1 00:00:01,420 --> 00:00:05,600 In this episode of American Greed... He was a good fisherman. He won 2 00:00:05,600 --> 00:00:09,640 tournaments. He turned the boat around to get that fish. He had to get it. 3 00:00:09,640 --> 00:00:14,620 Hunt is an expert fisherman, angling for big money and reeling them in hook, 4 00:00:14,740 --> 00:00:15,740 line, and sun. 5 00:00:15,960 --> 00:00:18,060 He wanted anything in the thousands. 6 00:00:18,400 --> 00:00:19,920 Literally, people are throwing money at this guy. 7 00:00:20,180 --> 00:00:23,720 And you always get paid until the day you didn't get paid, and then that was 8 00:00:23,720 --> 00:00:24,720 end of the game. 9 00:00:25,380 --> 00:00:28,620 And later, a daring art heist that pays off big. 10 00:00:29,420 --> 00:00:32,420 It was probably the worst experience of our lives. 11 00:00:33,060 --> 00:00:35,140 Thieves steal four million dollars in art. 12 00:00:35,360 --> 00:00:39,280 And American Greed has behind -the -scenes footage from inside the crime 13 00:00:39,620 --> 00:00:44,120 Who would steal these paintings? Is it someone that covets them and wants to 14 00:00:44,120 --> 00:00:45,120 them? 15 00:00:58,720 --> 00:01:02,500 Coastal New Hampshire, where old money meets small -town charm. 16 00:01:02,860 --> 00:01:05,740 Well, it's a very nice, upscaled neighborhood. 17 00:01:06,120 --> 00:01:10,160 An upscaled neighborhood peopled with upstanding citizens, like Dr. 18 00:01:10,380 --> 00:01:11,380 John Riddell. 19 00:01:11,600 --> 00:01:13,360 That's Barry Hunt's house right there. 20 00:01:14,000 --> 00:01:16,860 Barry Hunt is a larger -than -life local character. 21 00:01:17,160 --> 00:01:21,700 He owns a thriving fishing supply business. He travels the world in search 22 00:01:21,700 --> 00:01:22,780 largemouth bass. 23 00:01:23,120 --> 00:01:25,560 And he's always quick with a fishing story. 24 00:01:26,140 --> 00:01:29,380 Barry, I met soon after I moved here in 1983. 25 00:01:30,240 --> 00:01:35,700 Nice enough fellow, soft -spoken, seemed knowledgeable about general items of 26 00:01:35,700 --> 00:01:38,500 conversation of the day, and I kind of liked him. 27 00:01:38,740 --> 00:01:44,380 In the fall of 1983, Barry Hunt tells Dr. Riddell about a hot new startup. 28 00:01:44,820 --> 00:01:49,720 He had come across, as I recall, a person who was going out of business who 29 00:01:49,720 --> 00:01:54,270 a number of electronic... triangulation devices, fish finders, and things of 30 00:01:54,270 --> 00:01:58,510 that nature. He was going out of business, needed money, wanted to unload 31 00:01:58,670 --> 00:02:03,690 and Barry had already, through his contacts in the fishing world, had a 32 00:02:03,690 --> 00:02:04,830 online in another state. 33 00:02:05,210 --> 00:02:08,570 So it was just a matter of putting together a little cash, and profit would 34 00:02:08,570 --> 00:02:10,669 quickly and at a very good percentage. 35 00:02:11,170 --> 00:02:16,450 For whatever the figure was, $2 ,500, I decided to take the chance. And in six 36 00:02:16,450 --> 00:02:19,610 weeks, I had my investment and some profit back. 37 00:02:20,140 --> 00:02:24,580 We're crossing the Exeter River here. Dr. Riddell is hooked, and so are many 38 00:02:24,580 --> 00:02:28,640 others in Exeter. They're doctors, lawyers, business owners. 39 00:02:29,280 --> 00:02:33,980 Certainly the first time I'm aware of Barry Hunt is in a regular Wednesday 40 00:02:33,980 --> 00:02:34,839 poker game. 41 00:02:34,840 --> 00:02:41,360 Ron Willett is an accountant in Exeter. In 1986, 42 00:02:41,820 --> 00:02:43,840 Barry Hunt joins his poker group. 43 00:02:44,780 --> 00:02:47,520 Before long, Hunt has established a ritual. 44 00:02:48,040 --> 00:02:51,560 Every few weeks, he hands some of the guys in the group a manila envelope 45 00:02:51,560 --> 00:02:52,840 stuffed with cash. 46 00:02:53,680 --> 00:02:58,320 So, of course, when you see a great number of $100 bills changing hands, you 47 00:02:58,320 --> 00:03:03,060 can't help but ask, say, oh, what's going on? Hunt tells Ouellette that he 48 00:03:03,060 --> 00:03:07,720 a company called Sports Liquidation. After hearing the pitch about buying 49 00:03:07,720 --> 00:03:11,780 distressed marine supplies, Ouellette decides to take the plunge. 50 00:03:12,320 --> 00:03:17,820 I think in part, having seen other people already get paid a couple of 51 00:03:17,820 --> 00:03:23,360 made me a little less anxious about it. But I decided to take a chance, and so I 52 00:03:23,360 --> 00:03:24,720 did a small deal. 53 00:03:25,040 --> 00:03:29,140 I'm going to go low. Ouellette gets out his checkbook and cuts a check to Barry 54 00:03:29,140 --> 00:03:33,480 Hunt. You've got to put money in, though. Exactly six weeks later, Hunt 55 00:03:33,480 --> 00:03:34,480 the goods. 56 00:03:34,700 --> 00:03:39,280 And the money was always in cash, and the cash would be, here's your $800 57 00:03:39,560 --> 00:03:41,320 here's a $10 ,000 check. 58 00:03:41,710 --> 00:03:44,530 Or would you like to re -up for another deal? 59 00:03:44,930 --> 00:03:46,030 Quantum cards in play. 60 00:03:47,450 --> 00:03:51,870 Willette re -ups, and eventually he's on the line for $20 ,000. 61 00:03:52,410 --> 00:03:54,650 He was a good fisherman. He won tournaments. 62 00:03:55,030 --> 00:03:59,590 Carl Woofter is a salesman of fishing equipment who makes regular calls on 63 00:03:59,590 --> 00:04:04,830 Hunt. Over time, he becomes increasingly curious about Hunt's company, Sports 64 00:04:04,830 --> 00:04:09,350 Liquidation. I don't think he ever pitched it. I think that after you sat 65 00:04:09,350 --> 00:04:14,030 office or you hang around, you kind of knew something was going on, and it 66 00:04:14,030 --> 00:04:16,310 looked like there was money being made. 67 00:04:16,670 --> 00:04:19,790 And, of course, there were papers laying around, and there were numbers on 68 00:04:19,790 --> 00:04:23,770 papers, and not that you would sit there and try to look at them, but they were 69 00:04:23,770 --> 00:04:24,770 right in front of you. 70 00:04:24,830 --> 00:04:28,430 So I don't know if I asked the question or he asked the question. I think 71 00:04:28,430 --> 00:04:30,470 probably I said, what's going on? 72 00:04:30,830 --> 00:04:34,850 And with that, the fishing supply salesman puts himself on the hook. 73 00:04:35,390 --> 00:04:37,370 Christmas came every 60 days. 74 00:04:37,770 --> 00:04:42,470 And as you made money, of course, you were more willing to part with more 75 00:04:42,770 --> 00:04:46,310 Before long, Woofter is in for more than $100 ,000. 76 00:04:48,370 --> 00:04:53,830 All told, more than 50 people have invested in sports liquidation to the 77 00:04:53,830 --> 00:04:54,830 about $2 million. 78 00:04:55,910 --> 00:04:58,270 Everyone was doing it. It was fun. 79 00:05:00,300 --> 00:05:04,820 I guess maybe kids going to Disneyland, you know, you're wide -eyed. Well, this 80 00:05:04,820 --> 00:05:09,760 is a whole bunch of cash, and $100 bills just light up anybody's eyes. 81 00:05:10,460 --> 00:05:15,020 It seemed to be quite a reliable operation, and so one thing led to 82 00:05:15,020 --> 00:05:17,760 of course they grew in value. 83 00:05:18,020 --> 00:05:19,340 I thought I was an entrepreneur. 84 00:05:21,120 --> 00:05:26,080 All along, when I would talk to people, we'd say, this is too good to be true, 85 00:05:26,140 --> 00:05:28,260 so someday it's got to go bad. 86 00:05:28,780 --> 00:05:33,680 Some investors, like Carl Woofter, have their doubts and occasionally put Hunt 87 00:05:33,680 --> 00:05:34,680 to the test. 88 00:05:34,740 --> 00:05:40,160 I would go to him and say, you know, I need that money. I need $30 ,000 89 00:05:40,160 --> 00:05:42,580 tomorrow. I've got to have it for something else. 90 00:05:43,440 --> 00:05:44,500 He'd always get it. 91 00:05:44,810 --> 00:05:47,790 Somewhere along the way, we nicknamed Barry Slippery. 92 00:05:48,530 --> 00:05:53,190 Ron Willett also begins to get an uneasy feeling about Barry Hunt. 93 00:05:53,710 --> 00:05:59,050 The nickname really had to do with how he was playing poker. He would very 94 00:05:59,050 --> 00:06:01,550 make a mistake in how much money he would put in the pot. 95 00:06:01,770 --> 00:06:04,230 The mistake was always too few chips. 96 00:06:04,550 --> 00:06:07,310 Maybe I didn't want to find a floor. 97 00:06:07,930 --> 00:06:12,270 Meanwhile, other investors are now betting more chips than ever on sports 98 00:06:12,270 --> 00:06:17,160 liquidation. The total figure that I thought I had invested with him was 99 00:06:17,160 --> 00:06:18,440 $140 ,000. 100 00:06:19,020 --> 00:06:23,840 And while that money should have gone into a retirement fund and for college 101 00:06:23,840 --> 00:06:30,820 funds for my kids, I also felt maybe I can make a little bit more money on this 102 00:06:30,820 --> 00:06:37,720 and investing it in something that seems pretty secure and do better for 103 00:06:37,720 --> 00:06:38,679 them. 104 00:06:38,680 --> 00:06:40,200 In the spring of 1989, 105 00:06:41,100 --> 00:06:45,600 Hunt tells investors he's lined up a spectacular deal, but he needs an 106 00:06:45,600 --> 00:06:48,140 extraordinary amount of capital to make it all work. 107 00:06:48,800 --> 00:06:53,480 I guess his final go -around with a lot of people was to just present them with 108 00:06:53,480 --> 00:06:56,740 such an outrageous deal that they had to come up with every cent they could come 109 00:06:56,740 --> 00:06:57,740 up with. 110 00:06:58,620 --> 00:07:03,840 Ron Roulette smells a rat and decides to pull the majority of his money out of 111 00:07:03,840 --> 00:07:04,639 the pot. 112 00:07:04,640 --> 00:07:10,540 Maybe I'm just feeling the right vibes and probably just being a little lucky. 113 00:07:11,040 --> 00:07:13,400 Other investors will not be so lucky. 114 00:07:13,680 --> 00:07:17,100 When it was detected that there may be a problem with the accounts, when the 115 00:07:17,100 --> 00:07:23,040 accounts were closed, the account was short a million dollars or more. 116 00:07:36,940 --> 00:07:41,790 In Exeter, New Hampshire, the halo around local businessman Barry Hunt has 117 00:07:41,790 --> 00:07:42,850 some of its luster. 118 00:07:44,010 --> 00:07:49,710 Hunt's firm, Sports Liquidation, has been giving its investors huge profits, 119 00:07:49,710 --> 00:07:51,910 the dividend checks have arrived like clockwork. 120 00:07:52,310 --> 00:07:54,250 Now those checks are bouncing. 121 00:07:54,770 --> 00:08:01,530 I think the check that was returned was probably in the $300 ,000 range, which 122 00:08:01,530 --> 00:08:03,570 certainly is going to get everybody's attention. 123 00:08:04,330 --> 00:08:08,670 Bank East Vice President Peter Anderson takes a closer look at Barry Hunt's 124 00:08:08,670 --> 00:08:09,549 checking account. 125 00:08:09,550 --> 00:08:11,270 He doesn't like what he sees. 126 00:08:12,590 --> 00:08:17,930 Checks coming in, we're coming from one or two sources in large amounts. 127 00:08:18,750 --> 00:08:25,390 Checks going out, we're going out to one or two places in large amounts, and 128 00:08:25,390 --> 00:08:27,590 that's just a big red flag for a kite. 129 00:08:27,810 --> 00:08:30,170 Barry Hunt has been passing bad checks. 130 00:08:30,880 --> 00:08:35,320 and covering those checks with more bad checks, and an elaborate kiting scheme 131 00:08:35,320 --> 00:08:36,860 involving two local banks. 132 00:08:37,179 --> 00:08:41,500 It's like musical chairs. The music stops, and somebody doesn't have a chair 133 00:08:41,500 --> 00:08:46,560 sit on. In this case, Bank East didn't have a chair to sit on, and it was a 134 00:08:46,560 --> 00:08:49,940 disappointing, shocking situation. 135 00:08:50,780 --> 00:08:52,800 Back in Exeter, the word is out. 136 00:08:53,240 --> 00:08:59,300 Barry Hunt's paper is no good, and investors are livid. My concern is, 137 00:08:59,300 --> 00:09:00,300 my money? 138 00:09:01,120 --> 00:09:05,040 Ron Moulette and his friends catch up with Hunt at a local clam shack. 139 00:09:05,380 --> 00:09:08,700 You know, we're pressing Barry, why haven't we been paid? Why haven't we 140 00:09:08,700 --> 00:09:10,100 from you? Why? Oh, why? 141 00:09:10,580 --> 00:09:15,300 And Barry engages me in small talk, and I let him know, Barry, they're getting 142 00:09:15,300 --> 00:09:20,020 concerned. I mean, this could get uncomfortable. 143 00:09:21,540 --> 00:09:26,200 And Barry, for the first time I've ever seen him bragging. 144 00:09:26,790 --> 00:09:32,630 It reaches in his pocket, takes out a very small pistol, and while I think I'm 145 00:09:32,630 --> 00:09:36,210 warning him that it could become uncomfortable for him, he's letting me 146 00:09:36,330 --> 00:09:40,310 you guys were the ones that most in harm's way, not me. 147 00:09:40,670 --> 00:09:45,450 A few days after this meeting, Barry Hunt disappears, and investors call the 148 00:09:45,450 --> 00:09:50,530 cops. They explained to me how they would give this person, in most cases, 149 00:09:51,170 --> 00:09:55,990 Detective Lally believes Hunt ran a Ponzi scheme, robbing Peter to pay Paul. 150 00:09:56,460 --> 00:09:59,720 and financing the dividend checks with the money from new investors. 151 00:10:00,200 --> 00:10:04,500 And because they do so well at the beginning, more people want to be 152 00:10:04,500 --> 00:10:07,520 it. I mean, literally people are throwing money at this guy. And 153 00:10:07,520 --> 00:10:08,760 had invested millions of dollars. 154 00:10:09,500 --> 00:10:11,440 FBI agent Thomas Ryan. 155 00:10:12,100 --> 00:10:16,660 You know, in these Ponzi schemes, usually at some point they just become 156 00:10:16,660 --> 00:10:20,840 to, it's just too difficult to maintain. 157 00:10:21,220 --> 00:10:24,020 And it only takes, you know, one slip -up and... 158 00:10:24,790 --> 00:10:29,530 The scheme's over with. Ryan begins his investigation by sifting through the 159 00:10:29,530 --> 00:10:31,830 wreckage of Barry Hunt's bogus paper trail. 160 00:10:32,230 --> 00:10:35,790 When it was detected that there may be a problem with the accounts, when the 161 00:10:35,790 --> 00:10:41,710 accounts were closed, the account was short a million dollars or more. 162 00:10:42,050 --> 00:10:45,970 Over time, investigators believe that Hunt may have funneled some of that 163 00:10:45,970 --> 00:10:50,910 back to investors to keep the scam afloat. The rest, however, has already 164 00:10:50,910 --> 00:10:54,410 spent by the con man, or left town when he did. 165 00:10:54,760 --> 00:10:55,760 What are you going to do? 166 00:10:55,860 --> 00:10:57,980 You knew all along you were taking a chance. 167 00:10:58,460 --> 00:11:03,800 Many investors, like Carl Woofter, were always wary of a day of reckoning, but 168 00:11:03,800 --> 00:11:06,440 figured they'd be smart enough to get out before then. 169 00:11:06,740 --> 00:11:09,600 You know, you want to make the money so you think it's down the road where 170 00:11:09,600 --> 00:11:15,900 you'll be out of it, but then who would ever jump out if you're making 10 % even 171 00:11:15,900 --> 00:11:18,160 on money in 60 days? 172 00:11:18,400 --> 00:11:21,980 And you always get paid until the day you didn't get paid, and then that was 173 00:11:22,020 --> 00:11:23,020 That was the end of the game. 174 00:11:23,560 --> 00:11:25,660 Ron Moulette was one of the lucky ones. 175 00:11:26,040 --> 00:11:29,420 When all gets said and done, I was in there for $5 ,000. 176 00:11:29,840 --> 00:11:34,720 A bad feeling about Hunt compelled this veteran poker player to pull most of his 177 00:11:34,720 --> 00:11:38,520 chips out of the game before the con man's house of cards collapsed. 178 00:11:39,140 --> 00:11:43,900 I think all of us were aware the deal was too good to be true. 179 00:11:44,800 --> 00:11:48,020 And yet we saw that we were getting money. 180 00:11:49,820 --> 00:11:52,060 We knew the money we were getting was real. 181 00:11:52,940 --> 00:11:58,280 The story had some aspects of it that sounded real. 182 00:11:58,820 --> 00:12:04,360 And so you convince yourself it's okay to do this. 183 00:12:04,740 --> 00:12:08,060 For others, the situation is far more sobering. 184 00:12:08,360 --> 00:12:10,660 This is my daughter, Christina. 185 00:12:11,140 --> 00:12:13,000 She's the youngest. She's 17. 186 00:12:13,280 --> 00:12:15,800 And she's the one who's about to go to college. 187 00:12:16,240 --> 00:12:19,980 Dr. John Riedel lost his daughter's college fund. 188 00:12:20,750 --> 00:12:24,590 That tuition would have been in the bank had it not been for Barry, and now 189 00:12:24,590 --> 00:12:25,810 we're going to have to find it somewhere. 190 00:12:26,530 --> 00:12:28,750 Riddell has socialized and fished with Hunt. 191 00:12:28,950 --> 00:12:32,490 Now he realizes Hunt was actually fishing for him. 192 00:12:32,970 --> 00:12:38,870 But I think he's pathologic in a sense, and it all extends back to his 193 00:12:38,870 --> 00:12:42,370 personality as a professional bass fisherman, I think. 194 00:12:43,070 --> 00:12:47,890 If he saw a bass on a nest and that fish didn't take his lure, 195 00:12:49,099 --> 00:12:52,800 He'd have to go back. He turned the boat around to get that fish. He had to get 196 00:12:52,800 --> 00:12:55,400 it. There was something in him. He didn't want that fish to get away. 197 00:12:55,740 --> 00:12:59,520 And I think he was doing the same thing with people. He had become a fisher of 198 00:12:59,520 --> 00:13:01,220 men in an evil way. 199 00:13:01,740 --> 00:13:04,160 So where is the fisherman con artist? 200 00:13:05,220 --> 00:13:08,240 Investigators are short on clues and long on speculation. 201 00:13:09,100 --> 00:13:14,320 I think the trail went cold pretty quickly because as well as a lot of 202 00:13:14,320 --> 00:13:18,160 thought they knew him, in the final analysis, they really... 203 00:13:18,440 --> 00:13:22,240 Didn't know much about him. Well, yeah, some people thought somebody caught up 204 00:13:22,240 --> 00:13:26,220 with him and finished him off, or that he was in South America, maybe died of 205 00:13:26,220 --> 00:13:28,020 malaria hiding in the jungles. 206 00:13:28,700 --> 00:13:35,000 We knew that he had gone out of the country a lot for these fishing 207 00:13:35,080 --> 00:13:38,640 I guess he went to Costa Rica quite a bit. And so there was some speculation 208 00:13:38,640 --> 00:13:41,780 that he might have gone down there to hide out. 209 00:13:42,180 --> 00:13:46,880 But Barry Hunt has not been bumped off by the mob, nor is he in Costa Rica. 210 00:13:47,450 --> 00:13:51,010 He's alive and well and fishing in a new pond. 211 00:13:51,410 --> 00:13:55,470 It seems to be every day we learn of a new victim, a new victim, a new victim. 212 00:13:56,310 --> 00:14:02,430 For more information and special web exclusives, log on to AmericanGreed 213 00:14:02,430 --> 00:14:03,430 .com. 214 00:14:14,530 --> 00:14:15,530 Reno, Nevada. 215 00:14:16,030 --> 00:14:19,430 The bright lights beckon, promising quick, easy money. 216 00:14:23,530 --> 00:14:27,070 Jim Helgett is at the center of the action. 217 00:14:27,370 --> 00:14:31,910 From this perch, the dealer gets a real -world education into the art and 218 00:14:31,910 --> 00:14:36,390 science of gambling. When to hold them, when to fold them, and when to put some 219 00:14:36,390 --> 00:14:37,690 money on a long shot. 220 00:14:39,150 --> 00:14:42,470 He owned a company, or he said he owned a company called Tool Search. 221 00:14:43,030 --> 00:14:45,090 He is Jonathan Firestone. 222 00:14:45,530 --> 00:14:48,510 a poker player who the dealer met through some mutual friends. 223 00:14:49,090 --> 00:14:54,550 When a truck overturns or a train goes off the rails, Firestone's company, Tool 224 00:14:54,550 --> 00:15:00,670 Search, swoops down, salvages the cargo, and resells the goods for a big profit. 225 00:15:00,990 --> 00:15:06,790 He had a good pitch, and it sounded like he had more business than he knew what 226 00:15:06,790 --> 00:15:07,489 to do with. 227 00:15:07,490 --> 00:15:08,650 All right, showtime, guys. 228 00:15:08,950 --> 00:15:12,810 Helget's friends are already making money investing in Tool Search. 229 00:15:13,370 --> 00:15:15,890 And so the dealer decides to get in the game. 230 00:15:16,290 --> 00:15:17,269 Aces win. 231 00:15:17,270 --> 00:15:21,870 He buys $5 ,000 worth of chips and puts them all on tool search. 232 00:15:22,650 --> 00:15:26,470 For me, it was, gosh, it was working out for all these guys that had a lot of 233 00:15:26,470 --> 00:15:32,610 money, and I felt like, you know, hey, I'm just a small guy, but I'm playing 234 00:15:32,610 --> 00:15:35,770 with the big guys and making money. 235 00:15:36,070 --> 00:15:40,670 But the gamblers have no idea that Jonathan Firestone is actually the 236 00:15:40,670 --> 00:15:42,050 Barry Richard Hunt. 237 00:15:42,590 --> 00:15:47,350 A man with a joker up his sleeve and scores of defrauded investors in his 238 00:15:47,350 --> 00:15:52,550 pocket. I mean, it wasn't like he was one of these flashy, suave kind of 239 00:15:53,090 --> 00:15:57,770 Patricia Patton is a massage therapist who met Firestone at a poker tournament. 240 00:15:58,530 --> 00:16:01,690 He said, I could let you come in for a small amount. 241 00:16:01,930 --> 00:16:04,550 He said, you know, I know, I realize you probably don't have much to invest, 242 00:16:04,730 --> 00:16:08,890 but, you know, I like to help out. I like to be able to help out people. 243 00:16:09,540 --> 00:16:12,200 Patton is starting a new business, and money is tight. 244 00:16:12,860 --> 00:16:16,980 She decides to give what little she has to invest in tool search. 245 00:16:17,600 --> 00:16:19,740 Oh, I think it started out with like $3 ,000. 246 00:16:20,660 --> 00:16:22,280 I made about, what, $300? 247 00:16:23,400 --> 00:16:26,540 And, you know, he said, you know, do you want your principal back or do you want 248 00:16:26,540 --> 00:16:28,600 me to roll it over? And I was like, oh, let's roll it over. 249 00:16:29,130 --> 00:16:33,590 And, I mean, I did it for a while, and when it kept working really good, you 250 00:16:33,590 --> 00:16:35,410 know, I mentioned it to a couple of friends. 251 00:16:35,850 --> 00:16:40,730 Word of tool search success is spreading in Reno, and Jonathan Firestone is 252 00:16:40,730 --> 00:16:42,430 becoming a very popular man. 253 00:16:42,790 --> 00:16:46,370 Well, the first time I actually spoke to Jonathan, he had just bought his BMW, 254 00:16:46,510 --> 00:16:49,730 and he said it was for his 50th birthday present to himself. 255 00:16:49,990 --> 00:16:52,770 And I said it was a pretty car, and that's how we started talking. 256 00:16:53,850 --> 00:16:56,450 Elaine Nelson lived with Jonathan Firestone. 257 00:16:57,000 --> 00:17:01,760 She invested $15 ,000 in his company and introduced him to her friends and 258 00:17:01,760 --> 00:17:06,140 family. He always wanted to know more people. 259 00:17:06,560 --> 00:17:10,780 He always questioned me about other people I might know that were interested 260 00:17:10,780 --> 00:17:12,079 doing the same thing that I had done. 261 00:17:12,280 --> 00:17:15,500 He could always talk, you know, kind of connect with a lot of people. 262 00:17:16,560 --> 00:17:20,680 Suzette is a friend of Elaine's and fellow stakeholder in Tool Search. 263 00:17:21,640 --> 00:17:25,099 It was kind of like, well, okay, you know, for the first time. 264 00:17:25,550 --> 00:17:29,210 It was just kind of, okay, we can try it and see, because we kind of trusted 265 00:17:29,210 --> 00:17:30,210 John. 266 00:17:30,410 --> 00:17:36,210 Suzette eventually invested $36 ,000, and for a time, it seemed like money 267 00:17:36,210 --> 00:17:39,750 spent. In the short run, it was good. It seemed like it was good. 268 00:17:40,110 --> 00:17:43,130 I mean, we always got a good percentage back. It was always a quick turnaround. 269 00:17:43,350 --> 00:17:45,310 You know, it seemed like it was good, and it was nice. 270 00:17:45,890 --> 00:17:49,970 And life is very good for Tool Search CEO Jonathan Firestone. 271 00:17:50,730 --> 00:17:53,210 He lives on a golf course, drives a BMW. 272 00:17:53,980 --> 00:17:56,380 and travels the world flying first class. 273 00:17:57,100 --> 00:18:00,580 For Elaine, the life of luxury comes with one string attached. 274 00:18:01,720 --> 00:18:05,380 Firestone insists that she not ask about his business. 275 00:18:05,820 --> 00:18:06,820 I didn't question. 276 00:18:07,200 --> 00:18:12,440 He would tell me that money was coming in, so we were living a great life. 277 00:18:13,040 --> 00:18:16,200 The house payment was being paid, you know. 278 00:18:17,660 --> 00:18:20,380 I did my own thing. He did his. That was our relationship. 279 00:18:21,050 --> 00:18:25,290 Everybody check. But every now and again, an investor decides to put 280 00:18:25,290 --> 00:18:26,290 in the hot seat. 281 00:18:26,530 --> 00:18:28,870 Okay, you bet two or you fold. 282 00:18:29,090 --> 00:18:34,590 In the fall of 2002, Jim Helgut contacts Firestone and asks for all his money 283 00:18:34,590 --> 00:18:39,130 back. Check. I did it to test him. I told him that, hey, you know, it's tax 284 00:18:39,130 --> 00:18:41,490 and I really need some money. Two bucks. 285 00:18:41,830 --> 00:18:45,370 Probably in a very short time. Actually, it was probably two weeks. 286 00:18:45,810 --> 00:18:47,290 I had all my money out. 287 00:18:47,630 --> 00:18:49,890 Helgut is now more satisfied than ever. 288 00:18:50,280 --> 00:18:52,580 That tool search is on the up and up. 289 00:18:52,800 --> 00:18:58,240 He jumps back into the game to get in on Firestone's next big deal. 290 00:18:59,140 --> 00:19:01,960 Yeah, it's supposed to be a really quick deal. We're supposed to get a higher 291 00:19:01,960 --> 00:19:02,960 turnaround. 292 00:19:03,120 --> 00:19:05,280 Other investors are getting similar calls. 293 00:19:05,600 --> 00:19:07,280 A big deal is in the works. 294 00:19:07,520 --> 00:19:12,280 And Firestone says he just needs a little more capital to grease the 295 00:19:12,940 --> 00:19:17,500 The last time it was like, this will be, you know, at least 15%, maybe more. 296 00:19:20,780 --> 00:19:23,140 The house of cards fell down. 297 00:19:23,400 --> 00:19:29,320 On April 5, 2003, Elaine Nelson comes home to find Firestone frantically 298 00:19:29,320 --> 00:19:30,320 his bags. 299 00:19:30,560 --> 00:19:32,340 He said, I've got to get out of here. 300 00:19:32,620 --> 00:19:37,660 I remember him holding his chest, being very nervous. It was pretty much chaos. 301 00:19:39,240 --> 00:19:41,680 And then he was gone. It was a total shock. 302 00:19:42,260 --> 00:19:44,940 The word travels quickly among tool search investors. 303 00:19:45,980 --> 00:19:48,520 Firestone is gone, and so is their money. 304 00:19:49,350 --> 00:19:52,230 You feel like you've been hit in the stomach, I'd say. 305 00:19:52,790 --> 00:19:54,830 I mean, there was an actual physical feeling. 306 00:19:55,090 --> 00:20:01,790 Yeah, we were all just sick to our stomach that we had lost that money. We 307 00:20:01,790 --> 00:20:04,690 kind of knew that we'd probably never see it again. 308 00:20:04,950 --> 00:20:09,810 If the deal seems too good to be true, it's too good to be legal. 309 00:20:10,310 --> 00:20:14,010 Jay Brown is a detective who hunts con men and fraudsters. 310 00:20:15,340 --> 00:20:20,680 On April 8th, Brown gets a phone call from a tool search investor near and 311 00:20:20,680 --> 00:20:23,380 to his own nest egg, his stockbroker. 312 00:20:23,820 --> 00:20:28,400 He knew he'd been scammed, and he said that Mr. Firestone had cleaned out all 313 00:20:28,400 --> 00:20:33,680 his personal effects and loaded them into a BMW and was gone. 314 00:20:48,330 --> 00:20:53,150 In Reno, the heat's on Jonathan Firestone, the mastermind behind a 315 00:20:53,150 --> 00:20:54,450 calls Tool Search. 316 00:20:55,290 --> 00:20:58,930 Firestone's dividends are overdue, and investors are antsy. 317 00:20:59,190 --> 00:21:03,610 Under pressure, the mastermind packs his bags and skips town. 318 00:21:04,490 --> 00:21:08,570 He was gone. Loaded everything into a BMW and headed south. 319 00:21:09,230 --> 00:21:13,950 Detective Jay Brown begins the hunt for Firestone with a search warrant for the 320 00:21:13,950 --> 00:21:16,750 con man's home and his computer hard drive. 321 00:21:17,370 --> 00:21:20,770 Everything that was generated, all the paperwork that he generated was in that 322 00:21:20,770 --> 00:21:25,790 computer. He had spreadsheets with victims and how much they paid and when 323 00:21:25,790 --> 00:21:26,790 next check was due. 324 00:21:26,910 --> 00:21:31,450 And everything was fraudulent. Every piece of paper that was generated over 325 00:21:31,450 --> 00:21:37,630 five -year period was all generated in his loft by him to perpetuate his crime. 326 00:21:37,910 --> 00:21:41,850 The tool search documents tell the story of a classic Ponzi scheme. 327 00:21:42,050 --> 00:21:45,570 There is no business, no products, no sales. 328 00:21:46,350 --> 00:21:49,650 Nothing but money shifting from one investor to the next. 329 00:21:50,030 --> 00:21:51,470 His whole life was a lie. 330 00:21:51,890 --> 00:21:56,030 FBI Special Agent Marcus Knutson joins the hunt for Firestone. 331 00:21:56,390 --> 00:22:00,130 Well, Jay and I were kind of behind the eight ball for a little bit because we 332 00:22:00,130 --> 00:22:02,130 didn't get involved with this until after he fled. 333 00:22:02,350 --> 00:22:06,250 This is a typical picture of him right here. Look at that big bass. Those are 334 00:22:06,250 --> 00:22:10,270 great. As investigators search for Jonathan Ross Firestone, they come to 335 00:22:10,270 --> 00:22:12,370 discover they are chasing a shadow. 336 00:22:12,590 --> 00:22:13,269 Big fish. 337 00:22:13,270 --> 00:22:14,270 Big fish. 338 00:22:14,360 --> 00:22:16,960 The investigation reveals that there's no such person. 339 00:22:17,420 --> 00:22:22,920 Police are unaware that Firestone is actually Barry Richard Hunt, a man who 340 00:22:22,920 --> 00:22:25,560 New Hampshire under similar circumstances in 1989. 341 00:22:26,340 --> 00:22:29,520 At that point, we're dealing with, okay, we got this guy named Jonathan 342 00:22:29,520 --> 00:22:33,960 Firestone, but we don't know who he is. We have photos of him, but we have no 343 00:22:33,960 --> 00:22:36,980 clue who this guy is, and that obviously made our hunt for him even more 344 00:22:36,980 --> 00:22:37,980 difficult. 345 00:22:38,200 --> 00:22:42,680 He decided to plaster Firestone's face on the FBI's most wanted website. 346 00:22:43,760 --> 00:22:47,920 We were hoping that someone would see that photo and either recognize him from 347 00:22:47,920 --> 00:22:51,540 the past or recognize him that he's now living next door to me. 348 00:22:51,800 --> 00:22:55,740 You know, we had no idea who this guy was, and we were hoping that somehow 349 00:22:55,740 --> 00:22:56,840 be able to figure out who he was. 350 00:22:57,840 --> 00:23:02,400 But the master con man in the wind, his victims are left to cope with the 351 00:23:02,400 --> 00:23:03,420 fallout of his crime. 352 00:23:04,080 --> 00:23:09,560 Even though it's a white -collar crime, you know, it just tears people up. 353 00:23:10,639 --> 00:23:13,800 Suzette invested $36 ,000 in tool search. 354 00:23:14,760 --> 00:23:18,500 It really rips a lot of things out of people's lives, even though it's money. 355 00:23:19,200 --> 00:23:22,020 But, you know, that's a lot of people's stability. 356 00:23:22,520 --> 00:23:27,420 You know, my retirement is what I'm able to make of it, plus the security. 357 00:23:28,220 --> 00:23:30,600 Patricia Patton lost $15 ,000. 358 00:23:31,400 --> 00:23:35,060 Being self -employed, you've got to keep money, you know, back up in case you 359 00:23:35,060 --> 00:23:35,679 get sick. 360 00:23:35,680 --> 00:23:38,680 And, you know, it took a major... 361 00:23:40,300 --> 00:23:44,080 I took a major, you know, cushion out of my life. 362 00:23:44,300 --> 00:23:46,720 The whole thing beat me up pretty badly. 363 00:23:47,380 --> 00:23:49,780 Perhaps no one lost more than Elaine Nelson. 364 00:23:50,140 --> 00:23:55,300 The con man's girlfriend invested $15 ,000 and her heart. 365 00:23:55,800 --> 00:24:01,220 You don't trust anybody anymore, and I was scared that I would never be able to 366 00:24:01,220 --> 00:24:05,520 find anybody that loved me again, and it was a lonely existence for a little 367 00:24:05,520 --> 00:24:06,520 while there, yeah. 368 00:24:06,960 --> 00:24:10,320 For a year and a half, Firestone's location remains a mystery. 369 00:24:10,800 --> 00:24:16,020 Then, in the fall of 2004, the FBI gets the phone call they were hoping for. 370 00:24:16,300 --> 00:24:22,260 We get contacted by a woman on the East Coast who said that she had queried 371 00:24:22,260 --> 00:24:26,620 Google for a friend that she had met during the summer who was renting a home 372 00:24:26,620 --> 00:24:27,279 near her. 373 00:24:27,280 --> 00:24:30,040 The woman lives in a small town on the Jersey Shore. 374 00:24:30,280 --> 00:24:34,720 She tells the agents about a man she knows who seems to be hiding from 375 00:24:35,210 --> 00:24:38,370 Yeah, she thought something was weird about him. He would park with his car 376 00:24:38,370 --> 00:24:43,310 backed in. He would do weird stuff, stuff that normal human beings would not 377 00:24:43,510 --> 00:24:48,270 So she had this, you know, this little tingling on the back of her neck that 378 00:24:48,270 --> 00:24:53,070 this guy may not be as legitimate as he claims to be. But the fugitive is 379 00:24:53,070 --> 00:24:58,670 growing careless, referring to himself as Ross Firestone one day, then Jonathan 380 00:24:58,670 --> 00:25:03,670 the next. So she Googles Jonathan Ross Firestone. Boom. The FBI. 381 00:25:04,330 --> 00:25:07,370 Web page shows up. And up popped his wanted poster. 382 00:25:07,710 --> 00:25:12,190 And she positively identified him as the individual she had contacted. 383 00:25:12,630 --> 00:25:17,070 The woman tells police that Firestone has moved on. But she does give them a 384 00:25:17,070 --> 00:25:21,290 number of valuable leads, including the con man's cell phone number. 385 00:25:21,550 --> 00:25:27,290 Those ten digits are all the FBI needs to zero in on the master scammer. Yeah, 386 00:25:27,350 --> 00:25:32,030 we're learning that he is somewhere near Jacksonville, Florida, in a small town 387 00:25:32,030 --> 00:25:33,030 called Ocala. 388 00:25:33,580 --> 00:25:39,120 Two days later, an FBI arrest team moves on Firestone at a gym. They find him on 389 00:25:39,120 --> 00:25:40,120 a leg machine. 390 00:25:40,200 --> 00:25:44,940 The man who has spent 15 years on the run is working on his quadriceps. 391 00:25:45,380 --> 00:25:50,460 He was grateful. From what I got, the feedback I got back, he was grateful 392 00:25:50,460 --> 00:25:51,460 he'd finally got caught. 393 00:25:51,700 --> 00:25:56,700 Because one of the first things he said to these FBI agents was, now I can call 394 00:25:56,700 --> 00:25:57,700 my mom. 395 00:25:57,720 --> 00:25:59,440 You know, it's kind of sweet, you know. 396 00:26:01,880 --> 00:26:07,160 Firestone goes quietly into custody, but he does toss out one final bombshell. 397 00:26:07,500 --> 00:26:12,620 That his real name was Barry Richard Hunt and that he was wanted by the FBI 398 00:26:12,620 --> 00:26:13,620 New Hampshire. 399 00:26:13,840 --> 00:26:18,180 The fugitive is extradited back to Reno, Nevada to face trial. 400 00:26:18,600 --> 00:26:24,520 On July 8, 2005, Barry Hunt pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud and 401 00:26:24,520 --> 00:26:27,820 count of bank fraud. He's sentenced to six years in prison. 402 00:26:28,300 --> 00:26:33,520 As part of the plea deal, Hunt agrees to pay $2 .9 million in restitution to his 403 00:26:33,520 --> 00:26:36,400 victims. If we ever see anything, we'll be shocked. 404 00:26:37,000 --> 00:26:40,540 Barry Hunt claims he's broke, and police believe him. 405 00:26:40,840 --> 00:26:42,640 They think he blew it all. 406 00:26:43,160 --> 00:26:47,400 And at the federal prison near El Paso, where he does his time, Hunt makes a 407 00:26:47,400 --> 00:26:49,760 whopping 69 cents an hour. 408 00:26:50,020 --> 00:26:53,740 You know, unless he got out and somebody was following him and he has money 409 00:26:53,740 --> 00:26:57,120 stashed offshore somewhere, there's no chance. 410 00:26:57,770 --> 00:26:59,490 Unless maybe he hit the lottery. 411 00:26:59,930 --> 00:27:04,290 Hunt's capture also closes the books on the scam he pulled in Exeter, New 412 00:27:04,290 --> 00:27:05,870 Hampshire, where it all started. 413 00:27:06,170 --> 00:27:10,710 Perhaps surprisingly, most of Hunt's victims here were unaware of his arrest 414 00:27:10,710 --> 00:27:14,010 conviction until American Greed came calling. 415 00:27:14,350 --> 00:27:17,390 Well, I was fairly excited to know that I knew where he was now. 416 00:27:17,850 --> 00:27:20,330 You know, you always want some closure to the deal. 417 00:27:21,130 --> 00:27:25,510 And knowing that I can go out to Texas and see him is pretty good closure. 418 00:27:27,420 --> 00:27:28,720 He certainly had a knack. 419 00:27:29,040 --> 00:27:34,900 My charity doesn't go as far as labeling him as a genius, though he may be. 420 00:27:35,160 --> 00:27:37,460 But everyone knows what human nature is. 421 00:27:37,780 --> 00:27:40,940 It's no secret. It's a matter of whether you take advantage of it. 422 00:27:41,320 --> 00:27:43,380 A word he used a lot was greed. 423 00:27:43,860 --> 00:27:45,560 He blamed it all on greed. 424 00:27:46,300 --> 00:27:51,760 And I never was sure whether he was referring to my greed, the greed of the 425 00:27:51,760 --> 00:27:56,300 investors, or his own greed, whether he was saying something in code. 426 00:27:57,460 --> 00:28:02,760 But greed was what he felt underlay this whole mess that had developed. 427 00:28:03,260 --> 00:28:04,480 Not that he was right. 428 00:28:06,320 --> 00:28:09,860 And up next, it's an art heist like you've never seen before. 429 00:28:10,360 --> 00:28:12,180 They were obviously professionals. 430 00:28:13,100 --> 00:28:16,260 Thieves make off with two paintings worth $4 million. 431 00:28:16,720 --> 00:28:19,660 It's such a stab to anyone who loves art. 432 00:28:20,000 --> 00:28:24,900 When we return, American Greed goes into the gallery and inside the crime. 433 00:28:38,860 --> 00:28:43,560 It's a daring heist, pulled off by trained professionals, like a scene that 434 00:28:43,560 --> 00:28:44,560 made for the movie. 435 00:28:44,600 --> 00:28:46,780 But this time, it's for real. 436 00:28:47,540 --> 00:28:50,580 It was probably the worst experience of our lives. 437 00:28:50,880 --> 00:28:56,060 In July of 2002, burglars break into a gallery in West Hollywood, California, 438 00:28:56,360 --> 00:29:01,020 and make a clean getaway with two paintings by famed American artist 439 00:29:01,020 --> 00:29:03,180 Parrish, valued at $4 million. 440 00:29:04,060 --> 00:29:06,600 It's like, you know, a 007 movie. 441 00:29:07,070 --> 00:29:10,450 You know, cutting the roof and breaching the security system, shorting out 442 00:29:10,450 --> 00:29:14,890 wires, how they removed the paintings, how they got out, and how they went 443 00:29:14,890 --> 00:29:16,230 undetected by doing all this. 444 00:29:16,530 --> 00:29:21,270 The West Hollywood heist has made its way onto the FBI's top ten list of art 445 00:29:21,270 --> 00:29:26,510 crimes. But it all started 1 ,500 miles away with an art collector in Houston, 446 00:29:26,750 --> 00:29:27,750 Texas. 447 00:29:27,900 --> 00:29:31,960 All these paintings down this wall are Texas artists. 448 00:29:32,400 --> 00:29:37,260 J .P. Bryan is a Texas oil man with a penchant for fine art. And there's a man 449 00:29:37,260 --> 00:29:40,900 right there that won the Battle of San Jacinto, Sam Houston, the Sword of San 450 00:29:40,900 --> 00:29:42,060 Jacinto, as they like to call it. 451 00:29:42,280 --> 00:29:47,260 Over the past 25 years, Bryan has amassed a collection of more than 10 452 00:29:47,260 --> 00:29:50,800 pieces, mostly art and artifacts from the Old West. 453 00:29:51,480 --> 00:29:56,340 I love Western art. I love the action that's implied in it. I love the subject 454 00:29:56,340 --> 00:30:01,200 matter. And to me, the most fascinating part of the settlement of these United 455 00:30:01,200 --> 00:30:03,780 States is the Western part of it. 456 00:30:04,060 --> 00:30:08,140 That's Andy Warhol, Custer, Annie Oakley, and Geronimo there. 457 00:30:08,380 --> 00:30:12,660 Today, his office appears to be as much an art museum as it is the corporate 458 00:30:12,660 --> 00:30:14,900 headquarters of a thriving energy company. 459 00:30:15,180 --> 00:30:17,840 My favorite one was this one right behind my desk. 460 00:30:18,740 --> 00:30:23,280 The Longhorn, and there he is taking the long look, which is what the West is 461 00:30:23,280 --> 00:30:23,959 all about. 462 00:30:23,960 --> 00:30:25,300 It's about the long view. 463 00:30:25,540 --> 00:30:31,100 Art is obviously a central focus of the collection, but there's also an 464 00:30:31,100 --> 00:30:37,960 interesting assemblage of spurs, saddles, bridles. And what we tried to 465 00:30:37,960 --> 00:30:42,660 just not get a gun or a saddle or a bridle, but get something with an 466 00:30:42,660 --> 00:30:43,860 interesting provenance. 467 00:30:44,780 --> 00:30:46,040 In May of 1999, 468 00:30:46,780 --> 00:30:51,760 J .P. Bryan came across a set of paintings by Maxfield Parrish, a premier 469 00:30:51,760 --> 00:30:52,760 American artist. 470 00:30:53,380 --> 00:30:57,320 A friend of mine one day called me and he said, I've got some Maxfield 471 00:30:57,320 --> 00:31:00,680 that could be for sale. Would you be interested in buying them? I said, no, 472 00:31:00,680 --> 00:31:05,800 really, because I don't collect Parrish. It's just outside my collecting venue. 473 00:31:06,380 --> 00:31:10,500 Although not a collector of Parrish, Bryan saw an opportunity to buy the 474 00:31:10,500 --> 00:31:12,560 paintings and turn a quick profit. 475 00:31:13,280 --> 00:31:16,800 You know, Maxfield Parish, along with Norman Rockwell, the two greatest 476 00:31:16,800 --> 00:31:20,340 illustrators. And I saw the paintings. I thought they were magnificent. 477 00:31:21,180 --> 00:31:25,660 Maxfield Parish has an impressive following in the U .S. and is one of the 478 00:31:25,660 --> 00:31:27,460 reproduced artists of all time. 479 00:31:28,160 --> 00:31:32,720 During the 20s, one out of every five American homes had a Parish print. 480 00:31:33,140 --> 00:31:38,000 Perhaps no one knows this better than Alma Gilbert Smith, the leading broker 481 00:31:38,000 --> 00:31:39,740 the sale of original Parish paintings. 482 00:31:40,220 --> 00:31:41,620 Look at that sense of light. 483 00:31:42,240 --> 00:31:44,160 It's called The Land of Make -Believe. 484 00:31:44,380 --> 00:31:49,820 The author of 12 books on Parrish, Gilbert lives in the Parrish home and 485 00:31:49,820 --> 00:31:51,540 a museum dedicated to his work. 486 00:31:52,300 --> 00:31:56,460 I can still almost feel his energy in the paintings. 487 00:31:56,760 --> 00:32:01,340 And that's why, you know, at the age of 70, I'm still, you know, maintaining, 488 00:32:01,660 --> 00:32:06,740 you know, a museum and doing the tours and things when I have no business doing 489 00:32:06,740 --> 00:32:08,280 that at the age of 70. But, you know. 490 00:32:09,120 --> 00:32:12,840 I'm there because I love it. I'm there because I get a high every time I see 491 00:32:12,840 --> 00:32:17,120 somebody who's seen a parish painting for the first time and say, oh, my God. 492 00:32:17,580 --> 00:32:22,040 The parish art that was up for sale was part of a set of seven oil paintings 493 00:32:22,040 --> 00:32:27,400 commissioned by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney in the early 1900s. She wanted 494 00:32:27,400 --> 00:32:32,940 something in a mural form that would be very, very special for her home. And she 495 00:32:32,940 --> 00:32:37,800 wanted to show young people all dressed up having a wonderful time, like a 496 00:32:37,800 --> 00:32:38,800 party. 497 00:32:38,860 --> 00:32:40,040 This is the north wall panel. 498 00:32:40,600 --> 00:32:44,800 The north wall of the reception room held one panel measuring 18 feet. 499 00:32:45,220 --> 00:32:50,520 And the three surrounding walls each held two paintings that measured 8 1⁄2 500 00:32:50,520 --> 00:32:51,520 1⁄2 feet. 501 00:32:51,640 --> 00:32:55,360 Together, they depict a continuous scene of a party. 502 00:32:55,740 --> 00:33:02,360 And they would be connected. So, you know, it was surround sound with Whitney 503 00:33:02,360 --> 00:33:05,700 murals. This is the longest single work that Parrish ever did. 504 00:33:05,920 --> 00:33:10,900 In June of 1999, the North Wall panel goes on display in Alma Gilbert's 505 00:33:11,140 --> 00:33:14,620 And J .P. Bryan purchases the six remaining murals. 506 00:33:14,860 --> 00:33:19,160 I love the historical connection because they were done for Ms. Vanderbilt 507 00:33:19,160 --> 00:33:23,400 Whitney. who was at the time arguably the greatest collector of American 508 00:33:23,400 --> 00:33:25,860 paintings of anybody during that period. 509 00:33:27,600 --> 00:33:32,740 Bryan consigns the six paintings to Edenhurst, a fine art gallery in 510 00:33:32,740 --> 00:33:36,240 California, where interest in Maxfield Parish runs high. 511 00:33:37,540 --> 00:33:42,000 There's a number of people in the entertainment community that are 512 00:33:42,000 --> 00:33:46,640 with Maxfield Parish works, and so obviously many of those people, 513 00:33:46,940 --> 00:33:48,220 are in California. 514 00:33:48,890 --> 00:33:52,150 I think art is the ultimate collectible. It's certainly the most valuable 515 00:33:52,150 --> 00:33:57,650 collectible. Tom Gianetto is the co -owner of Edenhurst Gallery, the man who 516 00:33:57,650 --> 00:34:00,670 spent three decades studying and dealing in fine art. 517 00:34:01,170 --> 00:34:03,550 Maxwell Parrish is a very important American painter. 518 00:34:03,870 --> 00:34:08,969 To have these very large canvases was a privilege and an honor, and wonderful to 519 00:34:08,969 --> 00:34:11,489 have them around. We had people coming in from all over the world. 520 00:34:11,830 --> 00:34:14,489 For 12 months, the paintings hang here. 521 00:34:14,889 --> 00:34:18,929 at Edenhurst's West Hollywood location, where they are shown daily to potential 522 00:34:18,929 --> 00:34:19,929 buyers. 523 00:34:20,150 --> 00:34:24,150 The asking price was $15 million for the six paintings. 524 00:34:24,610 --> 00:34:25,909 There seemed to be a lot of interest. 525 00:34:26,150 --> 00:34:30,850 As a matter of fact, we had, I think, Edenhurst would know better, but my 526 00:34:30,850 --> 00:34:32,550 recollection is they had several offers. 527 00:34:33,010 --> 00:34:36,550 I almost felt I was like an emcee for that year that they were there. I mean, 528 00:34:36,550 --> 00:34:37,750 entertained a lot of people. 529 00:34:38,250 --> 00:34:43,070 And while some come perhaps to buy, many more come just to look. 530 00:34:43,639 --> 00:34:48,320 We had all kinds of people. We had students, we had art collectors, we had 531 00:34:48,320 --> 00:34:49,699 curious dabblers. 532 00:34:50,040 --> 00:34:53,840 Most people had never even seen a parish in person, certainly had never seen 533 00:34:53,840 --> 00:34:57,340 such large parishes. So we had every kind of person. 534 00:34:57,700 --> 00:35:02,840 What Gianetto doesn't realize is that some of those faces in the crowd could 535 00:35:02,840 --> 00:35:07,640 quietly casing his gallery, waiting for the perfect moment to make off with the 536 00:35:07,640 --> 00:35:08,640 prized paintings. 537 00:35:09,230 --> 00:35:13,130 We felt protected in every way because we had everything in place as far as 538 00:35:13,130 --> 00:35:17,830 security goes. As much as you think you are protected, you really aren't because 539 00:35:17,830 --> 00:35:21,790 if someone wants something, they can go to extreme measures to get what they 540 00:35:21,790 --> 00:35:24,770 want. In this case, someone really wanted those works of art. 541 00:35:38,990 --> 00:35:40,850 July 29, 2002. 542 00:35:41,630 --> 00:35:43,930 Just another Monday morning in L .A. 543 00:35:44,430 --> 00:35:49,230 But for gallery owner Tom Gianetto, today will be the worst day of his life. 544 00:35:49,710 --> 00:35:54,130 I first got the news via cell phone call on my way to the gallery. 545 00:35:54,390 --> 00:35:57,390 The parishes are gone. The two parishes are missing. 546 00:35:57,790 --> 00:36:02,770 The two parishes are paintings by the famed American artist Maxfield Parrish, 547 00:36:02,790 --> 00:36:04,690 valued at $4 million. 548 00:36:05,740 --> 00:36:09,520 I arrived to see that they had actually been cut from their stretcher bars. 549 00:36:10,800 --> 00:36:13,140 It's just an emotional meltdown. 550 00:36:13,340 --> 00:36:18,740 Your mind races, and you think of all the thefts of all the great works of 551 00:36:18,800 --> 00:36:21,280 and you realize that here it is happening to you. 552 00:36:21,540 --> 00:36:25,840 I was working out of West Hollywood Station, primarily crimes against 553 00:36:26,520 --> 00:36:30,320 Scott Petz is a detective with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. 554 00:36:30,820 --> 00:36:34,800 And so we were sent over there right away because we heard it was a high 555 00:36:34,800 --> 00:36:39,250 loss. And there's the gallery with the two missing pieces right there. 556 00:36:40,010 --> 00:36:45,450 Two massive frames hang on the wall, empty. The treasured artwork carefully 557 00:36:45,450 --> 00:36:46,610 sliced out. 558 00:36:46,910 --> 00:36:50,730 You can see there was little portions in the corner of the painting that was 559 00:36:50,730 --> 00:36:54,550 left behind. So that's some of the paint that just had flaked off during the 560 00:36:54,550 --> 00:36:55,550 cut. 561 00:36:55,730 --> 00:37:01,310 Detective Petz looks for clues, but finds the gallery relatively 562 00:37:01,310 --> 00:37:04,310 wasn't damaged. There wasn't things thrown about or strewn about. 563 00:37:05,050 --> 00:37:09,270 But we did notice right away that there was a ladder in the kitchen area. 564 00:37:09,550 --> 00:37:14,210 From the kitchen, Petz discovers the spot where the thieves came and went. 565 00:37:14,550 --> 00:37:17,750 This is the drop ceiling. You can see if you look up through there, there's the 566 00:37:17,750 --> 00:37:19,470 hole in the roof that's actually cut out. 567 00:37:19,690 --> 00:37:24,370 They gained access by cutting out a four -by -four section of the roof. The weak 568 00:37:24,370 --> 00:37:28,610 point in virtually any commercial structure right there, it's plywood 569 00:37:28,610 --> 00:37:31,190 covered with a composite material and some tar. 570 00:37:31,760 --> 00:37:37,300 And it's generally not covered by alarms or by extra security, so it's a common 571 00:37:37,300 --> 00:37:38,300 place for them to enter. 572 00:37:38,460 --> 00:37:42,100 So what they did is they cut through the roof, got down to the drop ceiling. 573 00:37:42,240 --> 00:37:46,920 Inside the drop ceiling, the thieves had access to the alarm system and the 574 00:37:46,920 --> 00:37:48,120 skill to defuse it. 575 00:37:48,400 --> 00:37:55,120 They went in into the electrical panel up in the subroof. They stripped the 576 00:37:55,120 --> 00:37:57,640 wires, and they shorted out that keypad. 577 00:37:58,170 --> 00:38:03,050 The intruders intentionally tripped the alarm, then sat back to watch as police 578 00:38:03,050 --> 00:38:08,170 responded eight separate times. With each call, police and security found no 579 00:38:08,170 --> 00:38:12,790 signs of a break -in. They soon began to suspect that the alarm system itself 580 00:38:12,790 --> 00:38:19,190 was faulty. So the alarm was set off late Saturday evening. The following day 581 00:38:19,190 --> 00:38:21,430 4 o 'clock, the pings are still in place. 582 00:38:21,790 --> 00:38:25,690 By Sunday morning, everyone had concluded that the alarm was broken. 583 00:38:26,060 --> 00:38:27,680 and simply stop responding. 584 00:38:28,120 --> 00:38:33,560 People's reaction tends to wane because they feel that it's a false alarm. And 585 00:38:33,560 --> 00:38:34,560 that's what the owners believed. 586 00:38:34,980 --> 00:38:38,620 That's what the deputies began to believe. And I'm sure the security 587 00:38:38,620 --> 00:38:41,780 themselves started to believe that, yeah, we have a bad security alarm. 588 00:38:42,100 --> 00:38:46,780 And with that, the thieves went to work, slipping through the hole in the roof 589 00:38:46,780 --> 00:38:48,320 and into the dark gallery. 590 00:38:48,680 --> 00:38:53,100 They sliced the canvases from their frames, rolled them up, and made a clean 591 00:38:53,100 --> 00:38:58,740 getaway. with $4 million of art in tow. They were obviously professional. 592 00:38:59,740 --> 00:39:04,120 Professionals who went in specifically to take two of the Maxfield Parish 593 00:39:04,120 --> 00:39:08,280 canvases. Although they had other very valuable pieces there, there was nothing 594 00:39:08,280 --> 00:39:14,140 else. In fact, there were very valuable pieces sitting very nearby on the floor 595 00:39:14,140 --> 00:39:18,040 because they were ready to be hung. There were paintings worth millions of 596 00:39:18,040 --> 00:39:19,860 dollars as well in the near vicinity. 597 00:39:20,300 --> 00:39:22,700 Which told you that these items were targeted. 598 00:39:22,960 --> 00:39:26,560 And why those two when they were six, we don't know. 599 00:39:27,480 --> 00:39:32,040 Detective Petz works the case for four months, but finds very little in the way 600 00:39:32,040 --> 00:39:32,718 of leads. 601 00:39:32,720 --> 00:39:34,900 We didn't have any eyewitnesses. 602 00:39:35,690 --> 00:39:40,010 and no physical evidence other than a one -foot impression print that we had. 603 00:39:40,170 --> 00:39:45,570 That was only partial and wasn't able to yield a size or a particular type of 604 00:39:45,570 --> 00:39:50,590 shoe. So, no, we never got any traction on it at all. We never had any suspect 605 00:39:50,590 --> 00:39:52,410 or even a person of interest. 606 00:39:52,910 --> 00:39:55,350 Well, it's like a death of a friend. 607 00:39:55,790 --> 00:40:00,430 The news hits hard for J .P. Bryan, the owner of the stolen paintings. 608 00:40:00,950 --> 00:40:04,530 They sort of walk away from you gradually in your memory. 609 00:40:05,080 --> 00:40:06,420 It's the same thing with art. 610 00:40:06,640 --> 00:40:13,620 You feel very angered and unhappy about it initially, but then over time you 611 00:40:13,620 --> 00:40:15,080 finally adjust to the circumstances. 612 00:40:15,640 --> 00:40:19,200 So when it's finished, this will be mapping Texas and the West. 613 00:40:19,580 --> 00:40:23,380 J .P. Bryan doesn't expect to see the paintings returned in his lifetime. 614 00:40:24,140 --> 00:40:30,920 No. I think whoever got them was very specific in 615 00:40:30,920 --> 00:40:32,720 their desires to own those. 616 00:40:33,360 --> 00:40:39,600 particular panels, and until they die, I don't think they'll ever emerge again. 617 00:40:41,020 --> 00:40:43,160 Unfortunately, Brian is not alone. 618 00:40:43,920 --> 00:40:46,060 Art theft is a growing trend worldwide. 619 00:40:46,600 --> 00:40:51,620 It's big business, accounting for nearly $6 billion in losses each year. 620 00:40:51,900 --> 00:40:56,240 It's definitely a rising crime problem in the world, and it's really a global 621 00:40:56,240 --> 00:41:02,140 problem. Chris Calarco is one of 12 in the FBI's art crime team. 622 00:41:02,410 --> 00:41:06,730 Special agents who investigate and recover stolen art, artifacts, and 623 00:41:06,730 --> 00:41:11,730 antiquities. I kind of approach my art cases like I would approach any other 624 00:41:11,730 --> 00:41:15,810 major theft type of case. It's like, you know, you look at, you know, who are 625 00:41:15,810 --> 00:41:19,150 the thieves who could pull this particular thing off? You know, who are 626 00:41:19,150 --> 00:41:23,530 known thieves that you know about? You know, we have informants that are out 627 00:41:23,530 --> 00:41:27,010 giving us information all the time about people who are doing particular crimes. 628 00:41:27,190 --> 00:41:28,590 And these are a couple pieces. 629 00:41:29,370 --> 00:41:30,410 of the art that we recovered. 630 00:41:30,870 --> 00:41:36,690 Since its inception in 2004, the team has recovered 850 items worth more than 631 00:41:36,690 --> 00:41:42,590 $65 million, including a Rembrandt self -portrait worth $36 million and Norman 632 00:41:42,590 --> 00:41:46,450 Rockwell's Russian schoolroom valued at $700 ,000. 633 00:41:46,770 --> 00:41:50,110 These are photographs of the stolen murals. 634 00:41:50,370 --> 00:41:55,690 In March 2005, Calarco picks up the case of the stolen Maxfield Parish paintings 635 00:41:55,690 --> 00:41:57,730 and turns to the media for help. 636 00:41:58,360 --> 00:42:02,840 With a case like this, we try to get the story out in the media again, try to 637 00:42:02,840 --> 00:42:04,000 breathe some new life into it. 638 00:42:04,260 --> 00:42:10,600 And this case was, or this particular art theft was put on the FBI's top ten 639 00:42:10,600 --> 00:42:15,800 crimes. When the FBI releases a list of the top ten art crimes in the world, the 640 00:42:15,800 --> 00:42:18,280 Maxfield Parish canvases are number eight. 641 00:42:18,500 --> 00:42:22,680 The list generates numerous tips, but nothing that takes Calarco to the 642 00:42:22,680 --> 00:42:26,320 paintings. For now, the case remains open and active. 643 00:42:28,200 --> 00:42:32,980 that somewhere out there somebody is going to see the art or hear about it in 644 00:42:32,980 --> 00:42:37,840 the news and say, you know what, I saw that piece. So -and -so has that piece 645 00:42:37,840 --> 00:42:40,700 their house or they heard someone talking about it at a cocktail party. 646 00:42:41,020 --> 00:42:42,180 I'm going to call the FBI. 647 00:42:42,880 --> 00:42:47,120 And hopefully that will be the type of tip that breaks the case open for me. 648 00:42:47,540 --> 00:42:52,400 If you have any information about the Maxfield Parish murals, please contact 649 00:42:52,400 --> 00:42:56,420 FBI at 310 -477 -6565. 650 00:42:57,570 --> 00:43:01,630 Or leave a tip at AmericanGreed .CNBC .com. 651 00:43:03,290 --> 00:43:06,170 In an upcoming episode of American Greed. 652 00:43:06,570 --> 00:43:10,250 Nobody had heard from him nor seen him. So I decided to call the police. 653 00:43:10,530 --> 00:43:12,230 A patient ends up dead. 654 00:43:12,490 --> 00:43:15,630 I found him dead in his kitchen laying on the floor with Dr. Barnes' 655 00:43:15,850 --> 00:43:17,170 prescription in his hand. 656 00:43:17,470 --> 00:43:20,270 Was it the illness or was it the doctor?