The Southern Blueprint Podcast

The Dixie Mafia & the Vincent & Margaret Sherry Murders: Power, Prison Scams, and Murder on the Mississippi Gulf Coast

On September 14, 1987, Circuit Court Judge Vincent Sherry and his wife, Biloxi city councilwoman Margaret Sherry, were found murdered inside their home on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. At first, the case seemed to point in several directions: local politics, city corruption, organized crime, revenge, or someone from Judge Sherry’s legal past. Margaret had been an outspoken critic of corruption in Biloxi and had told people she was working to expose what was happening inside the city. Vincent, meanwhile, had once practiced criminal defense law and had crossed paths with people connected to the Gulf Coast underworld. But as investigators dug deeper, the case moved away from the obvious and into something stranger: a lonely-hearts scam being run from inside Angola Prison, money moving through a Biloxi law office, and a loose network of criminals often associated with what became known as the Dixie Mafia. In this episode of The Southern Blueprint Podcast, we look at the murders of Vincent and Margaret Sherry, the rise of Kirksey McCord Nix’s prison-based scam operation, the role of Pete Halat, LaRa Sharpe, Mike Gillich, John Ransom, Thomas Leslie Holcomb, and the years-long fight by the Sherry family to uncover the truth. This episode also explores what the Dixie Mafia actually was — not a traditional Mafia family with a formal hierarchy, but a loose Southern criminal network built on favors, fear, corruption, money, silence, and violence. For background and reference, this episode draws in part from Mississippi Mud: Southern Justice and the Dixie Mafia by Edward Humes, along with court records, reporting, and public case summaries. To support the show and for additional episode material, photos, notes, and deeper dives, join The Hidden Pine Lodge [https://www.patreon.com/c/TheHiddenPineLodge], our Patreon community.

Rae Carruth: A Murder Plot, a 911 Call, and a Trunk in Tennessee

On November of 1999, a 24-year-old woman named Cherica Adams made a 911 call from a dark road in Charlotte, North Carolina. She had been shot four times. She was eight months pregnant. And before the call ended, she told police exactly who was responsible. That name was Rae Carruth — a first-round NFL draft pick for the Carolina Panthers. In this episode, we take a step back and look at the full picture — how it all came together, how it fell apart, and what happened in the years that followed. This is one of the most infamous true crime cases in North Carolina history — and one of the darkest moments connected to the NFL. The Hidden Pine Lodge If you want to support the podcast and be part of something a little more hands-on, check out The Hidden Pine Lodge over on Patreon. https://www.patreon.com/c/TheHiddenPineLodge [https://www.patreon.com/c/TheHiddenPineLodge] It’s a growing community built around the same things you hear on the show — hiking, fly fishing, gardening, books, and just getting out and doing something with a little more purpose behind it. You’ll also get access to our private Discord, where we’ve got a book club, bird club, and a place to actually connect with people who are into the same things. It’s $4 a month, and it helps keep the podcast going while building something bigger around it.

The Zack Bowen & Addie Hall Case: Murder in the French Quarter

In October 2006, one of the most disturbing crimes in New Orleans history unfolded in the heart of the French Quarter. Zack Bowen, an Iraq War veteran, and Addie Hall were known throughout the Quarter’s late-night bar scene. Friends described them as inseparable, passionate, and chaotic—two people drawn together by the intensity of post-Katrina New Orleans. But behind the music, the drinking, and the romantic mythology that surrounded them, their relationship was spiraling toward violence. On the night of October 4, 2006, inside a small apartment above a Voodoo shop on North Rampart Street, Zack Bowen strangled Addie Hall to death. What followed shocked even seasoned investigators. In the days after the murder, Bowen dismembered her body, left a written confession inside the apartment, and spray-painted messages across the walls. Twelve days later, after a drug-fueled spiral through the French Quarter, Bowen walked to the roof of the Omni Royal Orleans Hotel and jumped to his death. In this episode of The Southern Blueprint Podcast, we examine the full story behind the Zack Bowen and Addie Hall case—from their first meeting in the Quarter’s bar scene, to the chaos of Hurricane Katrina, to the disturbing confession that revealed what happened inside that apartment. This episode explores the timeline, the investigation, the myths surrounding the case, and the lasting impact the tragedy had on the people who survived it. Topics covered include: * The relationship between Zack Bowen and Addie Hall * Life in the French Quarter after Hurricane Katrina * The events leading up to the October 2006 murder * Bowen’s confession and the crime scene investigation * The suicide at the Omni Royal Orleans Hotel * The aftermath for their families and children If you enjoy deep-dive Southern true crime stories, be sure to subscribe to The Southern Blueprint Podcast and join our Patreon: The Hidden Pine Lodge [https://www.patreon.com/c/TheHiddenPineLodge] for more stories from the history, culture, and darker corners of the South. It's a great way to support the work and the show!

The Beale Treasure: America’s Most Persistent Cipher Mystery

Somewhere in the foothills of Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains, a fortune may still be waiting. The Beale Treasure is one of America’s most enduring unsolved mysteries — a story of buried gold, encrypted messages, and a man named Thomas J Beale who vanished without a trace. First made public in an 1885 pamphlet known as the Beale Papers, the story describes a massive cache of gold and silver hidden in Bedford County, protected by three complex ciphers. Only one of those ciphers has ever been decoded — and even that solution is hotly debated. In this episode of the Southern Blueprint Podcast, we dig into the full history of the Beale Treasure: what the original documents actually say, how the ciphers work, why elite cryptographers and intelligence analysts took them seriously, and the red flags that suggest the story may be a hoax. From frontier timelines and missing records to modern treasure hunts and competing theories, this episode explores why the Beale mystery refuses to fade. Hoax, hidden vault, or something in between — the Beale Treasure remains one of the great unanswered questions in American history. For more info, additional content, and access to our private community, head over to our Patreon called the Hidden Pine Lodge [https://www.patreon.com/c/TheHiddenPineLodge]. It's only $4 a month and it helps fund the show and it's just a whole lotta fun!

High Tide, High Times (Part 2): The Gentleman Smugglers & Operation Jackpot

For a brief, wild stretch in the 1970s, South Carolina became one of the most important drug smuggling corridors in the United States — and in Part 2 of this series, the federal government finally strikes back. This episode dives deep into Operation Jackpot, one of the largest and most consequential drug investigations in American history. As marijuana and hashish pour into the Lowcountry in staggering quantities, law enforcement stops chasing boats and starts following the money — triggering a multi-agency crackdown that reaches far beyond the Carolina coast. We pick up with the pivotal Georgia airstrip bust, trace the smugglers’ pivot into high-profit hashish trafficking (including a notorious run tied to Lebanon), and follow the unraveling of the Gentleman Smugglers network as indictments, arrests, and international manhunts unfold. From Hilton Head, McClellanville, and Edisto Island to Costa Rica, Australia, and extradition courts overseas, this episode details how figures like Barry Foy, Les Riley, Lee Harvey, Barry Toombs, and others were caught — who fled, who surrendered, who disappeared for years, and who ultimately faced justice. We also examine how a young U.S. Attorney named Henry McMaster helped turn Operation Jackpot into a blueprint for modern federal prosecutions, using financial investigations, civil forfeiture, and enterprise-level cases to dismantle an entire smuggling ecosystem rather than just individual traffickers. This is the end of an outlaw era — the collapse of a coastal drug empire and the moment South Carolina became ground zero for a landmark federal case that reshaped how drug conspiracies are prosecuted in the United States. Also, come join us on Patreon at the Hidden Pine Lodge. https://www.patreon.com/c/TheHiddenPineLodge [https://www.patreon.com/c/TheHiddenPineLodge] You’ll get expanded background on this episode, additional historical context, and access to our private Community Discord. Membership is just $4 a month and directly supports the show. Get the book- Operation Jackpot: by Jason Ryan [https://www.amazon.com/Jackpot-Times-Sting-Launched-Drugs/dp/0762780304/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1YVOEG3KRKGMF&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.nOJzItw3dHlgWscayrSLS9cQYrKFIdwQwwNU_BckxJx2actb21Sfji-3xpMtl3mYgre_hct_8x93GfRFhrsxhCZ-LQSjC37l7sj8EKEutoDicf8x6pSL7DlTunZEVhJB65OCqjWeHreae6_ojhnhIAiPoduoeZW2_xkdK5KSCjkADDDUGLSNhxr3GfVz6WuK3S7jH4-gMrMO-_SGW9hTFBSa0chBNrd08uTTmqzZlVc.YY8Bu_5HNFHzLFnf6bPioxVHLd8a-LYb1o-GVoSV2-o&dib_tag=se&keywords=operation+jackpot&qid=1769194535&sprefix=operation+jackpot%2Caps%2C146&sr=8-1]