Ramon | Featured on ABC's Betrayal: Secrets and Lies

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“Hey, guys, it's us and the Jonas Brothers, I'm Joe.”

I'm Kevin.

And I'm Nick, and guess what?

We created our own podcast called "Hey, Jonas." We invented a podcast. Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to our people to do podcasts. We used to ask other people questions,

'cause we're sick and tired of being an ask questions. Well, sick and tired of just a strong way to put it, but, you know, tired and sick, tired and sick. Listen to hey, Jonas, on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Just listen, we don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite on humor me with Robert's Michael and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Oden Creek to David Letterman help make you funnier this week, my guess.

SNL's Mikey Day and Headwriters, Streeter Side L, helped an Occupel aband with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter.

“Listen to humor me with Robert's Michael and friends”

on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged, it's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque, others say it's unleashing human potential.

Either way, the podcast's superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having troubles stopping the muscle growth. Listen to superhuman on the I-Heart Radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Michelle McFey, and I've been unraveling the strangest criminal alliance I've ever reported on, on Mormon polygamous and an Armenian businessman. Multimillion dollar house for our Eastern Lamborghinis

private jets a billion dollar fraud.

But how long can this alliance last? Tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Listen to Kingdom of Frog on the I-Heart Radio app,

“Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.”

Hi, it's Andrea. And we are re-releasing some of our past weekly episodes, and there's a good reason why. For the last year, I have been working with ABC on turning some of your favorite episodes

of Betrayal Weekly into a TV show. The show is called Betrayal Secrets and Lies, and it airs every Sunday at 10 p.m. on ABC. When Ramon shared his story on Betrayal Weekly, it felt different, not just because of what he went through,

but because of who was telling it. At the time, we weren't hearing many men speak openly about Betrayal. And for a lot of men, there's this unspoken pressure to stay quiet, to move on, to not name the hurt.

Ramon chose to do the opposite. He chose to speak up, to be honest, to be vulnerable about something deeply personal, and that choice had a ripple effect. After his episode aired, Warman wrote in,

or stories came forward, because for the first time, they saw themselves in someone else's experience. Ramon helped create that space,

and what makes his story even more powerful

is what he had built, a life rooted in purpose, mentoring young boxers, creating community, finding love, until someone from his past walked back in, and everything unraveled. What happened to Ramon is heartbreaking,

but the impact of him speaking out, it's bigger than just one story. So please check out Betrayal Secrets and Lies on ABC and Hulu to see Ramon and where his story takes place, enjoy the episode.

- They take me to a blackout SUV to this location where they had already dug out this shallow grave. When I get there, they tell me, "Okay, I need you to strip down." So you underwear? They show me how to pose in my hands,

bow and be on my back, and I looked like I was a little bit swollen, they put more blood on me, and they even threw dirt on me, which I thought it was the Soviet radio,

and close lies. The only thing that I could remember was the sound of the 35 millimeter, as it went around me just clicking, taking pictures of me. (upbeat music)

- I'm Andrea Gunning, and this is Betrayal, a show about the people we trust the most, and the deceptions that change everything. Ramon's so a story is one of those stranger than fiction, kind of tales.

It's a betrayal that threatens everything. Including Ramon's life. Ramon grew up in Puerto Rico, the only son in a traditional and tight-knit family. Ramon idolized his father, who was a professional wrestler.

- Like Piccini's Salem W. Lee, in WWF,

in Puerto Rico, he was a big muscular and had this over about him when he walked into the road. - As a kid, Ramon tagged along with his dad to the gym, and it was there where he fell in love with what he calls the real thing, boxing.

- I started boxing by seven years old, Puerto Rico. That was my life. School boxing home, school boxing home, that was it. Takes a lot of discipline in boxing

“if you wanna do it right, and that's what it taught me.”

- And all of that discipline started to pay off Ramon. You fought in hundreds of amateur matches as a teenager, and he was winning a lot. A lot of the trainers that worked with me, they said that I had a lot of natural talent,

and people started to say, "Man, you'll be good "when you grow up for my size, that hit very hard." - He's careful to point out that even though he was a champion

in the ring, he never fought outside of it.

He felt like it was his responsibility as an athlete to maintain a strong sense of right and wrong. - I don't fight in the street. Boxing is a skill, and when you get in that ring, it's like a chess match.

- He dreamed of going pro and taking care of his family. This so-sus moved from Puerto Rico to Houston, Texas, when Ramon was a teenager. After sweeping the amateur leagues, Ramon went pro. - My father actually had to side my contract

to turn pro because I was under age. - He was a professional boxer for a few years

“before he eventually settled into a new career,”

coaching and training young boxers in the U.S. but when it turned into a business, and you see like everybody wants to make money from you. Everybody wants a piece of the pie. It was tough when it started getting to me.

- In his early 20s, he fell in love and got married.

He and his first wife had three kids.

- I mean, praise to all the mothers that stay at home with their kids because you know what? That is a tough, tough job. It's a full-time job.

- Raising three kids together strained their relationship. They moved to Houston to be closer to Ramon's parents. That's where he still lives today. But even with his parents' help, Ramon and his first wife knew

that they weren't a match, they needed to separate. - It didn't work out. Even though we couldn't work it out, we did the best that we could for our kids.

“And today's day, you know, now we have great kids together.”

So I respect that she respects me. - Ramon missed being a full-time dad. - It was more of free time on his hands, he decided to start a nonprofit. And after school boxing program, for at-risk youth. - And I would pick him up after school,

take him to the gym, then we'd get a snack, homework help, and then the box, and then we also talked about life situations. - He loved being involved with the community and helping kids who needed a positive influence in their lives.

That's how he met a close friend. His name is Mundo, that's the name of your own name. That's the name that he went by. - As a teenager, Mundo had been involved with the gang and went to prison.

Now that he was out, he was turning his life around, looking for a purpose. He always loved boxing. He saw a sign about the after school program, and he asked for a loan if he could volunteer.

- And he said, "Ah, can I start today?" I said, "Start today?" He said, "Right off the bat." He said, "Yeah, I want to start today." So he went to his truck, got some workout clothes,

and he went right in with my kids. Mundo kept coming back day after day, and remote liked how he related to the kids. He was honest with them about the bad choices he'd made. - He had all these tattoos with his gang name on his back.

He'd never hardy ever took off his shirt

'cause he didn't want people to see that kind of stuff and the kids to see that kind of stuff. And that's what I like about him that he made towards so many kids in the gym to not go through the same thing that he went through.

- Ramone and Mundo became close friends. They ran the after-school program together, and Mundo even started working alongside Ramone at his day job, training professional boxers. - He became kind of like my right-hand man,

and I would tell people when he went to the boxing and turned him in and said, "It shows what me." They had this mother's son, he has my third son. He really, really close to me. He called pops as I was like a father figure to him.

- Ramone and Mundo worked side-by-side, training professionals, and then running the after-school program. It went on like this for years. That was until Mundo got married and had a kid of his own. And Ramone moved to the other side of the city.

Eventually, the two slowly fell out of touch. Ramone was now seven years out from his divorce, and he wanted to find someone to share his life with. That's when a friend told him about a new dance club in Houston. - He goes, "He'd be a play that's awesome.

We're angry." That kind of stuff that you like, wanted to check it out, and I hear this a lot of beautiful ladies there too.

So, he decided to go check it out.

“- And then it was packed, he was going on, you know,”

and music was kind of music that I liked, and the dance floor was packed. There she was. - He was mesmerized by this one woman on the dance floor. - So I kept looking at this lady on the dance floor,

so she danced very, very well. And I might think, well, she looks Colombian, or from the Caribbean, the way she's dancing, she was wearing a tight, mean black dress. It looked like it was painted on her.

Beautiful all his skin, she had long black hair. Next thing I know, I see her walking towards me. And I said, "Okay, I'm trying to be cool about it." And she steps all my toe. She had high heels on it, and it was to be three inch heels.

And then I'm like, "Oh my goodness, I just went down. "I had to be, I just went down." And she starts telling me, "I'm Spanish home, "I got some so sorry, I'm so sorry, but you're okay." And then we tell y'all I could do,

we just look up, stand my hand and say, "Would you dance with me?"

“And she said, "Of course I dance with you,”

"and that's where you'd all start it." - Her name was Lulu. - Her real name was Mariana Nultis, she went by Lulu. They had an instant connection. After that night on the dance floor,

Ramon and Lulu started going on dates. And she admitted, she hadn't stepped on Ramon's toe by accident. - She said, "Yeah, I did that on purpose. "I wanted to get to know you." - And that's exactly what they did.

- We had a lot of common. She told me that she was the worst mother to had recently moved to Texas or Mexico City for a better life for herself and her kids. - After a few dates, Ramon explained to Lulu

that his career as a boxing coach was very demanding. It meant working late nights and traveling to tournaments on the weekends. He knew it was the kind of schedule that could make dating difficult if not impossible.

But it didn't scare Lulu off. She was supportive of his career and she wanted to help him succeed. - She started going to those tournaments with me, except they're the whole time supporting me,

helping me with the kids. And I like that about her. - Just like Ramon, Lulu was a hard worker. - The way she was making ends meet to try to take care of her family

was working on the ground. She will clean houses. - Lulu was determined to become a U.S. citizen. In addition to cleaning houses and raising her kids, she went to night school to improve her English.

- And I would help her too. You know, talking to her in English when I could. She was just talking to me more in English when I wanted to learn English.

- Ramon was impressed. They both had young kids from their previous marriages. After about six months of dating, they started getting to know each other's families. - There were family gatherings on her side.

And my side, Lulu was always there

helping out cleaning, helping, you know, with the food. She was always very helpful with everybody. And my mother and family, they liked her. They saw how she treated me.

And they saw that I've been a lawful seven years now. And they kind of saw something in her that, you know, she might be the one. - Having his mother's approval sealed the deal for Ramon. One night in 2009, after a year and a half together.

- I wouldn't want me, and I had to post to her. I just said yes before us, and then she started crying and crying. And then she was going on, were you okay? And all she kept saying was that, after all she went through with her ex husband,

she thought it would ever happen again. She saw it in me that I was a good man. And she's going to believe that I asked Mary here. - During their engagement, Lulu doded on him. - Oh, my goodness.

There was times where I would have a drink. And I wasn't even halfway done. And she would go give me another one. Guys, like man, how do you fight a woman like that man? She's beautiful.

And she treats you like a king. You know, kind of like, make you stick your chest a little bit too, like, wow, that's my lady as she'd hit a lot kind of stuff. - The couple had a quick engagement.

It was a second marriage for both of them,

so they opted for a simple courthouse ceremony with a backyard reception. - It was a masseuse of chasteler. In fact, she wanted to give me that as a present sheet, that a big celebration for my marriage.

A lot of family of friends were there. Her family and her sister and brother-in-law, they were all there. - In the middle of the reception, surrounded by family, music, and food,

“something strange happened that Ramon will never forget.”

- Who lose mother approached him, and she had a stern look on her face. - Her mother walks up to me, and they she just whispers in my ear. Now she's your trouble.

I mean, wow, that's the first red flag.

It was there at their red or our wedding night. - Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers, and guess what? We have some big news. - What's the news, Mitch?

- We created our own podcast. - Oh, hey, Jonas, we invented a podcast. - Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. - First people to do podcast.

- Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts. - Starting in trend. But this one's extra special. So how do we actually come up with a name, hey, Jonas, guys?

- I honestly don't remember.

“- I think it was on a call about what we should call it.”

And, oh, we were thinking I originally calling it one of the early names of our band before Jonas Brothers. - Well, this is how you guys remember it going down. - Yes, I have a very different memory of this.

- We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast, people could call in and say, hey, Jonas, and then I, broke down on my little note pad, a Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title.

- Oh, the podcast. - But thanks for remembering that, guys. - Listen to hey, Jonas, on the iHeart Radio App, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen, we don't care where you hear it.

- Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite on humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Oden Kirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day

and Headwriters, Streeter Side L helped an Ocapella band with their between songs banter. - Where does your group perform? - We do some retirement homes. - Those people are starving for banter.

“- Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends”

on the iHeart Radio App, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. - Imagine an Olympics where dopeing is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games.

Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games, and with the athletes for a full year.

- Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. - Listen to superhuman on the iHeart Radio App, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. - Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect.

- We were God's chosen kingdom on earth. He felt destined for greatness. - So when a swaggering Armenian businessman had a pulse Jacob into an extraordinary world, he doesn't look back.

- For our reason Lamborghini's right at Jets, meeting the president of Turkey. - On Michal McFeed, and this is one of the most shocking criminal conspiracy's eye that ever come across.

- When Jacob met Levant, this went to a billion dollar fraud.

- But with two kings from entirely different worlds, just how long can their empire survive? - The largest tax investigation in American history.

“- You need to tell me what you know is somebody coming after me.”

- Jacob told Levant, you're ruining my life. - Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the iHeart Radio App, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. - In 2009, Ramon Soso was newly married to his second life, Lulu.

He was hardworking, supportive of his career, and she went above and beyond to make him happy. Instead of a honeymoon, Lulu wanted to take a more practical approach. She wanted to invest in becoming a citizen.

- That's what she wanted, and it's almost okay. Well, you've that's what you wanted. I was happy for her because she was just tired of cleaning houses, so she wanted to get a regular job and be here legally.

- It was a mountain of paperwork.

The first big hurdle the couple faced together.

- And is that cheap? And we did it. We went over there to the immigration attorney and I signed all the papers. Seeing like you was like about 300 pages.

There's a lot of responsibility that you take when you sponsor a person to be in this country legally. - With Lulu's immigration paperwork underway, they started their new life together. - The first years of our marriage

what you call the honeymoon years were wonderful. I was still very involved with boxing. I had my non-profit. She supported that also. She cared a lot about me.

She cared that I was a father figure to her son, her daughter. - Early on in their marriage, Vermont told Lulu about his career dreams. He wanted to open his own boxing gym in Houston.

A place where he could coach and train the city's best boxers. But he knew this dream was a few years away. He didn't have the money for all the upfront costs. - I told her how much he was going to cost.

And I said, "What are you talking about?"

“- Lulu was determined to help Ramon's dream come true.”

- She was barring money for family and also she maxed out all these credit cards as she had.

And that's the way we were able to open up our first gym

and buy all the equipment. - The plan was dubious, but it worked. And he was grateful for it. The gym quickly became a full-time job for both Ramon and Lulu.

He did the head coaching and training. And she handled the business side of things. - She told me that back in Mexico City, she used to work for Ford. And she was an executive secretary

and she knew how to keep the books. And she was good at it. So I was very happy that I had somebody that didn't 'cause I mean, I'm that good at that part. I'm good at training people.

I'm good at teaching them how to fight a box. Andy was, his gym became de-place for elite boxers to sharpen their skills.

And it was growing quickly.

“- The business took off, it took off, and it took off quick.”

- My day started at Ford and Wonning, and I was too mad in the evening. Working Saturdays, too, and I mean, I was literally exhausted every day. But that surprised you pay when you're in a business.

- Within a year, he had already paid Lulu back. And they were starting to make real money. - I just get the same to myself. Like, wow, this is what I wanted. I mean, I didn't become a world champion.

I go to the Olympics, but I still do something with boxing. And at the same time, I'm making money. And we were financially doing very, very well. We were at the point where we ended up by at a big house, cars, vacations.

So everything was good, and to me, life was good. - One day, Ramon got an unexpected visitor at the gym. His old friend, Mundo. - And I'm like, Mundo, at a slurry.

It was like, we picked up right where we had left off.

“- Mundo asked to come work with Ramon again.”

But Lulu wasn't so sure about him. She didn't like his luck, or his criminal background. - She told me, I don't know about having somebody like that around our business. You know, she saw the tattoos.

I've had to be honest with her that, you know, told his background on everything that happened to him. And, you know, if you have been released from prison back in the day, being shot at, gang member. But he cleaned his life, he wanted to live a different life.

But then, when we started coming around helping me and helping with the gym and helping the weekend, so we could have days off. When she saw the benefits in him, then she said, "Okay, well, we're making news of him."

- So Mundo started working nights in weekends at the gym. It was a relief. The socios really needed the help. They were beginning to struggle at home with the pressure of parenting and managing their business.

- So at home, racing the family was getting difficult. And Lulu would take the issues that she had with her kids, not on me. So, yet a family, the dynamic we were seeing cracks. - After the first three years of marriage,

Ramon started noticing that Lulu was changing too. She was becoming more demanding. - She did want my kids to come around, she did want my family, even my family started coming to my house, because they saw how she changed.

How she wasn't the same person that very nice lady that they had met when her first met her. - Lulu was getting controlling about how Ramon spent money. While she was spending more than ever. - She would go shopping and come back from the mall

with all these bags, I said, "What are you doing?" Mom's concern was amplified when he discovered. - I started noticing that the books were not adding up to the number of people, members we had in the gym. And every time I will bring up that situation

or said, "Hey, what's going on here?

This is not adding up the bottom line."

And she would always say, "I don't worry about it." And I was upset, and-- - So we hired someone else to take over the books. - One night, Ramon came home from the gym to find that Lulu was hosting a party at the house.

A party he hadn't heard about. There were balloons and a cake. Lulu's entire family was there. - And I can tell that she had been drinking because she was just slurring a little bit.

And she had a bottle of white and one hand and a cup of the other. And she said, "Say hello to your new American wife." And I was like, "What are you talking about?" - Lulu had applied for citizenship

and she was approved. Earlier that day, she'd gone to her naturalization ceremony and officially became a U.S. citizen, but she hadn't mentioned it to Ramon, her husband,

- And I said, "What a second."

You're here legally in this country because of me. Your kids are here legally because of me. And you don't have the respect to ask me like, "Do you want to go to the celebration?" They got to the poor were, "I asked her point of bite."

Did you marry me just to be here legally?

“Would your family, the money, the American lifestyle?”

And she came back with, "Look at me, I'm beautiful. Look at my body. I can get any better I want." And men to have a lot more money than you. But no, I chose you.

I want to be with you, and I love you. - He wanted to believe her, but he was still disturbed by her choices, not to mention her controlling behavior, not wanting his kids around, her spending,

the discrepancies in the books, and now, she hadn't even invited him to her citizenship ceremony. - And I said, "No, this is that cool. "I like the way his marriage is going." - Ramon pulled away emotionally and physically.

- He knew something was wrong, but he was too busy with his gym to take immediate action and file for divorce. In the meantime, the couple started sleeping in separate bedrooms.

- It was still married, but living separate lives

basically in the same house.

- He didn't expect Lulu to be the one to file for divorce, but one day, she came to him with the papers, and she had a bold request. - She wanted to keep the house and the business. - That's a nod, I don't think so.

I said, "We're going to go half. "Everything is going to split down the middle, "you go your waggle my way, but all the money and time "that I have invested in this marriage "and everything that we have, no."

I said, "No, this is my house." So I told her, "We can work it out." Or we can go to court,

“and that's what I got my attorney and we were gonna fight it out.”

He had been through a divorce before, and although the first one was difficult, it had been fair and respectful. But this divorce was about to take a devastating turn. - I remember I was driving in Mundo, calls me.

- Mundo explained that the night before, he'd been closing the gym when he overheard Lulu talking about hiring a hitman. - And you know, Mundo being funny when we joke around before all the time,

saying Mundo quit joking around, man, you know what we want. So this is that cool, we joke like that. He said, "No, no, Pops, I seen that look "in people's eyes when they want to kill somebody." And she has that look.

- Mundo approached Lulu to ask about what he overheard. - And he walked up to the rest. And he guys used to be careful, but you say,

because you never know who's listening,

and he said, "Are you guys talking about remote?" And he said, "Yeah, Mundo said, "You want him gone and you're in disappear?" And Mundo did the pistol side with his hand. And he said, "You want him gone like this?"

Like you know what she said, "Yeah, I'm tired of him "and when she was gone disappear." Yeah, like that, I just want him gone out of my life. And Mundo said, "Tell you what, you know?" I've got some people that can do a job for you.

(suspenseful music) - Hey, it's us, the Jonas brothers, and guess what, we have some big news. - What's the news, dude? - The news. - We created our own podcast.

- Oh, hey, Jonas. - We invented a podcast. - Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. - First, people to do podcast.

- Pretty. - Yeah, pretty wide. - Range of podcasts, right there. - But this one's extra special. - So how do we actually come up with a name

"Hey Jonas, guys?" - I honestly don't remember.

“- I think it was on a call about what we should call it.”

And, oh, we were thinking I originally calling it one of the early names of our band before Jonas Brothers. - Mm-hmm. - Well, this is how you guys remember it going down.

- Yes. - I have a very different memory of this. - We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast. We put the call in and say, "Hey Jonas, "and then I broke down on my little note pad.

"Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title." - Oh, that's awesome. But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the iHeart Radio App, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

Just listen, we don't care where he hear it. - Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite on humor me with Robert Smigle and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Oden Creek to David Letterman help make you funnier.

This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Side L, helped an Occupel aband with their between songs banter. - Where does your group perform? - We do some retirement homes.

- Those people are starving for banter.

on the iHeart Radio App, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcasts.

“- Imagine an Olympics where dopey is not only legal,”

but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's superhuman documented it all,

embedded in the games, and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having troubles stopping the muscle growth. - Listen to superhuman on the iHeart Radio App,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. - Welcome to my new podcast, Learnin' the Hard Way with me, your host and your favorite therapist, Cue games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month,

I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations

with so many incredible guests.

I'm talking trip, fine team, Ryan Clark. - Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase, that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it,

and we don't know when we're done enough. - Because people scoreboard wide. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross,

“'cause you find it important to be a good person”

while you hear on earth, are you a good person because you're free? - 'Cause that's two different intentions, bro. - Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust.

I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Keer Games, as we have real conversations of our healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free, out-heart radio app,

search, learn the hard way, and listen to that. - Mundo told Lulu, he could help. That he knew someone who could do the hit. Instead of calling up a connection, he went straight to his good friend Ramon.

I was upset, I was so upset. I mean, I had to pull over. I had so much rage. I didn't know what to do. That was like me, what I'd do.

So I called a police, he said, no, he used to do. I talked to her and I'm gonna start meeting with her. And I'm gonna record every day on my phone. And see how far she's willing to go.

And then I wanna want you to do us take all these recordings to the police and see what they wanna do. Ramon was skeptical that this plan would work and taking Mundo at his word.

Matt Lulu was dangerous. So right after that phone call, he decided to go to the police. - And I told him the situation, what happened? And he responded with, you know what?

You guys are going through a divorce, women and men sometimes say things when they're upset, even that they wanna kill their wives or their husbands. 'Cause this is saying it at anger. There's really not a lot of evidence to do anything with that.

- He wasn't sure if Mundo's plan

“to use secret recordings would be admissible”

or even legal. It sounded kind of like in trapment. So he asked the detectives about it. - I told him a whole black one where he does it, and he said, you guys can go in more evidence.

That's okay. Apparently that is legal. So that's what we did. So they moved forward with the plan. Mundo would meet with Lulu in private places

like cars to see if she was actually serious about hiring a hitman. And all the while, he was secretly recording on his phone. For this to work, she'd have to believe that Mundo was in 100%.

But why would she trust Mundo? One of Ramon's best friends. Ramon has a simple answer. Lulu sold desperate in everything that's going on. The worst I'd go on her way.

Her life is slowly crumbling. - The most difficult part of their plan was that Ramon would have to play dumb. And spend a few more days sleeping under the same roof as Lulu, pretending that he didn't know

what she was planning. Ramon remembers turning into his driveway that day. Something he'd done a thousand times before.

And he always felt comfort and relief when he got home.

But now, it was all so eerie. His house, a would-be crime scene, and him, an unsuspecting murder victim. - Even though we're sleeping in separate rooms, I had to go home and see this lady

and look at this lady. Knowing that she wanted to have me kill. - He barely said a word to her. That night, he launched his bedroom door. He tried to sleep, but he was wide away

but thoughts racing. People say things they don't mean during a divorce all the time. Could she just be fuming?

The next day, Ramon got his answer. It turns out, Lulu was in a hurry.

“She wanted to take Mundo up on his offer right away.”

- Lulu, what did we did before our divorce was finalized because she said to Mundo look, if he dies after our divorce is finalized, my kids get everything. But if he dies before that the divorce is finalized,

she gets everything. The divorce was gonna be finalized in about a month, so she wanted me dead as soon as possible. Ramon had spent seven years with Lulu. From most of that time, he genuinely adored her.

He wanted to give her that second chance

at a loving partnership. And he dreamed of seeing her succeed alongside of him. Instead, she was throwing it all away. And Ramon heard everything, captured on tape. - I can't believe what I was hearing from Lulu.

She's telling Mundo how she's practicing, how she's gonna cry,

“when the police calls her after they kill me.”

And she's literally making crying sounds and she starts laughing after that. - In one of the first recorded conversations, Lulu dropped a bombshell. - Lulu was planning to have me kill two years prior

to our divorce. I was like, what? And Mundo said, yeah, I have it on one of the recordings that I'm listening to it. And I said, I can't believe what I'm listening to.

- Two years earlier, they'd taken a family vacation to Mexico City, Ramon thought their relationship was in a good place. - And she was so happy to show me Mexico City and go to the pyramids, she had a whole itinerary

for everything we were supposed to do in Mexico City. - She told Mundo that she was planning to kill Ramon on that trip, Lulu wanted his savings, his business, hand his life insurance. She was conspiring to commit the crime with a friend,

back in Mexico. - And the plan was, yeah, bring him over here. We'll disappear, people disappear here all this time.

“When we can do this, have you guys held for ransom?”

And they're going to let you go and then we're going to disappear him. And then Mundo asked Lulu and so, how come you didn't go through with it? And Lulu said, well, I didn't have the heart

to do it then. On how I do it. - This chilled him to the bone. He didn't recognize this woman. He'd never hurt his wife's speak like this before.

The coldness in her voice, her laughter. - It never crossed my mind that Lulu had this cold, blooded heart through our good times in our marriage.

I never would have ever thought, in a million years,

this person had that kind of mind to do this kind of stuff. - He became genuinely terrified for his life, her mom let the house and stayed with his parents who lived across town. In the meantime, Mundo asked Lulu if she wanted him

to reach out to one of his guys, if she was ready. And she said she was. So Mundo called his contacts. - He called one of them John Boy in the other one, Puckle. - If those sound like characters

from a crummy action movie, it's because they are. - So with that, he saw a blood in blood out. And those are those two characters, right? From that movie. - But Lulu bought it.

So Mundo texted Puckle. Who was actually a remote using a burner phone. - Then I said, "Well, Mundo, I'm not a street guy." So he's already teaching me how to talk for text in that ganged lingo.

To pass us a criminal basically,

he's meeting with Lulu and the person I do at text. Mundo said, "Hey, the boss lady, ready to do this. "We need $200 for the toy." - Mundo explained that the hit would cost $12,000. But the guys would need $200 upfront for the gun.

- She went to our bank. We still had a account together. She went to our account, got the $200 out of our savings, which is basically my money too, and gives Mundo $200.

- As soon as the money changed hands, they had enough to go to the police. The moment was both a relief and a horrible betrayal. And with this evidence, the police were finally ready

They took it very seriously.

“- They had to get all these different agencies together”

and come up with a plan. Stayed troopers, the share with the par we have to be eye. They got real quick. - Mundo enforcement wanted to collect evidence of their own. They decided to see if Lulu would make a down payment

for the hit, and if she would exchange the money with one of these fictitious hitmen in person. - The state police brought their own undercover police officer to play as one of the hitman's. To start meeting with Lulu in person,

I mean, this guy, if you saw it in the street, he thought that he was really a gang member, hitman, you know, you fit everything to the tea. You had all the tats, anybody to talk? You had a mean look like that you would be scared of him.

- Lulu met him in a car, which, of course, was an undercover police car full of cameras. She said she didn't have the cash to pay him just yet. - But she brought my own jewelry as the down payment from my own order.

Bracelets, watches, just so stuff that I have left behind at the house.

“And she gave that to him as a down payment.”

And she also had them there to tell and look. And he also wears just really nice watch. And if he has it on, you can keep that too because there's worth something in there. And after he dies, I'll give you the rest of the money.

And he said, okay, we'll take care of business now. - That night, the police asked for my own to come to the station right away. - And I said, what about Wungo? He's not coming.

He said, no, we just need to talk to you. When I arrived at the station, go to the special room that Wungo was met.

And when I get in, I started noticing like, wait a second,

there's a lot more people in this room than before. The FBI guy was there, the state police, the detective, the D.A., or assistant, the A was there. So it was a packed room. And they start telling me to say, OK, Ramona,

we feel that we have enough evidence to arrest Lune right now. But here's the deal. You guys want to business here locally. She's a mother, she's there being a trouble.

And we need to make this a slam dunk case. And I'm afraid that if we go to a jury trial, we might have one of the jurors for a try for her. And I just want to make sure it's a slam dunk case. So we have decided to stage your death

and show her your picture and then record it. - It sounded over the top.

He'd never heard anything like it.

And to be honest, I had their advice. The police told Ramona that they need him for three days. So we quickly went home and packed it back. He was advised not to tell anyone where he was going.

That Mundo, that his parents, that his kids. He returned to the police station the next morning. And was surprised when the police started doing special effects make up to make it look like he'd been shot in the head. - The police even had a reference image.

A photo of a real murder victim whose body had been dumped in the desert. - They take me in a blacked-out SUV to this location where they had already dug out this shallow brave.

And when I get there, the detective tells me he'll get me to the strip down to the underwear. They showed me how to pose in my hands, and I'll be on my back, and I looked like I was a little swollen. They put more blood on me.

And they even threw blood on me, which I thought it was slowly creating. And close my eyes.

“And the only thing that I could remember”

the most from that scene was the sound of a 35 millimeter as it went around me just clicking, taking pictures of me. And then the detective's help him is the show's up. We're done here, to close on, and they took me away to a hotel.

- He sat in the hotel room for two days, not able to contact anyone, just waiting for the police to arrest Lulo. - I can sleep. All I did was pay back and forth.

Thinking about all the different situations what he figured doesn't happen, what does she, doesn't fall for it. What are my kids gonna think when they see this, my parents, everybody, I mean,

all, I mean, it's so many things going through my head. - Meanwhile, back in Houston. - The undercover police officer was in their car with Lulo, and he shows Lulo the picture of me in the shallow grave. So next thing she does,

like doing the racing the roof like she's laughing.

“Like, yeah, I'd like to get paid, I hit a lot of.”

- And then walks out of the car, closes the door, no idea whatsoever. The whole time she was starting to turn on the cover, police officer.

- Lulo was arrested right there for solicitation of first degree capital murder. After the arrest was made, the police called Ramone's hotel room to let him know. - I literally said on the edge of that bed,

and tears started coming out. Tears of anger, tears of sadness. Not because I was still in love with this person, but seating think about me being a son, me being a father,

a friend, a brother, all those, seeing think about none of that, you taking me away from my kids.

“My mother, my father, that hurt me a lot.”

- Ramone says the worst part of this entire betrayal was what happened next. He hadn't been able to talk to his family for three days, and explain where he was going or what was going on. He's the kind of son who calls his mom nearly every day.

He knew she'd be panicked. So as soon as he could, he dialed his parents' house. - My father asked his phone,

and my dad never asked his phone.

My dad is not a phone person. And she says, "Well, so what do you get?" And I can hear the crack in his voice. And in the back row, I hear my mother screaming, crying, kind of cry you hear, few girls with somebody passes.

- His parents had just heard the news of Lulu's arrest, but they didn't know it was a setup. The only thing they knew was that they hadn't heard from Ramone.

“And that his wife had just been arrested”

for soliciting his murder. - And I try to drive a space responsible trying to get to her. And when I get there, my dad opens a door in my dad's eyes with bloodshot.

I've never seen my dad cry ever.

He just hugged me and I was straight to my mother. She was there on the couch. His, she can't catch her breath in. And she's crying and saying, "Mom, come, that's okay." I mean, I'm okay, you know, I tried to explain to her.

I was gonna be okay, but she still couldn't catch her breath. She was basically hyperventilating, you know, because she was so anxious. - This is the moment that still haunts Ramone. Seeing his own mom, grieve his dad.

It's something few people ever see. And it's extremely difficult to process. - You know, I'm the only son. And there forget that it's gonna be the picture that always be all I was.

My dad honk about my mom's hand. Telling her, it's gonna be okay.

- Even though Lulu was being held on a million dollar bail,

Ramone couldn't shake this fear that she'd somehow find him. - I didn't know if Lulu had a plan B or C, so I was sleeping with a loaded shotgun. Next to my bed.

Then I had another loaded gun on the counter of my kitchen, which was a 40 millimeter. Then I had a 9 millimeter loaded in my vehicle, all times ready to go. - In the year following Lulu's arrest,

he didn't leave the house unless he had to. Over time, all of that fear turned to anger. - As so much bottled up anger inside of me. My family, my kids and my mother. All of that anger I had to bottle up inside of me.

Anybody that has gone through something so traumatic like have went through. You can't live with them much anger. I couldn't continue to live the way I was living with that anger, with loaded guns around me all the time.

I was a ticking bomb, but there's I was afraid of myself. - After 15 months in jail, Lulu pleaded down to second degree solicitation of capital murder. From my own channeled his anger

into writing a victim impact statement to deliver at her sentencing hearing. - I mean, I was gonna let her have it verbally of all the pain and anger that she had caused me and my family. When they leave me talk,

it was packed a lot of people were there from the press. I get up, I took a deep breath. I forgive this lady.

It wasn't about making Lulu feel better

or letting her off the hook. It was about making this moment into a ceremony for himself.

“A ceremony to release all the anger he'd been carrying.”

- And once I did that, it was as if all that anger is just was gone. Really like all that air went out of the boat and I was able to breathe in. And I was just, life was beginning to be more normal now.

- Lulu was sentenced to 20 years but ended up serving eight and a half. She was released in November of 2023. And she'll serve another 12 years on parole. - She's under a very, very strict rules

with the Texas State parole board. She misses up, she's going right back in.

- Ramon decided to move on from the spaces they shared,

which meant selling the house and the gym. - It was just way too many memories. I just need to move on. - As for Mundo, there's still friends today. He doesn't think about Lulu every day

like he used to. It's in part because-- - I mean, love again. (laughs) Yes, yes, it's just been wonderful to me.

It's just Puerto Rican too. I say that because we have a lot in common because of our cultures. - Ramon is determined to turn his betrayal into a positive force.

He wrote a memoir about his experience. It's called, "I walked on my own grave." And he wants to tell his story on stage as a one-man play. - I'm not an actor, I'm not a professional speaker,

but when you speak from the heart, it means something.

“And I think I like to do that tell my story on stage.”

The real deal here within that happened. - Part of his healing process has been understanding that there's a term for what Lulu did to him. The terror he lived with for years afterwards. It's domestic abuse.

Even though his story has so many twists and turns, that's what it boils down to. His own spouse tried to have him killed. As you know, we end all of our weekly episodes with the same question.

Why did you want to tell your story? - My hope is that my story helps men and women that are caught in difficult situations in their marriage. And I go through what I went through,

'cause I was a victim of the domestic abuse. And it's hard for people to understand that. We're simply being your boxer and you this and you that. So I advocate for men that are victims

of the domestic abuse to never give up.

- If you get help, I mean, just like women, man should be getting the same type of help. - On the next episode of Petrile.

“- Who wants to file a police report against their father?”

You know, I didn't want to put my dad in jail. I really didn't, like I didn't want to be the kind of person we did that. - If you would like to reach out to the Petrile team or want to tell us your Petrile story,

email us at [email protected]. That's [email protected]. Also, please be sure to follow us at Glass Podcasts on Instagram for all Petrile content news and updates.

We're grateful for your support. One way to show support is by subscribing to our show on Apple Podcasts. And don't forget to rate and review Petrile. Five star reviews go a long way.

A big thank you to all of our listeners. Petrile is a production of Glass Podcasts, a division of Glass Entertainment Group in partnership with I-Heart Podcasts. The show was executive produced by Nancy Glass

in Jennifer Fason, hosted and produced by me Andre Gunney, written and produced by Monique LeBord, also produced by Ben Fetterman. Associate producers are Kristen Belkuri and Caitlyn Golden, our I-Heart Team is Ali Perry and Jessica Crime Check.

Audio editing and mixing by Matt Delvecchio and Nico Aruca. Petrile's theme composed by Oliver Baines, music library provided by my music. And for more podcasts from I-Heart visit the I-Heart Radio App, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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