Luis Espinoza grew up in Waterbury, Connecticut, surrounded by crime, addiction, and chaos. With a mother in and out of jail, he dropped out of high school and started hanging around the wrong crowd. By 22, he was sentenced to 18 months in prison—but just three months in, Luis made a desperate move: he tried to escape. After being captured only hours later, he was forced to face the reality of life behind bars. In this episode, Luis opens up about his troubled childhood, his escape attempt, what prison was really like, and how he finally turned his life around after incarceration.

Nick Gojcaj grew up in Queens dreaming of becoming an NYPD cop, but after that didn’t work out, he spent 20 years in the corporate world before making a drastic career change in his 40s—joining Rikers Island as a corrections officer. For three years he worked inside one of America’s most notorious jails, dealing with chaos, violence, and the daily dangers of being a prison guard, until a confrontation with inmates left him permanently disabled. Instead of protecting him, Rikers illegally terminated his job, sparking a legal battle that he’s still fighting today. In this episode, Nick opens up about his journey from the academy to life on the inside, the shocking realities of working at Rikers, and how he’s now exposing the system that betrayed him.

Joseph Schultze’s life looked nothing like the path that would eventually lead him toward prison. Growing up in Binghamton, New York, he had a loving home — but also parents battling cocaine addiction. Forced to take care of them while still a teenager, Joseph dropped out of high school and developed crippling anxiety. A car accident became the turning point that pulled him into painkillers, harder drugs, and a spiral of crime that racked up multiple larceny charges. Facing years behind bars, Joseph took a chance on New York’s infamous shock program — a grueling alternative to prison designed to break inmates down physically and mentally.

Justin Paperny had the perfect life — a privileged childhood in California, a promising baseball career, and by 26, he was the youngest broker at Bear Stearns’ Los Angeles office. But behind the polished image, greed took over. First, it was stealing commissions. Then, he got pulled into a multi-million dollar fraud scheme with a client. At 32, he traded luxury boardrooms for 18 months in federal prison camp. In this interview, Justin reveals how his choices unraveled his career, the reality of life inside a federal prison camp, and how he turned his biggest mistake into a new mission — helping others avoid the same fate. His story is a cautionary tale of ambition, greed, and redemption.

Bob Lustyik spent nearly 25 years in the FBI’s elite intelligence division tracking foreign spies and protecting national security, earning a highly decorated career in the process — until it all came crashing down. Just before retirement, he was arrested and sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for conspiracy to commit bribery. In this gripping interview, Bob shares what it was like to join and train at the FBI Academy, the high-pressure reality of working in counterespionage, the moment everything unraveled, and what prison was really like for a former federal agent. From chasing criminals to becoming one, this is a rare inside look at both sides of the law, told with raw honesty, shocking details, and powerful lessons about loyalty, mistakes, and redemption.