True Crime Reporter

In the wake of the recent Hamas terrorist attack that killed more than 1,300 Israelis, my True Crime Reporter® podcast opened its investigative archive on the Gaza-based group's past fundraising and recruitment in the United States.

After my embedded assignment with the U.S. Army during the invasion of Iraq in 2003, investigative producer Todd Bensman and I focused on how terrorists were using the Internet to raise money and recruit followers.

Our investigation uncovered a monthly online magazine called Alsunnah that solicited suicide bombers to attack American and coalition troops in Iraq and Israelis.

In this episode, you will hear how we tracked the origins of the web magazine from a Dallas suburb and its links to the Texas-based Holy Land Foundation, which illegally raised money for Hamas across America. 

The foundation aimed to create an Islamic Palestinian state by eliminating the State of Israel through violent jihad. We obtained secret fundraising event recordings documenting their open declaration to kill Jews. A Holy Land leader referred to a suicide bombing as “a beautiful operation.”

Listen as we track a deadly terrorist campaign from Dallas to the United Kingdom. 

In the 18 years since my original reporting, you will hear that the objective of Hamas remains the same…Kill Jews. 

Link to Economist Intelligence Podcast Interview

We want to become your favorite true crime podcast. Please leave a review wherever you listen.

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The True Crime Reporter® podcast features stories about serial killers, mass murderers, murder mysteries, homicides, cold cases, prisons, violent criminals, serial rapists, child abductors, child molesters, kidnappers, bank robbers, cyber criminals, and assorted violent criminals.

True Crime Reporter® is a @2023 copyrighted and trade-marked production by True Crime Reporter®, LLC, in Dallas, Texas.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After 26 years in law enforcement, Glen Williams has experienced the toll that bearing witness to violence and tragedy can take.

Williams, like many first responders, bottled up the pain and soldier on.

Unaware that his PTSD was wrecking his life at home and on the job. 

Hello, this is Robert Riggs.  In this episode of the True Crime Reporter® Podcast,  we look behind the badge of the men and women in blue.

Glen Williams has written a book titled Bridging The Gap aimed at helping police officers and other first responders heal after years of trauma.

He speaks on the subject across the United States.

In our interview, Williams opens up about the emotional damage he suffered from years of seeing the worst of the worst on the police beat. 

Signs, Symptoms, and Treatment of PTSD

In closing, here’s my Reporter’s recap and reflections.

I commend Glen Williams for opening up wounds in his personal life to educate us about the PTSD suffered by first responders. Perhaps we should start thanking them for their service as we do military veterans.

I became aware of PTSD after my embedded reporter assignment with the lead Army unit during the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

And all of the men in my family were World War II veterans, and none of them would discuss the war.  Looking back, I recognize signs of PTSD they suffered many years later. 

I believe the prescription is to open up, start talking, and seek professional help. Now, that’s easier said than done. Many young men,  including yours truly, were taught that showing feelings was a sign of weakness. 

With the help of strong women in our family, we are trying to change that in future generations.

You’ve been listening to the True Crime Reporter® Podcast: Stay True. Stay Safe. And Stay Tuned for more stories from inside the crime scene tape.

Yours Truly, Robert Riggs.

We want to become your favorite true crime podcast. Please leave a review wherever you listen.

Join our true crime community and follow us here. 

The True Crime Reporter® podcast features stories about serial killers, mass murderers, murder mysteries, homicides, cold cases, prisons, violent criminals, serial rapists, child abductors, child molesters, kidnappers, bank robbers, cyber criminals, and assorted violent criminals.

True Crime Reporter® is a @2023 copyrighted and trade-marked production by True Crime Reporter®, LLC, in Dallas, Texas.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's a crime trend sweeping the United States of flash mob thieves charging into department stores to make off with armfuls of loot. Gangs rush inside affluent suburban neighborhoods in night to break into cars.

This episode of the True Crime Reporter® podcast responds to those of you asking me what they should do amid a growing wave of violence in urban America and overseas.

A U.S. businesswoman recently told me she is afraid to work alone in a big city.

I contacted Kevin Estela, the Director of Training for Fieldcraft Survival.

Its founder, Mike Glover, was a Sergeant Major in the Army Green Berets. He deployed fourteen times to combat zones with Special Forces and the CIA.  

But don’t expect his Director of Training to teach that every threatening scenario requires a gun.

Kevin Estela taught Advanced Placement High School History for 14 years. He is about using your head and being prepared. 

His Phillipino father, who hid from the Japanese army in jungles and caves during World War II, influenced his survival skills.  

Kevin offers advice on responding to a criminal assault, car accident, or natural disaster.

In closing, here’s my Reporter’s recap and reflections.

As Kevin Estela stressed, survival depends on preparedness. 

He recommends carrying a tourniquet, a good flashlight, a BIC lighter, a Ferro Rod, a fire starter that can be used as an emergency signal, and a bandana.

His book is titled 101 Skills You Need To Survive In The Woods. A second book covering advanced skills is on the way.

You’ve been listening to the True Crime Reporter® Podcast: Stay True. Stay Safe. Stay Tuned for more stories from inside the crime scene tape.

This is Robert Riggs Reporting.

We want to become your favorite true crime podcast. Please leave a review wherever you listen.

Join our true crime community and follow us here. 

The True Crime Reporter® podcast features stories about serial killers, mass murderers, murder mysteries, homicides, cold cases, prisons, violent criminals, serial rapists, child abductors, child molesters, kidnappers, bank robbers, cyber criminals, and assorted violent criminals.

True Crime Reporter® is a @2023 copyrighted and trade-marked production by True Crime Reporter®, LLC, in Dallas, Texas.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Investigative Reporter Stephen Michaud, among the nation’s best, spent six years unraveling how an iconic ranch was taken from a dying Texas Cowboy.

It's a sprawling Texas ranch near the border with Mexico where the biggest producing gas well in the United States was struck in 2004.

The ranch and its mineral assets have amassed a 750 Million dollar fortune.  

But, the cowboy who once owned it and his relatives never saw a penny. According to my guest, it’s a case of elder abuse like none other.

Hello. I’m investigative reporter Robert Riggs with a longtime friend and fellow investigative journalist Stephen Michaud.

You may recognize his name in the world of true crime. Michaud, in collaboration with Hugh Aynesworth, another giant of investigative journalism, wrote the definitive book about serial killer Ted Bundy in 1983 titled The Only Living Witness.

In 2019, Netflix premiered a four-part documentary, Conversations With A Killer, based on 150 hours of audio recordings of their interviews with Bundy in prison. 

Now Michaud is back with a fascinating look inside South Texas ranching royal families titled Robert’s Story, A Texas Cowboy's Troubled Life And Horrifying Death. 

It likely came from these ranches if you ate steak in the 1960s. If you cooked with natural gas in the 2000s, some of it likely came from there. 

Sadly, people close to Texas cowboy Robert East, the sole heir to all of this, allegedly took advantage of his simplicity. He died a lonely death on the iconic ranch.

Here's our interview.

In closing, here’s my Reporter’s recap and reflections.

People over 50 now own over 70% of all personal wealth held in the United States.

Learn this lesson from Stephen Michaud’s book.

If a baby boomer with a Texas fortune can become the victim of elder abuse and lose everything, it could happen to you.

Do you have a plan and family members or people around you that you trust? 

You’ve been listening to the True Crime Reporter® Podcast: Stay True. Stay Safe. And Stay Tuned for more stories from inside the crime scene tape.

This is Robert Riggs Reporting.

We want to become your favorite true crime podcast. Please leave a review wherever you listen.

Join our true crime community and follow us here. 

The True Crime Reporter® podcast features stories about serial killers, mass murderers, murder mysteries, homicides, cold cases, prisons, violent criminals, serial rapists, child abductors, child molesters, kidnappers, bank robbers, cyber criminals, and assorted violent criminals.

True Crime Reporter® is a @2023 copyrighted and trade-marked production by True Crime Reporter®, LLC, in Dallas, Texas.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this week’s episode of True Crime Reporter®, Michael Jackson, the host of the A Funny Way of Looking Podcast, interviews me about the age-old appeal of crime stories.

Michael’s podcast aims to educate in a fun environment, enlighten, entertain, and inspire listeners and viewers.

We talk serial killers, journalism ethics, the scariest criminal I ever met, and more.

Plus, Michael hits me with a two-option answer quiz called "This Or That?" to reveal more about the real Robert Riggs.

Here’s Michael Jackson’s interview with me on the A Funny Way of Looking Podcast.

Message for our fans in Australia and New Zealand.  The True Crime Reporter® podcast will no longer be available on the  LiSTNR app after 30 September 2023.

To continue following me subscribe to Apple, Spotify, or any other podcast apps.

You can easily make your selection by clicking here. 

Don't miss our rollout of new episodes and special crime stories rolling out soon.

We want to become your favorite true crime podcast. Please leave a review wherever you listen.

Join our true crime community and follow us here. 

The True Crime Reporter® podcast features stories about serial killers, mass murderers, murder mysteries, homicides, cold cases, prisons, violent criminals, serial rapists, child abductors, child molesters, kidnappers, bank robbers, cyber criminals, and assorted violent criminals.

True Crime Reporter® is a @2023 copyrighted and trade-marked production by True Crime Reporter®, LLC, in Dallas, Texas.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.