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Crime History

DC
From the Mixed-Up Files of the Smithsonian Museum of American History: The Heist of 1981

From the Mixed-Up Files of the Smithsonian Museum of American History: The Heist of 1981

03/10/2023 in DC by Jane Sartwell

On a cold, overcast Tuesday morning in February 1981, something caught the eye of a museum technician as he walked through the “We the People” exhibit on the second floor of the Smithsonian National Museum of American History: The silver pen of President McKinley’s Secretary of State John Hay was missing. The 7 ¼-inch Parker Jointless pen had been used to sign the 1898 Treaty of Paris, ending the Spanish-American War.

But now, to the technician’s horror, its case was empty -- and there were more alarming discoveries to come.

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DC
The First Sting: Did a New Tactic by D.C. Police Ensnare Criminals or Entice Crime?

The First Sting: Did a New Tactic by D.C. Police Ensnare Criminals or Entice Crime?

07/08/2021 in DC by Ben Miller

In 1976 D.C. police dressed as cartoon Mafiosos and bought millions in stolen goods from local thieves. They called it "Operation Sting," and soon police across the country were launching "sting operations" of their own. But not everyone was so enamored with the tactic, especially the communities it was being used to target.

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DC
Intent to Kill: A Real-Life Noir

Intent to Kill: A Real-Life Noir

12/01/2020 in DC by Charlotte Muth

While sifting through the virtual archives of some local publications, I came across an incident from 1947 that stood apart. Unlike most news, the event read like a Film Noir. This real-life tale was juicy enough to make headlines for days, suspenseful enough to make me wonder about motives, and hard-boiled enough to speak volumes to the disenchantment of the people involved. So, this article will look a little different from what we usually do at Boundary Stones. Rather than presenting the facts in a linear, scholarly manner, we have decided that this story shines best as a piece of narrative nonfiction. While every sentence is grounded in research, we held off on footnotes to let the story breathe, and took a few creative liberties to bring the characters to life. For variety, my dear reader, is the spice of life…

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DC
Fowl Play in Washington: the City’s History of Chicken Thievery

Fowl Play in Washington: the City’s History of Chicken Thievery

05/15/2020 in DC by Karis Lee

Washington has seen its fair share of crimes: mafia operations, drug networks, triple murder… But in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, one of the city’s most pervasive crimes was one we today might find difficult to imagine: chicken thievery. In today’s urban landscape, the phenomenon may seem difficult to imagine; but 150 years ago chicken robbery was widespread -- and serious business. The practice was dangerous and, at times, even fatal.

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DC
“This is Serious, These Guys Will Kill You”: Salvatore Cottone and the True Story of the Short-Lived D.C. Mafia

“This is Serious, These Guys Will Kill You”: Salvatore Cottone and the True Story of the Short-Lived D.C. Mafia

11/05/2019 in DC by Frank Carroll

A mafioso walks into a restaurant in D.C. — and sets up an international crime syndicate in the FBI's backyard. Two arsons, a faked murder, and hundreds of thousands of dollars-worth of cocaine later, the FBI got their man.

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DC
Running Down the Ghost Burglar

Running Down the Ghost Burglar

11/28/2018 in DC by Mark Jones

Dr. Michael Halberstam and his wife, Elliott, had planned to go to a movie after leaving their friends’ cocktail party, but they decided to make a quick stop back at home first. Michael parked the car and went inside the couple’s Palisades D.C. home to let out their two dogs, Iris and Jake. Elliot headed around back to meet the pups. It was about 8:45 pm – well after dark in the late fall. Moments later, the doctor was staring down the barrel of snub-nosed revolver in his own kitchen.

The odd chain of events that came next would uncover one of the largest — and strangest — crime operations in Washington, D.C. area history.

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Virginia
"And Other Bloody Happenings": Rosslyn and the Dangers of Dead Man's Hollow

"And Other Bloody Happenings": Rosslyn and the Dangers of Dead Man's Hollow

05/09/2018 in Virginia by Anne Hollmuller

The name "Rosslyn" doesn't sound so menacing but don't be deceived. In the late 19th century the area had such a reputation for crime that a nearby ravine was called "Dead Man's Hollow."

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DC
From Crystal City to Cuba: The Tullers' International Crime Spree

From Crystal City to Cuba: The Tullers' International Crime Spree

02/07/2018 in DC by Callum Cleary

At 10:30 a.m. on October 25, 1972, two workers stepped out of a C&P Telephone van and into the Crystal City branch of the Arlington Trust Company. The bank’s phones had been down for nearly half an hour and manager Henry “Bud” Candee was eager to resume normal business. He met the repairmen in the lobby and led them to a service panel at the back of the bank. Unbeknownst to Candee, the technicians were frauds. They stole the uniforms and the van and caused the phone outage by climbing down a nearby manhole and severing the bank’s phone lines. But what was meant to be a relatively simple robbery, turned out to be the first act in one of the most dramatic — and bizarre — crime sprees in U.S. history.

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Maryland
Washington’s Godfather: "Gentleman Gambler" Jimmy Lafontaine

Washington’s Godfather: "Gentleman Gambler" Jimmy Lafontaine

10/12/2017 in Maryland by Callum Cleary

When one thinks of the gambling scene in the 1920s, 30s, and 40s, the likes of Al Capone, Frank Costello, and Bugsy Siegel immediately spring to mind. However, the District had its own gambling godfather — Jimmy Lafontaine. He couldn’t have been further from the American gangster archetype. Though his extralegal line of work inevitably brought him unwelcome brushes with mobsters and the law, his story is not one of bootlegged booze or mysterious murders. Rather, he’s most often remembered for his charity and reputation as Washington’s “gentleman gambler.”

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DC
The Human Kindness Day That Wasn't

The Human Kindness Day That Wasn't

05/10/2017 in DC by Mark Jones

Promote neighborly goodwill and the arts with a free concert on the National Mall? It sounded like a great idea to Stevie Wonder when he was approached by Compared to What, Inc. a non-profit D.C. arts education group in 1975. What could go wrong? As it turned out, a lot.

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Boundary Stones explores local history in Washington, D.C., suburban Maryland and northern Virginia. This project is a service of WETA and is supported by contributions from readers like you.

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