Ep 41: LAW AND ORDER: Behind The Scenes On The Case Of Don Lewis’ Disappearance
The saga of Joe Exotic and Carole Baskin captured the world’s attention at the start of the pandemic, and that global interest led to the reopening of a 23-year-old missing person’s cold case in Tampa, Florida. Sarina Fazan is joined “On The Record” by prominent Criminal Defense Attorney Paul Sisco and Investigator Jim Rathmann, who worked together on Investigation Discovery’s “Joe Exotic: Tigers, Lies, and Cover-up.” In this podcast, Paul, Jim, and Sarina discuss the 1997 disappearance of Don Lewis, Baskin’s former husband, and the renewed mission to solve the case.
Jim Rathmann is a former Secret Service agent, retired homicide detective, and decorated Army Veteran. He also previously hosted a popular true-crime podcast, where he famously solved a cold case live on air. Jim is now working to discover the truth behind Lewis’ disappearance.
Attorney Paul Sisco has made Tampa is home since 1968. He is Board Certified as an Expert in Criminal Trial Law and has been practicing since 1992. In 2016, the Hillsborough County Bar Association awarded him the Kynes "In the Trenches" Award for excellence in criminal trial practice. As both a former prosecutor and a seasoned private trial lawyer, Paul has tried more than 75 jury trials to verdict over his three-decade career.
Among the 34 million people who viewed the Netflix docuseries “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness,” Paul and Jim watched the story unfold with increasing interest. Jim went on to become the lead investigator and on-air talent of the Investigation Discovery “Joe Exotic” series, with Sarina as one of the producers and Paul contributing as a legal expert.
Jim says, “I just think it was the perfect storm. I mean, you had the pandemic that just came about, everybody’s locked up in their house looking for things to do, probably watched everything on your DVR within a few days, so it’s like what do we do? And then all of a sudden, this docuseries comes out, and everybody was just captivated by it. Some interesting characters who live crazy lifestyles. In addition to that, it was a train wreck, but you couldn’t take your eyes off of it.”
Paul agrees, “It was that, and it's not like when we were kids on TV where it's on once and if you miss something during the commercial you couldn’t rewind it. We have the ability to see what this is all about.”
“The personalities were really interesting, and it was the perfect storm with COVID and so on, but you also had some pretty unique characters here,” Paul adds.
When Don Lewis vanished in 1997, Paul was a prosecutor in Tampa, but he wasn’t familiar with the case. “I didn't know anything about that. Over the years, I’ve heard about the tiger rescue place, but it was always, to me, a place where some of my clients could do community service work. I didn't know any back story really about it, until it started to come to light with the show,” he explains.
Sarina adds that, while she didn’t live in Tampa at the time of Lewis’ disappearance, she was surprised that the case wasn’t hirer profile then. She also discloses that she was the emcee of the Big Cat Rescue’s 2010 Fur Ball.
As a both, seasoned investigator and someone who has dealt with the loss of his father, Jim was drawn to the case. “I have all of this experience of being able to investigate, so I did a little bit of preliminary research on my own and thought, you know what, I think I can lend a hand and help, because I just think there’s some information out there that can be uncovered that could help bring this case to closure. Whether it’s closure for the family or whether it’s justice that can be found,” Jim reveals.
Jim began his preliminary investigation on his previous podcast, which led to his involvement with Investigation Discovery. Although Lewis vanished 23 years ago, the amount of information now being gathered, along with the advancement of technology, contributes to the case’s building momentum.
Paul explains, “What’s essentially happened is, new life has been breathed into these old cases, simply by the amount of information that’s out there.”
But can this new information and evidence be prosecuted? Paul says, “If, in fact, foul play to that level was involved, this is a prosecutable case. You know every day you’re reading about how DNA evidence has been discovered that they didn't know existed. Things that weren’t even important to them in 1997 could suddenly be a difference in making a case or not.”
In fact, technology led Jim to solve a 15-year cold case in Louisiana while on the air.
While investigating the Lewis case, Jim uncovered some surprising evidence after interviewing Trish Farr-Payne, who is the ex-wife of Lewis’ handyman, Kenny Farr.
Specifically, Jim had suspicions regarding the property transfers made to Kenny Farr one month after Lewis’ disappearance. He explains, “Typically, if your spouse is missing, you’re not looking to get rid of your partner’s properties and what they worked hard for. You don't know what their wishes are with that. So, to give that to a handyman…and you’re talking well over six figures worth of properties for a very small amount.”
He continues, “But you really want to know, was this a method of payment? It’s a possibility. Of course, they could come out with their own answers, but, as an investigator, that’s what you’re going to think of.”
Paul says that there’s typically a point during a cold case when a victim’s family is ready to give up. But he takes solace in knowing that the increased scrutiny around a case like Lewis’ will cause unease for the perpetrators, which might also lead to answers for the family.
“There's a certain satisfaction to people that might be doing evil things like this knowing that somebody’s still on the trail knowing how cold it is,” Paul expresses.
Jim adds, “They want to be able to stay ahead of it at the same time we’re trying to catch them. As technology advances, it gets harder and harder for them.”
As a former prosecutor, Paul believes that a criminal’s ego can also contribute to their downfall. “It’s part of the persona of people who do things like this. First off, they have massive egos. Incredibly self-involved folks.”
He continues, “The psyche of a person who has the ability to do that is the same one who sort of wants to, curiosity killed the cat…It’s difficult for them to get away from their strange infamy and notoriety.”
“Usually the case ends because somebody’s going to tell you how it happened. You just have to find who that person is and why,” Paul says.
Jim declares, “When I look at this case specifically, I really do believe that there’s foul play involved.”
While the “who” and “why” in the Lewis case is still being investigated, there is new information being uncovered every day.
There are also questions surrounding Carole Baskin’s involvement, but she is not talking to Jim as part of his investigation at this time.
Paul and Jim both believe that an underlying motive must be present for someone to come forward in the case, but they hope that Lewis’ family will be able to find some closure.
“I think at some point they’re going to get a lot of answers. I hope that they get full closure and know exactly what had happened,” Jim says.
He adds, “We're a whole lot closer now than we were 23 years ago.”
Paul and Jim continue their discussion about cold cases in an upcoming episode of “On The Record With Sarina Fazan” as we take a closer look at the 2006 disappearance of Jennifer Kesse.
For more information about Jim Rathmann, visit:
Twitter: @realjimrathmann
For more information about the Law Office of Paul M. Sisco, visit:
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Sarina Fazan’s wardrobe provided by Triage Consignment Boutique (www.facebook.com/triageconsignment).
Sarina Fazan’s dry cleaning and laundry provided by ZIPS Dry Cleaners (www.321zips.com/tampa).
