Ridiculous Crime

The radio and theater phenom, Orson Welles, was the real life Max Fisher from Rushmore. He has early success after success, and then goes off to Hollywood to makes his first film –– Citizen Kane. However, the great man the film is based on goes to war against Orson Welles to crush the filmmaker and bury his film before it's ever released. Hearst uses means, both legal and illegal, to destroy the young genius. Why?! It all comes down to one word: Rosebud.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The fictional character Raffles established the public's notion of a gentleman thief. But what of the ladies? Josephine O'Dare and Amélie Condemine took the Raffles playbook and blazed their way through European society, lightening wallets and lifting gems. Whether they only made 72 cents on the dollar compared to male thieves remains unknown. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nic Cage is a mixed bag of nuts. But Patricia Arquette is also no slouch when it comes to being, um, unique. Now imagine the two of them together –– young and in love. Well, you don't have to because it already happened! Zaron has the goods on the Love Quest that she sent him on to prove his. And things, of course, get criminally ridiculous!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Charles Ponzi didn't invent the Ponzi scheme. No, two women pioneered the con on both sides of the Atlantic decades before Ponzi struck. Remember folks, if returns on your investments seem too good to be true, they totally are.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 2015, a convention descended on the Seattle–Tacoma Airport Hilton Hotel. The 3-day gathering of Furries was meant to be a fun place to let your fur down... but some let the fur go too low. Public nudity, diaper fights, drugs, booze, cops, firefighters, ambulances, emergency plumbers –– this story has everything. And then some! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A guy born in Italy moves to France and says he's the heir to the throne in Constantinople, then he heads to the United States to peddle fake titles. You know what that is? Ridiculous. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Paratrooper Jeff Manchester used his skills to burgle Corporate America as The Roofman. First, he'd focused on McDonalds and other fast food. Then, like a criminal butterfly, he morphed into a Toys 'R' Us Man who built a secret apartment in an open store –– it was the ultimate inside job. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jack Shepherd was a petty, pretty thief. He wasn't very good at it, so he got caught a lot. And he escaped a lot. Just like Henry More Smith. He, too, couldn't stop stealing and couldn't stop freeing himself from prison life. These guys prove that you can't keep a good (well, at least non-violent) man down.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

He is an icon of midcentury America. He's cherubic. He's beloved. He's starred in Hollywood movies. And he's often stolen as a prank, but sometimes things turn darker –– but they always stay ridiculous.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you have psychic powers, you should see a scam coming a mile away. Not so for Maria Duval. The French psychic only wanted to use her powers for good, but three shady dealers used her name to create one of the world’s longest-running cons. Just because a letter has a coffee stain on it doesn't mean it's real. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.