Most Notorious! A True Crime History Podcast

In this special interview episode from the files of Where Blood Runs Cold, I interview Sharon Henry Darby, author of "Glensheen's Daughter", about the notorious Minnesota murderer and arsonist Marjorie Congdon, who besides allegedly conspiring to murder her mother Elizabeth Congdon at the famous Glensheen Mansion in Duluth, also left a trail of fire and death for the next three decades across the country.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

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/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

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/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 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/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

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/mostnotoriousMost 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/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

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/mostnotoriousMost 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/mostnotoriousMost 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/mostnotoriousMost 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/9781501171215Become 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