1Timothy King
The Oakland County Child Killer is an uncaught serial killer who killed 4 children in Michigan. After he abducted his final victim, Timothy King, Timothy's mother published a letter, begging her son to return for his favorite meal; KFC. His body was found soon after. His last meal had been fried chicken.
2. Colombian drug trafficker Carlos Lehder bought himself an island in the Bahamas where he put an airstrip that controlled the drugs coming in from South America and entering the US. He became so wealthy he offered to pay Colombia's foreign debt for amnesty.
3. In the U.S., seafood fraud is widespread. In a study by Oceana, 44% of all the grocery stores, restaurants and sushi venues visited sold mislabeled seafood. Some of the fish that were sold are classified DO NOT EAT by the FDA.
4. In 1960, a terrorist named Alex Hildebrant armed with a bomb tried to hijack Trans Australia flight 408. Tom Bennett, the co-pilot punched him in the face and ripped the wires off the bomb saving 49 lives was awarded the George Medal.
5. André Stander was a South African police officer who robbed almost 30 banks. Sometimes he’d carry out a crime during his lunch break and then return to the scene as an investigating officer. He was caught but escaped, formed a gang and robbed more banks. He was eventually killed in Florida.
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6Locksmiths
Most "locksmiths" advertising through google are scams operated by organized crime. They have effectively dominated the market through this strategy and run the legitimate guys out of business.
7. In 1936, a rare million-dollar Stradivarius violin got stolen from virtuoso Hall Huberman. The thief, a café musician named Julian Altman, became famous and performed for presidents. 49 years after the theft, he confessed to the theft on his deathbed and his wife received $263,000 finder’s fee.
8. Ren Xiaofeng, a manager of ‘The Agricultural Bank of China,’ stole $26,000 from the bank with the intention of buying lottery tickets, winning, and repaying the initial theft. Against the odds, it worked so he tried again with $6.7 million. He lost all but $95,000 and was sentenced to death.
9. In 1950, four students from Glasgow stole the Stone of Scone from Westminster Abbey and smuggled it back to Scotland in a Ford Anglia. The stone, also called the Coronation Stone, is the stone upon which British royalty is crowned, and was taken by the English from Scotland in 1296.
10. There is a Guinness world record for "greatest robbery of a government", currently held by the dictator of the Philippines F.Marcos and his wife Imelda. It is estimated that they have embezzled up to $10 billion of which only $860 million have been recovered.
11Santa Claus
In 1927, there was a bank robber dressed as Santa Claus who was responsible for the death of 6 people during his robbery and getaway. When he was caught and thrown in jail, nearly 2,000 people showed up, pushed past the guards, dragged him out of the jail and hanged him.
12. Peter Scott who was nicknamed “master idiot” was a burglar whose victims include Sophia Loren and the Shah of Iran. Once when he was disturbed during a heist by a woman, he shouted “Everything’s all right, madam” and she went off to bed thinking he was the butler. On other occasions, he would reassuringly shout “It’s only me!”
13. Black Bart was an outlaw who successfully robbed 28 stagecoaches and left this poem in one of them: “I've labored long and hard for bread / For honor, and for riches / But on my corns too long you've tread / You fine-haired sons of b*tches.”
14. The then-fugitive millionaire Robert Durst was arrested in 2001 for shoplifting a $5 sandwich, even though he had $500 of cash in his pockets.
15. Someone in Voronezh, Russia vandalized a Soviet-era monument not by destroying it, but by painting it to look like Patrick Star from Spongebob Squarepants.
16Stopwatch Gang
The Stopwatch Gang were three Canadian bank robbers who were known for their brilliant planning of heists, politeness to victims, and non-violent methods all while robbing banks within 90 seconds.
17. A popular Japanese cat burglar was unmasked to be a 74-year-old pensioner named Mitsuaki Tanigawa, after 9 years’ worth of heists. He stole more than 29 million yen (£194,000) during his spree. When captured, he said: “I am defeated.”
18. One of the Seven Wonders of the World, the Temple of Artemis, was burned down by an arsonist who wished to be famous for his crime. Following his execution, the Ancient Greeks made it an offense subject to the death penalty to even mention his name.
19. In 2018, a major UK supermarket chain fond that shoplifters were using self-service checkouts to scan expensive fruit and vegetables as carrots. They were only discovered when the supermarket noticed they had sold more carrots than they’d ever had in stock.
20. In 2007, Serbian vandals drove a stake into former president Slobodan Milosevic's grave to prevent him from coming back as a vampire.
21Catholic nuns
In 2002, three geriatric Catholic nuns broke into a US nuclear missile launch facility, vandalized the facility with hammers, and drew crosses on the silo with their own blood.
22. In 1998, a burglar stole a priceless diamond ornament (Sisi Sterne) originally belonging to empress Elisabeth of Austria, replacing it with a gift shop replica. Newspapers covered up the theft by claiming it had been speedily recovered and the fake remained on display for 10 years.
23. Kim Jong Il once kidnapped the biggest South Korean director and movie star (who were also ex-husband and wife) and brought them to North Korea to make movies for him. They escaped by convincing him to let them go abroad to promote the North Korean film industry.
24. In 1931, a man named William McBoyle stole an airplane but was acquitted on all charges because airplanes were not considered "vehicles" and there was no law against aircraft theft at that time.
25. In 2002, a 7-year-old Philadelphia girl named Erica Pratt was abducted and locked in a basement. She managed to escape from her kidnappers in less than 24 hours by gnawing through the duct tape binding her hands and feet, kicking out a panel on the basement door, punching out a window, and then screaming for help.
