Most Notorious! A True Crime History Podcast

Long before Dutch Schultz, "Lucky" Luciano or even Monk Eastman ran rackets in New York City, a man named Albert Hicks terrorized lower Manhattan. He'd made his living as a murderous pirate, and became one of the worst criminals to ever wander the notorious Five Points, a wretched slum made famous in Asbury's (and Scorsese's) "Gangs of New York".Rich Cohen, bestselling author of "The Last Pirate of New York: A Ghost Ship, A Killer, and the Birth of a Gangster Nation" is my guest this week. He tells the story of a mysterious, empty ship found floating in the New York Harbor in 1860, and evidence left behind of three violent murders that would eventually lead police to the handsome and ruthless Albert Hicks.The author's publisher page: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/547872/the-last-pirate-of-new-york-by-rich-cohen/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 is George R. Dekle Sr., former prosecutor and prolific author. He discusses his book, "Six Capsules: The Gilded Age Murder of Helen Potts", and draws comparisons between the Helen Pott's husband, Carlyle Harris (who would be tried and convicted for her 1891 murder in a sensational New York case) and Ted Bundy, whom Dekle was responsible for prosecuting in Florida. More about the author here: https://www.bobdeklebooks.com/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 June of 1968, a wealthy Detroit-area family was gunned down in their northern Michigan cabin. It would become one of the most famous cold cases in the state's history. Mardi Link, author of "When Evil Came to Good Hart", shares the tragic story of the Robison family, and the police suspect who was never convicted but almost certainly committed the terrible crime. The author’s website: https://www.mardilink.com/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 1385, a bitter feud between two French courtiers came to a terrible head when Marguerite, the beautiful young wife of Norman knight Jean de Carrouges, accused her husband's enemy, Jacques LeGris, of outraging her. After a long legal fight, Parliament finally determined that God would produce the verdict. A judicial duel to the death would decide the outcome. And the risk was great - if Carroughes was killed, Marguerite would also die.My guest is Eric Jager, professor of medieval literature at UCLA. He summarizes the story documented so thrillingly in his book, "The Last Duel: A True Story of Crime, Scandal, and Trial by Combat in Medieval France". More about the author here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/43532/eric-jager/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

Paul Andrew Hutton, best-selling author of "The Apache Wars: The Hunt For Geronimo, The Apache Kid, And The Captive Boy Who Started The Longest War In American History", is my guest on this episode of Most Notorious. He tells the story of a mixed-blood warrior and Apache scout named Mickey Free, whose capture as a boy is considered the catalyst for the Apaches Wars. They were wars that spanned over two decades in the American Southwest, and led by famed Apache leaders like Geronimo, Cochise and Mangas Coloradas. The Apache Wars also gave birth to one of the most famous outlaws of the era, the notorious "Apache Kid". More about the author here: https://www.paulandrewhutton.com/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

Most of us have grown up thinking that Elliot Ness and his famed "Untouchables" were the crimefighters who brought down the notorious Al Capone in Chicago. But instead, it was a group of millionaire businessmen called the "Secret Six" who were the real reason for the Capone Outfit's demise. In his book "Al Capone and the 1933 World's Fair: The End of the Gangster Era in Chicago", my guest, William Hazelgrove, makes the argument that in order for the city to successfully host their second World's Fair, they had to take out Al Capone first.More about the author here: https://www.williamhazelgrove.com/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 1974, a young woman named Alice killed her abusive husband. Then she met and married a man named Gerald Uden, who was having financial issues with his ex-wife, Virginia Martin. Not long after, Gerald would murder Virginia and her two sons, Richard and Reagan, and hide their bodies in the vast Wyoming wilderness. Best selling author Ron Franscell is my guest, and he talks about his research into 40 year old murder investigation, along with his beliefs about Gerald Uden as a sociopathic murderer. His book is called "Alice and Gerald: A Homicidal Love Story".More about the author here: https://ronfranscell.com/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

On January 10th, 1883, the famed Newhall House hotel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, caught fire. Made worse by a series of blunders by hotel staff and a poorly trained and equipped fire department, seventy five people would ultimately lose their lives in the horrific, raging inferno.My guest, historian Matthew J. Prigge, is author of “Damn the Old Tinderbox! Milwaukee’s Palace of the West and the Fire That Defined An Era”. He tells the harrowing stories of the guests and the staff who both perished and escaped from one of the most devastating hotel fires in American history, and the man who would eventually be arrested and tried for setting the blaze.More about the author: https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Article/CS15238Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotoriousMost Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In part two of this episode, John Boessenecker continues his tale of Frank Hamer, including his days as a Prohibition agent in the 1920s, a cold-case investigator, and his famous hunt of notorious Depression-era outlaws and murderers Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow.John Boessenecker is the New York Times bestselling author of "Texas Ranger: The Epic Life of Frank Hamer, the Man Who Killed Bonnie and Clyde".More about the author here: https://us.macmillan.com/author/johnboesseneckerBecome 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

My guest is John Boessenecker, former police officer and New York Times bestselling author of "Texas Ranger: The Epic Life of Frank Hamer, the Man Who Killed Bonnie and Clyde". In this first part of the episode, he talks about Hamer's wild and bloody career in Texas law enforcement from 1906 until 1920, and makes the case that Hamer was the greatest American lawman of the twentieth century.More about the author here: https://us.macmillan.com/author/johnboesseneckerBecome 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