Phoenix, AZ | On June 2, 1976, investigative reporter Don Bolles arrived at the Clarendon Hotel in downtown Phoenix expecting to meet a source about land fraud. The meeting never happened. Moments later, a bomb exploded beneath his car, leaving him mortally wounded. As he lay barely conscious, Don uttered several words that still echo through Arizona’s history. Was he the target of a mob hit? And was it for a story he wrote, or one he was still working on?
Special thanks to Jarrod Riddle of Spirit of Arizona Tours https://spiritofarizonatours.com/ (highly recommend!) for sharing insight on Phoenix history and the legacy of Don Bolles.
🧠 Who’s Who Don Bolles: Investigative reporter for The Arizona Republic. Known for exposing corruption and organized crime. Murdered by car bomb in 1976. John Adamson: Convicted middleman who lured Bolles to the Clarendon Hotel under false pretenses. James Robison: Alleged bomb maker and triggerman. Kemper Marley: Wealthy liquor magnate and political power broker accused of being the true mastermind. Max Dunlap: Businessman and mentee of Kemper Marley. Alleged financier of the hit. Neal Roberts: Phoenix attorney and former assistant attorney general. Friend to both Adamson and Dunlap.
📚 Sources (Additional Sources Continued in Part 2) Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/shattered-naivet%C3%A9/id1484144747?i=1000455970484 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/valley-101/id1451650012?i=1000625125749 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/who-killed-reporter-don-bolles-the-daughters-on/id1539546360?i=1000627539631 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-syndicate/id1666675521?i=1000599074935&r=354 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rediscovering/id1484144747 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-patsy/id1670259755 Articles and Books https://www.amazon.com/Politics-Murder-Organized-Goldwaters-Arizona/dp/0692662650 https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/corbin-decks-the-halls-with-folly-6412132 https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/arts/phoenix-greyhound-park-is-being-demolished-heres-what-we-know-13080213 https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/what-does-neal-roberts-know-6425717 https://amp.usatoday.com/amp/84793594 https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/don-bolles/2023/05/30/why-a-news-story-motivated-the-killing-of-republic-reporter-don-bolles/70259562007/ https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/ej-montini/2025/06/03/arizona-republic-reporter-don-bolles-murder-lessons/84007847007/ https://www.kjzz.org/2016-09-14/content-364547-former-arizona-republic-editor-digs-arizonas-organized-crime-history https://www.kjzz.org/2019-11-05/content-1287966-arizona-republic-podcast-based-lost-tapes-murdered-journalist-don-bolles https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/ej-montini/2016/06/01/montini-don-bolles/85207410/ https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/don-bolles/2023/02/10/don-bolles-conspiracy-podcast-around-car-bombing-death-arizona-reporter/69890470007/ https://www.azcentral.com/in-depth/news/local/don-bolles/2019/12/17/don-bolles-and-evolution-tracks-mob-and-kemper-marley/2534434001/ https://roundup.brophyprep.org/18156/news/was-kemper-marley-connected-to-the-murder-of-don-bolles/
🎵 Music Credits "Long Thriller Theme Music" by Joel Fazhari from Pixabay "Strange Things 120 bpm" by Dorothe from Pixabay "True Crime Mystery Music Loopable" by Joel Fazhari from Pixabay "Dramatic Piano and Violin Music" by Universfield from Pixabay "Mafioso Music" by Geoff Harvey from Pixabay "Midnight" by Lexin_Music from Pixabay
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