Master Thieves

Master Thieves
Author: Stephen Kurkjian
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Total Pages: 273
Release: 2015-03-10
Genre: True Crime
ISBN: 1610394240

The definitive story of the greatest art theft in history. In a secret meeting in 1981, a low-level Boston thief gave career gangster Ralph Rossetti the tip of a lifetime: the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum was a big score waiting to happen. Though its collections included priceless artworks by Rembrandt, Vermeer, Degas, and others, its security was cheap, mismanaged, and out of date. And now, it seemed, the whole Boston criminal underworld knew it. Nearly a decade passed before the Museum was finally hit. But when it finally happened, the theft quickly became one of the most infamous art heists in history: thirteen works of art valued at up to 500 million, by some of the most famous artists in the world, were taken. The Boston FBI took control of the investigation, but twenty-five years later the case is still unsolved and the artwork is still missing. Stephen Kurkjian, one of the top investigative reporters in the country, has been working this case for over nearly twenty years. In Master Thieves, he sheds new light on some of the Gardner's most abiding mysteries. Why would someone steal these paintings, only to leave them hidden for twenty-five years? And why, if one of the top crime bosses in the city knew about this score in 1981, did the theft happen in 1990? What happened in those intervening years? And what might all this have to do with Boston's notorious gang wars of the 1980s? Kurkjian's reporting is already responsible for some of the biggest breaks in this story, including a meticulous reconstruction of what happened at the Museum that fateful night. Now Master Thieves will reveal the identities of those he believes plotted the heist, the motive for the crime, and the details that the FBI has refused to discuss. Taking you on a journey deep into the gangs of Boston, Kurkjian emerges with the most complete and compelling version of this story ever told.

Stealing Sisi's Star

Stealing Sisi's Star
Author: Jennifer Bowers Bahney
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 213
Release: 2015-06-08
Genre: History
ISBN: 1476619395

While on honeymoon in Vienna in June of 1998, at the height of the tourist season, Gerald Daniel Blanchard, an accomplished thief, happened upon the greatest challenge of his life when he spotted the last remaining "Sisi Star" on display in Schonbrunn Palace. Named after its former owner, the Empress Elisabeth, the ten-pointed diamond and pearl star was originally one of 27 that the enigmatic Sisi wore in her extravagantly long hair. Despite the multi-layered security system protecting the priceless jewel, Blanchard decided then and there to steal it. The star remained missing for nine years until a team of Canadian police investigators launched a joint task force to bring down a criminal organization that had robbed banks, stores and ordinary citizens on several continents. When their chief suspect offered to reveal the whereabouts of the Sisi Star, the investigators realized they were dealing with no ordinary thief. But no one involved in the case fully understood the history of the star, its ties to obsession, suicide and assassination.

Theft of Swords

Theft of Swords
Author: Michael J. Sullivan
Publisher: Orbit
Total Pages: 501
Release: 2011-11-23
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0316200719

Royce Melborn, a skilled thief, and his mercenary partner, Hadrian Blackwater, make a profitable living carrying out dangerous assignments for conspiring nobles-until they are hired to pilfer a famed sword. What appears to be just a simple job finds them framed for the murder of the king and trapped in a conspiracy that uncovers a plot far greater than the mere overthrow of a tiny kingdom. Can a self-serving thief and an idealistic swordsman survive long enough to unravel the first part of an ancient mystery that has toppled kings and destroyed empires? And so begins the first tale of treachery and adventure, sword fighting and magic, myth and legend. When author Michael J. Sullivan self-published the first books of his Riyria Revelations, they rapidly became ebook bestsellers. Now, Orbit is pleased to present the complete series for the first time in bookstores everywhere.

The Art of the Con

The Art of the Con
Author: Anthony M. Amore
Publisher: Macmillan + ORM
Total Pages: 275
Release: 2015-07-14
Genre: Art
ISBN: 1466879114

“Must reading for any true-crime fan . . . [a] diverse, colorful crew of art-gallery grifters and scammers . . . Highly recommended!” —Howie Carr, New York Times–bestselling author Art scams are today so numerous that the specter of a lawsuit arising from a mistaken attribution has scared a number of experts away from the business of authentication and forgery, and with good reason. Art scams are increasingly convincing and involve incredible sums of money. The cons perpetrated by unscrupulous art dealers and their accomplices are proportionately elaborate. Anthony M. Amore’s The Art of the Con tells the stories of some of history’s most notorious yet untold cons. They involve stolen art hidden for decades; elaborate ruses that involve the Nazis and allegedly plundered art; the theft of a conceptual prototype from a well-known artist by his assistant to be used later to create copies; the use of online and television auction sites to scam buyers out of millions; and other confidence scams incredible not only for their boldness but more so because they actually worked. Using interviews and newly released court documents, The Art of the Con will also take the reader into the investigations that led to the capture of the con men, who oftentimes return back to the world of crime. For some, it’s an irresistible urge because their innocent dupes all share something in common: they want to believe. “An engrossing read about brazen, artful scams.” —Kirkus Reviews “A riveting, fast-moving account of shameless fraudsters who wreak havoc on the art world. A must read!” —Brian T. Kelly, former Assistant United States Attorney

The Napoleon of Crime

The Napoleon of Crime
Author: Ben Macintyre
Publisher: Crown
Total Pages: 418
Release: 2011-04-05
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0307886476

From the New York Times bestselling author of Prisoners in the Castle, a dramatic portrait of the master thief of the nineteenth century: Adam Worth “Fascinating . . . a brisk, lively, colorful biography of an amazing criminal.”—The New York Times (Best Books of the Year) The Victorian era’s most infamous and iconic thief, the inspiration for Sherlock Holmes’s Professor Moriarty, Adam Worth was known as the Napoleon of crime. Suave, cunning, and fearless, Worth learned early that the best way to succeed was to steal. And steal he did. Following a strict code of honor, Worth won the respect of Victorian society. He also aroused its fear by becoming a chilling phantom, mingling undetected with the upper classes, whose valuables he brazenly stole. His most celebrated heist: Gainsborough’s grand portrait of the Duchess of Devonshire—ancestor of Diana, Princess of Wales—a painting Worth adored and often slept with for twenty years. With a brilliant gang that included “Piano” Charley, a jewel thief, train robber, and playboy, and “the Scratch” Becker, master forger, Worth secretly ran operations from New York to London, Paris, and South Africa—until betrayal and a Pinkerton man finally brought him down. The Napoleon of Crime is a grand, dazzling tour into the gaslit underworld of the nineteenth century, and into the doomed genius of a criminal mastermind.

The Psychology of Theft and Loss

The Psychology of Theft and Loss
Author: Robert Tyminski
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 233
Release: 2014-07-11
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 1317700449

Why do we steal? This question has confounded everyone from parents to judges, teachers to psychologists, economists to more than a few moral thinkers. Stealing can be a result of deprivation, of envy, or of a desire for power and influence. An act of theft can also bring forth someone’s hidden traits – paradoxically proving beneficial to their personal development. Robert Tyminski explores the many dimensions of stealing, and in particular how they relate to a subtle balance of loss versus gain that operates in all of us. Our natural aversion to loss can lead to extreme actions as a means to acquire what we may not be able to obtain through time, work or money. Tyminski uses the myth of Jason, Medea and the Golden Fleece to explore the dilemmas involved in such situations and demonstrate the timelessness of theft as fundamentally human. The Psychology of Theft and Loss incorporates Jungian and psychoanalytic theories as well as more recent cognitive research findings to deepen our appreciation for the complexity of human motivations when it comes to stealing, culminating in consideration of the idea of a perpetually present ‘inner thief’. Combining case studies, Jungian theory and analysis of many different types of stealing including robbery, kidnapping, plagiarism and technotheft, The Psychology of Theft and Loss is a fascinating study which will appeal to psychoanalysts, psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, family therapists and students.

Stealing His Thunder

Stealing His Thunder
Author: Sparrow Beckett
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 232
Release: 2016-06-21
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0451488350

From the author of the Masters Unleashed series, Sparrow Beckett revs things up with two lovers on a collision course in the first Masters of Adrenaline novel. Nothing gives Addison Kennedy a rush like stealing cars. The Lexus was the perfect target, but before she can get its engine purring, she's cold-cocked unconscious. When she comes to, she finds herself on a bed with a blonde, tattooed god standing over her. Fox Larson is shocked to discover the thief he knocked out is actually a hot girl. Bringing her home may not have been the smartest move, but he wasn’t about to leave an unconscious and defenseless woman in a parking garage. Besides, if she’s part of an auto theft crew infringing on his territory, he needs to pump her for information. However, Addison has personal drive that won’t be denied and she’s desperate to prove Fox’s group needs her skills. Submitting to his kinks in the bedroom is a hot yet complicated bonus. When a big job goes bad, and Addison finally gets her chance, will she succeed in stealing his thunder? Praise for Sparrow Beckett “Beckett gives BDSM a fun, fresh, and flirty edge.”—New York Times bestselling author Jessica Clare “The writing duo Sparrow Beckett has a winner in their...Masters Unleashed series.”—RT Book Reviews (4 Stars)

Theft by Finding

Theft by Finding
Author: David Sedaris
Publisher: Little, Brown
Total Pages: 508
Release: 2017-05-30
Genre: Humor
ISBN: 031630851X

One of the most anticipated books of 2017: Boston Globe, New York Times Book Review, New York's "Vulture", The Week, Bustle, BookRiot An NPR Best Book of 2017An AV Club Favorite Book of 2017A Barnes & Noble Best Book of 2017A Goodreads Choice Awards nominee David Sedaris tells all in a book that is, literally, a lifetime in the making. For forty years, David Sedaris has kept a diary in which he records everything that captures his attention-overheard comments, salacious gossip, soap opera plot twists, secrets confided by total strangers. These observations are the source code for his finest work, and through them he has honed his cunning, surprising sentences. Now, Sedaris shares his private writings with the world. Theft by Finding, the first of two volumes, is the story of how a drug-abusing dropout with a weakness for the International House of Pancakes and a chronic inability to hold down a real job became one of the funniest people on the planet. Written with a sharp eye and ear for the bizarre, the beautiful, and the uncomfortable, and with a generosity of spirit that even a misanthropic sense of humor can't fully disguise, Theft By Finding proves that Sedaris is one of our great modern observers. It's a potent reminder that when you're as perceptive and curious as Sedaris, there's no such thing as a boring day.

Cargo Theft, Loss Prevention, and Supply Chain Security

Cargo Theft, Loss Prevention, and Supply Chain Security
Author: Dan Burges
Publisher: Butterworth-Heinemann
Total Pages: 391
Release: 2012-07-18
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 012391468X

Cargo Theft, Loss Prevention, and Supply Chain Security outlines steps for identifying the weakest links in the supply chain and customizing a security program to help you prevent thefts and recover losses. Written by one of the world’s leading experts in cargo theft analysis, risk assessment and supply chain security, this is the most comprehensive book available on the topic of cargo theft and loss prevention. Part history of cargo theft, part analysis and part how-to guide, the book is the one source supply chain professionals and students can turn to in order to understand every facet of cargo theft and take steps to prevent losses.This groundbreaking book contains methods of predictive cargo theft modeling, allowing proactive professionals to develop prevention solutions at every step along the supply chain. It provides a complete methodology for use in creating your own customized supply chain security program as well as in-depth analysis of commonly encountered supply chain security problems. It also supplies a massive amount of credible cargo theft statistics and provides solutions and best practices to supply chain professionals who must determine their company’s risk and mitigate their losses by adopting customizable security programs. Furthermore, it presents cutting-edge techniques that industry professionals can use to prevent losses and keep their cargo secure at every stage along the supply chain.This book will be of interest to manufacturing, logistics and security professionals including chief security officers, VPs of logistics or supply chain operations, and transportation managers, as well as professionals in any company that manufactures, ships, transports, stores, distributes, secures or is otherwise responsible for bulk product and cargo. Outlines steps you can take to identify the weakest links in the supply chain and customize a security program to help you prevent thefts and recover losses Offers detailed explanations of downstream costs in a way that makes sense - including efficiency losses, customer dissatisfaction, product recalls and more - that dramatically inflate the impact of cargo theft incidents Provides a complete methodology for use in creating your own customized supply chain security program as well as in-depth analysis of commonly encountered supply chain security problems