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A Jew in Prison, twice. The story of Michael Schlisser.
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Clappy and Frank interview twice convicted felon Michael Schlisser. What’s his story? ------------ Get special Honda Pilot lease deals now at https://wheelstolease.com Exclusive offers available for a limited time. 2170 Mill Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11234 718-871-7749 ----------- Butcher Grill House 347-770-4042 411 Troy Ave. Brooklyn NY ------------ Raskin's Fish Market 718-756-9521 320 Kingston Ave. Brooklyn NY
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Auto-generated transcript. Not time-synced to the video.
Hey guys, Moshi Frank here.
Clappy, is he Clappman? Clappy Frank
Show, today we have a special guest
who I've known for many, many years.
Um the great Mickey Schloser.
Are you the great Mickey Mickey
Schloser? I don't know if I'm great, but
I certainly am Mickey Schloser.
Mickey, where were you born? What's your
story? My story? How long do we have? I
don't know. We'll see. No, how long do
we have?
>> I'm known to cut people off, so Okay. I
live edit. I live edit.
>> known to cut people off, so
>> [laughter]
>> We're in good shape.
My story is very simple. I was born I
can't give you the Hebrew I can give you
the Hebrew date. I don't know the Hebrew
year. You guys know that much better
than me.
66 years ago on Rosh Chodesh El in a
place called Yerushalayim.
Um
seventh generation Yerushalmi.
Through a four generations past, we were
in Chevron. My My uh family came to
Israel in 1805.
And uh we were the only family to leave
in 1962.
We left uh Israel. My father was a
Holocaust survivor.
Was in Auschwitz peeling potatoes for
the Nazis
in Machshemam.
And he
uh when Eichmann was brought to Israel,
he wanted to uh
leave Israel. He wanted to kill Eichmann
actually, but he wanted to
to um
leave Israel and he had a sister living
here in America.
She lived in Flatbush, so he wanted to
be with her, her only living sister um
after the war.
My My aunt who I'm named after was
killed by Dr. Mengele. You named after
the aunt, how?
My I'm named um
Mickey. My name My My proper name is
Michael.
My aunt's name was Michal.
Hm. And uh my father started calling me
Mickey when I was seven or eight and
hence the hair.
Really? Are you kidding me? Seriously?
Do I look like I'm kidding to you? No,
I'm just curious. Do I look like I'm
kidding? I'm kidding.
>> because you're named after a female,
that's why you have the long hair.
>> not Nobody ever remembers her, ever,
other than on my father's grave in Har
Hazaysim. Her name is on the grave,
Michal Bas
Efraim Halevi.
And nobody ever remembers her, and I
remember her every day. Not some days,
every day.
>> She was the aunt that lived in Flatbush?
No. She was the aunt that was killed in
the Holocaust? The beauty, Clappy, if
she lived in Flatbush and she was killed
by Mengele I'm more confused. She was
killed by Mengele during the war.
>> from Israel to America because your
father had a sister in America.
>> That's correct. The other sister was
killed
was killed by Dr. Mengele. You mach shmo
v'zichro. Dr. Mengele. I'm just calling
him giving him a doctor. The animal.
Mhm. So, I he called me Mickey, my
father called me Mickey, and the family
called me Mickey.
Even though my name is Michael, we left
in 1962. I've been in America
for since 1962.
Wow. Quite a few years. 60 I'm 66 years
old.
Baruch Hashem, and uh that's that's
basically my my history. Lived in
Monsey, my mother was a teacher, my
father was a truck driver.
Um [snorts]
let's see. Moved to Manha- I lived in
Manhattan for 30 years. 30 years. And
now I live in Pomona, New York.
>> East where in the city?
I lived on the Upper West Side for many
years, and then I lived on the Upper
East Side for many years.
What
But when she when she told me that
you're a really exciting, fun
personality, and we have to have you on
the show. We've never met before till
about 7 minutes ago.
Just when I when I see you, you have a
very striking appearance. Could I could
it could you show people this scarf that
has tzitzis coming out of your scarf?
What do you mean? The The halacha is It
has four corners. It has four corners.
If it has four corners, it has to have
uh tzitzis.
>> seen a blue scarf with tzitzis. I'm just
saying I didn't say you don't have it.
>> Have you seen a black scarf with
tzitzis?
>> [laughter]
>> There's a lot going on over there.
>> No, what do you mean? It has It has what
do you call it? It has four corners.
>> And it has chremes. Well, that's a
separate issue.
>> there not tzitzis and chremes? I'm not
sure. I I My tzitzis that I wear are the
Gra.
Mhm. The Gra We're Gra nicks, to not sit
him even though I I met many of them in
my life but this a friend of mine in
Pomona bought this to me in Eretz
Yisrael. I've never taken it off.
Special beautiful. Beautiful. And also
and also you have long white hair so
maybe that the long hair is maybe
because of your aunt you know so Maybe
because of my aunt?
>> because it was
>> Because of my aunt.
>> Okay good. And the the hat says maga so
it's make America great again in Hebrew.
Is it not on the on on a film? I can't
see where it is.
>> it. Yeah they can see it. It says it
says maga. Does it offend you the maga?
>> it. I love it. We're big we're big we're
big I was the first Trumpster in the
Chabad in the from community talking
when he came down the escalator
screaming yelling I had videos going. I
put him in the office basically. I'm
happy.
>> [laughter]
>> So Bukiet so you're you're uh-huh so you
the tzitzis are beautiful and the the
long hair is beautiful and the hat I
like it too. You have a striking
personality and and appearance.
When I looked at your face when Moshe
was calling you I saw on your WhatsApp
status your picture which usually I
would say that people spend many hours
there on WhatsApp so the picture that
they portray to the world is something
that means a lot to them. It's a picture
of you with the Lubavitcher Rebbe.
So if you could tell us because we have
a lot of Chabad people that watch our
show tell us a little bit about your
connection to Chabad and to the Rebbe.
I'm not sure if I should mention
people's names cuz I don't want anybody
being offended cuz that's that A it's
not loshon hora. I brought
>> No it's all positive. No no no I'm going
to tell you how how that picture came
about. then you can mention names. So
okay I'm I'll just mention it. I have a
friend
>> I have a friend a friend in in the loan
business in Chabad and I I came to talk
to him one day. He's a very very special
man. Haven't seen him in a while but I
speak to him once in a while but I used
to speak to him more often. And this is
before you had at Chabad you had uh
um I don't have face recognition
software
and it must be 15 year Yeah it's about
11 years ago. I was in his office he
says we're not leaving here till I find
at least one of the pictures of you with
the Rebbe.
I said okay.
Four hours later he found the picture.
He a
He's a special guy. He says, "You're not
leaving." And he locked the door to his
room. Locked the door to his office and
when he found the picture, and he sent
it to me. And uh
less than a week later, somebody in my
neighborhood,
a special guy in the neighborhood says,
"No, this is not uh the a small little
picture that doesn't work." There's
also, if you look at the picture,
there's picture Of course, our
grown-up's uh father's in the picture.
There's a cameraman on the other side
that I've always tried to see that that
perspective. I had gone to a meeting
[clears throat] with a friend of mine to
uh um Machne Israel
uh event.
And um
this this friend in in Pomona said, "Um
and he bought me a picture the size of
a nice-size screen." So, I have it in
the I have it in the house. Have you
ever seen it? When I You've been to the
house. I might have shown it to you.
>> Yes.
>> Yeah.
>> I remember it's big. So, it I have long
hair in that picture, too, baruch
Hashem. And I and one of the funny not
funny things, one of the things about
the Rebbe, again, I grew up
following the minhagim of the Gra, even
though my great-grandmother was
from Slonim family, I mean, from Lipkin
family.
And uh my this friend brought this over
and and when I went with him to the
Rebbe,
uh we got to we were at the front of the
line. He He was giving out cake. The
Rebbe was giving out cake that that
week.
Um honey cake, I believe. And he And he
said, "Whatever you do,
do not touch the Rebbe."
I said, "Okay. I mean, I don't know what
to say to the Rebbe. I have no idea."
And as I got to the Rebbe, the Rebbe put
his hand out for me.
And in the picture, the Rebbe is putting
his hand out for me. Obviously, the
Rebbe knew that we had just spoken about
it because there's no way he could have
known, but he knew.
So, that's the picture that I have on my
status, which is me of thir- I think 35
or 36 years ago.
>> And that was a a vent for wealthy
people, right? That was a for extremely
wealthy people.
>> Machne Israel Development Fund. It was
called the Million Dollar Club. You had
to commit to a million over 20 years or
something or something.
>> 100,000 on the spot and some some big
number over a period of time.
>> about in the early 90s, you gave 100 you
gave you were giving a ton of money to
Lubavitch.
>> [snorts]
>> I won't say I was giving a ton of money.
We we had a group that was involved with
Lubavitch, but but I wasn't Lubavitch. I
was just I went there with the uh So who
recruited you to fund Chabad? No one.
One of my friends said, "You're coming
to meet the Rebbe."
I had met the Rebbe before.
My my uncle, one of my uncles, I have I
have uh my mother was the eldest of the
Druck family.
Uh famous um
uh Yerushalmi family. Uh three rabbonim
um certainly uh uh one was a maggid they
would call him after R' Sholom Shachna
was nifter. He became the maggid
Meisharim of Mordechai Druck. He has a
bunch of children who are all roshei
yeshiva.
My youngest uncle was a big fan big fan.
He was a big follower of of
the Lubavitcher Rebbe and he wanted to
go there and we went to to 770.
I was much younger it was before I ever
went there for Machne Israel.
And when when we met the Rebbe, he he uh
he said the following words to my uncle.
He said
I I don't speak Yiddish well. I
understand Yiddish.
Cuz [clears throat] my
great-grandparents spoke Yiddish,
Ladino, and Arabic. They didn't speak
Hebrew.
From Chevron.
Uh and the Rebbe said to my uncle and I
was standing there he said, "Agree this
to the mena'ekes."
I had no idea what he was talking about
so I called I called up my grandmother
after I said, "What is that all about?"
She says to me, "Our mother was a
mena'ekes to the Schniersons."
A mena'ekes.
A nursemaid to the Schniersons. So
that's a
You can imagine it's a little bit of a
connection. Pretty intimate. I would say
it would be intimate. It's an intimate
moment.
>> Mickey, growing up your father is a
truck driver. Did you Was that your
career path? Or did you think that was
going to do? What was your plans? I I I
know. My father died when I was 17. I
was in Israel learning in
in Chevron in Kiryat Arba actually for a
Rabbi Lior.
And my I wanted really to do the Israeli
army. My father was not well. He asked
me to come back in June of 1977 and
passed away in July of 1977. Tragic, 17
years old. He was 17. He was 49. He had
a He felt he had a fulfilled life after
Auschwitz. And my mother was an alumna
at the age of 42.
What happened then?
>> What career path you asking? I thought
I'd like to be a truck driver. Why not
be a truck driver? I had the I had the
shoulders for it. I enjoyed it. My
mother didn't want me to be a truck
driver.
She wanted me
>> What then what was your first job? My
first job was working for two of my
father Well, I worked many jobs when I
was as a kid, but my first job was
working for
two of my father's friends
in the manufacturing business.
But eventually I went into my own
business. That's When you came back at
17, your father shortly thereafter
passing away.
>> A month later. You you continued in
Yeshiva or right away work? No, I I
worked, but my my father my mother
wanted me to go to school and wanted me
to continue to go to YU.
Which lasted for about 2 years. And
that's about it. You didn't grad- You
didn't graduate.
>> I did not. What were you studying?
International marketing, but they didn't
really have a business school at the
time. It's in the 70s. Now they have a
business school, the Sy Syms Business
School. So what was your first job?
No, working for them.
>> [clears throat]
>> I'm working for them Manufacturing. In
manufac- In manufacturing.
>> make? We made We made bags, vacuum
cleaner bags.
Interesting. Like private label, off off
brand. No, for Sears, for Kmart,
OEMs. I'm in Not for Electrolux, but we
made replacement bags.
>> Aftermarket. Yeah.
That soon ended and and I went into my
own business. I mean I went into a
business with them and then I went into
my own business. Doing?
I I was a
I guess
best way to describe it is I was a
liquidator and I and I liquidated
products. I liquidated companies, but
assets of I don't know call it a
closeout specialist, but I had an idea
of what I what I was good at.
And I was good at reading balance
sheets, and I was also good at um
seeing the hidden
value behind the company. Is that early
1970s? This is late 1970s. My father
died in 70 77, so this was 79 80 81.
Mhm.
And that was the that was the path of
going after companies that had
excess I wouldn't call it just excess
inventory. They had uh needs to have
somebody liquidate product. What's a
sample company that you liquidated? I
was AT&T's liquidator for many years.
And when they broke up in the 80s
because they were a monopoly, I would
liquidate different um Like phones? Like
what what did they have? Were there cell
phones then?
>> No, no, no. They had phones. They were
the largest
>> Physical phones? Physical phones, yeah.
Cordless, corded. Cord I I had an
obligation to buy a certain amount of
cordless phones and corded phones every
month, and I had a factory
re-refurbishing them. We called it
renewing them. Also, you had returns. I
bought the returns. So, I bought the
closeouts that they wanted to
[clears throat] get rid of, and I bought
the returns, too.
And then what would you do with it?
I
clean them, fix them. And who would you
sell them to? Oh, South America, Mexico.
Sometimes if it wasn't a batter if it
wasn't a plug-in to Europe. We had
connections all over the world.
When you say we, you had partners or was
>> We as usually as Think about me, the
bank, and the Abishter.
Those [snorts] are three partners. What
do you think about that?
>> I love it. They're the best partners to
have.
>> The great the greatest partners.
They usually they usually don't end up
with a dent in your with you.
Uh maybe they do. Maybe [laughter] they
have they have ties sometimes.
The bank certainly has ties. The
Abishter, I don't know. We'll find out
You had a warehouse, you had trucks,
were you I had uh almost 300 employees
for many years. Um I had uh warehouses
in four different places in the country.
Uh I ran a I ran a sizable
>> the name of the company? Emmes
Investors.
>> M S Investors?
>> M E S
>> Nicky Schlesinger? No, Schlesinger's not
my name, but I appreciate it, okay?
No, that's It was It was the names of of
my of my brothers and myself. They
weren't involved in the business even
though they worked there at certain
points of
But Emmes Investors, like the word for
truth. And Emmes, by the way, is my are
my initials in English. Starting so
young
getting to 300 employees, we have a lot
of people come on the show that talk
about starting businesses, becoming
successful in business, what it takes to
get business. Last week we had a very
popular jeweler and he was talking about
getting people on 47th Street to want to
give him millions of dollars worth of
inventory, how he built up a name and a
reputation, etc., etc.
Tell me a little bit about from your
father passing away to working in a in
the guys making bags for vacuum cleaners
to starting your own company, getting
companies like AT&T to give you
liquidation products, to having four
distributions and 300 employees. How do
you How do you do it?
I started off small and just
taking on, you know, smaller companies
that needed either a specialist. And I
was able to sit down and negotiate with
them deals. And then eventually I saw
where the where the need was in this
country. It was pre-internet days. You
could You could theoretically I don't
know how old you guys are, but you could
You could buy from one store You could
buy from The Wiz and sell to Crazy
Eddie.
Can't do that today. Any Any consumer
could walk into a store, take his phone
and see where he could buy it cheapest
in the country. Or probably in the
world, for that matter. Right. So I I I
went after what I thought was the
biggest and the best. The And the best
in the phone business at the time, you
Again, you're younger than quite younger
than me, but people would be in America,
they would lease a phone, a phone that
cost $30,
corded phone, they would lease it for
$10 a month. Why? Cuz that's how they
did it. They you you you on your bill,
you pay $10 a month for your corded
phone for your for your push button
phone. So I found a
niche that a cord a cordless phone was
selling at AT&T for $100.
A refurbished cordless phone same same
phone just cleaned up and fixed sold for
$50. I had to buy it for under a certain
price and fix it.
So what I did was I I developed a a
knack of buying product that nobody else
would want. Aside from buying closeout
product and liquidation product,
nobody else would want. I would find a
way to get it fixed and I had four
different places that I could get it
fixed and eventually I bought out my
competitors. And I became the largest in
the phone business in America. We also
did monitors. The categories I knew,
can't say today it's it's shiyach, but
it's a
You can speak Hebrew on this podcast.
>> you want. Shiyach, it's not shiyach. Um
housewares, toys and games, electronics
computers. If a deal like that happened
over a million dollars in the '80s and
'90s, I [clears throat] was involved in
it. Either I was involved as an advisor
or I was involved as a as a principal,
but I knew about those deals certainly
in those categories. If somebody made a
deal whether it was Toys R Us getting
rid of inventory or Toys R Us wanting
inventory,
I was always involved in those type of
transactions.
>> money, your own money, mix? Okay, I'm
we're going to pay attention to my
answers. I had two partners.
Oh, the bank and a sham, right? Got you.
Yes and no, Clappy. Bank and a sham?
Bank and a sham. I had a line of credit.
I had a I had a I had a uh
nice line of credit with the bank which
took a while to get. But
we called it MS Investors cuz I had
investors at the time that would invest
in deals, not in in the company that
>> Specific deals. Specific deals. Almost
like almost like the cash advance guys.
They have guys that are investing in
certain deals.
>> Certain specific loans. Much different,
but Clappy, I appreciate your your
analogy. Much different. How long did
you do that for?
Over 20 years. And then?
Then I was bored with it because it
really didn't excite me, so I went into
other into other ventures.
Some that are some that were successful,
some that failed, but I bought into
companies.
So it was uh I had money to buy into
companies. I had investors that trusted
me, so it was a
it was a nice
um
it's a nice run for a long time in the
phone business.
And then
things progressed. No personal life um
in the '80s, even though I was in a
relationship in the '80s.
I had a child have a child from that
mar- from that
relationship, let's call it.
And then
didn't work that relationship didn't
work out and I remarried in the
in the '90s in the early '90s and I have
three beautiful kids from that marriage.
And now I have
four stepchildren from my
I'm going to call her I don't mean to
make make fun and cuz she's definitely
going to watch this as she would like to
be on the show, too. Um my last wife.
This is my last wife. She's the
Halivary. Her name is Hanalee and she's
my last wife. She has four children,
too.
So I'm I'm connected to eight children.
Um most of them I have a nice
relationship with and I'm certainly have
a nice relationship with four of my
stepchildren.
So it's four and four. How old are they?
Are they young? Youngest is 23. I'm
going to visit him next week. He works
for DraftKings. He's a he's a
What is it called? A computer analyst?
A computer programmer for DraftKings. He
lives in Vegas in Las Vegas. I'm going
to be with Rabbi Harlick next week.
Um I've met him, but spoke to him.
Um and uh that's the youngest is 23, the
oldest is 42.
I have all different in betweens and
eight children, eight different
colleges, eight different colleges.
Currently eight different colleges?
>> No, not currently. They're finished.
They're all finished.
>> They you you done Eight different
colors. They all all graduated college.
You weren't going to let them get away
with this two-year nonsense. Not even
that. It was It was they That's their
mothers were part of that. My My wife,
my current wife, my only wife is uh is
Your last wife. Last and only. She is
uh she's particular about education.
Education's important. I mean, I don't
know if it's that important if if you
have a moon up shoot up.
But uh it's important. So, all of them
graduated college and they all went to
different They all went to different
colleges and all are
I can't say that that all of them are as
from as I'd like them to be, but they're
all have exceptional meters.
>> Education keeps coming up on the
podcast. How strong are you for
everybody going and getting a four-year
minimum college education?
I'm not for or against it. It depends.
It's kind of kind of a PD article. It
depends on the child. So, some child
Some children should not ever and they
should apprentice with somebody who
takes care of them and and mentors them.
A quick statistic of the eight
graduates, are all of them working in
the fields they studied or Um
S- seven yes, one not, but one one deals
with uh
one
uh analyzes the field, but he's not
working in the field. So, he's an
exceptional analyst. He's extremely
bright.
So, what can I tell you? Yes, the answer
is yes.
>> You do Shove them, right?
Oh, yeah. You fast Not for Not for that
many years.
>> How many years? For those 45 years.
>> For those that don't I only found that
in eighth grade. A guy was talking about
being more from in Shove them and I
Everybody in the class
>> I'm not from. I didn't say I'm from. I'm
from enough. Shove them is Shmais V'Eira
B'Shalach yesterday. Mishpatim So, this
is the last man. Tomorrow's last day.
And what's special about these weeks?
>> How many days you fast?
>> Everything. I fast 12 or if there's a
leap year, I fast 16. So, I told Mickey
16 what? 16 Mondays and Thursdays. 16
Mondays.
>> No, and I was eight. Shove them is six
letters. So, you fast Mondays and
Thursdays of Shove them, which is uh my
Shmos V'Eira B'Shalach yesterday
Mishpatim.
Full days
regular fast other than Yom Kippur and
Tisha B'Av full days and we also fast
the anomalies that his his kids went to
the super super super
modern army called now middle liberal.
It's conservative ox.
Heschel is a beautiful school. My oldest
son is a teacher a lot of money and well
you know Whatever Jewish
it's Jewish don't say that they don't
accept non-Jews. Okay, he does and he
does shove him. It's just a very good
show of him and Heschel. [laughter]
No, not yet. No, I think he's the first
and last parent to ever do I don't know
what men last
even what's this whole thing? Shove him
is is the word doesn't know about this
thing. Shove him doesn't know about a
lot of things.
Okay, what's the problem? These are all
your all your all your
viewers are
no, I'm just saying so what do you want?
So about it. Shove of him is is a is a
time of the year first of all after
every major holiday meaning basically
after Pesach and after Sukkot there's
something called Bahab. That everybody
knows. It's it's a continuation of Bahab
in a in a time of the year that you need
people in the cloud and not in the cloud
people that that feel that they have a
need to
fast for themselves and for the cloud. I
definitely fast somewhat for myself and
somewhat for my community. You do Bahab
as well? Of course. You know you're not
a hungry guy. You might I am hungry
believe me. I'm not fasting.
That's very nice.
>> [laughter]
>> I don't want to say nasty things about
you but
you look like you know what try it all.
I am happy with myself. If I if I took
the GLP-1
I would I would lose 40 pounds. I'm
happy in who I am but tomorrow is a fast
day
and next week on Monday is a fast day.
It does cleanse it does cleanse my body
and not be
>> in fasting. It's for it's and I and
there's a lot of feelings that go along
with it but the word shofar in Hebrew
copy for your
and I know you speak Hebrew but shofar
is mischievous.
So shofar them are mischievous people.
So the fact is that shofar them is
you've done things in your life that you
regret. Are you Are you a mischievous
person?
>> I'm not not as much as I was when I was
very young. I was quite mischievous.
And I have to I have to account for
myself.
about a little bit more about yourself.
So you you We talked more about the
mischievous stuff.
>> You liquidate You liquidate the the
companies. You go You bored of it after
many years. The the cell phones and the
Nothing was not so I did cell phones too
but later on but it wasn't that wasn't
really what it was and people studied
what I did and they went into similar
businesses because
it's a science. Let's make it easy. It's
a science. If you know the formulas, you
know what you're doing, you can you can
uh
make a lot of money or or you can invest
a lot of money. That's that's for sure
and you could employ a lot of people.
It's an interesting Can I go back a
step? Sure. Your father uprooted the
family from Eretz Yisrael. Two of us and
then we had a third brother. I I have
two brothers, an older and a younger.
Two of us we we got came on the boat.
the What the Zim Zim boat? Was that
company that used to do the boating
whatever? Zim is one of the largest
companies in the world in shipping.
>> Right. Yeah. They were the company that
used to do the the the the
like the instead of the planes the boats
back and forth from America to Israel
>> Correct. Right but I don't think they
did the
passenger ships. Definitely did. The
story
>> Zim did? Zim Zim yeah there's letters
from the Rebbe
>> It was a Saul Eisenberg owned the
company at the time. I don't know Today
the Olph Brothers own it. I read letters
from the Rebbe who was very upset about
them because he said that the He said
there's a lot of Shabbos that goes on on
the boats and they claim they don't. The
Rebbe said I'm an electrical mechanical
The Rebbe says that I'm an engineer and
I know the halachas and they're over
many times health and job.
>> I didn't know that.
He wasn't a firm person,
uh, the owner.
>> No, but they had the firm people on the
boat and they made it sound like they
were firm.
Your father I never heard this before.
This is the first time I heard this in
my life. Your father left with the
family from Eretz Yisrael because he was
upset that they brought Eichmann into
Israel? Yes.
>> What should they do with him? No, he
wanted to kill him.
Okay, so the Israeli government killed
him. So Well, they tried him. He didn't
want that. He want a country that's
going to try him in his mind.
>> Why? It was good. It was good PR. And I
know what it You and I know what it was,
okay? But my father at the time said,
"Why would they even keep him alive for
a second?"
In his mind, I want to be I want to be
with my sister and and experience
her She had no children, by the way. She
died with no children. Mickey, you
mentioned you mentioned mischievous.
Where's the the first time you met? Do
you remember?
That I was mischievous?
>> No, the word the first time we met.
Oh.
That's the first time we met?
>> First time we met. You're kidding me.
First time we met? You're kidding. You
came to visit me in Fort Dix. Fort Dix?
>> Yeah, I came to visit you.
>> No, but I heard about you first. My
parent My family went to our cousins,
the Mandels. Right. And they said,
"Moishe, we met this guy. We were there
for Shabbos. This guy was in the cheese
business in TOWER CITY."
>> OH.
AND THEY SAID, "You know, my he's
related to Chabad." And then he was
going on and on. I heard so much about
you like from the radio. And I didn't
put two together and then I met you in
Fort Dix. That's right.
>> Dix. Fort Dix is a prison, a federal
prison. Federal prison?
Where?
New Jersey. I I've
I've visited at least 50 prisons, state
and federal in many states.
>> Well, how would you not know Fort Dix?
Fort Dix I know it's a You're right.
Fort Dix is in New Jersey. I didn't know
it was a prison. You were in You spent
some some quality time in in Fort Dix.
>> call it quality, but I spent [laughter]
time there.
You can call it whatever you want. By
the way, I know you have, uh, food here.
What do you have here? Or there's no
such thing? Uh, can we get water?
>> Is that possible? No,
just it's a little Um, it's dry in the
room. Is he? I'm sorry. Ari? Ari is his
Ari. You have water? No, if you do. If
you don't, it's okay. I don't want I
don't want it to be pressure.
Yeah, it's fine. No, I
>> [clears throat]
>> don't mind. I just No, it's just a
little It's dry in the room.
Yes. Don't feel it's dry. It's great.
We're still recording, right? Okay, go
on. So, we're going to get the water.
So,
He brought up four dicks. That's not
crass. That's the first time I've met
him. No, no, but it's very nice. He met
me. We knew
people in common. I wouldn't bring their
name, but see, I wouldn't bring You can.
Okay, fine. Yeah.
We met We knew people in common. He was
extremely kind, and we talked Well, he's
a very kind person. Beyond that, when
you when you have Chabad, let's call it
a shlichus to meet people in prison,
most people are not only depressed and
and out Thank you so much. Oh my gosh,
this is fantastic.
Okay, most people are not
happy being there. Some people feel it's
it's their
their destiny.
So, I I felt it was okay, but it's not
okay to be in prison. It's It's a It's
It's rough. It's rough on the family
more than it's rough on you.
Amen.
How does a nice Jewish boy like you end
up in in four dicks? First of all, I'm
not nice.
I'm certainly Jewish, and that's what
Hashem wanted. It's very simple. It's
not It's not because I am a bad person.
It's
That's That's a direction. When you do
when you do things in life, I I don't
want to get into the deep state of
America. When you do things in life that
are that are in the gray area, if
the government wants you, certainly in
America, they get you. It's very simple.
And it's very easy.
Everybody's Everybody's doing things
that I I I went with Chabad when I was
21 to Rikers Island to visit people who
lost hope.
Lost hope. Years later, I was in prison
myself, but not in Rikers Island. I was
in [clears throat] federal prison. So,
to me, there was there was a concept of
uh you're supposed to be here for a
reason because that's the way the system
works. I'm not saying everybody should
be khos v'shalom, but but people get
people get uh caught up in different
things, and and that's what happens.
Right. Prior to being in prison,
obviously, there's usually a grand jury,
and there's a DA, and there's
investigations. No, I want to get to a
certain point. I was told by a guy that
works for the DA. He said that a person
that's being indicted or investigated by
the federal government or even the
state, you know, the the AG or whatever,
they say it's like it's like 20 it's 20
times worse the stress and the pressure
and the harassment is like a million
times worse than being diagnosed with
some disease or ailment. Tell me if you
>> me let me say something. The person you
spoke to in the DA's office, did they
ever go through a disease?
No, I'm just curious. It's based on
statistics that people go through crazy
stress levels.
>> the stress level I didn't feel that.
Nothing? No.
You were cool?
>> I felt bad for my my children. You being
investigated and being being prosecuted
>> it was part it was part of the process.
I'm not saying it's a good process. I
didn't feel that stress. I felt stress
for the family. I felt stress for the
person I was married to at the time. I
felt stress for my children. I still
feel stress for my children because it
comes up sometimes.
And it when it comes up, it's uh it's
not pleasant. It's not a pleasant
experience to
when you want to be honest and you don't
want to be mischievous, you don't want
to be shovem,
and you have to be honest, you have to
say it the way it is, and kids who are
resilient
uh are offended by the fact that you
were in prison. It's
>> young at the time?
Yeah. They Some were young, some were
older, but uh they were not happy about
it.
And they and they and they suffered from
it. They suffered in the schools, they
suffered in with their friends.
I'm sure they they they are better today
as adults, but they suffered they
suffered from me being away.
I I one thing I'll say on on this
podcast or any podcast, uh any parent
that thinks that it's that one parent
can be both parents doesn't know what it
is to be parent to be a parent. Can't a
mother can't be a mother and a father
and a father can't be a mother and a
father. Even though people do think
that. They think that they can do it if
you if you don't have the
the foundation, you're you're lost. I
see
>> I'm not a new I don't I don't only agree
with you. I don't even think it's enough
for a father and a mother. I think you
need bubbies, zaydies, uncles, aunts,
and a full-time maid. The problem the
problem that's a
>> very nice
>> Yeah, I know you're being serious but
sometimes you don't have the
grandfathers or in in my in my
children's lives, my father was not
alive.
>> But if they're alive, they have to be
involved. Yeah, but there's there's
certain types of of grandparents. Some
grandparents are very involved and some
grandparents are not involved at all.
They're just casual relationships.
A father and mother is the is the
foundation to who you are and and what
you're all about. I mean, I see it and I
see it not even going into the Gamorah
that you're very you are very much like
some of your relatives. You're like when
a when a
man meets a woman, he looks at her
brothers to see what his children will
be like. I'm not even getting into that
but
we had a extensive family in Israel. My
father had a an only an only sister here
that
was you know Mickey, how long was your
first stint?
I was in
One thing for sure, he was the happiest
person there. No, no, wait we just
talked about
>> We don't talk with the J word here. It's
hot gaja. Yeah.
>> What? No, we can. We talk in riddles
here. We don't talk No, that's fine. Uh
He was so happy he said Moshi, I
remember
something very clear. I said Moshi,
let's bring a keyboard into the prison.
I said, what? What did you say to me,
Moshi?
Yeah, let's bring in the keyboard. Like,
how do we do that?
So, Moshi, just park the car in the lot.
Okay. Okay.
>> [laughter]
>> And somehow
>> Some people do watch this.
>> [laughter]
>> Okay.
Let Let just for a second. I was like,
"Whoa." It was It was 60 months.
>> gabbai. He was momish the boss. He ran
the whole ship there. Okay, 60 months. I
probably 60 I after trial
uh and I did 40-something months. That's
3 years. No, it's closer to 4 years.
>> More. Yeah, it's closer to 4 years.
And that was from 2005 to 2009.
And then I had another stint as you just
said, first, second, which was
um again, not speaking badly about
anybody, but uh
when you have a
when you have
a system
that's broken, I got a much uh worse
sentence and I did um 39 months, or a
little less than 39 months.
And Baruch Hashem, I just got off of
probation as I told you. You would say
you did about a combined 7, 8 years?
Combined 12 years. 12? Yeah.
You said 60 that turned into 40, which
is like I didn't tell you how much the
second one was. I said it's a long time,
12 years, like Yosef Yitzchak. Did they
hit you harder the second time since you
had a record?
>> It's not that. It has nothing to do with
the record. It has to do with who your
judge is.
And we're not getting into that now,
even though I'd love to.
Love to.
But uh But you're off probation. No,
let's not do that, but it's but You
know, I drove to Mickey's house
like I don't know, 5 months ago. Mickey,
I said, "Mickey, I would love to do a do
a show together." And I come over, he's
like, "Mickey, you're on probation." I
said, "Mickey, forget it. I don't want
to do it until you're done." So, a few
weeks ago, right? You got the letter? I
got the letter, which most people don't
get. I got it. I never bothered them.
>> the letter? If your probation's over,
it's over.
>> Yeah, you're okay. They don't send it.
They're not really what I would call
efficient. They sent it to me. I never
bothered them. In in 5 years I'm out of
Mitzi Sham, 5 years, uh Pesach.
They do not uh send the letters. I got a
letter, Baruch Hashem. Mickey, you're
super you're a super successful
entrepreneur.
If you could give um lessons for the
next generation if you're cuz it's it's
a weird thing. You have an entrepreneur,
you take risks, right? Always. It's it's
one big risk. You know, I always I asked
this therapist once on an interview. I
said, "What's the difference in a
gambler and a She was like, "Add a
gambler and a gambler and a
businessman." Oh, but but if it affects
your life, it does I said, "What do you
mean?"
She couldn't give me a straight answer
cuz I
I mean, gambler, the odds are against
you. So, I guess that's the biggest
difference, right? And in business, the
odds are not against you? Well,
>> [laughter]
>> if you I'll give you I'll I'll give it
to you in a nutshell. And by the way, I
appreciate you saying I'm a successful
entrepreneur. Success is not measured
with how much money you had.
How much money you have. Success is
measured by how how happy you are.
Right. I've been happy with no money and
I've been successful with a lot of
money. So, it it doesn't work that way.
It's In my opinion, and I'm I'm not
going to
about this program.
It's exera from Hashem. If Hashem wants
you to be successful monetarily, you're
going to be.
If you want me to give advice as a
person
who has been successful monetarily and
has been happy most of my adult life,
even when I was away,
uh
the it's more about
how you feel It's really PMA.
Another nice thing.
Positive mental attitude. If you have
positive mental attitude, you're
successful. If you don't, you're not
successful. That to me is is the most
important thing in anything you do. It's
like today, I wasn't sure I was coming,
I'm not coming, and you called me a few
times. Oh, yeah. And I said I said to
myself, I made a commitment. I want to I
want to come, and I I did. So, I you
know, I I got in the car and I did it.
If you If you have that positive
attitude in your life, you're always
going to make it. By the way, I just
want to make a thing we were talking
about fasting before. There are eight
erev Rosh Chodesh fasts that we fast
also. Let alone You shouldn't know from
this, but you're supposed to fast on
your parents' yahrzeit. I Both of my
parents are not alive anymore, so I fast
on the yahrzeit, but eight fasts. You
can't fast
in Tishrei.
You can't fast in Nissan. You can't fast
on the the acronym is hot sauce.
You can't fast on certain things but
eight of them you can't fast unless it's
on a shop unless the Arab was got to
show on a shop.
>> But Mickey once told me that when she as
a kid I knew is either going to be on
the front page of Fortune magazine.
Forbes. Forbes magazine or
>> there. or I would end up in prison. in
prison. I got you.
>> [laughter]
>> Yeah, I'm happy to say jail and say I
said it. I want to ask you
a little bit about the the the life in
jail if God forbid anybody is facing it
Yeah, good. Is anybody been sentenced?
And Mickey helped a lot of people you
before and right Mickey?
>> Before going in and coming out.
[clears throat] You you were in was
medium or or minimum or maximum?
>> Do you want a lesson in this cuz that's
not really shy to this podcast but I'm
happy to answer it.
I was in the camp I was in camp. Camp at
the bottom the easy one. There's no
easy. Prison is prison. There is no easy
but I was in a camp and
even though during COVID they put you
into a medium in Otisville but I was in
a camp also in Fort Dix. It's nothing's
nothing's easy about it. You have to
make it easier for you and you have to
have to make your time go by and time
does go by. You got it. How long did it
take to become used to it every time you
went?
A month in a week in?
It's not if if you believe it's it's
Yada Hashem it's immediate.
>> Immediate is So the first day you went
If you believe it's Yada Hashem it's
immediate. I I just had a yard site on
Monday
for someone who died in prison.
>> Oh yeah.
And it was special man to me. Who was
that?
What names? No, I'm sorry it's hard to
say cuz people are going to hear it and
they're going to say I shouldn't have
said his name.
>> No, it's fine. They're going to say it.
Okay, it's fine Mickey. He's a he's a
well known respected person. I loved
him. Say it. Sheldon Silver. Ah, God
should be with you. And and God should
be with you. So we had a soda for him on
on Monday.
The last time I saw him he was in a
cell. I was leaving. It was five years
ago.
And he asked me to come over to the cell
which was a little bit
sh
difficult. You have to know what you
were doing.
And he said goodbye to me. And I
never forget it. And it was your outside
was his fourth year outside was it?
>> What was the last thing he told you,
Mickey?
I'll never see you again. I'm sad about
it right now.
He said it?
Mhm. Wow. What did he have? What did he
have? You know, what did he have? What
did he have?
He did but we took care of him and then
they sent him he he came out
and then he was sent to a went back in
cuz of
terrible person. Who was that?
A terrible person.
>> We we were on Who's that? Curtis Sliwa
and other people.
Um
>> He went back to prison because of him?
He didn't even think He went He went He
came out cuz of COVID. They made a big
stink that he shouldn't have gone out
cuz he's corrupt.
Wasn't
in my opinion but
>> like a hung jury the first time around?
>> a whole It was a It was a story. And but
he was So, I have in my in my daf sheer
in the morning
we have about three guys that are
Hatzalah and he really helped Hatzalah.
Helped everybody.
>> Helped everybody. Period, okay? But
Jews, non-Jews, he helped everybody.
>> helped everybody and
I remember and I went to his levaya
which I had to get permission to go.
And it was
>> had to You were out of prison and you
had to get permission? I had to get
permission to go to his levaya. Cuz you
were on probation.
>> Right. Ah, okay.
When they say the expression you can
indict a a cockroach or a hamster.
>> A hamburger. What does that mean,
Mickey?
>> A ham sandwich or something.
I don't know what it means but it goes
back to what we were talking about
before about the deep state. It's if
they want to indict you, they'll indict
you for jaywalking. First of all, I
testified in front of two grand juries.
You have like 25 people sitting there
sleeping. I hear the snoring there.
>> testify for? No, it's they only go by
packages and stuff, whatever. I had the
camera, whatever. Two times all the
stealing goes on in Crown Heights. So,
two times in front of a grand jury, I
see why it's so easy to indict somebody.
It's a joke. They say like there's 25
people off the streets, bunch of yokels,
you know, they're sitting there they get
paid.
>> if you're dumb enough not to get off
jury, then you're this right Ricky, they
say that? I've been on two juries. I've
been a foreman of a jury, also. You
talking, Malcolm. I love these cats.
>> [laughter]
>> Someone told me if you're dumb enough
not to get off jury, then you have to
realize that you're dealing with people
who aren't stupid enough to somehow get
out. No, they have the young the young
college graduate war graduate
25-year-old gets up and says, "Do we
have probable cause to believe this
person is stealing packages?" And they
show some evidence and that's it,
they're indicted. Boom, it takes 2
seconds.
>> It's not It's not a difficult thing,
especially not in the Southern District
of New York.
They even indicted Trump and we all know
he's innocent. Come on. Beyond that,
Trump is the greatest president we've
ever had.
And And that will ever be. Ever be,
okay? And certainly for for Yidden and
certainly for Israel. And there's no not
even
You can't compare. Can we get him a Can
we get him a third term? Is there a way
to do it?
>> I don't know, but the fact is indicting
him cuz you have a you have a witch
hunt. On what? For what reason?
Doesn't Doesn't even make sense. The
whole thing doesn't make sense, but
that's what they wanted to do cuz they
wanted to cuz that's what they felt.
It's all political.
If you're successful in America, they
want you to be down. If you're down,
they want the underdog to win. I It's
the way the world works.
>> People love when you go up and they're
even happier when you go down.
>> It's very sad, by the way. And something
that I I actually discussed last night
at at a
engagement party with somebody about one
of my Chabad friends from Pomona.
Um
I have no problem when I speak in shul
at shul shuddis
when people are screaming out things
because they need to.
So, it's a it's a tough crowd, but I
could speak to 100 brokers or 1,000
people in an audience and nobody speaks.
Volume you hear a pin drop. You in a
room with 25 Yidden at shul shuddis and
they want to give you a little bit of
arrows about your speech and about what
your divrei Torah should mean or could
mean or what you should have spoken
about. That's the way they are. So,
people people find that they they have
pleasure in other people's downfall.
It's sad. It's a sad commentary on our
on our
on our callous
>> human race. Human You said you came but
you said you came in with a positive
attitude and then with a ya- you knew
what the yad Hashem It's yad Hashem.
Like a gzeira, if you're going to make
money is a gzeira from Hashem. It's a
gzeira from Hashem if you have to what
do you call it? You would appreciate if
you would put this phone away.
>> [laughter]
>> But but you but but but yeah, my shina
phone. But we but but listen, you coming
from a comfortable thick mattress,
Tempur-Pedic mattress
>> Means nothing to me.
>> with thick pillows and you go what? To
like a little thing this big?
>> It's not even that. If you you I can
This by the way, this is for different
podcast, different time.
>> Yeah.
I can go from A to Z, you won't have an
We won't have It'll take between 5 and 6
hours to give you from A to Z. It's
terrible.
It's prison and it's not a pleasant
place to be. No one should ever have to
go there. And those who do go there and
come out, they try to break your spirit.
The key is they try to break your
spirit. I'll give you a a little
example.
Um when I was in Otisville the last time
You were with Rubashkin? No, Rubashkin
was in the medium.
Rubashkin, the day I got sentenced,
Rubashkin got out.
Same day? Same day. So, um
when you're when you have counselor,
whoever the counselor is
who um
wants to aggravate you and you have a
chapel
that you're davening in and you there
are 54 Jews out of 128 people, 54. 54
out of 128 are Jewish in this prison?
>> this prison. Not everybody comes to
minyan, but a lot come to the minyan cuz
it's a place that you could they could
connect to Hashem.
And there's a glass cuz it can't be it
can't be behind closed doors, so there's
a glass
into the chapel with thousands of
sefarim, thousands in Otisville
specifically.
And when the counselor comes to the
window and he knocks on the door and he
calls you out, me specifically,
and I'm and I'm wearing tfillin.
For your audience who doesn't know the
word tfillin, phylacteries.
Equally so.
>> calls you out and I said, "Counselor
so-and-so, why are you calling me out?"
And he says, "Cuz I can."
"Cuz I can." "Cuz I can."
>> That's abuse of power. Whatever. That's
That's
And you go back in and people in the
in the meeting are [clears throat]
tittering. They're actually They're
nervous. The next day he does it again.
Only you?
>> only to me cuz only you only me because
if you can get somebody who's a leader
theoretically and you can make him
uncomfortable, everybody else is
uncomfortable. But I wasn't
uncomfortable.
And I would I would come back to the
person and say, "You know, you're You're
being a little bit silly." Imagine if it
was a Muslim or
Christian.
He wouldn't do it.
But to Jews who are davening, he would
do it because he can.
Though that's the type of thing that
>> Power trip. It's power trip and he makes
16, 24 an hour.
No, I don't know what he makes and I and
I don't care what he makes. He should He
should He should be He should make a lot
of money. It makes no difference. That's
the game of trying to break your spirit.
You can't break somebody's spirit who
can't who can't be broken. Who, by the
way, who who fasts over him.
Can't break the spirit. Mickey, were you
after your first stint, were you trying
to be more careful in your It wasn't
that. It wasn't that and that's why I I
don't want to talk about people but it
it it's um
You try to be careful about everything
you do. It doesn't work as easily as you
want. There's always a gray area. I'm
not saying it it makes sense and I'm I'm
not happy I did
but there's a gray area and that gray
area can get you in trouble or not and
you don't want to
You don't want to take people along with
you. Just for general rule, eight out of
10 people
give up other people
to get less time. Mhm. One out of 10 has
no one to give up. Mhm. And one out of
10 doesn't give up anybody.
That's a key factor if in America eight
out of 10
I'm talking about of our people, too.
It's very sad. It's a sad commentary,
but you have to know what you you have
to know who you are and what you're all
about. And your personality doesn't
change
from seven to 70. You know the
expression in Hebrew? To 70? Seven to
70, not 770.
From seven micheva leshivim lo
mishtanim.
From seven to 70, you don't change.
>> I never heard this before. I just told
you. You know there are a lot of these
things before unless you had other
people on the podcast that Mickey,
looking back, what you've done in No,
wait. He's finishing. He's seven to 70.
People
>> [laughter]
>> No, I was I was saying right. He's
saying 90% of the people are rats.
Exactly. 80 because 10% don't have to.
If they had, they would rat on you. In a
second.
>> So there's 90% of people.
>> Sad.
Okay. So you were you're you're from the
10% of the good ones.
>> say I was, but I am. You're a shave of
them guy.
Shave of them don't rat.
Shave of them don't want to rat because
they believe there's an there's another
world after this. And when you get up to
that world, they're going to say, "Well,
why'd you give up?" Mickey, on your your
first thing, did you at one point say,
"Oh, this is already a gray area?" Or
did you realize, "Okay, maybe now
they're going to
I didn't think that way. You didn't
think you shouldn't doing business? No,
I did business cuz when I was successful
in my 20s and 30s and even in my 40s, I
didn't think that way. I just I went I
went forward and and this is the
opportunity that came along. This is the
opportunity that I did. So
it doesn't always work that way. There's
opportunities that come all all the
time. You don't know who necessarily
you're dealing with. So baruch hashem,
you you try to connect yourself with
people that you trust. Some are
trustworthy, some are not trustworthy.
>> What would you do different?
I would I would find I I would vet out
the people I'm involved with more. You
think people pulled you into It's not
that. I would vet people out. I would
vet people out more. I would uh
I would make myself I'm disciplined as a
person. I would uh find a way to tell
people, for example I I try not to work
after chosson.
not that I try not to work after
somebody wants me to come in tomorrow to
where I'm working now and says can you
come out I I said I won't answer any
questions for you he says why is it cuz
from motzei shabbos from 72 minutes
after sunset till
midday on Friday you can ask me whatever
you want so there's certain things if I
would be more disciplined I would say
learning is essential for me
I don't want I don't want to miss you
know
>> do you have a minyan? I do dive a few
times but I do dive with a special group
of people at 7:30 to 8:15 every day.
>> you're saying to avoid trouble in the in
the past you would avoid you would vet
people better Vet people and and be more
disciplined as to what I do every day
and I was I will not if you tell me I I
the podcast that I did
>> would vet people in your both your both
stints you think you would
avoided
any legal issues trouble?
>> You are who you hang around with maybe
you got around got got around the wrong
people. The answer to that question is
it would have happened anyway.
>> Would have happened anyway.
>> Yeah anyway. Because? That's that's
>> Cuz the people want they don't want to
be they don't want you to be happy they
don't want you to be successful so they
want you to be in trouble. It's almost
like
loan to own they want to lend you money
in order to own you.
It's the same thing they want they want
to be in business with you so they can
get you in trouble cuz they can't get in
trouble. And if they get in trouble they
want to get you in trouble so they don't
have to do anything about it.
That's just the way that's the way of
the world.
>> Do you take any responsibility Mickey?
>> All of it.
>> You do? Of course. So you're saying I
mean is that a real question? No I just
want to no no
>> [laughter]
>> much is that a real question?
>> I'm just cuz you said
>> Go back to your phone. Mickey you said
>> I mean come on I don't tell me saying is
that a real question?
>> said you would vet people better which
means you're blaming other people. No
I'm not I said what I would do
differently
right but I I'm taking full
responsibility what are you you about?
And because of that by the way I have
great friends. Not a lot, but I have
great friends.
>> I know one of them very much.
>> Okay. By the way, by the way, we're
going to forget the most important part.
Uh the person who who People people need
to save money and there is breaking news
in the world of cars. Okay.
>> got off the phone with my best buddy
Saul from Wheels to Lease.
>> Oh, we're very close. We speak almost
every day now. Like I I like I don't
know if he
I don't know if he adopted me or I
adopted
>> [laughter]
>> My great Saul Hershkop from Wheels to
Lease. They've been in business over 40
years. Wow. Wow. He tells me now, Izzy,
the numbers came out for this month.
Cars are back to pre-COVID numbers.
Nissan Sentra Wheels to Lease, 200 bucks
a month.
>> Wow. What?
>> get your kid into a car for the price of
a cell phone.
>> What?
>> [laughter]
>> 200 bucks a month.
>> Yeah, it's insane. Honda
Odysseys
>> Wow. back to the low 400 hour numbers.
>> Wow.
Pi um um um what do you call it? The uh
Nissan Pathfinders loaded
>> heard
>> 400 something range. What I just
>> are crazy. The numbers are back to being
great. I heard that the inventories are
crazy high these days. Sales are down.
No, no, no. Not Wheels to Lease is
busier than ever. No, I'm saying because
sales are down, I heard it's like
hundreds of billions of dollars Is that
true? Yeah. Hundreds of billions of
dollars
in What they say in inventory are
currently on the market? Like the days
like 120 days worth of inventory? Is is
it Which means there's good deals.
>> Lavy was saying we were talking about
cars and we were saying how people are
getting the Genesis, they're having a
midlife crisis, and all the fancy cars.
But at Wheels to Lease, no matter what
you want to drive, they get you the
wheels a few hours later for the best
price ever. Nice. Another one of our
amazing, incredible sponsors we always
had on for the last 5 months we had on
Our first sponsor. Yeah, our first
sponsor, of course. CH Biltong. We were
having their Biltong. Yes. Now, you
could feel like a rich guy in your house
every night of the week. You could
>> could feel smarty. Yeah. You get in the
freezer section where fine groceries are
sold. We have Moroccan cigars in a
couple of minutes you got a fancy dinner
going. Syrian kibbeh Mhm. shawarma, beef
empanadas, sambusak
I like lahmajoun
I don't know whatever.
>> [laughter]
>> lahmajoun it's lahmajoun lahmahoo You
know it's funny I asked Levi the owner I
said where did you get the design the
packaging is beautiful. Yeah. And he he
said
>> Don't say name of a company if they're
not paying.
>> [laughter]
>> Um and then we have Roskin's.
>> Oh.
Roskin's Moshi was so hungry by the time
he got here he ate half the Roskin's
>> cream yeah it's all But Roskin's is the
only fish store in the world that has a
bakery make a special flat herring
kichel that you could have a clean
herring matzah going on. The ultimate
herring kichel.
The ultimate herring kichel that's sugar
coated.
The ultimate herring kichel original
flavor. So there's a original People say
they
People say they enjoy when they see you
eat herring. Could you please do that
for the
for the audience?
>> Over 32 flavors we have the jalapeno
matzah. We have the red pepper
>> in the food business.
Are we getting into that now? I'm just
on topic that's it.
>> Oh okay very good. small salmon Moshi
which one are we tasting today?
>> know. You know some people told us so
unprofessional you're eating food and
then people say that you know [laughter]
that's our favorite part of the show.
seeing everyone eat Tell us about Tell
us about the food options you have in
Pomona today. I hear the food matzah in
Pomona is oyam venira.
No not? oyam venira?
>> oyam venira good You saying good in the
past? Good. oyam venira is usually bad.
oyam [laughter] venira good No we have a
bunch of places but I I can't really
speak
negatively about things. We we have a
great supermarket. We have a
We have a Smashburger. We have
Olympia Olympia
>> Ricky are you going to have herring or
you said
>> you. It's not shabbos. Getting ready for
shabbos. No shabbos is tomorrow.
Last shabbos and last mem is tomorrow.
The end mem is tomorrow.
What's it like being in the Upper East
Side Hassle parent doing shav'ing? Like
Is that a problem? It's just so strange
It's so like
>> What's strange about it? It's just so
Actually, people would say that
other people are strange. I don't I
don't find it to be strange at all. I
just told you.
>> funny. It's so like It's so I don't know
the word is.
You sit down on our heim now.
We do down in these times. I forgot.
Our heim That's where I met Eddie.
Yeah.
Amen.
It's a gesund. Mhm.
So good. Mhm. So good.
Happy.
I can eat roskens herring all day long.
I can't eat it other than shabbos for
some reason. I enjoy it on shabbos.
>> used to eating roskens. Roskens you can
eat every day of the week.
>> [laughter]
>> Okay. I get it. Maybe you're right. You
can go with that Mickey, right? You can
run with that.
>> right. The biltong by the way is is very
very good. It's a South African
thing. Delicacy.
>> I think I know who makes it. Oh, we also
have something coming up Not that this
is a sponsor, but we have I just think
we have some pizza stores in in Pomona,
Monsey.
Somebody's opening up a
diner type of operation. Yes, Mickey.
Can we do a shout out for your wife? You
mentioned it briefly.
>> Shout out for my wife. She's the challah
fairy. Challah What does she do? She's a
She's [clears throat] a challah baker
for many many many years and she's
called the challah fairy and she had a
cafe in New City for 10 years. She says
the best day It's almost like buying a a
yacht or a boat. The best day of the is
There's two good two good days in buying
a boat.
When the day you buy it and the day you
sell it, right? She had the best day.
The best day she um
she had in the cafe after 10 years in
New City, which now is much more firm,
was the day she closed her store.
>> [laughter]
>> She still has She still has a bunch of
customers and she still bakes challah
and which she has a hashgacha. She
delivers where? Deliver?
>> do sourdough? [clears throat] She does.
Sourdough is such a religion. We buy it
every week.
>> It's $3,000. I don't know what it's
like. I think the Rubashkins make it.
Rubashkin? We buy it from the guy in
Crown Heights that's up there.
>> No, Rubashkin in Crown Heights makes Oh,
we don't know. We don't know what his
name is. Maybe he's a sponsor. But I
have Hold on. I do have a sponsor of my
channel. Can we mention it and then
we'll give you also challah? One second.
I have a sponsor of my own channel for
sourdough. Do you want to If we mention
it, you get also. I get a challah? I'll
get you also. You'll get me a challah?
>> I'll get you sourdough. I would only eat
that challah with Rubashkin herring.
>> [laughter]
>> Should we mention them or not?
Or you first have to taste it before you
want to make a deal. I want to tell you
something. The sourdough The sourdough
that I get every single Shabbos for the
last 10 years, a place I think on
Bedford Avenue,
it's godly. Got you. I've had people
>> want to talk any further. I have to
bring you a sample of my sponsor's
sourdough. You let me know if you like
it and then we'll maybe consider over
here. I should maybe brought you My
wife's sourdough today. And how do
people order, Mickey? What's the
website? Is there What's it called?
What's it called? She's the Challah
Fairy. Challah Fairy Google? Look her up
on Instagram or I I have no idea.
Instagram and
>> spend your time now?
I work. I work regularly um in different
areas.
>> They're watching you with magnifying
glasses. Yeah. Still or not anymore? No.
Um yes and no. I work I work every day.
I advise people every day. I learn every
day.
>> He helps people with with legal issues.
>> Legal issues, baruch He's really nice.
Which is a nice thing. You tell people
with a lawyer don't tell them because
they just want to bill you.
>> Lawyers don't know.
They just don't know.
>> Mickey, perfect. Mickey, with all your
legal background, give us
>> Legal background?
>> [laughter]
>> Legal advice.
>> Or illegal background.
>> What's about the law?
>> Mickey, what's Tell us things people
should know about hiring lawyers. What
do you advise? There There are There are
a bunch of great
um criminal lawyers, but they don't know
once you get past the step of being in
prison, they have no clue about how to
help people in prison or out of prison.
>> in prison somebody act like the game is
over. You already got Yeah, but they
don't but they but you're supposed to
get advice on of how to deal with it. So
they don't they
>> to get like a retrial or No.
resentencing or No, nothing to do with
that.
>> Just give me an example. How to act how
to deal with they have they have
consultants
who are people who are experts at how to
deal with being in prison.
>> Ah, it's a different industry. Yeah, but
the lawyers should have people on their
you know on their staff.
>> Yeah, Mickey, I understand.
>> I don't do that officially.
>> want to pay you they can't
>> No, there's no payment for chesed. Okay.
Chesed is the key to our existence. Do
you know that?
>> know chesed. You bought it. Spread down.
>> about chesed. So my wife when she when
she listens to this podcast she says to
me, "You're wrong, Mickey." But that's
okay. Chesed is [snorts] super important
on an And by the way, chesed takes away
anger.
You're angry about something and you go
do chesed and I get angry sometimes.
Doing chesed changes your entire
approach to anything you do. In my
opinion. I mean maybe
>> gets legal trouble, do you advise to go
to trial or settle? 97% of the people
who go to trial
>> get convicted.
>> get convicted. So you advise
>> Maybe 3%. I think the Southern District
is even more. Do you advise to settle?
There's no
plea deal.
Plea is better but it depends on the
case. So generally you have a general
one way or the other?
Depends on the case.
But you said 3% win so it doesn't make
sense to save yourself.
>> going to be the 3%. No.
Does it make sense to
it doesn't make sense just to plea out?
So why do I need a lawyer then?
>> the
To get you a good plea deal. To get you
a good deal, exactly. We could talk
about that some more.
>> Yeah, can we talk on on the side after
this?
>> to tell I would have to tell you about
names of people in this No names. Just
ask and I have to answer.
>> There's certain there's certain lawyers
who are specialists in in in getting
plea deals and there's and there other
lawyers who want to fight. The ones who
want to fight just it's about the money.
Oh, they bill you by the hour and you
lose and they get the money anyways.
They get the money up front.
They don't get the They don't get the
money cuz once you're in, you're never
paying them, so.
So
there's no way to
>> get what you pay for in a lawyer or not?
Depends. It depends on the lawyer. Yeah,
overall. No. You don't get what you pay
for.
You might get for someone who's a
specialist in in playing at a Satmar's,
but generally not. So what should
someone be paying for a uh uh It doesn't
work that way. It the the better Can you
throw a number out? There there are ones
that are $25,000 and there are ones that
are $250,000 to walk into the walk into
the door. And they're not worth it? They
are worth it? Or hit or miss? Depends.
It all depends. It depends on the case.
>> It sounds like you only need a good
lawyer if you're going to trial. If
you're not going to trial, why need a
good lawyer? You just have to get a good
plea deal. They know how to do it. There
are there are certain lawyers no names
that are specialists in that.
So that's the way it works. It's not
even worth talking about because
each case is different. Case by case.
>> Case by case. And and
>> What about legal defender? Could they be
good?
Legal defender as far as what?
>> Like a free the free lawyers the
government give you.
Public defender.
>> Public defender. They're terrible.
They're what? Let him? They're not.
They're not.
>> We asked the professional if
>> They're not. I'm not a professional,
okay? But I would say that
>> with enough people and have experience
with
>> Public defenders in general
are less valuable than the ones that are
getting paid.
Some are good. What's your advice to
somebody to stay out of legal trouble?
Is there a way to stay out?
Just stay in Kollel.
>> [laughter]
>> No, then they'll get you for having all
the programs in Kollel. Why are you
laughing? Then they'll get you for the
programs. Why are you laughing? Then
they'll get you for being on the
programs. Stay in a real Kollel. Stay in
a Kollel that you don't that the
programs are not paying you ever. If
somebody in your in your world that
wants to support you is willing and the
Issachar arrangement, then stay in
Kollel. You will never get in trouble.
You'll be learning all day. You'll be
happy.
You'll be hopefully you'll be happy, but
it's not so easy to learn all day.
>> Did you see the video yesterday going
super viral of probably I don't know
what type of girl if she went through a
maz or fresh or something weird but she
basically Something weird.
I was there when she went through a maz.
She's making a siyum. She's making us
see her on a gemara at her chuppah. Oh.
Oh, did not see it. What's wrong with
that? It's not allowed. I wonder.
If the girl's making the siyum, what's
the husband going to do?
I'm saying what's weird. Don't come
about where ladies don't learn gemara.
What do you mean there? Don't come about
girls where learn gemara in mesifta. You
ever saw a bob at your girl making a
siyum at a wedding holding a gemara
raffi?
That's amazing by the way. That's the
delay of the chuppah. Yeah, yesterday I
saw it.
By the way, I want to just make an
apology. Ramaz and Frisch probably
amazing schools. They are amazing. I I
meant to say LIKE THEY'RE IT'S LIKE OUT
OF THE BOX THAT A GIRL IS making a siyum
on a gemara. What do you mean there? In
Israel they have women who know about
about halacha they call to'anit.
Rabbanit, they know more about halacha
than a lot of rabbonim.
What about if girls want to start going
to kollel when the men work? It doesn't
work.
Die time color.
Mickey, if you have a friend or family
who's incarcerated, how do you advise
how to deal with them in terms of
visiting? How important could you talk
about visitation? Too much, too little?
And how important or not important is
it?
>> It's extremely important to visit people
in prison and to support them obviously.
You have you have an organization called
Aleph
who's very helpful. There are many
organizations. You also have somebody in
Crown Heights Rabbi Spitzer. He's
extremely Spritzer. Spritzer, sorry.
That's like Schlissel.
Schmoo Spritzer. [laughter] He is a
special person. There are many different
organizations you have. All kinds of
different people who help people
go through the process but they do it,
you know, they don't do it as someone
who's been through it. They do it as
somebody who knows of it. But visit
visiting and letter writing and email,
they all prisons nowadays have email
correspondence even though they they
monitor your emails. So it's a very
important thing to keep the family
interactive. The family to be part of
the the process and to
be on more than anything else to be
honest.
Cuz if if you're not, eventually the
it's much worse
to say I didn't do something than to say
I did do something and here I am
to connect to your family. What was it
like telling your kids the first time?
Um
You did it one by one or was it like
>> story and they were younger
and
not simple and
it it borders on on torture if you
really think about it.
But they they had no they had no
no concept of of who I really was. I
mean they know who I was as a person,
but they didn't really know
what my deep feelings are emotions were.
So it's hard to really give them
the the emotions. The second time it was
much it wasn't easier but I I I spoke
straight to them
and they were
Cuz kids are resilient, but they're but
they still they still suffer. They
definitely suffer from
being away.
And on on many levels they just suffer,
so
I know from my experience things that
I've done in my life for a long time and
now that I don't have to experience it
every single day. So every day now has
more value and meaning that I'm not
dealing with those situations. What does
that mean?
>> Situations like what?
>> Like I had to work for like 14 years
like early morning to late at night at a
at a job and it was like
>> You're saying he was in a virtual prison
working 9-5 for
>> Whatever it was the 9-5 and now that I'm
not doing that every day when I wake up
I'm already like
I'm a higher. It's like feel so good.
A regular person doesn't spend time in
prison. Somebody that spend time in
prison, when you wake up in the morning
is that like such a good feeling to just
be like free? It's no different. Really?
>> It's no different.
>> You don't appreciate your day I I
appreciate being with my family. I don't
appreciate I
I learned more in prison. I'm talking
about
All right. All right.
than I learned on the outside and I
learn quite a few hours every day.
So it's not it's a question of how you
spend your time. I won't say that that a
lot of people who live on the outside
and are not in federal prison or maximum
state prison or county prison.
I wouldn't say that
people on the outside are not in their
own prison because a lot of people live
in their own prison.
>> So it's a mindset. All about a mindset.
It's back to PMA.
You could use that by the way.
PMA you can't pick up your phone but you
can use that.
>> [laughter]
>> Every show has a sticker. We had kicker
wins now we have PMA.
What's kicker wins?
We had a guest who uh
uh from Monroe Oh. was talking about
Kirkland Costco brand and he said kicker
wins and it went viral.
>> Oh Kirkland. Yeah. He said people are
buying kicker wins and selling it on the
open market. And I was like what are you
talking about? Kirkland. Mickey what's
the worst thing about being
incarcerated? I love by the way that
we're we're focused on this part of the
podcast.
>> That's the most thing but what people
want to know. Everybody else you could
see. Why would they want to know?
I I am wearing t-shirts. What are No the
scarf the scarf. I'll put it on cuz it's
hot in here. Mickey's very intriguing.
What's intriguing about it? Haven't I
given you enough? Okay ask the It's
mysterious. Go ask the What's the
hardest part? About being in prison?
>> Yeah. Not being with your family.
Family's the main thing. That's it.
Not about intimacy it's not about
anything else like that. It's not being
with your family. It's not about the
food. Otisville people become more from
or less from? What's what's your
experience? Not you the the the
community whatever you call them.
What they were before they are after.
Were there were there were there rabbis
there? I heard there was a famous rabbi
that spent a lot of time there. Was
there a rabbi there when you were there?
No but I I was I was involved with him a
little bit. When the rabbis in Otisville
do they give shirim?
I wasn't there but it's possible. But
you're saying Mickey people stay the
same from level not more not less.
Pretty much. They might have a more
emunah
but they stay they stay the same level.
Yeah.
More I would say more people
possibly put on tzitzit. Listen, it's
very similar to going through October
7th. There are more people who connect
Hashem on some level. It doesn't mean on
all levels, but they connect to Hashem
cuz they know that there's somebody
that's Do they usually get along better
in or that Same. Same. So, the same
fights, the same issues. It's It's It's
uh I'm not happy being here. Therefore,
I'm going to fight with anybody who can
who can fight with me. And it's not a
pleasant You're saying they're looking
for fights? They're looking to find a
way to make their time easier. Also, a
fight makes it easier?
Every time you have a controversy, makes
it easier for you. You feel better about
yourself. I don't feel that way, but
people do feel that way. Do they usually
stick together usually? Generally, cuz
You ever go visit people there now? I
can't anymore.
>> You're not allowed to visit once you
leave? No, it not not everybody.
>> they have to throw you in, then they
don't want you back in and then if you
want to Not not everybody. You they
don't let They don't let me. You're
banned?
I'm currently banned, yeah. Why?
>> notice. Let's move on from that. But but
a person that left, they could go back
and visit? You can You can request it,
and if they let you, they let you.
You're not allowed? Not yet.
Discriminatory? Not really. What A lot
of things is discriminatory, but that's
uh knocking on the window and saying uh
cuz I can't is discriminatory. Right.
Life is not
>> Ricky, do you think prison rehabs people
or it's a myth? It's a joke. Joke. So,
it's Rehab? Yeah.
So, what do you suggest if you were
writing the rules, how do you rehab
someone who did something
>> You You make them work. For If it's a If
it's a white-collar crime, you make them
work and you make them pay. If If If If
you Debtors' prison doesn't exist in
America anymore. Right. They put you in
federal prison. They make you suffer.
They make the family suffer.
It's got to be a better way. What's What
do you suggest? I don't have a
>> You just said a working thing. You make
them pay.
>> to do. Something Something to do. We
have more prisoners in America than any
place else in the world.
>> By triple, quadruple numbers? crazy
>> Crazy numbers. Ricky, what percent do
you think who are in prison that you met
are innocent versus guilty?
How many they think
>> No, you. Like what do you think?
>> feeling? Everybody's guilty. You believe
they're all guilty?
>> Yeah. Everybody thinks they're innocent.
I'm the only guilty person you'll ever
meet.
>> [laughter]
>> So you're saying in the end they all say
they're innocent? They didn't do
anything. They'll tell you that.
>> Yeah. But you don't believe any of them.
None. None. Okay. Something they did.
>> Statistically some of them are innocent.
Right, but you don't believe any of
them.
>> None of them. Well, what about being
down at the cops cruise? Shoving them in
there? I am down I am down at the cops
cruise, but none of them are honest.
>> [laughter]
>> They're not honest. Doesn't mean that
they're not good people, but they they
they got caught up in the system. They
got
>> What about the the the officers? What
percent of them are corrupt? Like
getting phones and
>> Great question. Like phones in and drugs
and
>> Great Are you crazy? Yeah.
In a camp it doesn't work that way. I I
don't know how it works in in low
mediums and penitentiaries.
>> What percent do you think are corrupt or
looking the other way?
>> I'd like to say zero. You'd like to say
zero. Okay, he's just off probation.
He's still behaving. I'm not about
behaving.
I don't want to think about it.
>> What's your experience? You're off I
don't know.
>> knocking on the window, grabbing him out
of Shoe every day. They're bad.
>> They're bad.
>> corrupt. They're all corrupt. They're
corrupt. They're breaking your spirit.
It's evil. It's evil. Hunger the power
trip. It's all power trip. Power trip.
These people
>> No, but money wise I can't answer that.
I don't I I I would I would I would
guess, but I don't know.
How bad is the food?
Alpo is better.
Alpo? Alpo. You never heard of Alpo?
>> Alpo? Dog food. A L P O. You never heard
of Alpo?
>> No. We don't have We don't have had
never had dogs. What are you talking
about? Alpo is much better. Isn't
current trend for people to be pro
inmate today? Like the world is in that
direction. Do you feel I don't know. As
Like when I was younger Mickey, like I
don't know, 18 20 everyone hated them.
Oh, the Now everyone's like Kim
Kardashian. They're all promoting Well,
because they because
Because, they they want to help people.
They do. Yeah, but So I think there's a
much more positive attitude today more
than ever. Do you feel that or not?
No. Zero. I don't mind zero. I don't I
don't feel that. And and I thought
that's a trend now. Trending?
>> Yeah. Yeah, it's a trend also the Let me
ask you, did you ever feel like you were
in danger in prison?
Moments.
Yeah, there are moments. Because
people don't like you cuz you're Jewish.
And he's popular.
Beyond popular, people don't like you.
You were for sure the most popular guy.
I remember you used to help all the
going with the legal work and
>> popular. Used to help every you sit in
the room all day and
>> I would help, but that's not the point.
It's very, very, very
It's not It's It's It's but that's
>> I would come in to visit him and he was
busy in the room and doing
>> The idea The idea is that
People don't People don't want to be
helpful to other people. It's just It's
a nature. By the way, is it different in
the real world? Is it different in in
this world? I'm wondering if you think
that it is.
Do you think it's different?
Aside from
CH Butcher, Raskin, and Wheels to Lease,
is it any different? That people don't
want to help? They don't want to help.
>> No one will help anyone?
Generally not. You see these GoFundMe's
get funded if someone dies or sick,
people get very helpful. It opens up
their hearts.
I don't know if it opens up their
hearts, but they they get away with just
giving someone $18. They get away?
[laughter] I mean, come on.
I spoke you
You're being ridiculous. I mean, You
think it's not a real help that $18?
It's a help that somebody should should
have money in order to make a wedding
and to and to and somebody God forbid is
is not well, but
doesn't work that way.
>> Mickey, when you were a high-flying 300
employees, money flying everywhere,
what's the most thing you miss? What is
it about that you miss the most today?
Zero. Zero?
>> Nothing. Nothing?
It was a It was a lesson in life and I
know that I'm capable of having it.
Capable also doing much more.
It's one of It's not a bucket list. No,
it's it's about It's about
responsibility. You have to make a
certain amount of money to pay the
payroll. It's that simple. You have to
pay before you get paid. Some people say
oh, money will make me happy. What do
you have to tell to such people, Mickey?
First of all, this is an expression I
heard a long time ago. Money isn't
everything.
Who needs everything?
Okay? Money doesn't make you happy.
You make yourself happy.
If you make yourself happy, the money
helps you help other people. That's
That's what it's all about. If you can
feel that way. If you don't feel that
way, it doesn't matter.
>> believer that up to a certain amount of
money,
it will make you happy. But after you
have a certain amount of basic money,
then it's just extra and you'll never be
happy. For example, there were times
where I was literally living paycheck to
paycheck and it causes a lot of stress
in the [clears throat] marriage.
And when you have a surplus of cash in
the bank and you're able to pay all your
bills and extra for vacation and some
luxuries, it makes you a little you're
happier because you're not stressed.
There's a balance.
I think there's a balance, but I always
found that making more money and having
more responsibility affects your
personal life.
That's how I felt. I never felt that
there was a balance between there there
was an equal balance between personal
life and making a lot of money. A lot of
money. Not at not paycheck to paycheck.
If you want to focus on your personal
life and you want to focus less on
making money.
>> I think with today's expensive
lifestyle, with the frishion and ramaz
as we were talking about, you know, the
the tuition What's this frishion 80,000?
I think
Think about [laughter] it. I think I
think about a half a million. If you
make about a half a million a year, you
could be happy because you could pay
your bills and be comfortable and go on
some vacations. And then after that,
the next hundred million won't make you
happier necessarily. Depends. It depends
who you are. I I I guess on what you
could do for other people. I see people
giving an amazing amount of tzedakah and
they're much happier. They get pleasure
out of giving other people
you know
Stuck a direct direct stucker.
That's what I see. I mean I don't know
if it's accurate. But it is it is the
way of the world.
>> people stuck along with you your friends
family through all your ups and downs?
>> So strange it's a good good very good
question by the way.
You're thinking on your feet I like that
by the way.
>> It happens once in a while. Happens to
be Mickey it happens once in a while.
Doesn't happen that often. A broken
clock you know it does tell [laughter]
time twice. Twice a day right? It's
right twice a day. It's right twice.
This yarmulke this color of the yarmulke
by the way you just Decided to wear this
yarmulke for a reason. No it's a
friend's up sharing it's an Israeli
thing. You couldn't bring us one?
Next time.
>> Anyway Mickey how many people if you
were a nice friend you would give him
the yarmulke. No no no that's an Arab an
Arab they if you said my scarf is nice I
should give it to you I should hand it
to you a I've been in situations where
somebody says my tie is nice. And
they're not our religion I have to give
them the tie. Mickey what percent So
what percent of your friends and family
stuck through your all your ups and
downs and in and out?
A good percentage. What percent?
I'd say more than 50%.
>> More than 50? Yeah.
Some
dumped you.
You you you don't exist you're not
you're not you're not a good person. So
cruel. You're not a good person but it
is what it is and and you accept those
people and some came back.
And said well you're not that bad of a
person. You're not because you did
something doesn't make you a bad person.
I don't judge people I don't I never
look up I never like you said when we
first started I don't Google people to
see what did they do. People Google me.
Cuz they want to should I do business
with them or shouldn't. I'm giving you
free advice and you're Googling me
should I get
>> [laughter]
>> I mean think about it for a second it's
a little bit crazy.
But that's the way people are
more than 50%.
>> More than 50 stayed? Yeah stayed and the
ones that didn't were not really friends
to begin with. Were you surprised they
didn't they didn't stick around?
>> No nothing surprises me. You can't
surprise me at 66. Mickey when you're in
what percent of your friends and family
visited you?
It there's a limit limitation to that.
It's all it's all they don't let you
have that many people visit you but the
ones that visited were were were
consistent and regular.
And you really care more about your
family that visits than your friends
that visit, even though your friends can
make the effort to do it.
>> Which Hasidus do you consider yourself
today?
>> Me? You said that you're not Chabad. But
what what what group? What Who do you
affiliate
>> Zidichover. The Zidichover. The
Zidicher? Zidichover. Zidichover? That
is a Hasidish Hasidus.
>> Yeah, Zidichover. So you're a
Zidichover? Hasid, yeah, why not?
You know why? Sounds good.
>> [laughter]
>> No, there is a Zidichover. Of course
there is a Zidichover. So you would But
you're Zidichover, it's called.
>> Zidichover.
>> Yeah, um I'm not. No, uh and and when I
when I when I met the Rebbe one of the
times I met the Rebbe
No, in my shul we have we have Vishnitz,
Bobov, Skver, of course Chabad. I I
think four out of 10 people in our shul
are Chabad, probably.
>> The whole minyan is 10 people? No, no,
four out of 10. We have over 150 people
>> out of 10 are Chabad. Uh-huh.
Um but I would say I'm I don't
>> So in Pomona, 40% of your shul are
Chabad people. That's In our shul, we
have we have Chabad shul is very
diverse.
have a shul right next to my house
that's all Chabad. The shul that you
daven in, who's the rav?
Uh there is no specific rav, but the
person who who the the rosh kollel is
somebody named Gellandauer. Landauer?
>> Gellandauer.
But he's what? What does he consider
himself? He grew up Vishnitz. Vishnitz.
He has a streimel, the whole nine yards?
>> No. No streimel? No.
The Pomona Pomona brand.
What do you think of this bekeshe? I
don't need your bekeshe. This really
green song.
Familiar with it?
>> hear it. I saw it. I saw it. I I It's
not so impressive to me. No, he told me
he met me in a restaurant and he told me
that a friend wasn't comfortable on
vacation coming to shul in Florida
because he forgot his bekeshe at home.
So he right away composed a song, "We
don't need You don't need your bekeshe."
But I think it's just saying that like
Hashem is much greater than a bekeshe.
Now he's being They're all making fun of
him. All these rabbonim saying Hashem
does need your bekeshe. Hashem needs
your bekeshe?
Doesn't need your becauser. You always
wore tzitzis?
Do I always wear tzitzis? You always
did?
Since I was 3. 3? Yeah, that's 63 years.
But you Mickey, all your kids are more
like modern orthodox household, no?
What? I would like them to be modern
orthodox machmir.
You have that expression? Yeah, yeah, I
did. It's in YU like It's Look at that
but So you're always more religious than
your wife and kids? I'm just wondering.
I'm not more religious than my current
>> You're at tzitzis and shabbos and your
kids are
These are heshilizing and ramazing. So
like where did they Why is that so bad?
No, it's just interesting. Two kids went
to Kushner, two kids went to Frisch, one
kid went to Ramaz. Kushner the Trump
Kushner?
Yeah, Kushner
But none of these typically people wear
tzitzis. These parents of these Sadly
they don't wear tzitzis. Okay, so that's
what I'm saying you're a you're an
anomaly? Anomaly? No, you're an anomaly.
I'm I'm who I am. All right, it's just
interesting. And I know why I wear
tzitzis. Tzitzis is the easiest mitzvah
by far.
Are you agree? It's the easiest mitzvah
by far.
>> [laughter]
>> It's a great mitzvah. If you have
bitachon and much what
Okay, should I change the hat back?
I was going to say nitzachon and much
what but I didn't bring that hat.
Mickey, you got the second time you got
it early because of a COVID law. What
was that?
>> No,
all kinds of things. Really not a
really not a podcast thing. Not a not a
discussion, okay. It's a discussion but
it's not a discussion for this
particular segment. Segment, you're
saying that that's not
>> know. It's another segment.
You never know.
I'm not to you have because we have uh
all kinds of other people that want to
be on the podcast.
>> [laughter]
>> Mickey, what's the secret to building a
business? Building a business, that's
what I'm up to. You ask that question of
everybody? No one has answered that
question really productively. How should
I answer productively? Go for it,
Mickey. It's not it's I I've built and
and I've I've I've succeeded and failed
so I can't say that I know.
>> Well, the times that you were
successful, we want to hear about those
experiences. It was awesome. It was if
if I knew those four categories that I
mentioned at the beginning of the
broadcast,
I knew them well, Hashem would show me a
deal that I had nothing to do with and I
made money on that.
And they say you have you ever hear this
expression? My my son told me the other
day, Picasso's on a uh on a beach and
he's taking took a napkin and he drew a
painting.
Checking the time, that's it.
>> Drew a
We He'll We'll He'll tell us when we're
finished. He drew a painting and
somebody came over to him a woman came
over and said to me, "Can I have the
napkin?" He says to me, "Yeah, sure you
can have a Pablo Picasso."
"How much?" He says, "A million
dollars."
"Million dollars? You drew it on a
napkin?" "It took me 40 years
to be able to draw on a napkin."
It's a very It's a life lesson.
My success or the my future success has
to do with my my previous either
failures or successes.
But I didn't feel any different back
then. I As you said, I was able to be
more luxurious. I was able to have
things. I was able to have a driver. I
was able to have fancy cars.
>> Wait, she told me on the way here that
you used to get chauffeured around in a
limousine? That's correct.
That feels good, though.
It's the one luxury that I would say if
you're successful, you should have
because it allows you to
especially with today's computers,
allows you to not drive, I hate I hate
driving. I'm not a big He gets driven
around by his cars.
>> So we got to say So you have Make that
clear. He has that luxury already. So So
that luxury is a big luxury and it's
something that
if if you're going to three different
locations every day,
you can't focus and late at night, it's
very hard to
focus on the road. And if you have that
luxury,
>> I tell my shul all the time this. As
soon as I make a couple of bucks, I'm
definitely getting a chauffeur. Yeah,
it's not It's not so much about a
chauffeur as much as it's somebody that
you can rely on to be there. You know, I
I go to I go to my shul at 5:00 5:15 in
the morning. I don't want anybody to
don't want a driver picking me up. I
want to go myself, but to go here and to
wait outside and then I have It was a
little It was a limousine, literally?
Mickey, we did also Hold on. We did
offer him on record I paid I paid
>> Uber and he wanted to He wanted a
driver. That's all. Did we offer you
that, Mickey?
>> You did. I think he just didn't want us
to waste money.
>> I also wanted
>> No, for what reason? It took It
[laughter] took me an hour and 15
minutes to get here. It was fine. And
and and I met nice people.
>> I By the way, even though I just met
you, I already feel a strong connection.
You're a very likable person.
>> Thank you. You're very calm and
collective, and I really enjoyed this
episode, and thank you so much for
coming here. It's my greatest pleasure.
By the way, I even though people said
maybe you're a little crass, I found you
to be delightful.
>> Mickey's the best. Delight No,
delightful. And I know you for a while.
Delightful, both of you. Delightful.
And by the way, on on on screen,
you look different a little bit. You
lost some weight.
>> Maybe. I would go to the gym now, but
there's a couple of people that want to
come on the show and they're scared and
they're nervous, and I have to call
them. Tell people what it's like to be
on the show. No, it's
you have the hosts make you feel
relaxed. It's very simple. If they don't
make you feel relaxed, you're not going
to talk. And I've been asked to be on
Ying, you've been waiting for you. many
different shows.
>> [laughter]
>> If the hosts are not real,
it's a waste of time. I know why they
want to ask me to be on the show. Oh,
you know why? Yeah, so it's fine.
>> So, Mickey, what should we make this
title of the show? You decide. I don't
want to
>> care what we put. I don't know why we'd
call Why don't we
>> [laughter]
>> No, no. Why he needs to do a show with
him. That he needs. Camp Camp shave of
him. Woah.
>> [laughter]
>> Not bad.
Is there such a thing?
Okay. So, Mickey, would you advise
people to stay out of the gray or life
is in the gray? What Are we back to the
gray? No, I just WANT TO ASK YOU. NO, I
I think you should just open your phone.
No, I saw you here. I'm looking here and
I'm
>> [laughter]
>> What do you mean?
My hair is fine.
I was thinking about it. I was thinking
about getting my hair cut. What do you
think? No. That's your brand. Never.
Never.
>> Do you know what It's your brand. I'm
not doing it.
No, no, no, Mickey.
He's named after Mickey Hall.
By the way, I I I inspected it and like
Trump that hair is 100% natural and
real. Somebody [laughter] I was in the I
was in the car the other day actually
being driven not a chauffeur
and the and the guy says to me, "Did you
ever have hair transplants?" I said,
"For what?" He says to me, "Well, can I
touch your hair?" I said, "I prefer you
don't touch my hair."
>> [laughter]
>> And if you want to touch my hair, go
ahead.
Well, and that's what it's always been
like.
>> Everybody smash that like button, smash
that subscribe button, forward all the
seedier channels to take our video every
week with that we just please continue
doing it. Without Rushes. [laughter]
And go to Khalaf Ferry, his wife's
Do what you have to do. Hashem runs the
world.
>> Support Mickey and his
Hashem runs the world.
Khalaf Ferry, I don't know anything
about it. That's his wife's business.
That's her name. That's her name.
Yeah.
By the way, let me ask who's with Mickey
thick and thin. It's his wife.
His last and only wife. Only. Thick and
out of jail, she's still there with him.
Prison. All right. Jail and prison.
Chubbs.