Topic: Crime

The Mystery of the Queens Accountant Held for $3 Million for 32 Days

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In a strange true-life story that seems ripped from TV crime drama (rather than the other way around), a New York City man was kidnapped and held for ransom in a warehouse for more than a month, before the NYPD rescued him this week.

By J.K. Trotter

May 16, 2013

How Did U.S. Marshalls Lose Suspected Terrorists in Witness Protection?

A public memorandum issued on Thursday by the Justice Department's Inspector General indicates that the U.S. Marshal Service was unable to locate two "known or suspected terrorists" participating in the Witness Security Program. Not the good news Attorney General Eric Holder was likely hoping for.

Comments | 207 Views

By J.K. Trotter

May 9, 2013

Stat of the Day

The 1 Train Hackers Stole $2.4 Million from 2,904 ATMs in Just 10 Hours

The next bank heist movie just got a lot less interesting. Prosecutors in Brooklyn revealed on Thursday afternoon that eight men successfully organized and executed an elaborate heist involving ... ATMs on the same subway line.

Comments | 203 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

May 8, 2013

Belgium Diamond Thieves Rounded Up Just Three Months After Heist

Police in Europe rounded up 31 people in three countries on Wednesday and recovered most of the $50 million in diamonds stolen from the Brussels Airport earlier this year, proving once again that most daring and outlandish crimes are the hardest to get away with.

Comments | 1,820 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

May 7, 2013

Police Apparently Missed Multiple Calls About Women on Dog Leashes in the Castros' Yard

The case of the three women held captive for a decade in Cleveland reaches a new level of absurdity with a Tuesday night report detailing the many warning signs that police appear to have ignored.

Comments | 105,944 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

May 6, 2013

Meet the Man Who Rescued Three Women Missing for a Decade in Cleveland

Thanks to a 911 phone call and the help of an energetic neighbor named Charles Ramsey, three women who've been missing for years are now safe.

Comments | 79,040 Views

By J.K. Trotter

May 6, 2013

The Jewelry Thief in the B Train Tunnel: How One Man Outran the NYPD in Cuffs

Vincens Vuktilaj turned the subway tunnels of Harlem from mass transit into a shutdown maze of escape after eluding policy custody on Monday — only to emerge five hours later, under a cab, still in handcuffs.

Comments | 604 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Apr 26, 2013

How Illegal Poker and the Russian Mob Might Have Sunk an Obama Appointee

What do President Obama, the Russian mob, Tobey Maguire, hedge funds, Olympic figure skaters, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Bill Clinton, A-Rod, France, and the "London Whale" have in common? They're all connected (more or less) to a complicated web of money, celebrity, politics, and illegal poker that may have cost one innocent millionaire an ambassadorship in France.

Comments | 2,543 Views

By J.K. Trotter

Apr 23, 2013

Elvis Impersonator Released in Ricin Plot Amid Rumor of Karate Teacher Setup

Five days after he was identified and arrested for allegedly mailing ricin-laced envelopes to President Obama, Senator Roger Wicker, and Mississippi judge Sadie Holland — and one day after FBI agents failed to find any ricin-making equipment in his house — Mississippi resident Paul Kevin Curtis has been released from custody. And it gets even weirder than that.

Comments | 3,501 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

Apr 18, 2013

In a Night of Mayhem, Boston Bombing Suspects Standoff Against Cops

A series of violent events culminated in Watertown, Massachusetts late Thursday night after two unidentified suspects engaged with as many as 100 police officers. Fleeing in a stolen Mercedes SUV and armed with explosives and firearms, the suspects in the SUV lost control and crashed the vehicle and made their way out of the situation by tossing a bomb towards authorities.

Comments | 687,351 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

Apr 18, 2013

The Elvis-Impersonating Ricin Suspect Swears He's Innocent

Despite a small mountain of incriminating evidence stacking up in front of him, Paul Kevin Curtis isn't miffed. The ricin suspect's lawyer said on Thursday that he "maintains [his innocence] 100 percent."

Comments | 963 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Apr 18, 2013

Eric Williams Charged With Murder of Texas District Attorneys

As expected, former justice of the peace Eric Williams has been charged with capital murder for killing three people in Kaufman County, Texas, earlier this year.

Comments | 3,081 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Apr 15, 2013

Suspect In Texas DA Killings Is Not a White Supremacist

The man who was previously considered a "person of interest" in the murders of two Texas District attorneys, has been upgraded to the chief suspect and is now in jail on other charges.

Comments | 2,480 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

Apr 14, 2013

The NYPD's Taunting Thieves with iPads and Purses Full of Cash

New York City isn't necessarily known to be home to the country's friendliest police force, but the NYPD's latest tactics for cutting down on petty theft sound downright mean.

Comments | 2,998 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

Apr 10, 2013

The Man Who Held Four Firefighters Hostage in a Foreclosed Home Is Dead

Georgia officials won't say why a gunman took four of local firefighters hostage in a Freddie Mac-owned house on Wednesday afternoon, but based on that Freddie Mac detail, you can venture a guess.

Comments | 1,464 Views

By J.K. Trotter

Apr 10, 2013

New Item on Tick Tock Diner's Menu: A Murder Plot That Beats 'The Sopranos'

The 24-hour New Jersey landmark is mostly known for serving comfort food beneath a giant sign imploring customers to "EAT HEAVY." But not today.

Comments | 3,127 Views

By J.K. Trotter

Apr 4, 2013

The Latest New York Bribery Scheme Involves Day Care — and Maybe More

Just when you thought New York politics couldn't get any more drenched into dirty money, Bronx Assemblyman Eric Stevenson was charged on Thursday morning with several counts of corruption and conspiracy.

Comments | 357 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Apr 4, 2013

Does the Enron CEO Deserve a Get Out of Jail Early Card?

Jeffrey Skilling's lawyers are negotiating a new sentencing deal that would put an end to a long-running legal process that has been going on for more than a decade now. But it's also stirring up mixed emotions.

Comments | 892 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Apr 3, 2013

Police Have a Person of Interest in the Texas DA Murder Case

Texas authorities have identified a "person of interest" in their investigation of the slayings of two district attorneys, but this new lead could take the case in another direction.

Comments | 2,312 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Apr 2, 2013

What We Know About White Supremacist Links to the Texas & Colorado Shootings

After three assassinations in two months, top law enforcement officials are concerned that white supremacist prison gangs may be targeting them.

Comments | 3,198 Views

By Robert Kessler

Mar 29, 2013

James Holmes Might Get Away with Not Dying

Accusing the Colorado movie theater shooter's defense team of drumming up publicity and seeking a plea deal bargain that takes advantage of his potential insanity, state attorneys prosecuting the movie James Holmes have rejected an offer by his attorneys earlier this week to plead guilty. But it may not work.

Comments | 1,054 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

Mar 28, 2013

According to Starbucks, Chief Justice John Roberts Is a Victim of Credit Card Fraud

This week was a big week for Chief Justice John Roberts. The two days of oral arguments tied to marriage equality are arguably the most important Roberts has heard yet. The last thing he needed was someone ripping him off.

Comments | 1,744 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Mar 28, 2013

Oscar Pistorius Can Leave South Africa Again

Lawyers for Oscar Pistorius have successfully lobbied a judge to relax the sprinter's bail conditions so that he can travel abroad while awaiting his murder trial.

Comments | 877 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Mar 26, 2013

The $1 Million Reward for Chris Dorner Just Shrunk He Wasn't Found Alive

The Riverside City Council in California wants to make it perfectly that when they offered $100,000 for the "arrest and conviction" of the fugitive cop-turned-killer, they meant arrest and conviction — not "burned to death in a mountain cabin." 

Comments | 1,098 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Mar 26, 2013

The Amanda Knox Trial Will Have a Sequel

Almost a year-and-a-half after her original murder conviction was overturned, the Italian supreme court has overturned that acquittal, opening the door for another sensational trial of American student Amanda Knox.

Comments | 4,183 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

Mar 20, 2013

Matthew Keys Needs to Stop Talking

It's fairly safe to say that Matthew Keys won some sympathy in the days after his indictment for hacking charges. But after staying relatively silent, the Reuters social media editor is starting to talk publicly about this case. This feels like a bad idea.

Comments | 3,068 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Mar 7, 2013

Russian Ballet Dancer Says Ordered Hit Was to Beat Up Rival — No Acid Allowed

Now that they've all been arrested and are facing serious jail time, the men accused of orchestrating an acid attack on the director of the Bolshoi Ballet are all pointing the fingers at each other.

Comments | 862 Views

By J.K. Trotter

Mar 5, 2013

That KKK Robe Sighting at Oberlin Was Probably Just a Student Wearing a Blanket

Reports on Monday that someone was walking around the campus of Oberlin College in Ku Klux Klan regalia — for which the Ohio liberal arts college cancelled an entire day's classes — may have been a huge misunderstanding.

Comments | 5,101 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

Feb 19, 2013

Georgia Almost Executed a Mentally Disabled Man on Tuesday Night

Warren Hill, a convicted murderer with an IQ of about 70, had already taken sedatives to get him ready for his lethal injection on Tuesday night when both a federal and a state appeals court granted him a stay.

Comments | 986 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Feb 19, 2013

How to Pull Off a $67 Million Airport Diamond Heist in Three Minutes

Eight masked and armed thieves pulled off a daring robbery at Brussels Airport in Belgium on Tuesday, stealing as much as $67 million worth of diamonds in a matter of minutes without firing a shot.

Comments | 4,828 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

Feb 4, 2013

A Play-By-Play Account of the FBI's Heroic Hostage Rescue in Alabama

It was initially unclear what happened inside Jimmy Lee Dykes' bunker in Midland City, Alabama on Monday afternoon, but by combing through reports, we've been able to piece together an account.

Comments | 9,499 Views

By J.K. Trotter

Feb 4, 2013

Authorities Rescue Child in Alabama After School-Bus Killer Found with Gun

After hostage negotiations broke down and the kidnapper was found to have a 5-year-old boy in "imminent danger" with a gun, the kindergartner known as "Ethan" was rescued today by a team of FBI agents.

Comments | 4,526 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

Jan 14, 2013

Evidently, Rand Paul's Son Assaulted a Flight Attendant While Drunk

New details have emerged about William Hilton Paul's very fun flight to Charlotte last week, a voyage that ended with the 19-year-old in the slammer and his senator father in a very embarrassing position.

Comments | 6,552 Views

By J.K. Trotter

Jan 11, 2013

David Gregory Won't Be Going to Jail Over His NRA Interview After All

D.C.'s attorney general defends the Meet the Press host's violating of "an important law" because Gregory did so in service of the debate on gun violence.

Comments | 2,241 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Jan 10, 2013

Police Say Tel Aviv Car Bomb Was a Mob Hit, Not Terrorism

A car bomb exploded in the Israel city of Tel Aviv on Thursday, but despite the obvious assumption, police say the explosion was not an act of terrorism

Comments | 871 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

Jan 9, 2013

The FBI Is Now Investigating the Steubenville Backlash

On Wednesday night, reports surfaced that the FBI had opened an investigation into threats on Jefferson County Sheriff Fred Abdalla's family and a suspected computer virus that targeted Steubenville Police Chief William McCafferty.

Comments | 9,521 Views

By J.K. Trotter

Jan 8, 2013

These Photos of a Kidnapped FBI Agent in a Gitmo Jumpsuit... Were Sent by Iran?

After years of suggesting that his kidnapping was a terrorist plot, U.S. officials now believe that individuals working with the government of Iran delivered pictures of Robert Levinson to his family.

Comments | 1,855 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Jan 7, 2013

Why Nobody Trusts Steubenville

As a petition seeking "real justice" crosses the threshold that will demand a public response as high up as the White House, here's a look back at the small city's long history of corruption, from a Justice Department investigation to rape survivors just now coming forward with tales of the police discouraging them from speaking out.

Comments | 33,136 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Jan 7, 2013

Indian Rape Suspects Might Be Turning Against Each Other

Five of the men accused in the Delhi's now notorious rape and murder case appeared in court for the first time today as it was revealed that two of them may be looking to testify against the others. 

Comments | 1,009 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

Jan 6, 2013

Who Got Rand Paul's Teenage Son Drunk on a 10 a.m. Flight?

There's something intriguing about how William Hilton Paul spent his Sunday morning: drunk on a 10:49 a.m. flight to Charlotte and then whisked into custody for being "disorderly" at the airport.

Comments | 15,942 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Jan 3, 2013

Police to Seek Death Penalty Against Indian Rape Suspects

Police in India will reportedly submit 50 pages of criminal charges against five men on Thursday, including murder, rape, robbery, assault, and kidnapping for the brutal gang rape of a young woman that has generated worldwide outrage.

Comments | 5,332 Views

By J.K. Trotter

Dec 28, 2012

Firefighter Shooter May Have Stolen Neighbor's Guns

The elaborate trap enacted by William Spengler on Christmas Eve — the one that ended with two firefighters dead and two more seriously injured in Webster, New York — just got even more elaborate.

Comments | 885 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

Dec 23, 2012

Mormon Senator Arrested for Drunk Driving, Bad Jokes Follow

This holiday season is not awesome for Idaho Senator Mike Crapo, a Republican member of the "Gang of Eight" and a Mormon bishop, after police caught him driving drunk in Virginia.

Comments | 19,553 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Dec 14, 2012

This Guy Robbed a Bank in a Mitt Romney Mask

On Friday, the TMZ cycle whirled on, when Romney's name got pulled into a petty crime. A man wearing a Romney mask robbed a bank in Sterling, Virginia, Point Break-style.

Comments | 517 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

Dec 12, 2012

Remarkably, John McAfee Returns to the U.S. Without Breaking Any Laws

John McAfee, former software entrepreneur and object of everyone's curiosity, landed safely in Miami on Wednesday evening, after an epic adventure in Central America.

Comments | 3,966 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

Dec 11, 2012

Everything About the Portland Mall Shooting Is Horrifying

Imagine going Christmas shopping at your local mall, and someone starts shooting. That's exactly what happened in Portland, Oregon on Tuesday, when a lone gunman killed three, including himself.

Comments | 9,606 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

Dec 9, 2012

John McAfee Can't Stay Out of the Spotlight

The John McAfee saga was intriguing at first and then exciting when everything got all action-packed. But as McAfee sits in a Guatemalan detention center awaiting his fate, things seem a little sad.

Comments | 2,173 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Dec 6, 2012

Stat of the Day

48% of L.A. Crashes Are Hit-and-Runs

That's the eye-popping stat in a new LA Weekly investigation, which takes a look at the hit-and-run epidemic and its repercussions.

Comments | 2,541 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

Dec 1, 2012

This Kansas City Chiefs Linebacker Murder-Suicide Is Troubling

Details are slowly emerging about an unsettling incident involving Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher, his girlfriend and a morning full of violence.

Comments | 11,172 Views

By Esther Zuckerman

Nov 28, 2012

Stat of the Day

No Person Got Shot, Stabbed, Slashed, or Murdered in NYC Monday

It may be a small — or, rather, nonexistent — number, but it's a heartening statistic: there were no shootings, stabbings, slashings, or murders in New York City between around 10:30 p.m. Sunday night and 11:20 a.m. Tuesday morning, the NYPD said.

Comments | 6,398 Views

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