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Master Plan

Crime

50

Jan 1, 1999

Willow Springs, Illinois, seemed like any other quiet Midwestern community. But it was really one of the most corrupt places in the nation. This tiny village, nestled just outside of Chicago, was in the hip pocket of organized crime.

Full Episodes

Season 2, 19 episodes

A Model Killer,

It's a model's job to rivet the public's attention. But in 1984, some aspiring models began attracting publicity in a terrible new way.

50m Jan 1, 1999

When three people were found murdered in their home, it appeared like a burglary gone awry. But a crime this horrific deserved a closer look.

50m Jan 1, 1999

He was a predator, abducting girls and young women from their own front yards in broad daylight. He was a sadist: phoning one victim's family, taunting them, boosting then dashing their hope, and he wouldn't stop until we stopped him.

50m Jan 1, 1999

Cracking The Cartel,

A mother and child are kidnapped a bystander is murdered. Violence such as this shattered a quiet Texas neighborhood and exposed a drug cartel that flourished where it was least expected.

45m Jan 1, 1999

A Stranger in Town,

She appeared on the highway in the spring, a young woman, her life cut short, her past and her identity a mystery. Only by finding out who she was could we ever hope to find her killer.

50m Jan 1, 1999

In the 1970's and 80s, people went to Alaska looking for a fresh start, to reinvent themselves, or to disappear for a while. Some of those disappearances weren't by choice.

50m Jan 1, 1999

On Mississippi's Gulf Coast, a Judge and his politician wife are murdered in their home. The killer left few clues. It looked like a professional hit, and the investigation led nowhere. But the FBI refused to give up.

50m Jan 1, 1999

Shattered Shield,

In a city awash in narcotics the drug lords have all the power even over the police. Corruption in New Orleans grew like cancer, eating away at public safety and threatening to destroy the city. Crooked cops break the laws they were sworn to uphold.

50m Jan 1, 1999

Blood Brothers,

When the small community of Noel, Missouri discovered their bank was robbed, they're shocked. When the bank president turned up missing, they're outraged. And when clues began to surface the facts were more terrible than anyone could have guessed.

50m Jan 1, 1999

They swept through six states like a plague, thrill killers acting without rhyme or reason. They targeted adults and young girls, kidnapping, and murdering. And in their rampage, they left plenty of clues, but moving targets are the hardest to hit.

50m Jan 1, 1999

Family Secrets,

A woman and her infant son vanish. The husband is frantic. The clues are scarce, but hopes linger, even as the hours and days tick by without a word. Was she on the run, or the victim of foul play?

50m Jan 1, 1999

Willow Springs, Illinois, seemed like any other quiet Midwestern community. But it was really one of the most corrupt places in the nation. This tiny village, nestled just outside of Chicago, was in the hip pocket of organized crime.

50m Jan 1, 1999

In Miami, a gang of robbers targeted banks and armored cars. They carried assault weapons and weren't afraid to use them. They struck during the day, and sometimes twice a day. For awhile, they seemed unstoppable.

50m Jan 1, 1999

Beginning in 1990, Europe found itself in the clutches of a serial killer. He became an international outlaw, hopping from country to country to evade capture and to kill again.

50m Jan 1, 1999

When a sniper in Utah started targeting African-American men for death, authorities launched a massive investigation. With scant clues and no witnesses they found the odds stacked against them, and they had no idea where the killer would strike next.

50m Jan 1, 1999

Deadly Mission,

When a family was murdered in Arkansas, it seemed like an isolated event. But soon the crime was revealed to be part of an ever-widening circle of violence that defined a new age of domestic terrorism.

50m Jan 1, 1999

In 1995, our nation's capital was also our nation's murder capital. Even the police weren't safe. While Washington, DC, law enforcement targeted criminals, the criminals targeted law enforcement, even gunning down officers on patrol.

50m Jan 1, 1999

.22 Caliber Killer,

In Buffalo, New York, a sniper targeted African-American men. He held a city hostage, and threatened to ignite a racial powder keg. And it looked like others might be following his bloody example.

50m Jan 1, 1999

A Model Killer,

It's a model's job to rivet the public's attention. But in 1984, some aspiring models began attracting publicity in a terrible new way.

50m Jan 1, 1999