Humorous stories abound about bungling burglars. Some
guy attempts to rob a bank without a mask, the word E A S T S I D E tattooed on his upper lip. Probably should tattoo D U
M B-A * * across his forehead.
The Law managed to bungle a few cases over the
decades, also. It’s bad enough when the loss amounts to millions, but then
someone writes a book or makes a movie about it. What ever happened to D.B.
Cooper?
Many train robberies have never been solved. Included
on England’s list is The Great Train Robbery of 1855. And again in 1963 when
fifteen guys remembered to don their masks before they stopped the train in Buckinghamshire
and got away with 2.5 million pounds in used bank notes.
Jimmy “The Gent” Burke masterminded New York’s
Lufthansa Air Terminal robbery in 1978, making off with untraceable currency
amounting to six million dollars. Someone probably lost their job over that.
Worse, in 1990, two police officers responded to a
disturbance at the Boston Museum. On admittance, they cuffed the security
guards and left with Degas and Rembrandt paintings worth 300 million dollars.
Which 1990 movie title renamed mobsters "decent chaps"?
Very interesting, especially since here in the Ozarks we just heard of the arrest of a "fugitive British security guard suspected of absconding with a van containing $1.5 million in a 1993 heist." It was discovered that he had been living with his family in Missouri under an assumed name for 15 years.
ReplyDeleteYou never know who your neighbor really is! :-))
Doris
Those are some amazing robberies. Talk about bold and thinking on your feet. Was it Good Fellas? That is one of my favorite movies of all time. ;)
ReplyDeleteThere was one in the town of Macon (my home town) where the guy robbed a bank and rode off on a bike. Then a couple of months later he got on a comedy club stage and confessed. Not the brightest tool in the shed to say the least.
ReplyDeleteHi, Yeah, every once in awhile we hear how someone goofed up a robbery and did something like leaving his "hand over the money" note on the back of an envelope with his name and address on the front. Duh!]
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed your post.
Ruby
I'm guessing Goodfellas as well. And now I need to look up the movie I saw years ago with Phil Collins as a robber...
ReplyDeleteIt's the clever ones that never get caught and they say that the brilliant ones are the ones who know when to stop... not that I have any experience in this area of course!!!
ReplyDeleteI'm blogging the A to Z Challenge too at A to Z of Nostalgia
Wow! The audacity of the last one, the art robbers, is just something else.
ReplyDeleteExcellent posts, both A and B. Love gangster stories, and heist flicks!
ReplyDeleteCheck out my A-Z Fun. A word a day!
It is indeed 'Goodfellas.' I really like that movie and even know where they got the name, "He's one of us. He's a good fella."
ReplyDeleteJimmy "the Gent"-was that Jimmy Conway from "Goodfellas?"
Speaking of writing a book: "How I Did It" by OJ.
Doris, so often criminals secret themselves away and live off their stolen money. It's good to hear when one gets caught!
ReplyDeleteMel, yes, Goodfellas. I've watched the DVD so many times it is beginning to skip like a 45 rpm record!
K.D., I love your story about the guy who confessed on stage!
ReplyDeleteRuby, your comment reminds me of the bank robber who used the back of his check deposit slip. Great minds ...
Thank you for all your comments, everyone. Yes, Al, Jimmy "The Gent" is from Goodfellas.
Interesting. I love the idiot crook stories, too. You know the kind like the one where someone stole a guy's marijuana stash, so he called the cops to report it.
ReplyDeleteThis was very interesting. I cannot help but admire the ones who got away with it.
ReplyDeleteHave to wonder if these "bungling cops" were on the take. Many of these art heists are very suspicious.
ReplyDeleteThose great stories keep inspiring hope in getting away with the big one! I just signed on to the A-Z challenge, nearly at the last minute, but I'm trying to visit every blog at least once.
ReplyDeleteBungling burglars and bungled busts -- a great post for the letter B. :)
ReplyDeleteMarian Allen
Fantasies, mysteries, comedies, recipes
@Donna, that is a funny story about the stolen stash. Guess not all of it was stolen!
ReplyDelete@Anthony, I have an upcoming post that addresses your comment about admiring the bad guys!
@Stephen, from what I've read, the cops weren't only in on it, they got a cut of the take.
We gamble to win (but lose) so we root for the guys who do make a killing (figuratively, speaking.)
What an entertaining "B" post! So glad to have met you through A to Z! Julie
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me of the time I bungled a theft. I was 6 and went to take a Snickers without asking. I pocketed it in haste and it fell out in full view of a gun toting security guard. He was very nice. He pulled out his gun and showed it to me, explaining that if I kept up my thieving ways, I might one day be shot with one like it. He placed it on a shelf nearby as he explained at length the great virtue of honesty. He walked away...and left his gun on the shelf, forgotten. I took it. I still have that gun on my mantel as a reminder to never steal.
ReplyDeleteElton Says Things...
I love all those dumb criminal stories. Great, informative post. And to pack it all in those 200 words... Very well done indeed!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for the visit! I look forward to reading more from you. :)
Alana @ writercize.blogspot.com
Blogging along A to Z with you!
wow, it's surprising how many go unsolved. It's just as amazing how many really dumb bungles there are..hehe.
ReplyDeleteLove the theme for your A to Z challenge. :) Luckily, it seems that most of the time it's the robbers doing the bungling instead of the cops, lol.
ReplyDelete