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 5 of 6
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Get Off Your Butt and Do It: Tom Vu
Tom Vu captivated late night audiences with his outrageous infomercials touting his real estate seminars. He was rich, sitting on a yacht, carousing with bodacious bikini babes. Yes, he was rich and wanted you to be…
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"I'm Rick James, Bitch!": A Criminal Inspiration
Dave Chappelle and his show made Rick James into a catchphrase. Charlie Murphy told the stories that made Rick James into a legendary figure in the culture. But it was Rick James who made the stories and the…
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Prince of Lies (not Tides): Anthony Gignac
From a young age, Anthony Gignac dreamed of being wealthy and living a lavish lifestyle. That simply wasn't in the cards for him, so he made his own deck. Posing as a Saudi prince, Anthony scammed his way into a life…
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Lawn Chair Larry & His Homemade Flying Machine
What do ya get when you strap 42 weather balloons to a lawn chair? The homemade flying machine of one Lawn Chair Larry. In the early '80s, the amateur aviator took to the skies of Southern California, where he reached…
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Tequila Mockingbird: Sammy Hagar's Booze Empire
The recent theft of a shipment of Santo Tequila, the brand owned by rocker Sammy Hagar and diner lover Guy Fieri, really shook America to its core. We take a look at Sammy's bumpy road to establishing his tequila…
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Magic: the Gathering ...on Magic Mushrooms
Magic: the Gathering is a tabletop card game for dueling wizards. Magic mushrooms are a psilocybin-based psychedelic that distorts reality. Combine them both and you get this story: a man travels to Portland, Oregon to…
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I See Your True Colors Shining Through: The Fine Cotton Scandal
A lifelong criminal fixes a horse race with the help of Australian organized crime. In what would make an excellent Guy Ritchie movie, the crimers bumble their way to a disastrous finish worthy of no photos. But just…
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The Half-Alien Human Hybrid Superspy Guy: Jeffrey Alan Lash
When a dead body is left in a SUV in a wealthy LA enclave, it launches an out-of-this-world mystery. Was the strange dead man really a half-alien human hybrid superspy working for a super-secret government agency? Or…
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I'll Buy that for a Dollar: Emerich Juettner
A upright citizen living in "genteel poverty" loses everything — except his dog — and instead of going broke decides to go for broke. When life gives you lemons, make dollar bills, dagnabbit! See…
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The "Break–In of the Century": The Citizens Committee to Investigate the FBI
In 1971, Muhammad Ali fights Smokin' Joe Frazier in The Fight of the Century. The huge media event is the perfect distraction for a group of Catholic hippie antiwar activists to stage a break-in at an FBI field office…
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Make it Bahrain: Russell King
Conning your way into ownership of a professional sports team is one thing, but playing two countries off each other for phony mineral rights is the pinnacle of scamming. Russell King did them both! Hooray! See…
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The Criminal King of Parkour: Vjeran Tomic
A Bosnian boy with a poet's soul grows up to a pioneer of parkour in Paris. Up there on the rooftops of the City of Lights, he turns to crime. He has a taste for jewels and fine art... and suction cups. That's why they…
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Put it on my Tab: The Crown Casino Heist
Who's up for some silliness? We got us a crazy, high-end, hard boiled casino Down Under that just can't seem to avoid trouble. But when a dude takes the place for multiple millions, they aren't so tough after all. With…
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The General, The Viper, and the Rose of Dugdale: Who Wants to Burgle the Russborough House?
Ireland's world famous Russborough House belonged to Lord Alfred and Lady Clementine –– two 'violently wealthy' British aristocrats with the families to match. Their palatial manor home seemed to attract crime and…
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Another Brick in the Chest: Thérèse Humbert
Owing people millions is a big deal, unless you have hundreds of millions and can pay it off. And if you don't and can't, then you just have to act like you can and will. But you can't. And won't. So you don't…
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Send in the Clowns: ICP Invite You To a Gathering of the Juggalos
Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope are the Insane Clown Posse. Their fans call themselves the Juggalos and Juggalettes. Each year they hold their annual Gathering of the Juggalos. It is a bazar of fairground games, hip-hop,…
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He's Nuts!: "Dr." John R. Brinkley
He was the GOAT of early mass communication. And he was also the GOAT of medical quackery. John R. Brinkley duped thousands and made millions, but nothing gold can stay. Especially when it involves goat testicles. See…
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Crazy Mike and High Flyin' Ryan: Bank Robbing Stuntmen?
He was a man with a dream –– and that dream was to fly. His brother shared this dream. Trouble was they weren't the Wright Brothers, they were Crazy Mike and High Flyin' Ryan. The brothers challenged gravity, the law…
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Skin Momma Tried: Criminal Dogs
You know what they say, all dogs go to heaven. And apparently some dogs go to jail. Elizabeth lets the dogs out with tails (get it?) of mischief, larceny, and dogfoolery. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy…
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Kris Kristofferson: How To Break Into Country Music
There is no one way to break into the entertainment industry, there's just the way you do it. Country music. legend Kris Kristofferson used a stolen helicopter to impress Johnny Cash. The rest is music history. ...And…
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RUMBLE YOUNG MAN RUMBLE
Muhammad Ali and George Foreman’s heavyweight title fight is considered one of the greatest sporting events of all time. What’s less well known is that five weeks earlier in the very same stadium, James Brown headlined…
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Hit the Drippini: Valerio Viccei and the Knightsbridge Security Deposit Robbery
You gotta love a flashy Italian bank burglar in 1980s London with a penchant for Ferraris. In a bold and zesty tunneling vault robbery, Valerio Viccei stole a bunch of cash, gems, and coke. And then the Flying Squad…
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The Barefoot Bandit: Colton Harris Moore
Possibly our most-requested subject. And if there's one thing you can about Ridiculous Crime...we do it for the People. So here it is...the strange but true story of Colton Harris Moore, AKA The Barefoot Bandit.…
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Fan Favs: Treetop Flyer: The Highflying Antics of Tommy Fitz
Think of this like an early Perpie award. Zaron and Elizabeth are out on assignment and will return with a new episode on Tuesday. Today we're featuring an episode you chose as one of the best of all time, and an…
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Fan Favs: A Snowball’s Chance
America selects them, Casey Kasem counts em down. Zaron and Elizabeth are out on assignment for one more week. Today we're featuring another of the Rude Dude chosen best ever Ridiculous Crime episodes, and this one is…
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Fan Favs: Let 'Er Rip: The Adventures of Bum Farto
You choose it, we play it. While Zaron and Elizabeth leave Producer Dave all by himself in the studio, we're featuring your picks for the best ever Ridiculous Crime episodes. Being named Bum Farto is ridiculous.…
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Fan Favs: Strangers in the Night: The Extraordinary Kidnapping of Frank Sinatra… Jr.
You choose it, we play it. While Zaron and Elizabeth are out on assignment, we're featuring your picks for the best ever Ridiculous Crime episodes. You need money. You know the Sinatra family. Obviously, the only…
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You've Never Ordered a Code Red: Stolen Valor
Military service is valuable, so much so that goofballs try to steal it, or at least the valor that accompanies such a sacrifice. Join us on a journey of fake medals, phony uniforms, and ninjas. There are ninjas. See…
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We're Going to Graceland: Elvis Does Crime
Graceland is not just a Paul Simon album, turns out it was also the home of Elvis Presley. Who knew?! Turns out crimers and scammers –– they knew! Because once the King was gone, the scammers came to steal his…
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You Just Got Bocked: The Con Artist Amy Bock
Robin Hood stole from the rich and gave to the poor. Amy Bock conned the rich for shiggles and then gave it all away to random strangers. A fascinating character, she conned throughout her life, over and over. And her…
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The Wall St. Whiz Kid Goes to Hollywood!
David Bloom made a name for himself in the '80s New York art world. That ended badly. So he moved west –– to a new cultural hotspot also ripe with suckers. Folks who'd believe he was a finance bro long enough for him…
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The Great Escapes: Steven Jay Russell
This guy. He pulled off great cons and even better prison escapes. He got tossed in solitary for life, but now walks free. Jim Carrey played him in a movie. I mean, this guy. You simply can't keep him down. See…
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The Most Interesting Man of the 1940s: Charles Edwards
What good is an ice cream cone without the ice cream? What's an elaborate mating ritual without the dirty deed? What's a con without a payoff? Producer Dave dives deep into the life of 1940s LA man about town Charles…
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Brawls, Exciting and New: Carnival Cruise Ship Dust-ups
What is supposed to be a luxurious, tropical escape on the high seas can sometimes devolve into a floating barge of drunken tussles at the midnight pizza buffet. Choose your cruise wisely, or you could wind up bruised…
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Bampfylde Moore Carew: King of the Beggars
Colonial America, and England in the time of the Puritans... not exactly the time or places you'd expect to find a footloose and fancy-free beggar hopping and skipping back and forth across the Atlantic. His secret?…
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Secret Agent Man: Garrison Courtney
It's pretty brazen to pose as a super secret spy guy in order to hustle up some phony government contracts. You have to convince folks that you are a man of mystery, an agent operating at the most clandestine levels of…
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"Forget it, Sheik... it's ABSCAM"
Just a few years after Watergate, the halls of power of Washington DC were again stained with fresh scandal. A busload of sitting US congressmen were caught up in an FBI sting operation, one run by a career, small-time…
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No Whammies…Ever: Michael Larson
The game show Press Your Luck was an 80s fan favorite. And the biggest fan? Michael Larson. He studied the show for weeks, finding the weaknesses and plotting his attack. Heading out to Hollywood, he took his chance at…
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Somebody Call An Arborist!: Tree Killers
Maybe you’re looking to get back at someone. Maybe that fine root structure is standing in the way of your upcoming financial boon. Or maybe you don’t like the cut of that tree’s xylem and phloem. Whatever the reason…
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Undercover Newton: William Chaloner
Sometimes the best way to make money is to literally make money. William Chaloner, a total dirtbag, made his living minting phony coins and framing his co-conspirators for all manner of crimes. That was until a genius…
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The Fall of Nixon: When the Smoking Gun Goes Blam!
For two long years, President Richard Nixon tried to cover-up a break-in at the Watergate Hotel. Nixon's Cold War spy buddies had engineered a plan to embarrass the Democrats but then when they got caught, Nixon had to…
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Needs More Turkeys: Lothar Malskat
Don't you hate it when you learn to restore masterworks of art, but then you kind of mess one up, and then you just paint a new one and call it old, but then it's full of anachronisms, and then everyone loves it, but…
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"Two Gun Hart": The Lawman With the Big Secret!
He was a famous lawman of the disappearing west, a Prohibition agent who dressed like a Wild West cowboy. The newspapermen loved him, the locals adored him, the bootleggers and moonshiners feared him. He was a…
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You've Got Mail: One More Dive into the Ridiculous Crime Mailbag
It turns out we do read the emails. Unless Ex-intern Braxton accidentally deletes them all. Join us for cool listener stories, little shorty crimes, and gripping updates. *hits send* See omnystudio.com/listener for…
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20 Ridiculous Questions: Historical Flex Edition, The Sequel
The Ridiculous crews, both History and Crime, rejoin forces to once again play everyone’s favorite guessing game: 20 Questions. There were questions. There were answers. There were jokes about dogs in sunglasses! Join…
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Red, Happy Hooligan, and Little Dick: The Bad Kids of Old San Francisco
We lament the behavior of the youth of today, but what about the youngsters of yesteryear? Friends, they were just as bad. Between the Gold Rush and the Great Quake, kids in San Francisco stole purses, toys, and guns.…
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Undercover Cops: I'm Busted? You're Busted! There Are No Rules For Us!
What are the rules for undercover cops? Well, as we learn from stories about cops shooting cops, an activist who falls in love with an undercover cop, a headless Care Bear with an undercover cop inside who busts a drug…
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Gotta Catch Em All: Pokémon Theft
Pokémon! The cards, the games, the Go, the cartoons, the…theft? Oh yeah, when collectibles get pricey, criminals come out of the woodwork, even the Yakuza. These cards are big money these days, and some people will do…
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Life and Crimes of Ice Cream Trucks
From the anarchist ice cream truck to contraband peddling ice cream purveyors in school zones to the slowest police chase you've heard –– it's a full menu chock-a-block with ice cream based crimes. See…
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Secret Princess: Helga de la Brache
It's hard when you feel like a royal, but you're just a commoner like the rest of us. You know what? Live your truth. Live your truth, Helga, and get that money. Soak 'em, sister! See omnystudio.com/listener for…
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