Most Notorious! A True Crime History Podcast

My guest, Russell Shorto, has a unique connection to the subject of his latest book, "Smalltime: A Story of My Family and the Mob". He is the namesake of his grandfather, a gangster who ran an Italian-American outfit in the town of Johnstown, Pennsylvania in the 1940s and 50s. The organization would eventually crumble after the murder of a local bookie in 1960 exposed its underbelly to unwanted attention. He joins us today not only to share details about his grandfather and his business, but also about his own journey as he researched this very personal story. More information about his work can be found at: https://www.russellshorto.com/Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Murder, Inc. was arguably the most ruthless and successful hit squad in American history, killing hundreds of people throughout the 1930s. It was led by a brutal Brooklyn gangster named Abe "Kid Twist" Reles, who under orders from mob bosses like Lucky Luciano, Lepke Buchalter and Albert Anastasia, dispatched his hitmen across the country to kill anyone who threatened the interests of "The Commission", a national federation of Italian-American and Jewish mobsters. Eventually Reles would turn government witness, but before he could testify against the upper echelons of his organization, he would die from a fall from a hotel room. Which leads to an enduring historical mystery: Was it suicide? An accident? Or murder?My guest, Michael Cannell, author of "A Brotherhood Betrayed: The Man Behind the Rise and Fall of Murder, Inc.", shares details about the deadly organization and the colorful Kid Twist, and offers some theories about what really happened to him in Suite 623 of the Half Moon Hotel on November 12, 1941. More information can be found here: http://www.michaelcannell.com/Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest, Ben Montgomery, tells the story of George Dinning, a former slave who was visited one night in 1897 by a mob, hellbent on driving him and his family off of their Kentucky farm. In an exchange of gunfire, Dinning killed a wealthy white man. Dinning then had to elude lynchers while fighting for his life in court. Unlikely allies would come forward, including a former Confederate officer who believed that Dinning was in the right due to the castle doctrine, and agreed to represent him in a federal case against members of the mob that had terrorized he and his family. Ben Montgomery's book is called "A Shot in the Moonlight: How a Freed Slave and a Confederate Soldier Fought for Justice in the Jim Crow South", and more information about him can be found at: https://www.benmontgomerywrites.com/Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the autumn of 1920, two couples pulled into a campsite in Central Park, Montana, but only one left alive. Seth and Iva Danner would eventually turn on each other with their own versions of how John and Florence Sprouse were murdered, but only Seth would be tried, convicted, and put to death. And questions still linger - about whether justice was truly served. My guest, Kelly Suzanne Hartman, author of "Murder Along the Yellowstone Trail: The Execution of Seth Danner" chats with me about the case.More information about her and her book can be discovered at: https://www.mountainstudio308.com/Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Somehow Jane Toppan managed to skirt through the first half of her life murdering people at will, before finally being caught and committed to an insane asylum in 1901. Her nursing background made her an expert with drugs, and she used that expertise to kill over thirty people, often torturing them by purposely prolonging their suffering. My guest is Mary Kay McBrayer, and she shares some stories about Jane's nefarious activities from her book: "America's First Serial Killer: Jane Toppan and the Making of a Monster." You can find more information about Mary Kay, her book, and the podcast she hosts, called "Everything Trying to Kill You", at https://www.marykaymcbrayer.com .Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In late August of 1876, an eighty-two-year-old Methodist minister, William England, his wife Selena, and two of their children were slaughtered on their North Texas farm. Selena, on her deathbed, insisted that one of the murderers was their neighbor, Ben Krebs, with whom they had suffered some ongoing troubles. But was he the actual killer, or did someone else, with another motive, murder the England family that hot summer night? My guest is Glen Sample Ely, and in his book, "Murder in Montague: Frontier Justice & Retribution in Texas", he lays out evidence to suggest that Ben Krebs and his friends were wrongly convicted in the slayings.More about the author here: https://www.oupress.com/author/glen-sample-ely/Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotoriousMost Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In late 1960s a serial murder stalked the city of London, Ontario, killing at will and baffling police.My guest is author, bookstore owner and historian Vanessa Brown. She has spent countless hours researching these horrific murders and looking for the killer, and joins us to share details and theories from her book, "The Forest City Killer: A Serial Murderer, a Cold-Case Sleuth, and a Search for Justice." Her bookstore's website is: https://brownanddickson.com/Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Francis Tumblety was one America's greatest 19th century charlatans. A medical quack who became rich peddling cure-all herbal remedies, his larger-than-life character and questionable morals put him into some sticky situations - including being arrested as a suspect in the Lincoln assassination. But his most notorious claim to fame was as a Scotland Yard suspect in the Jack the Ripper murders. My guest, Michael L. Hawley, author of "Jack the Ripper SUSPECT Dr. Francis Tumblety" presents evidence that suggests that Tumblety should be taken far more seriously as a suspect than he has been in the past.More information about Michael Hawley can be found at his website: www.michaellhawley.comHe is also a co-host of the podcast, House of Mystery Radio: https://shows.acast.com/houseofmysteryradio/aboutBecome a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the first few months of 1931, Francis "Two Gun" Crowley, an illiterate, psychopathic nineteen-year-old kid, went on a violent New York crime spree, which included murdering a Nassau county cop named Fred Hirsch. Things culminated in an intense gun-battle against between Crowley and over two hundred police officers, who had surrounded his Manhattan apartment building. My guest is Jerry Aylward, a retired New York detective of thirty two years, who has written the definitive book on the subject, entitled "Francis 'Two Gun' Crowley's Killings in New York City & Long Island". More information can be found about him and his book at his website: jerryaylward.com. Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In February of 1903, wealthy businessman Ed Burdick was beaten to death in the den of his Buffalo, New York mansion. Investigators were faced with a strange crime scene and a multitude of suspects. Among them was his own wife Alice and her lover, a close family friend named Arthur Pennell. My guest, Kimberly Tilley, author of "Cold Heart: The Great Unsolved Mystery of Turn of the Century Buffalo," comes on Most Notorious to share the salacious details of a scandal and murder that rocked the city to its core. More information about Kimberly Tilley's book can be found at her website: https://oldspirituals.com/Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices