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True Crime Campfire

Counterfeit: The Murder of Viola Drath

True Crime Campfire

True Crime Campfire

True Crime, Society & Culture, History

4.81.5K Ratings

🗓️ 6 August 2021

⏱️ 48 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Washington, D.C. has a long history of frauds and fantasists, people who showed up out of nowhere claiming to be somebody important, somebody rich, somebody royal. And people believed them—let them into the inner circle, invested money with them, gave them a seat at the table—only to find out later that they’d been had. That’s bad enough when all you lose is money, or a little bit of your pride. Far worse when your heart is involved. This is the bizarre story of Viola Drath, one of D.C.’s most respected players, a brilliant woman who was ahead of her time. Not the sort of woman you’d expect to fall victim to a breathtaking fraud. But as we’ve seen before on True Crime Campfire, even the smartest people can be taken in by clever acting and relentless charm.

Join us for this true story, recently made into the movie "Georgetown" with Annette Bening, Vanessa Redgrave and Christoph Waltz.

Sources:
NY Times, Franklin Foer. The Worst Marriage in Georgetown. https://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/08/magazine/albrecht-muth-and-viola-drath-georgetowns-worst-marriage.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viola_Herms_Drath
Investigation Discovery's "Deadline Crime with Tamron Hall," Episode "The House on Q Street"

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Transcript

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0:00.0

Take your holiday as seriously as British Airways holidays takes your holiday.

0:05.0

So ditch your desk, set your out of office on,

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and unwind on the white sandy beaches of the Dominican Republic.

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With an all-inclusive family-friendly break at the Grand Palladium Palace Resort and Spa,

0:17.0

or Luxurious Adult Only Getaway at the TRS Takes a Hotel.

0:23.0

Book now with a low deposit at V8.com slash palladium.

0:27.0

Teas and Seas Apply at All Protected.

0:30.0

Welcome back to...

0:33.0

Two pizzas.

0:34.0

A good fellow stone-baked pepperoni pizza costing £3 at Tesco,

0:38.0

and Aldeys, which best by Carlos stone-baked pepperoni pizza,

0:41.0

costing just £139.

0:43.0

So where can you save over 50% on your pizza?

0:46.0

Can't stop that.

0:48.0

Time's up. You're right. Aldeys, the answer.

0:51.0

So come on down to Aldeys, which cheapest supermarket of the year?

0:55.0

Other supermarkets may sell owned brand products at different prices for full details,

0:58.0

CLD.co.uk forward slash swap.

1:01.0

Hello campers. Grab your marshmallows and gather around the True Crime Campfire.

1:05.0

Wear your camp counselors. I'm Katie, and I'm Whitney.

1:08.0

And we're here to tell you a true story that is way stranger than fiction,

1:12.0

or roasting murderers and marshmallows around the True Crime Campfire.

...

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