Famous Heists Throughout History

FAMOUS HEISTS GA Throughaut History 2 *0000* THEY AREN'T JUST FOR THE MOVIES MODERN BANKING TECHNOLOGY HAS MADE DEPOSITING YOUR MONEY THE BEST WAY TO KEEP IT SAFE, BUT THAT WASN'T ALWAYS THE CASE. FOR THESE MISGUIDED CROOKS, No OBSTACLE WAS TO0 GREAT, AND NO SCHEME WAS TOo CRAZY To TRY. 1671 THE MARK The Tower of London "Calanel" Thamas Blood THE GOODS The Crown Jewels of England ('estimated $14,000 at the time) HOW DID IT GO DOWN? DID THEY GET CAUGHT? In addition to the fake nephew, Blood hired a prostitute to be his fake wife. YES THE PUNISHMENT £500 Blood became friends with the The thieves Master of the Jewel House and flattened and even arranged a marriage between the Master's daughter and his "nephew" (who was actually an accomplice). When the Master took them to see None! King Charles Il not only pardoned Blood, but granted him a £500/year estate in Ireland. According to some historians, it was because the King Charles so amused by the attempt. filed the jewels to hide them in their clothes during the escape. the jewels, they overpowered him, took the jewels, and ran. 1866 1876 THE MARK As many 20 robberies of banks, stagecoaches, and trains, throughout the American Midwest James and Samas Cyounger Gong the THE GOODS Jesse was killed in 1882 by Robert Ford, a recruit for a new gang, who hoped to collect a reward for killing Estimates up to $170,000 HOW DID IT GO DOWN? James. In 1876, the brothers attempted to rob the First National Bank in Minnesota- and resulted in the death of the entire gang except for Jesse and his brother, Frank. Frank turned himself in after his brother's death but was only tried for two robberies, and was acquitted for both. was a disaster, The James brothers were often depicted as Robin Hood-style heroes, but there is no evidence they ever gave away the money they stole. DID THEY GET CAUGHT? THE PUNISHMENT YES DEATH 1911 THE MARK Louvre Museum, Paris, France THE GOODS The Mona Lisa Stealing the Mana Lisa HOW DID IT GO DOWN? DID HE GET CAUGHT? Peruggia was hailed a patriotic hero in Italy. YES THE PUNISHMENT Vincenzo Peruggia, a former Louvre employee, hid in the museum until it was closed At one point, the police suspected Pablo Picasso of and then smuggled the painting out under his smock He hid it for two years before taking it back to Italy, its "homeland." being the thief. 1 year and 15 days, though he only served 7 months. 1960 THE MARK Royal Mail train, Ledburn, Buckinghamshire The Great Train Rabbery THE GOODS $7,000,000 ( £2.6m) Scotland Yard put together a team called the Flying Squad to investigate the robbery. HOW DID IT GO DOWN? DID THEY GET CAUGHT? YES THE PUNISHMENT Two of the robbers, Charlie Wilson and A 17-man team tampered with a red light signal to get the train to stop, then moved it to a bridge where they could Ronnie Biggs, escaped from prison in the mid-1960s. move 120 sacks of bank notes Almost all of the men Wilson was caught in 1968. Biggs evaded recapture for 30 years before returning voluntarily to the UK in 2001. from the train to a truck. They were caught; most received 25-30 years. then drove to a farm 26 miles away, hide and divide up the money. 1968 THE MARK Nihon Shintaku Ginko company car The " 300-millian Yon Rabbery" THE GOODS $817,520 (¥300.000.000) HOW DID IT GO DOWN? This was largest heist and largest investigation in Japanese history. A car transporting money for the bank was stopped by a policeman, who told them their car was rigged to explode. As the policeman "checked" the car, it began to smoke, and when the employees ran, the policeman drove the car away. After 1988, all statute of limitations passed and the robber could come forward without any legal consequences, but he has remained silent. EXPIRED The money in the car was bonuses for a Toshiba factory's DID THEY GET CAUGHT? NO TOSHIBA employees. 1971 THE MARK Flight 305, Northwest Orient Airlines The Imlamaus DB. Cooper THE GOODS $200,000 HOW DID IT GO DOWN? The name "D.B. Cooper" came from "Dan Cooper," which was the name of the one-way ticket purchased by the hijacker. D.B. Cooper hijacked the Boeing 727 with a briefcase bomb. He demanded One Way ichat the plane land at Seattle-Tacoma airport, where the others passengers would be exchanged for $200,000 and four parachutes. After the exchange, they took off again, and Cooper parachuted from the plane mid-flight. Cooper bought two drinks on the flight, paid his tab and insisted the flight attendant keep the change. DID HE GET CAUGHT? NO 1976 THE MARK The British Bank of the Middle East, Beirut, Lebanon The British Bank of the Middle East THE GOODS $20,000,000-$50,000,000 HOW DID IT GO DOWN? The heist lasted an A group from the Palestine Liberation Operation used the chaos of civil war to blast through the wall of the bank. They entire week. then found a locksmith to break into the vault, and spent two days unloading the Many of the stocks stolen were sold back to their contents. DID THEY GET CAUGHT? original owners. NO 1978 THE MARK JFK International Airport, New York City, New York Jimmy Burke and the Lufthansa Heist THE GOODS $5,875,000 HOW DID IT GO DOWN? DID THEY GET CAUGHT? Burke ordered the SOME assassination of most of his associates from the heist. THE PUNISHMENT When Mafia man Jimmy Burke legrned about a monthly delivery of untraceable American The heist was the inspiration for the 1990 movie Jimmy Burke was not arrested for the heist, but for the murder of a con-man Goodfellas. currency flown in by Lufthansa, he staged an elaborate, violent heist with Conds who scammed Burke. a six-man team. 1983 THE MARK Brinks-MAT Warehouse, Heathrow Airport, London THE GOODS $42,572,400 (£26m) Brinks-MAT Warchouse Robbery HOW DID IT GO DOWN? £500M Though the gold was worth £26m at the time, it would now be worth over £500m. Most of the gold was never recovered as it was melted down and sold legitimately; some speculate anyone who bought gold jewelry in the UK after 1983 is probably wearing A gang of six men broke into Brinks-MAT Warehouse with the help of a security guard, who gave them the keys. They expected to steal £3m in cash, but instead found 3 tons of gold. Brinks-MAT gold. THE PUNISHMENT Two members of the gang were sentenced to 25 years. Several others were caught and convicted as well, DID THEY GET CAUGHT? SOME 1990 THE MARK Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston, Massachusetts THE GOODS The Gardner Museum Heist 13 works of art (estimated at $500 m) HOW DID IT GO DOWN? During the city's St. Patrick's Day celebration, two thieves gained entry to the museum by dressing as policemen answering a bogus disturbance call, then "arresting" the guards. They took less than two hours to steal all 13 works. The stolen art included works by Rembrandt, Vermeer, Manet, and Degas. The museum has left many of the empty frames in place, waiting for the return of the paintings. DID THEY GET CAUGHT? NO 1992 THE MARK The Stardust Resort and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada STARDUST The Simplest Vegas Rabbery THE GOODS $500,000 HOW DID IT GO DOWN? At the time it was the largest casino theft without the use of William John Brennan, a sports book-cashier at the Stardust, simply walked out the door with a bag full of cash and chips. Some say he had an accomplice, but there's no evidence either way. violence. The Stardust was demolished by implosion in March 2007, but Brennan is still on the FBIS Most Wanted List. DID HE GET CAUGHT? NO 1994 THE MARK Carlton Hotel, Cannes, France Carltan Connes Diamond Heist (#1) THE GOODS $60,000,000 HOW DID IT GO DOWN? Right before the Hotel's jewelry shop closed, three masked men came into the store and started No one was injured-the machine guns were actually firing blanks. firing machine guns. As people panicked and fled, the men swept the jewels in the bags and escaped into the chaos. This same hotel was the set for Hitchcock's famous 1955 film To Catch a Thief, starring DID THEY GET CAUGHT? NO Cary Grant as a retired jewel thief, 2003 THE MARK Antwerp Diamond Centre, Antwerp, Belgium AWDC WIWERP WORL The Heist of the Contury THE GOODS $100,000,000 HOW DID IT GO DOWN? DID THEY GET CAUGHT? Notarbartolo was YES arrested after his DNA was found on a half-eaten sandwich. THE PUNISHMENT In an interview with Wired, he claimed he was hired by a diamond merchant as part of an insurance fraud scheme. Mastermind Leonardo Notarbartolo rented an office in the Diamond Centre for two years to establish himself as an Italian diamond merchant and gain 24-hour access. He worked with a 5-man team to break into the vault and empty 123 of 160 safe-deposit boxes. 10 years in prison; he is now out on parole. The jewels were never found. 2005 THE MARK Banco Central, Fortaleza, Brazil R$ R$ R$ R$ R$ R$ R$ R$ R$ R$ R$ R$ R$ R$ R$ The Tunnet Under Banco Central THE GOODS $69,800,000 (R$160m) GUINNESS ORLD HOW DID IT GO DOWN? In a ingenious feat of engineering, 6-10 robbers pretending to be a landscape company dug a 256-feet tunnel to get underneath the bank, then broke through over 3 feet of steel-reinforced concrete to RECORD In the Guinness Book of enter the vault. World Records as the Largest Bank Heist. DID THEY GET CAUGHT? THE PUNISHMENT SOME Over 50 people have been arrested on suspicion, but police are still investigating. Only $3.8m has been recovered. 2008 THE MARK Bank of America branch, Monroe, Washington Bank of America The Craigslist Robber THE GOODS $400,000 HOW DID IT GO DOWN? DID HE GET CAUGHT? After leaving the bank, Curcio used an inner-tube to escape down a river. YES THE PUNISHMENT The robbery has been compared to "The Thomas Crown Affair" films. The robber, Anthony Curcio, "hired" decoys for his heist by posting an ad on Craigslist for workers for a road maintenance project. Over a dozen people came to the bank wearing the same outfit, allowing him to elude the police. The Craigslist job promised wages of $28.50/hour. 6 years in federal prison; Curcio was released after 5. 2008 THE MARK Harry Winston Diamond Salon, Paris, France THE GOODS The Heist in Drag $108,000,000 HOW DID IT GO DOWN? Four men dressed as The robbers are believed women used a gun and hand grenade to threaten employees while they broke open display cases in the Harry Winston jewelry store. THE PINK PANTHERS gong that operates to part of "The Pink Panthers," a jewel-stealing throughout Europe. There is still a $1m reward for information DID THEY GET CAUGHT? NO $1M on the theives. 2009 THE MARK Vastberga ATM Depot, Stockholm, Sweden The Swedish Heticopter Heist THE GOODS The depot held $146m in cash-the exact amount stolen is unknown. HOW DID IT GO DOWN? The first helicopter used in a robbery in Sweden. The robbers used a stolen helicopter to land on top of the building, and kept the police away by planting homemade bombs on the street around the building. 20 MIN The helicopter was only on the roof for 20 minutes DID THEY GET CAUGHT? THE PUNISHMENT ш 7 men were arrested and sentenced to prison, for terms from 1-7 years. YES 2013 THE MARK Carlton Hotel, Connes, France Cartton Cannes Diamond Heist (#2) THE GOODS $136,000,000 (€103m) HOW DID IT GO DOWN? A masked man walked into a This is the largest jewel temporary diamond exhibition "Extraordinary Diamonds" and pulled a gun on the employees, forcing them to fill his suitcase full of gems and diamond jewelry. He escaped through an open door, but dropped some jewels on his way out. heist on record. The heist took less than 60 seconds. THE PINK PANTHERS Officials suspect this DID THEY GET CAUGHT? case is also tied to the Pink Panthers gang. 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