Dad Moves Into Daughter’s College Dorm & Starts A Cult On Campus
Barbie and Baboo. There's a college in New York called. Sarah Lawrence. It is one of the pricier. institutions with an $80,000 a year. tuition. Their biggest scandal the past. few years has been a small fox had been. discovered roaming around campus. Campus. security sent out a school wide email. blast, "Beware the tiny cute adorable. fox.". Usually nothing spectacular happens on. campus until 2019. An email blast goes.
out to much of the college students at. Sarah Lawrence. A majority of them get. this email. When you open it up, it's. just a link to a website. And it's very. strange. The website name is the full. name of another classmate of theirs. So. imagine your full name.com. Weird. I. mean, is she sending out her portfolio? Did she accidentally CC all of her. classmates? They click the tiny little. blue link and they get hit with, "Hi, my. name is Claudia and I'm an escort that. poisons people to win her mother's love.
and approval.". Is Claudia the name of the website? Yeah, the opening page is, "I poison. people and I'm an escort." What the hell. is going on? They click one of the tabs. at the top and Claudia, their classmate, her advertisement pops up. "You can book. experiences with me. Our relationship. will be as unique as our interpersonal. chemistry. My greatest turn on is to see. my partner engaged, connected, thinking, and feeling on a magnitude greater than. the norm. A shared journey through. experience that leaves us both in awe.".
"Girlfriend services. At its core, what. you are considering is the experience of. naked desire and all that flows from it. I am an enthusiastically indulgent, naughty, and eager companion, eager to. feel and be felt. I'm a very playful. woman blessed with the disposition to. shine brightest in the depths of. depravity. Dalliances include but are not limited. to bondage, role play, and predicaments. Pricing. 1 hour $1,500.
2 hours, $2,000. 3 hours, $3,000. 4. hours, $4,000. 12 hours, $7,000. Okay, it's a little strange but to each. their own. It's just confusing why she. sent this out to all of her classmates. Was she hoping to find clients on. campus? I mean, most of her peers, they. can't afford rates like this. Let alone. the fact that it would be kind of. awkward booking with someone that. they're going to run into class next. day. But what was the part that she said. about poisoning people? They click another link on their. friend's page. There they see a full.
confession. "Hi, my name is Claudia and. I would poison one of my closest. friends, another student at Sarah. Lawrence. I would poison Talia at least. once a day and make sure her entire. fridge was poisoned. I put mercury on. her toothbrush. I began sleeping over in. her room more and more frequently to. accomplish this goal. I put arsenic and. mercury in her underwear." This is sent. out from who though? From her email? Claudia. Oh. This is the most bizarre. website that they had ever seen. I mean,
one page is dedicated to advertising. Claudia as a sex worker and then the. next page is her admitting to federal. crimes. Like, what is going on? Also, why would she poison her close friend. and roommate and classmate Talia? Was. she jealous of Talia or something? But. even then, it just doesn't sound like. something Claudia would ever do. The. classmates start freaking out as they're. reading because it gets worse. Claudia. mentions that she would even poison. beverages at dorm parties. Meaning, who else on campus has she. poisoned? Wait.
There's a video. They click on it and. it's of Claudia sitting on bed. She's. fully clothed, chewing a piece of gum, and she looks like she's about to fall. asleep. There's a man's voice that can. be heard. "Please talk audibly, Claudia.". "It's Sunday, March 22nd, 11:20 p.m. I'm. going to tell the truth because it's. destroying me not to.". Claudia admits to not only poisoning her. close friend and classmate Talia Ray, but also Talia Ray's dad. Why would Claudia poison her friend's. dad?
I mean, truly, none of this is making. any sense. She says on the video, "I put. it in your food. I put it on your back. I put it in your shoes. I put it on the. handles where you would touch. On the. bed, I put it in the bathroom, I. believe, on your toothbrush. I put it on. the keys of your laptop. My mom gave me. the poison and she would bring it to me. She said that if people found out, if. people believe you, we were going to go. to jail. We needed to basically we. needed to kill you.". "I didn't hear you.". "My mom told me to kill you.".
It's Sunday, March 22nd, 11:20 p.m. Um. I'm. making a video statement to say that I. never stopped poisoning. Lawrence Ray, Talia Ray when she was in my proximity, Isabella [ __ ] Lisa Rosario. Also, when they were there Start from. the most current time backwards. Most current time.
And first, you making this by your own. free will? Yes. Anybody pay you? No. Anybody threaten you? No. Anybody coerce. you? No. Okay. And you said you want to make this. because. of what? Because I just want to make it. I just. want to talk talk about it. And tell the truth. Why? Because it's. destroying me not to. The man on the other end holding the.
camera is Lawrence Ray, Talia Ray's dad. So this is Claudia's friend's dad. But also. her cult leader. This is the case of. Lawrence Ray, the man that starts a cult. on a college campus, brainwashes his own. daughter's friends, turns them into. sexual slaves, and starts a. multi-million dollar high-end sex. trafficking ring with high-profile. clientele in New York City. And they send out email blasts? Yes. To why? We're going to get into it.
We would like to thank today's sponsors. who have made it possible for Rotten. Mango to support Sanctuary for Families. They are New York's leading NGO for. survivors of domestic violence, sex.
trafficking, and related forms of gender. violence. This episode's partnerships. have also made it possible to support. Rotten Mango's growing team of dedicated. researchers and translators. We would. also like to thank our listeners for. your continued support as we work on our. mission to be worthy advocates of these. causes. Before we get started, today's. case does include brief mentions of. essay involving adults as well as CSA. involving children. There are also. themes of self-exit, DV, and gender. sexuality-based violence. I would also. like to thank Daniel Levin. He's one of.
the survivors involved in this case who. authored a memoir titled Slan um Woods. 9. I came across this memoir during our. research and I read it from front to. back and then I combed through it all. over again. And we do reference a lot of. the details but of course, we couldn't. include everything nor would it do the. memoir justice. So please, please, please, pick up a copy of his book. There is no closer deep dive than this. memoir. It's also a fantastic resource. and deserves all of its praise. Daniel. writes so candidly and I think it's a. really important read that can help. people understand how these types of. cases happen because at face value, it.
feels so unbelievable. Lastly, there are. many different opinions, discussions, doubts regarding victimhood versus. culpability for two young women involved. in the case, Isabella [ __ ] and Talia. Ray. I want to be explicitly clear that. we are only here to retell events as. they happened and we did our best to. present them in a way that is neutral. and unbiased. So with that being said, let's get started. Lawrence Ray is. friends with the mayor of New York City. He's buddies with the last leader of the. Soviet Union, Gorbachev. I mean, at the.
time, arguably, he was one of the most. powerful people in the entire world. Larry Ray's got status. The cult leader? Yeah. Knows all these people? He actually. knows all these people. And if Larry. Ray's college daughter is having a. birthday party, it's not going to be in. some frat boy house with cold pizza. boxes laying around. He is going to host. his precious girl's birthday dinner at. the most upscale steak restaurant. The. ones that don't even come with steak. sauce on the side. Because Talia is. daddy's little girl. He would do. anything for her. He's going to invite.
all of her roommates from Sarah Lawrence. to join them. The whole dinner's going. to be on him. The whole dinner is. perfectly set up. Birthday girl Talia is. going to get a wad of cash to go. purchase the best outfit to eat caviar. in, probably from Bergdorf's. Her best. friend Isabella is going to be right by. her side and all of her roommates are. going to come and celebrate. Daniel, Talia's friend, walks into the. restaurant and suddenly his back is. straight. Cuz it's just that kind of. atmosphere. You feel like you can't. slouch. He's nervously walking his way to the.
table and even the air smells expensive. It doesn't just smell like steak, it. smells like money with a light hint of. cigars. If it wasn't for Larry Ray. throwing this party for his daughter, the closest most of these kids would be. stepping into an establishment like this. was at the time probably working in one. There's waiters rushing around in suits. that are more expensive than what any of. these college students can afford to. wear on their most important event. Daniel rushes to take a seat because. he's the last one to arrive and he looks.
around. It's a small group of mainly. just the roommates and Talia's dad, Larry Ray. And the only non-college. student there at the table is the dad. "Pick a wine from the list, will you, Daniel?". "Me?". There were no prices on that wine list. Daniel just points to a random one. He. knows nothing about wine. He doesn't. even know how much it cost and the whole. thing feels exciting. With Larry there, it feels like they're getting some sort. of the best treatment that the. restaurant has. They barely wait for. extra truffle butter. It just magically.
appears on the table. Normally, the. roommates are even though they're really. close friends, they're a little bit. awkward. So, just the way that Larry is. able to flow the conversation so that. everybody feels included, it's the. perfect night. Talia, sweetie, what do you want for. your birthday? Um I guess I wish for everyone to be. happy. This is what I always wish for. All of. you guys have been through so much. Isabella, my best friend, has been. through such hard times, but we're all. together now, and I want the world to be. fixed. I want everyone in the world to.
be better, to be happy, and I want more. people to think clearly, and look at the. world logically, and. find clarity. Larry's got tears in his eyes, and. Daniel's smiling. And then he freezes because under the. table, Daniel feels someone rubbing. their leg against his. Slowly, up and. down his leg. It's feeling natural. Wait, someone's rubbing his Daniel's. leg? Yeah, playing footsie with him. No, with. their leg, just seductively running it. up and down his leg. His eyes. Yeah. His eyes shoot up in the direction.
that that it's coming from. It's. Isabella, Talia's best friend. She holds. his eye contact, giving him this long. stare, and then she slowly stands up, not breaking eye contact. "Excuse me, I'm going to use the restroom.". Daniel is confused, but he thinks he. gets the message, right? She wants him. to follow her to the restroom. He gets. up from his seat, and as nonchalantly as. possible, he tries to excuse himself as. well. Uh same. But the whole thing is a little weird. He couldn't wait, both of them had to.
use the restroom at the same time. I. mean, he can feel everyone staring at. him. What does this even mean? He. nervously approaches the restroom, and. there Isabella is just standing, leaned. up against the wall. She doesn't even. say a word. She walks towards the. restroom, the private restroom, pushes. it open, and motions for him to get in. After a while, they both leave the. restroom, straighten out their clothes, and start making their way back to the. table. I don't know exactly how much. time has passed, but it is enough for. everyone to know what they did. It's not.
that hard to put two and two together. They're even walking back together. They. look kind of disoriented. I mean, what's. their excuse? Is anybody going to say. anything? How long were they gone? They look down, and there's finished. dessert plates sitting around, so. they've been gone for a while. Wait, the. whole meal is done? Yeah, pretty much. Wait, so they didn't. eat the food? they ate a little, and then they left. Oh. whole meal is done. But as they're. taking their seats, nobody says. anything. Nobody asks, nobody comments. Isabella just plops back down in between. Talia and Larry Ray, and she seems so.
totally at ease. But Daniel, he's. shifting uncomfortably in his seat. The. whole thing is awkward, considering. Isabella is Talia, the birthday girl's. best friend, and this is her very. expensive birthday dinner. But Isabella. is also the birthday girl's potential. new stepmom. She's Larry Ray's newest. wife. Quote. The girl who just went to. the restroom. with Daniel.
is actually. Talia Ray's best friend. She's a college. student. Uh-huh. But now she's dating Talia's. dad. She's dating her best friend's dad. Right, right. But she just went to the. restroom with a different boy. Yes, while Larry Ray is just sitting there. Knowing damn well what just happened. Yeah, he's staring at Daniel across the. table, and it looks like he knows what. happened in the restrooms, but it also. looks like he likes it. Hm. Daniel's nearly choking on his coffee at.
this point. I mean, the whole coffee. meeting with Larry Ray has felt like a. fever dream. The two of them are sitting. in this jam-packed coffee shop in New. York City. Baristas are screaming. people's names. The coffee grinder is. going off, just whirring every 2. seconds. And Larry Ray, bald 50-year-old. Larry Ray, is asking Daniel in public, in front of everyone, "Tell me what. you're working with, and I'll tell you. whether it's small or not.". Larry's got his hands in front of him, and he's moving them towards each other, and then away from each other, raising. his eyebrows. It's just so.
uncomfortable. He's asking Daniel how. long his private part is. I mean, this can't be real life right. now, right? This whole coffee meeting. feels like something that you see in a. badly written sitcom. I mean, ever since. they got there, Larry's been ordering. Daniel around. "Danny, this. Danny, that. Danny, grab the coffees, won't. you? Danny, get some half and half for. me." Daniel hates when people call him. Danny. But for some reason, when Larry demands. something of him, he just gets up, autopilot mode, grabs. the coffees, grabs the half and half, and right now, he's staring into Larry.
Ray's eyes, which is kind of unsettling. because Larry's eye whites are. impossibly white. When he gets excited. or mad, his whole face turns red, and. then his eye whites are just shining, almost glow-in-the-dark. Daniel finally. gives in, leans in, and tries to quietly. tell him. the size. Larry does not return the favor and. whisper. Instead, he's just letting his. voice boom through the whole cafe. "Dan, that's normal. Not a problem at all. What matters most is how you use it. What about Isabella? You ever slept with. her?". "Oh, what? No, never." "Why not? She was.
around all the time, wasn't she? You. think she's good-looking, don't you?". Wait, didn't Daniel sleep with Was it. Isabella? Yes, so this is before. Oh, this is prior to the meal. This is like. his first time meeting Larry Ray, really. His first time having a. conversation with Larry Ray. God. And it's the whole thing is weird. It's. like a staring contest. Larry might as. well take out his eyeballs and dangle. them in front of Daniel's because it. feels like some sort of test or. something. Daniel just can't stand it anymore. He.
just blurts out, "Well, I'm I'm working. on trying to understand my sexuality.". "Oh, well, I can tell you right now, you're. not gay. You don't have small privates, you just need to relax. Trust me, I'm. professionally trained to evaluate. people, to walk around inside of their. minds. That's super easy for me, you. know? I want to use that to help you, okay? Would you like that?". Something in Daniel does kind of want. help just because it sounds so easy. Larry would come into his mind, fix all. of his problems. I mean, why wouldn't. you say yes, right? It would just make. your life easier. It'd be so quick for.
all these big, complicated feelings to. just disappear. "Yeah, okay.". "Good. Now, let's get out of here.". Daniel looks up. The entire coffee shop. is closing up. They had been there for. almost 6 hours. They walk out onto the dark street, and. the air feels chilly, and right there, parked on the street, is a full-sized. limousine, the long ones. "Come on, get in.". Daniel hesitates. He ducks his head to. peer inside the limo, and inside, four. of his roommates are sitting there and.
giggling. Had they been waiting for 6. hours for them to be done in the coffee. shop? They stop mid-sentence. They look. at the guy. "Well, how did it go?". "Um it went really, really well.". The roommates in the limo, they're. glancing at each other. It It's like. they know something Daniel doesn't know. Like he just joined a secret little club. just now with this coffee date. Larry. urges him to get in the back. "Now, what. do you guys all say? Shall we get some. dinner?". I mean, who can say no to coffee? Who. can say no to a limo ride? And who can.
say no to a dinner with friends? This would be the start of the Sarah. Lawrence College sex cult that operates. under the radar even on campus, and. stays active for 10 years. Videos would. be uncovered, and one of them is of. Daniel standing in front of Larry. His. body language looks completely detached. He's just standing there in his red. shirt, staring blankly at Larry, who's. standing out of view of the camera. "Now, Dan, you're trying to pull back. now, aren't you?". "Yeah.".
"I'm uh yeah." He nervously shoves his. hands in his pockets. He's a full-grown. college student, but his body language. is like a child being scorned by an. abusive parent or something. Larry grabs a steel wrench and uses the. blunt side of it to wrap around Daniel's. neck and yanks him towards his face. They are now standing, faces just inches. apart from each other. "Larry, please, I'm being honest." "Give. me your tongue. Stick it out. Stick your. tongue out.". In the back, you can hear a girl. giggling.
Larry takes a wrench, squeezes it shut. on Daniel's tongue, and starts pulling. him closer to him. His whole body. language is flinching, his shoulders are. up. He's just trying to follow the. wrench to avoid more pulling on his. tongue, but Larry notices, and as. punishment, he starts pulling the wrench. up, forcing Daniel to get on his. tippy-toes unless he wants his tongue. ripped apart. And in this very calm, menacing voice, Larry threatens Daniel. "Next, it's going to be the head of your. [ __ ] Do you understand?".
"See this? How it feels? What if I pick. you up like that by your privates? I'm. going to pick you up by your tongue. You. think I'm playing with you right now? You're a grown man. I'm a grown man.". Larry right now is torturing Daniel. And this is really all it took. He's so. good at getting into people's minds. He. ends up just It's yes to a coffee date, yes to a limo ride, yes to a dinner, and. then suddenly he is in full control of. all these people.
To the point where he can do whatever he. wants with them. He lets go of Daniel's. tongue, but slams a mallet straight into. his stomach. He briefly yelps out in. pain before very quickly, almost too. quickly, he straightens out his back. "Yes, yes, I hear you." Larry holds his. face right up to his. "Listen to me. Don't [ __ ] around. Tell the truth. Next. thing getting split is your dick and. balls.". "Now, apologize to everybody, right. now.". Just like in the limo, Daniel turns, and. his college roommates are sitting there,
watching and waiting for a response. And by this point, it would be too late. for Daniel because once Larry has you, there is almost no escape. You know those people that make one. thing their entire personality? Listen, I'm not judging them, but Talia's Ray. thing is kind of a mood killer. It's. kind of a party killer. It doesn't. matter who she's with, where she is. It. would be in the middle of a frat party. and they're playing beer pong. There's. couples making out, rubbing up on each. other in the corner of the room and. Talia would be half screaming over the.
music, "My dad's a truth teller. He's been silenced by a group of. powerful vindictive men. He's been sent. to prison for his heroic efforts to save. me and my youngest sister from an. abusive mother and his incarceration is. the result of a deep-seated government. corruption." Everyone in the circle is. staring at her frozen, mouths open. They're holding up a beer. What is going. on right now? This is so strange. Like. read the room. Talia did not. She would. keep going. "My dad used to do push-ups. with me sitting on his back and I would. come into the room whenever he was.
having these meetings and it didn't. matter who it was with or what he was. doing. Honey Boy, that's what I call my. dad, would let me come on on his back. whenever I wanted. I'd ask him to do. push-ups while I sat on him and he would. do it.". One of those friends at a party said. about Talia, "Pretty much the first. thing and only thing she ever talked. about whenever it was her turn to talk. is my dad this, my dad that. Even at. parties where we're just trying to have. fun. Like that's when it started to get. weird.". Listening to Talia talk about her dad. would evoke two very strong feelings. Either am I high right now or do I need.
to be high to listen to this? That's it. Otherwise, if you try to listen to her. completely sober, you would need to grab. a journal, a pen because there's so many. people, so many timelines, so much going. on in the very complicated, twisty life. that is Lawrence Ray, aka Talia's daddy. Is she like idolizing the dad? Is she. just. crazy. She's obsessed. Idolizing. Lawrence Ray, Larry Ray, that's what the. Marines would call him, Larry. He was. very important as a Marine during his. time. He worked hand-in-hand with the. DIA, the Defense Intelligence Agency.
You never heard of the DIA? It's an. intelligence agency. It's kind of like. the CIA, but it's for the military. Yeah. Anyway, he was friends with some. of the highest ranking generals in the. Marines. Do you even know the ranking. system? Let me break it down. The. highest rank in the Marines is a. general. From there, there are tiers to. this, the highest of the high being a. four-star general. Do you know how hard. it is to achieve? There have only been. 75 four-star generals in the history of. the Marines, in the history. There can.
only be 60 generals in the Marines at. any given time. Larry was friends with the most of the. powerful generals. One of them being a. three-star general in the Marines that. asked him to help with him in missions. down in Cuba. But after the Marines is when he joins a. different type of boys club, Wall. Street. So, everybody needs to listen. up. He starts working as a consultant on. Wall Street. Not just hanging out, but. advising incredibly influential, powerful military buddies, politicians,
business owners. He would host these. political fundraisers, sometimes for. big, big names like Patrick Kennedy, which really kickstarted his political. journey. Yeah, Larry Ray was friends. with Rudy Giuliani, the former mayor of. New York City and also a former Trump. associate. Friends with the New York. Police Commissioner, Bernie Kerik and. perhaps the biggest fish Larry knew was. Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet. Union. Arguably, like I said, one of the. most politically, powerfully connected. people. of all time. That's coming from the daughter? Yeah,
and it's actually true. Right, right, right. And she's calling. him Larry Ray? She calls him a mixture. of dad, daddy, honey boy. and Larry Ray. Yes, so like these are the types of. stories that she would tell in the dorm. room. And he was friends with all the generals. as well? Yeah, he was. Are we going to learn find. out how? Yeah. Okay, okay. It's just unhinged because I mean, Larry. helped end the Kosovo War, apparently. He helped negotiate it, which resulted.
in NATO, yeah, NATO, sending him a. letter personally thanking him for his. contributions. Like how insane is that? The roommates would just be standing in. the kitchen in their pajamas. Their eyes are still adjusting to the. light. They just woke up. They're so. hungover from last night's party. Wait, Talia, I was just trying to grab a. bottle of water. I was just asking if you wanted one. Oh, no thanks. Have you heard of the. Gambino crime family? My dad was an FBI. informant for It would just never end.
She was like a motion sensor camera. If. she saw you in her path, in her line of. sight and God forbid you make eye. contact with her, she's going to open. her mouth in slow motion and you would. just know, either you better come up. with a crazy excuse to get out of there. or you're going to be sitting there. listening to the very long, very. complicated life story of a middle-aged, bald man, Talia's dad. So, where is he? Does he visit? Is he. Oh, he's in prison. So, how the hell. does this man who works with the DIA, the CIA, the FBI, all the three-letter.
acronyms, how the hell does he end up in. prison? If you were to ever ask a question like. that, you better sit down because it's. going to take another few hours. Well, the story starts once upon a time with a. man named Bernie Kerik, the police. commissioner of New York City at the. time. He was the police commissioner. when 9/11, the tragedy happened. He was. also best friends with Larry, Larry Ray. Well, long story short, let's just say. Bernie opened up a bit too much and. Larry knew a tad bit more than he was. supposed to about 9/11, things that the.
public should not be privy to and unlike. Bernie, Larry wasn't going to stand for. that because he's a what? A truth teller. Exactly. Unfortunately, that put a giant target. on his back. Powerful people, I'm. talking degrees of power that we can't. even fathom possessing were after Larry. Bernie Kerik, Rudy Giuliani and then. president of the United States of. America at the time, George W. Bush and. his vice president, Dick Cheney. Yeah. They first tried to ruin Larry's. reputation and his life by going after. the ones that meant the most to him, his.
two daughters. They made sure that Larry. lost custody. They made sure that the. girls' abusive mother, Teresa, had. custody and when Larry broke that. custody agreement by going to see Talia. to make sure that she's okay, they threw. him in prison. Which is smart because now when he comes. out of prison, whatever he says is just. going to be, "Do you hear this guy? He. sounds like a butt-hurt felon, a. conspiracy theorist against the system. because it didn't work out for him.". I guess you could call it a very bad. situation of a whistleblower case.
30 minutes from Times Square, there's. this bubble. You step inside and it's. like being transported into this cute. little whimsical village. It's Rosewood. from Pretty Little Liars. That's what it. feels like. It's its own little world. That's the Sarah Lawrence College. bubble. The students in attendance there. would say, "And this is according to. them, most of the students there are. maybe the kids that were outcast in high. school, the nerdy ones or the artsy. types.". In Slonim Woods 9, an on-campus town. home, there are eight students living in.
the eight-bedroom building. The eight. roommates are Talia Ray, aka Larry Ray's. daughter, the one who can't stop foaming. at the mouth to talk about her dad. You. say eight bedroom? Yeah. Oh, so there's one dorm room with. eight bedrooms. Okay. Mhm. Yes. I mean, honestly, aside from. Talia's slightly unsettling obsession. with her dad, Talia's pretty normal. She's very pretty. She's brunette, got. these big, big doll-looking eyes. She's. probably the most unique out of her. roommates. The other seven, they're.
really busy during sophomore year trying. to find themselves. Talia Ray already found herself. She. already knew what she was going to do. with her life. She was going to go to. law school and help whistleblowers like. her dad. That was her whole life mission. since day one. She was a little bit. intense at times, but you have to admire. her drive. Then you have Talia's best friend, Isabella. She is the complete opposite. of Talia. She's not close with anybody. else in the house except Talia. She's. super shy. I mean, that's one way to put. it. One roommate would put it this way.
She's a social recluse. I mean, she. hides a lot. She hides in her room. She. hides with her hand. She always hides. behind her hair that's hanging in front. of her face. She really only had one. friend, Talia. That's it. So, we have Daddy's Little Girl, Talia, Super Shy, Isabella and then Santos. Santos is Talia's boyfriend. Everyone. describes him as being the puppy of the. friend group. Everyone who knew him said. he really does kind of behave like a. puppy. If he was happy, you would see. it. If he was sad, you would see it on.
his face. There was almost an innocence. to Santos and like a puppy, he would. kind of just trail after Talia. Whatever. she's doing, Santos is doing. So, we got. Daddy's Little Girl, Talia, Super Shy, Isabella, Sweet Santos and now Claudia. Claudia is like the one from the. beginning of the story. She is a true. artist of the friend group. Her room is. probably the messiest. She has a very. chaotic way of thinking, which can. sometimes be overwhelming, but other. times, she just has these creative. moments where crazy things happen and.
just like every good artist, she always looks like she's going. through it. She looks like a tortured. soul in a sense. Daddy's Girl, Talia, Super Shy, Isabella, Sweet Santos, Artist, Claudia. and then Daniel. This is one of the key. people in today's episode, but also the. author who wrote the memoir that was an. invaluable source for today's episode, so keep that in mind. He's also in. Slonim Woods and so is his girlfriend, Raven. Raven is kind of the unofficial. ninth resident. She does not have her. own room, but she's always in Daniel's.
room, so practically, she's living there. at one point. That makes five roommates. There's still three more. Gabe, Max and. Juliana. They are not the focal point of. today's episode because they'll. eventually break away from this group. all because of one question. This is. what triggers all of this. This is what. starts it all. Guys, do you guys mind if my dad stays with us. for a few nights? He's getting out of. prison finally and he needs a place to. crash before he finds his own. The seven roommates and unofficial. roommate, Raven, they're all kind of.
staring at Talia. Yeah, sure. I mean, it's just a few days. until he can find his own place. What. could possibly go wrong? Is the dorm like a house or. A town home. Townhouse, yeah. there's eight different rooms in this. house? kind of crazy. It's on campus, the edge. of campus. I've been trying to work on my personal. style, but I'm not really the most. fashionable person in the room. One of. my biggest problems is that I can find a.
few cute pieces here and there that look. really good or a pair of pants that I. like or a top, but I'm so bad at putting. outfits together. I have an idea of oh, I can pair this with this and in my head. it's going to look so chic, so put. together, like I know what I'm doing, but then I try it on and I don't even. want to leave the house. It's kind of. embarrassing and it doesn't work. So, that's why I decided to work with a. stylist from Stitch Fix. Stitch Fix is. an online personal styling service that. matches you with a professional stylist. and I have to say working with a stylist.
is so much fun. It's like having a best. friend who's always ready to go shopping. with you. Here's how it works. Whenever. I want to update my wardrobe or I have a. big event coming up or even when I just. want to try a new style and I don't know. if it's going to work, I reach out to my. Stitch Fix stylist. I send her a brief. description of what I want. I give her. my size, my budget and then she sends me. five clothing pieces that were. handpicked just for me and she'll give. me professional styling tips on how to. wear the clothes. I try them on. I keep. what I like and I send back the rest. It.
is so easy. I don't even have to leave. the house. It saves so much time and. honestly it just makes you feel more. confident because my stylist will. recommend clothes and colors that I. never thought to try, but when I do they. look amazing and they just fit my body. really well. Some of my staple wardrobe. pieces were sent to me Stitch Fix, like. this top. I mean I know that I love. off-shoulder tops, but the ruffles and. then the way that it's kind of. I'm not smocked, is that how you call. it, describe it? I didn't know if it was. going to work for me, but I love it and. it's so comfortable and it makes me feel.
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Now, the greatest day of Talia's life. arrives. This is the one that she's been. waiting for for the past 2 years of. college. I mean it's a pretty uneventful. day for everybody else at Slonim Woods. The door to Slonim Woods 9, the town. hall, slams open. Talia screams, jumps. up, starts booking it towards the door. and then she's jumping almost in mid-air. into her dad's arms. 50-year-old Larry. Ray is not what everyone was expecting. I don't know, you hear Marines, parachuting, doing missions. He sounds. like James Bond, so you're expecting.
James Bond, but he looks. he looks like a dad. He's on the shorter. side. I mean I guess more so average. height. His head is very cleanly shaven. like a like a boiled egg. It was. practically sparkling in the sun like. somebody greased it. His neck was almost. as thick as his head. His little chest. hairs are sticking out of his polo. shirt. The way that he wears his shirt, it's tight in all the places that make. his quote pudgy frame look intimidating. and even though he's short, he's the. type of man that makes you feel like. you're looking up at him when you talk.
to him even though you're looking down. He has this really strange presence. He. honestly looks like he could have been. part of the mob, especially now. He's. standing there holding his daughter in. his arms and there's two people standing. behind him. One is an Asian man wearing. a pinstripe suit with a ponytail that. comes down to his back. and the other is a young quote tan. sharp-edged man that Larry introduces as. a Marine. Now, each one of these three. men, they shake hands with every single.
roommate. It felt very adult and. massively out of place at Sarah. Lawrence. Hello, nice to meet you. We've. heard such great things about you, Mr. Ray. How old are the two men, the Asian. man and the other man? The other man, the Marine, is about the same age as the. college students, 20. The Asian man is. like in his 50s as well. Yeah. Very strange. Everybody's upbeat. and polite except Isabella who's just. standing off to the side. There is never. any emotion on her face, which is. nothing new for her. She usually has the.
type of expression that doesn't. particularly welcome people to start a. conversation with her. But Larry doesn't care. He immediately. swings his arm around Isabella almost. startling her. Thank you for being a. friend to Talia when she needed you. He looks at the rest of the group and. smiles. Now, let's make you some real. food. That night they would eat steak for. dinner, freshly grilled filet mignon. courtesy of Larry Ray. The first few weeks of Larry Ray in the. house, Talia's dad, was honestly nice. I.
mean despite the fact that everyone was. under the impression that he was just. going to stay there until he found his. own place, which I don't know, would. probably take like a week or two max. If. you ignore all of that, it was kind of. nice having him in the house. There was. always food. Nobody was hungry. He would. put on one of Talia's pink frilly aprons. to do the dishes. The whole place was. always super clean when Larry was. around. I mean this is super nice. change. This is a group of kids that. wanted to buy these This is a real idea. they had before Larry Ray came. They. wanted to buy bags of sand, pour them. into the kitchen floor and turn it into.
a beach. What? Yes, so. heard that before. a lot cleaner. It was pleasant. Kind of. felt like home. Not in the cheesy way, not like ah, daddy's home, it feels like. home, but you would walk into the. building and there would be smell of. fresh cooked vegetables baked in the. oven, asparagus and steak. There'd be. music playing and unlike most dorm. setups where you go in and you're like. ah, someone's eating steak, that smells. so good. You'd walk into the kitchen and.
Larry, this former Marine, has this cute. little pink apron on. Come, sit. Did you. eat? Eat with us, come on. It's like a little family and then you. sit down and you just get dinner. You. get dinner and a story actually. While. they ate, he would tell them stories. about his work as an international CIA. operative and how he recovered stinger. missiles off the black market and. engineered the ceasefire in the Kosovo. War. I mean it's. so nice. It does take a little bit of a getting. used to that Talia calls her dad honey.
boy and he calls her honey girl, but. it's kind of cute after a while, right? Now, Daniel comes home late one night. and the minute he steps into the town. home, he spots the white Styrofoam. containers that are stacked up in the. kitchen. Ever since Larry got here, they. always have an endless supply of lasagna. and Italian takeout and as he's walking. in, Santos and a few of the other. roommates are standing around looking. very concerned. Their arms are crossed, they're almost whispering, but when they. see Daniel they kind of hush. Like they can't talk about whatever it.
is in front of him. Santos turns to Daniel. It's about. Isabella. Sorry, we can't really talk. about it, but she's having a really hard. time and Larry is helping her. Daniel glances at his watch. It's almost. midnight and he saw Larry go into. Isabella's room before he left, which is. at the beginning of the day. He's been. in there what? Like 16 hours? Larry would stay there the rest of the. night. The next day some of the. roommates would walk by Talia's room. The door would be wide open. They would. peek their heads in and inside Larry and.
Isabella are sitting on Talia's bed. and Larry would just softly stroke. Isabella's hair and he's whispering in. her ear almost in like a hypnotic. pacing over and over. Shh. Nobody's. going to hurt my baby girl. Nobody's. going to hurt my baby girl. This is his daughter's best friend. What? Larry naturally becomes the. closest to Isabella because this is. Talia's best friend and Santos, Talia's. boyfriend. Isabella loves being around.
Larry. I'm just going to say it like. that. Isabella had never seen anyone buy. that many groceries before ever in her. entire life. She grew up on food stamps. where you have to watch every single. item that you get. She had to stand. there in aisles staring at snacks that. she can't buy while her mom is crunching. the numbers to see if they're going to. go over the food stamps limit. I mean. one of the first things Larry did when. he got to Slonim Woods was take the. whole group grocery shopping to stock up. their pantry. Isabella had walked over. to a bag of chips and she was just.
checking the price. You like those? Oh, yeah, but we'll throw it in the. cart. Isabella thought it was kind of crazy. It caught her off guard. With Larry she. could just buy whatever chips she wanted. to. And that felt nice. How does Larry have. the money for that if he just came out? He might be worth like millions of. dollars. I. Listen, there's so many court documents. that we FOIA'd for this one. Wow, there's like this whole thing. He owned. a lot of domain names. This is when.
domain names were selling for a lot of. money. He had 8,900 domain names and. according to some of the court. documents, if he were to sell them, they. could amount to millions of dollars. I. don't know if he was actively selling. them though. So, he bought a lot of domain to flip. them later. Yes. Wow. But he also is just kind of a. scam artist. Look at that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, for Santos, he just felt very. lucky to be there. Honestly, he just. felt lucky that Talia was dating him. She's so pretty and so socially. competent and confident in herself. They.
met in Roman literature class and one. day after class Santos had walked up to. Talia. and very nonchalant, super confident, he. just said, "We should grab lunch. sometime.". It was so bold. I don't know what. possessed Santos because he had never. done anything like that in his whole. life, but Talia said yes. This would be. Santos's first ever relationship and the. other roommates knew that. it wasn't going to end well. They said, "Talia and Santos's relationship centers.
around one very crucial exchange. Santos. is a great listener and Talia is someone. who needs to be listened to.". But now that Larry's here, Santos. finally has someone to listen to him. Larry would sit down with Santos and for. the first time ever, he just felt so. understood, which is kind of crazy. Larry would just calmly in this. fatherly, very preacher-like voice, "Your mother and father did not pay. attention to you since as long as you. can remember, yes? The drive was to get love and attention. from them and the effect that has on.
you. You've become uncertain.". "How?". "How did you know?". "Santos, I know you. I see you.". Once Larry started having these deep. conversations with Isabella and Santos, all the other roommates start noticing. the two of them change. I mean, it was. pretty drastic. Isabella was a. completely new person at this point. She. went from using her hair as blackout. curtains. Like, she would just mope. around campus. Kind of off-putting, honestly. But, they said the best word. to describe Isabella after Larry is very.
vibrant. She was just engaged in everything. She. seemed fully there now. I mean, you'd be. in a conversation with her and you'd be, "Who is this girl? This is not the girl. that we used to know. This is wild.". There was almost this twinge of jealousy. from some of the other roommates. "If. that's what Larry can do for Isabella, what can he do for me?". That's so fascinating that sometimes all. it take is someone to talk to you, encourage you, and then be a whole new. person. Yeah. Isabella's mom almost drops her. phone when she hears Larry on the other.
end. "What did this man just say to her? Look, Cindy, I don't know if you knew. this, but your daughter was molested. when she was younger." Isabella's mom is. so confused. What the hell is this man. talking about? It's almost winter break. This is one of the few times Isabella. will fly in from New York to Texas to be. with her family and now this man, Isabella's best friend's dad, is on the. phone telling her that her daughter is. not going to be coming home for. Christmas because she was essayed by a. family member as a child?". Cindy is pacing the room now. "What are.
you talking I don't know what you're. talking about." "Yeah, and she Look, it's been She's brought it up recently. to me that if she has to go back home. for winter break, she's going to. self-exit.". Cindy goes quiet on the other end. She. feels like she's been thrown for a loop. She has zero idea what Larry is even. talking about right now. Like, what's. going on? This is the first time that. she's ever hearing that her daughter, Isabella, was I mean, she was sad as a. kid. Wait, but she thought it was the. divorce and it was rough on her, but. I mean, she never mentioned being. assaulted and Cindy thought that she was.
close enough with Isabella that she. would want to trust her with that kind. of information. "Cindy, you were a terrible mother back. then. You were negligent. You didn't. protect your daughter. That was then. That's not today. Today, you probably. wouldn't let that happen. But, I'm. letting you know, if she comes home for. winter break, she might self-exit.". She doesn't want that. So, of course, Isabella doesn't need to come home if. that's the situation. She would never. force her daughter to come home if. something like that's going to happen. She just wants to talk to Isabella, figure out who I mean, when, how How How.
can she help Isabella now? But, Larry. refuses. She tries to reason with him. "If. Isabella doesn't want to talk to me, I. mean, how are we going to get this stuff. straightened out if she doesn't just. talk to me?". "You see, the thing is, you got to. understand this properly. Nobody is. going to convince her to talk to you. I. couldn't even do that, Cindy. I swear, the only thing I care about right now is. helping Isabella.". Larry promises Cindy, parent to parent, he's going to take real good care of. Isabella. He's going to help her. Cindy would not hear from her own.
daughter for the next 10 years. And by. then, Isabella would be in prison. Larry would stand in the living room of. Slonim Woods, his chest all puffed up. like a peacock. "You have power over. your mind, not outside events. Realize. this and you will find strength.". "Who wrote that?" They all respond, "Marcus Aurelius.". "Exactly." Larry had two favorite people. in the whole world, Marcus Aurelius, the. Roman emperor that was one of the most.
influential stoic philosophers of all. time, and Larry. Those were Larry's two. favorite people in the world. The way Larry starts brainwashing the. kids is insidiously slow. Nobody even. sees it coming. After dinner, the. roommates would grab these giant pillows. off the couch, throw them on the floor, pile them up, just like this massive. cushiony pile, and with their little. snacks, Larry would start playing Cosmos. on the TV. "Exploration is in our nature. We begin. as wanderers and we are wanderers still. We have lingered long enough on the.
horses of the cosmic ocean. We are ready. at last to set sail for the stars. We. are away for the cosmos to know itself.". Whoa. Their eyes would be glued to the TV and. then suddenly, it would go black. Larry. would have turned it off, which means. it's time for one of his another. lectures. He's like the little. townhomes' own professor. "Society's. moving. You're in it. There's lots of options which way you're. going in this moving entity called. society, right? Look, you have to be a.
person that you're capable of being. Your true self. That person, your. potential is being held back or. restrained or clouded right now. You. need to just have the courage. Have the. courage to ask yourself, who am I? It sounds silly at first, but try it.". He's a talker, huh? Oh, they say the way that Larry exhausts. you to death by talking. He yaps for. hours until you don't even know why you. got into this fight or what he's trying. to convince you of. You're just agreeing.
to everything. Mhm. "You never know. You might learn. something interesting.". "What does that even mean?" "That means. every single person is capable of being. and reaching their max potential as long. as they get clarity to do so. But, none. of the kids at Slonim Woods 9 have that. right now because their minds have been. so cluttered and messed up and filled. with all this gunk that's been. conditioned to them by their friends, society, and their own family members.". Larry could just tell that this group of. students needed a lot of help. He would.
call house meetings with the roommates. I mean, of course, the ones that liked. him showed up. The other three, Max, Gabe, and Juliana, they thought it was. so weird. Like, a little lecture every. night in the living room? Why would you. come back from class just to go to. another class with an unqualified. professional? It feels like group. therapy sessions, but without the. therapist. Just like Talia's dad. It was. weird. Larry would sit them down and one. by one, each student in the group would. take turns talking about how much they. want to self-exit. When it gets around to Daniel, it's his.
turn to talk and he just sits there. looking around. "Oh, um. I don't really have. He never really considered himself to be. that sad. I mean, he gets sad, but he. never ever thought about But, Larry. would interrupt him. "You are too, aren't you, Danny? Just. like all of us?". "Or all of them?". Uh-huh. "Not really. I mean, I'm sorry. I guess. I haven't ever tried or anything like. that.". Larry's smile slowly turns downward. "Danny, I already know.
You can just admit it.". Daniel looks down at his hands. He's. genuinely trying to think really long. and hard. I mean, he doesn't recall. every I mean, did he ever have those. feelings? Larry's looking at him. "I know you do.". I mean, clearly, Larry must have seen. something in him, right? That maybe. Daniel hasn't even realized. There was. that one time that he was having this. intrusive thought at the subway station. where he was like, "What if I just jump. in front of the on the But, that's not. really But, maybe it is. Maybe that's.
not normal. Maybe that's what it means. to want to self-exit. Oh my god. Do I want to. Come on, Daniel. What do you want to. say?". "Sometimes I don't want to exist. anymore.". Once he said those words, everyone. around him starts nodding and they start. relaxing. It feels like he's one of them. now. And from that moment forward, Daniel starts believing, through this. conversation, that something is wrong with him and. maybe he wants to self-exit. Larry would tell them, "Do you see? Now,
we're all interconnected. You became. interconnected the moment Talia brought. you all together at Slonim Woods. I have. to protect my daughter and that means. protecting all of you. So, you can trust. me. As a father, as a man, I will keep. you safe.". Larry Ray was going to fix them all. One of the roommates, Raven, that wasn't. really close with Talia or Larry, but. this is Daniel's girlfriend. She said, "It was so weird. And also, everybody's. like a little bit stoned all the time. So, it was a moment of Every time we. would see it, we'd go, 'Am I weird or is.
this weird?'" We weren't really sure. Smoking weed all the time. So, Raven and. her friends are like, "I mean, this is. weird, right? But, like, maybe we're. weird." Mhm. "I don't know what's weird anymore. It's. just weird.". Larry always made sure everyone knew. that them rooming together was not just. pure chance or even just being good. friends. It's because deep, deep down, every single one of them had a deep. obsession. with death. It was fate that brought. them together with Talia. And fate that. Larry was Talia's dad. It was written in.
the stars. Larry was going to save them. Had it been anyone else's dad, it would. not have worked. Larry had techniques to. discipline the mind. He worked with the. government. He knew the most powerful. tools to help people. These kids were. going to be his new project, pro bono. Eventually, he starts running the Ray. family, he calls it, like a boot camp. Marines approach. Everyone needs to be. the best versions of themselves. So, every morning, they would wake up to. this playlist that he puts together. Every morning, they had to listen to it. Everybody up at 7:00 a.m. On the ground,
now. The first day, it's 100 push-ups. The second day, it's 200. Then, a week. later, 300. And by the end, they're. doing 400 push-ups every single morning. You're kidding me. All of them? Most of. them. They are able to do that? Yeah, which sounds crazy, but it also. proved what Larry is saying, that. they're putting limitations on. themselves before they even try. Nobody. believed that they could do 400 push-ups. at the beginning of this, but Larry's. right. So, for the benefit of the group, to. help them, Larry would say, "You need to. give up full control because you don't.
even know what's good for you at this. point." Larry slowly convinces them he. needs to decide everything for them for. the time being. What they eat, what they. do, what they talk about, when they go. to bed. And again, it's framed like a. little mini boot camp. Do this now, bite. the bullet now, suffer now, and you're. going to come out way stronger on the. other side. This isn't forever. Truly, everything he did on that campus. was marine style, and some of it was. truly goofy, if I can say so myself. They would have to clean the apartment, and he would make these spreadsheets,
similar to a marine's operation. document, and it would read, "Mission. commander, Larry. Team members, Isabella. and Dan. We have at our disposal three. rolling black bins, one empty pink bin, one mostly empty black bin containing. Larry's sweaters." I mean, even cleaning. had to be done the marine's way. But there was still one part of their. training that Larry hadn't started, and. this would be the most important stuff. He would ease them into it. He did not. bring this part up until he knew that. they were fully ready to receive. He had. them in the palm of his little sticky.
moist hands. You know, there is something else. Side note, I do want to disclaim that. these are Larry's words, and they do not. represent my thoughts or feelings, clearly, but just in case. Men will feel better when they start. embracing their masculinity. Women will. feel better when they embrace their. femininity. Some of the girls here need. to start wearing makeup more. Got it, Claudia? I'm looking at you. And men, you guys need to start wearing bright. colored polos, pink, red polos, because. bright colors means you're embracing and.
you're secure in your own masculinity. This might be, and I don't know if I should keep going. No, we want to know more, Larry. It's a progressive viewpoint, but. everyone blossoms into an incredibly. sexual person and wants to have sex. And. this is just how humans are, but we live. in a puritanical society. The only way. to be truthful with yourself and reach. that level of clarity is to embrace your. sexual freedom. The more you are open. with your sexuality, the more honest you.
are with yourself. Larry tells them, "The quest for. potential begins with sex reeducation. Welcome to Larry's boot camp.". The instructions were very clear. Wear. the shortest mini skirt, just the girls. Well, minus his daughter. Wear the shortest mini skirt, the. tightest one you can find. And if you. don't have one, go buy one. Do not wear. any underwear, then go to the store, try. on heels, bend over, and flash everyone. in the store your private parts over and.
over and over again. Wait, so it's gotten to that point. already? Like they're Wow, what about. the daughter? What is she doing? Just. hanging out in her room, studying for. Oh, so she's not a part of this? No. But she knows. She has full clarity. Larry would say. that because she was raised under him, she has full clarity. She doesn't need. to go through a boot camp. Mm, but she's seeing this right now. Yeah, pretty much. is she doing about it? Does she think. this is cool? Does. It's hard to know what she's genuinely. thinking, because I think that she's.
been so brainwashed since Larry. Mm. So, she doesn't stop him, if that's what. you're wondering. I see. these are her friends, yes. Mm. Now, that's just step one. There's. levels to Larry's reeducation camp. The. next step is go to the bars, find. someone you think is cute, lure them. into the restroom, and perform oral. while taking a video to show as proof. for Larry. How many people are doing this? Cuz he. does this throughout the 10 years. So, as of right now, it'd be Isabella and. Claudia do this.
But then it's Most of it is actually. focused later on Felicia, which she. hasn't entered the story yet. okay. So, right now it's mainly two of. the roommates. Yes. Okay. Now, next, take a cab ride, but when you get to the destination, pretend like you forgot your wallet, and. ask the taxi driver if there is any. other ways to pay, like with sex. Or go to Home Depot, Lowe's, one of. those hardware stores, find an employee, and beg them to have sexual relations. with you in the stock room. Make sure. you record that all for Larry, as well.
And then the final few steps would be. the top-tier self-growth potential. stage, right? This is where Larry wants. them to be. Either pick someone random. off the street. The more old, the more. disgusting and vile the man is, the. better. Get them to have intimate. relations at Central Park while you. record it. Or, if you're really, really. ready, go to government housing. developments in New York City, find a. group of men to, quote, you, and record. it. This part of the therapy sessions, the intimate relations with strangers, is very important. It's pivotal in the. girls' growth as people. If they fail to.
do it, Larry is not opposed to making. them sleep outside and not letting them. back into their quarters. There was a. time one of the girls came back with a. video that was not great, and Larry just. blows up on her, screaming at her in. front of everyone, "Who does this? Who. goes and makes a video like this? You. don't You can't even see anything. This. is so stupid. You're so incompetent. You're so useless. Are you sure you go. to a good school? I thought you're. college-educated. I thought you're. smart. Clearly not. And why is your skin. so flabby? You look like a chicken. Do. you know that?". Does he genuinely just want to see a.
video like that, or He loves the shame. Mm. Larry would tell the girls that the. man's genitals and the girls' faces had. to be in the same frame, and it had to. be in very, very clear view. The guy's. face did not matter. All that mattered. was the girls' faces had to be very. clear, and the actions had to be done. very clearly, because again, it's the. shame that he's getting off on. Then one day, out of the blue, Daniel. breaks up with Raven. What? Well, when I talked to Larry, when I talked to Larry,
[ __ ] Larry. "Listen, Raven, he told me if I wanted. to break up with you, it wasn't fair to. you or me for us to stay together. No, [ __ ] you. Larry's a [ __ ] creep, and. it's weird that he hangs around college. students. It's [ __ ] weird. Raven, Larry cares about me, and he. wants what's best for me. If you don't. like what he has to say, then logically, you must not care about me." "Oh, go. [ __ ] yourself. At least I don't have to. anymore.". This would be the beginning of the great. divide of roommates. Max, Gabe, Juliana,
and Raven did not understand, first of. all, why Larry is still living on campus. in Isabella's room, not even his. daughter's room, Isabella's room, after. weeks of being out of prison. I mean, this is going against school rules, right? They'd be in big trouble. This. whole thing is bizarre. And why is. everybody else in the house treating him. like some king of the land? Doesn't even. make sense why he would want to spend. all of his time with college kids. And the only other person on their side, kind of, is Claudia. Well, she was in. the beginning, Raven's best friend.
Claudia would joke with Raven about how. strange Larry the bald guy was, but then. one day, Raven comes downstairs to grab. some water, and there's Larry chatting. up Claudia in the living room. Raven goes back upstairs, but when she. comes back down a few hours later, they're still there in the same place. They've been talking for hours. They. haven't moved. But like is one silly conversation going. to do anything? That weekend, Raven and her friends are. sitting around smoking weed, which. it's college, you get it. "Oh, Claudia, come, come.".
Normally, Claudia partakes in these. activities, but this time, she just. stops in the doorway. "Oh, no, thanks. I. can't, because I'm schizophrenic.". They all pause and they stare at her. Like, what did she just say? This is the. first time they're ever hearing of this. "Yeah, Larry told me I was.". Raven's starting to feel agitated. "Okay, that's. That's enough. This is ridiculous. You. really have to stop listening to Larry. He doesn't know [ __ ] that he's talking. about. You're fine.". Claudia looks at her, her best friend, Raven, and tells her, "You telling me. that I'm not schizophrenic is only.
harmful to the process of me getting. better.". They don't even know what to say, but. Claudia starts bringing up all these. instances from her childhood where she. knew there were symptoms of. schizophrenia, onset schizophrenia. I. mean, just stuff that she's never talked. about before. Big childhood trauma, life. events that she's never mentioned until. now. It almost felt fake, like she just. made them up. And that was the moment they just knew. They lost Claudia to Larry. Raven could see her roommates falling. for this old bald guy, and she had no.
idea what the hell was going on. I mean, worse than that, she can't even talk to. them about it, because they would say. that she's being strange. He's just like. a dad. But clearly, clearly it's an. unhealthy attachment. Clearly he's a. manipulative person trying to use them. But the part that would drive her. insane, the part that proved everybody. else's point that Larry was a good. person, was they would scream at her, "What on earth would he want from us?". And to that, Raven had no answer. The best way one of the roommates could. describe it was, everyone at the. beginning thought it was very weird, and.
then one by one, he would get them. alone, have these conversations, and. suddenly they're like, "Oh, he's not so. bad." To actually, "He's pretty great. Actually, he's saving my life. Actually, he's the best thing that's ever happened. to me. Actually, I'll never not listen. to him. Actually, you, and I'll never. listen to you if you talk bad about. him." And all of it would happen so. quickly. After sophomore year, Max, Gabe, Juliana, and Raven would part ways with. the other roommates. They would all move. out of Slanum Woods, and slowly they. would all lose contact with each other, until 10 years later, the group of four.
non-believing roommates would help bring. Larry down. What? After Slanum Woods 9, the group, Larry, his daughter Talia, her best. friend and new girlfriend, Isabella, Talia's now ex-boyfriend Santos, Claudia, and Daniel would move into a. one-bedroom apartment on the Upper East. Side off campus. So, how many people are there? So, it's Larry, Talia, Isabella, Santos, Daniel, Claudia. Six in a one-bedroom. apartment.
Whoa. Their sleeping arrangements in the. apartment were definitely a bit odd. In. the bedroom, on a singular king-size. bed, would sleep Larry, his daughter Talia, and her best friend. and Larry's new girlfriend, Isabella. So, three of them. Yeah, and then. bed. Everybody else, the entire living. room floor was packed with either sofas, blow-up mattresses, or these foldable. mattresses just laid out on the ground. like a giant bed. Everyone else was free. to sleep there. Wait, so Isabella is. like, everybody knows that they're. dating or sleeping together? Or what?
clear that they're sleeping together. Okay. Yes. Sometimes the others were. asked to leave and go find a place to. stay for the night for whatever reason. Most of their families did live in New. York aside from Isabella, so they would. sometimes go stay with their parents, but most of the time they would just. sleep in the living room. And they would. have all of their stuff is stuffed into. these tiny closets of this apartment. The whole place was clutter. But most nights Larry would kick. everyone out of the bedroom, even. Isabella and Talia, so he could call his.
girlfriend in LA. He's got a girlfriend in LA. Felicia, Columbia med school graduate. doing her residency in psychiatry, I. believe at USC or a USC affiliated. I'm. not sure. Don't quote me on that. Larry. would get all giddy on the phone to see. what Felicia had done the night before, if she had any videos to show him. Wait. So, there's another college-ish. girl, college-age-ish girl? Yes. In. California? Yes. How did he know her if he just came. out of prison? We're going to get into.
that. Okay. They're all connected. By this point, Larry has fully brainwashed the students. into believing that they're all messed. up mentally and they want to self-exit. and the only person that can save them. from themselves is Larry and he's doing. this because these kids are his precious. daughter's friends. Outside of class. he's controlling every aspect of their. lives, what they eat, when they sleep, what they do all day, who they talk to. He started really abusing the girls. minus his daughter, forcing them to. record themselves having intimate. relations with strangers, but eventually. he gets involved.
The threesomes, there's going to be a. lot of threesomes. The threesomes. actually start as twosoms. with Daniel and Isabella. One night in the cramped one-bedroom. apartment, Daniel is falling asleep on. the sticky leather couch in the living. room. Everyone else had left for the. night, so just inside the room was. Larry, Talia, and Isabella, and Daniel's. alone in the living room, which is kind. of strange, but Talia's whole. relationship with her dad is kind of. strange. A few weeks ago Daniel was. giving Talia a massage when Larry had.
walked in and of course Daniel freezes. because this is awkward. He's got his. hands on Larry's daughter, on Larry's. honey girl's shoulders, and he knows how. much they cherish each other, so like, is he about to get beat up right now? But Larry just smiles. I got to show you. how to do that properly sometime. Other times Larry would rant to Daniel. I would give Talia everything she. wanted. That's what a father does, take. care of his baby. Teresa, my ex-wife, she didn't understand. So many people. make the mistake of treating kids as. kids, as if they're fundamentally. different beings, but they have it all.
already. Inside of them, it's all right. there. They're the ones we should be. learning from. There's no difference. between an adult and a child. Larry. would go on tangents about how he would. Yeah. About how he would It's so. alarming. He would take Talia to. Bergdorf's, a high-end department store, when she was what, 10, 12? Buy her a. $3,000 cashmere sweater from Loro Piana, and she's going to outgrow this sweater, for a singular sweater, $3,000. Naturally, Talia's mom would freak out. because what do you She's going to get.
it dirty or it's going to get ruined in. the wash or like something. What are you. doing? But Larry would ask, what's the moral of. the story here? Larry would tell Daniel, let me ask you this. Why wouldn't I want. my honey girl to have something. beautiful like that? She was expressing. herself, her preferences, her adulthood, her personhood, and her mom couldn't. understand that at all. She was how old? Like 10. That wears a $3,000 sweater because. she's expressing her adulthood? There.
are a lot of speculations online that I. won't be repeating, but you can kind of. draw your own conclusions. Wow. It's. definitely strange, but anyway, Daniel. is trying to fall asleep on the leather. couch when a little after 3:00 a.m., the. door to the bedroom creaks open and out. walks Isabella. She's not really. dressed. She's wearing this thin cotton. shirt that barely covers anything. She. starts creeping towards Daniel on the. couch. Oh. What is going on?
That night she would engage in oral. activities with Daniel. "Is a very mixed. feeling," Daniel said. "On one hand, he's a guy and like Larry said, Isabella. is stunning. She seems enthusiastic to. be doing this. They're both of age, so. technically there's nothing wrong with. this situation, but a part of him keeps. looking over at the bedroom door where. Larry and Talia are and the room door is. open. So, it feels strange. It almost. feels like Isabella was ordered to come. out here and do this.". And from that night forward, it just. kept happening until Larry starts.
joining in. The first time Isabella and Daniel are. alone in the bedroom having intimate. relations, of course, right at that. moment when they're both unclothed, the. door slams open and in walks Larry. He. doesn't even appear shocked in the. slightest at what's going on. He won't. even acknowledge that they're naked, okay? He's just patting Daniel on the. back. That's my boy, Danny. Larry sits on the edge of the bed and. starts going on one of these long-winded. rants. He would always have these. lectures. What is the best way to have. intimate adult relations? With Gregorian chants playing in the.
background. 13th century Gregorian. chants. If you've never heard of it, there's no. instrumentals. It reminds me of Catholic. choir music. It's using the echoes of. voices. There's like a group of people. singing. Mhm. I would imagine it's in. a language like Latin, right? Cuz 13th. century I don't know, right? But it it. it's a lot. It's echoing off the. cathedral walls. It's beautiful, but. it's very haunting at the same time. But. this time, Larry's rant is about. Isabella. Izzy loves watching explicit.
adult videos. She's obsessed with it. I. bet you didn't know that, Danny. I bet. you thought no woman likes explicit. videos, but most women are freakier than. you and I. Izzy used to hate her body. and she hated intimate relations. You. wouldn't believe how many women hate. their private parts. It's a travesty, really, a sad thing. And when I met. Izzy, she had one of the worst I'd ever. seen. I mean, it was awful down there. She couldn't even wash it properly. When she would bathe, which wasn't. often, she would just skip down there. Imagine that. Imagine the smell. I have.
an incredibly sensitive sense of smell, Danny. The DIA called it superhuman. My. nose, superhuman. Wait, so they're naked. right now and he's talking? Mhm. Okay. You know the dogs? They got 40 times. more sensitive noses than you and I. Think about that, boy. The dogs would. come running when Iz walked outside. Isn't that right, Izzy? What is going on? Isabella is listening. to Larry like he's teaching her the ways. to life or something, which is making. Daniel even more uncomfortable. This is. so degrading and mean, honestly, but.
Larry doesn't stop. He keeps going. In. fact, he has Isabella turn on explicit. videos so that the three of them can. watch them together. And before Daniel. knew it, he's laying on the bed watching. videos of two men and one girl. Nothing physical happened that day, but. moving forward, it just became this. reoccurring incident. The three of them. in the bedroom and Daniel in these. uncomfortable situations. And he was. still uncomfortable when one day Larry. walks over to his computer, presses. play. 13th century Gregorian music. So, three.
of them? Yeah. The group therapy sessions would. continue in the new apartment and they. actually got a lot more serious. Larry. becomes fixated on each person's. childhood trauma, how much trauma they. must have endured for them to end up so. messed up the way they are now. Their. brains are scrambled. Even if they. insist nothing really happened in my. childhood, truly, like nothing. traumatizing. Larry would say, I know. deep down all those vivid assaults. you were essayed and I know that you're.
just repressing it. He would tell them what happened to. them, rapid-fire. Your parents sold your. bodies while you were a child. You were. abused by your family members. You. blocked it all out because that's what. the brain's natural response to heavy. trauma is. But that's why you have these. intense emotions of wanting to self-exit. because you're different from other kids. your age because you were assaulted, that's why. What can the kids even say? I mean, it. kind of made sense and this guy used to. work for the DIA and the CIA. He's seen. all sorts of people. He knows way more. about the human mind and the psyche than.
these sheltered college kids can even. understand. It would even get to the point where. there's a video of this. One of the. victims is having a panic attack and. she's on her knees crying on his lap. while he's just sitting there in a. purple robe. His chest hair is. practically out and she's screaming, "Larry, please, please save me from. myself. Larry, please, please help me, save me from myself. Don't let me do. this to myself. Please, please make me. stop.".
Daniel even wrote a poem later to pour. out all these very complicated feelings. and it starts off, "We assume most. people weren't molested as children, but. what if they were? And it was such a scarring experience. that no one remembers. After all, aren't. the most disturbing things the ones most. likely to be blocked out by the psyche?".
Daniel said at the time it made complete. sense. Larry said all of these things. were just repressed and hidden in the. bottom of their deep, dark wells of. their memories. Interestingly enough, though, these. mental health sessions, the. interrogations rather, once they served. their purpose of making the students. believe that they were abused by their. family members, which would ultimately. isolate them from their family members, and they would mentally be broken beyond. repair. They quickly went from let's.
talk about our feelings, how can we help. this person's mental health to what did. this person do to sabotage the group, huh? I used to think that the sun was giving. me headaches because every summer I. would go out there and I would have this. brain fog and fatigue, and for a while I. would even avoid going outside thinking. I just am not meant for this hot. weather. But then I read somewhere that. feeling sluggish and foggy were actually. symptoms of being dehydrated, which. didn't make sense to me at all because I.
drink a lot of water, but then I learned. that just plain water does not actually. hydrate you that much. You need to drink. water with electrolytes so that the. water can actually be absorbed. That's. why you'll always see me with my Liquid. I.V. One stick of Liquid I.V. has three. times the electrolytes of the leading. sports drink plus eight vitamins and. nutrients. So, it's going to hydrate you. much better and faster than water alone. I never feel sluggish after going. outside anymore because I always carry a. few sticks of Liquid I.V. in my purse. wherever I go. It just really helps with.
my mental clarity, especially during hot. summer months and honestly, drinking. Liquid I.V. is very satisfying. They. make the most delicious flavors. My. favorite is the white peach and I love. it so much that I've actually run out of. it. I think earlier to No, last night I. ran out of it. This one is the. lemon-lime, which is slowly becoming my. favorite because of just how crisp it. is, especially when you get cold water. and you put this in there. Nothing beats. this flavor during a hot summer months. I don't know how else to explain it.
It's sweet, it's refreshing, but it's. not that nasty sweetness that slows you. down. And pro tip, I like to mix it in. with my water and then stick it in the. fridge for a few minutes. Even though my. water is already cold, I like to stick. it in the fridge and something about the. glass being chilled is optimal. It is. the perfect summer taste. There's no. sugar, no artificial sweeteners, but. they still taste so good because Liquid. I.V. formulates them with a proprietary. allulose blend. Somehow it tastes like. it's made with real sugar, but it's like. having a dessert. I mean, there's a.
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Larry starts claiming that not only do. all of them harbor deep-rooted trauma. that they've blocked out, but now now. they're acting out. Okay, they're. sabotaging because they want to harm the. progress of all the other members. Do you believe that objects can be. cursed? There's this pan set in Larry's. apartment that just keeps over and over. again getting ruined. Little hairline. scratches, markings, burn marks at the. bottom.
Someone in the apartment is doing this. The first time it scratched, it's a. mistake. The second time, it's on. purpose. The third time, someone is out. to get Larry. Someone is here to. sabotage Larry and the rest of the. group. Who the hell is it, huh? Larry would call a house meeting, force. all the students to sit down. The top of. his bald head is practically red. Every single thing I do is deliberate. Do you guys get that? There's no action. that I take that I don't embrace as my. own, that I would not put my signature. on. Accountability, do you know what. that means? Do you? If you do something. wrong, you have to be honest and be held.
accountable so that you can be a real. person in the real world and live a. decent life. So, who scratched my pan? He would tell the group, "Remember, you. are the one that has hurt me. You are. the hurter and I am the victim of your. hurt. Mistakes need to be addressed and. they will get addressed. Did you do. this, Santos? Santos, I have a question. for you. Did you damage my property? You are my friend. Larry, I didn't. Now, Santos, you did. I didn't. I. I don't even remember using No.
You remember. Think about it. Why don't you stop lying? Why would you do this to me? Do I. deserve this? What kind of person does. this kind of stuff? Santos would sit there with all the. eyeballs on him and he's so lost. I. mean, he used the pan a long time ago. He kind. of remembers using it, but. the scratch on there, maybe it it was. formed when he was putting it away and. accidental I I. What? Or maybe he repressed the memory. like he did with all of his trauma. Maybe you're right. No.
Yeah, no, you're right. I did do that. And I'm sorry. And like you said, it's. not the objects that are important, it's. what they mean to the person who owns. them. Exactly. Do you feel that I'm holding you. accountable? Yeah. And how does that feel? Feels good. It feels good. Thank you, Larry. Everyone in the room would smile and. Larry would pat him on his back. "You. did great. You're being honest, straightforward, and you're being. forthcoming. This is a break through.".
So, for the first few times Larry was. holding them accountable and they felt. like adults, but by the third time Larry. would scream at them, force them to. write detailed written confessions. One. from Claudia reads, "Larry has stuck by. me through years of me confronting my. own demons. We were all angry, frustrated, looking for our parents'. attention for one reason or another. We. all took it out on Larry and Talia. The. apartment is such an unbearable mess. that it's impossible to move without. tripping over something, but we broke. things on purpose, hid things on. purpose, threw important papers out, hid.
food so that it would get moldy. We did. anything we could to delay and sabotage. Larry's efforts. Some examples include. breaking Larry's $8,000 stove, throwing. his power tools on the floor, ruining. Talia's Loro Piana sweaters.". Yeah. We scraped the bottom of a $500. pot with a wire steel brush so that it. would get ruined. To which everyone remembers Larry's. screaming about this pot that they. allegedly kept ruining. He would scream, "You owe me that for that. That's an. All-Clad from Williams Sonoma. Get on. your laptop and look at it how much that. costs right now. Try ply stainless.
steel. Make sure you find it." What. exactly is going on with this these. pots? Is it getting scratches for no. reason? I guess it could be from Larry. Oh. But they're like hairline scratches. They could have been there all along. Mm, okay. It says the pot is $200. Not. for the pot, the whole set. $1,200? That's not right. It was $1,800 when I. bought them. I don't forget things. Do I. ever forget things? And now, that would be at least $1,800. that you owed Larry.
And you never want to be in debt with. Larry. Santos' mom is technically the one that. all her friends are jealous about. She. and her husband immigrated from the. Dominican Republic. They have three kids. and all three kids, I mean, incredible. schooling. Eldest, Harvard undergrad, Columbia med school. Middle child, Columbia. Youngest, Santos, Sarah Lawrence. Their family is. the success story everyone in their. hometown in the Dominican Republic talks.
about. And one day Santos rushes into. his mom's work. He ignores everybody. that's waving at him. He just rushes up. to his mom. He's purely panicked. "Mommy, I need money. I need to pay. Larry for something I broke at his. stuff. I need money now, please.". Santos' mom is staring at his eyes. I. mean, she had never seen him like this. He just looks so utterly desperate. "I I. don't have any money until I get paid, Santos." "I need money. I need money. right now.". "Let me see what I can do.". She asked her boss for an early lunch. and she grabs Santos' her purse and they. walk a few blocks in silence to a local. pawn shop. She reaches up to her ear,
puts her earring on the glass table, her other one, and then her necklace. Her most sentimental earthly possessions. would be pawned for just $750. She didn't know it yet, but. her son had taken out loans, opened up. credit cards, racked up debt to pay back. Larry for property damage. They would. just. was total? Do you know? $48,000. starting. For what? Larry would have Santos write down a.
list of everything that he had damaged. and it was practically anything that he. came in contact with in the entire. apartment. And he would believe it or he would do. it because Larry would keep these kids. awake for 48 hours at a time. Cuz. remember, he controlled when they sleep. and what they eat. Most of the time he. was starving them, keeping them sleep. deprived, exhausting them with these. very long-winded, emotionally draining. lectures and therapy sessions where they. have to dig into their psyche and come. up with these memories that were. repressed as them being assaulted as.
children. They had no mental guards up, no. barriers up at this point. So, at that point, he's like, "You owe. me $48,000." And Santos is like, "Okay, I will drop out of college and get a. job." He drops out of college to get a. job. So, is he doing this for the money? For. the $48,000? Or a lot of it just for. control and manipulation? A little bit. For Santos, Santos is really the only. one that's paying him. Okay, so everyone else is not paying him. money. Not much. Mm. It's more so the.
humiliation and the control. So, with. Santos, too, this is mostly for the. control and humiliation. Yeah. Larry would get so riled up that Oh, one. time he would grab one of his sharpest. knives. He would start jabbing it in the. air towards Daniel, who is bawling his. eyes out on the kitchen floor, and he's. flinging this knife around screaming at. Isabella, "Go line the tub with plastic. now. I'm going to cut him up." Daniel. felt in that moment Larry was not lying. He was going to kill and dismember.
Daniel. He falls to his knees on the ground and. he's just so broken. He's sobbing. He He. doesn't even know what to say. That is when Larry puts the knife down, picks him up, and wipes his tears off. "If you trust me, Danny boy, and stop. ruining my stuff and pay me back for. what you've already ruined, you're going. to be okay. You're going to be better. than okay, but you need to trust me. You. need to let go of fear before you can. achieve clarity.". The punishments were escalating as well. Santos would just wake up in random.
positions. His body would be pretzelled. on the ground. His head would be. ringing. His vision would be blurry and. Larry would just be standing over him. He had put him in a chokehold until he. passed out. What? The first thing Santos would hear from. Larry when he came to would be, "Did. darkness envelop you?" He would just sit. there and taunt Santos for being a quote. trash hemorrhoid scum. And if that. wasn't humiliating enough, Larry would. force Santos to crawl around the. apartment on all fours like a dog. If.
you brought home food, take out for the. family, and it had gone cold because he. sent you to a restaurant that's like 50. minutes away, Larry would accuse you of. trying to sabotage everything that he's. done and add that to your debt. A. thousand dollars for emotional distress. He would grab you by the face and slam. you onto this ground. By this point, everybody was too scared to leave, but. also they felt grateful that every. horrible, traumatic thing that they did. and went through as kids, why would. anyone want to be around them? Why would. anybody want to help? They were just. thankful that Larry saw potential in.
them. So, is this like years later now? This is like junior and senior year. Oh, so they're still going to school. while doing this. Okay. Now, one of the. worst nights in the apartment was Daniel. had been accused of distracting Talia on. purpose so that she would be late for. her law school application. So, this. would be senior year. For that, Daniel. would have to pay. Larry is holding up. this contraption that he put together. It looked like a plastic snake. I. imagine the way to make this invention. of his is to get cling wrap, plastic.
foil, the ones that you use to wrap. dishes that need to be saved, right? Lay. it down on the kitchen counter, grab. aluminum foil, rip out a large piece, start sectioning them off into smaller. pieces, and roll them into very tight. aluminum balls, and then he would put. them equal distance apart on the plastic. wrap in a single file line. Then he. would roll the plastic wrap up like a. piece of sushi. I mean, technically, cling wrap alone, aluminum foil alone, doesn't seem too bad. But now Larry's. smiling, looking at everyone, holding up.
this a long, thin, makeshift rope. This. is a garrote. I often had to improvise. torture devices in the course of my. intelligence career, and this is a very. effective one. So, you know how serious. this is, Danny. You're going to tell me. exactly why you were driven to sabotage. Talia's law school applications. He then. forces Daniel to wrap the plastic and. aluminum foil around his privates. Give. me the ends. Until Daniel gave Larry the answer he. wanted, Larry would pull tighter and. tighter, and it's like a guessing game. What does Larry want this time? Does he.
want an apology? Does he want to see you. break down? Does he want some strange. backstory? Does he want confirmation? One time Larry wouldn't stop until. Santos admitted that he wanted to kill. Talia and disfigure her entire face for. breaking up with him. Eventually, Larry would grab a knife. from the kitchen counter, slice it in. front of Daniel's face, not cutting him, but getting really close. Nobody had him. this serious before, and Daniel blurted. out, "I found a baby bird in the. driveway when I was younger.". Larry stops. "When I was a kid, I found. a baby bird, and it was so injured, so I.
picked it up, and it was in my hands, and then I just started crushing it, and. I think that's when my trauma. developed.". Larry pauses and smiles. This is what he wanted. He didn't know. that Daniel had lied about the whole. thing. He was just giving Larry exactly. what he wanted to hear. What does he want to hear? Just traumas? Just. stories? Yeah. The second Felicia, Larry's girlfriend. from LA, steps into the one-bedroom. apartment crammed with all these people. living there, she can't help but feel. like, "I'm a Harvard, Columbia-educated. physician who already started her.
psychiatric training. I'm going to be. living in this [ __ ] hole apartment with. these other people's crap everywhere, and because of tight spaces, or whatever. [ __ ] reason Larry is coming up with, Felicia finds out the day she moves to. New York City that she's not going to be. sleeping with her boyfriend alone." She. said, "And I'm sleeping with Larry and. this other woman, Isabella. It's going. to be the three of us in the bedroom, me, Larry, and Isabella. He did not. allow us to sleep with clothes on. So, we're all just naked in the bed, and. Larry would sleep in the middle, face. up. Isabella and I are on each side. Isabella sleeps with her hand on his.
genitals.". This is supposed to be my boyfriend, and. then I'm sleeping with him and this. girl, and this girl has her hand all up. on his stuff, and I'm just supposed to. be okay? Larry would be like, "Oh, she's just. more comfortable that way. I'm helping. her through trauma. What's the big deal? Aren't you a smart, educated, liberated. woman?". The whole situation wasn't ideal. Felicia noticed how strange the actual. apartment was, not just their sleeping. arrangements, but the fridge and freezer. were padlocked. The only ones that could. access food were Larry and Isabella.
Talia had moved out by this point to. make room for Felicia. But still, there. was no door handles on the bathrooms. I. mean, you can't even fully shut it. Even. if you manage to hold the door closed. somehow, all someone has to do is bend. down and stick their face into the. gaping hole to see what you're doing. There was no privacy anywhere. Felicia moves in a few weeks away from. taking her exam, where she would become. a fully licensed medical doctor. This. would be the beginning of everything. falling apart. Once she settles in, Larry takes her. documents, the ones from residency that. are very important for her future. He.
tears them up and throws them 150 ft out. the window. 150 ft, what does that mean? Oh, because they're on like a high-rise. Just to the ground. Oh. And now she's. stuck sleeping in the same bed as her. boyfriend and a woman named Isabella, while her little brother, Santos, is sleeping on the floor in the living. room. Huh. Felicia Rosario, Larry's girlfriend. from LA, the Harvard and Columbia med. school graduate, is Santos's oldest.
sister. All three Rosario siblings, Felicia the Harvard grad, Yelitzia the. Columbia University student, and Santos. the Sarah Lawrence student, would all. get brainwashed by Larry Ray. First, it. was Santos, and very early on, he had. asked his sister Yelitzia to meet Larry. He could just. and Larry had been so helpful with just. helping everyone access their repressed. memories and try to find healing. It's. not weird, it's normal, you know? It's. low commitment. Just visit Santos at the.
apartment that he lives in, meet Larry, his counselor, and when Yelitzia walks. in, the entire place is cluttered, but. it's not filthy, it's just jam-packed. You really have to like balance on one. foot before you take the next step to. avoid stepping on something or someone. There were so many bodies in there, but. Yelitzia loved it. There was this. chaoticness. In the kitchen, Larry would. be cooking up steak. The TV is playing. Cosmos, and in another corner, there's. two kids debating things like the ship. paradox. If a ship has all its parts.
gradually replaced over time, is it. still the same ship? On the dining table, there's two college. kids proofreading each other's law. school applications. There's another kid. in the corner reading Meditations by. Marcus Aurelius. From the moment that. she stepped foot into that apartment, she was in love with it. It feels like. if you come from a family where you. don't have family dinners and the house. is always depressingly quiet, then you. go over to your friend's house, and. there's always people around, the TV is. playing, the parents are cooking, and. there's sodas in the fridge, it feels so. nice.
On top of that, Yelitzia felt really out. of place at Columbia, but here, nobody's. judging her. They would tell her, "We're all here for. the same reason as you are. We're. working on figuring out who we are.". There is something to be said about the. fact that Larry is specifically going. after college students with high. education. I mean, surely there's a. proximity factor where this is who he. has access to through Talia. But Larry. gets off on taking these highly. intelligent, academically gifted kids. with a lot of potential ahead of them, bending and breaking them until they're.
nothing. Larry had Santos, he had Yelitzia now, but he still wants Felicia Rosario. The eldest Rosario sibling, the one with. the highest academic standing, is. Larry's biggest catch. For weeks, he's. waiting for Felicia to visit her. siblings from LA. He has this entire. plan mapped out. People say Larry's like. a chameleon. He can change into whatever. you want him to be. And Felicia just. wants someone to eat White Castle with. That was one of their first dates. After. a few gatherings with the whole family,
this was like one of their first dates. alone. They would get burgers from White. Castle, and just the two of them, no limo. driver, no Isabella, no little brother. We're parked on the side of the street. eating White Castle and watching the. sunrise. The whole car smelled like. greasy fries, but Felicia could not stop. smiling. I mean, this was the moment. that she realized, "I'm going to marry. this man." Her brother's ex-girlfriend's. father. From that day forward, they would refer. to each other as wife and husband. Some netizens found it strange that.
Felicia would fall in love with Larry so. quickly, but I think the best way to. describe it is, imagine if Felicia. studied painting her whole life. She's. constantly surrounded by these other. students who have gone to school to. paint, and there are nonstop. conversations about which colors go best. in theory with which pigments, which. types of oil paints are used for what. mediums. It's very technical, and. they're spectacular, the best of the. best. But then one day, she casually. meets a guy, and it feels like he was. born to be an artist. Like he doesn't.
know the technical terms for the. pigments and the canvases, but he just. gets it. It feels like he can at least. keep up with her. Perhaps he can even. teach her a new perspective. It's very. exciting. He just knows so much about. the human brain, about human psyche. So, they do this whole long-distance. thing, and it starts with them on the. phone talking to each other every single. night. Most days, they would talk to. each other multiple times. Larry would. give Felicia updates on how her younger. siblings are doing, but slowly, the. conversations, they start getting more. romantic, more sexual, until Larry is.
trying to tell her, "You need to go to a. bar and have sex with a man and record. it.". Wow. Yeah. And she did it or no? Yes, and it would happen very slowly. First, it was, "How many people have you. slept with?" And I think the age thing. also factors in. He just made it sound. like, "You need to experiment more. before you figure out what you want." He. also played a lot into the fact that. they all go to good colleges, they're. well-educated, they must be liberated.
They must be free thinkers and not bound. by the traditional norms of society. He really tapped into that. And Felicia would listen because. well, Larry is the only person there to. protect her from from people that are. trying to kill her. Santos and Yuliza are sitting in the. living room in New York when Larry slams. the door open and runs in. We got to get. your sister out of LA. What? What do you What's wrong with. Felicia? What happened? Is she okay? He. puts his phone on speakerphone and they. hear their sister sobbing like they've.
never heard her. This is their eldest. sister in a not financially well-off. immigrant family. She's practically a. parental figure for them. She's the. epitome of older sibling who has their. life together, but she can barely talk. right now. Hi, I'm crying because I'm so. scared they're going to do something to. me. Santos and Yuliza are confused. Who is. they? What are you scared about? Why is. nobody answering us? Instead, Larry just. shouts into the phone. You're not going. to answer the door for anyone without me. on the phone, okay? When they hang up, Santos and Yuliza are. demanding Well, not demanding. You don't. demand anything of Larry, but they're.
asking him to clarify what the hell is. going on and they keep getting these. very vague answers. Felicia has been so. scared she set up cameras all inside the. apartment. She even gave Larry access. online to watch her and keep her safe. She's been so paranoid she won't even. sleep in her room. She's dragged her. mattress out to the living room and the. Rosario siblings are still like, "That. doesn't answer the question." But all. Larry says is, "Felicia is scared. someone is in LA trying to come for her. They want to hurt her because she's. dating me." It's unclear as to who these. people are even are, but it's very, very.
serious. It's life or death. In comes. operation save Felicia. That's how she. moves to New York City. It is the only. place that she will be safe. Felicia is. sitting on the black leather couch and. Santos, her little brother, is standing. next to her next to the couch. I mean, her hair is tangled. She lifts her arms. up. She looks very distressed. She opens. up her mouth and Santos' right hand. lifts up and he slaps himself across the. face as hard as he can. Wait, what's. happening? Felicia is on the couch.
She's very frustrated. She's trying to. get up. She's trying to talk and every. time she moves, Santos slaps himself. across the face. Her little brother is. slapping himself. Mhm. Okay. Felicia has. a pretty visceral response to that. She. cries out in frustration, in pain, and. why is her little brother doing this to. himself? But any single reaction Felicia. would have, Santos would slap himself. across the face again because this is. what Larry told him to do. Make sure. Felicia does not leave that couch for 8. hours. Make sure she does not speak,
does not make a sound, or else. [ __ ]. I'm done. Santos, [ __ ] you. I'm done. It was Felicia or Santos and both of. them would lose to Larry. By the end of the day, Santos had stood. there for 7 hours. His face was so.
swollen and red he was unrecognizable. A few weeks after that, Santos tried to. self-exit. The three Rosario siblings are sitting. in front of Larry. Do you remember your parents used to use. a lot of cash to pay for things growing. up? Each one of them nodded. I mean, it was. making sense. Everything Larry was. saying, their parents were running a. drug dealing empire back and forth from. the Dominican Republic and the United. States. That's why they always had cash. on them. But not only that, Mr. Rosario, their father, he liked to essay his two. daughters growing up.
Now, I do want to disclaim clearly this. is all a lie. The Rosario parents run a. small travel agency and a grocery store. and they had a lot of cash growing up. likely because they were probably. getting paid under the table cuz they're. immigrants are trying to find whatever. job they can. They're not heroin dealers and they did. not essay anyone. They're a. disadvantaged immigrant family that. worked hard to save enough money to buy. a house in the Bronx and then proceeded. to spend every last dime trying to give. their kids the best education possible, but Larry doesn't care. He convinces. them that their parents are evil, filthy, vile, disgusting beings and they. actually know Larry. The Rosario parents.
know Larry and want to kill him because. he knows about their illegal dealings. Larry used to work for the CIA and the. DIA. Of course he read the Rosario case. files. He recognized Santos since day. one. That's why he took him in like a. wounded bird. The Rosario siblings fully. believe it. He would deprive them of. sleep for multiple nights, put them. through these 36-hour long. interrogations before convincing them. that their parents were pure evil. They. used to be incredibly close to their. parents before Larry. Felicia would talk. to her mom at least once a day, but now.
the siblings refuse to talk to their. parents. Mrs. Rosario would say a little prayer. before bed every single night. We pray. our children come back safe wherever. they may be. We put our hopes in you, God. $200,000. That's how much the siblings would get. from their parents to give to Larry. They would. mean, why? Because they owed Larry for property. damage and for all these things that he. claimed that they did to him. At one. point he accuses them of trying to.
poison him and the Rosario siblings feel. like it's not even money that their. parents should have. It's blood money. It's heroin money. Of course they. deserve it and need to give it back to. Larry because they're trying to kill. Larry because he knows what they're. doing. Wow. Their parents, they sold. their house. They sold their house to. pay this money for their kids. They. looked so desperate. They flew back to. the Dominican Republic to get loans, to. beg friends for money. Yuliza said she. wasn't thinking about her parents at. that point because they were evil to. her. All she thought was, "Maybe if we.
can just get some money for Larry, he'll. love us again. Maybe it'll be enough. this time. Maybe we still have a chance. to be happy.". That would not happen because Felicia. starts descending into madness. It's. been described as a regression into a. childlike state. There's multiple video. clips. It's heavily documented. Even. when she was still in LA, there's an. audio clip of Larry harassing her on the. phone convincing her that there's scary, powerful people out there that are going. to come get her and she just sounds. purely exhausted and he would be. screaming, "Do you want to die? I'm here.
trying to help you, you know. There's. scary people out there, Felicia. Right. now we are under attack. People are. trying to kill us.". In a video on the couch, Felicia is. bawling her eyes out and Larry tells. her, "Felicia, you lost control a minute. ago." "Yes, I did. You're screaming at. the top of your lungs. You said you're. terrified. Why are you terrified?". "Because I'm afraid the people back in. California, they told me if I didn't do. what they wanted me to do, they were. going to send people to kill me. It was. people my parents have known for a long. time.". "Is this true or are you making this. up?" "No, I'm not making it up. I swear. I'm scared. I'm so scared. I'm so. certain. I know that in my deepest I.
know that deep down I know that they. will kill me. They will kill me.". "Your parents?" "Yes, my parents will. kill me or they'll send like people like. to kill me. You I know that. I'm not. making it up. I swear to God. I swear to. God. Oh my God, this is a nightmare.". Just say this. I want to be alone right. now. I'm sorry that I hurt you. I just want. to be alone. Then. just let me be. Larry made sure that even if Felicia. were to get proper sleep, food, and be.
in the right head space that she would. start realizing none of this makes. sense. Larry made sure that if that day. ever came, she would have nothing to go. back to. He took sick pleasure in. ripping apart her life that she. sacrificed everything for. There's a video of Felicia sitting at a. dining table and she looks like she's. having some sort of life-shattering. realization. Her hair is a mess. It's. unbrushed. One side of her face, her eye. is super swollen like she's been punched. or someone slammed her head into. something. Her mouth is open. She slowly.
closes it and looks down at the table. like she's about to start crying and. Larry keeps questioning her. "What's. going on, Felicia? Are you still there? What just happened? Did you realize. something? Did you realize something?". "Yes.". "What is it? You want to tell us?". "I hate being irresponsible. The truth. is I hate being irresponsible.". "That's not good. What have you done. now, huh?". "It's not my character at all." "What's. going on? Hello? What's been going on? Can you tell me?". "My medical degree, I could lose it.".
"Effectively, I can tell you that you've. lost it. This behavior has gone too far, Felicia. That's the truth. Now, Felicia, I'm only 31 years old and I can show you. still that I can still be responsible.". "That has nothing to do with your. medical degree and I have nothing to say. about your medical career. It has. nothing to do with me. It has to do with. the state licensing board. You know. that.". "Well, I can still behave, Larry, and I. will show you that I can still behave.". "Felicia?". "Yes.". "You need to shut up.". And I will show you that I can still. behave.
Felicia? Yes. You need to shut up. And the video cuts. Soon after this, Larry would force her. to send an email to the dean of Columbia. Medical School. The dean of the school that she. graduated from. The email reads, "I. graduated from Columbia with a medical. degree in 2011. I'm writing today to. have my degree revoked as I am in. serious violation of the Hippocratic. oath that I took upon graduating. I've. been intentionally, maliciously, and. fanatically out to hurt others and. destroy their lives as much as I can. I've done nothing but shameful and.
hurtful things, especially to the people. who have most cared for me.". He made her send that and every single. day, he would hold the videos that he. forced her to take of herself having. relations with strangers. He would throw them in her face and tell. her, "I will put this on the internet. I. will personally send this to the medical. licensing board and you will never. practice medicine again. You think I. don't know people in powerful places? I. know almost all the top general surgeons. at all the top hospitals. I personally. know the dean of Columbia. I was a CIA. informant. Are you kidding me? I knew. Gorbachev.".
In another video, Felicia is screaming. begging Larry to help her and she's. screaming, "Please save me from myself. Save me from myself." And he asks her in. the video, "What do you want?" And she. screams, "I just want to be able to go. back to work and be happy and fine. Please don't do this to me. Don't do. this to me. Please, Larry. I don't want. to live here. I don't want to live. here.". In other videos, she would tell Larry, "I don't want to throw myself away. because I love you and I want to stay. with you always and forever.". These little videos were like Larry's. little trophies.
One night, Larry would slam open the. window to the 15th floor apartment. He's. holding a hammer and screaming at. Santos. "Look, it's very simple. You. leap like a frog. Why don't you guys, you and Felicia, hold hands and jump. together? It'd be so cute. Do you know. how cute that would be if you both. jumped? It'll be over in a second. In total, Larry's victims would attempt. to self-exit at least 12 times during. their time with Larry. But Daniel would get out after. graduating. Because he had been trying to understand. his sexuality for a very long time when.
he was with Larry. And Larry knowing. that, on Thanksgiving Day, would force Daniel to put on one of. Isabella's mini dresses, go downstairs. in front of people, walk around, and. then when he got back up, Larry was red. in the face and mad at Daniel for. whatever other thing that he forgot to. do. And he would taunt, "Look at. yourself, Danny. How does it feel to. wear a dress? Are you still confused. about your sexuality, huh? Look at. yourself.". I'm sorry, I don't know. I don't know. Let's see about that.
He would tell Isabella to grab one of. her biggest intimate toys that she had. She always had like this duffel bag of. intimate toys that she kept around the. house. And he would say, "Give it to Danny. Now, Danny, let's settle this once and. for all. You're going to place that you. know where, and if you like it, we'll. know you're gay. Simple enough, right?". That night, Daniel was forced to do. things with the device while wearing a. dress, things he clearly did not consent. to, all the while his friends were. forced to watch. And Larry was taking. photos of him. Claudia would later say about that.
picture that Daniel is staring right. into the camera. His eyes, he looks. panicked. His eyes are questioning. He's. very scared. She said, "It's not a look. I've ever seen on someone's face. before.". And after that, Daniel walked up onto. the rooftop, climbed on the water tank, and he just laid at the top. The surface was really smooth, and he. knew that if he moved a few inches to. one side, he could easily slip right. off, and then none of this would matter. anymore, and everything would be okay. But he sits up and he says, "I sat there looking at the city, and it.
was beautiful. To me in that moment, it felt like I had. gotten out of a mental prison, and all I. wanted to do was leave. I took my stuff. after that, and I had no plans to ever. come back.". And he just assumed that all the others, they would have their wake-up moment. someday. But 6 years later, April 2019, a New. York magazine article would go viral. titled The Stolen Kids of Sarah. Lawrence. Daniel realized his friends. did not get out soon after. It got so. much worse in the next 6 years.
The New York magazine exposé on Larry. Ray and his college cult starts off by. exposing Larry's long list of lies. First, Larry's whole identity, his whole. personality was based on being a Marine. He created these little Marine-based. operations around the house. Their. morning routine was supposed to be a. boot camp, but Larry was never in the. Marines. He did serve in the military, the Air Force, for a total of 19 days. before he was dishonorably discharged. for reasons unknown. But not all of. Larry's lies were straight-up lies. Like. the Marines one, he knew a lot of the.
top generals in the Marines. He was. friends with them. So, there was truth I. don't know how he was friends with them, but he was. What? Yeah. The article states, "What. made Larry exceptional is the way he. expertly mixed connections to top. officers in the US Marine Corps with. lies and embellishments." So, it was. always a half-truth, half-lie. He would. say he met Gorbachev, and you're like, "That's crazy. You're a little liar.". And then he would show you a picture. with him having dinner with Gorbachev, meeting other people with Gorbachev, with Rudy Giuliani, with Gorbachev. Larry did know Rudy Giuliani, Bernie.
Kerik, the New York Police Commissioner, and even Gorbachev. He did receive a. letter from NATO about his efforts to. help negotiate the end of the Kosovo. War. He just lied about how involved he. was. A NATO official said, "I do. remember him being around. He was. connected and may have made some calls. for us, as did many others at the time. I wrote a letter to anyone who was even. remotely involved.". Quite a professional way of saying Larry. maybe called someone once in a while, but like his impact was minimal. Larry also convinced Talia that her mom. was abused and that she was essayed by.
members from that side of the family, which we're going to go more in depth on. part two. But all of that was denied by. CPS, and Talia's younger sister. Talia's. mom and her side of the family were. cleared of any wrongdoing, and custody. was given to her mom. Larry was even ordered to undergo a. psychological examination in 2005 during. the custody battle. The psychiatrist. wrote in the report, "Literally. impossible to evaluate. His power and. control are exhibited through the. process of wearing down the other person.
to the point of sheer exhaustion. Mr. Ray has the control. He is able to. manipulate and control almost any. situation in which he finds himself, including a psychological interview with. a forensic examiner. No matter how. experienced the examiner may be, Larry. is very good at what he does. He can be. utterly charming, and one can be. disarmed by his childlike simplicity and. smile. But make no mistake, Mr. Larry is. no child. He is a calculating, manipulative, and hostile man.". Basically, the psychologist is saying, "We can't examine this man because you.
ask him a question trying to get an. examination, and he will just exhaust. you going on these ramblings until you. were so tired, you cannot continue.". Wow. He will go on ramblings. He will never. answer the question. And he's got so much energy. And he's so manipulative. The article Stolen Kids of Sarah. Lawrence would get the attention of the. NYPD Crimes Unit and the FBI. But by. then, it would be too late. Larry was no longer living in the. one-bedroom apartment accusing college.
kids of breaking his oven. He would. start a multi-million-dollar trafficking. ring catering to the wealthy elite. businessmen in New York City. And one of. the cult members will not make it out. alive. And I will discuss all of that in part. two. But please let me know your. thoughts in the comments. Please stay. safe, and I will see you guys in the. next one. Bye.
