Sante Kimes | The Art of Being Rich | 2

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It's the afternoon of July 5th, 1998.

In a mansion on Manhattan's Upper East Side, Marta Rivera is getting some chores done for her boss, Irene Silverman.

After her husband died in the early 80s, Irene converted her 12,500 square foot mansion into seven luxury apartments.

She rents most of the rooms out to wealthy locals and occasional short-term visitors, and occupies the two-story penthouse herself.

With so many people living in the large building, Irene keeps a staff of about 10 on hand to help things run smoothly.

Today, though, Marta is the only one on duty.

Irene pays Marta to keep her company and perform odd jobs over the weekends.

It's a position Marta enjoys.

Her responsibilities are minimal, and Irene is a kind, generous boss.

Marta is watching Irene's bulldog, Georgie, today.

After putting a few of Irene's delicate nightgowns in the washing machine in the utility room downstairs, she takes the dog up on the small roof terrace to do his business.

Then she goes back downstairs with him to hang up the nightgowns and grab herself a bite to eat.

It's just before 5 p.m.

when the phone rings.

The line in the utility room is linked to Irene's apartment, so Marta usually lets it go for a few seconds in case Irene wants to pick up.

This time, though, the ringing continues, so Marta answers.

The voice on the other end is one Marta doesn't recognize, which is strange because Marta knows most of Irene's friends.

But then, it gets really weird.

Without introducing themselves, the person adopts a haughty tone and tells Marta that if people from the tax department show up at the mansion in the next few days, she's to turn them away immediately.

Confused by the order, Marta tries to get more information from the person.

If nothing else, she wants them to talk a little more so she can figure out if they're a man or a woman.

It's definitely someone who's trying to disguise their voice by the sounds of things.

The caller ignores Marta's question and gives her another instruction.

She's to take Georgie the Bulldog home with her at the end of the day.

Again, there's no explanation offered.

By this stage, the whole thing's creeping Marta out, so she hangs up.

A moment later though, Marta picks up the phone again and calls Irene's close friend Carol.

Marta knows that Irene was supposed to call Carol this afternoon, and she wants to know if she's heard from her yet.

She's also feeling rattled by the mysterious call she just had, and wants to tell someone about it without bothering her boss.

But when Carol hears Marta's story, she sounds worried.

She's been waiting for Irene to call but heard nothing, and it's not like Irene to forget.

It's at this point that Carol urges Marta to go up to Irene's apartment and check on her.

So Marta hurries upstairs to the penthouse, her mind racing.

Marta knows her boss hasn't gone out all day, so why hasn't she called her friend?

She knocks on Irene's door, but there's no answer.

Even when Marta keeps knocking, even when she calls out to Irene, she can't hear anything.

Suddenly sweaty and nauseous with nerves, Marta rushes back downstairs to call Carol back.

She has to tell her that Irene Silverman seems to have vanished.

From Airship, I'm Jeremy Schwartz, and this is American Criminal.

After leaving high school in 1952 and flirting with the idea of getting herself some kind of career, the young Sandy Chambers made a decision.

Sandy, the woman who would one day become Sante Kimes, realized she'd much rather find a man who was willing to do all the earning for her.

But then, once she had a ring on her finger, Sante wasn't satisfied.

Sure, her husband was doing well as a property developer, but it wasn't enough for Sante.

She wanted more for herself, even if it cost her husband everything.

The marriage eventually broke down, thanks to Sante's abusive nature and irrepressible criminal urges.

Sante walked away with a young son and a new plan.

She was going to marry a millionaire.

That way, she'd have plenty of resources to fund her expensive lifestyle, while she supplemented her needs by stealing and committing insurance fraud at every opportunity.

Plus, a man with deep pockets could easily bail her out of jail and pay for the lawyers Sante would no doubt need to defend her in court.

But to get all of this, Sante would have to reinvent herself.

When she was young, it was enough to be beautiful and commanding.

Now, as she hunted millionaires, Sante had become everything she believed her prey wanted her to be.

If she was going to bag herself a wealthy suitor, she had to radiate elegance, sophistication.

Of course, it was all a disguise, a mask Sante donned to fool people.

But once the man of her dreams realized what Sante really was, it was too late.

This is episode two in our five-part series on Sante Kimes, The Art of Being Rich.

It's the spring of 1970 in Palm Springs, California.

Seven-year-old Kent Walker is standing in a stylish living room, wearing a suit jacket and tie.

His mother Sante has always liked him to be well dressed, even when it's just the two of them at home.

But this evening, there's a special reason for Kent to dress up.

Sante's got one of her gentleman callers over for drinks.

Kent holds his hand out to introduce himself to the man.

He's older than Sante and seems amused by Kent's formality, but he's taken aback when the kid asks him if he'd like anything to drink.

He looks at Sante as if checking to make sure that this is all okay.

Sante grins and nods her head, giving her permission for the man to place his order with the miniature bartender.

He asks for a screwdriver, which is easy enough for Kent.

He walks over to the stock bar cart by the fireplace and pours a healthy measure of vodka over some ice, then tops it with orange juice.

Carefully, Kent walks the drink over to where his mother's date is sitting on the couch, watching his step so he doesn't spill on the shag carpet.

Then with the handoff complete, the little charade is done.

Kent excuses himself, leaving Sante alone with her latest prey.

For the last few years, Sante has gone through men like it's her job.

With her ex-husband out of the picture for good, she needs to find a partner who can support her and the level of comfort she's determined to maintain.

She's never had much trouble reeling in men, but now that she's in her mid-30s, Sante's making more of a conscious effort with how she looks.

She's started to play up her passing resemblance to movie star Elizabeth Taylor.

She accentuates her curves and dresses that cling to her body and piles her long dark hair up on top of her head.

When she feels like her own hair isn't enough, she buys wigs to complete the Liz look.

Since she was a teen, Sante's been using heavy layers of face powder to lighten her naturally deep complexion.

Here in the desert, her pallor helps her stand out from the rest of the tanned women.

She's also been paying more attention to her own behavior.

She studied the wealthiest people in Palm Springs, the ones who hang out at the country club.

And like an anthropologist, she's made some observations.

And because she intends to be wealthy, she puts these observations into action.

When she was younger, Sante didn't really like alcohol.

She'd even go so far as to pour cocktails into potted plants when her dates weren't looking.

Now though, Sante's noticed that the wealthy drink.

So it's sophisticated, which means she joins the party too.

She also affects a breathy voice and makes everything sound high class, just like a combination of old Hollywood movie stars.

Once she catches the attention of a man, Sante reels them in, flirting and playing coy over the first couple of dates while she figures out if it's worth her time to pursue things.

No one ever reaches the finish line, either because they don't have deep enough pockets for Sante or because they work out that she's just using them for their money.

And so, inevitably, Sante always ends up moving on, her eyes peeled for a suitor who's worthy of her.

It's sometime in 1970 that Sante starts reading Millionaire magazine.

It's as good a place as any to search for a partner.

And who knows, maybe she'll even spot a real keeper.

Inside an issue of Millionaire is exactly where Sante first claps eyes on kenneth Kimes.

The magazine does a profile on the property developer and hotel magnate who the writer guesses is worth somewhere around $15 million.

He has a respectable portfolio, including a motel right across the street from Disneyland and a 150 room hotel in Palm Springs.

And crucially, he's divorced.

At 53, he's almost two decades older than Sante, but she's not worried about age, not when there are millions involved.

Even without his money though, Ken Kimes would be a good match for Sante.

Like her, he enjoys gaming the system whenever possible.

Anytime he can score something for free, he's happy.

Most recently, he took great pleasure in the way his divorce turned out.

He'd been unfaithful to his wife, hadn't let her have access to his millions, and then jealously kept her under lock and key, forbidding her from leaving the house.

In public, though, he complained about her nagging ways and told people she was just after his money.

Then, when she filed for divorce, he fought back.

Ken and his lawyers alleged that his wife was the unfaithful one in the relationship, and that her constant badgering had driven Ken to his breaking point.

The process dragged on for two years.

By the end, though, Ken was left with most of his wealth and property the couple had amassed during their marriage.

And with a final twist of the knife, he'd showered their two teenagers with enough gifts to convince them to side with him in the custody fight.

If Sante hears any of that when she first starts sniffing around Ken, she doesn't let it put her off.

She decides that Ken Kimes is the man who can give her the life she's always dreamed of, and she refuses to stray from that path.

Using details from the Millionaire Magazine article like a roadmap, Sante maneuvers herself into running into and striking up a conversation with a friend of the Kimes family.

Pouring on the charm, she steers things towards Ken and scores herself an invite to meet the man himself.

Up until this point, Ken's been living like a bachelor.

He enjoyed the attention of younger women even before his divorce, and since then, it's only picked up steam.

But he's always kept his dates at arm's length.

He's like a dragon hoarding his treasure.

He's convinced that every woman who shows an interest is just after him for his money, so he always resists their plays to make things official.

Sante is no exception, but she is a fantastic manipulator.

She has a knack for knowing which buttons to press to make people do what she wants, and Ken is the ultimate long con.

Not some throwaway lover only good for a couple of meals, so she molds herself to suit his tastes.

Ken loves a woman dressed in white, so Sante scrubs most of the color from her wardrobe.

He also tells her that his favorite scent is gardenia.

After that night, Sante is always wearing a perfume with that distinct floral note.

And once the pair settle into a more regular pattern of dating, Sante finds ways to make herself useful to her man.

She orders for him at restaurants, then throws a tantrum when the server brings him his food, insisting that it's wrong and demanding the chef prepare the dish again.

When they're around other people, Sante loudly praises Ken as often as she can.

And when they're alone, she takes the time to give him massages, pours him drinks, gives him manicures, and sometimes feeds him like a baby.

People on the outside can see what's going on.

As Ken starts spending more and more time with the woman in the low-cut dresses and cheap black wigs, some of his relatives try and warn him that Sante smells like trouble.

If nothing else, they tell him she's a gold digger.

But Ken dismisses everyone's concerns.

He figures he knows how to handle people like Sante.

But he doesn't.

And now that Sante's got Ken's attention, she refuses to let him go.

When he decides that he's had enough of her, he tries to end the relationship.

But Sante doesn't take that lying down.

She's the one who decides when things are over.

During one particularly fraught period, she breaks into Ken's private suite at one of his motels.

She scatters a bunch of pills around the room, then downs a few painkillers and calls an ambulance.

When Ken hears about the supposed suicide attempt, he opens his arms to take Sante back.

Exactly as she planned.

No matter how much progress Sante makes in her relationship with Ken though, he still refuses to give her any of his money.

Of course, she still has a certain lifestyle to maintain, so she keeps shoplifting in expensive stores.

Trouble is, she's not the most subtle of thieves.

She's been doing it for a couple of decades, but still gets caught from time to time.

Only now, instead of her first husband Ed, Sante's got a new man to call on when she needs bailing out of jail.

She calls Ken whenever she's arrested, asking him to come pick her up and help smooth things over.

When he doesn't jump at her first command, she sends him pleading letters, promising she'll do whatever he wants, be whatever he wants, so long as he comes to rescue her.

And he does, every time.

It's not like Sante's some helpless person who can't do anything for herself, though.

Sometimes she manages to warm her way out of trouble all on her own, in frankly alarming ways.

One day, when her son Kent's still in grade school, Sante takes him along when she goes dress shopping in a strip mall in Palm Springs.

Only she's not really shopping.

Kent's seen it all before, so he decides to wait by the car while his mother browses.

After a few minutes, Sante breezes through the shop door, donning a large pair of sunglasses.

Behind her, though, is a sales clerk from the store.

She calls out to Sante, telling her to stop and pointing to the bulging handbag over Sante's shoulder.

Sante pretends she can't hear the woman yelling at her and keeps walking.

She's just made it back to the car where Kent's leaning against the door when the saleswoman catches up.

She reaches out and grabs Sante's arm, spinning her around.

Tugging at the handbag full of stolen clothes, the clerk tells Sante that she saw her steal from the store and that she's not allowed to leave.

Sante laughs in the woman's face and tries to yank her bag away.

That's when they all hear it.

The unmistakable sound of sirens.

Turns out the saleswoman called the cops.

So thinking fast, Sante does what any good mother would do in her situation.

She punches her son square in the face.

As Kent staggers back in pain and the saleswoman looks on in shock, Sante starts screaming that some woman's just assaulted her son.

Then she winds up and delivers two sharp blows to the woman's face.

When the police arrive a minute later, they side with the woman whose son is bleeding and lead the sales clerk away in handcuffs.

They want to bring Sante down to the station to make a statement, answer some questions.

But she affects her most indignant posture and tells the cops that she has to get her son to a hospital right away.

Then after throwing her bag full of stolen merchandise into the backseat of her car, Sante climbs behind the wheel and drives off.

It's just another instance when Sante's proven to herself that she's above the law.

And now that she's feeling like she's mastered the art of grand larceny, she's ready to expand her repertoire by testing the limits of the 13th Amendment.

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It's a Sunday in early 1972, and Sante Walker is taking a road trip with her boyfriend, kenneth Kimes.

Her eight-year-old son, Kent, is in the backseat of Ken's luxury car.

The trio are cruising down the highway, heading from Palm Springs, California towards the U.S.-Mexico border.

Sante wants to pick something up for the house.

This isn't the first trip Sante's made into Mexico, so the whole process feels familiar to her, boring even.

The line at Customs, the border agents, she ignores it all, happily chatting to Ken as they head for a small town across the border Sante's visited before.

When they stop for gas, Sante gets out to speak with some of the locals.

She studied Spanish in high school and manages to carry on conversations with several people until she finds someone willing to invite her back to their home.

Sante walks with the woman who is a little older than she, following her the couple blocks from the gas station.

Ken trails slowly behind in the car until they reach the house.

Once they're all inside, Sante pulls a stack of bills out of her pocket, holding them while she negotiates with the woman.

Neither Ken nor Kent understand exactly what Sante's saying to the woman.

So they just watch on as the pair haggle, occasionally gesturing at the older of the two teenage girls sitting in the kitchen with them.

Eventually a deal is struck.

Sante peels off a number of the bills and hands them to the woman with a smile.

Then they all wait, while the teenage girl packs a small bag with some clothes.

Now a group of four, Sante and her little family start making the journey back towards California.

All the way, Sante is smiling at the girl, telling her that she's beautiful and that she's going to have a happy life.

There's just one hurdle they have to clear before that though.

Just before they get to the border, Ken pulls off the highway and the girl gets out of the back.

Sante leads her to the trunk and tells her to get inside, then covers her with piles of ragged clothes and trash.

Once she's happy with the camouflage, Sante closes the trunk and they set off once more.

They don't let the girl out until they're almost a hundred miles beyond the border.

If the girl wasn't sure about Sante's intention before this, she's surely rethinking the whole situation by now.

And once the group gets back home to Palm Springs, reality sets in.

See, Sante hasn't carried out some kind of adoption here.

She's bought herself a maid.

One she'll never pay.

Sante's habit of acquiring young women to take care of her homes is a practice she first starts after moving to Palm Springs.

For the most part, people in the desert town seem to have plenty of money, so they can afford to hire help around the house.

And because she's studied at the Monkey Sea, Monkey Dew School of Aspirational Wealth, Sante figured that she could also get a household staff to really sell the idea that she's got money.

Can, of course, can afford to pay for a maid.

But even after he and Sante start living together, he won't let her anywhere near his money.

So she's been resorting to a little human trafficking to take care of what she sees as a pressing issue.

She'll call them her staff, her maids.

But what they really are is slave labor.

Typically, Sante smuggles teenage girls across the border from Mexico.

They're always undocumented.

Sante doesn't want any paper trails.

But she promises that she'll help them with their immigration status and make sure they can bring over any relatives they'd like.

Once she gets them home though, she confiscates any ID they have and warns them that they'll be arrested if the police find out they're in the country illegally.

She forbids them to use the telephone and restricts where they're allowed to go inside the house.

Over the years, Sante will become more and more aggressive with her so-called maids.

She gets violent with them, orders them to work long hours, then locks them in their bedrooms at the end of the day.

She prefers girls who don't speak much English.

They feel more isolated that way.

Invariably, though, the girls manage to get away in the end and presumably find their way back home.

But whenever that happens, Sante heads south to find a replacement.

It's as simple as that.

Other parts of Sante's life aren't quite as easily managed, though.

It's been about two years since she weaseled her way into Ken Kimes' world.

And although it's clear she's not going anywhere, he still shows no interest in marrying her.

Eventually, Sante will give up on that particular dream.

Instead, she just starts calling herself Mrs.

Kimes.

And by then, he's too worn down to protest.

The two have settled into a relationship that's mostly one of resignation on his part and calculation on hers.

They do make a good pair, though, because while Ken feels like he's conquered the business world, Sante tells him that he can do more, be more.

And together, they come up with a plan to make themselves a lot of money.

In April of 1972, Ken launches a company.

The only thing it does is print posters, two specific designs.

One has a picture of the flag from every nation in the world, and the other features state and historical flags from within the United States.

Ken's hope is that they'll be able to sell the posters to schools for 15 bucks a set.

The posters will then go up in classrooms across the country just in time for the bicentennial in 1976.

Ken's a patriotic guy at heart, but he's not above riding the swell of publicity around the anniversary all the way to the bank.

With that simple business plan in place, Ken and Sante get to work.

Because of course Sante's involved.

Officially, she's styling herself as Ken's assistant, but she's doing a lot of the legwork to get the scheme up and running.

Over the years, Sante's dabbled in the world of public relations, and now she wants to put her minimal experience to good use.

One of the earliest coups is scoring a meeting with an undersecretary general at the United Nations.

What's said at the meeting doesn't matter, but two important things come out of it.

The first is a photograph of Sante, Ken and a high-ranking UN official.

She and Ken can use that as a sign that their business has the backing and endorsement of a powerful organization.

The second boon is the stack of letterheads Sante swipes from the guy's office.

When she and Ken get back to California, she makes more copies of the letterhead, then uses them to send out forged letters of introduction to various officials from their new UN contact.

Once their business has the smell of legitimacy, Sante and Ken start taking trips to the East Coast, where they talk up their posters and boast about their patriotism.

After the UN meeting, Ken's invited to connect with the American Revolution Bicentennial Commission in Washington, DC.

Again, it's little more than a photo op, but Sante milks it for all it's worth.

Afterwards, she sends the Commission a press release about the event, where Ken was given a Bicentennial pin.

In her release, she refers to Ken as an unofficial honorary Bicentennial ambassador.

The Commission prints Sante's words in their newsletter, which she takes as an endorsement of the title.

She'll refer to Ken as Ambassador Kimes for the next two decades, and use the clout that the name brings to pull off some audacious stunts.

One of these is in April 1973, when Sante forges a memo from the White House Communications Director.

Dropping Ken's name and make-believe job into the document, Sante finagles a face-to-face conversation with the First Lady.

It's a brief discussion, but Sante will later tell everyone that Pat Nixon eagerly promised to help her and Ken get their posters in every classroom in the country.

Knowing how important photographs with powerful people are to their business plan, Sante brings her own camera to the meeting and insists on documenting the moment as evidence of just how important she is.

From there, Sante works all her contacts, talking Ken and their business up to anyone who'll listen.

She sells ambassador Kimes as a self-made entrepreneur with a patriotic streak as robust as his bank balance.

Such is the reputation she builds for him that Ken is even invited to lead the Pledge of Allegiance at the Rose Bowl in Los Angeles on New Year's Day, 1974.

After just a couple of years, the pair of them are making solid headway.

Ken is the face of the company, Sante is the devious woman behind the man.

Feeling good about how things are going, they print a half million posters, all of them branded with the official logo of the Bicentennial, ready for the sales to pour in as the event gets closer.

If they stay the course, they're on track for a big payday.

And at this point, they need to make that happen.

Ken's already shelled out something close to $400,000 promoting the business.

But Sante Kimes isn't one to maintain a steady pace.

She only has one speed, one reckless, self-important gear she's in at all times.

It's February 26, 1974.

Sante and Ken are in Washington to make more crucial connections to help their business.

But this time, they're not content to settle for formal meetings in stuffy rooms.

No, tonight they're aiming to rub shoulders with some of the most powerful people in the country.

These aren't big, anonymous political campaign events either.

Sante and Ken shoot straight for the top, or as near as they can reach for now.

With Sante dressed all in white, a fur hat on her head, and a box full of flashy jewelry scattered about her person, they head first for Blair House.

Vice President Gerald Ford is hosting a formal reception there.

Sante stands out in her tasteless ensemble, drawing confused glances as she joins the receiving line, but she manages to get yet another valuable photo, this time with the VP himself.

The couple even make small talk with Ford and his wife before making a quiet exit.

From there, they head to a gallery where there's a reception for the director of the Smithsonian Institution.

But they don't make it past the guy checking names at the door.

Undeterred, they make their way to Embassy Row, where they burst into a cocktail party at the German Embassy.

Confused by the uninvited guests, the ambassador's wife asks Sante if she's in the right place.

Putting on her haughtiest voice and using her most indignant tone, Sante asks for the ambassador of Belgium.

Anyone else might call it quits here, but Sante is not anyone.

And when the ambassador's wife offers them the use of her driver to get to the Belgian Embassy, Sante accepts.

There, she and Kenner told that the ambassador is hosting a private dinner at his home.

So, off they go in their borrowed limo to crash yet another event.

On the whole, Sante feels pretty good about their night of party hopping, but she's on her own there.

A couple of days later, the story of the mysterious uninvited guests makes the Washington Post.

And because Sante and Ken gave their names to so many people, and because they insisted on taking photos with the vice president, it's not hard for reporters to put the pieces together.

It starts with embarrassing articles about Ken and Sante's night of a million parties.

The digging begins, and people begin asking questions.

When the White House denies that any of their staff sent the memo Sante used to get her meeting with the First Lady, and there's talk that Ken could face charges for impersonating an ambassador, all of a sudden no one wants anything to do with their patriotic flag posters.

And the Bicentennial Commission rescinds permission for Ken to use its logo.

So now, even if Ken could get anyone interested in his poster sets, he's legally not allowed to sell them.

All he's left with is egg on his face and a half million unsold pieces of paper.

Oh, and for a moment there, things have been going so well for Sante.

She landed her millionaire at last and was proving her worth by helping him build another business.

Now, though, she's feeling the ground shake beneath her feet, and Ken is mortified by all this negative press, not to mention how much money he's lost on the now worthless business.

Sante is worried that he might leave her for good this time.

And if he does that, she'll have nothing.

So even as the dust is settling, Sante starts making her plan.

She needs to find a way to tether herself to Ken.

And if he won't marry her, then there's one thing that she figures will do the trick.

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It's March 1975, and 12-year-old Kent Walker is just arriving home from school.

He and his mother, 40-year-old Sante, have moved to Newport with Sante's beau, Ken Kimes.

As soon as he walks in the front door, Sante calls Kent upstairs.

She sounds odd, excited maybe, he can't tell.

Kent hesitates.

He wants a snack, but his mother can get mean when she's annoyed with him.

So he drops his school bag in the hall and goes upstairs to find out what's going on.

Sante meets Kent at the top of the stairs and crooks a finger at him, inviting him to follow her into one of the spare bedrooms.

Inside, the curtains are drawn, keeping the room dim.

But what Kent can see is unmistakable.

There in a crib against the wall is a newborn baby.

Kent looks at his mother in shock as she tells him that this is his new brother, kenneth Jr.

He can't believe it.

He didn't even know that his mother had been pregnant.

Kent Walker's not the only one who struggles with Sante's revelation.

Ken Sr.

wasn't happy about the news when Sante told him she was pregnant months back.

Scratch that, he was furious.

He was almost 60.

He already had grown up kids and didn't want another baby.

Sante, though, is delighted.

Privately, she tells Kent that little Ken Jr., Kenny, is the reason that Ken Sr.

is still around.

If she hadn't gotten pregnant, she's sure he would have left long ago.

Now, though, he's staying.

And, as a bonus, Sante's positive that her new son has her ticket to inheriting all of Ken's wealth when he dies.

Until now, Sante's felt unsure of her position.

She's worked hard to cut Ken off from his family.

She calls them the creeps and tells wild stories of them stalking her, threatening her, even painting ominous messages on her walls and blood.

But with Ken's ongoing refusal to marry her, Sante's always worried that she won't make the will or that his kids will contest it if she does.

But surely, she's safe now that she's had Ken's baby.

Little Kenny is Sante's insurance policy and she's convinced it'll pay out.

In June 1975, Sante and Ken Senior decide that they've had enough of California.

If nothing else, Sante's had a few too many shoplifting arrests in the last couple of years, and now that their little family has grown, it's time for a fresh start.

So they pack a few bags and the two boys and get on a plane to Hawaii.

On paper, the move could mark the beginning of a new chapter for Sante and Ken Senior.

If she wanted to, Sante could turn over a new leaf, stop her scheming and enjoy a peaceful island life with her millionaire.

But of course, Sante doesn't want any of that.

She wants glamour, power and drama.

It's the whole reason she went after Ken in the first place.

Unsurprisingly, it hasn't created the steadiest of foundations for their relationship.

Fueled by drink, the two of them fight constantly, often late into the night.

And when neither of them is willing to concede a point, they call for their in-house referee, Kent.

Before he's even a teenager, Kent has to moderate the couple's drunken arguments.

They sometimes even haul him out of bed in the middle of the night to ask him whose side he's on and whatever inane subject they've stumbled on to.

That's exactly what happens one night after they all move to Hawaii.

Kent's woken up by Ken's frantic shouts to come quickly into the kitchen.

When he arrives, he finds Ken Senior in his underwear and Sante in a nightie.

Ken looks at his stepson and just points at Sante, who's just peeing all over the floor.

As best as Kent can work out, it's some kind of punctuation to whatever point Sante's trying to make.

But as soon as Sante realizes that her son sees her, she gets mad.

Embarrassed by her own behavior, she flies at Ken and starts to slap him.

He holds up an arm against her blows, but she's so close to him that he knocks her in the face, ripping out some stitches above her eyelid.

She's just had some work done, see?

And now her face is bleeding on top of everything else, so Sante reaches out, grabs a fistful of Ken Senior's hair and pulls as hard as she can, yanking out the fresh hair plugs he just got to cover his bald spot.

The next morning, Sante and Ken act like everything's fine.

They don't even acknowledge the bizarre, violent argument from the night before.

Kent watches on in amazement as they settle back into their same dysfunctional pattern and resigns himself to being stuck in the middle of it for at least a few more years.

He's finally reaching the age where he can see his mother for what she is.

And things that once seemed like a normal part of life now start to stand out as just plain wrong.

On April 17th, 1978, a few years after their big move to Hawaii, Sante pulls 14-year-old Kent aside one day after school.

She tells him that she, Ken Sr., and Kenny are going away for a little overnight trip, so he should find somewhere else to stay.

It's a strange request, but Kent does as he's told and has an impromptu sleepover at a friend's place.

That evening, while Sante and Ken are in Maui, their home in Honolulu goes up in flames.

The fire department is quick to respond and manages to save most of the house.

But the next day, as investigators go through the burned out section of the building, it's clear to everyone that this was an arson job.

The fire started in four separate locations.

Sante tells Ken Senior that it must have been some of his relatives who did it, the creeps.

Ever since Kenny was born, she's been obsessed with the idea that they're trying to kill her baby because he's competition for their inheritance.

Ken doesn't buy it, not really.

And he's upset to have lost boxes of photos and mementos from his time serving during World War II.

But he doesn't stand in Sante's way when she starts making the most of the fire.

First, she files an insurance claim for 125 grand, which is almost as much as Ken Senior paid for the house.

Obviously, the insurance company rejects the claim.

At most, there's about 20 grand worth of damage.

But Sante's never liked hearing the word no, so she takes her fight directly to the people in charge.

She tracks down the insurance executives, cornering them in their offices, at their homes, wherever she can find them.

She's relentless and apparently very convincing.

She gets the full payout, giving her the money to remodel the entire house to her taste.

Kent watches the whole thing go down and it leaves a bitter taste in his mouth.

He's always had a strange relationship with his mother.

When he was little, she'd use him as an accomplice in her shoplifting schemes, but also throw him extravagant birthday parties each year, as if she was desperate to prove just how much she loved him.

Now, though, Kent is drifting apart from Sante and tries to foil her schemes whenever he gets the chance.

Every now and again, he sneaks money from his stepfather's pockets and drives his mother's latest enslaved maid to the airport.

He'll hand the girl the cash and tell her to buy a flight back home.

Though the maids are replaced easily enough, Sante is annoyed whenever her son displays anything that remotely resembles virtue.

She makes fun of Kent for it, calling him a sucker, a goody goody.

Not that Sante is all that concerned with how her oldest boy is turning out.

Why should she be?

She's got a rich husband, a younger son who will inherit everything, a constant parade of maids at her beck and call, and more fur coats than anyone living on a tropical island could ever need.

But all of those things, every single one of them, will lead to Sante's undoing in one way or another.

From Airship, this is episode 2 in our series on Sante Kimes.

On the next episode, Sante's thieving waves land her in more hot water than she could ever have imagined.

We use many different sources while preparing this episode.

A few we can recommend are Dead End by Gene King and Son of a Grifter by Kent Walker, as well as Reporting in the Washington Post.

This episode may contain reenactments or dramatized details.

And while in some cases, we can't know exactly what happened, all our dramatizations are based on historical research.

American Criminal is hosted, edited, and executive produced by me, Jeremy Schwartz.

Audio editing by Mohammed Shazi.

Sound design by Matthew Filler.

Music by Thrum.

This episode is written and researched by Joel Callan, managing producer, Emily Burke.

Executive producers are Joel Callan, William Simpson and Lindsey Graham for Airship.