Ridiculous Crime.

It's a production of Iheartradiod Elizabeth Burnett.

We meet again, So good to see, so good to see.

Bring you to headquarters today.

Uh, you know, I just want to hang out here.

A story that's great.

You know what's ridiculous I do.

Listen.

Listen here bub a couple of things you need to know about me.

Oh yeah, I got a pen paper, go on, tell me one.

I like tooled leather.

Two, I like tacos.

Three I like gardening.

I'm so afraid these things are going to be matching.

One of those is just a fun fact, but the other two, yes, or what I'm going to talk to you about today.

And let me let me also just say that I found out about this before all of the rude dudes started sending messages look at you.

This came into my Instagram feed and it was like chill ran down my spine.

Yeah, and my pupils dilated, and I was like, oh God, because one it's awesome too.

I knew I was about to be inundated and everyone's going to forward me forward before and that's what happened.

Because I can always depend on the root like that they deliver it.

I hadn't seemed to hate me.

I had maybe like a twenty four hour lead on it.

Oh good you yeah wow girl.

In the rhythm algorithm.

So anyway, there's lifestyle instagrams like we're gonna hit you up early girl exactly.

You gotta you gotta be in it to win it.

So there's this dude, Guillermo Quivas of Done Right Leather Works.

Sure, he's a master craftsman.

I believe he's built one of a kind pieces, one of one for people like Kendrick Lamar.

I like him.

Yeah, me too.

Uh And Glenn Powell.

Is he one of those uh top Gun guys?

Yes, he was in the new Top Gun the Maverick.

I want to ask you this.

All the time, I'll see some white guy with like dirty brown, dirty blonde hair top Gun.

I was like, is that the hop Gun guy?

And you're like yes every time?

And man, the new running Man does the running Man is the running man?

It's not Tom Cruise.

Surprisingly, he's known for his run.

His alarms and run his legs.

Anyway, so this Done Right Leather Works.

They they got together with two companies, Venmo.

And that's not the cool part.

Really, you got to tell me that sister.

The cool part.

The third in this triad is Taco Bell and they created I'm Losing count Taco Holster and it's a blue tooled leather and I'm gonna show you a picture, which is really obnoxious for those who are simply listening.

But if you go on to our Instagram feed on the day this episode comes out, you go into the stories, there'll be a picture, or you can just google taco holster and really generous.

Well it has to do with this, like canteena chicken taco thing I got going on now here.

I was like, oh snap, this came into my feet.

I'm about to get taco Holster.

I'm so excited, and I had to keep it to myself.

I told I told my dogs.

I was like, you guys, you're never gonna believe this.

Mama's getting a taco taco holster.

And then I looked it up and I found out that, uh it, you only had one shot to.

Do it, oh one day, just one shot at one.

Time, two to three pm Pacific time, which I love that they're doing it Pacific times.

Show some love.

Yeah, exactly.

November eighteen.

November eighteenth, I missed it it's past.

Yes, I slipping missed it.

Where and you got the twenty four hour head start?

Yeah, but I didn't get the blue taco holster to old leathers erin Where is the justice?

Because the thing I mentioned gardening, because like you can eat your taco while you're gardening, and then when you're done, you put your your pruning clippers in there.

Why, I mean.

It's that times.

It's coming into winter, it's time to do some pruning.

Pruning.

Yeah, all the gardening.

I understand to know how it goes.

It's ridiculous.

A taco ridiculous.

A leather tools brought to you by Venmo somehow?

I mean, do they do this on purpose for me and then not give me one?

I feel like the world's conspiring against me when you do these things.

I feel like they're just teasing me.

They're showing me cool stuff, and then uh, never materializes.

You do seem to miss out except for a couple of times where the rude dudes have come through for you and like sent you things like but it seems like off and you miss out on the timelines like they let you know to like who's winning these things?

How do you stay up.

It seems like it's insider trading Taco Taco Bell connect.

Yes, who's your plug at Venmo?

Yes, in the marketing department at Venmo.

Yeah.

Well, do you know what else is ridiculous?

No?

Okay, Let's say you are like overextended financially right, and so, in your desperation to get back on firm financial footing, you make a plan with these two shady dudes from Miami, Oh to blow up a bridge in Africa.

The question is is will that work?

Yeah?

I don't know.

This is ridiculous crime a podcast about absurd and outrageous capers.

Heis and cons it's always ninety nine percent murder free and one hundred percent ridiculous.

I'm at the edge of my seat.

I know right came in hot libit.

This one, I want to tell you today is a wild one.

It sounds like it like when the stories of this first hit the headlines.

The FBI agent who released the announcement of the related arrest you hear you well, he says, and I quote when I first heard it, I thought it was fantastic.

It was almost like a dime novel fantastic.

But it happened he's using fantastic and the proper.

Use of that is true.

Right.

And you know another word that we've lost that used to be used in a similar circumstance was terrific.

Correct, Yeah, like it was like you know, anyway, this is awesome.

That's another one.

This description, his description rather is accurate.

This is one like the plot of a dime novel or like some knockoff American James Bond story.

I love this.

Yeah.

Now, Elizabeth, before we get into today's show, I need to ask you to count them two.

Questions, tacos and gardening.

I'm skipping past that one.

Have you ever seen the movie The Bridge on the River Qui long ago?

Yes?

Okay, cool?

That helps.

I was an extra.

What's your third favorite.

Scene the Quhi?

As you know, the whistling, the whistling?

Yes?

Can you can you favorite for the piece?

I can't hit the high note there it is.

This is going to be really obnoxious, totally.

As you know.

I'm sorry to everyone with dogs.

Or driving in a car, or just has headphones in or airbuds.

Or who you know.

They they've triggered because of previous cat calling.

True.

Have I ever walked down the street and you had a construction worker whistle the theme song to the bridge on the.

River as you No, I have not really damage to the construction worker who whistled the bridge on the river.

Kwai.

It's cool at various male people postal carriers anyway.

I often quote this movie Elizabeth Well one line in particular, after the star William Holden, he manages to escape a Japanese prisoner of war camp that's located near the border of Thailand and Burma, and after he braves the endless jungle to make it back to rejoin the Allies, he's nursed to health at this British hospital camp, right, and while he's convalescing there, he's approached by this British commando who's putting together a crack team to blow up a bridge, the very same bridge that the prisoners of war were building.

So the British commando he wants William Holden, who's the star, to show the team the weight to the bridge.

But having escaped, William Holden is not at all interested in going back.

He's like, are you kidding me?

Do you know how hard it was for me to get out of there?

But the British commando doesn't care about any of this, because he informs William Holden that the US military has loaned about to the British.

These are orders.

It doesn't even matter what his opinions are.

Yeah.

At that point, William Holden horrified by this development and the plot of his life.

He's like, you know, trying to argue his way out of it, and the British commando Major Warden, played by the strapping British actor Jack Hawkins, says my favorite quote, which is, ah, I know how you feel, but there's always the unexpected, isn't there.

I tell myself that all the time.

There's always the unexpected, isn't there.

Yeah, So it's a very helpful quote, at least for me.

So keep that quote in mind as I tell you this story.

Okay, question two, what do you know about the nation of Zambia.

You know what I'm going to confess, not a whole lot.

Okay, Well that's fair.

Zambia is a landlocked nation in the basically southeastern Africa.

Its name comes from the Zambizi River.

The nation is you know, you can say, south central southeastern Africa.

It's bordered by Angola to the west.

It has the Democratic Republic of the Congo to its north.

It's got Tanzania to the northeast, Malawi to the east, Mozambique to the southeast, Botswana and Zimbabwe to the south, and Namibia to the southwest.

It's essentially ringed by other countries.

Yeah.

So, just like the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia is also a resource rich region, especially the north, and its leading export is copper.

But since Zambia is landlocked, in order to get the copper out of the country and onto the world markets, the copper producers rely on railroads, or at least they did at the time of this story.

Sure, which brings us to the story I want to tell you today.

Nice, Let's start with the man at the center of this story of saboteurs and copper price manipulation.

His name is j.

Aubrey Elliott.

Totally No, I mean, the FBI will tell you a different name, but that's only because really, Yeah, if you look at the FBI's reports on this, they have like doubling all these names.

You're like, why would you do that to us?

FBI?

What they like they had like a code name, like a fake.

Name basically, Yeah, and so you had to go to like the New York Times and a bunch of other contemporaneous reporting to find out all the real names Marissa and I had our research on Marissa, and I had a hell of a time trying to like compare the names.

And but she did a fantastic bang up job.

Is she not like one of the most incredible human beings?

The best?

Absolutely the best?

So j Aubrey Elliott.

He's originally from Scarsdale, New York, and, as the New York Times reports at the time, his father, quote well said to be a member of the United States Consular Service, so that means he's basically an embassy type and internationally minded anyway, Elliott, much like his father, bit of an adventurer as a young man.

He leaves America in the early sixties and he finds work as a boat captain and as a professional diver.

Oh yeah, I guess exotic.

Right, with a lot of fun.

I guess you're getting weird jobs that way, you know, like, oh, I need you to do professional diving or captain my boat to the Antilles.

I feel it is that those days are over.

But doesn't that Is that a long gone time or can you still.

Still totally you can still be like a frog man, you know.

And it's also very international.

The most interesting man in the world, you know.

It's like, oh, what are you?

I'm a skin diver, I'm a licensed boat master.

I mean it's anyway.

So I guess this guy Elliott, he could captain yachts, charter boats, whatever you got right.

So by the mid sixties he's working in ports and harbors and carousel.

And in April sixty six, Elliott is thirty two years old and at the moment he happens to be in nearby Aruba, which is where he meets an older man named Rolf Dunbier.

And I mean older, just by a few years older than him.

As his name suggests.

Rolf Dunbier is a German national, but he's been naturalized as an American citizen.

For a living.

Rolf works as a vice president of the Friedrich Zolner Corporation, which is a German medals company.

So the two men they meet in Aruba, they're like, oh.

Like, oh, Ruba, Jamaica.

I want to take it.

Exactly, like, let's have some drinks and talk about the beach boys man.

So they get to talking.

Apparently they hit it off because Rolf offers j.

Aubrey Elliott a new job.

According to a story from the Guam Daily News.

Can we also talk about how great Guam is?

Yes, I've never been there, but wonderful.

So Rolf hires Elliott to quote locate underwater wrecks from which brass and copper could be salvaged.

So he offers Elliot five hundred dollars a month plus expenses to dive for these salvageable medals.

Nice, pretty cool, great, nice pay for some hard work.

So he's basically, you know, the Caribbean looking for sunken boats, and the people have like you know, either crash while they're drunk or like old Span not like old Spanish main kind of crash it a little bit younger than that.

He is the forebearer to the like early aughts speed freaks who pulled copper wire out of church HVAC systems.

Pretty much yeah, just wretty much for scuba gear.

Yeah, so things work out well for their partnership.

A few months later, Dumba asked Elliott to fly to Europe to help him purchase a boat they can use to salvage Rex and harvest medals.

Elliott agrees, he flies over to Europe to help the dude buy a boat.

However, when the two men meet up in Amsterdam, his boss Rolf, it's got bad news.

He's like, man, I don't have the funds to buy a new boat, and the boat deal it's off.

And so Elliot it's like, well, why did you fly me over here?

Yeah?

He's like, I got a new deal for you, Elliott.

I want you to go to Africa.

That sounds like a bait and switch.

Yeah, I want you to help me buy a boat.

I want you to Africa by a boat.

So Elliott is like, Africa, huh, what's in Africa?

And so his boss, Rolf explains that the price of copper has recently plummeted and he's screwed, like personally screwed, financially screwed.

He's looking at a lost fortune unless he can do something to get the copper prices back up.

And since the copper price is down, that also means it's no longer economically feasible to pay Elliott to go on salvage copper.

Ellie, it's like, are you firing me?

Like, I don't understand it you're sending me to Africa, because I was like, I don't know what's going on.

His boss, Rolf is like, no, I have a plan of what to do, but it's also the only work he has for him, so he's like, this is the plan.

So Ralph says he needs Ellie to go to Zambia and help him influence the price of copper, and Elie's like to do that.

At this point, his boss, Ralph tells Elliott his big plan.

He informs the professional diver and boat captain, and he wants him to go and blow up a bridge in Zambia.

I thought he was going to have to stand there and like raise his eyebrows over and over again at the copper, like influences man more expensive.

So, like, you know, Elliott's like why because, as Rolf explains after the US, Zombia is the world's second largest producer of copper.

Huh.

And as Elliott remembers it, Ralph Dunbier said that the quote world's copper comes out of Zombia, and there's only one railroad that comes out of Zambia.

I'd like to blow up that railroad, is like okay, And then his boss Rolph Dunbia is like, so, do you know any sabatua who can help you blow up a bridge in Zambia?

And Elizabeth, when you're a globe tritting adventure like my man Elliott, yeah, you meet interesting people.

Sure do so.

Eli thinks it over and he's like, I know a guy.

He's like, this will make a great story later years from now.

This is going to buy me so many drinks in a bar.

Exactly.

I'm taking this to the sechelles.

When he says I know a guy, he says, there's this Israeli.

He knows who'd be the perfect saboteur to help blow up a bridge in rural Africa.

Now, do you know any perfect saboteurs to blow up a bridge in rural Africa?

I will say I actually helped a person blow up something once.

He was a farmer marine and he needed me to help him, and I did help him.

Well, you're the guy.

I do understand how these stories turn out.

No, I have no idea who I would even begin to you.

I would call you.

Yes, I'd be like, I know a guy.

We got a problem, guy, I can't believe you brought that up?

Yes?

Or that I brought it up, but I think this is the statute of limitations is long gone, so we're good anyway.

The bridge ro Off has in mind to sabotage spans the Kafue River, which is this tributary of the Zambizi River.

The bridge was constructed in the early twentieth century, back when the British were running things, and it gets completed in like nineteen oh six.

It's this steel cantilever bridge, or as engineers would describe it, a steel girder truss bridge.

Oh okay, which just means that there's all these steel beams kind of been creating triangles that hold the bridge rigid since it needs to support all those train cars loaded down with copper.

Right, So think like you know, local bridges, it'd be like the Richmond Bridge or like the railroad bridge that crosses the Karkeness.

Straight sandrafel Bridge is like on its last legs.

Oh yeah, I used to have to drive over it often then.

Yeah, that's why I picked that one crossed the whole time.

You know it, well, yeah, it's terrible.

So this bridge over the Kafue is about fourteen hundred feet long or about four hundred and twenty seven meters, so it's like, you know, a third of a mile.

The bridge was built back in the colonial period and was owned and operated by the Rhodesian Railways from nineteen twenty seven to nineteen sixty six.

We're talking Rhodesia.

Oh yeah, because the Rhodesia is right.

Basically there is Northern Rhodesia and Southern Rhodesia and that was part of this was part of Northern Rhdesia.

Yeah.

But up until the sixties when you have the wave of independence go over Africa and all of a sudden, these former British, French and colonies are now independent.

Well, this also happens for Zambia.

So this newly independent Zambia takes control of the bridge and they make a part of their new Zambia Railways.

Now the bridge becomes this vital part of the newly independent nations copper industry.

Since copper is Zambia's leading export, it's key to their economy on their own now and the bridge quote forms the vital link over which two thirds of Zambia's copper production travels, which amounts to some fifty eight thousand tons a month.

Fifty whoa, Yeah.

This massive amount of copper is then shipped to East African ports and into the world market.

So Ralph Dunbia tells his salvage man Elliott, Yeah, we need to blow it top right, So obviously this will deal a catastrophic blow to the Zambian economy.

Is their primary export.

It is like they're a new country on their own.

Yes, forget this.

Ralf doesn't give a feather or a fig about that because he just needs the copper prices to go back up before he loses a fortune.

That's all he cares about.

Yeah.

You see, Elizabeth Rolth Dunbier has been playing the copper futures market and he's heavily invested his corporation's money.

And so in the summer sixty six copper prices plummet.

They fall by about fifty percent.

Whoa, I'm talking real plummeting.

Yeah, so, which means the German metals company Friedrich Zalner is looking at losses of a million dollars on the London Metal Exchange sure, which would be about ten million in today's dollars.

Yeah.

Yeah, So, in case you recently forgot how the futures market works, Elizabeth.

Spectators buy futures contracts that then stipulate a contract wherein they will buy a commodity in the future at a set price.

But let's say at the copper price plummets, this means that the speculators paid way too much for their futures copper contracts and when the contract comes due, they will lose a bundle when they then try to sell the copper on the market.

So Rolf Dunbier and his German corporate partners, they need the copper price to come back up quickly, like before their futures contracts come due.

Plus, there's also a secondary benefit, which is if you manipulate the market, you can also buy futures contracts at the lower price.

And then let's say you blow up a bridge at Zambia that drives the price up.

Now you make a fortune when the price of copper gets jacked up.

So Ralph Dunbie is now looking to make money, coming and going oh okay, He's going to protect the fortune he may lose and then make a fortune off of this insider trade that he knows about what the blown up bridge agreed.

So if he goes full on the bridge on the River Kuai.

He can avoid losing a fortune and also gaining one.

So back to Elliott, his boss Roth offers him fifty grand to blow up this key bridge.

That's a lot of money.

Yeah, what's there?

A lot of money?

Now totally with their agreements, said, Elliott gets to planning the demolition.

But as my man Major Warden said, in the bridge on the River Kwai, there's always the unexpected, isn't there.

So let's take a little break, chill out with some ads, and after these messages we'll get into the unexpected.

Yes we're back, Elizabeth, Yes we are.

You ready to dive into the unexpected?

Thorno good okay?

So September nineteen sixty six, j Aubrey Elliott and Ralph Dunbier they take a trip together to Zambia to do some scouting.

They want to do some recon so they also want to make some connections.

So apparently, according to contemporaneous news reports, Ralph Dunbier speaks with somebody he knows and he asked his contact to quote report conditions affecting Kappa production and also dumba Quote was especially interested in interruptions in transportation.

Now, why was the price plummeting.

Again, I do not.

Know the market fluctuations because America is the leading producer and then Zambia is the second one, and for whatever reason, the market plummets the market.

She's fickle, Yes, she.

Is so, As Dumbier reported.

I honestly thought maybe you said it.

I forgotten.

No, no, no, I never said it.

It was honestly, it wasn't really important to be in the research because I'm like, I know, market's.

Gown by myself.

All buy it plummeted.

There, there you go.

That's all I know.

Dumbier reportedly quote left some items stored in this individual's home.

One I wasn't at shay case containing six sticks of dynamite and some detonator caps.

Also left right, German made short wave radio and a pair of shoes.

I love the pair of shoes, right, I love this sabotage materials list with a pair of shoes.

That's a pair of kids.

Like were they special shoes?

Like you know, like how moonshiners used to wear those shoes that would like weird prints like a cow walked here.

Well, I'm just wondering where they, like, you know how, mister Rogers you know he's out in his city shoes.

Yeah, he's got to put on his tennis.

Yeah.

Is that what these are for?

Is this?

Like?

Those are your your bombing shoes?

Oh?

I was also wondering if they were like expensive designer shoes like the old Popeio used to wear.

Oh yeah yeah, slippers.

Yeah exactly.

I was like, he's German.

It'd be like, I want to feel special when I'm putting the dynamite out, So I'm going to put them a fancy slippers, my high heels, sneacret or they want to get into like some comfy shoes or like maybe dance shoes, you know, light on their lights.

He's like, I've got your little dan skins legs.

Diamond over here is going to plant some months.

I wish I had answers, but all the reporting says is a pair of shoes.

So the mystery, my mind, it races.

Anyway.

After their recon trip to Zambia later that same month, September of sixty six, j Aubrey Elliott and his wife Violet Elliott, they take a trip to Israel.

Okay, why Israel?

Great question, Elizabeth.

They visit Israel to see what's what with saboteurs.

You see, there's like a booth at the airport.

You have to understand Israel, like in the sixties, they're going through it, right, Yeah, so they got a lot of experienced people when it comes to like blowing things up and like you know, like building a gun out of the stuff in your house, you know.

Yeah.

So you see, Violate was a former Israeli citizen who'd become an Austrian citizen, but apparently from her time in Israel, she knew experts and demolitions.

Okay, So, as it turns out, Elliott when he said he knew a guy, he really meant my wife knows a guy.

She knows, you know, saboteurs, experienced Israeli saboteurs.

It's cool, it's cool.

Sure it is going to do this job.

He's going to need a team of them, at least like two three of them.

So his wife's like, okay, I possibly that has been number three to five.

Really, if you're going to do it right, you know.

You're like a litter of saboturies.

So he's like, my wife can help me get this litter of experienced Disraeli saboteurs.

So they're bouncing around.

When the couple hits Israel in September sixty six, they pose as tourists.

They take in the sites, they enjoy the food.

That's a crazy time to be in Israel, ps.

For real, and they're over there enjoying the culture of the food whatnot.

Meanwhile, they spend their time trying to recruit a team of demolition experts and so as they're asking people, do you know any experienced saboteurs to help me pull up a bridge?

And they're bouncing around Israel while they're on the slide, they're you know, they're trying to like ask contacts.

She knows, you know, have you been to Africa?

Do you do you want to go to Africa?

Like just the people at the next table.

And I don't know if you know this, Elizabeth, but if you're bouncing around Israel asking people if you people you barely know, if they will help you blow up a bridge in Africa to influence copper Is, eventually you will come to the attention of the Israeli security forces.

Yeah, I would think so, which is exactly what happens.

Yeah, those I heard, they don't mess around.

Oh no, they're really good about like you want to blow up what?

Where?

When?

And they think they're they're they're really known for it.

Yeah, well no, just like they're known for.

Like they don't want people like causing international incidents.

They also don't want people like, you know, getting out of pocket, so to speak.

So, according to the Jacob Raider Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives, Box fifty four fold er three, after quote learning that Elliott was trying to recruit former experts and explosives among friends of his wife, Israel started clocking everything they're doing.

So now as they're bouncing around Israel looking to hire a team of saboteurs, they're also getting followed by the Israeli security forces.

I guess the Israeli security forces were not subtle, or perhaps someone let the couple know they're being watched.

I don't know how it went either way.

Elie decides it's time for him to dip out before the Israeli security forces have a chance to arrest him.

Yeah, but get this, he leaves his wife behind in his real Oh you're kiddings like, honey, you're on your own.

You speak the language that sounds like she can take care of herself.

I'm guessing he's assuming they want to rest one of their own.

Elizabeth Boy, is he wrong?

Oh, Israeli security forces quote moved in and arrested for Israelis and missus Elliott.

All five are released on bail after being charged.

Huh So yeah, now we're into October.

So at this point his wife's arrested, the Israeli saboteurs are out of the picture.

So Elliott reports back to Ralph Dunbier that the Israeli demolition experts that he was approaching for the bridge job had quote passport troubles.

He buys himself a little time.

He'll need to find some new guys to blow up the bridge.

I want to use that as my excuse for like everything in my life.

Soon, passport trouble, Like, you know, why didn't you.

Do that project?

I don't passport.

I've been having passport troubles.

I know a guy he's having passage.

Finished your outline for this week's episode, back off man, I got passport problems.

Dealing with the State Department.

So the good news is, he tells Ralph Dunbier, I know some other guys.

Oh yeah, they're Americans.

So you see, he tells his boss Rolf, I know these guys who are a boat captains their skin divers in the Miami area.

I'll go talk to them about blowing up the bridge.

I'm sure they'll be interested.

Uh huh.

And I love how he doesn't give up on the bridge demolition job even after his wife is now arrested and he's going full on like wannabe CIA guy trying to hire random dudes in the Miami area to help him with his international intrigues.

He needed to go get himself an abaloney diver.

See that, then he would have gotten it done.

He would have been on this shows less he got the wrong one like Frank Sinatra Junior time, and then he would be on the show either way.

The American guys he knows are these two licensed shipmasters and skin divers from Miami.

Their names are Philip Armstrong and Paul Woodburn Cuddel.

He offers them half the money twenty five grand to help him pull off this demolition job.

The two men they're sensible about it, and Elliott says to him, no, don't worry about it.

He'll even allow them to quote abort the entire project if it appeared that there was a possibility of the loss of life.

So they got to split twenty five k Yeah, it's like.

Twelve five each.

But they're like, don't worry, we're not killing anybody.

We'll do it early in the morning.

We don't need to have the train fall in.

We just need to have the train not be able to cross the road.

Yeah.

They're like, okay, okay, but we just don't really want to kill anybody.

We're not murderers.

Man, I'm a skin diver.

Have we done an environmental impact report on this?

Where's the steel going to wildlife?

Are we going to be ruining the Zambizi?

Yes, so one of Africa's great rivers.

Think about it, guys.

So his plan to get into Zambia, or for them to get into Zambia is simple.

The two Miami skin divers are to quote, obtain visas to enter Zambia under the guys of being freelance photographers, and to visit several other places before and after Zambia to firmly establish their alibi.

Huh, just like definitely some CIA stuff.

Did you tell me you're a freelance photographer?

You work for Life magazine?

Like I just am suspicious of skin divers.

It's from the Miami area freelanceographers.

This is smart, you know, adventurous boatman.

You're a savvy woman in that regard.

I really really now to make these dudes believe the job is legit, Elliott offers Armstrong twenty five hundred as an advance on the job, and he offers Caudel a thousand as an advance.

So the two Miami skin divers they go for it.

So Eli goes back to Ralph Dunba and he's like, I need the money.

So Rolf takes him to a bank.

He pulls the advanced money out of his personal account.

Rolf gives Elliott an envelope of forty five hundred dollars.

Is like, give this to the Miami skin Divers.

It's on the envelope.

So now the Zambia plot is in full motion.

All they need to do now is get together their bomb making materials and ship them to Africa.

So the team is.

Saboteurs from like DHL.

Right, they work out the details of their plan to blow up the steel bridge, which I can't imagine is an easy structure to bring down.

Oh so in the bridge on the river quiet.

They wring the supports with a bunch of dynamite and they wire it to a detonator.

That's like I got a pushbar box, god right, like the chin in the old cartoons or the miners.

I love that.

So these guys, I want one of those.

They're gonnasas lights old pushbar detonator.

These guys they aren't going to use the old pushbar detonator.

Instead, they plan to use a quote twenty four hour non electrical timing device.

What like a like an alarm clock, a bedroom clock.

Yeah, what we were referred to as a twenty four hour non electrical timing device would be a clock that would totally meet the description.

So there's one of the ones with the bells on the top.

So the steam and sabotages.

They want to set up the dynamite and then they can travel and be hopefully hundreds of miles away when the dynamite goes off, either or they can be out of the country, or they can at least be doing their freelance photography thing.

They don't want to hide in the bushes with like a little walkie talkie thing that just has a green light and a right and then you cut to on the bridge, like the time going down like all quickly, and it goes back and forth between them.

I'm just making the movie in my head.

I like it.

Actually, I'm making it like an eighties TV show.

Bro It's yeah, it is very like mcguiver, but I like it like eighteen or eighteen yeah, really more a teen.

Yeah.

So in order to get the dynamite into Zambia, that's going to be tricky, right, because people kind of monitoring sent them plane.

So the team of Sabaturs come up with a rather simple plan to ship it.

They're all about simple, these guys.

They decide to buy the dynamite in the US and then ship it to Zambia.

Their idea is they can hide the dynamite in wait for it, the cabinet of an air conditioner.

That's a really big thing to send over.

It's a huge thing.

I would just send crates of quote unquote fireworks.

Or like candles.

These are candles.

Included candles fireworks.

So they say, I heard you guys wanted to have like I.

Think it's a special paperwork for that.

It raises questions, right, So they don't want any pain in the net customs officials to take an interest in what they're shipping to Zambia.

An air conditioner that seems reasonable, right and shouldn't ressume me with questions.

And so the Abatur is like, we don't need one air conditioner, We're gonna need two air conditions, I think.

So, as the New York Times reported quote, they plan to purchase two identical air conditioners of sufficient size.

One would be sent without modification as a dry run.

Now to make sure it all goes off with out of get that idea back to the New York Times, Elliott would be in Zambia to receive it and observe its handling by customs officials.

If it passed without close examination, the two Florida men were to go to Zambia and the other air conditioner with the dynamite packed inside, would be shipped.

Now, as we've already noted for their timer, they're going to use essentially a clock.

Well, Elliot's like, okay, I need to find something like a clock.

So he goes looking for a twenty four hour non electrical timer.

He goes to like a local hardware store.

He comes up empty, right, So he's like, well, what about a clock.

So he goes and that's what he uses.

He uses quote two old wind up clocks which could be modified.

Boom done, deal, bomb making done.

Sho check that off the list.

So since the question of the timer and the detonator and the bomb is now sorted, all he's up to do is to source the dynamite and ship it to Zambia.

Yeah, back to the air conditioner units.

On October twenty ninth, nineteen sixty six, the two Miami skin divers turned saboteurs, Armstrong and Caudel, quote, purchase two large air conditioners.

One unit was shipped to Elliott in New York.

The other unit was to be delivered by car to New York by one of the men after the dynamite had been packed inside the cabinet.

That's a fun drive, I was just gonna say, from Miami to New York with her.

The beads of sweat coming down.

Air conditioner staff put life explosive.

Now, once they get paid their advance money, Armstrong and Caudel, they go out and they buy fifteen dollars worth of dynamite.

But not just any old dynamite, Elizabeth, they buy special waterproof dynamite.

XL the kind of dynamite used commercially to blow up underwater rex.

Oh yeah, well there's skin divers.

Yeah they know about this, right, But if you like me, get hung up on the part of fifteen dollars for dynamite.

Yeah, even in nineteen sixties prices, that still seems like that's not enough to take down a steel bridge.

Yeah.

Admittedly I don't know about the prices of special waterproof dynamite, but it just doesn't sound like enough.

But no, not at all, And I do feel like I would accidentally buy road I don't know why that just came into my head.

But let's go back to fifteen dollars.

She was going to rip you off with fake dynamite.

Yeah, totally, that's what would happen to me.

We had road flares in the car and I met when I first saw the crap, Oh crap, Grandma's got dynamite in my car, Like, be careful.

Everybody moviesse caps they blow.

Yeah, she's you know, she may have to sabotage then.

Yeah, I don't know.

I don't ask questions.

There was an international woman of mystery.

She really was fifteen dollars.

Yes, of special dynamite too, not just any.

Do you do any calculations how much that is today?

No?

I did not do five million dollars.

No, I did not.

Do you want to to.

Really quick in my head?

No, okay, fifteen that's not enough.

No, it was just so little.

I was like, that can't be much.

It can't be much more than few hundred.

Dollars, like a stick and a half.

Yeah.

So with their plan set, the materials procured.

Now the detonator and dynamite all worked out.

They got the alarm clocks, they've got their fifteen dollars of dynamite, got the air conditioning, and it's all that's to do.

This is ship at all to Zambia and blow up this bridge.

Is this why we're talking about that?

But when you know, Elizabeth, this is exactly when fake with a capital F steps into the picture.

And speaking of pictures, I'd like to close your eyes as a clue, and I'd like you to picture it.

It's November two, nineteen sixty six, a Wednesday, and you, Elizabeth, are currently busy at your day job.

At night, you spend your time working on your one woman play about the disappearance of Amelia Earhart.

You've struggled with the title, but right now you're calling it linn Berg who.

Meanwhile, at your day job, you don't often display that same sort of irreverent sense of humor.

Why not because you work for Jag or Hoover.

That's right.

You're a G man, or rather you're a G woman, and you are a special agent of the FBI.

At the moment, you're at the Department of Justice building in Washington, DC, where the FBI is currently headquartered, which means you're currently listening to the familiar background sound of an army of typewriters as you dream of the day when you'll have your own office.

And that's when you hear it, the sound of an incoming message on the telex machine connected to the secure phone lines of the FBI.

The telex machine is essentially the precursor to a fax machine, begins printing out a confidential message.

Since you're the closest agent, you push back from your desk.

Your desk chair tweaks against the floor, then your heels count out the rhythm of your walk at the telex machine.

You have to wait for it to finish printing.

Then you tear off this most recent message.

Since you have clearance for this particular telex machine, you read who it's from as well as the body of the message in order to ascertain who you should take it to.

Your eyes widen as you read the message.

Is this a joke.

It can't be.

It's a cable from the US Embassy in Israel.

The State Department boys aren't known for their sense of humor.

This must be real.

You hastily walk down the hallway to a corner office.

Your heels once again tap out the rhythm of your walk.

At the corner office switch belongs to this superintendent of your section.

You knock on the door with a firm, yet insistent hand.

The gruff voice of your boss says, come in.

You do as instructed.

As the door swings open, he looks up from the file he's perusing to meet your eyes.

You pause in the doorway again, he instructs you come in.

Come in.

You approach his desk, but do not take a seat.

In an all business tone, you tell your section chief, this cable just came in over the telex machine from the US Embassy in Israel, but it's not about Israel or the Arabs.

Per se that's good, he says, relieved.

You tell him it is dire, though you hand him the printed out message.

Your boss has a habit of humming to himself as he reads, which he does now.

It doesn't take him long to read the message.

As soon as he's done, his improvised humming stops.

He looks up to you and ask is this real?

You not in the affirmative and say I believe so.

He sighs, then asks loud, why would the Israeli security forces send us this?

You replied, Well, as far as security services go, shin Beth isn't known to play practical jokes.

Star, nor do our embassy boys in israel I think it's the real deal.

Your Section Chief's eyes returned to the printed out telex message.

He begins to read it aloud.

Contacted by friends from shin Beth, the US Embassy was handed credible evidence.

So there's a plot to blow up a railroad bridge in the Republic of Zambia in Africa.

The data planned demolition is November eighteenth of this year.

Please inform Director Hoover there are multiple Americans suspected to be involved in the plot.

At present, the American conspirators are believed to be stateside.

As soon as he's done reading the message aloud, he sighs again and then asks, why would the Israelis know about this?

You're a quick to answer, I don't know, sir, but they're good.

Your section chief looks up and asks, a bridge in Zambia.

What in God's name is there in Zambia?

Now you've read a lot, you keep up on current events, and thus you're somewhat familiar with the newly independent nation of Zambia and are aware of its main export.

So you rather confidently suggest, sir, it may have something to do with copper production.

Copper.

Your boss replies, as if this is the first time he's ever heard of the medal.

Yes, sir, you answer, it's their chief export as well.

Zambia is landlocked, so they use train cars to shift the copper.

Recently, copper prices have plummeted on the commodities market.

How do you know all of this?

Your section chief asks, do you follow the copper market, Agent Dunton, It's been in the NEU, Sir.

Your tone is respectful of your boss's ignorance.

Okay, then I guess this might make sense.

Take this over to the Africa desk and see if they've heard anything about blowing up a railroad bridge in Zambia.

Yes, sir, so there you go, Elizabeth.

This is how the FBI learns of this CIA style plot to destabilize an African nation, but the FBI doesn't immediately act on it.

They're not even sure if the Israeli supplied info is accurate.

The Bureau determines that they need to do some digging of their own.

Luckily they have time at least a couple of weeks.

But turns out they don't need that much time because the very next day, on November three, two Miami skin divers Armstrong and Caudel fly north to New York.

They visit the Big Apple looking to meet up with Rof Dunbia to get the visas to travel to Zambia.

The two men they meet Roff Dunbia in the lobby of the building that houses the Zambian Mission to the United Nations.

Rolf shows up with his like to the two round trip tickets to Zambia, and then also he's got some more advanced money for the job, and the two men are just suppot to hand that over to Elliott and at the building that houses the Zambian Mission to the United Nations, Dunba and the two Miami skin divers they apply for the Zambian visas.

The men show their round trip tickets and in order to process the paperwork, they leave their US passports.

Then the two men say goodbye to Rof Dunbia and they head back to the airport to fly back home to Miami that same day round trip.

Boom boom boom.

When they land, the two Miami skin divers they call the Zambian embassy to check on the status of their visas and to coordinate their travel.

The two men are informed, your visas have been denied.

Oh you see, the Zambient officials were also briefed by the Israelis about the plot to blow up a bridge in Zambia.

And I don't know if the Zambian officials were like they kind of led it on to the two Miami skin divers how much they knew.

Maybe their tone was just cold or whatnot.

But either way, the two Miami skin divers they recognized something ate, right, So they decide, rather than wait for some g men to come around asking questions, they'll go to the FBI themselves and tell the bureau what all they know.

So they go, they tell them all about the plot to blow up a bridge in Zambia to raise the international price of copper.

And when the two Miami skin divers show up at the Miami Field office, the f guy is like, go.

On, They're like, show up in there like pukashell, necklaces in a loin.

Cloth, totally just like leaving sand on their carpet everywhere.

So yes to the Miami agents when they report to headquarters in DC what they've heard, which confirms what the Israelis told the bureau just the day before.

So now the FBI springs into action.

Okay, Elizabeth, let's pause this at yes, and I'll take another little break for some ads, and after these messages, we'll dive back into this tale of international mystery and see if there's more of the unexpected to come.

So where were we diving right, Zambia.

So the FBI has stepped into the picture just days before the planned operation to blow up a key bridge and Zambia to artificially raise the price of copper around the world.

Now, since our two Miami skin divers, Armstrong and Caudel not only tell the g men all about the Zambian plot, they also tell the FBI where they can find Elliott in Miami.

So the FBI agents take a drive over to where Elliott is staying at the time.

He's laying low to motel, and the FBI shows up at the motel.

Knock, knock, knock.

When the door opens, boom, Just like that, Elliott's worst fears have come to fruition.

Hi, we're at the FBI.

Sure so now, Elizabeth.

This all happens on November third, just one day after the Israeli has informed the FBI about this plot.

Wow.

Yeah, Elliott doesn't know about any of that part of it, so he tries to play it cool, act innocent at naive.

Elizabeth, what do we always say about what to do when the FBI is asking you questions?

Never ever ever lie.

Yes, Never lie to the FBI, never because most likely they already know the answer.

Yes, just stacking felonies at that point exactly.

So anyway, Ellie decides to press his luck, Elizabeth.

He lies to the FBI.

He says he doesn't know anything about any plot to blow up a bridge and where Africa?

You say, he instants he's never heard of a bridge in Zambia.

He doesn't even know about copper production, none of it.

Then the FBI agents, they ask him about his recent travels to Israel, to England to Ambia.

Oh you heard about that?

Huh okay, I've been there.

Yeah, sure, right, He says his recent travels are just part of the work he's been doing for a New York affiliate of a German metals firm.

They're like, and you don't know about copper, sir.

He's like, I know, little man, I mean it is a medal.

So the FPI is like, okay, well it was a different division.

I don't I know about accounting and bookkeeping.

And so the FBI is like, well, sir, what brings you to the Miami area more not metals work.

And meanwhile, the FBI knows he's in regular contact with the two Miami skin divers Armstrong in Caddell, and the FBI knows he's in regular contact with another suspect, Ralph Dunba, the VP for the German metals firm.

Right, Elliott though doesn't know it, but his goose is well and fully cooked.

Apparently, FBI agents go over to interview Armstrong and Caddell on November fourth, the next day, and this is like one day after the men first contacted the bureau and after the field agents have approached Elliott his at his motel room.

They're like, okay, give up this with a full story.

Yeah.

So November fourth, in their interview, the two Miami skin divers informed the FBI that they want out of this international intrigue, like this is not for us.

They were weighing way over our heads.

We wanted to stop full stop.

And they confess that after their Zambian visas were denied, they just assumed that all their activities had been known and that they quickly decided we're going to fully cooperate.

Yeah.

Yeah, it as like smart moves exactly.

So The New York Times reported that the two want to be saboteurs then tell the FBI that quote, they returned the tickets to Zambia and expense money given them by Dunba to Elliott and advised Sham that the bargain was off, that they intended to cooperate with the FBI.

Oh so they really washed their hands, like money minus ten dollars that we spent on the hot dis and.

Gas money, and they tell their co conspirator, we're going to the FBI, and he still tries to.

Play like, I don't know what you're talking about.

So meanwhile, other FBI agents are busy speaking with Ralph Dunbier up in New York and back to the New York Times reporting, he gave a similar explanation of Elliot's connection with the firm and stated Elliott was in Florida on business.

He denied any knowledge of the alleged plan to sabotage the railroad bridge in Zambia.

Zombia.

What is Zambia?

So when he's pressed on his lies, Dunba decides to go full on fabulous.

He explains the FBI Field office that his and Elliot's travels to that country in August in September of sixty six is being related to establishing representation for the corporation with industry and government officials.

Dunba explained that the chief business of the firm was trading in copper, and Zambia was one of the world's foremost producers of copper.

They're like, so you do know what copper is all about?

This?

No, it's not hard to imagine how this scene's playing out.

He's like trying to be all innocent, but it's like, yeah, I'm often traveling to Africa since the region is resource rich.

I mean, you Americans us know about how that goes.

Fully aware that the FBI is now onto him and his two amateur saboteurs have returned the money and now want nothing to do with the planned demolition job, Elliott doesn't stick around the Miami area.

Instead, he flies up to New York to meet with Rol Dunbie, Like, what are we gonna do?

How are we gonna get this job done?

He's still fixated on his wife has gone, his co conspirators are arrested, doesn't matter how many people get arrested around him.

He is about it right.

But he's also meanwhile being followed by undercover FBI agents who tail him to his meeting at Donbia's house.

Of course, so this closes the circle for the FBI.

They decide it's time to act before these two desperate idiots are able to draft any new amateur saboteurs into their Zambian plot.

Yea.

The very next day, November fifth, Elliott Dumba, they get arrested by the FBI agents.

The two men are charged with conspiring within the US to destroy a railroad bridge in Zambia.

After their charge, both men are freed on bail as it goes.

So now we have a full on international plot of intrigue involving a German medals firm, Israeli security forces, the Zambian copper industry, a pair of Miami skin divers turned amateur saboteurs, and of course Elliott and Dumba.

This story hits the headlines like a hammer dropped on your foot.

Right number six, The New York Times publishes a front page story with the headline FBI sees is two and charges plot on Zambia copper two held in plot on Zambia copper all caps right.

Two days later, they run another story with the headline new arrests tied to copper plot.

US attorney says Israel has seized four persons That would be Elliot's wife and her band of.

Sabote yeahs her guys, who know guys?

So at this point the Israeli security forces are like, whoa, whoa, whoa, Hey, leave us out, man, Why are you dragging us into the spotlight?

So back to the Jacob Raider Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives, Box fifty four fold or three according to the Archives.

Israeli officials have intended to keep the story secret, but after the United States authorities revealed contacts between Israelis and Americans in the plot, the Israeli police revealed Israel's detective work against the alleged plotters.

So they're like, look, man, we're going to have to embarrass y'all if you're going to embarrass us, yeah, yeah, So, as the story continues to unfold and claim victims, Elliott then asked for the charges against him to be dismissed.

Way do you hear what his grounds are for?

Why to dismiss the charges?

Elizabeth, his lawyer argues that according to the Neutrality Act, what he did isn't technically a crime.

To make his case, the lawyer tries to essentially embarrass the FEDS by citing the fact that the commandos from the Bay of Pigs fiasco stopped were never charged and this also is the same for a nineteen sixties Ara plot to invade Haiti, and thus his clients should also walk for you don't charge them, can't charge.

Him, right, amazing.

So the lawyer argues in court that his client's charges should be dismissed since quote, no similar action had been taken by this country against participants in the Bay of Pigs attack on Cuba and the recent Haitian invasion plot.

He added that his indictment was the first time in the fifty year history of the Neutrality Act that anyone had been charged with violating the pertinent section.

He contended that the law was void because of its disuse.

The judge in this case was like, yeah, no, that's not how that works.

So in March's sixty seven he then appeals that into March sixty seven.

In the case United States versus Elliot, the Southern District of New York rules that quote, defendant has requested this court to take judicial notice of various crises and acts in furtherance of international relations.

The Court cannot help being aware of the delicacy of American foreign relations, particularly in such areas as Africa.

The offense charged, if consummated, clearly would have disrupted the economy of a nation.

It is inconceivable that such an act conceived in America and perpetrated by Americans would not have seriously affected American relations with Zambia.

The prevention of the deed and the prosecution of the culprits, if only to show the complete lack of any official complicity, makes such proceedings imperative, and it is well within the legitimate interests of the United States government.

Oh yeah, so read that as we need to show Zambia we ain't down with this.

Nothing to do with it is.

These amateur saboteurs, ain't CIA people.

Because we're looking bad these days after the pigs, Like, we can't have everyone thinking, like anytime somebody's who's an American who claims to be a freelance photographer, that the CIA is involved.

So they're like, we have to throw the book at your guy.

Sorry, we were so bad at this stuff.

We need to punish this guy who's worse than us.

So the next month, in April, his wife, Violet Elliott gets sentenced in Israel to quote a year in prison on a charge of failing to inform police of an alleged plot to blow up a railway bridge in Zambia.

That same month, April sixty seven, Ralph Dunbia pleads guilty as charge.

He's like, look I'm done, sure, gentleman, I'm going to be reasonable about this.

But the next year, in May of sixty eight, before he's sentenced, Dunba dies in a car crash in New York.

The thirty seven year old Dunbia was driving at five point thirty in the morning when he allegedly lost control of his car on the Palisade Interstate Parkway and crashed into an abutment a single car accident.

Now, while his death may be suspicious, it was ruled a single car accident, and thus our one percent guarantee doesn't come into play.

True, that is true.

It was determined that Dunbia fell asleep at the wheel.

Now, our researcher, Marissa noted that in a local newspaper there's this image of the wrecked car and there's neighborhood kids are like playing around the wreck car, and the caption of the photo states that the wrecked road runner is that Bill's sitko in non New yet New York.

Bill always puts major Rex out in front of the shop.

Wait so you can just go take a look.

See Yeah, it's Marissa noted, Bill, can you please explain?

I was like, yeah, the kids are playing totally like, what's up with Bill displaying grizzly car wrecks out in front of his shop?

Bill is honest about human nature?

Was he trying to get free advertising in the local paper?

Or is he like a vehicle safety nut and he just wanted to remind people to drive more safely.

I don't know your guys as good as mine, but Bill was about about it.

Anyway.

Back to Elliott, who's yet to be tried in sentenced after his appeal to have his charges dropped is thrown out.

Eventually justice does get served.

On June seventeen, nineteen sixty eight, Elliott pleads guilty.

He offers to testify against the German medals firm if that will help him out.

And it's like they conceived of and paid for the Zambian plot.

Sure, So this fella named Paul Lazarus who works with Friedrich Zohner.

He was also like tangentially involved in the planning and the machinations of the early phases.

He works at the German metals firm.

So he gets indicted and tried, and since Rolf Dunbia is dead, they're like, we let's move on to Paul Lazarus.

Yeah, so po Lazarus.

In November sixty eight, Lazarus stands trial.

One week later, he's found guilty and he's sentenced to nothing.

Oh instead, he's fined thirty five hundred dollars.

Okay, the German Medals.

You know how much dynamite you can find?

My boatloads exactly, So the German Medals firm, they received the sort of justice that we might expect from a modern corporation.

The firm gets acquitted of any responsibility in the Zambian plot, because how could they know what's our employees are doing.

That's right.

So meanwhile, as thanks for his cooperation with the Feds, Elliott gets sentenced to one year in jail, but he's also given us this spended sentence and he's placed on probation for a term of three years.

So he never really is other than being held while waiting for trial.

That's it, sure, And that Elizabeth is the end of the Zampian plot.

So I got to ask you, what's our ridiculous takeaway here?

Oh my goodness.

You know, I like to think that when opportunities come my way, I'll take them, you know, just like hey like be open, take the blinders off.

Sure, but I think that we need to be selective when those opportunities come our way.

And so just because something cool like hey, you want to go to Zambia, all.

Right, yes, something up in Zambia?

You don't.

I got nothing hold me here yet, No, no to think, think a little bit more about it, Saren, what's your ridiculous takeaway?

I would have been a mess in the sixties if I was around these guys like hanging out these people like E.

Howard Hunt types.

Or like sixties and seventies, you would have been I would be telling stories about you, yes, podcast, if I had one of.

Those like heart attack guns that they held up in the church hearings, or like the ability to get on flights and go to like former colonial Africa as like a CIA plant, I mean, working against my people.

I would have just been a oh, we know you're not a CIA plant.

Now, good point, a point persuading young minds and influencing the nations.

Well you in the mood for a talkback to Washes.

I am always in a mood for.

Oh oh my god.

I went Regina Gentleman host Dizzy.

The Pizza Connection episode reminded me that back in the nineteen eighties.

My step mother's brother was the big family success with all of his coin operated car washes, and in fact I almost went to work for him, managing several locations.

Turned out the real success was as a drug traffickers throughout southern California, and those not for washing cars, but for washing money.

That's how I almost joined the cartel.

Yeah, cartel member, that's incredible.

You missed out, dudeud Always.

Be suspicious of a family member who runs car washes coin operated laundromats.

These are just money laundering operations, no matter what anyone tells you.

I know so, dude, that's a great story.

Thank you for sharing with it.

That is straight up ridiculous crime averted.

Yeah.

Well, as always, you can find us online Ridiculous Crime.

We got the social media's was it blue Sky Instagram?

I think it's what the interns told me last.

We also have our account Ridiculous Crime Pod on YouTube.

Do you go check it out?

We got videos, Please leave comments, we love those, like subscribe, do all that kind of stuff.

We have our website, Ridiculous Crime dot com, which was recently nominated for the Dolly Parton Impersonator of the Year Award.

Really, I didn't even know we were.

Up for, but you know it's stiff competition.

Yeah, now just for the makeup alone.

I didn't know we had that kind of budget.

We were given to the makeup.

You know Sparkleshop, mister Andre, they work hard.

They really really did, and we don't ask much of them, so they have time on their hands.

Also, you know, we love your talkbacks obviously, so go to the iHeart app download it, leave a talkback.

We'd love to hear your voice here.

Maybe you would enjoy it as well, and I'll email us if you like Ridiculous Crime at gmail dot com.

We'd love your emails too.

They're often very fun and we're meaning to get into the mailbag.

We may do like a mailbag episode.

Who knows.

So there you go.

That's all I got for you this time.

Thank you for listening, and we will catch you next crime.

Ridiculous Crime is hosted by Elizabeth Dutton that's her and Zarah Burnette That's me.

They're produced and edited by our man in Zambia, Dave Kusten, and starring Analys Rucker as Judith.

Research is by vehicular safety enthusiast Marissa Brown and Davis.

Our theme song is by our house band who Will Bless the Rains Down in Africa aka Thomas Lee and Travis Dutton.

The host wardrobe provided by Body five hundred, guest hair and makeup by Sparkle Shots and Mistood On Today.

Executive produces are mid Century International Men of Mystery and part time amateur saboteurs Ben Bowlen and No Wow.

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Ridiculous Crime is a production of iHeartRadio.

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