Podcasts · History · True Crime
Ridiculous Crime
iHeartPodcasts
300 episodes
True Crime is more than blood, guts, mayhem, and murder. Zaron Burnett and Elizabeth Dutton share outlandish tales of capers, heists, and cons that shine a light on the absurd and outrageous side of criminality. Always 99% murder-free and 100% ridiculous, this is Ridiculous Crime, a podcast by iHeartRadio.
Episodes page 2 of 6
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Too Mean to Swab Hell's Kitchen: The Battle Row Ladies' Social and Athletic Club
When you find yourself in a real pickle, a tight spot, a dangerous proposition in 1800s Hell's Kitchen, just ask yourself: what would Stumpy Malarkey do? What would Battle Annie do? What would Mallet Murphy do? How…
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The Great Chinese Lottery Heist
Ren Xiaofeng thought he had a good life –– married, blessed with two twins, a good job at a bank. But it wasn't enough. He needed more. So he came up with a plan: what if he robbed the bank where he worked and then…
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You Dirty Fish-peddlin' Bums: Celia Cooney, the Bobbed Hair Bandit
When a young feisty gal with nothing to lose met a young tough fella with nothing to lose, the only thing they could possibly lose was the spark between them. And there was no stopping that. They made no money, but…
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Competition Crimes II: A Slight Return
Wherever you find people competing for a prize, if the number of them grows large enough, eventually, you will have cheaters. In the niche worlds of competitive stone-skippers, hog hunters, and British trivia shows,…
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Practice Should Have Made Perfect: The Great Brink's Robbery
This heist team was more meticulous than most. They planned, they schemed, they made years of dry runs and observations. And the plan went off without a hitch. After the plan? Not so much. In a sort of early Stanford…
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Fakers, Fraudsters and Phonies: Everything's A Lie Now!
In this round-up of recent tales of fakers, fraudsters, and phonies, Zaron shares with Elizabeth a smorgasbord of stories of fake bears, phony medical emergencies on Mount Everest, and a fraudulent influencer abduction…
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I Got the Need, the Need for Weed: Randy Lanier
Randy Lanier started as a construction site weed dealer and over the years graduated to major drug smuggler, bringing hundreds of tons of grass into the USA. To add to the risk factor, he also became a Formula One…
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The Rise and Fall and Rise of John McAvoy
He was a man born into crime. He came from a family of British hard men. Movies were made about the men of his family. He was also enraptured by the criminals he saw depicted in other crime classics. All of this…
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Lawyer in the Streets, Crimer in the Spreadsheets: Marc Dreier
It takes money to make money. And sometimes, you take someone else's money to make your money. You know how that goes. Marc Dreier was a flashy lawyer with a cash problem. Luckily, he had rich clients to impersonate.…
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My Presciption? You Caught Gold Fever
Sometimes you fight the law and the law wins, but other times... luck is on your side and you win. That's the story here today. A pair of treasure hunters go to extraordinary lengths to recover lost gold and then have…
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Early Riot Grrrl: Mary Carleton
London in the late 1600s was a little chaotic. So it only makes sense that an agent of chaos like Mary Carleton would become famous for her crimes. Crimes like repeated bigamy and stealing pants in the night. An…
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Let's Get Medieval: Holy Relics Theft
Whether we're talking the hand of Mary Magdalene, the Skull of St. Foy, the Bones of St. Mark, in the Dark Ages holy relics were ripe for the taking. Thieving monks, conspiring bishops and rebel princesses all went to…
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High Daddies, Hot Tents, and Suckers: Circus Crimes
Ladies and gentlemen, children of all ages! Step right up! Witness the amazing circus con, promising a menagerie that will never appear! Be amazed by the daring moves of the corporate scoundrel, stealing from a…
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All The Coal Kids Are Doing It: Larry Wayne Price Jr.
He worked his way into the executive level of the coal industry. Where he was let in on a dirty little secret. Crime was rampant in the coal industry. So, Larry Wayne Price Jr. did what any self-respecting wannabe…
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Vibe Criming: John Ernst Worrell Keely
John Ernst Worrell Keely was a blue collar scientist, a visionary, a meticulous con man. He spent time and talent rigging an elaborate fraud workshop where he promised unlimited vibe-based energy. In just two weeks. He…
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Why It's Now Illegal to Give Dolphins Acid (For Science)
This is the story of two scientists who pushed the envelope of both good taste and morality as they experimented with dolphins. The idea was simple. Give dolphins LSD and then see if we can teach them to speak English.…
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Lady Marm-alade: Fredericka Mandelbaum
Fredericka Mandelbaum (Marm or Ma, if you're nasty) was the powerful ruler of a criminal empire. Based on pickpocketing, theft, bank robbery, and forgery, her organization raked it in at the end of the 1800s in New…
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How To Free Your Man With a Helicopter: Nadine Vaujour
Single mom Nadine Vaujour was something of a romantic. Which helps explain why it pained her heart so to be separated from her lover. It also helps explain why, one day, she decided it was time to spring her lover from…
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Playin' Possum: Crimes around George Jones
Country star George Jones was a real character, to be certain, often on the edge of the law. But the most ridiculous crimes were the ones that surrounded No Show Jones. Missing recordings, drug runs, and stolen crypto.…
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The Last Temptation of Aubrey Lee Price
He was a husband, a father, a pastor, a financial planner and broker, that is until he decided he'd had enough of that life. So he threw it all away and found a new path as a small-time pimp, cocaine trafficker and…
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That's Showbiz, Baby: Steven Kunes
To make it in Hollywood, you sometimes have to tell some half-truths and fudge your resume. People play a little fast and loose. But not so loose as to forge checks and scam friends. That's a little too loose, even by…
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"That's My Motorboat!" :The National Museum Art Heist
It's considered one of the more sophisticated art heists of the 21st Century. Three masked men with guns strolled into the National Museum in Stockholm and they breezed back out with three multi-million dollar…
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Cheech Would Never: "Lucky" Luke Brugnara
As Social Distortion once sang, “Some people like to gamble/But you, you always lose/Some people like to rock 'n' roll/You're always singin' the blues/You gotta nasty disposition/No one really knows the reason why/You…
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"This Once Belonged to Jack Nicholson": the Tod Michael Volpe Story
He was a charming art dealer, a man who climbed to the highest heights of the Hollywood elite. Once there, he conned 'em all for fun and profit. That is, until it all came crashing down. Come for the art crimes, stay…
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Welcome to America, Suckers: Selling the Brooklyn Bridge
It's become shorthand for someone being gullible, thinking they can buy the Brooklyn Bridge (and at a discount!). But the idea had to start somewhere. Turns out selling the bridge and other landmarks to those newly…
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To Russia With Love: The Robert Hanssen Story
Inspired by boyhood dreams of wanting to be James Bond, real life FBI guy Robert Hanssen joined the bureau to become a secret agent. But when no one liked him and bosses overlooked him, Hanssen decided to do the next…
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Your Dead Grandma Says Hi: Sylvia Browne
Some people believe in psychics, others are skeptics who doubt their skills. If you think you're in the camp somewhere in between, not caring one way or another, we dare you to have no opinion once you've heard the…
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I Wanna Be A Cowgirl: Cora Hubbard, Lady Bandit
She was a legend of the Wild West, a self-made outlaw, iron hard as her six-shooter, yet delicate as a prairie butterfly. Cora Hubbard, Lady Bandit was a compelling mix of contradictions. And at one time she was…
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It's the Swiss Sugar Baron's Fault: The Knoedler & Company Art Forgery Scandal
A storied and respected New York art gallery thought they'd stumbled on a treasure trove of undiscovered Abstract Expressionist art. It was, of course, too good to be true. And anyone savvy enough to run a powerhouse…
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Life After Pro Football: Have You Considered Getting Into Crime?
After his playing days were done, former pro football player Devin Aguilar decided his next move at securing the bag could come from a robbery. He enlisted his girlfriend and together the two planned their "perfect…
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I'll Buy That for a Dollar: Antiques Roadshow
This week on Antiques Roadshow, we're coming to you from historic Ridiculous Crime Headquarters. Zaron Burnett, a crime authenticator, and Elizabeth Dutton, an authority on quirkiness, appraise tales of naughtiness,…
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It's Just a Family Tradition: The Newton Gang
Imagine some brothers. No, like a lot of them. Now imagine they love robbing banks and trains. But they also love fast cards and high living. Now imagine what Zaron would say about that. Yup, "my men." See…
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Hey You Kids, Get Off My Feed: Influencer Fights
For those who live their lives online, follower numbers, likes, and ad collabs are essential. The bread and butter in such a new and fleeting industry. You'd think that in the expansive social media universe, these…
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Fred Durst vs. The World
The front man for Limp Bizkit is known to be a bit of an ass. However, he claims the role of Fred Durst is actually a monster of his own making. But as numerous incidents from his decades as a star prove... the…
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Go On, Take the Music and Run: Master Tape Theft
Original studio recordings are the purest form of a song; they are also incredibly valuable. Theft of master tapes are a musician's worst nightmare. But sometimes, it can be a blessing in disguise. Whether the thief…
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Lance!!! A Curious Tale of Blood Doping for Fun and Profit
He was the most famous cyclist in the world. Then it all came crashing down when it was revealed that he was a huge cheater. What went so wrong for Lance Armstrong? Elizabeth and Zaron dig-in to the bullet-proof lies,…
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Philip the Tub: John Spano, Jr.
A con man flim flam artist who loved hockey wanted nothing more than to own a professional hockey team. The problem is that he wasn't a billionaire, which is sort of a prerequisite for professional team ownership. No…
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Baby, I Was Born to Run: the Grover Cleveland Bergdoll Story
When the first World War kicked off, Grover Cleveland Bergdoll, a notorious daredevil and rich kid playboy, decided armed combat wasn't for him. And so, rather than serve, he decided to dodge the draft. He would spend…
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Brother, Can You Spare Half a Dime: The Hollow Nickel Case
The best part of espionage is the spycraft, the cool gadgets and codes often disguised as everyday objects. Some look like lipstick, others like umbrellas. And then there are the ones that are a bit riskier because…
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"I Go For You Ma": The Love Triangle of Clark Gable, Carole Lombard, and Adolf Hitler
When World War II broke out, the biggest star in the world planned to sit it out. But as Fate would have it, events conspired to motivate Clark Gable AKA the "King of Hollywood" to enlist and go fight the Nazis. This…
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The Phisher King: Filippo Bernardini
Filippo Bernardini felt like an outsider in the publishing world, so he decided to fix that. Did he dazzle executives with his intellect and insight? No. He stole his way into literary inner circles. And we know how…
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Ho, Ho, Hold It Right There: A Collection of Christmas Crimes
T'was the night before the Christmas, and all through the house not a creature was stirring... except for a mouse stealing some Christmas cookies. No, not really. But this episode is a fun collection of Christmas…
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A Con So Nice, He Named Himself Twice: Lord Gordon Gordon
A man who called himself Lord Gordon Gordon sure knew how to con 'em. He scammed jewelers, land owners, and railroad magnates with great alacrity on both sides of the Atlantic. But in the hierarchy of criminals, the…
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The Love Triangle of Frank Sinatra, Howard Hughes and Ava Gardner
Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner had one of the great love affairs of the last century. But it was actually a love triangle that included the famously-reclusive Howard Hughes. It gets wilder than that –– their love…
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The Napoleon of Crime: Adam Worth
Using his logistical and felonious prowess, Adam Worth developed a sophisticated criminal network stealing money, art, and jewelry from high-value targets on two continents. Understated and cunning, Worth was so…
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The Johnny Cash Jamaican Christmastime Miracle
Who would possibly think it's a good idea to rob Johnny Cash...at Christmastime... in Jamaica? If this sounds like some sort of Mad Lib, trust us, it's not. This really happened. And oddly enough, it's actually a…
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You Better Listen to the Radio: Operation Ostrich
During WWII, there were lots of ways to contribute to the war effort. One involved sitting at a radio station on Long Island, feeding lies to the Nazis to aid the Allies. Owen House was the secret center of Operation…
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The Zambian Plot
Let's say you're a German industrialist who needs to drive up the price of copper on the commodities market, would you hire a midcentury adventurer/boat captain and a pair of Miami skin divers to help you blow up a…
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Don't Mess with the Big Dog: Martha Stewart
Martha Stewart is more than a food and entertaining icon; she's a brand. Literally. But a brand can't lie to the feds and a brand can't go to jail. Martha Stewart the human, however, could and did just that. But you…
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The King of Counterfeiters: Jeff Turner
If you were in a bad place, hard up financially, looking for work, and some sorta lifeline... how far down your list of options would be the idea: should I start a counterfeiting ring? For Jeff Turner that was his…
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