From 35 Years to Freedom

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo3:46

Okay. And and I know you know the environment intimately, but from our side, I know a guy that died of COVID because he didn't want to give up his bunk. Cuz what they would do when they if you had a fever at this time, they would take you to another place where you would go with all the sick people. Yeah.

Little did they know, everybody was sick anyway. Everybody was hiding it, just trying to drink water so they wouldn't show fever on the temperature. We're all sick.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo4:12

One person said, "How do you feel?" I said, "I'm [ __ ] sick." Really? And then everybody started saying, "Me too. Me too. Me too." Everybody had it.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo4:19

But this guy was so sick. He was like, matter of fact, he was a pretty tough guy. Like, you know, he was an African-American guy. He was, you know, strong, thick guy. He was in the military before. I don't know what branch. But one day, they were coming around doing the rounds and he couldn't get off his bed. And the nurse was like, "You got to come with me." And he's like, "No, you got to help me." Like he she got some people help. And he fell at the door, the malt of the unit, and died.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo5:33

Yeah. 420 months I got sentenced.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo5:58

When listen we can put the I nobody played tough guy better than me. Everybody believed me but me and unfortunately the federal government believed me too. But so the thing is is when you talk about the sentence, we have to start really at um you know the the the moment that it all started when I first went into court. They just reenacted the death penalty federally and they were threatening me. You're going to be the first death penalty case because there's a murder in your case and we're going to give you the death penalty.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo7:10

So and it's like our friend Mike Lee says bean shoot says when I heard about this kid and I see about talking about me he goes I'm expecting I'm looking at his Instagram profiles see a guy with a long hair beard. He goes he look like a child bank robber to this guy. So, but you know, and that adds credence to what you're saying. And so, funny thing about me, I grew up at East Boston, and there was a motorcycle club called the Trampers. And I remember I went to East Boston Central Catholic School.

It was the fitting school. It was down by the Maverick Projects. And I used to walk by their clubhouse, what I know to be their clubhouse now. Before I didn't know, I just knew when I was a kid there was like dogs barking out there, all motorcycles, women. They were running around crazy and I just went on the other side of the street and I just kind of looked and about that time like I was running around my house just making the motorcycle sounds, you know.

My the first thing my aunt made me in a ceramics class was a little guy on a motorcycle class. So they kind of knew where I was. The first bicycle I had had front and back shocks, right? I mean, my father got it on me and said, "Yeah, this is pretty good for you, kid. I think this will fit you." And my uncle Bobby ran a club and I don't know if you're familiar with it. Everybody in our time was the Palace nightclub complex of course.

So Russell Robots owned it. My uncle Bobby my uh my father's brother Robert Bomeo Bobby Bot

Was the head of security for them guys that owned the palace.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo9:25

I agree.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo10:25

So he runs the palace. My uncle Bob. He's the head of security. So I used to go there. I mean it's my father's brother. It's my uncle. I grew up like glorifying this guy, right? And um I pull up in my car. Everybody knows who I am. The the valet guy comes. John Paul, Johnny, what's up, buddy? Come on. How you doing? Give me the keys. I walk in the back door. Everybody's like, "Who's this guy in the Yo, I had cop blanch there. I was like a movie star there, you know." So,

What happened was is make a little, you know, connect the nexus for you. The Hells Angels started having their um parties up there, like a Valentine's Day party. They have like a um Halloween party. Angels Halloween party.

I'm saying it's fundraisers. That's how we derive capital. You know what I'm saying? So, you know, you charge people admission, you make shirts, you know, you have certain things.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo11:13

Of course. Of course. And I'm saying I'm not saying trying. I'm not because I I you know, I'm I was a member of the organization. I'm out of the club now. Preface everything with that. I left the club. But I'm saying for the 99 percentile, it is a legitimate organization. And a lot of people that are involved, me included, a lot of times were like, "Hey, let's make this legitimate." So nobody, you know, but anyway, we were having uh, you know, the club was having their events there.

And that's kind of how I met, you know, Greg Doly. He was the president of the charter at the time. And he was like, "Hey, Skinny." He called me skinny. I was like, "Skinny? I work out every day. This guy just called me skinny." I'm thinking to myself, you know, but he's like, "Hey, you want to be security for the party?" So that's how it started. I became security for the events. Okay.

And then after that, I just, you know, the thing about the club is the club doesn't recruit people.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo12:04

You know, when you're in the club, and I was in the club, I would just recognize people that was like me and I would, you know, say, "Listen, this might be good for you." So, I just

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo12:15

So, I kind of I don't know. Yeah. Maybe I don't know. Maybe. But I mean, for me, it's I recognized people that were like me and I, you know, offered them an opportunity. I'm no longer in the club, but that's what I did. I went around to guys and be like, "Hey, I want to get in the club."

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo12:28

So, that's kind of that's that's how that happened. So, you know, I knew I seen it when I was a kid with the Trampers of East Boston. They're no longer a club no more. And then when I kind of went into I had this, you know, this spark kind of reignited in me when I seen guys in the club and everybody asked me like like, "You're Italian. You're from East Boston. Why weren't you in the mob?" You know what I'm saying? And the reason for that and to add further support for why I you know I got into the club was that

You know I seen a lot of people that were you know organized crime members and serious guys but in my neighborhood there was people that were trying to emulate those guys who weren't really those guys and we kind of called them plastic gangsters. Not the guys that were the real guys because they were real guys but these kids in the neighborhood like you know and I was like I don't want to be that. So I gravitated toward guys in the club.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo13:28

Yeah. I mean, so for me, my my personal experience in the club is kind of what I talk about. I don't talk about like what goes on in the club, the inner workings of the club. And I always shy away from that because it's not for me to put ideas into other people's heads or to try to, you know, formulate opinions of other people and then bring them to the table. So, my experience is I never went through any of that.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo14:05

And I'm saying now when you're It's It is pretty tense driving, too. When you're on a motorcycle, you're about 11 12 not even a foot away from the next guy doing 90 m hour on the highway in formation. It's wild.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo14:57

Yeah. So, for me, I mean, these guys were coming to my house. My mother loved these guys. My father loved these guys. When I went to prison, you know, because of my own doing, you know what I'm saying? Everybody says, "Well, you did that for the club." I I did what I did for me. Like, you know, so I mean, nobody forced me. I didn't become a Hell's Angel because I wanted to listen what people told me to do. I'm do I do my own thing, and that's what I think a misconception is about the club.

We was we do our own thing. We're men would do our own men. But these are guys that went and took care of my family. Every birthday my father had, they were there. Any event they would invite my family. So these were people that were coming down my house having dinner with us. We it to me it you have this concept that you see and you're like, "Oh my god, like you know this is this." So your personal opinion and your perception which has been shaped by things other than personal experience makes you believe what you believe.

But I believe something you know much different.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo16:12

I mean my my basically the the crux of my case is for running down a rival gang member and killing him. That's

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo16:21

Yeah. And that's what I mean. So every news article I'm not telling you anything that you couldn't just look up on the computer of course. So that's the crux of the case. Okay. And um at some point in my life, I mean, I was heavily involved in, you know, achieving my own needs because I wanted to prove to everybody I was the toughest guy on the block. And I think I told you this before we sat down is I proved it to everybody but myself. And unfortunately, I proved it to the federal government.

They gave me 35 years for it. So, um, I was living a grandiose vision because my first day in prison, I went there and said to myself, "Hey, John, how did you think this was all going to play out? You think you was going to do this for the rest of your life? Like, you think this was, you know?" So, I had this vision in my head about who I wanted to be and who I wanted people to perceive me as. So, I think violence was an end to achieve those means.

And yeah, I killed a guy. I put a hammer in another guy's head and um you know these were all feathers in my cap you know and I'm sure you know I my I strengthened my standing in my organization and with people around me they're like don't mess with these guys or this guy

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo17:38

Yeah and you know that's basically it in a nutshell when you ran the guy over just out of curiosity were you looking for this guy like how did you you saw the guy with a rival patch and just like [ __ ] this guy I'm running him over

So I mean I was out looking for him. You know, I was looking for a

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo17:55

Particular crew. You know, I knew that these guys from what I had heard from law enforcement is that they wanted to harm me and my friends.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo18:04

So, that was the impetus for that.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo18:09

Yeah. Well, I I tracked them down and I knew what I was going to do.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo18:15

Yeah, my own car.

You didn't think like maybe I rent one? There was a you know what so there was a lack of thinking right like rational thinking um at this point in time um I feel like doesn't I don't care in front of God and everybody I don't care like I'm going to I got a gun in my pants you know I don't care like whatever come and get me and then we'll figure it out then

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo18:42

Never been to jail before but I've had a lot of run-ins up until that point with the law but here's the thing that kind of jaded me a a little bit. That kind of spoiled me a little bit. Every time I had a case, the witness never showed up. They were persuaded not to.

I got you.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo18:55

So, the car became inoperable because there was a motorcycle attached to it. Okay. And I get out of my car and I'm just I'm starting to run. I'm I got to get out of there. I know. I got to get out of there, right? And I remember because I just said about what Greg said to me. He said, "Hey, Skinny, you want to be security?" And [snorts] this guy called me like, "Hey, Skinny, like," and I turned around like I wanted to fight him.

He had a shotgun.

Yeah.

So, he's standing there like this getting ready. No. And I'm like,

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo19:32

A rival guy. And I'm like, all I could do was run like this. Like, I'm waiting to get shot in the back.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo19:37

And I never did. And I just ran over a fence. And then at some point in time, I ran over so many fences. I remember vividly two things. I'm running as fast as I can to these fences and now I'm just not even hopping them. I'm just running as fast as I can and my weight's taking me over them. If you can imagine that.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo19:57

That's it. Just running. Now I'm just running. I'm not failing nothing. I'm just running. And this has seemed like a more um economical way to get over the fence instead of stopping, jumping. Just boom, boom, boom, just run. And I'm falling over these fences cuz they're like, you know, waist high fences. But I remember there was a cookout going on. It was a summer day, July 29th. So this happened in the middle of the day.

Right in the middle of the day, I had two wheels on the street and two wheels on an island.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo20:22

That's how I accelerated.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo20:24

So now as I'm running, I remember seeing this family there. There's two things I remember. This family, they were having a cookout and I remember this guy seeing me running and obviously I'm bloody. And the guy's like, he's getting ready to say, "Hey yo, my man, what are you doing?" He went just he went he went and I remember he was like he got he was ready to like take an opposition that I was in his yard until he got horrified and seen like the look in my eye and seen my motion and to see just like yo I'm I'll steamroll you and everybody in my way and he was like I seen like the the like terror in his eyes and I just kept going and he didn't say nothing to me and everybody just stopped talking and was like like they had just seen a ghost.

Yeah. and [snorts] then vividly remember because now it turned into night. It turned into darkness. Where is this?

This was in right near um it was in quint oh um way Massachusetts. It was a hospital. I remember the hospital but um it was way Massachusetts definitely because the way murder detectives came to my house after. So, but I remember now darkness started to fall and I was in this little bit of this like creek and I was halfway in the creek and halfway into this bush and I was completely hidden and then the I was waiting for darkness because under the cover of darkness you make you know you're going to try to get away broad daylight.

No, but I remember and I'm just sitting there like this laying waiting for it to get darker so I can move. I had lost my beeper. I lost everything that was on me. I was trying to communicate with people. I needed somebody to come and get me. And I remember I looked in a window and I seen this guy with the TV on and he had a cup of coffee and he was sitting down. Now his back to me. He can't see me. He don't know anything.

He's just and he's just sipping a cup of coffee. And I'm sitting there and I thought to myself at that very moment, John, your life will never be that easy again. Ever. This you just went into this whole new you just broke a whole new ground here. Jesus. So So how did you get home? I managed to get to a pay phone, call somebody to come and get me

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo22:29

So, I didn't go home because when I read the paper as I was driving, as somebody picked me up, the first thing they did was throw me the paper and I seen that the guy got killed that I ran over. So, I knew right away it was going to be a murder investigation. So, I didn't go anywhere near home.

How long did it take for them to catch you? So, what happened was the feds are cunning, bro, and insidious. They will rock you all the way to sleep. You're good. Listen, you know what they told my lawyer? We know he's in New York. We seen him in New York already. Just tell him to come back. All we want to do is fingerprint him and photo him. He's good. We're not going to arrest him. And you believe them? They didn't listen. I They had an agreement with me.

I went back, got fingerprinted, photoed, and on my way. And I would went back to selling drugs, and I knew at some point, right, that the the shoe's going to drop, right? But you you asked me, John, you ran this guy over with your own car. Yeah. So, based upon that philosophy and that method of thinking, I just went, I'm just going to keep selling drugs and make money until they come get me. If they come get me, maybe they won't come get me. So, were there moments where you're like, I I can't believe they're not going to arrest me for killing that guy.

So, what do you have to say to yourself? My friend used to say it all the time. He ended up being a stool pigeon. But anyway, he was like, they're building they're building a case on us. I'm like, man, what are you worried about that for? We got tonight. Listen, it's Friday night. They didn't come.

Me and my friend used to be in the tanning booth on a Friday night. You're like, we ain't going away this weekend, buddy.

Right. Every night, you know, every Friday we go get a tan, right? And you'd be like, because if they're not coming Saturday or Sunday morning.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo24:14

Yeah.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo24:18

So, it was September 5th, 1996. I was living with a girl away from my like right up the street from my mother's house, my mother and father's house, and you know, you know, ripped the doors down and come and you know, ripped me out of my bed. That was September 5th, 1996. It's always surprising that they're like, "Hey, come in, get fingerprinted for photo." Yeah, no problem. That they wouldn't just be like, "Hey, come on down. We want to talk to you."

What? What they said? So, here's the thing. Like, you know, I was explaining a little bit about the upward departure and how I didn't get indicted for the murder. They threatened to indict me for the murder. But here's what they did. And here's our argument, which fails all the time, is we were like, "All they're doing now is because I kept selling drugs, right?"

Yeah.

And they were they had an undercover agent

That I was selling drugs to. Okay. So all they were doing was kept upping the quantity of the drugs until it triggered a 20-year mando. You know what I'm saying? Mandatory minimum.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo25:20

All they're doing is just like, "Hey, what's up, Johnny?" Yeah. No, you're good.

You know, I mean, just let's just make a full length movie of this. You know what I'm saying? So, but that's, you know, there's an, you know, there's like almost an innocence in thinking you're getting away with murder,

Right? You know what I'm saying? It's like I'm cool.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo25:45

People telling them already,

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo26:09

Sure. And I mean it's because anybody that doesn't know nothing about the case, this is where I always talk about like make sure you got paperwork on somebody before calling them a rat. Like oh I didn't get a life sentence a rat. You know what I mean? So, but the thing is with my case is they had enough drugs to give me 27 years.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo26:26

Right? And what I received from the federal government was, hey, you know what? We can make all this stop today. You take a 35-year plea agreement. And the way we'll do this 35-year plea agreement is we'll give you 27 years for the drugs, right? And we'll give you an eight-year upward departure for the murder and the attempted murder. And what we'll do there is we won't indict you. We'll just say not guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, which a jury has to find you are a judge, but we'll say due to a prepoundonderance of the evidence.

So, we have some leeway there to make this easy for you. Give me 35 years. Make it easy for me, but so your friends won't get in trouble. We're going to give you a list of these guys. This guy's not going to have to come back and testify before the grand jury. This guy's not going to have to get indicted.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo27:28

Yeah. And

Why would they do this plea? So again, what like a lot of these things I always say that I can't get into their heads and tell you why they did this, right? My interpretation of the thing

Uh of the whole case was

There's always been a problem with the evidence.

Got it. the car to put me in the car. You could have people put you in the car and you could, but do you want to take that chance? Yeah. Because my father went to the grand jury, right? And this is where the handsome story comes in. My father was, listen, my best friend, he's passed away now, you know, a mentor to me. Never ever condoned anything that I ever done illegally, but was fascinated with me being in the club. Loved me and was like, "Kid, don't worry about it." Used to come to jail and say, "Hey, kid." He wasn't like, "Why'd you do this?" He's like, "Kid, don't worry about it, kid.

30 years out, 30 years in, 30 years out. I'll be here when you get here."

So, and he was the best soldier. On his deathbed in cancer, he told me, "You know what, John? I'll be here when you get home. I'm getting better." He was dying. He's a soldier.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo28:30

Without a doubt, 100%. But he said in the grand jury, right, they were like, "Mr. Batomeo, you were there the day that your son's car was taken out of the driveway." He says, "Yeah." He goes, "The people take the car all the time. Maybe John's friends keys are always in it."

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo28:47

Maybe John's friends take it. The brother will take it. I'll take it. I don't know. Somebody comes in the driveway. I'm not going to question them. The John's friend. He goes, "Well, what did your son look like on July 29th, 1995?" He says, "I see him all the time. He's my best friend." Yeah. He goes, "What do you look?" He goes, "Well, what do you mean? What did he look like?" He's my son. He's my kid. Well, did he have long hair? Did he have short hair?

Did he have a beard? He goes, "I really can't remember." He goes, "Well, listen. on July 29th, 1995. What do he look like? And he said,

"Handsome, handsome kid." And that was it. They ended the grand jury questioning. But that was my father. So that was the handsome story. Everybody always laughs about the handsome story. But my father was just like that. My mother be in the front row

With the St. Anthony, smartest lady in the whole crowd. And when they ask a question, I don't I don't know. I don't know how what what do I do? What do I say? I don't know.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo29:38

You know what I mean? So there was a lot of evidentiary issues and that was the thing when they could this was case was widely you know publicized in the media. It was in USA Today but that was the biggest thing. There's a lot of evidentary evidentiary issues with this case. That was the big thing that they all

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo30:04

Well I'm saying I'm still going to there's no way I can get evade the drug charge. Oh, you still have the drug charging on camera there.

But who knows? Maybe somebody might say, "Hey, listen. This they lied about this stuff. They're trying to do this, did this, and this this guy, you know, who knows?" But it was simple for them.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo30:24

You think Jeffrey Lockach was the state prosecutor was like, I'm going to wave all the crimes cuz I it was a murder. I was going to get tried by North County. That was one of our issues. We said, "Well, we might go to trial on the we might plead out to the drug charges and go to trial for seconddegree murder in the state. Why not?" But these were things that we were saying. Obviously, when this whole thing came about, guys from the club come up and talked to me and said, "John, we'll get the money.

We'll get you a lawyer." There's one thing you have to understand about the club. For me, people, you know, I always see these like specials about like mob individuals got like, you know, that were telling that were cooperating like they were going to kill my family. I mean, I had the complete opposite. Anything I ever needed from guys in the club that were my friends and guys in the club, that was a common denominator that they were in the club. It's not the club as an entity.

These guys are my friends. These guys are my brothers. These guys I loved do anything for, you know,

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo31:21

Well, we didn't we chose not

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo31:25

To fight it. So, my brother come up. He was like, "Hey, listen. Well, whatever you want us to do. I said, I'm going to take the 35 years. I'm going to save people. Then it's simple. Nobody got to pay anything.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo31:36

And that, you know, that's part of the the cult following that I have that kind of springboarded into Instagram, springboarded into, you know, why I've kind of been successful on social media because I always had that cult following before any of this was even existent. So, okay. So, now let's get into it. You get sentenced. Where do you go right from sentencing? I always find this part so appealing cuz I'm thinking if I'm in court and they're like you're going for 35 years. I'm like oh my god what hell hold

I had no bail. So from the first day they busted my door down, I was incarcerated.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo32:31

It's a huge deal Ken. I'm going to tell you why. The biggest huge deal is if you're going to trial if you're going to trial on the street right aruous process, right? You got to prepare for trial. You're in your house. You're talking with your lawyer. You're going back and forth. Picture being in jail. They wake you up at 3:00 in the morning.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo32:47

To go to court at 8. Hold on. You're getting handcuffed and shackled. You're in a cage waiting for everybody to get ready for the cops to take you. They they get you up at 3:00. You get a bologn sandwich. You leave at 7, right? You go to court for the whole day, get back at 7 at night till you get processed back to your cell. It's 10:00. Then you start again at 3:00 in the morning.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo33:11

Never. So, I didn't number one is I wasn't doing that. I was, you know, scared to do that. But I mean, of course, that was our ploy up until I just said, "Hey, I'm going to take the deal." So I was in prison from day one. So now,

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo33:26

I was at Wyatt Detention Facility in Central Falls, Rhode Island for the first part of it.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo33:32

So it's a private facility run by Cornell Corrections. Or it was when I was

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo33:38

Well, the Marshalss had a contract. So I was in the custody of the United States Marshalss. So until you're sentenced. Yeah. If you're pre-trial, you're under in custody of the United States Marshalss.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo33:53

Because the marshalss are the, you know, you're you're the jurisdiction is federal. So the United States Marshalss have custody.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo34:02

So a very interesting question, right? So the feds don't even have a murder charge. You can't get indicted federally. If you like kill somebody on the street, it's a state charge. But how they did this was organized crime they said right but the impetus of all this was the drugs.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo34:19

So piggybacked on the drug charges they have ways that they can indict you federally for like violating uh um interrupting interstate commerce or murder in the aid of racketeering uh RICO murder. They could they have some special designations that they can put onto a murder charge and that's what they did with me.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo34:48

So there's a lot of Boston guys there. But you have to understand, Ken, this is my first time ever being in cop.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo34:54

When they take me that day. Now don't forget I got a different mindset today than I did back then. Right. My first mindset to and then what I said to everybody is when we come out, we got a table. I said, "Listen, we're getting this table every day. This is going to be our table and I just want you to listen. I know it's a it's a nightmare, right? We're in the middle of a nightmare right now. Look around. Look at this. If these suckers can do it, we got to do it.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo35:16

So, you got no choice.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo35:18

You know what I mean? So, that's basically what I said. But there was a lot of pre-trial people there. There was state prisoners mixed in, county prisoners mixed in for DUIs. I'm saying

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo35:37

100%.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo37:04

It's 35 years. You know what I said to the judge? I made a speech in court saying that, you know, to the judge that, hey, look, you know what? My father tells me that man, men men do manly things. I'm not putting the focus on nobody else. I'm here taking responsibility for what I did. They asked me if I ran over and killed a guy. I said, "Yes, I did." You know, and I didn't have to, but I did. I was say, I'm I'll take responsibility for that.

That's me, you know. And I said, "If you and I were in a foxhole, your honor, and the enemy was all around us, and they wanted the secrets of the state of the United States, we'd either die together or live together, you know." And he didn't like that. He went to some theatrical response, you know, about, you know, you've done nothing but serve your own needs. Don't sell you the names of people that have served the country. [snorts] And in hindsight, I understand it. You know what I mean?

But back then, I was like, "Yeah, whatever." And then I give you a little excerpt of what I said in the sentence and transcripts. But what I used to call it, I used to have my paperwork and I used to say to convicts or people, "Here, read this." And I used to say, "This is pornography for for a convict right here. You're going to get a heart on when you read this." You know, because I prided myself on never not only not cooperating, of course, that's that's a given.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo38:12

I've never ever patted myself on the back. Oh, I've never cooperated. Just that I took a prison sentence

To to to to get people off that day. when I signed my name, there's a bunch of people didn't have to worry about anything, you know. So, that's what I did. So, now when I get sentenced that day, I go back to Plymouth cuz we had a we actually started a riot in Wyatt. We all got transferred, you know. There was like me and a bunch of my codefendants that we got into a fight with some people over phones. They were saying, "You can't use this phone." I was like, "What do you this phone or that phone?

I'm using the phone. I gotta call somebody." We ended up getting into a huge riot over the They transferred all of us. I was the last one to go. So I went to Plymouth. Then some people had got out on bail and whatever the case may be is. So they took us back to Plymouth. I stayed in Plymouth because what happens is you have to get designated. So you get sentenced, you get you go to then you have to wait a couple months usually like 60 days.

What they do is they classify you in the system and then at some point they say, "Hey, pack your stuff. You're going."

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo39:16

Imagine

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo39:24

The be the best the best was Teddy Sutherland. He's a known Boston gangster and when I got sentence I came back that day and he was like brother you know I'm sorry. I said what are you talking about Teddy? I said I got him right where I want him. Like I was like convinced I was going to beat them on appeal and he was like okay.

All right. So where do you go from Plymouth? So from Plymouth they take me to back to the federal courthouse which has been so long that they've changed from the McCormick courthouse to one courthouse way the new elaborate courthouse they have. So and I was looking all around I was like wow this thing is brand new like you know what I'm saying? So because don't forget I get indicted and it's like 13 months later

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo40:06

Before I get my sentence through the whole plea process through

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo40:13

Yeah. Yeah. No, I was in pre-trial for almost three years.

Those are terrible. That's what makes people turn. You think like, I got to do this forever. Like, you know what I mean?

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo40:28

Don't even mention M MDC. I was going to from to a camp. Your whole life can change in one second in MDC. Brutal. Most brutal federal jail I've ever been in my whole life

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo40:41

1,000%.

And how about Atlanta? the dirtiest. MDC Brooklyn the most dangerous.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo40:50

Those You know why? Those guys are in protective custody. They never go out.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo40:56

Huh?

I don't know if he was in population.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo40:59

Well, he's not he's not in population. That I can guarantee that.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo41:06

Can you imagine the president?

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo41:28

Snatched him and put him in MDC with his wife.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo41:36

Listen, it's crazy. Commit suicide.

Yeah. Better option. So, Plymouth, I go to N I go to um to the federal courthouse, one courthouse way in Boston. From there, we take a bus to New Hampshire.

Okay.

Into an airirstrip. We get on a plane.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo41:55

Yeah.

1,000%. Conair. That's the nickname for it. So, we get on to Conair. They take us to Oklahoma City. And from Oklahoma City, I wait there to go to Leavenworth Penitentiary.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo42:11

So, anytime that you're going anywhere, you're getting transported. Before you leave the cell at the courthouse, you're handcuffed,

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo42:20

With a waist chain and your hands in your wrists

Are attached to your waist chain.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo42:27

So, this is as much. Now, the black box, that's an added layer of protection. I've had it three or four times in my bid. You know what I'm saying? That particular time. No, I didn't have it.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo42:38

You know the crazy. What is it? I've never seen the black box. What it does is completely So here you have like you can eat, you could do this, you can move your wrist. The black box completely immobilizes your hands. So what it does is it puts something here and something here attached to the middle and this is all your hands can do.

Oh, so you can wiggle your fingers just barely. So you're here and you can't even eat with it cuz like with the waist chain, you could get your sandwich and go like this and eat it.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo43:13

Okay. So you go to the bathroom. So you know, you say to the officer, "Hey, listen. I got to go to the bathroom." So me, I would never eat or drink when I was getting transferred.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo43:20

I would just completely fast.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo43:23

So can I've seen people come out of the bathroom on the air.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo43:27

Or the airplane. Yeah. What? like [ __ ] on their pants,

Piss all over their pants,

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo43:33

Here's the thing. I'm going to tell you what. So, you're always going to have to take a leak.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo43:37

What happened with me is I would go like this and I pull my pants like, you know, the band down with one hand.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo43:43

And it always went back up. The thing would go everywhere. And listen, so every time after that, I got 27 years of experience, right? So, I'm like,

All I have to do is not let my thumb slip this time. Now, I'm an expert. I'm like, don't let my thumb slip. And precisely every single time it slips, I'm like, "Well, how did I do this again? Am I the stupidest guy on the planet?" But just think of how immobilized you are.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo44:09

No. No. Because what what happens is is so when you're on a plane, it's not a Federal Bureau of Prisons guard on the plane with you. It's the Federal Marshalss. It's the air marshals. It's a whole different division. And generally the martial are all right. I mean they're not, you know, it's but it's orderly. It's like, hey, I got to do this now. You ain't doing nothing now. When we have the bathroom break and we're in the air and the seat belt light goes off, we're going to go rowby row

And you're going to go to the bathroom. Until then, nobody's doing anything. And you wouldn't even, you know, you'd have people on the but listen, it's just a waste of breath. Just wait until they're ready and go. Hey, did you ever hear of anyone or see of anyone try and uh organize like an escape like an elaborate like when they're transporting us, we're going to try and break uh like the Hells Angels said, Johnny, we're going to get you out on the transport.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo45:01

Precisely the opposite. Right. So, what I've seen is people I've never seen that. No, that's the answer to the question, the industry. What I've seen is people break down and have like attacks [gasps] like they can't fly. Like, you know, people are scared to fly. But what Oh, we need to take you by bus. Oh, I'm sorry. Do you have a phobia of planes? What? Too bad. Like, you know, oh my god. Throwing up all over themselves. Yeah, I've seen it. Oh my god. Yeah, I've seen it.

And I'm like, yeah, you just sit there and you're like, you know, it's hard when you talk about it now, right?

It's almost like a fantasy life that never really happened that I've read a book and I'm talking about all this stuff. But when you're experiencing it, you know,

You're just doing it. Well, I'm just saying to myself like I no matter what happened, I'd be like I'd be saying to myself like, "Bro, toughen up. You let people see you're a [ __ ] [ __ ] Don't do that." You know what I mean? But now looking back on it now, like, you know, the guy's got a fear of flying. I mean, you know, think about that.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo46:19

Yeah. I mean listen Ian as quiet as it Ian's a I love Ian.

I do too. I can't imagine. I love him. Yeah. Right. I'm saying picture what he went through. Everybody thought he was a pedophile. Got the look of it. You know what I'm saying? And we've talked about it. You know Mcloven, we've talked about it a million times. But I love Ian Bick. What he's doing, everything he's doing. And he never told on nobody. Kid solid. You know what I'm saying?

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo46:58

So, Oklahoma City, I remember the one thing that stands out in my head is is I remember that we're going to Leavenworth Penitentiary. I know where I'm designated to. I find out when I get there.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo47:11

Levworth Penitentiary. And you know what the worst part is? When I get there, they're like, I went into the counselor's office. Yeah, I got bad news, but you're going to Leavenworth. Yeah, there was a murder there, so it's locked down for probably going to be about two weeks before you get there. They just killed two people over there. So, it's going to be locked down for a little while. They're not letting nobody go back and forth, anything. They're not doing any movement. It's all locked down.

So, after it gets back opened up, you'll be going there. And I'm like, "All right, people get murdered there all the time now. This is crazy." You know what I mean? And I remember I felt like I got raped. I was I kept like pillows are like high real estate.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo47:43

You know what I'm saying? Somebody stole my pillow out of my cell when I was at out wreck

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo47:49

Yeah. In Oklahoma City. And um you know and I asked around and I'm like you know you see anybody go on my cell. You know what I'm saying? And I never found out but down the road somebody stole something from me before and I had a real bad episode with it. you know, I ended up getting transferred back to a penitentiary for getting into a wreck because it's like the worst thing you could ever do to somebody in jail and especially if you're like a like a standup guy, you know what I mean?

And it just eats at you. It's like, you know, people think I'm a, you know, I'm trying to Yeah. I got this I got this reputation to uphold. Like, and you always say like, if somebody steals something from me, I'm murdering them. You know, now you got to,

You know, so it's a pretty bad feeling. and um just for a pillow and you know I it's always such a foreign just being in prison for me was such the most foreign feeling ever. People say you get used to it this and that. When I had that furlow I talked about after 21 and a half years everybody said you're going to be so shell shocked. Wait till you get out there things are moving too fast.

Ken when I got out there right it was like I never left the street.

It was like I was talking to the taxi driver. Yo, what's up? I may give him a $20 tip. Went into Dunkin Donuts. Got a coffee. Hey sweetheart, what's up? Give her a tip. She was like, "Oh my god." Listen, best day of my life. When I got back to prison, that's when I felt like I was shell shocked. Being out of prison for me, it's like people say seamless integration. I said because this is normal for me. That's not normal.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo49:16

I got another pillow. I just, you know what happens is in Oklahoma City, it's a transfer center.

Yeah. FC. Yeah. So people come and go every day. I just went into a empty cell the next day and got another pillow. Yeah, it was easy but it was just the principle of it and then I was looking at these you always got the guy you think it is. It's this I know I know it's this mother I know it and it's probably the last person that did it.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo49:42

All the Boston guys.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo49:45

So I mean bank robbers from Charlestown. A lot of Charles Town guys. There's always a huge Boston car and all these federal uh penitentiies and mediums, but Boston, you know, and don't forget I was in the club at the time and the club had a table in the back that other guys were sitting at that I went there and I said, "Hey, I know Mark left this table for guys in the club. I'm in the club. This my table. You guys can sit here for now.

I'm going to sit with the Boston guys, but when it comes time for me and some people that come here, we're taking this table." And they were like, "Yeah, cool. This Mark's table. I'm holding it down for them. I got you." And they were they were just other white guys in there.

All it's all so the you know it's very racially you know divisive in prison very segregated. So the white sat with the whites and the black sat with the blacks and with the whites was also the um the islanders like people from Guam from Hawaii. You know what I'm saying? Those are the most dangerous people in prison was the islanders. The sweetest people but the most dangerous. And then the Spanish, you know, the Mexicans out, the Texas, I mean the California Emmy and like the Serenos, they sat with us as well.

We all sat together, you know, they were all serious guy. Everybody got it. It's basically in the penitentiary, it's

The blacks against everybody else and everybody else against the blacks because there's such a predominant number of blacks in there, you Well,

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo51:23

And you know like we talked about earlier there was people from Dorchester my homeboy Herb black dude that like I loved like a brother like he's like one of my favorite guys in the guy this guy Bam who was uh 70 uh I think it was 67 Hoova [ __ ] I loved them we talked every night like but when something happened it just separated and And then afterwards everybody was cool again. You know what I'm saying? It just it was the way it was.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo52:00

No, not in the penitentiary.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo52:03

In a medium. Yeah, it was every bit. It was Boston against the world.

No, that's the way it was. We were all together.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo52:37

We get older you know what I'm saying I mean we mellow out a little They call it there's a there's a term to it. It's called aged out, you know, especially people in prison. We're working on that with the guy Kevin McTager right now.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo52:48

So, I mean, he's got a resume that's unparalleled in prison. He saved an officer's life and um you know, a long time ago she was getting violated. She was going to get beat up. She was going to get raped. You know, and he just you know, neutralized the whole situation and was commended for it, you know.

Were the other inmates like why are you helping? Don't you think it's us against them? You know what I'm saying? So, that's something he had to wear in a lot of flack that people took that were around him. He's my friend. He's a great guy. Solid. He's from the west side of Cleveland. Had a huge organized crime case. Obviously, never told on any of his friends. Never told on anything. You know, that guy Danny Green that, you know, was the head of that whole organization. You know, I don't know if it's true or not, but I've heard other things about him.

I know he's passed away now, but Kev's still rotten in prison as a result of it. Kev's a solid guy. Great guy. He just knew how to work both sides of the system.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo53:38

Yeah.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo53:43

See, you know, and so I mean, so it's just about your moral compass, you know, because the the the way

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo53:50

The way it is in there, right, Ken? It's us against them. Yeah.

You know, you were on the other side of it. You know that you felt that

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo54:19

And just think that's geographically close to where you grew up. The feds is different, right? Cuz now nobody knows anybody. That's why paperwork is a big thing. I if you if we're both in uh county jail, I get the paper every day. I know that's that dude Ken. You know what I'm saying? Like, you know what I'm saying? Oh, he's a good guy.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo54:36

You know, so you would know that. But in the feds, it's a little different, you know? And so, but it's just that dynamic. It's a moral compass now. You know,

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo54:47

Yeah.

I'm just not this not my position anymore, you know. I'm just, you know, my whole, you know, philosophy has changed in life, you know. So,

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo54:58

So, I'm in Leavenworth for 5 years. I did five years. No, that's when it was the hot house. That's when it was a pretty serious place.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo55:06

Tommy Silverstein and them. That was after

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo55:21

Mhm. No, I mean interesting question, right? But so I always say that these places, all of them from, you know, from minimum security to maximum security, they're basically all the same, but they have their days, right? And then the maximum security has more days than the others, you know?

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo55:45

So it's you always have your head on a swivel.

Yeah. You know, I do anywhere I go now. You know what I'm saying? I'm just programmed by prison. But the daytoday is routine, right? Doing your thing, reading your book, I'm got to go to work, got to do this. You know, you planning your days like you're planning your days today. But now you start to smell it in the air. Like you start the the the environment. You'll hear somebody sneakers go and you're like, "Oh, you know, you'll start hearing like the whispers like, "Yo, these dudes, they're messing up.

These dudes, you know, these whoever they are, this group, say a group like they can't be doing this no more. So now people start congregating. What's up, man? I don't know. You know, like this somebody took a table in the chow hall. That was like the biggest thing. This guy Steve Kesler like the whole dynamic of the prison changed. And I was like, he's like, "Well, you just

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo56:32

So what happened was there was this group, a gang that tried to take a table in the white section. The very first

No, not a black gang. Hispanic basically, but there's all different races in this gang. And they were sitting at this table, you know, they they took this table and there was a Chinese guy that used to sit at the table and I seen he had this, you know, like he had just ate a [ __ ] sandwich. Look, he left and I was like, "Yo, what are these dudes doing?" My friend Paul, he's like, "Oh, relax. Easy. I want to get up and say, whose table is it?"

So, it's the white table. It's section like the Chinese dudes sat there. The islanders, there's a bunch of people that sat in our section, right? So, but and I explained this story a lot, but

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo57:16

Okay, they just got out of the hole. They just came. They were coming from another institution.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo57:21

Yes. There was a whole crew of them because they got ran out of another yard. Maybe they had a problem there

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo57:28

Well, see what happens is is say if me and you were in a gang.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo57:32

And then there's another gang that's, you know, having a problem with us. They get one gang off the yard. Okay. And they keep one gang, right? So they send all the guys though together to the new facility.

They got to send a bunch, right? Because they all just got transferred together. So four or five of them maybe get there. Oh, three or say two or three of them got there and they're like, "We got to find a table. We got to hold the table down for our boys and our crew." So when they get here, they got a place to sit, place to eat, place to watch TV.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo58:05

Right? You find you find you find where you sit. You know what I'm saying? I could walk in a chow hall today and know where I sit.

Would you ask someone like hey I don't ask nobody nothing but I would be up in the unit and I'd be like hey what's oh yo Johnny what's up bro? What's going on? I'm I'm Liak from Charles Town. That's who I met when I first got in. What when it comes to when we go to child come with me. We I'll show you what a table is. It's you know it's not it's not something like hey what do I you know what I mean?

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo58:35

Because everybody knew my case. It was in the Boston Herald. It was on the USA Today and guys were like, "Yo, what's up, Johnny? Yo, I said, "Yo, I I was just in

Um Plymouth with Phil Meyers." And this is before Phil My Meers turned to be an informant and they was like, "Oh, Phil." All right. Yeah. What's up? Blah blah blah. Oh, Johnny, I read about you. Oh, listen. Come on. Come to Tommy's. We're going to show you. Oh, this is Tommy. He's from Rhode Island. Oh, this the dude that sell this. Hey, if Johnny wants something, just put on my bill for now. I got Okay. You know, this is it's just like if when I come to your house tonight to hang out, you're like you're not going to be like, "Hey," you know, like, "Hey, this is Johnny.

He's my friend. Sit down. Make yourself at home." Right? So, it's the same thing. It's the basically the same protocol.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo59:15

So, they sit at the table and I want to immediately just say, "Yo, you can't sit there. I want to go." And my friend Paulie is like, "Whoa, relax. Don't worry about it. This is going to take care of itself. Don't worry about it." So then we see this guy Steve Kesler who has like you know run stuff for the white guys. One of my dearest friends in prison

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo59:35

Yeah. So but he's just a guy that's a dangerous dangerous guy. He was in Oregon State Penitentiary. Killed a god [ __ ] escaping from Rocky but jail. He was on the run. They caught him. They said he was the most dangerous prisoner in Oregon. He's too dangerous to be housed in Oregon. We got to put him in the federal system. And that's the guy.

Okay. So anyway, I build a relationship with him. My homeboys take me to him, say, "This is our friend." Blah, blah, blah. It's a good guy. I start running the gambling ticket with him. We become best friends, okay?

And it was the only guy. I had tears in my eyes when I were leaving him. That's how close we got together. So I see him at lunch and I'm like, "Yo, Cass, these guys, they're trying to He's like, Jesus Christ, I can never win with you. Like, can you just be quiet? Let me eat my lunch and then we'll talk about it after. I want to eat my fries and not get a like, you know what I'm saying? He's like an Oregon guy. So afterwards he was like, "Don't worry about it.

Just come down to the chow hall tonight." And I'm like, "All right." So he's looking out for me. I'm like the youngster, right? And he like took a liking to me. And I'm the probably one of the youngest guys on with this whole crew and all the Boston guys. I see them doing all these things. Everybody's getting prepared. I'm like, "What's up?" He goes, "Yeah, we got taking plastic knives down the hall." I'm like, "Nobody telling me to take a plastic knife. What?" Right? You know what I'm saying?

I'm like, "What? What am I like? Am I a scumbag or something?" So [clears throat] just don't worry, just come down the chow hall. So I sit at the table with Steve Kessle. We had taken that table back from the guy that was at Hell's Angel table and we got that table and we were sitting there with a few of our guys and um he was like just come and take a walk with me. Now everybody got jugs in the chow hall. They got plastic knives.

Everybody in this whole chow hall is ready to go right now. Every person that I know that I've met at this place, this is like nine months after I get there. So Kesler goes over there and I always say it's the most impressive and the most impactful thing I've ever seen without violence in my life. He went over to the table. There was like two guys like standing up at the table like guard like you know what I'm saying? Like we're taking this. We're guarding this with our lives.

And um he just there was a guy that was a shock caller for them. He was a black guy and he was in a Hispanic gang and he said, "Hey my man, do you mind if me and my friend take a seat right now? We just want to have a war with you." And the guy like kind of bowed up went, "Yeah, go ahead." So now I'm over there with this guy. He's got some plan that I know nothing about. I'm like, I just walked over here with this guy that's a mental case that everybody's like,

"What are you doing hanging out with Kesler? You know what that guy did? Like you?" And he's like, "Hey, listen guys. My name's Steve Kesler. I understand what you guys are doing. If this was my friends, I would do the exact same thing you're doing. I get it 100%." He says, "But I just want to let you guys know that there's a chow hall full of people in here willing to die for this table tonight. So you guys enjoy your dinner and we'll talk later and left and they never sat there again.

It was the most impactful thing I've ever seen without violence in my life." And I just went over there and I'm thinking to myself as I'm walking away, I go, "We're going to kill these guys over this table. They ain't going to leave. They just sat there. We're going to have to kill these guys.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:02:44

You know, on the inside, right? We talk about like sucking our thumb on the inside, right? But having this outward front like whatever, let's do it, you know? So, that was that was that. And then never sat there again. They got they kind of fit in where they got in. I don't even know what happened to them. It wasn't an issue.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:03:00

So, where's our table?

The Chinese guy sat back there. Nobody else sat back there again.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:03:07

No, they just people sat there. There was a Chinese guy. Then a couple guys was like, "Hey, you know what? We're going to go sit at this table and have breakfast." Like our guys was like, "You know what? Hey, we're going to go move over there." Yeah. Like what's up? So, we're eating here. You know, and then they just kind of found out

Where they fit in.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:03:25

So, from Leavenworth I went to Petersburg. I was supposed to go to school. Petersburg was brand new. It was, you know, one of the worst years. I didn't last there. I last there probably about 6 months and I went back to the penitentiary.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:03:41

It was a brand new jail, right, Ken? So, when I got to Leavenworth, everything was established. They're like, "Oh, you want to watch TV, Johnny? We got a white TV room. Let's go in the t. This is your room. This is your chair." On my homeboy, I was like, "Oh, this is nice and easy. I got a chair, right? I'm good." Oh, you need a seat at the This is your seat here. Oh, you need this twoman cell. We got a guy. Oh, you know what?

We got a guy that just moved up. You're going in this cell. You got a good He's a great guy. Goes to Unicorn all day. inmates control who goes in what cell.

In in essence, of course, you can't just say, "I'm going in that cell." You'd have to go to the council like, "Hey, listen. This is my homeboy. He just got here. Here's the cop out. He's going to go in 655 with James Worththington. The guy just moved out. James going to be on the bottom bunk. Johnny's going to be on the top bunk. Here's the Okay, I got you. I'll put it in after lunch." It's a penitentiary. They They're not going to say, "Well, you don't make sell moves here." Like that's what they try to do in the in the low to me and I gave them like something to think about after that.

But damn, they don't want no problems, you know?

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:04:41

So at the low I my it was a 12man room in Fort Dicks. Yeah. Right. I had had an issue in the uh we had an issue in the chow hall about seating arrangements in Lee County Penitentiary, one of the penitentiaries that I went to afterwards. Another new penitentiary, right, that doesn't have nothing established. You got to go in there and establish it. We had a little section established, but there was people trying to sit in these tables in the back like, you know, other people that weren't our friends.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:05:08

And one morning I went in there and I was like, "My man, enjoy your breakfast, you know, but you can't sit here. There's people that sit at this table for lunch." And he got crazy. And then, you know, I kind of went outside and said, "Just listen, I don't care. You want to get crazy, that's cool. Do whatever you want to do, but don't sit there at lunch." He ended up sitting there at lunch. I ended up smashing him in the T. I ended up trying to, you know, squatch it with somebody.

The cop was like, "Yeah, don't come up here and talk to this guy working right now." I'm like, "Yo, it's your homeboy. He's at this table. You got to get him." The guy was something wrong with his head. It was really something wrong with him. You know what I'm saying? But I ended up smashing them. They ended up being a lockdown. Everybody got bag lunches. I was in the hole for like 13 months.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:05:46

Yeah. 13 months straight. So, and that was at Lee County Penitentiary. But what happened in the low? A year in solitary o over a year. So what I said to a counselor in the low was like, "Hey, now I'm a seasoned veteran convict at this time. I'm in Fort Dicks. I went all the way down to low security." And I was like, "Hey boss, what's going on? Good morning. How are you?" "Hey, um just a quick thing. I just want to move from like 217 to 117 where my friends are and they go to bed early.

The guys up there, they're doing their own thing. They want to whatever. Like I'm just want to get You know what he said to me?" He goes, "What's your name?" I said, "Oh, Batmo, sir." And he goes, "Yeah, I don't do sell moves. Go handle the situation yourself." I went, "Oh." I said, "You can I sit down for one second?" And he's like, "Yeah, go ahead." And I was like, "Let me ask you a question. You do you have century access? It's the computer system that they put everything in."

He goes, he looks at me like, he went like this. He went and he looked at me like like,

"Hold on. Wait a minute. Who the hell is this guy? Century. How does he know about Century?" He says, "What are you trying to say?" I said, "No, I want you to look at Century. Can you pull up my name on century? Pull up. And I want you to look at the last time that somebody said to handle my problems on my own. Just check that out. I go, people got bag lunches, the joint got locked down, and somebody went to the hospital. Just want you to know that.

He went, "Go to the lieutenant's office right now." You know, lieutenants office. They're locking you up. I'm like, "What's the matter?" He goes, "Go to the lieutenant's office." Then the other counselor come in. He started raising his voice. So, I went to the In other words, you know, I I wasn't threatening nobody, but you want me to handle All I asked you for was a sell move. Yeah.

You know what I mean? But then I told him what happened the last time that I handled my own problems and he was like wasn't ready for that.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:07:34

You know what I mean?

So, I ended up going to the shoe. I ended up getting out. He ended up being cool with me. I ended up having a good rapport with him. I ended up beating the shot going to Oh, I beat it.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:07:44

I I went Yeah, I got the cell move. I went to the shoe for about 2 months.

Then I got not guilty on the ticket and I mean I got a guilty on the ticket but they only charged me for insulence. They couldn't find anywhere I threatened somebody but the guy says I think you were insolent. I says sir with all due respect

I wasn't insolent. I I was talking monotone and I was just trying to tell the guy that this is what happens when I handle my problems myself. I ended up beating the shot. And the craziest thing is I got arrested for a cell phone under investigation for heroin, steroids, cell phones, and gambling. And I waited 9 months in the hole in four dicks. And when I finally went for my hearing, the same guy that I had beat on a pale before looked at me, looked at the thing, and went, "What's this for?" I said, "Well, I have a written statement, sir.

You could take that." Because you never talk to a DHO. You give them everything in writing this way. Here you can't say, "Well, he said this. He admitted guilt here. He said, "But now he knows who I am. I beat him, you know, and he's like, "Off the record, did they find you with a cell phone?" I said, "No, sir. Off the record, they did not find me with a cell phone. There's nothing with a number, any nothing that comes back to me." He goes, "All right, this this is just your shots expuned.

They got to do better than this." And I just beat it. Nobody could believe it. When the cop took me down from Fort Dicks, he handcuffed me and said, "I just want you to know this DHO is like the Connecticut woman's basketball team. He ain't lost since Napoleon was a cadet." And I come down.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:09:13

No.

Oh, they they try to get me, but they put us under investigation for heroin.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:09:20

Me and all the Boston crew.

Okay. Heroin, cell phones.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:09:25

Yeah. You just didn't have it. Well, I but I'm saying they locked me up for having possession of a hazardous tool because what they found was my name on somebody's Facebook account.

Ah, yeah. Did I have the phone in my hand? Absolutely. Was I using it? Yes. Did I put Yeah. But they never saw me with it. They never seen anything that came back to it, you know.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:09:51

I love that you're in jail [ __ ] maintaining a Facebook account. somebody I never even knew about it. I was just sending somebody a message that sent me a letter.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:10:00

You know, I didn't know nothing about it cuz obviously I'm stupid. I put it on the wall. They said instead of a direct message, I don't know.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:10:13

Okay. I had this website. Somebody built me a website with all my sentencing transcripts, you know, because they thought it was such a like the greatest speech ever wrote, you know, said in court. So this guy built me a website. He was like, "We're going to try to, you know, get people to donate, derive capital, try to help you with your case, whatever." So I'm like, "All right, cool. Do what you want." She sees this and she was going out. She was married to a guy in divorce, a guy named John, right?

And she had a boyfriend named Bart, right? Who was a pagan.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:10:44

Right.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:10:45

So listen, that's what she said. So that's all these common denominators. She's like, "Can't be." And she was like, she thought I was, which I'm not, but she thought I was a handsome guy, right? You know, this must have been what I had here. But anyway, she wrote me a letter and she sent me these pictures and I look at these pictures and she's I'll show you the pictures.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:11:08

Smoke show.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:11:10

She's crazy. And like

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:11:14

And now, especially at when I met her at 27, she was forget it. I was like, "Yeah, I I fell immediately in love with her." I remember the first words I ever spoke to her was, "I forgot my socks." That's what I said to her. My first words to her ever in a visit was, "I forgot my socks."

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:11:32

So now I get these pictures from her in the mail, right? And I'm with this kid, Sajge, black kid, Marine, was taking keys of cocaine back and forth when he was transporting prisoners. Yeah.

He was transporting prisoners on commercial airlines. take him all the way in the back, have you know, you sit in the he's handcuffed. He's the guard. But he said, "Hey, you know what? Nobody ever looks at my bag. I'm taking a key every time I go." So he was there for taking keys across.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:12:01

No, he was a a marine taking military prisoners back and forth.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:12:06

So now whenever that came, they were like, "Hey, SGE, you've been doing this a long time. You've done it. You want to do it again?" "Yep, I'll do it, son. I got you." You go, "This is the flight. This is the person. We could take him from here to there." Right. So crazy. Like if the route isn't the same every time, why how would you think, okay, I know I can get Coke in that city and then they

But listen, he just take it in his bag. Nobody's checking his bag.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:12:45

I don't know. But that that was his case.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:12:47

So this guy when he's seen these pictures,

I'm opening this letter. The first time I ever heard from Natalie in my life, I'm like, "Oh my god, look." And he's standing at mail call. We used to hang out. Like a mail call, he hang out. I'd get his mail. If he wasn't there, get my mail. The only person that could do it. And I'd be like, and he's like, "Who the hell is this brother?" I'm like, "SGE, when I tell you I got no idea who this person is. I got no idea." He was like immediately was like, "We're not worthy.

We [clears throat] are not worthy." like you know and it was like the jackpot like you know what I'm saying I was in prison for like about seven eight years maybe nine years and this smoke show your monument starts writing me I'm like oh my god like so you know that was the start of it and then you know we started writing back and forth I started calling her you know she came up and we had our first visit we got married you know and you know it was like a love story was I was writing every night she was writing me and then I you know kind of fell off with her you know what I'm saying I started to you know it was my fault the first time.

Then we kind of got hooked up again when I was in Danbury.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:13:49

She lives in South Philly.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:13:52

No, not really close to Danberry. It wasn't really close to nowhere. I was in I was in on the tip of Tennessee, Kentucky, and Virginia when she first started visiting.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:14:01

No, I went to Fairton, which was close to her. That was the place I went to after uh Lee County Penitentiary. Okay.

So that was close for her and then, you know, we went back and forth and I don't know, you know, it's kind of fizzled out. It was my fault the first time. Then the second time, you know, we had this fur. I got married again in Danbury. Yeah. Right. My friends used to call like, "Hey, where are you now?" I said, "I'm in New Hampshire. I'm in uh Berlin." "Hey, you getting married there? I want to see if you can get married in every state." So anyway, we kind of rekindled the flame and you know, we got back together and it was amazing.

You're like, you know, back and forth writing again, emailing all the time. Then I

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:14:37

Yeah, they got an email system in there.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:14:39

So they they it's an email system. That's their kiosk. They have it. It's federal bureau sends no internet access at all. It's just 5 sec uh 5 cents a minute to send emails and you can have a list of 20 people to send emails to or 30 people

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:14:54

There's kiosks.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:14:57

Right there. Yep. So there's

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:15:00

That's exactly right.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:15:02

So now this is when this whole issue starts arising that I'm going to I I can get to a minimum. They're not counting this murder as violence. It's upward departure. It's not even I can get to a minimum now. I got enough points where I've stayed out of trouble for so long. I can go to a camp. Yep.

And this right about this time they start talking about this new warden, this new case manager. You can have a furlow. She's giving furls. And I go to my case manager.

Okay.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:15:42

You know, like just good guy. Tried to help you out as best he could. If he couldn't, he couldn't. He's not going to break.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:17:07

Just guys hanging out.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:17:13

Classified to be outside.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:18:11

Yeah, of course.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:18:24

Yeah. But you know, you have but you have that everywhere. It's nothing that you can control. But getting back to Natalie right so we I'm coming into this the furlow part right

Now there's policy where you can get something called a transfer furlow where you get a bus from the institution you're transferring from to the institution you're transferring to. Even if it takes you 3 hours to get there by bus, you got 2 hours and 50 minutes to get there. So it's not like you got this. Sometimes in the bus route there might be a layover in New York City. You might have to take another bus. If you're going to Pennsylvania, there might be a half hour layover.

You can get a cup of coffee. You can maybe get something to eat. Right. Yeah. So, but what happened was that I told you they're like unicorns. Nobody ever gets them. Everybody requests them. And no, but we had this warden and this unit manager that came there at the same time and they're like, "We should start giving people furlows. Why are we paying for minimum security inmates that go to a jail that has no fences that can walk away if they want to? So why would we transfer them in handcuffs and shackles?

It doesn't make sense. So they started giving furlows. And it was just about the time I was coming up to go to a a minimum security.

And I said to myself, there's no no there's no I don't even want to try to believe this cuz I might start thinking about this. It might not happen. I'll be disgusted. It happened. I started working out every day. I knew I was coming up for it. My case manager, Mchugh, was like, "Yeah, you're getting it." You know what I'm saying? There was a few issues in between, but ended up getting the camp and then there was a few issues in between that.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:20:03

I was in Danbury, Connecticut.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:20:06

At a low security.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:20:08

And I was going to school camp, which was minimum security in Pennsylvania. Took you about four and a half hours to get there.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:20:15

5 hours maybe. But my friend John Figuolini Figgy was the secretary's orderly. He was in the drug program. He's like the honor block like sweetheart of a kid. Solid as a rock. Dynamite. One of my best friends in prison.

But he said to the guy who was a good guy, right? Good call. He was like, "Hey, this is my friend stuff. Can give him like all the stops you can give him. Like let him get the most time. Listen, this kid's been in jail 21 and a half years. I love him. He's my friend. Let him at least have a [ __ ] hamburger. Give him as much time as you can."

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:20:46

So, I got 18 hours to get somewhere. It took 4 hours, but that was the bus route.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:20:57

But I was having my wife, who I just remarried again, come up to get me. But I didn't tell her anything because I was I got denied twice. It's a huge story, but ended up at the end of the story, I got everything straightened out.

Then I get her, she goes, "You want me to come visit you for two months?" I was like, "Yeah, not right now, honey." She's like, "What's the matter? Tell me what's the matter. talking with somebody else, blah blah blah. She was mad. She was like, "You don't want me to come see you?" I'm like, "Just believe me when I tell you. Just hold off." And then what? So, I ended up explaining. I couldn't have you up here. I didn't know if I was getting this thing and everything, but I said to her in the I said, "Imagine if I was going to a minimum security, a camp." She goes, "Wow, that would be Do you think they'll ever give you one?" And I already got it.

And I'm like, "I got it." And I'm going to school kill. She's like, "Oh my god, no way." I go, "Listen, even better. Can you imagine if they let you drive him?" She goes, "Just to drive you? just to be there with nobody. You know, we got arrested. I got my ter visits terminated. They said I tried to touch her and history is crazy with us.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:21:52

I [snorts] go, "Yeah, well, I got to take the bus. They're going to put me in handcuffs." You know what I'm saying? Nobody ever gets furlows. You can't get them. And she knew this, right? This was the rare exception. I got it.

And I'm saying to her, "Yeah, I can't get it." I says,

"Picture if I got it." She goes, "Oh my god." I go, "Even if she said, even if we had one hour, we could have something to eat. We could, you know, just hug, you know." Yeah.

And I said, "I got it." She goes, "No, you don't." I said, "I got it." And you know what? I got 18 hours cuz Figgy did. She goes, "Oh my god." Now she's like, "Oh my god." Like, no. It's like she's elated. I'm elated. It's like the best time of my life in jail. You know what I mean? So, and now the paranoia starts hitting. I'm walking doing laps. I'm in the yard. I see two cops talking. I think, "Oh, they're talking about my f. They got to take this [ __ ] from me." I know.

But you're paranoid. Like I'm 21 and a half years in prison at the time.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:22:54

I mean, it happens. And I was paranoid of that. I wasn't even going to the child hall at this time. I wasn't even cuz like we're fighting. Yeah. The Boston's fighting for their table. You know, everybody had to have paperwork. You got to be a good guy to get there. This one the the warden was like, "Pedophiles, I don't care if they're pedophiles. They sit anywhere. They're not standing up waiting for their own table. They used to sit up, stand up and just wait for another pedophile to get up.

Now she was sitting them anywhere. See that seat right there? I'm going to walk you there. You're sitting right here. She was sitting at any table with anybody.

That's a good way to start a problem. As a matter of fact, at night, one of them got destroyed for sitting at our table. One of our homeboys beat the living dog snot out of him. But anyway, I wasn't even going to the chow hall.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:23:33

Everything, you know, there was a million twists and turns, but I end up getting it. She ends up coming to get me. Right. So now I go down to R&D to pack my property and uh the girls down there, two black girls, right? Never even seen them in my whole life. I was just, "Hey, what's up?" She goes, "Oh, what are you doing?" I said, "I'm leaving tomorrow." She goes, "All right, come back at uh come back an hour before you leave tomorrow and to pack out." And I was leaving the following day.

So I went there. I go, "Just give me a box." I took the box, taped it, put everything in. She goes, "Takes me like an hour and a half to do that." She goes, "You ought to give a class on everybody that's transferring doing this. what time you leave tomorrow? I said 3:00. She goes, "Come at 2:00." So I got out. She let me come out early. Oh, really? The the um the lieutenant down there signed off. So now I always tell my you're in jail saying, "Honey, if they don't call you for the first round of visit, you wait." Everything is waiting.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:24:23

You know what I mean? So I was like, just all you got to do is park outside the bus station in Connecticut. This is the address. We were talking on the visit because I couldn't talk on the phone saying this. You know what I'm saying? So I'd write a letter because you could say all the letters. So whatever. Sit there. I might be an hour late. Who knows? Just sit there and wait. I'll be there.

I see. I walk to the thing. I get out early, right? I take the T. They give me taxi money. After 21 and a half years in prison, they open the door. And like I said, everybody was like, "Oh, you're going to be shell shocked." M.

Bro, I felt completely at home outside with the money in my hand. I felt like I was I felt like I was

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:24:59

Amazing. And I felt like I was never in prison.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:25:28

Oh

Because they're danger to the community.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:25:33

Yeah, you know, but there was a lot of good guys. We had a lot of good guys. But getting back to that story,

Yeah,

I'm I'm an hour early. So she's expecting me to be an hour late, but she's there early. I go on the window. She go she was on her phone playing Candy Crush. She went like, she goes,

"This the first time I've ever seen her." Like we've been across the tables in penitentiies, handheld under the table in Lowe's, like you know, quick kiss,

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:26:01

You get a quick hug, a quick kiss. You know, some cops are cool. You hold hands over the table,

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:26:08

Yeah. You try to get a bathroom, but you run the risk of getting, you know,

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:26:16

So, you know, so I went and bought the the bus ticket just to have the stub and everything, whatever. So, my wife had money for me. And uh I get in the truck and she's like, she just starts driving. She goes I'm like she goes, I hyperventilate. I just can't right now. I just can't. I can't. Like, you know, I can't. I can't. Like, that's all I keep saying is I can't. I just can't. I can't. And we had like an amazing ride. We got We had an amazing dinner.

We had an amazing night. It was, [snorts] you know, I told you, you know, the best compliment I ever got is the next morning when I called her, she said, "I don't feel like I got into a car accident. I feel like I got into two of them. I trained for that moment. I trained, you know." So, but that was that with her. And what happened is how the marriage fell apart really was

We were in this hotel room right with a tablet, you know, watching stuff. She, you know, I took me to the bus station, took me to the prison. But then when I was in the minimum, I was leaving the minimum security institution, going to the hotel with her once a week.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:27:13

Twice a month. Yeah. I was leaving. I had a great the We had the best setup down there in school at the barn. It was unbelievable. But we'd be on there like and I'd be calling my friends. Am I cool? They're like, "Yeah, you're cool. Don't worry about it. come back in 2 hours when the boss goes to lunch. So,

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:27:27

Well, it's a little more complicated than that. You'd have to run down a hill under the cover of darkness in the morning. You know what I'm saying?

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:27:39

But still, I'm saying that's what I went there for.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:27:42

That was my goal. I got there and I was I didn't care. I was all systems go. And then it was like you start getting used to things. Then it was like the normal thing. So me and her are sitting in the bed like trying to think of things to do. We got so much time together, right? We're in the tablet. We're watching movies. We're, you know, then I get arrested for our investigation because they break into the barn. They find where we our works find cell phones, creatine, steroids, lock us all up.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:28:11

Oh, well that was our that was my friend's hustle that I used to go to the the hotel.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:28:19

Yeah. Francine and tobacco, right? Legal substances. But anyway, we all got locked up. Now I get train. I'm in the shoe first. I'm in the hole for like 5 months, 6 months.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:28:32

So, you see what I'm saying? And then she was like, one day I called and she I was like, "Hey, what's up, honey?" And she was like, "No, I'm going out with my friends. I think I'm going to start going out again." And I was like, "Okay, all right." You know,

Killed me, bro. Crushed my spirit. I'm in the shoe like this just staring at the sailing like

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:28:52

Yeah. And still I'm saying the is the winter time the water pipe bust. I took cold showers for like two weeks in a row

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:29:00

I got to I got a bunky for the in the shoe. You have a cellmate I was you know I wish but you know so I'd rather be with a person that I know than get somebody that I don't know coming off the compound. So anyway, I always moved with a SI and we were under investigation with a few guys anyway that were great guys and nobody told and nobody did anything and everybody got transferred. I got transferred without having a shot. Greatest supervision transfer. I went to Elton, Ohio with a big fence around it and she was like, "Yeah, it's over.

You [ __ ] us up." You know what I'm saying?

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:29:31

Yeah, she was mad because listen, you think I got I just had my appeal granted, too, where they were looking at my case again. I got my appeal granted by the first circuit of appeals. They allowed me to appeal in the district court. I had a great issue. I won it. I was no longer a career offender. But in the decision, the judge said, "You win. You're no longer a career offender, but it doesn't affect the length of your sentence. Go back to prison."

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:30:09

That's where 27 straight comes from. my my clothing brand, right? 27 STR8. That's where it comes from. I figure out I'm going to do 27 years. So, I put 27 STR with the corresponding number from the seven to the eight. And I'm like, "Wow, that looks cool. I like that." You know what I mean? So, but what happens is I'm in Berlin, New Hampshire, and when I'm in Elton, right, they start talking about this first step back that Trump passed. But if you got a leader organizer role, it doesn't affect you.

I had a leader organizer role. So, they're starting to do everybody's calculation. You're supposed to get a year off when you do programs. And I had done a ton of programs already anyway. You know, at that point in time, I devised two Spanish curriculums that I was teaching.

You know what I mean? Yeah. Well, I speak Spanish fluently, of course.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:30:57

Okay.

And I stayed in the TV room, watched Spanish TV, conversed with people, read books, wrote it.

Completely fascin. So anyway, I um went to the office. They're giving everybody their their sentence computation. I'm going to go in, they're just going to write, "Oh, denied because you're a leader organizer." So, they go in there say, "Hey, what's up?" Talking to the case manager. Obviously, I'm not going in there and be like, "I know I'm a leader organizer. I'm I'm thinking, you know, it doesn't affect me. That negates me." So, I was like, "Hey, what's up?" She was like, "Oh, I'm just going to do your sentence computation." I was like, "All right, cool.

How you been? How's everything?" No. What's going on? How's the Browns doing this? Yeah. All right. Come out. I look denied, right? No, she recomputated my sentence. I got a I'm getting a year off. But now I'm thinking at some point in time they're going to find this mistake.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:31:45

So, I'm not going to get the year off.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:31:47

But it keeps going and I go to the next jail. I get transferred to a next jail.

And the case manager is like, "Yeah, you, as a matter of fact, you got a little few more days. Hold on." I'm like, "I'm getting a full year off this." Now I'm thinking to myself, "Full year for this? Am I eligible for the drug program? I don't even want to ask. You got to take an interview with the psychologist. Yeah.

So, I took an interview and I'm like, I know that the [ __ ] up with departure for murder is going to kill me on this because they considered a knife. Somebody had possession of a knife

Negated them from that. Like, you know, they couldn't they weren't eligible for it. I'm like, I know they're going to find.

Two weeks later, she comes back, she goes, "Oh, hey, good news for you. Approved for the drug program." She and I'm like this. I'm in Berlin. Like I'm a year away from the street.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:32:36

I'm like, "Hold on. I got to I had to take my hat off. I went inside. I went I went and I got I start looking at the days and I'm starting and I'm like,

I got to start to work on this transfer. I got to get to the drug program. So, I'm eligible for the whole year. Yeah. Hold on. So, I talked to my case manager. He's like,

"Yeah, you're eligible. I just put you in for it." So, in like two days, I'm like, I call my friend on the phone, FaceTime. I got a phone in there, right? You just can't stay out of trouble. So, but I didn't get in trouble. That's the good thing. Listen to my friend, my friend Gio. He's my best friend on planet Earth, right? He knows. I'm starting to tell him all this thing. I'm like, "Yo, listen. This could be happening." He goes, "Yo, John, this is amazing." And I call him up that day and I go the night before and I'm like, "Yo, it's all set.

I'm good. I'm going to get it. I'm doing the calculations now. I'm gonna be if I get to one of these drug programs, I'll be home in one year. I just got to complete the drug program in nine months. Not even one year. So I FaceTime him. He answers the phone. Boop. He's like, "Are you retarded?" I said, "What?" He goes, "Bro, go smash that phone in a million pieces. Don't ever call me with this again." Hung up on me.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:33:46

Good friend, right?

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:33:47

The best, right? I'm like, "I'm the asshole." And then I'm thinking to myself as I'm smashing the phone in a million pieces outside with a cinder block, right? I'm thinking like, can you picture these people that have been hung around this whole bid telling me I was going to get out, never believed them. I said, I'll never do this bid in the back of my mind, telling them, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'll get out." And here I am. I'm getting out and I'm going to [ __ ] it up with this phone.

What am I nuts? What am I crazy? You know what I mean? So, I ended up getting transferred. I wanted to go to like I think Mcken had the drug program, but they transferred me to Lewisburg. Best thing that ever happened to me.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:34:20

Had a But I I took care of cats. I met um Miss Vaguson was a case manager was a sweetheart. Ramirez, Dr. Ramirez was Listen, these people. Vaguson, the case manager, and Ramirez was the psychologist. She called me in the office the first day and she was like, "You know what? You recognize this name?" I'm like, "Um, Ramirez." She goes, "You worked for my husband at Berlin. He's the AW there." I was like, "Oh, AW Ramirez." I had a great rapport with them.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:34:50

Great rapport with everybody. Yeah, I started to build relationships with staff, you know, and Miss Vagus said, "Oh, you're about to." She was the case manager. Tremendous person. Another one that was the consmate professional. Never went outside the lines of doing anything, but did her job and she took a liking to me and she did she did a solid for me. I'll explain to you. She was like, "Oh, I just want to let you know I've been working here for 20 years. You're the only person we've ever had a meeting about before you got here." And I was like, "Oh, okay." So, another guy comes out.

They call him Meth. That was his name. like you know he was a officer there he was like

Oh he goes hey what's up dynamite yo I love this guy used to do his office he was great I had I almost missed missed seeing him after I went home and he was like oh yeah he goes SIS the investigators just sent me this eightpage packet of why you shouldn't be here but obviously you're here and that's how the report started like you know I had this rapport with officers that it wasn't from giving them information never they wouldn't even have talked to me if I tried they would have been

What hold on but They knew me from my reputation preceded me and as I got further into my bid, I started to work well with them like, "Yo, you need this? I got you. Come on, let's get this inspection banged out so we can get, you know, blah blah blah. We got to do this, whatever. Let's bang it out." So anyway, Miss Vagus, I was had this problem with my good time. That good time that I earned, you know, that my earned good time or they said I was never supposed to be eligible for it, but I got it.

Now what happened was is I've been in prison for so long

I was in the shoe like 22 years ago and they tried to use it against me to take all my good time and I'm like this the first step wasn't even enacted 22 years ago and they're like yeah it doesn't matter you were in the shoe I was like it was 22 years ago and they're like oh wait a minute hold on let me see that so it became an issue where they talked about it in this first step summit

They were having the summit first step how to implement the things they're doing she goes yeah first name on the list and they ended up squaring it away. They ended up saying

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:36:53

She tells me this. She's like I try to put your halfway house papers in as you know I gave you I try to give you the best date. She goes you know she was like this is my orderly. He does everything for me. He's a a major source of help here like helping the staff. We had an inspection. He did waxed the whole floors down the center hall. you know, and I gave her I I came back on my date. And I'm like, look, everybody else was getting out 6 months before me.

I was like, "Look," she goes, "Yeah, that's cuz of the good time." She goes, "I tried to put it in." You know what she did? A week later, she was like perplexed about it. And she goes, "You know what? I'm going to call right now." Listen, she called. She goes, she sit down. I want you to sit down. She had two other inmates in the office, right, that were getting ready to graduate that program. She got on the phone with this lady and she was like, "Hey, how you doing?" and she goes, "I've been doing this for 22 years here.

There is no inmate more deserving of this inmate right here that he should get a earlier date. If you have anything like listen, tears to my eyes." She was like, she was like, "There's nobody that deserves this more than this man. He's been in prison for this long. The things that he has accomplished here in this program with me personally doing anything that I needed to do, I don't even have to ask him. He does it. He's taking care of these cats out there. He's, you know, anything and everything.

You know what I mean? And I look, bro, and she gave me an earlier date. I ended up going home a little later, but I think it was 30 days after my class, but better than 6 months. She got me five months. So, when she gives you that and then you have a release date when you know that's coming up, is the camp like a camp isn't as dangerous cuz everyone's leaving there.

Yeah. But everybody leaves the drug program. But what happens is is there's it's a camp, right? So there's cell phones, there's alcohol, there's people drinking, doing drugs.

But if this [ __ ] gets caught in the drug program, they hold the whole drug program back.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:38:49

So now this officer who that works the unit every night, I go in the office, I'm like, "Yo, what's up, boss? You want me to do the floors tonight?" "No, no, listen. I just got you some wax. You know, the counselor gave me some wax. I'm going to give it to you. Take it for your floors and then we'll do it later." And he was like, "Hey, do me a favor. I don't feel like working tonight. They're coming down from the camp to shake down. tell these guys to get rid of their phones.

So now I would go out there and be like, "Yo, yo, yo, listen. Let's go. Let's go. They're coming up. They're coming up from the camp. Let's go. Get your stuff." People be like, I go, "Don't throw it. Get a spot for it. You got like 10, 15 minutes. Get your shit." Cuz I wanted to go home.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:39:25

You know what I mean? These kids, they were in prison for 25 minutes. All right, we'll do six more months.

No, I don't want to do six more months.

So, I ended up being that guy that went around to everybody, hey, listen. And everybody respected. I saved people's lives. You know what I'm saying? But it wasn't because anything else. And this cop was like, "Hey, listen. Go tell these guys." He would give me that. You know what I'm saying?

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:39:48

So now I lived with a judge when I got out of prison. That's another wrinkle in this story that's crazy. My friend was a defense lawyer. He was going to law school when I was hanging out with him. He wasn't even going to law school, but he ended up going to law school and becoming a lawyer. Now he's a judge in the state of Massachusetts. And he allowed me to live at his house. My friend Leo Farmer.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:40:11

Sweetheart of a guy. His family is amazing. Think about that. That's like you saying to your family, "Hey, listen. I got this guy Johnny. He's a good friend of mine." Like, "No, you got four kids." Right now, picture they're in their teens and 20s, and you're going to explain to them, "Hey, Joey. Hey, Stevie. Johnny's going to live upstairs on the third floor. He's going to use your shower, right? He's going to be two daughters. Yeah. Johnny's going to be coming here, and he's going to live here with us."

What was he in jail for? But I'm saying they know who I am, right? They talked about me the whole time. Best friends with my best friends. And but can you imagine that? No.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:40:46

And your wife saying, "Okay, that's great."

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:40:49

About 5 months.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:40:52

The family is a just tremendous people. Yeah. Just,

You know, otherworldly. Cuz you know what I would have said? I said, "Leo." And he was going to be a judge.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:41:02

So, you know what I said? I said, "Leo, if I was in the same position you, I would have been like, "Here's a couple grand, Johnny, right? Stay away from me cuz I'm going through this process. I love you, but don't come near me." But he was like, you know what he said to me? Johnny, you're my [ __ ] friend. I love you.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:41:17

Those are the people I have in my life. You wonder why I'm successful.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:41:23

So, what happened was is you have to have an itinerary every single day.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:41:27

For the halfway house, where you going? The first the first couple 30 days, you can't even leave. if you're going to take a walk around the block, but that's it. But I had a friend of mine, John Bonapani, who's a friend of my friends and another sweetheart, right?

Just had a tile company, signed the papers to get me out of the halfway house. And um you know, when when John worked, I worked with him. When John's carrying 50 pound bags of cement, guess what? Yeah.

Johnny B's carrying bags of cement, too, because the guy's giving me $100 a day. Get me out of the halfway house to have coffee with him. So when he works, I got to work. Yeah.

You know, so I did that for a little while. I went and had a hernia operation. Didn't do that anymore. [snorts]

From day one, right, with that 27 STR8, right? I always thought about that. And the way that that even materialized was, you know, people in the club made shirts for me to support me and gave me all the money from it. So

My brother Charlie had like a party for me. He's an accountant in August. It was been amazing since I've been out. My brother Charlie's done like so many things for me, you know. just been the brother that I always wanted. Me and him have really our relationship has blossomed. We sometimes at points in our lives we weren't really that close, you know, but [clears throat] we are tremendously close. You're my last living relative. And he said to me, "John, I had these shirts made for you for this time we were having.

Why don't you go up there and sign them, right, and sell them? I'm going spit my coffee out on them." I said, "Fuck, who the [ __ ] going to buy a signed shirt from me? Who am I?" You know what I'm saying? But I did it and I sold them all.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:42:58

You know, and that's where 27 straight came from. You know what I'm saying? So then my friend Pete from the club took me up to the distributor. They got these guys had I got a relationship with them now. And I was like, you know, whatever you do, like Pete did all the design, did everything for me. And I was like, yeah, it looks good. I said, but you know what on the back put 27 STR8 somewhere. And that's how that started. And I sold all these shirts and I ordered more and I sold more and I, you know, ordered more and I kept selling them, ordering, selling them, ordering.

And for the first year, that's how I made a living.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:43:29

So what happened was my friend Eka who was um uh Jason Kalan from Rea who was in four dicks with me texted me one day and he goes, "Hey Bean Shooter wants you to have you on his podcast." I went, "The [ __ ] is a bean shooter? The [ __ ] are you nuts, kid?" He goes, "No, here's his here's his Instagram page. Look at it." So I'm like, "Yeah, about yeah, tell him I'll do something with him." Right. And then like I gave him I remember the first time my brother had hockey tickets.

I'm in home confinement. I can't go now. I got to be home at 9:00 at night. So I had these tickets. I called all my friends, called everybody. Nobody wanted them. And I was like, oh, I got this guy Bean Shoot his information. Let me call him. Say, hey, Mike. And I started talking to him. You know, Mike, you want these tickets?

And he was like, I don't know. He goes, you know what? I'll take my daughter. I go, all right. Here's everything. Boom, boom, boom. Call my brother Charlie. He's going to send them to you. So, um, he put on his story that night. I want to thank my my buddy uh my man, my guy Johnny, official Johnny Balomeo. And I think I got like 300 followers that night. That started the Instagram. Mike got

Mike is, you know, the the spring for Instagram for me. That's who got me into the Instagram fold. You know, Ian Bick um and and Bean Shooter, you know what I'm saying? That's where I got most of my I'm Shadowbann now. I can't get no new follows. I don't Who knows? I had an orange flag on my account for four months. [ __ ] [ __ ]

I got everybody in the whole world trying to look at it. Nobody can. Everybody's like, I don't know what it is. Won't come off.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:45:03

I got 10,000 followers in 2 months and now I got nobody.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:45:10

So, some of them I got in there, but now we're we're So, all these are staying. I'm just I dated them. I left. But all the other ones I'm covering up anything that has to do with the club. So that's the next

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:45:22

All the club stuff I'm saying? No.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:45:24

I mean whatever the case may be is these are getting covered up. The one on my back and the one on my arm stay with the date on it. So I left the club.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:45:33

Whatever the case may be is. Now we're going to get into the next subject.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:45:40

Pro. And you could listen, my life's a open book. You can ask anything you want to ask. You know what I'm saying? What about the one on your head?

That's I'm probably going to get that one either removed cuz I don't want to get it covered. I think I'm just going to try to get it removed cuz it's light.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:45:55

I got that one right before I went to jail.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:46:00

Tattoo my [ __ ] head.

Yeah, of course. Gung ho kid like everything else.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:46:13

Yeah, man. It's listen the the without the setback there is no comeback. Like I said, we started this. I'm blessed every single day. I've got the most successful, influential friends. I don't know. I don't know. Like I don't know how I got this blessing, but my my mantra all the time is I waited 10,000 days and I haven't had a bad day yet.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:46:33

So, like for anybody that struggles out there that's struggling, you just all you have to do is just hang on for a day.

Yeah. just hang on for that one day because I for me personally where I was I went from wanting to commit suicide thinking I was a badass to it comes full circle bro you're always going to get back what you give and if you hang on for another day you're going to get to where you want to get I guarantee it and you're not going to have to wait 10,000 days

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:47:04

Right thousand%

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:47:10

So, it's official_jny_bot mail and then you just put in johnnybot anywhere else on YouTube. There's a link tree on my Instagram. So,

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:47:24

It's 27straight.com. Everything is on the link tree. You can find me anywhere on YouTube, um Tik Tok, Snapchat. I'm on all the social.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:47:41

Yeah. And I mean anybody ask me to do anything I never say no. I try not to ever say no. Um I'm a recover full-time recovery coach for power recovery in rea Massachusetts. Shout out to Mattie Powers who gave me the opportunity. I went and spoke. And that's the thing when you genuinely genuinely do things for others and you try to give back it always comes back a hundfold. And I know how great, you know, I tell people this all the time. I told Ian this tell everybody.

I had people come up to me and give me brown paper bag what 5,000 5,000 like people gave me money and I know how great and amazing that felt and people gave me friendship and people gave me opportunity and I know how great it felt. So I just have to share that feeling with other people. Yeah.

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:48:40

In Washington DC come on serious staying at his house like come don't come stay with me here's the key when you come back just come in cuz I'm never here

John “Johnny Bart” Bartolomeo1:49:02

Thank you for having me,