After nine months of subpoenaing witnesses and documents and listening to a wide range of testimony during sixteen public hearings, the Independent Commission To Investigate the Facts of the Tragedy in Lewiston issued its final report on August 20th. The 215-page report, while substantive in details that led to the failure to stop Robert Card II from killing eighteen Mainers on October 25, 2023, did not make any recommendations on how to fix … [Read more...]
Face Off – How George Erik Marquardt Compares To Breaking Bad’s Fictional Walter White
My latest book, LETHAL DOSES: The Story Behind the Godfather of Fentanyl was released Tuesday, August 27, 2024. It's the true story of the man DEA called "the best and most dangerous clandestine chemist" the agency ever encountered. George Erik "Squeak" Marquardt, a high school dropout and self-taught "chemistry genius," became a professional criminal at age twelve and, in the sixty years after that, had "no occupation other than being a drug … [Read more...]
Out Now! LETHAL DOSES takes readers inside the twisted world of the man who brought fentanyl to America
On a cold afternoon in February 1991, a frightening new drug hit the streets of New York City, a synthetic narcotic marketed in packets labeled "Tango & Cash." As police scrambled to warn heroin users of the danger, the overdose victims began piling up in hospital emergency rooms and county morgues across three states. As a Drug Enforcement Administration agent said at the time, "We don't know yet who's putting this stuff out there, … [Read more...]
NEW AUDIOBOOK AVAILABLE NOW! In THE LEWISTON SHOOTINGS, Robert Conlin Chronicles The Personal Stories Of A Deeply Scarred Community
Never again could anyone say, "It will never happen here." Because it did. October 25, 2023 was just an ordinary night in Lewiston, a small, working class city of 37,000 in central Maine. Friends and families had gathered to do what they loved to do with the people they wanted to be with at a bowling alley called Just-in-Time Recreation Center and Schemengees, a popular sports bar and restaurant. They felt immune from the violent crime … [Read more...]
In Memory of Elizabeth Short, Otherwise Known as “Black Dhalia”
July 29, 2024 marked the centenary of Elizabeth Short's birth. Born in Boston, Beth, as she often preferred to be called, was the middle child of Cleo and Phoebe Short. She had four sisters: Virginia, Dorothea, Elnora, and Muriel. In 1930, Cleo's miniature golf course business tanked. He positioned his car close to a bridge to create the appearance of suicide. A houseful of women has its comforts, but Cleo's abandonment appears to have profoundly … [Read more...]
Robert Conlin on Why Our Judicial System Tolerates Misconduct and Negligence
Like many millions of Americans, I am hooked on true crime stories. Some see this collective fascination with true crime as an indictment of our current society, but let's remember that Truman Capote's In Cold Blood was an international bestseller when it was published nearly 60 years ago. And 40 years before that, the Leopold and Loeb murder case and the Lindbergh child kidnapping and murder engrossed the nation. Judging by the many … [Read more...]
D.J. Adler Talks about the Creation of his Upcoming Memoir BAKER, LIAR, CON MAN, THIEF
There is freedom to confessing the events in this book. I do so unapologetically for myself and my mother. Writers usually use one of two methodologies to create a story. The first is the outline method, where the writer creates a road map of the story's direction. The second is the "pantser" who writes by the seat of their pants, spontaneously creating each chapter until the story unfolds from them like alchemy. BAKER, LIAR, CON MAN, THIEF, … [Read more...]
Joan Renner on Jealousy and Gin
I Love Los Angeles Crime! Every city has a unique crime signature. In Los Angeles, crime has a distinctly cinematic feel. In 1910, Hollywood made its first film, In Old California. The silent short ran for 17 thrilling minutes. A western, the characters run the gamut from upstanding citizens to thieves. Hollywood has been obsessed with themes of good vs. evil ever since. In the following tale, Jealousy and Gin, the killer is a real-life B-movie … [Read more...]
Author Joan Renner On True Crime, Blogging, and Advocacy
Hi! I'm Joan Renner, a multi-talented individual with a passion for all things true crime. As a seasoned author, blogger, historian, archivist, tour guide, and sought-after TV and podcast commentator, I've carved out a unique niche in the world of crime storytelling. Back in 2007, I turned my lifelong fascination with crime into something more tangible by blogging for a local true crime blog. Little did I know this step would lead me down a … [Read more...]
Meet D.J. Adler, Author of BAKER, LIAR, CON MAN, THIEF!
It seems that I have lived a hundred different lives. The events in my book, BAKER, LIAR, CON MAN, THIEF: Escaping the Law One Identity at a Time, document one of those lives. In other lives, I was a businessman, an attorney, an NLP therapist, a full-time student, a magician (mentalist), a nightclub savior, and a financial controller for various charitable organizations. I hold master's degrees in accounting and marketing and a Juris doctorate, … [Read more...]
