>> an automotive classic... >> oh, my. it really moves. >> well, it's pretty quick. >> what is it about the corvette that has captured america? >> you have lamborghinis, and you got ferraris, but the american sports car has always been the corvette. >> it's the dream that keeps a soldier going... >> do you think that helped him get through very difficult times at war? >> absolutely. >> ...the decision that vexes his heir... >> it was the most difficult thing i've ever done in my life. >> ...the ultimate for vette collectors... >> it was an urban legend that there was this impeccably original, pristinely kept 1967 corvette. >> we got three, four... >> ...and a mystery on wheels. >> something is fishy because that's not there.

[ door creaks ] [ wind howls ] [ thunder rumbles ] [ bird caws ] >> i'm jamie colby on the outskirts of chicago on my way to meet a guy whose strange inheritance takes us back to a time when american cars rule the road, america herself leads the free world, and a working-class kid from the midwest just dreams of making it home. >> my name is matt litavsky. my father meant the world to me, and he left me a very special car that meant the world to him. he chose me to preserve it, but there came a time when i had to let it go. >> hi, matt. i'm jamie. >> hi, jamie. it's nice to meet you. >> i know i came here to see your inheritance, this magnificent car, but when we're done, you got to take me for a ride in this. >> all right. we'll see about that. >> i'm on my best behavior. >> okay. >> to appreciate the car,

says matt, you first need to know about his dad and why his 1967 corvette meant so much to him. keith litavsky is born in lisle, illinois, in 1944. world war ii is drawing to a close. the cold war is about to begin. america is leading the charge, and nowhere is the country's muscle bolder than on american roadways, which gm, ford and chrysler are pumping with some of the coolest cars on earth. >> now it wasn't all about just ha a four-door family car like it had been in the past. >> auto analyst john kraman. >> the manufacturers jumped on board with a variety of high-performance cars, wild colors, the styling really affected by the aviation theme with the big fins and and the wild, futuristic styling. >> no wonder keith loves cars

from boyhood. long before he gets his license, he settles on his dream ride, the american beauty that first rolls off the assembly line in 1953 when he's 9 years old, the chevy corvette. >> the corvette just reset the bar totally with innovative styling and a fiberglass body, which at the time was unheard of. >> a decade later, in 1963, when keith is saving up for his first new car, chevy reintroduces the corvette with a new body style and renames it the stingray. keith wants one more than ever, but the vette's 4k list price is way out of reach, so he settles for a little less. >> the plymouth belvedere was his first car he bought new. has a 426 wedge in it, was what he could afford at the time. >> he doesn't have it long. >> in 1965, the war in vietnam

is heating up, and uncle sam calls keith's number. >> he gets drafted, and he sells the plymouth belvedere to his brother. >> soon, he's in the line of fire with no guarantee he'll return. >> he was in reconnaissance, so he went through a lot of difficult situations there. he made a lot of good friends and lost a lot of good friends. >> if keith does get back home, he's making sure a big reward awaits him. in each letter to his family, he encloses his combat pay with a specific goal in mind, a brand-new corvette. do you think that was a dream that he hung onto that helped him get through very difficult times at war? >> absolutely. a lot of guys would flip through the flyers from the car dealers and pick out a car, and i think, psychologically, it helped them get through to know that they'll have that car there, so it was something to look forward to. >> here is a "strange inheritance" quiz question...

the answer after the break. i joined the army after 911, cuz, um, i thought that was what i needed to do. we got our orders to go overseas

and i went to baghdad, iraq. we were transporting a bomb sniffing dog to the polling stations. we rolled over two anti-tank mines, it blew my humvee up, killed my sergeant. after the explosion, i suffered a closed head injury, um, traumatic brain injury, loss of a limb, burns to 60% of my body. when the doctors told me i reached my plateau, i did not want to hear that because i do not believe i have a plateau. so, i had to prove 'em wrong, which i am doing to this day and i will still do until the end of my days. i've gotten to where i am at because of my family. and, the wounded warrior project has helped me more than i can ever imagine. they have really been there to support me in my endeavors. my number one goal, basically, is to get close to where i was.

i am more than ready to work hard to get to that goal. i am living proof to never give up and i will never give up. ♪

>> vietnam, april, 1966, keith litavsky is praying he'll making it home to illinois and the dream car he's saving for, a chevy corvette. one day, as keith's unit is searching for the enemy, shots ring out in the jungle. a firefight erupts, bodies dropping everywhere. >> he carried his wounded commanding officer out. >> literally carried? >> literally carried him out of this firefight. >> corporal litavsky makes it home in the winter of 1967. >> still had shrapnel in his leg... >> amazing. >> ...but came home with two purple hearts and a lot of interesting stories. >> and that car of his dreams is waiting for him -- this '67 chevrolet corvette,

fresh off the assembly line. >> we actually had ordered the car while he was in vietnam, then came home and picked up the car. >> marina blue finish, bright blue interior, sweet, plus red pinstripe tires and a black stinger, poetry on wheels. keith even keeps the sales sticker from the dealer. how much did it cost? >> it was around $5,500. >> so he had to save for a while. >> mm-hmm. it's a lot of money back then. >> what the heck? he's 23, just out of the army, single, handsome, buff. this ride perfectly fits his life but just for a fleeting moment. keith enrolls in college on the g.i. bill and marries crystal kierien. she's divorced with five kids. life had thrown crystal a curveball and keith was right there to catch it. >> young guy, marries a woman with five

children. >> yeah... >> five of you. >> five of us >> how old were you when they got married? >> i think i was about five. >> what kind of a father was he? >> if i could be half the man he was i'd be a success. he was the best. >> and so were his wheels. >> one of my first memories takes place in the corvette. me and my two brothers climbed in the back, and he gave us a ride. >> meanwhile, chevy is working up big changes for the corvette, changes that will have profound consequences for this "strange inheritance" story. in 1968, the stingray body style takes on a kind of pre-'70s vibe. some folks love the new vettes. some hate them. either way, those earlier corvettes quickly become collectibles, and the '67, the last of the old body styles, would become the ultimate. >> those cars are regarded today as some of the most desirable

and valuable corvettes of all time. >> keith litavsky saw it coming. >> he knew he had a car that might be worth some money some day and decided to not drive it as much. every time he drove it, he would write stuff down and log it in a logbook. >> like what? >> well, if he started it up, he'd say, "july 5th, 80 degrees outside, started the car, revved it up to 3,500 rpms three times and shut it down," or "changed oil." >> according to keith's log, the odometer shows just 2,600 miles when he marries. he won't put very many miles on it after that. even if he wanted to, he won't get the chance. when he's just 30 years old, he's diagnosed with testicular cancer. >> he was sick, in and out of the hospital a lot. >> the disease makes a long, slow march through his body. in 1992, at age 48, keith's prognosis becomes dire. matt, now 28 and living on his own, moves back to his childhood home

in suburban chicago to help his mom take care of his dad. >> you could just see that, from such a strong guy, that the cancer was just eating him alive, literally. >> on nights when keith is in too much pain to sleep, matt stays up with him, and they talk all night. >> he kind of opened up a lot about his time in vietnam, and it was difficult for him. >> and he entrusts matt to drive his prized car for the first time. >> he knew the car had to be driven. he could no longer shift the car, so it just about killed him to say, "go ahead." >> keith knows the car he dreamed of in the vietnam jungle, bought for $5,000 in combat pay and meticulously maintained ever since is now worth a lot more than that, six figures, easy, so as death nears, he must decide what to do with it.

>> he was nervous that my brother might sell the car. he wanted to keep the car around as long as he could. >> when keith finally succumbs to cancer in 1993 at age 49, he leaves the corvette to matt alone. >> i think that was kind of his way of saying thank you. >> but matt senses the rest of his family feels left on the side of the road. >> it left a little animosity with my brothers and sisters because my dad loved all of us the same, but because i inherited the car, there was always some tension there. >> that tension worries him. one day, he'll have to pass on this strange inheritance. what'll he do when he hits that fork in the road? we're really going to go for a ride? >> we're going for a ride. >> i'm ready. >> here is another quiz question for you...

the answer when we return.

♪ >> it's arctic white, which made up 18% of new vettes sold, but if you guessed red, you're close. if you combine torched and long beach red, the two shades add up to 20%. >> this 1967 corvette is the gift that vietnam soldier keith litavsky gives to himself for returning home alive. he buys it with his combat pay, maintains it meticulously, and drives it a mere 8,500 miles until his death in 1993.

>> he added a lot to the documentation of the car and the validity of it. for me, it was more sentimental just going through it and seeing in dad's handwriting how cool it was and how special. >> absolutely. his son matt knows he's inherited much more than a 26-year-old sports car but isn't sure what to do with it. >> it was years of prayers and, you know, saying, "hey, god, what do you want me to do with this car?" >> so he just matains the classic even more fastidiously than his father had. >> the car has never been to a car show, you know. my neighbors didn't even know i had the car. >> oh, my. why would they? in the 2-plus decades after his dad dies, matt marries, starts his own family but racks up just 30 more miles on the corvette. he takes it out rarely for a quick drive around the block just to keep all the parts working. ah, sounds good, matt.

>> oh. >> ah, that smell, too. >> i just love that. >> it's a beautiful thing. >> smells like america. >> i love the way it looks. it looks like the day it came out of the showroom. >> i've done my best. >> but while matt's neighbors don't know about his range inheritance, rumors abound in corvette world. >> i think you're right about that. >> it was sort of an urban legend for a long time, that there was this impeccably original, pristinely kept 1967 corvette. corvette enthusiasts, in particular, go crazy over mint-condition, unrestored, original cars. >> really big-money enthusiasts like former racecar owner gary runyon and his wife, jackie, of carmel, indiana. so what is it about the corvette that you think has captured america? >> you know, you have lamborghinis, and you got ferraris and all types of european cars, but the american sports car has always been noted as the corvette.

>> like the runyons' super-rare 1957 airbox, only 43 of them were made, and their serial number 001, the first off the assembly line in 1965. couple are always ready to add to their collection. what is your criteria? >> a real, unrestored, original engine, transmission, original interior and a story behind it. >> well, there's certainly a great story behind matt's corvette unless everything he thought he knew about his strange inheritance is wrong. >> original, unrestored '67 corvettes, there's a little, tiny dot. >> i don't see it. >> and something is fishy because that's not there. >> what's your "strange inheritance" story? we'd love to tell it. send me an e-mail or go to our website, strangeinheritance.com. your insurance rates skyrocket after a scratch

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>> now, back to

"strange inheritance." >> in 1993, vietnam veteran keith litavsky dies and leaves his son, matt, his '67 corvette stingray. off we go. since then, it's hardly left matt's garage except for short drives to keep it running right. what's this? >> that's a st. christopher medal for the patron saint of travelers. >> yeah. >> so he kept it in here because he felt like it would keep the car safe. >> oh, really? >> and, yeah, so i thought it should stay with the car. >> it's wonderful. but by 2016, matt is in his 50s and wondering about what would happen to the corvette if something were to happen to him. he knows a pristine, unrestored '67 is worth a fortune and recalls the tension among his siblings after his father left the car solely to him. >> i have two boys and a daughter, and splitting a car three ways is not easy.

>> mm. >> splitting money three ways is a lot easier. >> after a lot of soul-searching, matt decides it's time to sell. >> so it was a decision that, honestly, i prayed for, for years. >> matt brings the corvette and his father's story to mecum auctions in wisconsin. remember john kraman? he's their director of consignments, and they discover a big problem. >> part of the build process of the very unique fiberglass body of the corvette has a little mold dot that's just part of the normal manufacturing process. you know, imagine our surprise that that little hood-channel dot is missing. >> it's about the size of the tip of a ballpoint pen. >> david burroughs, mecum's automobile authentication expert, pinpoints the problem for me. >> so if you count in 13 of these ribs, it would be right about in the center of this little gutter. >> but it's missing. >> so restored cars,

that gets all sanded off to make it look pretty and shiny, and then that little fingerprint gets obliterated, and so that implies that this car has been either restored, or at least something is fishy. >> i knew what i had, and i knew everything i had was genuine and real. >> that one little dot could be the difference between someone believing you and not believing you. and a difference of hundreds of thousands of dollars at auction, but how do you prove what was or wasn't done to a 50-year-old car? the mecum team scrambles. they track down other '67 corvettes manufactured around the same time. >> we were able to collect photos of unrestored cars in this vin range and the serial numbers where this car fits in that vin range. >> all '67s? >> oh, yes, and none of them had the dot. >> dot mystery solved. >> it's a home run in the world series.

>> may 20, 2017, the '67 corvette, along with all of its documentation, hits the auction block 50 years after it was sold to corporal keith richard litavsky, who gave himself a present for returning home from battle alive... >> the 1967 corvette is making its way into the building with matt litavsky behind the wheel. >> ...and with a heartfelt tribute in honor of matt's father. [ "taps" playing ] >> they just really paid a great tribute to my dad and the car. >> and here we go. start th >> befitting a classic american sports car, would-be buyers maneuver fast and furiously to own the corvette with the classic american story. the bidding starts at 100k. >> three, four,

$ 300,000, on the bid... >> it's off to the races. >> five, now $500,000, anybody? >> it blows through the half-mil mark in seconds. >> got 75, 25, go 25! >> and then... >> sold, $675,000! >> you may recognize that gentleman there in the checked shirt. that is gary runyon with his wife, jackie. >> that same husband-and-wife team, the rare-car collectors we met earlier in indiana. >> it was totally unrestored, absolutely gorgeous. i gave a thumbs up and a head nod, and gary said, "you just purchased that car." >> i see tears of joy. it appears that this story is going to have a happy ending. >> it will. yes. >> matt was a great caretaker for his dad's vehicle, and to be frank with you, i believe that's exactly what jackie and i are. >> again, god answered my prayer. i didn't pray for money. i prayed for it

to go to a good home. >> of course, that $675,000 will go a long way, but the values inherited from his dad will go even farther. what are you thinking? >> i was just thinking about how he... i think he instilled in all my brothers and sisters a lot of perseverance and just getting through anything. didn't matter what it was, you'll get through it >> what did he teach you about america? >> you know what? it's the land of the free, home of the brave, and there's no bs there. >> even though the corvette has been around now for more than 60 years, it's nowhere near retirement. in fact, it's become a verb. corvette lovers like to say they're "vetting," an apropos phrase for matt's father, the vet who loved his vette. i'm jamie colby. thanks so much for watching

"strange inheritance." anremember -- you can't take it with you. >> he risks his life to take down gangsters... >> your uncle alapone and even spent time with him? >> he lived with him. >> he was like the james bond. he was the serpico. >> ...and helped crack the crime of the century. >> "the kidnapping and murder of charles augustus lindbergh jr." >> wow! >> this will forever change how this story will be viewed. >> but to his family, he's a total mystery. >> a real shadowy figure. >> very shadowy. >> now his heir is on a mission to honor him. >> are you obsessed with this? >> absolutely. >> as we go undercover with the mob. >> you know, i didn't do it. [ cell doors slam ] ♪

i'm jamie colby, in laguna beach, california, about an hour south of l.a. i think my favorite "strange inheritance" stories are about regular folks who discover something in mom's attic or grandpa's basement that not only changes their lives but reveals something i never knew about american history. >> my name is marty dolan. for decades, a few boxes collected dust in my mother's attic. when i opened them, i discovered my family's link to some of the most sensational crime stories of the 20th century. >> i meet marty, a 70-year-old retired anesthesiologist. hi, marty. i'm jamie colby. >> welcome to my home. >> he tells me this true detective story begins in 1960, when marty's great-uncle, mike malone, a longtime irs employee, passes away.

marty's grandmother, molly, heads to st. paul, minnesota, to collect her brother's personal effects. it's there she makes a bizarre find under the pillow -- a gun. >> no serial numbers on the gun. they were etched out. >> why would he, as a government employee, have a gun with no serial number? >> that's a good question. i don't know. >> molly also inherits a pair of handcuffs and several boxes of official-looking papers. it all winds up in the crawlspace of the family home in new jersey. >> and no one really took it upon themselves to dig into these. when molly dies, in 1977, marty's mother, dolly, inherits the boxes, and they continue to collect dust in an attic. >> my parents's generation -- they didn't do anything with it either. >> in the mid-1980s, the inheritance moves to the attic of marty's sister, eileen. she and marty become curious about those documents. >> i said, "you know, for the sake of completeness, maybe, we'll take a look at things."

i didn't know what they were or what they were about, 'cause i was young when he passed away. >> how long had they been sitting at that point? >> 25 years. >> how many documents are we talking about? >> thousands of pages. ♪ >> a lot of it looks like dull audit reports, but, then again, some of the files don't seem to belong. one says, "regarding alphonse capone" and another that reads "the capone cases." whoa! this is incredible. >> how about this one? "the kidnapping and murder of charles augustus lindbergh jr." >> that's amazing. marty wants to find out why his great-uncle would have these case files. his first step -- re-examine everything he thinks he knows about mike malone. do you remember much about uncle mike? >> not really. he'd show up, periodically, to visit my grandmother. >> what did he look like? >> he had deep-set eyes and he was mysterious-looking, honestly. i mean, he had this fedora on and an overcoat, even in the summer times. >> a real shadowy figure. >> very shadowy.

>> did he participate a lot with the family? >> no. >> over the years, "mysterious mike" keeps his distance, until the day he dies of a brain aneurysm, in 1960. 25 years later, marty learns it ain't easy to dig up details on the secretive life of his great-uncle and the curious documents he left behind. marty even hires a private detective. >> no one really could give me a feel for what i had. i felt like it was a dead end. >> so marty packs away his uncle's documents and tosses them back into storage. and there they sit for decades. decades. >> yeah. i had my fill of them, basically, and i had a life to live. got married and had my children and started practicing anesthesia. >> after their mother dies, marty and his sister officially inherit their great-uncle's belongings. then, in 2011, just on a whim, marty does an online search of his uncle's name.

after decades of wondering, in the pre-google era, some clues finally surface. it seems uncle mike was no ordinary taxman. >> he was like the james bond. he was the serpico. >> and the papers he left behind hold long-hidden secrets. >> it's a total bonanza. he's opening up aspects that nobody even knew about. >> here's a "strange inheritance" quiz question. while new york and chicago are well-known as towns corrupted by the mafia, the first mob family in america traces its origins to which u.s. city? the answer after the break.

♪music ♪yea, you can be the greatest ♪you can be the best ♪you can be the king kong ♪bangin on your chest ♪you can beat the world you can beat the war♪ ♪you can talk to god while bangin on his door♪

♪you can throw your hands up you can beat the clock♪ ♪you can move a mountain you can break rocks♪ ♪you can be a master don't wait for luck♪ ♪dedicate yourself and you can find yourself♪ ♪standin in the hall of fame ♪yea ♪and the world's gonna know your name, yea♪ ♪and you'll be on the walls of the hall of fame♪ ♪you can be a champion ♪be a champion ♪in the walls of the hall of fame♪ ♪be students, be teachers be politicians, be preachers♪ ♪yea, yea ♪be believers, be leaders, be astronauts, be champions♪ ♪standin in the hall of fame

>> so, the first mob family in america traces its origins back to which u.s. city? it's "b." during the late 1800s, an influx of immigrants from italy made their way to new orleans, bringing sicilian gangs with >> retired doctor marty dolan is starting to realize that his strange inheritance -- secret papers, as well as handcuffs and a gun with no serial number -- may reveal his great-uncle mike malone's true identity -- battling organized crime in its heyday. >> the united states had a problem. we were about ready to fall off the cliff.

>> paul camacho, a retired special agent in the irs criminal investigations division, tells me that, in the 1920s and '30s, organized crime plagues america. bootlegging, gambling, prostitution, and worse. gangsters like al capone, waxey gordon, and nucky johnson are getting away with murder. >> and as these gangsters grew bigger, it was overwhelming. you have gangs controlling aspects of commerce. >> all that commerce changes the gang-busting game. in 1927, the supreme court rules money made from crime could be taxed. that means crooks who don't declare their ill-gotten gains on their federal returns are committing serious crimes. enter the irs. >> they decided they were gonna use the criminal statutes of the internal revenue code to go after corruption and tax evasion. >> the agents charged with pursuing these gangsters -- an

obscure division of the irs called the "t-men." "t" for treasury department. the t-men. >> yes. >> lots of people have heard of the g-men. >> right. >> less of the t-men. why is it so few people know? >> the t-men, out of principle and investigative prowess -- they didn't talk about what they did. they just went on from one case to another. >> t-men like michael francis malone, born jersey city, new jersey, 1893. >> poor irish from the streets of jersey city. he learned italian, yiddish, greek, a bit of spanish, and, obviously, hobokenese and jerseyese. >> when mike's 20, he joins the army, serving with the flying cadet squadron during world war i. after he returned stateside, he gets married and starts a family. then tragedy strikes. >> two of his children died. >> oh, my. >> after the death of their second child, there was an estrangement that never really got better. he became this nomad and put his

life at risk. >> mike joins the bureau of investigation, the precursor to the fbi. he quickly makes a name for himself, then jumps agencies to the t-men. malone's new job -- go undercover with the mob. that's pretty risky stuff. >> it was extremely risky. he really -- his life was put in danger. >> in 1929, malone is put on the case to take down public enemy number one, al capone, the brutal chicago mob boss known as the original scarface. malone leaves behind notes from his undercover work. marty shares them with irs agent paul camacho, who is shocked. >> it's a total bonanza. he's opening up aspects of the case that nobody even knew about. >> so, they send him in on a pretty dangerous assignment. what do they tell him to do? >> they knew what capone did, but they didn't really know how and they didn't really know who. who were the specific players, the details of how they did it?

>> according to the case-file notes that marty inherited, malone goes by the alias mike lepito, posing as a philadelphia gangster on the run. >> even though he was as irish as guinness stout, he can pose as a greek. he can pose as an italian. he was this chameleon. >> he had the whole setup done, from the fedora to the double-breasted suits to the silk underwear, even with the initials m.l. on it for mike lepito. >> mike checks in to the lexington hotel in chicago, capone headquarters, and slowly infiltrates his gang. your uncle, mike, met al capone and even spent time with him? >> he lived with him. >> for a year plus, malone secretly collects evidence that capone and his cohorts are making a lot more money than they're telling the irs. he keeps detailed notes on capone's spending sprees. $7,200 on furniture in a single order. nearly 39 grand paid to the

lexington hotel for long-distance phone charges. 1,000 bucks a week spent on food. all key evidence leading to the arrest of capone on tax-evasion charges. >> it really is an amazing feat of undercover work. >> even more amazing, after the arrest, malone doesn't break cover, remaining by the gangster's side during his 1931 trial. but as this handwritten note reveals, his time as a capone confidant abruptly comes to an end -- in the courtroom, after malone notices something odd about capone's bodyguard, philip d'andrea. "i noticed a man carrying a gun." in the courtroom? >> in the courtroom, with bullets. >> oh, my gosh. the whole courtroom could have been shot up. mike grabs d'andrea, pulls him outside, and arrests him. now everybody knows mysterious mike is not a mystery. >> absolutely. his cover was blown. >> he could have been killed. >> certainly, but capone said,

"you took your chances and you won. i lost." and mike said, "you get a lot farther in life with a badge t a gun." >> capone is sentenced to 11 years in federal prison. and he's not the only crime boss mike malone helps take down in his 40 years of undercover work. >> they smashed the capone they smashed the new york organization, waxey gordon. they took down nucky johnson. >> it reminds me a lot of "boardwalk empire." >> sure. same team, same chief. mike was involved. >> and marty discovers that his great-uncle's undercover work isn't limited to bootleggers and gangsters. he also plays a key role in cracking the "crime of the century." it's all there in marty's strange inheritance. >> and i positively guarantee that this will forever change how this story will be viewed. >> here's another quiz question. more than 80 actors have portrayed al capone on tv or in the movies.

which of these tough guys never did? the answer when we return. hi.i just wanted to tell you that chevy won a j.d.power dependability award for its midsize car-the chevy malibu. i forgot. chevy also won a j.d. power depeability award for its light-duty truck the chevy silverado. oh, and since the chevy equinox and traverse also won chevy is the only brand to earn the j.d. power dependability award across cars, trucks and suvs-three years in a row. phew. third time's the charm... lipstick gives the mouth color and definition.

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♪ >> so, which actor never portrayed al capone on tv or in the movies? it's joe pesci. de niro played capone in "the untouchables," and robards in "the st. valentine's day massacre." ♪ >> marty dolan is unlocking the secrets of these original documents left behind by his great-uncle, mike malone, which tell the story of the crime-fighting division of the irs, called the t-men. >> they cleaned up the wild, wild west in chicago, took down

the gangsters in new york city, cleaned up the politicians, and dealt with the hollywood elite. >> iding charlie c, who had to pay more than a million bucks in back taxes. the case files also include new personal details on the kidnapping of the 20-month-old son of charles lindbergh, the first man to fly nonstop across the atlantic. lindbergh's worldwide-hero status made this the crime of the century. how would you describe the magnitude of the lindbergh case for the time? >> the world was obsessed with this case. >> robert zorn is the leading authority on the kidnapping. >> this was the great manhunt in american history. >> the investigation begins in march 1932, when charles lindbergh jr. is abducted from his crib at the lindberghs' estate near hopewell, new jersey. the crime goes unsolved and shocks the nation. lindbergh's father-in-law, former u.s. ambassador to

me, dwight morrow, had strongly distrusted j. edgar hoover. so lindbergh chooses to collaborate with the t-men, including marty's great-uncle, mike malone, over hoover's g-men. >> i have 80-some-odd pages of daily memorandums so detailed, you can actually deconstruct the crime. >> marty shares the lindbergh documents from his strange inheritance with zorn. was it a "wow"? >> absolutely. and i positively guarantee that this will forever change how this story will be viewed. >> the biggest revelations come from accounts of behind-the-scene interactions with lindbergh himself, who's known for his extreme privacy. the documents depict a distraught man clinging to hope. >> for example, lindbergh brought a machine gun onto a boat. there was a man who was coaxing him, saying that he was in touch with the kidnappers. that's completely unknown to history. >> he was desperate. >> he was.

i'm convinced this man would have done anything to save his child. >> the case file even includes details about lindbergh's diet, the clothes he wore, and how, out of agony, he stopped shining his shoes. >> these are the kind of details that put you kind of on the ground with lindbergh as he's wrestling to solve this problem. >> it's mike and the t-men who convince lindbergh to pay the ransom in rare gold certificates and documented bills. the money is painstakingly tracked, as this note shows. >> the ransom money was $50,000. i have the complete accounting of that to $49,986. >> that forensic accounting helps apprehend bruno richard hauptmann, who's found guilty and executed in new jersey's electric chair in april 1936. unfortunately, by then, young charles jr. had been found dead. >> nobody would have been caught

had it not been for the t-men. >> there's no denying marty's strange inheritance is a groundbreaking historic find, says ray sherrard, a retired criminal-investigation special agent. how unique are the dolan papers? >> there's only one in theworld. >> how do you know that these are a "one of," as we say in the collectors world. >> i was looking for those in 1980, when i was sent back to washington to write our agency history. and there was a little three-drawer file cabinet, broken. and i went over and looked, and there was just a mess of papers in there, no organization, no nothing. >> that's it? >> that's when i said, "that's it? so,where's the rest of the stuff?" >> how did mike get these documents? did he steal them? >> no. these records, i'm convinced, were given to him by elmer irey, the chief of the unit. i truly believe that he wanted to have mike tell the story of the t-men. >> and now marty believes that job has been left to him. >> are you obsessed with this? >> absolutely. >> so, how does marty discharge

his duty? and what reward will he collect? you've got to line up to find out. you know i didn't do it. [ cell door slams ] what's your strange-inheritance story? we'd love to tell it. send me an e-mail or go to our website, strangeinheritance.com.

♪ >> now back to "strange inheritance." >> marty dolan has finally uncovered the true story of his great-uncle, mysterious mike malone, one of the original so-called t-men, irs agents who took down some of america's most notorious gangsters, including al capone. and what's your goal? >> to get this story told. i want my strange inheritance to become america's inheritance. >> marty thinks he's found just the place to make that happen, with the opening of a new mob museum in las vegas, which is my next stop. this is one cool museum. senior director of content

geoff schumacher shows me around. this is where the story of organized crime comes alive. st. valentine's day massacre -- the wall? >> these are the actual bricks from the wall against which the victims were shot. >> here, you'll get the inside scoop on america's most infamous gangsters. just wch your stepmay find yourself behind bars. you know i didn't do it. [ cell doors slam ] the mob museum also highlights the good guys, like the t-men. so marty agrees to sell mysterious mike's smith & wesson revolver to the museum for >> what's unique about the gun is that the serial number has been scratched off. >> and you wouldn't expect it from a law-enforcement officer. >> no. but this is what the gangsters would do, and he was an undercover agent. >> marty also loans out mike's handcuffs, which he believes were used in the 1939 arrest of atlantic city mob boss

nucky johnson, and several of his never-made-public case files. what does it mean to the museum to get these mike malone documents and artifacts from marty? >> the information that he has assembled is astonishing. so we're really proud to be able to show this in the museum. >> and marty's efforts to honor mike malone aren't done yet. >> i'm trying to get him the the highest civilian award that can be honored. >> and why do you think mike is deserving? >> my uncle put in 47 years of service to this country. but he did this with great risk to his life, great honor to the country. >> are you obsessed with this? >> absolutely. i truly believe this story of courage and character could be used by this country -- nowadays especially. >> a hero helps take down notorious crime bosses, serving america while remaining in the shadows, until a few dusty, old boxes reveal the true story of

an unsung gangbuster. what do you think mike thinks about all this? >> i think he would be a bit embarrassed, because he kept things to himself. but hopefully he's got a smile on his face. >> maybe he still wanted to remain...mysterious. >> probably. >> before we go, one more tale from the mike malone case files. after taking down al capone, mike sets his sights on infamous bootlegger waxey gordon. he heads to a lake in upstate new york, where waxey's rumored to be hiding. when mike arrives, it's pitch-black. he slips and falls in a puddle, making a huge commotion. all the nearby cabins turn on their lights to see what's up, all except one. in an instant, mike knows that's where waxey's hiding. once again, mystery mike gets his man. i'm jamie colby.

thanks so much for watching "strange inheritance."' and remember -- you can't take it with you. ♪ >> working to keep families together, but the borders going to be just as tough as it's been. [inaudible conversations] executive order to keep families together at the border. democrats can't take yes for an answer. they are still not happy as they are set to vote on two critical bills. >> china telling the u.s. senate trade war will only hurt u.s. workers and farmers. the latest on the trade for tat. gerri: a lower open this morning after we solve 70 points higher on the