Cat burglars: do they/did they really exist?
Daniel P. B. Smith
stealthy thieves that enter rich peoples' homes and hotel rooms by
climbing down from roofs and stealing from them, usually jewels.
Are there actually such criminals? Was there a time and place when they
actually existed in significant numbers?
A quick Google search on "cat burglar" seems to turn up only the
definition of the term, innumerable jocular references to pet cats that
have stolen something, and one headline which turned out to be a typo
(the story was actually about a CAR burglar). A search on "jewel thief"
seems to turn up only thefts from jewelry stores and museums...
--
Daniel P. B. Smith
Email address: dpbs...@world.std.com
"Lifetime forwarding" address: dpbs...@alum.mit.edu
Hownow
P. B. Smith <dpbs...@bellatlantic.net> wrote:
> Hundreds of novels, detective stories, and movies have been made about
> stealthy thieves that enter rich peoples' homes and hotel rooms by
> climbing down from roofs and stealing from them, usually jewels.
>
> Are there actually such criminals? Was there a time and place when they
> actually existed in significant numbers?
>
Indeed, there were.
They operated in days when there was no such things as home security,
air-conditioning and high-rises.
They would climb up cornices, or go from roof to roof atop rows of
three-storey flat houses in cities such as London and lower themselves
down and through an open window or one easily jimmied.
The term also came to include "heel-and-toe" men, guys who often gained
pre-dawn entry to occupied hotel rooms simply by silently
"heel-and-toeing" down hotel corridors and trying doorknobs until they
found one open.
There are still the occasional guys who lower themselves down highrise
apartments from balcony to balcony and from one to the other where they
can and slip in through sliding doors. They're rare, though.
Hotel safety boxes. Never use them myself ... especially in small
hotels.
I was once carrying $12,000 (actually, it was a lot more but I think
$12Gs is the most you will believe) for someone.
Checked it into the safety deposit of the main hotel in Sherbrooke,
Quebec.
The guy arrives and as we're all having a couple drinks in the room, he
asks: "Have you got the money?"
I go down to the front desk. Produce the key. Get the box. It's empty!
I go back to the room. And start sweating as silently as I can while
frantically trying to figure out how I'm going to tell him. The
mini-party continues ... and about ten minutes go by before I'm asked:
"Wanna give me the money?"
I don't remember what I mumbled out but everyone in the room busted out
laughing.
He already had the money.
He knew I'd left it in the hotel deposit and he'd actually gone to the
front desk, asked for it and convinced them to give it to him ... a
stranger whose only bona fides were that he was staying in the hotel.
"See, Howard," he told me. "Never leave money with the front desk."
And I never did again.
Rick
<dpbs...@bellatlantic.net> wrote:
>Hundreds of novels, detective stories, and movies have been made about
>stealthy thieves that enter rich peoples' homes and hotel rooms by
>climbing down from roofs and stealing from them, usually jewels.
>
>Are there actually such criminals? Was there a time and place when they
>actually existed in significant numbers?
>
>A quick Google search on "cat burglar" seems to turn up only the
>definition of the term, innumerable jocular references to pet cats that
>have stolen something, and one headline which turned out to be a typo
>(the story was actually about a CAR burglar). A search on "jewel thief"
>seems to turn up only thefts from jewelry stores and museums...
I can remember reading about the hunt for an active "cat burglar" in the
1970s. I'm not sure if they identified the individual as a cat burglar but
they did as a jewel thief. As I recall he had been operating for a number
of years. He was known by authorities but no real evidence had ever been
produced on him. He had a large home in Florida and another in New England
somewhere. He had several cars a boat and his own plane.
There was a big search on for him at that time because they had something
solid to charge him with. It hit all of the papers for several days. They
thought he was in his plane going north from Florida and then the plane
seemed to disappear and was presumed to be lost at sea.
I was very interested at the time and was routing for the burglar as he
never was involved in violent crime of any kind. He sounded just like "The
Saint" or someone like that. Then the papers just dropped it. Kind of like
someone tore the last chapter out of the book.
Too long ago to remember any real details like name etc.
Rick
Hownow
<ree...@sonic.net> wrote:
There was a notorious jewel thief from the late 1960s who took part in
the huge (and laughably easy) burglary of a New York museum and I can't
recall his name but his nickname was something like "Murph the Surf."
The caper was the inspiration for the 1970 comedy Hot Rock, starring
Robert Redford.
I can't recall the name of another film that more closely followed the
actual events but it was a made for TV effort I believe.
- hm
FeAudrey
says...
>There was a notorious jewel thief from the late 1960s who took part in
>the huge (and laughably easy) burglary of a New York museum and I can't
>recall his name but his nickname was something like "Murph the Surf."
>The caper was the inspiration for the 1970 comedy Hot Rock, starring
>Robert Redford.
>I can't recall the name of another film that more closely followed the
>actual events but it was a made for TV effort I believe.
Jack Murphy (with a few accomplices); Museum of Natural History; 1964; several
books and films
Oddly enough, he WASN'T an established jewel thief; sort of self-taught gifted
amateur for this one big score.
--
Visit my Iron Age Pages for technical and fun stuff (holiday specials, too)!
http://pages.prodigy.net/feaudrey
Patty
10/08/2001 09:20 - (SA)
Cat burglar falls seven floors
Hong Kong - A female cat burglar who fell seven floors from a Hong Kong
high-rise along with a bag loaded with cash and valuables was fighting for her
life on Friday.
The woman had broken into an empty flat in the territory's Ngau Tau Kok district
and fell while scaling her way back down the outside of the building on Thursday
evening. Police found a bag containing cash, watches, wallets and gold next to
her.
A police spokesman said the woman suffered broken legs and serious head injuries
and was critically ill in the territory's United Christian Hospital early on
Friday. - DPA
--------------------
http://www.smh.com.au/news/0012/18/national/national13.html
Cat burglar scales new heights
12/18/2000 (Australia)
Police are investigating whether a brazen cat burglar who has raided six
high-rise eastern suburbs properties in recent months has moved to Manly.
The thief climbed buildings up to seven storeys high and netted goods worth
about $230,000 in his raids across Bellevue Hill and Double Bay in October and
November.
Now police fear the burglar has crossed the harbour after a thief scaled an
eight-storey building in Addison Road, Manly, and burgled nine of 34 units early
last Friday morning.
Access was gained through open balcony doors and windows; computers, mobile
phones, cameras, wallets and cash were taken as residents slept.
Police said the raid was very similar to those in the eastern suburbs and Manly
detectives were working with a task force investigating the earlier offences.
The burglar, who has never been seen, first struck a high-rise in Ocean Avenue,
Double Bay, on October 26. He hit a Bellevue Hill property three days later and
two more homes in the same suburb the day after that. There were then two more
raids at Double Bay.
Anyone with information about any of the thefts is asked to call Crime Stoppers
on 1800 333 000.
Stephen Gibbs
--------------------
http://www.cnn.com/US/9802/18/catch.thief/
Police sharpen their knives for 'The Dinnertime Burglar'
Golder
Burglarized Carson, partied with Belushi
February 18, 1998
Web posted at: 11:16 p.m. EST (0416 GMT)
From Correspondent Peg Tyre
GREENWICH, Connecticut (CNN) -- Greenwich police are looking for a high-living
jewel thief named Allan Golder who is persistent, brazen and discriminating.
Police call him "The Dinnertime Burglar."
According to the police, between September of 1996 and October of 1997, there
were 23 burglaries, or attempted burglaries, in this affluent suburb of New York
City.
Allan Golder is at the top of their list of suspects. In fact, Golder is their
list of suspects.
Like Cary Grant in "To Catch a Thief," Golder is a classic cat burglar.
Police say he enters wealthy homes in communities like Greenwich while the
family eats dinner and makes off with their finest jewelry. But in 1978, he
killed a millionaire while robbing his mansion and served 15 years in prison.
In a proposal police say Golder sold to Paramount Pictures, he describes
burglarizing the homes of Johnny Carson, Glen Campbell and relatives of Paul
McCartney.
As for his personal lifestyle, says one Greenwich cop, "He's a good-looking guy
who likes to travel with good-looking women."
He's also been known to party with the likes of John Belushi and singer Deborah
Harry.
'Everyone's talking about it at dinner parties'
Police say Golder follows the money...and the people who carry it. He has plied
his trade in Newport, Rhode Island, and the Hamptons in Long Island in the
summer and Greenwich, Bel Air, California, and Palm Beach, Florida, in the
winter.
He shops for his targets by reading magazines like Architectural Digest and
Unique Homes.
And right now, the people of Greenwich are nervous.
"Everyone's talking about it at dinner parties," says one resident.
"It's on our mind," says another. "We've installed a security system."
The Greenwich police, who are more accustomed to traffic problems than crime
waves, say they hope Golder will strike again and they hope media reports will
help them bag the cat burglar.
"I don't see this guy working at McDonald's or selling groceries," says Det. Jim
Hirsch of the Greenwich police department.
Hirsch says the police won't rest until 'The Dinnertime Burglar' trades in his
cufflinks for handcuffs.
--------------
http://www.theage.com.au/news/20001008/A37465-2000Oct7.html
Tales of a lovelorn super burglar
By EAMON DUFF
Sunday 8 October 2000
A British burglar on the run from Australian police for almost eight years has
confessed to an astonishing string of crimes that netted $2million from the rich
and famous, some of it from lavish Toorak homes.
Daryl Harris claims he is Sydney's North Shore Cat Burglar who did quite a few
jobs in Melbourne and whose exploits made headlines in 1991 and 1992. A Sydney
detective who has followed the case since the start has confirmed his story.
"From Mosman and Double Bay to places like the Swan River and Toorak in
Melbourne, I masterminded many professional crimes during my stay," says Mr
Harris in a newspaper interview from England.
"I got away with millions. I made an absolute mockery of the system in
Australia. Plain and simple - I was the best there was."
Now, in an attempt to bargain his way to a new life, Mr Harris has offered to
come back to Australia, plead guilty and serve his time ... but only if he is
allowed to settle here afterwards.
Now living at a secret address in the north of England, Mr Harris claims he is a
changed man and wants to clear his conscience, not just for himself but for the
sake of his teenage children. He also revealed he was planning to write a book
about his exploits.
"I've been crime-free for seven years and I want the world to know that today, I
am in no way proud of what I did," he says.
"I caused a lot of grief and heartache to people and it has slowly eaten away at
me.
"I want to be able to look in the mirror and respect myself. More importantly,
I'd like to be able to enjoy the respect of my own children."
The North Shore Cat Burglar has been accused of a string of crimes. His
reputation became legendary. Families even claimed he was so adept he could
steal from their bedrooms while they ate dinner below.
Mr Harris puts the number of burglaries he committed as high as 50.
Detective Sergeant Marcus Rowles has made the case a personal crusade. So much
so that Mr Harris frequently contacted him to taunt him about his lack of
progress.
"I went to great pains to get this bastard and I've even tried to track him down
on my own holidays since," says Sergeant Rowles.
But if police want to know the whereabouts of the missing millions, Mr Harris
says they must look elsewhere.
He says that an Australian girlfriend robbed him of everything, leaving him
penniless.
"When I fled to England, she followed me back," he says. "I set us up with a
nice apartment, my family and I wined and dined her, she was lavished with gifts
and she wanted for nothing.
"But she thought life here would be like it was in Australia - and we all know
it's not.
"I went out one day and when I arrived back home, there was a letter waiting for
me. It read: `I hope things get better in your life - sorry that I've been
around for too long'.
"I looked around and everything had gone, everything. All my jewellery, money.
"There was a carat-and-a-half diamond ring, a Cartier watch, a
six-and-a-half-ounce necklace chain. I had a ring which was shaped as Jesus'
head - it included a crown of thorns which was made up entirely of diamonds. It
was worth a fortune and it had all gone.
"And do you know what? I'm a fool because I still love her."
------------------
http://www.police.nsw.gov.au/easternsuburbslac/detail.cfm?ObjectID=59&SectionID=news
Cat burglar strikes the Eastern Suburbs
A brazen cat burglar has been scaling the walls of high rise buildings in a one
man crime wave.
Police intelligence was showing an increase in the number of thefts and 'Lost
Property' being reported by occupants of top floor high security units in the
Bondi area, where there was no sign of forced entry.
A break in the case came when a resident heard a noise on his 9th floor balcony
and went to investigate. He was stunned to see the cat burglar standing there
carrying his loot sack. The cat burglar apologised and promptly climbed back
over the balcony and scaled down the wall. The resident immediately called
Police, and went back to his balcony to see the cat burglar reach ground level
and calmly walk off down the street.
The cat burglar typically takes small portable items, such as watches,
jewellery, cameras, and laptop computers. It is believed he may start from the
top floor of a unit block and work his way down the side of a building.
Sgt Yeomans said, "People in these high rise units think they are safe to leave
a balcony door unlocked or a bedroom window open because they are hundreds of
feet above the ground. They notice their items are missing, but with no sign of
forced entry the victim's think they must have misplaced them. We believe many
of the cat burglar's crimes may not have been reported for this reason"
Cst Steve Esgate from the Detective's office says, "This M.O. is not unheard of.
We had one guy who was a gymnast before he got hooked on heroin. He'd climb
twenty floors on the outside of a building to get in. He eventually got caught
and went to gaol for a few years."
East Sydney Commander Superintendant Bob May said, "We'll catch this person. We
have investigators focusing on this person, so it's just a matter of time. Until
then, people need to be aware of the need to lock all doors and windows, and
keep an eye on surrounding buildings."
Any person who may have seen the cat burglar or who has any information is
encouraged to contact the Waverley Detectives on 9369 9899, any time day or
night.
Hownow
<eartha...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> Cat burglar falls seven floors
>
> Hong Kong - A female cat burglar who fell seven floors from a Hong Kong
> high-rise along with a bag loaded with cash and valuables was fighting for her
> life on Friday.
>
> Cat burglar scales new heights
> 12/18/2000 (Australia)
>
> Police are investigating whether a brazen cat burglar who has raided six
> high-rise eastern suburbs properties in recent months has moved to Manly.
>
> The thief climbed buildings up to seven storeys high and netted goods worth
> about $230,000 in his raids across Bellevue Hill and Double Bay in October and
> November.
>
> Police sharpen their knives for 'The Dinnertime Burglar'
> Golder
> Burglarized Carson, partied with Belushi
> February 18, 1998
> Web posted at: 11:16 p.m. EST (0416 GMT)
> From Correspondent Peg Tyre
>
> GREENWICH, Connecticut (CNN) -- Greenwich police are looking for a high-living
> jewel thief named Allan Golder who is persistent, brazen and discriminating.
> Police call him "The Dinnertime Burglar."
>
>
> Tales of a lovelorn super burglar
>
> By EAMON DUFF
> Sunday 8 October 2000
>
> A British burglar on the run from Australian police for almost eight years has
> confessed to an astonishing string of crimes that netted $2million from the
> rich
> and famous, some of it from lavish Toorak homes.
>
> Daryl Harris claims he is Sydney's North Shore Cat Burglar who did quite a few
> jobs in Melbourne and whose exploits made headlines in 1991 and 1992. A Sydney
> detective who has followed the case since the start has confirmed his story.
>
> Cat burglar strikes the Eastern Suburbs
> A brazen cat burglar has been scaling the walls of high rise buildings in a
> one
> man crime wave.
>
> Police intelligence was showing an increase in the number of thefts and 'Lost
> Property' being reported by occupants of top floor high security units in the
> Bondi area, where there was no sign of forced entry.
>
Nice to see this stuff still goes on in the face of security technology.
Another old-time burglary technique that's not heard much of these days
is Pole Plucking.
The thief looked for open bedroom windows in houses with people asleep,
stuck an extension pole through the window to lift purses and jewellery
off dressers and men's pants with cash and wallets in the pockets off
the backs of chairs. Home air-conditioning considerably crimped that
crime, plus the advent of credit cards put less cash in people's
pockets.
Credit cards and payrolls via cheque and bank deposit also killed the
crime of safecracking. Until the 1960s, there would be two and three of
those in a week in Toronto -- sometimes more. It's seldom done these
days 'cause there is no money in the factory boxes and little cash held
in stores overnight. And there are no easy to rip open safes and vaults
as there were in the 1950s when most had been installed near the turn
of the century.
One of the most publicized house burglars in New York was actually a
young Canadian guy from Toronto who worked the city just after World
War II.
He really wasn't all that skilled ... but working alone he broke into
old Manhattan homes through windows and doors, making off with
thousands of dollars in jewellery which he fenced for a pittance.
But there were some very big socialite names on his list ... and the
press of the day always looking for good copy dubbed him "Raffles"
after the fictional jewel thief and the David Niven film.
Hollywood later made the usual wildly overblown B-film about him.
He did some big time ... and then was deported to Canada where he slid
into obscurity.
- hm
Patty
At a party I as at about a year or two ago, there was quite a discussion when
one of the partygoers mentioned she saw something across the street from her
house in the middle of the night, so she called the police. Her huaband was
away on business so she was alone, and during the night had gotten up to get a
drink of water. Looking out her kitchen window, she could see a shadow of what
she thought was a person, on one of the second story balconys of the condos
across from her house or condo. She said that when she looked really hard, it
looked like a person, male was looking into the sliding doors of the condo, so
she called the police. She didn't know whatever happened, she heard the police
sirens, and I assume she saw lights go on at the place. Anyway, when she told
her husband later about it, he thought it was really stupid she called the
police. He said that if it was someone, they were probably on their patio
having a smoke. The question of the night became would you have called the
police.
Patty
Hownow
An add to the Pole Plucker ('cause I just remembered what it was):
The device often employed was a gadget used in stores of that era when
merchandise was displayed and stacked behind the counter -- an
extendable pole with a variable gasping device that merchants used to
reach and pull boxes from ceiling height shelves.
And that leads to another burglary device.
The term windowshopping had real meaning back then. Shops all had
window displays leading from the street to a front door set back about
10 feet (to draw customers in). Most all the doors had transoms (again
no air-conditioning) and often they'd be negligently left ajar at store
closing. Agile thieves would snip the light chain holding the transom
up ... and in they'd go.
Another favorite and easy entry for real skinny house burglars (and
kids) was the milk box -- a little two-doored cupboard at the side of
the house in which the milkman left bottles of milk very morning.
And, of course, there's the old hide in the store until closing trick.
Once knew a neighborhood jeweller in Toronto (in the days when there
were many) and remember a couple of times being with him when the store
closed and he'd go to the safe bring out a .32 revolver and we'd go
down to the cellar and he'd call out:
"Okay, we know you're here ... come on out. The police are on the way
... if you don't start coming out, I'm going to shoot!"
He did that every night.
Never did hear if anyone ever was caught hiding in his store.
- hm
- hm
- hm
Rick
I presented the scenario to my other half and we are still fighting about
it. My conclusion is that it may be a gender thing.
Rick
Hownow
<ree...@sonic.net> wrote:
Your other half's view might be influenced by the number of sexual
attackers who gain entry through balcony doors. In Toronto, we had one
a few years back who was dubbed "The Balcony Rapist."
Don't know about your city but police here would say the call about a
person looking in a window whose purpose there cannot be determined was
a wise and proper action.
And if the cops knocked on my door to check out something on my balcony
that really did not happen, I would thank them for coming around.
- hm
Alan Hope
programme, like this one from Hownow, calling from alt.true-crime:
>In article <dpbsmith-18C468...@news.fu-berlin.de>, Daniel
>P. B. Smith <dpbs...@bellatlantic.net> wrote:
>> Hundreds of novels, detective stories, and movies have been made about
>> stealthy thieves that enter rich peoples' homes and hotel rooms by
>> climbing down from roofs and stealing from them, usually jewels.
>> Are there actually such criminals? Was there a time and place when they
>> actually existed in significant numbers?
>Indeed, there were.
>They operated in days when there was no such things as home security,
>air-conditioning and high-rises.
>They would climb up cornices, or go from roof to roof atop rows of
>three-storey flat houses in cities such as London and lower themselves
>down and through an open window or one easily jimmied.
>The term also came to include "heel-and-toe" men, guys who often gained
>pre-dawn entry to occupied hotel rooms simply by silently
>"heel-and-toeing" down hotel corridors and trying doorknobs until they
>found one open.
>There are still the occasional guys who lower themselves down highrise
>apartments from balcony to balcony and from one to the other where they
>can and slip in through sliding doors. They're rare, though.
I've heard it said that the fly-footed cat burglar, defying gravity by
scaling sheer walls, was actually a legendary character made up by the
yellow press and corroborated by people who tried to cover for the
fact they'd left their precious jewels in an unlocked house. The
forensics team of Inspector Lestrade wasn't up to much, so when he
asked "Was the house locked?" the owner said "Of course, my good man"
and Lestrade just believed it, because the upper-classes never lie.
There's no way of checking such a claim, of course. I imagine any
burglar caught with the loot later was only too happy to be portrayed
as more heroic than he really was. "Ho, yus. I'm the daring cat
burglar and no mistake, guv."
>Hotel safety boxes. Never use them myself ... especially in small
>hotels.
>I was once carrying $12,000 (actually, it was a lot more but I think
>$12Gs is the most you will believe) for someone.
>Checked it into the safety deposit of the main hotel in Sherbrooke,
>Quebec.
>The guy arrives and as we're all having a couple drinks in the room, he
>asks: "Have you got the money?"
>I go down to the front desk. Produce the key. Get the box. It's empty!
>I go back to the room. And start sweating as silently as I can while
>frantically trying to figure out how I'm going to tell him. The
>mini-party continues ... and about ten minutes go by before I'm asked:
>"Wanna give me the money?"
>I don't remember what I mumbled out but everyone in the room busted out
>laughing.
>He already had the money.
>He knew I'd left it in the hotel deposit and he'd actually gone to the
>front desk, asked for it and convinced them to give it to him ... a
>stranger whose only bona fides were that he was staying in the hotel.
>"See, Howard," he told me. "Never leave money with the front desk."
>And I never did again.
--
AH
debby
Murph the Surf was a disc jockey during the 60's in New York. Debby
S.<sarg...@infi.net>
Rick
You could be on to something here. From my house there is not another house
close enough for me to see someone on a balcony or in a yard. It also puts
me in the position of not even thinking of calling police for anything that
needs to be taken care of with some urgency.
Rick