Caviar and Criminals

This week, we're asking the question no one should be asking: was Anthony Curcio really the hottest bank robber ever?Anthony walks Dana through the bizarre true story of Anthony Curcio—a former high school football star turned armored car robber whose elaborate heist involved fake construction crews, Craigslist ads, and one very memorable escape plan. It's clever, chaotic, and proof that even the best plans can fall apart in the most ridiculous ways.Come for the "hot criminal" debate, stay for one of the wildest heists you've probably never heard about.

This week, Dana brings Anthony the full story of Polari — where it came from, how it worked, who carried it, and what happened when the law finally changed and the language no longer had to hide. From underground queer venues and West End theatres to a BBC radio comedy that was hiding a secret in front of fifteen million listeners, Polari is the story of a community that refused to disappear, even when the world demanded they become invisible.It's Pride month on Caviar & Criminals. And this one is for everyone who's ever had to speak in code just to be themselves.

This week,Anthony and Dana take us to two very different chapters of LGBTQ+ history.First, Anthony tells the story of Operation Soap, the infamous 1981 police raids on Toronto bathhouses that resulted in the arrests of hundreds of gay men. Often described as Canada's Stonewall, the raids sparked outrage, galvanized a movement, and transformed the fight for LGBTQ+ rights across the country. What began as a coordinated attack on a marginalized community became a catalyst for one of the most important moments in Canadian queer history.Then, Dana explores the often-overlooked role of Italian Americans in the early Pride movement in New York City. From activists and organizers to neighborhood allies navigating cultural and religious expectations, she uncovers the stories of Italian Americans who helped shape the growing movement for gay liberation in the years following Stonewall.From police raids and public protests to community organizing and cultural identity, this episode examines how ordinary people pushed back against discrimination and helped build the foundation for LGBTQ+ rights as we know them today.

This Pride Month, we're revisiting one of our favorite episodes celebrating two men who changed history in very different ways.Anthony tells the story of Harvey Milk, the trailblazing politician who became one of the first openly gay elected officials in the United States and inspired a generation to step out of the shadows and into public life. His fight for visibility, equality, and representation would leave a lasting mark on the LGBTQ+ rights movement.Then Dana takes us through the remarkable and heartbreaking story of Alan Turing, the brilliant mathematician whose work helped win World War II, laid the foundation for modern computing, and ultimately changed the world. Despite his extraordinary contributions, Turing faced persecution simply for being who he was.From City Hall to codebreaking, from activism to innovation, this special Pride Month re-release honors two icons whose courage, brilliance, and sacrifices continue to shape the world we live in today.Because sometimes the people who change history aren't just fighting to be remembered — they're fighting to be allowed to exist.

This week, Dana tells Anthony the unbelievable story of Fredericka Mandelbaum — the German immigrant who quietly built one of the largest criminal empires in American history while New York’s elite looked the other way. From stolen diamonds and blackmail schemes to training master thieves in the heart of the Gilded Age, “Mother” Mandelbaum became the secret architect of organized crime decades before the Mafia ever took power.Behind the velvet gowns, luxury storefronts, and high society connections was a woman laundering fortunes in stolen goods and outsmarting police at every turn. But as her empire grew bigger, so did the detectives determined to destroy it.This is a story of greed, corruption, glamour, and the woman who helped invent the modern criminal underworld.Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

A love triangle, a mysterious blonde in a black coat, and a murder that shocked suburban New York. This week, Anthony takes Dana through the wild and messy case of Carolyn Warmus — the so-called “Fatal Attraction Killer” whose affair with a married man ended in obsession, scandal, and a courtroom drama straight out of a movie.Was Carolyn a cold-blooded murderer? A woman unfairly villainized? Or is there more to the story than the headlines wanted us to believe? Tune in for one of the most infamous cases of obsession and murder — and listen to Caviar and Criminals wherever you get your podcasts.

Some neighborhoods have ghost stories. Staten Island had Andre Rand.This week on Caviar & Criminals, Dana takes Anthony back to her hometown to unravel one of the most chilling urban legends in New York history: the story of Andre Rand, the man many believe inspired the terrifying legend of Cropsey.What started as whispers around abandoned buildings and bonfire stories told to kids on Staten Island became something far darker when children began disappearing. From the haunting grounds of Willowbrook State School to missing kids, alleged cult rumors, and the fear that consumed an entire community, Dana walks Anthony through the disturbing true crime case that blurred the line between folklore and reality.Was Andre Rand a misunderstood outcast? A serial predator hiding in plain sight? Or something even more sinister?This is the story that made parents lock their doors before sunset.Listen wherever you get your podcasts — and if you grew up on Staten Island, you already know this nightmare never really left.

Baltimore, 2000. A woman named Tracy Whittle did everything right. She got the protective order. She cut contact. She tried to move on. He killed her anyway.What followed was eleven days that paralyzed an entire city — four people dead, a family taken hostage, and more than 400 officers who couldn't stop one man with a gun and nothing left to lose.This week, Anthony and Dana go inside the Joseph Palczynski rampage: the warning signs everyone saw and no one could stop, the standoff that had Baltimore holding its breath, and the fifteen-year-old boy who ended it when no one else could.This is the story of what happens when the system fails a woman who did everything right — and what it costs the people left behind to survive it.

This week on Caviar and Criminals, Dana walks Anthony through one of the most disturbing wellness stories in history — the case of Linda Hazzard.At first glance, Hazzard presented herself as a trusted “fasting specialist,” promising healing through extreme detox methods. But behind the doors of her Washington sanitarium, something far more sinister was unfolding. Patients who came to her for help were subjected to prolonged starvation, isolation… and an overwhelming number of enemas.As Dana unpacks the story, the red flags quickly pile up — wealthy clients signing over control of their finances, bodies wasting away under the guise of treatment, and a system that allowed it to continue for far too long. Anthony reacts in real time as the story shifts from bizarre to deeply unsettling.How did she convince so many people to trust her?When does “wellness” cross the line into something dangerous?And how did it go on for so long?This is a story about manipulation, control, and the deadly side of pseudoscience.And trust us… it only gets worse.