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00:10It was a big news story.
00:13Wealthy Palm Springs art dealer missing.
00:17There was no signs of force.
00:20Nothing was thrown about.
00:21But his Mercedes was not in the garage.
00:24It's suspicious when you have a missing person
00:27and all of a sudden their home is being sold out under them.
00:32We would be like, what the hell?
00:35How can this be another twist?
00:37Then witnesses tell me he was murdered
00:39and gave me a handwritten map.
00:42That's where they dumped the body.
00:44The location where these bones were located
00:47was exceptionally remote.
00:48It was unbelievable to me the elaborate scheme and plan
00:53that these guys went through.
00:55I was in shock.
00:58The plot was very complex.
01:00He was the next target
01:01in what they dubbed Operation Craigslist.
01:05In the county jail, he did make a phone call
01:07and the only thing he said was, run.
01:28Palm Springs is a beautiful desert city with a long history.
01:34It became very popular with the celebrity crowd
01:37in the 40s and 50s.
01:42We're so close to Hollywood, 100 miles away.
01:45So you had people that came out here for the sun and fun
01:49and away from paparazzi.
01:51And that's why we have so many good stories
01:53about the stars being here.
01:59The Festival of Lights is a Christmas parade that is held every year in Palm Springs.
02:06It happens on the first weekend of December and brings the whole community together.
02:13My good friend, Clifford Lambert, really loved the Christmas parade, but that year, Cliff didn't show up.
02:23He was very well known in the gay community, so when he didn't show up to that Christmas parade,
02:27his close friends were very concerned, because that was his favorite thing.
02:35I was Cliff's hairdresser, and I had some friends and clients in the salon,
02:42and I remember somebody telling me that they had seen Cliff at his favorite haunt just down from his house,
02:49having dinner with somebody on December 4th,
02:52but they hadn't heard from him or hadn't been able to get a hold of him afterwards.
02:57So we started putting things together, and it was alarming.
03:04On December 12th, 2008, a missing person's report came across my desk by the name of Cliff Lambert.
03:11Reading the report, I noticed that his longtime friend, Edward,
03:15had reported him missing, had it heard from him for a couple of days.
03:19First thing you do with a missing person, try to call them and see if they're okay,
03:22and give him a call, and his voicemail box was full.
03:27I started conducting a more thorough investigation, contacting friends,
03:31seeing if anybody's heard from him.
03:33Nobody has.
03:35Over the next several days, the police department spoke to many of us,
03:41asking if we knew of anybody that might harbor any resentment towards Cliff,
03:47and I couldn't think of anybody.
03:51I'm still expecting him to show up, but a couple of days went by, and I spoke with his friend,
03:57Edward again, who had the key to the house.
03:59So he allowed me to enter the house, and there was nothing unusual.
04:06There was no signs of force, nothing was thrown about.
04:10Everything was in the right place.
04:12His friend explained that the Rolls Royce was still in the garage,
04:16but his Mercedes was missing.
04:19I didn't notice that his mailbox had, like, mail protruding out,
04:22and there was papers on front of the door.
04:25But that in itself isn't suspicious.
04:27He could have been gone for the weekend and not told anybody.
04:33A few days it goes by and Cliff doesn't show up.
04:36We sent out the press release.
04:39We were hoping that it would turn out some information on him, but it didn't.
04:45Remember, social media wasn't a thing.
04:47So if we put it out now, we would be getting more people saying,
04:51I knew Cliff.
04:52I saw him at this party.
04:54There's no way he'd go missing.
04:56You know, things like that.
04:57But we didn't have those kind of tips or clues.
05:02At this point, I need to speak to his friends and learn all I could on Cliff Lambert.
05:09Cliff was born in St. Louis, Missouri.
05:13He had the biggest dreams and ambitions.
05:16He was going to be a celebrity.
05:19Cliff is a fascinating individual.
05:21You have to think about who he was and the time period that he grew up in.
05:25By all accounts, he was out through most of his life.
05:29He ended up getting a job on a radio show.
05:35And that afforded him to create relationships with a lot of celebrities.
05:41And later, he ended up going into the art world.
05:47He had actually worked to create this process where famous pieces of art could be available,
05:53basically as posters.
05:55And that was how he made his money.
05:59Cliff Lambert lives a very expensive lifestyle.
06:02When you would walk into his house, people described it like walking into Versailles.
06:09Cliff was a person that liked to have others around him.
06:14He would have dinner parties.
06:17He was happiest when he was in a relationship.
06:21He had a boyfriend for a very long time, 12 years or so.
06:26And his name was Travis.
06:28And Cliff really loved him and wanted him to carry his last name.
06:31So Travis Hobbs became Travis Lambert.
06:35They were both really happy with that.
06:38But then in 2007, Travis died in a drowning accident in the swimming pool.
06:47Cliff was just beside himself.
06:50He was just devastated.
06:51And I don't think he ever really got over it.
06:56Cliff was very lonely.
06:59And in 2008, it actually drove him to create a profile on Craigslist to begin looking for somebody to fill
07:11that void.
07:20Our first big break didn't come through until I received a phone call at my desk from a real estate
07:26agent over in San Francisco.
07:28Inquiring about Mr. Lambert and his residence in Palm Springs.
07:33He expressed that he had a client in San Francisco that had a power of attorney that a house was
07:40gifted to him.
07:42And he wanted to do what he called a fire sale.
07:46That real estate agent was suspicious that when he ran Mr. Cliff Lambert's name, he came back as a missing
07:52person.
07:54So at that point, I called my partner detective who does do fraud and property crime, Simon Mann, and asked
08:01him to come on board with this investigation.
08:06It's suspicious when you have a missing person and all of a sudden, their home is being sold out under
08:14them.
08:15We received documents from the agent that pertained to Cliff's home here in Palm Springs.
08:22And there was a deed and a power of attorney with the name of Kashal Nerula from San Francisco.
08:31Who is Kashal Nerula in San Francisco?
08:34And why is he trying to claim ownership of Cliff Lambert's house?
08:38This was essentially the big break that led me to believe that there was something more nefarious was going on.
08:44There is a name that has no bearing on the residence itself.
08:51And there's a huge distance gap between Palm Springs and San Francisco.
08:57But at this point, I'm asking, is Kashal Nerula involved in Cliff Lambert's disappearance?
09:07We're looking for proof of life, and oddly enough, there are transactions on Cliff's bank account, like somebody went on
09:15a spending spree.
09:17When we learn who the thumbprint belonged to and what happened to this man, it was terrifying for us.
09:39Cliff Lambert would always stay in touch with friends, always let somebody know when he would be out of town.
09:49But this time, none of that happened.
09:52We were all just very concerned.
09:56At this point in the investigation, there wasn't much to go on other than the fact that we have someone
10:02with the power of attorney
10:03signed by Cliff Lambert to Kashal Nerula in San Francisco, and he's trying to sell Mr. Cliff Lambert's house below
10:11market value.
10:13But at this time, instead of interviewing Kashal Nerula, I want to get more information about him.
10:19I want to know everything I can about who he is.
10:22That way, I'm not going in blind.
10:27So I called the San Francisco Police Department and spoke to an investigator in their fraud unit,
10:32and immediately when I said the name Kashal Nerula, it was like an alarm that went off on the phone
10:39because Kashal had so many charges in San Francisco for fraudulent activities.
10:46Nerula was arrested a year prior.
10:48He had been locked in jail in the county.
10:51But at this time, Kashal Nerula is out of jail.
10:57Kashal Nerula is a convicted con man, very, very good-looking, dressed impeccably.
11:05He would tell people that he was the Prince of Nepal and that he was exiled.
11:11Kashal Nerula had undertaken a con scheme where he conned someone out of over $400,000 worth of artwork.
11:19He ended up stealing $300,000 approximately worth of jewelry
11:24in order to pay the restitution for his art theft scheme.
11:29And in 2007, Kashal Nerula was responsible for swindling someone out of half a million dollars in Hawaii.
11:36He was a prolific fraudster, but does he have any involvement in the disappearance of Cliff Lambert?
11:48I asked the real estate agent if they could pause any sales
11:51because there is suspicious factors behind the disappearance.
11:55Then the real estate agent continued to tell me that an attorney by the name of David Replogle from the
12:02Bay Area,
12:02he had done this deal between Mr. Nerula and Mr. Cliff Lambert,
12:07and that Mr. Nerula took on the part of attorney.
12:14So there's still no signs of Cliff.
12:17I'm looking for proof of life.
12:20And I found that there are transactions on Cliff's bank account after he was reported missing.
12:28It looked like somebody went on a spending spree in San Francisco.
12:33They were buying chocolate, clothes, computer products.
12:38It looked like somebody was having a good old time.
12:42But when I received surveillance photos from ATMs, it was not Cliff Lambert.
12:48Nowhere near Cliff Lambert.
12:50There's a picture of a Hispanic male on all of these transactions.
12:55I take a little clip of that, and I send it to the San Francisco Police Department.
13:00And the investigator up there immediately identifies these pictures as Danny Garcia.
13:07And says he was also involved in fraudulent activities with Nerula.
13:15We find out that Kushal Nerula and Danny Garcia, they've been under investigation by San Francisco Police Department,
13:23amongst other police departments up in the Bay Area, for many scams in which to defraud people out of their
13:29belongings.
13:31They are essentially part of a, like, a ring of con men.
13:36So now we had one more name, one more person of interest.
13:42With the names now, I go back to Mr. Lambert's good friend who reported missing,
13:48and asked if he recognized any of the names.
13:51And lo and behold, he did recognize Danny Garcia.
13:55And stated that Danny Garcia was a boyfriend of Mr. Lambert,
14:01but they have parted on bad terms several months before the disappearance.
14:09In April of 2008, Cliff told me that he met somebody from San Francisco on Craigslist,
14:17and his name was Daniel Garcia.
14:19He described him as something different than he normally likes.
14:23He said, this boy is Hispanic and he has dark hair.
14:28Daniel came to the desert a handful of times to visit Cliff,
14:32to see if they might get along or if there was a spark.
14:39But Daniel ended up making it clear that he was looking for an investor for a new business he wanted
14:47to open,
14:48meaning that he wanted his money.
14:50Cliff told him that's it.
14:52This is done, and he would have to leave.
14:59At this point, all I knew is that Danny Garcia was a connection to Cliff Lambert.
15:04But how was that related to Cliff's disappearance?
15:10Then, on January 7th, I get a phone call from Cliff's neighbor
15:14that there is a U-Haul truck in front of Cliff's house.
15:19Frank comes to me, and he tells me,
15:22Simon, there's somebody at Cliff's house with the U-Haul.
15:26They're trying to leave.
15:27We need to go get the U-Haul.
15:30I advise our patrol officers to quickly respond
15:33that somebody is trying to move the items out.
15:37As I'm driving towards the downtown area to get to his house,
15:41I notice a U-Haul truck driving southbound,
15:45away from the direction where his house would be.
15:48So between myself, Frank, and patrol,
15:52we tactically start setting up units
15:56to go intercept all the vehicles that are leaving.
15:59Is Cliff there?
16:02Is Cliff not there?
16:04Are we going to find somebody who shouldn't be there
16:08cleaning out this house?
16:23Clifford Lambert was missing,
16:25and we received a phone call.
16:27There's somebody at Cliff's house with the U-Haul
16:30trying to clean out his home.
16:32It's suspicious.
16:34And then I get another call from Detective Browning
16:37saying, hey, I got this U-Haul driving south.
16:41away from Cliff Lambert's house.
16:45I pull over the U-Haul truck.
16:49Simultaneously, officers are arriving on scene
16:51at Cliff's house.
16:53I get on scene,
16:55and I find a person talking to one of the patrol officers.
17:00And as I approached, he identified himself as Miguel Bustamante,
17:05and he said, we were hired to do a job,
17:08but it didn't look like movers.
17:11It looked like Miguel Bustamante at Cliff's home
17:16trying to steal all the contents of the residence.
17:20A lot of Cliff's property, personal items of value,
17:25art, and we can't verify that any of this property
17:29was legitimately given to Miguel and his crew
17:32by the actual owner, Clifford Lambert.
17:35So Miguel Bustamante was detained at the scene
17:38and taken to the jail.
17:41Now we have one more person of interest in this case.
17:50Within an hour or so of Miguel Bustamante
17:52being arrested for the burglary,
17:54he called for detectives.
17:56He wanted to talk to us.
18:20We confirmed the two people driving the U-Haul trucks
18:23were, in fact, just hired,
18:25so they were not charged.
18:27Our main concern now is trying to get to
18:29what he knows about Cliff Lambert.
18:31Okay, this is what I know.
18:33Okay, this guy in here, his name is Danny Garcia.
18:38The boyfriend of Cliff Lambert.
18:42His name is Crucial Neruda.
18:45These two guys have been working together, okay?
18:48For me, that was huge,
18:49because we never released the names
18:50of the people involved in this case.
18:53Now we have information that there is
18:55some kind of connection between Danny Garcia,
18:58Kushal Nerula, and Miguel Bustamante.
19:01So we're up to three people associated
19:04with this missing persons case
19:05with no sign of Cliff.
19:09His initial comments were that Cliff Lambert
19:12owed the cartel money and they took him to Mexico.
19:21It's a crazy story.
19:23I did not believe whatsoever that Cliff was in Mexico
19:26and it was abducted for the cartel.
19:28So they went, the Mexicans and Cliff all went together?
19:30Yes, yes, yes, yes.
19:32That's why we're getting Crucial hired me
19:34to keep his car, supposedly his car in my garage.
19:39He proceeded to volunteer information
19:41that he had Lambert's Mercedes in his possession
19:44in Daly City in his apartment complex.
19:49So we had Daly City Police Department
19:52go to the residence and it was there.
19:56So now we had Cliff Lambert's vehicle.
19:59We were hoping that it would turn on some information
20:01on what happened to Cliff Lambert.
20:03Cliff Lambert's Mercedes was brought back
20:06to Palm Springs for processing.
20:09The technicians were able to find traces of blood
20:12in the trunk, but it was inconclusive at the time
20:16because it was very minute.
20:20So we obtained a search warrant to inspect Cliff's house.
20:26We recovered Cliff's toothbrush, his hairbrush,
20:31his fingerprints, and we uploaded it into CODIS,
20:36the database in missing persons cases
20:39so that it can be used at a later time.
20:44Once law enforcement was able to do forensic testing
20:48of his house, they found the presence of blood.
20:51However, it didn't result in any DNA findings.
20:55It was inconclusive as to person,
20:59but it tested positive for blood.
21:02So it was enough to write a public cause declaration
21:06to continue the investigation
21:08into all the suspects identified in this case.
21:12Also, we did book Miguel for the burglary,
21:15and we asked the courts that he be held
21:18in the county jail into his arraignment.
21:28A lot of Cliff's friends would talk to each other
21:31trying to come up with scenarios
21:33where he may have gone on his own,
21:36and we were praying that one of them was true.
21:40We still hadn't interviewed Danny Garcia,
21:43still hadn't interviewed Nerula.
21:44We did have investigators from San Francisco Police Department
21:48just kind of keep an eye on him.
21:49They had no idea that we're on to him.
21:52First, I want to know exactly what happened to Cliff Lambert.
21:55That gives me a lot more ammunition
21:57for the interviews of them.
21:59At this time, Miguel Bustamante
22:01was still in the county jail.
22:02I received a phone call from the investigator
22:05explaining to me that he did have an inmate
22:08who was cellmates with Miguel Bustamante
22:10and had the truth on Mr. Lambert's disappearance.
22:16I went down to meet with the inmate,
22:18see what he was referring to,
22:20and he gave me a piece of paper
22:22with the names of Danny Garcia and Keshaw Nerula,
22:26and it did have a handwritten map on there,
22:30and according to the inmate, he was told by Miguel.
22:33That's where they dumped Mr. Lambert's body,
22:35somewhere in the desert.
22:38So Detective Men and I went and searched
22:41the area identified in the map.
22:44I was pretty confident we had a murder investigation,
22:47but it's very hard to prove up a homicide without a body.
22:52A homicide without a body.
23:03We have a map at this point.
23:06We have information that Cliff Lambert was killed,
23:09a confession of an inmate to another inmate,
23:14but to me, that was pretty credible information, Al.
23:18We searched for Cliff's body for months.
23:21Using the map, we drove up and down the freeway.
23:26We were searching for anything that looked like a fresh burial site.
23:32But we were not able to find anything.
23:39I prayed every night that he would just walk back in
23:46with a little smile on his face and a smirk,
23:49said, it's all right, I'm okay, don't worry about me, I'm all right.
23:53Unfortunately, it didn't unfold that way.
23:57Without Cliff's body, this case became about documents.
24:03It was following the trail in bits and pieces of evidence.
24:08And the case was so convoluted that it required additional evidence
24:13to corroborate everything that they've done up to this point.
24:19When reviewing the power of attorney documents,
24:22I noticed a notary stamp.
24:24And now I'm thinking I need to speak to this person
24:26to see if Cliff Lambert did, in fact, sign his name
24:29and give Kashaw Nerula power of attorney.
24:35I'm a mobile notary.
24:37And I get calls all day long
24:38for people that want a notary to come to them,
24:41to their home or to their office.
24:44I received a call on the 20th of December
24:47asking if I could go to a residence
24:49in a neighborhood called Noe Valley.
24:51I grabbed my notary book and I got into my car
24:54and I drove to the location.
24:56When I get to the address,
24:58I rang one of the buzzers, there was no answer.
25:01And all of a sudden,
25:03this guy comes up and grabs the bag from behind
25:06and he says, give me the bag, give me the bag.
25:09And he's pulling me with the backpack
25:11and I'm being dragged down the sidewalk.
25:14All of a sudden,
25:16my head hits a telephone pole
25:18and I was in shock.
25:20And I said, get the f*** away from me.
25:23And he went like this
25:25and he walked down the sidewalk.
25:27And I was like,
25:29what was that?
25:32And I called 911
25:33and I told them what had happened.
25:36And I stood in the street.
25:38I was trembling.
25:39I had never been so scared.
25:41I was terrified.
25:44A few days later,
25:45my notary partner, Glenn, calls me
25:48and says,
25:48I just got a call
25:49from the Palm Springs Police Department
25:52and they want copies of your journal.
25:54Remember,
25:55when we got a phone call
25:56from someone called
25:57Kashul Narula
25:58saying he would like to set an appointment
26:01for his friend Cliff Lambert
26:02and we met those guys late at night
26:05in a hotel
26:06and we notarized a bunch of
26:07power of attorney documents.
26:09They want the signature
26:10and the thumbprints
26:12in your journal.
26:14The person who put their thumbprint
26:16and signed the power of attorney
26:17should be Cliff Lambert.
26:19So I asked if we could get
26:22that book analyzed
26:23and we got the results
26:24relatively quick.
26:26But that thumbprint came back too.
26:28David Rupugo.
26:31David Rupugo's name was crucial
26:33because up until then
26:34he had claimed to be an attorney
26:36just brokering a deal
26:37for Narula and Cliff Lambert
26:39to sell the house.
26:42It was clearly the plan all along
26:44that someone was going to have to pose
26:46as Cliff Lambert
26:47in order to execute
26:49this power of attorney.
26:51Apparently, David Rupugo
26:53later realized
26:54that he made a mistake
26:56leaving his own fingerprint
26:58as Cliff Lambert.
27:01So he decided
27:03that the new plan
27:04is to hire somebody
27:06to get that notary book back
27:08by force.
27:10If they were able
27:11to get that notary journal
27:13there would be no proof
27:15whatsoever
27:16that the thumbprint
27:17belonged to David Rupugo
27:18not to Cliff Lambert.
27:24That event was
27:25a significant turning point
27:27in this investigation
27:28because it showed
27:30that David Rupugo
27:31was posing
27:32as Clifford Lambert.
27:36It appears that the plan
27:38was to clean out
27:39all of Cliff Lambert's money
27:40as well as transfer
27:42the deed of his home
27:43into their control.
27:45But there was no evidence
27:48that these con men
27:49definitively killed
27:51Cliff Lambert.
27:54However, with that information
27:57from the notary
27:57we were able to secure
27:59arrest warrants
28:00and search warrants
28:01for David Rupugo,
28:03Kashaw Nerula
28:04and Danny Garcia
28:05for essentially defrauding
28:07Cliff Lambert
28:08and taking
28:09in excess of $300,000
28:11from his bank accounts.
28:15At this point
28:17we can't find Danny Garcia.
28:18We think he's hiding
28:20out somewhere.
28:22But we find out
28:24that Kashaw Nerula
28:25and David Rupugo
28:26will be in court
28:27because they had
28:28proceedings from prior events
28:30that Rupugo
28:31was representing Nerula on.
28:33So we go to San Francisco
28:35with the warrants in hand.
28:37We're at the Hall of Justice
28:39and I'm standing
28:40in the hallway
28:41where Kashaw
28:43had his hearing.
28:45When the court recessed
28:47they came out
28:47with everybody else
28:49and both Rupugo
28:51and Nerula
28:51were arrested.
28:56Later that day
28:57Kashaw Nerula
28:58he's in the county jail
28:59in San Francisco.
29:00We monitor their phone calls
29:02so he did make a phone call
29:04to Danny Garcia
29:05and the only thing
29:06he said was run.
29:09He hung up.
29:25After arresting
29:27the Rupugo
29:27and Kashaw Nerula
29:30Nerula did make a phone call
29:32tipping off Danny Garcia
29:33that were on to him.
29:36So he was in the wind.
29:38Next we interviewed
29:40both Nerula
29:40and Rupugo.
29:42They of course
29:43did claim not to know
29:44anything about Cliff Lambert
29:45or his murder.
29:48But Miguel Bustamante
29:50told another person
29:51at the jail
29:52that he knew
29:53Cliff Lambert
29:54was murdered
29:55and taken out
29:56to the desert.
30:00During our investigation
30:01we find that
30:03Bustamante
30:04had a roommate
30:05by the name
30:06of Craig McCarthy.
30:10We found evidence
30:12that Craig McCarthy
30:14worked at a medical center
30:16in San Francisco.
30:17So Detective Browning
30:19and I decided
30:19to go pay a visit
30:21and we found him.
30:22So we're speaking
30:23to Craig McCarthy
30:24to get understanding
30:26of what he knows first.
30:28And when we started asking
30:30did Miguel participate
30:32in the disappearance
30:33of Cliff Lambert
30:34and we were in Palm Springs
30:36with Miguel.
30:38Craig's demeanor
30:39is very soft spoken.
30:42That's when Craig
30:43started telling us
30:44oh yeah
30:45we were hired
30:46to do a job
30:47by Danny Garcia.
30:51So now we know
30:53that he was involved
30:54and we have
30:55one more suspect.
30:57So we asked
30:58Craig McCarthy
30:59if he knew
31:00anything about
31:01Danny Garcia's
31:02for abouts.
31:02He says
31:03he's hiding out
31:04with his friend
31:05in Sacramento.
31:06So I put the warrant
31:08into the system.
31:10That triggered Sacramento
31:11to have a task force
31:12search for him.
31:14His phone was pinged
31:16by the task force
31:17and they did in fact
31:18find him hiding
31:19in a closet
31:19in a friend's house
31:21where they took custody
31:22of him
31:22and several electronics
31:24that he was
31:24holding there.
31:26He was arrested
31:27and what was surprising
31:29was that there was
31:30multiple amounts
31:32of hard drives
31:33laptops
31:33cell phones
31:35in his possession
31:36at the time.
31:37They needed to be
31:38checked for any evidence.
31:43I interviewed Danny
31:44and he claimed that
31:46Cliff was a good friend
31:47of his
31:48and Cliff was going
31:49to help him invest
31:51into a software project
31:52that he had.
31:53But I know that Danny
31:55is lying to me
31:56because Cliff, Lambert
31:58and Danny left
31:59on bad terms.
32:01Daniel Garcia
32:02is really the most
32:03critical element
32:04of this case.
32:05He is the link
32:06to Cliff, Lambert
32:07and also the link
32:08to everyone else
32:09that was involved
32:10in this case.
32:11It took a very long time
32:13to inspect the data
32:14seized from
32:16these hard drives
32:17but it would help us
32:19to uncover
32:20what actually occurred
32:22in this scheme.
32:24It was exceptionally
32:26complex.
32:28There was
32:29financial evidence,
32:31records,
32:32credit card receipts.
32:33There was also
32:34a lot of
32:35computer records
32:36that needed
32:36to be gone through.
32:37What struck me
32:38was just the large scale
32:40of the entire operation
32:41that these individuals
32:42perpetuated
32:43in order to kill
32:44Cliff Lambert.
32:47This plan,
32:48dubbed Operation Craigslist,
32:50was in play
32:51way before Cliff
32:52went missing.
32:57When Cliff met
32:58Danny online
32:59on a dating website,
33:00Cliff flew him down.
33:01They spent six days
33:02together.
33:03Danny did what
33:04Danny does
33:05and tried to pull
33:05a con on him.
33:07Cliff was not
33:07a dumb man.
33:08He sent him home.
33:09That's when
33:10Garcia and Nerula
33:12decide that
33:13in order to gain
33:14control of
33:15Cliff's estate
33:16that Cliff
33:17must be killed.
33:19Sometime over
33:20the summer,
33:21Daniel Garcia
33:22and Kashal Nerula
33:23talk to David Rapogel.
33:24They come up
33:25with this story
33:27that Cliff Lambert
33:28has inherited
33:29this large amount
33:30of money
33:30and some works of art.
33:32Which is a fictitious
33:33inheritance ruse
33:34to get Cliff's signature.
33:36In early fall,
33:38Kashal Nerula
33:39adapts this persona
33:40of a lawyer
33:41and he reaches out
33:42to Cliff Lambert
33:43about this
33:44new fortune.
33:47Then they create
33:48legal documents
33:49that will transfer
33:49power of attorney
33:50to Kashal Nerula.
33:53Next,
33:53they recruit
33:54two individuals,
33:55Miguel Bustamante
33:56and Craig McCarthy
33:57to act as the muscle
33:58who will actually
33:59kill Cliff Lambert.
34:01So on December 4th,
34:03Miguel Bustamante,
34:04Craig McCarthy,
34:06Kashal Nerula
34:07flew down
34:07from the San Francisco
34:09area
34:09to Palm Springs.
34:11They set up
34:12a deadly meeting.
34:14Hi, Mr. Lambert.
34:15I'm reconfirming
34:16for 5.30 California
34:17time tomorrow evening
34:18and just looking forward
34:21to meeting with you.
34:22And the next day,
34:23they murder Cliff
34:25in his home.
34:27With Cliff out of the way
34:29and the documents
34:30signed and notarized,
34:32they now had
34:33full control and power
34:34to do whatever
34:35they wanted
34:36with his money,
34:37his home,
34:38basically his estate.
34:41What these con men
34:42put together
34:43was a really
34:43diabolical plan.
34:47Daniel Garcia,
34:49Kashal Nerula,
34:50Miguel Bustamante,
34:51David Ropogel
34:52and Craig McCarthy
34:53were charged with murder
34:54as well as
34:55financial crimes
34:56that were related
34:56to the death
34:58of Cliff Lambert.
35:01And then
35:02in subsequent interviews,
35:03Craig McCarthy
35:04tells us
35:05he is wanting
35:05to cut a deal
35:06for a reduced sentence.
35:07When we brought
35:09Craig McCarthy
35:10down from San Francisco
35:12to Palm Springs,
35:13he gave a full detail
35:15about what happened
35:16on the night
35:17of the murder.
35:22Kashal met Cliff
35:23at Cliff's home
35:25around 8.30 p.m.
35:28Craig and Miguel
35:30were hiding
35:31in the back
35:32of the house.
35:33This is where
35:34we have text messages
35:35between Kashal Nerula
35:38and Miguel Bustamante
35:40that indicates
35:41kill him,
35:42kill him now.
35:44And that was
35:45the signal
35:45for Miguel
35:46and Craig
35:47to enter the house.
35:49So I'm standing
35:50right here,
35:51Miguel's right here.
35:55So the ruler's like,
35:56just do the job,
35:58it'll be okay,
35:58it'll be done in a moment,
35:59all right?
36:00And he walks out.
36:02He reenacted
36:03the entire murder
36:04on video.
36:06When you struck
36:07the first time
36:07initially it was here,
36:10Cliff said,
36:11ah,
36:11ah,
36:13And now Cliff
36:14punched over here.
36:15Mm-hmm.
36:16And he just
36:16went over
36:17and he just
36:18started stabbing.
36:22And Cliff
36:22falls here.
36:23Yes.
36:25Cliff is on his floor
36:27dead.
36:29While Kashal
36:30was cleaning
36:31the house,
36:32Miguel and Craig
36:33wrapped
36:34Cliff in this rug
36:35and put him
36:36in the trunk
36:37of Cliff's Mercedes.
36:41The next day
36:42they drove
36:42about 100 miles
36:43away from Palm Springs,
36:45pulled off
36:45the side of the road,
36:46buried Cliff Lambert
36:48in a shallow grate
36:49and drove off
36:51to San Francisco
36:52hoping that
36:52this body
36:53would never
36:53be found again.
37:00When the news
37:01broke that Cliff
37:03had been murdered,
37:06the whole thing
37:07was such a shock.
37:08the details
37:10of how it happened
37:11in his own kitchen,
37:14such a horrific crime.
37:17It was heartbreaking.
37:19The men that did this
37:21to Cliff
37:22are sociopathic.
37:26They're animalistic.
37:28That they would just
37:30discard him
37:31without any remorse.
37:34He deserved better.
37:47any time you have a case
37:49where you don't have the body,
37:50there's always
37:51a lingering issue of
37:53where is this person?
37:55Are they still alive?
37:56And those are issues
37:56you have to overcome
37:57as a prosecutor.
38:01Fortunately, however,
38:02in this case,
38:02Daniel Garcia,
38:04Kashal Narula,
38:05Miguel Bustamante,
38:06David Rapogel
38:07were convicted
38:08of all the charges
38:09and were sentenced
38:10to life in prison
38:11without the possibility
38:12of parole.
38:12Craig McCarthy
38:14ended up pleading
38:14to a lesser sentence
38:1625 years
38:17in state prison.
38:19This was a group
38:20of monsters,
38:21nefarious and diabolical
38:23from the get-go.
38:25I was relieved
38:26some justice
38:28finally being served.
38:39But then years later,
38:41the DA's office
38:42sent the news release
38:43to the station
38:44and we all just gasped.
38:45It was,
38:46what?
38:47Can this really be happening?
38:49It's the case
38:50that just keeps on giving.
38:52How can this be another twist?
39:01Four men convicted
39:02in the murder
39:03of Clifford Lambert
39:04have been granted
39:04a new trial.
39:07An appeal filed
39:08on behalf of Narula,
39:10alleging comments
39:11Judge David Downing
39:12made in court proceedings
39:13that Garcia
39:14secretly recorded
39:16on his court-issued laptop
39:17about Narula
39:18having HIV
39:19and refusing
39:20to read his motions.
39:23The fair and right thing
39:25to do was
39:25to give them
39:26a new trial
39:26because it was clear
39:28that the judge
39:29had some bias
39:29against them.
39:31It was shocking
39:32that they captured
39:33the judge
39:33making some
39:34homophobic statements.
39:36But the four top guys
39:38in this case
39:39were all going to get
39:39to be retried.
39:44I was perplexed.
39:46I thought,
39:46OK,
39:47a judge
39:48made an inappropriate
39:49comment,
39:51but they were
39:51guilty of murder.
39:53I can't help
39:54but feel angry
39:55with authorities.
39:57It's been eight years
39:58since a jury
39:59found Kashal Narula
40:00and Daniel Garcia
40:01guilty of murdering
40:02Palm Springs
40:03retiree
40:03Clifford Lambert.
40:05Authorities never
40:06able to find
40:06his body.
40:11Then,
40:11while the second
40:12trial was pending,
40:14remains were found
40:15that were connected
40:16to Cliff Lambert.
40:19I remember
40:20reading about
40:22a recovery
40:23of bones
40:24in the area
40:25of the 5 Freeway.
40:27I actually called
40:29LA County Sheriff.
40:30Can you please
40:31check the DNA
40:32and see if it matches
40:33our missing person?
40:37We received
40:38information
40:39that they had
40:40a presumptive hit
40:42for DNA
40:43on some bones
40:44that had been located
40:45in Castaic
40:46off the highway
40:47years beforehand.
40:49It was great news
40:50for the second trial
40:51that what we had
40:53believed all along
40:54was, in fact,
40:55now supported
40:56in the evidence
40:57definitively
40:58that Cliff Lambert
40:59had been killed.
41:03It was also
41:04exceptionally sad.
41:06To see someone
41:07of Cliff's stature
41:08left there
41:09buried
41:10alongside
41:11discarded items
41:12and trash
41:14absolutely gut-wrenching.
41:17Then,
41:18unbelievably,
41:20during the course
41:21of the retrial,
41:22Kashal Narula
41:23was murdered
41:24by his cellmate.
41:36Fortunately,
41:37at the second trial,
41:38all three
41:39of the defendants
41:40were convicted
41:40of all the charges
41:41and were sentenced
41:42to life in prison
41:43without the possibility
41:44of parole.
41:48to hear
41:49those three times
41:51guilty
41:52on every count
41:54was beyond
41:56reassuring
41:56because they were
41:57held accountable.
42:00Justice for Cliff Lambert
42:01would have been dying
42:0295 years old
42:03in his bed
42:03and there's no way
42:05I can achieve that
42:06for him,
42:07but I hope
42:07this is something.
42:11This was a highly
42:12sophisticated
42:13plan
42:14and scheme
42:15to
42:16murder
42:17someone,
42:19steal their identity,
42:20transfer all
42:21their assets
42:22for their own
42:23personal
42:23financial gain.
42:27For those of us
42:28that knew Cliff
42:29and loved him,
42:31it was just
42:31so sad
42:33and
42:34heartbreaking.
42:38But I hope
42:39that people
42:39will remember
42:40Cliff as a fun,
42:42easygoing guy
42:44that loved to laugh.
42:47He liked to do
42:47things for people.
42:50He liked to make
42:50people smile.
42:52And he was all
42:53around a good
42:54human being.
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