“How Tulsa cops brought down a $500 million catalytic converter crime ring.”
theft
Tree Sleuths
Lauren Markham examines the potential for tree DNA, and the work of experts like tree geneticist Richard Cronn, to help curb the illegal timber trade and poaching of valuable wood like big-leaf maple and black walnut. Could he help Huff’s team determine whether there was a genetic link between the felled trees in the Olympic […]
An Art Crime for the Ages
In the second half of the 20th century, Bangkok-based British businessman Douglas Latchford was at the center of an operation that trafficked ancient Khmer sculptures and archaeological treasures out of Cambodia. These pieces of art traveled far, ending up in rich people’s homes and museums like the Met. Matthew Campbell tells an engrossing story filled with […]
The Endless Robbing of Native American Graves
“We have taken Native lands and tried to eradicate Indigenous societies, yet it’s not only what we’ve done to the living that is so deplorable. It’s what we’ve done, and continue to do, to the dead.”
Did Paying a Ransom for a Stolen Magritte Painting Inadvertently Fund Terrorism?
“Modern art crime, like the arms trade, still thrives in the shadow of global conflict, which gives rise to criminal networks that make from the detritus of war immensely profitable commodities.”
In Hot Pursuit of STS-50, High Seas Scofflaw
What’s in the hold, captain? Oh nothing, just tonnes upon tonnes of illegal Chilean bass — nothing to see here!
Taking Cents, Making Sense of a Broken Family
Sari Botton turns to petty – incredibly petty – theft after her family life hits the fan.
The Great Star Wars Heist
In 2017, the theft of a rare toy, a Boba “Rocket” Fett prototype that was never released for sale, rocked the Star Wars collecting community.
A New Low: Stealing From the Dead
“Thieves and forgers are taking houses from the deceased in ‘hot’ (Philadelphia) neighborhoods — as the city stands by.”
Portland, Oregon, Where the Law Protects Car Thieves Instead of Peoples’ Cars
Thanks to wacky laws, Portland, Oregon has the third highest car theft rate in America.