In August 2005, a crew of thieves spent three months digging a
tunnel underneath a busy city street in Fortaleza,
Brazil, then
busted their way into a bank vault and nabbed a whopping $67.8
million in cash. To date, police have recovered just $7 million.
This is not uncommon: For many large-scale robberies, the entire
amount of stolen loot is rarely found, leaving billions in missing
currency, paintings, jewels, and gold bars floating in limbo around
the world. Here are some highlights of the most infamous unsolved
heists throughout history.
- Jack Boulware
1876
In January,
New York thieves break into the new security system of
the Northampton National Bank in
Massachusetts, stealing cash and bonds worth over $26 million
today. A month later, they write a ransom note to the bank,
offering to sell the bonds for cash. The bank negotiates for nearly
a year before detectives arrest and convict the gang. The money is
never recovered.
1945
As Hitler's empire collapses in April, the infamous Nazi gold
collection, $3.34 billion worth of gold bars, stolen foreign
currency, and jewels, suddenly disappears from Reichsbank vaults.
It is called the world's largest bank robbery in history. Over the
years, portions are found in
Switzerland,
Portugal,
Spain, Sweden,
and
Turkey, but much of it remains missing. Search teams still hunt
for Nazi gold - from the coast of
Greece to bank vaults in Brazil
to the bottom of an alpine lake in Austria.
1950
In January, after two years of planning, armed robbers use copied
keys to break into the "burglar-proof" Brinks Building in Boston.
They nab $2.7 million in cash, checks, and money orders. The Great
Brinks Robbery is labeled "the crime of the century." It takes
until 1956 to charge and sentence eight of the thieves. Rumor has
it that the money is hidden in the hills outside Grand Rapids,
Minnesota.
1963
In August, 15 men tamper with train signals and stop the
Glasgow-to-London mail train, stealing £2.6 million without firing
a shot. Thirteen suspects of the Great Train Robbery are arrested
and imprisoned. Three escape jail and become folk heroes - one of
whom gets his life made into a movie starring
Phil Collins. The
lost money was never recovered.
1978
On December 11, a gang of thugs slips into the Lufthansa Airlines
cargo terminal at New York's JFK airport and steals $5.8 million in
cash and jewelry. Unfortunately for police, the currency consists
of dollars that had been exchanged overseas, thus making it
impossible to trace. One suspect is sentenced; several are
murdered. Only $20,000 was ever recovered. The heist was portrayed
in the 1990 mobster film Goodfellas.
1983
In November, six thieves break into the Brinks Mat warehouse at
London Heathrow Airport. They hope to steal £3 million but instead
discover a safe filled with 10 tons of gold bullion worth £26
million. The haul is so large and heavy, gang members actually
leave the airport to retrieve a larger vehicle. A handful are
eventually jailed. Three tons of gold remain unaccounted for.
1990
In March, just after St. Patrick's Day, two men overpower guards at
Boston's
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and steal 13 paintings by
Rembrandt, Degas, Manet, and others. Some works are crudely cut out
of their frames. Officials estimate the total loss at roughly $300
million. Despite a $5 million reward, no artwork has been found,
and there have been no arrests. The museum continues to display the
empty frames.
1997
In September, crooks break into the Dunbar Armored Car depot in Los
Angeles, and within half an hour stuff $18.9 million in cash into a
waiting
U-Haul. After some years, all are caught and confess, including the
ringleader, a Dunbar employee. The Dunbar Armored Robbery remains
the largest cash robbery in U.S. history. $10 million remains
missing.
2003
In February, during a
tennis tournament, an Italian gang slips inside the Antwerp Diamond Center and empties 123 deposit boxes full of gems. The loss is eventually calculated to be an astonishing 100 million euros (then worth $107 million). DNA from a half-eaten sandwich leads authorities to one of its first suspects. No jewels have ever been found.
2004
In December, robbers plunder £26.5 million in cash from the Northern Bank headquarters in
Belfast,
Ireland. Authorities blame the meticulously planned Northern Bank Robbery on the IRA, which categorically denies any involvement. Five suspects have been arrested. Only £2 million has been recovered.