Thomas Neill Cream graduated with honors from Montreal's McGill medical school in 1876. His thesis had been about the effects of chloroform; and he would soon demonstrate just how devastating he could be with toxic compounds. Several people died under his 'care.' But we’re not here to talk about Dr. Cream the murderer; we’re here to talk about his other criminal offense: extortion. Thomas was ultimately undone when he attempted to frame and blackmail other people for his murders. Let’s meet the doctor.

Thomas Neill Cream graduated with honors from Montreal's McGill medical school in 1876. His thesis had been about the effects of chloroform; and he would soon demonstrate just how devastating he could be with toxic compounds. Several people died under his 'care.' But we’re not here to talk about Dr. Cream the murderer; we’re here to talk about his other criminal offense: extortion. Thomas was ultimately undone when he attempted to frame and blackmail other people for his murders. Let’s meet the doctor.

Humans have always committed crimes. What can we learn from the criminals and crimes of the past, and have humans gotten better or worse over time?

Criminalia

Horrific Murderer and Half-Hearted Blackmailer: Meet Dr. Cream

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/ee51cf7e-46a9-47c6-9948-b0e1010f71d7/transcript

'Pretty Boy' Flloyd. John Dillinger. The Barkers. A lot of well-known gangsters emerged in the 1920s and 1930s; all of them criminals known as 'public enemies' to the government, and highly sought after by authorities, as you can imagine. But lesser known are the hideouts these criminals used -- and the people who ran those illegal safe houses. This is the story of husband and wife, Herb and Esther Farmer, who ran such an establishment. 

'Pretty Boy' Flloyd. John Dillinger. The Barkers. A lot of well-known gangsters emerged in the 1920s and 1930s; all of them criminals known as 'public enemies' to the government, and highly sought after by authorities, as you can imagine. But lesser known are the hideouts these criminals used -- and the people who ran those illegal safe houses. This is the story of husband and wife, Herb and Esther Farmer, who ran such an establishment.

Where Prohibition-era Gangsters Went to Hide: The Farmer's Farm

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/822e9d40-204a-4881-a1eb-b2250103b2de/transcript

When Catherine Flannagan and her younger sister Margaret moved to Liverpool from Ireland in the late 1800s, they were among the tens of thousands of poverty-stricken Irish laborers and their families who left Ireland during the potato famine to find work in Britain during the Industrial Revolution. To make their money, Catherine and Margaret established and ran a boarding house. In short time, the house was filled to capacity with lodgers. But there was one problem: guests were dying in suspiciously similar circumstances.

When Catherine Flannagan and her younger sister Margaret moved to Liverpool from Ireland in the late 1800s, they were among the tens of thousands of poverty-stricken Irish laborers and their families who left Ireland during the potato famine to find work in Britain during the Industrial Revolution. To make their money, Catherine and Margaret established and ran a boarding house. In short time, the house was filled to capacity with lodgers. But there was one problem: guests were dying in suspiciously similar circumstances.

The Black Widows of Liverpool: Sisters Catherine Flannagan and Margaret Higgins

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/45c1c90a-0d88-4ca7-b933-b21e01662000/transcript

Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were Italian immigrants who were – controversially – convicted of murdering Alessandro Berardelli and Frederick Parmenter, a security guard and a payroll clerk, during an armed robbery of the Slater and Morrill Shoe Company in Massachusetts. About a century has passed and experts -- and armchair experts, too! – continue to debate this case, but not whether they did or didn't do it. They continue to debate one very big thing: whether or not Sacco and Vanzetti received a fair trial. 

Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were Italian immigrants who were – controversially – convicted of murdering Alessandro Berardelli and Frederick Parmenter, a security guard and a payroll clerk, during an armed robbery of the Slater and Morrill Shoe Company in Massachusetts. About a century has passed and experts -- and armchair experts, too! – continue to debate this case, but not whether they did or didn't do it. They continue to debate one very big thing: whether or not Sacco and Vanzetti received a fair trial.

The Trial of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/1895bfc0-9cf6-428f-8e76-b21701042cad/transcript

Horrific Murderer and Half-Hearted Blackmailer: Meet Dr. Cream

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