The Hustler Files Ep 181

The Hustler Files Ep 180

The Hustler Files Ep. 179

CHARLES ROSARIO – HOLDING THE DOOR FOR OTHERS LIKE HIM

Charlie Rosario spent 19 years in prison. While incarcerated, he was fortunate to be admitted to the Emerson Prison Initiative. This program earned him a bachelor’s degree, and with that education he began to see new possibilities for his life. Now released from prison, he works for the same program, at Emerson, helping other students and returning citizens navigate education and reentry. Charlie also talks about growing up in Worcester, his experience in the youth and adult prison systems, and the persistence it took to reach college, gain parole, and why helping others recognize their own worth has become his purpose.

The Hustler Files Ep 178

MNEESHA GELLMAN – UNLOCKING THE PERSON INSIDE THE PRISONER

What changes when someone in prison is given the chance to become a college student? Dr. Mneesha Gellman, Founder and Director of the Emerson Prison Initiative (EPI), in Boston, Massachusetts, believed a rigorous college degree program could help create that change. It didn’t take much with her background in education in prison, human rights, immigration, and the politics of violence to convince her that college behind bars was a necessity. In 2017 she launched EPI, sharing that she was also inspired by the Bard College Prison Initiative which was launched in 2001. Currently MCI – Norfolk is where her students behind the wall pursue an Emerson College Bachelor of Arts in Media, Literature, and Culture and are taught by Emerson professors and guest faculty. Mneesha shares the incarcerated students’ passion for education and the ripple effect beyond the carceral classroom as many students who start their degree path behind the wall not only continue their education, after release, but also are helping others navigate reentry, and inspiring family members to pursue their own goals. Mneesha also created RECOUP which supports formerly incarcerated students with continuing education, employment, housing, healthcare, and other reentry needs.

The Hustler Files Ep 177

KEN W. GOOD – A MILLION-DOLLAR BOND GONE WRONG

Texas bail attorney Ken W. Good breaks down the often-confusing differences between bail, bond and pretrial release, and examines what happens when the safeguards designed to protect the public fail. This conversation centers on the case of Lee Gilley, a Houston man charged with capital murder in the death of his pregnant wife, Christa Bauer Gilley. After being released on a $1 million bond with GPS monitoring, Gilley removed his ankle monitor and fled through Canada to Italy using a fraudulent passport. How did he get such a significant head start? Ken explains how electronic monitoring alerts are handled, why GPS technology cannot replace human supervision, what happens when a defendant skips bond, and who may ultimately be responsible for the $1 million bond. This episode also explores Texas bail policy, judicial discretion, public safety and Gilley’s continuing fight against extradition.

The Hustler Files Ep 176

RON WADDELL – THE MEN HE REFUSES TO GIVE UP ON

A second chance only matters when someone is standing there ready to help you believe your life can actually be different. Ron Waddell, co-founder of Legendary Legacies in Worcester, Massachusetts, knows firsthand how easily a young person can fall through the cracks. After losing his mother at 15, experiencing homelessness and navigating instability without many of the supports young people need, Ron eventually found his own path, and a calling to make sure other young men wouldn’t have to find theirs alone. Founded in 2018, Legendary Legacies works with men affected by gangs, violence and incarceration through intensive life coaching, mentorship, workforce development and a deeply relational approach that meets people where they are. With many staff members bringing their own lived experience to the work, the organization is creating something bigger than a program: a community built around brotherhood, accountability, purpose, and opportunity. Because sometimes changing a life isn’t about erasing someone’s past. It’s about helping them build a different future, and a legacy for the generations that follow.

The Hustler Files Ep. 175

ESTHER & EVE – AN UNWAVERING BELIEF IN HER INNOCENCE

Twenty years, that’s the sentence she received for refusing to take a plea deal. Now Elizabeth Mercedes Hernandez, a former nurse practitioner, a mother of five and a healthcare professional with no prior criminal record, is serving in a Florida federal prison after being convicted of committing healthcare and wire fraud.  In this episode, her mother, Esther Pino, and sister, Eve Hernandez, say the government got her story wrong. Elizabeth’s journey from working in the rapidly expanding world of telemedicine to discovering what the prosecutors, at her trial, say was the misuse of her medical credentials and NPI number. Despite cooperating with investigators, refusing a plea agreement and ultimately taking her case to trial, Elizabeth lost her freedom. Esther and Eve share their continuing fight for Elizabeth’s freedom and their larger effort to bring attention to healthcare practitioners they believe have been unjustly prosecuted.  This is a story about one family’s unwavering belief in Elizabeth’s innocence, and the questions her case has left them asking about truth, justice and the power of the federal criminal justice system.

The Hustler Files Ep 174

ELIAS HUSAMUDEEN – A RIKERS RESET FOR AMERICA’S MOST INFAMOUS JAIL

Rikers Island has been synonymous with violence, dysfunction, and controversy for decades. But as New York City moves toward closing one of America’s most infamous jail complexes, former NYC Correction Officer and union leader Elias Husamudeen believes there’s another option: reinvent it. After 34 years working inside the New York City correction system, Elias brings a perspective shaped by firsthand experience. His ambitious Rikers Reset proposal would dramatically reduce the island’s jail footprint while creating space for education, transitional housing, mental health and medical care, rehabilitation and other resources
designed to address what happens both during incarceration and after release. Elias offers his insight about what Rikers is really like behind the headlines, why previous reform efforts have struggled, the enormous cost of closing and rebuilding New York City’s jail system, and why he believes rehabilitation, not simply new buildings is the key to reducing recidivism. Is it time to close Rikers Island, or is it time to completely reimagine what it could become?

The Hustler Files Ep 173

BRIAN KOEHN – FROM WARDEN TO CORRECTIONS REFORMER

For decades, the conversation around corrections has largely centered on two models: government-run facilities which operate 92% of prisons, and private prisons, which own and run the other 8%. But what if there was another option? Creating a third model is Brian Koehn, (pronounced Kane), Founder and CEO of Social Purpose Corrections, the nation’s first nonprofit corrections organization and the third leg in the proverbial correction stool. After more than three decades leading prisons across the country, Koehn walked away from a successful career with one question he couldn’t ignore: ‘After All It is Called Corrections’, which then asks the question, ‘If we call it corrections, are we actually correcting anything?’ Brian’s understanding and experience brings to light information that is not readily discussed such as the culture inside American corrections, the challenges facing correctional officers, why leadership matters, and whether a nonprofit, outcomes-based model, like SPC could reshape how correctional systems operate. From staff retention and rehabilitation to innovation and accountability, this conversation challenges long-held assumptions about what corrections are and what it could become. Whether you agree with Brian’s vision or not, this episode asks an important question: How do we create safer facilities, stronger leadership, and better outcomes for everyone involved?

The Hustler Files Ep 172

SUNLIGHT IS THE GREATEST DISINFECTANT

The truth surfaced years before justice finally prevailed, but for Dusty Turner, freedom wasn’t the end of the story. After spending 31 years in prison for a crime he maintains he did not commit, Dusty has chosen a path unlike many wrongly convicted people. Rather than quietly rebuilding his life, he’s stepped into the public eye through documentaries, podcasts, interviews, and a massive, daily, social media campaign, run by his team of advocates and posted under the @freedustyturner handle. In Dusty’s own words, sunlight is the greatest disinfectant, and that mantra helps him fight for his own exoneration, every single day. In this candid conversation, Dusty reflects on surviving decades behind bars, the emotional toll of knowing he was innocent, now living each day under electronic monitoring, and why he believes sharing his story publicly is part of his life’s purpose. He also discusses his new mission to advocate for justice-involved veterans and help others who may have been wrongfully convicted. Dusty’s story isn’t just about freedom. It’s about perseverance, purpose, and the belief that the truth deserves to be heard, even when justice takes decades to catch up.