A Study in Crime

FBI Special Agent Frank Montoya, Jr. had only been on the job a few months when a masked gunman dressed as a janitor and waving a pistol made off with $250k in a daring daylight bank robbery of the Texas Commerce Bank in San Antonio. However, Frank’s attention to detail and discovery of a vital clue would crack the case wide open. In episode 22. The Red-Hot Lovers Rob a Bank, I speak with Frank Montoya, Jr.

Frank Montoya, Jr., is a retired FBI special agent who spent 25 years investigating bank robberies, kidnappings, drug cartels, and terrorism. He also chased fugitives and Russian, Chinese, Iranian, and North Korean spies.

He rose through the ranks from brick agent to senior executive service and served in 7 FBI field offices and 4 tours at FBI headquarters. Frank was the Special Agent in Charge of the Honolulu and Seattle field offices. He was also the FBI’s senior detailee to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

He was involved in many high-profile investigations, including the Siege at Waco, the Oklahoma City bombing, the Robert Hanssen Espionage Case, the 9/11 terror attacks, and the Edward Snowden defection. Since retiring, Frank has written and commented on national security matters. He’s appeared on CNN, MSNBC, PBS News Hour, Frontline, and Comedy Central with Jordan Klepper, among others. His writings have appeared in the New York Daily News, the Cipher Brief, and various online forums. He received a degree in journalism from Brigham Young University and served as an infantry officer in the U.S. Army.

NOTES:  Transcripts of this episode are available here and in your Apple Podcasts app.  All links are available at astudyincrime.com. Take a listener survey to help shape future episodes!

Sources for this episode include the following:

You can find Frank on YouTube @YourDeadDrop. https://www.youtube.com/@YourDeadDrop

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SUPPORT:  Buy my book Confessions of a Private Eye on Amazon or Buy me a Dr Pepper at https://buymeacoffee.com/studyincrimepod.

A Study in Crime™ is written and produced by Scott Fulmer, author of the true-crime memoir Confessions of a Private Eye. A veteran private investigator, Scott has spent the last 30 years conducting investigations throughout the U.S. He’s a decorated combat veteran of the Gulf War and lives in the Texas Hill Country near San Antonio. 

On a cool October evening in Mexico City, not far from the central plaza, a respected Spanish merchant and all ten of his servants were massacred by three men wielding machetes. The crime shocked the residents of Mexico City and led to the creation of the city’s first police presence. In episode 21. A Home Invasion in Mexico City, I speak with Nicole von Germeten.

Nicole von Germeten has a PhD in History from the University of California, Berkeley, and is a professor of history at Oregon State University. Her research has taken her to over 25 archives and libraries on three continents. She has translated two book-length historical sources, published five single-author books, and written dozens of essays and articles. In her most recent book, Death in Old Mexico: How the 1789 Dongo Murders Shaped the History of a Nation, Nicole writes about the history of crime and policing in Mexico.

NOTES:  Transcripts of this episode are available here and in your Apple Podcasts app.  All links are available at astudyincrime.com. Take a listener survey to help shape future episodes!

Sources for this episode include the following:

You can find Nicole here: https://liberalarts.oregonstate.edu/users/j-nicole-von-germeten and https://www.crimeinmexicanhistory.com/. She is also on Instagram@joannicole and X (the artist formerly known as Twitter) @germetenjn.

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FOLLOW: @StudyinCrimePod Facebook  | X | Instagram | YouTube | LinkedIn

SUPPORT:  Buy my book Confessions of a Private Eye on Amazon or Buy me a Dr Pepper at https://buymeacoffee.com/studyincrimepod.

A Study in Crime™ is written and produced by Scott Fulmer, author of the true-crime memoir Confessions of a Private Eye. A veteran private investigator, Scott has spent the last 30 years conducting investigations throughout the U.S. He’s a decorated combat veteran of the Gulf War and lives in the Texas Hill Country near San Antonio. 

Sophocles wrote: “Trust dies, but mistrust blossoms.” In 1920, in the village of Nagyrév, husbands trusted wives. Children trusted mothers. And everyone trusted the midwife, Zsuzannah Fazekas. No one knew she boiled fly paper in vinegar and then skimmed the residue into several small glass vials. And over the next 15 years, about 300 men, infants, and children would die. I speak with Patti McCracken in episode 20. Arsenic and Old Midwives.

Patti McCracken is an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in Smithsonian magazine, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, Christian Science Monitor, and many other publications. She has worked in various newsrooms, including the Chicago Tribune, where she was on the foreign/national desk and was twice a Knight International Press Fellow. The Angel Makers: Arsenic, A Midwife, and Modern History’s Most Astonishing Murder Ring is her first book.

NOTES:  Transcripts of this episode are available here and in your Apple Podcasts app.  All links are available at astudyincrime.com. Take a listener survey and help shape future episodes!

You can find Patti McCracken at https://www.pattimccracken.com/ and https://www.skolay.com/. She is on Facebook and Instagram at pattimccrackenauthor.

For a limited time, she is offering a promo on The Angel Makers, audiobook ($4.99, $3.99 Apple), or E-book ($1.99). Buy a copy right now: B&N/Nook: https://bit.ly/3zsGQ0f, Chirpbooks https://bit.ly/3VMmbeT, Libro https://bit.ly/3W9OkOI  , and Apple Books https://bit.ly/3W56CAl

Sources for this episode include the following:

LISTEN:  Apple | Spotify | https://astudyincrime.com and give us a 5-star Rating and Review on Apple and Spotify

FOLLOW: @StudyinCrimePod Facebook  | X | Instagram | YouTube | LinkedIn

SUPPORT:  Buy my book Confessions of a Private Eye on Amazon or Buy me a Dr Pepper at https://buymeacoffee.com/studyincrimepod.

A Study in Crime™ is written and produced by Scott Fulmer, author of the true-crime memoir Confessions of a Private Eye. A veteran private investigator, Scott has spent the last 30 years conducting investigations throughout the U.S. He’s a decorated combat veteran of the Gulf War and lives in the Texas Hill Country near San Antonio. 

The home at 151 River Park Lane in Great Falls, Virginia, was owned by a retired doctor and had a state-of-the-art security system. It burned to the ground one night in November 2015 and was a total loss. The insurance company was preparing to pay the claim. Then the Fire Marshal said the fire was not an accident. It was arson. In episode 19. The Arsonist of River Park Lane, I speak with Christina Fiscella.

Christina Fiscella, CFE, is a 30-year anti-fraud professional and former Criminal Detective with the New Jersey AG’s Office. She’s been a special investigator for several insurance carriers, investigating complex and high-profile cases, including arson, theft, and commercial claims. She’s a Certified Fraud Examiner and provides anti-fraud training nationally and internationally.

Christina has presented to The International Association of Special Investigators, The New Jersey Police Training Commission, the National White-Collar Crime Center, i-Sight Software, and FRISS FraudTalks. Her expertise and passion for fraud training allow her to create an entertaining and informative experience.

NOTES:  Transcripts of this episode are available here and in your Apple Podcasts app.  All links are available at astudyincrime.com. Take a listener survey and help shape future episodes!

Sources for this episode include the following:

LISTEN:  Apple | Spotify | https://astudyincrime.com and give us a 5-star rating on Apple and Spotify

FOLLOW: @StudyinCrimePod Facebook  | X | Instagram | YouTube | LinkedIn |

SUPPORT:  Buy my book Confessions of a Private Eye on Amazon or Buy me a Dr Pepper at https://buymeacoffee.com/studyincrimepod.

A Study in Crime™ is written and produced by Scott Fulmer, author of the true-crime memoir Confessions of a Private Eye. A veteran private investigator, Scott has spent the last 30 years conducting investigations throughout the U.S. He’s a decorated combat veteran of the Gulf War and lives in the Texas Hill Country near San Antonio. 

Charles Morgan was an escrow agent whose body was found June 18th, 1977, about 40 miles southwest of Tucson. He was dead from a single gunshot wound to the back of his head. When the coroner examined the body, he discovered a $2 bill with a hand-drawn map pinned to Morgan’s underwear. In episode 18. The Curious Death of Charles Morgan, I speak with Michael May.

Michael May is a filmmaker and host of the podcast A Study of Strange, where he shares his love of everything unknown and unsolved. He co-founded the multimedia company Fun Size Horror and has produced hundreds of digital projects and four feature films, including 12 HOUR SHIFT and GHOSTS OF THE OZARKS. He also directed the psychological thriller UMBRA, which will be released late this year. Michael won the Best Director award at the LA Thriller Fest and has been nominated for Best Director at the International Academy of Web TV Awards. He’s best known for creating and hosting the docuseries “Auto/Biography” and its true crime spinoff,  Auto/Biography: Cold Cases for Discover Networks and Motor Trend TV. 

Find him at https://www.astudyofstrange.com/, Instagram https://www.instagram.com/astudyofstrange/, and YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@astudyofstrange/videos

NOTES:  Transcripts of this episode are available here and in your Apple Podcasts app.  All links are available at astudyincrime.com. Take a listener survey and help shape future episodes!

If you have information about the death of Charles C. Morgan, please get in touch with the Pima County Sheriff’s Department at (520) 351-4900.

This episode includes a discussion of suicide. If you are considering suicide or in a crisis, you can call the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988 on your cell phone or 1-800-273-8255 from a landline. Help is available, and you can speak with someone 24/7. You are irreplaceable.

Sources for this episode include the following:

LISTEN:  Apple | Spotify | https://astudyincrime.com. Please give us a 5-star rating and review.

In the mid-1970s, Robert Ressler and John Douglas of the FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit (BSU) began interviewing serial offenders. However, it wasn’t until Dr. Ann Burgess created a 57-page questionnaire that they recognized interesting patterns in the data. Behind these two famous men was the female Mindhunter, whose groundbreaking ideas transformed criminal profiling into a helpful methodology. In this Bonus Episode: A Conversation with Dr. Ann Burgess, I speak with one of the original Mindhunters, Dr. Ann Burgess.

Dr. Ann Wolbert Burgess, D.N.Sc., APRN, FAAN, is an internationally recognized pioneer in the assessment and treatment of victims of trauma and abuse. She’s received numerous honors, including the Sigma Theta Tau International Audrey Hepburn Award, the American Nurses’ Association Hildegard Peplau Award, and the Sigma Theta Tau International Episteme Laureate Award. Her courtroom testimony has been described as “groundbreaking,” and she has been called a “nursing pathfinder.” She has been designated a “Living Legend” by the American Academy of Nursing, the academy’s highest honor.

Her research with victims began when she co-founded, with Boston College sociologist Lynda Lytle Holmstrom, one of the first hospital-based crisis counseling programs at Boston City Hospital. She then worked with FBI Academy special agents to study serial offenders and the links between child abuse, juvenile delinquency, and subsequent perpetration. Her work with Boston College nursing colleague Carol Hartman led to the study of very young victims and the impact of trauma on their growth and development, their families, and their communities. Her work continues in the study of elder abuse in nursing homes, cyberstalking, and Internet sex crimes.

NOTES:  Transcripts of this episode are available here and in your Apple Podcasts app.  All links are available at astudyincrime.com. Take a listener survey to help shape future episodes!

Sources for this episode include the following:

LISTEN:  Apple | Spotify | https://astudyincrime.com and give us a 5-star rating on Apple and Spotify

FOLLOW: @StudyinCrimePod Facebook  | X | Instagram | YouTube | LinkedIn

CONTACT:  he***@***********me.com

SUPPORT:  Buy my book Confessions of a Private Eye on Amazon or Buy me a Dr Pepper at https://buymeacoffee.com/studyincrimepod.

Get one month of free hosting on Blubrry with the promo code: StudyinCrimePod. https://blubrry.com/services/professional-podcast-hosting/?code=StudyinCrimePod.

A Study in Crime™

This week, I have a crossover episode for you. From Cold Open Media, the folks that brought you the award-winning podcast Down the Hill: The Delphi Murders, I speak with Andrew Iden and Dan Szematowicz about their new true crime podcast series, Deviant. Deviant dives into the dark corners of what humans are capable of. They tell good stories about bad people who do very bad things. I speak with Andrew Iden and Dan Szematowicz in episode 17. Deviant Podcast with Andrew and Dan.

Andrew Iden is a writer, producer, and journalist and has spent 20 years at CNN and HLN as a senior producer, writer, and assignment editor, as well as in documentary & podcast production. A veteran of true crime, he was also a writer, co-host, and producer of HLN’s award-winning podcast Down The Hill: The Delphi Murders and served as a host and producer on the network’s TV adaptation. Andrew has also worked as a freelance writer and video producer and has written about America’s heroin crisis and baseball in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley.

Dan Szematowicz has spent his entire career in audio as a producer and editor at various outlets, such as CNN, American Public Media (Marketplace), and NPR. Most recently, he was Head of Audio at Warner Brothers Discovery, managing branded content initiatives. 

Together, they host Deviant, the new podcast from Cold Open Media. 

NOTES:  Transcripts of this episode are available here and in your Apple Podcasts app.  All links are available at astudyincrime.com. Take a listener survey and help shape future episodes!

Sources for this episode include the following:

LISTEN:  Apple | Spotify | https://astudyincrime.com and give us a 5-star rating on Apple and Spotify

FOLLOW: @StudyinCrimePod Facebook  | X | Instagram | YouTube | LinkedIn

SUPPORT:  Buy my book Confessions of a Private Eye on Amazon or Buy me a Dr Pepper at https://buymeacoffee.com/studyincrimepod.

A Study in Crime™ is written and produced by Scott Fulmer, author of the true-crime memoir Confessions of a Private Eye. He’s a veteran private investigator and has conducted investigations throughout the U.S., everything from fraud and cheating spouses to kidnapping and missing persons. He lives in the Texas Hill Country near San Antonio. 

Clarence Elkins was serving life in prison for murder and sexual assault. He claimed he was innocent. DNA at the crime scene was from an unknown male. His wife, Melinda, had suspicions about Earl, a nearby convicted sex offender who had just been re-arrested and now happened to be in the same prison as Clarence. If only Clarence could get some of Earl’s DNA and have it tested. In episode 16. The Wrongful Conviction of Clarence Elkins, I speak with Ben Cotterill.

Ben Cotterill was born and raised in Stirling, Scotland, studied psychology at the University of Strathclyde, and completed his MSc in Applied Forensic Psychology at the University of York in England. He returned to Scotland to earn his PhD at Edinburgh Napier University. Ben is now a lecturer at Clemson University in South Carolina. He teaches courses on forensic psychology and the neuropsychology of criminal behavior and researches psychopathy, child eyewitness memory, and impactors of juror decision-making.

Find him at: https://sites.google.com/view/ben-f-cotterill/home.

NOTES:  Transcripts of this episode are available here and in your Apple Podcasts app.  All links are available at astudyincrime.com. Take a listener survey and help shape future episodes!

Sources for this episode include the following:

LISTEN:  Apple | Spotify | https://astudyincrime.com and give us a 5-star rating on Apple and Spotify

FOLLOW: @StudyinCrimePod on Facebook  | X | Instagram | YouTube | LinkedIn |

SUPPORT:  Buy my book Confessions of a Private Eye on Amazon or Buy me a Dr Pepper at https://buymeacoffee.com/studyincrimepod.

A Study in Crime™ is written and produced by Scott Fulmer, author of the true-crime memoir Confessions of a Private Eye. He’s a veteran private investigator and has conducted investigations throughout the U.S., everything from

Some great things have been created with the best intentions. Things like computers and the internet. But these same things have also been used for nefarious purposes. Some of the worst things imaginable are proliferated with computers and the internet. Things like drugs, child pornography, and sex trafficking. They all have one thing in common: Money. In episode 15. Smurfing and Other Horrible No Good Things, I speak with Geoff White.

Geoff White is an author, speaker, investigative journalist, and podcaster.  He’s been featured on BBC News, Sky News, The Sunday Times, and more, covering everything from billion-dollar cyber heists to global crime rings and crypto-gangsters. He’s given keynote talks to the world’s biggest brands, including Microsoft, HSBC, Mastercard, and Bank of America. Geoff’s new book, Rinsed, reveals technology’s impact on money laundering. It grew from his work on the podcast and book The Lazarus Heist. He is also the author of Crime Dot Com.

Find him at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/geoffwhitetech/

NOTES:  Transcripts of this episode are available here and in your Apple Podcasts app.  All links are available at astudyincrime.com. Take a listener survey and help shape future episodes!

Sources for this episode include the following:

If you have information regarding a child that is missing, endangered, or being trafficked, please call the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Their 24-hour hotline is 1-800-843-5678 

LISTEN:  Apple | Spotify | https://astudyincrime.com and give us a 5-star rating on Apple and Spotify

FOLLOW: @StudyinCrimePod on Facebook  | X | Instagram | YouTube | LinkedIn |

SUPPORT:  Buy my book Confessions of a Private Eye on Amazon or Buy me a Dr Pepper at https://buymeacoffee.com/studyincrimepod.

A Study in Crime™ is written and produced by Scott Fulmer, author of the true-crime memoir Confessions of a Private Eye. He’s a veteran private investigator and has conducted investigations throughout the U.S., everything from fraud and cheating spouses to kidnapping and missing persons. He lives in the Texas Hill Country near San Antonio. 

Monica Johnson was 1 of 400 murders in Detroit in 1999. Then Wendy Jordan, Rose Marie Felt, Kelly Jean Hood, and Nicole Young. They were all killed between December 1999 and April 2000 in Detroit. John Eric Armstrong left the Navy in 1999, moved to the Detroit area, and got a job at Target. Then late at night after work, he went on the hunt. He killed these 5 women and attempted to kill 4 others. All in the space of 5 months. In this episode, 14. The Serial Killer of Michigan Avenue, I speak with B.R. Bates and Gerald Cliff, Ph.D.

B.R. Bates is an author and journalist and has published 10 books in the pop culture genre. She returns to her journalism roots with Missing from Michigan Ave, her first foray into true crime. She has a degree in journalism from Michigan State University’s School of Journalism and a second major in English. Billie spent 10 years in the newspaper industry, with the Wausau Daily Herald, Saginaw News, and the Detroit News. The serial killings occurred while she was with the Detroit News. Aside from managing websites for a federal agency, she continues her freelance writing. Billie is a native of Michigan.

Find her at: https://www.instagram.com/brbates.author/ and https://www.youtube.com/@BRBates.

Gerald Cliff, Ph.D. has degrees in criminal justice from Michigan State University and the University of Detroit, and advanced degrees in public administration and urban politics from Wayne State University. He joined the Detroit Police Force in the 1970s. By the 1990s he was commanding officer of the Violent Crime Section that investigated the serial killings. Upon retirement, he served as the police chief in Saginaw, Michigan, and then the research director of the National White-Collar Crime Center. He taught administrative and labor law at Saginaw Valley State University and has been an adjunct instructor at Fairmont State University and Pierpont Community and Technical College.

NOTES:  Transcripts of this episode are available here and in your Apple Podcasts app.  All links are available at astudyincrime.com. Take a listener survey and help shape future episodes!

Sources for this episode include the following:

LISTEN:  Apple | Spotify | https://astudyincrime.com and give us a 5-star Rating and Review on Apple and Spotify

FOLLOW: @StudyinCrimePod on Facebook  | X | Instagram | YouTube | LinkedIn

SUPPORT:  Buy my book Confessions of a Private Eye on Amazon or Buy me a Dr Pepper at https://buymeacoffee.com/studyincrimepod.

A Study in Crime™ is written and produced by Scott Fulmer, author of the true-crime memoir Confessions of a Private Eye. Scott is a veteran private investigator and has conducted investigations throughout the U.S., everything from fraud and cheating spouses to kidnapping and missing persons. He lives in the Texas hill country near San Antonio.