In their mind, they want to be like the professionals. They're just practicing. And they have this sense of invincibility, which of course any rational adult would say is a little frightening, because it's a constant escalation. They'll try anything to sort of get one another going, to outdo the next guy.

S. O'BRIEN: It's not just this little group of kids in that little part of Brooklyn.

UDOJI: No, it's happening from one end of the country to the other, and if you go online, it's astonishing. I think we had 2.5 million Google hits. Put backyard wrestling in. There's all sorts of Web sites. The kids upload their video.

M. O'BRIEN: So what is a parent to do? I mean, that poor parent who was there, obviously, he didn't have much control over that child.

UDOJI: He was shaking. We were waiting for him to break out in tears at any moment. He had no idea, as many parents don't. These kids say I'm going over to my friend's house and we're going to do a little wrestling. So parents think horsing around. They don't think toasters, and metal chairs, and plywood and thumbtacks. That's not what they're thinking.

M. O'BRIEN: Oh gosh, that is awful.

That is so weird. Yes, thank you, interesting report.

S. O'BRIEN: Ahead this morning, you better be on the lookout next time you go on eBay. The Web site is accused of letting folks selling phony stuff from Tiffany'S and other places. We're going to tell you how to pick out real deals from fake deals, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: There are up to 60 million -- with an 'm' -- items on sale at eBay at any given moment. So some buyers are bound to get stuck with fakes, right? Well, maybe note. The jeweler Tiffany is suing eBay over fake items. If they win, eBay could face a giant task of policing their 60 million items and 180 million members.

Let's get right to Danielle Romano for dailycandy.com with us this morning.

Nice to see you.

DANIELLE ROMANO, DAILYCANDY.COM: Good morning, Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Let's talk a little bit about this lawsuit. Tiffany suing eBay, and they sort of caught them with the sting.

ROMANO: Isn't that fun? It was undercover operation. So Tiffany is insinuating that eBay is sort of aiding and abetting these trademark infringers. They're sort of diminishing Tiffany's brand, which is a stellar brand that's been around for hundreds of years, by sort of providing the place where these frauds can sell fake Tiffany goods.

S. O'BRIEN: They Tiffany folks went on line and got a bunch of items.

(CROSSTALK)

ROMANO: Not reveals themselves as working for Tiffany, they bid on items that were held up as genuine Tiffany articles, and of course they weren't. They were able to purchase I think hundreds of items, or several dozen, at least, you know, just in the normal course of a day.

S. O'BRIEN: Three out of four were fake. I mean, that's a huge number.

ROMANO: Something like that. Now, I think we should clarify, you know, eBay is not an Old West, sort of your bound to get in trouble; there are sharks around every corner. It's a marketplace. And it's in fact the -- any online auction is the perfect marketplace, because it is bringing together buyers and sellers, and it's sort of, you know, there's complete transparency. It's perfect information. You know -- you should know the exact sort of fair market value of any good you're looking at, because there's nothing hidden. You Know, know like the people who want to sell and the people who want to buy.

S. O'BRIEN: Right. Your fair market value for a Tiffany vase might be 500-something dollars, when actually it's a knockoff. So the actual value would be like $5, which might be why they're selling it for $10 and still making a profit.

ROMANO: Right.

S. O'BRIEN: Let's talk about what eBay had to say. Their statement was this, they said, "While we continue to cooperate with Tiffany in these efforts, we will fight the legal action because its claims are without merit."

And really this lawsuit is kind of attacking a basic business model of how eBay works. Everybody is not going to get stuck with things. But there's got to be some tips on how you can keep yourself from getting from getting caught. ROMANO: Absolutely. The old saw (ph), buyer beware is the most important thing we can think about it here. So eBay thinks we're just bringing together these people. We are the marketplace, so we're not responsible. That's what they're saying. And whether you believe that or not, you just have to keep your eyes open.

S. O'BRIEN: You say do your research.

ROMANO: Do your research. Often, a lot of the people involved in these sort of fraud things are hobbyists. So if you're interested in vintage jewelry or old Tiffany stuff, you know, know what you're getting. Whether you can -- you know, Tiffany is an established brand. They have a catalogue on line. Look at the pictures of the actual goods. Compare what you see...

S. O'BRIEN: You're not going to get a Tiffany watch for $12.

ROMANO: Exactly. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. Go with your gut. If something strikes you as a little too weird, maybe something is off in the seller's -- you know, they have the like page where the seller tells you all the information. If it seems too good to be true, you know what, listen to mom's old advice, it probably is.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, I bet. All right, Danielle Romano. You're not going to get for it cheap, that's the thing with Tiffany.

ROMANO: There aren't -- if it's a huge, huge bargain that is just for you, it's not your lucky day, it's probably not real.

S. O'BRIEN: It's a fake. All right, Danielle Romano, nice to see you. Be careful out there. Always, always on all fronts -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Don't be a stranger, Danielle. Good to have you back.

All right, coming up, $4 here, $5 there. All those grande lattes kind of add up. We'll tell you why Wall Street's all abuzz about Starbucks, next on AMERICAN MORNING.

(MARKET REPORT)

M. O'BRIEN: Back with more in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: We're out of time. Let's get right to Daryn Kagan. She's at the CNN Center.

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