Pocket - Best reads of 2020
Inside the distinctive, largely unknown ideology of American policing — and how it justifies racist violence.
crime
WHERE IS BUM FARTO
In Sept. 9, 1975, William Osterhoudt, a local school principal, looked out at an implausible scene unfolding at the pink house belonging to his neighbor on United Street. Key West Fire Chief Joseph…
John Franzese ratted out his Colombo crime family father – then disappeared
John Franzese Jr. helped send his father, notorious Colombo family mobster Sonny Franzese, to prison. Then he turned up in Indianapolis.
https://stories.californiasunday.com/2015-06-07/somerton-man?fbclid=IwAR3mTzc-JjmM1vHSTPKCWAsQ_yTrc8Dlt6dLohbcCJ65DvIU8tDyqFUVzDc
The Last Ride of Cowboy Bob
The feds knew him as a prolific bank robber. But the bearded man who eluded them for so long was not who they imagined him to be. And absolutely no one expected the story to end the way it did.
The unbelievable tale of a fake hitman, a kill list, a darknet vigilante...
Hitman-for-hire darknet sites are all scams. But some people turn up dead nonetheless
Predatory Lending Practices: Business Borrowers Hurt By ’Confession of Judg
How an obscure legal document turned New York’s court system into a debt-collection juggernaut.
The Stranger in the Shelter
Two people went for a hike on the Appalachian Trail. Only one made it out.
The Unsolved Murder of an Unusual Billionaire
Last December, a Canadian pharmaceuticals executive and his wife were found strangled in their home. No one knows who did it or why, but everyone has a theory.
Small-Town Injustice
The shooting of a civilian exposes the underbelly of a small town police department.
My Bodyguard, My Self
The author spent a day with three men in a high-end security detail to find out how it feels to be safe.
Narratively | Substack
Discover extraordinary true stories celebrating the diversity of humanity. Click to read Narratively, a Substack publication with tens of thousands of subscribers.
He Was a First-Round Draft Pick in the NBA. 14 Years Later, He Was Found De
A long-dormant police investigation gives the case new life.
What Happened at the Lake
A father took his 10-year-old fishing. She fell in the water and drowned. It was a tragic accident—then he was charged with murder.
Blood and Oil
Mexico’s drug cartels are moving into the gasoline industry—infiltrating the national oil company, selling stolen fuel on the black market and engaging in open war with the military.
A Turbulent Mind
Andrew Goldstein’s crime set in motion a dramatic shift in how we care for the violent mentally ill. Including for himself—when he’s released this month.
The Great Chinese Art Heist
Is the Chinese government behind one of the boldest art-crime waves in history?
The All-American Bank Heist
Having fallen on hard times, a former football star and the pride of his small town decides to rob the local bank. His weapons of choice: Craigslist, bear mace, and an inner tube.
Jeff Pike, Texas’s Own Tony Soprano
Earlier this spring, Jeff Pike, the head of the infamous Texas-based Bandidos motorcycle club, went on trial in federal court for racketeering. Prosecutors called him a ruthless killer, the man behind one of the deadliest biker shoot-outs in American history, at the Twin Peaks…
The Most Unlikely D.A. In America
Can Mark Gonzalez change the system?
Murder at the Alcatraz of the Rockies
The inside story of the first homicide in America’s most secure prison.
Murder at the Alcatraz of the Rockies — The Atavist Magazine
The inside story of the first homicide in America’s most secure prison.
Gangster’s paradise: how organised crime took over Russia
The long read: Under Vladmir Putin, gangsterism on the streets has given way to kleptocracy in the state
The Encyclopedia of the Missing
She keeps watch over one of the largest databases of missing persons in the country. For Meaghan Good, the disappeared are still out here, you just have to know where to look.
In the Land of Vendettas That Go On Forever
In Northern Albania, vengeance is as likely a form of restitution as anything the criminal-justice system can offer.
An investigation details a $243M crypto heist in August 2024 in which a social engineering attack ta
Brian Krebs / Krebs on Security: An investigation details a $243M crypto heist in August 2024 where attackers used a phone-based social engineering attack on a user of Gemini's crypto exchange