 Stories and content in Weird Darkness can be disturbing for some listeners and is intended for mature audiences only. Parental discretion is strongly advised. Welcome, Weirdos. I'm Darren Marlar and this is Weird Darkness. Here you'll find stories of the paranormal, supernatural, legends, lore, the strange and bizarre, crime, conspiracy, mysterious, macabre, unsolved and unexplained. Coming up in this episode, you see it in movies, TV shows, literature. When you have a scene with early humans, it's just a matter of time before you're exposed to a human sacrifice. But why? With all the animals out there to choose from, the harvesting of fruits and vegetables they could have placed on an altar, why human sacrifice? You're in a battle. You've had several horses shot out from under you already, and suddenly someone points out that you've lost your leg. How do you respond to that? Whatever your answer, you probably won't be as suave about it as Lord Uxbridge was. Cornering the market in heroin and cocaine trafficking, Vito Rizzuto's mafia family dominated Montreal, Canada until his death in December 2013. We'll look at Canada's mafia godfather. A senior couple seemed to be enjoying their retirement. They were heading home from their apartment in Florida to their home in New York as they did every spring. But somewhere between, they vanished into the ether. What happened to Charles and Catherine Romer? Later, we'll look at a few lawsuits that should never have made it to a courtroom, but we're glad they did, because they make for a great kicker story for the podcast. But first, a retired Russian soldier receives a magic bag from God, which ends up wreaking havoc in both heaven and hell. It's the legend of Ivan Turbinka. If you're new here, welcome to the show. While you're listening, be sure to check out WeirdDarkness.com for merchandise, to visit sponsors you hear about during the show, sign up for my newsletter, enter contests, and connect with me on social media. Plus, you can visit the Hope in the Darkness page if you're struggling with depression or dark thoughts. You can find all of that and more at WeirdDarkness.com. Now, bolt your doors, lock your windows, turn off your lights, and come with me into the Weird Darkness. Myth, legend, and literature are full of tales about people ending up in either heaven or hell. However, every now and then, a story arises about someone who belongs in neither. Such is the fictional tale of Ivan Turbinka, a humorous story written by the Romanian author Ioann Crianga that just feels appropriate for Weird Darkness. The story tells of Ivan, a Russian who had served in the army. Once old and retired, he wandered around the world. As Ivan was walking a short distance away, Saint Peter and God descended from heaven to see how things were going in the world. Seeing Ivan, God decided to test the man's good nature by sending Saint Peter to pretend he was a beggar. Saint Peter went ahead on the road Ivan was walking on and sat down near a bridge. When Ivan got closer, Saint Peter began to beg. Ivan was generous to both Saint Peter and God by giving them all he had earned at the end of his military service. As Ivan left, God decided to reward him. He restored the money, told Ivan about his real identity, and asked Ivan to name his reward. Ivan asked God to bless his bag, which is called a Turbinka, and bless it in such a way that anyone could be put inside of it without being able to get out unless Ivan wanted them to. God blessed the bag and they parted. The tale reveals that Ivan kept wandering until he reached the residence of a boyar, a Russian aristocrat. The boyar was not very kind, but ultimately he agreed to offer Ivan shelter. However, he housed the man in a house which at night was haunted by devils. Ivan said his daily prayers and went to bed. As soon as he put out the candle, an invisible hand took his pillow and threw it away. When Ivan went to bed again, he began to hear voices. Understanding the situation, the Russian began to shout, Pasol na Turbinka, or get into the pouch, and all the devils from the room got trapped inside the magic bag. Finally, Ivan was able to go to sleep. However, before dawn, Skaroshi, the leader of the devils, came looking for his subjects. He came inside the room, found Ivan sleeping and slapped him. So Ivan shouted once more, Pasol na Turbinka, and the leader of the devils himself got trapped inside the bag. Ivan went outside, woke up the entire household and showed the boyar the bag full of devils. Ivan then scared all the devils away and the boyar was glad to be rid of them. Finally, Ivan decided to go to the gates of heaven to serve God, as he had been asked to do when they first met. Reaching the gates of heaven, Ivan knocked. Saint Peter asked him what he wanted, and Ivan asked whether there were women, singers, tobacco, or booze in heaven. When he received negative replies to his questions, Ivan was disappointed. He left for the gates of hell then, where he asked the same question and got positive replies. Upon opening the doors, the devils recognized Ivan as the man who had tortured them before. Frightened, they decided to let him party as much as he pleased, hoping he would then leave. Seeing that Ivan was not planning on leaving hell, a devil began making a lot of noise. Trying to see what was going on, Ivan went out and the devils closed the doors behind him, locking him out. Seeing he could no longer get into hell now, Ivan returned to the gates of heaven. While waiting to be allowed in, Ivan saw death preparing to enter heaven, then he shouted, Pasola Torbinka! Death was trapped inside his magic bag. Ultimately, Saint Peter opened the gates and Ivan went before God. Ivan had come to take the commands for death. God told him that death had to take only old people for three years. Going outside once again, Ivan released death and told it that it had to claim only old trees for three years. Upset, death went and did as he was told. After the three years were up, when death returned to the gates of heaven to go see God and receive new commands, Ivan trapped death again inside his magic bag. Then he entered to see God and get the commands for death once again. God ordered death to claim only young people for three years and then naughty children during the following three years. Ivan returned outside, released death and told it to take only young trees for three years and then only young bushes for the following three years. Death did as he was told and then returned to the gates of heaven once more afterwards. This time Ivan trapped death inside the bag and no longer told God about it. He intended to leave death trapped inside the bag for a very long time. After a while, God came to check on Ivan. He asked about death and death began speaking from within the bag. God released death and told Ivan that his time was up and that death also had a purpose. As God had now taken his magic bag, Ivan asked to be granted three more days to put his affairs in order to make his coffin, to sit inside it and get ready for death. God granted his wish and Ivan stood upset thinking. He considered the fact that he felt he belonged in neither heaven nor hell. In hell, he had a bad relationship with the devils who did not want him. In heaven, he found it was boring without women, tobacco, singers and booze. So Ivan got an idea. The story goes that he gathered wood and prepared his coffin. As soon as he was done, death appeared before him. Death asked Ivan to sit in his coffin so it could claim his soul. Ivan sat in the coffin, facedown. Death told him that that's not how it's done. After a number of Ivan's failed attempts to sit in his coffin correctly, death ultimately decided to show him how it was done. As soon as death assumed the proper position in the coffin, Ivan closed the lid, nailed it shut and threw it in the river. Seeing what had happened, God released death so that it could take its revenge upon Ivan. Death appeared in front of Ivan once more and the man remained speechless. As punishment, death no longer attempted to claim Ivan's soul. Instead, death told him that he would be allowed to live forever and when he eventually begged for the end, still his wish would not be granted. It is said that the old Ivan still lives today, drinking, in order to drown his sorrow of eternal life. When Weird Darkness returns, you see it in movies, TV shows, literature. When you have a scene with early humans, it's just a matter of time before you're exposed to a human sacrifice. But why is that? With all the animals out there to choose from for a sacrifice, or the harvesting of fruits and vegetables that could have been placed on an altar, why human sacrifice? But first, you're in a battle. You've had several horses shot out from under you and suddenly someone points out that you've lost your leg. How do you respond to that? Whatever your answer, you probably won't be as suave about it as Lord Uxbridge was. That story is up next. Weird Darkness is celebrating its eighth birthday this month and our way of celebrating is to raise money for organizations that help people who struggle with depression, anxiety, and thoughts of suicide and self-harm. It's called Overcoming the Darkness and you can make a donation right now at weirddarkness.com slash overcoming. That's weirddarkness.com slash overcoming. A gift of any amount will bring us that much closer to our goal and your donation helps that many more people who are affected by depression, so no gift is too small. Our goal is to raise at least $5,000 this month. If you've not donated yet, or if you'd like to give again, or maybe you'd like to grab the link and share the fundraiser on your own social media and challenge others to give, visit weirddarkness.com slash overcoming. That's weirddarkness.com slash overcoming. The fundraiser ends on Halloween, so please give right now while you're thinking about it. Weirddarkness.com slash overcoming. At the Battle of Waterloo, on June 18, 1815, Henry Peje, 2nd Earl of Uxbridge, and later the 1st Marquess of Anglicy, a veteran of many military campaigns, was given the command of 13,000 Allied cavalry and 44 horse artillery batteries. At one point in the battle, Lord Uxbridge led a spectacular charge with 2,000 men of the British heavy cavalry against the French Corps columns of Comte d'Airland and succeeded in sweeping the French infantry away in disorder. However, Uxbridge was unable to rally his forces who continued on in pursuit and were ambushed by the French cavalry's counterattack. Uxbridge spent the rest of the battle leading a series of charges against the French. He was reported to have lost eight or nine horses that were shot from under him. Towards the closing moments of the battle, the French cannon had grown nearly quiet and firing had become only intermittent. Wellington took out his field telescope and was surveying the battlefield when one of the last of the French grape shot flew past Wellington and smashed into Lord Uxbridge's right knee. Turning to the Duke of Wellington, Uxbridge is supposed to have exclaimed, By God, sir, I've lost my leg. To which the Duke replied, By God, sir, so you have. Whether the exchange actually took place or not, it is undoubtedly a great story and it is often quoted to show the supposed eccentricity of the British people. His knee shattered. Lord Uxbridge was carried off the battlefield and taken to his headquarters in the village of Waterloo, a house owned by Marshal Hyacinth Joseph-Marie Harry. The doctor inspected his leg and found that the head of the tibia was fractured, the outer hamstring severed, and the capsular ligament was filled with fragments of bone and cartilage like gravel. The doctor informed Lord Uxbridge that his leg would have to be amputated. Lord Uxbridge took the news with remarkable composure. The doctor noted that his pulse was calm and regular as if he had just risen from his bed in the morning and he displayed no expression of uneasiness, though his suffering must have been extreme. Uxbridge was seated in a wooden chair for the operation and though he was provided no anesthetics, he endured the amputation with barely a sound except at one point when he remarked that the blade did not seem very sharp. Uxbridge was also recorded as having said, I have had a pretty long run, I have been a bow these 47 years and it would not be fair to cut the young men out any longer. Later that evening one of Uxbridge's most trusted senior cavalry officers, Sir Hussie Vivian, came to the cottage to see how he was doing. Uxbridge asked him to look at the lost leg, saying that some of his friends were of the opinion that it need not have been removed. Uxbridge wanted an honest opinion from Vivian on whether or not he thought it might have been saved. According to Sir Hussie, I went, accordingly, and taking up the lacerated limb carefully examined it and so far as I could tell it was completely spoiled for work. A rusty grape shot had gone through and shattered the bones all to pieces. I therefore returned and told him he could set his mind quite at rest, as his leg, in my opinion, was better off than on. Monsieur Paris, the owner of the cottage where Uxbridge was resting, requested Uxbridge whether he could have this severed leg so that he could bury it in his garden. Upon receiving permission, Paris placed the leg in a small wooden coffin and buried it under a willow tree. A small tombstone was erected over it, carrying an inscription which read, Here lies the leg of the illustrious and valiant Earl Uxbridge, Lieutenant General of his Britannic Majesty, Commander-in-Chief of the English, Belgian and Dutch Cavalry, wounded on the 18th of June, 1815 at the memorable Battle of Waterloo, who, by his heroism, assisted in the triumph of the cause of mankind, gloriously decided by the resounding victory of the said day. Lord Uxbridge's leg began to generate a surprising amount of interest, drawing visitors from the elite of European society, such as the King of Prussia and the Prince of Orange. Montchulperie, of course, loved the attention. He turned his cottage into a macabre tourist attraction, taking paying visitors to see the room where Uxbridge rested, as well as the bloody chair upon which Uxbridge had sat during the amputation, before escorting them into the garden to see the shrine. Those who came to see were duly impressed. Prince Regent is said to have wept almost uncontrollably when he read the inscription on the small tombstone, but not everyone took the shrine seriously. Shortly after the Prince's visit, some vandal wrote a short verse on the tombstone saying, Here lies the Marquis of Angelesi's limb, the devil will have the remainder of him. Several long poems were also composed on the lost leg, the most well known being the one written by the politician George Canning, saying, And here five little ones repose, twin born with other five, unheeded by their brother Toes, who now are all alive, a leg and foot to speak more plain lie here, of one commanding, who though his wits he might retain lost half his understanding. The loss of his leg neither incapacitated Lord Uxbridge nor impeded his career. He rose to become a field marshal and knight of the garter, twice serving as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, and twice as Master General of the Ordinance. Throughout his life, Uxbridge used a wooden artificial leg designed by James Potts of Chelsea, London's premier artificial limb maker who had many retired soldiers as customers. Uxbridge's wooden leg was hollowed out to make it lighter. It also had articulated knee, ankle, and toe joints, which enabled the wearer to walk much more naturally than he would have been able to, with any prosthesis available at the time. The use of cat gut tendons ensured smoother and nearly soundless flexion of the joints. The design was such an improvement over existing artificial legs that Potts applied for a patent on the design with the name Anglicy Leg, naming it after Uxbridge. Lord Uxbridge lived up to the age of 86, finally dying in 1854, 39 years after his injury at Waterloo. One of the artificial legs worn by Uxbridge is now preserved at Uxbridge's National Trust-owned family home, Las Nuit, in Anglicy. In 1878, Uxbridge's son visited the Paris Cottage Garden and discovered that the leg was no longer interred, but the bones on open display. On investigation by the Belgian ambassador in London, it was discovered that they had been exposed in a storm which uprooted the willow tree beside which they were buried. Out of respect for Uxbridge and his family, the ambassador demanded that the leg be returned to the family. But the Paris family refused, unwilling to forgo the profits which came to them each year from the many visitors who came to view the blood-stained chair and the small tombstone which marked the leg's last resting place. Rather, they offered to sell the leg back to the Uxbridge family, who were outraged at the proposal. At this point, the Belgian minister of justice intervened, ordering the bones to be reburied, but instead of reinterring the leg, the bones were kept hidden. In 1934, after the last Monchil Paris passed away, his widow found the bones in his study and, wishing to avoid another scandal, tossed them in the furnace of her central heating system. Lord Uxbridge remained buried at the Litchfield Cathedral where a monument was erected to his honor. There is another monument, a 27 meter tall Doric Column called Anglicy Column that was erected two years after the Battle of Waterloo to commemorate his valor in the Napoleonic Wars. It is located at a city which is completely unpronounceable, incidentally the longest place name in Europe. It is near the Menai Straits in Wales. Human sacrifice was practiced in many early human societies throughout the world. In China and Egypt, the tombs of rulers were accompanied by pits containing hundreds of human bodies whose spirits were believed to provide assistance in the afterlife. Ritually slaughtered bodies are found buried next to rings of crucibles, brass cauldrons and wooden idols in the peat bogs of Europe and the British Isles. Early explorers and missionaries documented the importance of human sacrifice in Austronesian cultures and occasionally became human sacrifices themselves. In Central America, the ancient Mayans and Aztecs extracted the beating hearts of victims on elevated temple altars. It is no surprise then that many of the oldest religious texts, including the Koran, Bible, Torah and Vedas, make reference to human sacrifice. This raises a few key questions though. How and why could something as horrifying and costly as human sacrifice have been so common in early human societies? Is it possible that human sacrifice might have served some social function and actually benefited at least some members of a society? According to one theory, human sacrifice actually did serve a function in early human societies. The social control hypothesis suggests human sacrifice was used by social elites to terrorize underclasses, punish disobedience, and display authority. This in turn functioned to build and maintain class systems within societies. My colleagues and I were interested in testing whether the social control hypothesis might be true, particularly among cultures around the Pacific. So we gathered information on 93 traditional Austronesian cultures and used methods from evolutionary biology to test how human sacrifice affected the evolution of social class systems in human prehistory. The ancestors of the Austronesian peoples were excellent ocean voyagers, originating in Taiwan and migrating west as far as Madagascar, east as far as Easter Island, and south as far as New Zealand. This is an area covering more than half the world's longitude. These cultures ranged in scale from the Isneg, who lived in small, egalitarian, family-based communities, to the Hawaiians, who lived in complex states with royal families, slaves, and hundreds of thousands of people. Human sacrifice was performed in 43% of the cultures we studied. Events that called for human sacrifice included the death of chiefs, the construction of houses and canoes, preparation for wars, epidemic outbreaks, and the violation of major social taboos. The physical act of sacrifice took a wide range of forms, including strangulation, bludgeoning, burning, burial, drowning, being crushed under a newly built canoe, even being rolled off a roof and then decapitated. In Austronesia, human sacrifice was common in cultures with strict class systems, but scarce in egalitarian cultures. While an interesting correlation, this doesn't tell us whether human sacrifice functioned to build social class systems, or whether social class systems led to human sacrifice. Using what is known about the family tree of Austronesian languages and the data we collected on 93 traditional Austronesian cultures, we were able to reconstruct Austronesian prehistory and test how human sacrifice and social structures co-evolved through time. This enabled us to not only test whether human sacrifice is related to social class systems, but also get at the direction of causality based on whether human sacrifice tends to arise before or after social class systems. Our results show that human sacrifice tended to come before strict class systems and helped to build them. What's more, human sacrifice made it difficult for cultures to become egalitarian again. This provides strong support for the social control hypothesis of human sacrifice. In Austronesia, the victims of human sacrifice were often of lower status, such as slaves and the perpetrators of high status such as chiefs or priests. There was a great deal of overlap between religious and political systems, and in many cases the chiefs and kings themselves were believed to be descended from the gods. As such, the religious systems favored social elites, and those who offended them had a habit of becoming human sacrifices. Even when a broken taboo strictly required human sacrifice, there was flexibility in the system and punishment was not even handed. For example, in Hawaii, the person who broke a major taboo could substitute the life of a slave for their own life, providing they could afford a slave. Human sacrifice could have provided a particularly effective means of social control because it provided a supernatural justification for punishment. Its graphic and painful nature served as a deterrent to others and because it demonstrated the ultimate power of elites. The overlap between religious and secular systems and early human societies meant that religion was vulnerable to being exploited by those in power. The use of human sacrifice as a means of social control provides a grisly illustration of just how far this can go. Coming up, a senior couple seemed to be enjoying their retirement. They were heading home from their apartment in Florida to their home in New York, as they did every spring. But somewhere on the way, they vanished into the ether. What happened to Charles and Catherine Romer? Plus, cornering the market in heroin and cocaine trafficking, Vita Rizzuto, Canada's mafia gonfather dominated Montreal until his death in December of 2013. These stories and more on the way. He has been spotted all over the world, but photographic evidence is lacking as is any scientific proof, but he still exists and is still seen. And now you can search for Bigfoot every month in the Find Bigfoot calendar by Timothy Wayne Williams. Each month, you'll be captivated by an original Timothy Wayne Williams painting. Beautiful and captivating, but within each painting hides a monster. Bigfoot is hiding somewhere in each painting. Search for Bigfoot and invite others to do so as well with the new Find Bigfoot calendar, available now at WeirdDarkness.com slash Bigfoot. That's WeirdDarkness.com slash Bigfoot. Charles Romer, 73, and Catherine Romer, 75, were referred to as snowbirds. They would leave their frigid home in Scarsdale, New York and spend the winters in their luxury fifth floor high-rise apartment in the Seaview Hotel in Ball Harbor, Florida. Charles Romer had owned the apartment since the 1940s, and he was a retired oil exec from Sinclair Oil. Catherine Romer was left a large sum of money from her late husband and enjoyed an active social life. They would make this 1,400-mile trek every winter. However, this past winter, they had decided to fly to Florida and have their car shipped to them. When it was time to return home in the spring, the couple felt up to making the drive themselves. On Tuesday morning, April 8, 1980, the Romers packed up their belongings in their custom 1978 Black Lincoln Continental and headed north towards their home in New York. They spent the day driving and decided to stop for the night in Brunswick, Georgia. They checked into the Holiday Inn just off I-95 at 3.51 pm. What actually happened after the Romers checked into the hotel is one of the biggest mysteries of all. Nothing seemed amiss until two days later, on April 10, when the hotel maid noticed the Romer's belongings were untouched and alerted the hotel manager. Even then, there didn't seem to be much cause for concern. It was initially thought the couple was out sightseeing as their car was also gone from the parking lot. Concern was raised and asserts started though on April 12, two days after the Romers were scheduled to arrive home. Mr. Romer's son, Charles Romer, Jr. had tried to reach his father and stepmother on April 11 and 12, but figured they were busy when they didn't answer. He was starting to worry, so he decided to phone the South Carolina Resort Hotel they were scheduled to stay at on April 9 to see when they checked out. The answer would turn his concern into sheer panic. A couple had never even checked in. Now everyone was concerned as to the well-being of the retired couple. Helicopters, airplanes, search dogs and four-wheel-drive vehicles were utilized to comb 400 miles of coastline, marsh, swamps and timberland. Photographs of the couple and their vehicle were distributed between Savannah, Georgia and the Florida State Line. The couple's hotel room was full of their clothes and belongings, as well as a detailed journal that Charles always kept. The last entry was dated April 7, the day before the couple left to return home. There was also a half-empty bottle of scotch with two glasses, seeming to indicate the couple had enjoyed a drink before leaving that fateful night. A newspaper article even states that Mr. Romer phoned the couple's maid in Skarsdale while on their trip from Florida, telling her they would be home April 10 and to have the glasses chilled for cocktail hour. The couple's New York and Florida apartments were searched, and they were both in good order and looked just like they had left it. The only thing authorities could do was try to find the car and hope the couple was still with it. Sadly, the case grew very cold, very quickly. There were a few scant, supposed sightings of the couple, but none that could be verified. One sighting is a man at their hotel who claims he witnessed the couple talking to a younger couple thought to have been from Florida. There was a cluster of restaurants not far from the hotel, and a police officer believes he spotted their distinctive car parked there on the day they disappeared. There was also a Georgia Highway Patrol officer that believed he saw the couple's car about an hour after the couple checked into the hotel. The officer was said to only remember the sighting because of the couple's personalized license plate, CRRCBR. Oddly enough, the patrolman says the car was headed towards Florida. The ground searches continued for months, but there was a frustrating lack of any clues. There was a theory speculated as to what may have happened that, if true, would put an even darker cast on the couple's disappearance. As stated, the Romers were a wealthy couple. Their car was very valuable, as well as Mrs. Romer would usually be wearing several thousands of dollars of diamond and gold jewelry at any given time. Their hotel room was also reported as having had tens of thousands of dollars of jewelry left inside. Could the couple have been targeted and ultimately be victims of a robbery? The Romers were said to be very regimented and kept to a strict schedule, with Mr. Romer even keeping a detailed account of the couple's daily activities in his journal. It is also reported the couple would always stay at the same hotels on their drive back. Is it possible someone knew they would be arriving at that hotel on that day, or someone perhaps seeing them checking in at the hotel pulling up in the very expensive car with Catherine Romer wearing valuable jewelry followed them that night? Mr. Romer's son had speculated at the time that perhaps something had happened to them in the parking lot of the hotel. There was even a mention by the police of possible Miami jewel thieves having followed them from Florida to their hotel in Georgia. The Romers, who had been married for five years, each had sons from previous marriages. Their children were very proactive in searching for their parents and were completely baffled by their disappearance. They had hired private investigators, but they were even stumped, as there were absolutely no trace of the couple to be found. Anywhere. As one of the sons stated, so far there hasn't been a trace, not a shred of evidence, it's absolutely unreal. Eerie. George Baker, a volunteer rescue diver, was one of the many to search for the Romers in the days and months after the disappearance. Although they were unsuccessful, Baker has continued in the many years since making numerous dives to try to find the couple and return them to their family. The Romer's disappearance was now as cold as the Skarsdale winters they would escape from but a possible tip would come in 2004, that if true may help to shed some light on what happened that fateful day in 1980. An unidentified woman had spoken with George Baker in 2004 and had an interesting story to tell. She said that her husband was a delivery man working that night in Brunswick. He claimed he was run off the road the night of April 8 by none other than a black Lincoln Continental. After hearing of the couple's vanishing, the handyman took this information to the police. It's speculated that with all the tips that poured in initially, perhaps this one just wasn't noticed. The delivery man has since passed away, but his widow was able to give proof that he was in the area on that day. The area he was delivering in is in an area that George Baker would later search but found no trace of the couple. Sadly, that would be the only possible clue that has surfaced in many years and the case is and almost always has been ice cold. Another case is often brought up when the Romer disappearance is discussed. It concerns another retired oil exec and his wife that lived 20 minutes from Brunswick in Sea Island, Georgia. The couple, also wealthy, was found murdered in their extravagant home on July 30, 1983. William and Merrill Roberts had been dead for four days when they were found in their bathrooms, nude, with their heads covered and their breathing obstructed. Their cause of death was said to be slow suffocation. There were two arrests in the case soon after their bodies were discovered. One of the suspects, Theodore Woodard, ingested weed killer when the police were closing in on him and died from the effects of the poison a few days later. The other suspect, Kenneth Bernard Blanks, was charged with the couple's murder and an additional murder of Brunswick cab driver George Francis. All three murders were said to have been a robbery motive. Blanks was convicted in 1984 and sentenced to death. Was this related to the Romer's case? It's never been proven. It seems that the Romers were living most retired couple's dream, traveling the country and enjoying their life. It is the truest definition of the word mysterious to think of what may have happened to them that April evening. If Charles and Catherine Romer's lives did end that night in whatever fashion, it would sadly be a case of till death do us part. Crime ran in Vito Rizzuto's family. His grandfather on his mother's side was a mafia boss in Catalisa, Heraklia, the small Sicilian village where Vito was born. In 1954, Vito's father Nicolo moved the family to Montreal, where he started his own crime syndicate after seizing the troll of the Catroni crime family. When it was time for Rizzuto to take over control of the mob from his father, he did it in flashy suits, importing and distributing heroin and cocaine internationally thanks in part to his connections to the Bonanno crime family in New York. Vito Rizzuto drew comparisons to another infamous mobster, John Gotti or the Teflon Don, the longtime head of the Gambino crime family for his ability to stay out of prison, until his past finally caught up with him. In 2004, Rizzuto was indicted by a Brooklyn grand jury for his involvement in the May 5, 1981 gangland killings of Philip Guicione, Dominic Trinchera and Alphonse Indolacano, which became known as the Three Capos murder. He eventually spent five years in prison and died of lung cancer only a year after his release in 2012. But while Rizzuto himself was gone, his organization wasn't and his death resulted in a bloody, prolonged struggle for control. In 1954, Nicolo Rizzuto and his family packed their things and left Sicily for Montreal. He already had a job lined up too with the Montreal mob at the time led by Vincenzo Vic Catroni. Nicolo Rizzuto wasn't new to the criminal underworld either. His wife, Libertina Mano, was the daughter of a Sicilian mafioso named Antonio Mano and, according to the McGill Tribune, the mobster's connections proved beneficial in connecting Nicolo with the Catronis and other Sicilian crime families. This connection allowed Nicolo to form his own crew and make his own alliances outside the Catroni family, whose management he often disagreed with. He's going from one side to the other, here and there. He says nothing to nobody. He's doing business and nobody knows anything, complained Paolo Violi in 1976. Violi was Catroni's successor, evidently unhappy with the way in which Rizzuto conducted his business. In an attempt to resolve the ongoing disputes between Nicolo Rizzuto and the Catroni family, the Banano family, one of New York's most powerful crime families with ties to Sicily themselves, sent a group of mediators to deal with the problem. When no common ground could be found, the Bananos sided with Rizzuto, sparking a war between Calabrian and Sicilian factions of the Montreal mob. Rizzuto quickly orchestrated the murder of Pietro Ciara, an advisor to Violi, and a year later, two of his gunmen shot and killed Paolo's brother, Francesco. Paolo Violi, however, was seemingly spared by his brief stint in jail, only to be murdered upon his release in 1978. By 1980, the Sicilians had all but wiped out the Calabrians. Paolo's remaining brother, Rocco, was shot by a sniper mid-family dinner and the Rizzutos had cemented themselves as Montreal's preeminent crime family. Then, Nicolo Rizzuto handed the reins of his empire to his son, Vito. When Vito Rizzuto took control over his father's empire, he was put in charge of a multimillion-dollar organization at the forefront of Montreal's criminal underworld. The Rizzuto crime family didn't discriminate when it came to crime. They had their hands in everything from construction fraud, drug trafficking and gambling to money laundering, bribery, extortion, and stock manipulation. Then, in early May 1981, Rizzuto was called to New York by a high-ranking member of the Banano crime family, Joseph Massino. Many cite this moment as Rizzuto's official induction into the Banano crime family. The Rizzutos were often referred to as the sixth family, but that wasn't the only reason he was called down from Montreal. At that time, the New York Times put out a story detailing the successful infiltration of an FBI agent into the Banano crime family. The agent went by the name Donnie Brasco and had been discreetly keeping tabs on the criminal organization since 1977. Not long after Rizzuto arrived in New York, Brasco caught wind of three high-profile murders within the Banano organization, Alfons and Delicato, Philip Giaconi, and Dominic Trinchera. Three capos were gunned down in a nightclub in Brooklyn. An official complaint filed against one involved mob member named Benjamin Ruggiero read, For the past two years, bitter and increasingly violent disputes have risen among the several capos or captains within the Banano family, resulting in their split into two main factions, those loyal to the current boss of the family and those opposed to him. As the story goes, Delicato, Giaconi, and Trinchera have been opposed to the Banano family leadership, so Massino orchestrated their murders and enlisted Rizzuto for the job, along with three other gunmen including Massino's brother-in-law, Salvatore Vitale. Although the three capos murder didn't yet spell the end for Rizzuto or the Banano crime organization, the event planted the seed that would ultimately lead to Rizzuto's downfall. For 20 years after the three capos murder, Vito Rizzuto seemed untouchable. He was the head of Canada's largest criminal organization, his illegal businesses netting him billions of dollars as he dined with politicians and other powerful officials. But in January 2001, Rizzuto's once impregnable empire was dealt its killing blow. A group of officers appeared at Rizzuto's home with a pair of handcuffs and a warrant for his arrest. It was surgical, Nick Milano told the Sun. Milano was one of the officers tasked with surveilling Rizzuto and ultimately putting him behind bars. Mrs. Rizzuto opens the door and he's at the top of the stairs. It's not a small property. My partner and I asked him to come down. That's what my partner told him. Dress up nicely, Vito, because you'll be going to court. Canadian police were able to bag Rizzuto in 2001, but it would take another two years for the FBI's extradition warrant to come through. Milano accompanied Rizzuto on his trip to New York and spoke to him extensively on the return trip to Montreal. He was forthcoming and spoke openly about his family, his prediction about how things would go down in his absence, Milano said. It was prophetic. Everything except the murders of his crew and family happened. On May 4, 2007, Vito Rizzuto pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder in relation to the killings of Giaconi, Trinchera, and Indelicato. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison and fined $250,000. But, as he told Milano, things didn't go well for his crew while he was behind bars. Rizzuto's absence created a power vacuum and while the Canadian mobs fought for control, his family paid the price. In 2009, his son Nick Rizzuto Jr. was gunned down in the street. A year later, his father, Nicolo, was killed by a sniper in his home. Now battling lung cancer, Rizzuto was given early release in October 2012, but he was never able to regain control of his former empire. Instead, he reached out to Milano and gave him information about corruption in Canada's construction industry. I repeat to everyone who asks me what Vito was like, Milano said. He was a gentleman, in every sense of the word, very composed and very articulate. He had leadership qualities. He was able to influence people and had that charisma that made him a little bit special. Vito Rizzuto ultimately lost his battle against lung cancer in 2013, his criminal empire in shambles and his family on the brink of ruin. Up next, we'll look at a few lawsuits that should never have made it to a courtroom, but I'm glad they did because they make for a great kicker story for the end of the podcast. As you already know, Built Bar is a sponsor of Weird Darkness. Don't tell them I said this, but I would continue to let them be a sponsor without them paying me at all so long as they continue to send me these free samples. Today, I received their new cookies and cream chunk. It's like having actual cookies and cream chunks in the candy bar. These are protein bars. These aren't candy bars, so they're low calorie. This has 18 grams of carbs. That's fewer carbs than an average size banana or a honeycrisp apple. This is my lunch, and it feels like I just had dessert. This cookies and cream chunk is just insanely good. You can save 10% off of anything you buy from Built. Just go to WeirdDarkness.com slash Built and use the promo code WeirdDarkness. All one word, you can get 10% off your entire order, including the cookies and cream chunk. Now the hard part is, this actually tastes like dessert, but I want to eat another one. We've all heard stories about bizarre lawsuits that make us scratch our heads and wonder, how did that even make it to court? From claims that defy common sense to grievances that can only originate in the most imaginative minds, these lawsuits remind us that truth can be stranger than fiction. So buckle up as we journey through some legal history where some plaintiffs turn everyday mishaps into extraordinary legal battles. Here are just 10 stupid lawsuits that never should have seen a courtroom. Libeck vs. McDonald's A Hot Coffee Spill In 1992, Stella Libeck, a 79-year-old woman spilled a cup of McDonald's coffee in her lap and suffered third-degree burns that required skin grafts and two years of medical treatment. Libeck offered to settle the case with McDonald's for $20,000 to cover her medical expenses and lost income. McDonald's, though, only offered $800, so the case went to trial. McDonald's coffee was found to be dangerously hot at 180-190 degrees Fahrenheit — that's 82.2-87.8 degrees Celsius — and more likely to cause serious injury than coffee served at any other establishment. Libeck's attorneys argued that McDonald's coffee was defective. McDonald's admitted that its coffee was not fit for consumption when sold because it causes severe scalds if spilled or drunk. While the case is often criticized as an example of a frivolous lawsuit, it's important to note that Libeck suffered serious injuries and offered to settle for a reasonable amount before the case went to trial. The case also brought attention to the issue of dangerously hot coffee and led to changes in how restaurants serve coffee to customers. This one never should have ended up in court because McDonald's really should have just taken her first off. Dimmick vs. Rowley The Hostage Holdup Dimmick v. Rowley is a case that gained national attention and was widely regarded as one of the most ridiculous lawsuits in recent history. In September 2009, Jesse Dimmick, a convicted kidnapper, broke into the home of Jared and Lindsay Rowley in Topeka, Kansas while on the run from the police. He was under suspicion for a murder in Colorado. During the following standoff, Dimmick held the Rowley's hostage for several hours before falling asleep. According to Dimmick, he had a legally binding oral contract with the Rowley's that they would hide him from the police in exchange for money. However, after his arrest, Dimmick was convicted of kidnapping, theft and deluding police. The Rowley's filed a lawsuit against Dimmick, seeking $75,000 in damages for breaking into their home and causing emotional distress. In 2011, Dimmick filed a countersuit against the Rowley's, seeking $235,000 in damages for, believe it or not, breach of contract. His suit was unsuccessful, of course. He was sentenced to 11 years for two counts of kidnapping. He was then sent to Colorado for trial, convicted and sentenced to 37 years. In 2013, a Shawnee County District Court judge dismissed the Rowley's lawsuit against Dimmick upon their request. In the case of Naruto v. Slater, a monkey named Naruto filed a copyright infringement claim over a selfie he took on a wildlife photographer's unattended camera. The photographer, David Slater and the publishing company, Wildlife Personalities Limited, published the monkey selfies in a book. The lawsuit gained significant attention and raised intriguing legal questions. The District Court initially granted the defendant's motion to dismiss, ruling that Naruto, the monkey, lacked standing under Article III and the Copyright Act. However, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed Naruto's Article III standing, stating that the complaint included facts sufficient to establish that Naruto was the author and owner of the photographs and had suffered economic harm. We're talking about economic harm to a monkey here. Despite this, the Court held that Naruto lacked statutory standing because the Copyright Act did not authorize animals to file copyright infringement suits. The case ultimately ended with a settlement agreement between Slater and PETA, the organization representing Naruto, where Slater agreed to donate 25% of his future proceeds from the use of those selfies to charities protecting wildlife. The Ninth Circuit refused to dismiss the appeal, stating that a decision would be helpful to lower courts in addressing a developing area of the law. Stambavsky vs. Ackley, A Haunted House In this case, Jeffrey Stambavsky entered a contract to purchase a house from Helen Ackley and Nyak, New York. However, after signing the contract, Stambavsky discovered that the house was allegedly haunted. Feeling deceived, Stambavsky sought to rescind the contract and recover his down payment, arguing that Ackley had a duty to disclose the house's haunted status. The Court ruled in favor of Stambavsky, stating that Ackley, yes, had a duty to disclose the house's haunted status. The Court considered the house's reputation as a haunted house and the fact that Ackley had promoted the haunted status in media interviews. Based on these factors, the Court held that Ackley had a duty to disclose this information to Stambavsky. The Court's decision was based on the Caveat M Tour, or buyer-beware principle, which is a general rule in real estate transactions. However, the Court found that the house's haunted status was a unique and material fact that could affect the property's value. Therefore, the Court held that Ackley did have a duty to disclose the information to Stambavsky. Vezmar v. Cruz, The Worst Date Vezmar v. Cruz is a lawsuit that made headlines in 2017 when a man sued his date for texting during a movie. The plaintiff, Brandon Vezmar, claimed that his date, Crystal Cruz, was texting on her phone during their movie date, which he found distracting. Vezmar asked Cruz to stop texting, but she refused, so he decided to sue her for the cost of the movie ticket, which was $17.31. The lawsuit quickly gained attention on social media and news outlets, with many people mocking Vezmar for what they saw as a frivolous lawsuit. A judge eventually dismissed the case and ruled that Vezmar's claim did not meet the minimum threshold for damages required to file a lawsuit in small claims court. However, the case continued to generate controversy and debate about the lawsuit's merits and the broader issue of texting in movie theaters. Pearson v. Chung, Dude, Where Are My Pants? The case of Pearson v. Chung, also known as the $54 million Pants case, gained international attention and has been an example of frivolous litigation and the need for tort reform in the United States. Roy Pearson, an administrative law judge at the time, sued his local dry cleaning establishment for damages after they allegedly lost his pants. The case went to trial on June 12, 2007 with Pearson representing himself. He argued that the dry cleaners had failed to fulfill their same-day service and satisfaction-guaranteed promises. Ultimately, the Superior Court judge ruled in favor of the dry cleaners. The case has been widely regarded as a frivolous lawsuit due to its lack of legal or factual support. Pearson's claim for $54 million in damages for a lost pair of pants was considered outrageous and without merit. Gee, really? Pearson v. Chung symbolized the broader problem of frivolous lawsuits and the potential misuse of the legal system for personal gain. While the case eventually faced significant backlash from the public and legal experts, it underscored the necessity for more stringent regulations surrounding the filing of baseless claims. Ramirez v. Kraft Heinz Foods Company, a cheesy situation. Ramirez v. Kraft Heinz Foods Company is a recent case filed in the Southern District of Florida. The plaintiff, Amanda Ramirez, filed a complaint against Kraft Heinz Foods Company alleging that the company falsely advertised its Velveeta shells and cheese original microwavable bowls that state, quote, ready within three and a half minutes, unquote. Ramirez alleged that these instructions only describe the cooking time and fail to take into account the time it takes to remove the lid, add the cheese, sauce, add water, and stir. She claimed that had she known it would take longer than the stated time, she never would have purchased the product. Ramirez argued that the packaging constituted false advertising and a violation of Florida's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act. She asked that Kraft cease its deceptive advertising and demanded $5 million in punitive damages. However, on July 27, 2023, the court dismissed Ramirez's complaint for failure to state a claim. The judge ruled that Ramirez had not provided enough evidence to support her claim or that the labeling would mislead a reasonable consumer. The judge also noted that Ramirez had not suffered any actual harm from purchasing the product and therefore did not have standing to bring the lawsuit. On a side note, her attorney had also filed a lawsuit against Frito Lay for its hint of lime tostitos, which the plaintiff in that case claimed contained only a negligible or de minimis amount of lime. Well, isn't that what hint of lime means? Berkman v. Roberts American Gourmet Food, Snack Time Berkman v. Roberts American Gourmet Food is a case decided on June 26, 2007 in the Supreme Court of New York. The plaintiff, Berkman, filed a lawsuit against Roberts American Gourmet Food, Inc., alleging that the company had falsely advertised its pirate booty snack as being trans-fat-free and all-natural when it contained trans-fats and other artificial ingredients. Berkman claimed that he had purchased the product based on these false claims and suffered damages as a result. The court dismissed the case, stating that the plaintiff had failed to show how he had suffered any injury due to the alleged false advertising. Critics argue that the plaintiff's claims were baseless and that the lawsuit was simply an attempt to extort money from the defendant. However, others argue that the case highlights the need for stricter regulation of food labeling and advertising to prevent companies from making false or misleading claims about their products. Stem v. Tootsie Role Industries It's About Quality Over Quantity In this particular legal battle, the plaintiff, Mr. Stem, alleged that he had suffered emotional distress and physical harm due to junior mince packaging. Stem claimed that he had purchased a box of junior mince expecting to find a reasonable amount of mince inside, only to discover that there were, in his view, too few mince in relation to the overall size of the box. He argued that this disparity between packaging size and candy quantity was misleading and a deceptive business practice. However, the lawsuit's absurdity becomes pretty apparent upon closer inspection. The packaging of junior mince has long been recognized for its distinctive design, featuring a substantial box with a clear plastic cover to showcase the enclosed mince. The transparency of the packaging leaves no room for confusion regarding the quantity of mince contained within. Moreover, Stem's claims of emotional distress and physical harm stemming from the mint-to-box ratio strain credibility. The case wasted valuable court resources and trivialized the legal system by turning a mundane matter of candy packaging into a baseless courtroom drama. Overton v. Anheuser-Busch, A Lady's Man In 1991, Richard Overton filed a lawsuit against Anheuser-Busch, the maker of Bud Light, for $10,000, claiming to have suffered emotional distress, mental injury and financial loss. Overton alleged that the company's advertising campaign, which featured beautiful women, falsely promised him that he would attract such women if he drank their beer. Despite consuming more and more of their beer, Overton's fantasies of having beautiful women fawn over him never became a reality. The Michigan Court of Appeals dismissed Overton's case based on his failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. The Overton v. Anheuser-Busch case is often cited as one of the most ridiculous lawsuits ever. While the lawsuit may seem frivolous, it highlights the issue of false advertising and the potential harm it can cause consumers. Companies are responsible for ensuring that their advertising is truthful and not misleading, and consumers have the right to hold them accountable when they fail to do so. However, in this case, Overton's claim was deemed baseless and dismissed by the court. Thanks for listening, and be sure to stick around for the bloopers at the end. If you like the show, please share it with somebody you know who loves the paranormal or strange stories, true crime, monsters or unsolved mysteries like you do. You can email me anytime with your questions or comments at darren at WeirdDarkness.com. Darren is D-A-R-R-E-N. WeirdDarkness.com is also where you can find information on any of the sponsors you heard about during the show, find all my social media, listen to audiobooks I've narrated, sign up for the email newsletter, find other podcasts that I host, including Church of the Undead, visit the store for WeirdDarkness merchandise and more. WeirdDarkness.com is also where you can find the Hope in the Darkness page if you or someone you know is struggling with depression or dark thoughts. Also on the website, if you have a true paranormal or creepy tale to tell, you can click on Tell Your Story. You can find all of that and more at WeirdDarkness.com. All stories on Weird Darkness are purported to be true unless stated otherwise, and you can find links to the stories or the authors in the show notes. Ivan Trevinka, the man who belonged in neither heaven nor hell, was written by Valder Roarek for ancient origins. Why Human Sacrifice is by Joseph Watts for the conversation. The Vanishing of Charles and Catherine Romer is by Crystal Dawn for Lost and Found Blogs. The Strange Tale of Lord Uxbridge's Leg is by Koshik Patawri for Amusing Planet. Canada's Mafia Godfather is by Austin Harvey for all that's interesting. And Lawsuits that never should have made it to a courtroom is by Paul Medina for Listverse. WeirdDarkness is a registered trademark. Copyright Weird Darkness. And now that we're coming out of the dark, I'll leave you with a little light. Matthew 6, Verses 19-21. Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. And a final thought. Isn't it funny how day by day nothing changes? But when you look back, everything is different? C.S. Lewis. I'm Darren Marlar. Thanks for joining me in The Weird Darkness. Welcome, Weirdo. A humorous story written by the Romanian author Ian A House Owned by Manshul Haesint. Manshul Haesint, Yosef. Manshul Haesint, Joseph Marie Perie. Manshul Haesint, Yote. Manshul Haesint, Joseph Marie Perie. We were able to carry We were able to reconstruct Austronesian prehistory and test halve crime. His grandfather on his mother's side was a mafia boss in Catalec, I.R.C. An official complaint filed against one involved mob member, which the plaintiff in that case claimed contained only a negligee. Thanks for listening, and be sure to stick around for the blooper. You can hear the snarls right behind you. The faster you run, the closer the creatures seem to get. How can the undead run this fast, you think to yourself? Now you're drenched in sweat, but your mouth is dry. You need to find somewhere to stop and think about how to survive the next few minutes of your life. Then you see it and run towards the water station. The zombie fun run will have to wait until you quench your thirst, but bottled water is expensive and you don't even want to know what might be in tap water or much less fresh water. Fortunately, the horde of horror fanatics at this water station planned in advance and brought Patriot pure outdoor filtration water cooler system. It gives you clean cold water wherever you go. Its five gallon tank keeps water cold, keeps ice for days on end, reduces the levels of over 200 contaminants with a two-step filtration technology which you can use with tap water, well water, river water or any water source you find. It's UV resistant, so it works just as well at any time of day, and you're avoiding the cost of bottled water while also avoiding the unnecessary use of plastic, all in one system. It might be the only non-terrifying thing at your Halloween or fall themed activity. Get the Patriot pure outdoor filtration water cooler system at 4patriots.com. That's the number 4 Patriots.com and use the promo code WEIRD to get 10% off everything you order. That's 4patriots.com promo code WEIRD. Uh oh, zombies are back. Don't miss future videos. I post videos 7 days a week. And while you're at it, spread the darkness by sharing this video with someone you know who loves all things strange and macabre. If you want to listen to the podcast, you can find it at weirddarkness.com slash listen.