logo
episode-header-image
Feb 2024
28m 45s

The Story of Walter Minx, the Sears Exto...

Shondaland Audio and iHeartPodcasts
About this episode

Milwaukee Magazine once described Walter Minx as slender and fidgety, with, "the kind of sharp-featured handsomeness that the movies had taught people not to trust." He was German-born, and immigrated to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with his parents, his brother, and his sister in 1925. He aspired to be a successful American businessman; he wanted to make a fortune -- and a name for himself. He did make a name for himself, but not quite the kind as he’d hoped for. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Up next
Feb 2024
Duke of York and Mary Anne Clarke
Mary Ann Clarke attempted to blackmail her ex-lover, the Duke of York — who led the British army — by threatening to publish his letters. Sounds similar to Wellington but it takes a turn: His political enemies took notice, and they discovered that Mary Ann was selling army commis ... Show More
23m 24s
Mar 2024
When Blackmail Accidentally Uncovers Political Corruption
This is a story of a Texas oil tycoon, a congressman from Idaho, and a financial commodities broker in Oklahoma City. It’s a story of blackmail, yes. But it’s also a story of political corruption and ethics uncovered by that blackmail. There’s a lot going on here, and pretty much ... Show More
27m 40s
Mar 2024
Welcome to the Season Finale of Criminalia's 'BLACKMAILERS'
From illicit love letters to political bribes, everyone has a secret, and it’s the threat of exposure that’s key to this crime -- and we discovered a whole lot of surprising examples along the way -- including a man who built his own submarine, hoping to escape with his payout un ... Show More
38m 28s
Recommended Episodes
Oct 2022
The Chicago Tylenol Murders Pt. 1
Forty years ago, cyanide-laced Tylenol capsules led to the deaths of seven people all around the Chicago area. America was gripped by paranoia and fear. Why was this happening? Who would be next? Police grasped for suspects who might be the so-called “Mad Poisoner.” We’re joined ... Show More
39m 48s
Oct 2022
The Chicago Tylenol Murders Pt. 1
Listeners, we’re popping back into your feed this week to share a special crossover episode from Serial Killers and Conspiracy Theories. Forty years ago, cyanide-laced Tylenol capsules led to the deaths of seven people all around the Chicago area. America was gripped by paranoia ... Show More
40m 48s
Oct 2022
The Chicago Tylenol Murders Pt. 3
This is the finale of our Serial Killers and Conspiracy Theories crossover: By 2011, the FBI was ready to reexamine the evidence. A theory emerged: What if the Mad Poisoner was actually the Unabomber? Ted Kaczynski had proven he was a revenge-seeking terrorist, and he had connect ... Show More
42m 46s
May 2025
Fentanyl: Actually As Dangerous As They Say
Around 2013 heroin users in the US and other countries suddenly started dying from overdose in previously-unseen numbers. The culprit turned out to be the incredibly potent drug fentanyl and it soon created a massive new wave in the opioid epidemic.See omnystudio.com/listener for ... Show More
49m 46s
Jul 2025
She Poisoned His Medicine - The Stella Nickell story
<p>Stella Nickell, a former airport screener from Washington state, was convicted in May 1988 of deliberately tampering with Excedrin capsules by lacing them with cyanide, causing the deaths of her husband, Bruce, and an unsuspecting woman, Sue Snow.</p> 
8m 31s
Dec 2024
BEST OF CRIME HOUSE 2024: The Tylenol Murders
As the end of the year approaches, we're revisiting the best episodes of 2024 from Crime House. On Murder: True Crime Stories, Carter Roy examined the case of the Tylenol Murders. In the fall of 1982, seven people in Chicago were killed by poisoned Tylenol pills. In the first of ... Show More
59m 37s
Mar 2018
“Cocaine Godmother” - Griselda Blanco
Griselda Blanco was born in Colombia on February 15, 1943. By age 11, Griselda committed her first of many murders. We follow her rise to becoming one of the first infamous leaders of the 1970’s drug trade. Between cold-blooded killing and drug overdoses, many died at the hands o ... Show More
45m 57s
Jan 2025
157: The Painkiller Problem: How Fentanyl Took Over America
Hi friends, happy Wednesday!Last year I had a surgery so that I could breathe again, and it’s been nice, thanks for asking! I love breathing. But when I was in the hospital, the doctors gave me some really strong pain medication. I asked what it was, and the doctor told me it was ... Show More
41m 8s
Mar 2021
Mayhem and Murder
In the 1950s, the CIA conducted highly controversial research on mind-altering drugs to prepare for brain warfare with global superpowers. But after a checkered past, George White’s off-the-books Operation Midnight Climax took whatever flimsy rulebook the CIA had and threw it out ... Show More
28m 13s
Jan 2024
Griselda Blanco and Miami's Drug Wars: Netflix's New Narcos
Dubbed the Cocaine Godmother and the Black Widow, Griselda Blanco rose to power when the cocaine boom was taking off and Colombian cartels started pumping product into the US, mainly through Miami. As the floodgates opened and tens of millions of dollars were being made on the st ... Show More
48m 38s