

Ridiculous Crime
iHeartPodcasts
True Crime is more than blood, guts, mayhem, and murder. Zaron Burnett and Elizabeth Dutton share outlandish tales of capers, heists, and cons that shine a light on the absurd and outrageous side of criminality. Always 99% murder-free and 100% ridiculous, this is Ridiculous Crime, a podcast by iHeartRadio.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Apr 11, 2024 • 55min
Tehama's Most Wanted: Razzlekhan
As if the whole cryptocurrency thing wasn't ridiculous enough, enter Heather Morgan aka Razzlekhan. An entrepreneur and amateur rapper, she and her husband, Dutch, lived large. The source? Hacked bitcoin. Can't get enough of these clowns and their techno criming? Fear not, there are plenty of film and tv adaptations in the works. The grift lives on. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Apr 9, 2024 • 54min
Phil Johnson: The Great Loomis–Fargo Heist
"Have you seen this man? Single, lonely, grouchy, rumpled and very possibly. the richest thief who ever lived..." so wrote the Washington Post in 1997 after one man ripped off his employer, the Loomis–Fargo armored car company. Phil Johnson stole 21 cubic feet of cash –– and he had a plan to get away with it. But a man's ego is a helluva thing!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Apr 4, 2024 • 48min
A Cut Above: William Smarto
What do hairdressing and bank heists have in common? Precision...and a man named William Smarto. A clever bank burglar, Smarto managed to pull of a bank job almost as big as Dolly Parton's wig budget. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Apr 2, 2024 • 1h
Martin McNally: Last of the Skyjackers
His hero was DB Cooper. So he imitated his skyjacking ransom down to the letter. Only Martin McNally had never used a parachute before he became a skyjacker. And he never expected someone to play the hero with a '71 Cadillac Eldorado.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mar 28, 2024 • 49min
Diamonds are a Gaul's Best Friend: The Affair of the Diamond Necklace
As Orson Welles would say, "Ah, the French." Here, in a lead up to the French Revolution, we consider the tale of one randy Cardinal, one social climbing almost-noble, one doomed queen, and one hideous diamond necklace. C'est ridicule (especially Elizabeth butchering all French pronunciation)!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mar 26, 2024 • 59min
The Tiger King of Harlem
Meet Antoine Yates, the man who raised a tiger in a fifth-floor public housing apartment in Harlem. Until, one day, the tiger remembered that it was a tiger. But Antoine didn't just live with a tiger, he also had a lion and a full-grown alligator. Naturally, this one is both wild...and ridiculous!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mar 21, 2024 • 57min
The Charity Cheat: Aaron Tonken
Aaron Tonken was celebrity obsessed from a young age, so naturally he made his way to Hollywood. He also made his way into the good graces and wallets of many entertainment icons. With phony or plain chaotic charity galas, Tonken fleeced the rich and famous in one whirlwind fever dream of a conning career.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mar 19, 2024 • 51min
The Narco-Baron and The Rubber-Faced Man
An ultra-wealthy British son of a Royal Naval officer partnered with a Danish master of disguise to become major players in the international drug-smuggling scene. And they would've gotten away with it if it weren't for those pesky... Welsh lobstermen and farmers' daughters.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mar 14, 2024 • 52min
The Old Man and the Gun...on the Run: Forrest Tucker
With a love of robbing banks and the love of a good woman, Forrest Tucker pulled off heists with no violence involved. Plenty of arrests ensued, but so did plenty of prison escapes. He was a man with a life so extraordinary, Robert Redford played him in a movie...that put Zaron to sleep.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mar 12, 2024 • 55min
The Outlaw Dora Cox and the Highwaywoman Barbara Danelia
At the end of the 19th century, two outlaws made names for themselves around the world, but over time both have been forgotten. This week, we resurrect the tales of these outlaw folk heroes. Lady outlaws.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.