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The First Degree

Episode 382: Arthur J. Williams Jr., Part 2

The First Degree

Alexis Linkletter and Jac Vanek

Society & Culture, News, True Crime

4.510K Ratings

🗓️ 17 December 2025

⏱️ 41 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In 2006, things come crashing down around Arthur ‘Art’ J Williams Jr. One of the country’s top counterfeiters, a skill he first learned in his teens, the law finally catches up with him in the form of US Secret Service Agent Brad Beeler, who’s keen to understand how the man he’s been pursuing for seven years has managed to pull off one of the most daring counterfeit currency operations in the country undetected. As a result, three generations of one family all end up behind bars, including Art’s 18-year-old son. But it’s not the end of the story. In episode 382, Jac and Alexis detail the path of redemption for Art following his release, the impact and influence of generational trauma, and how sometimes the parallels between those on both sides of the law highlight just how similar we are, instead of our differences being the defining factors in shaping our character, spiritual path, and future. 🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon: patreon.com/thefirstdegree 📸 Instagram: instagram.com/thefirstdegree 🕺 TikTok: tiktok.com/@thefirstdegreee 👤 Facebook: facebook.com/thefirstdegree Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

The first degree.

0:02.0

First degree.

0:03.0

First degree.

0:04.0

First degree.

0:05.0

First degree.

0:06.0

First degree.

0:07.0

The first degree.

0:08.0

You see it on the news.

0:10.0

You see it on the paper.

0:11.0

You see it on Facebook.

0:13.0

These things are supposed to happen in movies, not in real life.

0:26.1

We all have our choose your own adventure in life, and that's how a lot of the criminals that I've investigated, and a lot of times the people that I am talking to across from me,

0:32.6

society views them as bad people and irredeemable and whatever the case may be, but it's just

0:36.8

a lot of times how their life ended up that way.

0:39.6

They didn't have a positive role model.

0:41.4

I'm not trying to say that people aren't responsible for their actions, but once again,

0:45.3

some people's adventure is different than what I was able to start off with in my life.

0:51.1

Prison was a place of creation for me and growth.

0:55.0

I don't want this to be my life.

0:59.0

And so all the things that everyone had been telling me really hit me at one time.

1:05.0

And that's when I knew that this is done.

1:10.0

It was a difficult thing. To the point where I gave up. I continued to

...

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