Episode 13 & 14- The Perplexing Homicide of Don Bolles

Episode Summary:

In this road trip edition of New York’s Dark Side, Amanda dives into one of Arizona’s most infamous unsolved mysteries — the assassination of investigative journalist Don Bolles, whose 1976 car bombing shocked the nation and sent tremors through both the Arizona political scene and organized crime networks across the country.

Amanda explores Bolles’ life and work, including his reporting on corruption, land fraud, and potential Mafia ties to the Emprise Corporation, a powerful company based in Buffalo, New York. As Amanda reveals, this case isn't just a local crime story — it hints at national corruption, hidden mob influence, and layers of mystery that remain unsolved to this day.

Plus, Amanda gives a spooky update from her stay at the infamous Clown Motel in Nevada (blue crayon, anyone?) and shares eerie details that may or may not point to paranormal activity.

Episode Highlights:

• 👻 Clown Motel Update: EMF spikes, unexplained knocking, a mysterious blue crayon, and a ghost named “Baby Joseph” — was Amanda’s dream just a dream?

• 🕵️‍♂️ Who Was Don Bolles?: A decorated journalist, family man, and relentless investigator whose reporting shook powerful institutions.

• 💣 The Bombing: A meticulously planned assassination carried out with a remote-controlled device planted under Bolles’ car.

• 🚨 Last Words: In the moments after the blast, Bolles named three entities: “John Adamson,” “Mafia,” and “Emprise.”

• ⚖️ The Investigation: A tangled web involving a minor underworld figure (John Adamson), an attorney’s shaky alibi, and a host of political and corporate connections.

• 🧩 Unsolved Questions: Did the Emprise Corporation have deeper ties to organized crime? Was Bolles targeted for his reporting on Arizona’s racing industry?

• 🏛️ Impact: The case led to The Arizona Project, where 40 journalists from around the U.S. came together to complete Bolles’ investigation.

Key Names in This Episode:

• Don Bolles – Arizona Republic journalist and investigative reporter.

• John Adamson – The alleged bomb placer and key figure in Bolles' final words.

• Max Dunlap & Kemper Marley – Wealthy Arizona figures possibly linked to the hit.

• Emprise Corporation – Buffalo-based conglomerate with alleged mob ties.

• Neal Roberts – Local attorney with a questionable alibi.

• Gail Owens – Adamson’s common-law wife who testified about a mysterious device.

• Robert Lettiere – Criminal associate who provided crucial testimony.

Spooky Side Note:

Have you ever had a paranormal experience in a haunted location? Amanda wants to hear your thoughts about her encounter at the Clown Motel. EMF evidence? Ghost child dreams? Let her know your theories!

In this follow-up episode, we dive deeper into the tangled aftermath of the Don Bolles bombing — one of the most explosive (literally and figuratively) cases in American investigative journalism. What started as a tip-off from Bolles himself before his death would snowball into a complex saga involving loud bar conversations, planted evidence, polygraphs, FBI secrecy, failed trials, overturned convictions, re-trials, and ultimate injustice.

We pick up right where we left off:

Alright, so before the police tracked down John Adamson to question him after the bombing — because they had his name from Don Bolles himself — an attorney representing Neil Roberts called the Phoenix Police Department and stirred up a whole lot of noise. This is where the theory involving Max Dunlap and Kimber Marley began to form.

Journalist Don Devereaux reported that Roberts and Adamson may have deliberately tried to plant suspicion on Max Dunlap. They reportedly staged a loud conversation at their usual bar, the Ivanhoe in Phoenix, a few days after the bombing. Already under police surveillance, they made sure to be overheard — Adamson complaining he was owed money for the bombing, and Roberts suggesting he "talk to your fat friend on Bethany Road," a clear reference to Max Dunlap. This stunt led to Dunlap being surveilled by investigators as well.

Though initially questioned and released, Dunlap failed a polygraph when later questioned again. While polygraphs are notoriously unreliable and inadmissible in court, this fueled police suspicions. But what really implicated him came next.

On June 10, 1976, Max Dunlap delivered a manila envelope full of cash to Tom Foster, an attorney representing John Adamson. Dunlap claimed — to police and in personal journals later discovered by his daughter — that an unknown man handed him the cash, supposedly on behalf of Neil Roberts. The man gave him a business card for Tom Foster and instructed him to break the cash from $100s into $20s, label it “JA,” and deliver it.

Dunlap said he considered not doing it but figured it wasn’t a big deal — he had no criminal history. At Foster’s office, John Adamson himself took the envelope. Dunlap said Adamson seemed “off,” almost in a stupor. Max asked if he was supposed to give the money to him, and Adamson just said, “I’ll take it.” That moment would change Dunlap’s life forever.

Not long after, both Max Dunlap and James Robison were arrested. Adamson implicated them both.

Now, here’s where things really start to spiral.

The Arizona State Legislature repealed the accomplice statute just before their trial — a law that previously required accomplice testimony to be corroborated. Its repeal allowed John Adamson to testify in exchange for avoiding the death penalty. And testify he did.

The trial began on September 3, 1977. Adamson testified that Max Dunlap hired him to kill Don Bolles, Al Lizantz, and Bruce Babbitt (Arizona's Attorney General), claiming they were a problem for Kemper Marley. Don Bolles, already targeted due to his past reporting on Marley, was allegedly chosen as the first hit. Adamson said he received $6,000 and that Robison detonated the bomb remotely after Adamson planted it.

But there were serious questions about the fairness of this trial.

Let’s talk about the FBI.

The FBI got involved in the Bolles case both because of Emprise Corporation ties and a request for assistance from Phoenix PD. But the information they provided to prosecutors — and not the defense — was incredibly selective.

Arizona’s Deputy AG, William J. Schaefer, acted as special prosecutor. On August 10, 1976, he was allowed to review heavily redacted FBI informant reports in a "reading file" — no documents were handed over. That meant the defense got nothing. The FBI documented this process at every level and explicitly withheld any identifying data from being shared with the defense.

When Adamson’s attorney tried to subpoena FBI files, the request went all the way to the U.S. Attorney General’s office. The AG, Edward Levi, sided with the FBI — citing national interest. Literally stating that releasing the full documents would be "detrimental to the interests of the United States." …What the actual fuck?

Devereaux would later learn from FBI memos that Phoenix PD had briefly interviewed the FBI’s confidential source in June 1976. The source, believed to already be working with the FBI, was told to continue contact with suspects (including Adamson and Roberts) and report back. The FBI even confirmed this source had previously supplied info on organized crime. So… how was this not relevant to the defense? How was this not disclosed?

Back to the trial.

Both Max Dunlap and James Robison were convicted of murder on November 6, 1978, and sentenced to death.

But — plot twist — in 1980, the Arizona Supreme Court overturned the convictions. Why? Because the court had denied a defense motion to strike Adamson’s testimony after he refused to answer certain questions on cross-examination, violating his plea deal. Also, he was a known liar — something the first episode touched on, including his lies about the bomb.

So the charges were dismissed without prejudice, and both men were temporarily free. Adamson didn’t want to testify again. End of story? Nope.

In 1980, John Adamson was sentenced to death. That was overturned in 1988. By 1990, he changed his mind again and agreed to testify. This time, Dunlap and Robison were tried separately.

On April 20, 1993, Max Dunlap was convicted of murder and sentenced to life without parole for 25 years at the age of 64.

James Robison was acquitted in December of 1993. Adamson’s testimony wasn't enough. But it wasn’t over for Robison — he was charged by the FBI for soliciting a prison inmate to kill John Adamson (before the second trial) and served five years. He died in 2013 at age 90.

And it still doesn’t end there.

In 2004, Don Devereaux interviewed a prison inmate who claimed Adamson confessed that Bradley Funk and Neil Roberts were truly behind Bolles’ murder — and the beating of Fred Porter, a dog track associate who had met Bolles days before the bombing.

The inmate made a sworn affidavit and gave it to the Arizona Attorney General in 2009. It went nowhere. No follow-up. Max Dunlap died in prison the same year.

By then, everyone involved was dead: Funk (heart attack, 1989), Roberts (alcoholism/MS, 1999), Adamson, Robison, Dunlap. And the full truth? Probably buried with them.

Some say Neil Roberts wrote a tell-all book and left it with an attorney. No one has ever found it. But stranger things have resurfaced — I mean, look at what’s happening with the Tupac case. So maybe… maybe it’s not over?

Resources Mentioned:

• Listen to The Patsy podcast (linked below) — it’s incredibly in-depth and features Don Devereaux himself.

• Don Devereaux’s website has tons of newsletters and archives (also linked).

Adamson v. Superior Court of Arizona, 14898 (Superior Court of Arizona May 29, 1980).

Bradshaw, J. (1976, September 6). The Death of a Reporter Who Knew Too Much. Retrieved from The Stacks Reader: 1976 http://www.thestacksreader.com/the-death-of-a-reporter-who-knew-too-much/ 

Devereux, D. (2012). Devereux Reports. Retrieved from dondevereux.com: https://dondevereux.com

Doudna, M. (2023, June 2). 47 years after bombing, friends,fans, and coworkers gather to remember Don Bolles. Retrieved from 12 News: https://www.12news.com/article/news/local/valley/47-years-after-bombing-don-bolles/75-ac66c126-38cf-46c2-a193-fbd318fcfdde

Jacobson, R. R. (2023, September 18). Delaware North Companies Incorporated. Retrieved from encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/books/politics-and-business-magazines/delaware-north-companies-incorporated

Leitch, C., & Prince, A. (2023, February 7). The Patsy. Voyage Media.

Possley, M. (2012, May). James Albert Robison. Retrieved from The National Registry of Exonerations: https://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Pages/casedetail.aspx?caseid=3588

Ruelas, R. (2016, July 6). James Robison, accused of bombing Republic reporter Don Bolles in 1976, dead at 90. Retrieved from AZ Central: https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2016/07/06/james-robison-accused-bombing-republic-reporter-don-bolles-1976-dead-90/86001272/

Session Laws Thirty Third Legislature First Regulary Session (State of Arizona January 10, 1977).

STATE of Arizona, Appellee, v. James Albert ROBISON, Appellant, 4127 (Supreme Court of Arizona February 25, 1980).

STATE of Arizona, Appellee, v. John Harvey ADAMSON, Appellant, No. 5155 (Supreme Court of Arizona April 11, 1983).

STATE of Arizona, Appellee, v. John Harvey ADAMSON, Appellant, 5155 (Supreme Court of Arizona, In Banc. April 11, 1983).

State v. Dunlap, 4128 (Supreme Court of Arizona, In Banc. February 25, 1980).

State v. Dunlap, 94-0068 (Superior Court of Maricopa County September 5, 1996).

Whitney, B. (2023, April 20). Daughter of convicted murderer in 1976 Don Bolles car-bomb claims dad was framed. Retrieved from AZ Family: http://www.azfamily.com/2023/04/21/daughter-convicted-murderer-1976-don-bolles-car-bomb-claims-dad-was-framed/