Firefighter Paramedik led a secret life as a mafia hitman, says the son

In 2013, Ken Tekiela revealed the secret to her son, which he held for over 20 years.

At that time, he had struggled with a solitary heroine addiction for about ten years and was alienated from a 28-year-old for about five years. But his firstborn, who believed that things were getting worse for the patriarch, put him in a detox object to help him clean himself.

“He repeated several times, but the journey to recovery was positive,” Kyle Tekiel told Fox News Digital. “Once he felt like he was recovering … I think it opened a door for him. And I think it gave him confidence to tell me. But that was a huge shock. It was like, ‘Did I right heard? ”

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Tekiela, a celebrated firefighter paramedic and a father of two, admitted that he had led a secret double life as a hitman for a mafia in Chicago.

Kyle now describes the story of his father in the subcast of a true crime entitled “Crook County”, Co -production of iHeartpodcasta and tenderfoot TV.

She explores that Tekiela, known as a “kid”, reportedly went through the ranks of clothing in Chicago and his lasting impact on his family. It contains sincere interviews with Tekiel and other loved ones.

“These are family secrets that probably had to stay buried,” Kyle admitted. “But they came to light and it’s not easy to digest.

“It took me a long time to process it before I was confident enough to share it with others. But I had to ask myself, is that something we forever bury? Or we own it and say, ‘This is what we are We are the best of that and maybe they have learned some lessons? “

Growing up, Kyle saw his father as a “local hero” who was appreciated in his community. Working at 24 hours shifts and being far from home was normal for Tekiel and his family. However, he always remained dedicated to his most important role – to the father.

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“That was his job,” Kyle said. “We thought we were growing up a great dad. He was a firefighter, and their schedule was usually around 24, 48 hours or somewhere in between. That gave him a lot of time away from home.”

Tekiela dedicated her duty to the tragedy. 1979, American Airlines Flight 191 It collapsed near O’Hare International Airport in Chicago. A total of 273 people died. Tekiela was about 23 years old at the time.

“Looking at all these first answers, firefighters and paramedics and trying to get control over the scene inspired it,” Kyle said. “That’s what made him:” I want to be that. I want to help people. “At that moment he worked for a mafia, not helping people.”

But before duty, Tekiela described that she had a tumultuous childhood. He said his mother threw him out of her house at the age of 16. Fighting to find a way and live out of her car, desperate tekiela robbed a drug dealer, which turned out to be a nephew Capo. FBI describes the cap in the mafia As a ranking, he was made by a member who leads the crew of soldiers, similar to the military captain.

Tekiela was 17 at the time. Kyle said Capo found his father and questioned him. Then he gave an offer that the patriarch could not refuse.

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“It was a wrong place, a wrong time, a wrong decision,” Kyle explained. “But he turned. And Capo saw it. They brought him so. He had nowhere else, so he had no choice … He was little under their wings. He was” a child. “And he wanted to impress them.”

According to Kyle, Tekiela role in clothing It was necessary to “take out the people that the mob wanted from the mob.”

“People who were F —- G UP and were selfish or stealing from the organization,” Kyle explained.

Kyle believes that the secret to his father’s survival – not killed or thrown into prison – “didn’t ask too many questions.” In 1982, Tekiela became a Paramedic firefighter, which made him assets in clothing.

“It’s just about doing your job, doing it well and going home – doing nothing extra,” Kyle said. “Many of these guys did things on the side to get extra money. They sell drugs, which you should not do. They ran girls. They were stealing … they didn’t want to be like other guys.

“Who knows what would have happened had he not become a firefighter,” Kyle thought. “And I think that selfish, the mafia realized that, as the first answer, he property. They have someone who goes to the crime scenes … He can have a family, be civilian, but [the mob] He also has a guy on the inside who can tell her offers – or their beating, I should say. “

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Tekiela’s wife never doubted her husband might have had a double life. Got married in 1984 And Kyle was born a year later.

“For my mom, ignorance was bliss,” Kyle said. “She believed everything she told her. She didn’t dig. She was not suspicious. And if she wasn’t suspicious, the children were not suspicious.

“He was able to keep the whole world away from our small home he held outside the city in the suburbs. It was just a regular middle -class city. And because of the career of the firefighter, he had respect in the community. And he had a time away from home to do everything you need to do for clothes. “

Things turned when Kyle was in high school. When he was about 16, his parents often started fighting. He noticed that his father was “terrible” and played “messy.”

“When I was 14, he got into an accident,” Kyle said. “He held a ladder for a firefighter who went to the attic of a high warehouse during the fire.

“The ladder and the firefighter fell to the top of my father … He almost killed him. He had a crowd of surgery, and doctors prescribed opiates … Then he just started using [heroin]. According to him, “I liked these painkillers, but after a while that was not enough.” He became addicted and it simply became from his control. “

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Podcast details As Tekiela ultimately lost her job and “everything fell apart” with a mafia.

During the recovery of Tekiela to the detox facility and the longing for renovating relationships with the son, he began to open up on his past.

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“I think … feels relief and accepted his reality, his history,” Kyle said. “He didn’t live a very good life in the last 10, 15 years … It’s hard … I’m paying his rent. I just bought him a car. He is like a child. And I think everyone knows my father f- d up in the big time and destroyed our whole family.

“Although the context is terrible, it’s still his story, and his story has meaning,” Kyle thought. “I think he thought of him,” Will I be a drug dealer or a drug addict who ruined my family or will I finally tell people who I was, how did I arrive, how I tried to go out but couldn’t and how did it fall apart? ‘

“Even after he told me all these things, even after all the pain and struggle we went through with his addiction, I still love him,” Kyle continued. “And I respect him more now that he finally told me everything … Now I know that there was a reason why he kept secrets. There is a reason why he was on drugs. It’s hard to keep a secret and he had to deal with pain somehow.”

Kyle, the husband and father of a 10 -year -old son, said that a conversation with Tekiel for Podcast was a “medicinal experience.” Today, Kyle and Ken speak the phone “occasionally”. Kyle said that his father was “still used in a capacity”.

“I see a real remorse in it,” Kyle said. “When he tells these stories – these awful things he had to do – there is a real remorse. He is ashamed of all that.”

Today, Tekiela has a “zero fear” to speak. Kyle feels the same way.

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“This is not just another Mafia story,” Kyle said. “It’s a journey of discoveries between father and son … There is a lot of growth. And the thing is that many people don’t want to talk about their feelings. They feel that it’s poor to talk about your feelings or seek therapy.

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“I think it’s so important that families talk about difficult truths,” Kyle said. “As soon as you start keeping secrets, then everything falls apart.”