Here are some of the interview Pat LaLama, guest host, on Nancy Grace had with LP. Transcript 20Aug2008
LALAMA: Well, let`s go right to the man of the hour, Leonard Padilla. How are you doing, Leonard? I have to congratulate you. You came to do what you said you were going to do, and you`ve done it, so to speak. What happens now?
PADILLA: Well, tomorrow, she goes in for the — it`s for an evaluation. That`s what the hold is.
LALAMA: A psychological evaluation.
PADILLA: Right. The doctor could still say, No, I don`t want her released.
LALAMA: And on what grounds? That he would feel maybe she`s a danger to herself or…
PADILLA: A danger to herself is mainly what they`ve come up with on some occasions, not a danger to the public or society but a danger to herself. The DA could add charges — you know…
LALAMA: Lots of things could happen.
PADILLA: Yes, there`s still a lot of things that can happen, but we don`t believe that they will, but if they do, that`s out of our control. The bond`s been posted. The law enforcement agency, the jail, the investigating agency has to be notified.
LALAMA: Well, you know, Leonard, let me ask you. I mean, you`re going to try to talk to her. You think that freedom will instigate openness in terms of what happened. You know, how much do you want her to talk? And do you only want her to talk to you?
PADILLA: Well, here`s the situation. You know, I probably won`t be talking to her tomorrow or the next day or two or three days down the road. I think it`s important that she get in there and be with her family. She`s got a brother that she`s very close to. Let them deal with her the first few days. You know, in spite of what that idiot Bo Dietl up in New York claims, I have no intentions of talking to her or taking her and a six-pack of beer to a motel. Let her be with her family for a few days.
LALAMA: Let me stop you right there because I have to go to a break, so — but Leonard, real quickly, don`t you feel you insulted the other people in this business in the state of Florida?
PADILLA: I never started or attempted to insult them until they started threatening my nephew and myself with heinous activities of going to their buddies in law enforcement and getting us arrested and insinuating that we were doing something illegal. At that stage of the game, they`re a bunch of idiots.
LALAMA: Well, do you feel it`s kind of “I told you so” now? Are you gloating a little bit that you`ve been able to accomplish this?
PADILLA: No, I`m not gloating. I hope they`ve learned and the next time there`s a bond of this nature, they step up like bondsman, like real bail agents, instead of a bunch of thugs and work that out and put it together. All they were acting like was a bunch of jealous people.
LALAMA: But Deborah makes a good point that there are a lot of credible agents in Florida who clearly thought this wasn`t a good risk.
PADILLA: They don`t know how to evaluate.
LALAMA: Leonard Padilla, you know, the ball is sort of in your court now because you`re going to be watching over Casey Anthony. There are some parameters for her as she stays in that house. She can`t talk on the phone past five minutes. What are some of the rules and regulations she has to live by?
PADILLA: Basically, our rule is, is you don`t take off.
Now let me get something here. Let me interject something here. There`s a $250,000 reward out there for the safe return of the little girl. Let`s – whoever`s got her, drop her off at a drugstore, two days later, call in for the reward.
We`re not law enforcement, we`re not cops. We`re not interested in any part of the reward or prosecuting somebody. All the individual has to say, hey, you know, the mom told me to keep her — babysit her for a couple months. I didn`t realize I was going to get in trouble. Here she is.
Drop her off at a drugstore.
LALAMA: Let me ask you the question.
PADILLA: Now what was the question you asked me?
LALAMA: Let me just go back to something else, Leonard. If she flees — if she flees, who is ultimately responsible? And I — you mentioned to me a couple days ago you had a window to go find her. But I don`t think.
PADILLA: We have — we have 60 days.
LALAMA: . bounty hunters are well come in Florida from what I read, the statutes I read. So explain to me how this is going to work.
PADILLA: Yes, my girlfriend`s parents didn`t want me over at her house and I used to get over there all the time, too. LALAMA: I bet. But how does this work?
PADILLA: Yes.
LALAMA: If she flees.
PADILLA: It`s a 60-day — it`s a 60-day period, and don`t talk about bounty hunters not being welcomed. The thing about is, an investigator that works for the surety that wrote the bond can do the bounty hunting in — Florida.
There`s no restriction. I don`t know where all of these myths are coming out of the woodwork. I know that the sureties here that are based in Florida are all upset about this.
But, my god, tell the truth. Don`t make up things.
LALAMA: But who is responsible if she flees? Who is ultimately responsible?
PADILLA: OK. Here`s — here is the chain.
My nephew, Tony Padilla, is responsible. I`m responsible because I indemnified the bond. If me and my nephew don`t pay it, the surety company in Texas has to pay it after 60 days.
Now when you pay the bond after 60 days you have two years in which to get the fugitive back.
LALAMA: Two years?
PADILLA: . and you get a pro-rated return.
LALAMA: Two years?
PADILLA: Two years.
LALAMA: OK. Thanks.
LALAMA: Leonard, for the — very, very quickly, I want to get to more callers. Now what you posted this premium for is only relative to the child neglect charges. Am I right?
PADILLA: Correct.
LALAMA: If something else should happen, it`s a new ball of wax.
PADILLA: It`s a new ball game.
LALAMA: OK.
PADILLA: New ball game.
Caller calls in and asks:
KATHY from Florida: I`m wondering what happens to Mr. Padilla`s money if she commits or attempts to commit suicide.
PADILLA: If she was to attempt to commit suicide, we would not want to be responsible for her. She would go back. My nephew would surrender her back to custody of the jail. If she commits suicide, as long as you got proof that`s what took place, the court exonerates the bond.
LALAMA: We know Casey Anthony will get out of jail tomorrow. And, you know, Leonard, a lot of people ask me, you uprooted your life, basically coming from Sacramento down to Florida, where you will do this round the clock protection. Who`s paying you?
PADILLA: This is my life.
LALAMA: But somebody has to pay you.
PADILLA: When people ask me — well, wait a minute. Wait a minute. I make a lot of money chasing fugitives. I can spend some on a.
LALAMA: All right. Are you doing this one for free? Are you doing this pro bono?
PADILLA: Oh, yes, yes.
LALAMA: You`re getting no money. Some people have also said that you`re taping a TV show and doing this for your TV show. You`ve denied it.
PADILLA: No. No.
LALAMA: . but there are people who claim they`ve seen video cameras around while you`re out there.
PADILLA: Yes. There`s about 50 I`m on it at the jail today.
LALAMA: But do you personally have your own videographer, taping what you`re doing?
PADILLA: No. No. My — there`s a friend of mine — my son had a friend in high school that now lives out here, and he came out and he says, hey, do you mind if I shoot some film of you? But it wasn`t with a — you know he`s just a friend of my son`s, you know. He wasn`t even out there today.
LALAMA: So this definitely isn`t for your TV show.
PADILLA: No, no. Absolutely not.
LALAMA: All right. Well, will you be there tomorrow at her home when she goes home? Will you personally be there?
PADILLA: I — I don`t know. I think I will be at the jail for security purposes, but I don`t know that, you know — I don`t plan on being at the house unless the mom says, I want you to come in and talk to me or something like that. But other than that, I`ve got some other things I`ve got to do.
LALAMA: Well, Leonard, I really hope that somehow you can get Casey Anthony to help the rest of the world find her beautiful, little girl. And that`s really the bottom line.
PADILLA: Yes, yes.
LALAMA: . for all of us.
PADILLA: Yes. Yes.
LALAMA: OK.
PADILLA: Yes.
LALAMA: Thank you so much.
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