National Network for Equitable Library Service

Take a deep dive into the manipulative, messy world of con artists, embezzlers, fraudsters, swindlers, and grifters in this collection of true crime stories about scams and cons. From mystifying cons to shocking scams, Scams and A True Crime Collection features case file facts, fascinating details, and true testimonies of the world’s most famous scammers and con artists. This book includes the most salacious cases as well as lesser-known ones, with each chapter delving deep into the facts of the case and chronicling first-hand accounts from journalists and police.

Rough & Messy Justice vividly portrays Alberta's Crowsnest Pass of 1920, a rugged Rocky Mountain region shaped by its mining economy and diverse culture. An armed CPR train robbery spirals into a deadly shootout at the Bellevue Café, where police clash with Russian outlaws fresh from Montana's mines. A surviving bandit escapes, triggering a relentless manhunt. When captured, his trial becomes a spectacle marred by overt racism in the press, law enforcement cover-ups, and a judge and jury riddled with bias.

New York Times bestseller. The unbelievable true story of the man who built a billion-dollar online drug empire from his bedroom—and almost got away with it. In 2011, a twenty-six-year-old libertarian programmer named Ross Ulbricht launched the ultimate free market: the Silk Road, a clandestine website hosted on the Dark Web where anyone could trade anything—drugs, hacking software, forged passports, counterfeit cash, poisons—free of the government’s watchful eye.

"Payne's storytelling voice is easy and intimate. . . . You want to cheer for Payne. . . . She's stolen yet another thing. Your heart." — New York Times. Soon to be a Major Motion Picture. Growing up during the Depression in the segregated coal town of Slab Fork, West Virginia, Doris Payne was told her dreams were unattainable for poor black girls like her. Doris vowed to turn the tables after the owner of a jewelry store threw her out when a white customer arrived.

The remarkable true story of the document heist that shocked the world. Like many aspiring writers, David Breithaupt had money problems. But what he also had was unsupervised access to one of the finest special collections libraries in the country. In October 1990, Kenyon College hired Breithaupt as its library’s part-time evening supervisor.

#1 New York Times bestseller • Now a major motion picture starring Michael B. Jordan and Jamie Foxx • A powerful true story about the potential for mercy to redeem us, and a clarion call to fix our broken system of justice—from one of the most brilliant and influential lawyers of our time. “[Bryan Stevenson’s] dedication to fighting for justice and equality has inspired me and many others and made a lasting impact on our country.” —John Legend.

The Wall Street Journal called him “a living legend.” The London Times dubbed him “the most famous art detective in the world.” In Priceless, Robert K. Wittman, the founder of the FBI’s Art Crime Team, pulls back the curtain on his remarkable career for the first time, offering a real-life international thriller to rival The Thomas Crown Affair. Rising from humble roots as the son of an antique dealer, Wittman built a twenty-year career that was nothing short of extraordinary.

Winner of a 2023 Independent Publisher Book Award (IPPY) for Autobiography/Memoir “Kerbeck’s juicy memoir tells riveting tales [with] the thrill of a spy novel. . . Kerbeck bares all of his wild business secrets within the world of corporate espionage” —Foreword Reviews "Robert Kerbeck has mastered the art of social engineering, or what he calls 'rusing', and taken it to a whole new level." —Frank Abagnale, author of Catch Me If You Can B-list actor, A-list corporate spy. . .

"Mesmerizing account of an amateur artist who made millions selling forged paintings to art-obsessed Nazis and business tycoons" (Kirkus, starred review). New York Times Bestseller. A New York Times Staff Pick. "Dolnick brilliantly re-creates the circumstances that made possible one of the most audacious frauds of the twentieth century... An incomparable page turner." — Boston Globe. As riveting as a World War II thriller, The Forger's Spell is the true story of Johannes Vermeer and the small-time Dutch painter who dared to impersonate him centuries later.

A collection of forty-five true-crime stories about the visual arts in Australia: art theft, art forgery, art censorship, art vandalism, and protest art. The title comes from the famous artnapping of Picasso's Weeping Woman from the National Gallery of Victoria. One of the artnapper's demands was an art prize called 'The Picasso Ransom'. While that crime is famous, other stories of crimes, from the colonial to the contemporary, have faded from memory.