The Gardner Heist (Back)
Reply To Thread
Post #1
Sign in to post a reply.
By REBEKAH KEENEY on May 26, 2009 4:02 PM
The Gardner Heist
DEAR ULRICH,
READ THE GARDNER HEIST WITH INTEREST THIS PAST MONTH. I WAS AN ART /ART HISTORY MAJOR AT OSU AND ENJOY MYSTERIES. HAVE READ AND WANT TO SHARE SOME OF MY THOUGHTS WITH YOU. SMILE.
THERE IS A CODE EVEN AMONG THIEVES (MOB INCLUDED) BOSTON , TO NEW ENGLAND FOLKS, IS THE ONLY LOCAL ON EARTH! BUT HEY, ART IS GLOBAL. THE ISABELLA STEWART GARDNER MUSEUM WAS STILL “IN THEIR TERRITORY” SO NO TO A MOB CONNECTION I FEEL.
WHY TAKE 2 OBJECTS OF LITTLE INSUFFICIENT (POSSIBLY EVEN MISSING BEFORE)? - TO SHOW THAT EVERYDAY OBJECTS CAN AND ARE ART! LET’S CALL A PAINTING WHAT IT REALLY IS-PAINT! IN ADDITION THE SPIRIT (AND OR SOME WOULD SAY PART OF THE ARTIST’S SOUL) ART CAPTURES LIFE IN MANY STYLES AND FORMS. IT IS THE NEED TO OWN THAT IS REFLECTED IN THE PRICE TAG. *THE KEY TO ME, AS AN ARTIST, IS ONE OF A KING-“THE CREATIVE PROCESS”.
THE THIEF, IF A GANG MEMBER, WOULD HAVE CHECKED OUT BEFORE HAND AND PLANNED FOR A FUTURE OPPORTUNE TIME (HARD TO SEE A TRUE BOSTON NATIVE GIVE UP DRINKING ON ST. PAT’S DAY AND INTO THE EVENING JUST TO “ROB A GALLERY”).
ANOTHER ANGLE, A DISSATISFIED ART STUDENT-REJECTED SOMEWHERE? SO TOO, A LOCAL FRATERNITY HAZING?
AN ORIGINAL OWNER OF ONE OR SOME OF THE WORKS OF ART BEFORE THEIR APPEARANCE IN THE ISABELLA STEWART GARDNER MUSEUM ? MONEY MAY HAVE COME AVAILABLE-SOLD TO ISABELLA WITHOUT ENOUGH KNOWLEDGE…THEIR THOUGHTS-“WE SHOULD HAVE THOSE BACK”. WHERE DID THE WORKS ORIGINATE? SELL, RESELL…WHO EVER BID FOR AND LOST THE BID OF THE STOLEN WORKS??? IF THEY COULD NOT HAVE POSSIBLY THEIR MOTIVE “TO SEARCH AND DESTROY” WAS JUST THAT!
*LATER DATE…WE ( USA ) 1ST WENT INTO IRAQ AND DESTROYED THEIR NATIONAL ART TREASURERS. THE UN HAD ASKED THAT USA NOT TO BUT, WE BOMBED/SEARCHED/DESTROYED. HOW SAD FOR HISTORY. YOU MENTION A FEW WORKS OF ART, YET MANY ARE STOLEN AS YOU SAY EACH YEAR AROUND THE GLOBE AND EVEN MORE IN WAR.
THE ONE EARLIER GUARD WHO HAD AN OBSESSION WITH ISABELLA AND LOVE OF THE MUSEUM WAS DISMISSED TOO QUICK. IF HE LOVED THE PIECES THEN SURELY OVER TIME THAT FOCUSED/MISGUIDED LOVE GREW. IF ONLY A FEW PIECES TO REMEMBER.
WHY, THE DUTCH ROOM? 3RD. FLOOR WITH A TIME ELEMENT-OR WAS THERE IF A BEEPER. (3RD. PARTY POLICE AND/OR POLICE SCANNER TO HEADQUARTERS. * BUT THEN HOW ABSURD-ST. PAT’S FESTIVITIES-ALL WOULD KNOW “THEY WERE BUSY”.
WAS THE ARCHITECTURAL AGENCY FOR THE GARDNER STILL IN EXISTENCE? BLUE PRINTS OWNED BY THE GARDNER ? THE SAME AT THE AGENCY? YOU MENTIONED THE ORIGINAL STEPS WERE CHANGED…OTHER MODIFICATIONS? DID YOU CHECK OUT THE COPY OF THE BUILDING IN ITALY AND SEE IF THEY KNEW OF HIDDEN AREAS IN THEIR STRUCTURE? I FELT ALL ALONG THAT THE WORKS STOLEN COULD HAVE BEEN STASHED IN THE BUILDING ITSELF.
WHY DID YOU NOT BELIEVE THAT THE TV STUDIO / SHOW (MONK) COULD NOT HAVE HAD THE ONE OR MORE ORIGINAL PIECES FROM THE HEIST? WHAT BETTER WAY TO KEEP AN ORIGINAL SAFE – IN CLEAR SIGHT! ALL WOULD ASSUME A COPY-HEY, YOU DID TOO.
I STILL GO BACK TO THE PAST DIRECTOR AND THE PAINTINGS/OBJECTS NOT INSURED. THE ORIGINALS COULD HAVE BEEN SWITCHED YEARS EARLIER. *SO TOO, POSSIBLY, THEY WERE FAKES, FROM THE START. THERE WILL BE NO NEED FOR THE WORKS TO EVER RESURFACE---THE ONE’S TAKEN WERE FAKES!
THE FBI / POLICE HAD THE MOBS ON THE RUN-HITS OUT WITH GUNS AND/OR DRUGS…TOO MUCH IN THE BOOK ABOUT THIS ANGLE. I GUESS WHAT YOU NEEDED TO SAY “WHAT LOW LIFE” WOULD TAKE SOMETHING FROM “THE FENWAY GALLERY”? NEW YORK – ST. LOUIS THE BASEBALL CIRCUIT. YOU SKIPPED OVER “THE FENWAY CONNECTION” AND $$$ INVOLVED IN BASEBALL AND ART.
REMBRANDT ON THE SHIP WITH JESUS AND THE DISCIPLES. YES, SURE LIKE HOLLAND DOESN’T LIKE ART! WHY SUCH A STONG PULL TO IRELAND ?
ANOTHER ANGLE – HAROLD SMITH LIKE WHY WAS HIS HOUSE SOLD SO QUICKLY AND HIS PAPERS MISSING? DESTROYED? HIS NAME KEPT ALIVE WITH YOUR WRITING…SO WE ALL WANT TO BE REMEMBERED…AND HIS NAME SURFACES WITH THE GARDNER HEIST.
ODD WHEN YOU SAY THE FELLOW IN IRELAND WITH THE GREEN EYES CAN NOT BE YOUR MAN (HE MIGHT HAVE HAD CONTACTS MADE GREEN FOR HIM TO COVER HIS BABY BLUE EYES).
LAST BUT NOT FORGOTTEN…WERE THE ROBBERS NOT REALLY TRUE TO LIFE COPS? THEY HAD THE ACCESS AND YES COULD HAVE ALSO STUDIES MUG SHOTS AND MADE DISGUISES TO FIT.
THANKS, FOR YOUR CREATIVE WRITING ULRICH, SO MANY LEADS AND EXTENSIVE RESEARCH-CAUSED ME TO QUESTION EVERYTHING! ONE CAN ONLY IMAGINE-IT’S ABOUT THE SOUL…WHEN ONE GIVES THEIR WHOLE LIFE ALLOWS FOR MANY OPPORTUNITIES AND CHANGE. FOR YOU I WISH A MARVELOUS LIFE JOURNEY IN TRAVEL, WRITING AND PAINT!
HUGS, READER, REBEKAH ANN (VOLL) KEENEY / “BECKY KEENEY”
Post #2
Sign in to post a reply.
By Denise Snakard Re: Post #1 on May 27, 2009 5:50 AM
The Gardner Heist Questions
WOW-! Some very good thoughts by Keeney. One thing I agree with her on this: Not the mob or Ireland. Over the top..........and like Keeney said, "Not on St. Pat's Day."
I think the heist is in the first 100 pages of the book. On page 11, UB writes the thieves "took wallets" so they would "know where you live." On page 94, "the intruders were also curiously considerate to the guards, and when they trussed Abell to a steam pipe in the basement, the thieves places his cowboy hat and WALLET beside him, ready for him to retrieve the next day."
Guards:
Q: Which page is correct?
Q: If pg94 is correct, then, would not fingerprints had been left on the wallet?
Q:Did these guards ever mention if the intruders wore gloves?
Q:Would not the handcuffs on both guards have had fingerprints?
Q:If the intruders didn't have gloves during the time of putting the guards in their separate rooms, then, why no finger prints from door knobs to pipes?
Q: Did these guards not have to go to the bathroom while trussed up? Nerves alone would have created some urgency.
Q: Did any of these guards work around boats or water front before working at the museum? If so, they would have knowledge of getting some of the paintings out of the country fast.
Thieves:
Q: How would they even know about the basement and the rooms to put the guards in without previous knowledge of the layout before hand. (I couldn't tell you where one basement for furnaces etc are in any of my Chicago area museums.)
Q: How professional looking were the uniforms?
Q: Were costume rental places ever questioned?
Q: Did anyone ask the drunken teenagers if he could ID the FBI sketches?
Q: Which guard gave the most descriptive of the thieves?
Q:"Mate" would have been any long shoreman's term in the Boston area?
Abell:
Q: Could the motion detector give the time Abell was last in the Blue Room?
Q: Could not Abell have been duct taped in front of guard Helman, but taped removed after Helman was handcuffed to a pipe first, then Abell assisted in the heist THEN re-ducted taped and handcuffed to the pipe down the hallway from Helman? Reading the police report, they only indicate it was Abell who the thieves left the wallet-even though they did take his driver's license out of it.
Q: Was there ever a tracking to learn if Abell applied for another driver's license?
Q: Was it ever determined what questions were asked on the lie-detector test that made Abell's test "inconclusive?"
Q: Why was his timing off on the noticing the car pulling up out front?
Q: Why did Abell turn in his resignation two weeks before the heist?
Q:Did he graduate from Berkee?
Q:If not, when did he stop going to school?
Q:What is Abell's income today?
Q:Odd he won't allow interviews?????
Q:What was Abell studying? Was he into Napoleon as a hero? I would think I would want to know if these two guards ever discussed during their time together what art they did like and compare what was taken.
KERN:
Q: He worked at the museum beginning at age 19 to 28 before quitting?
Q: What did he do after the museum for a job?
Q:Did Kern, Helman and Abell know each other prior to working at Gardner?
Q: Did Kern and Abell ever guard together?
Q: How long had Kern been working the 2nd shift?
Q: Did Kern have a friend with a truck he may have 'borrowed' on the 17th? Most bands groups do.
Q: Did UB find it strange Kern would have this secret hiding place behind a bookcase he built in his apt in Chicago?
Q: Did UB not find it alarming to build such a case when his income would never had demanded such a space? Most guys build bars, not hiding rooms.
Q: How immature was Kern not to have taken UB's visit serious enough by the manner in which he invited UB to see "the Gardners?"
Q:What was Kern's income at the time of this Chicago visit if his "full time job is fixing it up (new apt)."
Q:What does Kern's 20 Vol. encyclopedia of the Ukranine tell where the paintings might be today......at least the Masters?
Keller:
Q: An expert in the field of security and let this one slide?
Q: What nationality?
Q:Did he have any ties to the former or then guards?
Q: Couln't the museum have sued him for failing to submit proper security? Like "malpractice?"
Q:Was he bonded?
Helman:
Not involved.
Finally........
Rollin "Bump" Hadley:
Q: Hadley would have had more knowledge about the finances of the musuem to know if they had to close and sell, Harvard stood to gain. So if these paintings were scattered throughout the World....forever......why not enjoy a few for himself til death?
Q:He would have known how most heists ARE successful?
Q:Would have had more background on the art?
Q:Think Hadley did quirky things just to pull off this heist? Like getting a divorce?
Q:Could Hadley had planned this heist, had access to the guards backgrounds and approved Abell's application, knew they smoked pot late at night, etc. and approached them for help? At least Abell?
Q: What kind of art had Hadley collected personally. Was he into Oriental objects? Beaker would fit right in then......no wife around to question his object(s) too.
I think the Napoleon finial was taken by one of the intruders because they wanted it for personal ownership.............of course, it was all about knowing it belonged to Napoleon.
Any comments?
Granny Nancy Drew
Post #3
Sign in to post a reply.
By Ulrich Boser Re: Post #1 on May 27, 2009 10:38 AM
Yes, some very interesting questions. Though I think in cases like this it's important that we distinguish between fact and speculation. So, for instance, we know as fact that that two men robbed the museum. We don't know as fact that there was a look out or another car waiting outside. There are also some questions that I think that we will never know the answers to like why the guards even let the men in that night.
I'd also encourage you to take a look at some of the original police reports. They answer some of your questions. They also prompt more questions--at least for me. See here
http://theopencase.com/do.php?get_file&id=260
http://theopencase.com/do.php?get_file&id=249
http://theopencase.com/do.php?get_file&id=259
And be patient. It takes a while for the items to load.
Post #4
Sign in to post a reply.
By Denise Snakard Re: Post #1 on May 28, 2009 9:10 AM
The Gardner Heist Response
UB, I read the police report. First, I am amazed the magnitude of this art heist and so little information in the report. Not much facts at all. The Q I asked about Abell's wallet, the police wrote, "...blindfolded with his hat on one side and his person papers on the other." "Person papers?" What's that all about?-! Helman was not found with his wallet near him, but, in ( ) the police report's "(later wallet was found)". Doesn't even say where.
I welcome speculations because the facts are so limited. In fact, aren't most of the facts based first on speculations? One clue it couldn't have been the mafia, is how polite the thieves were.
Granny Nancy Drew
Post #5
Sign in to post a reply.
By Ulrich Boser Re: Post #1 on May 29, 2009 3:52 AM
Good point. One has to speculate because the facts are so limited, and I think the politeness of the thieves is a clue that could go either way. On one side, it suggests that the thieves were nice and polite. But at the same time, I think it also suggests that the thieves were professionals, that they knew exactly what they were doing. In my reporting, I've found that violence during robberies is largely an issue only with amateur thieves.
The Boston Herald has a lengthy Gardner heist story that provides some interesting details about the guards. You might want to check that out. The Boston Globe also ran a Gardner heist special report with a lot of details about the guards. Indeed, it was the Globe story that revealed that one of the guards used to smoke pot before going into work.
Sign in to post a reply.
