Year of the Cranberry | Chapter 6

It was 1985, the so-called “Year of the Spy”. The CIA had been losing Soviet assets left and right; the first loss seemed like bad luck, but four in a row? That wasn't a coincidence— it was a deadly leak. And just as the Agency was scrambling to find answers, across the world, a KGB colonel named Vitaly Yurchenko walked into the American embassy in Rome and volunteered his services in exchange for immediate exfiltration to the United States.At the time, Yurchenko was the highest-ranked KGB officer ever to defect to America, and the Agency felt it had hit the jackpot. Instead, his defection would go on to become one of the most dizzying, high-stakes espionage debacles of the last century. Although many of his bombshell revelations were bonafide, a doubt soon began haunting the intelligence community: Was Vitaly Yurchenko telling the whole truth? And if not... What had he been sent to hide?Listen Now on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Host Ashley Willcott is known as a TV anchor, a former judge, and a trial lawyer, and nearly all of the cases she's covered over the years intersect with one of the seven deadly sins. Pride, greed, wrath, envy, lust, gluttony and sloth. The opposite of the seven heavenly virtues.These are THE REASONS why criminals commit crimes. They cannot resist their temptations. And it is a fascinating study to delve into the biggest and less known cases to figure out that why behind the crime; the motive.This is a chance for us to figure out that WHY.Join Ashley each and every week as she dives deep into cases you'll recognize instantly – and many you won't. She's joined by a roster of experts to break down each case.Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

The walls close in on Tony and he is arrested in the LVMPD sting operation. However, his trial, sentencing and time in prison come with their own dramas...

Having blown through his lower denomination chips, Tony now must somehow move the illicit $25k Cranberry chips he has stolen, which will soon be discontinued by the Bellagio. Meanwhile, detectives have their own plan to catch Tony, proving he is The Biker Bandit.

After returning to Pueblo for the holidays, Tony is desperate to return to Las Vegas for New Years Eve at the Bellagio, with a close friend in tow. Meanwhile, Las Vegas investigators have their first real break in the case, one which takes them to Pueblo to interview a suspected accomplice.

With the Bellagio robbery making news around the world, Las Vegas Metro Police Department lead detective Sam Smith is beginning to feel the pressure – especially since there are virtually no leads in the case. Meanwhile, Tony is comped a high roller suite by the Bellagio, living like a king in the hotel he just robbed.

When a casino like the Bellagio is robbed in Las Vegas, it’s a big deal for law enforcement. Little do they know,  the robber himself has returned to the casino less than 24 hours later to begin casually playing poker and cashing in his stolen chips.

After robbing the Suncoast Casino and getting away, Carleo decides he needs to go bigger and sets his sights on the Bellagio, a crown jewel on the Las Vegas Strip. Five days later in the early morning hours, Carleo will rob a high stakes craps table of $1.5 million in chips, becoming the most wanted man in Las Vegas.

Having decided that robbing a casino is the best, easy solution to freeing himself from his gambling debts, Carleo decides on a smaller, unglamorous casino on the outskirts of Sin City: The Suncoast. With everything in place, Carleo will ride to the Suncoast casino and rob it, becoming The Biker Bandit.

Anthony Michael Carleo is an Italian kid from Pueblo, Colorado who grew up living fast and loose with few consequences. Carleo soon finds himself in tens of thousands of dollars in debt and considering a truly crazy solution to his financial problems: robbing a casino.