Life of Crime 1984-2020 (2021) Movie Script

1
This film follows 3 residents
of Newark, New Jersey for 36 years.
There is graphic footage of crimes,
drug use, violence and death.
Same place, ten times...
You better watch it
with that damn knife.
3D.
I'm gonna rob
everything I can get my hands on.
Put the camera away, okay?
That's before I started using drugs.
I went to two years in college.
And that's when I met my ex-husband
and that's when I started using drugs.
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY
Tell me.
What are you guys gonna do?
We're goin' to the store
and we're gonna try to...
- That store over there?
- Yeah, store over there.
We're gonna try to... load up.
- What are you lookin' for?
- Anything.
Make some money.
- And if you get caught?
- Go to jail.
I have to go to work.
That one. This one.
Eight sets of sheets.
That lady is from Harrison.
- She knows me. Forget it.
- Get the fuck outta here.
You're really good.
What's he doin'?
Distractin' them?
Yeah, he's comin' out now.
There he is.
Job well done.
We got... sets of sheets.
I can make about 80 dollars here.
Beats the minimum wage.
Were you afraid
you were gonna get caught in there?
I'm always afraid.
But, the baby gotta eat.
I gotta eat. The rent gotta be paid.
LIFE OF CRIME
1984-2020
One, two, three, four, five.
Protection. Never know.
Watch!
I want to speak.
Is it gonna be hard
to sell this stuff?
No. Not at all. Easy.
- Where you gonna take it?
- Gonna take it to a store down here.
That's queen size.
- Let's go. Put it in the bag...
- We'll see you later.
10 dollars is cheap.
That's queen size.
Let me see the money?
Real money...
Let's go, Mike.
We didn't really make that much.
Here's your half.
How much did it sell for?
The thing that happened,
I didn't want to waste time,
like, goin' around.
'Cause I coulda made 80.
But sometime it happen
that you just gotta give it away,
50 bucks, we lost 30,
but we didn't want to waste time
'cause that time is money.
- You got your keys?
- Yeah.
- About time you cleaned.
- Real funny.
Robbie, who's everybody here?
Who is who?
Turn around.
This is Angela, my girl.
It's my father Ed.
- Glad to meet you.
- Hi, how you doin'?
My father works.
How much you make?
- How much you make an hour, Ed?
- 4,10 dollars an hour.
How much you bring home
at the end of the week?
- 80 dollars a week.
- A week.
Peanuts. You have to make
extra money some way, survive.
You know what your son
does to make money?
- Yep, I know.
- What do you think about it?
- I don't like the idea.
- No?
This is my man. Just got outta jail.
Did 60 days in jail.
Yeah? For what?
For possession, cocaine.
He's my original teacher.
He's the best. Number one.
I don't like to brag, you know...
We're goin' into the store,
get the stuff and come out.
Nobody see us go in,
nobody see us come out.
- What was in the box?
- Shirts.
How much you gonna sell that for,
you think?
I don't know what it's worth.
I don't want
nobody get my plate, man.
- Just like that?
- Just like that.
I don't know what's in there.
- There was five people watchin' you.
- Ain't nothin'.
Anybody got the plate.
You know who's been watchin'.
Don't worry about that.
These are bad shirts.
Tiger.
You can't be perfect
when you steal everything.
You could use them
for pajamas...
Got a zipper.
Givin' away free shirts.
- Over here.
- These are so nice. Can I have it?
The stuff that we threw away before,
everybody's pickin' it out the garbage.
Would you give this stuff away
if I wasn't filmin'?
Yeah, we always do.
Don't believe him.
This is his first time.
- The first time?
- In history.
The first time.
I always been givin' stuff around...
When I can't sell it.
I always give shit away.
This is my family.
This is my little baby, little girl,
Elizabeth. This is my lady, Mari.
- How long you been together?
- About a year and a half, two years.
Mari, did you know
what Freddie's occupation was
when you met him the first time?
Yeah.
I'm not gonna work for 150 dollars
a week when I could make 150 a day.
You know what I mean?
Are you worried they might grow up
and get into the same type of life?
Yeah.
I don't want 'em to do what I do
because I know what I've been through.
I wouldn't want them
to be like this, you know?
So I don't wanna teach 'em
how to steal and shit like that.
I want 'em to go to school
and get good jobs and shit.
I'm planning on stopping.
But it's not that easy.
I'm addicted to shopliftin'.
- How much did he miss me by?
- I'd say about an inch.
Happy birthday to you!
You get a birthday cake.
That's your present.
- Whose birthday? Your birthday?
- Angela's birthday. Old Aunt Ange.
Cut it open, look. Motherfucker
cost me 20 dollars of stolen money.
Shit.
Look what I gave Ange
for her birthday.
- Photo book. Cost 20 dollars.
- I bought it. I bought it with money.
Earned money.
Get the fuck in here. Get in here!
Now,
answer this man's questions!
This is my girl
who got my baby down there.
- What?
- That's right.
- That is a paycheck.
- Not yours.
That's a paycheck.
My girl works hard.
She works
and gives you all the money?
She doesn't give it to me.
We share it.
- Now, he ain't gotta shoplift no more.
- We share it, you know?
- You better shut the fuck up.
- 'Cause you know you're wrong.
Please.
Shut the fuck up.
Told you.
You keep our problems to us.
You don't screamin' 'em out in front
of everybody. I'll kill you, bitch.
What are you fightin' about?
'Cause she's hard headed, and don't
listen and she's gotta learn to listen.
- You ain't gotta hit her.
- Yes, I do.
'Cause that's the only way
you concentrate...
You better shut up. I told you.
Get in that hole. Get back
in that hole. Get in there.
- No. Please, Michael.
- Get in there.
Get back in there...
Forget your troubles.
Be happy!
And stay in there
with the door closed.
Get the cat off the bed
'cause it got fleas...
It's hurt, Michael.
You're gonna be hurt in a minute.
Fuck the cat.
- Do they fight all the time like this?
- Who?
- Mike and his girl?
- Every night... One time with a bat.
- He hit her with a bat?
- Remember, on the lake?
I try to stay outta their business.
He told me that she wanted
50 dollars to give to her mother.
But she wanted 50 dollars
to give to her mother to hold for her
so she has enough
for an abortion.
Mike don't want to have an abortion.
He hit her. She's tryin' to be sneaky.
All right. Lock the door!
The first time he hit you,
what did you say to him?
That he better never hit me again.
He cried,
promised he'd never hit me again.
He did it again and again.
And that's it. I'm not taking no more.
He can't beat love out of me 'cause
he don't know how to handle love.
What do you gonna do with yourself
when you get outta here?
Get rid of this baby. I ain't crazy.
Whoever's watchin' this,
don't think I'm crazy
'cause I ain't this fuckin' stupid.
We've only been going out two months,
I ain't gotta take this shit from him.
I want to wake up in the morning
at the good old Caldwell Jail...
Where the sun comes peepin' into where
I'm sleepin' and songbirds singin' away.
I want to wonder...
Over here.
There's nobody here.
Let's get a suitcase.
Excuse me.
Can you check this thing over here?
Guess you want to take a picture
of what's inside, don't you?
- Pass out some money.
- So, 170 dollars...
- 170...
- 82,5 dollars a piece.
Eighty...
Twenty, forty, sixty, eighty.
Puttin' away 100 for today.
I had two. Now, I got 300 saved.
Probably be for my bail anyway.
Don't pay doin'. I'm serious.
I go out and make money,
I put it away. It happens all the time.
I get busted,
gotta use all the money for bail.
Ange, if you could wish for one thing,
what would you like to have?
- One thing I could wish for?
- Yeah.
Not no money. To get married, which
somebody can't use their brains for.
- Wait. You're not really married?
- Nope.
I didn't know.
What took you back to the streets,
Rob? 'Cause you were doin' good here.
Because it wasn't payin' enough.
They wasn't payin' enough.
Yeah, but you were doin' good.
You had over a grand in the bank.
Over a grand in the bank.
You were doin' good, Rob.
- Now, I ain't got nothin' in the bank.
- That's what I'm sayin'.
Now, what you're doin',
you don't have anything.
Now what I do, I just make enough
money to put gas in my car every day,
buy a little food,
pay a little bills.
Another thing. You were happier, too,
when you worked.
You came down here every day
and you showed me your bank book.
- And you were happy about it.
- 'Course I was happy.
Yeah, 'cause it was legit.
Because I said:
"Sid, I got money I earned it."
Well, you worked...
You know what
I was thinkin' about, Sid?
If I, like, get some money together
just to buy, like, a big hot dog truck,
just to start me off.
How you gonna get the money
for that? Got any rich uncles?
- Any rich friends?
- Nobody.
- Are you askin' me for the money?
- You probably don't got it.
If you're gonna do right,
I'd give you the money.
I'd find a way.
This is
a nice little town here, Freddie.
I know.
How come you always go to the suburbs
to do your robbing?
Because they don't have
that much security.
If anybody chases you,
it's easier to get away!
There ain't too many people.
It's more simple. It's more easier.
- What's this?
- R&S Strauss.
They sell auto parts.
It's come off.
- How many times you been in there?
- Couldn't even count, so many.
I usually park my car right here
on the side, leave it like this,
leave the keys in there,
go in there and come out.
Tell me what you got.
- A burglar alarm to stop thieves.
- That's what you stole?
Yeah, I stole a couple of 'em.
I got a couple of 'em in the trunk.
I've been arrested
for stolen cars before.
And they givin' out too much time,
so I'm tryin' to stop thieves.
What is this here, on your back?
It says what?
"Perdon madre mia".
- What's that mean?
- "Forgive me, mother of mine."
Did that when I was a juvenile
'cause I felt sorry of my mother,
I was always havin' her suffer
and whatnot, you know?
My mother and father got divorced
when we were young.
They put me in foster home.
Some white lady and white man,
that were pretty old, they adopted me
and my oldest brother, Frankie.
We lived with those people
for a year.
My mother was goin' to court,
tryin' to get us back.
If I woulda stayed with those rich
folks, I wouldn't be here right now,
I wouldn't be doin' this.
I always think about that.
I wish I woulda stayed.
They woulda sent me to college.
I woulda been a good boy.
I woulda made somethin'
out my life.
Jackie, go like this!
What are you gonna do if you catch
your daughter doin' anything bad?
- Whip her ass.
- Yeah?
She looked at me.
She aint' gonna do nothing bad.
- Did you ever spank him?
- Yep.
You ever beat him up
when he did anything bad?
He got a fork on my arm.
- He stabbed you with a fork?
- Yeah. I was about five years old.
I had a box of toys. He takes boxes
of toys, throwin' it down the furnace.
- Why would he throw your toys out?
- 'Cause he was drunk.
- What you gotta say about that?
- I wasn't drunk.
You was always drunk.
6 MONTHS LATER
- Hey Freddie.
- Yeah?
Where'd everybody go?
Where is everybody?
My lady left. She left me.
She went over her mother's house.
- Why?
- I guess she got tired of me.
Is that a note that she left you?
What's it say?
Don't know. "I'm sorry. I love you."
Somethin' like that.
I don't know. I just feel down
and out. I don't know what to do.
I feel like goin' back to drugs.
I feel like killin' myself.
I don't know
what I'm gonna do with my life.
I keep doin' this shit, man.
I don't want to get high
because I want to do good.
And I can't do good
with problems on my mind.
This shit, man.
I do wanna straighten out, man.
You got anybody you can talk to,
who's not a drug addict, not a thief?
All my friends are drug addicts
and thieves.
Ain't got no straight friends.
You know that.
I got a girl to take out tonight.
It's all right if I take her, Ange?
You don't get jealous
when he's got other girls?
- Yeah, I can't say nothin'.
- Why not?
He'd be cursin' me up and down.
He was like: "You don't pay rent."
- Now, you can't say that...
- I love to have loads of women.
What are you gonna do,
if he brings another girl in here?
Yeah,
my nerves are gonna go then.
Do you want
to introduce me, Robert?
- This is my girl.
- How you doin'?
- Deliris. That's her baby.
- Let me see.
Good baby.
- What's up?
- Look at the birdy.
Let's move.
What do you expect for 300 dollars?
It don't start perfect all the time.
I'll see you, guys. Have a nice night.
You're not takin' me along?
- You're not takin' me along?
- You along?
- I want to be alone.
- I'm sorry.
- Yeah, I want to be alone.
- All right. We'll see you.
- Don't get in too much trouble.
- I stay out of trouble. You know me.
As your name is called,
please answer: "Here." Thank you.
Michael W. McGrath.
No idea where Michael McGrath is.
I haven't talked to him yet.
They gotta find me.
I'm not... Listen. I put it like this.
I don't care if I go to jail. But
I'm not gonna go and turn myself in
so they can just lock me
the fuck up right there.
Let 'em find me first.
You know what I mean?
No appearance.
Mr. Prosecutor, do you have a motion?
The State would move for a bench
warrant and forfeiture of bail.
Very well. Bench warrant will issue
for the arrest of Michael W. McGrath
and whatever bail posted
will be forfeited.
What can I do?
It's up to him, not me.
You're gonna lose the money that
you put up. How much? 600 dollars?
- 750.
- Yeah.
750 I put up. I don't know.
Did you know that
he wasn't gonna show up today?
No, I didn't. Had no idea.
- Do you know where he is?
- Nope.
I don't. That's all the questions
you're gettin' outta me.
- But he just cost you 750 dollars.
- Yep.
Kid wants to go on the run,
that's his business, not mine.
- So what are you gonna do?
- What am I gonna do? I don't know.
You got half of Newark
lookin' for you.
I'll move outta Newark.
I'll move to the half
that ain't lookin' for me.
Fuck it. Right, Ange?
You think he's gonna be able
to keep himself outta jail?
If he does it slick, he will.
Plus, I got a car. I got some money.
So I'll be all right. Believe me.
I'm gonna make it.
They ain't gettin' me.
We got all the information
that we possibly need
to effect an apprehension
on our subject.
We're just gonna have to go out
on the street and get lucky.
He's 5'9", 150 pounds.
Mom's gonna help me out?
I need it. I gotta get outta here.
I gotta get out.
Miss it out there.
You said
they were never gonna catch you.
They got lucky.
- You wanna see?
- What's that?
Valium.
These pills take all the problems
off the mind and shit, you know?
How many pills have you had
altogether today?
16, plus the two on two.
So that's
16, 17, 18, 19, 20 pills.
This is only the beginning.
This defendant
has an extensive record.
You are hereby sentenced
to imprisonment
for a term of seven years
and hereby committed to the custody
of the commissioner
of the Department of Corrections
and until release
in accordance with law.
9 MONTHS LATER
Freddie, they got you.
That's what you get for using drugs.
Believe me.
Everybody out there, everybody,
listen to what I'm sayin'.
It ain't worth it. This is what
I got, and I'm gonna die here. Bye.
Getting the anger out.
He's messing himself up
all the way.
Don't shoplift, get a job, stay off
drugs and you'll live a better life.
You don't want to listen to that,
go ahead and steal,
go ahead and do drugs
and watch where you be at.
Then you'll be like:
"I shoulda listened to Rob."
Don't do it.
You are in East Jersey State Prison.
It is now the home of Michael McGrath.
Can we go in and talk to Mike?
No. Since your last filming,
Michael no longer wants
to participate in this documentary.
Is this an easy place to do time?
No. Rahway is a very difficult place
to serve your time.
Mike, the guards say you're
gonna be here for a real long time.
Yeah.
Okay, this is goodbye.
- Take care, Jon.
- Are you gonna make it all right?
Yeah, I'll be all right.
SOUTHERN STATE PRISON
Welcome to Southern State.
This is my home
away from my other home.
This is my second home right now.
What are you in for?
Robbery, aggravated assault.
I got ten years.
This here is my partner
in the Domino game.
Yeah, we the champs.
Fourteen, 26, 35.
We're champions
two years in a row in Rahway.
Anything he can need,
he has it here.
He has friends he can relate to,
recreational, free cable,
air conditioning in the summer,
heat in the winter time.
I don't like it in here
because can't get no... sex.
Deliris, I haven't seen you since
you were a teenager in Rob's car.
How long
you been workin' the streets?
Around six months.
Were you scared
the first time you stood out here?
Yeah. It's takin' a chance out here.
You don't know if there's a cop or not.
Thank God up to today
I haven't got caught yet.
You're scared of the customers?
Yeah, 'cause you really don't know
who they are. It could be a maniac.
So many stories out here
about people killin' people and shit.
And then takin' a chance today,
too, with the AIDS.
Gotta be careful what you do, too.
Thank you.
This is a bottle of coke.
5 dollars bottle, nickel bottle.
That's all to that.
How long you been doin' that?
How long you been shootin'?
- For a year and a half.
- Yeah?
And I'm not proud of it neither.
I hate
when I start doin' this shit.
Here, hold my cigarette.
I'm pickin' out my hair.
That's what the drugs make me do.
Make me pick my hair.
If it ain't my hair,
it's my face.
He knows what I do
but not how I do it.
Because I never do it
in front of them.
It's like if I see fleas
or bugs in my fuckin' hair.
It's just a habit I got
when I get high.
Is your mother
doing drugs everyday now?
Sometimes.
Every day,
it gets worse and worse.
Carmen,
Deliris' mother.
The kids are really suffering.
ALBERT WAGNER
CORRECTIONAL FACILITY
Mr. Steffey, whenever anyone gets
paroled, we focus the group on them.
So we're gonna focus on you.
What are your plans?
- My plans?
- For parole.
I'm not comin' back.
I'm not comin' back for a fact. Okay?
- To jail, or here?
- To any jail. I'm not comin' back.
- How many more years you got left?
- Nine.
- Nine? How many you got in?
- One.
Fuck outta here. One?
Nah, you got more than that.
Man, what you gonna do
when you out there?
I'm gonna do the right thing.
- What's the right thing then?
- Get a job.
- What kinda job?
- Whatever kind I can get.
McDonald's don't pay enough.
How you gonna live off McDonald's?
I can sell burgers on the side.
I'm a waitin'.
- What you gonna do? Relax?
- Get high.
Go do it. Got any?
I'm just afraid she's gonna get
some real strong stuff one time
and you know what it's gonna do,
that bothers me.
5 WEEKS LATER
- Rob, you're done with jail.
- What's up? Jon.
Free at last, huh?
I gotta go to the bank, man.
Get my money.
Right here. 878 dollars.
Can I have some fifties,
tens and twenties?
Thank you.
I forgot my motherfuckin' teeth.
- Fuck that, man. Wait up.
- You left your teeth in jail?
- Yeah. I gots to get my teeth...
- Don't be embarrassed.
I gotta get my teeth, man.
I forgot that shit...
You're so anxious
you forgot your teeth?
Hell yeah.
I woulda forget my nuts if I...
Hold up, Jon.
I got to go back there, man.
I forgot my teeth.
It's on the table wrapped up.
Is there a way
you can get it for me, please?
- Forgot your teeth...
- Yeah. I forgot my teeth.
I got everything
except my teeth.
Thank you.
Shit, I ain't took a bus in so long
I ain't know where to put the money.
You know? 3:10, man.
Here I am, free again.
- What did you do?
- What did I do to get locked up?
Stealin', doin' drugs...
Stolen property.
All kinds of bullshit.
How many more days you got,
Fred?
Got three more days and
a wake up. I leave Monday morning.
- Gonna make it out there this time?
- Yeah, I'm gonna try.
Whatcha gonna do out there?
I don't know. I'm gonna try
to get a job, do the right thing.
But sometimes
that doesn't work. You know?
Me and Freddie talk a lot
about leavin'
and things you're gonna do
when you get home.
I told him
to stay away from drugs.
If you stay away from drugs,
you'll be all right. You know?
That's his main concern.
- Freddie, you love drugs.
- I used to.
Why is everybody laughin'?
I think Freddie's scared
to go home though.
He told me a couple times
he was afraid to go home.
Yeah, a little bit. I am, you know?
Listen. For people who don't know
who you are, who are you?
My name's Nelly.
Freddie's mother.
- Freddie's mom?
- Yeah.
- When's Freddie comin' back from jail?
- Monday.
- Who in the world...
- Freddie's stepfather!
And this guy over here with
a striped shirt, who is that guy?
- That's my younger son, Raymond.
- Raymond?
- Yeah. We call Jungo.
- Yeah? Good boy?
- What's wrong with him?
- He's drunk. Been drinkin' too much.
Muncho.
ROB'S OLD WORKPLACE
So what's been happenin'?
All right. You got any jobs?
- We're kinda slow now.
- I need a job. I just got outta jail.
Why everything so dead?
Look at this. This used to be full
with shop orders, right?
What have we got here now?
We have one here,
another job over here, one
and that's it.
Years ago, it used to be
like three machines running
at the same time all the time.
Look what you have now.
Literally one running over there now.
- So how you been?
- I've been all right.
- Look for work?
- Yeah.
- Where?
- I went all over.
I'm not gonna look no more.
Ain't no jobs out there.
And where I'm stayin',
they want some rent money,
I might have to leave.
So if I don't find a job soon,
I got no choice but go hustle again.
I tried it, no jobs. So if I wind back
up in jail, I wind up back there.
- Did I tell you it was easy?
- No, you didn't say it was easy.
Good.
Brought chicken.
You got rice? Chicken.
- Chicken?
- I hope you know how to cook.
- I just made dinner.
- Well, cook tomorrow.
Thank you.
- Real chicken.
- What?
What?
What? Chicken.
No, don't make it.
God!
What is it?
Where'd you get a chicken from?
It's all right.
We got chicken tonight.
How about if I cut the head off...
I'm only cuttin' the head off.
No.
Can you see Freddie?
Muncho.
- That's enough for me.
- Well, I gotta tell you.
This is a big difference
from the reception Rob got.
Your family really loves you.
He had nothin' when he got out.
Yeah. Well, as you see.
Where's Freddie?
What's up, man?
What's happening, homes?
About motherfuckin' time.
- Couple years, huh?
- You look good though, homes.
- Jon, I'm movin' today.
- What do you mean?
Find another place to stay.
It's a beautiful day
in Rob's neighborhood.
Yeah, I'm openin' up, man.
I open up every morning, you know?
Sell some cars, make some green.
What are you supposed to do here?
What are you supposed to do?
I open up. You know, hang around,
sell cars, fix 'em, whatever.
There's always work
to be done here, you know?
Where you livin'?
I'm stayin' in the back here.
Yeah. Free of cost, you know?
Bought me a little jacket here,
look presentable, you know?
Like a salesman, you know?
Gotta work to make money. What else
would I be doin'? Shopliftin'?
How's this car? Good car, right?
How much you get for this?
- 1500 dollars, right?
- 1800.
Eighteen. Let me see if I got it.
One, two, three, four, five,
six, seven, eight, nine, ten.
- Where you off to, Rob?
- Goin' out a little bit.
After you work, you gotta go out
a bit. You can't stay here all night!
I gotta get my love back, man.
My life ain't complete without it.
This is Deliris.
She was my ex-girl.
But that was how many years ago?
- Thirteen years ago.
- Thirteen years ago?
And now we got back together
and seein' if we can work it out.
These are her kids. Does she
look happy with me or what?
Maybe it's true love after all.
Hello.
What you want?
- Say thank you for the ice cream.
- Thank you.
You're welcome.
- What do you think? You like Robbie?
- Yeah.
- Nice guy?
- Yeah.
Yeah? How about you?
Do you like Rob?
Yeah.
Come on now. This is not
for the public to see, you know?
I don't want to teach nobody
my moves, you know? Do my shit.
Play with Kiky.
- Hey Fred.
- What's up?
Your mother always hang out of
the window like this all night long?
Yeah. She wants us to go to bed.
Once we go to bed, she'll go to bed.
Really?
- Yeah, Roseann...
- Freddie!
- So you've been in prison?
- Yeah, six years.
- I've never been in prison.
- I know you haven't been to prison.
- Never. I'm just a dancer.
- I understand. You look good.
I like your voice.
I was lookin' at you at the bar.
I wanted to step to you,
but I didn't want to... you know?
I think you're really cool.
I have to go get my tips.
Okay. Go take care of business.
I ain't seen
nothin' like that in prison.
There were some fine asses
in there. Word.
I'm gonna move him outta here.
- What are you doin'?
- I'm moving him out of this...
- You're gonna move in with Deliris?
- Yeah. Goin' back up.
- Movin' in?
- Yeah.
- You gonna domesticate Rob?
- I'm gonna domesticate her.
- What's been goin' on?
- What's "domesticate" anyway?
- What's all these hickeys?
- Those are love marks and shit.
Yeah, love marks.
Come on, son. That's my boy.
That's my boy.
As his parole officer,
I'm going to be looking
for anything in the home environment
that might cause a problem for him
to be in that particular home.
This is my mother.
Seen you comin', I said:
"She's comin' to lock me up."
No.
So whatcha do this weekend?
Nothin'. Just hung out around here.
I don't want to get high no more.
That's out, you know?
It's just the problems, you know?
You're starting a new life. You have
to learn how to work within the system.
Okay.
3 MONTHS LATER
Mr. Steffey, this is Mr.Turback,
assistant district parole supervisor.
What's different from the last time
you were here or the time before?
Because the time before, I wasn't using.
I was doing good.
And then I messed up
and then I told you about it.
You've made admission to Mr. Lindsay
that you were using drugs.
- Was that cocaine or heroin?
- Yes, that was the heroin.
- Heroin?
- Yeah. Right.
And when was that?
When was the first time?
That was a month ago, right?
When I came.
You tryin' to make sure you're tellin'
him the same thing you're tellin' me?
Or are you tryin'
to answer his question honestly?
Honestly, what?
When's the last time you used drugs,
Mr. Steffey?
About three weeks ago...
When's the first time
you used any drugs?
First time?
About four weeks or somethin' ago.
Why is it that I have a hard time
believing you, Rob?
You seem to be workin' in your mind:
"What did I tell Lindsay?"
"I better tell
this guy the same thing..."
Remember when I came to see you?
I think it's about time
we just just laid it out, Rob...
Might as well be asking this ball
for all the intelligent answers.
Can you get me help?
That's the main problem.
- Help is there.
- Well, I'll accept the help.
- You'll accept the help?
- Right.
We're not gonna play with this, Rob.
We're gonna try and get you help.
If that doesn't work, you will be
locked up. You understand that?
- Yeah, I understand.
- Okay. Thank you, Mr. Turback.
We're gonna go to the car while
you go to the store. Okay?
No, I want to go with you.
Where are you going?
- To Mommy's car.
- I want to go with you.
You gotta go get something to eat
first. I'll wait for you in the car.
- Okay?
- I want to go with...
Go where?
I'm not goin'. We're goin' right here.
Yvette, I'll be right back.
- Where you going?
- Take a right.
Stop right here, actin'
like you're gonna park.
Stop right there. Stop.
Where you goin'?
It's too late now.
Go ahead. Park!
In case the police woulda came by,
they would have seen
that you're tryin' to learn
how to drive, you know?
Poison. Poison used to kill
a lotta motherfuckers years ago.
I'll be rolling in a minute.
I don't give a fuck about money,
drugs or nothin'.
The main thing is that I love you and
I'm with you. That's the main thing.
You don't supposed to be hangin'
with people that get high.
You don't supposed to be givin' people
rides. You're doin' the same shit.
- Are you or are you not?
- No.
- No?
- No, not like before.
You believe when they told you
that I slept with him?
That's bullshit
'cause he could tell you himself.
- Take your ass on away from me.
- If that's what you want, I will.
She thinks that she's not doin'
anything wrong.
My girl's stayin' out
till 3:00 with another man?
Fuck I look like?
A stupid-ass or somethin'?
Is Mommy lyin' or what?
Everything she say is a lie, right?
Okay. I believe her.
Just got paid.
It's Wednesday night.
This is from sellin' dope.
One night's work.
- Who sold dope?
- My bitch.
Deliris sold the dope? Yeah.
Where'd you get that money from?
- Where I got that money from?
- She sold some dope. I told you.
No, I don't sell dope.
- It's 1:00 in the mornin', right?
- Yeah.
- You stay up this late every night?
- Yeah.
Every night you're up this late?
That's terrible.
Who takes care of you and
Chimo when your mother goes off?
Do you have to take
care of yourself?
Yeah.
Where's your mother goin'?
Where is she goin'?
She goin' to buy somethin'?
- She went to go to Pam.
- To Pam?
You know who's Pam?
To tell you the truth,
I think I know who lives up there.
- It's the people that sell D-R-U-G-S.
- What?
They sell things up there
and that's where she's gone.
No.
Come on.
Deliris, did you just buy
some D-R-U-G-S?
Yeah. We got today and tomorrow.
Get the camera down, Jon.
Keep it down.
I don't want 'em to stop me
or nothin' with my fuckin' car.
So now,
it's almost 2:00 in the morning.
It's 3:00 in the morning.
Chimo, you want me to stay here?
Answer me. I can't hear you.
Do you want me to stay here?
No.
- Bye, Jon.
- Bye.
See you.
Sup, Rob?
Rob. What's up, bud?
I don't want to talk. I don't care
if she goes fucking, I don't care, man.
I don't know, Rob.
You pick some of the strangest women.
Take me, for instance.
Why don't y'all cheer Rob up?
Me and Rob did prison time
together. What's up?
We got Rob out the car now.
He's feelin' comfortable.
All right, Rob.
- Sure?
- It's on you, man.
You want a taste, Rob?
How much money you got?
- You got some money, Rob?
- Yeah, I got money.
You want a taste?
I wouldn't even do that to you, Rob.
You're strong, man.
Stay strong.
I am.
I don't want that shit, period.
Devil is callin' you, Rob.
"Rob, get me, Rob. Come on, Rob."
It's the devil.
Rob. You got a pocketful of money,
Rob.
You hear him? Get him off
your shoulder. Knock him off, Rob.
You could tempt me all day.
I don't want the shit.
But it could be a time that I want
somethin'. You know what I mean?
Then I'll be like:
"Fuck, I'm gonna get me a bag!"
And ain't nobody can stop you.
If that's what the man want to do,
he gonna do it.
"Rob, my blood."
- Do you know Deliris?
- Yeah, I know her. Remember her.
Everybody's saying she's my wife now.
I don't know why everybody sayin' that.
Must be true then.
So I took Deliris, and I asked her:
"Who got it better: Me or Robert?"
And she said me. She said:
"You got it bigger and better."
But you gotta understand,
I'm Puerto Rican.
2 DAYS LATER
Today is my parole day. I gotta go
see my parole and my urine is dirty.
I'm gonna take a bottle of Clorox
and stick my fingers in it.
And when I go and take a urine,
I urinate on my hand.
- You're dirty?
- Yes. You know that.
- Real dirty?
- Real, real dirty.
I can observe the stream. I can observe
what he is putting into the bottle.
If anyone had not flushed
before him,
he could not simply do
what we call a bowl scoop.
- A what?
- A bowl scoop.
Scoop it out the bowl
from under here...
The bowl scoop
is not the right temperature.
After so many years of taking
urine samples and handling them,
you get to know what temperature
they're supposed to feel like
in the palm of your hand.
- You know what's kosher and what's not.
- Basically, yeah.
But it's better than nothing, Freddie.
I'm so proud of you
and how hard
you tried to do this.
It shows that you are really
tryin' hard here to prove to us
that you're not doin' anything
out there in those streets.
And if this comes back positive,
you're in trouble.
- Your goose is cooked, hon.
- Don't worry. It won't.
I know it won't.
I'm betting on it.
It was like 80 percent Clorox
and 20 percent urine.
Jump the fuck in before I knock you
the fuck down. Come on. Get in.
You got business to take care of?
You're gonna get high probably.
Yeah. I'm gonna go get me a bag
of dope, man, after all that.
Get me a couple bags of dope.
Get in the fuckin' car.
Get the fuck in...
Get in the car!
Where they goin'?
They still okay or what?
Shut up!
Come on. I'm just gonna
come right back. All right?
Mom, I want to go...
Gonna do this real quick
before the kids get back.
Yo. What's up, bro?
I'm motherfuckin' gettin' drunker
than a motherfucker.
I ain't did no drugs yet.
And I hope I stay like that.
- I'm havin' a good time...
- I hope you stay like that, too.
Of course. I'm havin' a good
time fuckin' drinking.
But once you've been addicted
to drugs, after you drink,
that shit makes you want to do
the drugs that you want.
Are you learning
from your mistakes?
I learned. But still,
the force of drugs is so powerful.
It make you want to go back.
You know what I'm sayin'?
Man, just learn
from your mistakes, bro.
You'll get there.
Butch, what's up, man?
3 MONTHS LATER
Gonna go get a AIDS test.
How long's it take
before you get the result?
Three weeks. Probably
be dead by then, right?
Have you done this
before other places?
No.
I'm going to tie you up
and see what's going on...
When do results coming?
Who's gonna tell me? You?
- I am.
- Good.
Hurts still?
Freddie, your life in a bottle here.
Yeah, right?
Kiky. That's dangerous, your brother
sittin' there by the window.
Chimo, you get off the window!
They're all abusive.
They are very abusive.
That's that asshole.
You okay, Rob?
Came to find out
the results of my tests.
- Okay. You have your card?
- Yes.
I'm scared.
Everybody's dyin'.
One or two people left
that I used to run with.
And they're on their way out.
- You all right?
- Yeah.
Your results came back reactive.
Basically, what that means
is that you have been exposed
to HIV.
How you doin'?
It's okay. It's all right.
Turn around.
- You don't remember my face, do you?
- No.
And you got a little run out
your nose, too, okay?
Of course. I got a cold.
I'm freezin', man...
It's not that cold out here, okay?
Your nose is runny. Your mouth is dry.
Listen, you're talkin' to me,
not to somebody else on the streets.
I know what you do.
What I'm gonna advise you now
is to stay away from these areas...
- I am gonna stay away, man.
- Listen to me. I'm talking to you.
If I catch you again tonight, you know
what I'm gonna have to do, right?
I gotta lock you up for obstructing
a public passage.
I can't leave you out here 'cause
you're gonna get yourself hurt.
You're gonna get shot
by these jokers over here, okay?
'Cause you know they'll shoot you
in a heartbeat 'cause you're white.
You don't belong around here.
Plain and simple.
He's the kinda guy that one day
we'll catch him somewhere dead.
Which is a shame 'cause he's...
I'm not gonna judge him,
but he doesn't seem like a bad guy.
But he's hooked on that stuff.
And he'll go anywhere to get his drugs.
- Eight plus one?
- Nine.
- Four minus two?
- Two.
Do me a favor.
Look through that window and
check if... Remember Jose?
Jose, my aunt said hold on and
she'll be down in a few minutes.
Every time she's clean,
he's right there,
she goes right back in.
See you in a few days.
I don't know what to say, but
my heart is full of love with her.
And I want to know.
I know that we love you,
but we don't know
how much you love us.
I love you. I love you all.
If you love us all, why you
not doing so good for us?
We want you come back,
but you never try.
I will.
If you love us so much, why your
hand is halfway on the door?
I'm ready to go outside.
I'm getting hot.
I'll see y'all tomorrow.
Good night, Charlie.
Good night.
If you wanna kill yourself,
easy way out.
I really wish my life was different.
Sentence day, State of New Jersey
versus Wilfredo Rodriguez.
Count one of first-degree
armed robbery.
Count two of fourth-degree possession
of an imitation firearm.
Judge, this is a person
who's been afforded every opportunity
within the criminal justice system.
At a certain point, it's just time
to warehouse this type of individual.
Gonna commit Mr. Rodriguez
to the custody of the commissioner
for 15 years in prison,
that sentence to run concurrent
to any violation of parole
that may be imposed
as a result of this sentence.
Good luck to you, Mr. Rodriguez.
Shit. Get me up.
You's a heavy fuck.
Shoulda took me off faster!
Now, it gets hard. Right, Burt?
- Thanks, my brother.
- No problem.
- My nubian brother.
- Robbie, you had a little too much.
Come on. Get yourself together, man,
before you fall again.
Get up, man. Come on, yo!
That's what drugs do, see?
Have you nodding and falling?
Rob.
How many bags you did today?
Rob?
Yo, Rob!
I suggest for people
that doin' drugs, man,
look at the place where Rob is at
and look at Rob right here
and his condition
of being on drugs, man.
He don't straighten up himself,
this is where he's gonna die at.
That's where you gonna find him dead
at, right at this house right here.
This abandoned building.
RIVERFRONT STATE PRISON
Hey, Jon.
What's up, buddy?
It's been seven long years.
- What is this place?
- This is Riverfront State Prison.
This has been my view
for the past seven years.
I got one more to go. But hopefully,
I'll be in a halfway house
and I won't have to see these wires
and these barbed wires anymore.
You ever think about escaping?
You could swim right across the river.
No. I'm not thinking about escaping.
It's not for me. Too old to be runnin'.
I want to show you...
...what helps me stay clean.
Right there.
My daughter, my son.
I haven't seen 'em
in about six or seven years now.
Hey, Jon. What's up?
What's happenin'?
How long's it been?
This'll be 28 months this month.
Two years, four months.
Tell me
what you were locked up for!
I was locked up for robbery,
second-degree robbery.
You look good.
Look like you've been eatin'.
- Yeah, I've been eatin'.
- Exercising.
Exercising every day. Joggin'.
Some people need to get locked up
but not for a short period of time.
You were a good candidate for that
because you were basically gonna die,
unless you went to jail.
ESSEX COUNTY JAIL
These were the track marks
from where I was shooting up at.
So now look where we all wind up.
And it's all because of the drugs.
All because of the drugs.
Rob was locked up.
I'm locked up. Freddie's locked up.
And it all got to do with drugs.
Drugs don't bring nothin'.
They just gonna kill you.
They almost killed me.
Thank God I'm here.
I thank God I'm here today.
Step through here.
All right, kids. Is you ready
to visit your mother?
Every day I pray at night to see
if I could see you to come out.
Keep prayin',
because I'm praying, too.
The only thing that will help us
is the Lord to hear our prayer.
- You doin' good in school?
- Straight C's.
C's?
What happened to the A's and B's?
I don't know.
Wait till I come out.
Things will start getting better.
Remember that paper that said
you were in my heart and my soul?
- I still love you that way.
- I love you, too.
All right.
I want her to stay so she could get
more clean and stuff,
but I still want her
to be there for me.
- But she never has been.
- No. Only when I was small.
And now, what do you think's
gonna happen to you?
To me? I don't really know.
I know I'll stay in school and stuff.
Never use drugs.
When someone ask me somebody,
smokin' and stuff, I'll say no.
I'll walk away.
And I know that's what happens.
You think
you're gonna have a good future?
Yeah. And I know
I try to keep it bright, too.
This is a therapeutic community
drug program.
Bunch of people havin' meetings
and tryin' to stay away from drugs.
I've been drug free
for a while now, and I...
How long?
About a year, I'll say.
Ten months to a year.
So for the first four years in jail?
I was getting high
just about every day.
I take computer class in mornings.
This is my teacher, Miss Dartash.
- Hi, how are you?
- Good morning.
As you can see,
I've been gettin' 100s.
Got 100 for this one, 100 for this one.
Sometimes I get 90s.
96, 98.
But I try to keep my 100s.
4 MONTHS LATER
- Hey Rob. You're out?
- What's up?
What are you supposed to do?
I gotta go to the parole board now
and see what they want me to do.
Hi Bob. I'm Mr. Mahoney.
I'm gonna be your parole officer
while you're out here on the street.
- And I see you're new to Trenton.
- Right. I'm new.
You've been through this before.
How do you think you're gonna
make out this time?
- Good.
- You think so?
Yeah. I'm determined
to do good this time.
- Your drug was heroin, right?
- Yeah.
- That's a real tough thing to kick.
- Yeah.
They want to saturate you with
supervision for the first couple months.
That's all right.
To kinda get you steerin'
towards the right direction.
If there's any slip-up, everything
could be picked up right away.
So we go through the '80s with some
shoplifting, receiving stolen property.
It's related to your addiction.
See, this is the criminal mind, too.
You got about seven,
eight date of births
and seven, eight, maybe more
Social Security numbers.
Antoine Boustany, Robert Hansen,
Robert Medina.
Do you ever get parolees that really
want to straighten up
and they do good?
- A lotta guys.
- With big records like me?
It's possible.
You know where I could cash this at?
I ain't got no ID. Robert Medina...
I got you as Robert Steffey.
If this was for Robert Steffey,
I could take you to the bank...
See what happens
when you use fake names?
- Yeah, jeez.
- I'll get it cashed. Don't matter.
There you go. All right.
See you Monday.
Probably be out sometime
this week to see you, too.
- Okay.
- Good luck.
- Thanks.
- All right. Take it easy.
- Thank you.
- All right. Don't forget your cart.
This is my property. My clothes,
my cigarettes and stuff like that.
Freddie,
what are all these pills for?
It's my medication for my HIV.
Give me all this medication.
I've been had this medication.
I was supposed to have been takin' it.
I haven't been takin' it.
Why not?
The doctor told me it was gonna
give me a false positive for marijuana.
Since they take my urine so much, I was
afraid it was gonna come back positive
and they was gonna
send me back to prison.
So I stopped takin' my medication
for that reason.
You had to choose between
your health and your freedom?
Correct. And I did what I had
to do because what was I gonna do?
Get sent back to prison?
Come on. I've had enough of prison.
Mr. Morrison, thank you for everything.
Thank you so much, sir.
- Thank you again.
- You're welcome.
Ten years. Freedom.
Comin' over to Eckerd's here,
this is where Bob's been working
for the last couple months.
He's a stock person. He's working
his way up to general manager.
- You serious?
- Yeah. He's actually working.
Legitimate work,
making legitimate money.
You can see for yourself
when we come in. Hey Bob!
- Mr. Mahoney, what's up?
- How you doin'?
Are you going to your meetings?
You haven't been using any drugs?
- Nope.
- What kind of work you doin' here?
I stock the shelves.
I help customers.
When we have, like, items
that's on sale, I mark 'em down.
When you were the different Rob,
you were out kinda rippin' stores off.
Yeah, I used to come to the stores
and shoplift.
I took the stuff off the shelves.
Now, I'm loadin' it back up.
All right. How long you been sober?
How long you been straight...
- Sober? Like 29 months.
- That's it.
Twenty-nine months altogether,
in jail and I got out.
27 months, like three months
on the street. Yeah.
It's happened. I've seen
transformations before.
I don't believe in myself.
It's a couple months.
It's a start.
Once you take as your program
says, one day at a time.
There's things
in here that I could steal
and they wouldn't even
know about it.
But I don't want to do
that 'cause these people...
These people trusted me
and gave me a job.
A lot of people went through
a lotta trouble to get me a job.
And help me. And why
am I gonna mess that up?
They're ready for you.
Miss Shafran is gonna be
your permanent parole officer,
but she's gonna be out for
the next week and a half or so.
In the meantime,
I'm gonna supervise you.
My name, Larkin.
On the back, that's my direct line.
- Okay.
- We both have voicemail.
If you need to contact us, there's no
excuse why you can't leave a message.
- How long you been away?
- Ten years.
- Ten straight?
- Yeah.
All right.
Tats, tattoos, scars, marks.
- Chest, back, arms.
- Take off the shirt.
Man, parole was kinda strict.
Deliris, you're back.
Where you been?
Alone. Just came out the rehab
after being there for three months.
Thank God.
- You're clean?
- I'm clean for three months.
Thank God. I don't have
to wake up sick no more.
I don't have to go crazy
looking for my drug no more.
When she walked back in
and you saw her lookin' like this,
were you surprised?
Yeah.
- Why?
- Because she got fatter.
Just like that.
See what I'm saying?
Today is your day.
It's your game.
If you choose to do good,
then your gonna do good.
If you choose to get up there
and get nervous and get scared,
then you're gonna make a bad choice
because you're not gonna do your best.
Always do your best. No matter what
you do in life, do your best.
Stay relaxed.
Don't let other people get you upset.
Don't get nervous
and don't get worryin' about
you're gonna hit the batter.
Your concentration is just
throwing to the catcher's glove.
- Cardinals on three. One, two, three.
- Cardinals!
Today, Kiky gets the game ball. We're
gonna get the whole team to sign it.
Mom.
What are we doing?
Protection. You never know.
I don't work in Neverland.
716 and 754.10-6 to 274.
Johnson Avenue, Newark.
FREDDIE'S FAMILY'S HOUSE
How you doin'?
Hi, little guy.
How you doin', Freddie?
What's up?
How's everything?
Hello, sir. How you doin'?
How many people live here?
I mean, like, in the kitchen...
No.
My father just came over.
Besides the people
in the kitchen here and all the kids,
is that everybody in the house
or are there people upstairs?
- Just outta curiosity.
- Just my brother's upstairs.
First thing, I need a urine
from you! Bathroom round here?
- Let's go upstairs.
- You got it.
How you doin'?
Hi. I'm Officer Larkin. I'm his new PO.
That's my sister
and my brother in-law.
- How you doin', guys?
- Good luck.
How bad is it at the house?
What do they use? Heroin?
I honestly don't know. I think
they're smokin', but I'm not sure.
Smokin' what? Crack? Weed?
I would think.
I've been away for a lotta years.
I don't really know too much
about that stuff and how you act.
I think the best step for you
is to get out of that house.
You want to stay away from chaos?
You should get outta Johnson Ave.
Okay.
I would recommend this place on
Hunterdon Street. 460 dollars a month.
Right here.
That's the house. John?
How you doin'? I'm Officer Larkin.
This is Officer Morano.
This is Freddie.
Freddie's a possible renter.
- Checkin' out.
- Bedroom.
Bathroom.
You ever been on your own, without
family around? Just your own place?
No.
If you decide you can't take this
place, you're either going to a hotel
for however long it takes you
to find a place.
You're not goin' back to Johnson Ave.
I don't feel comfortable here,
honestly.
- You don't feel comfortable?
- No.
I'm mandatin' you
to stay at that hotel.
I don't care
if you go through all your savings.
So the total will be for two nights
is 246.38 dollars.
- That's the cheapest you have?
- Yes.
- I don't know how you do this.
- Arrow down...
Like that.
- Go ahead.
- That's your key.
- This is better than the dump.
- Little bit better?
Yeah, right?
Not too shabby.
I wish I could stay here.
- If you want to pay 3000 a month.
- I don't even make that much.
If I find you at Johnson Avenue,
you could go back to prison.
Keep that in mind.
It's a nice place. I wish I could
stay here. But it's not possible.
I don't make
the money to stay here.
Deliris,
introduce me to your friends.
- This is Tanya and Celeste.
- How are you?
How are you? Nice to see you.
What type of drugs you been takin'?
- Heroin and cocaine.
- Same thing.
Where you gonna take 'em?
Where can they go to get cleaned up?
I was gonna take 'em to Secaucus,
where I went to.
'Cause they have
eight programs out there.
I heard that they're closing that
program down 'cause of tax cuts.
And it's hard to get people in, right?
It's hard to get a bed.
Let's go.
I figure if I can do it,
y'all could do it, too.
I have two girls that would like
to go into the program.
Okay. I spoke to...
Excuse me, Chimo.
I spoke to the guy where I went to.
He said there ain't no beds right now.
But he's gonna try to get in contact...
He's on lunch, off the campus.
What he's gonna try to do is talk
to the guy
so they could take ya pre-admission
through the phone.
Once they do that, he'll let ya know
before he finish talkin' to ya
if he could squeeze ya
in a bed for this weekend.
- Why you cryin'?
- I wanna go.
We're gonna try through all corners.
I know the feeling.
And I know what y'all goin' through.
I know how it is when you get sick
and tired of being sick and tired.
So we just gotta keep trying.
This is my friend Evelyn.
She needs someone
to help her get into a detox.
I told her
that I'm gonna see what I can do.
And she's willing
to accept the help, right?
Yes, I am.
- What type of drugs are you using?
- Heroin.
- What else?
- Crack.
- How do you get the money?
- Prostitution.
Just like Deliris. But maybe
she's smart enough to stop the shit.
- So how long you been addicted?
- Almost six years now, on and off.
It's about helping people now. I went
to the jail in Trenton, spoke.
I went to the youth house and spoke.
I went to Bo Robinson's.
There were like 200 inmates.
I spoke.
We're gonna go see my children.
Fifteen years, I've seen 'em
a couple times in between.
I really don't know them.
I'm goin' upstairs to see 'em now.
I feel nervous. I feel scared.
I don't know.
Look, it's a snowman.
- Who is it?
- It's Freddie.
Oh my god. What's up?
Oh my god.
How you been?
I wanna hang out with y'all
as much as I can.
You know we live in New York.
So...
I know. And that's the problem
because I can't travel to New York.
Right now, you know?
Maybe in the near future
when they take
these restrictions off me.
We're goin' to Dr. J's?
- What you need, Freddie?
- I don't need nothin', my brother.
- Are they construction boots?
- Yeah. I like these pants.
These are hot. I like these right here.
I'm gonna look at the hats again.
I feel comfortable. I thought
I would feel uncomfortable.
But I do.
I feel very comfortable around you.
- Do you?
- You feel comfortable around me?
No. Nah, I do. But not completely.
I feel it still, you know?
That's messed up.
Happy birthday to you!
Happy birthday, dear Elizabeth.
Happy birthday to you!
- Thank you.
- Blow out the candles. Make a wish.
This has been
one of the best days of my life.
'Cause I haven't seen you in a long
time, and you come back
and I'm happy, and it seems
like you never even left.
I want to thank you so much.
I love you so much.
You're makin' me all mushy.
How many drug pushers
do we have in the courtyard?
Like ten.
How in the world is Deliris
gonna be able to stay clean
when there is a lot of people out here
who are gonna help her out
if she wants to do the wrong thing?
All it is out here, man.
Niggers just be sellin' it, man.
They don't give a fuck
about a damn thing.
They're makin' at least
2000-3000 dollars a day. Absolutely.
Outta six dealers, each one of 'em
can make that much a day...
How long does it take you
to make that much money?
About a half hour.
You know how much money
they made with me?
I don't know, Deliris. I mean,
if we look around here,
you're almost surrounded.
- How do you feel sometimes?
- Tempted.
Yeah?
It's all about survivin', man.
She gotta be strong for herself.
- You gotta be within your own self.
- That's it.
If you ain't strong enough,
you ain't gonna survive out here.
I gotta get away from here.
'Cause I know them all.
I know who to get it from
and who not to get it from.
And I know if I go ask 'em,
if I was to have the money,
they'll give it to me right there,
they don't care.
All right.
Let's get outta here, Deliris.
I broke up with my girl.
Yeah, she left.
You know,
'cause we argue every day.
Anyway...
Hello, Mr. Mahoney? Yeah,
this is Rob. I gotta speak to you.
Can you come over the house?
Okay, bye.
- He said he'll see me in a bit.
- Who?
- My parole officer.
- Why?
Because I want to tell him
what happened, you know?
Cause it's shit like that that
makes people do drugs.
You broke up with your woman.
It happens all the time.
Now, you gotta learn how to deal
with it without goin' back
to your drugs, your alcohol,
doing your crap you did before.
I'm glad you contacted me
because that's important.
You let me know what's goin' on,
I'll come over...
At first, I thought it was nothin'.
Why should I tell you...
That is somethin',
'cause that could make me use.
Somethin' on your mind.
You're hooked up with somebody,
and all of a sudden it ends?
You know, you get thinkin'.
But give a couple days,
see how you feel.
That said, maybe you guys go back.
Maybe you won't.
If you don't, then you move on and
continue the way you've been livin',
which has been clean and sober,
you've been on the right track.
- Are you Freddie?
- Yes.
Freddie? Wilfredo? What?
Okay. Come on in.
How's your health?
He had that you didn't feel well.
I don't feel well. I'm goin'
through a lot of pain every night.
Starts like 16:00 or 17:00 in
the evening. Cramps, stomach.
My son, he's going to this thing
called the Twilight, school at night,
because he got caught with a gun
or robbery, some store.
And they don't teach him nothin'.
And I wanted to know
if you can give me permission
to go to Newburgh, New York,
so I can go to the school
and see if I can arrange it
so I can get him back
in regular school.
So I'll be right there.
You heard him. There you go.
He'll be in a second.
Mr. Rodriguez, how you doin'?
Martin LaMaza, principal. Wilfredo.
We're gonna go over
to the office on this side
and we'll cover the material
that we're gonna discuss.
Just go through.
Give me just
a little bit of background
on the fact that you haven't been
with Wilfredo for a while.
And now,
you're here to help us out.
Well, ten years ago, I committed
a crime, armed robbery to be exact.
I went to prison for ten years.
So when I, like, left my son,
he was, like,
real small at the time.
I actually didn't see him till,
like, now, you know?
So I really didn't raise him.
I spent ten years in prison.
I kinda, like, know what prison's like.
I got out, and I don't want him
to take the same route I took
and end up in the same place
where I ended up at.
- So, Deliris, clean or not clean?
- Clean.
Guarantee? Look me in the eye.
Look. Clean?
Clean.
I swear to God I seen her shoot up,
doin' a Black guy.
You went first
and he went second.
She did it in her right arm.
You got that?
Let's see the sleeve, Deliris.
Let's see.
Let's see the right arm, Deliris.
Wait till we get around the corner.
Yeah, she's high right now.
Can't you look at a person eyes
and tell when their pupils
are dilated and stuff like that?
She's high for real.
- I want to see your right arm.
- It was from a blood test.
Let me see your left arm!
What's that over there?
Move it this way.
- Tape.
- No, this right here.
- What's this right here?
- That's been there.
Deliris, they know
what track marks are?
Yeah. I used to have 'em.
If you do drugs one more time,
can't live with you.
Go back on drugs
or don't be with me!
Bingo.
This is what kills you,
fucking drugs.
- Rob.
- Yeah?
What's happenin'?
The store is closin'. It should be
closed on the 15th,
but they'll probably close sooner,
they're running out of merchandise.
What about your job?
I don't know. I don't know
if they're gonna keep me or not.
I gotta talk to the manager. She'll be
here in about an hour or somethin'.
Jesus Christ. Look at this!
I'm gonna have to go look
for another job, right?
No. We'll keep you here.
And then when this store closes,
you'll end up going to another Eckerd
'cause we don't want
to put you on the street.
I told you, Jon. Eckerd ain't just
gonna put people on the street.
- Why you gonna keep him?
- 'Cause he's a good worker.
There's no reason for him to leave.
He's never done anything wrong.
They're gonna keep Rob.
Rob will not be unemployed.
2 MONTHS LATER
- Rob.
- What's up?
You're smokin'.
I started smokin' again. I was
doin' good. 146 days. I quit like that.
Now, for the past week, I've been
smokin'. But I'm gonna stop again.
Where are we goin' now?
There's this place
that helps you get jobs.
- A job? What do you mean?
- I got fired from Eckerd. I told you.
- You got fired?
- I got fired.
They called me in the day
before yesterday, right?
The assistant manager
knew my background.
And she didn't say nothin'
for the whole year.
Then all of a sudden,
she tells the district manager.
Then they said:
"We have to let you go."
And this place?
This place helps you find a job
and they're good.
My parole officer called the guy.
I got an appointment with Lanney.
Okay? Only smoked half.
You can take a seat, fill this out.
When you're done, I'll get Mike.
He'll interview you. Okay?
Have you ever been convicted
of a felony in the last seven years?
What should I do? Lie?
Now, I got child support. I bring
the letters in case you need to see it.
And I'm saying, you know,
I honestly been thinking about
telling you:
"Send me back, man"...
- 50 dollars a month?
- Yes.
That's what you're crying about?
50 dollars a month?
- It's not just that...
- That's not a lot of money.
It's not just that.
If that was all I had to pay,
I'd be fine with that.
It's life. If you can't live with this,
you're gonna have a lotta problems.
When everybody's hittin' me left
and right, you know what I'm sayin',
I'm confused,
I'm not even used to bein' out.
- Not staying down here, are you?
- No.
- I hope not.
- I don't want to stay in Newark.
I don't blame you. That's where
you get all your problem from.
Let me show you Rob's picture,
if I still have it.
- That you, Rob?
- Yeah, it's me.
She was just in here, too,
not too long ago.
- Deliris.
- She was just in here.
How about
a goodbye Polaroid?
A goodbye Polaroid?
A good picture.
I'm not standing there.
I'm not a criminal.
- I'm not standing there.
- I'll stand in the middle.
Ready?
Life of Crime, part six.
No flash!
All that shit for nothing.
- Take care of yourself.
- All right.
What do you think, John?
Does he have a shot?
Yeah, he has a shot. As long
as he doesn't go back to Newark,
hang with the same guys that got him
in trouble to begin with, he got a shot.
- How big a shot? This big?
- Little bigger.
About 50/50 here. That's what it is.
As long as he doesn't come back here.
That's the whole thing.
You can't come back to this town
to hang out with the same guys,
and you're gonna wind up in trouble.
Hey Deliris.
So you still gettin' high?
A little bit.
But you're not addicted, right?
Why don't you stop?
I'm clean so far.
- So far.
- I ain't fuckin' around no more.
Shit, I don't even steal, man.
I ain't doin' nothin'.
This is my home, temporarily.
Robert, this is Ruben.
Ruben, Robert.
I remember that.
When you was younger!
- Yep, high school.
- You could still look like that again.
- Stop doin' drugs.
- I know. I want to...
That's it.
You can go to a detox, right?
And get clean. And as soon
as you come back out on the street,
you're gonna start using again.
Remember when you went
to the drug program
and you got like nice
and plump, and fat?
You was lookin' good.
You had quit smokin', right?
But you see
how positive you was then.
But I bet you wasn't going
to meetings or nothin'.
- Eventually, you started usin' drugs?
- Yep.
I'll see you.
- Nice seein' you.
- Okay. Ruben, right? Okay, Ruben.
- Nice seeing you again!
- You better stop.
- I need to.
- Okay.
Freddie. What is goin' on?
Life is goin' on.
The same old life.
I'm havin' problems with Freddie.
He hasn't been reporting
like he's supposed to.
Right now, I have no idea where he is.
He's probably not staying at home
'cause he knows
that I'm going out there.
I have no choice. I'm about
to issue a warrant for Freddie.
Who knows what he's capable
of doing out there in the streets?
New York, New York.
It's a wonderful...
Freddie, if you don't turn yourself in,
I think you die on the street.
If I don't die on the street,
where am I gonna die? In prison?
I've been on the run now for
what, two days? Three days?
And it's been rough.
It's not not easy, you know?
'Cause I can't go
to my family's house.
Where else am I supposed to go?
Backin' up into this alley because
I'm gonna shoot some dope in the car.
Get the sickness off me.
I let everybody down.
I let myself down mainly.
Shit.
- What are you doin'?
- Puttin' my bags in the fuckin' car.
- Where are you goin'?
- Back to Jersey, I guess.
And? To do what?
I don't know.
Find another place to go to.
- You better turn yourself in.
- No, not now. Not today.
That means you're gonna
get high again, right?
Obviously. What can I do, Jon?
I'm sick.
You gotta have the courage to turn
yourself in. It's a question of courage.
If you go out on the street and get
high again, you're gonna die.
You're not gonna make it.
I don't know, Jon.
I don't know what to do, man.
This is Gator.
This is my roommate. I let him
move in like about four months ago.
He helps me pay the rent.
You know what I mean?
But Gator was drug free.
When he moved in,
I told him he couldn't mess with drugs.
"You gotta go to AA."
And then what happened, Gator?
Came back, started playing
with the drugs again.
I got my habit back.
But I'm tryin' to get clean again.
Rob's helping me out with that.
- What's the habit?
- Heroin.
- How much?
- I'm doing now about two bags a day.
Picked up a couple of my buddies.
You know, scorpion. It's not bad.
That's the same empty bag
you left the other day...
- This here ain't gonna bother you?
- Don't bother me.
'Cause, you know, I don't want
to see you go back out there...
I quit.
I stopped. I didn't quit. I stopped.
Let me see if I get tempted, Jon.
You hear that sound?
That's like... It's coming in.
Don't bother me, Jon.
Don't bother me at all.
I'm on my fucking way to jail.
I'm supposed to be there at 15:30.
What time is it? It's 15:51.
I still haven't even got
my fuckin' dick sucked.
That's gonna take
another half hour.
How much money you got?
I don't know. You gonna shoot me up
if I get the coke?
Hell yeah.
I don't have any veins.
You're gonna have to go in my neck.
No problem.
Yeah, go ahead,
you fuckin' Spic.
'Cause my boyfriend don't want me.
I don't want him to think that...
See, I want her to suck my dick.
And I can't do it, man, 'cause...
Fuckin' girl, man.
She's gonna get all fuckin' coked up.
I don't see shit.
I can't do that.
It's too small. I'm gonna blow up.
Want to get that? It's small, mami?
Don't move right there.
Just hold it right there.
- All the way, right...
- Check back.
Go back? All the way?
Don't go fuckin' go out on me, mami.
Your heart starts beatin' fuckin'
thousand miles an hour.
Put this shit in.
Take it out.
Take it out, Freddie.
It's out.
I ain't get my fuckin' dick sucked.
Let me put my shit on, Fred.
My boyfriend's there...
Sleepin' pills. I'm packin' 'em
so I take 'em to the county jail
because I can't sleep at night,
that's exactly what I'm doin'.
The only way I'm gonna
be able to sleep at night, kid.
Who taught you
how to do that stuff?
You learn this shit in prison.
Man. It's hurtin'.
That's just too bad now.
Hold on a second.
Freddie, have a seat
in this chair right here, okay?
Don't ever think you got it
in the bag like I thought I had it.
Nobody in the world could tell me
that they get clean and stop usin'.
I don't care if it's ten,
15 years from now.
They do it one time,
they gonna do it every day.
That shit is unstoppable, man.
In the end,
I guess it is a successful story
just 'cause
you turned yourself in today.
It'll be successful
if when I max out I'm still livin'.
That's when it'll be successful.
3 YEARS LATER
He'll be comfortable here.
Tomorrow morning,
they'll close the coffin up
and take him to church.
That's about it.
I'm Detective Al DiNatale,
Trenton Police Department.
How you doin', Al?
I'm going to walk you
through the scene here
and let you know
exactly what we found.
Rob was found laying on the floor with
his head up against the refrigerator.
If you look down here,
you'll see the syringe needle
next to his left leg.
This was gonna be a success story.
We felt he straightened himself out.
Obviously,
it didn't work out that way.
- Waste of life.
- Yeah.
We have here a body of
41-years-old Robert Steffey,
found at home in a state
of full bloat decomposition,
found with a syringe present,
in his left inner elbow.
100 percent positive
that his cause of death
is as a result
of his one-time shot of heroin.
The heroin that was found
in his system was very pure?
Yes.
A hot shot, a shot that you
will die from, is the ultimate high.
And the gentleman or person
who sold him this shot
will be the hot person on the street,
the dealer everyone is looking for.
They want to buy from him
because this gentleman supposedly
got the ultimate high.
He knew what he was doin'.
He knew heroin got him in prison
before, got him in trouble.
Now, it got him dead.
That's a sad ending
to the life of Robert Steffey.
Don't shoot dope, 'cause
you're gonna end up in the morgue.
I want to introduce you
the Mistress of Honor,
who's an absolute unadulterated
miracle just like Ray...
Right here!
- Let's hear it for Deliris.
- Our sister.
My name is Deliris, and I'm a grateful,
blessed recovering addict.
Hey Deliris!
I love my recovery today.
I was born and raised in Newark.
I have three beautiful kids.
I graduated from high school.
I went to college.
I had a job with the City of Newark.
The drugs stole all that from me.
For 17 years, I shot drugs.
When I OD-ed in my room,
nobody knew where I was at.
All I wanted to do was die.
And you know what?
A voice told me: "Help yourself,
that I will help you."
And ever since, I've been clean.
If I could do it, anybody could do it.
That's all I can say.
- If Deliris can do it?
- I can do it.
- If Deliris can do it?
- I can do it.
- If Deliris can do it?
- I can do it.
Today is Mother's Day.
I've had a long day today,
but at least she keeps me company.
It's my first Mother's Day
without my mother.
She passed away
in July of last year.
In the old days
when I used to feel like this,
I used to just go get high
and don't feel nothin'.
'Cause that's what
people do with drugs.
They use drugs so they won't feel pain.
I did that for a lotta years.
My mother was more a mother
to my kids than I was.
I'm not with my kids today because
there's still pain with them.
Jon, you remember me?
I'm Kiky.
I'm now 32. Last time you saw me
I believe was about eight or nine.
I'm definitely not the same person.
Not at all.
I'm happy with my life now,
tryin' to pick up the pieces now.
I want to focus on me, focus on
my passions, my dreams, my goals,
like those other things
I have in front of me.
And those are the things
I'm gonna succeed in one day.
This is my oldest son, Charlie.
Those are the guys that used to lock
your mother up all the time, Charlie.
I know we playin' against 'em.
Newark PD.
Hey, guys. My name is Deliris.
I used to be a heavy drug addict
and I was in and outta jail,
'cause of my addiction.
But I thank God that he rescued me
and today I have 12 years clean.
- Congratulations.
- Thank you.
Glad you're out here.
We're glad to have you.
They know police gonna whip their ass.
Deliris, this game is won on and off
the field, but you're the real winner.
Thank you.
I get to take a picture
with Newark Police Department
instead of being in a lineup.
- All right, guys. Thank you!
- Thank you.
That's the projects
that they closed down.
They found
too many bodies in there.
This is Pennington Court.
I ran around here looking for drugs.
Now, I try to help people get clean.
What's goin' on, Jodi?
Hey, how you doin'?
I remember
you was just a little kid.
You was here with Rob when he was
still alive, during the film.
I'm hopin' in a good way.
We came here today to see you
to see what we could do for you.
But it's up to you.
I can't force you. Okay?
Here, let me get a hug.
- Stay strong, okay?
- I sure will.
I'm gonna go see if I see somebody
that needs help! You take care now.
I remember you.
I've been homeless over 30 years.
I need help.
What happened?
I made a mistake with my life.
And I can't get no help.
I'll try to get you into a program.
Just don't give up. Don't give up.
I know this guy right here.
I used to sell him drugs. Yeah.
When are you gonna get clean?
I was clean for a good while
except then I got hurt again.
I'm not on the needles.
I'm glad I'm not on that.
I'm gonna pray for you, okay?
Prayer do work.
All right. You take care now.
It never stops.
NEWARK
CITIZEN OF THE YEAR AWARDS
Deliris, it is my distinct pleasure
to recognize you today.
Deliris is such a strong role model
to many.
So, Deliris, from sick and suffering
to a strong survivor,
you are a miracle,
God bless you!
My main purpose is to help
another addict get clean like I did.
We can only keep what
we have by giving it away.
I'm so grateful that I'm alive today
because it was me and two other guys.
And both of them
overdosed on drugs.
I'm the only one
that's left today alive.
And if Deliris can do it,
I can do it.
- If Deliris can do it?
- I can do it.
- If Deliris can do it?
- I can do it.
This is my daughter, Kiky.
This is Cayden,
my six-year-old grandson,
Charlie, my oldest son,
and my oldest grandson.
I love you.
I'm proud of you.
I knew you could do it, ma.
Good job.
- Love you.
- Love you, too.
Let's do this.
The COVID 19 shutdown
took away Deliris's support services.
She had been clean
for 13 years.
Five dollars worth of drugs
killed her.
This was her baby.
Chimo,
Deliris's son.
I want people to remember
my mother for her energy,
and all the positivity she had
and wanting to help others.
I'm proud of my mother.
She changed her life around, a lot.
Gotta be with family.
Gotta keep it up.
When people think of my mother,
I want them to remember
that recovery's possible.
She did it for the past 13 years.
She helped as many people as she can.
I'll never stop loving you.
Hail Mary, full of grace,
the Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou amongst women and
blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners
now and at the hour of our death,
Amen.
She was able to tell her story.
Not many could do that.
She fought really hard.
And I just wish I would have known
that it was so long that she was
fighting for someone to talk to
with everything going on
with this COVID virus.
I had no idea it's been three months
that she didn't have a meeting
of someone to talk to that
understood her on that level.
As a child,
I was always embarrassed.
But now as an adult,
everyone has their story
and I loved her very much.
I really did
and I always will love my mother.
She was an amazing woman.
She's helped so many people.
I will always carry you in my heart.
I love you always, Mom.
1.3 million Americans have died in all
the wars fought by the United States.
More than 5 million Americans
have died from substance abuse
since filming began in 1984.
Thanks to the families and friends
of Freddie, Rob, and Deliris
who shared their lives,
loves and accomplishments.
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