Dateline NBC

"The Prince, The Whiz Kid & The Millionaire"

Release Date: October 14, 2025
Host: Lester Holt
Correspondent: Josh Mankiewicz

Episode Overview

This gripping episode of Dateline NBC unravels a labyrinthine true crime saga spanning over 15 years—the disappearance and murder of Palm Springs socialite Clifford “Cliff” Lambert. It interweaves themes of deception, greed, friendship, and justice, detailing a cast of con artists, a self-proclaimed prince, and the loyal friend who refused to give up. With betrayals at every turn and a trial more dramatic than Hollywood fiction, the episode explores the dangers of trust and the allure—and peril—of pretending to be something you're not.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Cliff Lambert: The Victim & His World

• Palm Springs High Society: Cliff Lambert, a flamboyant art collector and socialite, lived the high life in Palm Springs, mingling with celebrities and filling his home with (supposedly) priceless art.
  • “It looked like you were in a millionaire's home when you were in his house.” —Lisa Di Maria [03:48]
• History & Personality: Cliff was known as a name-dropper and extravagant host, but beneath the surface was someone recovering from heartbreak and vulnerable to loneliness.
  • "He just had such a big aura about him. There was just no taming him at all.” —Eddie Mullikan [04:44]

2. The Disappearance

• Cliff went missing in December 2008. Friends, especially Eddie Mullikan (his best friend), quickly became concerned when he missed the Festival of Lights parade and didn't respond to calls.
  • “It's not normal.” —Eddie Mullikan [01:08; 08:15]
• Eddie’s initial search of the home yielded strange clues: drinks, cigarettes (though Cliff didn’t smoke), but no sign of a struggle.

3. The First Leads: An Elaborate Con

• Weeks later, a prince claiming to have received Cliff’s house in a “legal settlement” tried to sell the property, raising alarms.
• The police arrested Miguel Bustamante, who was caught moving Cliff’s possessions out with a U-Haul, leading to the first major break.

4. A Cast of Grifters

• Danny Garcia: Cliff’s much younger online date, revealed as a charming, serial con man with a history of elaborate frauds.
  • “Danny, the sociopath. Danny, the con man. Danny, the liar.” —Tyson Wrench [26:53]
• Prince Kaushal Nerula: A self-styled Nepalese prince, in truth a notorious grifter with fraud, art scams, and jewelry thefts in his past.
  • “He presented himself as this exiled Nepalese prince.” —Lisa Di Maria [31:28]
  • "Not even a little bit [of truth]." —Lisa Di Maria [31:33]
• Attorney David Replogle: Assisted with fake legal documents; ultimately his own thumbprint tripped him up.
• Others: Bartender Bustamante and ex-con driver Dennis Dominey, each with shifting loyalties and stories.

5. The Con Goes Deadly

• Using a fake British lawyer persona, Nerula lured Cliff with the promise of a $200 million art inheritance. A dinner at Dink’s set the abduction in motion.
  • "Hi Mr. Lambert, this is Samuel Oren calling you. This is regarding the inheritance you’re making.” —(Cliff’s answering machine, the voice of Nerula) [37:50; 39:30]
• The original plan: kidnap Cliff, drain his assets, and dump him in Mexico. The plan imploded and transformed into murder.

6. The Murder: Unraveling the Crime

• Craig McCarthy's Confession: The key breakthrough came from McCarthy, a somewhat unwitting accomplice, who gave a detailed confession (and re-enactment) of how Cliff was stabbed to death in his own kitchen before being dumped in the desert.
  • “[Miguel] just went over and he just started stabbing.” —Craig McCarthy [60:40]
• Evidence: Bustamante’s jailhouse confession, McCarthy’s re-enactment, and later, text messages coordinated “Operation CL”—the code name for their scheme.

7. High-Tech & High Drama: The Trial

• Cell phone and text data—especially from an iPhone 3 at the dawn of smartphones—became crucial, with 32,000 messages revealing intricate planning and boasting.
  • “Do it now. Stab with a knife.” —Text from Nerula to Bustamante [64:10]
  • “Did you make sure to clean up even the Benson and Hedges?” —Text from Garcia to Nerula, directly tying them to the crime scene [64:22]
• The trial was marked by:
  • Defendants representing themselves, flooding the court with motions.
  • Attempts to intimidate prosecutor Lisa Di Maria—who received death threats.
    • “They came after me in death threats. I did not want to be the next.” —Lisa Di Maria [65:36; 69:47]
  • Smokescreens, false lawsuits, and efforts to create mistrial conditions.

8. Justice, Reversals, and New Trials

• All were convicted—but Danny’s secret, illegal recording of the judge led to their convictions being overturned due to judicial bias.
  • “I felt probably the way Lambert did when he had the knife shoved into his back.” —Lisa Di Maria, on losing the case [75:22]
• Retrials were ordered; by then, Cliff’s remains were found, finally confirming his death.
  • “The timing couldn’t have been better. That really changed not only the dynamic of the case, but the trajectory of it as well.” —DA High tower [77:03]
• Defendants tried separately; trials beset by COVID delays and further betrayals.

9. Epilogue: Twists Even After Death

• Final Convictions: All but Nerula were again convicted and sentenced to life. Nerula was beaten to death in jail before his retrial.
• Revelations About the Victim: Cliff’s “priceless” art was all fake; the supposed fortune that sparked his murder didn’t exist.
  • “We have no evidence that he had authentic original pieces of art.” —Lisa Di Maria [81:41]
• If not for Eddie’s persistence, Cliff’s murder might well have gone unpunished.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

"This plot sounds like something out of a movie."
— Lester Holt [01:45]

"I was living this case. Complaints, motions, death threats, lawsuits. That was their thing: come after me, break me down."
— Lisa Di Maria [04:23]

"Danny, the sociopath. Danny, the con man. Danny, the liar."
— Tyson Wrench [26:53]

"Hi, Mr. Lambert. This is Samuel Oren calling you. This is regarding the inheritance you’re making from the May Trust."
— Voicemail from fake British lawyer (Nerula) [37:50; 39:30]

“Do it now. Stab with a knife.”
— Text message from Nerula to Bustamante, implicating themselves [64:10]

"They made a mockery of the court system."
— Lisa Di Maria [71:30]

“I felt probably the way Lambert did when he had the knife shoved into his back.”
— Lisa Di Maria, on the overturned verdicts [75:22]

"We have no evidence that he had authentic original pieces of art."
— Lisa Di Maria [81:41]

"It was as epically evil as it was epically foolish. An eight month long grift that ended with the brutal murder of a lonely man in order to steal a fortune that wasn’t there."
— Lester Holt [82:47]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [03:15]–[07:52]: Eddie Mullikan discovers Cliff missing and reports to police
• [08:54]–[13:08]: Cliff’s background and introduction to Danny Garcia
• [18:15]–[20:50]: Prince Kaushal Nerula’s real estate scheme and first police break
• [23:05]–[27:15]: Tyson Wrench reveals Danny Garcia’s con history
• [28:01]–[31:34]: David Replogle and the lawyer/extortion angle
• [34:24]–[46:43]: The attempted kidnapping, fake inheritance call, and failed abduction
• [47:40]–[48:39]: Bustamante’s jailhouse confession and the search for Cliff’s body
• [55:12]–[66:43]: The murder trial(s), defense antics, and prosecution’s reliance on digital evidence
• [74:34]–[75:42]: Overturned trial due to judge’s prejudicial comments recorded by Danny
• [77:03]–[83:43]: Cliff’s remains found, retrials, and the fate of the conspirators
• [81:41]–[85:09]: Final revelations—the art was fake, the fortune nonexistent
• [86:11]–[86:30]: Eddie Mullikan’s tribute to his friend Cliff Lambert

Closing Reflections

This episode stands out as a cautionary tale about the illusions of glamour and wealth, and the real-life danger of trusting appearances. Behind the glitz of Palm Springs and the bravado of con artists lay the tragedy of a lonely man murdered for a fortune that turned out to be mere fantasy.

The steadfastness of Cliff’s friend, Eddie Mullikan, is held up as a final note of hope and loyalty—the one constant in a story dominated by grifters, sociopaths, and schemes spun out of fiction. In the end, the long, tangled web of deception is parsed in a courtroom, where truth, though battered, ultimately prevails.

For listeners seeking a classic Dateline cocktail of colorful personalities, criminal intrigue, and investigative tenacity, "The Prince, The Whiz Kid & The Millionaire" is a masterclass—unspooling a true crime epic as wild and tragic as anything in Hollywood.