Most Notorious! A True Crime History Podcast

The subject of today's episode is Henri Landru, the most notorious serial killer in French history. He placed advertisements in Paris newspapers in the late 1910s, preying on lonely women left behind as French soldiers marched off to war. While he would eventually be tried and convicted on twelve counts of murder, Richard Tomlinson, the author of "Landru's Secret: The Deadly Seductions of France's Lonely Hearts Serial Killer", believes the actual murder count to be higher, and he explains why. Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ann Marie Ackermann is my guest on this episode, author of the book "Death of an Assassin: The True Story of the German Murderer Who Died Defending Robert E. Lee". In 1835, a German mayor is murdered at night as he approaches his own front door. After an extensive investigation, including the first forensic ballistics test in history, the case goes cold until 1871, when it is finally solved in the United States. To make the story even more strange and compelling, the murderer of the mayor ends up dying at the feet of a young Robert E. Lee during a Mexican-American War battle. More about the author here: https://www.annmarieackermann.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest is Dr. Emilie La Beau Lucchesi, author of "Ugly Prey: An Innocent Woman and the Death Sentence That Scandalized Jazz Age Chicago". She discusses the case of Sabella Nitti, a poor Italian immigrant woman accused by police of murdering her husband with help from her farmhand lover in 1923. Dr. Lucchesi's investigation offers new evidence that she helps further exonerate Nitti, who is probably most well known in modern day culture as one of the characters in the Chicago musical and film. The author's website: http://www.emilie-lucchesi.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Catherine Pelonero, author of "Kitty Genovese: A True Account of a Public Murder and its Private Consequences", is my guest. She walks us through the murder of Kitty Genovese in Kew Gardens, New York in 1964 and its aftermath. The horrific crime is especially infamous because no one called police or stepped in to help, despite being witnessed by dozens of people. The author's website: https://catherinepelonero.net/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Author Jack Kelly joins me to discuss his book, "Heaven's Ditch: God Gold and Murder". He shares some stories of early 19th century murder and mystery surrounding the great engineering marvel known as the Erie Canal. The author's website: https://jackkellybooks.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mafia historian and Pulitzer-prize winning reporter Anthony M. DeStefano is my guest this episode. He offers insight into gangster Frank Costello, underboss to Lucky Luciano, whose role and influence in the growth of organized crime in America was immense. DeStefano's book is called "Top Hoodlum: Frank Costello, Prime Minister of the Mafia". More about the author and his work here: https://www.tonydestefano.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Stacy Horn, author of "Damnation Island: Poor, Sick, Mad and Criminal in 19th-Century New York", joins me to chat about the infamous New York City island, which housed the women's notorious lunatic asylum that continued to operate for decades, despite the horrendous abuses committed against the inmates. Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Even today, the world is still utterly fascinated with the Romanov family, the last Tsar and Tsarina of Imperial Russia and their famous daughters and son. My guest is Helen Rappaport, a world-renowned expert on the subject. She joins me to discuss her third book about the Romanovs, called "The Race to Save the Romanovs: The Truth Behind the Secret Plans to Rescue the Russian Imperial Family", which answers lingering questions about why the world couldn't save the family from their terrible deaths. Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the early 1900s police were stymied by a series of murders of Italian grocers and fruit vendors in midwest America. Witnesses refused to cooperate, which made the crimes impossible to solve. Enter the United States Postal Service. Postal Inspector Frank Oldfield finds a man willing to testify, and suddenly the organization is knee-deep in a massive investigation which leads them to one of the first crime rings of Sicilian gangsters in American history. For the first time, law enforcement agencies realize that an organized mafia (known as the Black Hand) exists in the United States. My guests are William Oldfield and Victoria Bruce, authors of "Inspector Oldfield and the Black Hand Society", and share some of the most interesting details from their book on this episode. More information at the publisher page: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Inspector-Oldfield-and-the-Black-Hand-Society/William-Oldfield/9781501171215 Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In November, 1849, Dr. George Parkman, Boston businessman and Harvard Medical School benefactor, disappeared. While many believed he might have been done in by an Irish immigrant, the discovery of his dismembered body in a privy eventually led investigators to a Harvard faculty teacher, John Webster. Paul Collins, English professor at Portland State University and author of "Blood and Ivy: The 1849 Murder That Scandalized Harvard", shares this story of debt, greed and rage at one of America's most prestigious colleges, during the era of Longfellow, Emerson, Melville, Hawthorne and Dickens. More about the author here: https://www.pdx.edu/profile/paul-collins Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest, author and journalist Paul Hoffman, discusses the July 1925 abduction and murder of little Buddy Schumacher in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. He wrote the book, "Murder in Wauwatosa: The Mysterious Death of Buddy Schumacher." The author's website: https://paulhoffmanauthor.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One of the most violent old west towns in the late 19th century was the legendary Dodge City, Kansas. Among the notable lawmen and gunfighters who called it home were Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson, who formed an unlikely friendship to do battle with gunmen, horse thieves, and desperadoes. New York Times best-selling author Tom Clavin joins me to talk about his book, "Dodge City: Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, and the Wickedest Town in the American West". The author's website: https://www.tomclavin.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of Most Notorious, I chat with Philip Jett, author of "The Death of an Heir: Adolph Coors III and the Murder That Rocked an American Brewing Dynasty”. He discusses the attempted kidnapping and eventual murder of Coors Brewery heir Adolph Coors III in 1960 Colorado, and the personal involvement of J. Edgar Hoover in this sensational case that drew international interest. More information about the author can be found here: https://philipjett.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest is Nathan E. Bender, who wrote the introduction for the most recent edition of the 1958 classic "Crow Killer: The Saga of Liver-Eating Johnson". Johnson, (who was the basis for Robert Redford's character in the "Jeremiah Johnson" film), is known in history for hunting down members of the Crow Indian tribe to avenge his wife and child's death, but much of our modern knowledge of this now legendary figure was made up by the original authors of the book, Raymond W. Thorp and Robert Bunker. Author Nathan Bender tells us the true story of Liver-Eating Johnson, and helps separate myth from historical accuracy. Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/4698315/advertisement Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rose Veres, known as "The Witch of Delray", was tried in 1931 for murdering one of her tenants in Detroit, and has been suspected of killing others throughout the 1920s. Karen Dybis, author of "The Witch of Delray: Rose Veres and Detroit's Infamous 1930s Murder Mystery" is my guest on this week's episode of Most Notorious, and not only tells Rose's story, but helps separate legend from the true-life, historical account of her story. The author's website: https://www.karendybis.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1936, New York City prosecutors, desperate to put infamous Murder Inc. boss Charles "Lucky" Luciano behind bars, decided to arrest him on tenuous charges for running the Big Apple's largest prostitution racket. Ellen Poulsen is my guest, and author of "The Case Against Lucky Luciano: New York's Most Sensational Vice Trial". She talks about the case, the trial, and the state of prostitution and organized crime in 1930s New York City. Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fifty years after the brutal murders of three Tucson women, an inside account of killer Charles Schmid, aka "The Pied Piper of Tucson" is published - written by Schmid's former friend Richard Bruns not long after the tragic and terrible events. The author's daughter, Lisa Espich joins the Most Notorious podcast to share the fascinating details from her father's book, called "I, a Squealer: The Insider's Account of the Pied Piper of Tucson Murders". Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Axeman has become a figure of American folklore; a jazz-loving serial killer preying on Italian grocers in 1910s New Orleans. Miriam C. Davis, the author of "The Axeman of New Orleans", chats with me about the series of murders that terrified the Big Easy, and helps separate myth from fact. The author's website: https://miriamghost.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest is the prolific true crime author Harold Schechter, who returns to talk about his latest book, "Hell's Princess: The Mystery of Belle Gunness, Butcher of Men". He tells the story about the legendary Norwegian immigrant serial killer who lured men to her Laporte, Indiana farm and murdered them, before a fire finally destroyed the farmhouse and killed her children, and allegedly her as well. Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest is Karen L. Cox, author of "Goat Castle: A True Story of Murder, Race, and the Gothic South". She tells the story of Jennie Merrill, an aged Southern belle who was murdered in her home in 1932 Natchez, Mississippi. Two of the main suspects against her were her neighbors: Octavia Dockery (aka " Goat Woman") and Dick Dana (aka "Wild Man"), who lived in the notorious ramshackle mansion nicknamed "Goat Castle". The author's website: https://karencoxhistorian.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

True crime history enthusiasts are devouring TNT's "The Alienist", the television show based on the popular Caleb Carr novel. Richard Zacks, the author of "Island of Vice: Theodore Roosevelt's Quest to Clean Up Sin-Loving New York" joins me to talk about this crazy era in the New York City's history, and how reformer and newly minted police commissioner Teddy Roosevelt attempted to curtail the power of corrupt Tammany Hall politicians and police officers, who profited from the lax law enforcement of brothels, saloons and gambling joints. More about the author and his work can be found here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/34037/richard-zacks/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious/ Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From December of 1884 to December of 1885 a serial killer terrorized the city of Austin Texas. He had multiple nicknames: the Midnight Assassin, the Intangible Nemesis and the Servant Girl Annihilator. Journalist Skip Hollandsworth, author of "The Midnight Assassin: The Hunt for America's First Serial Killer", shares the story of this brutal murderer's killing spree, the suspects, the hapless police department who pursued him, and the rumors that the killer was none other than Jack the Ripper. More about the author here: https://www.texasmonthly.com/contributors/skip-hollandsworth/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Historian James L. Neibaur, author of "Butterfly in the Rain: The 1927 Abduction and Murder of Marion Parker", talks about the horrific kidnapping and murder of little Marion Parker in Jazz-age Los Angeles. Also, Mark Lee Gardner joins me for a chat about the latest rash of Billy the Kid photographs that have surfaced and their legitimacy. Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

1952 post-war London was a city in the throes of tragedy. Thousands were sickened and killed from a great filthy smog that choked the city. In the meantime a serial killer named John Reginald Christie was lurking in Notting Hill, murdering multiple women over years and burying their bodies in his backyard, under floorboards and behind walls. Author Kate Winkler Dawson tells these two parallel stories and their ultimate repercussions for the country in her book "Death In the Air: The True Story of a Serial Killer, the Great London Smog, and the Strangling of a City." More about the author here: https://www.katewinklerdawson.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Perhaps the most notorious killer in 19th century America was H.H. Holmes, a man who committed fraud and murder with cold abandon across the United States. His infamous Chicago "murder castle" is legendary in true crime lore. My guest, Adam Selzer, author of "H.H. Holmes: The True History of the White City Devil", tells Holmes' story and breaks some myths about the murderous scoundrel. More about the author here: https://adamselzerchicago.wordpress.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest is former criminal defense attorney Mark Shaw, author of "The Reporter Who Knew Too Much: The Mysterious Death of What's My Line TV Star and Media Icon Dorothy Kilgallen". He talks about the life of Pulitzer nominated reporter and television star Dorothy Kilgallen, who was allegedly on the brink of breaking wide open a story about John Kennedy's assassination before her mysterious and suspicious death abruptly ended her investigation. The author's website: https://markshawbooks.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest, Jay Atkinson, author of "Massacre on the Merrimack", tells the notorious and controversial story of Hannah Duston. After members of the Abenaki tribe captured her and her newborn infant in March of 1697, they killed her baby on a forced march north. Duston got her revenge by killing and scalping ten of her captors, including six children, and fleeing by canoe back to her home in Haverhill, Massachusetts. The author's Amazon page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B001JORXLK On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/writerjayatkinson/ On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jay_atkinson/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest is Charles Brandt, the author of bestselling book "I Heard You Paint Houses". He tells the story of Frank "the Irishman" Sheeran, a hitman who goes to work for famed mob boss Russell Bufalino and Teamsters president Jimmy Hoffa in the 1950s and 60s. According to confessions by Sheeran to Brandt, he was involved in three of the most famous murders of their era - President John Kennedy, Jimmy Hoffa and "Crazy" Joe Gallo. More about the author here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/59303/charles-brandt/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the spring of 1897, Chicago sausage tycoon Adolph Leutgert's wife Louisa went missing. Police soon suspected her body had been dissolved in a vat in Adolph's factory. My guest, Robert Loerzel, author of "Alchemy of Bones: Chicago’s Luetgert Murder Case of 1897", tells the sensational true crime story of murder, sex and sausage on this week's episode of Most Notorious. More about the author here: http://www.robertloerzel.com/books/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1941 Berlin police were on the hunt for a serial killer who stalked women on the S-Bahn at night, bludgeoning victims to death before throwing their bodies off of the train. Scott Andrew Selby, author of "A Serial Killer in Nazi Berlin: The Chilling True Story of the S-Bahn Murderer" details the terrible rape and murder spree of railway worker Paul Ogorzow. The author's website: https://www.scottselby.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1828 two friends named William Burke and William Hare killed sixteen people in Edinburgh, Scotland and sold their bodies to an anatomist named Dr. Robert Knox. Dr. Lisa Rosner, author of "The Anatomy Murders", tells the story of this notorious duo of serial killers and the nefarious business of body selling in early 19th century Scotland. The author's website: http://burkeandhare.com/anatomymurders.htm Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oklahoma oilman and multi-millionaire Jake Hamon had just helped elect Warren Harding President of the United States and had a fast track to become Secretary of the Interior - but under one condition. He had to break things off with his mistress of ten years, Clara Smith. That was when things went terribly wrong. David R. Stokes, author of "Jake and Clara: Scandal, Politics, Hollywood and Murder". tells this remarkable story of loyalty, deception and murder. More about the author here: https://davidstokeslive.wordpress.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest is historian Michael Greenburg, the author of "The Mad Bomber of New York, The Extraordinary True Story of the Manhunt that Paralyzed a City". He tells the story of serial bomber George Metesky, who terrorized New York City in the 1940s and 50s over a grudge with a utility company. More about the author: https://www.michaelgreenburg.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The number of theories surrounding the Jack the Ripper murders in 1880s London are too staggering to mention. At least 200 suspects have been considered over the decades and spirited debate over his true identity has preoccupied the time of many a true crime history buff. Donald Rumbelow is my guest on this first Jack the Ripper-themed episode of Most Notorious. He is a world renowned expert on the subject, and gives us an introduction to the infamous series of murders, and also discusses some of the primary suspects. His book "The Complete Jack the Ripper" has been the go-to manual for Ripperologists for 45 years. Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On September 28th, 1953, Bobby Greenlease, six-year-old son of millionaire Robert Greenlease, was kidnapped and then murdered by two grifters named Carl Austin Hall and Bonnie Brown Heady. John Heidenry, author of "Zero at the Bone: The Playboy, the Prostitute, and the Murder of Bobby Greenlease" tells the disturbing story of this notorious crime, which included corrupt cops and Saint Louis mobsters. More about the author here: https://us.macmillan.com/author/johnheidenry Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest is Juliet Mofford, author of "The Devil Made Me Do It! Crime and Punishment in Early New England". She discusses a variety of topics, including scarlet letters, witches, and the methods that Puritans dealt out punishments to law-breakers. Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest today, Catherine Spude, author of "That Fiend in Hell: Soapy Smith in Legend", tells the story of the renowned con-man, crime boss and murderer Soapy Smith, known in history as the "King of Skagway". She also helps separate the fact from the fiction and dispel some myths about the most notorious man in Alaskan history. More about the author and her work here: https://www.oupress.com/author/catherine-holder-spude/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a rough part of Cleveland Ohio called Kingsbury Run, twelve decapitated bodies, some mutilated and dismembered, were discovered from 1934-1938. My guest, Dr. James Badal, author of "In the Wake of the Butcher: Cleveland's Torso Murders", discusses the details of the crimes and the investigation, including the involvement of legendary lawman Elliot Ness. More about the author and his work here: https://www.kentstateuniversitypress.com/author/badalj/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There are many myths surrounding Grigori Rasputin, known in popular history as the "Mad Monk" and the "Holy Devil". His influence on Tsar Nicholas II and his family in turn-of-the-twentieth-century Russia is well known, but my guest, Douglas Smith, author of "Rasputin: Faith, Power, and the Twilight of the Romanovs" sheds new light on his life, his motives and where the legends end and the actual man begins. The author's website: https://douglassmith.info/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dillinger historian Ellen Poulsen, author of "Don't Call Us Molls", completes her interview with me about the role of women in Depression-era gangs of the Midwest. Included in this episode, girlfriends of the Barker-Karpis and Dillinger Gangs, Mrs. Babyface Nelson and Bonnie Parker of Bonnie and Clyde fame. The author's website: http://www.dillingerswomen.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this first part of my two part interview with Ellen Poulsen, author of "Don't Call Us Molls", we discuss the many women involved with notorious 1930s Public Enemy #1 John Dillinger, including Evelyn "Billie" Frechette, Anna Sage and Polly Hamilton, and the role that molls played in the lives of bank-robbing Depression-era gangsters. The author's website: http://www.dillingerswomen.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In March of 1887 a high-class prostitute and two others, including a child, were found stabbed to death in a luxury apartment on the upscale Avenue Montaigne. Police settle on a mysterious immigrant gigolo as their main suspect, named Enrico Pranzini. My guest, Aaron Freundschuh, author of "The Courtesan and the Gigolo: The Murders in the Rue Montaigne and the Dark Side of Empire in Nineteenth-Century Paris" tells the story of the crime, the investigation, the trial, and the role that xenophobia played in its outcome. More information about the author and his work here: https://www.sup.org/books/title/?id=27006 Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Richard Zacks, bestselling author of "Pirate Hunter: The True Story of Captain Kidd" is my guest, and he tells some stories (and breaks some myths) about a man considered one of the most infamous pirates in American history. More about the author here: https://www.echonyc.com/~rzacks/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The 1930s were filled with news of midwest bank-robbers like John Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson, Pretty Boy Floyd and Bonnie & Clyde, but few know that Boston had its own gang of thieves and killers during the Depression. Murt Millen, a whip-smart but unstable Jewish kid, his mentally challenged brother, Irv, his wife, Norma Brighton (the wayward daughter of a minister), and his MIT graduate friend Abe Faber, formed the Millen-Faber gang in the early 30s. My guest, Nathan Gorenstein, author of "Tommy Gun Winter: Jewish Gangsters, a Preacher's Daughter, and the Trial That Shocked 1930s Boston", tells the tale about the rise and fall of this notorious group of hoodlums. The author's website: https://www.nathangorenstein.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Two events in early 1940s L.A. grabbed newspaper headlines almost back to back- The murder of José Díaz and following trial of 22 boys, and the race riots between American sailors and zoot-suit wearing Mexican-American kids in downtown Los Angeles. Eduardo Obregón Pagán is a professor at Arizona State University and a co-host of PBS's History Detectives, and he talks with me about his book, "Murder at the Sleepy Lagoon: Zoot Suits, Race, and Riot in Wartime L.A.". More about the author here: https://sustainability-innovation.asu.edu/person/eduardo-pagan/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Carl Panzram was a self-confessed serial killer and rapist, who admitted in his autobiography to over 20 murders just before his execution in 1930. My guest, John Borowski, director of the documentary "Carl Panzram: The Spirit of Hatred and Vengeance" talks about this man, who many consider one of most evil people to ever walk the earth, and how childhood traumas and prison torture might have contributed in transforming him into a monster. Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Few of us think of 19th century Los Angeles in the same breath as Tombstone, Dodge City, or Deadwood, but in the 1850s it was filled with rampant racism and violent conflict. Vigilantes roamed the streets and lynchings were commonplace. My guest, Professor John Mack Faragher, author of "Eternity Street: Violence and Justice in Frontier Los Angeles" talks about this rough and savage time in California history. More about the author here: https://history.yale.edu/people/john-faragher Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1913 a PR man named John Gluck successfully petitioned the US Post Office for control of New York City's Santa Claus letters. From that point forward, he not only built the Santa Claus Association into a major holiday organization, but also found ways to steal large amounts of money in the process. Alex Palmer, author of "The Santa Claus Man: The Rise and Fall of a Jazz Age Con Man and the Invention of Christmas In New York", talks about one of the great Christmas cons in American history. The author's website: https://www.alexpalmerwrites.com/santa-claus-man Become a Most Notorious patron at: www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cory Frye, author of "Murder in Linn County, Oregon: The True Story of the Legendary Plainview Killings" is my guest. He tells two stories. On June 21, 1922, Linn County sheriff Charles Kendall and Reverend Roy Healy drove out to arrest a moonshining farmer named Dave West. By the end of the day, all three men were dead. William Dunlap replaced him, but was also killed on duty within a year. Author's publisher page: https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/Products/9781467135221 Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My interview with Michael Wallis, author of "Pretty Boy: The Life and Times of Charles Arthur Floyd" continues. We cover the bloody and notorious Kansas City Massacre, as well as the last few weeks, days and hours of Pretty Boy Floyd's life. Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices