Help Us, ABBA, You're Our Only Hope: The Stockholm Syndrome Robbery (Part One)

Jan-Erik Olsson had a simple dream: he wanted to free a friend from prison. Unfortunately, the best idea he could come up with was to storm a bank in Stockholm, take hostages, and demand the Prime Minister give in to his demands. For obvious reasons, things did not go as he planned. Luckily for him…

Rosey & Bobby [from Very Special Episodes]

Rosey Grier has a habit of showing up at turning points of American history: the greatest NFL game ever played, Free to Be…You and Me, and Bobby Kennedy’s 1968 presidential run. But one night at the Ambassador Hotel made the football star a reluctant hero. It also gave him a mission he’s spent the …

Witchy Woman: Helen "Hellish Nell" Duncan

Helen Duncan had a gift. She told the world that the gift was the ability to communicate with the dead and see the future. Her real talent was puking up swatches of fabric and brawling with clients. Either way, people paid to see her act. But then she messed with the Royal Navy in wartime, and that…

Take Me Down to Everglades City: A Town of Pot Smugglers

The City of Everglade City was founded by smugglers, so it should be no surprise that a century later, the locals kept that tradition going. Only by then, they'd moved on to pot smuggling. It was a highly lucrative profession, far more than fishing or crabbing, but pot smuggling was also highly ill…

They Don't Love You Like I Love You: Map Crimes

Maps are beautiful, functional works of art. Even the most utilitarian paper map has its charms. But when a map has historical value, it can fetch an incredible amount. Which, of course, makes them catnip for crimers. Come navigate the world of fake maps, stolen maps, collectors, and dedicated cons.

The Beef Pirates of Philadelphia

The police of Philadelphia were flummoxed by a new crime trend. As the crime statistics in the city were falling, one category of crime was spiking. And it was all thanks to a crew of beef pirates. The bucaneers of the tri-state area were constantly hitting big rigs and making off with highly valua…

How Angry Are These Penguins?: The Ern Malley Affair

A poet named Ern, so they say/Wrote verses that dazzled one day/But Ern, it turned out, was a hoax, past a doubt/Cooked up by two dorks just for play!

The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Outlaw Elmer McCurdy

Elmer McCurdy came of age at the end of the Old West, and as it vanished he tried to grab at that outlaw life while it was still a real thing. Trouble was, he was not good at being a bad man. In death, he became an avatar and totem of the fast disappearing Wild West. There he remained, until one da…

An Offense to Forgers: The Fake Italian Amphitheater

There's a lot of money to be made in tourism, especially in culturally rich areas like Italy's Veneto region. So what's a philanthropist/entrepreneur/orchestra conductor to do? Build a fake ancient amphitheater, of course! The Italian government, though, doesn't take kindly to that kind of scamming…

The Great Yosemite Gold Rush of Pot

Last week, Elizabeth shared a story from the Gold Rush. And this week, Zaron brings us a story from the Yosemite Gold Rush. If you've never heard of it, that's when a bunch of dirtbag rock climbers who called Yosemite home learned about a downed pot smuggler's plane that was trapped in a frozen lak…