Crooked City: Dixon, IL

From The Binge, ⁠Crime Scene⁠ plunges you into stories you can’t stop thinking about—revisiting cases that deserve a second look. Join Jonathan Hirsch (My Fugitive Dad, Dear Franklin Jones) and investigative reporter Cooper Moll as they crack open overlooked details, challenge the official narrative, and uncover what others missed. Each episode delivers the depth of a true crime mini-series in a single, gripping listen. If you’re drawn to unresolved mysteries and stories that stay with you long after they end...this is for you. Follow ⁠Crime Scene⁠ wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes every Thursday. Subscribers to The Binge+ can listen ad-free, in addition to our network of limited series. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Years after Rita’s arrest, the people of Dixon gather in the town’s historic movie theater to watch a documentary about Rita’s crime. Then they hear that Rita may be coming home early. Unlock all episodes of Crooked City: Dixon, IL, ad-free, right now by subscribing to The Binge. Plus, get binge access to brand new stories dropping on the first of every month — that’s all episodes, all at once, all ad-free. Just click ‘Subscribe’ on the top of the Crooked City show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you get your podcasts. A truth.media & Sony Music Entertainment production. Find out more about The Binge and other podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dixon wants its money back… so they sue the accounting firm that did the city’s annual audits. Mayor Burke decides not to run for a fifth term. Unlock all episodes of Crooked City: Dixon, IL, ad-free, right now by subscribing to The Binge. Plus, get binge access to brand new stories dropping on the first of every month — that’s all episodes, all at once, all ad-free. Just click ‘Subscribe’ on the top of the Crooked City show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you get your podcasts. A truth.media & Sony Music Entertainment production. Find out more about The Binge and other podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On her ranch in Dixon, US Marshals auction off hundreds of Rita’s horses. Leonard and Leigh Berryhill want to buy Good I Will Be. Unlock all episodes of Crooked City: Dixon, IL, ad-free, right now by subscribing to The Binge. Plus, get binge access to brand new stories dropping on the first of every month — that’s all episodes, all at once, all ad-free. Just click ‘Subscribe’ on the top of the Crooked City show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you get your podcasts. A truth.media & Sony Music Entertainment production. Find out more about The Binge and other podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rita Crundwell’s 30-year crime spree comes to an end and Dixon finds out just how much she stole. As the city blames its beloved mayor, Jim Burke struggles to pick up the pieces. Unlock all episodes of Crooked City: Dixon, IL, ad-free, right now by subscribing to The Binge. Plus, get binge access to brand new stories dropping on the first of every month — that’s all episodes, all at once, all ad-free. Just click ‘Subscribe’ on the top of the Crooked City show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you get your podcasts. A truth.media & Sony Music Entertainment production. Find out more about The Binge and other podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Dixon City Clerk stumbles across a secret bank account. Mayor Jim Burke calls the Feds. Unlock all episodes of Crooked City: Dixon, IL, ad-free, right now by subscribing to The Binge. Plus, get binge access to brand new stories dropping on the first of every month — that’s all episodes, all at once, all ad-free. Just click ‘Subscribe’ on the top of the Crooked City show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you get your podcasts. A truth.media & Sony Music Entertainment production. Find out more about The Binge and other podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to Horse World, where Rita Crundwell reigns as queen. She hires Leonard and Leigh Berryhill to train her prized stallion, Good I Will Be. Unlock all episodes of Crooked City: Dixon, IL, ad-free, right now by subscribing to The Binge. Plus, get binge access to brand new stories dropping on the first of every month — that’s all episodes, all at once, all ad-free. Just click ‘Subscribe’ on the top of the Crooked City show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you get your podcasts. A truth.media & Sony Music Entertainment production. Find out more about The Binge and other podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Who is Rita Crundwell? Alexa journeys to Dixon to find out. Unlock all episodes of Crooked City: Dixon, IL, ad-free, right now by subscribing to The Binge. Plus, get binge access to brand new stories dropping on the first of every month — that’s all episodes, all at once, all ad-free. Just click ‘Subscribe’ on the top of the Crooked City show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you get your podcasts. A truth.media & Sony Music Entertainment production. Find out more about The Binge and other podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s 1950 and the neighborly people of Dixon gather in their historic theater to watch a movie starring their hometown hero: Ronald Reagan. But this podcast is not about Ronald Reagan… It’s about the largest municipal fraud in US history. Unlock all episodes of Crooked City: Dixon, IL, ad-free, right now by subscribing to The Binge. Plus, get binge access to brand new stories dropping on the first of every month — that’s all episodes, all at once, all ad-free. Just click ‘Subscribe’ on the top of the Crooked City show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you get your podcasts. A truth.media & Sony Music Entertainment production. Find out more about The Binge and other podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This is a story about a woman who came to be known as The Horse Queen. She owned hundreds of champion quarter horses on her ranch outside the small city of Dixon, Illinois. And she was also Dixon’s treasurer/comptroller. Yet no one ever thought to ask how she could afford all of those horses on the salary of a civil servant… until the FBI raided City Hall in 2012 and Rita was arrested. For twenty years, Rita Crundwell worked hard to become the world’s largest and most successful quarter horse breeder… while also becoming America’s most prolific municipal embezzler. Subscribe now to unlock all shows on The Binge — All Episodes. All at Once… and you’ll be the first to access season three of Crooked City: Dixon, IL as soon as it drops on October 1st. Just click ‘Subscribe’ on the top of the Crooked City show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you get your podcasts. A truth.media & Sony Music Entertainment production. Find out more about The Binge and other podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sam investigates a mysterious theory called the green light, before infiltrating Jeff’s pot farm and searching for meaning on top of the mountain. Subscribe to The Binge to get all episodes of Crooked City, ad-free right now. Click ‘Subscribe’ at the top of the Crooked City show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you get your podcasts. A truth.media & Sony Music Entertainment production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sam goes through the evidence with Detective Matt Croskey and separates the truth from the lies. But there’s one question even Croskey can’t solve. Subscribe to The Binge to get all episodes of Crooked City: The Emerald Triangle ad-free right now. Click ‘Subscribe’ at the top of the Crooked City show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you get your podcasts. A truth.media & Sony Music Entertainment production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Two of the men who went to jail for Jeff’s death, Jesse Wells and Gary “Cricket” Blank, tell their side of the story. And it’s not looking good for Zach. Subscribe to The Binge to get all episodes of Crooked City, ad-free right now. Click ‘Subscribe’ at the top of the Crooked City show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you get your podcasts. A truth.media & Sony Music Entertainment production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Two of Jeff’s former workers describe the conditions on his pot farm, painting a dire portrait of acid, paranoia, and mayhem. Subscribe to The Binge to get all episodes of Crooked City, ad-free right now. Click ‘Subscribe’ at the top of the Crooked City show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you get your podcasts. A truth.media & Sony Music Entertainment production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sam pays a visit to the Settler family in Texas, and investigates the background of Michael Kane, one of the key suspects. Subscribe to The Binge to get all episodes of Crooked City, ad-free right now. Click ‘Subscribe’ at the top of the Crooked City show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you get your podcasts. A truth.media & Sony Music Entertainment production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fueled by anger, alcohol, and acid, the trimmers hatch their plot. Zach takes the cops to the scene of the crime and reveals who killed Jeff Settler. Subscribe to The Binge to get all episodes of Crooked City, ad-free right now. Click ‘Subscribe’ at the top of the Crooked City show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you get your podcasts. A truth.media & Sony Music Entertainment production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sam discovers a cache of original law enforcement tapes that promise to blow the case wide open. But when all the suspects point the finger at each other, it becomes unclear who to trust. Subscribe to The Binge to get all episodes of Crooked City, ad-free right now. Click ‘Subscribe’ at the top of the Crooked City show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you get your podcasts. A truth.media & Sony Music Entertainment production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sam begins his investigation in the small California town where the murder happened. He falls in with an old friend of the victim, who takes him on a wild drug-fueled ride through outlaw country. Subscribe to The Binge to get all episodes of Crooked City, ad-free right now. Click ‘Subscribe’ at the top of the Crooked City show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you get your podcasts. A truth.media & Sony Music Entertainment production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Reporter Sam Anderson moves back in with his parents in the suburbs of New Jersey to discover that a kid he grew up with is accused of a horrific murder. But all his friends say he’s innocent. Sam sets out to find the truth. Subscribe to The Binge to get all episodes of Crooked City, ad-free right now. Click ‘Subscribe’ at the top of the Crooked City show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you get your podcasts. A truth.media & Sony Music Entertainment production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Deep in the forests of northern California, a man is found brutally murdered. Investigators set out to discover what happened. Subscribe to The Binge to get all episodes of Crooked City, ad-free right now. Click ‘Subscribe’ at the top of the Crooked City show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you get your podcasts. A truth.media & Sony Music Entertainment production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jim Traficant faces expulsion in the House of Representatives. Will he stand firm, like a junkyard bulldog in the face of a hurricane? Subscribe to The Binge to get all episodes of Crooked City: Youngstown, OH ad-free right now. Click ‘try free’ at the top of the Crooked City: Youngstown, OH show page on Apple Podcasts to start your free trial or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you get your podcasts. A truth.media & Sony Music Entertainment production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After the fall of the mob in Youngstown, the feds gather information to go after corrupt officials. Will they go after Congressman Traficant? Subscribe to The Binge to get all episodes of Crooked City: Youngstown, OH ad-free right now. Click ‘try free’ at the top of the Crooked City: Youngstown, OH show page on Apple Podcasts to start your free trial or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you get your podcasts. A truth.media & Sony Music Entertainment production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A late-night tipster leads to the biggest mob dragnet in Youngstown history. Who will talk, and who will live by the code? Subscribe to The Binge to get all episodes of Crooked City: Youngstown, OH ad-free right now. Click ‘try free’ at the top of the Crooked City: Youngstown, OH show page on Apple Podcasts to start your free trial or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you get your podcasts. A truth.media & Sony Music Entertainment production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A newly-elected county prosecutor threatens the mob’s way of life. Now, his life is in danger. Subscribe to The Binge to get all episodes of Crooked City: Youngstown, OH ad-free right now. Click ‘try free’ at the top of the Crooked City: Youngstown, OH show page on Apple Podcasts to start your free trial or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you get your podcasts. A truth.media & Sony Music Entertainment production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Congressman Jim Traficant takes on a wayward cause: the fight to free a man convicted of being a notorious Nazi war criminal. Subscribe to The Binge to get all episodes of Crooked City: Youngstown, OH ad-free right now. Click ‘try free’ at the top of the Crooked City: Youngstown, OH show page on Apple Podcasts to start your free trial or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you get your podcasts. A truth.media & Sony Music Entertainment production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lenny Strollo runs the rackets in Youngstown, but not everyone wants to get in line. Subscribe to The Binge to get all episodes of Crooked City: Youngstown, OH ad-free right now. Click ‘try free’ at the top of the Crooked City: Youngstown, OH show page on Apple Podcasts to start your free trial or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you get your podcasts. A truth.media & Sony Music Entertainment production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Frankie Susany vows revenge on the man who almost killed him, Mark Batcho. But enemies soon become friends as Susany introduces Batcho to the mob. Subscribe to The Binge to get all episodes of Crooked City: Youngstown, OH ad-free right now. Click ‘try free’ at the top of the Crooked City: Youngstown, OH show page on Apple Podcasts to start your free trial or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you get your podcasts. A truth.media & Sony Music Entertainment production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When mob boss Jimmy Prato dies, a longstanding feud between his right hand, Joey Naples, and his nephew, Lenny Strollo, boils over. Only one can be the new boss. Subscribe to The Binge to get all episodes of Crooked City: Youngstown, OH ad-free right now. Click ‘try free’ at the top of the Crooked City: Youngstown, OH show page on Apple Podcasts to start your free trial or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you get your podcasts. A truth.media & Sony Music Entertainment production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sheriff Jim Traficant is a local hero after he defeats the federal government in court. Now he plans to take the fight to Washington...as a U.S. Congressman. Subscribe to The Binge to get all episodes of Crooked City: Youngstown, OH ad-free right now. Click ‘try free’ at the top of the Crooked City: Youngstown, OH show page on Apple Podcasts to start your free trial or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you get your podcasts. A truth.media & Sony Music Entertainment production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Frank Susany is an up-and-coming thief, making his bones with mob boss Joey Naples…until he crosses paths with violent drug addict Mark Batcho. Subscribe to The Binge to get all episodes of Crooked City: Youngstown, OH ad-free right now. Click ‘try free’ at the top of the Crooked City: Youngstown, OH show page on Apple Podcasts to start your free trial or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you get your podcasts. A truth.media & Sony Music Entertainment production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sheriff Jim Traficant defends himself in and out of court against the federal government. Will Youngstown set him free? Subscribe to The Binge to get all episodes of Crooked City: Youngstown, OH ad-free right now. Click ‘try free’ at the top of the Crooked City: Youngstown, OH show page on Apple Podcasts to start your free trial or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you get your podcasts. A truth.media & Sony Music Entertainment production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

FBI agent Bob Kroner tangles with Jim Traficant in a game of cat-and-mouse…and a battle for the hearts and minds of Youngstown. Subscribe to The Binge to get all episodes of Crooked City: Youngstown, OH ad-free right now. Click ‘try free’ at the top of the Crooked City: Youngstown, OH show page on Apple Podcasts to start your free trial or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you get your podcasts. A truth.media & Sony Music Entertainment production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After Youngstown suffers the shocking loss of the steel industry, local football hero Jim Traficant runs for sheriff, promising to clean up the city amidst a brutal mob war. Subscribe to The Binge to get all episodes of Crooked City: Youngstown, OH ad-free right now. Click ‘try free’ at the top of the Crooked City: Youngstown, OH show page on Apple Podcasts to start your free trial or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you get your podcasts. A truth.media & Sony Music Entertainment production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Cleveland mob has a tip for Youngstown bank burglar Amil Dinsio: there’s a vault in California, full of President Richard Nixon’s dirty money. Subscribe to The Binge to get all episodes of Crooked City: Youngstown, OH ad-free right now. Click ‘try free’ at the top of the Crooked City: Youngstown, OH show page on Apple Podcasts to start your free trial or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you get your podcasts. A truth.media & Sony Music Entertainment production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 2014, congressman Jim Traficant dies, and the city that loved him mourns. Why so much love for such a flawed man? Subscribe to The Binge to get all episodes of Crooked City: Youngstown, OH ad-free right now. Click ‘try free’ at the top of the Crooked City: Youngstown, OH show page on Apple Podcasts to start your free trial or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you get your podcasts. A truth.media & Sony Music Entertainment production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From Marc Smerling, the creator of Crimetown and The Jinx, welcome to CROOKED CITY. The Saturday Evening Post dubbed Youngstown, Ohio “Crimetown U.S.A.” It was a mob town. Illegal gambling was so lucrative that a mob war raged for decades, and bodies piled up. Then, Jim Traficant ran for sheriff, riding into office as the city’s steel industry fell on hard times. Traficant battles the local newspaper, then the FBI, the IRS and finally his own demons as an eight-term, twice-indicted congressman. Subscribe now to unlock all shows on The Binge - All Episodes. All at Once... and you’ll be the first to access Crooked City: Youngstown, OH as soon as it drops on July 25th. A truth.media & Sony Music Entertainment production. Find out more about The Binge and other podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Journalist Sam Anderson learns that one of his high school classmates has been accused of murder in California, and travels west to find out what happened. Sam becomes immersed in the Emerald Triangle, the legendary home of pot growers, hippies, and outlaws. He discovers that his classmate became drawn into the orbit of a cultish and charismatic pot grower obsessed with psychedelic drugs. Desperation, greed, and a seemingly never-ending acid trip create a perfect storm of paranoia that ends in a moment of unspeakable violence. Subscribe now to unlock all shows on The Binge — All Episodes. All at Once. A truth.media & Sony Music Entertainment production. Find out more about The Binge and other podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices