Ridiculous Crime

He is an icon of midcentury America. He's cherubic. He's beloved. He's starred in Hollywood movies. And he's often stolen as a prank, but sometimes things turn darker –– but they always stay ridiculous. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you have psychic powers, you should see a scam coming a mile away. Not so for Maria Duval. The French psychic only wanted to use her powers for good, but three shady dealers used her name to create one of the world’s longest-running cons. Just because a letter has a coffee stain on it doesn't mean it's real. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For many folks, beauty pageants feel like part of a bygone era of 'big hair, don't care' femininity. But Zaron is here to set you straight on that score. Beauty pageants are still very much a thing... and they've got crime a-plenty! Allegations of bribery and hijinks! And also, Steve Harvey! So you know it's bound to get loose. This week it's a bubbly bevy of beauty pageant scandals! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Elizabeth may not watch tv, but that doesn't stop her from regaling Zaron with tales of television signal hijacking. From porn to zombies to aliens to more porn, no broadcast is safe. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the early '90s, the Chicagoland area was home to a bank robber known for wearing very specific masks –– masks of former US presidents. Notably, he wasn't inspired by the classic bank-robbing surfers film, and Point Break wasn't inspired by him, it was all just a...ridiculous crime. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With debt mounting and no relief in sight, John Darwin figured his only option was to fake his own death. One sunken kayak and a complicit spouse later, he found himself in Panama with no clothes on. But that didn't last. Nothing ridiculous ever does. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Musicians get arrested... a lot. These singers, songwriters and superstars were busted in some of the dumbest, weirdest, silliest ways possible. Johnny Cash. Amy Winehouse. Ol' Dirty Bastard. Bob Dylan. Frank Zappa. All of them got popped for some... ridiculous crimes. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As if the whole cryptocurrency thing wasn't ridiculous enough, enter Heather Morgan aka Razzlekhan. An entrepreneur and amateur rapper, she and her husband, Dutch, lived large. The source? Hacked bitcoin. Can't get enough of these clowns and their techno criming? Fear not, there are plenty of film and tv adaptations in the works. The grift lives on. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"Have you seen this man? Single, lonely, grouchy, rumpled and very possibly. the richest thief who ever lived..." so wrote the Washington Post in 1997 after one man ripped off his employer, the Loomis–Fargo armored car company. Phil Johnson stole 21 cubic feet of cash –– and he had a plan to get away with it. But a man's ego is a helluva thing! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What do hairdressing and bank heists have in common? Precision...and a man named William Smarto. A clever bank burglar, Smarto managed to pull of a bank job almost as big as Dolly Parton's wig budget. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

His hero was DB Cooper. So he imitated his skyjacking ransom down to the letter. Only Martin McNally had never used a parachute before he became a skyjacker. And he never expected someone to play the hero with a '71 Cadillac Eldorado. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As Orson Welles would say, "Ah, the French." Here, in a lead up to the French Revolution, we consider the tale of one randy Cardinal, one social climbing almost-noble, one doomed queen, and one hideous diamond necklace. C'est ridicule (especially Elizabeth butchering all French pronunciation)! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Meet Antoine Yates, the man who raised a tiger in a fifth-floor public housing apartment in Harlem. Until, one day, the tiger remembered that it was a tiger. But Antoine didn't just live with a tiger, he also had a lion and a full-grown alligator. Naturally, this one is both wild...and ridiculous! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Aaron Tonken was celebrity obsessed from a young age, so naturally he made his way to Hollywood. He also made his way into the good graces and wallets of many entertainment icons. With phony or plain chaotic charity galas, Tonken fleeced the rich and famous in one whirlwind fever dream of a conning career. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An ultra-wealthy British son of a Royal Naval officer partnered with a Danish master of disguise to become major players in the international drug-smuggling scene. And they would've gotten away with it if it weren't for those pesky... Welsh lobstermen and farmers' daughters. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With a love of robbing banks and the love of a good woman, Forrest Tucker pulled off heists with no violence involved. Plenty of arrests ensued, but so did plenty of prison escapes. He was a man with a life so extraordinary, Robert Redford played him in a movie...that put Zaron to sleep. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At the end of the 19th century, two outlaws made names for themselves around the world, but over time both have been forgotten. This week, we resurrect the tales of these outlaw folk heroes. Lady outlaws. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

He ran for sheriff, saying he'd take on the mob. Instead, he lined his pockets with their cash. He ran for Congress, saying he'd fight for working Americans. Instead, he had people work for him for free. All the while, James Traficant made a name for himself with his denim suits and a hideous hairpiece. In the words of ol' Jimbo himself, beam me up! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Imagine a horse. Now imagine if that horse could read your mind. And imagine you paid for this experience. You would be in good company –– even the President of the USA listened to the prophecies of Lady Wonder, the psychic horse. Of course, it was all a long con. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Getting a degree is tough work. Or at least it should be. There are some out there, though, who want to get or give a college diploma the easy way: hot off the presses, no questions asked. From fake high school diplomas to phony medical degrees, come browse the college catalog of bogus academic achievement. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.