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Season 1 Episode 08 | Sex, Drugs and DEA Investigations
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00:00the year was 1971 hot pants and bell-bottoms were the latest trends
00:21simon and garfunkel's bridge over troubled water was album of the year
00:26and a controversial new sitcom called all in the family premiered in primetime
00:33playboy had grown bigger than ever before
00:38thanks to increasing magazine sales and over 15 playboy clubs around the world
00:46on top of the clubs we'd also started opening luxury vacation resorts
00:52mr hefner has spent no less than 10 million dollars in building a resort that makes the
00:59taj mahal look like a quonset hut
01:01we also expanded into even more side ventures including a tv and film production company
01:12we produced an adaptation of macbeth directed by roman polanski
01:19and the first movie from british comedy troupe monty python
01:25the playboy brand was recognized all over the world
01:32and what had started as just a magazine was now a multinational entertainment corporation worth
01:40two hundred million dollars nike is a brand but reebok is a shoe company virgin is a brand united is an
01:48airline playboy was a brand and that means that you can move from one category to another because
01:56you represent not a single product but an attitude toward life our success made us very attractive to
02:04wall street investors
02:06so that year i decided to take the company public
02:10playboy goes public now you bring in a tremendous amount of capital which you can then reinvest
02:20and it's a signal of the kind of normalization of the pornography business
02:26i mean what's more establishment than wall street
02:28the influx of cash was a huge boost and it felt good to have the world acknowledge playboy as a
02:35legitimate business but the magazine was still facing one major challenge
02:48ongoing competition from penthouse
02:50and their subscription had grown by 600 percent to 1.3 million per month
03:20playboy still had nearly five times as many readers
03:26but i knew that if we were going to continue to stay ahead of the competition
03:31playboy would have to show a lot more than we ever had before
03:36every little movement
03:40every little thing you do
03:42is
03:56every little movement
04:06So what do you think we should do?
04:13Honestly, nothing.
04:16Do you honestly want to publish pictures like that?
04:19No, I want to publish better pictures, and I know we can.
04:22Respectfully, we already do.
04:24Agreed.
04:28This has to do with Playboy's brand. What do you want that to be?
04:31The best. We have the best photographers in the world begging to work with us.
04:35We didn't get where we are by being complacent.
04:38There is so much more we can explore,
04:40more we can do without losing sight of what Playboy is about.
04:47Playboy had shown a glimpse of pubic hair earlier in the year,
04:50but until now, I had been hesitant to do it again.
04:56F always stayed away from showing full frontal nudity.
05:00But Playboy was actually losing subscribers over to Penthouse.
05:04So Heft was pushed in the direction of upping the game.
05:11I knew we needed to publish a full frontal centerfold,
05:14but I wanted to do it the Playboy way, with polish and sophistication.
05:19To pull it off, we'd need to find the perfect model.
05:23Luckily, Victor Lowndes knew just the girl for the job.
05:28She was a bunny working at the London Playboy Club,
05:35named Marilyn Cole.
05:37Marilyn had a fantastic figure.
05:41I sent snapshots of her to Chicago and said,
05:47they ought to test this girl for playmate material.
05:50I was quite surprised when Victor suggested I should be a playmate.
05:57We've all been young.
05:58Not having been a model.
06:00He was the one who sort of discovered me.
06:03And then I was sent to Chicago.
06:10Lownes was right.
06:11Marilyn was the perfect centerfold.
06:17But her photo represented a whole new direction for Playboy.
06:20Marilyn was the perfect centerfold.
06:24But her photo represented a whole new direction for Playboy.
06:36Marilyn was the perfect centerfold.
06:43But her photo represented a whole new direction for Playboy.
06:52It's Miss January.
06:56I'm getting a lot of pushback from spec and art.
07:01Would you print it?
07:03Are you kidding me, Hef?
07:04We both know you've already made up your mind.
07:07Yeah, maybe.
07:17In January of 1972,
07:20Marilyn Cole became our first ever full-frontal centerfold.
07:23The issue was our biggest seller to date.
07:28I became the first full-frontal nude.
07:33What a legacy.
07:34But anyway, I've often been asked, how did it feel?
07:38And I always think, well, the point that you disrobe, you become someone else.
07:47That's the only way you do it.
07:49It did cause a sensation, certainly here in Britain, because, A, I was English, and B, it was tabloid press at that time.
07:59When she showed her mother, and her mother said, your hair looks very nice to her, that was her mother's only comment.
08:08From that point on, there was no turning back.
08:18By the end of 1972, our circulation exceeded 7 million, the highest it had ever been.
08:25So we had a lot to celebrate.
08:32Hey, crutch, this is my boyfriend, Ron.
08:49Hi.
08:50In those days, no one seemed happier than my longtime friend and personal assistant, Bobbi Yarnstein.
08:57She had recently started dating a man named Ron Scharf.
09:01I've seen your issue, my favorite.
09:02Hey, uh, this is Hef.
09:04Hugh Hefner.
09:05Hi.
09:06Ron.
09:07Nice to meet you, finally.
09:08You too.
09:09I've heard a lot about you.
09:10Okay, we're gonna take a tour.
09:12Enjoy dinner.
09:13Come on.
09:14So this is the great room.
09:17I wasn't crazy about her new boyfriend, but I did like to see Bobbi happy.
09:37For over a decade, Bobbi had been my assistant, but she'd also become one of my closest friends.
09:44I am the red nightmare.
09:49She lived full time at the mansion, so she was always around when I needed her.
09:54Bobbi became absolutely indispensable to me, not only because of the role that she played,
09:59but also because of her own particular abilities.
10:04She had a remarkable sensitivity and sense of humor, and was uncommonly bright.
10:13Bobbi was also a part of my social life.
10:17Okay, don't forget, on Thursday, you've got a meeting at the mayor's office.
10:23And then Friday, board meeting at 2 p.m., so you gotta look sharp for that.
10:27I left your gray suit out.
10:28It's been pressed.
10:29Any questions, talk to Dick.
10:31I don't know how I'm gonna survive without you, Bobbi.
10:35You'll be fine.
10:36All right.
10:37Have a safe trip.
10:43Don't do anything I wouldn't do.
10:44Not touching that one.
10:46Did you pack the suntan lotion?
11:07Hm?
11:08I put it out with everything else.
11:09Well, then I packed it, okay?
11:11It's not here.
11:18Maybe put it in your bag.
11:19Hey, hey.
11:21Just buy another one, okay?
11:24Here, there's a place on the front.
11:26I'm sure we'll have some.
11:28Hey man, how's it going?
11:29Yeah, good.
11:30Come on in.
11:31Who's she?
11:32Bubbi.
11:33Hey, man, how's it going?
11:54Yeah, good. Come on in.
11:55Who is she?
11:56Bubby?
11:57Don't worry, she's cool.
11:58Is that how much you want?
12:05Let's do a half.
12:11Three, four...
12:13Hey, are you a friend of Ron's?
12:34Yeah.
12:35I'm Bobby.
12:36Uh, you are?
12:42Nice meeting you.
12:51Bobby thought she was on an innocent vacation with her boyfriend.
12:57But what she didn't realize was that she was about to become entangled in a government investigation.
13:02Woman, I've been here about the things you say.
13:11By the 1970s, the hippie drugs of the 60s, like marijuana and LSD, had given way to harder substances, like cocaine and heroin.
13:21President Nixon declared drugs a crisis in American life.
13:32We must wage total war against public enemy number one, the problem of dangerous drugs.
13:39To crack down on their use, Nixon created a new Drug Enforcement Administration.
13:44The DEA was tasked with bringing down anyone suspected of breaking federal drug laws.
14:02What's this?
14:06That's Miami drug trafficker George Matthews.
14:09Been monitoring him for a couple of years now.
14:10Finally nailed him thanks to this guy, Ronald Scharf.
14:15Small-time drug dealer based here in Chicago.
14:18He, uh, bought a half a pound off Matthews and tried selling it to one of my informants.
14:23Who's the girl?
14:25You know Playboy publisher Hugh Hefner?
14:28Well, that is his personal assistant, Bobby Ernstine.
14:31When a photo of Bobby landed on the desk of Chicago prosecutor James Thompson,
14:45he immediately saw an opportunity to turn this small drug case
14:50into something that could make his entire career.
14:53Jim Thompson had political aspirations, and this was going to be his singular success
15:04in nailing Hef for some kind of drug conspiracy, which was totally false.
15:11While Thompson opened his investigation,
15:24I was spending more and more time with my girlfriend, Barbie Benton.
15:29We'd been dating for over four years and spending a lot of time in Los Angeles.
15:33So much time, Barbie convinced me it was time to buy a house,
15:38and she had found the perfect spot.
15:41I was looking for a house,
15:44and our driver mentioned a gate on Sunset Boulevard
15:50that had a lock on it.
15:53So I hopped the fence, walked up the long driveway,
15:57and saw this beautiful house.
16:00So I called the people to find out
16:06if they would consider selling their house.
16:13And as luck would have it,
16:15they said that they would consider.
16:18I got Hef to come out.
16:20He loved the grounds.
16:22He loved the house.
16:24And he got it.
16:30The new house sat on 5.3 acres
16:49on the edge of Beverly Hills.
16:51Nothing from nothing leaves nothing.
16:55And in typical Playboy fashion,
16:56If you want to be with me, you can't.
17:00I quickly made it my own.
17:04I built a winding outdoor pool
17:06with waterfalls leading into a grotto
17:09I'm not trying to be your hero
17:12With artifacts and fossilized insects in the ceiling.
17:19I'm not trying to be...
17:21I had the largest grove of redwoods in Southern California.
17:24It's too low to see
17:26A game house
17:28A tennis court
17:31And a gym
17:34Nothing from nothing leaves nothing
17:38Even a zoo
17:39And I'm not stopping
17:40Believe
17:42And an aviary
17:43Don't you remember I told you
17:48I'm a soldier
17:50I went so far
17:51As to get a year-round fireworks license
17:53From the city
17:53We're still the only private residence
17:56Ever granted one
17:57I named the house
18:02The Playboy Mansion West
18:04And I split my time
18:10Between L.A.
18:10And the original mansion
18:12Back in Chicago
18:13How's Monday at 3 p.m.
18:20We'll make whatever time work
18:22Okay
18:22Between 3 and 4
18:23Yep
18:24I'll get it
18:27DEA
18:34We're looking for Bobby Arnstein
18:37We have a warrant for your arrest
18:42For what?
18:44Conspiracy to distribute
18:45Distribute what?
18:47You have the right to remain silent
18:48What?
18:49Anything you say can
18:50And will be used against you
18:51In a court of law
18:52Are you kidding me right now?
18:52This is happening?
18:53On March 23rd of 1974
18:56Almost three years after Ron took her to Miami
18:59Bobby was arrested on charges of cocaine distribution
19:02Over the years
19:08Playboy had been charged
19:09With obscenity and indecency
19:11But now Thompson made the case
19:15That the Playboy mansions in Chicago
19:16And L.A.
19:17And the clubs around the world
19:18Were fronts for a major drug trafficking operation
19:22Bobby had never been his real target
19:28She was just his way
19:32Of coming after me
19:33Miss Arnstein
19:37I don't want to see you spend
19:40The rest of your life
19:42Rotting away in some prison cell
19:45What I do want
19:51Is to see the right person put behind bars
19:54And you and I both know who that person is
20:01This drug ring
20:04You think Playboy's involved in
20:06It doesn't exist
20:07I can't offer you federal protection
20:12What do you think?
20:21I think you can both go fuck yourselves
20:23The case against Bobby Arnstein was trumped up
20:30As soon as they realized they had Hefner's secretary
20:32There's no question in my mind
20:34That Bobby did not carry the cocaine
20:36She did not transport it
20:38The boyfriend did
20:40It was his deal
20:41They put it on her
20:43And it was a terrible thing
20:47For a long time
20:52It was just an investigation
20:53That was focused on this fellow
20:55That she'd been dating
20:56And when the focus changed
20:59When it became clear
21:02That the real target
21:03Was some crazy attempt
21:06To involve me
21:07It took on Kafka-like
21:10Implication
21:13So
21:20I was able to get a hold
21:21Of the original indictment
21:22Bobby's name's not on it
21:24Which means?
21:26Which means they probably added it
21:27Only after they realized
21:28Who she was
21:29In other words
21:30When they realized
21:30She worked for Playboy
21:31Make a copy of this for Kretschmer
21:34Tell him we're running it
21:34Next month's issue
21:35Along with an editorial
21:36I'll write myself
21:37We'll get it done
21:38That's out of the question
21:39Is it against the law?
21:40No
21:40Will it jeopardize our case?
21:42No
21:42Then we're running it
21:43Bobby's case
21:43It's Bobby who's on trial here
21:46Not you
21:46And not Playboy
21:47So you're just gonna let her
21:48Hang out to dry?
21:49No
21:50Of course not
21:50What we're dealing with here
21:52Has very serious implications
21:53Not just for you
21:54And for Bobby
21:55But for the company
21:56The company
21:56Will be fine
21:58We already have two board members
21:59Resigned because of this
22:00I have advertisers backing out
22:02Now stock price is down
22:04Big time
22:04What we gotta focus on
22:07Is doing some serious damage control
22:08You need to separate yourself from Bobby
22:14Not just for your sake
22:15But for hers
22:16Bobby was my best friend
22:40But on the advice of my lawyers
22:42I was told
22:44To not speak publicly
22:45About her case
22:46And even worse
22:49I had to ask her
22:51To move out of the Chicago mansion
22:52It killed me
22:56To know there was nothing
22:57I could do to help her
22:58It became very unreal
23:00And I knew that the DEA
23:02Had become a very corrupt organization
23:05And the case
23:07Was politically inspired
23:08For most people
23:13This is the image
23:14Of Bobby Arnstein
23:15Assistant to Playboy publisher
23:17Hugh Hefner
23:17A girl who lived
23:19In what seemed
23:19A sleek and fashionable world
23:21A girl who somehow
23:22Became involved
23:23In the cruel
23:24And shoddy drug world
23:25On October 22nd 1974
23:31Bobby's case went to trial
23:35Your Honor
23:41The defendants in this case
23:44Ronald Scharf
23:45And Bobby Arnstein
23:46Are charged with a conspiracy
23:49They conspired to distribute
23:51A narcotic drug
23:52Specifically cocaine
23:54And that these defendants
23:56Entered into an agreement
23:57With each other
23:58And with other persons
24:00To distribute cocaine
24:01In the United States
24:03I don't think any of us felt
24:05That they would stoop
24:06This low
24:07To threaten this young woman
24:10With incarceration
24:11If she did not come forward
24:13And lie about her boss
24:15They would go just so far
24:18And then back off
24:20But they didn't do that
24:22The prosecution was asking
24:25For the maximum sentence
24:27Fifteen years in prison
24:29I'm here to represent my client
24:32Bobby Arnstein
24:33She traveled from Chicago
24:35Down to Florida
24:36With Mr. Scharf
24:37But we believe
24:38The evidence will show
24:39That Miss Arnstein
24:40Had no knowledge
24:41Or participation
24:42In any sale of drugs
24:43While she was down in Florida
24:44And that she should be found
24:46Not guilty
24:47The prosecution had gone so far
24:52As to tap Ron Scharf's phone
24:54And presented transcripts
24:56Of his conversations
24:57With Bobby in court
24:58But none of the evidence
25:00Made it clear
25:01That Bobby was knowingly involved
25:03How's it going?
25:06How's Bobby?
25:08You know, it's a trial
25:10It's tough for her
25:10But she's, um
25:12She's holding up pretty well
25:13Just let her know
25:16I'm thinking about her
25:17Of course
25:18All right
25:19Bye
25:20On behalf of the government
25:35I would like to call
25:37As a witness
25:38George E. Matthews
25:40To the stand
25:40I laid out some coke
25:54On the coffee table
25:55Scharf and I tested it
25:57And he asked to buy
25:58A half pound of the coke
25:59Which I sold to him
26:01In a bag
26:02Which I placed
26:02On the coffee table
26:03Was anyone else present
26:06At this meeting?
26:07Yes
26:07Bobby Arnstein
26:09Did they leave
26:11With the half a pound
26:12Of cocaine
26:13You had left on the bed?
26:15Yes
26:15Was Mr. Scharf
26:19Carrying the half a pound
26:20Of cocaine?
26:22Bobby Arnstein
26:23Placed the half pound
26:24Of cocaine
26:25In her handbag
26:26And carried it out
26:27Thank you, Mr. Matthews
26:31No further questions
26:33All right
26:34Mr. Matthews
26:35Now
26:37You have before you
26:39The statement
26:40You made previously
26:41Now in this statement
26:42You made
26:43Is there anything
26:43Said by you
26:44Stating
26:44Miss Arnstein's presence
26:46When Scharf
26:47Has to buy
26:48A half pound
26:48Of cocaine
26:49Not in what
26:50I have here
26:51No
26:51Is there any statement
26:52Made by you
26:53That Miss Arnstein
26:54Put the cocaine
26:55In her bag
26:55No
26:57Or carried the bag out
26:58No
26:59Subsequent to giving
27:01These statements
27:02Did you have any
27:03Conversations with any
27:04Government agent
27:05About this case
27:07I had a couple
27:08Telephone conversations
27:09Yes
27:10What was the result
27:11Of these conversations
27:12I agreed to cooperate
27:15With the government
27:16Fully
27:16Do you have an understanding
27:19As to anything
27:19That you would receive
27:20In return
27:21For this cooperation
27:23Yes
27:24Would you tell the court
27:26And the jury
27:27Please
27:27What your understanding
27:29Was
27:29A recommendation
27:31That I be sentenced
27:32To no more than
27:32Five years
27:33I have no further
27:37Questions
27:37Bobby's lawyers
27:42Had done all they could
27:43To prove her innocence
27:44Now her fate
27:46Was up to the jury
27:47From a justice
27:49Point of view
27:50We felt there was
27:51No question
27:52That she would
27:52Be found innocent
27:53But with the threats
27:55That she was getting
27:56From the U.S. attorney
27:58And the DEA
28:00One wasn't completely sure
28:04What the outcome
28:05Might be
28:06Will the defendants
28:09Please rise
28:09On the charge
28:15Of conspiracy
28:15To distribute
28:16A narcotic drug
28:17The court finds
28:18The defendants
28:19Guilty
28:21The defendant
28:26Bobby Arnstein
28:27Is committed
28:28To the custody
28:29Of the attorney general
28:30Or his authorized
28:31Representative
28:32The judge issued
28:34A preliminary sentence
28:35Of the full
28:36Fifteen years
28:37Bobby's boyfriend
28:39Ron Scharf
28:40Only got
28:41A six year sentence
28:43Court is adjourned
28:45When they convicted her
28:49It was unreal
28:50I knew she was innocent
28:52They knew she was innocent
28:53They let major drug dealers
28:57Walk away
28:58Use them to convict her
29:00All in an attempt
29:03To somehow
29:04Put enough pressure
29:06On this girl
29:07So that she would
29:08Invent some story
29:10About me
29:10I don't think you ought
29:12To give any statement
29:13At all
29:13Well I think it's absurd
29:15I don't think you ought
29:16To give any statement
29:17My lawyer suggests
29:18That I not give any statements
29:19It's not my personal feeling
29:21You're welcome
29:23Sorry
29:42I don't think you ought
29:43I don't think you ought
29:44To give any statement
29:45I don't think you ought
29:46To give any statement
29:47I don't think you ought
29:48To give any statement
29:49I don't think you ought
29:50To give any statement
29:51I don't think you ought
29:52To give any statement
29:53I don't think you ought
29:54To give any statement
29:55I don't think you ought
29:56To give any statement
29:57I don't think you ought
29:58To give any statement
29:59I don't think you ought
30:00To give any statement
30:01I don't think you ought
30:02To give any statement
30:03I don't think you ought
30:04To give any statement
30:05I don't think you ought
30:06To give any statement
30:07I don't think you ought
30:08To give any statement
30:09I don't think you ought
30:10I don't think you ought
30:11Are you going to Scarborough Fair, Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme?
30:29Remembering to one who lives there, she once was a true love of mine.
30:49On the side of a hill in the deep forest green, trace of sparrow on a snow-crested brown.
31:12Blankets and bedclothes, the child of the mountain.
31:22She once was a true love of mine.
31:42Hello?
31:46Hello?
31:59Ms. Arnstein, executive assistant to Playboy publisher Hugh Hefner, died of an overdose Monday.
32:04No bottles containing prescriptions were found in the hotel room where she took her life.
32:09Ben Gordon saw her as a profile on the woman who died in the second-rate hotel.
32:18She was not doing what they were saying she was doing.
32:22She was not carrying drugs.
32:24She was not dealing.
32:26She was just too tired to keep fighting.
32:30Amazed by a boyfriend in a drug raid and an aggressive government investigation, the fragile entity that was Bobby Arnstein broke.
32:39Perhaps there is just no more room in this world for such fragile people.
32:43Bobby's suicide was devastating for everybody who knew her.
32:49Perhaps as much as anything because it was completely unnecessary and was really caused by the government pressuring her to give them Hugh Hefner as a drug dealer.
33:01Rather than do anything to hurt my father, she didn't see any way out but to take her own life when faced with the threat of significant prison time.
33:10I think just the tragedy of that was just heartbreaking.
33:17The funeral service from which cameras were barred took nine minutes.
33:23The relatives and old family friends pulling up to the funeral home on Devon in five limousines with a grim-looking Hugh Hefner at the center.
33:31Bobby Arnstein had been swallowed up by all this in her life.
33:35It was happening once again in her death.
33:37When Bobby was laid to rest, her mother gave me the honor of serving as a pallbearer.
33:46The seven pallbearers, including Hefner, carried the steel coffin from the funeral home and put it into a hearse.
33:53They all say goodbye to Bobby Arnstein today, all the worlds in which he had lived.
33:58Throughout the entire investigation, I followed my counsel's advice and never said a word.
34:14Now I regretted that silence.
34:17Every time I've allowed somebody to make me not talk to the press, I paid heavily for it.
34:22In this case, we all paid heavily for it and Bobby paid for it with her life.
34:28After she died, I said, I can't keep quiet anymore.
34:34I'm going to make a press statement.
34:41If I look a little harried, I'm quite upset.
34:47Okay.
34:49In the infamous witchcraft trials of the Middle Ages, the inquisitors tortured the victims until they not only confessed to being witches, but accused their own families and friends of sorcery as well.
35:02In similar fashion, narcotics agents frequently used our severe drug laws in an arbitrary and capricious manner to elicit the desired testimony for a trial.
35:14The pressure of a lengthy appeal and increasing harassment from government prosecutors and their agents.
35:20An already emotionally troubled woman was pushed beyond endurance and she killed herself.
35:31I was at the press conference in the Chicago mansion.
35:38It was all true emotion.
35:43Hefner had been harmed beyond belief from his point of view.
35:51Nothing the government could have done could have hurt him more.
35:57She was one of the best, brightest, most worthwhile women I have ever known.
36:06She will be missed.
36:12Bobby had been with me for nearly 14 years.
36:27She had kept things running, whether it was my personal life, my business life, or even the mansion itself.
36:37She was one of the few people strong enough to keep me in check.
36:42It was such a great loss for Hef.
36:47He was devastated.
36:50It was the saddest I'd ever seen him.
36:56What I think about over and over again is all the years and the good times and things that she missed.
37:07And the good times that would have been better for us if she'd been here.
37:19With Bobby gone, things would never be the same.
37:26And everywhere I looked, I only saw memories of her.
37:32So I decided the time had come to say goodbye.
37:36Not only to Bobby, but to my entire life in Chicago.
37:43Not only to him, his cafe and his braids are given to me.
37:45Leaning Samurai.
37:50He's disappeared?
37:53He could not tell you well.
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