He was the detective who could get the confessions other cops couldn’t. Thus the nickname, Father Frank. It was Father Frank who rescued the prosecution’s case against Cal—until that conviction was overturned. And it was Father Frank who helped put away a 16-year-old for murder—until that conviction was also overturned. So how good was Father Frank really? The DA reopened his cases, and some even called him the Scarcella of The Bronx.

Empire on Blood is a production of Orbit Media in association with Signal Co. No1

He was the detective who could get the confessions other cops couldn’t. Thus the nickname, Father Frank. It was Father Frank who rescued the prosecution’s case against Cal—until that conviction was overturned. And it was Father Frank who helped put away a 16-year-old for murder—until that conviction was also overturned. So how good was Father Frank really? The DA reopened his cases, and some even called him the Scarcella of The Bronx.
Empire on Blood is a production of Orbit Media in association with Signal Co. No1

The Burden is a documentary series that takes listeners into the hidden places where justice is done (and undone). It dives deep into the lives of heroes and villains. And it focuses a spotlight on those who triumph even when the odds are against them. 

Season 3 - The Burden: Avenger

Miriam Lewin is one of Argentina’s leading journalists today. At 19 years old, she was kidnapped off the streets of Buenos Aires for her political activism and thrown into a concentration camp. Thousands of her fellow inmates were executed, tossed alive from a cargo plane into the ocean. Miriam, along with a handful of others, will survive the camp. Then as a journalist, she will wage a decades long campaign to bring her tormentors to justice. 

Avenger is about one woman’s triumphant battle against unbelievable odds to survive torture, claim justice for the crimes done against her and others like her, and change the future of her country.

Season 2 - The Burden: Empire on Blood 

Empire on Blood is set in the Bronx, NY, in the early 90s, when two young drug dealers ruled an intersection known as “The Corner on Blood.” The boss, Calvin Buari, lived large. He and a protege swore they would build an empire on blood. Then the relationship frayed and the protege accused Calvin of a double homicide which he claimed he didn’t do. But did he? Award-winning journalist Steve Fishman spent seven years to answer that question. 

This is the story of one man’s last chance to overturn his life sentence. He may prevail, but someone’s gotta pay. The Burden: Empire on Blood is the director’s cut of the true crime classic which reached #1 on the charts when it was first released half a dozen years ago.

Season 1 - The Burden 

In the 1990s, Detective Louis N. Scarcella was legendary. In a city overrun by violent crime, he cracked the toughest cases and put away the worst criminals. “The Hulk” was his nickname.

Then the story changed. Scarcella ran into a group of convicted murderers who all say they are innocent. They turned themselves into jailhouse-lawyers and in prison founded a lway firm. When they realized Scarcella helped put many of them away, they set their sights on taking him down. And with the help of a NY Times reporter they have a chance.

For years, Scarcella insisted he did nothing wrong. But that’s all he’d say. Until we tracked Scarcella to a sauna in a Russian bathhouse, where he started to talk..and talk and talk. “The guilty have gone free,” he whispered. And then agreed to take us into the belly of the beast. 

Welcome to The Burden.

The Burden is a documentary series that takes listeners into the hidden places where justice is done (and undone). It dives deep into the lives of heroes and villains. And it focuses a spotlight on those who triumph even when the odds are against them. 
Season 3 - The Burden: Avenger
Miriam Lewin is one of Argentina’s leading journalists today. At 19 years old, she was kidnapped off the streets of Buenos Aires for her political activism and thrown into a concentration camp. Thousands of her fellow inmates were executed, tossed alive from a cargo plane into the ocean. Miriam, along with a handful of others, will survive the camp. Then as a journalist, she will wage a decades long campaign to bring her tormentors to justice. 
Avenger is about one woman’s triumphant battle against unbelievable odds to survive torture, claim justice for the crimes done against her and others like her, and change the future of her country.
Season 2 - The Burden: Empire on Blood 
Empire on Blood is set in the Bronx, NY, in the early 90s, when two young drug dealers ruled an intersection known as “The Corner on Blood.” The boss, Calvin Buari, lived large. He and a protege swore they would build an empire on blood. Then the relationship frayed and the protege accused Calvin of a double homicide which he claimed he didn’t do. But did he? Award-winning journalist Steve Fishman spent seven years to answer that question. 
This is the story of one man’s last chance to overturn his life sentence. He may prevail, but someone’s gotta pay. The Burden: Empire on Blood is the director’s cut of the true crime classic which reached #1 on the charts when it was first released half a dozen years ago.
Season 1 - The Burden 
In the 1990s, Detective Louis N. Scarcella was legendary. In a city overrun by violent crime, he cracked the toughest cases and put away the worst criminals. “The Hulk” was his nickname.
Then the story changed. Scarcella ran into a group of convicted murderers who all say they are innocent. They turned themselves into jailhouse-lawyers and in prison founded a lway firm. When they realized Scarcella helped put many of them away, they set their sights on taking him down. And with the help of a NY Times reporter they have a chance.
For years, Scarcella insisted he did nothing wrong. But that’s all he’d say. Until we tracked Scarcella to a sauna in a Russian bathhouse, where he started to talk..and talk and talk. “The guilty have gone free,” he whispered. And then agreed to take us into the belly of the beast. 
Welcome to The Burden.

The Burden

Miriam Lewin is one of Argentina’s leading journalists today. At 19 years old, she was kidnapped off the streets of Buenos Aires for her political activism and thrown into a concentration camp. Thousands of her fellow inmates were executed, tossed alive from a cargo plane into the ocean. Miriam, along with a handful of others, will survive the camp. Then as a journalist, she will wage a decades long campaign to bring her tormentors to justice. 

Avenger is about one woman’s triumphant battle against unbelievable odds to survive torture, claim justice for the crimes done against her and others like her, and change the future of her country.

Miriam Lewin is one of Argentina’s leading journalists today. At 19 years old, she was kidnapped off the streets of Buenos Aires for her political activism and thrown into a concentration camp. Thousands of her fellow inmates were executed, tossed alive from a cargo plane into the ocean. Miriam, along with a handful of others, will survive the camp. Then as a journalist, she will wage a decades long campaign to bring her tormentors to justice. 
Avenger is about one woman’s triumphant battle against unbelievable odds to survive torture, claim justice for the crimes done against her and others like her, and change the future of her country.

The Burden: Avenger

Bonus Episode | Father Frank Meets His Maker

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/df120e77-90bf-4365-b269-b204000a78eb/transcript

One day, Miriam sits in her office when she gets a call from the stringer she hired to go look at one of the Skyvan planes which had been sold to a Florida businessman. The owner reveals that he has the flight logs dating back to the dictatorship. Those logs are a break. They could lead to the pilots of the death flights. With Enrique Pineyro’s help, who now joins the investigation, they decode the log’s cryptic notes. Flights that should have only taken 45 minutes were logged in at four hours. With the green light from the TV station, Miriam and her crew put the final touches on her report. She’s ready to expose everyone and maybe, finally see some justice. What follows comes as a complete surprise.

Avenger is a production of Orbit Media in association with Sonoro Media and Signal Co. No1.

One day, Miriam sits in her office when she gets a call from the stringer she hired to go look at one of the Skyvan planes which had been sold to a Florida businessman. The owner reveals that he has the flight logs dating back to the dictatorship. Those logs are a break. They could lead to the pilots of the death flights. With Enrique Pineyro’s help, who now joins the investigation, they decode the log’s cryptic notes. Flights that should have only taken 45 minutes were logged in at four hours. With the green light from the TV station, Miriam and her crew put the final touches on her report. She’s ready to expose everyone and maybe, finally see some justice. What follows comes as a complete surprise.
Avenger is a production of Orbit Media in association with Sonoro Media and Signal Co. No1.

Avenger | 5. The Flight Logs

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/953e11a9-2e9e-46ed-bdcc-b220001deb73/transcript

Miriam and Giancarlo team up to search for the planes. She shows up at his tiny apartment every day after work at a TV station. They share pasta, cigarettes and scour the Internet for clues. One day, they stumble upon an obscure group of hobbyists who lead them to more details about the planes. Confident that they’re onto something, they try to enlist the help of a well-known Argentine pilot, actor, producer and controversial figure in Argentina. Their meeting doesn’t go well. Meanwhile, they locate one of the planes used for the death flights. When Miriam makes a discovery about the plane, she faces a decision that could make or break this investigation.

Avenger is a production of Orbit Media in association with Sonoro Media and Signal Co. No1.

Miriam and Giancarlo team up to search for the planes. She shows up at his tiny apartment every day after work at a TV station. They share pasta, cigarettes and scour the Internet for clues. One day, they stumble upon an obscure group of hobbyists who lead them to more details about the planes. Confident that they’re onto something, they try to enlist the help of a well-known Argentine pilot, actor, producer and controversial figure in Argentina. Their meeting doesn’t go well. Meanwhile, they locate one of the planes used for the death flights. When Miriam makes a discovery about the plane, she faces a decision that could make or break this investigation.
Avenger is a production of Orbit Media in association with Sonoro Media and Signal Co. No1.

Avenger | 4. The Planes

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/e9b134ac-ab10-49da-81de-b220001d6ebb/transcript

 It’s 1978. The World Cup, the most popular sporting event in the world, is hosted for the first time in Argentina. The Argentines are losing their minds with excitement. From a small cell in the middle of the city, Miriam can hear the cheers from the stadium a mile away. Her captors recruit her to work on the junta’s media propaganda machine; she must celebrate the very regime that imprisons her. Survival is a tricky business. She may have to compromise to avoid the death flights that will kill most of her fellow prisoners.

Avenger is a production of Orbit Media in association with Sonoro Media and Signal Co. No1.

It’s 1978. The World Cup, the most popular sporting event in the world, is hosted for the first time in Argentina. The Argentines are losing their minds with excitement. From a small cell in the middle of the city, Miriam can hear the cheers from the stadium a mile away. Her captors recruit her to work on the junta’s media propaganda machine; she must celebrate the very regime that imprisons her. Survival is a tricky business. She may have to compromise to avoid the death flights that will kill most of her fellow prisoners.
Avenger is a production of Orbit Media in association with Sonoro Media and Signal Co. No1.

Avenger | 3. The World Cup

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/0c60ca02-d3cc-4573-911a-b21101107d7e/transcript

Bonus Episode | Father Frank Meets His Maker

In 1 playlist(s)

The Burden: Avenger

Social links

Follow podcast

Recent clips