Gardner Museum Heist – The High Value Theft Left Unsolved

09-20-22

Episode Transcription

Made by robots, for robots. Only read if you're weird.

Hey Man, oh, nothing much. Oh, let the much. I don't know how to respond when you do it, unless I say okay, well, Hey man, all right about have you ever heard of, uh, the Isabel Stewart Gardner museums theft? The Isabel Stewart Gardener Museum theft. Yeah, we could refer to it as a shortened name, the Gardener Museum theft. Okay, because that is a mouthful. I thought you were gonna be like the bell start, just take off the s. We canna go by the shorter version, named the Bello Stewey, just short every the Bella Stewey Guardi Muse Um. Okay. So is it a museum about gardeners? It's lows. It's lows, it's still, it's lows. Yeah, imagine walking into a lous and the employees are like, welcome to our exhibit. But they don't talk that loud, though. No one of museums talks about enough for you to understand word they're saying. I don't understand welcome, like. What do you think the paintings are gonna be like in here? I can't be beautiful EXEC that's how I feel around my neighbors, though, when I'm son tanning outside. I saw you know, when I'm out there, like, I can't be beautiful with as much noise around. You know, everyone shut up so I can be pretty. Why do you gonna be quiet? Museums and libraries, people are at least reading. Libraries make sense. People are reading museums. Museums and people are just looking at stuff, like. Yeah, it would make more sense if you had to try to not be seen by anybody. Like I just creep around museums and if you got spotted, he shot on the spot due to the museum. Remember. So season you die. No Tim I was way too loud. Welcome to the museum. Remember. If somebody sees you, you die and you're like I just heard like ten people say that. Where are they quit looking around. They're doing it right. Can you play the theme song, but play it real quiet. The Uber drives like so you can't duct tape your head in my car. Dude, if I was uber driving and somebody trying to get in my car looking like that, as long as I'm here, it's mine. I want my cut of the crime. gave all these todd they have a lot of it hitting everybody. Yeah, things last night. So the Bella Stewie Gardner Museum theft? Uh So, this is where is the is the Gardner Museum? Yeah, okay, Isabella Stewart, Isabella Gartner Museum. That's the that's the Isabel Stewart Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum as a museum in Boston Massachusetts. Sure. Uh. So this was a heist on. I thought you were gonna say Boston market. It's a museum inside the Boston market. Would you guys like a new corn bread? Goodbye, that figure shot. That's a weird museum. This is good. So far, so, except for my brother got shot. If he could leave a review, he'd probably give it, but he can't leave a review. So this is the largest art heist in modern history. This is an art museum. If, yeah, you're the heist happen? Um, it is, thirty years on, still unsolved. Okay, so the arts stolen in this heist? Um, the pieces. Yeah, I mean, I know that you're uneducated, but that's fine. Yeah, so the arts stolen in this heist at the time, our value that two million dollars in the nineties. Yeah, today, Um, detectives. Detectives and art enthusiasts, uh, say that they think they would estimate it to be worth around seven million today. Hey, you're really close. Yeah, I know are. I own like several pieces in art. Name in art, Name and art, Name and art. Okay, I don't actually treat art that way, you know. I let it tell me what its name is, and that's how I've accrued over one point three billion dollars in art, people, three billion dollars in in an pieces. You know, asked me if I can name an art. Can you name an art? Finger painting, Arthur Reid. Yes, I hate you. Keep whatever. What do you think? So what do you think? Do you okay, I'm not wearing a watch. I keep feeling how naked my wrist is, but yeah, man, put some clothes on. Yeah, I know, it's just what those things where my arm feels super light? From the listeners. He says he feels naked because he's not wearing to watch. He's also also complete leave naked. It is really hot the office. Yeah, we can't post the video of this episode. You know, youtube bone allow it. Okay, so this heist up and that's art. That's what I'm saying. You know, it's doing this. Our podcast is okay. So here's he's a little bit of background. We gotta lay a foundation. Isabelle Stewart Gardner. She was a woman alive in the eight hundreds. She was art enthusiast. I don't know why this is so hard for me to not laugh while saying this, because she was dead. People make you giggle that people are funny, man. Okay, that's not all right. Is the Stewart? She she she was a famous art collector in the eighteen hundreds and she opened up an art museum in nineteen o three to show off her art. Right. No, it was her collections, her collection of art. She doesn't do art. Yeah, she's not an artist. She would never go somewhere and say let's do art, she would say. She would go somewhere and say thanks for doing art, for me to see art. That's all, and that's a good one. Uh So, uh. She opened up this museum in nineteen o three, this curated collection. She had spent her whole life curating Um, and then she died a little while after that and she left three point nine million dollars, or three point six million dollars, and that that day to curate and continue to operate her, her museum, which ran out of what was her home, and so this is like a historic building in Boston. Um. But again, I wish that I was rich enough in my part would be. What if I had one point three billion dollars of art in my apartment in my Kansas City two bedroom, not the best apartment, you know. Yeah, that's pretty hilarious. Um, okay. So, so how much is like the Mona Lisa? Worth a lot. Oh yeah, but I'm wondering what's the dollar amount on it right now? Let's see, Lisa Vallewo. Could somebody buy it? In theory, I mean I don't think that. You know who owns it. Who owns? So current estimate is fifty three million at the three point seven million dollars. I would imagine it's worth more than that. But I mean, like, let's say that in in nineteen two it was assessed at one hundred million. So this is conflicting. The current assessments conflicts the painting. Who Owns Leonardo de Vin diesel's? Who Owns Mona Lisa? He didn't laugh, but that was a good one. Yeah, I don't recognize this guy. I'M gonna put this picture on the street. I don't know, I don't want to see. Okay, we could move one. So okay, but stop. He actually owns the N F T version. That's what I was trying to I was gonna make a joke about Da Vinci's n F T. I think Bluuve owns it. Okay, yeah, I was acquired by King Francis, who he died and you know, like three years ago. Um, and now the French Republic owns which is kind of dumb. Like. Well, that's what I'm saying. Like there are certain pieces that are like that's got to be owned by a government. You know, French Republic debt. I'm just curious if they could get out of debt by selling. Hi, Dave, how are you better than I deserve? What can I help you with that? We're trying to get out of a little bit of debt situation currently, where three million dollars in debt. Um, oh, but there was something like that. We're trying to get that out of a little bit of debt situation and currently million dollars in debt. But we have the Mona Lisa. Well, I think you should sell that Mona Lisa. UH, that's part of Abe's deep number one. It's actually with three. I did not notice till the very end what that bit was. I just thought you didn't get it at better than I deserve. Yeah, I just assumed they were calling some dude from the US, somebody from the US, to be like we are wondering about some financial advice, and you were like, all right, he's just gonna do some dude from the US. I got a call from the French last week and they asked me how to do text. Would you like to buy? They're trying to sell it through cold calls right now. They're like, Hey, we had this half sling shot. Would you like to purchase it? All Right, okay. So this museum. Yeah, she set it up and she she left it to run it, but there was some strict stipulations. It was one of no renovations of the building. Keep it the same. It's my house. Don't change it to too, don't buy art, don't sell art, don't move art, leave everything exactly how it is. If any if you don't follow an you my rules. Yeah, what do you do? Like what? She can't stop me. Yeah, she's like, I'll take the money away and I'll take your soul. Yeah. So, yeah, so it's pretty strict stipulations on. So she's definitely haunting whoever stole this stuff. We'll get there. So in the eighties, this museum had been operating for eight years. is running out of money. Um. Well, yeah, so they've got three point six million dollars that they've just kind of had on operating expenses. I don't know where their finances right at the time, but they upgraded their security system and so what they said was they installed a bunch of cameras to the outside of of the facility and some motion sensors on the inside and then created like a police switch where they could call the police when at the touch of a button, you know, Um, kind of like McDonald's. Um. But eight after they had installed all this stuff, um, that they had like an independent security revere. You or show up. It's like a consultant. Okay, yeah, it okay, uh. And so he came and he said your security is really bad. It was. It was. It was that discovery. It's the staples easy button. It's like, whoever sold this? Do you scammed you? And like yeah, it was this company called staple. You get scammed. So, uh, it was that discoverych other show. It takes a thief, remember that show? Oh, and they try to break in its people's they do break in, they steal all your stuff and then they give it back and then they set up your house security, but they don't fix your broken doors. Um. And so, uh, it was basically that, but without the show part. So it's just kind of like this is uncomfortable. Um. So this guy broke into the museum and told them all the stuff that they did wrong. Um, and he had a couple of big notes, he said. One he said, you've got all these cameras outside. You got all these cameras outside, no cameras on the inside. He's like, so, if I can get inside, I'm pretty much home free until I gotta leave, until I have to walk out all this art, I mean inside, inside, I could do whatever, whatever I want. Yeah, but you just need to get cameras inside. That's what he said. I'm gonna tell you what, though, if that guy hadn't carried it all out the front door, we wouldn't even he wouldn't have got caught, you know, if he would have held onto it and he would have lived the rest of his game inside, if he would have the rest of his life. You just walk around museum every night. So do you work here kind of like that? Yeah, you can't see me on the camera, so I guess what you could call what I do work. It is a labor of love. You see all this, it's mine. I'm the captain. Now you're like, okay, I stole all the art in here. Know you did. It's still here. Yeah, but I stole it. Yeah, but I'm still here. It's like it's slave here. It's fine, okay, quiet down or you're gonna get shot because I'm here. It's fine, keep your voice down. This is so stupid. So and then he said. He said, okay, you've got no cameras in the inside, only on the outside. Get some cameras on the inside. Then he said here's another big problem. Um, there's only one place in the whole facility where you've got a police button. You need to have these police buttons all over the place, because what happens if your security guard isn't in the security booth to push the police button and he needs to push the police button button and near it gets some more police buttons. Uh. And then and then he said okay. Also, a lot of other art museums at the day, or just museums in general at the day, they had this policy which one hour every night they turn all the cameras off and all the police buttons off and they just let it be. Let's see what happens if you do that. They do this. Every museum does this. I'm a so this guy tells him what all these the museums do is every hour overnight, the security at museums will call the police and say, Hey, we're okay, and then every hour, every hour. Dude, I would hate to be the nine one one operator near a museum. You're like hey, now, moment, wants your emergency. Oh, this is just the museum. There's no no one. What is your emergency? Hey, this is just the museum, just calling to say everything's good. How are you okay? Can you please keep your voice down? Sorry, this is the museum. Just call it us. Everything is good. I'm fine. Thanks. Sorry. Listen, I told you, we can only I just need a update on how the museum is going. We can't keep doing this. Okay, but I just I broke things off two weeks ago. You have to quit calling. Yeah, but I have to. I know it's part of your job, but we can call, you can tell me how things are and then we have to hang on. I don't understand why we can't be friends. I just want to see you again. You know the rules. We're not allowed to see anybody. Click. I don't know. I like the idea of them, because they got to talk every hour. There's how to be romance. Oh sorry, Um, are you not operator? Um, UM, nine one one. Uh. Why? Why do you've got a relationship, you're broken up and you refer to them as nine one one. You gotta keep it appropriate. Um, okay, nine one one. I would just I would really appreciate it if next time I whispered you wis back. I wasn't worth it. Okay, so he said, he said, unless her name is Alexa, unless the nine on one operator's name is Alexa. Al Right, so he's saying call cops every hour on the hour. Yeah, he said you should do that, because then if they didn't call in the hour, then the police something's up. Let's go check it out. Is that a real thing? Museums do? I don't know if they do that anymore. I'm sure by now there's some technology that just does it for them. Um, there's a there's a room that calls every hour. I'm curious about that. That's interesting. So he recommended that they do that as well. Um, and then he said he's also another thing that a lot of uh museums do is they've installed turrets all in every room. She didn't. They didn't say that. But he gave all this advice, told them all the stuff that they should do and they just said yeah, they said that sounds like a lot of work. Yeah, they said, that's that's a lot of money. We've got the cameras outside. He's what they said. They said. They said one, that's a lot of money and we only have three points six million dollars too. They said, uh, uh, uh, Isabelle, she told us not to do any renovations and she's pretty scary. So No. So they just didn't. So they said no to everything. Hey, thanks for checking out this episode. If you like this podcast you wanted more of it, please leave a review. That's super helpful to let others know who are searching for a podcast. And if you're new around here, we've been doing this for several years and there's plenty of episodes to check out. One of my personal favorites is agent Garbo, is a guy who went to the government during World War Two and was like hey, let me be a double agent and they were like no, and then he was like well, I'm gonna and so he kind of went off on his own did the thing, and it's also got some crazy details about world war two, about how the US used inflatable tanks to trick Germany, all kinds of fun stuff. But if you want to go check that out, you can. Thank you so much for listening to this podcast. They didn't do anything, uh, they just left it how it was and they said Hey, thanks for the review, and so that guy left in two years later. It's like families who go to counseling and they're like yeah, we do are a lot of problems. Yeah, you're right, hey, here's some solutions. You guys just start Tom that's okay. It's just good to be aware. I don't know. Yeah, we just really want to know what's happening and then, Um, yeah, and that way we're on the front new front yard in the news. We can be like, you know, we always we knew why she didn't know. You know, we understood, we went to counseling, we did our our due diligence and so we know. Um, anyways, uh, two years later, uh, March Eighteenth, security guard Rick Abbeth, aged twenty three. Um, was also they shouldn't let young people be security guards, you know. Yeah, that was actually another thing that this reviewer said. He said, well here, because has let babies secure the villain, that there's no way they don't do anything right. gave all these todd they have a lot of it, everybody. Yeah, burglar or not. You know, that's why they thought they'd be go at the job. And it's like, well, you know, you need to descritch. Child Labor. Laws were different when Izzy stew was alive, you know, but she left the stipulation in her will that babies have to secure the building. Babies. Only she had some weird thing where she always pronounced a baby lawn and she thought that a powerful nation in the biblical times was baby lawn. You know, incredible. She wasn't Sparta. Yeah, anyways, so the Rick Abbath was on security and yeah, and he after the fact, he told the news that he was not excited to work that day because Um, he was hungover from, uh, the night before, which was Patty's St Patrick say, I was going to say that. Yeah. So, UM, he was really upset that he had to work that day, um, the overnight shift. Uh. So he had the whole day to rest, but I don't know. anyways, and so he came and worked the overnight shift, like he came in the night of the eighteenth. Yeah, so he drank all slept, had all day. It was like so hungover. And you know what, that's what I get mad at when people are like kids these days. You know, it's like no, no, no, no, kids all days, kids, kids at any time. I have never wanted to do with job. So he he clocks in for his security being. Um, yeah, and he is. He's a the nighttime security guard with a new ninetime security guard. He had this guard had security there before, but just not at night. This is his first night shift. His name was Randy Hesstand. His age M Oh, I was I was saying this the second gup, but that the reviewer are. One of the things he said was, hey, we need you need to pay your security guards more, so that way you could attract better security guards because they were paying just a touch over minimum wage. They said if you pay your security guards a little better, you get security guards that are good better. Um, and these guys don't know how to use a taser like that's bad advice. Don't bring up that up to me right now. Did you know? We hit a hundred patrons on Patreon? And Uh, that means I'M gonna pay a minimum wage twenty three year old to taste him. It's not gonna be now, it's not gonna be good, but you're gonna get tasted. Jared's been hanging around them all and been like, Hey, want to make seven fifties, seven just at the Independence Mall too dude. So hand around, lurking around, just behind forever, twenty one, and just like hey, you want to make seven dollars and fifty seven cents. No, it'll only be an hour. Yeah, yeah, you to commute to our office. You also have to provide a Taser and then just taste the guy. Yeah, what I've been doing at him all we could have been sending him Amazon tasers. They're pretty good. Yeah, if you don't know, if you just started listening recently about I don't know, what like three seasons ago before my brain was fully developed. Yeah, we made this plan, made this joke, this joke that I would get tasted if we had a hundred patients, at which time we would at the time, there was never a possibility of hitting a hundred. Yeah, we just didn't think we were ever going to get there. Yeah, and I don't know if you can hear in the background of this episode, we're currently building a vault Um to store my art and also to taste him. We're gonna taste me that they're gonna lock me then. Yeah, so I'm really sad about that, getting taste. So, and we're going to hire these people who do it. So the reviewer said pay more, pay, pay your security guards more, because your security guards are bad. And then he said they were bad like they just didn't catch him or what. Well, he didn't go rob the place. That was a joke, but he thought he said that your security guards are minimum wage security guards. You pay more, YOU'RE gonna get hired more qualified security guards, maybe someone who was like a Navy sealer or something, and they're like no, I'm gonna do security, someone who's just passionate about protecting art. Yeah, you never know. Uh. So, anyways. But instead they got a guy who shows up the day after St Patty's, almost twenty four hours after partying on St Patty's, and is complaining about plenty of a hangover. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, so, Um, he's like, I can't believe they've made me work during the month of St Patrick. It's my birthday, but that's a big brother reference every Um. So, uh, rick out of his his behavior this night. It was a little hot. Um. So, which one of us is? Which one of us is the suspect here? Richard or Randy? Are we saying, Richard, there's no suspects. Yet, this rick. Yet, this is the this is the so rick is is. He's hung over. He's Hungover, he doesn't want to be here, but he's doing a security thing. And so the policy was one guard stayed in the cards room, Um, while the other guard did the rounds. Okay, so that way, because of the way the security system set up, someone always was able to push the button if he had to, and then they had walking, played video games. I want to walk route. Yeah, so he's walking his route with his with his flashlight, and something strange happens while he's on his round. Um, a bunch of their fire alarms start going off in different rooms. Um and so, me, me, me, he's like, is that it's still a fire alarm? Is it a fire alarm? Perfect, I can call that one one. It's been on. Oh, exactly, he pulls it. He pulls the Fire Alarg I missed you. Okay. So he's doing his rounds and he's going in these rooms with the alarms are going off and he's like. He's like, I can't find any fire, and he's like, I can't smell any smoke, and so he keeps going on all these rooms. He's like, must be a malfunction. So he goes back to the guard's booth and he turns off the alarms and says there's nothing to it. Continues his rounds and Richards still in the guard booth. Yes, yeah, so he goes back and he's still in the guard so rick goes back and Randy is still there and Randy's like what's going on, and Rick is like it's fine. He's like, the firearms are going off but it's there's no fire. So it's okay, and so he turns it off. He's probably smoking in the rooms. Is probably what happened? Honestly, most likely the nineties. So, Um, so he could continues his round. He's, you know, doing his rounds. Um. Most sensors are catching him going in just about every room as sensors. Yeah, okay. And so they're catching him going just about every room, as you would expect, because he's on his rounds. Uh. And then at one point during his rounds, without notifying his partner, Um, he just goes to one of the back doors and opens and shuts it a couple of times, uh, and then just continues his rounds, which is something that he didn't do another rounds. Well, it's something that he claims he did, but it doesn't seem like you normally did it. So anyways, that's an important thing. Just in that remember that he did that might be suspicious. Might be might be suspicious calling Um, I mean while there was a hatchback out front for about an hour that a bunch of other people noticed as they were leaving a party that night, like a super U. Yeah, yeah, back, just part parked out front and sitting in the front seats were two police officers really, yes, and a bunch of people just as soon like those police just got off their shift or something and they're in their super just just chilling outside the Isabel Stewart Gardener Museum. And so these police officers hung out in the super. Rot Back for me back there and they're like, everything's fine, I don't know what you're doing. They eventually they got out of there. Hatchback. Okay, we got this on camera right because it's outside. Yeah, they walked up to the front door, they buzzed in and they said, hey, we got calls of a disturbance in the area. Can we come in and check it out? And at this point we had calls to the servants in the area and it's lucky that we've been sitting outside for three hours. We just happened to be here in the area. Could you let us in? Yeah, and so Randall Randy at at this point. Randy's now on his rounds Rick is in the Guard booth and Rick says okay, which was not their policy. Normally, if police officers would show up, they would call the police look a little different to their their pants are really short, like those wearing short, short police outfits, really tight down. We gotta call of, you know, some activity over here, and we got sit here by and ricks. She said You, yeah, she did. All right. Well, I guess we'll let you in. Just like clearly not not police officers. I'm just picture like the wrong com where the dude falls in love with the nine and one operator. Oh I love this. Yeah, we did a bit about the phone Gal. Oh, yeah, that's that's a good okay. So Rick let him in, which was not their policy. Normally the policy was called the police and be like hey, there's some police here. Are they police or are they police? And then they would make a decision. But he was just like come on in, and so then they come in and they're talking to him through the Little Guard booth window. Right, and Rick, in his report I was talking about it said one of them was a shorter man, one of them was a taller man. The Taller man had a mustache that seemed pretty fake. Um, did you say that? Yeah, and the that's what I'm saying, like there's weird fake mustaches and like the chip here, two of the microphone. This is chaos today. So that's what I'm saying. It's like they're just wearing party city police uniforms. Yeah, uh so, and I'm like hey, we're the cops. Yeah, they're like like is it cool if we look around at the disturbance? And he's like yeah, I'm sure, whatever, I'm coming over and so and then they're sitting there and one of the cops he says one of the cops just kind of looked at me reard for a second and then it was like hey, can you come out here? And he was like okay, and so he walks out. He's like you look a lot like a guy that we've got a worn out for and he's like turn around, and he makes him turn around and he handcuffs him and then earlier used. What I'm worried about if we hire a minimum wage security guard to taste you, is that you would just be able to talk your way out of it. What's the idiot who is the security guard would be like yeah, and then like yeah, I guess you have. You look like you don't have any cuffs. I've got something. I guess I like this guy. Look, it might have been me last I was crazy. I'm still hungover. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, what uh? When the police first showed up, he'd called Randy was like hey, the police are here, you should come back and so as rick is getting handcuffed, randy comes up and they're like hey, turn around, like turn around, we got a few too, and he's like, he's like Oh, okay, and he like starts putting his hand in the back there and he says, he says to them, he says, he says, am I under arrest too? And the police officer was like no, you're being robbed, which is the most the freaking coolest thing in the world. And so, uh, the other I was like no, you're just stupid. So what? So they then shoot. Dude, you're short and I'm tall. Do we match the description? We were born four years after this, but who knows, I could just be an alibi. We could be able to my alibi. Thought I was born officer. It couldn't be mean I was born too late. No, you weren't reborn. Check my baptism certificate. Everything behind that is covered by the blood. Dude. I'm telling you, there was a kid in my youth group who, at a church camp, was like cussing up a storm and like he was. He was kind of like a I don't know. He wasn't the bully, he was definitely a kid who was getting bullied Um and I was one of the leaders. I tried to do my best or whatever, but like to bully Um Um, like I was trying my best to really, I get on, you know, really build up some confidence in the holies and yeah, uh, you know, build up some resilience in him. No, no, no, but he strained up. was like, you know, custom a lots, saying just horribly inappropriate things. And then later that night, after the evening service, got onto somebody and was like they don't talk like that and I was like, Hey, earlier today you said something way worried for that, and he literally went yeah, but I got safe tonight and I was like all right. It was like all right, yeah, am, I am, I saved. No, you're being robbed. So they duct taped their heads together. Why are you doing this? handcome tests. That's what I'm thinking that. What do you mean? They duct tape their heads to take their whole eyes and their mouths and stuff so they couldn't talk. And then what's interesting is they escorted them to the basement. Do this. We're not allowed to talk in the museum anyway. We have to be the basement, in the basement. What's interesting an interesting tidbit is they didn't ask for directions. They went directly to the basement. Um. So these people took them to the basement, handcuffed them to some pipes. Um when they were found. This is how they found them. So they actually like, oh, that's the way they taped their face is awful and totally unnecessary. Like they've got like a strip over their eyes and their mouth, but then they've just like wrapped it around his head like a few times, like, what are you doing? This is what he was just wearing as a security guard, though, I don't be honest, like, first of all, this is a terrifying picture. I also love that the matches are right Roy Pants. I'm saying, if I showed to a museum and the security guard is wearing red corduroy pants, I would be like, we don't even need to handcuff them. Yeah, just let him continue guarding that. I'm continue guarding, you know, and just tell him we're you know, my e might as well tell him where the gray and sons of easy stew and she wants us to come and take smart. Oh Yeah, she just called and said I need to come to they don't even know who she is. They don't know she's gone. Of course this guy, I don't this is victim blaming, but of course he got rocked, you know, because they're in the dark, like they're sitting in the dark. Yeah, they said they were stuck down there, which sucks. Um. So, yeah, bummer for them. And they couldn't talk to each other. Yeah, they were just tied up, Um and so, uh, what's very interesting is for thirteen minutes the security system, like the motion sensors, didn't pick up any motion in the building. Uh. And so what the police think is they were waiting to see if the police got called, Um, to see if they like still for thirteen minutes. Yeah, that'll just sat there in the basement completely still. A right. I think we're I think we're clear. You guys didn't call the police. Do Too. How are you going to answer? Their heads? Their head there's dictape together. They're trying to signal. Hey, thanks again for listening to this episode. If you like our show, make sure you follow us on social at tilling podcast or subscribe anywhere where you're listening to right now, whether that's Youtube, spotify or apple podcast, whatever it is. And if you want more we do have a patreon you can support us on. In there you get all sorts of perks like add three episodes, early access to our content and even a discord with our hosts and producers. So We'd love for you to check that out. All you gotta do is text till into six, six, six, six. That's till into six, six, six, six. But thanks again for checking us out. So then, after thirteen minutes, the first room picked up motion Um and then they went room to room and what they did is they took the the frame off the wall, which set off an alarm. But that alarm, all the alarm did, was set off an alarm that the security guard would then say, Oh hey, it sounds like something's happened. They were in the basement like something's going on, because the idea for all it did was make a sound. So then the security guard but pushed the button to call the police, but they knew that. They knew the button was only in that room. So when that alarm went off, the robbers did yeah, so when that alarm went off, they knew no one was gonna call the cops. They just smashed the alarm and then just kept working. And so for eighty one minutes. They went room to room, took frames off the motion detector. Doing that, we had no camera footage. Correct, no camera footage, but they went room to room taking frames off the wall, smashing the alarms and then cutting the painting out of the frame and rolling it up. Uh, and then, uh, after eighty one minutes, they left and you see them on camera and their little police uniforms walking out with all of these rolled up paintings and the what? This is a really weird thing that they took hold on. Let me get that name of this right. Is there like an image of them walking out? Um, I don't know. Actually, UM, they took a French Imperial Eagle, finial. Um. Let me actually throw this up so you know what this is. Um, which is weird because this is like literally zero value. Um. But it was in the museum because it was on a flag that Napoleon dynamite owned, sorry, Bonaparte, uh, owned, uh, and they sold this, but it had zero value. It's just one of those things that sticks at the top of the flag. So it was like, hold on, let me see. It was one to three, four, six, seventy nine h eleven paintings that thing and then, like a candles, a Chinese candlestick, Um, one minutes to take eleven paintings. Yeah, uh. And then, uh, yeah, they walked outside, got in their hatchback, their super rout back. What kind of vehicle was it is a red hatchback. That's got. We don't have any images of that, though. Let me see. So this is a picture of, uh, the security footage painting of the robbers in the middle. There they convincetioned a really good painting. Shoot, Dude, look at that top corner. Tell me that's not my dad. Oh No, oh no, I mean I gotta find a picture of my dad in the nineties and you're gonna be like, Oh, crap, um. So, yeah, so, I mean you see him walking out there, but you can't tell anything. Yeah, it might as well be the ghost of of Isabella. Yeah, uh. And so, uh, what paintings did they take? They took hold on, let me pull it back up. They took what I mean like so, you you steal a painting, you can't sell it. Yeah, so they took a bunch of paintings that you've probably never heard of. Um, there are one, two, three, uh four rembrandts. The most important one in there, though, is the storm on the Sea of Galilee, which is the only ocean scape he had ever done and it was a one of one. So that was really the most valuable steel on there. There's also a manet, a couple of Degas, money, m a n et not money, Um, and Vernier, um. So there's a lot of a lot of just random arts. Um. So, yeah, this value was valued at two at what's strange is they left a lot of much more valuable pieces in the museum. Okay, so I was wondering. So they didn't know what they were taking? Yeah, they didn't. They didn't have a concept of how much all this stuff was worth. They were just nabbing what they could and they left. UH, they put the frames back on the walls and because of the stipulations from Isabella, they've just got them sitting there because they can't remodel. So they just got these empty friends of them mop that is to this day. And so anything that was stolen is still the frames up on the wall and it's got his little placard on it telling you what it is, but it ain't there. Um. So yeah, so the police Um the next morning, the next shift of security guards show up to do security, Um, and they buzz in and nobody answers, and so they're like well what? And so they one of them had a key, so he keys him, goes to the security booth and nobody's there. So then he calls the cops and he's like it's the button. He's like hey, nine, one, one, and she'said. Not Again. He's like no, it's serious, I think something's happening. And so then they hang out outside because you know their children and they don't. So police show up, they find all these these empty frames on the wall and then they find those the security guards in the basement. They have been there all night. Um. I think it was eight fifty one in the morning when they found him. Um, and they're like, oh my gosh, did you get arrested? And we got robbed. Did you guys get arrested? MM HMMM. They got a tape over their mouth. They get um. So there was a couple of immediate persons of interest. Number One, Rick Abbeth. His behavior was very odd that night. Opening the door, clearly drunk, tape yourself, let the let the police in. Um. Very odd behavior and very vocally hated his job was was the experienced security guard on the shift. The other guy was not, and so he was immediately like target number one of person who probably did this or at least was connected to it in some way. The police took him in to interview him, Um and uh, and he was like it might be the real like he's never gonna Trust the police again. First of all, this question for am I being robbed? You're being arrested? No, yeah, sorry, I just I have trauma. You're being robbed. Uh. And so the police bring him in for questioning and they interview him and they do the interrogation, they ask him all the questions, they go through all this stuff and they end up, uh ruling that he could not be a part of it and rolling out of the case for the express reason of him and and Randy, the other guy as well, where too incompetent to pull us. Not Smart. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, that's what I was thinking. Yeah, and like no, there's no way. Yeah. So they got ruled out of this Um and so they said, well, that's what sucks about being smart. You know, people thinking crimes. That's exactly what you know. You're smart enough to commit a major crime. Don't ever put that on me. The next big, big target for who this might be was a guy named Whitey bulger. Um, okay, who was? He went by Whitey. Uh. Yeah, I don't know if that was his name or a nickname. A nickname. Actually, I can find out pretty quickly. Let's find out. Um, it honestly, could be witty. No, it's Whitey. His name is James. Went by Whitey. That's a criminal. Yeah, yeah, so he was the, uh, the leader of a crime syndicate in Boston known as the Winter Hill Gang. Um, and they were like, it's most likely, he's most likely connected to this, because he does, he doesn't, he does tons, tons of crimes. I hear criming. And so they took him in and they asked him for quite all these questions and he said no, but you tell me when you know who did this, because they owe me money. They did this in my turf, like they owe me money, they owe me, and they're like yes, Mr White telling the police, like no, I didn't do it, but tell me, when they mind, who did, because I want my cut, and you're like what? I want my cut of the crime? Why? You know who we are? Yeah, I know who you think I care? I got a million robbers who look like you. Well, that was one of the that was one of the reasons why they was bold to tell the police. I want to know because they owe me money. And then the police are like yes, sir, yes, sir, yes, yes, you can go down. Actually, thank you for coming in today. And they pay him, like what are you doing, like here's said of fifty seven. This is all, like I said, seven dollars. Thank you for UH. So one of the reasons. Obviously, he was like the leader of the big syndicate in the area. But there's a couple of things that were interesting because, one, he had a lot of dirty cops, and so they said that one makes sense if he was able to get some cops to come do crime. Um. Also, uh, he had a wasn't that be weird to be on a police force that you're like, I know some of these comps are dirty. Yeah, yeah, that would be like sketchy. That's difficult. Um, and he was also connected. It's I mean it's hard enough to be a co host of a podcast knowing that my co host is compromised. You know. Anyways, Um, he was also connected to the IRA UM and the I R S, but mostly the IRA, the independent regulators of agriculture. It was like a called back. I know, it's Food and Drug Administration, guys. Okay, you didn't. I didn't whatever. Uh, the Irish Republican Army, which apparently is like a sketchy organization. Um, and so he was connected the IRA and the calling card of the IRA was setting off fire alarms, Um, when there wasn't a fire, and so they would do that when they times. But it's odd that the fire alarms went off before anyone else was in the building, and so that would make you think that rick has to be connected to the to the IRA and to the event. If that. If that. Yeah, but they did the interview. Why? He refused to take a lot of detective test he said, I'm not involved and I'm not going to take a lot of tective tests. Give me my money when you find it, and they said yes, sir, and so they ruled him out of the case. Another, another suspect was Brian McDevitt. Um, uh, he was a suspect because, um, he was a Boston man who in Glen Falls, New York, Auston man's kind of Boston. If you know how they are. This happened in Boston round all the men. I don't know about the Boston man. We're not gonna leave here until one of you tells us who did it. Who did it? I'm covering the Harvard molasses. So, uh, this guy, Brian McDevitt. UH, nine years before this had attempted an art heist in Glenn Falls, New York, and the heist has some similarities. So what he did is he dressed up as a fedex driver, he carried handcuffs and duct tape and he planned to steal a rembrand painting. That was his goal. His target was a ram brand. Um. He also loved flags, and so it makes sense that he would take the little pull at the top of the fire. Loves flag. Don't know. Everybody loves imagine that on your dating profile you're swiping tender and someone's like, I love flags. What, Dude, flag day. He gets so high about flag day. Why don't we have any songs Friday? Like what? No, we didn't, you because you made plants on flag day. I'm not going to work on flag day. You guys. Yeah, it should be. It's I can't believe I'm even schedule to work the day after flag day, I would be so hungover. It's like the beginning of June. He's out there just hand all these flags from his gutter. We mean he's into flags, and they were like yeah, well, he likes flags, so he's probably a he just really like flags. Um. And he fit the description of the larger robber, like he looked similar to the larger robber and he's actual in the case. Um, the only problem was with the hide collection. Was the collect he tried to Robbin. Uh. Well, he dressed up as a fedex driver, did all the stuff, Um, and he stole a Fedex truck, went to go do it, got caught up making deliveries, you know, pretty close, got stuck in traffic and by the time he showed up the museum was closed and he couldn't get in. Rats. I thought you would saying he took the Fedex truck. He was like he don't need their packages first and then just started living out and he's been a fax driver ever since, driver, ever since. It's like there's a guy. Did you see the news story of the Guy who just drives a city bus who like just goes and steals busses and then just drives the route? No, or maybe it's trains. Does he do the train? Does he do with the train? I think it's the train. I saw an art of Cole and it was the busses too. Have to look it up, and something like that. There's a guy who took the took the train and then just, you know, took it to the stations. That's so funny. Um. So they interviewed this guy and they deemed that, no, he didn't do this, Um, because he was stuck in traffic, in trouble, I think, thirty months, Um, just for stealing the Fedex car though. Yeah, yeah, for stealing, for it was like stealing a FEDX car and and conspiracy to commit oh interest. So they didn't know that. When he just he was like yeah, he's always trying to do yeah, they don't give him that. The security guards were hanging out in their corduroys out front, like what are you doing, man, and he's like I'm here to rob you, and they're like you mean arrest us? Like, Dude, we're we closed four hours ago, blumber. Yeah, they weren't closed. That was just what they tell people. Yeah, that are trying to rob them. Yeah, they're consultant. We're closed. Funny. So uh, yeah, they ruled him out. The other UH big turning event was in a letter shows up to the museum. It's like your suspects have been born. Happy Birthday. Rely suspect Jeremyer's and timstone. They don't know each other yet, but they did this crime. One day a time machine and there. Cut that out out, take that out, sleep it. One day they're gonna one day they're gonna get a time macheet and at least give a little bit of context. So so this letter comes and basically this person was saying hey, museum. It was a letter of the museum and it was like hey, museum. UH, they're like, Hey, we know who who did the crime. We don't know them, but we've been talking to them more pen pals and they're ready to send the art back for a small feet. But yeah, what they want is they want the reward that you're offering at this point. They're offering a ten million dollar reward for anybody who can find the art, because they're like, we miss our our owls, and so they're like they'll, they'll send that to you if you wire the money. To this offshore account. Don't worry, they've got them in a climate control space in a country that doesn't have any laws. This is a noncommon law lunch country, lunchry, non uncommon law country. Uh, it is what they said. They're like they got a climate control safe. It's safe, okay, but sending the money to an offer account and then write something? uh, write a note, a coded note, in the Boston Globe, on the May first edition of the Boston Globe, so we know it's you, and say hey, we were doing it, and then we'll send this to your door via Fedex. There's a great deliver and you can have your art back. And the FBI was like sending back a letter, tell me we're doing it, and the fbis they did, and then they never heard from him again. Um, so they sent the money? Yeah, well, I think the rehearsal got a little too real for him and so then he just didn't show up anymore after that. They send the money, though? They didn't send the money. So they sent the letter back to say okay, we'll do it, and they actually printed the thing in the Boston Globe, I think. But then they never heard from the letter writer again. So Um. After that the police were basically just like, we're pretty sure it was someone from the Boston Mafia, but we don't know who. All right, in nineteen the FBI was like we know who did it, but they said we're not gonna tell you. We know who did it, Dude. They're like the caddy little mom at church WHO's like, Oh, I you know, I saidn't unspoken prayer request. The FBI was like, we haven't spoken suspect, I don't ask me who. They came forward and said they knew, knew who did it, but they said, but the suspects are dead. Both of the suspects are dead, and they said we don't want to reveal their names because we don't want to reveal our informant because we have ongoing investigations that they're still informing us about. Um, and we're still trying to find the art. The prevailing theory is that it was a Boston mob member, Um, who had uh stolen these things, attempted to sell it multiple occasions but they couldn't get it off their hands. Um. And there is a member of a BOPs, a son of a member of the Boston mob, who said that they had a false bottom in their shed and under that false bottom he said he never got to see what was in there. But he said what? One day there was this flood and it ruined whatever my dad had in the bottom of that and he lost it. Um, and he says, UH, his dad died in the men two thousands. He went in there to see what was in don't know it was. There was nothing in there. And so the prevailing theory is that that guy was flooded it and those are gone. Yeah, and they're gone forever. And Isabella, that Ghost killed that Guy's dad. You ruined my paintings. Well, and flood of the base. She's like, if I can't have it, no one can. Flip. Um, that's spooky. There's just empty frames at the yeah, and so, yeah, they've just left the empty frames up there. Um, I am, at this point, honestly very confident that uh rick had something to do with us. Yeah, I think he. I think he got lucky because he's done and the police were just like, oh, yeah, he didn't do anything, he's too dumb. But I don't think he masterminded any of it. But I do think that the mob approached him and was like hey, we'll give you, like if you just get arrested tonight, you want to make seven dollars and video seven sins. Yeah, yeah, sure, I opened this door when the coast is clear a couple of times and then we'll come in and when the ghost is clear. Yeah, in the coat. You know what? Sure know when the ghost is clear. What do I do when the ghost is cleared? Because there's a ghost in there? You're perfect for this, exactly who we're looking for. Yeah, sweet calls, mom. I got a new job. I don't even have to quit my current job. I need to go to ripe man. Do you any like hangover tips? Yeah, very hungover. Sorry, mom, didn't mean to tell you that. He did find out, though, if you duct tape your whole face shut, that cures your hangover pretty quick. It's like he's like every time he drink everything, HEC Gosh, I'm not feeling great today, Grena Gard still at the club. Back to your u. The Uber drive is like, so you can't duct tape your head in my car. If I was Uber Driving and somebody trying to get in my car looking like that signy cancel trip. Can you imagine doing at Uber X and one of the other passengers. Soul ends just it's like, Bro, why did you do that? Help my hangover and hungover. Okay, all right, the other guy's just drinking anti freeze, like I've heard. I heard it freeze, so I thought maybe backwards. Yeah, you know, give me toothpicks for the sandwich. Uh. Wow. So that's the that's the I think he's got it. He's he's still alive, though. He's still alive. Yeah, I mean he's got to be. I don't know. We got to interview, but yeah, he would be. What if he was twenty three? Then it's been three years, mid fifties. We gotta try to interview. Yeah, that's find him lovel with us. Rick, one part of this. Do you think he knows how to log in the Internet? He's dumb. I don't know how, Tom you know. Yeah, I mean, yeah, he thinks every female and now when one operators his girlfriend. It's been a long time. I have no idea. Who is this? Who is this? Don't play that. Don't play games. You know who it is. Okay, where's your emergency emergencies? In my heart, I miss you. There's no fire, but there's a passion that's burning. Okay, all right, passion cat am I being ARRESTA right now? No, you're being fiddled off. Things on them last night is a production of space tim media, produced by Christian Taylor. Audio is edited by Alice Garnett, video by Connor beat social media is run by Caleb Walker and graphic designed by Caleb Goldberg, our host, or Jarren Meyers and Tim Stone. Please follow us on social media at tilling podcast. THAT'S T I L O in podcast. Leave a review, comment, subscribe wherever you are. Thank you for listening to things on the last night.


The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is home to a precious art collection once owned by the infamous art collector after whom the museum was named. That collection has likely sparked nefarious thoughts in many visitors dreaming of the potential wealth hanging on those walls. Two robbers, dressed as policemen, realized those dreams on March 18th, 1990. Today the FBI estimates their haul to be valued at $600 Million. The immense value made it the most valuable art heist until the Dresden Green Vault Burglary surpassed it in 2019. Whatsmore, the thieves were never found. The Gardner Museum Heist truly is one of the most amazing art heists in history.

Things I Learned Last Night is an educational comedy podcast where best friends Jaron Myers and Tim Stone talk about random topics and have fun all along the way. If you like learning and laughing a lot while you do, you’ll love TILLN. Watch or listen to this episode right now!

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Sources

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Theft – Wikipedia


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