419:
Petty Tyrant
Originally aired 11.12.2010
In Schenectady, NY, a school maintenance man named Steve Raucci works his way up the ranks for 30 years, until finally he's in charge of the maintenance department. That's when he starts messing with his employees. Teasing them at meetings. Punishing them with crummy work assignments. Or worse things, like secretly slashing their tires in the middle of the night.
Host Ira Glass introduces the story of Steve Raucci, by way of an anecdote about a contraband space heater. It seems that everyone who knew Raucci experienced something he did that was just a bit...off. (5 1/2 minutes)
Producer Sarah Koenig tells Raucci's story—the story of a virtuoso tyrant and bully, a man who made himself feared and untouchable, in a place where no one thought to look for a tyrant.
(28 minutes)
Sarah Koenig's story continues. This is the 'fall' half of the rise and fall of Steve Raucci...including secret recordings of the man himself. (21 1/2 minutes)
