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Nancy Grace
Colorado Pot Crime Wave; Topless Mom and Daughter Photo Goes Viral; Accused of; Banker Dad Fakes Death to Start a Port Farm; Man Accused of Skinning, Baking His Cat with Onions
Aired January 09, 2014 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
NANCY GRACE, HOST: Breaking news tonight. Off the top, bombshell tonight. Of course the state of Colorado runs out of pot! Yes. And I don`t mean pots and pans, I mean marijuana, weed, maryjane, hash, dope, spliff. Why? Because Colorado legalizes pot!
Hey, you want your baby-sitter high on pot? I don`t. You want your cab or your school bus driver high on pot? I don`t. How about your yard guy back there in the back of the yard burning your leaves? You want him high on pot? How about those workers in your children`s school cafeteria cooking on a gas stove? I don`t want them high on pot.
Watch out for a marijuana crime wave, Colorado, because here it comes!
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Marijuana has long been called a gateway drug by those who oppose legalizing it, a point that`s hotly debated.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pot is addictive.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) it`s not (INAUDIBLE) it`s just (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That is absolute nonsense.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I used it constantly.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Were you addicted to marijuana?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know, taking bong hits driving down the highway. Things were really crazy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And tonight, a Missouri mom in hot water after she takes topless photos of herself and her young daughter partying in the family`s hot tub. After Mommy sends out the topless photos on Snapchat, the photos go viral and get (ph) prosecutors` state`s exhibit number one, topless photos. And don`t act like it was an accident, Mommy!
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I wasn`t posing! I was getting out of the tub!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She showed me the outdoor hot tub photo in question, says it was her other teen daughter who took the photo. She never imagined it would get out.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You were aware that the photo was being taken, isn`t that true?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was aware that the photo was taken by my 13-year- old daughter, and I specifically told her at that second, Please delete that photo!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And tonight, a well respected bank director goes missing. His wife tells all the children, four of them, for nearly two years, Daddy`s gone to heaven. Well guess what? Daddy is not in heaven. He`s in Florida running a pot farm and raking in up to $250,000! Daddy, you`re busted!
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is what Price looked like when he was a banker. This is his mug shot after he was arrested.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He`s accused of embezzling $21 million from Montgomery Bank and Trust. When he disappeared, he sent letters telling people he had lost the money in investments and he planned to kill himself.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The elaborate hoax fell apart.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He`s a thief and he`s a liar.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And tonight, we go live to Minnesota, a quiet neighborhood reeling when they learn a mild-mannered cat enthusiast actually skins and cooks his pet cat. When stunned cops asked him why, he says he wanted to try the cat with onions! Well, I can guarantee you one thing, there won`t be any pets where he`s going!
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police say 28-year-old Cody Mann (ph) was cooking his cat, admitting to police that he killed, skinned and then began to bake the feline, even going as far as to say he wanted to try cooking it with onions. Police also found parts of the cat inside his freezer. Now Mann could spend years behind bars for his culinary experiment.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us. Bombshell tonight. In the last hours, the state of Colorado has run out of pot. Yes! And I`m not talking about pots and pans. I mean marijuana, weed, maryjane, hash, rope, spliff. Why? Because Colorado legalizes pot! You want your baby-sitter high on pot? How about your cab or your school bus driver? How about the cafeteria workers where your children are going to school, back there cooking on a gas flame. Want them on pot? Because I sure don`t. Well, watch out. A marijuana crime wave has finally hit!
We are taking your calls. The number of marijuana pot-related crimes since Colorado legalizes recreational use of marijuana has skyrocketed. We are not talking about medicinal marijuana and the possible health benefits of medicinal marijuana. We`re talking about recreational marijuana. The crime wave induced by legalization of pot is over the top!
Straight out to Justin Freiman joining us. Justin, what about that house that just blew off its foundation when the owners of the home were trying to cook marijuana into hashish?
JUSTIN FREIMAN, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER (via telephone): That`s right, Nancy. It was butane. Police say it was butane used to extract the hash oil that actually caused the explosion. I mean, it blew this house apart!
GRACE: Joining me right now is Norm Kent, Kent the president of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. In other words, he wants it legalized.
Norm, thank you for being with us. What is your response to the outcry from the rest of country, other than Colorado and Washington state, about the legalization of pot?
NORM KENT, NATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR THE REFORM OF MARIJUANA LAWS: Well, first, on a personal note, Nancy, thanks for having me back. Hopefully, the Norm Kent blip will help you. It might not be the Colbert bump, but maybe it`ll help you a little.
Let me just say up front that Colorado is running out of pot like Velveeta is -- like Kraft is running out of Velveeta. That`s just not happening. What`s happening is they`re developing...
GRACE: I`m asking you...
KENT: ... a regulatory system...
GRACE: ... to respond to...
KENT: ... that`s safe.
GRACE: ... the crime wave that has been sparked since the legalization of pot and marijuana. That is what I`m asking you to respond to.
KENT: Right. Frankly, it`s just the opposite. What we have developed is a legally regulated system that`s putting an end to prohibition and making pot safely accessible, taxable to the public, benefiting everybody. And we`re doing away with the system where it was purchased in dark alleys, at great risk, with fear for the consumer.
GRACE: OK. Norm...
KENT: So what we`re doing is generating income for the community.
GRACE: Norm, Norm, Norm...
KENT: Yes?
GRACE: Take a listen to this. Roll it, Liz.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Get ready for a marijuana crime wave because here it comes!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A blast inside that apartment.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) a bomb inside that apartment, but it wasn`t. It was blew up from the inside out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Drug operation...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Investigators believe the person may have been producing hash oil.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A mom arrested after her 1-year-old baby boy tested positive for weed. Another child, this one 9 years old, busted on video riding a scooter, says he was smoking pot.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) my weed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pot is hitting the high seas, 14 arrested after a boat carrying pot lands on a beach. A man is arrested after stuffing marijuana in his pants and planning to sell it. A store is busted selling synthetic marijuana.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A lot of smell of marijuana coming from around the corner.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Scoobie (ph) snacks, cartoon characters -- they`re packaged just like candy, but don`t be fooled, the owner and clerk arrested. A man is charged with trafficking and possession of marijuana in proximity of a school. The list goes on and on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: OK, Norm. You say crime is not resulting because of the legalization of pot. I say no! I say you`re wrong. And I don`t see how this can benefit children. Selling pot near a school zone? How does that help children?
KENT: Nancy, people should not play with explosive gases and children should not play with matches. But society should not restrict the rights of adults to consume marijuana responsibly. It`s the safer alternative to buying it illegally. It`s much less harmful than alcohol.
GRACE: Well, why are those my only choices...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: Why is it that I have to buy legal pot or illegal pot? Why don`t I just not have -- you know what? Let`s bring in Brad Lamm, addiction specialist.
KENT: Those are choices...
GRACE: He`s the founder of...
KENT: ... we all make.
GRACE: ... the Breathe Life Healing Centers. Let`s bring in both gentlemen, Liz. Brad Lamm joining me, and Norm Kent with the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.
Brad, when you hear talk like this coming from Norm Kent -- I want to hear your response because you`re not just an addiction specialist, you have been an addict, an addict, a drug addict. And you had to fight and claw your way out of that to become what you are today!
BRAD LAMM, ADDICTION SPECIALIST: Well, Nancy, it frustrates me because Norm is a lobbyist. He`s lobbying for the loosening of these laws so that he can profit from it. And I think if you were up front about it, I think that would be helpful to the conversation, Norm...
GRACE: Well, why do you say that, Brad?
BRAD LAMM: ... instead of just...
GRACE: Brad, why do you say that? Because I asked him the other night...
BRAD LAMM: Because I -- I`ve been...
GRACE: ... was he a lobbyist, and he said no.
BRAD LAMM: ... to his Web site. Norm...
(CROSSTALK)
BRAD LAMM: What is your salary, and who pays you?
KENT: Thank you -- thank you for asking that again, Brad. The bottom line is that for the past four decades...
GRACE: You look like you`re reading.
KENT: ... ever -- ever since -- ever since -- I`m looking right at the camera, Nancy. Ever since I was a student at Hofstra University, I have been an activist for the legalization of marijuana. I am the...
BRAD LAMM: And so Nancy...
KENT: ... chairman of...
(CROSSTALK)
BRAD LAMM: Here`s the truth.
KENT: ... for Reform of Marijuana Law -- no, let me finish my sentence! I am not getting paid. I am being an advocate for justice and responsibility in America.
GRACE: OK...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: Back to you, Brad.
(CROSSTALK)
BRAD LAMM: This -- this is what an ounce of pot looks like. So when we`re talking about what was just legalized in the state of Colorado, it`s exactly what is sending people into treatment like a Breathe (ph). It`s creating such illness. So Norm, the other night, when you said that...
GRACE: Norm, Norm...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: I see you reading again!
BRAD LAMM: ... you`re just spouting lies.
GRACE: I think you`ve got canned responses for what we`re going to ask you. Hold on. Justin...
KENT: Well, if you think...
(CROSSTALK)
KENT: ... and you think I can`t handle myself, there you go, because for 35 years...
BRAD LAMM: No, you can`t. Come on, Norm!
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: Liz, cut their mikes.
KENT: Let me share something...
GRACE: Cut their mikes! Liz, I want you to go to his Web site and tell me what you see. I want you to tell me and Justin, and we`ll report back what is on his Web site.
All right, back to you, Norm Kent, Brad Lamm. Brad, when you hear these arguments made about legalization of marijuana, I want to hear your response with no interruptions.
BRAD LAMM: Well, it`s the same knucklehead response about those that sell alcohol, that distribute alcohol, that are saying, Hey, drive safely. You just got to do it safely. Pot is not something that is just an herb that you smoke and it takes the edge off. Pot, for some people...
GRACE: Did you guys see that video...
BRAD LAMM: ... makes them very sick...
GRACE: Nor, did you see that video?
KENT: Nancy...
GRACE: ... of the 8 or 9-year-old little boy? Stop, Norm! Did you see...
KENT: OK, go ahead.
GRACE: ... the video of the 8 or 9-year-old child on a skateboard bragging that he was high on weed? Did you see that?
KENT: No, Nancy, because the way we film this show is I don`t get to see the videos beforehand.
GRACE: Well, you know what?
KENT: But I`ll rely on your...
GRACE: We`ll run it...
KENT: ... representation.
GRACE: We`ll run it again. We`ll run it again.
KENT: No, I can`t -- I won`t be able to see it, though.
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: ... moment by moment.
(CROSSTALK)
BRAD LAMM: ... Nancy, why he won`t be able to see it is because he`s completely blind to the truth on this story. That`s why Norm can`t see it.
KENT: You know...
BRAD LAMM: Even if you put the video...
(CROSSTALK)
KENT: You know what I`m not blind to the truth of -- talking about blindness, you who work as an addiction-ologist, treating people, know that for decades, minorities more than anybody else have been unjustly incarcerated and wrongly jailed with a racial disparity that...
BRAD LAMM: Look, Norm...
(CROSSTALK)
KENT: Nancy, as an individual fighting for equality...
BRAD LAMM: ... for those struggling with addiction...
KENT: Let me finish! Brad...
BRAD LAMM: ... and not criminalization...
KENT: Brad, you just called me a knucklehead. May I be given the opportunity to respond accordingly. Nancy is...
GRACE: Yes, I really want to hear this.
(CROSSTALK)
KENT: ... for equal justice under the law for decades, and she`s advocating a policy which is inviting the reinstitutionalization of Jim Crow laws that will put minorities in jail...
BRAD LAMM: Absolutely not.
KENT: ... for long periods of time.
BRAD LAMM: That`s not true, and...
(CROSSTALK)
BRAD LAMM: That`s not even fair, Norm.
KENT: ... statistically -- statistically...
GRACE: Brad, hold on just a moment.
KENT: ... it is true...
(CROSSTALK)
KENT: ... go to jail for marijuana at three times rate of Caucasian people. The bottom line, Nancy, is when you ask the question...
BRAD LAMM: The bought line is...
KENT: ... why should pot be legal...
BRAD LAMM: ... pot is addictive...
GRACE: Stop, please, Brad.
KENT: ... is because...
GRACE: I want to hear him out.
BRAD LAMM: ... and it ruins a lot of lives.
KENT: Thank you, Nancy. But when you ask the question why should pot be legal, it`s because it`s...
GRACE: No, no! That`s not...
KENT: ... wrong to cage people, lock them up because friends of yours...
GRACE: Norm? Norm, I`ve...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: I`m going to have to cut your mike because you`ve had opportunity to speak. And what you said is that I fight for equal justice for all. I don`t know what kind of bass-ackwards logic you`re applying to this. I am not advocating equal opportunity for anybody to go out and break the law and buy pot or meth or crack or coke or anything! That`s not what I`m about! And I...
KENT: Are you saying you...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: ... the use of drugs by anybody, regardless of your age, your race, your sex! I don`t care!
KENT: But Nancy, you fight for equal justice under the law. And what you`re doing is advocating a criminal process that creates racial injustice and disparities that are unfair.
GRACE: No, I`m not! And don`t try...
BRAD LAMM: Norm, I...
GRACE: ... to turn the Constitution on me, Norm, because it ain`t going to work (INAUDIBLE)
BRAD LAMM: ... -and I think people of color...
KENT: Well, it might be an experiment...
BRAD LAMM: People of color across the United States...
KENT: ... to read it. It works for a lot of...
(CROSSTALK)
BRAD LAMM: Norm, I think people of color across the United States do not need you leading the charge for justice for them. What we`re talking about is -- and the reason why I suggested that you`re a knucklehead, is that you`ve said that pot is not addictive, and it is.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... Colorado, the first state to legalize recreational marijuana...
GRACE: I guess the Colorado legislature -- they`re all high. They`ve got to be high on pot.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Most feel the new law will encourage new users. Drug abuse therapists fear it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think we`ll see more people using it on a consistent basis.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Marijuana store owners hope for it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Like kids in a candy store.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The lines of have been long, sales brisk.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Welcome back, everybody. A crime wave now ensuing after the legalization of pot in Colorado.
I want to go back to Brad Lamm, addiction specialist. Brad, I don`t understand why I keep hearing that pot is not addictive.
BRAD LAMM: It`s because science tells us that it`s not physically addictive, but it`s psychologically addictive. So when folks like your guest say that -- they`re really speaking out one side of their mouth. They know that -- that in some ways, it`s not addictive. It`s like nicotine, which is addictive physically and psychologically. Pot is a little different, just like many drugs are different. But it does cause a lot of harm and ends up with a lot of lives really ruined because of it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Denver native Brian Doyle (ph) used to dread being without marijuana. If he didn`t smoke a joint, he wouldn`t be able to fall asleep. If he didn`t smoke a joint, he would have no appetite.
Was it more important than food to you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Was it more important than most things to you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Weed took over the 27-year-old`s life. He had often heard that it was no big deal, that it wasn`t even addictive. But...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Were you addicted to marijuana?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Welcome back. Out to Tom Gorman. Tom, explain to me, you are a director that deals with this issue. Explain what you do and your response to what you`ve heard tonight.
TOM GORMAN, DIRECTOR (via telephone): I got to tell you, Nancy, it was so difficult to listen to Norm. I am so sick of the rhetoric, the misinformation. It`s disingenuous. I just almost want to scream and say people need to learn to tell the truth. You misuse statistics. The statistics (INAUDIBLE) racial is misused. And I am so sick of it. But they keep doing it and people keep listening to them. It`s frustrating. Just go with fact and figures, that`s all I ask. Forget the rhetoric.
GRACE: OK, Norm Kent, Brad Lamm, final thoughts. Out to you, Norm.
KENT: LEARN -- L-E-A-R-N -- legalization, education, acclimation, regulation, normalization. Let`s welcome cannabis into our community and use it responsibly. Society will grow...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: All right, Brad. You know what?
LAMM: And my -- my...
GRACE: You do not teach an old dog a new trick.
BRAD LAMM: If you`re a parent and you have a kid that is struggling with pot, take it seriously and help them get help because pot can be very addictive and it wrecks a lot of lives.
GRACE: Everybody, when we come back, a Missouri mother in hot water after she takes topless photos of herself and her young daughter partying in the family`s hot tub.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: Welcome back. A Missouri mother in hot water after she takes topless photos of herself and her young daughter in the family`s hot tub. Now, after Mommy sends the pictures out on Snapchat, the photos go viral and give prosecutors state`s exhibit number one, Mommy`s topless photos with her little girl. And Mommy, don`t act like it was an accident!
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was aware the photo was taken by my 13-year-old daughter.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A picture of a 50-year-old mother topless in a hot tub with her half-naked 14-year-old daughter is allegedly posted on the Internet using Snapchat.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I specifically told her at that second, Please delete that photo.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shocking photo of the topless duo leads to a child endangerment charge against Mommy!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: A mother taking topless photos of herself, and she`s got her daughter topless beside her? Then those photos go viral, including at two high schools, one of which the brother attends. And he is roundly mocked and ridiculed with his mother and sister topless in the hot tub.
Straight out to Kelley Lamm, co-host of "Kelley and Cassandra" on The Woman. Kelley, thanks for being with us. What the hey?
KELLEY LAMM, CO-HOST "KELLEY AND CASSANDRA" (via telephone): Exactly. That`s what we are all saying here, that`s for sure. It`s -- it`s (INAUDIBLE)
GRACE: What happened?
KELLEY LAMM: Well, you know, when you have -- I`m a mother myself. I have a 16-year-old. And one thing I would never be doing is sitting in the hot tub with my daughter naked or topless. So`s is a very sad situation. We have enough troubleship (ph) with social media right now and what`s going on. And that pretty well rides (ph) it on home, doesn`t it?
GRACE: To Clark Goldband. Explain to me exactly what happened.
CLARK GOLDBAND, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: OK. Sure, Nancy. This is a shocking story! So apparently, Mom and her 14-year-old are in a hot tub. As they`re exiting the hot tub, one of the younger children snaps a photo...
GRACE: Whoa! Whoa! Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait! Stop. Stop! Clark, did you get totally sucked into that mother`s vortex? She said they were getting out of the hot tub and she was getting out, and another daughter snapped the picture. She said, Oh, no, don`t, don`t, delete it.
Yes, but it...
GRACE: But is that -- that`s not what -- no! No, no! That`s not what the police officer said. The police officer says...
GOLDBAND: No, you`re right.
GRACE: ... that the photo is aimed right at the two of them. They`re both topless in the hot tub. They`re both smiling, and they cover their nipples!
GOLDBAND: Right, but their breasts...
GRACE: OK, that`s not an accident, Clark!
GOLDBAND: Their breasts are exposed, though, and their nipples are covered, according to law enforcement, correct.
GRACE: Then why are you saying it was an accident, that she was trying to get out of the tub? That`s not what happened.
GOLDBAND: Well, I think how it got transferred to two high schools could be an accident.
And here, Nancy, let me explained why.
GRACE: OK, look here.
GOLDBAND: OK. So Snapchat, it`s taking over the online world right now and here`s what it is. You see behind me. Users take pictures and videos on their cell phone and an app. I actually downloaded Snapchat this afternoon and worked with one of our producers Kyle on this. Friends can view the picture.
Here`s the thing, Nancy.
GRACE: I hope you weren`t topless in a hot tub.
GOLDBAND: No, but I did snap one just a few moments ago using my camera here and I sent it and I believe we have it. Here it is. Here is the thing.
Nancy, it`s supposed to expire between five and 10 seconds, but there is a loophole and we think that`s what happened here.
If you hold the bottom button --
GRACE: I`m not worried about the Snapchat -- you know, Clark, bring it down a notch once again.
GOLDBAND: Yes.
GRACE: All right?
GOLDBAND: OK. OK.
GRACE: I`m not crazy about Snapchat. That`s not what`s bothering me.
GOLDBAND: But, Nancy, it`s --
GRACE: That`s how Snapchat works.
GOLDBAND: It is really an awesome app.
GRACE: I`m worried --
GOLDBAND: It`s awesome. You`ve got to try it.
GRACE: I don`t care about Snapchat. I care about a mother --
GOLDBAND: You can send pictures or any videos.
GRACE: -- sending out pictures. OK, take him down.
Unleash the lawyers, Jason Oshins, New York defense attorney, Patrick McDonough, defense attorney, Atlanta jurisdiction.
All right, Jason Oshins. What`s your defense? Because the mom for -- is now saying, you heard her talking to the reporter it was an accident. No, the photo was her and her daughter sitting there smiling, posing, and coyly trying to cover up their nipples and it goes all over town.
JASON OSHINS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Nancy, listen. The mom --
GRACE: What?
OSHINS: The mom is irresponsible, right? That`s a bad use of social media, her family clearly not being guided right. Perhaps the mother was on a legal drug of alcohol in the hot tub.
I don`t know, Nancy. But this doesn`t rise to the level of a misdemeanor charge.
GRACE: Put him up. Put him up. Put him up.
OSHINS: This does not rise to the level of a misdemeanor charge.
GRACE: Jason Oshins.
OSHINS: This is a prosecutor making a name for himself.
GRACE: A gorgeous boy and a gorgeous girl.
OSHINS: Thank you, Nancy.
GRACE: And I bet you would raise H-E-L-L if some adult takes a picture of your girl topless in a hot tub and it goes out to the whole school?
OSHINS: That`s -- Nancy, that`s completely --
GRACE: Oh no. Oh no.
OSHINS: Nancy, that is actionable.
(CROSSTALK)
PATRICK MCDONOUGH, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: But, Nancy, that`s not what happened.
OSHINS: This is -- that`s not what happened. This is something that happened at home. This is an irresponsible parent.
GRACE: That doesn`t make it OK because it was home.
OSHINS: This is not another adult taking a picture, Nancy. This is not another adult.
GRACE: All right. Patrick McDonough, you keep trying to jump in. Go ahead.
MCDONOUGH: Look, you keep saying that she took this picture. I mean, the mother is the victim. I mean, give me a break. You thought a mother who`s in her own hot tub who gets out --
GRACE: Why is the mother --
MCDONOUGH: -- and covers herself, a teen-ager takes the picture, she says delete it. She doesn`t take the picture. She doesn`t pose for the picture. She does not disseminate the picture.
GRACE: That`s not what police said.
(CROSSTALK)
OSHINS: She`s an irresponsible parent. That`s what she is.
MCDONOUGH: That`s what she said and that`s what happened. So then it gets sent out. Right? And you`ve got a kid that has done this in the past. You have the delinquent act and we have young people that don`t understand --
GRACE: I`m glad you brought that up.
MCDONOUGH: -- the gravity of this social media.
GRACE: Let`s talk about what Patrick McDonough says.
To Kelley Lamm, co-host of "Kelly and Cassandra: The Woman," Kelly, isn`t it true that the daughter had posted news photos of herself, had -- disseminated them before and she got, I guess, court-ordered counseling.
KELLEY LAMM, 1380 AM "THE WOMAN": Absolutely.
GRACE: Knowing this --
LAMM: Absolutely.
GRACE: And knowing this, the mother is encouraging her to take more half- naked photos of herself.
LAMM: I guess we have two men that have something to say. Where was the father? I guess, where was he at in this situation? It`s a mother in the hot tub, topless with her 14-year-old daughter. Maybe she`s reverting, maybe she`s needing to hang around with the teenagers again, but it`s wrong. It is a delinquent act just as you had said. Should not have happened and she is now going to pay for this action.
GRACE: And you know another thing -- another thing, Kelley, I want to follow this up with Jason Oshins and Patrick McDonough and now joining me, Bethany Marshall, psychoanalyst and author of "Dealbreakers."
I want to follow up on something the lawyers said in their wisdom, Bethany, that this wasn`t some other adult, this was the mother in their own home. That`s a person that should be protecting you the most, is your own mother. What -- why do I care what home it send? I don`t care.
The fact that the mother is going along with topless photos being taken of her daughter and it gets disseminated everywhere, and she knows her daughter has had a similar problem in the past.
BETHANY MARSHALL, PSYCHOANALYST, AUTHOR OF "DEALBREAKERS": Well, not only that, what if it was the father taking naked photos of himself with his own biological 13-year-old daughter? What will we say then? We would -- we would begin to assess for sexual abuse.
One form of sexual abuse is engaging minors to feel sexual feelings they`re not yet ready to feel, to titillate them, to take photographs of them, to disseminate photographs.
So I would definitely assess for that. Did this mother have an attraction toward her daughter`s age-mates? In other words was she wanting to disseminate the photos amongst other boys at school?
GRACE: When we come back, a well-respected bank director goes missing. His wife tells the children nearly two years daddy has gone to heaven. Well, guess what, daddy is not in heaven. He`s in Florida running a pot farm and raking in up to $250,000.
Daddy, you`re busted.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: Tonight a well-respected bank director, like the president of a bank, goes missing. His wife tells the children, four children, starting at age 10, for nearly two years, that daddy has gone to heaven. She`s a single mom of four. She`s a hard-working math teacher. And she supports her four children on a teacher`s salary.
Well, guess what, daddy is not in heaven at all. He is in Florida, running a pot farm and raking up a quarter million dollars.
Daddy, you`re busted.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The former director of Montgomery Bank and Trust now faces bank fraud charges after prosecutors say he swindled $21 million from investors then lost it in a series of shady investments.
WENDY CROSS, FRAUD VICTIM: It was my life savings, so yes, it was devastating.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The FBI says the clean-cut banker became a fugitive from the law, letting his family believe he had committed suicide.
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Authorities raided the house Price was renting in Marion County, Florida, and found a marijuana growing operation with 225 plants.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He looks like a fugitive, doesn`t he?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Man, can you imagine? Your husband, who is the equivalent of a bank president goes missing. And it`s believed that he committed suicide. He left behind a long and detailed suicide note.
For nearly two years his wife tells the four children, daddy went to heaven, that he`s dead. Only to find out -- have a friend call her on the phone and goes, he`s on TV right now. Daddy turns up running a pot farm, abandoned his wife and their four children. She is scraping by, raising four children on a math teachers salary while daddy hightailed it to Florida to start a pot farm raking in about a quarter million.
Yes, that`s the situation.
Straight out to Scott Trubey, staff writer with the AJC.
Hey, Scott, thank you for being with us. I`m overwhelmed at this guy`s double life.
I mean, Liz, let`s show the viewers the before and after shot. I mean, the first shot, this guy looks like he`s right out of the Wharton School of Business, the investment banker shot. Well, just two short years later, look at this guy. He is running a quarter million dollar operation, a pot farm, in Florida. And all this while the children are trying to heal over the loss, the death of their father?
OK, what happened, Scott?
Where would you like to begin?
GRACE: Let`s start with the suicide note.
SCOTT TRUBEY, STAFF WRITER, ATLANTA JOURNAL CONSTITUTION: Sure.
GRACE: On the -- the ferry boat. Let`s start with that.
TRUBEY: Sure. Mr. Price disappeared in June 2012. He told a family and associates that he essentially was going to jump to his death off a ferry boat in Key West. He disappeared. The wife several months later had him declared dead in a Florida court because there was no evidence that he was alive and then he appeared on New Year`s Eve last week.
GRACE: Whoa, whoa, wait. Hold on. Scott Trubey joining me from the "Atlanta Journal Constitution."
OK, so he was declared dead in court. Now normally that would mean the wife would get some kind of insurance -- a life insurance policy, but she didn`t accept it, did she?
TRUBEY: Well, the company that took over -- or sorry, the receiver who took over Mr. Price`s businesses attempted to collect on that insurance money so the wife really has -- as far as we can tell has not received any insurance money.
GRACE: Nothing, whatsoever? So basically, the money, Scott Trubey, goes to investors, a lot of his investors that had lost money or at least it was supposed to. The wife and the children get nothing, right?
TRUBEY: We don`t know that they will get much. The receiver has made claims against these -- at least three of the life insurance policies. There is one that`s still outstanding as far as we know.
GRACE: Well, actually I guess it`s a moot point, Scott, because he`s alive. OK.
TRUBEY: That`s true.
GRACE: Pick it up, they get -- they get the suicide note and then what happens?
TRUBEY: So they get the suicide note, he disappears off the ferry boat, he has not seen from since. He doesn`t -- he hasn`t seen or heard of until he is arrested outside of Brunswick, Georgia, driving a pickup truck. He was pulled over for having too dark windows on his pickup truck and the deputies arrested him because he had multiple fake ID`s in his pickup. They were unable to identify him at first then later he confessed to who he was.
GRACE: Joining also -- Clark, I`m going to go back to you. I`m going to give you another chance, Clark. What more can you tell me?
GOLDBAND: Nancy, it is absolutely shocking the change and transformation, but not just in physical appearance, as you see before and after. Guys, if we advance off to the next screen and peel back the onion and look at the amount of money this guy was making. You would think you allegedly didn`t have to steal anything from our calculations. He was easily making between $105,000 per year from the bank alone.
He allegedly embezzled 21 million bucks, and, guys, if we can advance on to the final screen, take a look here what we`re talking about, Nancy. Over 200 plants of marijuana found inside the home, in the garage where he was allegedly staying. That comes out by our calculations somewhere in the six figures.
GRACE: To Bethany Marshall. Dr. Bethany, psychoanalyst and author. I`m just thinking about when I was a crime victim, and the grieving period, it was so awful, so terrible. Wrestling with violent crime and the loss of someone that you love so dearly, I can`t imagine the loss of a parent.
I mean, who could do this to their child? I mean, mommy told the children for about two years daddy is in heaven and then daddy pops up on the news with long hair and a beard. He`s running a pot farm and he`s making a mint.
MARSHALL: Well, Nancy, not only is it the loss of the parent in reality, but it`s the loss of who they thought their father was. I mean, the most shocking part is to realize what a con artist he was. He conned the bank, he conned the investors, he conned his wife, he conned his own children.
He threw everybody under the bus. I mean, I don`t use this word often, but he is a true sociopath. He would fit the profile of one. Right? A parasitic lifestyle, drifting, living off of other people, breaking the law, lack of conscience, profound detachment from loved ones.
So I think the children are going to have to come to terms with the fact that not only is daddy alive, but daddy is a monster.
GRACE: Well there is another issue. Unleash the lawyers, Jason Oshins, New York, Patrick McDonough, Atlanta.
Jason Oshins, you dabble in civil law as I recall.
OSHINS: Correct.
GRACE: What about this? When he was declared dead it`s my understanding that somehow she was legally I guess separated from him, divorced from him because of the death declaration.
OSHINS: Well, she was -- she was widowed.
GRACE: And now she`s essentially -- yes, well, you know what, that`s what I was saying.
OSHINS: Right.
GRACE: But the court documents say otherwise, but now the reality is he`s alive, she`s back in the marriage, so are all of these -- these liens, millions of dollars of liens going to be on here, the math teacher trying to raise four children while he`s in jail for running a pot farm?
OSHINS: Nancy, some of those are going to get set aside. Some of them are already probably in litigation, have gone post judgment or been wiped off because he was declared dead and she`s indigent. So it opens up a whole can of worms as to --
GRACE: Well --
OSHINS: -- how those judgments or liens are going to be effectuated.
GRACE: She had no idea.
And very quickly, Patrick McDonough, where does it leave her as it relates to money? And could a claim be brought against her? Can she sue him for child support? I mean, he`s been out of the picture for two years raising dope.
MCDONOUGH: Yes, I think all of those are possible. Right? But the reality is probably very little will change. She didn`t get any money because of all of the claims of the receivership and she probably won`t get tacked on with any money.
I mean, the real essence of this case is, did he embezzle the money or not. I mean there`s $21 million gone --
GRACE: Well, you may -- you may think that`s the real essence of the case, Patrick McDonough, but I think the real essence of the case as you put it is you tell little children for two years daddy is dead. That he went to heaven. And now they find out, no, he didn`t go to heaven, he didn`t die, he just didn`t want to be with us. Left.
OSHINS: And, Nancy, if pot -- if pot were legalized --
GRACE: That`s what they`re dealing with.
OSHINS: Nancy, if pot were legalized in Florida, he probably wouldn`t have had so much on the hook that $250,000 and not been able to get away with selling it in the first place.
GRACE: Well, you know what, there you go. There`s the greatest argument that could be made as to why pot should not be legalized.
When we come back, a quiet neighborhood reeling when they learned a mild mannered cat enthusiast actually skins and cooks his pet cat. When a stunned cop asked him why, he says he wanted to try the cat with onions.
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GRACE: And live, Minnesota, a quiet neighborhood reeling when they learn a mild-mannered cat enthusiast actually skins and cooks his pet cat. When stunned cops ask him why, he says he wanted to try the cat with onions.
Well, I can guarantee you one thing, there won`t be any pets where he`s going.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: A Minnesota man is arrested a day after purchasing a pet cat. A cat he is now accused of trying to turn into dinner. The pet owner admitted to police that he wanted to try cooking it with some onions and eat it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: I`m going out to Patrick Monro, friend of Cody Mann, who knows the family.
Patrick, can you tell us what happened?
PATRICK MONRO, FRIEND OF MAN ACCUSED OF SKINNING HIS PET CAT: All I know is that I heard it on the radio when it happened. And then his father texted me, you know, something about the incident. So --
GRACE: So you basically know what the father told you and what you heard on the radio.
Out to Dr. Panchali Dhar, joining me from New York. He actually skinned the cat and cooked it. That`s got to show premeditation because it`s very difficult to skin anything.
DR. PANCHALI DHAR, M.D., INTERNAL MEDICINE, AUTHOR OF "BEFORE THE SCALPEL": Of course. The cat was being tortured. I imagined the cat was -- let`s hope the cat was dead and then he skinned it. Let`s not hope that this cat was skinned alive. That would be even more vicious. But the fact is cats can carry certain diseases. And he could be infected.
This cat, depending on the conditions the cat was raised in, and those diseases can be acquired by humans. Tape worms, toxoplasmosis, of those sorts. So I wouldn`t say it`s safe to eat a cat.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: A man accused of skinning his cat and baking it with onions.
To Susan Logan, the editor at "Cat Fancy."
Susan, I`m a great fan of your magazine. What was your reaction when you heard this horrific story?
SUSAN LOGAN, EDITOR, CAT FANCY: Thank you, Nancy. I was absolutely shocked. I did tear up. It`s always heartbreaking to hear of someone being cruel to an animal. It`s just hard to hear. It`s the hardest part of my job is hearing any story like this.
GRACE: You know, in some states, killing and eating a pet is not a crime. For instance, in Minnesota. What are your thoughts on that?
LOGAN: Well, cats are companion animals. And they have had a friendship with human beings for millennia. And I think they should be protected from, you know, certainly any type of cruelty but also killing them and they are not food animals. And for many reasons, but it`s just wrong, I think, to eat a cat.
GRACE: Well, with me, everyone, editor of "Cat Fancy," Susan Logan.
Justin Freiman, the man showed absolutely no remorse whatsoever. In fact when the cops -- the cops were stunned. They said, why did you do it? His answer was, I wanted to try the cat with onions.
JUSTIN FREIMAN, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: You`re 100 percent correct, Nancy. And the cops were actually not just by his dad of strange behavior but the landlord who smelled the smoke and called them to come over to check out what`s going on in that apartment.
GRACE: You know, Justin, we`re following the case, but so far he was mentally evaluated and he was clean as a whistle. Totally competent.
Let`s stop and remember, American hero, Army Staff Sergeant James Hunter, 25, South Amherst, Ohio. Joint Service Commendation medal, Army Commendation medal, Army Achievement medal, loved photography and Kentucky basketball. Parents William and Patricia, and step-parents Rick and Mary Ellen. Four brothers, two sisters.
James Hunter, American hero.
Drew up next. I`ll see you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern and, until then, good night, friend.
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