Crimes of the Times

On this season of Crimes of the Times, Los Angeles Times journalist Christopher Goffard explores criminal cases that have left a mark on California history. This season’s stories include new developments in the Black Dahlia and Zodiac cases, the snitch scandal that rocked Orange County, the plight of the Japanese American woman known as Tokyo Rose, and the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy.

Attorney Frank Carson spent decades defending the accused in California's Central Valley. He made powerful enemies among law enforcement. When they put him on trial for murder, he insisted he was being framed. He was acquitted after a lengthy trial, but his widow says the ordeal destroyed his health and hastened his death. As part of a malicious prosecution lawsuit, the man who once served as the state’s star witness against Carson admitted his testimony was a pack of lies. In April, Stanislaus County agreed to pay $22.5 million to settle the suit—one of the largest payouts of its kind.

In 1986, 29-year-old Sherri Rasmussen was just starting her married life when she was brutally murdered in her Van Nuys home. The LAPD called it a “burglary gone bad,” ignoring red flags pointing to one of their own for years. Detective Stephanie Lazarus might have gotten away with it if she hadn’t left behind a key piece of evidence.

When a helicopter crash killed actor Vic Morrow and two children on the set of Twilight Zone: The Movie, the filmmakers called it an unforeseeable accident. An LA County Sheriff’s detective saw something else: broken laws, reckless risks, and an A-list director who ignored warnings.

On the summer solstice in 1990, a UCLA student with an interest in the occult was stabbed to death in a railway tunnel in the San Fernando Valley. Rumors of ritual violence swirled in the era of the so-called Satanic Panic. Police investigating the murder of Ronald Baker found his killers knew him well. One of them had even carried his casket.

When 21-year old college dropout Christopher Boyce got a job as a clerk at the TRW Defense and Space Systems complex in Redondo Beach, he was given access to some of the country’s biggest government secrets. And under a Robin Hood-like ethos, he and his childhood pal Andrew Daulton Lee began sharing those secrets with the Soviet Union. Their story lived on in the 1985 film “The Falcon and the Snowman,” but their friendship had a much shorter shelf life.

When comic John Belushi died of a speedball overdose at Hollywood’s Chateau Marmont, it wasn’t clear there had been a crime—until the National Enquirer got involved. This episode follows the tabloid reporter who hunted down Belushi’s dealer, coaxed a confession, and transformed a drug overdose into a homicide investigation.

James Sexton endures weeks of solitary confinement in federal prison, as prosecutors finally gear up to take Lee Baca to trial. Baca’s lawyers claim he has Alzheimer’s Disease. It’s late 2016, and the recent presidential race has made the FBI unpopular in liberal Los Angeles. Sexton testifies for the government and is released early, a humbled man, to begin rebuilding his life. The jury deadlocks at Baca’s trial, only one wants to convict him, but prosecutor Brandon Fox presents a more fleshed-out case and wins a conviction in March 2017. A judge gives Baca a three-year sentence. In his late 70s, he goes to prison. Anthony Brown, in prison for life, wins a $1 million settlement against the county, while Leah Marx is promoted to the FBI’s behavioral science unit.The conviction of Sheriff Lee Baca marked a rare prosecution of a lawman at his level and closed a turbulent chapter in Los Angeles history. What began with a smuggled phone ended with the county’s top law-enforcement officer in prison. The series is told by Chris Goffard, whose reporting on Dirty John reached millions around the world.Topics in this episode include: Sheriff Lee Baca trial, Los Angeles jail corruption, James Sexton prison, FBI investigation, Anthony Brown settlement.

The feds interview Baca’s flinty #2 man and heir apparent, Paul Tanaka, who professes ignorance about who gave the order to hide Anthony Brown. In 2013, as the FBI probe enters its fifth year, feds finally get a chance to grill Baca. He touts his achievements as a reformer but admits he resents that the FBI excluded him from the jail probe and snuck in the cell phone. His answers are evasive and riddled with falsehoods. In Jan. 2014, as the feds close in, he resigns after 15 years as sheriff. Tanaka is convicted of conspiracy and obstruction of justice. Baca enters a plea that will give him a maximum of six months in prison, but a judge deems it too lenient, setting the stage for the sheriff’s trial.Their questioning showed how politics and power shaped Los Angeles law enforcement. What began as a probe into jailhouse abuse had reached the top of the nation’s largest sheriff’s department. Chris Goffard, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter and host of Dirty John, explains how the scandal unraveled the careers of two of the county’s most powerful figures.Topics in this episode include: Sheriff Lee Baca, Paul Tanaka conviction, FBI interrogation, Los Angeles jail scandal, obstruction of justice.

James Sexton thinks Operation Pandora’s Box is behind him. When he reports a superior officer for misconduct, he is branded a snitch and treated as a pariah. Ostracized and scared, he does what he once thought unthinkable: he begins feeding information about the Sheriff’s Department to the FBI, and tells a grand jury about the scheme to hide Anthony Brown. In the U.S. Attorney’s first major thrust against the sheriff’s department, Sexton becomes one of 18 current or former sheriff’s employees to be indicted. Desperate to keep his badge, he decides the fight the charges, and his lawyer portrays him as the “Walter Middy” of the scandal, a man who exaggerated his role. Nevertheless, a jury finds him guilty and he begins his prison sentence.Sexton’s decision to talk to investigators opened a rare window into the inner workings of the Sheriff’s Department. His testimony about Anthony Brown tied deputies and supervisors to a widening obstruction scandal. The story is reported and narrated by Chris Goffard, the Los Angeles Times journalist behind Dirty John.

When Lee Baca took over the LA County Sheriff’s Department in 1998, he inherited a scandal-plagued agency. He built a reputation as a progressive reformer, and his jail-education programs were celebrated. But the feds notice that investigations into his agency always seem to evaporate when he gets involved. By 2011, he is 70 years old and has run the department for 13 years. Furious about the FBI’s probe into his jails, Baca has Leah Marx surveilled. Two of his sergeants appear at her apartment and threaten her with arrest. Allegations emerge about the beating of a jail visitor name Gabriel Carrillo. The feds have expanded their probe beyond civil rights violations. Can they make a case for obstruction of justice? How high does the misconduct go?Baca’s clash with the FBI revealed how deeply the department was in turmoil. Allegations of intimidation and the beating of visitor Gabriel Carrillo turned a civil rights probe into one of Los Angeles’ most significant corruption cases. Host Chris Goffard, from the Los Angeles Times and creator of Dirty John, traces how the investigation escalated to obstruction of justice.Topics in this episode include: Sheriff Lee Baca, Los Angeles County Jail scandal, Gabriel Carrillo beating, FBI investigation, police corruption.

After an inmate sucker-punches James Sexton, he defies the jail’s unwritten rules by failing to exact violent retribution, and finds himself ostracized by his peers. But he becomes an expert in the antiquated jail computer system and eventually wins promotion to an elite jail-intelligence unit. Leah Marx has a cell phone smuggled to inmate-informant Anthony Brown, part of the FBI’s increasingly ambitious scheme to catch dirty jailers. Jailers quickly discover the phone, however, and trace it to the FBI. Scrambling to hide Brown from the feds, the department enlists Sexton, who helps change Brown’s name in the computer system and dubs the plan Operation Pandora’s Box. For 18 days, from August-Sept. 2011, Marx struggles to find her informant.The effort to erase Anthony Brown from jail records showed how far leaders would go to shield themselves. A young deputy became central to the cover-up, and what began as a contraband phone case quickly spiraled into an obstruction probe. Reporter Chris Goffard, who previously told the story of Dirty John, guides listeners through this extraordinary clash between the Sheriff’s Department and the FBI.

A young FBI agent named Leah Marx arrives in Los Angeles and receives a tip in 2010 about brutal conditions at Men’s Central Jail downtown. Such complaints have gone nowhere for years, since they pit the allegations of inmates against the word of jail deputies. But she finds informants, including a wily bank robber, Anthony Brown, who is facing life in prison and is willing to help. She reflects on a family tragedy that informs her perspective and fuels her sense of mission. Meanwhile, an ambitious young jailer named James Sexton works his way through the ranks, trying to overcome his image as a “brass baby,” the son of a prominent law officer, while navigating a complicated agency where loyalty is a prime value.That jail was notorious for violence and neglect, and outside investigations had rarely gained traction. By entering Men’s Central Jail, the FBI was challenging a department that had long resisted oversight. The series is reported and hosted by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Chris Goffard, best known for his work on Dirty John.Topics in this episode include: Operation Pandora’s Box, Anthony Brown informant, James Sexton, Los Angeles County Jail scandal, FBI investigation, Sheriff Lee Baca.

Pandora’s Box: The Fall of L.A.’s Sheriff is a six-part podcast exploring the crisis that toppled one of the country’s most prominent lawmen, Lee Baca. Rising from humble beginnings, he presented himself as a reformer when he took over the scandal-plagued agency in 1998. He vowed that he would be sheriff as long as he lived, and voters seemed to approve. But inside the massive jail system he ran, claims of inmate abuse kept surfacing. When a young FBI agent found an inmate willing to talk, it triggered an unprecedented clash between two massive law agencies…and a cover-up that went to the top.

In this special feature bonus episode, our host Christopher Goffard is joined by his editor, Steve Clow to discuss the aftermath of the case.

In this featured episode, The fates of Frank Carson and his co-defendants are decided, and jurors explain their reasoning. An interview with the state’s star witness, now out of lockup, raises troubling questions about the state’s handling of the case.

In this special feature bonus episode, our host Christopher Goffard is joined by his editor, Steve Clow, to examine the evidence against Carson and his co-defendants as the longest California criminal trial in decades staggers to its conclusion.

In this specially featured episode, defense attorneys offer alternate theories to explain Korey Kauffman’s death, and the trial becomes an endurance test. As Frank Carson’s health deteriorates, he wonders whether he will live to see a verdict.

In this specially featured bonus episode, our host Christopher Goffard is joined by his editor, Steve Clow, to discuss the implications of Frank Carson's trial on the criminal-justice system.

In this special-feature episode, Frank Carson hits rock bottom, and offers his co-defendants a way out. During the marathon preliminary hearing, the prosecution belatedly reveals a cache of undisclosed evidence — with major consequences.

In this special-feature bonus episode, our host Christopher Goffard is joined by his editor, Steve Clow, to discuss how detectives zeroed in on Frank Carson’s wife and stepdaughter.

In this specially featured episode, a series of wiretaps lead to criminal charges against Frank Carson’s wife and stepdaughter, an art student.

In this special-feature bonus episode, our editor Steve Clow and our host Christopher Goffard discuss how three California Highway Patrol officers fell into the District Attorney’s crosshairs.

In this special-feature episode, Frank Carson and his co-defendants are accused of a complicated murder conspiracy after a three-year investigation. Among the accused: three cops.

In this special-release bonus episode, our host Christopher Goffard talks with false-confession expert Richard Leo, who questions the credibility of the government’s star witness.

In this special featured episode, the discovery of Korey Kauffman’s remains gives the investigation new impetus, and a man named Robert Woody offers a methamphetamine-fueled “confession.” But his story changes again and again.

In this special-released bonus episode, our host Christopher Goffard is joined by his editor, Steve Clow, to talk about how authorities linked the disappearance of Korey Kauffman to Frank Carson.

In this special-release bonus episode, our host Christopher Goffard is joined by his editor, Steve Clow, to discuss the origins of The Trials of Frank Carson.

In this special-release episode, investigators confront a defiant Frank Carson about the disappearance of a scrap-metal thief with a reputation for making enemies.

In Season 2 of Crimes of the Times, host Christopher Goffard revisits one of the longest and most bizarre murder trials in U.S. history.This special podcast rerelease will include fresh insights, bonus content and a new episode with the latest news on this fascinating case. The story follows the rise and subsequent downfall of one of Stanislaus County’s most controversial defense attorneys, Frank Carson. In this episode, meet Frank Carson, Stanislaus County’s most controversial defense attorney, famous for his high-profile courtroom victories and take-no-prisoners style. A longtime nemesis of local law enforcement, he is representing homicide defendants in the very courthouse where he is on trial for murder himself.

John Orr was a renowned fire investigator who was also a prolific arsonist, and whose thinly veiled novel helped to convict him. In this episode we hear from the fire captain who first suspected him—and from Orr himself. New episodes every Tuesday.To read more about these cases, visit Crimes of the Times at latimes.comVideo episodes will be available on Spotifyand Youtube.

The case of Barbara Graham, known in the 1950s as “Bloody Babs” after the murder of a Burbank widow. Former prosecutor Marcia Clark joins us to reexamine the questionable tactics that sent Graham to death row. New episodes every Tuesday.To read more about these cases, visit Crimes of the Times at latimes.comVideo episodes will be available on Spotify and Youtube.

The story of Synanon, the drug rehabilitation group once known as “the miracle on the beach,” and the rattlesnake attack on the crusading Los Angeles lawyer who made an enemy of the group’s leader.New episodes every Tuesday.To read more about these cases, visit Crimes of the Times at latimes.comVideo episodes will be available on Spotify and Youtube.

Former Manson prosecutor Stephen Kay recounts the strange story of Ronald Hughes, the “hippie lawyer” who enraged the cult leader and vanished mysteriously in the middle of trial.New episodes every Tuesday.To read more about these cases, visit Crimes of the Times at latimes.comVideo episodes will be available on Spotify and Youtube

The last living prosecutor of Charles Manson gives an inside account of the trial and the cult leader’s deadly vision. Stephen Kay recalls the case that still haunts America.New episodes every Tuesday.To read more about these cases, visit Crimes of the Times at latimes.comVideo episodes will be available on Spotify and Youtube.

The Black Dahlia mystery: Wild theories, enduring myths and a long-overlooked suspect.New episodes every Tuesday.To read more about these cases, visit Crimes of the Times at latimes.comVideo episodes will be available on Spotify and Youtube.

The kidnapped heiress who became an “urban guerrilla” and embraced her captors.New episodes every Tuesday.To read more about these cases, visit Crimes of the Times at latimes.comVideo episodes will be available on Spotify and Youtube.

Smuggled out of a Santa Monica safe, the top-secret documents that changed American history.New episodes every Tuesday.To read more about these cases, visit Crimes of the Times at latimes.comVideo episodes will be available on Spotify and Youtube.

A childhood memory sent her father to prison for murder. Was it real?New episodes every Tuesday.To read more about these cases, visit Crimes of the Times at latimes.comVideo episodes will be available on Spotify and Youtube.

Wild claims of mass child molestation rocked an L.A. beach town. Truth was the first casualty.New episodes every Tuesday.To read more about these cases, visit Crimes of the Times at latimes.comVideo episodes will be available on Spotify and Youtube.

A maverick from Detroit, John DeLorean built the “car of the future.” Then came the briefcase full of cocaine.New episodes every Tuesday.To read more about these cases, visit Crimes of the Times at latimes.comVideo episodes will be available on Spotify and Youtube.

A young actress, an obsessed stalker and a Hollywood murder that changed America.New episodes every Tuesday. To read more about these cases, visit Crimes of the Times at latimes.comVideo episodes will be available on Spotify and Youtube.

L.A. Times reporter Christopher Goffard of “Dirty John” is back with another riveting podcast from L.A. Times Studios. In “Crimes of the Times,” Goffard goes deep behind the scenes of a new story each week, cutting through common myths and misconceptions to uncover what really happened in the most compelling cases from L.A. and beyond.