Most men have probably had a fantasy or two about pulling off a “once in
a lifetime” kind of heist worth millions. Fortunately, most of us are
sane enough not to let it get further than a thought. Below are a few
men who were not.
The only criteria for entry on this list is that they
must have gotten away with it, at least temporarily. Anyone caught in
the act does not qualify for this list.
All values are in US dollars.
ENJOY and SHARE!
1. Gardner Museum Art Theft - $300 Million US
On March 18, 1990, the day after Saint Patrick's Day, policemen arrived
at the door of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, claiming
to have received a call about a disturbance. Breaking protocol, the
security officer let them in.
One of the men said he had a warrant for
the guard's arrest, and they convinced him to step away from his post.
Bad move: the “policemen” were really criminals in disguise, and they
quickly handcuffed him and ordered him to call the other guard to the
front, who was also subdued.
The thieves absconded with 13 paintings,
including masterworks by Rembrandt, Vermeer, and Degas, worth a third of
a billion dollars. To this date, no one has been arrested in
conjunction with the crime, nor have the paintings ever been recovered.
Call it the Luck of the Irish.
2. World's Largest Diamond Heist -- $100 Million US?
It's the largest diamond heist in history from the world's most
impenetrable vault, located in Antwerp, Belgium. Two floors below the
Diamond Centre, it was protected by a lock with 100 million possible
combinations, as well as heat/motion sensors, radar, magnetic fields,
and a private security force.
On the weekend of Feb 15, using a series
of moves that would make Danny Ocean jealous, the thieves were able to
silently enter the vault, bust open the safe deposit boxes, and make off
with the glittering loot. And although the purported ring leader
Leonardo Notarbartolo was caught and sentenced to 10 years, he has since
been released on parole.
Notarbartolo claimed in an interview in Wired
Magazine that the true take was only $20 million and was part of a
larger conspiracy involving insurance fraud. Whatever -- the loot was
never recovered and everybody literally made off like bandits.
3. Twin Jewel Rubbery – 7 Million Dollars Stolen
On Feb 25, 2009, three masked robbers boldly busted into Kaufhaus Des
Westens, the second largest department store in Europe. Via a rope
ladder, the men were able to ransack the main floor without tripping any
sensors or alarms.
But what may have been a fatal error – leaving
behind a single glove – ended up creating a bizarre situation. DNA found
on the glove matched TWO people: identical twins identified as Hassan
and Abbas O.
German law requires that each person be individually
convicted and because their DNA is so similar, neither can be
exclusively pinned to the evidence. German police were forced to set
them both free, and the third man has yet to be found.
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Source)
4. The First US National Bank Vault Robbery - $1 Million US
It's like something David Copperfield would have devised. On Friday
October 7, 1977, before Columbus Day Weekend, a bank worker counted $4
million dollars in cash and stored it in a locked money cart within a
heavily guarded vault, two floors below the Chicago First National Bank.
Then poof! Tuesday morning, the money is counted again, and exactly $1
million dollars – in $50 and $100 dominations and weighing over 80
pounds – had vanished into thin air. In 1981, $2300 of the money showed
up in a drug raid, but otherwise both the perpetrators and the cash are
still at large.
5. The Harry Winston Heist - $108 Million US
On December 4, 2008, four men, three of whom wore long blonde wigs and
disguised themselves as women, charmed their way into the famous Paris
jewelry store just before closing time. Once inside, they brandished a
.357 and a hand grenade and began their pillaging.
Less than 15 minutes
later they escaped with diamonds, rubies, and emeralds worth an
estimated $108 million US. Investigators believe it to be the work of
the notorious Serbian criminal gang The Pink Panthers, responsible for
$132 million in robberies around the world, and have never been nabbed
6. The Tucker Cross Heist – Priceless
The Tucker Cross, named after diver Teddy Tucker who, in 1955, recovered
it from the 1594 wreck of the San Pedro, was a 22-karat gold cross
embedded with sparkling green emeralds and considered priceless.
Nonetheless, Tucker sold it to the Government of Bermuda for an
undisclosed sum.
In 1975, the Cross was moved to the Bermuda Museum of
Art to be displayed for Queen Elizabeth II. No one knows when or how,
but during this transition, a clever thief replaced the original with a
cheap plastic replica.
Presumably, this historical artifact was melted
down, stripped of its jewels, and funneled into the Black Market.
7. Japan's 300 Million Yen Robbery
Tokyo, Japan, December 10, 1968 – A Nihon Shintaku Ginko Bank car,
transporting 300 million Yen ($817,000 US) in its trunk, is pulled over
by a policeman on a motorcycle, who warns them of a bomb planted
underneath. Since there had already been bomb threats against the bank,
the four passengers exited the vehicle as the uniformed patrolman
inspected below the car.
Moments later, smoke and flames could be seen
under the vehicle, causing the men to run for cover. Of course, it
turned out the smoke was from a flare and the cop was a phony. He jumped
in the car and sped off with the loot.
Even though there were 120
pieces of evidence, 110,000 suspects and 170,000 police investigators,
the man was never caught. In 1975, the statute of limitations ended, and
in 1988 all civil liabilities were voided, but still no one ‘fessed up.
Come on now, this would make an incredible Movie-of-the-Week!
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Source )
8. Baghdad Bank Robbery - $282 million:
Employees of the Dar Es Salaam bank showed up to work one morning to
find that the doors were unlocked, the vault open, and all the money was
gone. It is believed that 3 guards at the bank made off with a
staggering $282 million in this whopping haul.
Yes, more than a quarter
of a billion dollars! That’s more money than the entire economies of
some small countries. It is unclear why the bank had such a large amount
of cash on hand, but it was all in US currency. It is suspected that
the guards had the assistance of militias, to avoid detection at
security checkpoints around Baghdad, as having a lazy $282 million in
the boot of your car might raise suspicions.
No one has been brought to
justice for this brazen crime and none of the money has been recovered.
The robbery received surprisingly little media coverage.
References:
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