Said Rick Abath, who was 27 a quarter century ago, when he was a night-time guard at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.
(The police photograph you before they un-duct-tape you.)
March 14, 2015
"And they handcuffed me to the electrical box for seven hours... At first I was panicking, and then I started singing 'I Shall Be Released' by Bob Dylan."
"I don't know how long I was singing that damn song for, but it was quite some time.... I don't want to be remembered for this alone... I'd like to be remembered for the good things I've done. I'm a husband, a father of two really cool kids. But they're saying it's half a billion worth of artwork. And ultimately I'm the one who made the decision to buzz them in. It's the kind of thing most people don't have to learn to cope with. It's like doing penance. It's always there."
Said Rick Abath, who was 27 a quarter century ago, when he was a night-time guard at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.
(The police photograph you before they un-duct-tape you.)
Said Rick Abath, who was 27 a quarter century ago, when he was a night-time guard at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.
(The police photograph you before they un-duct-tape you.)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
23 comments:
"I was just this hippie guy who wasn't hurting anything,...
Guy was born in 1963, in 1990 he identified as a hippie?
Worst looking guard imaginable. The fools who hired him as a guard of their collection should be doing the penance and feeling the guilt.
Haha. I don't remember this event, but they did an episode in the first season (the Boston ep) of Drunk History and this is one of the stories. Great funny episode.
You can find it here http://youtu.be/XDdpfwE1J84
Or on Amazon Prime.
Pro tip: Never hire a hippie to guard anything of value.
If you are ever in Boston, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is worth a visit.
From what I understand, the will of the Gardners was that the art be arranged as they had done and never changed. The places where the art was stolen remain blank--I think, empty frames where the paintings were cut out.
Even with those pieces missing, there is still a ton of great art and the setting, around a courtyard filled with plants and fountains, is pleasing in a way that is hard for me to describe.
How in the world do you sell one-of-a-kind art? It not like the new owner can parade these paintings around town or open his own museum.
If it was a car, they could sell it for parts. Or alter the VIN. Lots of choices.
"Weird Al" Yankovic was a museum guard?
So that's how he got his start -- doing a send-up of Bob Dylan's "I Shall Be Released"?
The people running the museum should be in prison for life without parole for this unbelievable level of stupidity.
Humperdink said...
How in the world do you sell [stolen] one-of-a-kind art?
At a considerable discount, but it's a discount from a very high value. There are plenty of buyers in that market.
@David. Then what do you do with it? Hang it in your linen closet?
Or hang it in the foyer. Your dinner guests are in the same social strata. "Oh I see you purchased that stolen Rembrandt. I won't say anything." Wink, nod.
David said...
Worst looking guard imaginable. The fools who hired him as a guard of their collection should be doing the penance and feeling the guilt.
3/14/15, 12:03 PM
dbp said...
Pro tip: Never hire a hippie to guard anything of value.
3/14/15, 12:44 PM
LOL! Can not believe this longhair in bell bottoms was a guard. Thieves must've thought "This is gonna be easy" when they got a look at this kid.
At a considerable discount, but it's a discount from a very high value. There are plenty of buyers in that market.
The biggest misconception in major art theft is that there are cat stroking cartoon villians around the world wiling to pay for major stolen works, even at cents on the dollar. The reality is most of the thieves aren't brighter than that duct taped security guard. Thieves smart enough to see how easy the heist will be but fail to grasp the basic economics of high profile art.
Interestingly high profile works often possess some value amongst criminals as collateral in criminal deals or as an insurance policy for those who fear being caught, a la 'I'll tell you where to find the stolen Vermeer if you grant me immunity from prosecution'.
I remember when that happened. I agree that its totally the fault of the people in charge of the gallery. Dude shouldn't feel too bad, hell he's actually got some cred. Among those of us from his era, he gets the biggest bowl, as it goes around.
How in the world do you sell one-of-a-kind art?
It is probably hanging in a Saudi palace somewhere.
rehajm said...
At a considerable discount, but it's a discount from a very high value. There are plenty of buyers in that market.
The biggest misconception in major art theft is that there are cat stroking cartoon villians around the world wiling to pay for major stolen works, even at cents on the dollar. The reality is most of the thieves aren't brighter than that duct taped security guard. Thieves smart enough to see how easy the heist will be but fail to grasp the basic economics of high profile art.
Perhaps. But the fact that none of this has surfaced again makes it more likely that they found some willing buyers, and therefore are not the stupid thieves that you posit.
They might even be Harvard graduates, says the owl to the pussycat.
perhaps. But the fact that none of this has surfaced again makes it more likely that they found some willing buyers, and therefore are not the stupid thieves that you posit.
It likely supports the idea the thieves couldn't move them and they ended up rotting underneath the stairs in some row house in Charlestown, but there will always be romantics.
There is a $5 million reward for information leading to their return.
If they weren't sold, by now surely the thieves would at least have tried some way of claiming THAT reward.
There is a $5 million reward for information leading to their return.
If they weren't sold, by now surely the thieves would at least have tried some way of claiming THAT reward.
There have indeed been many tipsters who have claimed to have information on their whereabouts, and the FBI says they believe they have credible leads and reason to believe at least some of the paintings still exist. But if you're the thieves, and you're already known to law enforcement you face the challenge of how to present your knowledge to authorities while maintaining a semblance of innocence.
If they weren't sold, by now surely the thieves would at least have tried some way of claiming THAT reward.
Not if they're dead.
Well, rehajm, I suppose you can tell whatever stories you like in the absence of actual evidence. It seems to me that you're making an awful lot of unwarranted assumptions, though.
The most probable explanation is that the paintings were, in fact, sold to someone.
The most probable explanation is that the paintings were, in fact, sold to someone.
Complete Bullshit. Have you ever tried to sell a stolen Painting? The history of major art heists time and again provide ovewhelming evidence that while major works may be easy to steal only stupid thieves who don't comprehend the economic realities of stolen one of a kind works make the effort.
Evidence and history point to low/mid level boosters who got in over their heads.
You're perpetuating the myths of novel and film.
There are some whispers about this guard on the internet. He had some personal problems at the time, no way he would be a guard today. See the blog "Stolen Vermeer" for more details.
Post a Comment