Advertise on podcast: Crimes of the Centuries

Eight years after J. Paul Getty’s death, his oil empire was up for grabs. Pennzoil thought it had a deal. Texaco thought it didn’t. What followed was a five-month courtroom brawl over handshakes, Wall Street lawyers and what exactly makes a promise binding — ending with a $10.5 billion jury verdict and the largest corporate bankruptcy in American history.

When 16-year-old John Paul Getty III was kidnapped from a Roman street in 1973, his captors thought they’d chosen the perfect target: the grandson of the richest man in the world. They hadn’t counted on J. Paul Getty refusing to pay. As weeks turned into months and the kidnappers grew increasingly desperate, a teenager already struggling under the weight of his famous name would pay a horrifying price for his family’s fortune. Crimes of the Centuries is a podcast from Grab Bag Collab exploring forgotten crimes from times past that made a mark and helped change history. You can get early and ad-free episodes and more over at www.grabbagcollab.com Order the Crimes of the Centuries book at your favorite bookstore or at www.centuriespod.com/book! Follow us on Instagram and other social media: @centuriespod Episode Sponsors:  DripDrop: Doctor-developed, science-based hydration, with 20% off your first order at dripdrop.com using code COTC.  Talkiatry: 100% online psychiatry with in-network insurance coverage and first visits in days, not months, at Talkiatry.com/COTC.  Mint Mobile: Wireless plans starting at $15 a month on the nation’s largest 5G network, at MintMobile.com/COTC.  Timeline (Mitopure Resurfacing Exfoliator): A leave-on exfoliator that pairs salicylic, mandelic, and lactic acids with Mitopure, with up to 20% off the full-size product at Timeline.com/COTC20.

When 16-year-old John Paul Getty III was kidnapped from a Roman street in 1973, his captors thought they’d chosen the perfect target: the grandson of the richest man in the world. They hadn’t counted on J. Paul Getty refusing to pay. As weeks turned into months and the kidnappers grew increasingly desperate, a teenager already struggling under the weight of his famous name would pay a horrifying price for his family’s fortune.

Every cop in Fort Lauderdale had a theory about who was terrorizing the city's northwest side. Only one of them was right. This week's bonus episode follows Detective Doug Evans — one of the first Black officers hired by Fort Lauderdale PD — through two decades of being dismissed, called obsessed, and shut down on the stand, before the truth finally caught up to everyone else.

Through the 1970s and ’80s, women were being raped and murdered in northwest Fort Lauderdale, and police kept hearing the same name: Eddie Lee Mosley. He was arrested, questioned, identified and released again and again. And somehow, while Mosley remained free, two other men paid for his crimes instead.  Crimes of the Centuries is a podcast from Grab Bag Collab exploring forgotten crimes from times past that made a mark and helped change history. You can get early and ad-free episodes and more over at www.grabbagcollab.com Order the Crimes of the Centuries book at your favorite bookstore or at www.centuriespod.com/book! Follow us on Instagram and other social media: @centuriespod  Episode Sponsors:  Rula. Rula patients typically pay $15 per session when using insurance. Connect with quality therapists and mental health experts who specialize in you at https://www.rula.com/cotc #rulapod  Hims. Simple, 100% online access to personalized plans for sex, hair, weight loss and more at Hims.com/COTC.  Nutrafol. Nutrafol's Women's hair growth supplement, with $15 off your first month's subscription and free shipping at Nutrafol.com using code COTC.  Wildgrain. Bakery-quality sourdough, pastries, and French butter delivered to your door and ready to bake from frozen in 25 minutes, with $40 off your first box plus free croissants for life at Wildgrain.com/COTC40.

Through the 1970s and ’80s, women were being raped and murdered in northwest Fort Lauderdale, and police kept hearing the same name: Eddie Lee Mosley. He was arrested, questioned, identified and released again and again. And somehow, while Mosley remained free, two other men paid for his crimes instead. One spent 22 years in prison, the other died on death row before DNA finally revealed the truth.

Colonel Thomas Blood had already plotted a rebellion and tried to kidnap a duke when, in 1671, he decided to try something even more ambitious: stealing England’s Crown Jewels from the Tower of London. The plan involved a fake parson, a phony marriage proposal, and an extremely inconvenient place to hide the Sovereign’s Orb. (Note: Apologies I posted late this week! Post-surgery brain glitch.)

In 1907, Ireland’s Crown Jewels vanished from Dublin Castle just days before a royal visit. The hunt for them led into the private lives of aristocrats, con men and royal insiders — and whispers of secret relationships, blackmail and a scandal nobody in power particularly wanted dragged into the light. Crimes of the Centuries is a podcast from Grab Bag Collab exploring forgotten crimes from times past that made a mark and helped change history. You can get early and ad-free episodes and more over at www.grabbagcollab.com Order the Crimes of the Centuries book at your favorite bookstore or at www.centuriespod.com/book! Follow us on Instagram and other social media: @centuriespod Episode Sponsors:  Home Chef: Fresh ingredients and easy recipes delivered weekly, with 50% off and free shipping on your first box plus free dessert for life at HomeChef.com/COTC.  Quince: Hotel-quality bedding and home essentials priced 50-80% less than similar brands, at Quince.com.  ButcherBox: Responsibly sourced, high-quality meat and seafood delivered to your door, with $20 off your first box at ButcherBox.com/COTC.  Timeline: A gentle leave-on exfoliator pairing acids with Mitopure for resurfacing and cellular support, with a 15-day trial for $22 at Timeline.com/COTC.

In 1907, Ireland’s Crown Jewels vanished from Dublin Castle just days before a royal visit. The hunt for them led into the private lives of aristocrats, con men and royal insiders — and whispers of secret relationships, blackmail and a scandal nobody in power particularly wanted dragged into the light.

Colonel Thomas Blood had already plotted a rebellion and tried to kidnap a duke when, in 1671, he decided to try something even more ambitious: stealing England’s Crown Jewels from the Tower of London. The plan involved a fake parson, a phony marriage proposal, and an extremely inconvenient place to hide the Sovereign’s Orb.

For years, famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright had made headlines for his personal life. After all, he'd left his wife and six children for a married woman during the Victorian era, and made no apologies for the two "living in sin" in a home he built on family land in Wisconsin. Then, on a hot August day in 1914, Wright's whole world came crashing down: A murderer had attacked his so-called Love Cottage dubbed Taliesin. The case not only riveted the nation, but it also changed the course of architecture in America.  "Crimes of the Centuries" is a podcast from Grab Bag Collab exploring forgotten crimes from times past that made a mark and helped change history. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter: @centuriespod

For years, famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright had made headlines for his personal life. After all, he'd left his wife and six children for a married woman during the Victorian era, and made no apologies for the two "living in sin" in a home he built on family land in Wisconsin. Then, on a hot August day in 1914, Wright's whole world came crashing down: A murderer had attacked his so-called Love Cottage dubbed Taliesin. The case not only riveted the nation, but it also changed the course of architecture in America. "Crimes of the Centuries" is a podcast from Grab Bag Collab exploring forgotten crimes from times past that made a mark and helped change history. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter: @centuriespod

Before journalist Pam Colloff ever heard the name Jim Dailey, she got an email from a stranger that introduced her to a conman named Paul Skalnik. This week's bonus episode for subscribers is a chat with Colloff about how this case found her, and what happens when a career con artist sizes up an ambitious reporter.

Fourteen-year-old Shelly Boggio was found stabbed and drowned off a Florida beach in 1985. Two men were convicted of her murder — but the case against one of them depended heavily on the word of Paul Skalnik, a serial con man and prolific jailhouse informant who claimed his fellow prisoners had a remarkable habit of confessing to him. Skalnik would help send dozens of people to prison and four men to death row. Journalist Pamela Colloff, author of the new book Catch the Devil, joins us to examine Shelly’s murder, the case that followed, and what happens when the justice system decides to believe a professional liar.

Fourteen-year-old Shelly Boggio was found stabbed and drowned off a Florida beach in 1985. Two men were convicted of her murder — but the case against one of them depended heavily on the word of Paul Skalnik, a serial con man and prolific jailhouse informant who claimed his fellow prisoners had a remarkable habit of confessing to him. Skalnik would help send dozens of people to prison and several to death row. Journalist Pamela Colloff, author of the new book "Catch the Devil," joins us to examine Shelly’s murder, the case that followed, and what happens when the justice system decides to believe a professional liar.