True Heist

Master storyteller Bill 'Swampy' Marsh has travelled the length and breadth of the country to gather their tales of adventure and misadventure, drama and mayhem, and larrikinism and laughter, to create this memorable collection of real-life stories about those on the front-line in the heart of Australia.

On 24 May 1971, based on a telephone call purportedly from Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and her secretary P.N. Haksar, the chief cashier at the Parliament Street branch of the State Bank of India handed over Rs 60 lakh to a stranger posing as the PM's courier. The money was supposedly meant for secret operations in East Pakistan. When the chief cashier approached the PMO for a receipt, he was told that neither Haksar nor the PM had given any such instructions. He had been duped.

Drogenschmuggel, Menschenhandel und brutaler Mord – wahre Kriminalfälle. Selbst einem Strafverteidiger kann das Blut in den Adern gefrieren, wenn grausame Taten verhandelt werden und, mehr noch, die erschütternden Schicksale der Opfer ans Licht kommen. Was sich im Gerichtssaal abspielt, ist - bestenfalls - das verdiente Ende der Täter. Strafverteidiger Bernd Hesse kennt und erzählt die Geschichten von ihrem Ausgangspunkt an und in allen Verästelungen, wahre Kriminalfälle aus dem Bereich der "Organisierten Kriminalität", Mädchenhandel, Drogenschmuggel; Taten auch, die aus tragischen Verwicklungen "ganz normaler Bürger" resultierten.

Before the 1920s found their roar, a charismatic gambling addict named Roy Gardner dominated news headlines with daring train robberies and escapes from incarceration. Nicknamed "the Smiling Bandit," Gardner spilled no blood—except his own—as he cut a felonious path across the western United States, as the country hobbled through a recession in the aftermath of the First World War. Alcatraz Ghost Story explores the life of Roy Gardner in the context of his great love story and the larger backdrop of drug addiction, incarceration, and the racial and labor violence of the 1920s and 1930s.

MtGox was the biggest Bitcoin exchange in the world when it imploded in 2014, taking almost half a billion dollars in customer funds with it. The collapse of MtGox, triggered by a perfect storm of crippling hacks and spectacular mismanagement, shocked the Bitcoin world to its core and left the fledgling cryptocurrency on the ropes. Worse, it started a battle for compensation by creditors that took over a decade to resolve, by which time the loss was calculated at over $50 billion.

Before Bonnie and Clyde there were Tiger Girl and the Candy Kid. In the wake of world war, a pandemic, and an economic depression, Margaret and Richard Whittemore, two love-struck working-class kids from Baltimore, reached for the dream of a better life. The couple headed up a gang that in less than a year stole over one million dollars’ worth of diamonds and precious gems—over 10 million dollars today.

Stockholms förflutna består till stor del av en rad mörka och skrämmande incidenter som utspelade sig mitt i centrums hjärta. Mördare, spioner, mordbrännare, tjuvar och smugglare fanns det gott om och människor från alla samhällsklasser hamnade på fel sida om lagen. I "Glömda mord och andra försvunna" brott har Petter Inedahl samlat en mängd oberättade historier från 1950- och 60-talet från Stockholms stadsarkiv, polisens arkiv och Riksarkivet.

Gordon Goody was the mystery man of the Great Train Robbery. The tall, enigmatic figure behind the most notorious theft in British history, he has kept his silence for five decades—until now. Born in England but raised in rural Northern Ireland, Goody rose to the rank of army sergeant during National Service and sailed in the merchant navy. But he chose a life of crime and, undeterred by a dose of the birch in Wormwood Scrubs, became one of the most prolific robbers in London.

Tra il 1887 e il 1960 il Brasile accoglie oltre un milione e mezzo di italiani. Uno di loro è Gino Amleto Meneghetti, che arriva da Pisa con una carriera già avviata: ladro professionista. Sbarcato nel 1913, l'anno seguente sconta già la prima condanna e, colpo dopo colpo, Gino diventa il nemico pubblico numero 1 della polizia di San Paolo.

Blekingegadebandens historie handler om meget mere end et millionrøveri mod et postkontor i Købmagergade og drabet på en ung politibetjent i 1988. Historien begynder sidst i 1960'erne, da kommunisterne Gotfred Appel og Ulla Hauton samler en gruppe oprørske unge mennesker under sig og sender dem til Jordan i militær træningslejr hos Folkefronten til Palæstinas Befrielse, PFLP.

Sommaren 2003 sker ett av Sveriges mest uppmärksammade rån i blekingska Bräkne-Hoby. Efter långa förberedelser slår Toni Tuunainen och två kumpaner till mot en värdetransport innehållande 15 miljoner kronor. Det är det perfekta brottet, tror de, men polisen är dem på spåren. En intensiv eldstrid utbryter. När skotten tystnat ser Toni sin ena kompis död på marken. Han flyr till Stockholm och får syn på sitt ansikte på kvällstidningarnas löpsedlar. Det här är den osminkade historien om en kille som växte upp i miljonprogramsförorten Norsborg söder om Stockholm.

This is the story of how Securicor guard Eddie Maher managed to pull off a £1.2 million heist, fled the country despite every port being closed, spawned an international manhunt and managed to evade capture for 20 years. As Britain's most wanted man, he led 30 detectives, FBI and Interpol on a wild goose chase across the USA. Dubbed 'Fast Eddie' by the press, he was always one step ahead.

Marie seems to have it all: a devoted husband, two wonderful children, and a professional career. But all of that changes when she drives her car into the darkened parking lot of a fast-food restaurant. After she lowers her car window to place an order at the drive-through, a man suddenly appears and places a gun at her temple. What follows is every woman's worst nightmare.

Stephen Jackley was a young British college student when the global financial crisis began in 2007. Overwhelmed by the growing indifference toward economic equality, he became obsessed with the idea of taking on the role of Robin Hood. With no prior experience, he resolved to become a bank robber. He would steal from the rich and give to the poor. Against all likelihood, his plan actually worked. Jackley used disguises, elaborate escape routes, and fake guns to successfully hold up a string of banks, making away with thousands of pounds.

On a Sunday evening in December 2004, two young men were at home with their families. Both worked for the Northern Bank’s cash centre in Belfast. They heard knocks on their front doors. Within a few minutes, masked men invaded their homes, overpowered their loved ones and disabled their electronic devices. It was made clear to the two bank officials that they had a choice: do what they were told or their families would die. In the wake of the twentieth anniversary of this bizarre robbery, Glenn Patterson builds on his popular BBC podcast to shed new light on the story of the infamous heist.

Atop the hierarchy of Australian bushrangers sits Ned Kelly–the ultimate outlaw–and just below him, the tragic figure of Ben Hall, who joined a gang led by a man whose name today is less well known, but in his time was much more famous than any other: Frank Gardiner. Mastermind of the largest gold robbery in Australia’s history, Gardiner led an extraordinary life, the full telling of which is long overdue. In a tough country and among a group of tough men, Gardiner was the toughest of them all.

Nineteen-year-old Burmah Adams, a hairdresser and former Santa Ana High School student, spent her honeymoon on a crime spree. She and her husband of less than one week, White, an ex-con, robbed at least 20 people in and around downtown L.A. at gunpoint over an eight-week period. But the worst of their crimes was the shooting of a popular elementary school teacher, Cora Withington, and a former publisher, Crombie Allen, who was teaching her how to drive his new car.

Whether in Truman Capote’s detailed murder of the Clutter family or Ted Bundy’s small-town charm, criminals have always roamed rural America and towns worldwide. Featuring murder stories, criminal case studies, and more, The Best New True Crime Stories: Small Towns contains all-new accounts from writers of true crime, crime journalism, and crime fiction. And these entries are not based on a true story - they are true stories. Edited by acclaimed author and anthologist Mitzi Szereto, the stories in this volume span the globe.

In her youth, amidst the throes of a reckless grief, aspiring Australian writer Marele Day is caught up in a shipwreck adventure and forges an unlikely bond with an international fugitive travelling under a pseudonym. For the next 30 years they correspond before reuniting, both older and wiser, in France.

When Sergeant Charlie McCabe returns from fighting in Afghanistan, she hopes to leave the war behind. Instead, she comes home to a father whose gambling has put him in deep trouble with a violent loan shark. She finds work as a professional bodyguard, but to save her father, she needs to get serious cash together fast. However, her father isn’t the only one who needs saving. When Charlie’s first client - a wealthy executive with a shady past - narrowly escapes a bomb plot, Charlie’s investigation leads her into the heart of Boston’s criminal underworld.