Telemarketers

All right. Uh! Let's see.

I was just sitting here, feeling like absolute...

I was just sitting here feeling like fucking shit.

I've been thinking about it

It's weird. I don't even recognize

GROANS)

I worked at CDG for seven years

But Pat was onto it right from the very start.

Pat was like born to be a whistleblower.

hambre! Oh, hambre!

Patrick. Tell us-- - Hey. What's up?

Tell us about the place we're about to enter into.

we're going into Civic Development Group,

and what we do is we call up people

on behalf of some bullshit organization

what would you do with the decal

if you were to get mailed one to your house?

I mail 'em out every day.

Pat, did you-- Are you high right now

Let's go. Let's go get-- Let's head in.

Hello.

This is James Chestnut calling

- Ah! Whoo! - (TELEMARKETERS LAUGHING)

- Hi. Mm. Mm. - (WATER BUBBLING)

I started working at CDG when I was this 14-year-old kid.

look at all that smoke!

I had just dropped out of the ninth grade.

whoa, whoa!

I didn't even wanna fucking work there.

I just wanted to hang out and paint graffiti and film me

CDG for short,

was the only place that wanted to hire someone my age.

Here's my day at work. - (TELEMARKETER 2 CHEERS)

I had, like, a mental image

of what I thought telemarketing was.

This was not it. Ooh!

They basically reinvented American telemarketing.

The whole art was the brainchild of this operation.

is because of CDG.

Civic Development Group had been around since the '90s

CDG came up with a tremendous idea.

for a lot of charitable organizations.

Let's say you've got the firemen's organization

And when that firemen's organization

000 bucks a year.

000 dollars and allow us to use your name,

and we'll take care of everything else."

They told me that my job would be

to make calls on behalf of charitable police groups.

no commission.

this is Sabrina and I'm calling

- (INDISTINCT CHATTER) - Thirty-five dollars

All they ask is that you send back the 55 dollars

but most of them were state lodges

of the Fraternal Order of Police.

000 members nationwide.

The reality of it

you know?

This is the place

It takes a certain kind of person

in front of that computer monitor

we would allow the guys to do whatever they needed to do

buddy?

They didn't care what you did.

you're good. You don't sell, you suck.

I'm working at this place,

You didn't wanna be there.

But the thing was you were always smart.

- (INDISTINCT CHATTER) - Hello?

Sam Lipman-Stern calling on behalf of the Washington DC

163 police officers were killed

And whenever any Delaware police officer

to them and their families.

Click.

you were never a part of the Fraternal Order of Police.

You were never a cop. You were calling on behalf of 'em.

The other rule is that you had to tell people

"Ten percent of something is better

unless they asked specifically.

so they only get ten percent, you keep the 90?

if I give you 100 bucks, you only give them ten dollars?"

you know?

no matter what.

"My mom just died."

John?

Was it completely totaled?

John, I don't wanna burden you

Please display it proudly to show your support.

it was just some flimsy shit.

I'm gonna send you out a new 2007 police card and decal.

Do me a favor and just slap the decal

you put the decal

on the back of the vehicle and the card inside your wallet

to show your proud continued support

When we would get asked questions of like

we were told to not say,

We're gonna give you this fucking sticker

that was how CDG got built.

the big one is 35.

The smaller silver still goes a long way for 25.

Could you reach up high and do the gold?

Or you wanna just play it safe with the silver?

Patricia.

(PATRICIA SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY OVER PHONE)

I didn't think I was doing anything bad at all.

and this is how police raised their money.

I probably met Big Ed when I was like 16.

I don't think I'm exaggerating

that motherfucker's winning. He was nasty.

man?

a few years back. ...Magnum P.I.

It was actually Ed's idea that we start filming

"Let's just film how weird

this place is and put it on YouTube."

...if you'd like to have it sent out.

That's a live turtle?

Twenty-dollar bronze and a 15-dollar booster.

it's nice to know... (CHUCKLES)

What's up Sabrina? - Hi.

has to be something.

He has to have a big dick...

Don't eat it like a puppy. I don't like that shit.

there were some guys who thought they were master salesmen

and took the job really seriously.

CDG has been good to me.

It has been real good to me.

LAUGHING) - I'm... Get away from me.

um, how do you feel

- I mean... Well needed by whom?

needed-- needed by most businesses and then...

in the case of CDG, it provides a public service

By doing what?

What I mean by that is very simple.

Most of the people that worked at CDG

had questionable pasts.

people in transition,

or other people just trying to earn extra money,

it was a lot of criminals

man.

probably every other cubicle. You know what I'm saying?

You don't know who's working next to you.

Dudes flip out at the drop of a hat

CDG is just like anything you could ever imagine

right in front of you.

"Who's going to get shot,

or robbed?" Every day was a new adventure.

Every other person was a drug dealer.

either a drug dealer that wasn't caught yet,

you can buy some coke,

you can buy some Viagra

Everything you need right there. Pussy...

What the hell wrong with you?

CDG would send their managers

and recruit directly at the halfway houses.

man.

I went to jail at 23, I come home at 30,

you know what I'm saying? I ain't have nothing at all.

no real bread, no real clothes.

"The cops need some money."

You had people who were committing criminal activities

but we're calling for policemen.

look to us to put money in their safes.

I agree. Totally. Cool.

That was dope. Go back to work.

People can talk about the negatives all day long

"These guys are scumbags," or whatever,

they don't understand camaraderie of the dudes

How did your tweezer stretch it out so much?

Sam. Yeah.

- (INDISTINCT CHATTER) - Video taping

Sam. - (SAM CHUCKLES)

You had to be crazy.

I wasn't in a good place when I worked at CDG.

We were the number one office

We went out to an awards dinner and we won everything.

everybody did this together.

- (TELEMARKETERS CHEERING) - We're the office of the year!

Pat.

I'm doing good today. Nice.

The craziest thing I ever saw at CDG

was probably just like what they let Pat get away with.

being high, doing heroin

We got-- We got Pat The Tapper right over there.