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]