This is Jeffrey Roberts with 2020. For more than four decades, 2020 has brought you an incredible variety of compelling stories. Well, now we're going to bring you back to some of the most heart stopping ones from the 2020 true crime vault. And we're going to give you updates on what happened to the people involved. Thanks for listening.

Coming up, a bank robbery and a mother's intuition.

I said, oh, son, if I didn't know better, I'd say that was you.

But she never imagined this.

I asked my dad, are you the devil here to tempt me?

A father who turns his own kids into hardcore bank robbers. The surveillance video, the pointed gun.

And they ordered the tellers and everyone into the vault.

And the 18 year old daughter behind the wheel of the getaway car.

It was my family. The loyalty was greater now.

Childhood photos replaced by mugshots and confession tapes shocked even the police.

I'll lay it all out.

Keeping all in the family. Plus a loyal employee with a killer boss.

I missed my kids being born. He made me come back to work four or 5 hours later.

Who takes the term murderous job to a whole new level.

What I need you to do. Go dig a hole in the desert somewhere.

The detective said your husband was gonna kill you.

But this bad boss isn't finished yet.

What do you want me to do? Whack this guy?

Loyalties and lies. I'm John Quinones. Loyalty. It seems so simple. But what happens when the person you've always followed leads you to do something you know is wrong? The people you're about to meet found themselves with troubling decisions to make between loyalty and lies. First, two teens and the father they worshiped. But as Matt Gutman first told us in 2013, the dad who was supposed to show them the right way to live instead showed them the way right to prison.

It's an all in the family crime spree.

That's dad in a mask and son in a fake mustache. It was a family affair, all right. A father on an outing with his two kids. But they weren't out for fast food. They were hungry for a fast buck. These three. The cat family didn't look like the typical jailbirds in the FBI's most wanted list. Nope. They looked like they belonged in your church group. The balding dad, his pimpled son, and the pretty blonde sister. Still a high school senior. But apparently the family that stayed together robbed together. Have you ever seen anything like this?

In my 20 plus years in law enforcement, I haven't met a family of bank robbers.

If news of daddy's misdeeds bewildered local cops and journalists. It blew away their own family members. Horrible.

Horrible. How can I wrap my brain around this?

How could this have happened? We spent 13 months piecing together this story, talking to every major character. It begins where it ends with dad. Scott Cat. We met the father of this felonious family here. Nice to meet you.

Nice to meet you.

Behind two inches of glass at the Fort Bend county jail in Texas.

It is shocking to me because I've never been in trouble before.

That would be the first of many lies he would tell us. Back then, we couldn't have known this tale would have more twists than a knotted rope, especially given how kat started life. The homemaker mom and a dad who worked at the local bank. Good student.

He was a football star.

Everyone, especially his mom, remembers him being so likable.

Scott. He was so much fun. Great sense of humor. Always wanted to make us laugh.

Scott Catt fell in love and married his high school sweetheart, Beth, a champion swimmer. She called him her handsome cowboy. What was Beth like?

Beth? Oh, very, very loving. Good mommy. Terrific mother.

It seemed like they had it all.

They really did.

He became a structural engineer, and the all american family settled into a four bedroom house with a front porch tucked into Oregon's wine country.

They both had great jobs. They both had great cars. They had the two kids, they had the dog. Everything that you work so hard to do.

Money, family, love. Scott and Beth had everything. Until Beth was diagnosed with breast cancer. Daughter Abby was just a baby.

The only memory I have of my mom, she was on a bright orange stretcher being carried down the stairs, and I remember her face.

Your first memory of your mother, your only memory, is one of her being carried away on a stretcher?

Yeah, that's all. But I hold onto it maybe as.

A good thing, because it would be the only thing she had. Beth Catt would die at the age of 32, leaving behind four year old Hayden and two year old Abby. Suddenly, Scott Catt was a widower, single dad with toddlers. How did you deal with it?

Personally, I didn't deal with it.

You were in denial.

Completely. I was in denial about needing help, about grieving, about depression, about my ability to raise them by myself. You know, I start drinking heavily.

What does heavenly mean?

Well, a fifth a day. A fifth of vodka jacked animals a day.

It's a lot of booze.

It's a lot of booze.

While dad was drowning his sorrows, the kids were thriving in the pool. The star swimmers were also decent students. And when he was sober. Their dad was the proud president of the swim club, and the kids idolized him.

He was my best friend for a long time.

He was a whole lot of fun. Loved water parks and Disneyland almost as much as the kids.

We'd all be on the ride together. It was just fun. We were all screaming and yelling, and he went on all the rides with us, and that's cool.

So cool that he was really more a friend than a parent.

There wasn't really a disciplinarian. I mean, there was no one there hounding us to do homework or keep up our grades.

I knew it wasn't normal, but to me, it was my normal.

Abby and Hayden by this time, young teenagers soon realized that was fun, but they could only rely on each other.

We were very close. My sister is the only consistent thing I've had my whole life, and I'm the only consistent thing that she's had, too.

Oh, my brother is my best friend. He was basically the only one that was there for me.

I can just look at her and know what's on her mind, what she's.

Worried about, what Scott's kids worried about most. Their dad's drinking. Some of it in plain sight. There were arrests. There was brawling, disorderly conduct, and a new, more expensive vice. Cocaine.

He says, I'd say probably three, 4 grams a week.

Scott partied away their savings. They went bankrupt. They lost their home. The lights went out for a fresh start. And Scott says, a new job. Cat traded the Oregon greenery for this scenery, an apartment in the Houston suburb with a whole lot of banks nearby.

Money was tight, and I was really depressed. And, you know, I had complained to him, saying, you know, if we didn't have to worry about money, there wouldn't be any of the stress or any of these negative things happening in our life. That's when he approached me and said, would you be willing to do something to get some money more illegal than selling drugs? And I said, yes.

So you're 18 years old. You need money. Your father says, I have a plan to rob a bank. Shouldn't your first reaction be, are you crazy?

Looking back on it, I can't believe that wasn't my first reaction to say, are you. Are you insane?

Why did you go along with it so easily?

I had a real struggle. I knew it was wrong, but I was really motivated by the money. The night before the first bank I was supposed to rob with him, I had kind of a panic attack all night, deciding, do I want to go down this path? Of evil, or is this not for me?

Ultimately, Hayden Cat would agree to walk down that path of evil.

He really wanted my help. In his mind, two people could be much more successful at it, but maybe.

A third would be even better. And there was just one cat left to choose. Scott told Hayden to talk to his sister into joining their gang. She was a high school senior just three months shy of graduating.

My dad sent my brother to ask me.

Your dad sent your brother to ask you?

Yeah.

To rob banks with him?

Yeah. And then the next day, my dad just basically laid it all out. You know, I'll buy you a new car and I'll get you an apartment. In some way, I was led on like, this is how I protect them. And these are the only people I have now.

Son and daughters say this is when they crossed over to the criminal side, a plan was in motion. The mark. The Comerica bank, just down the block.

The morning of the first bank, I asked my dad, you know, are you the devil here to tempt me? And his answer is, what really scared me. He said, yeah, probably, I'm asking you to rob a bank.

So he knew full well the world he was bringing you into.

The biggest point he made to me was the plan for all the details.

The details would have been what you've seen in the movies, the fake mustaches, fake guns in hopes of getting real cash. But what the kids were really banking on was beginner's luck.

I was actually shaking so bad that the employees grabbed the bag and started throwing money in for me.

The family robberies. What could possibly go wrong? When we come back, 93 degree Texas heat. The cat family wasn't headed to a water park, but to a stick up a small bank in a strip mall. The man with the gun was Scott cat. And along for his first heist, his apprentice, his 20 year old son, Hayden. Their disguises, painters masks and white overalls. Outside, waiting in the getaway car and communicating with the men on walkie talkie. 18 year old Abby.

Once we walked into the bank, then it was on. I was running on so much adrenaline and so amped that I wasn't even really feeling anything.

Two individuals walked into the bank and they ordered the tellers and everyone into the vault.

Did they say anything?

Put your hands up and get into the vault.

He was the muscle with the gun, and I was the money guy.

Both men are big, over six three, their sheer size and the gun enough to terrify customers. But it's the novice bank robber who's quaking in his boots.

I was actually shaking so bad that the employees grabbed the bag and started throwing money in for me.

In Hayden's hands, more money than he'd ever dreamed of. How much does $50,000 weigh?

I'd say about 15 pounds.

With their garbage bag full of cash, they sprint out of the bank to the getaway car, which has been outfitted with stolen plates. The wheelman, a frightened teenager.

I was scared. It's just something you just, like, want to be over with.

And what was it like driving the getaway car? You know, it's hard because you want to obey traffic laws, but your adrenaline is pumping.

It was hard. I had them in my ear. My dad would yell at me to not drive fast, so I didn't.

Despite the heckling from her backseat driver dad, the reluctant 18 year old gets them to their apartment half mile away, undetected. The heist had gone off without a hitch, just like dad had promised. Was there a woo hoo moment?

That's how we got home.

With her sack full of 50 grand, the spending began. Cars, motorcycles, booze, and drugs. Abby spending much more sensible. How'd you guys celebrate?

I went off on my own and just got my nails done.

In fact, the money came so easily and went so fast, in two months, they burned through all their loot. Time for another bank job. The first community credit union, just a few miles from the scene of their first crime. Before the hit, Abby cases the bank. That's her. Smiling and grabbing brochures from a bank employee. Eleven days later, it's the same drill. New disguises. Ditching the painters overalls for safety vests to blend in with nearby construction.

They walked into the bank with orange construction vests on.

Did you carry a gun in there?

No. We used a little bb gun, but it looked real. Yeah, I remember a few people's face still.

What was their reaction?

Total shock.

Terror.

Yeah, they were scared. Terrified, definitely.

You start walking into a bank with a weapon and you start pointing that at people and ordering them to, you know, cough up the money. I mean, that can change your life forever.

Their take after two bank robberies over $100,000. But the loot isn't exactly divided up evenly. According to the kids, what percentage were they willing to give you?

10%.

Did you feel like 10% was enough?

Oh, yeah. Cause I never even had that much money.

So your whole life, $10,000.

It was enough for me.

Enough to buy a very practical used Ford Focus and more of those manicures. I guess by now you're aware that in Texas, whether you're the driver or you're the guy holding the gun, holding up a teller, it's the same crime.

Yep.

But you didn't know that then.

No, I didn't know that then. I know the part that I played was wrong, but it was my family. And that the loyalty was greater at that point.

But her father and brother seemed more loyal to the cold, hard cash that was coming in and to blowing it fast.

Shopping, cars, partying. Really nothing to show for it.

When the comforts of daily life include Jack Daniels, a new Chevy Tahoe, a Harley, and a swank new Houston apartment, even 100 G's can disappear pretty fast. And for the cat family, that meant one thing. Time to go back to work. Had you planned another heist before you got busted?

Yeah, the morning they picked us up. I think we're gonna do probably one or two more that day.

Yeah, that's right. The cats had gotten cocky planning a pair of heists the day before their arrest.

It got to a point where I thought my father knew what he was doing so well that there's a risk involved. But the risk was so minimal.

But that would prove to be wishful thinking, because, as we all know, where there are robbers, there are also cops. And the cops were already on to them. On the surveillance video from the latest heist, they picked up a detail that would impress even Sherlock Holmes. The vests looked new.

They actually had creases in them.

Because they were creased, you figured they were new. And because they were new, they must have been purchased somewhere nearby.

We were able to tie those two vests back to a local Home Depot, and those vests were purchased with a Mastercard debit card that went back to Scott.

By using that Mastercard, Scott cat might as well left his calling card. And there his kids are, using it in Home Depot to buy the gear they were about to use in a bank heist. It was just the break detectives needed. And the cats were in the bank.

When Scott was arrested. The detective that actually made contact with him told him, well, you're under arrest for bank robbery. And Scott's initial response to that was, which one?

They quickly arrested Hayden as well, who was up in the apartment. There, they found the kind of evidence gumshoes dream of.

In the apartment, we found some bank straps. And a bank strap is a little paper strap that wraps around a certain quantity of money. Usually it's thousand denominations, and it identifies whatever bank it is that it comes from.

And some of those traps were from a bank in an entirely different state. Suddenly, the cops realized cat is no rookie but a bank bandit with a resume. They now had more than enough evidence to halt both cats in for questioning, and authorities were zeroing in on abby, too.

Abby called and she was yelling at me, I'm in jail and I need $10,000 to get me out of here. Get me out of here right now. And I said, you have to get that money from your father. She says, he's the reason I'm in jail.

When we come back, the interrogations begin and everyone is in for a shock.

I hated the job. I was it. I'll just rob eggs. Probably better at that anyway.

And his children weren't the only family members he caught.

I picked up our local newspaper and I said, oh, if I didn't know better, I'd say that was you.

Stay with us.

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We've got the exclusive view behind the table every day right after the show. While the topics are still hot, the ladies go deeper into the moments that make the view the view, the views behind the table podcast. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

Police had nabbed Scott cat for holding up two banks. It wasn't the only cat in the hot seat. Just down the hall in another interrogation room was his 20 year old son, Hayden. Scott made it clear as he walked in he was ready to come clean.

It's a dear reckoning. I get it.

Investigators were expecting to hear about the two heists in Texas, but they were about to learn that Scott Catt's secret life of crime dated back to the Clinton administration. He didn't even ask for a lawyer before he started spilling the beans.

First federal savings alone.

For this head scratcher, Scott actually needed a whiteboard to lay out crimes that began in his home state of Oregon, 2300 miles away. It was like a seminar and bank robbing 101.

So this was number one. This was number one. So I'd say I got about, like $2,500, roughly in total.

Scott would confess to having robbed five banks in Oregon before even setting foot in Texas.

I can go in there, just slam it. And beyond. I'm surprised he was able to, you know, remain undetected, especially when one of the banks he robbed was in his hometown. You would think that someone would have known him.

In fact, someone did. It was Scott, Kat's own mother.

I picked up our local newspaper, and on the front page was a picture of a man that robbed our local savings and loan. And that is where his father retired from.

He worked at the bank.

Yes. And I looked and I saw this frame of this big man, and I said, oh, son, if I didn't know better, I'd say that was you. And he grabbed the paper from me, and he looked at that, I remember so vividly. And he said, yeah, it does, kind of.

But a mother knows what her son looks like.

Oh, I know. In his hands. I know his hands. And Scott said, well, he didn't get.

Very much money, but her son was honing his skills. And you know what they say about practice. With each hit, he was banking more and more money.

That one, I got close to 30, because by then, I had figured out that there were two cash drawers. So I made sure that I got old cash drawers. I selected a bank based on accessibility and escape. He didn't just see a bank and decide to rob it the next day. He would plan for weeks at a time. How many of those did either Hayden or Abby know about? This was all just not a one. I mean, you got to think back. They're still pretty young here.

Scott says it was a job opportunity that brought them to Texas in early 2012. By then, Abby and Hayden were teenagers.

Well, I had a nice chunk of money to come to Houston, and I blew it. Party and just blew it.

The cash tasted so sweet. Kat craved more. Soon blowing off that job in Houston to focus on his more lucrative gig.

I hated the job. It was a. It was just a. It was a really bad job. I'll just. It. I'll just rob banks. I'm probably better at that anyway.

And in his new full time job, he knew more help could mean more money.

This is where I started to, you know, talk. The kids in Hayden wanted to come out here, and I said, well, look, you know, there's a business proposition I have for you. I talked him into it a couple.

Of doors down the hall. Hayden would soon fill cops in on his version of that dirty deal.

That's when he started going over all the details about how it's done and what he's done in the past. Also what to look for in a bank, you know, like what the getaway is. Everything. I told him, you know, I don't think that I can drive after my first one. That's when we talked Abbey into driving force. We just needed someone who was able to drive slow and steady and abide all the traffic laws, you know, not look like a bank robber at all. This cute blonde girl is the last thing you would ever look for.

But that's exactly who police were looking for. After getting a call from her dad, Abby drove herself in to talk to investigators. Same room 6 hours later.

Well, I just felt like, you know, I needed to do what I did to, you know, protect them.

Abby admitted driving the getaway car, but said it was out of blind loyalty to her brother and her father, whose writing was still there on the wall.

My mother died when I was two.

And a lot of it has to do with, you know, I've always trusted my dad. It's not okay. Obviously, I'm not stupid, but when it's your dad, it's almost making it is.

I convinced her of it. She trusts me completely because she doesn't have anybody else to trust.

But according to Texas law, it was a little too late to take the blame. Now David Ryan is Abby's lawyer.

Abigail Catt was facing five to 99 or life in prison for aggravated robbery, even though she didn't put a gun in anyone's face. Because under Texas law, just being involved in the crime itself was enough to make her as culpable as her father and her brother.

By the end of his two and a half hour confession, it was clear Scott Catt wouldn't be winning dad of the year anytime soon.

So that's where we're at today.

And after a decade of robbing banks, what do you have to show Ford besides two kids on the fast track to becoming felons?

About all I got in my wallet. Maybe whatever Aidan has in his wallet is about it.

Aiden had counted his just $30.

When we come back, Scott Cat makes a pledge.

If you were offered a deal where you had to spend 25, 30, 40 years in prison in exchange for both of your kids going free, would you take it?

Absolutely.

But he has one more surprise for his kids.

This is your letter to Abby. By the way, where did you get.

Stay with us.

Hey, I'm Andy Mitchell, a New York Times bestselling author. And I'm Sabrina Kohlberg, a morning television producer. We're moms of toddlers and best friends of 20 years, and we both love to talk about being parents, yes, but also pop culture. So we're combining our two interests by talking to celebrities, writers and fellow scholars of tv and movies, cinema, really, about what we all can learn from the fictional moms we love to watch from ABC audio and Good Morning America. Pop culture moms is out now. Wherever you listen to podcasts.

The pretty house with the wraparound porch in Oregon is now in the cats rearview mirror. Their new home is the big house behind the bars of the Fort Bend county jail in Texas. The family had been held in separate cell blocks and hadn't seen each other in over a year. Jailhouse life had taken its toll. Scott said there wasn't enough food and he'd lost more than 70 pounds, almost unrecognizable to his own mother. When we showed her footage from our interview.

He's a man. Oh, I miss him. He old? I don't want to see anymore.

She's heartbroken by what her son did to the grandchildren she'd helped care for after their mother died.

It's so hard. I wish I knew why he did this. I will never know.

When we sat down with Scott, he wanted us to believe he was a changed man, a father who would do anything for his kids. If you were offered a deal where you had to spend 25, 30, 40 years in prison in exchange for both of your kids going free, would you.

Take it for them going free? Absolutely.

What about life in prison?

Sure.

Would you have said you were a good father?

I thought I was.

Do you think you are now?

I have serious doubts. I mean, I think that we're all sitting in here right now because of my inability to be a parent.

What would Beth say, your first wife? What would she say about you dragging your kids into.

I can't even imagine. Can't even imagine. I'm just. I'm really ashamed.

My mommy, of. That's when he cries about my mom.

He wouldn't cry about his kids, but he cried about his wife.

Yeah.

In fact, as we would learn, he would put in pen and ink how little he cared. Abby's lawyer gave us letters from their dad in which he encouraged them to do hard time so that he could do less of it. With this new information, we went back to confront Scott, this time face to face. This is your letter to Abby, by the way.

Where did you get this?

It's your handwriting, isn't it?

Yeah, it definitely is.

And it's your letter.

Yes.

You told me recently that you would be willing to spend life in prison in order that your kids do not spend time. I would, but here you are asking her, essentially, to do time for you.

Yeah. I was trying to manipulate. I'm trying to get something.

Who are you manipulating?

I'm trying to get everybody something that they can live with.

Everybody? You got your kids involved in this, and you're asking them to do time for you. It says it right here. I do believe that you doing prison time will be good for me, and I know that wasn't an easy choice for you.

And that's what she said to me in the previous letter, that she was willing to do that.

Wouldn't, most parents, say, try to dissuade their children, say, please don't admit to anything? I will take the entire blame here?

I would love to, but they have so much evidence on everybody that. What. What are we supposed to do?

Your father says he blames himself. He says he's lied to you for many years.

Mm hmm.

Do you believe him now?

Am I just supposed to believe him all of a sudden? I want to, and I've always wanted to, but I believe he feels remorse. But I also believe that he still didn't have my best interest through all of this, through all the court stuff.

Does it make you angry? Make you sad?

Mainly sad that a situation like that was put in front of my face from the person that is supposed to keep me away from things like that. And that's been the hardest to deal with because that doesn't happen to everybody. And I feel like now I've lost my mom, and now I've lost my dad.

When we told Scott his kids thought he'd failed as a father, he was dumbfounded.

Did they forget about all the times, the happy times? If they don't remember the trip to Disneyland? I wish I could have made those memories a little more lasting for them.

And unbelievably, despite everything Abby and Hayden say they forgive their father.

I've forgiven him because I have to for myself, or I probably wouldn't be able to see, and so I can start to live a normal life. I don't want hate, anger, any of that in my heart.

If your father were right here, Hayden, what would you say to him?

You know, I'd tell him that I forgive him and that I don't want him to carry this burden around with him for the rest of his life.

But while his kids might forgive him. The court, how do you plead to the offense?

Are you pleading iltrain voluntarily?

Scott Catt's 15 minutes of infamy would stretch into 24 years of prison.

I mean, I'm 51 years old, so to me, that is life. You know, if I don't have the opportunity to get out and see parole and make amends to my family and friends and repair some of those relationships, and it might as well be life.

Hayden accepted a deal of ten years, a sizzling cell in Texas, a world removed from his suburban childhood in Oregon. What do you expect prison life to be? Like?

Hell. As close to hell on earth as you can go. How do you do?

Abby pled guilty and was given a five year sentence. Sheriff Troy nails was so disturbed by Scott's manipulation of his kids that he's decided to help Abby. Instead of shipping her off to prison for five years, he's decided to keep her here at the jail where we found her, stitching patches onto police uniforms.

I just feel that she's more of a victim in this. So my goal is to try to educate her, get her where she can get her ged, and try to teach her some type of a skill set here, so when she gets out, she can lead a person, productive life for.

Abby, all she has left is her brother Hayden. Why does that make you sad now.

I feel like I can't help him, and I can't comfort him and makes me sad.

Making an unprecedented gesture, Sheriff Troy nails allowed us to bring them together one last time before they served their sentences. Brother and sister haven't seen each other in a year. Since the day of their arrest, Hayden has brought in shackled hand and foot and the jailhouse rules were strict. No touching. The soulmate siblings couldn't seem to help reaching out. Abby, breaking one last rule.

Are you doing okay?

Yes.

Okay.

I'm just happy to see you.

Yeah, me, too. Abby, I'm sorry. Okay.

I don't blame you for anything. Just know that I love you forever.

I love you, too.

I don't blame you for anything. Nothing.

It's gonna be a long time until I see you.

I know. I love you.

I love you, too.

Can I give him a hug?

No, I can't hug you.

No.

No.

And on the spur of the moment, we ask the sheriff for one more act of kindness. If you guys want to give each other a hug, the sheriff says it's okay.

Really?

It could be ten years before Abby and Hayden could embrace again. Listen closely. Our mic's picking up Abby's heart pounding.

It'll be.

I know.

It's just gonna be a couple years until I can see.

I love you. I love you, too. I know.

All right.

I don't want you to go.

I know.

And gushing out came the grief and the regret and the anger.

Thank you for the hug. I needed it.

I know.

Love you.

I love you, too. Okay.

Okay.

If you ever start to feel down or anything, just start to think about all those good times we had, okay? That'll get you through.

Okay.

All right.

We love you, Abby.

I love you, too. I'll see you soon.

Okay. Bye.

And after 10 minutes of comfort, check again. The siblings love for one another the one thing their full hearted father couldn't destroy.

This is Deborah Roberts with an update to this story. Abby bought her first home in Texas after becoming a mom to a son. Hayden has been released from prison and has strong faith in God, which has influenced his chosen line of work. Their father remains incarcerated, and both Abby and Hayden visit him.

Coming up, an impossible boss and the employee at his beck and call.

I needed a job and I had a family, so I did what I was told.

But just how far would he go?

Dig on hole in the desert somewhere?

When we come back, a long suffering employee spends years meeting his boss's escalating demands. And then a new task, one that would make him an accomplice to murder. As Jim Avila first told us in 2013. The question was, would he follow orders or take the lead straight to the police.

Welcome to Arizona. Shower door. A sprawling box of a company in Phoenix lined with palm trees where 45 year old Patrick King had tried to earn a living and support his family. That is, until he got a call from his boss to meet him here in this bank parking lot for a special favor. That's Patrick's truck. Inside is Patrick and his boss, Fred Nadler, and this is their day off conversation.

What I need you to do in super secrecy. Ok. Let's go dig a hole in the desert somewhere.

Dig a hole in the desert? Sound odd, even suspicious? Not to Patrick. In fact, it was just the kind of thing he was expecting after five years of working for Nadler, a self made millionaire and owner of Arizona shower door, whose corporate credo was as clear as the glass he peddled.

This is my company. You work for me, and if you don't like it, there's the door.

Was he serious?

Oh, yeah.

Patrick started out as a crane driver but quickly became Fred's right hand man. And what kind of boss was he?

Ruthless.

So ruthless that Patrick says he was working 85 to 90 hours weeks, but only being paid for 40.

I missed my kids being born. I didn't take any time off. He made me come back to work four or 5 hours later.

And if Patrick had any objections, he said Fred had a special way of reminding him who was boss.

He made me carry a paycheck stub that said Fred B. Nadler on it. Two, three times a week, I'd have to pull out a paycheck. And he goes, who signs your paycheck? And I said, well, it says Fred B. Nadler, sir. He goes, are we clear? And I said, crystal clear.

And he wanted you to do whatever.

He said, whatever, no matter what it was or what time of the day.

Personal, private, business, anything, everything, including, he says, spying on his boss's wife.

And he had me get a phone for his wife and put hidden gps in it and track her 24 hours a day, seven days a week. And I complained about a lot of the stuff there and not wanting to do it, but I needed a job, and I had a family, so I did what I was told.

But Patrick's connection with Fred's wife would reach far beyond her cell phone signal. Libby Nadler, like Patrick, was living in a prison of her own, under the thumb of a controlling husband who she says ran the home just like his office.

Everything was fine as long as I went along with it, with whatever he did. He would just tell me if I didn't like it, I could leave.

Not all of their 18 years of marriage had been like that.

Of course, when he told me that he wanted to marry me, he told me that we were going to have a wonderful life.

And it was tripps a nice home. They even adopted and raised two children together. But Fred, she says, always was clear about one thing.

He didn't like to spend money. He only liked making it in his mind. He thought that everything was his. He didn't want to share, not with me, not with anybody else as long as he was alive.

Which meant divorce would be a little tricky. That's when, according to Patrick, Fred's behavior took a twisted turn.

He started dropping these little subtle hints and say stuff like, it's getting me a lot of money for you.

Coming from a boss who allegedly thought worker pay was optional, the promise of a big bonus seemed to Patrick a major red flag. Sure enough, three days later, my phone.

Rings, caller id, and it head spike on it. And he goes, we need to meet.

Which brings us back to this parking lot.

As soon as I stopped here, he got up, started walking over. So he comes over, and as soon as he gets in, I hit record on this recorder, and I have it sitting right here, and I push record and I set it right here on the ledge. We're sitting here talking. What I need is somebody I can trust. That's me. Go dig a hole in the desert somewhere. That's easy to do, especially in Arizona. That's right. You gotta do it at such a time and a place that nobody can see you do it. He finally said, you know, she filed for divorce. She's gonna ruin the company. There's gonna be 180 employees and families out of work. You're gonna be the savior. You're gonna save the company. I was just like, you know, I don't want to believe it. I will give you a bundle to put in that hole, okay? I'm not telling you what's going to be in the funnel. Be wrapped in a blanket or sheet or something and just keep climbing the rest of your life. He pulls out a stack of money wrapped in a yellow band. $1,000. I'm going, you know, just for showing up.

I'm taking care of you. And he throws it at me.

So this man who never gave you anything, maybe $20, gives you $1,000. All of a sudden, Ann. Fred, he says, promised more. Ten k every year that Patrick stayed with the company and kept his trap shut. That Patrick could not do. Instead, this loyal worker had enough, immediately going to police and handing over that tape. Fred was arrested that evening. Libby watching as he was handcuffed and taken away from their house.

The detective said, your husband was gonna kill you. I told the police that's not true. No, I didn't believe it.

When did it sink into you?

That question is very hard because I still.

I still can't believe it.

Sometimes you don't realize that when you are with a car controlling person, what the outcome would be.

Patrick foiled all this. Patrick saved your life, right?

He did. He's my angel, and I keep telling him that.

And that angel dutifully returned to work the following Monday to report to his new boss. Actually, two new bosses. Fred's sons. You save a woman's life, bad guy's in jail. They gave you a raise in a hearty handshake when he got back to work, right?

No.

His reward for saving a woman's life. Patrick was put on paid leave. Then he says, out of the blue, six months later, he was sacked. His parting bonus, a phone call from the prosecutor who was about to take Fred Nadler to trial.

And he goes, we have him hiring somebody to come and kill you before the court date. He doesn't want you on the stand. Yeah, see right here, buddy.

Fred, according to prosecutors, was up to no good, even from behind bars. Caught on tape again. And this Santa Claus lookalike had an early Christmas gift for his ex wife and former employee.

Yeah, apparently. You got a job you like me to do. Yes, sir. I got two jobs. I'm gonna need names. I'm gonna need where they live. I'm gonna need to know what you want me to do. Well, Patrick king, what do you want me to do? Whack this guy. Okay. Who else? My ex wife. There. Lot of scrutiny with these two people asking. Okay. Significant people in my life that's caused me a great deal of problems.

But Nadler had more. The hit on Libby required some special handling.

You have dogs? Yes, two little, little dogs.

Meet Fritzi and Shotzi, who Fred apparently wanted the hitman to take care of as well.

They're my love of my life. If there's anything I do love that's left, it's my two little puppies. So I just like to make sure that's a day or two before somebody finds someone that they have plenty of water. There's a bag of dog food in the laundry room. Just make sure we got a little something to eat for a while.

Nadler might not see Fritzi and Shotzi for a while. He's charged with conspiracy to commit murder and conspiracy to commit abandonment of a body. Even though the ordeal has turned his life upside down, Patrick says he has no regrets. You're a working man, right? You're struggling to make life good for your family. Here's the guy who's offering you at least ten grand. Were you ever tempted in any way to go on with this?

No. I don't care. If he would have looked out a million dollars right there on the spot, it would have been the same outcome.

Patrick King still lives and works in Arizona. Fred Nadler passed away two years after being released from prison. You've been listening to the 2020 true crime vault. Join us Friday nights at nine for all new broadcast episodes of 2020. Thanks for listening.