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 Adam Clark Estes

Nov 25, 2012

Alleged Thief Dies After Fight with Walmart Workers in Parking Lot

If there's anything that Walmart didn't need on Black Friday weekend, it was a jaw-dropping headline about somebody dying in their parking lot after a run-in with a couple of employees.

Comments | 47,415 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

Nov 19, 2012

That Explosion in Indianapolis Is Even Scarier Now That It's a Homicide Case

The explosion in a quiet suburb of Indianapolis that killed two people and severely damaged dozens of homes last week was no accident.

Comments | 34,716 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Nov 19, 2012

'Dumbfella' iPad Thieves Needed a Better Lookout

New York police arrested a man over the weekend who served as a lookout while two accomplices stole nearly $2 million in iPads from JFK Airport in Queens last week.

Comments | 2,587 Views

By Esther Zuckerman

Nov 13, 2012

Trimming the Times

Oxen, Jane Doe, and Herman Wouk

A summary of the best reads found behind the paywall of The New York Times.

Comments | 172 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

Nov 7, 2012

After Being Sentenced to a Year in Prison, Anti-Muslim Filmmaker Blames It All on Obama

The Innocence of Muslims saga came one step closer to a conclusion on Wednesday, when a U.S. District Court judge sentenced Nakoula Basseley Nakoula to a year in prison for charges unrelated to the film.

Comments | 3,530 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Oct 31, 2012

Looters Fail to Tear New York City Apart

Despite pre-storm fears about roving gangs of bandits terrorizing a crippled city, the post-storm reality of crime in New York City is very ... New York? 

Comments | 6,718 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Oct 26, 2012

Two Manhattan Children Murdered by Their Nanny

Parents everywhere are rattled and horrified by the story of a Manhattan mother who came home to find two of her children murdered by their nanny, who had also tried to kill herself.

Comments | 3,852 Views

By Esther Zuckerman

Oct 25, 2012

NYPD Cop Busted Before He Can Kidnap, Cook, and Eat Women

This disturbing story turns the term "maneater" on its head in a very literal way: A NYPD cop has been charged in a plot to kidnap, cook, and eat women, Tom Hays of the Associated Press reports.

Comments | 10,202 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Oct 24, 2012

Credit Card Hackers Strike at Barnes & Noble

Thieves stole credit and debit card PINs from thousands Barnes & Noble customers, not by breaking into the company's website, but by hacking the keypads sitting right on their store counters.

Comments | 1,267 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

Oct 9, 2012

Italian Town Fires Entire Government Over Mafia Connections

A small town in southern Italy found itself with out a municipal government on Tuesday, when the Italian government literally sacked its entire city council due to its mafia connections.

Comments | 1,360 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Sep 21, 2012

Bribing Mexican Prison Guards Is a Whole Lot Easier Than Digging a Tunnel

It turns out 22-foot long, 10-foot deep tunnel that 131 Mexican prisoners supposedly used to break out of jail on Monday was all a sham ... perpetrated by the prison guards who let them walk out through the front door.

Comments | 1,724 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Sep 21, 2012

iPhone 5 Is a Hot Item for Thieves

This is the year of the iPhone 5 heist, it seems, with hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of phones having been reported stolen from stores across the world. 

Comments | 862 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Sep 20, 2012

Investment Superstar Is the Victim of a $10 Million Burglary

Burglars who hit the Santa Monica home of "bond guru" Jeffery Gundlach made off with $10 million in property, including several one-of-a-kind paitings and a Porsche.

Comments | 783 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Sep 6, 2012

Turkish Woman Sits in Jail for Shooting and Beheading Her Rapist

Nevin Yildirim is sitting in a Turkish jail for killing her alleged rapist. Just a few days ago the 26-year-old admitted to shooting her husband's cousin--who she alleges raped her--in the penis, beheading him, and then dropping his head on the ground in the town square.

Comments | 15,471 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Aug 17, 2012

Sikh Killed in Robbery Was a Member of Wisconsin Temple

Less than two weeks after a gunman killed six people at a Sikh Temple near Milwaukee, the temple has suffered another tragedy after a member was murdered in a failed robbery. 

Comments | 862 Views

By Esther Zuckerman

Aug 2, 2012

Trimming the Times

Romney's Middle East Adviser, A Coxswain, and Buckley Versus Vidal

A summary of the best reads found behind the paywall of The New York Times.

Comments | 288 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Jul 11, 2012

Occupy Wall Street Protest Tied to an Unsolved Murder by DNA

Police got an odd clue in an unsolved 2004 murder after DNA pulled from the evidence at an Occupy Wall Street protest in March matched DNA from the older, unrelated crime scene.

Comments | 690 Views

By Dino Grandoni

Jun 26, 2012

Stat of the Day

Chicago's Grim 38% Murder Spike

Following reports of Memorial Day weekend murders and violence during regular weekends in the Windy City, it really comes as no surprise to read in The New York Times that Chicago is having a terrible 2012, as far as its murder rate goes.

Comments | 2,586 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Jun 19, 2012

Locker Room Bullying Avenged 50-Odd Years Later

73-year-old Carl Ericsson is now serving a life sentence for showing up at the front door of his high school bully and shooting him dead for putting a jockstrap on his head in the 1950s. 

Comments | 1,552 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Jun 15, 2012

'Kindness In America' Hitchhiker Actually Shot Himself

This week's award for Easy Irony went to a man who claimed he was shot while hitchhiking across the country to write a book about "Kindness in America." Now gets a new award for admitting that he actually shot himself.

Comments | 13,087 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Jun 13, 2012

Cell Phone Storage Trucks Aren't a Good Idea After All

What could possibly go wrong with an unarmed truck advertising that it's holding hundreds of iPhones, iPods, and BlackBerrys? 

Comments | 876 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Jun 13, 2012

'Goodfellas' Mobster Henry Hill Has Died

Henry Hill, whose outrageous real-life tales of life in the mob became the inspiration for the movie Goodfellas, died yesterday at the age 69. 

Comments | 3,812 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Jun 11, 2012

Another Violent Weekend in Chicago

How was Chicago's weekend? Not good. In around two days, over 40 people were shot and six were killed in 22 incidents around the city. 

Comments | 1,056 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Jun 4, 2012

Foot-Mailing Canadian Suspect Has Been Arrested in Berlin

Update 10:44 a.m. : Bild, a German newspaper, is reporting that Luka Magnotta has been arrested in Berlin.  Canada's CBC News adds that the arrest took place in an Internet cafe. And according to Bloomberg's Jake Beckman, German police have confirmed his arrest. 

Comments | 1,825 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

May 29, 2012

Chicago's Memorial Day Weekend Was Terrible

Last year Chicago saw four people slain during Memorial Day weekend. This year the city saw 40 shootings and 10 murders over the four-day weekend. 

Comments | 4,323 Views

By Connor Simpson

May 26, 2012

Someone Is Trying to Steal Your Tax Return

There's a new criminal trend spreading across America and it's producing billions of dollars in profits for the people smart enough to pull it off. People are filing fake tax returns and collecting the checks. 

Comments | 3,759 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

May 25, 2012

Did Cops Target Journalist's Wife's Spa with Prostitution Raid as Payback?

It's hard to tell where the truth ends and spin begins with this one, but here we go: An Albany police unit raided a spa owned by the wife of The Albany Times Union's investigative editor for alleged prostitution--a move that might be retribution for his coverage of the police unit's shady purchases.

Comments | 4,099 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

May 24, 2012

New Jersey Man Confesses in Etan Patz Case

This is big: New York Police may have solved the 33-year-old case of the disappearance and death of Etan Patz. This morning they announced the arrest of a New Jersey man who reportedly told police, "I did it."

Comments | 3,702 Views

By Eric Randall

Apr 23, 2012

Think Before Stealing That Soda Refill

In the most discomfiting of petty crime news today, a Florida man will be charged with a felony for allegedly filling up on stolen soda with the complimentary water cup a cashier provided him at McDonald's.

Comments | 16,655 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

Apr 10, 2012

George Zimmerman's Lawyers Can't Find Him, So They Quit

Hal Uhrig and Craig Sonner stood side-by-side as they explained to a small crowd of reporters that they couldn't find former client, George Zimmerman, which is why they'd no longer be representing him.

Comments | 4,127 Views

By Jen Doll

Apr 10, 2012

How Not to Afford Your Dream Wedding

"Dream wedding": Two special words, for two very special people.

Comments | 2,586 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

Apr 10, 2012

What to Do When Your Phone Is Stolen

It stinks to have your phone stolen and the government knows it. Now, a number of police departments and the Federal Communications Commission are teaming up to create a new federal database of cellphone information for theft prevention. 

Comments | 7,141 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Apr 10, 2012

Police Say Tulsa Shooters Confessed to Killings

Police in Tulsa announced that the two white men accused of shooting five black people last Friday confessed to the shootings almost immediately after they were arrested.

Comments | 1,136 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Apr 5, 2012

It's Probably Not a Good Idea to Take an Inmate Golfing

Golf is very important for some people. In Captain Jeff Donahue's case, it seems that shaving a few strokes off of his handicap was worth abusing his police power and busting out a professional golfer-turned-inmate for a few lessons.

Comments | 5,260 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Mar 30, 2012

Robbery Victim Arrested After False 911 Claim Leads To Fatal Police Shooting

The fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager by Pasadena police last weekend shares uncomfortable similarities with the Trayvon Martin case, but there are complications that blur the line over who to blame.

Comments | 958 Views

By Jen Doll

Mar 29, 2012

New York Does Convict Rapists, But They Don't Make the Front Page

The uniquely stark cover of Thursday's New York Daily News asks a question that seems to keep coming up in highly publicized rape cases—publicized, generally, because they involve powerful men, including cops, accused, but not convicted, of rape.

Comments | 2,519 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

Mar 26, 2012

Comment of the Day

Who Was Standing Their Ground in the Trayvon Martin Shooting?

It was exactly one month ago that George Zimmerman shot Trayvon Martin, and so we decided to pick a comment somewhat at random out of our most active thread of the day. 

Comments | 1,657 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Mar 16, 2012

Deadly House Parties Blamed On 'Project X' Movie

A murder at an out-of-control house party is being blamed on the teen freakout movie Project X, which would suggest that someone might have actually gone to see Project X

Comments | 2,168 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

Mar 13, 2012

Latest Anti-Piracy Poster Boy Is a 23-Year-Old British Student

In a quizzical case involving an international trade dispute and the Internet, a 23-year-old college student named Richard O'Dwyer is being extradited from England to the United States for running the link-sharing site TVShack.

Comments | 942 Views

By Jen Doll

Mar 12, 2012

'Mommy Madam' May Be Released to House Arrest

The Upper East Side 'Mommy Madam' who has been the focus of the tabloids for days -- and in Rikers since February 22 on a charge of promoting prostitution -- may be released.

Comments | 672 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Mar 8, 2012

Pat Robertson Wants You to Smoke Pot Legally

Pat Robertson and marijuana legalization make for strange bedfellows, but he's actually been championing the cause—specifically its place in the conversation about prison reform—since 2010.

Comments | 3,216 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Mar 5, 2012

Being a Convicted Murderer Pays Better Than You Might Think

Anthony Garcia collected more than $30,000 in unemployment--not bad when you consider he was sitting in a Los Angeles jail serving a sentence for murder. 

Comments | 16,971 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Feb 23, 2012

When Nigerian Scammers Get Scammed

In easy irony news of the day, an Australian woman was in court on Thursday facing charges of "unknowingly" stealing more than $30,000 from Nigerian scam artists.

Comments | 364,775 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

Feb 21, 2012

Kim Dotcom May Be Out On Bail, But He Can't Use His Helicopter

We're sure it's been tough in the slammer, but now that a New Zealand judge finally granted him bail, we doubt MegaUpload's Kim Dotcom is going to suffer too many hardships while he's awaiting trial in his $30 million mansion in New Zealand. 

Comments | 1,379 Views

By Jen Doll

Feb 21, 2012

Only the New York Tabloids Are Winning the Royal Nightclub Bar Brawl

The tabloid beef of the week so far is the ridiculous Meatpacking District fight between a 24-year-old prince (the grandson of Grace Kelly) and a middle-aged former club owner.

Comments | 2,759 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Feb 17, 2012

FBI Arrests Man in Fake Suicide Vest on His Way to Capitol

A man was arrested Friday in another FBI sting operation that involved a fake terrorist ring and fake explosives.

Comments | 6,637 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Feb 17, 2012

Italians Seize Fake U.S. Bonds Worth Nearly Half of U.S. Debt

Italian police have confiscated around $6 trillion of counterfeit U.S. Treasury Bonds on Friday, a number equal to almost half of the entire U.S. debt. 

Comments | 2,634 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Feb 17, 2012

Armed Robbers Hit Archaeology Museum in Ancient Olympia

Thieves forced their way into an antiquities museum in southern Greece on Friday, making off with 60 to 70 items of "incalculable" value

Comments | 3,276 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Feb 14, 2012

Sandusky Accused of 'Inappropriately' Touching His Grandson

Facing 52 counts of child abuse, Jerry Sandusky is now being accused of acting inappropriately with his own grandson.

Comments | 1,890 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Feb 6, 2012

Husband of Missing Woman Kills Himself and His Two Children

Josh Powell, a man who was a "person of interest" in the disappearance of his wife two years ago, killed himself and their two children after blowing up his house on Sunday, possibly because he was about to be charged with her death

Comments | 4,828 Views

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