Poison Candy

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What to expect

In August 2009, former madam Dalia Dippolito conspired with a hit man to arrange her ex-con husband’s murder. Days later, it seemed as if all had gone according to plan. The beautiful young Dalia came home from her health club to an elaborate crime scene, complete with yellow tape outlining her townhome and police milling about. When Sgt. Frank Ranzie of the Boynton Beach, Florida, police informed her of her husband Michael’s apparent murder, the newlywed Dippolito can be seen on surveillance video collapsing into the cop’s arms, like any loving wife would do. The only thing missing from her performance were actual tears.

And the only thing missing from the murder scene was an actual murder.

Tipped off by one of Dalia’s lovers, an undercover detective posing as a hit man met with Dalia to plot her husband’s murder while his team planned, then staged, the murder scenario—brazenly inviting the reality TV show Cops along for the ride. The Cops video went viral, sparking a media frenzy: twisted tales of illicit drugs, secret boyfriends, sex-for-hire, a cuckolded former con man, and the defense’s ludicrous claim that the entire hit had been staged by the intended victim for reality TV fame.

In Poison Candy, case prosecutor Elizabeth Parker teams with bestselling crime writer Mark Ebner to take listeners behind and beyond the courtroom scenes with astonishing never-before-revealed facts, whipsaw plot twists, and exclusive details far too lurid for the trial that led to twenty years in state prison for Dalia Dippolito.

Critics Review

u201cLike a real-life story by James M. Cain, Poison Candy has a beautiful dame whou2019s full of venom and a trusting mug whou2019s too blinded by her charms to know sheu2019s taking him for all heu2019s worthu2014or that sheu2019s planning to kill him. Told from the perspective of a tough-talking woman prosecutor, Elizabeth Parker, and veteran crime writer Mark Ebner, this tale of greed and manipulation in Palm Beach County is impossible to put down.u201d

Vanity Fair

u201cThis is an engagingly told, eyebrow-raising story of a nice guy with a bad past; a manipulative, brazen almost-murderess; and thugs, both softhearted and heartless, that is spiced with trial excerpts and the intricacies of Floridau2019s legal system.u201d

Booklist

u201cStart with a South Florida trifecta of cash, cocaine, and call girls. Throw in Nancy Grace, street gangs, and even a cop reality show. Then top it off with an absorbing courtroom drama starring the beautiful aspiring black widow. A great readu2014and itu2019s all true.u201d

Roy Black, PA, legal commentator, and senior partner at Black, Srebnick, Kornspan & Stumpf

u201cElizabeth Parker, the prosecutor who convicted Dalia Dippolito, tells the behind-the-scenes story of what really happened behind the femme fatale sting and subsequent trial. One of Floridau2019s most skilled and experienced criminal trial attorneys, she unfolds little known details of the case in a narrative that is rich with the insights of a veteran litigator and is very hard to put down. Parker and coauthor Mark Ebner have produced a captivating account of one of Floridau2019s most notorious cases.u201d

Bob Butterworth, former Florida attorney general

u201cNot even Hollywood could come up with a character as evil and calculating as Dalia Dippolito! For anyone who wants to truly understand how diabolical criminals operateu2014and get away with what they dou2014Poison Candy is a must-read. I couldnu2019t put it down!u201d

Diane Dimond, investigative crime reporter and author

u201cElizabeth Parker presented a compelling case at trial and now gives us all the juicy tidbits banned from the courtroom. Poison Candy proves the adage that truth is stranger than fiction. This is a must-read for true-crime aficionados.u201d

Beth Karas, legal analyst and former correspondent for Court TVu2019s In Session

u201cThe only thing more riveting than having experienced this already legendary Florida crime saga in real time is reliving it via Parker and Ebneru2019s page-turner. Who needs fiction when you can devour Poison Candy?u201d

Billy Corben, director of Cocaine Cowboys, The U, and Raw Deal: A Question of Consent

u201cIf the Coen Brothers ever decide to do an up-to-date version of Billy Wilderu2019s cynical, similarly caustic Ace in the Hole, they need look no further than Poison Candy.u201d

George Hunka, dramatist, author, and poet

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