1 00:00:07,340 --> 00:00:10,010 [wind howling] 2 00:00:10,093 --> 00:00:12,137 [traffic noise in distance] 3 00:00:12,220 --> 00:00:14,723 [eerie music playing] 4 00:00:14,806 --> 00:00:17,225 [man] The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum... 5 00:00:18,393 --> 00:00:20,478 was a... art thief's delight. 6 00:00:20,562 --> 00:00:22,272 [suspenseful music plays] 7 00:00:28,570 --> 00:00:30,655 Everybody talks about the Gardner. 8 00:00:32,157 --> 00:00:33,700 This is... this is it. 9 00:00:35,201 --> 00:00:38,329 The biggest art theft in the history of the world. 10 00:00:41,499 --> 00:00:43,626 Millions of dollars' worth of artwork. 11 00:00:44,294 --> 00:00:45,336 They disappeared. 12 00:00:46,838 --> 00:00:48,548 Somebody had to know something. 13 00:00:50,258 --> 00:00:51,551 [blows smoke out] 14 00:00:52,510 --> 00:00:56,222 [man 2] Every reporter in this town eventually did something on that heist. 15 00:00:56,723 --> 00:00:59,684 We were all hitting our sources saying, "What's up?" 16 00:00:59,768 --> 00:01:01,644 People didn't seem to know. 17 00:01:01,728 --> 00:01:02,979 [engine revving] 18 00:01:04,898 --> 00:01:07,692 [man 3] The crime occurred in 1990 on St. Patty's Day. 19 00:01:08,902 --> 00:01:12,864 Whatever drunken revelry was occurring across the city, who knows? 20 00:01:12,947 --> 00:01:14,282 Happy St. Patty's Day. 21 00:01:14,866 --> 00:01:16,910 [man 3] But it was a good time to commit a crime. 22 00:01:16,993 --> 00:01:19,579 - [motorcycle engine revs] - [siren wails] 23 00:01:19,662 --> 00:01:21,164 [woman 1] With this case, 24 00:01:21,247 --> 00:01:25,418 it is really Boston's biggest unsolved mystery, 25 00:01:25,502 --> 00:01:28,421 in addition to being the largest art heist in the world. 26 00:01:31,549 --> 00:01:33,009 Everybody has a theory. 27 00:01:34,135 --> 00:01:35,553 The people that did it... 28 00:01:36,805 --> 00:01:38,014 maybe they're dead. 29 00:01:39,390 --> 00:01:41,768 Maybe some who were involved are still alive. 30 00:01:44,604 --> 00:01:47,857 When I start to think about the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum 31 00:01:47,941 --> 00:01:51,361 and the drama and the obsession with getting the paintings back 32 00:01:51,444 --> 00:01:54,656 and the whole obsession around everything, 33 00:01:54,739 --> 00:01:58,201 I keep talking about it because it's fascinating to me, 34 00:01:58,284 --> 00:01:59,410 because I was there. 35 00:01:59,494 --> 00:02:01,663 [clock ticks] 36 00:02:01,746 --> 00:02:03,373 [Clougherty] I was a witness. 37 00:02:03,456 --> 00:02:05,333 [clock machinery whirring] 38 00:02:05,416 --> 00:02:09,295 [atmospheric music playing] 39 00:02:10,463 --> 00:02:12,924 [Clougherty] That night, I had plans to meet friends. 40 00:02:15,718 --> 00:02:17,887 It was quiet on Palace Road. 41 00:02:19,722 --> 00:02:21,266 The street's very dark... 42 00:02:22,142 --> 00:02:27,188 just lit by this really faint amber glow from the streetlights. 43 00:02:30,066 --> 00:02:33,361 We were outside the building and I asked my friend Justin, 44 00:02:33,444 --> 00:02:35,989 "Can you give me a piggyback ride?" Jumped on, 45 00:02:36,072 --> 00:02:38,741 and we started walking down the street. 46 00:02:39,951 --> 00:02:42,370 [Stratman] We're goofing around, we'd had beers, 47 00:02:42,453 --> 00:02:45,165 and I noticed that this car has its running lights on. 48 00:02:45,248 --> 00:02:46,666 We're coming from behind it. 49 00:02:49,085 --> 00:02:52,714 When I get up close to it, I see that there are people in it. 50 00:02:55,216 --> 00:02:57,302 [Clougherty] Two men in the front seats. 51 00:03:00,722 --> 00:03:03,224 [Stratman] There's a glare from a streetlamp, 52 00:03:03,308 --> 00:03:06,436 but I can see the shoulder of a policeman's uniform. 53 00:03:07,145 --> 00:03:08,354 Boston police uniform, 54 00:03:08,438 --> 00:03:10,982 it's got a sort of distinctive keystone shape. 55 00:03:15,278 --> 00:03:17,113 [Clougherty] When we saw the officer, 56 00:03:17,197 --> 00:03:20,283 thinking at that time that they had come to end the party, 57 00:03:20,366 --> 00:03:22,327 our feeling was, "Let's just go." 58 00:03:24,495 --> 00:03:27,665 I do remember that the car was parked... 59 00:03:28,499 --> 00:03:30,793 right next to the Gardner Museum. 60 00:03:35,048 --> 00:03:38,343 I probably wouldn't have remembered this night... [chuckles] 61 00:03:39,302 --> 00:03:41,804 ...if it hadn't been for what happened later. 62 00:03:46,017 --> 00:03:49,312 [VCR machinery creaking] 63 00:03:49,395 --> 00:03:51,397 [dramatic music playing] 64 00:03:54,108 --> 00:03:57,153 [man 1] The biggest art heist in history. 65 00:03:57,237 --> 00:03:58,821 [intricate orchestral music] 66 00:03:58,905 --> 00:04:02,742 Boston, a quiet museum, a daring robbery. 67 00:04:02,825 --> 00:04:05,870 [man 2] Vipers are in the grass and are moving towards you. 68 00:04:05,954 --> 00:04:09,540 [man 3] The 13 art treasures stolen are worth a half a billion dollars. 69 00:04:10,833 --> 00:04:13,336 Take a look at these composite drawings. 70 00:04:14,963 --> 00:04:17,548 [man 4] I have the paintings with me. Now what? 71 00:04:18,633 --> 00:04:20,760 [man 5] Easy to use as international currency. 72 00:04:20,843 --> 00:04:21,928 [woman 1] Japan. 73 00:04:22,011 --> 00:04:23,322 - [man 2] France. - [man 5] Dublin. 74 00:04:23,346 --> 00:04:25,390 [man 6] Saudi Arabia. I know that's where they went. 75 00:04:25,473 --> 00:04:27,850 [woman 2] These paintings were a get-out-of-jail-free card, 76 00:04:27,934 --> 00:04:29,143 and everybody knew it. 77 00:04:29,227 --> 00:04:31,896 [man 7] How are those paintings gonna get people out of prison? 78 00:04:31,980 --> 00:04:34,065 What are we talking about this shit for? 79 00:04:34,148 --> 00:04:36,359 [woman 2] Who could carry off something like this? 80 00:04:36,442 --> 00:04:38,027 [man 5] Italian mob or Irish mob. 81 00:04:38,111 --> 00:04:39,445 - How you doing? - Good. 82 00:04:39,529 --> 00:04:40,947 [man 4] Everybody is whacked. 83 00:04:41,030 --> 00:04:43,950 [woman 2] There's murders on both sides, it's violent. 84 00:04:44,033 --> 00:04:45,033 - [explosion] - Jesus! 85 00:04:45,076 --> 00:04:48,413 As long as you didn't do anything, you got nothing to worry about. 86 00:04:49,747 --> 00:04:52,542 [woman 1] I had no idea what I was going into. 87 00:04:52,625 --> 00:04:54,627 It was just horrifying. 88 00:04:54,711 --> 00:05:00,341 [man 8] For now, the empty frames are all that remain on the museum walls. 89 00:05:17,025 --> 00:05:20,111 [atmospheric music playing] 90 00:05:24,657 --> 00:05:26,326 [Anne Hawley] With works of art, 91 00:05:26,409 --> 00:05:29,704 they're only works of art because you're interacting with them. 92 00:05:31,622 --> 00:05:34,125 I mean, they can't exist without you. 93 00:05:37,003 --> 00:05:40,381 I was the director of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum 94 00:05:40,465 --> 00:05:43,885 from 1989 to 2016, 95 00:05:43,968 --> 00:05:46,387 and the first woman to be a director. 96 00:05:48,389 --> 00:05:50,767 The museum had become inward-looking. 97 00:05:51,476 --> 00:05:54,771 It hadn't connected deeply to the community. 98 00:05:56,689 --> 00:05:58,775 So, I was brought in 99 00:05:58,858 --> 00:06:02,362 to bring the museum back to life, was sort of my charge. 100 00:06:04,655 --> 00:06:06,741 [Shelley Murphy] I grew up in Dorchester. 101 00:06:06,824 --> 00:06:08,659 I went to South Boston High School. 102 00:06:09,327 --> 00:06:12,288 And the first time I went, I fell in love with the place. 103 00:06:13,623 --> 00:06:15,833 I had been through all the galleries 104 00:06:15,917 --> 00:06:19,921 and I can remember so vividly The Storm on the Sea of Galilee. 105 00:06:21,005 --> 00:06:23,007 Loving that one in particular. 106 00:06:25,760 --> 00:06:28,846 This is gonna make me sound like a wicked snob, and I'm not. 107 00:06:28,930 --> 00:06:34,310 It's sort of like the MFA in Boston was like the Louvre, 108 00:06:34,894 --> 00:06:37,230 and the Gardner Museum was like the d'Orsay. 109 00:06:38,815 --> 00:06:40,983 So pretentious, I can't believe I said it. 110 00:06:42,902 --> 00:06:45,071 Has more character. Put it that way. 111 00:06:45,655 --> 00:06:48,074 [Hawley] It's such a beautiful environment 112 00:06:48,157 --> 00:06:50,076 that you go to another place. 113 00:06:50,159 --> 00:06:52,829 I like to call it the "a-ha" moment 114 00:06:52,912 --> 00:06:57,166 or the epiphanic moment, which is a little too heady to say. 115 00:06:59,710 --> 00:07:04,132 It's built to echo a Renaissance Venetian palace. 116 00:07:04,757 --> 00:07:06,634 It's very plain on the outside. 117 00:07:06,717 --> 00:07:12,014 You're just shocked when you come inside to this verdant, luscious courtyard 118 00:07:12,098 --> 00:07:13,975 that is at the center of the museum, 119 00:07:14,058 --> 00:07:17,562 and all the galleries on every floor surround it. 120 00:07:23,276 --> 00:07:25,695 And then every gallery... 121 00:07:27,321 --> 00:07:28,823 has its own theme. 122 00:07:31,659 --> 00:07:33,703 It's probably one of the most 123 00:07:33,786 --> 00:07:37,373 extraordinary creations by an individual anywhere. 124 00:07:39,125 --> 00:07:41,669 When Isabella Stewart Gardner built the museum, 125 00:07:41,752 --> 00:07:44,005 she broke ground in 1899. 126 00:07:44,714 --> 00:07:46,340 There was nothing here. 127 00:07:47,258 --> 00:07:48,593 It was a swamp. 128 00:07:52,972 --> 00:07:56,642 And when she died, she left her infamous will. 129 00:07:57,852 --> 00:08:02,440 She said that if anything were permanently changed, 130 00:08:02,523 --> 00:08:07,904 the collection should be crated, shipped to Paris for auction, 131 00:08:07,987 --> 00:08:10,740 and the money should go to Harvard University. 132 00:08:16,621 --> 00:08:20,917 She was an eccentric in a world where being eccentric 133 00:08:21,000 --> 00:08:23,377 was a way of getting out of the house for women. 134 00:08:23,461 --> 00:08:26,422 [bright, inquisitive music plays] 135 00:08:26,506 --> 00:08:29,008 [Vigderman] I believe she was flirtatious. 136 00:08:32,553 --> 00:08:35,223 She didn't mind being a little sexy. 137 00:08:37,141 --> 00:08:38,726 And she dressed to show it off. 138 00:08:40,269 --> 00:08:43,105 Which, you know, wasn't part of the time. 139 00:08:47,276 --> 00:08:52,114 Before the museum was open, she wanted to test the acoustics, 140 00:08:52,198 --> 00:08:55,660 but you have to have people in the room listening to the music. 141 00:08:56,452 --> 00:08:58,829 But she didn't want anybody to see the place. 142 00:08:59,914 --> 00:09:03,125 She was connected to the Perkins School for the Blind... 143 00:09:04,252 --> 00:09:06,587 and she had the blind children come in 144 00:09:06,671 --> 00:09:11,467 and be the bodies listening to the music to test the acoustics. 145 00:09:14,554 --> 00:09:16,514 You know, it's not a museum. 146 00:09:19,475 --> 00:09:20,893 It was her work of art. 147 00:09:29,902 --> 00:09:31,904 It's an architectural spectacle. 148 00:09:37,952 --> 00:09:42,582 [Karen Sangregory] To this day, I still have dreams about the Gardner Museum. 149 00:09:43,249 --> 00:09:46,127 All of that stuff really seeped in. 150 00:09:48,879 --> 00:09:52,592 As a gallery guard, we had all this time to spend 151 00:09:53,175 --> 00:09:55,094 intimate time with the collection. 152 00:09:59,724 --> 00:10:02,351 There's no downside to working in a Venetian palace. 153 00:10:02,435 --> 00:10:03,894 It was just beautiful. 154 00:10:04,979 --> 00:10:07,773 We had the Titian Rape of Europa. 155 00:10:08,357 --> 00:10:09,817 We had the Raphael, 156 00:10:10,610 --> 00:10:11,652 Matisse, 157 00:10:12,737 --> 00:10:13,737 Rembrandt. 158 00:10:14,864 --> 00:10:17,491 And it was just that whole environment. 159 00:10:18,951 --> 00:10:21,370 To feel like you could reach out 160 00:10:21,454 --> 00:10:24,415 and touch something from that long ago. 161 00:10:25,583 --> 00:10:29,337 Here I am, staring at the actual marks 162 00:10:29,420 --> 00:10:31,797 made by the actual hand 163 00:10:31,881 --> 00:10:35,593 of this guy when he was, like, my age. 164 00:10:39,597 --> 00:10:41,599 You just can't get any better than that. 165 00:10:44,602 --> 00:10:46,062 [Aaron Fannin] If you got the call 166 00:10:46,145 --> 00:10:49,273 to work overnight shift, you were happy to do it. 167 00:10:50,900 --> 00:10:52,234 It was kind of a treat. 168 00:10:52,318 --> 00:10:54,779 You were like, "Cool. I get to go stay all night." 169 00:10:57,114 --> 00:10:59,283 All the lights in the museum were off, 170 00:10:59,367 --> 00:11:02,203 and you just had your flashlight and a walkie-talkie. 171 00:11:05,289 --> 00:11:07,708 You'd do your round, walk through the museum. 172 00:11:11,045 --> 00:11:12,463 It was pretty spooky. 173 00:11:16,050 --> 00:11:18,094 And then you'd sit at the desk... 174 00:11:19,637 --> 00:11:22,390 and wait for something to happen. 175 00:11:23,224 --> 00:11:24,224 And... 176 00:11:24,684 --> 00:11:25,976 nothing ever happened. 177 00:11:27,728 --> 00:11:30,398 [Heidorn] That's the problem of the night watch. 178 00:11:30,481 --> 00:11:32,316 Day after day, week after week, 179 00:11:32,400 --> 00:11:35,695 year after year of nothing happening. 180 00:11:37,571 --> 00:11:39,824 Just absolute benign... Nothing happening. 181 00:11:39,907 --> 00:11:42,076 And then March 18th, 1990. 182 00:11:45,329 --> 00:11:47,915 [reporter] Today is Sunday, March 18th, 1990. 183 00:11:47,998 --> 00:11:50,000 A beautiful day in South Boston. 184 00:11:50,084 --> 00:11:52,837 Now, as the parade gets underway, it's 48 degrees. 185 00:11:52,920 --> 00:11:55,214 We'll see a high of 52 and clear skies. 186 00:11:55,297 --> 00:11:57,466 [Cullen] St. Patrick's Day in Boston, 187 00:11:58,092 --> 00:12:00,010 the day itself, 188 00:12:00,094 --> 00:12:02,179 I'd call it just a drinking day. 189 00:12:04,390 --> 00:12:05,975 People'd be drinking all day, 190 00:12:06,058 --> 00:12:08,394 rolling into Saturday, then right into Sunday. 191 00:12:11,439 --> 00:12:15,401 And Boston has its parade on Sunday. 192 00:12:15,484 --> 00:12:16,694 It's not on the 17th. 193 00:12:23,117 --> 00:12:26,871 The parade in Boston is confined to South Boston. 194 00:12:26,954 --> 00:12:30,583 It draws in hundreds of thousands of people from outlying areas. 195 00:12:32,877 --> 00:12:33,877 Quick march! 196 00:12:36,422 --> 00:12:40,092 The other thing, it would attract an enormous police presence. 197 00:12:40,176 --> 00:12:41,719 [siren squawking] 198 00:12:43,304 --> 00:12:45,681 But in the area where the museum is, 199 00:12:46,515 --> 00:12:48,476 it's generally quiet. 200 00:12:55,149 --> 00:12:57,067 [Sangregory] It was a total normal day. 201 00:12:59,028 --> 00:13:02,907 Just coming in to work on Sunday morning in my role 202 00:13:02,990 --> 00:13:06,118 to replace the two guys that would've been there all night 203 00:13:06,202 --> 00:13:08,829 at the alarm control center desk. 204 00:13:09,622 --> 00:13:11,040 [phone rings] 205 00:13:11,123 --> 00:13:15,878 Normally, one or both of them would be in there and they would buzz us in. 206 00:13:16,545 --> 00:13:18,255 Nothing like that was happening. 207 00:13:18,339 --> 00:13:21,175 There was no response, this was completely unprecedented 208 00:13:21,258 --> 00:13:22,426 and very odd. 209 00:13:22,510 --> 00:13:24,637 [suspenseful music plays] 210 00:13:26,263 --> 00:13:27,807 Too much time is passing. 211 00:13:29,600 --> 00:13:34,063 So, I called the chief of security and told him we couldn't get in. 212 00:13:34,146 --> 00:13:35,898 He said, "I'm coming in." 213 00:13:37,441 --> 00:13:41,195 He took us around some kind of a back door. 214 00:13:41,987 --> 00:13:43,447 As soon as we got in there, 215 00:13:43,531 --> 00:13:47,034 you just knew something is really, really wrong. 216 00:13:48,369 --> 00:13:51,038 The security cameras had been turned, 217 00:13:51,622 --> 00:13:54,583 the office door had been busted. 218 00:13:57,670 --> 00:13:59,672 There was a frame in there. 219 00:13:59,755 --> 00:14:00,755 It was like, "Oh." 220 00:14:02,049 --> 00:14:05,636 And there was a crowbar leaning against the wall. 221 00:14:06,804 --> 00:14:09,348 The chief hands me the crowbar. 222 00:14:09,431 --> 00:14:11,559 He's like, "Here, hold this!" 223 00:14:11,642 --> 00:14:15,771 And so I'm holding this crowbar and my mind is thinking, 224 00:14:15,855 --> 00:14:18,440 "This is part of the scene of the crime, right? 225 00:14:18,524 --> 00:14:22,820 This is evidence. My hand prints... My hand prints are on this crowbar!" 226 00:14:22,903 --> 00:14:25,155 And then my next thought was, 227 00:14:25,239 --> 00:14:28,117 "He gave me this so that I can pummel someone with it." 228 00:14:33,080 --> 00:14:37,418 It's like I went in with this open vision and curiosity, like, 229 00:14:37,501 --> 00:14:38,586 "Whoa!" 230 00:14:38,669 --> 00:14:41,505 And then it just, like... [whooshes] 231 00:14:41,589 --> 00:14:43,883 shrunk down really fast. 232 00:14:44,675 --> 00:14:47,845 And then it was like, "Where's the guys? Where's the guys?" 233 00:14:47,928 --> 00:14:49,513 And then the next thought was, 234 00:14:50,556 --> 00:14:52,266 "Are the bad guys still here?" 235 00:14:56,687 --> 00:14:59,982 He picks up the phone and called the Boston police. 236 00:15:00,065 --> 00:15:01,650 [sirens echoing] 237 00:15:01,734 --> 00:15:04,653 It seemed like all he could say was, 238 00:15:05,946 --> 00:15:07,781 "I'm calling from the Gardner. 239 00:15:07,865 --> 00:15:11,452 [panting] We've got big trouble. We've got big trouble." 240 00:15:11,535 --> 00:15:15,581 [kettle whistling] 241 00:15:18,208 --> 00:15:20,502 [Hawley] Must have been about eight o'clock. 242 00:15:22,171 --> 00:15:24,757 We had some friends come over for breakfast 243 00:15:24,840 --> 00:15:27,509 when I got the phone call from the security director. 244 00:15:28,594 --> 00:15:29,929 And he said, 245 00:15:30,012 --> 00:15:32,848 "There's been a theft and you need to come right now." 246 00:15:33,515 --> 00:15:35,100 [indistinct radio chatter] 247 00:15:36,644 --> 00:15:38,771 To me, it felt instantaneous. 248 00:15:38,854 --> 00:15:42,399 Like, the street was lined with cars. 249 00:15:44,902 --> 00:15:47,988 I ended up sitting at the alarm control center. 250 00:15:48,072 --> 00:15:51,784 And the police come in, and it was the first order of business 251 00:15:51,867 --> 00:15:56,997 to plop down this big box of donuts on the counter. 252 00:15:57,081 --> 00:15:58,958 Right in front of me. Like, "Whoo!" 253 00:15:59,041 --> 00:16:02,127 [indistinct police radio chatter] 254 00:16:02,211 --> 00:16:05,381 [Sangregory] They went up and worked their way down. 255 00:16:06,590 --> 00:16:09,635 No one knows what's going on. We don't know where the guards are yet. 256 00:16:13,097 --> 00:16:16,433 I had never done the rounds like the night guards had, 257 00:16:16,517 --> 00:16:19,979 but I had heard there were tunnels under this building. 258 00:16:21,897 --> 00:16:23,399 And I'll never forget 259 00:16:23,482 --> 00:16:26,652 this astonished look on the cop's face, and he says, 260 00:16:27,987 --> 00:16:29,446 "Oh my God. 261 00:16:30,447 --> 00:16:32,449 If there's a body to be found, 262 00:16:32,533 --> 00:16:34,076 it'll be in a tunnel." 263 00:16:34,159 --> 00:16:37,329 [ominous music plays] 264 00:16:47,256 --> 00:16:51,719 As it turned out, the guards were located down in the basement. 265 00:16:53,929 --> 00:16:56,557 Tied up in the duct tape and everything. 266 00:17:02,980 --> 00:17:05,357 The day of the robbery was the first and last time 267 00:17:05,441 --> 00:17:07,192 I was ever at the Gardner Museum. 268 00:17:08,986 --> 00:17:10,863 I was a forensic photographer, 269 00:17:10,946 --> 00:17:13,824 and I was also an image analyst for the FBI. 270 00:17:15,659 --> 00:17:18,746 I may have gotten there about 9:15 or so. 271 00:17:21,832 --> 00:17:24,251 Those shots there were taken by BPD. 272 00:17:25,169 --> 00:17:26,670 They photographed Rick. 273 00:17:28,589 --> 00:17:30,591 Randy was in the other shot. 274 00:17:30,674 --> 00:17:32,968 But they seemed to concentrate on Rick 275 00:17:33,677 --> 00:17:35,054 and how he was taped up. 276 00:17:36,180 --> 00:17:37,806 He was duct taped. 277 00:17:37,890 --> 00:17:41,226 His head and his hair in a roundabout fashion. 278 00:17:41,810 --> 00:17:43,353 And then his hands were bound. 279 00:17:44,104 --> 00:17:47,024 Which I thought was kind of odd. They had a little pad. 280 00:17:49,359 --> 00:17:51,195 Why would you tape around the head? 281 00:17:51,278 --> 00:17:53,781 Why not just put tape on his eyes? 282 00:17:55,449 --> 00:17:58,452 I've seen people who were killed. They were taped. 283 00:17:59,536 --> 00:18:02,081 But Rick's taping, I never saw anything like that. 284 00:18:02,164 --> 00:18:06,001 I thought that was kind of odd that he was taped in that fashion. 285 00:18:07,377 --> 00:18:12,132 We were thinking, "Jeez, if these were any real serious hoods, 286 00:18:12,216 --> 00:18:14,051 why not just kill these people?" 287 00:18:16,929 --> 00:18:18,347 Dead men tell no tales. 288 00:18:19,139 --> 00:18:23,936 [dramatic, moody music playing] 289 00:18:35,614 --> 00:18:37,199 [man] Wait a minute. Go ahead. 290 00:18:37,282 --> 00:18:40,452 [Hawley] I think I got there around 8:30, maybe, 291 00:18:40,536 --> 00:18:42,913 or quarter to 9:00. I can't remember exactly. 292 00:18:47,626 --> 00:18:49,545 The FBI was there, 293 00:18:50,379 --> 00:18:53,924 and they wouldn't let me in to any of the galleries, 294 00:18:54,591 --> 00:18:57,469 so I had no idea what I was going into. 295 00:18:59,346 --> 00:19:01,932 And when I got into the galleries, it was just... 296 00:19:02,015 --> 00:19:03,684 - [slams door] - ...horrifying. 297 00:19:04,977 --> 00:19:07,229 [woman] Did you think you would be... 298 00:19:07,312 --> 00:19:09,022 - [man 1] How's that? - [man 2] Good. 299 00:19:09,106 --> 00:19:10,357 - [indistinct chatter] - No. 300 00:19:10,440 --> 00:19:12,067 [Green] When I first entered, 301 00:19:12,151 --> 00:19:13,735 I saw the golden frames... 302 00:19:15,195 --> 00:19:16,822 overlapping one another. 303 00:19:19,616 --> 00:19:23,203 And you could see that someone had used a knife. 304 00:19:24,663 --> 00:19:28,458 The paintings weren't unscrewed from the back, they were cut out. 305 00:19:29,251 --> 00:19:32,045 I found that pretty interesting. Why did they cut them? 306 00:19:33,463 --> 00:19:36,967 It wasn't like cutting a piece of paper. As the conservators explained, 307 00:19:37,050 --> 00:19:40,095 the paintings are not just one canvas. 308 00:19:41,305 --> 00:19:44,474 You can't cut them out and then roll them up like blueprints. 309 00:19:45,017 --> 00:19:48,395 They said it'd be time-consuming and difficult cutting these things. 310 00:19:51,148 --> 00:19:54,026 [Sangregory] We were starting to hear things, like, "What? 311 00:19:54,109 --> 00:19:56,278 They just cut this stuff out of the frames? 312 00:19:56,361 --> 00:19:57,863 [grunts] Oh my gosh." 313 00:20:00,282 --> 00:20:03,702 It was, and it still is, completely unbelievable. 314 00:20:07,539 --> 00:20:10,250 It was incomprehensible to me 315 00:20:10,334 --> 00:20:14,254 that even if you were wanting to steal art that you would treat it that way. 316 00:20:15,505 --> 00:20:16,505 [indistinct speech] 317 00:20:16,548 --> 00:20:20,135 [Hawley] There were 13 works that were taken altogether. 318 00:20:22,054 --> 00:20:24,973 In terms of art historical works, 319 00:20:25,057 --> 00:20:28,352 the most important work lost is the Rembrandt seascape, 320 00:20:28,435 --> 00:20:30,729 Storm on the Sea of Galilee. 321 00:20:31,855 --> 00:20:34,524 It's Rembrandt's only seascape, 322 00:20:34,608 --> 00:20:38,737 and that was brutally cut out of the frame. 323 00:20:40,364 --> 00:20:44,243 As was the Rembrandt portrait of The Lady and Gentleman in Black. 324 00:20:45,327 --> 00:20:47,120 That was also cut out of the frame, 325 00:20:47,204 --> 00:20:51,375 and that picture had been altered at some time in the past. 326 00:20:52,334 --> 00:20:55,087 There was a man and a woman, and a space between them. 327 00:20:56,421 --> 00:20:57,714 When they X-rayed it, 328 00:20:57,798 --> 00:21:02,219 there was a child between the man and the woman. 329 00:21:02,302 --> 00:21:05,973 Apparently, the child died, and it was too painful, 330 00:21:07,140 --> 00:21:08,976 and it was painted out by Rembrandt. 331 00:21:12,396 --> 00:21:14,481 The Vermeer picture's called The Concert. 332 00:21:16,149 --> 00:21:21,196 And you have a woman just about to burst into song. 333 00:21:23,282 --> 00:21:26,368 Vermeer's paintings, there aren't that many. 334 00:21:26,451 --> 00:21:29,121 Some say 33, some say 35. 335 00:21:30,247 --> 00:21:33,458 For me, that Vermeer was 336 00:21:33,542 --> 00:21:37,004 the toughest one to realize, "Boy, that thing is gone." 337 00:21:39,923 --> 00:21:41,091 As a guard, 338 00:21:41,883 --> 00:21:46,054 that was one of my favorite pieces to just study. 339 00:21:46,138 --> 00:21:50,434 You could just be there and you could just almost like talk to it. 340 00:21:53,478 --> 00:21:55,605 And then, of course, there was the Flinck, 341 00:21:57,774 --> 00:21:59,818 Obelisk in the Landscape. 342 00:22:04,323 --> 00:22:05,782 The Chinese beaker. 343 00:22:07,326 --> 00:22:09,745 That actually was the oldest work taken. 344 00:22:11,580 --> 00:22:14,750 Those were the works that were in the Dutch Room, 345 00:22:15,917 --> 00:22:19,338 along with an etching of Rembrandt. 346 00:22:27,888 --> 00:22:32,017 The Rembrandt self-portrait was also off the wall. 347 00:22:32,976 --> 00:22:36,521 And I thought, "Oh my God, that too?" 348 00:22:37,773 --> 00:22:42,402 And I pulled the frame out and the picture was still there. 349 00:22:51,661 --> 00:22:54,081 Then, from the Short Gallery, 350 00:22:55,665 --> 00:22:57,501 there were five works on paper. 351 00:22:59,294 --> 00:23:03,757 Degas depicting jockeys riding horses, 352 00:23:04,549 --> 00:23:06,551 beautifully drawn and executed. 353 00:23:11,098 --> 00:23:13,809 And then, in that same gallery, 354 00:23:13,892 --> 00:23:16,686 the Napoleonic finial 355 00:23:16,770 --> 00:23:18,772 from the Napoleonic flag. 356 00:23:21,983 --> 00:23:26,571 They kinda theorized that that's where probably they were out of time. 357 00:23:27,531 --> 00:23:30,117 Where they tried to unscrew the finial. 358 00:23:31,201 --> 00:23:34,496 The, uh, screws were in the cigarette receptacle. 359 00:23:35,163 --> 00:23:37,874 They hadn't gotten through taking all the screws out, 360 00:23:37,958 --> 00:23:40,293 so they figured it was time to go, 361 00:23:40,877 --> 00:23:42,879 that these particular items 362 00:23:42,963 --> 00:23:44,965 may have just been an afterthought. 363 00:23:47,259 --> 00:23:51,471 And then finally, from the first floor, the Blue Room, 364 00:23:52,931 --> 00:23:56,143 a Manet called Chez Tortoni. 365 00:24:00,564 --> 00:24:03,108 [Heidorn] There are significant paintings missing. 366 00:24:03,191 --> 00:24:06,361 Ballpark figure on the cost is about $200 million. 367 00:24:15,495 --> 00:24:19,624 [Hawley] The FBI didn't have an art squad. Nobody did. 368 00:24:19,708 --> 00:24:21,001 It was just devastating. 369 00:24:21,084 --> 00:24:23,044 [reporter] Uh, in terms of the rooms... 370 00:24:23,128 --> 00:24:26,798 [Hawley] So, they were struggling to get up to speed on it. 371 00:24:26,882 --> 00:24:29,009 And, of course, we were shattered. 372 00:24:30,677 --> 00:24:32,721 It was like a death in the family. 373 00:24:32,804 --> 00:24:34,806 [reporter] That's precisely why people... 374 00:24:34,890 --> 00:24:37,058 I was just totally numb. 375 00:24:39,227 --> 00:24:41,688 [Arnold Hiatt] We were told by the FBI 376 00:24:41,771 --> 00:24:46,902 we needed to get a reward going before the trail gets cold. 377 00:24:48,278 --> 00:24:52,115 That was considered to be the most important move we could make. 378 00:24:52,782 --> 00:24:58,246 So, I called someone I knew who was in the Philippines at the time. 379 00:24:59,122 --> 00:25:01,625 He was also the chairman of Sotheby's. 380 00:25:03,460 --> 00:25:06,129 "What do you want from me?" he said. 381 00:25:06,213 --> 00:25:09,049 And I told him we needed a million dollars. 382 00:25:11,635 --> 00:25:15,096 Sotheby's and Christies stepped in, 383 00:25:15,180 --> 00:25:17,349 offering this million-dollar reward. 384 00:25:18,308 --> 00:25:21,353 [multiple phones ringing] 385 00:25:21,436 --> 00:25:24,564 We were just overcome with calls coming in. 386 00:25:25,565 --> 00:25:27,192 The phone system broke down. 387 00:25:27,275 --> 00:25:30,987 [ringing continues] 388 00:25:31,071 --> 00:25:34,115 A group of us were just really around the clock 389 00:25:34,199 --> 00:25:36,952 working to get the reward out. 390 00:25:37,035 --> 00:25:40,205 I operate under the assumption that we are going to return... 391 00:25:40,288 --> 00:25:43,667 Get these returned, because we are a world-class museum. 392 00:25:44,251 --> 00:25:46,836 [Hawley] The press was brutal for a while. 393 00:25:46,920 --> 00:25:47,837 Just brutal. 394 00:25:47,921 --> 00:25:49,601 [reporter] How long have you been director? 395 00:25:49,673 --> 00:25:51,049 For six months. 396 00:25:51,132 --> 00:25:54,052 - [reporter 2] Guards, how old were they? - I don't know. 397 00:25:54,135 --> 00:25:57,430 - How long have they worked for you? - Do you know? I don't know. 398 00:25:57,514 --> 00:25:58,640 [reporter 3] What happened? 399 00:25:58,723 --> 00:26:01,977 Would you say that the guards screwed up in this thing? 400 00:26:02,060 --> 00:26:03,728 Or were they taken advantage of? 401 00:26:03,812 --> 00:26:06,314 The FBI's handling all of that. We will... 402 00:26:06,398 --> 00:26:08,108 I don't have more to say now, 403 00:26:08,191 --> 00:26:12,654 but we will continually update you if there is any new information. 404 00:26:12,737 --> 00:26:14,990 [tense music playing] 405 00:26:15,073 --> 00:26:17,075 [Tron Brekke] I was there that morning. 406 00:26:17,158 --> 00:26:20,954 And I think I was maybe the first FBI agent on the scene. 407 00:26:21,037 --> 00:26:22,872 Boston PD was already there. 408 00:26:24,291 --> 00:26:28,336 This was designated as a major theft, and I had responsibility 409 00:26:28,420 --> 00:26:31,089 for the violent crimes program, which included 410 00:26:31,172 --> 00:26:34,759 kidnappings, bank robberies, fugitives, that type of thing. 411 00:26:36,469 --> 00:26:39,347 As I recall, they showed me the security area... 412 00:26:40,473 --> 00:26:42,475 that had been breached. 413 00:26:45,270 --> 00:26:48,690 These guys obviously had some idea of what they were doing. 414 00:26:48,773 --> 00:26:51,985 [tense music continues] 415 00:26:52,068 --> 00:26:56,197 I had to sit down with the supervisor of the squad 416 00:26:56,281 --> 00:26:59,492 that would handle violent crime like this. 417 00:27:04,205 --> 00:27:05,624 We tried to figure out, 418 00:27:05,707 --> 00:27:08,585 "What do we do? Who do we look at? 419 00:27:09,711 --> 00:27:11,546 Where could these things have gone?" 420 00:27:15,133 --> 00:27:18,470 I only saw the guards briefly upstairs. 421 00:27:21,097 --> 00:27:24,184 There were other people that were interviewing them... 422 00:27:25,644 --> 00:27:27,395 in this conference room. 423 00:27:37,530 --> 00:27:40,992 I could see on the security camera looked like two cops out there. 424 00:27:43,328 --> 00:27:45,455 They come to the door, they rang the bell, 425 00:27:46,539 --> 00:27:48,041 and they said, 426 00:27:48,124 --> 00:27:52,587 "Boston Police. We got a report of a disturbance on the premises." 427 00:27:54,756 --> 00:27:55,965 I buzzed them in. 428 00:27:56,466 --> 00:27:57,801 [door buzzing] 429 00:28:00,720 --> 00:28:02,597 They asked me if I was alone, 430 00:28:02,681 --> 00:28:05,975 and I said that no, my partner was off doing a round. 431 00:28:06,059 --> 00:28:07,686 They said, "Get him down here." 432 00:28:09,437 --> 00:28:12,691 The cop turned to me and said, "Don't I know you? Don't I recognize you? 433 00:28:12,774 --> 00:28:15,110 I think there's a warrant out for your arrest. 434 00:28:15,694 --> 00:28:17,904 Can you step out from behind the desk?" 435 00:28:20,448 --> 00:28:22,325 And he said, "Up against the wall." 436 00:28:25,704 --> 00:28:29,833 The guy who was dealing with me was taller and skinny... 437 00:28:31,501 --> 00:28:36,589 was wearing these gold frame round glasses, if I remember correctly. 438 00:28:36,673 --> 00:28:37,673 He had a mustache. 439 00:28:39,426 --> 00:28:40,844 It looked really greasy. 440 00:28:41,511 --> 00:28:43,388 It was probably a fake mustache. 441 00:28:44,848 --> 00:28:46,015 And he handcuffed me. 442 00:28:48,852 --> 00:28:50,687 Cuffed my partner. 443 00:28:51,396 --> 00:28:52,939 Very dramatically said, 444 00:28:53,022 --> 00:28:55,150 "Gentlemen, this is a robbery." 445 00:28:59,904 --> 00:29:01,544 [reporter] The FBI released these pictures 446 00:29:01,614 --> 00:29:05,368 after conversations with guards at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. 447 00:29:06,286 --> 00:29:09,247 [reporter] Suspect number one is described as a white male 448 00:29:09,330 --> 00:29:10,707 in his early 30s, 449 00:29:10,790 --> 00:29:15,044 approximately 5'10" tall, 160 pounds, 450 00:29:15,128 --> 00:29:18,256 dark hair, and wearing gold wire-rim glasses. 451 00:29:19,048 --> 00:29:24,429 Suspect number two is described as a white male in his early 30s also. 452 00:29:24,512 --> 00:29:27,015 Approximately 6" tall with dark hair. 453 00:29:29,934 --> 00:29:32,479 I don't think the sketches was that reliable. 454 00:29:32,562 --> 00:29:35,148 How long did they see them? Did they get a good look? 455 00:29:35,231 --> 00:29:37,233 Were they wearing fake mustaches? 456 00:29:38,485 --> 00:29:40,820 Take a look at these composite drawings. 457 00:29:40,904 --> 00:29:45,033 They may, in a manner of speaking, be worth several hundred million dollars. 458 00:29:45,116 --> 00:29:47,702 If, that is, they bear a striking resemblance 459 00:29:47,786 --> 00:29:49,454 to the two men who inspired them. 460 00:29:54,918 --> 00:29:57,837 [Brekke] With something like this, we try to take a minute, 461 00:29:57,921 --> 00:29:58,922 step back and say, 462 00:29:59,005 --> 00:30:01,132 "Okay, where do we go from here?" 463 00:30:02,967 --> 00:30:05,553 This is not a crime of opportunity. 464 00:30:05,637 --> 00:30:09,808 These guys were not dressing up for Halloween in policeman's uniforms 465 00:30:09,891 --> 00:30:14,270 saying, "Gee, a good idea, let's go rob the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum." 466 00:30:15,188 --> 00:30:16,981 You know, this was planned out. 467 00:30:18,274 --> 00:30:22,445 [Robert Fisher] A lot of planning. They had duct tape, handcuffs, uniform on. 468 00:30:22,529 --> 00:30:24,155 They were ready to get in. 469 00:30:25,448 --> 00:30:28,034 I've done organized crime cases for years. 470 00:30:28,117 --> 00:30:29,327 I've done wiretaps. 471 00:30:29,410 --> 00:30:31,579 I think I know how criminals think and act. 472 00:30:33,540 --> 00:30:36,000 - I don't think it was a cold call. - [door slams] 473 00:30:38,336 --> 00:30:41,256 You analyze the 13 pieces that were stolen. 474 00:30:42,966 --> 00:30:45,718 It just seemed like they had either cased the place 475 00:30:45,802 --> 00:30:49,472 or given specific information about what to look for, 476 00:30:49,556 --> 00:30:51,057 what's on our shopping list. 477 00:30:52,058 --> 00:30:55,144 A finial off the Napoleonic flag? 478 00:30:56,312 --> 00:30:57,564 [Fisher] It's confounding. 479 00:30:57,647 --> 00:31:00,275 It's hard to figure out why you would, in a museum, 480 00:31:00,358 --> 00:31:02,735 with priceless pieces of art, 481 00:31:02,819 --> 00:31:06,197 waste precious time with this finial that is essentially worthless. 482 00:31:08,700 --> 00:31:10,869 [Brekke] They had taken a Chinese artifact. 483 00:31:11,494 --> 00:31:12,620 [Fisher] A Chinese ku. 484 00:31:12,704 --> 00:31:14,539 It's old, it's somewhat valuable, 485 00:31:14,622 --> 00:31:18,126 but not even close to some of the other items of art just in that room. 486 00:31:18,960 --> 00:31:22,630 Was the Chinese artifact a diversion? 487 00:31:24,299 --> 00:31:28,428 There was one self-portrait of Rembrandt where his eyes follow you around the room. 488 00:31:29,470 --> 00:31:32,432 They tried to steal that and they took it down off the wall, 489 00:31:32,515 --> 00:31:34,726 and for some reason, it was left behind. 490 00:31:34,809 --> 00:31:38,354 And they don't know if it was just too big or they forgot it. 491 00:31:39,564 --> 00:31:42,191 [Fisher] One thing that stuck out was the Rembrandt etching. 492 00:31:42,275 --> 00:31:45,403 It's the size of a postage stamp. The frame isn't much bigger. 493 00:31:46,070 --> 00:31:48,990 And yet somebody wasted time unscrewing that 494 00:31:49,073 --> 00:31:50,950 and then taking apart the whole frame 495 00:31:51,659 --> 00:31:53,161 and taking only the etching. 496 00:31:53,244 --> 00:31:56,706 Right, if you're carrying out the biggest heist in history 497 00:31:57,290 --> 00:31:59,334 and you dunno if the police are coming, 498 00:31:59,417 --> 00:32:02,086 and you have limited time to get valuable artwork, 499 00:32:02,170 --> 00:32:05,298 are you gonna waste time with an etching that isn't that expensive, 500 00:32:05,381 --> 00:32:08,468 waste precious moments taking it out of a frame 501 00:32:08,551 --> 00:32:10,887 that you could stick in your pocket regardless? 502 00:32:11,387 --> 00:32:12,555 I would say no. 503 00:32:14,098 --> 00:32:15,808 [Brekke] The paintings themselves, 504 00:32:16,726 --> 00:32:20,271 everybody knows about it so you can't sell 'em on the market. 505 00:32:20,355 --> 00:32:22,106 At least not on the open market. 506 00:32:22,190 --> 00:32:24,025 Sold, 43 million. 507 00:32:24,108 --> 00:32:27,028 [reporter] Even at a time when prices are setting records, 508 00:32:27,111 --> 00:32:31,074 dealers and curators say these paintings would be difficult to fence. 509 00:32:31,157 --> 00:32:33,618 Many believe they were hired to steal what they took. 510 00:32:34,327 --> 00:32:36,579 But unless they had a buyer already lined up, 511 00:32:36,663 --> 00:32:39,874 it may have been one of the dumber robberies in recent history. 512 00:32:40,583 --> 00:32:42,794 [reporter 2] Given that these pieces are well-known, 513 00:32:42,877 --> 00:32:45,880 who could possibly keep them? 514 00:32:45,964 --> 00:32:48,257 That's a very good question. 515 00:32:48,341 --> 00:32:51,469 Only probably a person who is determined 516 00:32:51,552 --> 00:32:53,930 to keep them private for the rest of their life. 517 00:32:54,597 --> 00:32:56,933 [reporter 1] Some masterpieces are so valuable, 518 00:32:57,016 --> 00:32:58,685 they may be too hot to sell. 519 00:32:58,768 --> 00:33:00,228 Which raises the question: 520 00:33:00,311 --> 00:33:02,438 were these thieves working for a collector? 521 00:33:05,108 --> 00:33:06,776 [Brekke] The Storm on the Sea of Galilee 522 00:33:06,859 --> 00:33:10,238 is the only seascape that Rembrandt ever painted. 523 00:33:10,822 --> 00:33:13,449 Who is gonna have that in their living room? 524 00:33:14,993 --> 00:33:16,744 We started speculating. 525 00:33:16,828 --> 00:33:21,833 "Well, maybe it's a... oligarch in Russia, and he's got it in his basement 526 00:33:21,916 --> 00:33:25,086 and he goes down there and he looks at it." 527 00:33:25,169 --> 00:33:28,798 You know, the only Rembrandt seascape in existence. 528 00:33:31,634 --> 00:33:34,971 A lot of people have speculated that it was a Dr. No theory. 529 00:33:36,889 --> 00:33:39,183 [Monty Norman's "James Bond Theme" playing] 530 00:33:39,267 --> 00:33:44,772 Some rich oil baron or billionaire wanted these particular items, 531 00:33:44,856 --> 00:33:47,275 and they paid a crew to carry out the robbery. 532 00:33:49,736 --> 00:33:53,740 [Fisher] It's somebody probably looks like a villain from one of the Bond movies. 533 00:33:53,823 --> 00:33:55,867 He's sitting there with his cognac 534 00:33:56,451 --> 00:33:59,162 and his trophy wife or girlfriend next to him 535 00:33:59,245 --> 00:34:01,998 admiring the art that was stolen from the Gardner. 536 00:34:02,081 --> 00:34:04,959 I was the unwanted child of a German missionary 537 00:34:05,043 --> 00:34:07,045 and a Chinese girl of good family. 538 00:34:07,712 --> 00:34:09,797 Any thought that these paintings 539 00:34:09,881 --> 00:34:14,052 are hung on the walls of Mr. Big 540 00:34:14,135 --> 00:34:16,220 who has them stolen to order 541 00:34:16,304 --> 00:34:17,513 is utter rubbish. 542 00:34:19,432 --> 00:34:21,809 The problem with your Dr. No theory... 543 00:34:22,727 --> 00:34:24,937 is that as soon as he's commissioned it, 544 00:34:25,521 --> 00:34:28,816 and the thieves see there's, in the case of the Gardner Museum, 545 00:34:28,900 --> 00:34:31,486 a reward for information leading to the recovery, 546 00:34:31,569 --> 00:34:33,821 what are they gonna do? They're gonna cash in. 547 00:34:35,031 --> 00:34:38,034 They're gonna set the guy up and get their reward. 548 00:34:38,117 --> 00:34:41,788 [chuckles] No. Dr. Nos and so on don't exist. 549 00:34:43,581 --> 00:34:45,917 You get some very professional criminals. 550 00:34:46,000 --> 00:34:49,045 But they don't know how to handle art, what to do with art. 551 00:34:49,128 --> 00:34:50,922 And that's usually their undoing. 552 00:34:53,382 --> 00:34:55,802 Where you've got a professional art thief, 553 00:34:55,885 --> 00:34:58,262 the theft is professional, it's skilled. 554 00:34:59,931 --> 00:35:02,016 The artwork has been taken 555 00:35:02,100 --> 00:35:04,727 because they know how they're gonna dispose of it. 556 00:35:04,811 --> 00:35:06,479 That's when you've got a problem. 557 00:35:08,898 --> 00:35:10,900 [tides rolling in] 558 00:35:19,033 --> 00:35:20,952 My name is Steven George Xiarhos. 559 00:35:21,035 --> 00:35:24,038 I'm the deputy chief of police here in Yarmouth. 560 00:35:27,834 --> 00:35:31,671 Yarmouth is historic, quaint, quiet. 561 00:35:33,214 --> 00:35:36,342 And, looking back, a good place to commit a crime. 562 00:35:39,554 --> 00:35:43,683 So, in '88, I get called out to this scene. 563 00:35:44,767 --> 00:35:49,063 Pulling up to this beautiful museum, the Bangs Hallet House, 564 00:35:49,814 --> 00:35:55,319 and seeing the immediate aftermath of a really serious crime. 565 00:35:56,821 --> 00:36:01,200 They went in the back door, they overpowered the caretaker, 566 00:36:01,826 --> 00:36:05,580 tied her up, taped her mouth shut, her eyes, 567 00:36:06,789 --> 00:36:08,416 then stole all of these items. 568 00:36:15,506 --> 00:36:17,383 They knew what they were looking for, 569 00:36:17,466 --> 00:36:18,676 they had been inside, 570 00:36:19,343 --> 00:36:21,345 and they were very successful. 571 00:36:22,597 --> 00:36:23,806 And then disappeared. 572 00:36:25,266 --> 00:36:29,145 So you start putting pieces together. You work with local police, 573 00:36:29,228 --> 00:36:32,064 and then state police, and then federal. 574 00:36:32,148 --> 00:36:36,611 And through all that, that name came up, this man named Myles Connor. 575 00:36:36,694 --> 00:36:37,945 [camera flash pops] 576 00:36:38,029 --> 00:36:41,741 [reporter 1] Myles Connor, a legendary outlaw from Massachusetts. 577 00:36:42,450 --> 00:36:46,871 [reporter 2] In 1975, he stole a Rembrandt from the Museum of Fine Arts. 578 00:36:46,954 --> 00:36:49,457 [dramatic music playing] 579 00:36:55,796 --> 00:36:59,800 [man] I first met him, I believe it was in Mattapan Square, 580 00:37:01,260 --> 00:37:05,014 when he had either a cougar or a mountain lion on a leash. 581 00:37:05,097 --> 00:37:06,557 [growling] 582 00:37:06,641 --> 00:37:09,477 I said, "That's Myles Connor." And I introduced myself. 583 00:37:11,604 --> 00:37:12,939 And I followed his career. 584 00:37:19,820 --> 00:37:22,073 And then got to represent him. 585 00:37:30,206 --> 00:37:31,666 Myles was the man. 586 00:37:35,294 --> 00:37:37,046 He could play the guitar and sing. 587 00:37:38,839 --> 00:37:40,633 And he put on a great show. 588 00:37:41,884 --> 00:37:44,470 He might've been really a big star, 589 00:37:44,553 --> 00:37:49,100 but everything always was interrupted by his other activities. 590 00:37:50,393 --> 00:37:53,312 Myles Connor. Yeah. He did a show at the... 591 00:37:53,396 --> 00:37:55,773 - [man] The Beachcomber? - Yeah, exactly that. 592 00:37:55,856 --> 00:37:57,858 [tides rolling in] 593 00:38:02,697 --> 00:38:04,407 [hip bass line playing] 594 00:38:05,408 --> 00:38:07,910 My wife in her younger days would go there 595 00:38:07,994 --> 00:38:11,622 with her sisters and a few friends and see his shows. 596 00:38:22,717 --> 00:38:24,802 He was a robber, a thief... 597 00:38:25,720 --> 00:38:26,804 a killer. 598 00:38:34,312 --> 00:38:36,439 [Myles Connor Jr.] Depends upon whom you ask, 599 00:38:37,023 --> 00:38:40,276 but in general, I'm known as an art thief. 600 00:38:40,359 --> 00:38:42,069 And some people... 601 00:38:43,070 --> 00:38:46,949 consider me the biggest art thief in this country 602 00:38:47,033 --> 00:38:49,368 because I've robbed a number of museums. 603 00:38:49,452 --> 00:38:52,413 But then again, I was a rock and roll guy. 604 00:38:52,496 --> 00:38:55,207 ♪ Smoke rainbows The halo out... ♪ 605 00:38:55,291 --> 00:38:57,251 [Leppo] Myles Joseph Connor Jr. 606 00:38:57,335 --> 00:38:59,628 His father was a police officer, 607 00:38:59,712 --> 00:39:02,465 his step-brother was a state police officer, 608 00:39:02,548 --> 00:39:04,967 his other brother is a priest. 609 00:39:05,051 --> 00:39:07,887 His favorite line was, "Where did they go wrong?" 610 00:39:08,471 --> 00:39:09,555 He was a criminal. 611 00:39:12,683 --> 00:39:15,895 He was this 5'7 ", 5'8" guy 612 00:39:15,978 --> 00:39:17,438 with this booming voice. 613 00:39:18,105 --> 00:39:21,359 He was a member of Mensa, he was like, brilliant. 614 00:39:21,442 --> 00:39:23,694 [man] He has a doctor's knowledge of human anatomy, 615 00:39:23,778 --> 00:39:25,905 and is a student of Eastern philosophy. 616 00:39:25,988 --> 00:39:29,742 [Murphty] He was always pulling off crazy capers and getting into trouble. 617 00:39:30,326 --> 00:39:32,453 Anybody in law enforcement that hears my name, 618 00:39:32,536 --> 00:39:38,125 I'm sure must think that I'm running second neck-to-neck to Attila the Hun. 619 00:39:38,626 --> 00:39:42,380 [Murphy] He robbed museums up in Maine, he had shootouts with police. 620 00:39:42,463 --> 00:39:43,589 [gunshots] 621 00:39:44,965 --> 00:39:48,594 Myles was shot three, four, five times at once. 622 00:39:48,677 --> 00:39:51,597 And went through surgery without anesthesia. 623 00:39:53,057 --> 00:39:56,685 [Murphy] He was the definition, the quintessential art thief. 624 00:40:14,620 --> 00:40:17,039 [Xiarhos] When this crime happened in Yarmouth, 625 00:40:17,748 --> 00:40:19,208 we tried to find him. 626 00:40:20,292 --> 00:40:23,921 One day, I'm in my office and I get a phone call. 627 00:40:24,004 --> 00:40:26,799 "Detective, I heard you were looking for me. 628 00:40:26,882 --> 00:40:28,467 My name is Myles Connor." 629 00:40:29,385 --> 00:40:31,512 He said, "Yes, that's my thing, 630 00:40:32,471 --> 00:40:35,433 but I want you to know I had nothing to do with this." 631 00:40:37,268 --> 00:40:39,395 No one really saw anything, 632 00:40:39,979 --> 00:40:42,356 but the cop in me wants to lock him up. 633 00:40:53,492 --> 00:40:55,619 [Connor] Take a peek here if you want to. 634 00:40:55,703 --> 00:41:00,374 One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine. 635 00:41:00,458 --> 00:41:04,170 No, I think that's wrong. Actually 11 to 12. [laughs] 636 00:41:04,253 --> 00:41:05,254 You lose count. 637 00:41:10,634 --> 00:41:13,888 When the Gardner Museum happened, yeah, we thought back to this. 638 00:41:13,971 --> 00:41:15,806 It wasn't too long after, you know. 639 00:41:17,308 --> 00:41:20,311 Whoever did this, that's their world. 640 00:41:21,228 --> 00:41:22,271 Art theft. 641 00:41:22,938 --> 00:41:26,025 It's not like breaking into a house and stealing a TV. 642 00:41:26,901 --> 00:41:28,319 This is different. 643 00:41:30,070 --> 00:41:31,906 Whoever did this and Gardner, 644 00:41:31,989 --> 00:41:35,117 in my opinion, may be connected. 645 00:41:36,744 --> 00:41:40,623 They absolutely have done it before, they probably did it again, 646 00:41:41,290 --> 00:41:43,876 and that's professional thieves. 647 00:41:45,711 --> 00:41:47,713 [man] How many art heists have you done? 648 00:41:48,214 --> 00:41:50,049 [Connor] Probably 30. Thirty-plus. 649 00:41:50,758 --> 00:41:53,010 [man] How many did the authorities know about? 650 00:41:54,345 --> 00:41:55,429 [Connor] Very little. 651 00:41:56,931 --> 00:42:00,476 He was so well-prepared to do something. 652 00:42:00,559 --> 00:42:02,269 You just don't go into a museum... 653 00:42:03,229 --> 00:42:05,564 and decide to take a painting. 654 00:42:06,857 --> 00:42:09,818 It's the getaway that's the big thing here. 655 00:42:10,903 --> 00:42:14,114 And Myles was a great escape artist. 656 00:42:15,741 --> 00:42:18,953 He had always said, not necessarily to me, 657 00:42:19,036 --> 00:42:22,498 that the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 658 00:42:22,581 --> 00:42:24,500 that that was on his bucket list. 659 00:42:28,671 --> 00:42:31,840 Any reasonable person on the planet would assume 660 00:42:31,924 --> 00:42:34,176 that you masterminded it from the beginning. 661 00:42:34,260 --> 00:42:36,762 Myles Connor, the biggest art thief in the city. 662 00:42:36,845 --> 00:42:38,847 He would be suspect number one. 663 00:42:41,308 --> 00:42:43,978 If he wasn't in jail at the time that this happened... 664 00:42:46,313 --> 00:42:49,942 On the day of the robbery of the Gardner Museum, 665 00:42:50,025 --> 00:42:51,777 I was in federal custody. 666 00:42:53,028 --> 00:42:57,283 [man] The FBI nailed him in a sting involving art he'd stolen years before. 667 00:42:57,366 --> 00:42:59,368 The judge gave him 11 years. 668 00:42:59,868 --> 00:43:02,830 Which means that when the Gardner was hit in 1990, 669 00:43:02,913 --> 00:43:06,500 the master thief Myles Connor was behind bars. 670 00:43:09,295 --> 00:43:12,298 But there's a saying that the guards came 671 00:43:12,381 --> 00:43:15,593 and knocked on my cell door to make sure I was there. 672 00:43:16,343 --> 00:43:19,972 But I think that's more legend than it is fact. 673 00:43:23,267 --> 00:43:25,269 [eerie music playing] 674 00:43:30,983 --> 00:43:32,818 [Murphy] I think there was a feeling 675 00:43:32,901 --> 00:43:35,404 that somehow this would shake out fairly quickly. 676 00:43:38,198 --> 00:43:39,783 And then as time dragged on, 677 00:43:39,867 --> 00:43:43,871 they realized this stuff was just way too hot to handle, 678 00:43:43,954 --> 00:43:45,956 that it was gonna take some time. 679 00:43:51,837 --> 00:43:55,382 [Fisher] I started in Public Corruption March of 2010. 680 00:43:56,175 --> 00:43:58,636 My first week was the 20th anniversary. 681 00:44:02,014 --> 00:44:04,391 It was a cold case, it was 20 years old, 682 00:44:04,475 --> 00:44:07,811 so I took time going back through, looking at other angles. 683 00:44:08,979 --> 00:44:12,274 I wanna take this through step by step how it happened. 684 00:44:12,358 --> 00:44:14,401 Not only minute by minute, but second by second. 685 00:44:14,485 --> 00:44:16,195 How did this thing play out? 686 00:44:17,863 --> 00:44:19,907 And how many things had to go right 687 00:44:19,990 --> 00:44:22,451 for these two robbers to still not be caught? 688 00:44:32,378 --> 00:44:36,965 [Murphy] What we know is that 23-year-old Richard Abath, 689 00:44:37,049 --> 00:44:39,635 sort of a music school dropout, 690 00:44:41,553 --> 00:44:42,888 is on duty that night. 691 00:44:48,060 --> 00:44:49,520 Maybe around midnight or so, 692 00:44:50,312 --> 00:44:53,691 Rick Abath takes the first shift to do the rounds upstairs. 693 00:44:54,441 --> 00:44:57,444 He says there were fire alarms going off, 694 00:44:57,528 --> 00:45:00,531 and that he ends up shutting off the fire alarm. 695 00:45:16,505 --> 00:45:19,800 He comes down and relieves the other guard at the desk. 696 00:45:20,843 --> 00:45:24,513 But what he does is he opens the outside door 697 00:45:24,596 --> 00:45:28,684 and shuts it about 10 minutes before the thieves show up. 698 00:45:34,022 --> 00:45:35,691 [Fisher] The first thing we know 699 00:45:35,774 --> 00:45:38,777 is that outside door that they entered through 700 00:45:38,861 --> 00:45:42,281 was open 15, 20 minutes before they enter it. 701 00:45:42,865 --> 00:45:43,865 Why? 702 00:45:44,867 --> 00:45:47,786 [Murphy] So, now at 1:24 a.m., 703 00:45:47,870 --> 00:45:50,831 two men dressed as police officers show up at the door. 704 00:45:50,914 --> 00:45:53,542 They say they're there to investigate a disturbance. 705 00:45:54,251 --> 00:45:56,920 Rick Abath says he buzzed the door and let them in. 706 00:45:57,004 --> 00:45:58,255 [door buzzes] 707 00:45:59,965 --> 00:46:04,178 They say, "I might have a warrant for your arrest. Step away from the desk." 708 00:46:06,263 --> 00:46:08,766 Now he's removed himself from the only place 709 00:46:08,849 --> 00:46:11,059 where he can get help from the outside. 710 00:46:11,143 --> 00:46:13,937 There's a button that will alert Boston Police 711 00:46:14,021 --> 00:46:15,981 that there's a problem at the museum. 712 00:46:17,566 --> 00:46:19,568 And now the thieves spend 713 00:46:19,651 --> 00:46:23,530 81 minutes in the museum, helping themselves. 714 00:46:26,658 --> 00:46:29,703 [Fisher] Ten minutes in a robbery seems like an eternity. 715 00:46:30,829 --> 00:46:33,874 That's what has always stood out for me, 716 00:46:33,957 --> 00:46:35,834 the fact they were comfortable enough 717 00:46:35,918 --> 00:46:37,961 to be in there for 81 minutes. 718 00:46:40,005 --> 00:46:42,257 That's an incredibly long time to spend 719 00:46:42,341 --> 00:46:45,969 when you have people tied up and you don't know if police are coming. 720 00:46:47,387 --> 00:46:49,014 [Murphy] Another peculiar thing. 721 00:46:49,097 --> 00:46:52,184 In the Dutch Room, there was a secret panel. 722 00:46:52,267 --> 00:46:56,063 There's a door that leads downstairs, and it was slightly ajar 723 00:46:56,146 --> 00:46:58,649 when the investigators arrived that morning. 724 00:46:59,399 --> 00:47:01,485 Which also raised the question, 725 00:47:01,568 --> 00:47:03,111 who'd know there was a door? 726 00:47:05,030 --> 00:47:07,241 [Fisher] There were security cameras, 727 00:47:07,324 --> 00:47:09,993 but the thieves knew where the VHS system was, 728 00:47:10,077 --> 00:47:11,912 so they took tape from that evening. 729 00:47:14,122 --> 00:47:17,501 We know that at least one of the proximity detectors went off. 730 00:47:18,836 --> 00:47:19,962 I think the Rembrandt. 731 00:47:20,045 --> 00:47:22,172 [alarm wailing] 732 00:47:22,256 --> 00:47:24,091 If an alarm like that goes off, 733 00:47:24,842 --> 00:47:28,011 typically they get out of there, in case that alerted somebody. 734 00:47:29,012 --> 00:47:30,347 But these thieves didn't. 735 00:47:32,641 --> 00:47:36,770 I don't see how this was pulled off without inside information. 736 00:47:37,646 --> 00:47:40,774 [sinuous string music playing] 737 00:47:43,819 --> 00:47:45,821 My understanding is at the guard desk, 738 00:47:45,904 --> 00:47:47,906 there was an old printer there 739 00:47:47,990 --> 00:47:51,618 that prints out the motion detector alarms. 740 00:47:55,831 --> 00:47:59,293 Somebody took that. They took the printout, the paper. 741 00:48:00,168 --> 00:48:02,588 But it was 1990, so they probably didn't realize 742 00:48:02,671 --> 00:48:06,508 that there was a hard drive somewhere... that had the data. 743 00:48:11,847 --> 00:48:16,351 [Murphy] The most peculiar thing about what happened during those 81 minutes 744 00:48:17,060 --> 00:48:21,899 is that most of the stolen artwork was taken from the Dutch Room. 745 00:48:22,983 --> 00:48:27,029 There were also some items taken from the Short Gallery. 746 00:48:27,613 --> 00:48:28,655 The Chez Tortoni 747 00:48:28,739 --> 00:48:34,036 is the only piece that was stolen on the first floor, 748 00:48:34,870 --> 00:48:36,872 from the Blue Room. 749 00:48:36,955 --> 00:48:40,959 And the only person that the hard drive can show 750 00:48:41,043 --> 00:48:42,753 whose steps went into that room... 751 00:48:47,716 --> 00:48:48,717 [whirring] 752 00:48:48,800 --> 00:48:50,469 [beeping] 753 00:48:53,597 --> 00:48:54,765 [tires screech] 754 00:49:00,062 --> 00:49:01,521 ...were those of Richard Abath... 755 00:49:03,690 --> 00:49:05,943 when he was doing his rounds in the museum. 756 00:49:11,281 --> 00:49:14,993 [Fisher] Best we can tell in the data, they never entered that room. 757 00:49:16,244 --> 00:49:19,373 So, that means somebody either took it off the wall before... 758 00:49:20,415 --> 00:49:23,460 or after the police got there. 759 00:49:23,543 --> 00:49:25,045 ["Intruder" by Peter Gabriel playing] 760 00:49:25,128 --> 00:49:26,630 ♪ I know ♪ 761 00:49:27,589 --> 00:49:29,091 ♪ Something about ♪ 762 00:49:30,092 --> 00:49:33,345 ♪ Opening windows and doors ♪ 763 00:49:33,428 --> 00:49:36,223 I think it happened before the robbery. 764 00:49:36,306 --> 00:49:37,891 ♪ I know ♪ 765 00:49:37,975 --> 00:49:39,977 ♪ How to move quietly ♪ 766 00:49:40,060 --> 00:49:42,771 ♪ To creep across creaky wooden floors ♪ 767 00:49:42,854 --> 00:49:46,274 Number one, you've gotta look at the inner circle. 768 00:49:46,358 --> 00:49:47,484 ♪ I know ♪ 769 00:49:48,235 --> 00:49:50,904 ♪ Where to find precious things ♪ 770 00:49:50,988 --> 00:49:53,824 ♪ In all your cupboards and drawers ♪ 771 00:49:54,449 --> 00:49:56,493 [Murphy] Looking at it through today's lens, 772 00:49:56,576 --> 00:49:57,411 the question is, 773 00:49:57,494 --> 00:50:01,164 "Whoa, why wasn't there immediately a lot of focus on Richard Abath?" 774 00:50:05,877 --> 00:50:07,921 [Abath] Once I sat down with the FBI, 775 00:50:09,089 --> 00:50:10,090 I... I knew. 776 00:50:12,342 --> 00:50:15,262 I was like, "I'm the guy who opened up the door. 777 00:50:15,345 --> 00:50:17,055 They're gonna be looking at me." 778 00:50:21,727 --> 00:50:25,480 [intense string music playing]