Showing results by publisher "----RM Alexander" in Con Artists, Hoaxes & Deceptions

At 23, William Simon Baekeland was well on his way to becoming the world’s best traveled person. The “billionaire” heir to a great plastics fortune had already visited 163 countries, but his real passion was finding ways to visit the world’s most challenging destinations. He earned rock-star status in the world of extreme travel. But when his story began to unravel, an eccentric group of hyper-well-traveled country collectors were left wondering how they had allowed their obsession to blind them to the warning signs that William Baekeland wasn’t who they thought he was.

Late-1970s Los Angeles was rampant with killers and shady characters, but all the go-getters at Space Matters saw was possibility. Richard Kasparov was handsome and charismatic; his younger associate, Jerry Schneiderman, brilliant and nerdy. When the pair hired a veteran contractor to oversee construction, the space planning firm they operated out of a hip mansion in LA's Miracle Mile district appeared poised to transform the boundless skyline into their jackpot. After the promising team imploded, however, the orderly lines on their blueprints succumbed to treachery and secrets.

John R. Brinkley (July 8, 1885 - May 26, 1942) became nationally known as the "goat gland doctor" for his controversial medical practice that promised virility for his male patients. He was a pioneer in radio broadcasting and advertising, as he promoted his services to his large listening audience. Despite detractors and critics in the medical community thoroughly discrediting his methods, Brinkley operated clinics and hospitals in several states for two decades.

Minnie was just 16 when she stood trial for the wrongful death of her first husband, a successful businessman and politician almost 40 years her senior. Despite overwhelming witness testimony that the Creole beauty from New Orleans had purchased the arsenic that killed him, Minnie's own testimony brought the entire courtroom to tears. She was acquitted. Minnie returned to New Orleans with James Walkup's fortune, but she still didn't have enough cash for her liking, so she successfully targeted, seduced, and murdered two more wealthy older men while evading justice in the courtroom.

Dr. James Kauffman and his wife, April, were the perfect couple: a respected endocrinologist and a beautiful radio host. But under the surface lurked a world of drugs, sex, and biker gangs. A world Dr. Kauffman would kill to keep secret. In May 2012, April Kauffman, a well-known local radio...

Napoleon famously observed that "history is a set of lies agreed upon", and Edward Steers Jr. investigates six of the most amazing frauds ever to gain wide acceptance in this engrossing book. The controversies that Steers presents show that there are two major factors involved in the success of a hoax or forgery - greed and the desire to believe.

For more than 60 years, Southern Californians entrusted the bodies of their loved ones to the Sconce family's Lamb Funeral Home. But the heirs to the fourth-generation funeral empire betrayed that trust with a series of gruesome crimes against the dead. Featured on ABC-TV's Nightline.

In 2004 and 2005, Robbert van den Broeke, a self-proclaimed paranormal medium, made a meteoric rise in the Dutch media. With appearances on television and even his own TV show There Is So Much More, hosted by ratings queen Irene Moors, his success seemed unstoppable. However, Robbert, the son of a bank director from Hoeven, found himself in deep trouble due to his 'Genverbrander blunder,' which in 2005 not only destroyed his credibility but was also voted the Dutch Word of the Year. Still, he retained a loyal following behind the scenes.

In the early hours of a September morning, one of Britain’s most beloved natural landmarks, the iconic Sycamore Gap tree, was deliberately and coldly felled. The world-famous tree, nestled beside Hadrian’s Wall in the heart of Northumberland, had stood for centuries as a symbol of serenity, history, and connection. Its loss sent shockwaves through the public, igniting anger, sorrow, and an urgent call for justice. This book tells the full, unflinching story behind that shocking act.

This audiobook covers famous and not-so-famous murderers, but the deaths they dealt to their victims were just as deadly, gruesome, and fatal. It didn’t matter to these soulless murderers whether death came to their anguished victims by knife, gun, bayonet, or bare hands. Listen and discover the stories behind the lingering silent sounds of those who no longer walk above ground in California - a state meant for its beauty, beaches, and bright sun.

In Los Angeles, a series of murders occurred during the summer of 1980 that left an indelible mark on countless individuals. This string of brutal and bloody crimes would make the already famous Sunset Boulevard aka the Sunset Strip infamous and a place forever synonymous with the word evil. This true story blends statements to law enforcement and trial testimony with personal accounts from those who experienced the events firsthand. The psychology behind these violent crimes is explored, along with a look at the psychological state and the possible motives of the individuals.

This graphic account of convicted killers Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka shows that in some relationships, neither party is the “better half”. Both halves of this Canadian couple add up to one evil story.

Of the millions who go missing every year around the world, there are those who simply vanish and are never seen again. The sheer volume of people who disappear each and every year are, when examined in detail, terrifying. In this audiobook, we will touch upon some of the most terrifying, touching, strange, and worrying stories. In this audiobook, we hope to examine the sheer range of cases which have enthralled the interested, and distressed those involved for many years. Some of these cases became national stories, while others remain private tragedies.

Carolyn Woods leidt een gelukkig leven in een rustig dorpje in de Cotswolds als er op een dag een aantrekkelijke vreemdeling op haar pad komt. Deze Mark Conway straalt zelfvertrouwen en mysterie uit, waardoor Carolyn zich direct tot hem aangetrokken voelt. Langzaam ontstaan er scheurtjes in Marks verhaal en komt Carolyn achter de afschuwelijke waarheid. Om te beginnen is zijn echte naam Mark Acklom en wordt hij gezocht door Interpol.

May Hanna gave her millionaire ex-husband's hired Pinkerton detectives the slip to sneak out of the country. To escape financial embarrassment, James Potter, the manager of a prominent Euclid Avenue apartment building, gave his family cough medicine laced with poison, killing his entire family including himself. Married to a Millionaires' Row doctor, the infamous con woman Cassie Chadwick posed as Andrew Carnegie's illegitimate daughter and forged a fake $5 million check.

Zwischen 1975 und 1978 erpresste ein sich 'Monsieur X' nennender Mann mit ungewöhnlich persönlich begründeten Drohbriefen und gezielten Sabotageakten die Deutsche Bundesbahn, wobei er trotz großer Polizeianstrengungen lange unentdeckt blieb und erst nach der Ausstrahlung eines Aktenzeichen XY-Beitrags durch einen entscheidenden Hinweis identifiziert werden konnte.

A Widow’s Journey Through Online Scammers: A Story of Love, Loss, and Laughter in the Face of Deception. After the devastating loss of her beloved husband and son, Nella found herself navigating the unpredictable and often deceptive world of online dating. What began as a search for companionship quickly turned into an eye-opening journey through romance scams, military scam awareness, and the dark underworld of online relationship fraud.

On September 6, 1982, convicted murderer Leroy James Chasson made a daring break for freedom from the Massachusetts Correctional Institute-Walpole—one of the most infamous, escape-proof prisons in the country. But this wasn't just any prison break. It was a meticulously planned, five-year effort, made possible by an unlikely accomplice—Kathleen MacDonald, Chasson's former pen-pal turned wife.

In The Dumond Affair: How Lies and Politics Freed a Killer, first-time author D.R. Bartlette weaves a story of the political corruption and religious zealotry that gave birth to an anti-Bill Clinton conspiracy theory that led to the deaths of two women and, thirty-six years later, the birth of an insurrection.

This raw and deeply personal memoir follows the journey of a first-generation Chinese American woman who rises from humble beginnings to build a life defined by ambition, love, and resilience — only to have it all come crashing down, literally and figuratively. From growing up in a working-class immigrant family to climbing the corporate ladder and becoming a banking director, she works tirelessly to create the stable, successful life she always dreamed of. A psychic’s prediction leads her to Rory, a Portuguese architect who becomes her husband and partner in both love and survival.