About this episode
Art Bell welcomes Stanley Alpert, a federal environmental prosecutor turned private attorney, who recounts the true story of his kidnapping at gunpoint on a New York City street. One night while walking home, Alpert was seized by a gang armed with automatic weapons. After discovering a large sum in his savings account, the kidnappers held him for 25 hours to drain his funds. Throughout the ordeal, Alpert secretly gathered clues that would later help the FBI and NYPD capture the gang within two days of his release.Before the interview, Art opens with unscreened phone lines as callers discuss the Virginia Tech aftermath and whether the government would reveal evidence of extraterrestrial contact. Art reads a report about astronomers detecting water in the atmosphere of an extrasolar planet for the first time.The Alpert interview covers his career prosecuting environmental crimes against major corporations including ExxonMobil, his work on MTBE gasoline contamination cases alongside the real Erin Brockovich, and how his legal instincts helped him survive the kidnapping and bring his captors to justice. Art and Alpert also discuss the broader state of environmental protection in the United States and the ongoing challenges of corporate pollution.
