Scamfluencers - Spiro Agnew: Public Enemy Number Two

Episode Date: July 1, 2024

Maryland Republican Spiro Agnew is a crook. He rose from Baltimore County Zoning Board Chair to Vice President of the United Sates in under a decade—accepting cash bribes the entire time. When a state investigation threatens to take him down, Spiro hides behind President Nixon’s explosive Watergate scandal to hide his crimes and disappear from public memory… almost.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can listen to Scamfluencers early and ad-free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or Apple podcasts. Sarah, is there a line from a show or a movie that you think about a lot? Like, not an iconic line, like, get in loser, we're going shopping, but just maybe something a little more mundane? I don't know if this is mundane, but I think it is Forgotten.

You know that movie A Time to Kill with Matthew McConaughey and Samuel L. Jackson? No, but go on. Okay, well, without describing the whole movie, there's a scene where Samuel L. Jackson is in court and he exclaims, yes, they deserve to die and I hope they burn in hell. And that's just kind of like stuck with me since I was a child watching it on TV.

So yeah, I do think about that a lot. Okay, good. So you know exactly what I mean, because I also have one and mine is very dumb. It's from Bob's Burgers, which is that animated TV show. And it's a clip of Bob calling his wife a nag. And so he calls her Naggity Ann, Secretary of Nagger Culture, and my absolute favorite, Spiro Nagnu. I mean, that is cute.

I don't know why, but it has been stuck in my head since 2011. But Sarah, it's stuff like this that makes me believe in karmic retribution. Because today, this Spiro Nagnu joke is finally relevant. Today, this Spiro-Nagnew joke is finally relevant. It's early 1969, and Lester Matz is about to have his first meeting at the White House. Lester is in his mid-40s with a receding hairline and thick glasses. He often wears sharp, fancy suits.

His appointment is with an old friend named Spiro-Agnew. Lester first met Spiro about 10 years ago. At the time, Spiro was running to be the Baltimore County executive, and Lester co-owned a local engineering firm. Lester donated to Spiro's campaign, in part because he liked the guy, but he also had an ulterior motive.

If Spiro won, he would be hiring engineering firms like Lester's to work for the county, and Lester's firm could really use this work. Everything went according to plan. Spiro won his election, and the two men have been doing business together ever since. Over the years, they've also become friends. Spiro has had dinner at Lester's house,

and he was a guest at Lester's son's bar mitzvah. And things have been good for Spiro since then. He was recently sworn in as vice president of the United States. But Lester is feeling a little weird about this meeting. As he signs into the White House's logbook, he isn't proud or excited. Instead, he's probably feeling dread because he's here to deliver an envelope filled with $10,000 in cash.

With his slick back hair, sharp features, and habitual squint, Spiro always seems a little suspicious. But he doesn't look nervous about accepting bribes in his new job. Instead, after Lester hands over the envelope, Spiro tells him that the next time he wants to drop off a payment, he should call Spiro's secretary and tell her that he has more information. On his way home to Baltimore, Lester can't shake the feeling that he crossed a line. But Spiro has been good to him for a long time. Besides, Spiro is now one of the most powerful men

in the world. How is he supposed to say no? Spiro Agnew has been getting away with corruption for more than a decade. But soon, the authorities will catch on and try something that's almost never been attempted in American politics, applying the law almost never been attempted in American politics. Applying the law to the highest office in the land.

Okay, well, the second highest. Ellis, your favorite Murrays. Be honest. Andy. Number one. Colin. Number two. I take that. Judy. Judy three. I'm happy to be above Judy.

I don't even put me above Judy. Judy's a better person than me. I don't think I'm putting you above Judy. Are you just being polite? I think you're in at number three. I was being polite. And I will. There are other Murrays out there, so I will absolutely take that.

But number one on your list was Andy Murray. So saying as he was number one on your list will scrap the idea of doing a three part podcast on me. And you're sports media. Yeah. And instead we'll do it on Andy Murray. So seeing as he was number one on your list, we'll scrap the idea of doing a three-part podcast on me. On your sports career. And instead we'll do it on Andy Murray, the hunt for the Holy Grail, which is, of course, his first Wimbledon. I'd quite like to do a three-part series on your sports career. Oh, it would be...

Age 12, Belfast and Colin Murray can't find his boot bag. It would be awful. This one isn't though, it'll be great because Andy Murray winning Wimbledon was one of those seismic moments in our lifetime and sport. Yeah, huge. Yeah. And so much to talk about in this three-part series. So subscribe on Wondery Plus or wherever you get your podcasts. spice things up with some epic podcasts from Wondery. We're serving up three months of Wondery Plus for free. Order up your three month free trial now at Wondery.com slash plus.

Don't just shop, make your prime day truly prime with Wondery Plus. From Wondery, I'm Saatchi Cole. And I'm Sarah Hagge. And this is Scamfluencers. Come and give me your attention. I won't ever learn my lesson. Turn my speakers to eleven.

I feel like a legend. Spiro Agnew rose through the Republican ranks at unprecedented speed, becoming the vice president of the United States after less than a decade in politics. But even as a big-time government official, he still acted like a small-time crook. And sure, Richard Nixon's crimes might be better remembered, but his veep was also a pioneer in White House scamming. Spiro's lying and scheming was motivated less by paranoia and delusion and more by good old-fashioned greed.

And the way he attempted to wriggle out of trouble will become a template for generations of corrupt politicians to come. This is Spiro Agnew, public enemy number two. It's February, 1961, and Spiro Agnew sits anxiously in a nondescript room in the Baltimore County office building. Spiro is 42, and he's coming to the end of his first term as a public servant.

For the last three years, he's been the chairman of the Baltimore County Zoning Board of Appeals, and tonight he's pretty sure he's gonna be kicked out of his position. I know it sounds boring as hell, but his role is pretty powerful. Baltimore County is actually made up of a few Baltimore suburbs and the surrounding area, rather than the city itself.

White people are rapidly fleeing the city for these suburbs, so there's a ton of demand for new housing and other buildings. And the Zoning Appeals Board has a lot of sway over what gets built and where. Spiro was born in 1918 to a Greek immigrant father and American mother. He went to Johns Hopkins to study chemistry, but he dropped out. For a while, Spiro bounced around. He served in World War II, worked in a grocery store, briefly went back to the military, and finally became a lawyer. He passed the bar when he was in his late 20s, and like every freshly minted lawyer,

he started thinking about a career in politics. Spiro had been a Democrat for much of his life, but around that time, he registers as a Republican. Apparently, that's because his boss at the law firm told him he was more likely to stand out as a Republican in heavily Democratic Maryland. I really do feel like sometimes for people, politics aren't actually real. Like, they don't believe in anything. It's like, oh, I want to be a politician, so maybe I'll be a Republican instead of a Democrat. Yeah, it's like a sick game. Yeah. Well, Spiro got himself appointed to this zoning appeals board in 1957,

when he was in his late 30s. And a couple of years later, he ran for a judicial position on a county circuit. This ruffled a few feathers. Traditionally, these judges are appointed by governors and re-elected every term unless something is really wrong. The Baltimore Sun published an editorial defending this norm, and Spiro quickly went on the offensive, writing a letter to the editor saying that the paper was defending a practice that made

judges beholden to politicians. Spiro doesn't shy away from a fight. He's willing to go to the mat with anyone who disagrees with him. His secretary later says that around this time, he often called her first thing in the morning, ready to dictate letters to the newspaper's editor if he felt like he'd been slighted by their coverage. The local Democratic Party sees Spiro's ability to make headlines as a threat.

So in order to diminish his influence, they've decided to get him off the zoning board and out of the public eye. Obviously, Spiro is not gonna go quietly. So even though he's come to this meeting expecting to lose his job, he's also brought a crowd of fired up, dedicated supporters. The meeting quickly devolves into a shouting match between Spiro and the board chairman.

But in the end, Spiro loses, and he's removed from office. When they announce the decision, someone in the crowd yells, Cuba had it bad, but Baltimore has it worse. I love that this guy is already kind of larger than life on like a local scale. Like he is fighting so hard, so fast. This is literally how it starts, Sarah. Well, Spira's fight at the meeting is notable enough

that a member of the Republican Central State Committee starts advocating for future city council meetings to be broadcast on television so everyone will know just how dirty local politics really are. Spiro is upset about losing his position, but he's savvy enough to realize that this showdown actually made him look good. And with his reputation as a fighter, he'll be able to win his next election and make some new friends in the process. More than a year later,

Lester Matz is about to have a very shady meeting. Lester has been running his engineering firm for more than six years at this point, and it's been pretty successful. But he hasn't been able to get the kinds of government contracts he wants. So he's hoping that having a friend in government will help him out.

Lucky for him, there's a new County executive of Baltimore, a guy named Spiro Agnew. Spiro ran for the office earlier this year. His newfound notoriety and outsider status helped him win the election. Not long after Lester was having a conversation with a mutual associate. And this guy said that he and Lester were going to make a lot of money under Spiro. Lester got the message make a lot of money under Spiro. Lester got the message. He can get government work for his firm if he kicks back some of the money he gets paid

in the form of a bribe. Lester hasn't done anything like this before, at least that we know of. But he always figured that this was how people got these contracts. So now Lester and the associate are visiting Spiro together. And when Lester mentions the deal, Spiro just says that he has great confidence in the associate. Again, Lester can read between the lines. Pay the bribe to the associate and keep his mouth shut. And he is happy to go along with that.

I mean, I do kind of understand if Lester's like, well, I keep getting overlooked and now I know this guy and I'm sure that's just how things work if he's doing it. It's how things work if those people decide it is, right? Yeah. Well soon, Lester's got so much government work that he and his business partner have to come up with complicated transactions to get enough cash

to pay Spiro off without raising suspicions. But Lester always makes sure to get Spiro what he owes. Everyone's getting rich and things are only gonna get better raising suspicions. But Lester always makes sure to get Spiro what he owes. Everyone's getting rich and things are only gonna get better because Spiro is gonna keep moving up in the world and he's bringing his friends and this bribery scheme with him. It's 1967, about five years

after he was elected county executive and Spiro has just kept rising through the ranks. He was recently elected to be the governor of Maryland. He's a popular politician but he also got a lucky break. The Democratic nominee was overtly racist so Spiro was able to position himself as a moderate on race and squeak out a win. Spiro's new office is his nicest one yet. It's huge with fancy furniture and a beautiful fireplace. It's the perfect place to introduce himself to new potential government contractors. And sure, these guys might be used to other politicians' bribery schemes, but now Spiro

has to tell them how he does business. Rather than asking for money directly, Spiro complains about his low salary, which he says is inadequate. He needs to project a certain kind of image, you know? And he says he really needs money to benefit state Republicans. He's the head of the Maryland Republican Party, so he has to fundraise for campaigns statewide. To be clear, Spiro's annual salary is $25,000,

which is over $200,000 in today's money. It's really funny that he's making a case for needing more money instead of just being like I want more money but he's like no I should be more rich it's better for other people. That's a good argument. Well the contractors seem to pick up what Spiro is putting down and they keep the bribes flowing to Spiro's new middleman a guy named Bud. He's the bag man, the guy in charge of actually collecting the cash from Spiro's bribes. Bud was born into a wealthy and influential real estate family, and now works in the family business.

He and Spiro have worked out a mutually beneficial relationship. Bud uses his wealth to spot Spiro cash before his bribes come in, and then he pays himself back when he gets the actual cash from contractors. And he takes his cut too, of course. Bud also takes care of Spiro. He buys him expensive suits, pays for trips around the country to raise Spiro's political profile, and generally makes Spiro look more

like the slick political operative he's trying to be. In exchange, Bud gets to have a politician on the rise in his pocket. He can drop Spiro's name around town whenever he wants. Spiro makes at least a hundred grand through this scheme, which is the equivalent of almost a million dollars today. And he spends most of it on the most stereotypical of male indulgences imaginable, sports cars, and mistresses.

Grow up. Like, find something else. Get a weird hobby. So boring. and mistresses. Grow up. Like find something else. Get a weird hobby. So boring. Well Spiro might be good for rich Republican guys like Bud, but he's actually surprisingly liberal on social issues during his time as governor. He follows through on a campaign promise to repeal a law against interracial marriage.

And he oversees the passage of the first anti-discrimination housing law south of the Mason-Dixon line. Spiro is appealing to moderate voters, and he's lining the pockets of plenty of local businessmen. It would be a perfect setup for years of uninterrupted graft. But soon, Spiro will be angling for an even higher office. And to get the job, he'll have to appeal to someone who's an even bigger scammer than he is. It's August 1968, and Spiro is stuck in a Miami beach hotel.

It's an oceanfront resort with a broke grand staircase. It's basically Versailles in Florida, but Spiro can't enjoy the view. He's sitting by the phone waiting for a boy to call a boy named Richard Nixon. Oh God, shut up. Haven't you waited for a boy named Dick to call you? Ugh, keep going. Well, last night, Spiro took the stage at the Republican National Convention.

He stood in front of a huge room packed with rowdy conservatives, many holding signs with Nixon's face on them, and he formally nominated Nixon to be the GOP candidate for president. Nixon wasn't Spiro's first choice. But eventually, Spiro realized that nominating Nixon could be a strategic move. Back in May, Nixon floated Spiro's name as a potential candidate for vice president.

Spiro won his first election just six years ago, but he's ready to dream bigger. He doesn't seem to be all that worried that anyone will find out that he's still regularly accepting bribes for government contracts in Maryland. Plus, Spiro's politics have started to shift closer to Nixon's lately. A few months ago, he called for the arrest of more than 270 students from an HBCU in Baltimore, who had staged a sit-in at his offices, protesting a lack of government funding for their school. And when riots erupted after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., Spiro called in the National Guard. He then gave a speech to local Black leaders. Sarah, can you read this excerpt from it?

Yeah, he says, of the black and white communities speak with wide publicity while we, the moderates, remain continuously mute. I cannot believe that the only alternative to white racism is black racism. Wow, it sounds like a lot of things people say today. Well, the audience found this so condescending that many of them walked out. But this newfound hardline stance has made Spiro even more appealing to someone like Nixon.

Now, Nixon is the party's nominee, and Spiro is waiting to find out if all of his pandering has paid off. It's just about noon now, and Spiro knows that a decision could be coming any minute. Finally, the phone rings. Spiro listens to the man on the other end say a few words that will change the rest of his life.

He's stunned and overwhelmed. When he hangs up the phone, he looks at his wife and all he can say is, I'm it. An hour later, Spiro turns on the television to watch Nixon give a press conference. His boss-to-be is in a hotel ballroom facing a huge scrum of reporters. There's an audible gasp in the room

when he says Spiro's name. Because even though Spiro's been mentioned as a potential V, he's such a political newcomer that nobody really knows who he is. Spiro who? Becomes a proto-meme of the convention. Just a few hours after that, Spiro gives a press conference.

He stands in front of a blue backdrop and tells thousands of GOP diehards how honored he is to be nominated. But then he actually meets the press. If he thought Baltimore journalists were tough on him, he's about to encounter a whole new level of scrutiny. Just over a month later, Spiro boards a chartered Boeing 727

and goes to get himself a cup of coffee. He's on the campaign trail. Yesterday, he gave speeches in Wyoming, Montana, and Las Vegas. Today he's headed to LA. Of course, he's not alone on the plane. He has a group of aides with him, as well as members of the press covering the campaign. There's journalists from Newsweek, The Washington Post, and, of course, The Baltimore Sun. Many of the reporters hit the town in Vegas last night, and one of them is currently napping

it off. He's a Japanese-American journalist with a Baltimore Sun named Gene Oishi. When Spiro wanders back to the press section of the plane, he recognizes Gene, and he asks the person sitting next to him if he's okay. Except, when he says it, he calls Gene a racist slur. Spiro later claims that he heard other people calling Gene the same thing. He thought it was just a funny nickname. Is he in kindergarten?

I'm not shocked, but it's like the worst excuse. I didn't know. I just thought it was a nickname. I'm gonna put that one in my back pocket the next time I want to say something mean to you. Yeah, I'm like, what? I just thought that's a thing people said, and it was okay because people said it. Well, much like you, Sarah, the people of the world did not really believe this when the story broke. Especially because this isn't the first time

Spiro has gotten heat for making, oh, let's say, racially insensitive remarks. Spiro's inability to keep his foot out of his mouth quickly becomes a national punchline. Here's an ad that the Democratic Party put together that pretty much sums it up. Sarah, take a look and describe it for me. This is genuinely a good political ad.

It's just a camera's panning to a television. The television says, Bureau Agnew for vice president, and overtop is just a guy laughing hysterically. But at the end of the ad, it's kind of like, this would be funny if it wasn't so serious, which is a sick burn. Yeah, it's pretty devastating. Well, the press is also critical

of Spiro's civil rights record, particularly the way he handled those uprisings in Baltimore. They seem to think he was too harsh, and Spiro is stunned. These people think he's a racist? He passed that one Fair Housing Act. What more could people want from him? Spiro is pissed.

His relationship with Nixon is not starting off on the right foot. And he knows whose fault that is. The media. His relationship with Nixon is not starting off on the right foot. And he knows whose fault that is. The media. Spiro is convinced that reporters are purposefully misunderstanding and misrepresenting everything he says. And he hates being mocked by snobby liberals. But it turns out Republican polls find that a lot of viewers see Spiro the way he sees himself. As an unfairly maligned hero.

A regular man who's just trying his best. On election night, those people go to the polls and elect Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew to the two highest offices in the land. Spiro has ridden outrage and grievance to the top of the political pyramid, taking kickbacks all the while. But he's about to learn a lot about honor amongst thieves

because the one person in national politics who's as much of a criminal as Spiro is his new boss. Divorced beheaded died, divorced beheaded survived. We know the six wives of Henry VIII as pawns in his hunt for a son, but their lives were so much more than just being the king's wives. I'm Arisha Skidmore Williams.

And I'm Brooke Ziffrin. And we're the hosts of Wondery's podcast, Even the Royals. In each episode, we'll pull back the curtain on royal families, past and present, from all over the world, to show you the darker side of what it means to be royalty. We rarely see Henry VIII's wives in their own light, as women who used the tools available to them to hold on to power. Some women won the game, others lost,

but they were all unexpected agents in their own stories. Being a part of a royal family might seem enticing, but more often than not, it comes at the expense of everything else, like your freedom, your privacy, and sometimes even your head. Follow even the royals on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts.

Go deeper and get more of the story with Wondery's top history podcasts, including American Scandal, Legacy, and Black History for Real. The world of junior tennis is organized chaos. I really love that element of being by yourself out there. Even if you don't want the pressure, it comes with it. If I'm not hard on myself, how am I going to succeed?

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This is not normal life. You have to really love this. If I can control my anxiety, I could come out on top. It's all on you. All the work you're putting in to be a pro. How bad do you want this? I'll basically play until I drop. Let's go.

This summer, Amazon presents Uninterrupted's Top Class Tennis. It's going pro or nothing. Premiering on Freevy and Prime Video July 18th. I feel like a legend It's October 1969, and Spiro has been vice president for about nine months. He's about to give a speech at a fundraising dinner in New Orleans. It's a swanky, $100-a-plate affair. And Spiro has decided that these wealthy guests should get their money's worth.

His speechwriter prepared remarks for him, but Spiro didn't think they went hard enough. So he made some more aggressive edits. And he has a perfect target. People protesting the Vietnam War. Here's what he says. A spirit of national masochism prevails, encouraged by an effete core of impudent snobs who characterize themselves as intellectuals. Bars.

This is the first time I'm hearing him speak. And a lot of things are making sense now. I get it. Well, the next morning, the phrase, a feet core of impudent snobs is on the front page of every newspaper in America. It's a huge story and it's cemented Spiro's role in the White House.

He's the attack dog, the guy who says what even Nixon won't. So of course, he starts going after his favorite punching bag, the biased liberal press. A few weeks later, Spiro gives a speech in Alabama where he claims that the press gives too much coverage to anti-war perspectives. He says they'll cover any campus activist who denounces the war, and then he adds, But when 300 congressmen endorse the president's Vietnam policy, the next morning it's apparently

not considered news fit to print. As predicted, people eat this up. Over the next year, Spiro's approval ratings soar, and he starts to make famous friends, like Frank Sinatra. But it's not all upside. There's a running joke going around that Spiro Agnew is such an airhead

that Mickey Mouse wears a Spiro Agnew watch. It gets so popular that someone actually starts making them. Here's a photo. Yeah, the watch is really funny looking. It has a cartoon, like a very 70s political cartoon of Spiro. And his hands are the hands of the clock. And I don't know, it's a watch I would wear. Because it's goofy, obviously.

It's a goofy, silly watch. And I love a very generational burn where it's like an airhead would wear a Mickey Mouse watch, therefore Mickey Mouse is wearing an airhead watch. I like the layers of that. It's so nuanced. Well, at this point, Spiro isn't really helping his Maryland contacts

get government work. But people still show up at the White House with envelopes of cash. Some of them, like Lester, are still paying off old contracts. Others just want to stay in Spiro's good graces. By early 1972, Spiro and Nixon are campaigning for their second term. They're a popular duo, and they expect to cruise to victory. But in June, it seems like there might be a bump in the road. Some guys who were involved with the committee to reelect the president get caught breaking into the

Democratic National Committee's offices in the Watergate office building. Nixon insists that he knows nothing about it. And for a few months, it seems like the potential scandal might just go away. But two Washington Post reporters keep writing about the break-in, and they insist that it's not just a few random people working for Nixon. The conspiracy goes right to the top. But Nixon and Spiro are working from the same playbook by now, and they know who to blame. So Nixon has his team frame these stories as a liberal paper obsessed with smearing

a hard-working conservative president. In November, Nixon and Spiro win in a landslide. At this point, Spiro has gotten so popular that a lot of people are already hoping he'll run for president in 1976. Spiro probably feels pretty invincible. He's rocketed from small-time Baltimore politics to credible candidate for the highest office in the country in less than 15 years, all while batting away scrutiny and scandal. But while Spiro might have moved on from his humble

Maryland roots, Maryland isn't done with him. It's June 1973. Richard Nixon is six months into his second term as president, and he's sitting in the Oval Office, squinting at someone he doesn't trust. Okay, this could be anyone, but today it's his own vice president, Spiro Agnew. Nixon really does not need any new problems right now. For the last month, the country has been glued to daily televised hearings trying to get to the bottom of what happened at Watergate. Ironically, Nixon himself had no idea the break-in was even happening. Plus, he and Spiro were so popular

that they didn't even need intel on the Democrats in the first place. But he has to keep trying to cover it up. And now the investigation is getting dangerously close to exposing Nixon and his associates for lying and obstructing justice. But a few months ago, Nixon found out that Spiro was the subject

of a separate investigation. This one's focused on political corruption in Maryland. And apparently that probe is worrying Spiro. So now it's become Nixon's problem too. Spiro tries to talk around the idea of putting a stop to the investigation. But Nixon doesn't want to beat around the bush. Instead, he wants to do what he does best.

A cover-up. The Maryland attorney general who's running the investigation is a man named George Bell. Nixon asks Spiro, Is he a good boy? Ha ha! Uh, I kind of love that. Is he a good boy?

I could hear it in Richard Nixon's voice, which is truly in my head. Mm-hmm. Well, George is from a well-connected political family. In fact, George's voice, which is truly in my head. Mm-hmm. Well, George is from a well-connected political family. In fact, George's brother, Glenn Bell, is a sitting senator from Maryland. And Nixon feels like he did a lot to help Senator Bell get elected. So he and Spiro decide to get someone to lean on the senator, who will then hopefully lean on his brother George to stop his investigation before it uncovers anything Spiro doesn't

want uncovered. A few days after their meeting, Nixon tells his chief of staff to get someone to talk to Glenn Bell. And that someone is George H.W. Bush. This is like a Russian nesting doll of terrible politicians. All your best friends are in this story. Well, the next day day Nixon gets an update.

Bush talked to Senator Bell, but the Senator didn't seem like he was gonna be especially responsive to the request. Unfortunately, the guy seems to have some actual integrity. Nixon is pretty annoyed, but he's also losing patience with Spiro. This could blow back on Nixon himself. He's starting to think that he might have to cut

the vice president loose, but he has no idea that he and Spiro are both about to be exposed by one of the president's men. A few weeks later, George Bell guns his new Audi down the highway. He's on his way to one of the most important meetings of his life. George is in his early thirties.

He's boyishly handsome with dirty blonde hair and a Princeton pedigree. As US Attorney for Maryland, George is in charge of federal law enforcement for the state. He's traveling with three young colleagues, all enthusiastic guys in their late 20s and early 30s. This group has spent the last nine months

investigating government corruption in Maryland. They weren't originally going to go after Spiro. It's been so long since he was governor that the statute of limitations on any crimes he might have committed then have expired. But then, George subpoenaed the owners of a local engineering firm, including Lester Matts. Lester was very reluctant to talk

until George and his team got someone to testify that Lester's firm had broken the law. And then Lester's lawyer said that they could offer up a way bigger fish. Sarah, can you guess who that fish might have been? Yes, it's Spiro, but I do love when this happens in stories where someone's like, yes, I did a bad thing, but there's something so much worse that I have up my sleeve and I will tell you for a fee.

— Well, George was indeed surprised to learn that Spiro had taken bribes at all, and he was shocked that he kept doing it even when he was vice president. But this isn't just any vice president. If the Watergate scandal takes Nixon out of office, Spiro Agnew could easily become the commander-in-chief. So now, George and his team are on their way to D.C. to talk to the U.S. attorney general about what to do next.

It's a nerve-wracking situation. The attorney general, Elliot Richardson, is a Nixon appointee. And given the heat from the Watergate hearings, it would be easy for Elliot to put an investigation into Spiro on the back-runner to avoid causing more problems for the president. George had trouble just getting this meeting scheduled in the first place.

Elliott's secretary tried to cancel it this morning. And when George and his team arrived, they have to wait and wait and wait. But then finally it's their turn. George and his colleagues sit down in Elliott's office with his neatly parted hair and literally buttoned up style. Elliott looks straight out of central casting for a government official. But they barely get past the introductions

before he's called out of the office. And then it happens again a few minutes later. That is pure torture, being like, I have something important to say to an important person and I need to say it perfectly. And just them being pulled away so many times is ugh. Yeah, maddening. And George's nerves are probably shot.

But the third time's the charm. George finally manages to explain that he and his colleagues have evidence of Spiro taking bribes while he was the vice president of the United States. This gets Elliott's attention, and George is pleasantly surprised. Elliott asks thoughtful questions,

and he tells them that they should keep investigating and not say anything to the president. After the meeting, George and his team walk out onto a busy DC street. They're all stunned. They just got the green light to pursue an investigation into one of the most criminal politicians in U.S. history and all they have to do is dodge the only person more crooked than that. It's August 1st, 1973, about a month after George's meeting with Elliott.

Two weeks ago, an aide in the Nixon White House blew Watergate wide open by revealing that the president tapes every conversation he has in the Oval Office. But Spiro is facing his own nightmare. The Maryland Attorney General's office has informed him that they're investigating him on suspicion of extortion, bribery, conspiracy, and violation of federal tax law, amongst other crimes. Now they want him to turn over his financial records.

Spiro is a mixture of angry as hell and terrified. There's almost certainly going to be hard evidence against him. For example, Spiro knows that the former director of the State Roads Commission, the guy who was actually handing out jobs, is a meticulous bookkeeper, even when he's committing crimes. Oh my gosh. That is everyone's nightmare, a criminal who's like, you know what, I just have to write everything down for my own mind. Yeah, that's a bad accomplice. But Spiro also believes that the best defense is a good offense.

In the days following the news of the investigation, he gets 1,500 telegrams offering support and praise. So he decides to appeal to his base by holding a press conference at the White House. It's carried live on TV and covered by more than 200 reporters. He says the investigation is a witch hunt. Here's a clip. I can only assume from this account that some Justice Department officials have decided to indict me in the press, whether or not the evidence supports their position.

This is a clear and outrageous effort to influence the outcome of possible grand jury deliberations. I really do think he thinks he can save himself from this by just being himself. And you know what? It might just work. Maybe. But Spiro knows that the court of public opinion isn't the same as actual court. There is one X factor that could still miraculously

save his ass. Watergate. At this point, everyone in America is starting to wonder if Nixon will cave to the overwhelming political pressure to resign. If Spiro can just hang on until that happens, then he'll become the president. Nixon partisans in the Justice Department have recently maintained that sitting presidents are immune from prosecution. And sure, they were trying to protect Nixon. But this theory might end up actually helping the next guy. Watergate is a huge scandal about explicitly abusing presidential power.

It's demanding national attention and national scrutiny. Spiro is just guilty of boring corruption, the kind of thing politicians have been doing for decades. But there is one thing that Spiro wants even more than the presidency, to stay out of prison. So Spiro goes to his lawyer and he tells him to talk to the US Attorney General. It is time to hammer out a deal.

Spiro says that he's willing to resign as long as he's allowed to do it with dignity, no mugshots, no fingerprints, and he won't spend any time behind bars. In late September, the prosecution agrees and the case is assigned to a judge. They're supposed to sign the deal on a Monday. But then, over the weekend, someone leaks the news that Spiro is seriously considering resigning. Spiro is furious. He's convinced that the Justice Department let the story get out specifically to embarrass him and to force him to take a worse deal.

Well, two can play at that game. He backs away from the deal and prepares to make his last stand. Where else? In the press. Just a few days later, Spiro is in Palm Springs. Tomorrow he'll head to LA to give a speech to the National Federation of Republican Women. But before his big moment, he's spending some time with a friend, Frank Sinatra. The two have been pals since they met a couple of years ago,

and Frank's house has been a refuge for Spiro these last few months. Frank Sinatra is just like addicted to collecting all of skinned men who are doing harm. Yeah, it's his kink. That night, a small group gathers at Frank's. He makes dinner and they all discuss Spiro's troubles. The next morning, Spiro decides to make some changes to his planned remarks. He needs to go on the offensive again

and remind the people that this investigation into him is a witch hunt. Spiro walks into the downtown convention center and sees thousands of women holding signs with slogans like, Spiro walks into the downtown convention center and sees thousands of women holding signs with slogans like, Spiro my hero, and he gives a blistering speech. Sarah, can you read this part from the end of it for me? Yeah, he says, because small and fearful men have been frightened into furnishing evidence against me, I will not resign if indicted.

I like how he's turning this into a masculinity issue. Like these small, scared men are coming for me, and that's why I can't back down. Yeah, I mean, to him, I think it is. Well, then, Spiro and his team take another bold step. They subpoena all of the journalists who've been writing about him, trying to figure out who's leaking to them.

But Spiro's speeches and his lawsuits don't rally enough public support for his cause. He tries to start a legal defense fund, but donations appear to be sporadic at best. And worst of all, Nixon starts publicly signaling that he doesn't support Spiro anymore either. And when you've lost Nixon, well, soon it'll be time for Spiro to get the hell out of D.C.,

as long as he can take his bags full of money with him. Nancy's love story could have been ripped right out of the pages of one of her own novels. She was a romance mystery writer who happens to be married to a chef. But this story didn't end with a happily ever after. When I stepped into the kitchen, I could see that Chef Brophy was on the ground, and I heard somebody say, call 911. As writers, we'd written our share of murder mysteries.

So when suspicion turned to Dan's wife, Nancy, we weren't that surprised. The first person they look at would be the spouse. We understand that's usually the way they do it. But we began to wonder, had Nancy gotten so wrapped up in her own novels, There are murders in all of the books. that she was playing them out in real life?

Follow Happily Never After, Dan and Nancy on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge all episodes of Happily Never After, Dan and Nancy, early and ad free right now by joining Wondery Plus. It's about a week after Spiro's big speech and George Bell is sitting on a twin bed in a low rent motel in suburban Virginia. Spiro's lawyers are a few feet away from him, along with the judge who's overseeing the case.

Even as Spiro tried to blow everything up, the lawyers have still been trying to hammer out a potential deal. The judge set up this meeting, which is already pretty unusual. He was hoping the lawyers could negotiate in secret and that the remote motel would stay off the media's radar. But somehow the press found out and there's a sea of reporters outside the window. George tries to ignore the crowd

while they navigate the last big sticking point. Spiro is still insisting that he will not plead guilty to anything that involves prison time. But George and his guys really, really want to send Spiro to jail. That meeting ends in a stalemate. And for a week, no one blinks. George probably feels like he's been roped into the world's most consequential game of

chicken. Every day that this drags on is another day that Nixon could resign, making Spiro the president. He might not even have to resign. Nixon was hospitalized with pneumonia just a few weeks ago. And if Spiro becomes the president, he's almost certainly immune from prosecution. He can just walk away from these charges and run the entire country.

It would be so disheartening to get one criminal out of office just to end up with another one in his place. That is so funny being like, we gotta get him before he becomes president. Pretty bleak. Well, finally, Elliot Richardson, the before he becomes president. Pretty bleak. Well, finally, Elliot Richardson, the attorney general, calls George into his office.

He can't take it anymore. The thought of Spiro ascending to the presidency is too vile. So they make a bargain. Elliot will be the one to offer Spiro his plea deal for Spiro to resign so long as he avoids prison time and doesn't have to plead guilty. Sure, he'll be letting a criminal off the hook,

but he'll be doing it for the sake of the country. The negotiations continue as the country becomes increasingly aware of Spiro's problems. Here's what Nixon has to say in a press conference on October 3rd, 1973. As far as the vice president is concerned, I have said that he is entitled to the presumption of innocence, which is the right of every American citizen.

And I urge all of my fellow Americans to give him that presumption of innocence, as I certainly do. Oh my God. That is what you say about a guilty person. Yeah, oftentimes that's true. The lawyers confirmed the deal on the afternoon of October 9th, 1973, and the judge tells them to appear in court the following afternoon. George is not going to get to throw the book at Spiro.

He won't get to send him to prison. But what he can do is enter everything he knows about Spiro's crimes into the public record. There will be a statement of evidence submitted along with the actual charges, so people can find out exactly what kind of guy Spiro Agnew is. As soon as the agreement is in place, George and his colleagues get to work writing this statement. They're in the office in Baltimore all night drafting different sections, trading pages back and forth. At 2 a.m. Elliot arrives from D.C. to go over what they're submitting.

And at 6 a.m. after a sleepless night, George and his team hand the document over to the U.S. Marshals, who have to get it to Spiro's lawyers in DC by 8 a.m. George is exhausted and exhilarated. They did it. But then he has to get to DC himself. A little before 2 p.m., George enters a courtroom. The atmosphere is tense and a little confused. There are plenty of reporters here, but they have no idea what's about to happen. Behind the scenes, other Nixon administration officials

like Secretary of State Henry Kissinger receive Spiro's resignation letter. And at 2-0-1, Spiro appears. And then a hush settles over the room. George gives the judge a copy of the official criminal complaint against Spiro. He's only being charged with one count of felony tax evasion.

Spiro pleads no contest. He's ordered to pay a $10,000 fine or about $72,000 in today's money. And he's subject to three years of unsupervised probation. I mean, I wasn't expecting more, but considering the wild goose chase, I'm like, damn, I'd be pretty disappointed if I were George. Yeah, that's a bummer.

But now, no matter what happens to Richard Nixon, Spiro Agnew will not become the next president. There are no second acts in American life, but Spiro's name is still known all around the world. So even after he leaves office, he'll leverage his connections to high-ranking politicians for profit. And this time, it's all legal.

After he resigns, Spiro and his wife move back to Maryland, and he borrows $200,000 from Frank Sinatra in order to pay his back taxes. And in 1976, Spiro publishes a novel called The Canfield Decision. It's about a hot, rich vice president pay his back taxes. And in 1976, Spiro publishes a novel called The Canfield Decision. It's about a hot, rich vice president in the dystopic future year of 1983.

America is controlled by the Democrats, who are controlled by a group of powerful Zionists and lesbians. The only thing that can make this better, there are sex scenes. Sarah, I am going to make you read one now, and this one is about the vice president cheating on his wife with a younger woman.

I'm going to say it as neutrally as possible, okay? Okay, try. Try to do it. Try it. Okay. His literature says, He slipped off her slacks and began to explore her body. You're ready, aren't you? He said tenderly as her breath began to come in quick, shallow pants. Hurry, Newt. Newt? Excuse me? A girl's saying Newt? Hurry, Newt?

The most erotic of male names. Not Gingrich. Okay, wait. Oh, God. It's such bad writing. Okay. Okay, wait. Oh, God. It's such bad writing. Okay. Hurry, Newt. In the two words pulsed an agony of unreleased sexuality. This is just like One Direction fan fiction.

I see no big difference. This is AO3. This guy was born in the wrong generation. He could have just been writing fan fiction about the government in 1983, but instead he joined the government and that's sad. Well, alas, critical reception is lukewarm. But Spiro makes a lot of money. He earns $500,000 in today's money just for the rights to serialize the book. He also starts a business called Pathlight. It's an international consulting firm designed to help companies get contracts with foreign governments. So it's basically a legal version

of his bribery scheme. In the 80s, Spiro helps broker a deal between Saddam Hussein and Romania so that Saddam can buy uniforms for the Iraqi army. Spiro has various tactics for cozying up to foreign leaders. In 1980, he writes to the Saudi crown prince to congratulate him on declaring a jihad against Israel. He's still up to his old tricks. He says that he was pushed out of office by Zionists, and now he's suffering. He asks the prince to provide him with an interest-free $2 million loan.

Or, if that doesn't work, $200,000 a year for three years. In exchange, he offers to put the prince in touch with soon-to-be president Ronald Reagan. We don't have the receipts, but the prince must have taken him up on at least one of those offers, since Spira writes him a thank you letter a few months later. I do like that he kind of pivoted and was like,

okay, I know a way to get in with other powerful people. It is crazy for him to be like, congrats on declaring Jihad. Like, what on earth? Okay, go on. Well, Spiro keeps looking after his domestic reputation as well. That same year, he publishes a memoir called Go Quietly or Else, in which he claims that he didn't get a fair trial and only stepped down

because he was afraid that Nixon might have him assassinated. quietly or else, in which he claims that he didn't get a fair trial and only stepped down because he was afraid that Nixon might have him assassinated. There is no evidence that Nixon had any such plans, and even if he did, he never carried them out. Spiro Agnew lived the rest of his life as a wealthy and influential man. He died of leukemia in 1996 at 77 years old. at 77 years old. [♪ MUSIC PLAYING FADES OUT, FADES OUT, FADES OUT, FADES OUT, FADES OUT, FADES OUT, FADES OUT, FADES OUT, FADES OUT, FADES OUT, FADES OUT, FADES OUT, FADES OUT, FADES OUT, FADES OUT, FADES OUT, FADES OUT, FADES OUT, FADES OUT, FADES OUT, FADES OUT, FADES OUT, FADES OUT, FADES OUT, FADES OUT, FADES OUT, FADES OUT, FADES OUT, FADES OUT, FADES OUT, FADES OUT, FADES OUT, FADES OUT, FADES OUT, FADES OUT, FADES OUT, FADES OUT, FADES OUT, FADES OUT, FADES OUT, FADES OUT, FADES OUT, FADES OUT, FADES OUT, FADES OUT, FADES OUT, FADES OUT, FADES OUT, FADES OUT, FADES OUT, FADES OUT, FADES OUT, FADES OUT, FADES OUT, FADES OUT, FADES OUT, FADES OUT, FADES OUT, FADES OUT, FADES OUT, FADES OUT, FADES OUT, FADES OUT, FADES out, FADES out, FADES out, FADES out, FADES out, FADES out, FADES out, FADES out, FADES out, FADES out, FADES out, FADES out, FADES out, FADES out, FADES out, FADES out, FADES out, FADES out, FADES out, FADES out, FADES out, FADES out, FADES out, FADES out I mean, the thing that bums me out so exquisitely about this story is it sounds like it could have happened last week in America.

If Spiro Agnew was like Trump's VP, I'm curious if you think it would have been the same outcome. Because I feel like Nixon at least did not fully throw Spiro on his ass, but I feel like someone like Trump would have been like, he did it. He did it. I don't think it would ever be possible for someone like Spiro to work under Trump, mostly because like he has too much charisma, I think. And I don't think Trump kept charismatic people really around him.

So I think if anything, they would be constantly fighting. They'd be like best frenemies, you know? Yeah. The other thing that's kind of a huge bummer about this story is like, Spiro did crimes, many crimes, in several different positions in government, and then he got to just walk away from it. And then Frank Sinatra gave him a $200,000 loan, and he lived until he was 77 years old. Yeah, and he got $500,000 from his shit book. That's the part you're most incensed about. I'm just kind of like, this guy didn't lose.

Nothing really bad happened to him. He got to just do exactly what he wanted, face very few consequences. And I do think people like him ultimately don't even want real Institutional power because it it's too much work But they do want to be the center of attention and to be famous like he was Doing what reality TV stars do before reality TV was invented I mean he didn't even really have to pay consequences in the public forum because Nixon was so bad that it completely blocked out public consciousness about how bad Spiro is.

I mean, you know who Nixon is. You didn't know who Spiro Agnew was. Yeah. Growing up in Canada, you don't learn a ton about American history on that level. But I know a lot about Watergate because of the movie Dick that came out in 1999 and it stars a teen, Kirsten Dunst and a teen Michelle Williams. It's basically these teen girls at the center of the Watergate scandal and it's so funny.

I feel like it very accurately points out how stupid everything is and I think you would love it. You don't have to tell me twice to watch anything with a teenage Kirsten Dunst. I'm there. Yeah, if you watch that and then all the president's men, you know everything there is to know. Well, all right, there's your history lesson, everybody. Awesome double feature.

This is Spiro Agnew, public enemy number two. I'm Saatchi Cole. And I'm Sarah Hagge. This is Spiro Agnew, Public Enemy Number Two. I'm Saatchi Cole. And I'm Sarah Hagge. If you have tips for us on a story that you think we should cover, please email us at scanfluencers at wondery.com. We use many sources in our research. A few that were particularly helpful were White Night, The Rise of Spiro Agnew by Jules

Whitcover, A Heartbeat Away, The Investigation and Resignation of Vice President Spiro T. Agnew by Richard M. Cohen and Jules Whittcover, and Bagman, The Wild Crimes, Audacious Cover-Up, and Spectacular Downfall of a Brazen Crook in the White House by Michael Yarvitz and Rachel Maddow. Zan Romanoff wrote this episode. Additional writing by us, Sachi Cole and Sarah Hagge. Sarah Eni is our story editor and senior producer and Eric Thurm is our story editor. Rachel Maddow. Our managing producers are Matt Gant and Desi Blalock. Janine Cornelo and Stephanie Gens are development producers. Our associate producers are Charlotte Miller and Lexi Perry. Our producers are John Reed, Yasmin Ward, and Kate Young.

Our senior producers are Ginny Bloom and Jen Swan. Our executive producers are Jenny Lauer Beckman, Marsha Louie, and Erin O'Flaherty for Wondry. If you like Scamplincerz, you can listen to every episode early and ad-free right now by joining Wondry Plus in the Wondry app or on Apple podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. Before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a short survey at Wondry.com slash survey.