E t T u M a g a z i n e 2 0 t h A n n i v e r s a r y F e a t u r e S t o r y EDGAR LEE DWYER, HOUSED AT THE LISTENING FRIENDS OF AMERICA CUMBERLAND, HAS GAINED A REPUTATION AS THE INSTITUTION’S MOST HIGH-PROFILE PRISONER. Et Tu: How long were you in Cumberland? Fred: I did a ten-year stint for mail fraud and money laundering. I basically ran a pyramid scheme and got caught. Because I was a white-collar criminal I knew I would be tar- geted by other tougher inmates, so I kept a low profile until I figured out how to survive in there. Dwyer saw that I was a newbie so he sent me a kite. ET: A kite? F: A note on a piece of paper. He fished it to me on some string. He said he just wanted to say he knew how I was feeling and to stay strong. ET: Did you know who he was? F: Not at first. He seemed genuinely con- cerned about my well-being. But when my celly said, “Yo, man he’s the Melancholy Killer,” I couldn’t believe it. ET: Did you keep your distance from him after that? F: No. I got closer to him. ET: Closer? F: Yeah. See, I’m a master manipulator too. I conned people for a living. I gained their trust for financial rewards. I knew Dwyer was trying to manipulate me, so I was trying to manipulate him back. And him being high-profile, I figured there had to be some value in that. And there was. He has a lot of followers who send him care packages, so he has a lot of goods to be used as merchandise. ET: So, you think Dwyer is a master manipu- lator? F: Absolutely! And he’s good at it because you don’t know you’re falling under his spell until he’s got you. ET: Why is he manipulating people? F: In prison … you manipulate for any- thing and everything. You want some extra soap or toothpaste or some sweets? You’ve got to work an angle. If you need a shiv or some drugs or booze, you’ve got to manipulate or pay up the hard way. Dwyer was a master manipulator, and he was playing at a higher level than anyone else. See, guys like me, I can work the other inmates and the guards. Hell, I could broker with all the gangs and not get cut. But Dwyer, he’s at a different level. Once I saw him manipulate two inmates into a fight, just for fun. And he’s playing the people in high places: the lieutenants, the doctors. He even has his hooks in the warden’s office. ET: Are you saying Dwyer runs the prison? F: I’m not saying he’s running the prison, but he certainly has a lot of control over the people in charge. ET: How is he able to do it? F: He’s a high-profile prisoner, and he can make the higher-ups’ lives miserable. He has his followers send letters to the warden, to the press. If he says he is being mistreated, everyone hears about it. Last I heard, he was writing a book about making changes to the prison system. I’m sure the officials don’t want his book released because it is a direct criticism of the way they run things. ET: Did he ever talk about his poetry? F: Sometimes he would say something poetic out of nowhere, and I didn’t know what he was saying. Like one time this woman came to visit him. I was assigned to sweep the corridors, and I’d seen them walking her into the Visitor Center. It wasn’t that woman from his fan club, the one they say is his wife, but it was some other woman I’ve never seen before. Trust me, I keep tabs on all the broads, and I woulda remembered this midnight beauty. So later, when I see him, I say “Yo, Dwyer. Who’s the chick?” and he turns to me and says something like, “Oh bright star, if I were as steadfast as thou art,” or something ridiculous like that. I had no idea what he was talking about. That’s how it was. Most of the time when he started speaking poetry it made no sense. ET: Did he ever talk about the murders? F: No. He never talked [about] killing anyone. ET: A lot of his followers believe he is inno- cent. Do you think he killed those people? F: Absolutely. He is a stone-cold killer. ET: But he never talked about the murders? F: He doesn’t need to. See, when you’re on the inside, you know who’s a killer and who’s not. The killers, they got this look in their eyes. Some guys like to brag to build themselves up, make themselves look tougher, but you know they are all soft in- side. But Dwyer, he won’t say much unless he wants something from you. That’s the scariest type of guy. He’s not big, but he’s intimidating. He has this quiet confidence that scares the hell out of some of those inmates. I’ve seen some of the baddest [prisoners] in there who won’t even look Dwyer in the eye cause they’re that scared of him. ET: Do you think he has any remorse over the killings? F: I’m sure the only remorse he has is that he got caught. Numerous media outlets, including Et Tu Magazine, have requested interviews with Dwyer with no success. Prison officials give out only the obligatory status of “exceptional inmate with very few disciplinary incidents.” We wanted to get a better understanding of Dwyer’s life behind bars, so we were able to track down “Fred,” a recently released inmate who knows Dwyer firsthand. Fred agreed to the interview so long as his real name was not used.