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The Patsy — True Crime
The Patsy

A new true crime story about innocence, guilt, and the thin line that divides them when you’re accused of a crime… The Patsy. Narrated by The West Wing’s Joshua Malina. We don’t think about journalists being killed in America. But it happens here too. On June 2, 1976, Don Bolles, a reporter for the Arizona Republic, was killed by a car bomb in the parking lot of a hotel in Phoenix – the first assassination of an investigative journalist in modern America. Bolles had been writing about corruption in the state, especially the connection between the dog racing industry and the mafia. Max Dunlap, a local heavy dirt contractor and family man with seven children, was accused and ultimately convicted of involvement in the crime. The new true crime podcast The Patsy investigates his story, through the eyes of his daughter Karen, and Pulitzer-Prize nominated reporter Don Devereaux, who long suspected Max’s innocence, and spent decades finding evidence to support it. A story that goes from street-level hoodlums, to the mafia, to the district attorney’s office, all the way up to the governor’s mansion.

Copyright: © 2023

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Sneak Peek - The First Episode of Murdered by Mistake Mar 25, 2026

Show notes

You can listen to the first episode of Murdered by Mistake here, ad-free. The rest of the series is available now, anywhere you get your podcasts.

Jill Houston's neighbor Pearl died tragically, in what the police ruled an accident, but Jill has spent decades trying to prove was a murder. Did men looking for Jill's home go into the wrong house? Was a fire set to cover their crime? This true crime miniseries presents the facts from both sides, and leaves it up to you, the listener, to decide. All episodes of Murdered by Mistake are available now.

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Murdered by Mistake - A New True Crime Limited Series From Voyage Media Mar 25, 2026

Show notes

A new true crime miniseries from Voyage Media - Jill Houston's neighbor Pearl died tragically, in what the police ruled an accident, but Jill has spent decades trying to prove was a murder. Did men looking for Jill's home go into the wrong house? Was a fire set to cover their crime? This true crime miniseries presents the facts from both sides, and leaves it up to you, the listener, to decide. All episodes of Murdered by Mistake are available now, anywhere you get your podcasts.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Voyage Media Recommends: The Burden May 27, 2024

Show notes

In the 1990s, Detective Louis N. Scarcella was legendary. In a city overrun by violent crime, he cracked the toughest cases and put away the worst criminals. “The Hulk” was his nickname.

Then the story changed. Scarcella ran into a group of convicted murderers (who all say they are innocent!) turned jailhouse-lawyers. In prison they realized Scarcella helped put many of them away. They set out to turn the tables on Scarcella while still in prison. And with the help of a NY Times reporter they would succeed.

Thirty years later, more than 20 people Scarcella helped put away have walked free. In the media he’s the “disgraced detective,” the rogue cop who hoodwinked an entire system.

For years, Scarcella insisted he did nothing wrong. But that’s all he’d say. Until we tracked Scarcella to a sauna in a Russian bathhouse, where he started to talk..and talk and talk. “The guilty have gone free,” he whispered. And then agreed to take us into the belly of the beast ... where justice is done (and undone).

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Behind The Scenes With Joshua Malina Feb 10, 2023

Show notes

The narrator of The Patsy, Joshua Malina of The West Wing, joins Voyage CEO Nat Mundel to discuss his own significant presence in podcasting (The West Wing Weekly and Chutzpod), his enthusiasm for the issues and story presented in The Patsy, and why he was pleased to get the call to narrate the show.

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Episode Six Feb 07, 2023

Show notes

Max Dunlap is free for thirteen years, but freedom doesn't last. In this final episode of The Patsy, the twisting path of Max's story comes to an end.

The Patsy is a production of Voyage Media. The series is produced, reported, and written by Chris Leitch and Adam Prince, and directed by Chris Leitch. Executive produced by Nat Mundel, Karen Graham, Robert Mitas, Kaitlyn Brown, and Dan Benamor. Edited, sound designed, and mixed by John Higgins, with additional editing by Nick Messitte and Andres Coca. Narrated by Joshua Malina.

Featuring Tony Abatemarco as Max, Laura Jane Salvato as Rosalie and Betty, and Jon Cahill as Lake. Original music by Derlis Gonzalez.

If you’re enjoying the show, please leave us a 5 star review on Apple Podcasts or anywhere you’re listening, and subscribe now for future episodes.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode Five Feb 07, 2023

Show notes

What larger forces were at play in the story of Max Dunlap and Don Bolles? This episode peels back the curtain on the machinations of the mafia and politicians entangled in this saga.

The Patsy is a production of Voyage Media. The series is produced, reported, and written by Chris Leitch and Adam Prince, and directed by Chris Leitch. Executive produced by Nat Mundel, Karen Graham, Robert Mitas, Kaitlyn Brown, and Dan Benamor. Edited, sound designed, and mixed by John Higgins, with additional editing by Nick Messitte and Andres Coca. Narrated by Joshua Malina.

Featuring Tony Abatemarco as Max, Laura Jane Salvato as Rosalie and Betty, and Jon Cahill as Lake. Original music by Derlis Gonzalez.

The novel "Loud and Clear" by Lake Headley and William Hoffman is cited in this episode.

If you’re enjoying the show, please leave us a 5 star review on Apple Podcasts or anywhere you’re listening, and subscribe now for future episodes.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode Four Feb 07, 2023

Show notes

A famous private investigator is hired to help get Max off of Death Row.

The Patsy is a production of Voyage Media. The series is produced, reported, and written by Chris Leitch and Adam Prince, and directed by Chris Leitch. Executive produced by Nat Mundel, Karen Graham, Robert Mitas, Kaitlyn Brown, and Dan Benamor. Edited, sound designed, and mixed by John Higgins, with additional editing by Nick Messitte and Andres Coca. Narrated by Joshua Malina.

Featuring Tony Abatemarco as Max, Laura Jane Salvato as Rosalie and Betty, and Jon Cahill as Lake. Original music by Derlis Gonzalez.

The novel "Loud and Clear", by Lake Headley and William Hoffman, is cited in this episode.

If you’re enjoying the show, please leave us a 5 star review on Apple Podcasts or anywhere you’re listening, and subscribe now for future episodes.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode Three Feb 07, 2023

Show notes

The trial of the century for the state of Arizona unfolds, lasting 66 days, with Karen having to sit and listen as her father is painted as a criminal, still trying to hold out hope someone will believe her family about what kind of man Max really was.

The Patsy is a production of Voyage Media. The series is produced, reported, and written by Chris Leitch and Adam Prince, and directed by Chris Leitch. Executive produced by Nat Mundel, Karen Graham, Robert Mitas, Kaitlyn Brown, and Dan Benamor. Edited, sound designed, and mixed by John Higgins, with additional editing by Nick Messitte and Andres Coca. Narrated by Joshua Malina.

Featuring Tony Abatemarco as Max, Laura Jane Salvato as Rosalie and Betty, and Jon Cahill as Lake. Original music by Derlis Gonzalez.

If you’re enjoying the show, please leave us a 5 star review on Apple Podcasts or anywhere you’re listening, and subscribe now for future episodes.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode Two Feb 07, 2023

Show notes

The suspicious death of Don Bolles' editor and confidant, Tom Sanford, only further complicates the aura of conspiracy that hangs in the air around the Bolles murder.

The Patsy is a production of Voyage Media. The series is produced, reported, and written by Chris Leitch and Adam Prince, and directed by Chris Leitch. Executive produced by Nat Mundel, Karen Graham, Robert Mitas, Kaitlyn Brown, and Dan Benamor. Edited, sound designed, and mixed by John Higgins, with additional editing by Nick Messitte and Andres Coca. Narrated by Joshua Malina.

Featuring Tony Abatemarco as Max, Laura Jane Salvato as Rosalie and Betty, and Jon Cahill as Lake. Original music by Derlis Gonzalez.

If you’re enjoying the show, please leave us a 5 star review on Apple Podcasts or anywhere you’re listening, and subscribe now for future episodes.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode One Feb 07, 2023

Show notes

Karen Dunlap Graham recounts a daughter's worst nightmare, as her father Max Dunlap is accused of involvement in the assassination of investigative reporter Don Bolles, a scandal that immediately becomes a national news story.

The Patsy is a production of Voyage Media. The series is produced, reported, and written by Chris Leitch and Adam Prince, and directed by Chris Leitch. Executive produced by Nat Mundel, Karen Graham, Robert Mitas, Kaitlyn Brown, and Dan Benamor. Edited, sound designed, and mixed by John Higgins, with additional editing by Nick Messitte and Andres Coca. Narrated by Joshua Malina.

Featuring Tony Abatemarco as Max, Laura Jane Salvato as Rosalie and Betty, and Jon Cahill as Lake. Original music by Derlis Gonzalez.

If you’re enjoying the show, please leave us a 5 star review on Apple Podcasts or anywhere you’re listening, and subscribe now for future episodes.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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