Ed Helms

So if you've ever wanted to see me stumble through a live Q&A or dramatically read about a kitty cat getting turned into a CIA operative, now's your chance. Again, head to snafu-book.com to preorder the book and check out all the tour details and dates. Or just click the link in the show notes. That'll work too. Okay, that's it. On with the chaos. This is Snafu Season 3, Formula 6.

So if you've ever wanted to see me stumble through a live Q&A or dramatically read about a kitty cat getting turned into a CIA operative, now's your chance. Again, head to snafu-book.com to preorder the book and check out all the tour details and dates. Or just click the link in the show notes. That'll work too. Okay, that's it. On with the chaos. This is Snafu Season 3, Formula 6.

Last time on Snafu, double-toting two-gun Hart became a prohibition enforcement agent.

Last time on Snafu, double-toting two-gun Hart became a prohibition enforcement agent.

And ended up killing an innocent man. Back in D.C., Mabel Walker Willebrand roped in just about the last people who should ever be involved in law enforcement. This is where the Klan comes in, actually. So what was supposed to be a righteous moral crusade was turning into a bloody, morally compromised debacle.

And ended up killing an innocent man. Back in D.C., Mabel Walker Willebrand roped in just about the last people who should ever be involved in law enforcement. This is where the Klan comes in, actually. So what was supposed to be a righteous moral crusade was turning into a bloody, morally compromised debacle.

And even after all that, the dries weren't done yet. On a cold, misty night in late November 1926, two Brooklyn cops stumble upon something extremely suspicious down by the docks on the East River. Under the full moon, a stooped man struggles to carry a big bundle of something towards the water.

And even after all that, the dries weren't done yet. On a cold, misty night in late November 1926, two Brooklyn cops stumble upon something extremely suspicious down by the docks on the East River. Under the full moon, a stooped man struggles to carry a big bundle of something towards the water.

When the cops holler out and ask him what he's doing, he panics, kicks the bundle into the water, and runs away. The cops tackle him and handcuff him. But even once they get him to the precinct, he's still not talking. And this isn't just a regular old, I ain't saying nothing kind of silence. More of a stupor. He looks ill. His face oddly flushed. The police suspect he's had quite a lot to drink.

When the cops holler out and ask him what he's doing, he panics, kicks the bundle into the water, and runs away. The cops tackle him and handcuff him. But even once they get him to the precinct, he's still not talking. And this isn't just a regular old, I ain't saying nothing kind of silence. More of a stupor. He looks ill. His face oddly flushed. The police suspect he's had quite a lot to drink.

Eventually, they identify him as Francesco Travia, a longshoreman who lives in nearby Cobble Hill. They can't get a word out of him, but they do notice his pant legs are soaked in blood.

Eventually, they identify him as Francesco Travia, a longshoreman who lives in nearby Cobble Hill. They can't get a word out of him, but they do notice his pant legs are soaked in blood.

Sorry, I shouldn't laugh about this. That's historian Deborah Blum. Remember, she's an expert on the various ways chemicals can kill you. When you spend your career talking about poisoned corpses, sometimes you just gotta laugh. The police go to Travia's apartment, find a woman's dead body. Well, half of one. And her head is still there and her torso on the floor.

Sorry, I shouldn't laugh about this. That's historian Deborah Blum. Remember, she's an expert on the various ways chemicals can kill you. When you spend your career talking about poisoned corpses, sometimes you just gotta laugh. The police go to Travia's apartment, find a woman's dead body. Well, half of one. And her head is still there and her torso on the floor.

The scene in Travia's apartment is gruesome. So it's not really a stretch to conclude that Travia murdered this woman, chopped her up, and has just disposed of her legs in the East River. The body is identified as Anna Fredrickson, Francesco's neighbor. Anna's family tells the police that she went to Francesco to scrounge up some booze and left his apartment in multiple pieces.

The scene in Travia's apartment is gruesome. So it's not really a stretch to conclude that Travia murdered this woman, chopped her up, and has just disposed of her legs in the East River. The body is identified as Anna Fredrickson, Francesco's neighbor. Anna's family tells the police that she went to Francesco to scrounge up some booze and left his apartment in multiple pieces.

To the NYPD, this looks like an open and shut case. They'd caught Francesco Travia red-handed, or at least red-panted. But then the city's chief medical examiner arrives at the crime scene.

To the NYPD, this looks like an open and shut case. They'd caught Francesco Travia red-handed, or at least red-panted. But then the city's chief medical examiner arrives at the crime scene.

Norris emerges from his car and strolls into the apartment, no doubt dressed in an outfit that cost an arm and a lot of money. He takes a quick look at the crime scene, hears what the cops have to report, and immediately blows up the entire theory of the case.

Norris emerges from his car and strolls into the apartment, no doubt dressed in an outfit that cost an arm and a lot of money. He takes a quick look at the crime scene, hears what the cops have to report, and immediately blows up the entire theory of the case.