Crimes of the Times

When Lee Baca took over the LA County Sheriff’s Department in 1998, he inherited a scandal-plagued agency. He built a reputation as a progressive reformer, and his jail-education programs were celebrated. But the feds notice that investigations into his agency always seem to evaporate when he gets involved. By 2011, he is 70 years old and has run the department for 13 years. Furious about the FBI’s probe into his jails, Baca has Leah Marx surveilled. Two of his sergeants appear at her apartment and threaten her with arrest. Allegations emerge about the beating of a jail visitor name Gabriel Carrillo. The feds have expanded their probe beyond civil rights violations. Can they make a case for obstruction of justice? How high does the misconduct go? Baca’s clash with the FBI revealed how deeply the department was in turmoil. Allegations of intimidation and the beating of visitor Gabriel Carrillo turned a civil rights probe into one of Los Angeles’ most significant corruption cases. Host Chris Goffard, from the Los Angeles Times and creator of Dirty John, traces how the investigation escalated to obstruction of justice. Topics in this episode include: Sheriff Lee Baca, Los Angeles County Jail scandal, Gabriel Carrillo beating, FBI investigation, police corruption.

After an inmate sucker-punches James Sexton, he defies the jail’s unwritten rules by failing to exact violent retribution, and finds himself ostracized by his peers. But he becomes an expert in the antiquated jail computer system and eventually wins promotion to an elite jail-intelligence unit. Leah Marx has a cell phone smuggled to inmate-informant Anthony Brown, part of the FBI’s increasingly ambitious scheme to catch dirty jailers. Jailers quickly discover the phone, however, and trace it to the FBI. Scrambling to hide Brown from the feds, the department enlists Sexton, who helps change Brown’s name in the computer system and dubs the plan Operation Pandora’s Box. For 18 days, from August-Sept. 2011, Marx struggles to find her informant. The effort to erase Anthony Brown from jail records showed how far leaders would go to shield themselves. A young deputy became central to the cover-up, and what began as a contraband phone case quickly spiraled into an obstruction probe. Reporter Chris Goffard, who previously told the story of Dirty John, guides listeners through this extraordinary clash between the Sheriff’s Department and the FBI.

A young FBI agent named Leah Marx arrives in Los Angeles and receives a tip in 2010 about brutal conditions at Men’s Central Jail downtown. Such complaints have gone nowhere for years, since they pit the allegations of inmates against the word of jail deputies. But she finds informants, including a wily bank robber, Anthony Brown, who is facing life in prison and is willing to help. She reflects on a family tragedy that informs her perspective and fuels her sense of mission. Meanwhile, an ambitious young jailer named James Sexton works his way through the ranks, trying to overcome his image as a “brass baby,” the son of a prominent law officer, while navigating a complicated agency where loyalty is a prime value. That jail was notorious for violence and neglect, and outside investigations had rarely gained traction. By entering Men’s Central Jail, the FBI was challenging a department that had long resisted oversight. The series is reported and hosted by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Chris Goffard, best known for his work on Dirty John. Topics in this episode include: Operation Pandora’s Box, Anthony Brown informant, James Sexton, Los Angeles County Jail scandal, FBI investigation, Sheriff Lee Baca.

In this special feature bonus episode, our host Christopher Goffard is joined by his editor, Steve Clow to discuss the aftermath of the case.

In this featured episode, The fates of Frank Carson and his co-defendants are decided, and jurors explain their reasoning. An interview with the state’s star witness, now out of lockup, raises troubling questions about the state’s handling of the case.

In this special feature bonus episode, our host Christopher Goffard is joined by his editor, Steve Clow, to examine the evidence against Carson and his co-defendants as the longest California criminal trial in decades staggers to its conclusion.

In this specially featured episode, defense attorneys offer alternate theories to explain Korey Kauffman’s death, and the trial becomes an endurance test. As Frank Carson’s health deteriorates, he wonders whether he will live to see a verdict.

In this specially featured bonus episode, our host Christopher Goffard is joined by his editor, Steve Clow, to discuss the implications of Frank Carson's trial on the criminal-justice system.

In this special-feature episode, Frank Carson hits rock bottom, and offers his co-defendants a way out. During the marathon preliminary hearing, the prosecution belatedly reveals a cache of undisclosed evidence — with major consequences.

In this special-feature bonus episode, our host Christopher Goffard is joined by his editor, Steve Clow, to discuss how detectives zeroed in on Frank Carson’s wife and stepdaughter.

In this specially featured episode, a series of wiretaps lead to criminal charges against Frank Carson’s wife and stepdaughter, an art student.

In this special-feature bonus episode, our editor Steve Clow and our host Christopher Goffard discuss how three California Highway Patrol officers fell into the District Attorney’s crosshairs.

In this special-feature episode, Frank Carson and his co-defendants are accused of a complicated murder conspiracy after a three-year investigation. Among the accused: three cops.

In this special-release bonus episode, our host Christopher Goffard talks with false-confession expert Richard Leo, who questions the credibility of the government’s star witness.

In this special featured episode, the discovery of Korey Kauffman’s remains gives the investigation new impetus, and a man named Robert Woody offers a methamphetamine-fueled “confession.” But his story changes again and again.

In this special-released bonus episode, our host Christopher Goffard is joined by his editor, Steve Clow, to talk about how authorities linked the disappearance of Korey Kauffman to Frank Carson.

In this special-release bonus episode, our host Christopher Goffard is joined by his editor, Steve Clow, to discuss the origins of The Trials of Frank Carson.

In this special-release episode, investigators confront a defiant Frank Carson about the disappearance of a scrap-metal thief with a reputation for making enemies.

In Season 2 of Crimes of the Times, host Christopher Goffard revisits one of the longest and most bizarre murder trials in U.S. history. This special podcast rerelease will include fresh insights, bonus content and a new episode with the latest news on this fascinating case. The story follows the rise and subsequent downfall of one of Stanislaus County’s most controversial defense attorneys, Frank Carson. In this episode, meet Frank Carson, Stanislaus County’s most controversial defense attorney, famous for his high-profile courtroom victories and take-no-prisoners style. A longtime nemesis of local law enforcement, he is representing homicide defendants in the very courthouse where he is on trial for murder himself.

Please enjoy a special feature of the first episode of L.A. Times Studios production, Man in the Window. In this episode, Phantom in the Fog, investigative reporter Paige St. John discusses how a series of brutal dog killings in a small town in California acted as the prelude for the coming danger and violence committed by one of California's deadliest serial killers.

Please enjoy a special feature of my show, Detective Trapp’s first episode, All the Missing. In this episode, Detective Julissa Trapp fights her way onto the homicide unit in her hometown of Anaheim, California — and strives amid personal struggles to understand God’s plan for her. At the same time in a nearby city, women begin vanishing.

Please enjoy a special featured episode of my show Dirty John. In this episode, Debra Newell, an interior designer in Southern California, meets John Meehan on an over-50 dating site. His profile looks exciting: Anesthesiologist, divorced, Christian. She falls in love fast. But her children dislike him and warn her that his stories don’t add up. A psychologist advises Debra to set firmer boundaries with her kids, saying she has a right to be happy.

John Orr was a renowned fire investigator who was also a prolific arsonist, and whose thinly veiled novel helped to convict him. In this episode we hear from the fire captain who first suspected him—and from Orr himself. New episodes every Tuesday. To read more about these cases, visit Crimes of the Times at latimes.com Video episodes will be available on Spotifyand Youtube.

The case of Barbara Graham, known in the 1950s as “Bloody Babs” after the murder of a Burbank widow. Former prosecutor Marcia Clark joins us to reexamine the questionable tactics that sent Graham to death row. New episodes every Tuesday. To read more about these cases, visit Crimes of the Times at latimes.com Video episodes will be available on Spotify and Youtube.

The story of Synanon, the drug rehabilitation group once known as “the miracle on the beach,” and the rattlesnake attack on the crusading Los Angeles lawyer who made an enemy of the group’s leader. New episodes every Tuesday. To read more about these cases, visit Crimes of the Times at latimes.com Video episodes will be available on Spotify and Youtube.

Former Manson prosecutor Stephen Kay recounts the strange story of Ronald Hughes, the “hippie lawyer” who enraged the cult leader and vanished mysteriously in the middle of trial. New episodes every Tuesday. To read more about these cases, visit Crimes of the Times at latimes.com Video episodes will be available on Spotify and Youtube

The last living prosecutor of Charles Manson gives an inside account of the trial and the cult leader’s deadly vision. Stephen Kay recalls the case that still haunts America. New episodes every Tuesday. To read more about these cases, visit Crimes of the Times at latimes.com Video episodes will be available on Spotify and Youtube.

The Black Dahlia mystery: Wild theories, enduring myths and a long-overlooked suspect. New episodes every Tuesday. To read more about these cases, visit Crimes of the Times at latimes.com Video episodes will be available on Spotify and Youtube.

The kidnapped heiress who became an “urban guerrilla” and embraced her captors. New episodes every Tuesday. To read more about these cases, visit Crimes of the Times at latimes.com Video episodes will be available on Spotify and Youtube.

Smuggled out of a Santa Monica safe, the top-secret documents that changed American history. New episodes every Tuesday. To read more about these cases, visit Crimes of the Times at latimes.com Video episodes will be available on Spotify and Youtube.

A childhood memory sent her father to prison for murder. Was it real? New episodes every Tuesday. To read more about these cases, visit Crimes of the Times at latimes.com Video episodes will be available on Spotify and Youtube.

Wild claims of mass child molestation rocked an L.A. beach town. Truth was the first casualty. New episodes every Tuesday. To read more about these cases, visit Crimes of the Times at latimes.com Video episodes will be available on Spotify and Youtube.

A maverick from Detroit, John DeLorean built the “car of the future.” Then came the briefcase full of cocaine. New episodes every Tuesday. To read more about these cases, visit Crimes of the Times at latimes.com Video episodes will be available on Spotify and Youtube.

A young actress, an obsessed stalker and a Hollywood murder that changed America. New episodes every Tuesday. To read more about these cases, visit Crimes of the Times at latimes.comVideo episodes will be available on Spotify and Youtube.

In the last of three special episodes, Alexandra Cunningham, showrunner of the new Bravo series "Dirty John," offers insight into how she approached the writing of the show and its titular psychopath. Jeffrey Reiner, who directed all eight episodes, discusses the creative team’s ambition to transcend the conventions of a traditional thriller.

In the second of three special episodes, Connie Britton (“Friday Night Lights,” “Nashville”) talks about playing Debra Newell in the new Bravo series, and why the story feels timely. Julia Garner and Juno Temple, who play Newell’s daughters, discuss how they came to inhabit their roles, and the show’s production designer and costume designer share details of how they helped create the characters’ worlds. “Dirty John” premieres on Bravo at 10 p.m. on Sunday, November 25. You can also find the original LA Times series, plus 14 other pieces of narrative journalism, in a new collection called “Dirty John and Other True Stories of Outlaws and Outsiders” by Christopher Goffard, published by Simon & Schuster.

In the first of three special episodes about the making of the Bravo limited series "Dirty John," Christopher Goffard talks with actor Eric Bana about his portrayal of John Meehan and the parallels between actors and con men. “Dirty John” premieres on Bravo at 10 p.m. on Sunday, November 25. LA Times Studios is participating as a producer on the Bravo series. You can also find the original L.A. Times series, plus 14 other pieces of narrative journalism, in a new collection called “Dirty John and Other True Stories of Outlaws and Outsiders” by Christopher Goffard, published by Simon & Schuster.

In the months since “Dirty John” was released, more of John Meehan’s victims have told their stories. Carolina Miranda from the LA Times interviews Christopher Goffard, Debra and Terra Newell, and John Meehan’s first wife. Plus, a panel on coercive control and a special live performance by Tracy Bonham. Recorded live at the Ace Theatre.

Jacquelyn and Terra Newell suspect that John has been watching them. When Jacquelyn tells her mother that he is in town, her mother believes she is mistaken. Jacquelyn warns Terra to carry her pocket knife. But Terra is preoccupied by a country-music concert, and she is watching for the wrong car.

Episode 5: John finds a lawyer and plots to unleash a blizzard of lawsuits against his enemies, with the aim of proving to Debra that he is the victim, in case after case. The lawyer believes her life is in danger. As her painful isolation from her family deepens, she secretly plans her escape from the marriage.

Debra is in hiding, living out of hotels and disguising herself with a wig. Debra fears she will meet the fate of her sister Cindi, who was killed by her husband as she tried to escape a bad marriage. John has explanations for the accusations against him. He weeps and apologizes. Three decades earlier, that had helped Cindi’s killer walk out of prison.

Debra grapples with the question, “Who did I marry?” The story of John’s mysterious past unfolds through the eyes of his sisters, his law-school housemate, his ex-wife, and an Ohio cop who hunted him. The origins of John’s nickname are revealed. Bed-ridden in an Orange County hospital, he pleads with Debra to take him back.

After an intruder appears in John and Debra’s livingroom, John insists that they install security cameras. Debra begins to wonder whether he is spying on her. Her nephew, Shad, looks into John’s background and confronts him with what he finds. Debra’s vision of an idyllic marriage is shattered when she discovers a stash of paperwork in John’s home office.

Debra Newell, an interior designer in Southern California, meets John Meehan on an over-50 dating site. His profile looks exciting: Anesthesiologist, divorced, Christian. She falls in love fast. But her children dislike him and warn her that his stories don’t add up. A psychologist advises Debra to set firmer boundaries with her kids, saying she has a right to be happy.