Law
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The Life and Crimes of “Old Mother” Mandelbaum
She had the eyes of a sparrow, the neck of a bear and enough business acumen to build an empire as the "Queen of Fences."
September 06, 2011 |
By Karen Abbott
The Knife in Ty Cobb’s Back
Did the baseball great really confess to murder on his deathbed?
August 30, 2011 |
By Gilbert King
Paradise Lost’s Joe Berlinger on the Roots of his West Memphis Three Films
The director of the award-winning documentary reflects on what it was like to film a "real-life Salem Witch Trial"
August 24, 2011 |
By Daniel Eagan
“Mrs. Sherlock Holmes” Takes on the NYPD
When an 18-year-old girl went missing, the police seemed content to let the case grow cold. But Grace Humiston, a soft-spoken private investigator, wouldn't let it lie
August 23, 2011 |
By Karen Abbott
The Body on Somerton Beach
Name: unknown. Cause of death: unknown. Occupation: unknown. Possessions: a scrap of paper with two words in Persian, torn from a rare first edition book. Welcome to the world's most perplexing cold case.
August 12, 2011 |
By Mike Dash
If There’s a Man Among Ye: The Tale of Pirate Queens Anne Bonny and Mary Read
Renowned for their ruthlessness, these two female pirates challenged the sailors’ adage that a woman’s presence on shipboard invites bad luck
August 09, 2011 |
By Karen Abbott
Leaks and the Law: The Story of Thomas Drake
The former NSA official reached a plea deal with the government, but the case still raises questions about the public’s right to know
August 2011 |
By David Wise
Ten Famous Intellectual Property Disputes
From Barbie to cereal to a tattoo, a copyright lawsuit can get contentious; some have even reached the Supreme Court
June 22, 2011 |
By Megan Gambino
Stolen: How the Mona Lisa Became the World’s Most Famous Painting
One hundred years ago, a heist by a worker at the Louvre secured Leonardo’s painting as an art world icon
June 16, 2011 |
By James Zug
Did Archaeologists Uncover Blackbeard's Treasure?
Cannons. Gold dust. Turtle bones. For archaeologists researching the notorious pirate's flagship, every clue is priceless
March 2011 |
By Abigail Tucker
A Murder in Salem
In 1830, a brutal crime in Massachusetts riveted the nation—and inspired the writings of Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne
November 2010 |
By E.J. Wagner
In Sicily, Defying the Mafia
Fed up with extortion and violent crime, ordinary citizens are rising up against organized crime
October 2010 |
By Joshua Hammer
Reinventing Rio
The dazzling but tarnished Brazilian city gets a makeover as it prepares for the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games
September 2010 |
By Alan Riding
Ten Infamous Islands of Exile
Established to banish dissidents and criminals, these islands are known for their one-time prisoners, from Napoleon to Nelson Mandela
July 23, 2010 |
By Karen Larkins
The Great British Tea Heist
Botanist Robert Fortune traveled to China and stole trade secrets of the tea industry, discovering a fraud in the process
March 09, 2010 |
By Sarah Rose
Abraham Lincoln, True Crime Writer
While practicing law in Illinois, Abraham Lincoln defended a man in a highly unusual case and later recounted the mystery as a short story
February 10, 2010 |
By Laura Helmuth
Wildlife Trafficking
A reporter follows the lucrative, illicit and heartrending trade in stolen wild animals deep into Ecuador's rain forest
December 2009 |
By Charles Bergman
Looting Mali's History
As demand for its antiquities soars, the West African country is losing its most prized artifacts to illegal sellers and smugglers
November 2009 |
By Joshua Hammer
The Dinosaur Fossil Wars
Across the American West, legal battles over dinosaur fossils are on the rise as amateur prospectors make major finds
April 2009 |
By Donovan Webster
Solving a 17th-Century Crime
Forensic anthropologists at the National Museum of Natural History find answers to a colonial cold case
March 2009 |
By Joseph Caputo
