In New York City in the 1980s, Crazy Eddie was viral before viral was a thing.
The family-run consumer electronics chain, founded by Eddie Antar in the 1970s, grew famous for its wacky radio and TV ads starring former DJ Jerry Carroll.
But Crazy Eddie was never just a business. It was a criminal enterprise. After 15 years of white collar fraud, the Antars decided to take the operation public, inviting a higher degree of scrutiny than ever before. The ads continued at breakneck speed, as did the crimes. And then the house of cards fell.