1 00:00:00,480 --> 00:00:02,720 Speaker 1: Ridiculous Crime is a production of iHeartRadio. 2 00:00:03,560 --> 00:00:05,880 Speaker 2: Hey, Saren, what's up, Elizabeth? 3 00:00:06,440 --> 00:00:06,760 Speaker 3: Are you? 4 00:00:07,120 --> 00:00:07,960 Speaker 2: I'm doing pretty good? 5 00:00:08,119 --> 00:00:08,440 Speaker 3: Good. 6 00:00:08,560 --> 00:00:10,360 Speaker 2: Yeah, I've been wearing all your hoodies? 7 00:00:10,520 --> 00:00:10,840 Speaker 4: Have you? 8 00:00:11,000 --> 00:00:11,920 Speaker 3: Is that where they all went? 9 00:00:12,039 --> 00:00:14,800 Speaker 2: Totally? Have been a really fun week. People are like, dude, 10 00:00:14,840 --> 00:00:17,040 Speaker 2: you've been dressing a lot better this week. And I'm like, 11 00:00:17,160 --> 00:00:19,400 Speaker 2: I know, it's not always the same two hoodies. 12 00:00:20,440 --> 00:00:20,960 Speaker 3: Interesting. 13 00:00:21,079 --> 00:00:23,439 Speaker 2: Yeah, they're like, is that a good Dard quote? 14 00:00:23,480 --> 00:00:26,000 Speaker 3: I was like, no, no, it's that's so you're the 15 00:00:26,040 --> 00:00:28,240 Speaker 3: one who's been breaking in and stealing all my stuff? 16 00:00:28,800 --> 00:00:29,639 Speaker 2: Cool this week? 17 00:00:30,480 --> 00:00:30,840 Speaker 3: Cool? 18 00:00:31,960 --> 00:00:36,080 Speaker 2: You know, it's ridiculous, I do, Elizabeth. Imagine this. Okay, 19 00:00:36,440 --> 00:00:39,120 Speaker 2: in a place called Ashland County, which I think is 20 00:00:39,159 --> 00:00:41,839 Speaker 2: in Virginia. I'm pretty sure it's in Virginia, there was 21 00:00:41,880 --> 00:00:45,600 Speaker 2: this bandit, this mask bandit, who broke in to a 22 00:00:45,680 --> 00:00:48,600 Speaker 2: liquor store and ABC store and that's what it's called 23 00:00:48,640 --> 00:00:51,280 Speaker 2: by brand name ABC, and they drank up a bunch 24 00:00:51,320 --> 00:00:54,200 Speaker 2: of bourbon, you know, and then they passed out drunk 25 00:00:54,240 --> 00:00:55,240 Speaker 2: on the bathroom floor. 26 00:00:55,560 --> 00:00:56,040 Speaker 3: Okay. 27 00:00:56,320 --> 00:00:59,840 Speaker 2: The great part was that the mask bandit was a raccoon. 28 00:01:00,600 --> 00:01:05,600 Speaker 2: Wait what Yeah, So the Hanover County Animal Protection they 29 00:01:05,640 --> 00:01:08,760 Speaker 2: found a raccoon passed out in the toilet of the 30 00:01:08,840 --> 00:01:12,320 Speaker 2: ABC starter. They broke like numerous bottles of bourbon drank 31 00:01:12,400 --> 00:01:14,040 Speaker 2: up like I'm assuming licked it up. I don't think 32 00:01:14,040 --> 00:01:17,440 Speaker 2: they're taking slugs out of the bottle, but maybe anyway, 33 00:01:17,480 --> 00:01:20,120 Speaker 2: the trash panda was just trashed on the floor of 34 00:01:20,200 --> 00:01:23,120 Speaker 2: the bathroom and then quote, after a few hours of 35 00:01:23,120 --> 00:01:25,480 Speaker 2: sleep and zero signs of injury other than maybe a 36 00:01:25,560 --> 00:01:28,800 Speaker 2: hangover and poor life choices, he was safely released back 37 00:01:28,840 --> 00:01:33,120 Speaker 2: to the wild. That's from animal transport or animal protection rather. 38 00:01:34,000 --> 00:01:35,880 Speaker 2: So there you go. I thought that was pretty good that, 39 00:01:35,959 --> 00:01:38,560 Speaker 2: you know, it's ridiculous. You'd never expect, you know, to 40 00:01:38,600 --> 00:01:40,280 Speaker 2: hear about a mass bandit and it's a. 41 00:01:40,280 --> 00:01:43,280 Speaker 3: Raccoon and it's you got me there right there you go. 42 00:01:43,520 --> 00:01:46,040 Speaker 3: It's ridiculous. Do you want to know what else is ridiculous? 43 00:01:46,440 --> 00:01:46,880 Speaker 2: Please? 44 00:01:47,200 --> 00:01:51,080 Speaker 3: Being the Napoleon of crime, can you do that? 45 00:01:51,240 --> 00:01:51,440 Speaker 4: Yes? 46 00:01:51,480 --> 00:02:15,400 Speaker 3: You can. This is Ridiculous Crime, a podcast about absurd 47 00:02:15,480 --> 00:02:19,880 Speaker 3: and outrageous capers, heists, and cons. It's always ninety nine 48 00:02:19,919 --> 00:02:23,040 Speaker 3: percent murder free and one hundred percent ridiculous. 49 00:02:23,440 --> 00:02:25,359 Speaker 2: Ah, you damn right. 50 00:02:27,360 --> 00:02:30,119 Speaker 3: We love a non violent criminal, don't we, Folks? 51 00:02:30,200 --> 00:02:31,560 Speaker 2: We do, Oh, we do. 52 00:02:31,800 --> 00:02:34,200 Speaker 3: And we love a cast of characters, right. 53 00:02:34,120 --> 00:02:37,120 Speaker 2: Gang, you say a cat of characters, oh cast, yes, 54 00:02:37,200 --> 00:02:37,600 Speaker 2: them too. 55 00:02:38,200 --> 00:02:40,440 Speaker 3: Hold on to your support, host, Zaren, I have a 56 00:02:40,600 --> 00:02:41,600 Speaker 3: hum dinger for you. 57 00:02:41,800 --> 00:02:42,960 Speaker 2: Oh I'm going to pull them up. 58 00:02:43,040 --> 00:02:43,280 Speaker 4: Yeah. 59 00:02:43,320 --> 00:02:47,160 Speaker 3: So this guy, right, his exploits take place at such 60 00:02:47,200 --> 00:02:50,480 Speaker 3: an interesting time in history, especially from a crime perspective. 61 00:02:51,480 --> 00:02:55,480 Speaker 3: So let's dig into this ridiculous Schmorgesborg. 62 00:02:55,800 --> 00:02:56,040 Speaker 4: You do. 63 00:02:56,120 --> 00:02:57,840 Speaker 3: I want to tell you about Adam Worth. 64 00:02:58,080 --> 00:02:58,360 Speaker 2: Okay. 65 00:02:58,680 --> 00:03:02,240 Speaker 3: He was born in eighteen forty four in Prussia into 66 00:03:02,600 --> 00:03:06,160 Speaker 3: a German Jewish family whose exact town of origin we 67 00:03:06,280 --> 00:03:06,800 Speaker 3: do not know. 68 00:03:07,280 --> 00:03:09,240 Speaker 2: It probably has, like you know, changed over time. 69 00:03:09,320 --> 00:03:10,720 Speaker 3: He's building a missigees. 70 00:03:10,360 --> 00:03:12,160 Speaker 2: In the Prussian Empire, right, So yeah. 71 00:03:12,000 --> 00:03:16,080 Speaker 3: I mean we all know immigration records from that era incomplete. 72 00:03:15,480 --> 00:03:18,480 Speaker 2: Totally lost. So why I tell people count Laslow There. 73 00:03:18,320 --> 00:03:20,520 Speaker 3: It is and they believe you as well they should. 74 00:03:21,120 --> 00:03:24,000 Speaker 3: His parents immigrated to the US when he was really young, 75 00:03:24,040 --> 00:03:28,000 Speaker 3: and they settled in Cambridge, Massachusetts. His father was a tailor, 76 00:03:28,560 --> 00:03:32,720 Speaker 3: a hard working family. Adam was like this quiet, intelligent, 77 00:03:32,919 --> 00:03:37,640 Speaker 3: introverted child, didn't cause trouble, did well in school. He 78 00:03:37,760 --> 00:03:41,640 Speaker 3: was something of like a math and logistics whiz ah yeah. 79 00:03:41,520 --> 00:03:43,360 Speaker 2: And Cambridge just like Mit and Harvard. 80 00:03:43,360 --> 00:03:47,000 Speaker 3: I right, yeah, yeah exactly, And so you know all 81 00:03:47,080 --> 00:03:49,680 Speaker 3: of these things they would come in handy later in life. Okay, 82 00:03:49,800 --> 00:03:52,360 Speaker 3: in his teens he worked in a dry goods store. 83 00:03:52,920 --> 00:03:55,800 Speaker 3: He was like, did clerical work. He was a good boy. 84 00:03:55,960 --> 00:03:57,920 Speaker 3: Sounds like he didn't break the law, didn't hang with 85 00:03:57,960 --> 00:04:01,640 Speaker 3: the wrong crowd. Remember when you recently told me about 86 00:04:01,720 --> 00:04:03,360 Speaker 3: that original bank robber. 87 00:04:03,080 --> 00:04:05,040 Speaker 2: Guy, yeah, George Leon Leslie. 88 00:04:05,120 --> 00:04:08,720 Speaker 3: Yes. And how the Civil War impacted crime in the 89 00:04:08,840 --> 00:04:11,720 Speaker 3: US vastly. Yes, well we're about to see that again. 90 00:04:11,880 --> 00:04:12,480 Speaker 2: I love that. 91 00:04:12,880 --> 00:04:16,080 Speaker 3: I know you do. So when the Civil War broke 92 00:04:16,120 --> 00:04:18,039 Speaker 3: out in eighteen sixty one, you. 93 00:04:18,040 --> 00:04:19,440 Speaker 2: Know I loved nineteenth century crime. 94 00:04:19,480 --> 00:04:24,200 Speaker 3: Waste Worth was seventeen. He enlisted in the Union Army 95 00:04:24,320 --> 00:04:27,400 Speaker 3: by lying about his age. Okay, it's not clear, like 96 00:04:27,600 --> 00:04:30,400 Speaker 3: why he was so like chomping at the bit to 97 00:04:30,400 --> 00:04:31,920 Speaker 3: get out there patriotism? 98 00:04:32,200 --> 00:04:32,440 Speaker 4: Was it? 99 00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:35,480 Speaker 3: Teenage? Bravado? Restlessness? Who knows? 100 00:04:35,600 --> 00:04:38,400 Speaker 2: My grandfather lied about his age. She joined the navy 101 00:04:38,520 --> 00:04:40,760 Speaker 2: and to get out of Iowa. So it happened. He 102 00:04:40,800 --> 00:04:43,719 Speaker 2: said he was seventeen when he's actually sixteen. Oh, interact, 103 00:04:43,800 --> 00:04:44,080 Speaker 2: then you. 104 00:04:44,000 --> 00:04:47,840 Speaker 3: Can get into. Who knows, maybe he just wanted to 105 00:04:47,839 --> 00:04:51,120 Speaker 3: get out out of Massachusetts. What we do know is 106 00:04:51,160 --> 00:04:54,640 Speaker 3: that army life was not for him. Yeah, yeah, he deserted, 107 00:04:54,960 --> 00:04:57,520 Speaker 3: good for him. Then he re enlisted under an alias 108 00:04:57,560 --> 00:04:59,480 Speaker 3: no even better, and then he deserted again. 109 00:04:59,600 --> 00:05:00,440 Speaker 2: I love it, I know. 110 00:05:00,839 --> 00:05:03,800 Speaker 3: So desertion was common in like the early years of 111 00:05:03,800 --> 00:05:08,320 Speaker 3: the war. Everything super chaotic, like the training supplies, leadership, 112 00:05:08,320 --> 00:05:09,680 Speaker 3: like there's it's all over the place, and. 113 00:05:09,600 --> 00:05:11,359 Speaker 2: There were plenty of woods to run into. 114 00:05:11,600 --> 00:05:13,560 Speaker 3: Oh it is so easy. And there were so many 115 00:05:13,640 --> 00:05:16,880 Speaker 3: who were like conscripted, who had zero interest in being there. 116 00:05:16,720 --> 00:05:18,160 Speaker 2: And they realized it sucked when they got there, Like 117 00:05:18,200 --> 00:05:20,240 Speaker 2: I got a couple of hot meals, and how I 118 00:05:20,240 --> 00:05:20,680 Speaker 2: realized I. 119 00:05:20,680 --> 00:05:24,919 Speaker 3: Had two dirt farmer ancestors in Alabama and they certainly 120 00:05:24,960 --> 00:05:27,640 Speaker 3: could not afford the men of the house, leaving a 121 00:05:27,680 --> 00:05:29,680 Speaker 3: mom and a grandma and like a grip of kids 122 00:05:30,279 --> 00:05:32,640 Speaker 3: to like scrape out a living in the middle of nowhere. 123 00:05:33,040 --> 00:05:35,640 Speaker 3: So one of the men deserted and came home to 124 00:05:35,880 --> 00:05:38,360 Speaker 3: keep the family fed. The other one came home missing 125 00:05:38,400 --> 00:05:42,880 Speaker 3: a leg, lost cause indeed, So back to Worth August 126 00:05:42,920 --> 00:05:47,520 Speaker 3: eighteen sixty two. So Worth, he when he re enlisted 127 00:05:48,160 --> 00:05:51,680 Speaker 3: after desertion. The first time he used an alias. So 128 00:05:51,760 --> 00:05:54,080 Speaker 3: he's serving under this alias. 129 00:05:54,000 --> 00:05:56,320 Speaker 2: And he's not flipping sides, he's just serving, just. 130 00:05:56,520 --> 00:06:02,839 Speaker 3: Going yeah Ni precisely, So he's serving under an alias. 131 00:06:02,839 --> 00:06:06,479 Speaker 3: At the time, he was mistakenly listed as killed in 132 00:06:06,600 --> 00:06:09,240 Speaker 3: action at the Second Battle of bull Run. Oh. 133 00:06:09,279 --> 00:06:10,960 Speaker 2: I love that. I report on that one. 134 00:06:11,360 --> 00:06:13,440 Speaker 3: I don't know if it was like a clerical error 135 00:06:13,560 --> 00:06:17,239 Speaker 3: or if like someone misidentified him in the field of battle. 136 00:06:17,640 --> 00:06:21,520 Speaker 3: Either way, this gave him an idea anassis. If he 137 00:06:21,600 --> 00:06:25,280 Speaker 3: was already quote dead according to the US government, then 138 00:06:25,279 --> 00:06:28,599 Speaker 3: he figured he had like basically been given a blank slate, 139 00:06:29,360 --> 00:06:32,359 Speaker 3: and so he could reinvent himself. They had no legal 140 00:06:32,360 --> 00:06:36,680 Speaker 3: accountability for desertion, totally couldn't draft him. I love him, 141 00:06:36,720 --> 00:06:39,520 Speaker 3: So he seized the opportunity. He's now a dead man. 142 00:06:40,120 --> 00:06:43,279 Speaker 3: So he heads for the Northeast, where, like the cities 143 00:06:43,279 --> 00:06:47,280 Speaker 3: there rapidly changing, things are getting exciting. He dives right 144 00:06:47,320 --> 00:06:51,640 Speaker 3: in New York in the mid eighteen sixties. It's full 145 00:06:51,680 --> 00:06:58,160 Speaker 3: of new immigrants, corrupt politicians, massive wealth disparity, yes, yes, 146 00:06:58,320 --> 00:07:01,440 Speaker 3: and so crime is just flourishing in areas like the 147 00:07:01,480 --> 00:07:02,560 Speaker 3: Fourth Ward and the. 148 00:07:02,520 --> 00:07:04,360 Speaker 2: Bowery little five points. 149 00:07:04,200 --> 00:07:07,040 Speaker 3: Little five points gangs of New York era, so they're 150 00:07:07,080 --> 00:07:11,800 Speaker 3: like pickpocket gangs, river thieves, burglars, fences, everything's operating out 151 00:07:11,800 --> 00:07:16,520 Speaker 3: in the open. Yes, young Adam Worth he found himself 152 00:07:16,640 --> 00:07:22,480 Speaker 3: drawn into increasingly sophisticated criminal circles. So he starts out 153 00:07:22,520 --> 00:07:26,080 Speaker 3: in like the pickpocket gangs, and then he keeps working 154 00:07:26,080 --> 00:07:28,640 Speaker 3: his way up. One of the most important figures in 155 00:07:28,720 --> 00:07:32,880 Speaker 3: his early criminal development was Fredrika Marm Mandelbomb. 156 00:07:33,040 --> 00:07:35,920 Speaker 2: Oh, yes, we've we kind of touched on her. Should 157 00:07:35,920 --> 00:07:36,320 Speaker 2: do a story. 158 00:07:36,520 --> 00:07:39,160 Speaker 3: Well, that's I'm thinking she totally needs her own episode. 159 00:07:39,760 --> 00:07:41,960 Speaker 3: She was like his own family. She was a German 160 00:07:42,040 --> 00:07:46,440 Speaker 3: Jewish immigrant, but where his family was honest and law abiding. 161 00:07:47,120 --> 00:07:51,120 Speaker 3: Marm ran the largest and most profitable fencing operation in 162 00:07:51,160 --> 00:07:56,720 Speaker 3: the country, and she supplied tools to burglars. She financed 163 00:07:56,840 --> 00:08:01,440 Speaker 3: really big jobs, and she bought stolen go like at scale. 164 00:08:02,120 --> 00:08:05,400 Speaker 3: So she's this shrewd judge of talent too, and she 165 00:08:05,560 --> 00:08:08,840 Speaker 3: really quickly she saw Adam Worth, and she's like, guys, smart, 166 00:08:09,560 --> 00:08:13,360 Speaker 3: super pleasant to be around, and he stays so calm 167 00:08:13,440 --> 00:08:14,160 Speaker 3: under pressure. 168 00:08:14,320 --> 00:08:15,360 Speaker 2: That's super valuable. 169 00:08:15,480 --> 00:08:18,880 Speaker 3: Huge, So she's like he's also he's not a brawler, 170 00:08:19,000 --> 00:08:23,720 Speaker 3: he's not a drinker. Can recommend him soft spoken, he's calculating. 171 00:08:23,800 --> 00:08:28,160 Speaker 3: He's like super methodical, logistical minded. Huh. So she starts 172 00:08:28,160 --> 00:08:32,320 Speaker 3: giving him responsibilities that she usually wouldn't entrust to newcomers. 173 00:08:32,960 --> 00:08:36,760 Speaker 3: She's got him planning robberies, supervising crews. You know, again 174 00:08:36,840 --> 00:08:40,000 Speaker 3: with the logistic stuff. And because he had all this 175 00:08:40,240 --> 00:08:44,640 Speaker 3: math and organizational skills, you combine that in. He also 176 00:08:44,679 --> 00:08:48,480 Speaker 3: had an ability to like assume different identities. Really yeah, 177 00:08:48,480 --> 00:08:51,839 Speaker 3: it was really easy for him. So he becomes invaluable 178 00:08:51,960 --> 00:08:55,560 Speaker 3: to marm I bet So. His most important early partnership 179 00:08:56,400 --> 00:09:03,640 Speaker 3: was with Charles Piano Charlie Bullard, So Pianolie, Piano Charlie. 180 00:09:04,240 --> 00:09:06,440 Speaker 3: They like, he's believed to have been born in the 181 00:09:06,480 --> 00:09:10,240 Speaker 3: eighteen forties, maybe in New York State, maybe in Ohio. 182 00:09:10,840 --> 00:09:13,600 Speaker 3: Like he didn't tell anyone the truth. He was suave, 183 00:09:13,760 --> 00:09:18,640 Speaker 3: he was charismatic. He was also a musically talented safe cracker. 184 00:09:19,400 --> 00:09:23,640 Speaker 3: Oh yeah, interesting, well it really was. He was musically gifted. 185 00:09:23,760 --> 00:09:26,679 Speaker 3: He played the piano in saloons, in boarding houses. That's 186 00:09:26,720 --> 00:09:30,000 Speaker 3: the name Piano Charlie, sometimes as like a legit job, 187 00:09:30,080 --> 00:09:33,840 Speaker 3: sometimes as a cover to scout potential targets, and so 188 00:09:34,040 --> 00:09:37,640 Speaker 3: he was this expert with lock picks and explosives. So 189 00:09:37,679 --> 00:09:42,240 Speaker 3: you combine that with worse skills in planning, timing, evasion, 190 00:09:42,520 --> 00:09:47,200 Speaker 3: these two are unstoppable. And there were stumbles along the way. 191 00:09:47,400 --> 00:09:50,079 Speaker 3: Charlie got busted and locked up for stealing one hundred 192 00:09:50,080 --> 00:09:53,840 Speaker 3: thousand dollars worth of stuff from the Hudson River Railway Express. 193 00:09:54,760 --> 00:09:59,760 Speaker 3: Marm Mandelbaum needed her safe cracker out of the clink. Folks. 194 00:10:00,040 --> 00:10:02,680 Speaker 3: We got ourselves a good old fashioned jail break. Yes, 195 00:10:03,000 --> 00:10:05,440 Speaker 3: So Marm rents an office across the street from the 196 00:10:05,440 --> 00:10:09,360 Speaker 3: prison where Charlie's being held. She bribes some guards. They 197 00:10:09,440 --> 00:10:11,800 Speaker 3: keep things quiet, and when the time is right, they 198 00:10:11,840 --> 00:10:14,720 Speaker 3: helped kick off a riot. And it was then that 199 00:10:14,880 --> 00:10:18,520 Speaker 3: Worth coordinated a crew to tunnel into Bullard's cell. 200 00:10:19,520 --> 00:10:23,280 Speaker 2: Wow, so she's doing basically setting up what you do 201 00:10:23,360 --> 00:10:26,120 Speaker 2: for a bank robbery, but to get out her piano Charlie. 202 00:10:26,200 --> 00:10:29,760 Speaker 3: Right, But people weren't doing tunneling bank robbery, Yes, exactly, 203 00:10:30,240 --> 00:10:32,680 Speaker 3: But the technique worked, and so they're like, you know what, 204 00:10:32,760 --> 00:10:36,200 Speaker 3: let's run with this. And then that happened. The running 205 00:10:36,200 --> 00:10:39,240 Speaker 3: with it happened that Boyleston National bank in Boston in 206 00:10:39,280 --> 00:10:43,000 Speaker 3: eighteen sixty nine. So the Boyleston National Bank robbery is 207 00:10:43,040 --> 00:10:47,560 Speaker 3: thought by like some historians, as one of the earliest major, professional, 208 00:10:47,760 --> 00:10:52,480 Speaker 3: highly planned, technically sophisticated bank burglaries in the US during 209 00:10:52,520 --> 00:10:55,880 Speaker 3: the post Civil War period, right up there with your guide, 210 00:10:55,960 --> 00:10:59,960 Speaker 3: George Leonidis Leslie. So the robbery was significant for two reasons. 211 00:11:00,200 --> 00:11:02,360 Speaker 3: It marked one of the first times that a crew 212 00:11:02,400 --> 00:11:06,440 Speaker 3: tunneled into a bank, and it also it was what 213 00:11:06,520 --> 00:11:10,079 Speaker 3: put Adam Worth on the radar of the Pinkerton Agency. 214 00:11:10,320 --> 00:11:14,160 Speaker 3: Oh yeah, so this is no, this is a critical 215 00:11:14,160 --> 00:11:18,520 Speaker 3: event in the evolution of organized burglary totally by eighteen 216 00:11:18,600 --> 00:11:22,560 Speaker 3: sixty nine. So banks they're like relying on heavy iron 217 00:11:22,679 --> 00:11:27,280 Speaker 3: safes with combination locks, like pretty simple vault rooms. They've 218 00:11:27,320 --> 00:11:32,320 Speaker 3: got like a watchmen or two and then limited night patrols. Timelocks. 219 00:11:32,360 --> 00:11:33,560 Speaker 3: Safes weren't really a thing. 220 00:11:33,679 --> 00:11:36,400 Speaker 2: Yeah, Yale hasn't really reinvented the safe fault. 221 00:11:36,600 --> 00:11:40,520 Speaker 3: So skilled safe crackers what they call boxmen like Piano 222 00:11:40,640 --> 00:11:43,959 Speaker 3: Charlie could manipulate or like drill locks with enough time 223 00:11:44,800 --> 00:11:48,199 Speaker 3: and quiet. All right, now, let's talk about Boston, right 224 00:11:48,360 --> 00:11:52,400 Speaker 3: recovering from like all this wartime economic turbulence and things 225 00:11:52,440 --> 00:11:56,760 Speaker 3: are in an upswing. So the banks brimming with merchant money, 226 00:11:56,800 --> 00:11:59,559 Speaker 3: trade receipts, railroad financing. 227 00:12:00,080 --> 00:12:02,560 Speaker 2: Right, of course you're getting seen all that come into play, 228 00:12:02,640 --> 00:12:03,920 Speaker 2: all the big railroad trust. 229 00:12:04,000 --> 00:12:08,719 Speaker 3: Yeah, there's gold, negotiable bonds, like lots of loot, loose security. 230 00:12:08,880 --> 00:12:13,240 Speaker 3: Perfect combination for Worth and piano Charlie. So just like 231 00:12:13,440 --> 00:12:15,800 Speaker 3: if the jail break, they rented a room next to 232 00:12:15,880 --> 00:12:19,960 Speaker 3: Boylston Bank. First things first, Worth watched the guards and 233 00:12:19,960 --> 00:12:23,400 Speaker 3: got a sense of their schedules. He tracked and analyzed 234 00:12:23,400 --> 00:12:26,440 Speaker 3: the access that bank employees had to the vault. And 235 00:12:26,440 --> 00:12:28,520 Speaker 3: then speaking of the vault, he mapped the layout. He 236 00:12:28,600 --> 00:12:32,160 Speaker 3: knew every inch of the place, so he established the 237 00:12:32,200 --> 00:12:35,120 Speaker 3: timing that would work best. And then they started tunneling 238 00:12:35,160 --> 00:12:38,160 Speaker 3: through that shared wall. Remember no one had really done 239 00:12:38,200 --> 00:12:39,120 Speaker 3: this before. 240 00:12:39,600 --> 00:12:40,760 Speaker 2: Territories brilliant. 241 00:12:40,840 --> 00:12:43,280 Speaker 3: They worked late at nights so people wouldn't hear them, 242 00:12:43,640 --> 00:12:47,720 Speaker 3: and then they put up special drapes to keep the 243 00:12:47,720 --> 00:12:49,839 Speaker 3: the dust controlled so I wasn't showing out. 244 00:12:49,880 --> 00:12:51,679 Speaker 2: And also you got like cops are walking around, so 245 00:12:51,720 --> 00:12:53,959 Speaker 2: you need kind of like a screen to hide bar 246 00:12:54,040 --> 00:12:54,640 Speaker 2: work from them. 247 00:12:54,800 --> 00:12:58,600 Speaker 3: Exactly. So once in piano Charlie got to work, so 248 00:12:58,679 --> 00:13:02,200 Speaker 3: he manipulated the tumble by sound and feel. They didn't 249 00:13:02,240 --> 00:13:04,400 Speaker 3: have to blast their way in. It was clean, it 250 00:13:04,440 --> 00:13:08,400 Speaker 3: was elegant, and this was a hallmark of the new 251 00:13:08,520 --> 00:13:12,080 Speaker 3: gentleman burglar style that was emerging in American cities, George 252 00:13:12,160 --> 00:13:15,680 Speaker 3: Leslie's style. So worth in Piano Charlie. They cleaned the 253 00:13:15,720 --> 00:13:18,960 Speaker 3: place out. It's said that they came away with somewhere 254 00:13:19,000 --> 00:13:22,200 Speaker 3: between one hundred thousand two hundred thousand dollars damn, which 255 00:13:22,240 --> 00:13:25,120 Speaker 3: today is two point four million to four point eight million. 256 00:13:25,679 --> 00:13:28,800 Speaker 3: That's insane, that's an incredible amount of guys. Two guys. 257 00:13:28,880 --> 00:13:31,360 Speaker 2: I would quitt done. 258 00:13:32,679 --> 00:13:38,640 Speaker 3: Exactly Ruba, Jamaica. So they got cash, negotiable securities, bonds, gold, 259 00:13:38,760 --> 00:13:42,160 Speaker 3: certificates of deposit. It's a perfect haul because it's easy 260 00:13:42,200 --> 00:13:47,559 Speaker 3: to transport, difficult to trace. Boston police stunned. This didn't 261 00:13:47,600 --> 00:13:50,040 Speaker 3: look like any of the robberies, any of the local 262 00:13:50,080 --> 00:13:53,760 Speaker 3: gangs don't pull off too clean. They're like, you know what, 263 00:13:54,080 --> 00:13:56,320 Speaker 3: whoever did this had to be from New York City, 264 00:13:56,760 --> 00:14:01,559 Speaker 3: Like New York City, so they called in the Pinkertons, 265 00:14:01,840 --> 00:14:06,360 Speaker 3: and the Pinkerton Agency soon linked the job to piano, 266 00:14:06,520 --> 00:14:09,719 Speaker 3: Charlie and Worth. They couldn't prove it, but they're like, oh, 267 00:14:12,000 --> 00:14:14,400 Speaker 3: and at this time the stories all over the papers, 268 00:14:14,480 --> 00:14:16,600 Speaker 3: the press are loving it. But then like there's no 269 00:14:16,720 --> 00:14:21,080 Speaker 3: real leads, interest tapers off. One thing the Pinkertons did 270 00:14:21,160 --> 00:14:25,720 Speaker 3: uncover was that Worth and Charlie had shipped some trunks 271 00:14:25,720 --> 00:14:29,200 Speaker 3: from Boston to New York. And that wasn't an actual lead, 272 00:14:29,280 --> 00:14:32,720 Speaker 3: but it sent up red flags for the Pinkertons. Marm 273 00:14:32,800 --> 00:14:35,240 Speaker 3: and Charlie and Worth. They knew the red flags were 274 00:14:35,280 --> 00:14:39,480 Speaker 3: bad for business always, So with the heat increasing, Worth 275 00:14:39,640 --> 00:14:43,000 Speaker 3: and Charlie headed to Europe. Marm had all these connections 276 00:14:43,040 --> 00:14:45,720 Speaker 3: there who could get the pair plugged in. Off they go. 277 00:14:45,800 --> 00:14:48,200 Speaker 3: They go to London, and this was the beginning of 278 00:14:48,280 --> 00:14:53,120 Speaker 3: Worth's evolution from like skilled thief to criminal mastermind. Totally 279 00:14:53,320 --> 00:14:55,800 Speaker 3: think about London in the early eighteen seventies. So it's 280 00:14:55,840 --> 00:14:59,280 Speaker 3: the largest city in the world, center of an empire, 281 00:15:00,000 --> 00:15:02,080 Speaker 3: and it was somewhere that a guy with like charm 282 00:15:02,240 --> 00:15:05,720 Speaker 3: and money and false papers could easily blend in with 283 00:15:05,760 --> 00:15:08,800 Speaker 3: the swells. So he was now going by the name 284 00:15:08,880 --> 00:15:13,200 Speaker 3: Henry Judson Raymond, and he was a respectable American businessman 285 00:15:13,800 --> 00:15:16,520 Speaker 3: he had the spoils of all his East Coast jobs, 286 00:15:16,800 --> 00:15:20,000 Speaker 3: so he bought himself nice suits, he rented a fancy flat. 287 00:15:20,120 --> 00:15:25,640 Speaker 3: He ingratiated himself with all the local American expats, and 288 00:15:25,680 --> 00:15:28,720 Speaker 3: then he starts assembling this crew of specialists from the 289 00:15:28,720 --> 00:15:32,600 Speaker 3: criminal underworld. Wow, let's take a break. When we come back, 290 00:15:32,640 --> 00:15:35,000 Speaker 3: I'm going to tell you about this new crime syndicate 291 00:15:35,120 --> 00:16:00,440 Speaker 3: Worth was building and where that took him. Zaren Elizabeth Zarnabeth. 292 00:16:00,560 --> 00:16:04,280 Speaker 3: When we left off, Adam Worth was living in London 293 00:16:04,320 --> 00:16:07,840 Speaker 3: as Henry Judson Raymond love that name. Yeah, he was 294 00:16:07,880 --> 00:16:11,040 Speaker 3: living the good life, setting up a new gang of thieves, 295 00:16:11,120 --> 00:16:11,680 Speaker 3: and he had. 296 00:16:11,520 --> 00:16:13,080 Speaker 2: A code and he was looking clean. 297 00:16:13,240 --> 00:16:14,320 Speaker 3: Oh, he's looking so clean. 298 00:16:14,400 --> 00:16:19,040 Speaker 2: He's he's got one of those little cigarette or like 299 00:16:19,040 --> 00:16:21,000 Speaker 2: a cigar tampers, like on the gold chain. 300 00:16:21,080 --> 00:16:24,280 Speaker 3: Like, oh, he's got everything. He's a fine dress man. 301 00:16:25,680 --> 00:16:31,280 Speaker 3: Worth believed violence was the enemy of a successful criminal enterprise. Ooh, 302 00:16:31,640 --> 00:16:36,280 Speaker 3: I like that. A violent crime always generated public panics 303 00:16:36,720 --> 00:16:39,680 Speaker 3: and that brought on police involvement. 304 00:16:39,160 --> 00:16:41,400 Speaker 2: Totally in anger and fear, all the things you don't want. 305 00:16:41,480 --> 00:16:43,960 Speaker 3: So he was like, you know, non violent crimes, but 306 00:16:44,160 --> 00:16:48,440 Speaker 3: especially ones discovered long afterward, could be quietly forgotten by 307 00:16:48,440 --> 00:16:51,640 Speaker 3: both police and the press, and. 308 00:16:51,600 --> 00:16:54,240 Speaker 2: So his he romanticized by the public. 309 00:16:54,520 --> 00:16:58,800 Speaker 3: Yeah, oh yeah. He forbade his crew from carrying weapons. 310 00:16:59,000 --> 00:17:02,400 Speaker 3: Smart can't do it, no enhancements for him. Well, and 311 00:17:02,480 --> 00:17:04,880 Speaker 3: anyone who violated the rule got kicked out. I don't 312 00:17:04,920 --> 00:17:08,080 Speaker 3: care how talented you are, how valuable you carry a weapon, 313 00:17:08,119 --> 00:17:11,040 Speaker 3: You're out of here. And so this contributed to like 314 00:17:11,080 --> 00:17:15,879 Speaker 3: this really unusually low arrest rate and almost complete absence 315 00:17:15,960 --> 00:17:19,760 Speaker 3: of public attention during his peak years of operations Uber Smart. 316 00:17:19,840 --> 00:17:22,560 Speaker 3: So just like back in the States, his operations were 317 00:17:22,600 --> 00:17:27,720 Speaker 3: built on extended surveillance, perfect timing, forged documents. He thought 318 00:17:27,800 --> 00:17:31,399 Speaker 3: of everything, all these like really specific secure escape routes, 319 00:17:31,880 --> 00:17:35,680 Speaker 3: solid contingency plans. He was a logistics. 320 00:17:35,160 --> 00:17:37,680 Speaker 2: Guy totally, and mathematical as hell. 321 00:17:37,840 --> 00:17:40,960 Speaker 3: Yeah, here's a rare criminal who thinks things all the 322 00:17:40,960 --> 00:17:43,720 Speaker 3: way through, you know, like we're always saying, is the problem? 323 00:17:44,240 --> 00:17:47,920 Speaker 3: So Victorian police described him as quote the most patient 324 00:17:48,000 --> 00:17:49,119 Speaker 3: burglar on record. 325 00:17:49,400 --> 00:17:52,160 Speaker 2: Hm, I like that somehow a compliment the way they put. 326 00:17:51,960 --> 00:17:57,119 Speaker 3: It, Yes, it was very much so. So his fencing 327 00:17:57,160 --> 00:18:02,720 Speaker 3: system was also revolutionary for the time. He didn't sell 328 00:18:02,840 --> 00:18:09,120 Speaker 3: stolen goods locally. He used multiple brokers across different countries. Yeah, 329 00:18:09,160 --> 00:18:13,080 Speaker 3: so a diamond stolen in London would go through like Antwerp, 330 00:18:13,320 --> 00:18:16,920 Speaker 3: Hamburg and New York before being sold in Cape Town. 331 00:18:17,440 --> 00:18:18,119 Speaker 2: It's South Africa. 332 00:18:18,160 --> 00:18:23,639 Speaker 3: Wow, So his like crazy process made police recovery nearly impossible. 333 00:18:23,720 --> 00:18:25,320 Speaker 2: Yeah, because they don't they don't know to be looking 334 00:18:25,359 --> 00:18:26,560 Speaker 2: for it, because they don't know what's stolen and it 335 00:18:26,760 --> 00:18:29,399 Speaker 2: was likely not in contact with the London PA. 336 00:18:29,480 --> 00:18:33,199 Speaker 3: Everything in the operation was unprecedented. So he treated his 337 00:18:33,280 --> 00:18:39,160 Speaker 3: associates with fairness and professionalism. He paid them promptly, He 338 00:18:39,280 --> 00:18:42,600 Speaker 3: financed their legal defense when they got arrested very smart, 339 00:18:42,720 --> 00:18:45,280 Speaker 3: protected their families if they went to prison. He's like 340 00:18:45,320 --> 00:18:47,800 Speaker 3: took care of that ultimately. And so we had like 341 00:18:47,840 --> 00:18:54,000 Speaker 3: this crazy loyalty that heah, it was so rare. So 342 00:18:54,800 --> 00:18:58,520 Speaker 3: he himself, he had a ton of aliases and passports. 343 00:18:58,960 --> 00:19:02,440 Speaker 3: He could pass as an American businessman, a German tourist, 344 00:19:02,560 --> 00:19:06,760 Speaker 3: a French trader, a British gentleman, because he mastered all 345 00:19:06,840 --> 00:19:11,080 Speaker 3: of these different languages. No, he was great with language. 346 00:19:11,680 --> 00:19:16,440 Speaker 3: He would also learn like the various elements of etiquette 347 00:19:16,720 --> 00:19:20,600 Speaker 3: for high society in all these places. Yeah, he was 348 00:19:20,680 --> 00:19:24,439 Speaker 3: so convincing, like in any social context, and so the 349 00:19:24,480 --> 00:19:28,679 Speaker 3: syndicate itself. Historians say that his London operations were like 350 00:19:28,760 --> 00:19:33,280 Speaker 3: the first modern criminal corporation, I'd say. And so he 351 00:19:33,400 --> 00:19:37,520 Speaker 3: had specialized crews for safe cracking, some that forged documents, 352 00:19:37,960 --> 00:19:42,000 Speaker 3: the jewelry, theft, surveillance, and he made sure to really 353 00:19:42,080 --> 00:19:46,480 Speaker 3: compartmentalize all the operations so that no single arrested member 354 00:19:46,480 --> 00:19:51,760 Speaker 3: could expose the entire operation structure super siloed. Yeah, and 355 00:19:51,800 --> 00:19:54,280 Speaker 3: he had all kinds of business fronts so he could do, 356 00:19:54,440 --> 00:19:59,320 Speaker 3: you know, launder everything shipping, import, export businesses of course. 357 00:20:00,080 --> 00:20:02,960 Speaker 3: And then there were the international associates, so he would 358 00:20:03,040 --> 00:20:05,800 Speaker 3: recruit people from like all the criminal hotspots at the time, 359 00:20:05,880 --> 00:20:08,760 Speaker 3: like Paris, Brussels, Hamburg, New York. 360 00:20:09,240 --> 00:20:13,919 Speaker 2: I hope that Hamburg made the list exactly, and like 361 00:20:14,000 --> 00:20:16,560 Speaker 2: his double life got more and more complex. 362 00:20:17,040 --> 00:20:20,879 Speaker 3: So he socialized in all of like London's elegant salons, 363 00:20:21,160 --> 00:20:23,320 Speaker 3: He went to the theater, he hated all the most 364 00:20:23,359 --> 00:20:27,640 Speaker 3: fashionable restaurants, and he had this reputation as this charming 365 00:20:27,720 --> 00:20:33,160 Speaker 3: cosmopolitan and he collected upper class acquaintances not just for 366 00:20:33,520 --> 00:20:38,879 Speaker 3: pleasure but for information. And so he had you know, 367 00:20:38,920 --> 00:20:42,800 Speaker 3: he's got these impeccable manners, this understated style. He's the 368 00:20:42,960 --> 00:20:45,440 Speaker 3: last person any of these people would think would be 369 00:20:45,480 --> 00:20:45,919 Speaker 3: a criminal. 370 00:20:46,040 --> 00:20:49,399 Speaker 2: Oh he's super culture. They're thinking he's like a landering count. 371 00:20:49,240 --> 00:20:51,840 Speaker 3: And he didn't. He didn't like flaunt his wealth. He 372 00:20:51,880 --> 00:20:54,840 Speaker 3: didn't associate with hard men. So yeah, of course they're 373 00:20:54,880 --> 00:20:56,639 Speaker 3: going to tell him things and never think that it 374 00:20:56,760 --> 00:20:58,520 Speaker 3: you know, Oh, it can be traced back to he's 375 00:20:58,560 --> 00:21:01,440 Speaker 3: the one who did something along the way. He got 376 00:21:01,440 --> 00:21:06,560 Speaker 3: married Louise Margaret Balduc. She was a frenchwoman, had no 377 00:21:06,680 --> 00:21:08,400 Speaker 3: knowledge of his criminal activities. 378 00:21:08,480 --> 00:21:11,280 Speaker 2: Really, not just saying that in court, but. 379 00:21:11,000 --> 00:21:13,800 Speaker 3: This truly did. And they wound up having two kids together. 380 00:21:13,880 --> 00:21:17,320 Speaker 3: He kept his whole family, the wife and kids, totally 381 00:21:17,359 --> 00:21:19,119 Speaker 3: shielded from his world of crime. 382 00:21:19,480 --> 00:21:20,000 Speaker 4: They had no. 383 00:21:19,960 --> 00:21:23,080 Speaker 3: Idea when he wasn't home. They thought he was traveling 384 00:21:23,080 --> 00:21:23,960 Speaker 3: for business. 385 00:21:23,760 --> 00:21:25,640 Speaker 2: Of course, and it made very international. 386 00:21:25,760 --> 00:21:29,080 Speaker 3: Yeah, he ye had all the import export businesses and such. 387 00:21:29,240 --> 00:21:31,480 Speaker 3: It was in this time that he pulled his most 388 00:21:31,520 --> 00:21:36,920 Speaker 3: famous and audacious theft. Let's talk about Thomas Gainsborough's portrait 389 00:21:37,000 --> 00:21:40,199 Speaker 3: of Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire. 390 00:21:40,520 --> 00:21:42,280 Speaker 2: Oh totally dude, Oh my goodness. 391 00:21:42,359 --> 00:21:44,720 Speaker 3: So I wish we could have bendor on as a 392 00:21:44,720 --> 00:21:47,159 Speaker 3: guest right now to talk about painting. Alas you'll have 393 00:21:47,200 --> 00:21:50,199 Speaker 3: to make do with Lilo Me. Portrait was painted in 394 00:21:50,240 --> 00:21:54,280 Speaker 3: seventeen eighty seven. Gainsborough is widely regarded as one of 395 00:21:54,280 --> 00:21:57,520 Speaker 3: the most gifted portrait and landscape painters in British hist. 396 00:21:57,480 --> 00:21:59,120 Speaker 2: I'll say one of the best, if not the best, 397 00:21:59,160 --> 00:22:00,080 Speaker 2: in British history. 398 00:22:00,040 --> 00:22:03,200 Speaker 3: Yes, he helped define the look and style of late 399 00:22:03,280 --> 00:22:06,720 Speaker 3: eighteenth century British art. And he was known for like this, 400 00:22:06,800 --> 00:22:11,320 Speaker 3: really elegant fluid brushwork, nuanced luminous color. 401 00:22:11,520 --> 00:22:12,400 Speaker 2: Color is incredible. 402 00:22:13,160 --> 00:22:15,720 Speaker 3: And he's best known for the blue boy painted in 403 00:22:15,760 --> 00:22:17,280 Speaker 3: the seventeench. 404 00:22:16,560 --> 00:22:19,760 Speaker 2: Colors are incredible. Yeah, you've seen him in person, Yes, 405 00:22:19,880 --> 00:22:22,200 Speaker 2: Oh my goodness, it's insane. 406 00:22:21,960 --> 00:22:24,359 Speaker 3: And it was just like this day. Yeah, it glows. 407 00:22:24,400 --> 00:22:28,760 Speaker 3: So he establishes the visual identity of George and Britain. 408 00:22:29,960 --> 00:22:34,679 Speaker 3: So this portrait of Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire, it 409 00:22:34,760 --> 00:22:38,200 Speaker 3: was already a famous painting by the eighteen hundreds. Georgiana 410 00:22:38,400 --> 00:22:42,879 Speaker 3: was glamorous, she was politically influential, she was fashionable, she 411 00:22:43,040 --> 00:22:47,680 Speaker 3: was a writer, a talented musician and amateur scientist. In fact, 412 00:22:47,680 --> 00:22:51,440 Speaker 3: she had a small labatter house where she conducted chemistry experiments. 413 00:22:52,240 --> 00:22:55,359 Speaker 3: So she was also tragic. So she was a gambler 414 00:22:55,440 --> 00:22:59,200 Speaker 3: and she got herself into incredible debt. In seventeen eighty four, 415 00:22:59,280 --> 00:23:01,879 Speaker 3: her gambling debt was one hundred thousand pounds, which is 416 00:23:01,960 --> 00:23:06,080 Speaker 3: like fourteen million pounds today. She had an affair with 417 00:23:06,200 --> 00:23:11,159 Speaker 3: Earl Gray of the Teeth and got pregnant, so she 418 00:23:11,280 --> 00:23:14,160 Speaker 3: was shipped off to France to have the baby, which 419 00:23:14,200 --> 00:23:16,560 Speaker 3: then the baby was passed off to the Earl's family 420 00:23:16,600 --> 00:23:19,359 Speaker 3: and she wasn't able to see her again. She was 421 00:23:19,359 --> 00:23:21,440 Speaker 3: this beautiful woman who toward the end of her life 422 00:23:21,480 --> 00:23:24,560 Speaker 3: had a tumor in her eye, went blind and had 423 00:23:24,600 --> 00:23:26,920 Speaker 3: like a huge scar on her face as a result. 424 00:23:27,000 --> 00:23:29,399 Speaker 3: Oh lord, and she was really sickly after that. She 425 00:23:29,440 --> 00:23:31,560 Speaker 3: passed away when she was only forty eight years old. 426 00:23:32,119 --> 00:23:36,560 Speaker 3: Tragic and perhaps that haunted her bloodline, as she was 427 00:23:36,600 --> 00:23:40,840 Speaker 3: the great great great grand aunt of Diana, Princess of Wales. 428 00:23:41,280 --> 00:23:43,800 Speaker 3: Really yes, so anyway. 429 00:23:43,480 --> 00:23:44,840 Speaker 2: She's on that Spencer line. 430 00:23:45,080 --> 00:23:49,880 Speaker 3: Yeah. Her portrait depicting her in a plumed hat and 431 00:23:49,960 --> 00:23:56,840 Speaker 3: having that famous Gainsborough luminosity yet it had a mythic reputation, 432 00:23:57,160 --> 00:24:01,040 Speaker 3: so for year, for decades the painting was believed lost. 433 00:24:01,960 --> 00:24:04,240 Speaker 3: No one knew where it was, but it was discovered 434 00:24:04,280 --> 00:24:07,840 Speaker 3: in eighteen seventy six in the home of the dowager, 435 00:24:07,960 --> 00:24:12,040 Speaker 3: Viscountess car Court. Okay, yeah, sure, lady, oh I just 436 00:24:12,080 --> 00:24:14,760 Speaker 3: found it. I don't know behind it was a sheet, 437 00:24:14,840 --> 00:24:16,840 Speaker 3: but it was returned to society and it was this 438 00:24:17,000 --> 00:24:21,200 Speaker 3: huge sensation, so London newspapers called it the greatest portrait 439 00:24:21,280 --> 00:24:29,720 Speaker 3: reappearance of the century many reappearances. The art dealer's Thomas 440 00:24:29,760 --> 00:24:33,080 Speaker 3: Agnew and Sons was one of the most prestigious firms 441 00:24:33,119 --> 00:24:36,439 Speaker 3: in Europe, and they purchased the painting at auction for 442 00:24:36,640 --> 00:24:42,480 Speaker 3: ten thousand guineas, which was about you know, ten thousand pounds. Now, 443 00:24:42,600 --> 00:24:46,359 Speaker 3: that was the highest price ever paid for a portrait 444 00:24:46,480 --> 00:24:51,200 Speaker 3: up to that time. Its value, its fame, sudden cultural prominence. 445 00:24:51,520 --> 00:24:56,119 Speaker 3: It made this like instantly recognizable icon, and it was 446 00:24:56,160 --> 00:24:58,879 Speaker 3: also then the perfect target for a criminal with a 447 00:24:58,920 --> 00:25:03,359 Speaker 3: taste for symbol, someone like Adam Worth. So Worth he 448 00:25:03,400 --> 00:25:06,040 Speaker 3: didn't steal it to sell it. He stole it because 449 00:25:06,080 --> 00:25:09,119 Speaker 3: it was a symbol of prestige and daring. It was 450 00:25:09,160 --> 00:25:11,280 Speaker 3: like a psychological prize. 451 00:25:11,000 --> 00:25:14,320 Speaker 2: And to make a great gift someone. 452 00:25:15,440 --> 00:25:18,200 Speaker 3: It would also serve as collateral if he ever needed 453 00:25:18,320 --> 00:25:20,360 Speaker 3: leverage with criminal. 454 00:25:22,119 --> 00:25:23,000 Speaker 2: Law enforcement. 455 00:25:23,280 --> 00:25:28,160 Speaker 3: Yeah, exactly so. Worth. He believed that the agnew price 456 00:25:28,440 --> 00:25:33,199 Speaker 3: signaled vulnerability because he figured that the gallery's pride in 457 00:25:33,240 --> 00:25:37,280 Speaker 3: its acquisition blinded it to security risks. So he later 458 00:25:37,359 --> 00:25:39,159 Speaker 3: said that he viewed the painting as a kind of 459 00:25:39,240 --> 00:25:42,879 Speaker 3: talisman or mascot, and he never intended to damage it 460 00:25:43,000 --> 00:25:46,320 Speaker 3: or ransom it. So as we know, Adam Worth was 461 00:25:46,520 --> 00:25:50,679 Speaker 3: never impulsive. His approach to the Gainsborough theft was like 462 00:25:50,880 --> 00:25:54,040 Speaker 3: had the same meticulous attention of all his other jobs. 463 00:25:54,400 --> 00:25:58,080 Speaker 3: He spent weeks studying the layout of the gallery, the 464 00:25:58,240 --> 00:26:01,760 Speaker 3: entry and exit points, nearby patrol patterns, the habits of 465 00:26:01,800 --> 00:26:05,199 Speaker 3: the night watchmen, how the painting was mounted, even the 466 00:26:05,240 --> 00:26:09,960 Speaker 3: construction of display cases. He visited the gallery tons and 467 00:26:10,000 --> 00:26:12,560 Speaker 3: tons of times disguised as a patron, and he could 468 00:26:12,560 --> 00:26:15,280 Speaker 3: pull us off because he was known in London art 469 00:26:15,320 --> 00:26:17,760 Speaker 3: circles at the time, because he would pose as this 470 00:26:17,880 --> 00:26:21,800 Speaker 3: American collector and it wouldn't be unusual then for him 471 00:26:21,800 --> 00:26:24,200 Speaker 3: to like hit up the gallery a bunch of times 472 00:26:24,240 --> 00:26:27,919 Speaker 3: to see a famous painting with a cool backstory. And 473 00:26:27,960 --> 00:26:30,640 Speaker 3: once he decided that he needed the painting, he got 474 00:26:30,640 --> 00:26:33,160 Speaker 3: to work. So he got his paws on a set 475 00:26:33,200 --> 00:26:36,280 Speaker 3: of duplicate keys for the gallery, and he mapped out 476 00:26:36,640 --> 00:26:40,560 Speaker 3: the lighting conditions and the windows in the place. All 477 00:26:40,600 --> 00:26:43,240 Speaker 3: of this was done with two unnamed to this day 478 00:26:43,520 --> 00:26:47,399 Speaker 3: criminal associates. As with all his other work, there was 479 00:26:47,440 --> 00:26:49,240 Speaker 3: no violence and no coercion. 480 00:26:49,480 --> 00:26:52,080 Speaker 2: Do we think that these associates are insiders, like who 481 00:26:52,119 --> 00:26:53,920 Speaker 2: work in somehow in the farm. 482 00:26:54,080 --> 00:26:55,720 Speaker 3: And my guess is that's how he got the keys. 483 00:26:55,800 --> 00:26:57,600 Speaker 2: That's what I'm saying. You said, the duplicate keys and 484 00:26:57,680 --> 00:26:59,720 Speaker 2: now he's got the lighting conditions. 485 00:26:59,720 --> 00:27:03,840 Speaker 3: I was like, yes, probably insiders. Zaron, close your eyes 486 00:27:05,560 --> 00:27:06,119 Speaker 3: to make Sarin. 487 00:27:06,520 --> 00:27:17,920 Speaker 4: Yeah. 488 00:27:18,119 --> 00:27:21,320 Speaker 3: It's the night of May twenty sixth, eighteen seventy six. 489 00:27:22,080 --> 00:27:26,640 Speaker 3: You are the portrait of Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire. 490 00:27:27,240 --> 00:27:29,879 Speaker 3: You've recently been installed at the Thomas Agnu and Sons 491 00:27:29,920 --> 00:27:33,680 Speaker 3: Gallery in London. You missed the Dowager's House where you'd 492 00:27:33,720 --> 00:27:36,919 Speaker 3: been hanging out pun intended for a while. But this 493 00:27:37,000 --> 00:27:40,160 Speaker 3: place is nice. The staff are so excited you're here, 494 00:27:40,280 --> 00:27:42,440 Speaker 3: and so many people come through to give you the eye. 495 00:27:42,920 --> 00:27:47,000 Speaker 3: They marvel at your beauty, your composition. They're proud of you. 496 00:27:47,000 --> 00:27:50,000 Speaker 3: You are eating this up. The last employee of the 497 00:27:50,040 --> 00:27:52,880 Speaker 3: gallery has just left. Do you hear the back door lock? 498 00:27:53,280 --> 00:27:56,919 Speaker 3: And silence falls across the rooms in the gallery. Some 499 00:27:57,080 --> 00:28:00,200 Speaker 3: time elapses, and then you hear keys open the back door. 500 00:28:00,440 --> 00:28:03,480 Speaker 3: It's still dark out, middle of the night. Really, someone 501 00:28:03,560 --> 00:28:07,119 Speaker 3: must have left something behind you. Hear light footsteps and 502 00:28:07,160 --> 00:28:10,320 Speaker 3: the creak of the polished wood floors. Someone is approaching. 503 00:28:10,920 --> 00:28:15,000 Speaker 3: The feet walk with steady determination purpose. They stop right 504 00:28:15,080 --> 00:28:18,120 Speaker 3: in front of you. In the slight shard of moonlight 505 00:28:18,200 --> 00:28:21,359 Speaker 3: coming through a skylight, you see a face. It's a 506 00:28:21,400 --> 00:28:24,040 Speaker 3: man you've seen before, someone who's come to admire you 507 00:28:24,119 --> 00:28:27,920 Speaker 3: a few times, always very well dressed. He's ruggedly handsome, 508 00:28:28,359 --> 00:28:31,480 Speaker 3: full head of well claffed hair and a healthy mustache. 509 00:28:31,960 --> 00:28:35,840 Speaker 3: He stares at you in no rush, not nervous, sure 510 00:28:35,840 --> 00:28:39,320 Speaker 3: of himself. He reaches out and traces a finger along 511 00:28:39,360 --> 00:28:43,480 Speaker 3: your frame. You feel a tingle in your canvas. Why, sir, 512 00:28:43,840 --> 00:28:46,520 Speaker 3: you wish you could gasp. He takes a step back 513 00:28:46,560 --> 00:28:49,720 Speaker 3: and then approaches again, this time lifting you off the wall. 514 00:28:50,320 --> 00:28:52,680 Speaker 3: He turns you around and you now face the rich 515 00:28:52,760 --> 00:28:56,360 Speaker 3: blue wall you feel and begin to unfasten the frame 516 00:28:56,440 --> 00:28:59,640 Speaker 3: from around you. With a tender touch, he gently lifts 517 00:28:59,640 --> 00:29:03,040 Speaker 3: the brackets used to keep you pent and stretched for display. 518 00:29:03,520 --> 00:29:07,160 Speaker 3: In an instant, you are free, the tension removed, You 519 00:29:07,240 --> 00:29:11,080 Speaker 3: flop forward, your midsection loose as gentle as ever. The 520 00:29:11,120 --> 00:29:14,680 Speaker 3: man tenderly rolls you up, not too tight, but still firm. 521 00:29:15,320 --> 00:29:18,360 Speaker 3: He slides you into a heavy, unbleached cotton sleeve and 522 00:29:18,440 --> 00:29:21,320 Speaker 3: holds you under his arm. He uses his other arm 523 00:29:21,360 --> 00:29:23,480 Speaker 3: to replace the empty frame on the wall where you 524 00:29:23,640 --> 00:29:26,720 Speaker 3: just hung. Then he turns and heads for the back door. 525 00:29:27,600 --> 00:29:30,280 Speaker 3: You know there is a guard up front. He has 526 00:29:30,280 --> 00:29:33,520 Speaker 3: apparently heard nothing. The two of you reached the back door, 527 00:29:33,800 --> 00:29:36,920 Speaker 3: he opens it, steps out into the night, closes the door, 528 00:29:36,920 --> 00:29:38,880 Speaker 3: and then locks it with the set of keys produced 529 00:29:38,880 --> 00:29:41,720 Speaker 3: from his pocket. Off you go into the night with 530 00:29:41,760 --> 00:29:45,320 Speaker 3: this mystery man. You are sure more adventure awaits, and 531 00:29:45,400 --> 00:29:48,880 Speaker 3: you feel no fear, no sense of danger. You believe 532 00:29:48,920 --> 00:29:53,880 Speaker 3: your namesake the visage that launched you would agree, so 533 00:29:54,800 --> 00:29:57,400 Speaker 3: Worth was able to steal what was the like the 534 00:29:57,400 --> 00:30:01,200 Speaker 3: most famous painting in London at the time, never damaged 535 00:30:01,240 --> 00:30:02,480 Speaker 3: the painting or the frame. 536 00:30:02,720 --> 00:30:04,320 Speaker 2: This is like the Mona Lisa of London. 537 00:30:04,440 --> 00:30:08,080 Speaker 3: Yes, yes, he left everything undisturbed all around it, no 538 00:30:08,240 --> 00:30:12,040 Speaker 3: signs of forest entry, no witnesses saw him, no police 539 00:30:12,040 --> 00:30:16,320 Speaker 3: patrols notice anything. The disappearance wasn't discovered until the next 540 00:30:16,320 --> 00:30:21,000 Speaker 3: morning they walk in, She's gone And it was one 541 00:30:21,040 --> 00:30:26,920 Speaker 3: of the most humiliating unsolved robberies in London art history 542 00:30:26,920 --> 00:30:32,880 Speaker 3: at the time. Exactly, so contrary to criminal custom, like 543 00:30:32,920 --> 00:30:35,040 Speaker 3: I said, he didn't try and sell the painting. He 544 00:30:35,160 --> 00:30:37,920 Speaker 3: kept it as this private trophy because that's what they 545 00:30:38,000 --> 00:30:39,760 Speaker 3: kept thinking, Oh, this thing's going to pop up on 546 00:30:39,840 --> 00:30:43,400 Speaker 3: the market somewhere. He carried it with him for years 547 00:30:43,640 --> 00:30:45,520 Speaker 3: in a specially constructed case. 548 00:30:46,080 --> 00:30:46,440 Speaker 2: Wow. 549 00:30:46,600 --> 00:30:49,120 Speaker 3: Yeah, So by the late eighteen seventies. 550 00:30:48,640 --> 00:30:51,160 Speaker 2: Are he like falling in love with it? 551 00:30:51,160 --> 00:30:53,600 Speaker 3: It was just it meant like everything. It meant like 552 00:30:53,640 --> 00:30:55,440 Speaker 3: it was the symbol. 553 00:30:55,480 --> 00:30:59,240 Speaker 2: But I mean it's also like, as. 554 00:30:58,280 --> 00:31:00,320 Speaker 3: He called it, it was a talisman. So once he 555 00:31:00,400 --> 00:31:02,040 Speaker 3: had that, that was like he had to carry it 556 00:31:02,080 --> 00:31:06,800 Speaker 3: with him. Late eighteen seventies though he is the absolute 557 00:31:06,960 --> 00:31:11,760 Speaker 3: unquestioned leader of the most sophisticated non violent criminal network 558 00:31:11,760 --> 00:31:12,800 Speaker 3: in the Western world. 559 00:31:12,880 --> 00:31:14,440 Speaker 2: Completely, I'm wondering why he's on this show. 560 00:31:14,960 --> 00:31:19,680 Speaker 3: Well, London was only one component of his expanding operations, 561 00:31:19,720 --> 00:31:22,640 Speaker 3: and so by the next decade he had like he 562 00:31:22,680 --> 00:31:24,760 Speaker 3: had spread out far beyond Britain. 563 00:31:24,840 --> 00:31:28,240 Speaker 2: Oh, I'm sure, I'm sure he's working Russia and South Africa. 564 00:31:28,280 --> 00:31:30,960 Speaker 3: Well let's take a pause for some ads. I know 565 00:31:31,040 --> 00:31:33,560 Speaker 3: you love them ads. Yum yum, give me some. That's 566 00:31:33,560 --> 00:31:34,840 Speaker 3: what you yelled during every ad. 567 00:31:34,960 --> 00:31:37,560 Speaker 2: I got my wallet, Yeah, I start throwing money at 568 00:31:37,600 --> 00:31:38,320 Speaker 2: the microphones. 569 00:31:39,000 --> 00:32:03,800 Speaker 3: Back in the flash, Zeren adam Worth, Adam Worth. So 570 00:32:04,080 --> 00:32:06,760 Speaker 3: he rocked to the east coast of the US, went 571 00:32:06,840 --> 00:32:10,720 Speaker 3: to London, became a legend, and then he branched out 572 00:32:10,760 --> 00:32:14,280 Speaker 3: further onto the continent. So records like you were saying, 573 00:32:14,320 --> 00:32:20,200 Speaker 3: records from Belgium, France, Germany, Austria, all these police archives 574 00:32:20,240 --> 00:32:24,360 Speaker 3: show the presence of his associates all throughout this place. 575 00:32:24,640 --> 00:32:29,600 Speaker 3: His organization targeted high value jewelry shipments, banks and like 576 00:32:29,720 --> 00:32:34,920 Speaker 3: wealthy travelers. So Paris at the time had this wealthy aristocracy, 577 00:32:35,040 --> 00:32:39,440 Speaker 3: growing bourgeois class, so this was like a natural target 578 00:32:39,520 --> 00:32:44,400 Speaker 3: for jewel theft, and his teams frequently operated during the 579 00:32:44,440 --> 00:32:47,920 Speaker 3: summer social season, so he wasn't just fencing through these places. 580 00:32:47,960 --> 00:32:52,840 Speaker 3: Now or drawing members of his syndicate cultural moments. Yeah, 581 00:32:52,880 --> 00:32:56,680 Speaker 3: he's going they're committing crimes there. So the French elite, 582 00:32:56,720 --> 00:32:59,760 Speaker 3: they're vacationing at coastal resorts and they're bringing all their 583 00:32:59,800 --> 00:33:01,840 Speaker 3: like lavish jewelry. Yeah, they want to show off to 584 00:33:01,880 --> 00:33:09,320 Speaker 3: the Yes, exactly. In Belgium, the banking centers like in Antwerp, 585 00:33:09,960 --> 00:33:14,800 Speaker 3: in Liege, they offered all these like fabulous opportunities for forgery, 586 00:33:14,960 --> 00:33:18,880 Speaker 3: financial fraud. Then you have the German cities like Berlin 587 00:33:19,480 --> 00:33:24,920 Speaker 3: Hamburg again were transit points for stolen goods and forged documents, 588 00:33:25,800 --> 00:33:30,600 Speaker 3: and so he designed trans national routes for moving stolen merchandise, 589 00:33:30,680 --> 00:33:34,440 Speaker 3: like we said. And then the biggest thing about that 590 00:33:34,560 --> 00:33:38,080 Speaker 3: is that there was no cooperation between these nations. Yeah, 591 00:33:38,160 --> 00:33:41,520 Speaker 3: so the law enforcement couldn't track things once it left 592 00:33:41,560 --> 00:33:42,440 Speaker 3: whichever country. 593 00:33:42,520 --> 00:33:45,120 Speaker 2: They basically only communicate through the telegraph at this point. 594 00:33:45,200 --> 00:33:49,520 Speaker 3: Yeah. Yeah, he went to Egypt in the early eighteen eighties, Yeah, 595 00:33:49,520 --> 00:33:53,760 Speaker 3: because he saw opportunity and strife there. So it's this 596 00:33:53,840 --> 00:33:59,959 Speaker 3: really tumultuous environment after the Anglo Egyptian War. So European officers, diplomats, 597 00:34:00,120 --> 00:34:04,720 Speaker 3: businessmen would go through Cairo and Alexandria carrying like tons 598 00:34:04,760 --> 00:34:06,440 Speaker 3: of cash. 599 00:34:05,800 --> 00:34:07,400 Speaker 2: Jewelry largely unguarded. 600 00:34:07,520 --> 00:34:13,840 Speaker 3: Yeah, and Worth's organization exploited those those vulnerabilities. He also 601 00:34:14,000 --> 00:34:17,280 Speaker 3: leveraged like the bustling port activity there to move stolen 602 00:34:17,280 --> 00:34:21,839 Speaker 3: goods really discreetly, because you could bribe anybody at Forge manifest. 603 00:34:22,000 --> 00:34:23,920 Speaker 2: It would be so much fun to rob a modern 604 00:34:23,960 --> 00:34:26,759 Speaker 2: major general of the British Empire in Cairo. 605 00:34:29,200 --> 00:34:33,480 Speaker 3: Soup. Yes, I know, I can see it. And so 606 00:34:33,520 --> 00:34:36,239 Speaker 3: then we have South Africa. So the diamond mines of 607 00:34:36,320 --> 00:34:41,200 Speaker 3: Kimberly were notorious for theft, smuggling, corruption. So you have 608 00:34:41,280 --> 00:34:44,799 Speaker 3: all these African laborers, they're under brutal conditions and like 609 00:34:44,880 --> 00:34:47,120 Speaker 3: a lot of them would try and sneak diamonds out 610 00:34:47,120 --> 00:34:51,600 Speaker 3: of the mines. Yeah, the stolen stones needed you needed 611 00:34:51,600 --> 00:34:55,359 Speaker 3: a sophisticated fence network to get those to market. So 612 00:34:55,400 --> 00:34:59,640 Speaker 3: he didn't personally participate in those mind thefts, but his 613 00:34:59,840 --> 00:35:02,960 Speaker 3: org organization did a lot with in terms of like 614 00:35:03,000 --> 00:35:06,440 Speaker 3: purchasing the stolen diamonds and moving him to Europe, so 615 00:35:07,040 --> 00:35:12,080 Speaker 3: he would have anonymous purchasing agents, coded letters forged shipping papers. 616 00:35:12,840 --> 00:35:17,280 Speaker 3: They really started this like international scale of laundering diamonds. 617 00:35:17,680 --> 00:35:22,440 Speaker 3: So by the mid eighteen eighties, he's wealthy, respected by criminals, 618 00:35:22,760 --> 00:35:28,600 Speaker 3: feared by police, loved by society. His visibility was increasing 619 00:35:29,239 --> 00:35:31,239 Speaker 3: because he had like now he has more and more 620 00:35:31,360 --> 00:35:35,200 Speaker 3: international travel patterns. It's starting to make him a person 621 00:35:35,280 --> 00:35:38,520 Speaker 3: of interest for all these various European police forces. 622 00:35:38,520 --> 00:35:39,920 Speaker 2: He's got to be starting to show up at too 623 00:35:39,960 --> 00:35:42,239 Speaker 2: many places where there're exactly. 624 00:35:42,000 --> 00:35:44,440 Speaker 3: And so because he's not, he's now he's branching out, 625 00:35:44,440 --> 00:35:48,240 Speaker 3: branching out. And at the time too, surveillance techniques are improving. 626 00:35:48,320 --> 00:35:49,719 Speaker 2: Oh that's right, because you now you started getting the 627 00:35:49,760 --> 00:35:51,320 Speaker 2: modern detective work right. 628 00:35:51,200 --> 00:35:54,719 Speaker 3: And as you said, telegraph communication, like that's how they're communicating, 629 00:35:54,760 --> 00:35:58,120 Speaker 3: but it's faster and faster and worth He's now in 630 00:35:58,160 --> 00:36:02,160 Speaker 3: his forties, he's starting to take greater risk. So his 631 00:36:02,360 --> 00:36:06,960 Speaker 3: downfall came in Belgium during a robbery that fell way 632 00:36:07,000 --> 00:36:10,919 Speaker 3: below his usual standards. So October fifth, eighteen ninety two, 633 00:36:11,440 --> 00:36:14,919 Speaker 3: he and these two associates, they tried to burglarize the 634 00:36:15,040 --> 00:36:17,560 Speaker 3: American Express office in Liege. 635 00:36:17,320 --> 00:36:19,040 Speaker 2: Okay, which used to be like the Western Union where 636 00:36:19,040 --> 00:36:20,080 Speaker 2: they're sending money and stuff. 637 00:36:20,120 --> 00:36:25,160 Speaker 3: So they actually exactly and so police later testified that 638 00:36:25,239 --> 00:36:28,680 Speaker 3: their actions were suspicious from the jump, and they made 639 00:36:28,760 --> 00:36:31,840 Speaker 3: repeated visits. They asked really weird questions. They'd go in 640 00:36:31,840 --> 00:36:34,399 Speaker 3: there and be like, oh, I don't know how much 641 00:36:34,440 --> 00:36:36,520 Speaker 3: money did you have the counter right now? That's just 642 00:36:36,680 --> 00:36:37,800 Speaker 3: I'm just curious. 643 00:36:37,400 --> 00:36:40,080 Speaker 2: How big is your safe? Like roughly speaking in Cubic. 644 00:36:40,120 --> 00:36:40,719 Speaker 2: Sit made a. 645 00:36:40,760 --> 00:36:44,680 Speaker 3: Look and they they were behaving in a way that 646 00:36:44,840 --> 00:36:50,759 Speaker 3: was totally uncharacteristic of his typical, meticulous planning. And some 647 00:36:50,840 --> 00:36:54,200 Speaker 3: say that like he's starting to slip due to stress 648 00:36:54,360 --> 00:36:57,520 Speaker 3: or financial pressure. Others are like, you know, he was 649 00:36:57,680 --> 00:37:06,160 Speaker 3: just emotionally exhausted. He had no spoons left zarinving this 650 00:37:06,280 --> 00:37:09,239 Speaker 3: double life. Plus his wife's health was declining, mainly her 651 00:37:09,280 --> 00:37:12,759 Speaker 3: mental health, like she was having some issues. And then 652 00:37:12,880 --> 00:37:16,000 Speaker 3: also like his criminal network as it grew, it started 653 00:37:16,040 --> 00:37:19,120 Speaker 3: to get a little more fragmented. Whatever the cause, the 654 00:37:19,239 --> 00:37:22,799 Speaker 3: robbery was a disaster. So the Belgian police they got 655 00:37:22,800 --> 00:37:25,719 Speaker 3: a tip about this AMEX heist, so they were there 656 00:37:25,800 --> 00:37:29,879 Speaker 3: waiting when Worth and his accomplices broke in and there was. 657 00:37:29,800 --> 00:37:31,760 Speaker 2: Like a struggle inside. 658 00:37:31,640 --> 00:37:34,560 Speaker 3: Yeah, they're like, oh hey, what's up, and there's this 659 00:37:34,600 --> 00:37:37,279 Speaker 3: little struggle ensues. But then Worth he's like, no, no, 660 00:37:37,480 --> 00:37:41,719 Speaker 3: we don't use violence, all right, surrender peacefully and so. 661 00:37:42,160 --> 00:37:45,680 Speaker 3: But he did give a false name. However, you know 662 00:37:45,719 --> 00:37:48,360 Speaker 3: who shows up, the Pinkertons. 663 00:37:49,040 --> 00:37:50,360 Speaker 2: What they crossed the Atlantic. 664 00:37:51,640 --> 00:37:58,719 Speaker 3: They had been him for years, up stories about and 665 00:37:58,160 --> 00:38:01,000 Speaker 3: they were in English, I'm looking for him. Then they 666 00:38:01,120 --> 00:38:02,000 Speaker 3: hit the continent. 667 00:38:02,600 --> 00:38:05,200 Speaker 2: Um, yeah, they. 668 00:38:05,480 --> 00:38:08,040 Speaker 3: Were the ones who identified him. They heard about this. 669 00:38:08,200 --> 00:38:09,799 Speaker 3: They show up. They're like, no, no, no, we know who 670 00:38:09,840 --> 00:38:15,560 Speaker 3: that is. He gets convicted and sentenced to seven years 671 00:38:15,880 --> 00:38:19,760 Speaker 3: in prison. And the prison was harsh there, but orderly, 672 00:38:20,280 --> 00:38:23,600 Speaker 3: and he was like he was a perfect model prisoner, 673 00:38:24,080 --> 00:38:26,799 Speaker 3: and so that got him privileges and like reduced some 674 00:38:26,840 --> 00:38:30,640 Speaker 3: of the hostility from the guards. But with him behind bars, 675 00:38:30,680 --> 00:38:35,440 Speaker 3: his empire was ruined. Like the syndicate totally fell apart 676 00:38:35,480 --> 00:38:39,280 Speaker 3: without his leadership. Some of the members were arrested, others 677 00:38:39,400 --> 00:38:43,680 Speaker 3: retired or like fled to South America. His wife suffered 678 00:38:43,719 --> 00:38:46,640 Speaker 3: a total mental collapse and had to be committed to 679 00:38:46,680 --> 00:38:50,000 Speaker 3: an institution. His two kids. I mean, because think about it, 680 00:38:50,040 --> 00:38:52,520 Speaker 3: she's already struggling and then she finds out like her 681 00:38:52,560 --> 00:38:56,000 Speaker 3: world is rocked. Yeah, the kids they get put into 682 00:38:56,040 --> 00:38:58,239 Speaker 3: a boarding school, but they didn't know how they were 683 00:38:58,239 --> 00:39:02,080 Speaker 3: going to afford this. His health starts to decline. He's 684 00:39:02,120 --> 00:39:06,440 Speaker 3: like rapidly aging. So he once was this suave criminal mastermind. 685 00:39:06,480 --> 00:39:11,319 Speaker 3: Now he's like a thin, sickly introspective schedule of who 686 00:39:11,320 --> 00:39:14,320 Speaker 3: he was. Yeah. So he gets released in eighteen ninety 687 00:39:14,320 --> 00:39:19,319 Speaker 3: seven early for good behavior. He's fifty three. He's diminished, 688 00:39:19,320 --> 00:39:22,839 Speaker 3: but he is determined to rebuild some semblance of stability 689 00:39:22,840 --> 00:39:27,360 Speaker 3: for his kids. He had one asset remaining, the Gainsborough 690 00:39:27,400 --> 00:39:31,040 Speaker 3: portrait that he never no. He had left it with 691 00:39:31,080 --> 00:39:34,120 Speaker 3: a trusted associate before his arrest, and so that was 692 00:39:34,160 --> 00:39:37,480 Speaker 3: his bargaining chip. So he gets out. He goes to 693 00:39:37,520 --> 00:39:41,880 Speaker 3: the United States and he seeks out Pinkerton. What Yes, 694 00:39:43,760 --> 00:39:47,719 Speaker 3: the detective whose pursuit of him had spanned three decades 695 00:39:47,800 --> 00:39:51,399 Speaker 3: at this point. So surprisingly, Pinkerton's like, yeah, I'll meet 696 00:39:51,440 --> 00:39:54,399 Speaker 3: with you. I mean, at this point he's not he's 697 00:39:54,440 --> 00:39:55,120 Speaker 3: done his time. 698 00:39:55,320 --> 00:39:57,280 Speaker 2: Does Pinkerton write about him in one of his books? 699 00:39:57,400 --> 00:39:57,640 Speaker 3: Yeah? 700 00:39:57,680 --> 00:39:58,520 Speaker 2: Oh wow. 701 00:39:58,640 --> 00:40:01,600 Speaker 3: So they meet and and they developed this like weird 702 00:40:01,800 --> 00:40:05,440 Speaker 3: mutual respect. I bet, and Pinkerton was like he really 703 00:40:05,480 --> 00:40:10,400 Speaker 3: admired Worth's discipline and how he was nonviolent. Worth respected 704 00:40:10,440 --> 00:40:15,799 Speaker 3: how tenacious Pinkerton was, and so Worth proposes a deal. 705 00:40:16,040 --> 00:40:20,800 Speaker 3: He's like, I'll return the Gainesboro if the gallery pays 706 00:40:21,360 --> 00:40:25,960 Speaker 3: this huge amount to fund my children's care. And Pinkerton 707 00:40:26,600 --> 00:40:28,719 Speaker 3: he wants to get his name on there as the 708 00:40:28,719 --> 00:40:31,720 Speaker 3: one who resolved one of the most famous art thefts 709 00:40:31,760 --> 00:40:34,440 Speaker 3: in history. So it's like, I will act as the 710 00:40:34,480 --> 00:40:38,680 Speaker 3: intermediary to make this happen. So they go back and 711 00:40:38,719 --> 00:40:42,760 Speaker 3: forth negotiations for months, and then finally the gallery agrees. 712 00:40:43,239 --> 00:40:46,520 Speaker 3: So the handover took place in eighteen ninety nine in Paris. 713 00:40:47,000 --> 00:40:50,759 Speaker 3: So Worth personally delivered the painting rolled up still in 714 00:40:50,760 --> 00:40:54,000 Speaker 3: the protective case, in excellent perfect condition. 715 00:40:54,239 --> 00:40:56,759 Speaker 2: And is he claiming that he stole it or he 716 00:40:56,800 --> 00:40:57,480 Speaker 2: knows where it is? 717 00:40:57,600 --> 00:40:57,759 Speaker 3: Oh? 718 00:40:57,760 --> 00:41:00,560 Speaker 2: No, you want. 719 00:41:00,400 --> 00:41:05,600 Speaker 3: To want it back. So the return of the portrait 720 00:41:05,760 --> 00:41:07,320 Speaker 3: front page news worldwide. 721 00:41:07,400 --> 00:41:08,480 Speaker 2: I bet so. 722 00:41:08,560 --> 00:41:11,920 Speaker 3: With the funds from the settlement, Worth regained custody of 723 00:41:11,960 --> 00:41:15,520 Speaker 3: his children. He moved them all to London, living quietly 724 00:41:15,600 --> 00:41:19,840 Speaker 3: under his real name. In Kensington. He opened a modest 725 00:41:20,320 --> 00:41:24,879 Speaker 3: private inquiry office. He became a PI and occasionally he 726 00:41:24,920 --> 00:41:32,000 Speaker 3: worked with the Pinkertons on minor jobs. Hacker, yes, exactly, 727 00:41:32,320 --> 00:41:34,640 Speaker 3: So he wasn't wealthy, but he was able to have 728 00:41:34,680 --> 00:41:38,960 Speaker 3: like a stable life for his family. He he did 729 00:41:39,000 --> 00:41:42,000 Speaker 3: still have ill health, and he would he loved to 730 00:41:42,040 --> 00:41:46,600 Speaker 3: tell stories about his exploits. Oh yeah, and he would 731 00:41:46,600 --> 00:41:51,359 Speaker 3: tell like trusted acquaintances. But he never betrayed former associates. 732 00:41:51,360 --> 00:41:56,160 Speaker 3: He kept his like really strict criminal cod Pickerton operatives 733 00:41:56,200 --> 00:41:59,359 Speaker 3: continued to visit him, but they came because they were 734 00:41:59,440 --> 00:42:02,879 Speaker 3: fascinating by the wisdom and the perspective that he had 735 00:42:02,920 --> 00:42:07,600 Speaker 3: gained and could share with them for their detecting totally, 736 00:42:07,640 --> 00:42:08,280 Speaker 3: you know development. 737 00:42:08,280 --> 00:42:10,440 Speaker 2: It's kind of like visiting Hannibal Lecter if you're an 738 00:42:10,480 --> 00:42:12,640 Speaker 2: FBI agent, right, it's just like I need help on 739 00:42:12,680 --> 00:42:13,359 Speaker 2: findingding the guy. 740 00:42:13,280 --> 00:42:18,520 Speaker 3: About the Criminal Behavior Unit in the FBI came about 741 00:42:18,560 --> 00:42:23,200 Speaker 3: of interviewing all those serials. Yeah, ida thing, so Adam Worth. 742 00:42:23,280 --> 00:42:25,600 Speaker 3: He died on January eighth, nineteen oh two, at the 743 00:42:25,600 --> 00:42:30,480 Speaker 3: age of fifty seven of complications of pneumonia. He's buried 744 00:42:30,480 --> 00:42:33,719 Speaker 3: at Highgates Cemetery, which is one of London's most prestigious 745 00:42:33,800 --> 00:42:35,799 Speaker 3: Victorian burial grounds. Karl Marx is. 746 00:42:35,719 --> 00:42:37,520 Speaker 2: Buried just about say, as long as I know it, 747 00:42:37,680 --> 00:42:38,080 Speaker 2: so is. 748 00:42:38,040 --> 00:42:40,920 Speaker 3: George Michael Douglas Adams and Malcolm McLaren. 749 00:42:42,239 --> 00:42:45,879 Speaker 2: George Michael okay when yeah, I just doing the math there. 750 00:42:46,239 --> 00:42:48,160 Speaker 3: Adam Worth's headstone the first. 751 00:42:48,000 --> 00:42:49,640 Speaker 2: I went with George sand I was like, that's not 752 00:42:49,640 --> 00:42:50,200 Speaker 2: what you said. 753 00:42:50,560 --> 00:42:54,279 Speaker 3: It's Orge Michelle. His headstone has his real name on it. 754 00:42:54,719 --> 00:42:58,719 Speaker 3: Adam Worth. His kids, they you know, were very close 755 00:42:58,760 --> 00:43:00,960 Speaker 3: to him, even though he was gone on so often. 756 00:43:01,360 --> 00:43:03,840 Speaker 3: They're the ones who arranged for the grave and maintained 757 00:43:03,840 --> 00:43:06,719 Speaker 3: it for years, so they didn't have there was no 758 00:43:07,040 --> 00:43:07,840 Speaker 3: hard feelings. 759 00:43:07,920 --> 00:43:09,760 Speaker 2: They you know, they forgave and forgot. 760 00:43:09,880 --> 00:43:12,120 Speaker 3: Yeah, so to speak, and know his death did not 761 00:43:12,360 --> 00:43:17,120 Speaker 3: diminish his influence. Instead, his legend just grew. How so 762 00:43:17,360 --> 00:43:20,400 Speaker 3: I can hear the masses yelling from their open windows 763 00:43:20,440 --> 00:43:26,840 Speaker 3: so exactly. In eighteen ninety three, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 764 00:43:27,040 --> 00:43:30,640 Speaker 3: introduced Professor James Moriarty in the Sherlock Holmes novel The 765 00:43:30,760 --> 00:43:37,920 Speaker 3: Final Problem. So Moriarty is described as a mastermind controlling 766 00:43:37,960 --> 00:43:41,760 Speaker 3: a vast network of criminals, a strategist who avoids violence 767 00:43:41,800 --> 00:43:46,880 Speaker 3: but orchestrates brilliant crimes from behind the scenes. Victorian readers 768 00:43:47,280 --> 00:43:49,680 Speaker 3: immediately recognized the parallel. 769 00:43:49,320 --> 00:43:51,840 Speaker 2: Totally, even down to the being a mathematician, you like 770 00:43:51,960 --> 00:43:52,640 Speaker 2: being good at math. 771 00:43:52,680 --> 00:43:57,120 Speaker 3: In Scotland, Yards inspector John Shore had publicly called Adam 772 00:43:57,200 --> 00:44:01,840 Speaker 3: Worth quote the Napoleon of crime. That exact phrase is 773 00:44:01,920 --> 00:44:04,520 Speaker 3: used to describe Moriarty in the Final Problem. 774 00:44:04,560 --> 00:44:06,040 Speaker 2: That's why I was wondering, how can you be that 775 00:44:06,040 --> 00:44:07,279 Speaker 2: that's moriorty. 776 00:44:07,680 --> 00:44:11,120 Speaker 3: So Doyle adopted the phrase directly. And though Moriarty was 777 00:44:11,160 --> 00:44:16,480 Speaker 3: a mathematician rather than a thief, the structural similarities discipline, invisibility, 778 00:44:16,560 --> 00:44:21,040 Speaker 3: organization unmistakable to everybody. And this made sense because there 779 00:44:21,040 --> 00:44:24,080 Speaker 3: were a lot of London crime reporters who corresponded with 780 00:44:24,160 --> 00:44:28,120 Speaker 3: detective agencies and covered the Worth story who were also 781 00:44:28,239 --> 00:44:32,520 Speaker 3: part of like Doyle's professional orbit. So George Salah, he 782 00:44:32,560 --> 00:44:35,080 Speaker 3: was a journalist for the Daily Telegraph. He wrote about 783 00:44:35,120 --> 00:44:38,239 Speaker 3: Worth and you know, quote the Napoleon of the underworld. 784 00:44:38,640 --> 00:44:42,759 Speaker 3: Doyle admired and followed Sala's writing. He also mingled with 785 00:44:42,800 --> 00:44:46,520 Speaker 3: all these journalists and editors who wrote about real crime syndicates. 786 00:44:47,239 --> 00:44:51,040 Speaker 3: Worth's name frequently appeared in those discussions, and Doyle's editor, 787 00:44:51,520 --> 00:44:56,040 Speaker 3: Herbert Greeno Smith definitely knew the Worth legend. And then 788 00:44:56,040 --> 00:44:59,320 Speaker 3: there was Pankerton. I love this so The clearest bridge 789 00:44:59,320 --> 00:45:03,400 Speaker 3: between Work and Moriarty is Pinkerton. So as we know, 790 00:45:03,520 --> 00:45:06,760 Speaker 3: he tracked Worth for decades and he amassed the most 791 00:45:06,840 --> 00:45:10,480 Speaker 3: complete file on him. And Doyle was part of the 792 00:45:10,520 --> 00:45:14,160 Speaker 3: same upper middle class London social world that Pinkerton moved 793 00:45:14,160 --> 00:45:17,440 Speaker 3: in when he traveled to England, so they crossed paths. 794 00:45:18,640 --> 00:45:22,040 Speaker 3: Worth didn't just influence literature, he also contributed to the 795 00:45:22,080 --> 00:45:28,480 Speaker 3: development of international policing cooperation. Yeah, it's like his ability 796 00:45:28,520 --> 00:45:31,680 Speaker 3: to slip the borders expose the weaknesses of having all 797 00:45:31,680 --> 00:45:36,239 Speaker 3: these fragmented police systems. The Pinkertons in particular used their 798 00:45:36,280 --> 00:45:39,840 Speaker 3: pursuit of Worth as a model for creating trans national 799 00:45:39,960 --> 00:45:41,320 Speaker 3: investigative practices. 800 00:45:41,440 --> 00:45:45,000 Speaker 2: So wait, did they kind of not like singularly but 801 00:45:45,239 --> 00:45:46,360 Speaker 2: inspire interpots? 802 00:45:46,480 --> 00:45:50,600 Speaker 3: Yeah? Wow, he you know, he was one of the 803 00:45:50,640 --> 00:45:54,360 Speaker 3: main contributors. So hit like all of his meticulous planning 804 00:45:54,840 --> 00:45:59,520 Speaker 3: inspired Scotland Yard to adopt more systematic surveillance techniques. They 805 00:45:59,560 --> 00:46:03,360 Speaker 3: started up with dossier's and they started, okay, we'll coordinate 806 00:46:03,400 --> 00:46:05,080 Speaker 3: with foreign agencies. 807 00:46:05,200 --> 00:46:06,640 Speaker 2: We'll come up with a flying squad. 808 00:46:06,840 --> 00:46:12,520 Speaker 3: His story has inspired books, documentaries, fictionalized portrayals. He's like 809 00:46:12,600 --> 00:46:18,200 Speaker 3: the archetype of the gentleman, criminal, cultured, non violent, intelligent, enigmatic, 810 00:46:19,200 --> 00:46:20,880 Speaker 3: and he gets you know, romanticized. 811 00:46:21,239 --> 00:46:25,879 Speaker 2: He's the archetype, one of the best criminals of all times. Yes, Mariarty, like. 812 00:46:25,920 --> 00:46:29,279 Speaker 3: His crimes are real. His ability to exploit the weaknesses 813 00:46:29,320 --> 00:46:35,120 Speaker 3: of global capitalism is so profound. Aaron, what's your ridiculous takeaway? 814 00:46:35,920 --> 00:46:36,160 Speaker 5: Man? 815 00:46:36,320 --> 00:46:38,600 Speaker 2: That was great? They well the fact that I have 816 00:46:38,680 --> 00:46:41,240 Speaker 2: to admit I did not know this guy's criminal career, 817 00:46:41,360 --> 00:46:43,120 Speaker 2: or did he inspired Moriarty. I didn't know he was 818 00:46:43,160 --> 00:46:46,400 Speaker 2: inspired by a real person. And I love Mariarty obviously. 819 00:46:46,400 --> 00:46:49,680 Speaker 2: I'm not like reading the Wikipedia page of Moriarty. I'm 820 00:46:49,719 --> 00:46:53,160 Speaker 2: just reading this the Conan Doyle stories and appreciating him 821 00:46:53,160 --> 00:46:55,760 Speaker 2: as a character, watching the movies, appreciating as a character, 822 00:46:56,320 --> 00:46:59,279 Speaker 2: and had no idea, never even thought to think, wow, 823 00:46:59,320 --> 00:47:01,120 Speaker 2: I want to read Bay he's not a real guy. 824 00:47:01,320 --> 00:47:04,200 Speaker 2: I just assumed he was, Like, it's so fantastically he 825 00:47:04,200 --> 00:47:06,799 Speaker 2: had to come out of Coden Doyle's imagination. 826 00:47:06,480 --> 00:47:08,080 Speaker 3: Right, No real guy, I thought. 827 00:47:08,239 --> 00:47:09,480 Speaker 2: In a lot of ways, I always thought it was 828 00:47:09,560 --> 00:47:12,239 Speaker 2: him portraying himself as a villain, like this is what 829 00:47:12,320 --> 00:47:13,080 Speaker 2: I would be Like. 830 00:47:13,120 --> 00:47:15,879 Speaker 3: I have no idea, And then I stumbled upon this guy. 831 00:47:16,760 --> 00:47:18,160 Speaker 2: What's your tis Elizabeth? 832 00:47:18,520 --> 00:47:20,960 Speaker 3: This is again one of those cases where we can 833 00:47:21,040 --> 00:47:24,399 Speaker 3: kind of admire a criminal because he's non violent. He's 834 00:47:24,480 --> 00:47:29,000 Speaker 3: punching up, yeah, and he's just a fascinating character. Plus 835 00:47:29,040 --> 00:47:31,160 Speaker 3: he hung out with a guy piano Charlie. 836 00:47:31,680 --> 00:47:34,959 Speaker 2: I mean, come on, and he's walking around with a 837 00:47:35,160 --> 00:47:38,120 Speaker 2: very famous painting in a special case he created as 838 00:47:38,120 --> 00:47:38,719 Speaker 2: a lucky child. 839 00:47:39,280 --> 00:47:40,400 Speaker 3: Absolutely pristine. 840 00:47:40,560 --> 00:47:43,120 Speaker 2: It's beautiful, an unbleached cotton cloth. 841 00:47:43,280 --> 00:47:45,359 Speaker 3: I love it. I think I need to talk back 842 00:47:45,400 --> 00:47:45,799 Speaker 3: after that. 843 00:47:45,840 --> 00:47:46,680 Speaker 2: I think we both. 844 00:47:49,600 --> 00:48:03,040 Speaker 5: Oh my god. I hey is Aaron and Elizabeth. This 845 00:48:03,160 --> 00:48:06,920 Speaker 5: is Sarah from Texas and like this week's Flapper bandit, 846 00:48:07,080 --> 00:48:11,000 Speaker 5: I attended the University of Texas at Austin. My tuition 847 00:48:11,280 --> 00:48:15,880 Speaker 5: was completely covered by my parents' military benefits, and somehow 848 00:48:15,960 --> 00:48:19,840 Speaker 5: I still came out with fifty thousand dollars in student loans. 849 00:48:20,520 --> 00:48:21,440 Speaker 5: That's ridiculous. 850 00:48:24,440 --> 00:48:30,520 Speaker 6: Sorry, Yeah, welcome to higher education in the United States. 851 00:48:31,480 --> 00:48:36,080 Speaker 6: I love that it got covered, but not loving the Yeah. 852 00:48:36,120 --> 00:48:40,040 Speaker 3: That's it for today, My condolences. You can find us 853 00:48:40,080 --> 00:48:43,440 Speaker 3: online at ridiculous crime dot com. We're also at Ridiculous 854 00:48:43,480 --> 00:48:48,000 Speaker 3: Crime on Blue Sky Instagram. We're on YouTube at Ridiculous 855 00:48:48,000 --> 00:48:51,160 Speaker 3: Crime Pod Fun Little Animations, fun for you and me. 856 00:48:52,040 --> 00:48:54,280 Speaker 2: You got producer D on there now he's telling a story. 857 00:48:54,320 --> 00:48:57,319 Speaker 2: Did you see that a producer D. If you want 858 00:48:57,360 --> 00:48:58,080 Speaker 2: to see what he looks like? 859 00:48:58,239 --> 00:49:01,719 Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, check that out. Email us at Ridiculous Crime 860 00:49:01,719 --> 00:49:05,359 Speaker 3: at gmail dot com and as always, leave a talk 861 00:49:05,400 --> 00:49:07,640 Speaker 3: back on the iHeart app. You can share what your 862 00:49:08,000 --> 00:49:11,759 Speaker 3: student debt is. We start it, we can start a calculator. 863 00:49:12,719 --> 00:49:15,600 Speaker 3: Either way. It's on the iHeart app's free reach out. 864 00:49:20,760 --> 00:49:23,760 Speaker 3: Ridiculous Crime is hosted by Elizabeth Dutton and Zaren Burnett, 865 00:49:23,880 --> 00:49:27,480 Speaker 3: produced and edited by the Napoleon of Podcasting Dave Cousten, 866 00:49:27,800 --> 00:49:32,239 Speaker 3: starring Annalys rutger Is Judith. Research is by nonviolent catalytic 867 00:49:32,280 --> 00:49:35,480 Speaker 3: converter Fee from Marisa Brown and Pinkerton whose heart Really 868 00:49:35,520 --> 00:49:38,160 Speaker 3: Isn't in It Jabari Davis. The theme song is by 869 00:49:38,200 --> 00:49:42,080 Speaker 3: lock picking specialist Thomas Lee and master of disguise Travis Dutton. 870 00:49:42,239 --> 00:49:45,359 Speaker 3: Post wardrobe is provided by Botany five hundred. Guest hair 871 00:49:45,440 --> 00:49:49,359 Speaker 3: and makeup by Sparkleshot and mister Andre. Executive producers are 872 00:49:49,360 --> 00:49:52,840 Speaker 3: Scotland Yard Detectives Just one week from retirement, Ben Bollen 873 00:49:53,000 --> 00:50:04,720 Speaker 3: and Noel Brown. Crime say It one more time. Udiquious Crime. 874 00:50:05,719 --> 00:50:09,040 Speaker 1: Ridiculous Crime is a production of iHeartRadio. Four more podcasts 875 00:50:09,040 --> 00:50:12,120 Speaker 1: from my heart Radio. Visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 876 00:50:12,239 --> 00:50:14,040 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.