Murder on the mind

For Dennis White, New Years Day, 2003, dawned with dark foreboding.

His psychiatrist for the past six years had not only been talking about murder, he'd hooked Dennis into helping him get him a potential murder weapon.

Dr. Richard Karpf: The point is, I’m not asking you to do the job for me. In other words. I'm doing the job.

For days, while wearing a police wire, Dennis White prodded his psychiatrist for more specifics, asking what could possibly have pushed Dr. Karpf to a point where he thought the only possible solution to his problem was murder.

Dennis White: What could have happened that made you feel like that?

Dr. Richard Karpf: They physically hurt me.

Dennis White: OK, like did they beat you up?

Dr. Richard Karpf: Yep. I mean it wasn't bad enough to go into the hospital, but it was pretty humiliating. It's something that I haven't forgotten about and I’m never going to forgive them.

Karpf told Dennis this was not going to be a single killing--what he had in mind was a mass murder.

In vivid detail that fired Dennis' imagination, Karpf said he intended to invite six people to a dinner party in Manhattan and coldly murder them all--one at a time.

Dennis White: While they were having dinner is when he was going to surprise them. Go up there. That's why he needed the silencer, OK--because it was an apartment building, he told me, somewhere in midtown.

Dennis White: He was going to shoot them first. And then chop them up, you know, and I had to get cleaning fluids to clean up the blood.

Hoda Kotb: And then he was going to transport the pieces in garbage bags?

Dennis White: And bring them down the elevator and load them in the van. And then we'll go to the boat. And then, you know, we'll bring them out to sea. We'll dump them. And he said that'll be the end of it.

Hoda Kotb: How did that register with you? The man who was supposed to be rock-solid, helping you, was now talking crazy.

Dennis White: It just felt like an out of body thing.

Missing from Dr. Karpf's lurid scheme were the names of his intended victims.

Convinced that Dr. Karpf was too dangerous to be walking the streets, the police put veteran undercover officer Michael O’Leary on the case to work with Dennis.

Michael O’Leary: I instructed Dennis White to make contact with Karpf and and get me on the phone with Dr. Karpf, so I could personally talk to him.

The next day, Dennis told Karpf he'd made contact with a friend of his who could--for the right price-- get him an untraceable gun with a silencer and all the ammo he would ever need.

Dennis White: He was like, "You sure you know the guy?" He was also, you know, a little leery. And I said, "Yeah, I know him." He says, "All right." He says, "I can't wait to get it."

The trap was almost set. With Det. O’Leary posing as the illegal gun dealer, all Dennis had to do is introduce the two men.

So on a busy Saturday morning, Det. O’Leary called Dennis's shop, knowing the doctor would be in.

Dennis White: Certified...

Michael O’Leary: What’s your man there?

Dennis White: He's sitting inside while I’m working on the car.

Michael O’Leary: OK.

Dennis White: I’ll put him on and say here's the guy. Is that what you want me to do?

Michael O’Leary: Yeah, talk to me. And the, you know, just talk to me for a couple of minutes and say, you want to talk to him? And then just hand him the phone.

After handing the phone to Dr. Karpf, Dennis White walked out of the room. As far as he was concerned, it was a police matter now.

Dr. Richard Karpf: Hello ... How are you? This is Mike?

Michael O’Leary: Yeah. Who's this?

Dr. Richard Karpf: All right Mike. I have something I need to get from you. I need a small gun with a silencer which would fit into a say jacket pocket.

Michael O’Leary: He told me that he wanted something that he would be able to conceal in his coat pocket. That he wanted--that this was going to be up close and personal.

Dr. Richard Karpf: We're talking up close and point blank range.

Michael O’Leary: OK. Does your guy know you're coming?

Dr. Richard Karpf: Well, ahhhh--of course not.

Karpf also insisted that his new contact provide him with four 12-bullet clips--an astounding amount of ammunition--for the job Karpf said he had in mind.

Michael O’Leary: What the f--- is this with four clips? What are you going to do? Sit there and reload. Do you know how to load one, first off?

Dr. Richard Karpf: I’ve never actually loaded one, no.

O’Leary: I even said to him, "Are you up do this task of doing this?

Michael O’Leary: It seems like you're taking a big step here and you really don't know what you're getting into as far as even having…

Dr. Richard Karpf: Well, it's not going to used tomorrow, let's put it that way.

O’Leary: You know, give me more money, I’ll do it for you. Just let's do that. And he wasn't giving that up. He was giving up that he was going to do it. It seems like a personal thing that he was going to take care of this.

Karpf: But the thing is, somebody fouled me, alright. Do you understand that? Somebody fouled me. And unfortunately the system is kind of failing me.

The undercover cop desperately wanted to find out who Karpf intended to kill, but the doctor wouldn't give him a single name over the phone.

Dr. Richard Karpf: I don't want you involved in case, I mean if I f---up that's my problem, not your problem.

Michael O’Leary: OK.

So, Det. O’Leary arranged to meet Karpf and sell him the gun, silencer and ammo.

Dr. Richard Karpf: I can't deal directly with you. I mean, we can't be seen together at any one point in time.

But Dr. Karpf wasn't making it easy. He had one condition. He insisted that Dennis White be there when the deal went down.

Dr. Richard Karpf: Listen, you don't want me to bring Dennis with me. In other words, you want me alone.

Michael O’Leary: I would prefer it just because I don't need anybody else there. If you really feel it, you know, it's going to be more comfortable, just let me know...

Dr. Richard Karpf: I mean, I really would like to have Dennis with me, OK?

Michael O’Leary: OK.

Dr. Richard Karpf: If that's alright. Because I mean, I, you know. I mean…

Michael O’Leary: OK.

Dr. Richard Karpf: I mean, my money's good, OK?

Michael O’Leary: Cool...

Dr. Richard Karpf: I don't feel safe doing this all alone. All I want is Dennis.

Michael O’Leary: OK, bring him. You want me to bring him or do you want to bring him?

Dr. Richard Karpf: I’ll bring him.

Michael O’Leary: He didn't appear to be the criminal type. He knew very little about the gun, how it was going to work and how things were going to be. But I got the sense that he was going to follow thru with what he wanted to do.

All Dennis White wanted to do was walk away from the whole sordid mess, but now he was stuck.

Both Dr. Karpf and the police had made certain that Dennis White--a man prone to panic attacks--was the central character in this drama's final act.

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