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Doctors Caught Recording Unsuspecting Women; Woman Attempts to Steal Newborn from Hospital
Aired August 8, 2012 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, HOST: A coast-to-coast scandal involving two prominent doctors, both accused of using hidden cameras to record unsuspecting women. Why would two highly-respected doctors risk it all for a quick thrill? We`re going to talk to a man who said he caught one of these doctors in the act, next.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tonight, two prominent doctors in hot water, accused of secretly videotaping up women`s skirts or while they were undressing. Cops say some of the women were taped using a secret video pen. Is this a disgusting new trend among high-powered men?
And it`s a parents` worst nightmare. Cops say a 48-year-old woman posed as a nurse and tried to steal a newborn from a California hospital. Did a series of lies drive her to commit this awful crime? And we`ll tell you about the high-tech system that trapped her inside the hospital before she could escape.
Also, breaking news: the ex-girlfriend of the alleged white supremacist temple shooter has just been arrested. Why did she have a gun? And was she involved in the hateful world of white supremacists? We`ll talk to two former neo-Nazi skinheads.
Plus, has another superstar fallen off the wagon? Country singer Randy Travis arrested for DUI. Cops say they found his car crashed and that Travis threatened the cops, all while completely naked. I`ve got all the details, and I`m taking your calls for the hour.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Former TSA screener Sheldon Birthright says something seemed wrong. He watched a man in his 30s board the train, stand right behind a woman in a miniskirt and hold his newspaper low with what looked like a pen inside.
SHELDON BIRTHRIGHT, WITNESS: This is the paper. And the pen is directly inside. Just calmly on the thigh and it`s moving around. I guess he was getting different angle shots or whatever he was getting.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Good evening. Jane Velez-Mitchell coming to you live tonight.
Two prominent and popular medical doctors are in deep trouble with the law. Police say both of them allegedly used hidden cameras to record women and private areas of women`s bodies.
Before this happened Dr. Adam Levinson was a well-respected urologist at Mt. Sinai Medical Center in New York, one of the nation`s top hospitals. But tonight he is suspended after his arrest. The doctor accused of using a spy-pen camera to videotape up the skirts of two women while riding in the New York City subway.
Dr. Levinson`s attorney would not comment on the case. Here`s the man who says he caught the doctor in the act.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIRTHRIGHT: He said nothing. "It`s not me."
"What are you doing?"
"Nothing." Like he knew he was wrong.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I`m going to talk to that man, Sheldon Birthright, in just a second. And he`s going to tell us exactly what he saw on the subway.
But it doesn`t stop there. Prominent Los Angeles plastic surgeon, Dr. Lance Wyatt, was arrested after a patient in his office said she noticed a hidden camera while she was taking her clothes off. He is also accused of touching one patient inappropriately.
We have been unable to locate any attorney for Dr. Wyatt. Here is Dr. Wyatt from his own Web site.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The guru transforming her body, leading-edge cosmetic surgeon, Dr. Lance Wyatt.
DR. LANCE WYATT, COSMETIC SURGEON: Clearly she`s not a teenager. But what we`re trying to do, really, is address some of the problems that have happened during pregnancy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: These are well-known respected highly educated doctors of medicine. So if found guilty, what would have made them do it? Some sort of sexual fetish? Could that be their demise? What do you think? Call me: 1-877-JVM-SAYS, 1-877-586-7297.
Straight out to our exclusive guest, Sheldon Birthright.
Sheldon, thank you for joining us tonight. You were on the subway and you ultimately called police, which led to Dr. Adam Levinson`s arrest. Now, I just want you to describe, you were on the subway. I believe you said there was a woman with a Kindle. What exactly did you see that made you suspicious?
BIRTHRIGHT: Well, I was traveling on the train, and I happened to look up and see this gentleman with the paper with the pen inside. What made it so suspicious was he was moving the paper around while the woman was standing in front of him.
You know, she was reading a Kindle, but her back -- her back was totally towards him. And he kept continually moving the paper, moving the paper in her direction. So I just continually watched him. As she moved, he moved.
So as we began to get off the train, he followed the women -- the woman while she was walking up the stairs, same positioning, moving the pen, the paper, while she was walking up the stairs.
So as we got to the top of the stairs, the woman ventured one way, he followed another way. I followed him while looking for a police officer, went into the precinct, notified the police of what had happened. They came out and walked the platform trying to find him. Never found him.
So as I proceeded on to the train I was going to, he was on this particular platform doing the same thing again. So I ran, alerted the officers. They came downstairs. They walked up to him and took him in custody.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Now, I ride the subways all the time. I`m still trying to picture it. There`s a woman -- OK, let`s say this is the Kindle, and she`s reading it. How would he be low enough to look up her skirt, allegedly? That`s what I`m trying -- paint a picture for me.
BIRTHRIGHT: OK. You know -- Jane, you know the subways in New York City there`s that pole that`s right in front of most doors.
BIRTHRIGHT: He was leaning on that pole, OK? And the door`s right in front of the pole. So her back is to him.
So he`s leaning on the pole with his arms straight down with the paper in his hand. All that`s moving is his hand. That`s all that`s moving is his hand. And while he`s moving his hand, he`s looking around, which is what really made it suspicious. Because he`s looking around while he`s moving his hand. And the lady didn`t move because she didn`t even -- wasn`t even aware of what was even going on behind her.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: This is why I don`t wear skirts, people. I haven`t worn one in years.
We reached out to Mt. Sinai Medical Center where Dr. Levinson works. And they told us that he has been suspended because of his alleged conduct and arrest.
We called his attorney, would not give us a comment or even tell us if his client has bonded out of jail. By the way, the attorney or Dr. Levinson invited on our show any time. We want to hear all sides of this story.
ABC News reporting that when cops looked at the camera pen, they found clips with videos of other women.
Now, I`ve got to say this is a good-looking guy. He is a doctor. Very prestigious career ahead of him. He`s accused of using a spy cam, a pen with a video camera in it, to peek up women`s skirts on the subway? My mind is having a hard time processing this.
We don`t want to convict him. He`s just been accused. He deserves his day in court.
But producer, director, Duncan Roy, you went through sex rehab with Dr. Drew. OK. Let`s say if true, what would drive a compulsion like this? Somebody with everything to lose, to do something like this.
DUNCAN ROY, PRODUCER: Well, you know as well as I do that any addiction is governed by powerlessness and unmanageability. And you know, this guy`s taking huge risks with his career. He`s obviously a very powerful man. And, you know, with the power comes a certain amount of arrogance.
And you know, what interests me about this is it`s classic voyeurism. Both of these doctors are voyeurs. And I`ve met lots of men like this in sex addict meetings. And they just are prepared to take any risk they can in order to, you know, get off. And, you know, I can imagine him going home and processing this -- these images and getting what he needed from it. But, you know, these people forget the consequences.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Let me ask you this, Duncan.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Again, I -- let`s get rid of his picture for a second. I want to ask you this hypothetical question because you`ve gone through sex rehab with Dr. Drew. If somebody has a compulsion or addiction, are you saying that that becomes the only way -- or one of the only ways they can become aroused? In other words their sexuality gets narrowed down to a fetishistic behavior.
ROY: Absolutely right. And I think, you know, you`ve hit the nail on the head. I think, you know, for any sex addict -- remember, sex addicts are only addicts when they say they`re addicts. But you know, his behavior certainly sort of betrays a certain addictive quality.
You know, their lives get very, very small. And so consequently what they have is, you know, they steer away from watching porn, maybe, or having relationships with real people. And then they begin to make their own porn or make their own images so they can control what they want.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And again, we don`t want to convict this man. He`s been arrested. We want the judicial process to take its course. But this is an important subject that we`ve got to discuss. Let`s go to the phone lines.
Eileen, North Carolina, your question or thought, Eileen.
CALLER: Hi, Jane.
CALLER: Thank you so much for taking my call. It`s just so baffling. It`s a comment, question, just why? Why in the world with so much to lose, their careers, their family, just why?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, I think that Duncan Roy hit on it. And, again, this man has just been arrested. We don`t want to convict these doctors. They or their attorneys are invited on any time or they themselves.
But I think that you mentioned addiction, Roy, I know as a recovering alcoholic, that I was led to do incomprehensible, demoralizing things because I was -- I was powerless over my behavior. And that`s the irony of any addiction, is that you have to admit you`re powerless. That`s the only power you have. It`s a dichotomy.
But also I also know that the thrill of doing something that is dangerous just gives us an adrenaline rush that super charges the addictive behavior and makes it more pleasurable. Comment on that very briefly, Duncan.
ROY: Well, you`re absolutely right. That`s what becomes most addictive is the fear. You know, if you`re wandering around and you might get caught, that actually feeds into your addiction far more than maybe, you know, an orgasm or getting off -- getting off on your own. It`s like you`re wondering around, you know, being a voyeur, and you may be caught. In many ways people set themselves up to be caught.
So what happened to him today is the conclusion that he knew eventually probably would happen if he`s guilty, of course. And we don`t know that, as you say.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: More on the other side.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: OK. Who`s the caller? All right. Well, we`re going to go to a caller in a second. But this kind of stuff happens all the time. Take a look at this case out of Houston. You can see a man holding his cell phone under a woman`s skirt. There it is, happening right now there.
As you look at it, you`re seeing it as it happens. The woman has no idea that he is -- would appear to be, videotaping under her skirt, to look up and see her panties and her private area. And he snapped the photo, allegedly, and got away before the woman realized what is happening. Police are looking for this man.
Tanya Acker, attorney, this is far more common than people realize. And luckily we have surveillance video today, because that gives us a sense of exactly how it looks in action.
TANYA ACKER, ATTORNEY: And not only is this common, Jane, I mean, remember, you know, look, these peeping tom cases have been going on for centuries. This is not new behavior.
But what makes it a little more troubling right now is the technology. I mean, we`ve got camera phones that are becoming increasingly small. We`ve got pen phones, which I know you`re going to talk about a little bit later on the show. The technology is really outpacing our ability to protect our privacy from other people: from doctors, neighbors, other folks who want to invade it.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, Dr. Levinson, as you mentioned, Tanya, accused of using one of those spy pens that has a camera attached to it. We found this video on YouTube showing how they work. Look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The lens for the camera is right here. So that`s how it takes the -- the video. So you can imagine that if you were to put this pen in your pocket, you could be secretly recording people. That`s why it`s called a spy pen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. Let`s go back to our exclusive interview with Sheldon Birthright. You say you spotted this doctor using that kind of device. Did you see the device, Sheldon?
BIRTHRIGHT: Yes, I did.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, tell us about that. I mean, when the police were finally called and this doctor was confronted, what happened? And how -- did they take the device?
BIRTHRIGHT: Well, they confronted him, and he said not a word. They took the paper. They looked at the device, which looks exactly like what you just showed. And he didn`t say anything. So they took him to the precinct, and he still didn`t say a word.
A regular pen. It looked like a regular pen.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: But you`re saying it was in like a newspaper. Let`s say this was the newspaper. The pen was like here?
All right. Let`s talk about the other doctor, Dr. Lance Wyatt, a prominent surgeon out of Los Angeles. Dr. Wyatt charged with six misdemeanors for allegedly, secretly recording patients in his office. Prosecutors claim he also touched the patient inappropriately while leading that patient to believe it was for legitimate medical purposes.
Now, we found this video of Dr. Wyatt talking about a patient on his Web site.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WYATT: Interesting how it measures up.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is the reality of our million-dollar makeover.
WYATT: We can take care of these problems. She`ll be a new person.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Dr. Wyatt released from jail after posting $50,000 bail. If convicted, he faces a two-year sentence, would have to register as a sex offender.
Tanya Acker, attorney, talk about a fall from grace, if convicted, if true. Why on earth would a prominent doctor risk it all for something like this? And I have to point out the obvious: doctors already see women undress, especially if you`re a plastic surgeon, as part of your work.
ACKER: That`s right. But Jane, as you pointed out and as Duncan pointed out, there obviously must be some type of compulsion here.
But let`s be very clear that, simply because you are compelled to do something completely abhorrent and abominable like this, that`s not really a legal defense.
You know, I get that here is somebody who is very powerful, who for some reasons that I really don`t quite understand did something that men have been doing for centuries, which is surreptitiously looking at women when they have no business doing that.
And whether or not he needs some help, whether or not he needs some sort of psychiatric treatment, I can`t speak to that. But whether or not this really constitutes some sort of cognizable legal defense, I just don`t buy that for a second.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. And listen, I think that we have to have some compassion for people who are struggling with something like this. What they`re accused of is abhorrent, but at the same time if it is a compulsive behavior that they`re not in control of, let`s hope that, at the very least, if true they get help.
On the other side, a wild story about an alleged attempted baby snatching.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mother turns her back. She takes the baby, puts it in the tote, and tries to leave the room.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Posing as a nurse...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Walked into a hospital and tried to steal a baby.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Disguised in hospital scrubs with one intention: to kidnap a newborn baby.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She placed a one-day-old baby girl into this tote and walked out.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The baby was wearing a tiny ankle bracelet that set off alarms and sent the hospital staff scrambling.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Doctors saw a woman with a bag and confronted her.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police suspect this is not her first kidnapping attempt.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Cops say a one-day-old baby was snatched from her hospital room by a fake nurse. Did she do it to win back her husband?
This is surveillance footage of 48-year-old Grisel Ramirez walking into a Southern California hospital Monday wearing scrubs and carrying just a visitor`s badge. Police say she waltzed into a room where there was a new mom and her newborn child. Ramirez told the mom, "Hey, the doctor`s coming. You should take a shower."
Police say when the mom was distracted, the suspect then placed the infant in this purple tote bag and waltzed right out. Thankfully, the hospital`s maternity ward had a security system -- it`s very high-tech -- that stopped her dead in her tracks, literally trapping her inside the hospital.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The hospital had put an electronic bracelet on the right ankle of this infant. When the suspect tried to leave the hospital, it sounded an alarm and it automatically locks the doors and prevents her from leaving. She`s trying to open the door to get out, and that`s when she was confronted by staff.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: This suspect has three children and is separated from her husband. Police say she told her husband months ago that she was pregnant with his baby. Apparently a lie.
When the fake due date approached, she then felt compelled to get a baby somehow to continue this apparent charade. Even scarier, police think she was trolling for babies at another hospital last week.
Attorney Tanya Acker, thank goodness there was a high-tech security system that did its job. I mean, I love how it literally shut the doors and locked them. But it`s terrifying that, in the 21st Century, somebody can just put on some scrubs and stroll into a room with a bunch of babies.
ACKER: Absolutely. You know, you`ve got to really commend this hospital and their security procedures. Certainly, this is something that they have a duty to do. I mean, you know, look, nobody can absolutely protect against every nut job out there that wants to steal a baby, but a hospital certainly has a duty of care to its patients to ensure that they and their newborns are safe. And this hospital really did that. They really should be commended.
But this case, Jane, obviously raises so many questions again as we were just talking about, about this woman`s mental health, about what would really compel somebody to go out and try to steal another person`s child, all just to try to maintain some facade of being pregnant in a bad marriage.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, she says she has no history of mental illness, but I have a feeling she must have deep psychological problems if this is true.
A pregnant woman called the cops on this very same suspect just last week after apparently talking to her at a different Southern California hospital. Turns out the woman was right about Ramirez.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She was questioning expectant mothers about their birth status, what was the sex of the baby and when was the baby due? One of those expectant mothers became suspicious, contacted the police department. That expectant mother positively identified our suspect as the one that she had contact with last week.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Police say this woman has not been cooperating, giving them several different stories, fake names. Again, she said she had no history of mental illness.
Tanya Acker, sometimes when I cover these stories, the details just blow my mind. The tie-dyed tote bag, I can`t get my mind around that. You`re going to a hospital to steal a baby and bring a tie-dyed tote bag with you. You know, why not a backpack? I mean, it`s just craziness.
ACKER: It`s absolutely crazy. I mean, on the one hand, Jane, it shows some level of premeditation. I mean, she was really -- this woman had a plan. She had -- she was moving forward so as to execute it. It wasn`t a very well-thought-out plan, but it was a plan nonetheless.
ACKER: But again, notwithstanding, you know, who knows what could really propel this sort of a -- this sort of absolute absurdity.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: You know, Tanya, sometimes I look at these little details and I think, you put in a movie, they would say take it out, it`s not realistic. But it actually really happens.
Up next, we`ve got another shocker. Wow, some really shocking new information, a back story of the suspect who is now dead in that temple massacre. .
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Details of the shooting in suburban Milwaukee.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The killing of six worshippers at a Sikh temple outside of Milwaukee.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The shooting at a temple in Wisconsin is especially shocking.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Police say an Army veteran with a troubled past.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: His victims, five men and one woman.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Killed at the scene, this man, Wade Michael Page.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Agents say that Wade Michael Page shot himself in the head.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He would talk about the racial holy war. That he would talk about racist propaganda and things like that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He really started to identify with the neo-Nazism during his time in the military.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Investigators also say Page`s former girlfriend is probably not linked to the shooting.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We did identify Misty Cook as the ex-girlfriend. Police officers while there observed a weapon, and they arrested her.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right now he is the only shooter that was involved at the temple.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The only thing that could stop Page Sunday morning was a police bullet.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Where does hate begin and end?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tonight, a surprise arrest connected to that alleged temple shooter; the ex-girlfriend of the now-dead suspect in that massacre has been taken in by police. And now, investigations into her past are shedding light on her former boyfriend`s involvement with the white power movement.
Wade Page died Sunday after police say he was -- well, he gunned down six worshippers at a temple outside Milwaukee. Photos from his Facebook and MySpace page show him clearly associated with disturbing neo-Nazi imagery.
The FBI now says he shot himself in the head. That same night police arrested his ex-girlfriend -- there she is, this woman here -- Misty Cook, shortly after going to her house to question her. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The FBI accompanied by the South Milwaukee police department interviewed her at her residence. She was cooperative. The police officers while there observed a weapon. And they arrested her for felon in possession at that time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Police now say Misty Cook is probably not linked to those terrible shootings. But look at her here in this photo from the Anti-Defamation League. She and the man she`s posing with are wearing a shirt that says Volksfront, Volksfront.
According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, Volksfront is a white power hate group. Volksfront calls itself a quote, "secular fraternal organization for working persons of European descent", end quote. But they link to some very disturbing videos.
Watch this one that is embedded on their Web site. And pay attention to the logo in the lower right hand corner. We might have to drop some of the graphics there to see that.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: That group is called "Blood Red Eagle". Now, they`re not, as far as we know, connected to the shooter Wade Page. But we`ve learned that he played guitar for another white power group called End Apathy. Was this horrific massacre racially motivated? Motivated by hate?
Call me, 1-877-JVM-SAYS, 1-877-586-7297.
Straight out to TJ Leyden, former neo-Nazi and author of "Skinhead Confessions"; TJ what do you make of Page`s ex-girlfriend? Here she is again in the photo from the Anti-Defamation League. What do you make of her wearing this T-shirt with all these other guys and they`re all wearing something that says Volksfront? What does that mean?
TJ LEYDEN, AUTHOR, "SKINHEAD CONFESSION": Well, Volksfront is about the third largest neo-Nazi skinhead gang out there. You had going into succession would be Hammer Skin Nation; you`d have Vinlanders (ph), and you`d have Volksfront. They`re very aggressive, very up and coming group.
It`s kind of interesting that he was connected with Hammer Skins and she was connected with Volksfront. That could also have been why she was his ex.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Watchdog groups had been keeping tabs on Wade Page for years. Listen to this from the Southern Poverty Law Center.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK POTOK, SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER: This man has been in the thick of the white supremacist music scene in this country for a good dozen years now. We`ve been tracking him for over ten years. He has played in some of the most infamous white supremacist rock and roll bands in this country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Now, the site monitoring service shows that Wade Page, again, this is the deceased suspect in that horrific shooting at the temple, made several disturbing online postings such as one where he wrote, quote, "Passive submission is indirect support to the oppressors. Stand up for yourself and live for the 14 words." The 14 words are code for white supremacist mantras one of which is "Because of the beauty of the white Aryan women, we must not perish from the earth."
Ok. "The beauty of the white Aryan women must not perish from the earth. Now, we have a couple with us tonight who are husband and wife. And they are both self-described reformed white supremacists. So you used to be involved with the white power movement and you changed. And now you fight against hate and seek to educate people and I applaud you for that.
Let`s describe relationships within the white power movement. Because I was going through some of these sites, and it seems to me that it`s not only about hatred of people based on the color of their skin or their religious or ethnic background, but it`s also gender inequality.
Is gender inequality, the oppression of women part and parcel of the white power movement? And I`ll -- first I`ll ask the wife, to be a feminist, and then I`ll ask the husband. Julie.
JULIE WIDNER, REFORMED WHITE SUPREMACIST: Ok. In the movement they claim to want to treasure the white woman. But in the movement it`s nothing like that. Women are second class in the movement. A lot of the women learned from their boyfriends or husbands about the movement and they leave afterwards.
So some of the girls considered themselves maybe skin birds, skinhead -- girls are called skin birds. Those girls are a lot more aggressive in the movement. They act a lot like men. Right?
Um1: Yes skin birds are a lot like men.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Let me ask you, I want to cover several things here. One, we just talked about women in the white power movement because this girlfriend has been arrested. But she`s not believed to be connected to the shooting itself although she`s wearing a T-shirt that`s connected with the white power movement.
Now, the ex-boyfriend, accused temple shooter Wade Page was associated with several white power rock bands with names like Aggressive Force and Celtic Warrior. Take a look at this video. It`s posted on YouTube reportedly showing a performance in South Carolina by another white power band Definite Hate. Several of its members later played with the deceased shooter`s band, End Apathy.
Now, such bands feature Nazi symbolism, racist lyrics. Let me ask you about this Volksfront -- again because the ex-girlfriend was wearing the T- shirt that said that. Does that group in your opinion, Brian, fall into the same category?
BRIAN WIDNER, REFORMED WHITE SUPREMACIST: Well, like TJ said earlier, being that he was a Hammer Skin and she was part of Volksfront that would have caused a rift within the relationship. They were part of two different crews. Usually two different crews generally don`t get along for the most part. None of the crews seem to get along for more than 15 minutes.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Unbelievable. It`s such a bizarre subculture that I think it`s a good opportunity to learn from this tragedy, to learn about this subculture.
By the way, Volksfront says that Wade Page, the suspected massacre shooter has never attended a Volksfront event nor has his band ever played a Volksfront organized function. They also say -- get this -- they`re not a skinhead or neo-Nazi organization. What do you say to that, TJ Leyden?
LEYDEN: That`s a boldfaced lie. That`s the only way I would describe it. The leader went to prison for some time for a skinhead-involved hate crime. The second in command is a full-blown neo-Nazi skinhead. It`s kind of hilarious that they would actually physically write that on their Web site that they are not a skinhead organization. They may not have -- all the members may not all be skinheads but they`re definitely a hardcore white supremacy organization.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Brian Widner -- again, reformed white supremacist who is joining our show with his wife -- you`ve both left the movement. Thank God for that I say.
J. WIDNER: Right.
B. WIDNER: Thank you.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: You said you had some real problems with alcohol. I`m a recovering alcoholic with 17 years of sobriety, just FYI. Wade Page, the massacre shooter, suspected, obviously has had a serious drinking problem. He lost his career in the army because of it because he showed up to formation drunk. He reportedly lost a job because of it. Is there a nexus between being in the white power movement and being a drunk?
B. WIDNESS: Well, for the most part, most skinheads are drunks. I mean there is secular crews that are all straight edge, but 90 percent of skinheads are drinkers. And a lot of them end up with drinking problems.
I mean you can`t commit atrocities with a conscience without drinking it away. That`s the barest fact to it. A lot of these guys commit atrocities almost on a daily basis. The only way to cope with that is to open a bottle and just put it away and just try to hide it from yourself, from everything else.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, can I just jump to the chase here? Would it be fair to say that people with drinking problems who then suffer professionally, like being tossed out of the military, losing your job, then they sort of feel self-pity because their life is falling apart. And then instead of confronting themselves looking in the mirror, it`s easier to say it`s because of this racial group or that racial group?
B. WIDNER: Well, yes. Racist skinheads have been blaming every racial group in the world for their problems since the `70s and `80s. I mean that`s just what they`ve done. It`s easy to put your problems out on somebody else as opposed to actually look in a mirror and confront them. And a lot of skinheads just don`t either have the mental capacity to do it, or are just too afraid to.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, I want to thank all of you for joining us. And again, I am so happy that you have all decided to devote your lives to exposing hate and to explaining it to us because we have to understand it to do something about it.
On the other side, a country western star busted for DUI naked.
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VELEZ-MITCHELL: We`re hearing more and more about potentially dangerous ingredients in the beauty products we slather on our bodies. You know, 100 ingredients in the back of the bottle, we don`t know what those ingredients are.
My alternative is I make my own -- makeup remover, perfume, body lotion. And essentially what I do is almond oil, very simple. I pour that in. And then I use essential oils like tea tree oil and rosemary and lavender. And I mix it all up and put it in various bottles so that I can go on trips, I can go exercise. People are always asking me what are you wearing and I say I made it myself.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Check out your "Viral Video of the Day". Oh, look at that -- courtesy of One World, One Ocean. One World, One Ocean -- what a great organization. A dolphin and dogs happily playing; just showing you different species can exhibit love and peace. Why can`t we?
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: More trouble for country music star Randy Travis. He was arrested in Grayson County, Texas last night on suspicion of driving while intoxicated.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: According to police they found Travis lying naked on a remote road in northern Texas smelling of alcohol. And that`s not all. His car apparently was wrecked nearby.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: While he was being transported, Travis made threats to shoot and kill the troopers working the case.
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VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tonight country music legend Randy Travis arrested, again. Cops say they responded to a 911 call and arrived to see the 53- year-old star laying smack in the middle of the road completely butt-naked and reeking of booze. Police say his 1998 Pontiac Trans-Am crashed into a nearby construction barricade.
When cops arrested him for DWI, they say Travis became angry and threatened to shoot and kill the officers. He was then charged with quote, "retaliation" end quote. That`s a third degree felony that carries up to ten years in prison.
This is a far cry from the country superstar`s music video persona. Listen to his hit song "Forever and Ever, Amen" from YouTube.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: We reached out to Randy Travis, have not gotten a response. Mike Walters, news manager TMZ, describe the scene where he was arrested. Take a look at this mug shot.
MIKE WALTERS, NEWS MANAGER TMZ: Well, Jane, to be honest, it sounds like a country music song the way this thing played out. So the cops find him out of the car naked on the street. Car has been crashed. He`s got bruises and cuts you can see in the mug shot on his face.
While they transport him to jail, remember he has no clothes on in the cop car. He tells the officers he`s going to shoot them, which is threatening an officer, a felony like you said. This carries a huge time in prison if you`re convicted of it.
The worst part of this story I got to tell you, just like a country western song, he ends up in jail, no clothes on, they have to make him wear a paper suit, they call it, which is like basically just scrubs made out of paper.
But apparently earlier in the night -- and this is unbelievable, the cops got called because he tried to go into a convenience store and buy cigarettes naked. And the cops got called.
WALTERS: You know, it`s not a laughing matter, to be honest because then he got into a car, which is dangerous. But I just -- when I read this story and I heard this stuff, it sounds like a bad country music song. And luckily he just hurt himself and not somebody else. But this guy faces major prison time if convicted of that threat. And like I said, let`s just -- you know we`re glad and lucky that he didn`t hit anybody else.
But Randy Travis, this is not the first time in the last few months he`s been arrested. He was arrested drunk in a church parking lot in February of the same year, this year of 2012. This guy needs to get it together and sober up a bit.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: On the other side of the break we`re going to talk to two people in recovery about this.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And time for your "Pet of the Day". Frisky Lew. Wow, these two beauties. And Emme. These are companion animals of our viewers. Romeo, you are such a handsome dude. And Frisky Lew I like the fact you have a little friend. Send in your pictures at hlntv.com/Jane. So adorable.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. Now, let`s take a look at the dash cam video we`re going to show your from his arrest in February. And as we do that, I want to talk to Anna David, recovering addict, executive director of the fabulous site The Fix. What do you make of this, Anna?
ANNA DAVID, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, THE FIX: I think it`s incredibly sad. I mean -- yes, I guess it`s funny that a guy is naked and trying to go into a store, but I mean this is a guy who is -- you know in my opinion, crying out for help. This isn`t just sort of getting pulled over with, you know, your blood alcohol level a little bit higher than normal.
I mean this is really -- you know, he was arrested in February. In the last year, there have been incidents of punching walls and collapsing at concerts and this is sort of -- I just think it`s a tragedy, actually.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: It`s a total tragedy. We`re just reporting on it. But look at that -- that is incomprehensible demoralization. And that`s what we recovering alcoholics and addicts talk about when who is that person who did whatever it was last night? It`s possible that he was in a black out and didn`t even know what was going on; when somebody is naked out in public, that`s often the case.
More on the other side.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Final thoughts on country star Randy Travis. Cops gave him that shirt; he was arrested naked and allegedly very, very drunk.
Duncan Roy, you`ve been in recovery many years; your thoughts?
DUNCAN ROY, DIRECTOR: I`m just thinking there are a lot of great meetings in Texas and he`s a lucky man because he can connect with a lot of great people who are going to help him. But obviously he`s got to get through this first. And you know, it`s obviously no coincidence that he and his wife broke up very recently, and he`s obviously, you know, going to the wall. He`s really -- he`s really punishing himself.
And you know, I doubt he`ll be going to prison any time soon. He`s a big celebrity with lots of money, and I`m sure he`ll get out of it. But you know, I mean you know -- he`s -- you`re right, incomprehensible demoralization. And you know what; the first step is admitting a problem.
Velez-Mitchell: Yes. Anna David?
DAVID: Well, just the problem doesn`t go away. I mean he said oh, I gave it up in my mid 20s through Christ and people can recover any way they want to recover. But the problem does not just go away. It is something to be dealt with.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, the good news is that here we are, three people in recovery talking about this and our hearts go out to Randy Travis. And we`re right there with you, get better.