In 1993, more than 1,000 levees broke along the Mississippi River, flooding thousands of acres. Most of these cases were accidents due to the river rising well above its usual levels. But in West Quincy, Missouri, where there was another culprit, James Scott. His crime? Knowingly causing a catastrophe by breaking the levee. But his motive was not what prosecutors expected. This story comes to us from Noam Osband. For more information, check out Adam Pitluk’s book, Damned to Eternity. Music in the episode “When in the West” by Blue Dot Sessions “No Solace” by Podington Bear “Turning to You” by Blue Dot Sessions “Paragon” by Keosz “A Simple Blur” by Blue Dot Sessions “Lucky Stars” by Podington Bear “Lenses” by Blue Dot Sessions (an original song for Criminal) Criminal is a show about people who’ve done wrong, been wronged, or gotten caught somewhere in the middle. Hosted by Phoebe Judge. Part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. https://link.chtbl.com/n33u0HsA Say hello on Twitter (@CriminalShow), Instagram (@criminal_podcast), and Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ThisIsCriminal/. Sign up for our occasional newsletter, The Accomplice https://bit.ly/accomplicenewsletter. We also make This is Love and Phoebe Reads a Mystery. Artwork by Julienne Alexander http://www.yssrs.com/. Check out our online shop https://store.dftba.com/collections/criminal. Episode transcripts are posted on our website https://thisiscriminal.com/. Episode 74 originally published 9/8/2017 https://thisiscriminal.com/episode-74-catastrophe-9-8-2017 #crime #podcast #truecrime