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WILKES-BARRE — Former Wyoming Valley West and King’s College basketball standout Chris Feistl recently completed a six-episode series for Discovery Channel where he and a former Drug Enforcement Agency colleague searched for the legendary buried treasures of notorious crime lord Pablo Escobar.
Feistl, 55, grew up in Forty Fort and went on to work as a DEA agent.
Feistl and Jerry Salameh, both former agents who spent their careers hunting down Colombian narcos, are now returning to Colombia in search of Escobar’s buried treasure.
The brand-new season of “Finding Escobar’s Millions” premieres Tuesday, Oct. 1 at 10 p.m. on Discovery Channel.
According to a news release from Discovery Channel, most people know that Escobar brought in outrageous amounts of money during his reign.
“At the height of his power, Escobar raked in billions of dollars a year, making him one of the richest men in the world,” the release states. “Escobar strategically buried stashes of cash all over Colombia, yet much of it hasn’t been found. With unprecedented access and permission from the Colombian government, Feistl and Salameh are now returning to Colombia in search of the treasure.”
Throughout their tours with the DEA, Feistl and Salameh were instrumental in taking down the Cali Cartel — notorious narco-traffickers who seized the cocaine business after Escobar’s death, the release states. Feistl said whatever he and Salomeh find will be returned to the people of Colombia, many of whom suffered through Escobar’s reign of terror.
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“Tapping into their deep network of active sources and informants, Chris and Jerry will stop at nothing to locate the buried fortune first, searching clandestine airstrips, cocaine labs and remote cartel-owned farms in hostile areas.
“The former DEA agents will work with Guillermo Peña, a former law enforcement officer and military veteran and Ramon Iriarte, a native Colombian investigative reporter to navigate the local Colombian community, many of them still loyal to Pablo Escobar’s legacy.
“Chris and Jerry will also be equipped with innovative surveying and imaging technology that allows them to see beneath the ground and pinpoint the best spots to dig.
“Throughout the season, they will scour Colombia for clues Escobar left behind and use every resource they have in the search for Escobar’s buried millions.”
Hoops and Grotto Pizza
Feistl is the son of the late Edward and Olga Feistl. His father taught in the Wyoming Valley West School District and his mom worked at the Hoyt Library.
Feistl played on the WVW 1981 PIAA District 2 championship team coached by Jack Mascioli. He said his teammates included Scott Mascioli, Don Crossin, Andy Barilla and Tom Wasilewski.
“It was as good team,” Feistl said.
At King’s, Feistl played for coaches Ed Donohue and Ken Atkins. He said George Aldrich and Ed DeMichele were teammates.
When Feistl returns to the area, he said he always heads to Grotto Pizza in Edwardsville, a favorite of his.
“Whenever I go there, I always run into somebody I know from high school or college, like Matt Engel” Feistl said. “It’s always nice to come back and see familiar faces.”
Feistl said Wyoming Valley was a great place to grow up.
“It was a great time to grew up in the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s,” he said. “It was a great place for kids. We had good schools and a lot of outdoor activities.”
Feistl said he loves to fish and often visited Bowmans Creek and the Lehigh River for trout.
Feistl is married with one child and living in southwestern U.S.His half-brother Joseph Feistl lives in Larksville.
“I also was on the track team at WVW under Coach Larry Brunner,” Feistl said, who retired from DEA in 2010.
Feistl said the producers of season two of “Finding Escobar’s Millions” felt he and Salomeh would be a good fit.
“We can’t disclose what was found or not,” Feistl said. “The premise always was if anything of value was found it would be turned over to the Columbian government then to the Columbian people.”
Feistl said the motivation for the story is three-fold:
• Rumors have circulated for the last 25 years that Escobar had buried an enormous amount of money, gold an jewels since on the run in 1993. “We want to determine if that’s true or legend,” Feistl said.
• It is still believed that there are items and money still buried out there — people are searching every day.
• We don’t want “bad guys” to gain access to it.
Feistl said if the money and other items were stored properly, they would be recoverable.
“If we find it, the money can be used for some kind of reparation in Columbia,” Feistl said. :It would be put to good use.”
A trailer for season two of “Finding Escobar’s Millions” can be seen via The Wrap: https://www.thewrap.com/finding-escobars-millions-renewed-season-2-discovery-video-exclusive
