In the Chill of the Night Podcast

Come for the concepts...

In the Chill of the Night was created to highlight great investigative work and associated topics. A true-crime ride along—real cops, real cases. therffactor.substack.com

Episodes

  1. 05/22/2025

    Leadership is a lot like teaching a kid to ride a bike

    In this short video, George Belsky breaks down this powerful metaphor and shares what it really means to lead with trust, patience, This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit therffactor.substack.com

    Leadership is a lot like teaching a kid to ride a bike

  2. 05/21/2025

    Why do we investigate shootings?

    It’s not just about solving crimes - it’s about honoring victims, protecting communities, and preventing the next trigger pull. Hear from Pete GAGLIARDI as he breaks down the power of a shared WHY in gun crime investigations - because purpose drives action, and collaboration saves lives. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit therffactor.substack.com

    Why do we investigate shootings?

  3. 06/15/2022

    What’s wrong with this picture?

    Welcome to Episode 20 of In the Chill of the Night. In this episode, George and Pete, with a brief cameo appearance from Ray, are joined by former ATF Senior Executive Carlos Canino - two-time Florida Law Enforcement Officer of the Year, and Medal of Valor awardee. First things first though.  We  have all seen photo’s in the media like the one shown above of uniformed officers unloading hundreds of kilos of drugs. A record seizure that was intercepted at sea and brought to shore.   So what’s wrong with this picture?   What’s wrong is that these cops haven’t arrested a drug smuggler, although they are real working cops they are also real “mules” moving the shipment of drugs for transport to their final destination!   Highly-paid mules of course, because of the added security they provide - and especially the protection they provide from the long arms of the law.   In this episode of “the Chill”, Carlos Canino tells an incredible story of his days working undercover across South Florida and Puerto Rico.    It began when he was assigned to a task force in Puerto Rico and fellow task force officers from the Puerto Rico Police Department received information from an informant about corrupt police officers – involved in the drug trade.      Carlos was selected to assume an undercover role and he set out to work the case. Hear him tell how he maintained his role and  the confidence of the suspects as he walks us through the events that transpired.   Undercover work is complicated, stressful, and dangerous work. You’re constantly managing a hundred tasks at the same time while face to face with street-savvy armed criminals - all the while trying to stay true to your cover story.    But when those criminals are cops – who know how cops work and the methods they use – the levels of stress, difficulty and danger all rise exponentially.       As working cops, they are all armed. Posing as a bad guy, Carlos is armed too.   Carlos wonders - how easy would it be for these guys to keep the drugs - worth millions - and kill him.   What if he needed help – who would he call – the cops?   Carlos did have a “Doomsday Plan” if things went sideways – but you’ll have to hear him tell it in his typical Carlos way.   As disturbing and unsettling as the story may be, you’ll surely break a smile as Carlos relates some of his ace undercover “Inspector Clouseau” moments. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit therffactor.substack.com

  4. 06/10/2022

    Operation Ruffian: Running Down the Thoroughbreds

    Welcome to Episode 19 of In the Chill of the Night. In this episode, Ray and George are joined by Kevin Grogan, a former Savannah Chatham Metro Homicide Cop. Kevin provides a gritty perspective of what it is like to suppress violent crime in Savannah. While Savannah is known for its quaint southern hospitality complete with Spanish moss blanketed trees on its quiet streets, just blocks away lurking in the shadows are dangerous criminals preying on the community. Kevin gives a first hand account of what it is like to buy drugs and guns from dangerous criminals in an effort to keep the community safer in the long run. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit therffactor.substack.com

  5. 05/04/2022

    Going Undercover with the Pagans OMGs

    Welcome to Episode 18 of In the Chill of the Night. In this episode, Ray and George are joined by Guest Ken Croke, a former ATF undercover Agent who infiltrated the Pagans Outlaw Motorcycle Gang in New York and became a patched member and Sergeant at Arms. A very unique achievement indeed, to be able to pass the strict, thorough, and albeit unorthodox process that the gang uses to vet the backgrounds of its potential members to screen out anyone, especially cops, who ooooomay pose a threat to the “club”. Unorthodox, in the sense that if you fail to pass the background  – you die. Ken shares just enough of his story (check out the video preview here) to make you want to log right on to Amazon and order his book: Riding with Evil, which he wrote with Dave Wedge, a New York Times Bestselling Author. Ken’s story takes you into a world of bikes and bikers, crime and violence, and drugs and depravity, told through a series of vignettes occurring over a two-year period and artistically woven together.  Wince, as you listen to Ken describe the “witching hour” the primary method used by the gang to maintain order within the club. Essentially it’s a beat down of the prospects to demonstrate the toughness of becoming a member. Ken will describe what it felt like when he thought his turn had come and some very unpredictable results.  Listen as Ken speaks of the wide circle of people he lived amongst everyday – people with names like Roadblock and Hogman. Squirm in your seat, as Ken thinks that his cover is blown and he may not see his family again, how he’s kicked out then invited back in, how he panics for the first time when he realizes that he may have been deliberately lured away from his undercover partner. Lastly, hear him discuss the toll it takes on him and his real-life ATF agent wife and children. Most importantly, come to learn a bit more about the types of work that the brave and dedicated men and women of law enforcement do every day to make our world a safer place in which to live.   This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit therffactor.substack.com

  6. 03/24/2022

    Crime Guns & Kilos - Checkout on Register 5: The Storefront Sting

    Welcome to “In the Chill of the Night”,  Episode 17 with special guest Lou Valoze, former ATF Agent and long-term undercover agent.  Join George and Ray as Lou takes them on a trip down memory lane, from his “lost in space” years in college, to a paper-pusher job that bored him, to the ah-ha moment when he knew where he was headed – toward a “runnin and gunnin” law enforcement career of outstanding public service and personal highs and lows.    Lou provides a very candid look into how he went from “grasshopper” to “Master PO” in the undercover arena.  He shares some of the good, the sad, and the ugly – things that worked well along the way and some not so much.  He’ll share some stories that are “pure gold” – literally – and some that are SNL funny – at least in its heyday. Like how he was selected to infiltrate his first “outlaw biker” gang and how his first run turned out – “hey man was that 1 down and 4 up”? Oh,  and how in a Cecil B. DeMille type takedown in a strip club - he unintentionally launched the beat-down of an undercover colleague as he was getting ready to call in the troops. Lou did it all from, small buys to big buys, and small fries to large guys. As he matured in his roles, he perfected and embraced the Undercover Storefront Operation – he wrote a book about it: Storefront Sting: An ATF Agent's Life Undercover.  Now imagine if you will, a cross between the storefront magnate extraordinaire Sam Walton and a young tough MMA Fighter of Italian heritage - that’s Lou Valoze when it comes to the storefront sting.  He gravitated to the storefront operations for – pardon the pun – the bang for the buck. It was a place for buying more crime guns and kilos - check out on register 5.  A way to get more guns and drugs and criminals off the street in the shortest time possible. Lou is candid about what worked and what didn’t and some of the very hard lessons learned along the way. Listen, understand, and learn. A man who just could not say no to a new and more challenging assignment – even when he told his colleagues, his family, and his friends he would - after they pleaded with him to slow down. He admits that he was a man possessed.  If he was searching for the Maltese Falcon for undercover operations, he found it in the many awards he received along the way – best gun case – best outlaw biker case - best drug case. Spoiler alert: Lou is a guy who doesn’t hold back – he will tell you things about himself that will make you sad – it has to do with keeping one's priorities properly aligned – but you will have to tune in in order to learn the three Fs he feels are the keys to a life well lived – the ones he will tell you he learned too late. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit therffactor.substack.com

  7. 03/09/2022

    Sex, Money, & Murder: Investigator Perspectives

    A few months back, ATF Special Agent Pete Forcelli, now retired, introduced us to the ultra violent Sex Money Murder Gang that terrorized a Bronx Housing prfoject some years ago. As a follow up to that 6th episode of "In the Chill of the Night '', we rejoin Pete and the guy who wrote the book,Sex Money Murder, A Story of Crack, Blood, and Betrayal, investigative journalist Jonathan Green for a deeper dive into the operations of this brutal gang. Pete and Jonanthan bring you into the crack cocaine caked turf of the Soundview Projects and give you the benefit of their two perspectives, Pete's a cops and robbers one - of crime and punishment, and Jonathan's - a more humanistic perspective that underscores how some kids were able to leverage their street smarts to remain alive amid all the deadly violence and make the best of broken lives. Join George and Ray as they take a wild ride back to the  early 1990’s to learn how the Feds brought an end to the carnage SMM delivered to the streets. Video Preview This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit therffactor.substack.com

    Sex, Money, & Murder: Investigator Perspectives

  8. 02/01/2022

    A Perfect Storm - of Death

    Join Ray and Derek Maltz, former DEA Special Agent in Charge of the Special Operations Division, as they discuss the nation’s fentanyl crisis and how social media, cartel greed, China, trends in trafficking patterns, and the potency of this drug have created the perfect deadly storm leaving grieving families throughout the nation. Derek is a staunch advocate for the countless victims of the opioid scourge, which regretfully grows by approximately 300 Americans every day. He passionately describes how the story of how “one pill can kill” is going on throughout America. Unsuspecting victims find themselves ingesting a deadly cocktail of this powerful drug the traffickers are using to increase profit margins.  Some may ask why should we care?  Because, kids should be learning from their mistakes, not dying  from them! Derek’s insights outlined here are critical toward understanding this problem, and advancing solutions to keep Americans safe.  This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit therffactor.substack.com

  9. 12/14/2021

    Searching for the Good

    “We went back to the house with a search warrant this time. The suspected child abuser was upstairs in his bedroom. His mother called up to him - that we were back to speak to him. He yelled down. It struck me that the tone of his voice was markedly different from our visit just hours ago and that the profanity he used was so disrespectful to his mother even for a bad guy.”  Listen to Officer Richard Norcross tell Ray and Pete how in a blink of the eye – he found himself trapped in a surreal fatal funnel of gunfire. How before it ended hours later, in that close-knit New Jersey neighborhood, the shooter would kill his partner Investigator John McLaughlin, and his brother, Officer John Norcross. How he himself, with five gunshot wounds, would technically die twice - and be brought back from the brink of death. Nothing would be the same, for Richard, and the many families impacted - including the neighbors whose homes were riddled with bullets. The months he spent recovering offered ample time to think about how to move on from what would be the worst day in so many lives including his. When you search for the bad things in life you’ll find them. What is equally true is that when you search for the good – you’ll find that too. Richard Norcross chose to look for the good – the many lessons learned, the courage and dedication to duty exhibited that day by so many. Rich would go on to share what he learned with law enforcement officers across the nation. In the nearly 25 years that have passed since that fateful day, his shared experiences have undoubtedly saved lives and it helped him heal too. May God Bless, Investigator McLaughlin, both Officers Norcross, and law enforcers everywhere. Thanks for the work that you do! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit therffactor.substack.com

  10. 11/29/2021

    The Amish School Shooting

    On October 2, 2006, a shooting occurred at the West Nickel Mines School, an Amish one-room schoolhouse in the community of Nickel Mines, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. A gunman intending to unleash his diabolical plan, entered the schoolhouse. He let some of the occupants go, keeping eight young girls as his hostages. He barricaded the exits with construction supplies and went about his evil work. Then Pennsylvania State Police, Sergeant Doug Burig, responded and took command. He will walk us through the events of that day and the aftermath as well. This one is a must watch – but be forewarned that it may “whipsaw” you between faith, hope and despair. On one hand, this case involves a horrific series of acts, so inconceivable that some may question the very God they pray to. On the other hand, it involves a series of acts of forgiveness and healing so incredible that many may view them as something only their God could muster the strength to do. So you decide – Sergeant Burig, his colleagues and the Amish Community did.  This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit therffactor.substack.com

  11. 11/27/2021

    Cocaine’s comeback

    Toby Muse is a journalist, author, and documentary filmmaker. His work has appeared in major news outlets across the globe. He joins Ray and Pete to talk about his latest book: Kilo in which he follows a kilo of cocaine from its production in a clandestine laboratory to the smugglers who ship it abroad, he paints a picture for us of the human lives behind the drug’s complicated legacy. In this podcast, he shares his secret as to how he was able to gain unprecedented access to the farmers, smugglers, assassins—and the drug lords and their lovers controlling these multi-billion dollar enterprises. And how the War on Drugs has been no match for cocaine. Toby shares his views on what he sees as a new resurgence of cocaine which many here may be blind to. He opines as to the driver – need and demand. How for some poor farmers may have few options for survival and how newly minted millionaires in countries around the world are getting to taste the feeling that “coke” mixes well with the rum and famous.  This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit therffactor.substack.com

  12. 11/16/2021

    DC Beltway Snipers

    For 23 days in October of 2002, the more than five million people living across the region known as the Washington DC Beltway lived in fear for their lives. They had a right to be. Somebody was shooting at them as they went about their daily routines, gassing up their cars, waiting for a bus, going shopping and just relaxing outside on a bench. It would change the behavior of thousands - you’d see them running zigzag patterns across parking lots to the safety of indoor shelter. Others would sit slumped down in the driver seat of their cars after locking the gas pump nozzle to hands-free, hoping that they would be concealed from the killer's sights. At first, it seemed as though the killer or killers were ghosts, that is until they began to regularly engage with and taunt the investigators with their demands. Law enforcement responded with dogged determination. It ended with the capture of an unlikely duo of stone-cold killers -- but not until 10 innocent people would die and 3 more would be seriously injured. Watch and listen to retired ATF Special in Charge, Mike Bouchard, one of the operation’s senior commanders, take you inside what has been called the largest manhunt ever conducted in the United States.    This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit therffactor.substack.com

  • 12 Episodes

About

In the Chill of the Night was created to highlight great investigative work and associated topics. A true-crime ride along—real cops, real cases. therffactor.substack.com

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