Frances Robles (Frenchie)

Maybe they're all black, you know, and the railroaded by the criminal justice system. Like, I just thought it was such a hoity-toity New York Times view of journalism that I couldn't just come up with a wrongful conviction. I had to come up with what connects them. So I nod politely, you know, yes, ma'am. And I'm like, I go back to my desk, kind of grumbling under my breath. And I call Derek.

Maybe they're all black, you know, and the railroaded by the criminal justice system. Like, I just thought it was such a hoity-toity New York Times view of journalism that I couldn't just come up with a wrongful conviction. I had to come up with what connects them. So I nod politely, you know, yes, ma'am. And I'm like, I go back to my desk, kind of grumbling under my breath. And I call Derek.

And I'm like, all right, well, this editor of mine wants to know what connects these cases. And he goes, well, a lot of them are the same cop. And his name is Louis Garcello.

And I'm like, all right, well, this editor of mine wants to know what connects these cases. And he goes, well, a lot of them are the same cop. And his name is Louis Garcello.

So I meet with Derek again. And Derek, you know, he was interesting because he knew some things, but he did not know a lot of things. He told me kind of loosey-goosey stuff. Like he said, oh, that this guy was notorious for using the same witness over and over again. But he didn't know the names of the defendants who had had the same witness testify against them.

So I meet with Derek again. And Derek, you know, he was interesting because he knew some things, but he did not know a lot of things. He told me kind of loosey-goosey stuff. Like he said, oh, that this guy was notorious for using the same witness over and over again. But he didn't know the names of the defendants who had had the same witness testify against them.

And he did not know the name of the witness. Right. So I was like, oh, brother, you know, here I am talking this up to my editor like I'm some hotshot who's going to crack this case open and I got nothing. And I thought, oh, my God, you know, what am I going to do now? You know, I don't have anywhere to turn.

And he did not know the name of the witness. Right. So I was like, oh, brother, you know, here I am talking this up to my editor like I'm some hotshot who's going to crack this case open and I got nothing. And I thought, oh, my God, you know, what am I going to do now? You know, I don't have anywhere to turn.

So he gives me Shabaka Shakur's 440.

So he gives me Shabaka Shakur's 440.

He says, in this document, it says, something, something, Luis Garcella was notorious in Brooklyn for his, you know, unethical and, you know, framing people, basically. In fact, he was known to use the same witness over and over again, a woman named Teresa Gomez. You know, that's it. That's the name. That's what I've been waiting for. I've been waiting to find out the name of the witness.

He says, in this document, it says, something, something, Luis Garcella was notorious in Brooklyn for his, you know, unethical and, you know, framing people, basically. In fact, he was known to use the same witness over and over again, a woman named Teresa Gomez. You know, that's it. That's the name. That's what I've been waiting for. I've been waiting to find out the name of the witness.

That's my big investigative reporting secret. So I Google Luis Garzala and Teresa Gomez together. I don't know what I thought I was going to find. And I got a hit. And I'm like, well, this is curious. It was like some random Google forum, a cigar smoker forum, where somebody has asked, I think the question on the forum was, when did you first smoke your first great cigar?

That's my big investigative reporting secret. So I Google Luis Garzala and Teresa Gomez together. I don't know what I thought I was going to find. And I got a hit. And I'm like, well, this is curious. It was like some random Google forum, a cigar smoker forum, where somebody has asked, I think the question on the forum was, when did you first smoke your first great cigar?

This guy, a man, answers, The first cigar which truly made me realize how much I was going to enjoy cigars was smoked in 1988 at a bar on Remsen Street in Brooklyn, New York, called Callahan's. The cigar was given to me by a legendary detective of the Brooklyn North Homicide Squad named Louis Scarcella.

This guy, a man, answers, The first cigar which truly made me realize how much I was going to enjoy cigars was smoked in 1988 at a bar on Remsen Street in Brooklyn, New York, called Callahan's. The cigar was given to me by a legendary detective of the Brooklyn North Homicide Squad named Louis Scarcella.

Louis had been the detective on the first two murder cases I prosecuted, both of which featured the same witness testifying against the same defendant for two different murders. The defendant was a dealer named Robert Hill. The witness was named Teresa Gomez, a woman who was even then ravaged from head to toe by the scourge of crack cocaine.

Louis had been the detective on the first two murder cases I prosecuted, both of which featured the same witness testifying against the same defendant for two different murders. The defendant was a dealer named Robert Hill. The witness was named Teresa Gomez, a woman who was even then ravaged from head to toe by the scourge of crack cocaine.

It was near folly to even think that anyone would believe Gomez about anything, let alone the fact that she witnessed the same guy kill two different people. And the guy signs it. It's the district attorney, and he's now a judge.

It was near folly to even think that anyone would believe Gomez about anything, let alone the fact that she witnessed the same guy kill two different people. And the guy signs it. It's the district attorney, and he's now a judge.