It’s been an educational month so far on the Central Alarm blog, and while we hope we’ve made it fun for you so far we figured this time we would go for something a bit different. While we usually discuss how to secure and protect your belongings, this time we’re going to look at some of the largest heists the world has ever seen! Often the inspirations for novels and movies, these are real thefts.
The Isabella Stewart Darner Museum Theft
This theft occurred on March 18th, 1990. Security guards let in two men, dressed as police officers, who claimed they were answering a disturbance call. These men then tied up the guards and proceeded to make off with 13 works of art valued at $500 million! Investigators were confused on the choice of works as more valuable pieces were left scattered untouched. This case is still unsolved, and none of the 13 pieces have been recovered.
The Great Brink’s Robbery
Another robbery in Boston, the Great Brink’s Robbery took place on January 17th, 1950. $2.775 million ($27.6 mil today) was comprised of cash, checks, money orders, and securities. It was at the time the largest robbery in the history of the United States. Pulled off by a gang of eleven, all were later arrested. Only $58,000 was recovered.
United California Bank Robbery
Last, but certainly not least, is the United California Bank robbery. The heist took place on March 24th, 1972, when a gang of professional burglars broke into a safe deposit vault and made off with $30 million ($172 million today) in cash and valuables. The heist was completed without a hitch; the gang may have gotten away with it, had they not decided to make a similar heist back home in Ohio several months later. FBI were able to link the two crimes and eventually brought everyone down and find most the takings.
These are just three of a long list of huge heists in American history, each one intensely interesting and much more in depth than what we could go over here. Now, we’re not in the robbery business, so if you’re looking to loot the Louvre, you got the wrong place. But if you’d like to prevent those would be theives, then let’s talk. Thanks for reading and we’ll catch you next time on the blog.
