Ridiculous Crime

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 Worl...

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.

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.

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...

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.

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.

He spent the majority of his life behind bars, but when he was free he made his time count, robbing stage coaches and trains and traveling the world on stolen booty — meet Billy Miner, outlaw folk hero of the disappearing Wild West. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 bod...

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 i...

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.

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....

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/l...

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.

Alex Joseph was a lot of things: accountant, school teacher, author, US Marine, postal worker, private investigator, music manager, health food purveyor, mayor, pirate, polygamist, cult leader. He loved living just outside the law, amassing wives (some of questionable age) and squatting on government land. And unlike many of the ridiculous criminals profiled, he managed to stay one step ahead of t...

Aspiring artist Arno Funke, aka Dagobert, just wanted to make a living doing what he loved. And he did, for a time, because in addition to art he loved bombs and extortion plots, and weird contraptions. His antics captivated a nation and made for great headlines, but those kind of capers just can't last. Luckily, the artist in him prevailed and he was able to delight and captivate the public in a...