I know we should stick to facts, but having followed this so long, and now having listened to the audio tapes, read the transcripts, and just tonight having finally found time to listen to the Cab Tice interview, it is clear to me that Pat Gonzalez was a ruthless, unstable loser, dreaming of grandeur. He bummed around in various failed ventures, including the dream of creating the defense business with his friend and former boss Cab Tice, who had introduced him to Bud Billings. Tice owes Bud. Pat owes Bud. Cab thinks Bud is soaked in money, and has created a fortress for his untraceable car and loan biz cash, stowing it in the house. Bud is pressuring Cab for the money he is owed, and asking Cab about the Pat money, too. Pat is behind on electric, rent, has six kids, his financial world is crumbling. As is Pamela Long's, his shady land lord, with her 'mysterious' connected' pseudo-husband. Cab borrows money from his own employee, Silvanio Gonzalez, who takes it from his own life savings. Cab blows that money on his failed biz and can't pay it back, either. The long time employee needs that money and has to think of how to get it back. He invokes the specter of the Mexican Mob to Cab, who indeed has some very peripheral knowledge of them being around, and in fact has been a snitch for Homeland security, turning in people for naked biz purposes, just like he previously turned in Bud, hoping to get him in trouble. When Bud pushed for the money, and turned Cab's kited checks over to law enforcement, the die was cast. All the pieces are in place. Pat, ruthless and broke, smelling that huge haul of 'easy money'. Cab, ruthless and broke. Pam Wiggins, ruthless and broke. Hugh, looking to score a big payday, willing to guide these nuts, and see what happens, but making sure he is physically out of town during the operation. Cab turned loose the demons of hell via the person of Pat Poff, and Pat reveled in the excitement of a surreptitious "op", and as an already current bank robber, saw no problem at all -- in fact relished -- assembling his "team" of what turned out to be idiots, for the big heist, that had two objectives -- take the millions from Bud, and kill him, so he would never be able to tell anyone about these losers.
I think if the cops had not offered deals to Wiggins, and had grilled Tice as the potential 'contract' head dude, up for electric chair, that both of them would have sung. As it is, as usual, they have offered the deals to the wrong people, and yes, triggerman Pat is gonna get convicted, but that would have happened on physical evidence alone.
It is clear that the inter-agency need to respect boundaries is a huge damper on them really prying the lid off of a whole host of interlocking 'semi-organized' crimes and illegal operations.
The bottom line is that Bud billings was a huge target to the jealous disaffected, and that two of the people that owed him decided to grab what he had, settle their debt, and shut him up, all in one fell swoop. Fortunately, and sadly, these people are almost universally and laughably inept.
Someone could really turn this into a hell of a book, and/or movie, If they were able to capture the ambiance and pitifully STUPID and futilely ridiculous characters and circumstances. The best Film Noir movies hinged on the random hand of fate causing lives of weak people, willing to do desperate things, to spin out of control. Think "Double Indemnity."
