Memo: From now on all guards must eat separately at truckstops
July 23, 2022 9:07 PM Subscribe
Mystery shrouds colossal Brink’s heist at I-5 truck stop: Who stole millions in gems, gold?
In the early hours of July 11, two armed guards left their Brink’s big rig, giving a gang of thieves a 27-minute window to make the huge snatch, its total value still a mystery. Estimates range from $10 million to $100 million.
(Unpaywalled)
“we believe several thieves had to be involved.”
😀
posted by clavdivs at 9:41 PM on July 23, 2022 [2 favorites]
😀
posted by clavdivs at 9:41 PM on July 23, 2022 [2 favorites]
O.o
posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 11:02 PM on July 23, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 11:02 PM on July 23, 2022 [1 favorite]
Oh man I can't wait for more details to come out, and for the inevitable heist film adaptation.
This is my favorite kind of crime--bold, clever, the only victims insurance companies and businessmen too cheap to buy enough insurance.
I want to know how the thieves knew when to strike. It seems like too much volume to be a crime of opportunity. Did they pay off the guards? Did they have someone working at Brinks who knew the route? Did they just follow the truck from the show in an empty truck and wait to see where they stopped?
And what did they do with the loot? The PI says that they got rid of it right away, but how and where, who paid them how much for it? Did they dump all of it? How is the fence converting these distinctive jewelry items into cash?
posted by JDHarper at 12:31 AM on July 24, 2022 [11 favorites]
This is my favorite kind of crime--bold, clever, the only victims insurance companies and businessmen too cheap to buy enough insurance.
I want to know how the thieves knew when to strike. It seems like too much volume to be a crime of opportunity. Did they pay off the guards? Did they have someone working at Brinks who knew the route? Did they just follow the truck from the show in an empty truck and wait to see where they stopped?
And what did they do with the loot? The PI says that they got rid of it right away, but how and where, who paid them how much for it? Did they dump all of it? How is the fence converting these distinctive jewelry items into cash?
posted by JDHarper at 12:31 AM on July 24, 2022 [11 favorites]
If you rip off a bank for $100mil on Wall St they give you a bonus.
posted by adept256 at 12:33 AM on July 24, 2022 [24 favorites]
posted by adept256 at 12:33 AM on July 24, 2022 [24 favorites]
Something I don't get. How does it go unnoticed at a truck stop restaurant that there is a massive robbery in progress? Also, wouldn't the guards have some sort of warning system in place to notify them that someone was tampering with their truck?
posted by Phlegmco(tm) at 1:45 AM on July 24, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by Phlegmco(tm) at 1:45 AM on July 24, 2022 [1 favorite]
I’ve been to that truck stop (in fact, I was at that truck stop when the county health officer ordered the shower facilities shut down in April 2020). It is next to a palatial motel (lol). It has an elaborate Wendy’s drive-thru that is mostly below ground level. It has a vast parking lot on a fairly steep incline with at least eight points of egress through difficult-to-surveill-terrain in every cardinal direction, sparse camera coverage, few spaces close to the building, and even fewer spaces visible from inside. It always has multiple big rigs inadvertently creating a parking maze.
If I wanted to burgle an armored car while its guards were grabbing lunch, that is where I’d want to do it. The Frazier Mountain Flying J truck stop and motel would be a great setting for a Richard Stark Parker novel.
posted by infinitewindow at 2:39 AM on July 24, 2022 [84 favorites]
If I wanted to burgle an armored car while its guards were grabbing lunch, that is where I’d want to do it. The Frazier Mountain Flying J truck stop and motel would be a great setting for a Richard Stark Parker novel.
posted by infinitewindow at 2:39 AM on July 24, 2022 [84 favorites]
The gang of thieves was able to quickly bypass the truck’s trailer locking mechanism, enter its vast back and unload a series of storage containers filled with jewelry, diamonds other precious gems, and a plethora of Rolexes and other designer watches, Mileski said. The investigator said he wouldn’t describe the locking mechanism but acknowledged it would not be exceedingly difficult to crack.Translated: It was a $10 padlock.
the truck contained many 70- to 100-pound plastic containers filled with jewelry, gems and watches.70 pounds of jewelry, gems, and watches could easily be $10 million by itself. If the whole crate contained either gold or things as valuable per ounce as gold, that would be $2 million already, and gold coins and jewelry are often worth much more than their melt weight. If anything rare or famous was in there, even more.
So this could easily have been an opportunistic snatch-and-grab. Two people stop for gas in their pickup truck, see a Brinks truck, watch the two guards go inside, break the lock and grab a few containers. Each one is small enough for a strong person to carry, so 4 containers would be an easy 2-minute job.
posted by mmoncur at 2:44 AM on July 24, 2022 [6 favorites]
Did you see the photographs? The thieves did us a favor by taking out so much truly hideous jewelry. Pry out the gems, melt down the metals and the world will be a better place.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 3:18 AM on July 24, 2022 [8 favorites]
posted by TWinbrook8 at 3:18 AM on July 24, 2022 [8 favorites]
I'm curious about the truck. Was it a tractor-trailer? This news story uses a very unconvincing model (though it does have some good shots of the parking lot full of big rigs, so you get a better idea of how this could have happened), and the story says the truck was unarmored. Poop. I was hoping for some big-ass Road Warrior Death Semi. I mean, Brinks uses plain old everyday trucks?
posted by CCBC at 3:27 AM on July 24, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by CCBC at 3:27 AM on July 24, 2022 [3 favorites]
Cargo theft is a massive criminal enterprise across the L.A. region with some of the biggest ports in the nation. Last year alone, CargoNet, a theft record firm, logged more than $57 million in cargo truck theft. California remains the top state for cargo snatches, with a 13% increase over 2020.
Sounds like an organized crime ring bullied and/or bribed the guards into cooperating. Their convenient absence and the ease with which the trailer was opened would be incredible otherwise.
posted by Bee'sWing at 4:08 AM on July 24, 2022 [4 favorites]
Sounds like an organized crime ring bullied and/or bribed the guards into cooperating. Their convenient absence and the ease with which the trailer was opened would be incredible otherwise.
posted by Bee'sWing at 4:08 AM on July 24, 2022 [4 favorites]
I mean, Brinks uses plain old everyday trucks?
If I were Brinks, I would want my long-distance trucks to be as unnoticeable as possible. I'd make the trailer a plain white box. No sense advertising "hey, expensive stuff in this truck!"
But then on the inside I would have expected some kind of armored and locked section, which it sounds like they either did not have or the lock was easily defeated
posted by JDHarper at 5:55 AM on July 24, 2022 [14 favorites]
If I were Brinks, I would want my long-distance trucks to be as unnoticeable as possible. I'd make the trailer a plain white box. No sense advertising "hey, expensive stuff in this truck!"
But then on the inside I would have expected some kind of armored and locked section, which it sounds like they either did not have or the lock was easily defeated
posted by JDHarper at 5:55 AM on July 24, 2022 [14 favorites]
Did they just follow the truck from the show in an empty truck and wait to see where they stopped?
I don't know that flying J but I know the type. I figure the thieves stalk the location, not the specific prey; just like at the watering hole.
posted by SaltySalticid at 5:55 AM on July 24, 2022 [8 favorites]
I don't know that flying J but I know the type. I figure the thieves stalk the location, not the specific prey; just like at the watering hole.
posted by SaltySalticid at 5:55 AM on July 24, 2022 [8 favorites]
If I were Brinks, I would want my long-distance trucks to be as unnoticeable as possible. I'd make the trailer a plain white box.
That’s it’s handled in the high end art world and how they transport spent fuel rods and the like. Similarly, if you know what to look for (specific lock type) you can spot trucks carrying the US Mail, which are also pretty plain.
posted by carmicha at 6:36 AM on July 24, 2022 [6 favorites]
That’s it’s handled in the high end art world and how they transport spent fuel rods and the like. Similarly, if you know what to look for (specific lock type) you can spot trucks carrying the US Mail, which are also pretty plain.
posted by carmicha at 6:36 AM on July 24, 2022 [6 favorites]
The jewelry is certainly out of the country and probably sold for below its melting price because moving that much stolen jewelry is dangerous and expensive.
I wouldn't be surprised if it went to a country with strong sanctions that currently can't sell luxury goods, like Russia, where you can't even buy these luxury brands from sanctioned dealers but still has the skills to service these high end watches without worrying about tracing. Also it is so isolated from world's financial systems moving something like $10 million or Euro equivalent would be trivial for criminal enterprises that keep large cash reserves. These are way too hot to be sold in most Western countries.
posted by geoff. at 6:58 AM on July 24, 2022 [1 favorite]
I wouldn't be surprised if it went to a country with strong sanctions that currently can't sell luxury goods, like Russia, where you can't even buy these luxury brands from sanctioned dealers but still has the skills to service these high end watches without worrying about tracing. Also it is so isolated from world's financial systems moving something like $10 million or Euro equivalent would be trivial for criminal enterprises that keep large cash reserves. These are way too hot to be sold in most Western countries.
posted by geoff. at 6:58 AM on July 24, 2022 [1 favorite]
Similarly, if you know what to look for (specific lock type) you can spot trucks carrying the US Mail, which are also pretty plain.
My experience has been that semis carrying US mail are almost always marked in one way or another as being USPS mail. It’s usually some small inconspicuous lettering like “US MAIL” on the trailer. The truck itself is often a contractor vehicle, but still has some kind of small US MAIL signifier. So, looking for a particular type of lock isn’t really necessary.
Of course, stealing the US mail is a federal felony, which will bring down some serious trouble on anyone daring to heist a USPS truck. And, honestly, who would even want to steal a semi full of junk mail just to try and find the package(s) that might have something in them worth the risk of a long stay at Leavenworth?
posted by Thorzdad at 7:00 AM on July 24, 2022 [5 favorites]
My experience has been that semis carrying US mail are almost always marked in one way or another as being USPS mail. It’s usually some small inconspicuous lettering like “US MAIL” on the trailer. The truck itself is often a contractor vehicle, but still has some kind of small US MAIL signifier. So, looking for a particular type of lock isn’t really necessary.
Of course, stealing the US mail is a federal felony, which will bring down some serious trouble on anyone daring to heist a USPS truck. And, honestly, who would even want to steal a semi full of junk mail just to try and find the package(s) that might have something in them worth the risk of a long stay at Leavenworth?
posted by Thorzdad at 7:00 AM on July 24, 2022 [5 favorites]
I'd make the trailer a plain white box.
Can't just do that, to anyone with the right eyes you might as well be driving with a big I'm Special sign on the back. You've gotta rub some dirt on it, you know? Put some plausible rust here and there, make sure it's got believable serial numbers and hazmat-warnings in the right places, maybe put some graffiti or that faint outline of a previous owner's label on it, this sort of thing is a lot of work. Don't put some obviously ex-mil, clean-shaven suits-ties-and-aviators dudes in the front, either. You want one road-weary, flannel-wearing guy who's like 30% dishevelled and 60% done with your shit in that seat, and nobody will ever even see him rolling by.
There is a class of people in the world who I will never meet, whose stories I will never hear, who I am absolutely certain exist: the artists, designers and art directors and who make the fake companies and all the branding, iconography, wardrobe, stage management and so forth for the front organizations you will never know about, because you'll never even notice them rolling by.
I frequently wonder about how deeply you need to understand a culture, a region, a locale not your own, to create something that can sit in it or pass through it totally unnoticed, something so perfectly, frictionlessly of its place that it is not even worth registering as a stimulus.
posted by mhoye at 7:30 AM on July 24, 2022 [68 favorites]
Can't just do that, to anyone with the right eyes you might as well be driving with a big I'm Special sign on the back. You've gotta rub some dirt on it, you know? Put some plausible rust here and there, make sure it's got believable serial numbers and hazmat-warnings in the right places, maybe put some graffiti or that faint outline of a previous owner's label on it, this sort of thing is a lot of work. Don't put some obviously ex-mil, clean-shaven suits-ties-and-aviators dudes in the front, either. You want one road-weary, flannel-wearing guy who's like 30% dishevelled and 60% done with your shit in that seat, and nobody will ever even see him rolling by.
There is a class of people in the world who I will never meet, whose stories I will never hear, who I am absolutely certain exist: the artists, designers and art directors and who make the fake companies and all the branding, iconography, wardrobe, stage management and so forth for the front organizations you will never know about, because you'll never even notice them rolling by.
I frequently wonder about how deeply you need to understand a culture, a region, a locale not your own, to create something that can sit in it or pass through it totally unnoticed, something so perfectly, frictionlessly of its place that it is not even worth registering as a stimulus.
posted by mhoye at 7:30 AM on July 24, 2022 [68 favorites]
If I wanted to burgle an armored car while its guards were grabbing lunch, that is where I’d want to do it. The Frazier Mountain Flying J truck stop and motel would be a great setting for a Richard Stark Parker novel.
I was reminded of Parker novels also. However, for a novel you'd want some more elaborate security precautions that have to be defeated. This sounds more like they had a rented Penske truck with a padlock on the back and some locked bins inside, and left it in an obscure corner while having a leisurely lunch. Readers would expect better.
posted by Dip Flash at 7:43 AM on July 24, 2022 [1 favorite]
I was reminded of Parker novels also. However, for a novel you'd want some more elaborate security precautions that have to be defeated. This sounds more like they had a rented Penske truck with a padlock on the back and some locked bins inside, and left it in an obscure corner while having a leisurely lunch. Readers would expect better.
posted by Dip Flash at 7:43 AM on July 24, 2022 [1 favorite]
Of course, stealing the US mail is a federal felony, which will bring down some serious trouble on anyone daring to heist a USPS truck. And, honestly, who would even want to steal a semi full of junk mail just to try and find the package(s) that might have something in them worth the risk of a long stay at Leavenworth?
One of the largest ever cash heists was the 1962 Great Plymouth Mail Robbery. Several men dressed as police officers set up a phony traffic detour and lured a USPS mail truck off the highway so they could hijack it. The truck was carrying 1.6 million dollars in small bills destined for the Federal Reserve Bank in Boston. To date the only two men ever charged with this crime were acquitted at trial, and the cash has never been recovered.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 8:06 AM on July 24, 2022 [14 favorites]
One of the largest ever cash heists was the 1962 Great Plymouth Mail Robbery. Several men dressed as police officers set up a phony traffic detour and lured a USPS mail truck off the highway so they could hijack it. The truck was carrying 1.6 million dollars in small bills destined for the Federal Reserve Bank in Boston. To date the only two men ever charged with this crime were acquitted at trial, and the cash has never been recovered.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 8:06 AM on July 24, 2022 [14 favorites]
I’ve been to that truck stop (in fact, I was at that truck stop when the county health officer ordered the shower facilities shut down in April 2020). It is next to a palatial motel (lol). It has an elaborate Wendy’s drive-thru that is mostly below ground level. It has a vast parking lot on a fairly steep incline with at least eight points of egress through difficult-to-surveill-terrain in every cardinal direction, sparse camera coverage, few spaces close to the building, and even fewer spaces visible from inside. It always has multiple big rigs inadvertently creating a parking maze.
Huh. I think you did it.
posted by goatdog at 8:34 AM on July 24, 2022 [48 favorites]
Huh. I think you did it.
posted by goatdog at 8:34 AM on July 24, 2022 [48 favorites]
You'd think 'don't leave the truck completely unguarded' would already be standard procedure. Sketchy.
posted by Jacen at 9:11 AM on July 24, 2022 [10 favorites]
posted by Jacen at 9:11 AM on July 24, 2022 [10 favorites]
At the end of the article was a statement from a Brinks person saying that Brinks is responsible for the loss. If that’s the case, then you would think that they would be better prepared for avoiding such a theft.
posted by njohnson23 at 9:29 AM on July 24, 2022
posted by njohnson23 at 9:29 AM on July 24, 2022
Huh. I think you did it.
If he turns out to be George Clooney or Brad Pitt it's going to look pretty suspicious.
posted by biffa at 9:31 AM on July 24, 2022 [5 favorites]
If he turns out to be George Clooney or Brad Pitt it's going to look pretty suspicious.
posted by biffa at 9:31 AM on July 24, 2022 [5 favorites]
>$57 million in cargo truck theft
$150k per day? Like maybe one truck carrying 500 VCRs??
posted by Heywood Mogroot III at 9:47 AM on July 24, 2022 [7 favorites]
$150k per day? Like maybe one truck carrying 500 VCRs??
posted by Heywood Mogroot III at 9:47 AM on July 24, 2022 [7 favorites]
If he turns out to be George Clooney or Brad Pitt it's going to look pretty suspicious.
Yeah, I feel like I've seen this movie but it starred Jason Statham or Idris Elba.
posted by fuse theorem at 10:00 AM on July 24, 2022 [2 favorites]
Yeah, I feel like I've seen this movie but it starred Jason Statham or Idris Elba.
posted by fuse theorem at 10:00 AM on July 24, 2022 [2 favorites]
A gust of wind. A dog barks. Cue the truck. Exit Herman, and walk out into the bank. Exit Felix, and stand there with a not-so-bright look on your face.
All right, Doris, come on. Hey, fix your bra, honey...
Felix?
How ya doing, Doris?
Can I have a roll of quarters?
10, 9, 8, car...
6, 5, Quarters ...
3, 2...
Just takes practice, is all I’m saying.
posted by Mchelly at 10:03 AM on July 24, 2022 [14 favorites]
All right, Doris, come on. Hey, fix your bra, honey...
Felix?
How ya doing, Doris?
Can I have a roll of quarters?
10, 9, 8, car...
6, 5, Quarters ...
3, 2...
Just takes practice, is all I’m saying.
posted by Mchelly at 10:03 AM on July 24, 2022 [14 favorites]
MetaFilter: Pry out the gems, melt down the metals and the world will be a better place.
posted by elkevelvet at 10:21 AM on July 24, 2022 [6 favorites]
posted by elkevelvet at 10:21 AM on July 24, 2022 [6 favorites]
Is it normal for both guards to leave the truck like that? You'd think that's why there's two of 'em in the first place.
posted by snuffleupagus at 10:47 AM on July 24, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by snuffleupagus at 10:47 AM on July 24, 2022 [3 favorites]
y'all are severely underestimating how good the hamburger steak, mash taters, and mixed veggies is at the Flying J
posted by glonous keming at 11:17 AM on July 24, 2022 [21 favorites]
posted by glonous keming at 11:17 AM on July 24, 2022 [21 favorites]
Did they have someone working at Brinks who knew the route? Did they just follow the truck from the show in an empty truck and wait to see where they stopped?
TFA quotes law enforcement as saying just following was the most likely explanation. They exhibited in San Mateo, were heading to Pasadena, all that info was public. You definitely don't need someone on the inside to know the general route is "I-5."
If I were Brinks, I would want my long-distance trucks to be as unnoticeable as possible. I'd make the trailer a plain white box. No sense advertising "hey, expensive stuff in this truck!"
Both the Cullinan Diamond and the Hope Diamond were sent by ordinary mail (to London and the Smithsonian, respectively.)
The Cullinan Diamond was shipped that way specifically for security reasons the way you were thinking--they had a big decoy security operation guarding nothing on a steamship. So the "Road Warrior" reference is spot on, if you're thinking of the 1981 version.
Not sure about the Hope Diamond--I got vibes that the donor was perhaps just a bit cheap. "I'm giving you this big diamond, I'm not also paying a million for security!" He paid $100 to insure it.
posted by mark k at 11:20 AM on July 24, 2022 [6 favorites]
TFA quotes law enforcement as saying just following was the most likely explanation. They exhibited in San Mateo, were heading to Pasadena, all that info was public. You definitely don't need someone on the inside to know the general route is "I-5."
If I were Brinks, I would want my long-distance trucks to be as unnoticeable as possible. I'd make the trailer a plain white box. No sense advertising "hey, expensive stuff in this truck!"
Both the Cullinan Diamond and the Hope Diamond were sent by ordinary mail (to London and the Smithsonian, respectively.)
The Cullinan Diamond was shipped that way specifically for security reasons the way you were thinking--they had a big decoy security operation guarding nothing on a steamship. So the "Road Warrior" reference is spot on, if you're thinking of the 1981 version.
Not sure about the Hope Diamond--I got vibes that the donor was perhaps just a bit cheap. "I'm giving you this big diamond, I'm not also paying a million for security!" He paid $100 to insure it.
posted by mark k at 11:20 AM on July 24, 2022 [6 favorites]
Rolexes hey? I hope those beautiful bastards are never caught. Redistribute the wealth, baby.
posted by liminal_shadows at 11:43 AM on July 24, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by liminal_shadows at 11:43 AM on July 24, 2022 [1 favorite]
y'all are severely underestimating how good the hamburger steak, mash taters, and mixed veggies is at the Flying J
Plus they probably have an exclusive Mtn Dew flavor there as well!
posted by TedW at 11:46 AM on July 24, 2022 [13 favorites]
Plus they probably have an exclusive Mtn Dew flavor there as well!
posted by TedW at 11:46 AM on July 24, 2022 [13 favorites]
SaltySalticid although I love the idea of stalking the location like a watering hole, I would assume if someone shows up on the regular that's going to be noticed. Source: I lived at truck and rest stops for about a month in November. I sure as hell noticed the other regulars, the woman with a black eye dragging the sullen teenage boy in tow, the two bedraggled teenagers, the guys in barely functional work trucks. And if you're stalking, you'd have to go in to pee or get snacks, and then you'd be on camera (which is only useful after the fact, but still). If they had a big enough team and if they were very careful about rotating, then stalking a truckstop could go unnoticed.
posted by liminal_shadows at 11:52 AM on July 24, 2022 [10 favorites]
posted by liminal_shadows at 11:52 AM on July 24, 2022 [10 favorites]
If you watch the youtube channel of "the lock-picking lawyer", you quickly realize that even more expensive locks are mostly just playthings in the hands of experts, and anything you can buy at the local hardware store is really just keeping honest people honest.
posted by maxwelton at 12:19 PM on July 24, 2022 [10 favorites]
posted by maxwelton at 12:19 PM on July 24, 2022 [10 favorites]
I am standing in line for the ladies room at the other big rest stop in the vicinity of this one reading this article.
The world is a weird place and not made less weird by my eight year old being hungry now instead of ten minutes from now.
posted by FritoKAL at 12:48 PM on July 24, 2022 [7 favorites]
The world is a weird place and not made less weird by my eight year old being hungry now instead of ten minutes from now.
posted by FritoKAL at 12:48 PM on July 24, 2022 [7 favorites]
My bet is the stolen boxes were filled with rocks, and there was really only $10,000,000, in goods. It is an insurance scam. If the stuff was really stolen, it's on a watermelon truck, and waiting in the cooler at your local grocers, for a cooling off period. Then it will ship wherever, and however, train, right up over Tehachapi to Vegas, private jets out in every direction. I love this armchair stuff.
posted by Oyéah at 12:56 PM on July 24, 2022 [8 favorites]
posted by Oyéah at 12:56 PM on July 24, 2022 [8 favorites]
was a minkey involved
Torches, scrying, laser tag, hacked insurance sites, payed off guards, a screen of trucks while breaking the box, did they take it all, did they check for trackers, was somebody nursing a Reuben watching the guards with an earbud. What was the getaway vechile. we're animals or precious flora harmed?
posted by clavdivs at 1:52 PM on July 24, 2022 [2 favorites]
Torches, scrying, laser tag, hacked insurance sites, payed off guards, a screen of trucks while breaking the box, did they take it all, did they check for trackers, was somebody nursing a Reuben watching the guards with an earbud. What was the getaway vechile. we're animals or precious flora harmed?
posted by clavdivs at 1:52 PM on July 24, 2022 [2 favorites]
For some reason this reminds me of The Order, an infamous neo-Nazi group from the 80’s that conducted a string of heists, including three armored truck robberies that netted them something like 5 mil.
posted by gucci mane at 2:25 PM on July 24, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by gucci mane at 2:25 PM on July 24, 2022 [3 favorites]
I think mmoncur may have it: a crime of opportunity. So how did the thieves know there were valuables in the truck? If it was totally unmarked (was it?) and the guards were not wearing uniform or other Brinks ware (were they?), presumably they were armed -- open carry is not so common in California as other places -- and recognized. Thieves saw them go to lunch, one turns to the other, "Hey, wanna see what's in that truck?"
posted by CCBC at 2:38 PM on July 24, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by CCBC at 2:38 PM on July 24, 2022 [1 favorite]
A safe cracker doesn't hang out looking for random vans to snaffle.
posted by clavdivs at 2:48 PM on July 24, 2022
posted by clavdivs at 2:48 PM on July 24, 2022
And the insurance fraud angle doesn’t seem great, if the owners tend to be dramatically underinsured.
posted by Windopaene at 2:53 PM on July 24, 2022
posted by Windopaene at 2:53 PM on July 24, 2022
Insurance fraud would work if the owners didn't actually put the jewels into the bags or the consignees didn't put the jewels into the truck.
posted by Rumple at 3:05 PM on July 24, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by Rumple at 3:05 PM on July 24, 2022 [4 favorites]
Did the thieves take precautions to kill any electronics in the haul? If not, a $25 AirTag could make their day a whole lot worse.
posted by acb at 3:07 PM on July 24, 2022 [5 favorites]
posted by acb at 3:07 PM on July 24, 2022 [5 favorites]
The CBS story linked above by CCBC notes:
posted by hydropsyche at 3:14 PM on July 24, 2022 [5 favorites]
"Those men are not allowed to leave that vehicle unattended, it goes against all of Brink's protocols," added Duke. "I mean, it's beyond my comprehension if that's what indeed happened."That was also my first thought. I have a relative who was the guard in the rear of a (regular local) armored truck for years. My understanding was that he only left his post at a stop if the driver took over while he was gone. Whatever happened, both of the folks should not have been inside the Wendy's.
posted by hydropsyche at 3:14 PM on July 24, 2022 [5 favorites]
But this was not an armored truck, just a regular tractor-trailer rig. Which is crazy on its face.
posted by Windopaene at 3:24 PM on July 24, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by Windopaene at 3:24 PM on July 24, 2022 [1 favorite]
For some reason this reminds me of The Order, an infamous neo-Nazi group from the 80’s that conducted a string of heists, including three armored truck robberies that netted them something like 5 mil.
You aren’t the only one. See this twitter thread.
posted by gauche at 3:30 PM on July 24, 2022 [3 favorites]
You aren’t the only one. See this twitter thread.
posted by gauche at 3:30 PM on July 24, 2022 [3 favorites]
I frequently wonder about how deeply you need to understand a culture, a region, a locale not your own, to create something that can sit in it or pass through it totally unnoticed, something so perfectly, frictionlessly of its place that it is not even worth registering as a stimulus.
In “The Ususal Suspects” is was an NYPD cop car, aka “New York’s Finest taxi service.”
posted by Insert Clever Name Here at 4:06 PM on July 24, 2022 [1 favorite]
In “The Ususal Suspects” is was an NYPD cop car, aka “New York’s Finest taxi service.”
posted by Insert Clever Name Here at 4:06 PM on July 24, 2022 [1 favorite]
Rolexes hey? I hope those beautiful bastards are never caught. Redistribute the wealth, baby.
There was a news story in Toronto a couple of years back concern the police raiding a private, illegal casino. It was located in a suburban McMansion and the owner of the building alleges that police, in searching the premises, boosted a pair of watches.
Why is this a news story, you may ask? The watches were valued at respectively, $200,000 and $250,000. Last I heard, they had not turned up.
I don’t think that rando citizens’ personal goods should be used as a buffet by the 5-0, but I also have a finite amount of sympathy for anyone who spends a quarter million m a fucking wristwatch.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 4:51 PM on July 24, 2022 [6 favorites]
There was a news story in Toronto a couple of years back concern the police raiding a private, illegal casino. It was located in a suburban McMansion and the owner of the building alleges that police, in searching the premises, boosted a pair of watches.
Why is this a news story, you may ask? The watches were valued at respectively, $200,000 and $250,000. Last I heard, they had not turned up.
I don’t think that rando citizens’ personal goods should be used as a buffet by the 5-0, but I also have a finite amount of sympathy for anyone who spends a quarter million m a fucking wristwatch.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 4:51 PM on July 24, 2022 [6 favorites]
See, I wouldn't make it a plain white van, but something no one would want to steal, that would just be too much work. Like, one of the dozen laundry service trucks I see going to various places that need uniforms laundered, no one is going to steal the dirty laundry.
posted by Canageek at 4:58 PM on July 24, 2022
posted by Canageek at 4:58 PM on July 24, 2022
Or, perhaps, a hazardous chemicals truck would discourage idle thieves.
OTOH, once that idea became popular, thieves would be boosting hazardous chemicals trucks. Oh, well.
posted by SPrintF at 5:30 PM on July 24, 2022
OTOH, once that idea became popular, thieves would be boosting hazardous chemicals trucks. Oh, well.
posted by SPrintF at 5:30 PM on July 24, 2022
I rethought this, and decided the stuff, was never in the truck. Or what was stolen had no worth, except the insurance on stuff. Or, it is still in the warehouse, just relocated.
posted by Oyéah at 5:39 PM on July 24, 2022
posted by Oyéah at 5:39 PM on July 24, 2022
See, I wouldn't make it a plain white van, but something no one would want to steal, that would just be too much work. Like, one of the dozen laundry service trucks I see going to various places that need uniforms laundered, no one is going to steal the dirty laundry.
But it might be the CLEAN laundry this time, boss! Ya never know if ya don't try!
posted by The Underpants Monster at 6:14 PM on July 24, 2022 [2 favorites]
But it might be the CLEAN laundry this time, boss! Ya never know if ya don't try!
posted by The Underpants Monster at 6:14 PM on July 24, 2022 [2 favorites]
Like, one of the dozen laundry service trucks I see going to various places that need uniforms laundered, no one is going to steal the dirty laundry.
I actually worked for one of those companies. They were with the mob some how. Even the chop shops in South Philly needed rags, uniforms, and clean carpets for the entry ways. No way those chemicals to clean that many carpets was EPA friendly. After the Sopranos came out, it dawned on me how many no show jobs were permitted.
posted by brent at 7:08 PM on July 24, 2022 [3 favorites]
I actually worked for one of those companies. They were with the mob some how. Even the chop shops in South Philly needed rags, uniforms, and clean carpets for the entry ways. No way those chemicals to clean that many carpets was EPA friendly. After the Sopranos came out, it dawned on me how many no show jobs were permitted.
posted by brent at 7:08 PM on July 24, 2022 [3 favorites]
You drive around from town to town in your beat-up van, solving crimes with your pals and enormous dog. You spend a lot of time at truck stops and diners. You hear things. The years roll on, and there’s that stash of rubber masks in the back. Maybe it’s finally your time. Jinkies.
posted by bigbigdog at 7:26 PM on July 24, 2022 [35 favorites]
posted by bigbigdog at 7:26 PM on July 24, 2022 [35 favorites]
I knew someone who worked on the Organized Crime Task Force in New York State, back when they were breaking up the Italian crime families (aka the 'Mafia', although nobody in the know calls it that). Cargo theft was one of their standard sources of income, along with various insurance fraud schemes.
Apparently their SOP for cargo theft was to find a driver who either wanted some extra income, or better yet who had some debts (gambling, etc.) that needed to be paid off. In other cases they might get someone employed as a driver, in which case the employment itself might be the favor that they'd need to pay off.
'All' the driver would need to do is park their rig at a particular truck stop, or at a designated spot along the highway, at a particular time, and wander off for a while. They'd come back, complete their delivery, and—che sorpresa!—some or all of it would be missing.
In some cases, the goods might be consigned and insured by a business that the criminal organization "had its hooks in" as well, so they'd make money twice: first on the sale of the stolen goods, then again by pocketing the insurance money.
It's the sort of thing that looks like a victimless crime on the surface, hence why they could get away with it for fairly long amounts of time. But the low-level people involved—the drivers, the businesses on either end, the people who might be leaned-on to take delivery of stolen products—bore the brunt of the risk and threats of violence.
At least in NYS, it was largely the insurance fraud that eventually brought concerted attention to their activities. By moving around the location of the thefts (bearing in mind this is very much in the pre-computer era), they generally prevented the extent of the operation from being clear to local police. (This is also true of small-business "bust-out" scams, in which a business owner would be convinced to run up their lines of credit for products that weren't ever delivered, and then have an unfortunate structure fire.) But the insurance companies definitely did notice, and eventually got state and federal resources tasked to it.
I wonder if either of the guards had any gambling debts.
posted by Kadin2048 at 9:12 PM on July 24, 2022 [5 favorites]
Apparently their SOP for cargo theft was to find a driver who either wanted some extra income, or better yet who had some debts (gambling, etc.) that needed to be paid off. In other cases they might get someone employed as a driver, in which case the employment itself might be the favor that they'd need to pay off.
'All' the driver would need to do is park their rig at a particular truck stop, or at a designated spot along the highway, at a particular time, and wander off for a while. They'd come back, complete their delivery, and—che sorpresa!—some or all of it would be missing.
In some cases, the goods might be consigned and insured by a business that the criminal organization "had its hooks in" as well, so they'd make money twice: first on the sale of the stolen goods, then again by pocketing the insurance money.
It's the sort of thing that looks like a victimless crime on the surface, hence why they could get away with it for fairly long amounts of time. But the low-level people involved—the drivers, the businesses on either end, the people who might be leaned-on to take delivery of stolen products—bore the brunt of the risk and threats of violence.
At least in NYS, it was largely the insurance fraud that eventually brought concerted attention to their activities. By moving around the location of the thefts (bearing in mind this is very much in the pre-computer era), they generally prevented the extent of the operation from being clear to local police. (This is also true of small-business "bust-out" scams, in which a business owner would be convinced to run up their lines of credit for products that weren't ever delivered, and then have an unfortunate structure fire.) But the insurance companies definitely did notice, and eventually got state and federal resources tasked to it.
I wonder if either of the guards had any gambling debts.
posted by Kadin2048 at 9:12 PM on July 24, 2022 [5 favorites]
A safe cracker doesn't hang out looking for random vans to snaffle.
I don't think it was a safe cracker, I think it was a couple of dudes in a pickup truck stopping for a soda in between bike thefts. They already have a bolt cutter handy, and the Brinks truck has a cheap padlock for security.
(The fact that no press has come out saying "These must be very sophisticated thieves because of our state-of-the-art security system" tells me they've just been slapping $10 padlocks on the trucks and hoping the guards would be the only security they need.
posted by mmoncur at 9:49 PM on July 24, 2022
I don't think it was a safe cracker, I think it was a couple of dudes in a pickup truck stopping for a soda in between bike thefts. They already have a bolt cutter handy, and the Brinks truck has a cheap padlock for security.
(The fact that no press has come out saying "These must be very sophisticated thieves because of our state-of-the-art security system" tells me they've just been slapping $10 padlocks on the trucks and hoping the guards would be the only security they need.
posted by mmoncur at 9:49 PM on July 24, 2022
A truck stop in between San Mateo and Pasadena? A mysterious gang committing a thrilling crime? This is clearly just promo for the new Mountain Goats album.
posted by umwelt at 11:53 PM on July 24, 2022 [9 favorites]
posted by umwelt at 11:53 PM on July 24, 2022 [9 favorites]
How hard would it be to slip a few air tags in a few tubs of overpriced jewelry?
posted by theora55 at 8:05 PM on July 25, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by theora55 at 8:05 PM on July 25, 2022 [1 favorite]
If you rip off a bank for $100mil on Wall St they give you a bonus.
That sounds really truthy. What’s an example?
The 'London Whale' counterparties had about $6B of Chase money to split up between them. (Arguably Chase ripped itself off, and then there's the question of whose money is really in a bank, but still.) Trading is a zero sum game.
It is folksy, though:
"Steal a little and they throw you in jail / Steal a lot and they make you king"
-Dylan, "Sweetheart Like You" (Infidels)
posted by snuffleupagus at 6:50 AM on July 26, 2022
That sounds really truthy. What’s an example?
The 'London Whale' counterparties had about $6B of Chase money to split up between them. (Arguably Chase ripped itself off, and then there's the question of whose money is really in a bank, but still.) Trading is a zero sum game.
It is folksy, though:
"Steal a little and they throw you in jail / Steal a lot and they make you king"
-Dylan, "Sweetheart Like You" (Infidels)
posted by snuffleupagus at 6:50 AM on July 26, 2022
My colleagues at my first job and I used to use “don’t forget to bring a microwave” as shorthand for a “let’s plan this project so thoroughly that, if it were a bank robbery, we’d go to the point of including a Faraday cage in the getaway car to keep the loot in so as to foil any radio trackers.” So if a few just-out-of-college kids and jaded fortysomethings can come up with that phrase just for grins, I feel like a professional crew or even talented amateurs could easily put it into practice to thwart AirTags, etc.
This job wasn’t Netflix’s Money Heist, where everyone followed the orders of an introverted criminal mastermind, wore identical Dalí masks and knew each other only by the names of various world cities. Some rich people got lazy. Other less-rich people got lucky and made the most of their luck. It won’t happen again like this without the thieves getting caught.
posted by infinitewindow at 5:19 PM on July 26, 2022 [3 favorites]
This job wasn’t Netflix’s Money Heist, where everyone followed the orders of an introverted criminal mastermind, wore identical Dalí masks and knew each other only by the names of various world cities. Some rich people got lazy. Other less-rich people got lucky and made the most of their luck. It won’t happen again like this without the thieves getting caught.
posted by infinitewindow at 5:19 PM on July 26, 2022 [3 favorites]
I’ve been to an International Gem & Jewelry Show a few times, and my impression was that most of the inventory was wholesale gems, chains, findings, etc., not finished pieces. (Although there’s plenty of that too.) Just booth after booth with mounds of strings of precious and semi-precious stones, gold and silver, which wouldn’t be at all difficult to fence. And the typical vendors were small family businesses, like maybe an older couple from Pakistan with connections to the manufacturers. There’s no way this was an insurance scam.
posted by mubba at 12:26 PM on July 28, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by mubba at 12:26 PM on July 28, 2022 [2 favorites]
They already have a bolt cutter handy, and the Brinks truck has a cheap padlock for security.
woah. Brinks' put a 10$ padlock on a non-descriptive/ descriptive van, left unattended. Is that the case. A Safecracker is better for these jobs. they can handle alarms, monitor law enforcement, troubleshoot the box(s), check for tags and alarms.
shit, I thought it was a a least a lvl. 4 entry lock with Alarm.
posted by clavdivs at 5:18 PM on July 28, 2022
woah. Brinks' put a 10$ padlock on a non-descriptive/ descriptive van, left unattended. Is that the case. A Safecracker is better for these jobs. they can handle alarms, monitor law enforcement, troubleshoot the box(s), check for tags and alarms.
shit, I thought it was a a least a lvl. 4 entry lock with Alarm.
posted by clavdivs at 5:18 PM on July 28, 2022
Who wants to learn more about keyed locks and combination safe locks? Thank you, Matt Blaze!
posted by infinitewindow at 11:38 PM on July 29, 2022
posted by infinitewindow at 11:38 PM on July 29, 2022
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Also the original article indicates that jewelry vendors underinsured on purpose so the strange $10-$100 million discrepancy isn't so odd.
posted by geoff. at 9:35 PM on July 23, 2022 [6 favorites]