Did you know that in August 2017, thieves in the town of Neustadt, Germany, stole a
refrigerated truck filled with up to 20 tons of Nutella and Kinder chocolate eggs?
The sugary haul had an estimated worth of around $80,000, leading law enforcement in
Germany to warn citizens that, quote, "Anyone offered large quantities [of chocolate] via
unconventional channels should report it to the police immediately." Though, that’s
the kind of sage advice you should probably always follow.
Mysteriously, a separate trailer filled with 30 tons of fruit juice was stolen that same
weekend in the town of Wittenberg, around 260 miles northeast of the missing hazelnut
spread.
Maybe it was an organized crime ring; maybe it was an astonishing coincidence. Or perhaps
some lone thief just needed some comfort food after a really bad breakup.
Hi, I’m Erin McCarthy, editor-in-chief of MentalFloss.com, and welcome to The List Show.
Not all heists are designed to spike your blood sugar. From infamous art thefts to a
string of high-dollar cheese robberies, we're highlighting all sorts of off-the-wall historical
heists. Let's get started.
Jesse James is one of the most notorious criminals in American history. And though he was never
officially linked to the crime, it’s believed that James—or at least members of his gang—perpetrated
what’s believed to be the country’s first-ever documented peace-time daylight bank robbery
on February 13, 1866, at the Clay County Savings Association in Liberty, Missouri. That day,
a group of 10-13 men dressed as Union officials held the bank up for $60,000 in bonds, cash,
and gold. The illicit operation had all the trappings of an old-timey stick-up, complete
with petrified tellers and wheat sacks full of money. If James was involved, it would
have been the first of an estimated 19 robberies he took part in.
In the years after the Civil War, the U.S.’s expanding train system brought heists to the
rails, and James again was an early adopter, staging one of his most infamous train robberies
on July 21, 1873, outside of Adair [ah-DARE], Iowa. Though the robbery made headlines and
added to the famed criminal’s mystique, the actual haul was far less than the crew
had hoped. The $75,000 worth of gold bullion they were after wound up on another train,
forcing the gang to settle for just $2000 in a safe and $1000 from the passengers themselves.
There was another criminal out there who was even more prolific than James -- but chances
are, you’ve never heard of him. His name was George Leslie, an architect-turned-criminal.
Police estimated his gang was responsible for 80 percent of the bank robberies in the
US from 1869 to 1878. His jobs included a $786,000 heist from Ocean National Bank in
1869 and a $1.6 million haul from Northampton Bank in Massachusetts in 1876. Those would
pale in comparison to the famous robbery of the Manhattan Savings Institution in October
1878. This was a crime that Leslie planned for more than three years, meticulously studying
the building and drawing his own blueprints to ensure a foolproof plan. Unfortunately,
he wouldn’t be around to pull it off. Though never confirmed, it’s believed Leslie was
killed before the robbery by one of his own men, Tom Draper, after the man discovered
Leslie was having an affair with his wife. Even with the brains of the operation dead,
the crime went off without a hitch, and the robbers made off with around $2.7 million—a
record at the time.
Banks and trains are typical heist targets—but hotels can be just as attractive for thieves.
On January 2, 1972, a team including professional crooks Bobby Comfort and Sammy Nalo —disguised
with fake beards and glasses—took the staff of The Pierre Hotel in Manhattan hostage and
rifled through the building’s safe deposit boxes, making off with around $3 million worth
of stolen jewelry and cash. It wasn’t all bad news for the hotel workers—as the thieves
departed, they gave each of the hostages $20, which was apparently enough hush money for
those on Pierre’s payroll.
Outlaws and mobsters may get the celebrity treatment in America, but heists have been
going down all over the globe for centuries. In 1473, the first known art heist occurred
when pirates seized Hans Memling’s “The Last Judgment” as it was traveling from
Belgium to Florence. Today, the triptych still resides in Gdansk, Poland, much to Italy’s
chagrin.
One of the biggest heists in European history came in May of 1855, when thieves made off
with 200 pounds of gold that was headed for Paris. Based on gold’s value at the time,
but adjusting the dollar amount for inflation, that’s equivalent to a roughly $1.5 million
score. The crooks avoided suspicion by swapping the gold in the safes for lead. Eventually,
though, the crew was betrayed by one of their own, a man named Edward Agar. After he was
arrested for an unrelated crime, Agar told a woman named Fanny Kay that she and her child
would be well taken care of, but then, it seems, one of the co-conspirators from the
robbery took the money for himself. Kay and Agar went on to inform authorities what had
happened.
European heists only got more brazen in the 20th century, and one of the most fascinating
has to be the Baker Street Robbery from September 1971. A four-man gang lifted 268 safety deposit
boxes at Lloyds Bank in London, worth around $9 million today. You don’t get a haul like
this by walking through the bank’s front door—this robbery was the result of a unique
inside job. In the weeks leading up to the crime, the gang rented a leather shop located
two doors down from the bank. Then, over the course of three weekends, they tunneled from
the store to the underbelly of the bank vault and blew their way through the floor. Numerous
conspiracy theories continue to muddy the details of this heist—including one that
claims the thieves were actually hired by the UK’s MI5 to retrieve scandalous photos
of Princess Margaret that were hidden in one of the safe-deposit boxes.
France is no stranger to the occasional ostentatious crime, either. In December 2008, a group of
gunmen raided the Harry Winston jewelry store in Paris, making off with $90 million worth
of jewels. The kicker here is that some of the men pulled off the entire heist while
decked out in women’s wigs and high heels, with one of them waving around the ultimate
fashion accessory statement piece—a hand grenade. In 2011, $20 million worth of the
jewels were found in a drain in a Paris suburb, and in 2015, eight men involved in this theft
and an earlier Harry Winston robbery were convicted.
In April 2015, London was again the site of a heist for the history books—this time,
the target was the Hatton Garden Safe Deposit Company, where an estimated £13.7 million
pounds—or around $21 million—in cash and jewels was looted, making it “the largest
burglary in English legal history,” according to the court. But this was no group of young,
savvy crooks—most of the men were career criminals well into their 60s and 70s. The
ringleader was then-76-year-old Brian Reader—who, while it was never proven, was heavily rumored
to be part of the aforementioned Baker Street Robbery. I would definitely watch a biopic
where Brian Cox plays Reader, in case Hollywood is listening. The man can impart gravitas
to the McDonald’s jingle, just imagine what he can do with a grizzled crook pulling off
one last job.
In 2018, thieves in Sweden smashed the displays of royal jewels at Strängnäs Cathedral,
west of Stockholm, in broad daylight. They got away with two crowns and a golden orb
that date back to Swedish monarchs Karl IX and Queen Kristina from the 17th century.
With their loot in hand, the crew made their way to a waiting speedboat and escaped. Kind
of a Miami Vice meets Scandinavia vibe. Luckily, this case had a happy ending: In February
2019, the jewels, valued at more than $7 million, were recovered…on top of a garbage can outside
of Stockholm.
Ok, so high heels and speedboats definitely make for strange heists, but that’s far
from the weirdest robbery the world has seen. In 2008, villagers from Komarovo, Russia,
stole a church. Like, a whole church. It was abandoned at the time, so the villagers decided
to take part in a unique side hustle by selling the house of worship to a businessman to the
tune of 1 ruble per brick. It doesn’t appear the plan involved rebuilding the entire church
in a new location, although that would make for a more fun story. Instead, it seems likely
that the bricks were to be reused for other building projects.
Stealing an entire church is the highest form of blasphemy for some—for others, this next
crime is nothing short of sacrilege. In 2016, Wisconsin was hit with three high-profile
cheese heists, ranging from $46,000 to $90,000 worth of stolen fromage. That $90,000 haul
was composed entirely of Parmesan, for the record. No matter how you slice it, that’s
a whole lot of cheddar. Or, you know…
Selling food on the black market doesn’t stop at back-alley cheese -- one of the most
decadent targets for culinary-minded criminals is truffles. In 2005, $100,000 worth of black
truffles were stolen from a warehouse in Provence, France, in the dead of night. It was a sophisticated
operation, and not just because their target was an ingredient that can be found in Michelin-starred
restaurants: the crooks traveled by rooftop, using rope ladders and night-vision goggles
to slink into the warehouse and access the refrigerator where the truffles were kept.
Food thieves are definitely thinking outside the box, but there was an even more audacious
theft in August 2018. This one involved more than $40,000 worth of insects and lizards
that were taken from the Philadelphia Insectarium and Butterfly Pavilion. It’s estimated that
7000 animals were taken in the robbery, including warty glowspot roaches, tarantulas, and leopard
geckos, all of which were likely heading to the resale market. When police arrived at
the scene, electric-blue staff uniforms were found hanging from a wall, held in place by
knives. This rather strange piece of evidence signaled to police that the theft may have
been an inside job.
Bees can command quite a bit of criminal attention, too. In January 2017, hundreds of hives were
stolen from a beekeeper just north of Sacramento, California. This is an area flush with almond
trees which need to be pollinated, and anyone with a whole bunch of bees can charge top
dollar for that service. Eventually, this case led police to a suspect named Pavel Tveretinov,
who was in possession of 2500 allegedly stolen hives taken from throughout the area, worth
an estimated $875,000.
Then, there was the great Beanie Baby heist of the ‘90s. Well, one of the great Beanie
Baby heists, anyway. The colorful stuffed animals were the subject of countless robberies
over the years, as people began believing rumors that they could pay off their student
loans by selling them on the second-hand market. And in 1997, 77-year-old Ben Perri of Glendale
Heights, Illinois, thought he had struck plush gold...until he was caught with 1247 Beanies
that were thought to be part of a lot of 60,000 that went missing from manufacturer Ty’s
warehouse. The haul was estimated at $300,000, but when Perri went to court, he was found
not guilty—there was no proof that he knowingly possessed stolen property, and for his part,
he claimed he bought them all at a flea market. Don’t forget to subscribe to Mental Floss
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