Summary: Guy from unfortunate family background becomes a highly successful silver thief, stealing millions in antique silverware from high-end homes in the Northeast. He evades capture for years, as he is meticulous, patient and leaves no trace behind. Eventually he is caught through a series of small breaks. People close to the thief speculate that his motivation was more for the thrill of stealing than for the money itself.
My key takeaway: he did a careful analysis of what he should go after, using good insight and careful risk/benefit analysis.
This guy concluded that silverware was the sweet spot. It was quite valuable, easily transportable, unlikely to be hidden, and likely to be located in obvious places downstairs, where there was less risk of waking up the residents.
We should not steal. But we should note the benefits of good cost/benefit analysis.
He found an easily movable good (silver stemware), located in an reasonably accessible part of most every house (downstairs, usually in the dining room), using a crime whose punishment has lessened in severity b/c of its decline in perpetrators (cat burglary) & that he had mastered (stayed in great shape, was meticulous, taunted cops, etc).
Kind of hacked the system if you ask me. Of course he still got caught...
Great story. A real life 'To Catch a Thief'. To relate it to HN, I think it shows the power of dominating a niche by obsessive attention to not just planning but execution.
"He leaned back and sighed. I began to think that perhaps it wasn't the stealing that was the thrill for Nordahl so much as the escaping. He said, "If you were being chased by a bear, your adrenaline's going to be pumping, you know what I mean? Later, you might not really say, 'Gee, that was fun.' But, at the same time, if nothing else really was going on, it might have added flavor to the day. As long as you got away from the bear. But, of course, if you got caught by the bear, you know, it's another story."
Re: Color/Styling - Tell me about it, I just came back to the HN screen, and after staring at black for so long, everything looks _very_ washed out. Here's hoping my eyeballs recover...
[Edit: No, seriously - My MacBook Pro's screen (10 minutes later) _still_ looks all washed out. Adjusting the brightness doesn't seem to work. This is after taking a two minute break. Something about reading long fiction for 30 minutes on that black screen really caused an impact]
> "We'll say, 'We know he's fencing here, and when we arrest him he's facing a life term and he'll turn on you.' Within a week, we'll find Blane in a drum in the East River, because that's how these guys play."
It surprises me that i'm not entirely opposed to that idea, but I really have to wonder if it's legal.
It wouldn't be too hard to phrase it in such a way that it seems completely legitimate. For example, pull one of the Russian Mafia guys in and offer him a deal to inform, but tell him it's a limited time offer "because we'll have this guy soon and he'll squeal".
(Also even if there are hints of illegality juries are generally unlikely to convict cops).
