Crime Story Editor

Kary Antholis: This is the Crime Story Podcast with Kary Antholis where we have conversations about how and why stories of crime and justice are told. Today’s podcast is part one of a two-part conversation with David Chase, Creator and Showrunner of The Sopranos, which is listed by Rolling Stone as The Greatest TV Show of all time. In this first part of our chat, David talks about his earliest memories of storytelling; his family life growing up, particularly his relationship with his mother; the development of his view of the world and specifically morality and religion; his appreciation of gangster...

VARGAS-EDMOND: MY HUSBAND, AT THE AGE OF 19, WAS FACING 150 YEARS TO DOUBLE LIFE FOR AN OFFENSE IN WHICH NO ONE WAS HURT. HE ENDED UP BEING SENTENCED TO 10 YEARS AND PLED OUT TO THINGS THAT HE DID NOT DO BECAUSE OF THE WAYS THE DISTRICT ATTORNEYS HAVE THE ABILITY TO STACK CHARGES. This past July, Taina Vargas-Edmond, co-founder of the Los Angeles-based prisoner rights group, Initiate Justice, addressed a congressional field hearing on criminal justice reform hosted by Representative Karen Bass (D. CA).  Vargas-Edmond shared her personal experience of California’s punitive tough-on-crime laws and summarized the hope...

“If you’re in Las Vegas and in trouble, call David Chesnoff.” Peter Lattman, Wall Street Journal Law Blog - May 8, 2007 This is the seventh in a series of articles about the hearings before the murder trial of Robert Durst. You may click on the hyperlinked titles to read Two Hearings: Robert Durst and Armon Nelson, While Robert Durst Flips Through Photos, Robert Durst Fades Away, Robert Durst and the Inequity of Judicial Time, Robert Durst’s Warrior in Court and Robert Durst Stares into the Camera. As Peter Lattman points out in the quote above, David Chesnoff is Nevada’s go to Criminal Defense...

This is the sixth in a series of articles about the hearings before the murder trial of Robert Durst. You may click on the hyperlinked titles to read Two Hearings: Robert Durst and Armon Nelson, While Robert Durst Flips Through Photos, Robert Durst Fades Away, Robert Durst and the Inequity of Judicial Time, and Robert Durst’s Warrior in Court. It’s mid-morning in Department 81, Airport Courthouse, and Deputy District Attorney John Lewin has me locked in a bearhug. Then again, maybe it’s more of an awkward embrace, a clumsy blend of affection and aggression? As I observe Lewin’s courtroom modus operandi more and more,...

Editor's note: Later this week, the third trial of rapper Drakeo the Ruler on charges of profiting off of a gang conspiracy (California Penal Code § 182.5) begins in Compton. CRIME STORY will be covering that trial, as the nature of this law and its use by California Prosecutors raise significant Constitutional and Due Process questions. In conjunction with that coverage, we will also be publishing essays about the treatment of rap lyrics and culture by law enforcement in LA. Molly Miller's story below tells the story of the prosecution of 19 year old rapper, Ron Simmons aka Tiny...

The house always wins. Jian Qiao Chen had already lost $3,000 playing Baccarat. He was about to lose even more. But not to a card game. Chen was gambling at the Commerce Casino, an establishment that has a church-basement vibe, complete with matted floral carpeting and rickety red-cushioned chairs. Guests expecting the glitz of the Vegas strip might describe it as “seedy,” but for serious players, it’s a hub of competition. According to their website, the Commerce Casino is California’s # 1 venue for games of skill. That includes draw poker, blackjack, Texas Hold’em, and Baccarat. No slot machines. The dings...