Gold Bar, Worth $500K, Stolen From Key West Museum...

[ivan salis]

as a hot "one of a kind item" type item -- worth say 90,000 at full value ( due to gold content only -- historic ? hah they do not care about "historic value") -- so they will have to --fence it -- sell it "short" of its full "gold" value to a crooked gold dealer / pawn shop person who could smelt it down -- at best they might get 10,000 --- say 5 grand each, (roughly the same amount of the "reward" by the insurance company-- 10,000 funny huh?) but if caught ( there is a very good chance of that occuring) they will get many many years in jail --as a "high profile" case --the book WILL be thrown at em.

 

[FISHEYE]

Why no armed or unarmed security guard?The fisher museum in sebastian has a guard.

 

[Salvor6]

There is an armed guard in the Key West museum but he stands by the gift shop.

 

[PyrateJim]

Whats the latest on the investigation? Not the speculation part, but the "police/FBI are saying............." side.
Any luck with at least lifting some good prints from either the case or the door handle? (this is a hard one as being it was the end of the day, there will be hundreds of prints and smudges and more depending on when the hand bar was last wiped down and cleaned).
Anything on seeing them earlier in the day on video, what about within the week before?

I just hate reading in all the papers about the theft, but no updates on how the investigation is going. The should be scared s*#%less with their pictures broadcasted all over the United States and even some european papers.

 

[Lucky Eddie]

Interesting, - maybe a "copy cat" crime?

I have a relative works for a casino.

He came home from work tonight, saying that - they had a smash grab raid similar to the gold bar one above.

Apparently - there was a competition - with a Gold Rolex watch as a prize due to be drawn today.

As part of the "promotion", a lexan/plexiglass/perpex type faux glass display case, was on 'static display' in the gaming room, and inside it was a stack of gold Rolex watches and gold rings and gold chains etc.

The casino security folks said, that it didn't look too secure and maybe they should have a visible security guard standing alongside as a deterrence - but management said - no - it will make people feel ill at ease to have a security guy standing there in uniform.

So - wouldn't you know it - a guy just walks up, punched in the corner of the display case with his fist, separating the glue / lexan and bending it in - shoves his fist inside grabbing a handful of watches, chain and rings and in the same instant - bolts into the men's room...

So the nearest dealer who spotted it presses the duress button and 5 or 6 security guys are there in double quick time, and jump the guy as he leaves the men's room, looking all innocent.

They play him the video surveillance and search him..... finding ZERO zippo zilch - what Paddy shot at!

So - the called in police.....who send two female police officers!

So...like - the security can't find the missing booty, and this is going to require a strip search and maybe body cavity search...and the Einsteins at police dispatch send two female officers (everyone has a good laugh and suggests it was done deliberately by way of a joke).

Well - give em their due, the two gals make the guy strip and squat nekkid and 2 gold rings drop out of his butt crack!

That's enough to arrest him - so they take him via the hospital for an Xray on the way to the station - and yes - he's swallowed a gold chain!

The real problem?

The watches, another chain and some more rings......still missing!

Not found in the mens room and video doesn't show any accomplice entering before or leaving after, and a thorough search can't turn up the missing booty!

It's not known if they were flushed or what happened to them.

Looks like the word about lexan plastic display cases is out on the street!

Least the Fishers aren't alone!

Cheers

 

[Scallywags]

I lifted that gold bar in 2004. A worker at the museum also let my brother and i wear 2 gold chains around our necks, both were worth 200,000. Mel Fishers muesum is a great visit

 

[inletsurf]

Unbelievable. They should fire everyone in the gift shop. But really, displaying gold like that does attract attention, so the management also have themselves to blame. I wonder if a wireless dremel was used, being that lexan is bulletproof but easily cut by a rotozip type tool.

I'd bet that bar is chopped up by now and long gone.

 

[lucky d]

They'll probably send it in to Cash4Gold and receive a check for $299.95

hee hee hee!....funny, sad and true, but still funny...hh

 

[FISHEYE]

Ever hear this saying?

A chain is only as strong as its weakest link

It doesnt matter if you have bullet proof lexan or not.The seams are the weakest link.A thin blade can cut the glue holding the box together.Also theres solvent that melts that glue on contact.It comes in a spray can and also a can with a brush.If it was my box i would have had titanium braces all around the seams and corners,Plus i would have had a camera right on the box setup to sound a loud alarm or silent one if the gold bar got outside the box.Most camera surveillance DVR's have this option to draw a square or circle around the object to be watched.4 cameras in my yard are setup this way.If a object gets moved 1/4 inch i will know it and be outside with my 9mm glock or 40mm shotgun.I prefer the shotgun,its more intimidating

 

[rgecy]

In one of the images, it looks like they broke the lexan where your hand goes thru the round hole. I will try to find the image.

Robert

UPDATED: Here is the image of the broken lexan.

 

[Saturna]

Hard to tell in photos of course, but the edges look very clear, more like Acrylic (Plexiglas).

Polycarbonate (Lexan) tends to have more of a grayish look from the edges.

 

[inletsurf]

Ever hear this saying?

A chain is only as strong as its weakest link

It doesnt matter if you have bullet proof lexan or not.The seams are the weakest link.A thin blade can cut the glue holding the box together.Also theres solvent that melts that glue on contact.It comes in a spray can and also a can with a brush.If it was my box i would have had titanium braces all around the seams and corners,Plus i would have had a camera right on the box setup to sound a loud alarm or silent one if the gold bar got outside the box.Most camera surveillance DVR's have this option to draw a square or circle around the object to be watched.4 cameras in my yard are setup this way.If a object gets moved 1/4 inch i will know it and be outside with my 9mm glock or 40mm shotgun.I prefer the shotgun,its more intimidating

Yes, but that assumes you have time to allow the solvent to absorb and time to cut the seams. I believe they could have done it within 30 seconds using a dremel. Noise would be the only factor. They could also fit the bar with a wireless proximity device using a tight-fitting band attachment. I agree with what you're saying in general though. More needs to be done if they expect to safeguard a $50,000 gold bar.

Does anyone know how exactly it was removed?

 

[inletsurf]

Hard to tell in photos of course, but the edges look very clear, more like Acrylic (Plexiglas).

Polycarbonate (Lexan) tends to have more of a grayish look from the edges.

I work with the stuff a lot, and Lexan is tougher, more crack/shatter resistant, and commonly comes in sheets that thick (bank teller windows) whereas plexiglass does not. Simply looking at the edges in a photo is subjective. If it is plexiglass, chalk up another point on the list of stupidity for the Fisher Museum.

 

[Saturna]

The photo in post #11 (with the lady) shows what appears to be 1/2" thick material, common in both acrylic and polycarbonate.

As mentioned the solvent (typically methylene chloride) welded seams would be the weak point. You could bash away all day on 1/2" polycarb and not break it, but the seams are a different story. That is where a polycarb box would separate.

The photo in post #50, just above, appears to show a broken part. I would be surprised if polycarbonate could be broken like that (maybe if it was made super cold ??)

The unit in the photo with the lady sure looks like acrylic to me.

I'm amazed that the bar lasted as long as it did with that low level of security.

 

[Saturna]

As stated in my other post, I admitted it's hard to tell from the photo and I can't do so with certainty.

 

[Donovan]

Over 6,250,000 people have held the bar since 1985. From 1976 to 1985 no one was counting.

 

[rgecy]

Here is a new video with some great shots of the broken case.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/08/24/stealing.history/index.html

 

[Old Town]

I did not read every post so if someone has already raised my thoughts, forgive me.

Anyone think the gold bar might have been lead and heavily gold-filled (plated)? So the thieves steal the thing and now the museum cannot admit to putting a phony gold bar in that box for so many years. Plus the insurance windfall is not going to hurt them one bit.

They didn't mean to defraud the insurance company but how do you turn down big bucks when they're handing it too you? Remember, all the stuff in Fisher's Duval Street museum store is plated replicas and they look pretty good.

Just wondering.

Old Town

 

[Cubfan64]

I did not read every post so if someone has already raised my thoughts, forgive me.

Anyone think the gold bar might have been lead and heavily gold-filled (plated)? So the thieves steal the thing and now the museum cannot admit to putting a phony gold bar in that box for so many years. Plus the insurance windfall is not going to hurt them one bit.

They didn't mean to defraud the insurance company but how do you turn down big bucks when they're handing it too you? Remember, all the stuff in Fisher's Duval Street museum store is plated replicas and they look pretty good.

Just wondering.

Old Town

It wouldn't be terribly surprising imho

 

[capt dom]

My condolences are to the folks at the museum!

We had a similar gold bar "spirited off from us at JWI
some years back! Below are a number of photos of it.....

It was the one that we kept encrusted with "period" coins still attached embedded in the encrustation - but had exrayed
at United Technologies here in Jupiter with their "highest Tech"
metallurgy florescopes just to make sure their were no significant strikes or markings stamped upon it...
{I wanted to keep it's art-factual uniqueness intact and not have it viewed as just another gold ingot,
bullion or another gold bar "

I hope to get it back for the good of the company - still..... maybe soon!

We know where it is. And I have a logical strategy that
our good fortune and "pluck" has set in place..... My argument is logical...

They say, however "The Guys with the guns - make the rules".....
In the courts of public opinion, if this whole story is actually told, we just
may get to see who has the biggest gun!