Ridiculous Crime - podcast cover

Ridiculous Crime

iHeartPodcastswww.iheart.com
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.
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Episodes

A Snowball’s Chance

2 Texas colleges. 1 two-hundred pound owl. Mix in 1200 cadets and their bull sergeants versus a team of football players and tracks stars, stir in as many trains, trucks, and cars as can be found, and garnish with two private dicks, one named Snowball. That’s called a TAMU over Rice. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Oct 25, 202254 min

Real House Burglars of the UK: The Heist

This is the true story of five strangers picked to target a mark, work together, and have their lives taped to find out what happens when people stop criming in secret...and start getting loot for the sake of entertainment. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Oct 20, 202256 min

How To Fake Your Death …and Not Get Away With It!

David Friedland was a corrupt, mob-connected, LSD-munching, undercover FBI informant and New Jersey state lawmaker, until one day he faked his death and became a scuba diving instructor. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Oct 18, 202256 min

I Want to Talk to You about Trains: The Brian Robson Story

Choose a job. Choose Australia. Choose a gross hostel. Choose some friends. Choose a crate. Choose a pee bottle. Choose your future. Choose life... But why would I want to do a thing like that? I chose not to choose life. I chose somethin' else. And the reasons? There are no reasons. Who needs reasons when you've got trains? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Oct 13, 202257 min

Papa, Can You Hear Me: Florida Man Kidnaps Self

Is it kidnapping if you’re the kid who naps himself? Do FBI informants have a bring your kid to work day? It’s David Hampton Butler Jr. vs David Hampton Butler Sr. in a Florida Man battle of the ages. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Oct 11, 202255 min

The Pastor Has Two Faces: Don LaRose

When a pastor went missing after giving a series of talks about the devil, everyone who knew him was certain Satanists were to blame. But what if the devil in this story was actually the little devil on that pastor's shoulder urging him to find a new life? Guess what...it was. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Oct 06, 202248 min

"Comic Books Are Coming For Your Kids!"

Sen. Estes Kefauver was outraged by a crime: the poisoning of the minds of American children. He spied a vile new threat introduced by Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman –– to him, the superheroes were secretly agents of fascism. The lawmaker knew the best way to fight back and save America's children was to call the press and form... a Senate Subcommittee! (Cue the moral panic in 3, 2, 1..) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....

Oct 04, 202255 min

A Dish Best Served in Antarctica

Antarctica is cold. Very cold. And there's not much to do other than research and maintenance. Or listen to Metallica. What happens when you mix a limited library, a bully, and a whole lot of booze? Something ridiculous, for sure. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sep 29, 202250 min

Sex Raft!

It was an idea so crazy it just might work: what if a middle-aged scientist invited 10 young, sexy strangers to live aboard a raft with him for 3 – 6 months and together they’d solve the question of world peace. Who knows? (Every one knows.) Warning: adult themes See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sep 27, 202253 min

Uncut Gems: The Great Diamond Hoax

Diamonds and gems scattered about the dry earth just waiting to be gathered and sold. Little to no work involved. Easy money. Sounds to good to be true, right? Not for the titans of industry, experts, and investors who fell for this ridiculous con. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sep 22, 202244 min

The Insane Love Song of Skyjacker: Garrett Brock Trapnell

Garrett Brock Trapnell was a criminal Swiss Army knife; he ran guns for Fidel Castro, he rented dogs to Hollywood stars, later he became a skyjacker –– and he became so famous from it that a mother and daughter tried to free him from prison. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sep 20, 202250 min

Rum Running Renegade: Willie Carter Sharpe

What do you get when you put a fearless woman behind the wheel of a truck filled with illicit booze on a winding country road with the feds in hot pursuit? You get the brazen capers of Willie Carter Sharpe. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sep 15, 202240 min

Titanic and The Brain

One was a man of action, an incredible athlete who was always ready with an outsized proposition bet, like wagering if he could throw a peanut across Times Square; the other man was a walking calculator of odds and angles, a master gambler, but one who preferred it when the game was rigged — they called themselves Titanic and The Brain. One of them is still remembered as the man who fixed the World Series, at least that’s the rumor. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....

Sep 13, 20221 hr 1 min

The Best Worst Imposter: Edgar Laplante

Edgar Laplante tried it all: pretending to be a Native American chief, pretending to be a famous athlete, pretending to be a war hero, pretending to be in love with a noblewoman. While not always a very convincing imposter, he was weirdly successful in his relentless career of cons and fraud. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sep 08, 20221 hr 2 min

Sorry, Not Sorry: Corey Worthington and his Sunglasses Throw a Party

It hits every American 80s movie trope: parents go out of town, teen boy throws party, party gets out of control. Except this time it became a global sensation and wound up inspiring its own movie. And in the tradition of Succulent Chinese Meal Man, this Australian teen is unapologetically larger than life and, well, ridiculous. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sep 06, 202246 min

The Mayor of Favor Town: Buddy Cianci

You run for mayor of a large American city. You get elected. You commit a felony. You resign. You run again for mayor of that same large American city. You get elected. You commit another felony. You resign again. But none of that will stop you from remaining a lasting part of the fabric of the city or from participating in a parade. This is the Buddy Cianci story. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sep 01, 202252 min

Rob Bank, Write Book… Make Big, Big Money?

Dubbed the “Bank Robbery of the Century,” the daring break-in at a castle-style bank in the French Riviera town of Nice shocked the world — but it was the fact that the burglars from the heist team kept writing novels about it that was far more shocking! Guys, you got away with it… Ssshhh! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Aug 30, 202252 min

Ocean's Ten: The Baker Street Robbery

Brian "The Guv'nor" Reader met his criminal downfall with the Hatton Garden Heist. But that wasn't his first attempt at breaking into a vault. Decades before, he and a crack crew dug a tunnel in search of riches, but were foiled by a guy who just wanted to listen to Radio Luxembourg in peace. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Aug 25, 202243 min

It's a Country if We Say So: The Island Nation of Sealand

What started as a spot for a pirate radio station blossomed into a whole country. At least to the people who lived there. But the founding of any nation is full of strife, crime, and ridiculousness. Why should Sealand be any different? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Aug 18, 202257 min

Willie and Waylon: the Outlaw Country Drug Busts

Two country legends, good time friends and partners in crime, Willie and Waylon shared a love of staying one step ahead of the law; except sometimes when you fight the law…the law wins. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Aug 16, 202249 min

Let 'Er Rip: The Adventures of Bum Farto

Being named Bum Farto is ridiculous. Selling drugs is a crime. Being named Bum Farto and selling drugs in front of a fire station? Now THAT'S a ridiculous crime. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Aug 11, 202254 min

The Great Kansas City Royals Uniforms Heist of 1977

The Milwaukee Brewers were scheduled to face the Kansas City Royals, but the night before thieves broke in and stole the Royals’ uniforms. The game that went down the next day became baseball history; yet another legend from the ‘70s era of baseball and its disco riot, short shorts and afro’d funkiness. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Aug 09, 202255 min

Whiskey Robber, Take My Mind: Attila Ambrus

What do you get when you take one part hardscrabble Eastern Bloc kid, three parts lousy ice hockey skills, twelve parts booze, six parts non-violence, and infinite amounts of determination? You get one whole Attila Ambrus, the Hungarian Whiskey Robber. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Aug 04, 20221 hr

Always on my Mind: The Theft of Albert Einstein’s Brain

Albert Einstein was one of the greatest scientific minds of all time. So of course people wanted to study his brain after he died. One man, though, wanted the brain more than anyone else. His career-ruining obsession with the genius noggin drove him to commit a ridiculous crime and culminated in a bizarre cross-country road-trip with an exasperated journalist. Intent on delivering the pilfered body part to Einstein’s granddaughter, the duo proved that everything is indeed relative. See omnystudi...

Aug 02, 202249 min

The Great Imposter: The Many Faces (and costumes) of Barry Bremen

A sports-loving jokester with a desire to be seen by the masses, Barry Bremen fraudulently made his way into some of the biggest sporting and entertainment events of the 70s and 80s. It's one thing to dress up as a ref at a game, quite another to accept an award on stage meant for someone else. Will Barry's lust for the limelight take him a little too far? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jul 28, 202249 min

The Winning Numbers of the Beast

Everybody loved Nick Perry. The host of “Bowling for Dollars” was Pittsburgh famous for his loud suits and friendly demeanor. But that wasn’t enough. Nick Perry made a big money move — he rigged the Pennsylvania lottery. Only problem was that he also crossed the mob. That never ends well. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jul 26, 202250 min

Best in Show: The Canine Cons of Margaret Lydia Burton

If you have an interesting accent and know how to act fancy, you can get away with a lot. Margaret Lydia Burton used that fact to her advantage, moving from town to town, conning people and living well. She thought she'd settled down to begin a life of skimming enormous amounts of money from a medical clinic and spending it on...show dogs. But people got wise, so Burton got moving. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jul 21, 202255 min

Champagne for My Horses

Rita Crundwell seemed like a simple woman. As a kid, she liked 4H, horses, and country living. She grew up to work in City Hall in her small hometown of Dixon, Illinois. For decades, though, this all-American product of the heartland had a secret. She was cooking the town's books, embezzling millions, and lying to everyone she knew to pay for her lavish, pony-loving lifestyle. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jul 19, 202255 min

Double Trouble: Jose and Ozzie Canseco

Two major league baseball stars walk into a bar. Well, a nightclub. Either way, chaos ensues. But since it's Jose and Ozzie Canseco, that chaos is awesome. And they didn't stop there. Special guest Travis Dutton, a major Oakland A's/Canseco fan, joins the RC crew for this one. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jul 14, 202249 min
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