- 8 months ago
From trusted medical professionals to beloved entertainers, these individuals held positions of respect before their dark secrets came to light. Join us as we explore the shocking stories of seemingly upstanding citizens whose true nature was eventually exposed to the world.
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00:00Jimmy Savile just can't help attracting his own special kind of private pandemonium.
00:04Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at 10 people with respectable positions of authority
00:10who were also harboring horrifying secrets or ulterior motives.
00:15How could we have missed this?
00:17Is there something that we did or didn't do that would have given us a clue?
00:22Number 10, Jim Jones.
00:24Started as an effort by a charismatic preacher to build a new society,
00:28but it ended, of course, with the tragic deaths of more than 900 people.
00:32By their very natures, cult leaders have to be respected, charismatic, and personable,
00:37and perhaps none fooled the world quite like Jim Jones.
00:41Jones was highly respected in his lifetime, advocating for racial equality
00:45and offering support systems for the disenfranchised.
00:49He also built significant political capital, receiving praise from mayors and city officials,
00:54and even being appointed to the San Francisco Housing Authority Commission.
00:58Did his message at the time resonate with you?
01:01Yes, yes, yes. No isms, no sexism, racism.
01:05He appeared to be a rare combination, a commanding spiritual leader,
01:09a prominent civil rights activist, and a community organizer.
01:13But Jones' story ended in significant tragedy when he took the People's Temple to Guyana
01:18and murdered over 900 members, their story becoming one of the most shocking events of the 20th century.
01:25Jonestown was described as its paradise, and it was not.
01:28Former member Leslie Wagner-Wilson says followers were overworked and underfed.
01:33And then as time wore on, I realized that there was no future in Jonestown.
01:38Jim became increasingly paranoid.
01:41Number 9, John Wayne Gacy.
01:44Ed and Lily Grexa live next door to the family of John Wayne Gacy on Somerdale in Norwood Park.
01:50The Grexa's daughter, Audrey, used to babysit for Gacy.
01:54So I stayed in the house, and I didn't know there was bodies under there then.
01:57Today, John Wayne Gacy is known as one of the most famous serial killers in American history.
02:02Active throughout the 1970s, Gacy murdered at least 33 people
02:07and buried most of them in the crawlspace of his house.
02:10But go back to the 70s themselves, and you'll find a very respectable man.
02:15Just come inside, answer a couple of questions, and don't even think of it like a job interview.
02:19Gacy was highly active in politics, working closely with the local Democratic Party,
02:24and even having his photo taken with First Lady Rosalind Carter.
02:28He also volunteered for community events, ran a successful construction business,
02:33and famously performed at hospitals and children's parties as Poco the Clown.
02:37Many people liked him, which is why it came as such a surprise when the news broke.
02:42John actually called right after he got arrested and talked to my dad.
02:46And my dad said to him, why'd you do it, John?
02:48And I guess John says, oh, I'm innocent, I didn't do anything.
02:51Number 8. Bill Cosby
02:53It was a striking sight this afternoon. Bill Cosby in handcuffs.
02:57Of all the actors who got MeToo'd, Bill Cosby was one of the most shocking.
03:01This comedian was enormously respected in his heyday,
03:04not only for his legendary career, but because he seemed like a genuinely good person.
03:09He was deeply involved in promoting education, donated millions to charity,
03:14and was a trusted public figure, resulting in his nickname, America's Dad.
03:18Zach, can I talk to you for a second?
03:20Is it about money?
03:21No.
03:21Let's go.
03:23It was also this reputation that allowed people to ignore or mistrust the initial allegations against him.
03:29But when over 60 women publicly accused Cosby of assault, his reputation was thoroughly and permanently trashed.
03:35His fall from grace marks one of the most dramatic downfalls in the history of Hollywood,
03:40and may be studied for decades to come.
03:43At that trial, several other women who alleged Cosby had similarly assaulted them testified against him.
03:48Today, Judge Stephen O'Neill said the evidence, sometimes from Cosby's own words,
03:53was, quote, overwhelming that Cosby had planned to drug and assault constant,
03:58and he declared Cosby a sexually violent predator.
04:02Number seven, Coco Chanel.
04:04Trousers, the little black dress, even getting a suntan,
04:08they're all part of the revolutionary legacy of Gabrielle Chanel.
04:11The designer radically transformed the way we dress in the first half of the 20th century.
04:17Now Paris' Galliera Museum is paying tribute to her and her fashion manifesto.
04:22One of the most iconic fashion designers in history,
04:25Coco Chanel revolutionized feminine style in the early 20th century.
04:29Unfortunately, World War II somewhat ruined her reputation,
04:33as she knowingly dated Nazi officer Baron Hans Gunther von Dinklage.
04:37At Paris' Ritz Hotel, her affair with a Nazi intelligence officer was common knowledge.
04:43But it's so much worse than that.
04:45In 2011, Hal Vaughn published the book Sleeping with the Enemy,
04:49reporting on intelligence archives that were recently declassified.
04:53Turns out, Chanel was also a Nazi spy,
04:56and worked with them in various capacities,
04:58even going by the codename Westminster.
05:01Chanel also tried using anti-Semitic Nazi laws
05:04to force out the Jewish partners of Parfum Chanel,
05:08intending to leverage them for her own financial gain.
05:11In recent years, Chanel's dirty laundry has been making headlines at home and abroad.
05:17Number 6. Jimmy Savile
05:19For more than 40 years,
05:20Sir Jimmy Savile was a show business friend of the establishment.
05:24A friend of the rich and famous.
05:27Even of prime ministers and royalty.
05:30Before 2012,
05:31Jimmy Savile was a highly respected man in Britain.
05:34His commanding TV career being just a small piece of the pie.
05:37Savile also embarked on extensive fundraising campaigns
05:41and volunteered at many hospitals,
05:43both of which earned him public praise and institutional trust.
05:47He also had enormous royal and political connections,
05:50having personal ties with many powerful people,
05:52and even being knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his services.
05:56How on earth do you raise 10 million pounds in three years?
06:00But shortly after his death,
06:06it was revealed that Savile had assaulted hundreds of people
06:09throughout the course of decades,
06:10making him one of the most prolific offenders in British history.
06:14In hindsight, the warning signs were there,
06:16but they were largely ignored,
06:18owing to Savile's reputation and extensive connections.
06:21Everyone was bedazzled by him.
06:25He was like a conjurer.
06:29He mesmerized people.
06:32We trusted him.
06:33Number 5.
06:35Werner von Braun
06:36I am Werner von Braun,
06:38speaking for the Alabama Space and Rocket Center.
06:40Following World War II,
06:42roughly 1,600 Germans were brought over to the United States
06:45to work for the American government.
06:47One of them was Werner von Braun,
06:49who became a celebrity scientist
06:51during the space race of the 50s and 60s.
06:54And while his past with the Nazis was known,
06:57he was quickly rebranded as a Cold War hero,
06:59while the U.S. government downplayed his Nazi affiliations.
07:03They were interested in all sorts of advanced technologies,
07:07and they also noticed the small group around Werner von Braun,
07:11which was developing rockets.
07:13In reality, von Braun was highly complicit
07:16in a system of forced labor and mass death,
07:19using concentration camp prisoners in his V2 rocket program.
07:23Conditions were inhuman,
07:25and at least 10,000 to 20,000 people died
07:28while working at his site.
07:29In fact, more people died building the V2
07:32than were killed by the weapon itself.
07:34The Versailles Peace Treaty had forbidden weapons
07:40like tanks, planes, heavy artillery to Germany.
07:45But nobody had thought of mentioning missiles.
07:48Number 4, Gilles de Rey.
07:51Gilles de Rey, Marshal of France.
07:54Formidable to men, fascinating to women, feared by all.
07:59This knight gained fame as a valiant military commander
08:02during the Hundred Years' War,
08:04and is primarily known for fighting alongside Joan of Arc.
08:07He was also born into nobility
08:08and became one of the richest men in France.
08:11But in the years following his military career,
08:14Gilles withdrew to his estates,
08:16where he engaged in increasingly erratic
08:18and sinister behavior.
08:20Local children began disappearing,
08:22but their peasant families were often too poor
08:24or afraid to confront a powerful nobleman.
08:27But rumors spread as more children disappeared,
08:29and Gilles was eventually investigated and arrested.
08:32His true body count is hard to substantiate,
08:35but it could be in the hundreds.
08:37He was found guilty and hanged on October 26th, 1440.
08:41Number 3, Russell Williams.
08:44Colonel Russell Williams seemed the embodiment
08:46of the military ideals of duty and honor.
08:50Pilot for prime ministers and royalty.
08:52Commander of the secret Canadian base in the Persian Gulf.
08:55A decorated colonel, Russell Williams served
08:58in the Royal Canadian Air Force for over 20 years.
09:02A model officer,
09:03Williams oversaw important military operations
09:05and personally flew VIP dignitaries around the world,
09:09including Queen Elizabeth and various Canadian prime ministers.
09:13May 2005, the Queen and Prince Philip in Canada.
09:18In command of their flight,
09:23an officer on his way up in the Canadian forces,
09:26Lieutenant Colonel Russell Williams.
09:29He was also a murderer and sexual offender.
09:32Williams committed over 80 fetish-related break-ins
09:34between 2007 and 2010,
09:37often stealing lingerie before graduating to assault.
09:40He also murdered two people,
09:42Jessica Lloyd and Marie France Como,
09:45a military flight attendant.
09:46He was eventually sentenced to life in prison
09:49and stripped of his rank and medals.
09:51His uniform was even burned by the Canadian military
09:53in a symbolic gesture of protest.
09:56And today, what began as fetish and fantasy
09:59led to a life sentence of solitary misery.
10:02Number 2, Bernie Madoff.
10:05But then she said,
10:06there's just one thing about it, though.
10:10He never looks you in the eye.
10:12Very few financiers were as respected as Bernie Madoff.
10:28This guy was a king on Wall Street,
10:30running the firm Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities
10:33and managing money for banks, charities, hedge funds,
10:37celebrities, you name it.
10:38He was also a pioneer in electronic trading
10:40and helped develop NASDAQ,
10:43becoming one of its first chairmen.
10:45He began serving on industry boards.
10:48He began being invited to regulatory roundtables.
10:51And he was elected to three terms
10:53as the chairman of the board of NASDAQ.
10:56And in the early 90s,
10:58he was a trusted, respected Wall Street statesman.
11:02And while all this was going on,
11:04Madoff was running the largest Ponzi scheme in history.
11:08In 2008, Madoff's own sons turned him in
11:10and investigators uncovered $65 billion in fake profits.
11:16Thousands of investors lost their life savings
11:18and Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison.
11:22It's a stark reminder that even seasoned professionals
11:24can be deceived when due diligence is ignored.
11:27The sentencing of Bernie Madoff,
11:30the mastermind behind the biggest Ponzi scheme in history,
11:33getting 150 years behind bars.
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11:53Number one, Harold Shipman.
11:55From the dock, he'd shown no emotion.
11:57He stared straight ahead
11:58as the foreman of the jury read out the verdicts.
12:01Guilty to 15 counts of murder
12:03and to forging the will of one of his victims.
12:06Doctors are some of the most respected individuals in society
12:09and we quite literally trust them with our lives.
12:12So it's absolutely horrifying when that trust is broken,
12:15especially through malicious means.
12:17Harold Shipman was a British GP
12:19who operated his own practice in Hyde, Greater Manchester.
12:23Through his role as a doctor,
12:24he gained the trust of vulnerable patients,
12:27especially those with cancer
12:29and elderly women who lived alone.
12:31These are the women Shipman murdered.
12:33Not one was suffering from any serious illness.
12:36Everyone died suddenly after a visit from Dr. Shipman.
12:40He would then give his patients fatal doses
12:42of pharmaceutical heroin
12:44and certify the deaths himself,
12:46often attributing them to natural causes
12:48like stroke or heart failure.
12:50In this manner,
12:51Shipman murdered an estimated 250 people,
12:55making him one of the most prolific serial killers in history.
12:59Harold Shipman killed more people
13:00than anyone else in British peacetime history.
13:03He was convicted of 15 murders,
13:06but those were just the tip of the iceberg.
13:08Are you one to trust authority figures?
13:10Let us know in the comments.
13:12Can I thank you for everything you do
13:13for every good cause?
13:15Did you enjoy this video?
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