The Dresden Job
When a rash of sensational museum robberies stunned Europe, police zeroed in on a fearsome crime family—and a flashy new generation of young outlaws.
When a rash of sensational museum robberies stunned Europe, police zeroed in on a fearsome crime family—and a flashy new generation of young outlaws.
Joshua Hammer GQ Aug 2021 25min Permalink
In 2003, a man robbed a bank with a bomb around his neck. It exploded shortly thereafter, taking his life and leaving authorities to try to figure out who had put it there.
Rich Schapiro Wired Dec 2010 20min Permalink
On America’s interstates, brazen bands of thieves steal 18-wheelers filled with computers, cell phones, even toilet paper. And select law enforcement teams are tasked with tracking them down.
Dylan Taylor-Lehman Narratively Sep 2020 15min Permalink
How precious maps, books, and art vanished from the Pittsburgh archive over the course of 25 years.
Travis McDade Smithsonian Aug 2020 15min Permalink
The motley gang of L.A. teens that cat-burgled celebrities, sometimes repeatedly, in search of designer clothes, jewelry, and something to do. The story that became The Bling Ring.
Nancy Jo Sales Vanity Fair Mar 2010 20min Permalink
The case against a notorious cat burglar, who is accused of stealing more than $12 million worth of the South’s finest sterling silver.
Kim Severson Garden & Gun Mar 2014 15min Permalink
They were an all-star crew. They cooked up the perfect plan. And when they pulled off the caper of the century, it made them more than a fortune—it made them folk heroes.
A young man returns home from the army and gets a surprising offer from his emotionally distant father: Join the family business and help mom & pop pull off a string of daring cross-country heists. No one expects the betrayals coming.
Alexander Huls Truly*Adventurous Jan 2020 35min Permalink
How a Sacramento Kings executive stole more than $13 million from the team—and almost got away with it.
Kevin Arnovitz ESPN Nov 2019 25min Permalink
Peggy Jo Tallas spent most of her adult life doing two things: taking care of her ailing mother and robbing bank after bank dressed as a pudgy, bearded cowboy.
Skip Hollandsworth Texas Monthly Nov 2005 35min Permalink
For decades, Jeffrey Lendrum went to extreme lengths to snatch falcon eggs from their nests and sell them to the highest bidder. Then he got caught.
Joshua Hammer Outside Jan 2019 30min Permalink
A profile of the climber and thief Vjeran Tomic, dubbed Spider-Man by the French press, who describes robbery as an act of imagination.
Jake Halpern New Yorker Jan 2019 30min Permalink
The true story of a ring of thieves who stole millions of dollars’ worth of luxury watches—and the special agent who brought them down.
Amy Wallace GQ Oct 2018 25min Permalink
How Jim Hayes blew it all.
Natalie O'Neill The Daily Beast Sep 2018 15min Permalink
Is the Chinese government behind one of the boldest art-crime waves in history?
Alex W. Palmer GQ Aug 2018 20min Permalink
The most prolific bank robber in Texas history.
Helen Thorpe Texas Monthly Mar 1997 30min Permalink
Having fallen on hard times, a former football star and the pride of his small town decides to rob the local bank. His weapons of choice: Craigslist, bear mace, and an inner tube.
David Kushner GQ Oct 2010 20min Permalink
Ray Bowman and Billy Kirkpatrick, who began boosting together as teenagers, were arrested only twice during their prolific partnership. The first time was for stealing 38 records from a K-Mart in 1974. The second arrest came in 1997. In between, Bowman and Kirkpatrick robbed 27 banks, including the single biggest haul in United States history: $4,461,681 from the Seafirst Bank in suburban Tacoma.
Alex Kotlowitz New Yorker Jul 2002 20min Permalink
The story of the “Barefoot Bandit,” a teenage fugitive on the run.
How $100 million in diamonds, gold, and jewelry disappeared from Antwerp Diamond Center’s super-secure vault.
Joshua Davis Wired Mar 2009 30min Permalink
On the motivations and techniques of a prolific book thief who “built a vast collection of rare works, most of which he will never read and no one will ever see.”
Allison Hoover Bartlett San Francisco Magazine Feb 2006 20min Permalink
How FPAQ, the Canadian group that controls 72 percent of the world’s supply of maple syrup, caused one of the greatest agricultural crimes in history.
Rich Cohen Vanity Fair Dec 2016 15min Permalink
He stole over $1 million in chips – then checked himself into casino’s hotel to live like a king.
Keith Romer Rolling Stone Nov 2016 20min Permalink
The search for the world’s most elusive skyjacker.
Geoffrey Gray New York Oct 2007 20min Permalink
Hervé Falciani, a computer engineer working at HSBC, stole the bank’s list of secret accounts. But was he out to expose tax cheats or get rich himself? Perhaps both.
Patrick Radden Keefe New Yorker May 2016 40min Permalink