Some crimes are so heartbreaking or shocking, they change laws, change society, or even

earn the label, Crime of the Century. But the stories that made headlines and decades past

aren't necessarily remembered today.

I'm Amber Hunt, a journalist and author, and in each episode of this show,

I'll examine a case that's maybe lesser known today, but was huge when it happened.

This is Crimes of the Centuries.

Thank you. This is Crimes of the Centuries. Greetings, the email read. My name is Orb Robinson from Tampa, Florida.

I have in my possession a rare multi-carat moonrock I'm trying to find a buyer for.

The laws surrounding this type of exchange are known, so I will be straightforward and nonchalant

about wanting to find a private buyer.

If you or someone you know would be interested in such an exchange, please let me know.

Thank you. Orp. Robinson.

Axel Emmerman figured this had to be a joke.

Some dude with an obviously fake name was asking him if he wanted to buy some moon rocks.

Moon rocks.

It may be the most valuable thing on Earth.

There were a finite amount of them and were only allowed out of NASA's hands for highly regulated scientific research.

Otherwise, they resided in a hermetically sealed, glove-handled existence of

pure nitrogen, touched only by those in oxygen-canistered, full-bodied, purified clean suits in the

lunar lab, which nestled deep within the Johnson Space Center's well-guarded and highly secure

megacompound.

Even researchers got only the tiniest bits of rock to work on and only under specific conditions.

...