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CNN Sunday Morning

Interview With Ron Olszowy

Aired June 22, 2003 - 09:40   ET

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

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


THOMAS ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Max Factor heir Andrew Luster, the convicted rapist captured by bounty hunters in Mexico Tuesday, reportedly left behind a notebook seeking to justify the assaults that led to his conviction.
California's "Ventura County Star" reports the notebook was found among his possessions at a hotel in Mexico. The report says the notebook also contained a payback list, naming his victims, along with the names of people Luster hoped would send him money.

Well, this week we've all learned a bounty hunter gets the credit for nabbing fugitive Andrew Luster, the heir to the Max Factor fortune. Bounty hunter Duane "Dog," there he is, Chapman caught up with Luster in Mexico. However, Chapman, his brother, and two others face federal charges in connection with Luster's capture. A twist here.

All right. We're going to talk about this in-depth now. In New York, our guest today, bail bondsman Ron Olszowy, sometimes employs the bounty hunters, or fugitive apprehension specialist, as he prefers to call them this morning. Ron, great to have you with us. Thanks for being here.

RON OLSZOWY, BAIL BONDSMAN: You're welcome.

ROBERTS: All right. Let's get right to it. When we talk about Duane "Dog" Chapman, here, he claims he has some 6,000 grabs as a bounty hunter. Is that well known in the world that you guys run in, or what?

OLSZOWY: It sounds very unlikely to me. If he had that many arrests, he'd be retired by now.

ROBERTS: Well, some people say bounty hunters are dangerous. Looking at this guy, he looks a little scruffy, looks like he's been in a few tangles, probably. Are they really dangerous, or are these what they regularly look like, "The Dog" here?

OLSZOWY: Some are, some are not. As in any business or profession, there's always a couple of people who don't fit the mold, or the image, that you would like to see in your given profession.

ROBERTS: Ron, we all remember that old TV show, Lee Majors, he was "The Fall Guy." He was the stunt guy, then he was the bounty hunter on the side to make some extra cash. But this really is big business. People can make a lot of money being a bounty hunter, can't they?

OLSZOWY: If they're successful at it, yes, they can.

ROBERTS: And so, how do they go about being successful at it? I mean, how much hard work do you have to put into this? I understand Duane "Dog" Chapman, he came over, I think, from Hawaii to travel to Mexico to go seek out Luster.

OLSZOWY: I think time is the biggest expense for a bounty hunter. There's a large amount of time and manpower spent on staking the place out, using computers to try to locate defendants. So time is a very big expense for these people.

ROBERTS: Ron, how does the process work? So, say someone gets a tip Luster may have gone on to Mexico. We use this as an example. What's the first step to track him down to a certain part of the country?

OLSZOWY: Well, I'm a bail bondsman, not a bounty hunter, but there are so many different ways that law enforcement and bounty hunters have to track people down. In today's computer age, it's very difficult to hide and not be found.

ROBERTS: You were saying as a bail bondsman, though, you go ahead and employ sometimes, bounty hunters. What makes you, then, go ahead and want to employ a bounty hunter? How much money has to be at risk for you to then want to go ahead and kind of follow this endeavor?

OLSZOWY: It's not so much the amount of money at risk; it's the contract we have with the court. Our job is threefold. We have to underwrite a bail properly to find out if, in fact, we feel comfortable writing that bail. Once the bail is written, we then have to monitor the defendant and also keep the indemnitors appraised of what's going on as far as court dates. If the defendant appears, then our case is dismissed. If he doesn't appear, the next step is finding him. And that's when we hire a bounty hunter.

Unfortunately, if we don't find him or he doesn't find him, then we have to pay the court, which is our job, at no cost to the taxpayers. And lastly, we then try to recover the monies we laid out from the indemnitors.

ROBERTS: Ron, is there a process for you guys to go ahead and hire bounty hunters? Is there a process to go through to make sure that these guys haven't been in trouble before, aren't going to get in trouble? As we're seeing in this situation, Chapman's locked up in Mexico, could be for some time.

OLSZOWY: Yes, we generally ask to see a certificate of insurance. We do a background check. We try to hire those with law enforcement experience. And we've been very fortunate so far.

ROBERTS: And I guess in recent memory, is this a case that's garnished, or grabbed, the most attention, Andrew Luster, or are there other cases, I guess in the past, that we're forgetting about? OLSZOWY: No, I think this one really grabbed everyone's attention.

ROBERTS: And is Chapman still in the limelight in this?

OLSZOWY: I don't know if it's limelight. I wouldn't want to trade places with him.

ROBERTS: I don't think many of us would want to be stuck in a Mexican jail, that's for sure.

Ron Olszowy, joining us from New York. Ron, thanks very much for the insight. And we all continue to watch in fascination to see exactly what's going to happen to Duane "Dog" Chapman down there in Mexico. Ron, again, thanks.

OLSZOWY: You're welcome. Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired June 22, 2003 - 09:40   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THOMAS ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Max Factor heir Andrew Luster, the convicted rapist captured by bounty hunters in Mexico Tuesday, reportedly left behind a notebook seeking to justify the assaults that led to his conviction.
California's "Ventura County Star" reports the notebook was found among his possessions at a hotel in Mexico. The report says the notebook also contained a payback list, naming his victims, along with the names of people Luster hoped would send him money.

Well, this week we've all learned a bounty hunter gets the credit for nabbing fugitive Andrew Luster, the heir to the Max Factor fortune. Bounty hunter Duane "Dog," there he is, Chapman caught up with Luster in Mexico. However, Chapman, his brother, and two others face federal charges in connection with Luster's capture. A twist here.

All right. We're going to talk about this in-depth now. In New York, our guest today, bail bondsman Ron Olszowy, sometimes employs the bounty hunters, or fugitive apprehension specialist, as he prefers to call them this morning. Ron, great to have you with us. Thanks for being here.

RON OLSZOWY, BAIL BONDSMAN: You're welcome.

ROBERTS: All right. Let's get right to it. When we talk about Duane "Dog" Chapman, here, he claims he has some 6,000 grabs as a bounty hunter. Is that well known in the world that you guys run in, or what?

OLSZOWY: It sounds very unlikely to me. If he had that many arrests, he'd be retired by now.

ROBERTS: Well, some people say bounty hunters are dangerous. Looking at this guy, he looks a little scruffy, looks like he's been in a few tangles, probably. Are they really dangerous, or are these what they regularly look like, "The Dog" here?

OLSZOWY: Some are, some are not. As in any business or profession, there's always a couple of people who don't fit the mold, or the image, that you would like to see in your given profession.

ROBERTS: Ron, we all remember that old TV show, Lee Majors, he was "The Fall Guy." He was the stunt guy, then he was the bounty hunter on the side to make some extra cash. But this really is big business. People can make a lot of money being a bounty hunter, can't they?

OLSZOWY: If they're successful at it, yes, they can.

ROBERTS: And so, how do they go about being successful at it? I mean, how much hard work do you have to put into this? I understand Duane "Dog" Chapman, he came over, I think, from Hawaii to travel to Mexico to go seek out Luster.

OLSZOWY: I think time is the biggest expense for a bounty hunter. There's a large amount of time and manpower spent on staking the place out, using computers to try to locate defendants. So time is a very big expense for these people.

ROBERTS: Ron, how does the process work? So, say someone gets a tip Luster may have gone on to Mexico. We use this as an example. What's the first step to track him down to a certain part of the country?

OLSZOWY: Well, I'm a bail bondsman, not a bounty hunter, but there are so many different ways that law enforcement and bounty hunters have to track people down. In today's computer age, it's very difficult to hide and not be found.

ROBERTS: You were saying as a bail bondsman, though, you go ahead and employ sometimes, bounty hunters. What makes you, then, go ahead and want to employ a bounty hunter? How much money has to be at risk for you to then want to go ahead and kind of follow this endeavor?

OLSZOWY: It's not so much the amount of money at risk; it's the contract we have with the court. Our job is threefold. We have to underwrite a bail properly to find out if, in fact, we feel comfortable writing that bail. Once the bail is written, we then have to monitor the defendant and also keep the indemnitors appraised of what's going on as far as court dates. If the defendant appears, then our case is dismissed. If he doesn't appear, the next step is finding him. And that's when we hire a bounty hunter.

Unfortunately, if we don't find him or he doesn't find him, then we have to pay the court, which is our job, at no cost to the taxpayers. And lastly, we then try to recover the monies we laid out from the indemnitors.

ROBERTS: Ron, is there a process for you guys to go ahead and hire bounty hunters? Is there a process to go through to make sure that these guys haven't been in trouble before, aren't going to get in trouble? As we're seeing in this situation, Chapman's locked up in Mexico, could be for some time.

OLSZOWY: Yes, we generally ask to see a certificate of insurance. We do a background check. We try to hire those with law enforcement experience. And we've been very fortunate so far.

ROBERTS: And I guess in recent memory, is this a case that's garnished, or grabbed, the most attention, Andrew Luster, or are there other cases, I guess in the past, that we're forgetting about? OLSZOWY: No, I think this one really grabbed everyone's attention.

ROBERTS: And is Chapman still in the limelight in this?

OLSZOWY: I don't know if it's limelight. I wouldn't want to trade places with him.

ROBERTS: I don't think many of us would want to be stuck in a Mexican jail, that's for sure.

Ron Olszowy, joining us from New York. Ron, thanks very much for the insight. And we all continue to watch in fascination to see exactly what's going to happen to Duane "Dog" Chapman down there in Mexico. Ron, again, thanks.

OLSZOWY: You're welcome. Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com