Italian-born Charles Ponzi had grown up hearing from his mother that he was destined for greatness, so it was no surprise to her when she visited him in America to find him wealthy beyond her wildest dreams. Ponzi had come up with a get-rich-quick scheme that he insisted was legal. To his credit, it took federal authorities a good seven months to figure out how it wasn't. In this episode, meet the man whose name would go down in history to be synonymous with "grifter." " Crimes of the Centuries ...
Apr 22, 2024•42 min•Season 4Ep. 8
In the midst of nationwide bombings that pit union backers against anti-union bosses, an explosion at the Los Angeles Times building crossed a line that changed everything. At 1:07 a.m. on Oct. 1, 1910, a blast tore through the Times building, killing 21 people. Times officials immediately blamed organized labor, which ultimately bore out: Not only were three union-affiliated co-conspirators convicted soon after the bombing, but nearly 40 other union officials would eventually be convicted on ch...
Apr 15, 2024•38 min•Season 4Ep. 7
In September 1944, a 24-year-old married woman named Recy Taylor was walking home with friends from church when a carload of seven men stopped her. Forced into the car, Recy, a Black woman, was repeatedly raped by six white men at gunpoint, then tossed roadside with a warning: Tell anyone about this, and you're dead. Recy ignored the threats and her tale soon galvanized activists throughout Alabama -- including a woman whose name would eventually become synonymous with the Civil Rights movement....
Apr 08, 2024•43 min•Season 4Ep. 6
Hey, Crimes of the Centuries listeners! COTC is now part of Grab Bag Collab, a Patreon-based podcasting network. You can find our other shows available at patreon.com/grabbagcollab Alcoholism, multiple husbands and boarding houses. This is the story of The Landlady. Dive deep into the upbringing and backstories of individuals who committed history's most notorious crimes, shedding light on the psychological factors that shaped their paths. With a suspenseful twist, the identities of these indivi...
Apr 01, 2024•37 min
When luggage leaking blood arrived at a Los Angeles train depot in 1931, the woman who'd traveled with the items feigned ignorance -- and then disappeared, leading to a nationwide manhunt that captivated the nation. Because one of the two victims found inside the Winnie Ruth Judd's trunks had been dismembered -- and because both she and the victims were beautiful women -- the case generated hundreds of headlines and a memorable moniker: The Trunk Murderess. But were prosecutors' theories about t...
Mar 25, 2024•41 min•Season 4Ep. 5
The morning of Aug. 1, 1966, 25-year-old Charles Whitman called his wife's boss to say she'd be out, then did the same for his mother. After killing the two women, he climbed atop the observatory tower at the University of Texas and relentlessly began picking off pedestrians below in an attack unlike any before witnessed in America. " Crimes of the Centuries " is a podcast from Grab Bag Collab exploring forgotten crimes from times past that made a mark and helped change history. AND DON'T FORGET...
Mar 18, 2024•33 min•Season 4Ep. 4
Every parent has worried about their children hauling home tainted candy on Halloween, but not everyone knows where that fear originated. On Halloween in 1974, an 8-year-old boy named Timothy O’Bryan was granted one pick from his basket before bed — and soon after downing the contents of his Pixy Stix, he went limp in his father’s arms. The investigation threw parents into a panic, prompting tons of candy to be taken to sheriff’s offices for inspection. As horrifying as the case appeared to be a...
Mar 11, 2024•41 min•Season 4Ep. 3
Notorious labor union leader Jimmy Hoffa had for decades been a polarizing figure, with his ties to organized crime investigated as early as 1957 by future U.S. Attorney General Bobby Kennedy. A jury tampering conviction eventually took him out of official power, but Hoffa worked tirelessly behind the scenes to reclaim his position -- until his disappearance in 1975. Despite countless theories about what happened to him, Hoffa's fate remains one of the most infamous unsolved mysteries in America...
Mar 04, 2024•36 min•Season 4Ep. 2
Living in Occupied Paris during World War II was utter chaos, with the Gestapo police constantly changing rules, kidnapping people from the streets and sidelining the Parisian police. A physician named Marcel Petiot claimed to be among the brave men and women working for the Resistance — a group determined to help smuggle endangered people to safety, far from the reach of the Third Reich. But when neighbors reported a fire at a townhouse Petiot owned, police arrived to uncover a scene so horrifi...
Feb 26, 2024•39 min•Season 4Ep. 1
Random offenses, Institutions and Orange Socks. This is the story of The Drifter. Dive deep into the upbringing and backstories of individuals who committed history's most notorious crimes, shedding light on the psychological factors that shaped their paths. With a suspenseful twist, the identities of these individuals won’t be unveiled until the end of each episode. ‘The Catalyst’ will unravel the complex narratives behind these disturbing cases and try to understand what triggered them....
Feb 23, 2024•39 min
For years, the violence that occurred in the area known as "Black Wall Street" in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1921 was remembered as the "Tulsa Race Riot" - when it was even remembered at all. But that name, promoted by the media and government officials, was at best a misleading description of what we've now started to reveal over the past few decades as a massacre perpetrated on a thriving Black community that took generations to recover. " Crimes of the Centuries " is a podcast from Grab Bag Collab e...
Feb 11, 2024•38 min•Season 3Ep. 42
Handsome and charismatic, the actor Bob Crane led the cast of the hit sitcom "Hogan's Heroes" for six seasons from the mid-sixties into the beginning of the next decade. The show ended in 1971, and Crane began traveling the country in a touring play. When he was found dead in his hotel room in Arizona in 1978, was it due to a secret life that he kept hidden from public view? " Crimes of the Centuries " is a podcast from Grab Bag Collab exploring forgotten crimes from times past that made a mark ...
Feb 05, 2024•43 min•Season 3Ep. 41
Her story seemed innocent at first, if not charming. A young immigrant woman from Germany befriending older gentlemen in Cincinnati's German community and providing them memories of home with her Old World cooking. But as these men fell ill - or worse, starting dying - the motives behind Anna Marie Hahn's friendly overtures proved to be far more devious. " Crimes of the Centuries " is a podcast from Grab Bag Collab exploring forgotten crimes from times past that made a mark and helped change his...
Jan 29, 2024•36 min•Season 3Ep. 40
It's a story every American grade school student learns - how the actor John Wilkes Booth shot President Abraham Lincoln in his box at the Ford's Theater, jumped down to the stage, and fled Washington DC until he was killed by the authorities in a barn in rural Virginia. But it's not widely known that Booth wasn't acting alone, and that President Lincoln was only one of several targets he and his conspirators planned to murder on the night of April 15, 1865. In today's episode, we tell the story...
Jan 22, 2024•39 min•Season 3Ep. 39
After the murder of the Defeo family, the house known as "High Hopes" where the murders occurred was purchased by the George and Kathy Lutz. But the Lutz family soon fled the property, claiming frightening paranormal activity. Paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren arrived and began studying the scene. But did they find evidence of supernatural occurrences - or were they perpetrating a fraud on a too-credulous public? " Crimes of the Centuries " is a podcast from the Obsessed Network ex...
Jan 15, 2024•37 min•Season 3Ep. 38
The word "Amityville" has practically become synonymous in popular culture with the eerie and supernatural. But behind the books and movies is a true story of the Defeo murders, and in today's episode, we're joined by fellow Obsessed Network podcaster Daisy Eagan to tell their story. " Crimes of the Centuries " is a podcast from the Obsessed Network exploring forgotten crimes from times past that made a mark and helped change history. AND DON'T FORGET ABOUT THE CRIMES OF THE CENTURIES BOOK - COM...
Jan 08, 2024•35 min•Season 3Ep. 37
Having one husband die under suspicious circumstances may not cause alarm bells to ring, but what if a second husband also meets an unfortunate fate? The so-called "American Black Widow" Sharon Harrelson may have considered herself cursed when it came to love, but in today's episode we dive into her story of deception, betrayal, and ultimately murder. " Crimes of the Centuries " is a podcast from the Obsessed Network exploring forgotten crimes from times past that made a mark and helped change h...
Jan 01, 2024•34 min•Season 3Ep. 36
There were seven men guarding the notorious criminal Frank Nash as he moved through Kansas City Union Station to a car waiting outside. But these officers couldn't stop the onslaught that faced them as they attempted to transfer Nash into the car. In today's episode, we'll explore how this bloody shootout changed the way American law enforcement fought crime. " Crimes of the Centuries " is a podcast from the Obsessed Network exploring forgotten crimes from times past that made a mark and helped ...
Dec 11, 2023•41 min•Season 3Ep. 35
The story of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow is probably familiar to many of our COTC listeners. But this story of young outlaws terrorizing the country is one that has been romanticized and practically turned into an American myth. In today's episode, we shake off the romantic sheen and look at the real events behind one of the most notorious duos in history. " Crimes of the Centuries " is a podcast from the Obsessed Network exploring forgotten crimes from times past that made a mark and helped ...
Dec 04, 2023•39 min•Season 3Ep. 34
In March of 1954, scientists from German pharmaceutical company Chemie Grünenthal produced Thalidomide for the first time. Thalidomide was a sedative and sleep aid sold in many countries worldwide under the name “Contergan”, as well as other brands. The medication was also being marketed and taken by pregnant women as a safe remedy for morning sickness. But in November of 1961, the drug was found to have caused severe deformities in newborn children if taken during a specific point in the pregna...
Nov 20, 2023•38 min•Season 3Ep. 33
After the five-day Battle of Lincoln, the deputized posse called the Regulators disbanded. The Lincoln County War appeared to be over. Lew Wallace, the newly appointed governor of the New Mexico Territory knew that some of the former desperados were worried that they could be arrested at any point for whatever role they had played during the ordeal, so he offered amnesty for many of them. But those who had already been indicted for murder were still on law enforcement’s “wanted” list. And that l...
Nov 13, 2023•35 min•Season 3Ep. 32
In November 1876, a 24-year-old wealthy cattleman and banker named John Tunstall, arrived in Lincoln County, New Mexico. Together with lawyer Alexander McSween, John Tunstall set up a rival business to the existing duo who ran things in town - Lawrence Murphy and James Dolan. In this two-part episode, we learn more about the bloody conflict that arose and became the Lincoln County War, and how it birthed the Wild West's most infamous outlaw - Billy the Kid. " Crimes of the Centuries " is a podca...
Nov 06, 2023•37 min•Season 3Ep. 31
On September 10, 1897, roughly 300 to 400 unarmed strikers marched peacefully to a coal mine to support a newly formed United Mine Workers union. The miners, mostly consisting of Slovak and German ethnicity, were on strike fighting for safe working conditions and livable wages. On their march they were met by law enforcement officials multiple times and were asked to disperse, but kept on marching. When the strikers reached the Lattimer mine near Hazleton, Pennsylvania, they were asked to disper...
Oct 30, 2023•37 min•Season 3Ep. 30
Born December 27, 1957 in Epazoyucan, Hidalgo, Juana Dayanara Barraza Samperioa was a 48-year-old single mother with a troubled past. After years of traumatic experiences in her early life, including being sold by her mother to a man in exchange for three beers, Juana moved to Mexico City and began killing in 1998. Residents were on edge as they noticed the mysterious killings seemed to be targeting elderly women. While Mexico City initially believed their suspect was a man or a transgender woma...
Oct 23, 2023•33 min•Season 3Ep. 29
On July 6, 1944, in Hartford, Connecticut, thousands of patrons were excited to escape the heat and attend the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey circus performance. While the Flying Wallendas began their performance inside the tent, chaos ensued shortly after. The fire that began as a small flame about 20 feet from the main exit spread rapidly when it came in contact with the tent canvas. Panicked patrons ran for the exits as the flames grew to 100 feet high, only for many to be blocked by...
Oct 16, 2023•33 min•Season 3Ep. 28
When five college students in Florida were brutally slain in a four-day span in 1990, it sent shockwaves across the nation as newscasters made comparisons to serial killer Ted Bundy. Police frantically worked to stop this new madman before his body count got any higher. " Crimes of the Centuries " is a podcast from the Obsessed Network exploring forgotten crimes from times past that made a mark and helped change history. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter : @centuriespod...
Oct 02, 2023•42 min
Hungarian countess Elizabeth Báthory is known as the most prolific female serial killer of all time, accused of slaughtering over 600 young women in her luxurious castles. Legend says Báthory believed she'd be given eternal youth for bathing in their virginal blood. On the contrary, she would go on to live long in infamy. However, this tale has been questioned by many researchers who believe as part of a conspiracy against her, Báthory’s crimes were most likely exaggerated. In today's episode we...
Sep 25, 2023•39 min•Season 3Ep. 26
At a brothel in New York in 1885, the great-grandson of Alexander Hamilton, Robert Ray Hamilton, met con artist Evangeline Steele. Steele was looking to make their part-time relationship permanent and soon told Hamilton that she was pregnant with his child. They married in January 1889 and shortly after, the marriage began to fall apart. On the morning of August 26, 1889 while on vacation in Atlantic City, Ray asked for a divorce and Eva refused. After a bottle of whiskey and an argument with Ma...
Sep 18, 2023•35 min•Season 3Ep. 25
In 1918 in Milford, Kansas, John R. Brinkley, a fake doctor with no properly accredited medical education, opened a 16-room clinic where he promoted goat glands as a cure for over 20 ailments. The scam continued to go unnoticed due to patients being too embarrassed to talk about what happened in the operating room, until a few brave individuals stepped forward to tell their stories. In today's episode we learn more about Dr. Brinkley's unnecessary treatments and how his fraudulent diploma led to...
Sep 11, 2023•43 min•Season 3Ep. 24
On April 27th, 1865, the Sultana , a 260 foot-long wooden steamboat, exploded into flames and sank on the Mississippi River. While the ship was only designed to hold 376 people, more than 2,000 passengers, predominantly made up of Union soldiers returning home from Confederate prisons, were crowded on board under the command of Captain James Cass Mason. In addition to the ship being overloaded, the boiler was leaking and showing signs of trouble. In today's episode, we explore how a preventable ...
Aug 28, 2023•37 min•Season 3Ep. 23
