1 00:00:02,570 --> 00:00:07,170 In this episode of American Greed, they said it was the deal of a lifetime. 2 00:00:07,710 --> 00:00:13,170 Put money in God's hand, and God gives it back to you double. And thousands of 3 00:00:13,170 --> 00:00:16,070 people put their faith and money into the ministry. 4 00:00:16,430 --> 00:00:19,630 They said, we'll double your money in 17 months. That was the pitch. 5 00:00:20,150 --> 00:00:23,350 But it was a fraud, and all in the name of God. 6 00:00:23,890 --> 00:00:27,130 I've seen more money stolen in the name of God than any other way. 7 00:00:27,570 --> 00:00:31,990 And later, he was one of the most successful jewel thieves of all time. 8 00:00:32,520 --> 00:00:36,100 I could make a million dollars one night and start looking for another one the 9 00:00:36,100 --> 00:00:37,100 next day. 10 00:00:37,200 --> 00:00:41,880 Bill Mason made it look easy, hobnobbing with the rich and famous and taking 11 00:00:41,880 --> 00:00:42,880 their diamonds. 12 00:00:42,900 --> 00:00:45,760 Bill had no desire to rob celebrities. 13 00:00:46,040 --> 00:00:49,680 But as Willie Sutton once said about robbing, why did you rob banks? He said, 14 00:00:49,740 --> 00:00:50,800 because that's where the money is. 15 00:01:11,440 --> 00:01:13,400 Every time it's the same routine. 16 00:01:13,840 --> 00:01:15,540 Somebody say hallelujah. 17 00:01:16,480 --> 00:01:17,480 Singing. 18 00:01:18,920 --> 00:01:23,220 Praying. And Lord, we just offer up ourselves as a living sacrifice tonight. 19 00:01:23,520 --> 00:01:24,520 And preaching. 20 00:01:24,700 --> 00:01:27,420 How many know what you see from God is real? 21 00:01:28,220 --> 00:01:30,740 But then comes the sales pitch. 22 00:01:31,180 --> 00:01:33,840 God never intended for his church to be poor. 23 00:01:34,480 --> 00:01:38,500 He said, blessed are the poor in heart, not pocketbook. 24 00:01:43,539 --> 00:01:48,140 Gerald Payne, seen here, is the founder of a church called Greater Ministries 25 00:01:48,140 --> 00:01:53,540 International. He was a blue -collar guy. He was a painter. He, I think, ran 26 00:01:53,540 --> 00:01:54,580 warehouse at one point. 27 00:01:55,420 --> 00:01:56,780 Payne is the next con. 28 00:01:57,040 --> 00:02:00,360 But in the late 80s, he changed his ways and found God. 29 00:02:00,660 --> 00:02:04,760 He bought an old bank building in Tampa and started Greater Ministries 30 00:02:04,760 --> 00:02:05,760 International. 31 00:02:06,160 --> 00:02:10,620 He did have a friend in Don Hall who certainly knew scripture and was able to 32 00:02:10,620 --> 00:02:16,080 put together this sort of team that made a very compelling pitch to people. 33 00:02:16,340 --> 00:02:20,120 Throughout the 90s, Payne and his fellow ministers traveled the country, 34 00:02:20,240 --> 00:02:24,500 spreading their message and asking audiences to put money into the church. 35 00:02:25,080 --> 00:02:26,740 It's just as simple as this. 36 00:02:27,020 --> 00:02:31,400 Put money in God's hand and God gives it back to you, Doug. 37 00:02:32,420 --> 00:02:37,160 Payne's brainchild is an unorthodox money doubling program, ultimately 38 00:02:37,160 --> 00:02:42,320 Faith Promises. The plan is simple. Gift the church, and that money will be 39 00:02:42,320 --> 00:02:43,760 doubled within 17 months. 40 00:02:44,380 --> 00:02:48,940 The story he told most of the time on the road was that he was awakened one 41 00:02:48,940 --> 00:02:54,800 night by God, who pointed out the scripture of Luke to him and said, you 42 00:02:54,800 --> 00:02:57,300 think I meant that just for back then, you can use this today. 43 00:02:58,160 --> 00:03:02,620 Through divine inspiration, Payne says God has given him a plan. 44 00:03:03,180 --> 00:03:07,160 God said this plan will be around until he comes again. Praise God. Hallelujah. 45 00:03:08,500 --> 00:03:10,420 And the secret is in the Bible. 46 00:03:11,760 --> 00:03:16,540 And Gerald took this passage of Luke, which was mostly about compassion and 47 00:03:16,540 --> 00:03:18,940 forgiveness, and applied that financially. 48 00:03:19,200 --> 00:03:20,720 Given it shall be given unto you. 49 00:03:21,100 --> 00:03:24,280 Deal, and it shall be given to you. 50 00:03:24,540 --> 00:03:28,960 In city after city, Payne and his ministers pitch their program and 51 00:03:28,960 --> 00:03:30,040 millions of dollars. 52 00:03:30,900 --> 00:03:35,380 So if you want to start receiving, then start giving. They would urge people, 53 00:03:35,580 --> 00:03:39,380 max out your credit cards. Get a new mortgage on your house. Don't worry 54 00:03:39,380 --> 00:03:43,160 18 % interest. We're giving you 100%. And pointing to all of their friends and 55 00:03:43,160 --> 00:03:46,820 family who were in the audience who received those envelopes full of cash 56 00:03:46,820 --> 00:03:47,820 month. 57 00:03:49,150 --> 00:03:50,950 For many people, that became too much to resist. 58 00:03:51,550 --> 00:03:56,490 We have a lot of folks realizing now, after they put the $250 in and it 59 00:03:56,490 --> 00:04:00,210 to $500, they put it in and went to $1 ,000, put it in and went to $2 ,000, put 60 00:04:00,210 --> 00:04:04,550 it in and went to $4 ,000. And tens of thousands of people jump in, handing 61 00:04:04,550 --> 00:04:05,610 their hard -earned cash. 62 00:04:06,430 --> 00:04:08,530 This is my favorite picture of you. 63 00:04:08,770 --> 00:04:12,970 People like Mary Coy and Nancy Ross, who have been friends for more than three 64 00:04:12,970 --> 00:04:17,029 decades. I think it was in 1974 when I came to Orlando. 65 00:04:17,410 --> 00:04:22,110 I met Nancy at the time, and she immediately became my best friend. 66 00:04:22,710 --> 00:04:25,310 It's a friendship that is firmly rooted in faith. 67 00:04:26,350 --> 00:04:31,990 It is. It is our life, I think. Not religion, but our faith and belief in 68 00:04:32,750 --> 00:04:38,650 In 1996, Nancy Ross is hoping to raise money for a charity when a stockbroker 69 00:04:38,650 --> 00:04:43,190 recommends investing in Greater Ministries. She hopes it is the answer 70 00:04:43,190 --> 00:04:50,190 prayers. And he fully convinced me that this was a safe way to take my money out 71 00:04:50,190 --> 00:04:53,810 of the stock and put it into Greater Ministries. 72 00:04:54,620 --> 00:04:58,760 Nancy learns that the church is making a killing in diamond mines and offshore 73 00:04:58,760 --> 00:05:04,300 investments. And I believe there was a diamond mine in Africa, but they were 74 00:05:04,300 --> 00:05:06,760 offshore gem investments. 75 00:05:07,800 --> 00:05:11,180 So I went into it full bore. 76 00:05:11,740 --> 00:05:15,760 Nancy cleans out her savings and hands over $100 ,000. 77 00:05:16,360 --> 00:05:21,100 And just like clockwork, the 15th of the month, we'd go to this house and we'd 78 00:05:21,100 --> 00:05:23,280 pick up cash, whatever we wanted. 79 00:05:23,820 --> 00:05:28,520 With the money rolling in, Nancy encourages Mary to get in on the action. 80 00:05:28,880 --> 00:05:33,760 They had scripture that they used to back up what they were doing, and we 81 00:05:33,760 --> 00:05:38,400 that they were feeding the poor and housing the homeless. 82 00:05:38,740 --> 00:05:44,040 We've got 1 ,500 children in one home over in Haiti, and we've got 1 ,400 83 00:05:44,040 --> 00:05:45,620 in Ocala we fed last week. 84 00:05:45,960 --> 00:05:51,160 This sort of interplay between a message from the pulpit based in scripture. 85 00:05:51,800 --> 00:05:56,420 with seeing everyone around you getting paid, and that becomes a little 86 00:05:56,420 --> 00:05:57,420 difficult to resist. 87 00:05:58,180 --> 00:06:03,980 You drop a lot of your defenses when all your friends and family can show you 88 00:06:03,980 --> 00:06:04,980 the envelopes full of cash. 89 00:06:05,420 --> 00:06:09,740 This is a form that was used when we first got involved. 90 00:06:10,380 --> 00:06:15,280 Coy mortgages her house and hands over $80 ,000 to Greater Ministries. 91 00:06:15,740 --> 00:06:20,500 Which to me was a huge amount, because I had been a single mother for years. 92 00:06:21,490 --> 00:06:23,450 Immediately, the cash comes in. 93 00:06:24,290 --> 00:06:29,190 Every month I would go and could pick up several thousand dollars in cash. I 94 00:06:29,190 --> 00:06:32,610 mean, that would just boggle my mind that I would be given cash. 95 00:06:33,570 --> 00:06:35,750 And like that, the word spreads. 96 00:06:36,390 --> 00:06:39,590 And you kind of trust people in your own church. 97 00:06:40,150 --> 00:06:44,370 Audrey Wharton hears about greater ministries in her church in Port 98 00:06:44,490 --> 00:06:50,130 Florida. Well, any time you can make money and put a contribution or a 99 00:06:50,130 --> 00:06:54,730 or... In any way, help the religious mission field. That's what Christians 100 00:06:54,730 --> 00:06:55,730 called to do. 101 00:06:55,830 --> 00:06:58,170 So it was almost a win -win. 102 00:06:58,810 --> 00:07:03,210 Audrey and her husband, David, buy in. This one's $50 ,500. 103 00:07:04,370 --> 00:07:09,190 This says $25 ,000. 104 00:07:09,970 --> 00:07:12,150 They send in more than $100 ,000. 105 00:07:12,910 --> 00:07:15,430 And, as promised, the program pays. 106 00:07:16,010 --> 00:07:18,330 It was right on time, right on schedule. 107 00:07:18,630 --> 00:07:20,090 No reason to question it. 108 00:07:21,130 --> 00:07:25,410 By the late 90s, Greater Ministries is pulling in cash from people all across 109 00:07:25,410 --> 00:07:26,410 the country. 110 00:07:26,510 --> 00:07:29,990 We heard about vaults full of cash. It was a bank building, and there were at 111 00:07:29,990 --> 00:07:34,070 least two vaults, and that when the money would come in every month, it 112 00:07:34,070 --> 00:07:38,250 literally fill the floor. You would sort of wade through this room full of 113 00:07:38,250 --> 00:07:39,250 bills. 114 00:07:39,290 --> 00:07:41,870 And just like that, new investors are hooked. 115 00:07:42,630 --> 00:07:46,590 Dizzying returns, wads of cash, and all in the name of God. 116 00:07:46,790 --> 00:07:48,890 It seems almost too good to be true. 117 00:07:49,690 --> 00:07:51,210 Turns out, it was. 118 00:07:51,950 --> 00:07:57,250 I just thought, well, it sounds good. And maybe this one really is good. Even 119 00:07:57,250 --> 00:08:00,250 though it looks too good to be true, maybe this time it is. 120 00:08:01,270 --> 00:08:02,270 But I was wrong. 121 00:08:16,230 --> 00:08:18,570 You folks have got a lot. 122 00:08:18,970 --> 00:08:21,490 invested into God's kingdom. 123 00:08:21,950 --> 00:08:24,710 Gerald Payne is a preacher in a league of his own. 124 00:08:25,010 --> 00:08:27,310 How many of you realize you are blessed people? 125 00:08:27,710 --> 00:08:29,330 Amen. Hallelujah. 126 00:08:30,050 --> 00:08:31,050 Give God the glory. 127 00:08:31,990 --> 00:08:36,770 He runs a church out of an old bank building and travels the country touting 128 00:08:36,770 --> 00:08:37,950 money doubling program. 129 00:08:39,210 --> 00:08:44,690 By 1995, Greater Ministries is pulling in millions of dollars every month. 130 00:08:45,200 --> 00:08:48,840 There was something, at a very minimum, very suspicious going on. 131 00:08:49,140 --> 00:08:53,440 But a church with that kind of cash flow catches the attention of the IRS. 132 00:08:54,500 --> 00:08:59,000 Yes, over a period of two years, they withdrew approximately $9 million from 133 00:08:59,000 --> 00:09:01,060 various banks in the Tampa Bay area. 134 00:09:01,380 --> 00:09:06,260 Special Agent Angelo Troncoso digs into Greater Ministries' banking records and 135 00:09:06,260 --> 00:09:09,460 discovers huge sums of money passing through the church. 136 00:09:10,030 --> 00:09:14,150 This one, for example, shows that there was a cash out of $18 ,000. 137 00:09:14,730 --> 00:09:21,190 Why a church would need that volume of cash to run its operations was a red 138 00:09:21,190 --> 00:09:22,190 for me. 139 00:09:23,010 --> 00:09:25,990 Troncoso suspects Greater Ministries is up to no good. 140 00:09:26,330 --> 00:09:30,050 Takes his suspicions to U .S. Attorney Bob Moszkowski. 141 00:09:30,450 --> 00:09:32,810 We found they were bringing in an awful lot of money. 142 00:09:33,610 --> 00:09:35,410 So where is the money coming from? 143 00:09:35,800 --> 00:09:39,520 According to Greater Ministries, the church pulls in millions from lucrative 144 00:09:39,520 --> 00:09:43,860 investments in diamond mines, gold mines, and offshore trading. 145 00:09:44,120 --> 00:09:48,920 What we do is take the monies that you give and we ship it overseas. We do what 146 00:09:48,920 --> 00:09:51,620 we call world trades with world banks. 147 00:09:51,820 --> 00:09:56,660 And we make 30 to 40 percent return on our money each trade. 148 00:09:57,640 --> 00:10:01,720 Records indicate that Greater Ministries poured millions into the African nation 149 00:10:01,720 --> 00:10:02,720 of Liberia. 150 00:10:02,910 --> 00:10:05,550 buying heavy machinery and land for mining. 151 00:10:06,030 --> 00:10:06,550 But 152 00:10:06,550 --> 00:10:14,530 investigators 153 00:10:14,530 --> 00:10:16,510 don't buy those claims. 154 00:10:17,250 --> 00:10:18,450 These things don't exist. 155 00:10:18,710 --> 00:10:22,290 They talked about their lucrative mining operations in Africa and other places. 156 00:10:22,910 --> 00:10:26,290 They tried to make those things real. They never took a dime out of the 157 00:10:27,150 --> 00:10:31,330 No matter how much we looked, we couldn't find any income -generating 158 00:10:31,330 --> 00:10:35,110 other than more investors putting more money into the program. 159 00:10:35,770 --> 00:10:37,990 They had the gifting forms on their website. 160 00:10:39,030 --> 00:10:43,670 Angelo Troncoso believes it is all a facade, that there are no gold mines or 161 00:10:43,670 --> 00:10:48,170 overseas trades, just millions and millions of dollars of cash trading 162 00:10:48,650 --> 00:10:50,730 It was predominantly a fraud. 163 00:10:51,180 --> 00:10:56,440 Oh, by the six, seven months into the investigation, I was certain that it was 164 00:10:56,440 --> 00:10:57,440 Ponzi scheme. 165 00:10:57,560 --> 00:11:02,440 In a Ponzi scheme, money from new investors is used to pay out old 166 00:11:03,000 --> 00:11:07,260 What they were doing was putting on a facade of money -making activities, 167 00:11:07,480 --> 00:11:13,000 bringing in investors' money, and then paying the earlier investors off with 168 00:11:13,000 --> 00:11:15,020 money coming in from the later investors. 169 00:11:15,560 --> 00:11:19,980 The program collapses when there aren't enough new investors to keep it afloat. 170 00:11:20,400 --> 00:11:25,900 You have to keep expanding the investor base, or once that dries up, people are 171 00:11:25,900 --> 00:11:27,300 going to lose their money. 172 00:11:28,060 --> 00:11:32,940 While Troncoso and Mosokowski build their case, church leaders continue to 173 00:11:32,940 --> 00:11:36,320 their program, and word spreads like wildfire. 174 00:11:36,700 --> 00:11:39,940 I'm going to head on down towards downtown. 175 00:11:40,680 --> 00:11:44,160 Making its way to Bill Smith in Birmingham, Alabama. 176 00:11:44,960 --> 00:11:46,800 Of course, being in the Bible Belt. 177 00:11:47,210 --> 00:11:50,410 Birmingham in particular has been a very spiritual city. 178 00:11:51,510 --> 00:11:55,990 I had heard about Greater Tampa Ministries for six or seven years. 179 00:11:56,330 --> 00:12:00,770 And so I thought, well, we ought to look into it, see what they're really doing. 180 00:12:01,590 --> 00:12:06,170 Smith talks it over with another investor who shows him two years of 181 00:12:06,890 --> 00:12:12,250 He said that Greater Ministries had allowed him to set up trust college 182 00:12:12,250 --> 00:12:13,410 for his grandchildren. 183 00:12:14,800 --> 00:12:18,340 and that he was getting a 5 % return on his money every month. 184 00:12:19,160 --> 00:12:22,440 Like so many before him, Smith buys into the dream. 185 00:12:23,320 --> 00:12:26,800 They would send me paperwork every month showing, you know, what it had grown 186 00:12:26,800 --> 00:12:27,800 to. 187 00:12:27,960 --> 00:12:31,400 And I would put different amounts in every month. 188 00:12:32,820 --> 00:12:35,540 Ultimately, Smith sends nearly $80 ,000. 189 00:12:36,060 --> 00:12:39,960 But after four months, his faith will be put to the test. 190 00:12:40,480 --> 00:12:43,980 And I thought, no, this is not right. Something's wrong. 191 00:12:45,420 --> 00:12:50,860 In July 1998, regulators shut down Best Bank in Boulder, Colorado. 192 00:12:51,380 --> 00:12:56,920 With the bank's collapse, Greater Ministries loses $20 million in 193 00:12:56,920 --> 00:13:01,020 deposits. And with that, the glass house begins to crack. 194 00:13:01,940 --> 00:13:05,380 Sometimes you just have to wonder, well, Lord, what really is happening? 195 00:13:06,320 --> 00:13:09,260 Three months later, the cash stops flowing. 196 00:13:09,930 --> 00:13:14,490 So they lose about $20 million there, and there is, from that day forward in 197 00:13:14,490 --> 00:13:20,190 July of 1998, this sort of desperate search for new money so they can 198 00:13:20,190 --> 00:13:21,830 to pay out the old investors. 199 00:13:22,630 --> 00:13:26,370 And I ask that you get in the plan and get in it with great gusto. 200 00:13:27,130 --> 00:13:30,430 If you give up on us now, you're going to lose in the end when God really 201 00:13:30,430 --> 00:13:31,430 blesses us. 202 00:13:32,530 --> 00:13:36,290 In lieu of cash, some investors receive promissory notes. 203 00:13:36,920 --> 00:13:41,340 One of the things they did was to give us these greater trust non -transferable 204 00:13:41,340 --> 00:13:46,920 certificates, which was supposed to have been redeemed in gold, as I recall. 205 00:13:47,340 --> 00:13:49,200 Yes. Gold bars or something. 206 00:13:49,940 --> 00:13:53,760 Greater Ministries tells investors to hold on and keep the faith. 207 00:13:54,360 --> 00:13:59,780 But many start to wonder if they've been duped. I thought, what am I going to 208 00:13:59,780 --> 00:14:02,560 do? What about all that money? I have a house payment. 209 00:14:02,800 --> 00:14:03,800 Uh -oh. 210 00:14:03,840 --> 00:14:04,840 What now? 211 00:14:04,980 --> 00:14:11,240 We'll just have to trust in the Lord, you know. And, well, I was hanging on 212 00:14:11,240 --> 00:14:14,180 my fingernails, trusting in the Lord, but the money wasn't coming. 213 00:14:15,120 --> 00:14:19,680 When American greed returns, could the investor's faith pay off? 214 00:14:20,300 --> 00:14:23,660 And later, a master jewel thief tells all. 215 00:14:38,000 --> 00:14:41,140 I've had the boxes from the greater ministry case brought up and put in 216 00:14:41,200 --> 00:14:45,180 and you can see there are about 80 of them. Tom Krebs is an Alabama attorney 217 00:14:45,180 --> 00:14:46,720 former securities regulator. 218 00:14:47,380 --> 00:14:51,000 What's mostly said is that these files represent, you know, broken dreams. 219 00:14:51,620 --> 00:14:52,880 That's what makes me mad. 220 00:14:53,780 --> 00:14:55,800 These are the depositions of Gerald Payne. 221 00:14:56,020 --> 00:15:02,060 In 1999, Krebs takes up a case against greater ministries after an investor 222 00:15:02,060 --> 00:15:04,720 named Bill Smith suspects he has been defrauded. 223 00:15:05,040 --> 00:15:06,440 If I can find one here. 224 00:15:07,620 --> 00:15:10,200 Krebs discovers that Bill Smith is not alone. 225 00:15:11,100 --> 00:15:14,540 These are names of people who were victimized in the state of Georgia. 226 00:15:14,540 --> 00:15:19,340 just got the computer printouts on the list of victims, and there are just 227 00:15:19,340 --> 00:15:22,880 thousands, tens of thousands of them. The main thing was shutting them down. 228 00:15:23,280 --> 00:15:24,280 That's right. 229 00:15:25,580 --> 00:15:29,800 Greater Ministries has been operating a Ponzi scheme under the cloak of religion 230 00:15:29,800 --> 00:15:31,020 for eight years. 231 00:15:31,820 --> 00:15:36,140 And now the money is running out, and investors like Smith are about to pay 232 00:15:36,140 --> 00:15:37,140 price. 233 00:15:37,240 --> 00:15:38,440 All these people know them as thieves. 234 00:15:38,740 --> 00:15:44,120 It was a scam that was particularly successful amongst a targeted group of 235 00:15:44,120 --> 00:15:45,880 people who wanted to believe it. 236 00:15:46,140 --> 00:15:49,060 And they were the sheep ready for shearing. 237 00:15:49,320 --> 00:15:52,300 The religious fraud is probably the most insidious. 238 00:15:52,620 --> 00:15:57,100 Krebs brings his case to Joe Borg, the director of the Alabama Securities 239 00:15:57,100 --> 00:16:01,380 Commission. I've seen more money stolen in the name of God than any other way. 240 00:16:01,560 --> 00:16:06,220 It's the worst form of con artistry that you can imagine. 241 00:16:08,140 --> 00:16:12,880 Borg says religious scams are so pervasive because the message comes from 242 00:16:12,880 --> 00:16:17,120 pulpit. But think about ministers and those that are in the religious order. 243 00:16:17,440 --> 00:16:19,680 These are the folks you look up to and trust. 244 00:16:20,760 --> 00:16:24,440 Krebs and Borg start building their case, piece by piece. 245 00:16:24,970 --> 00:16:29,070 After we were gathering as much information as we can, tons of bank 246 00:16:29,190 --> 00:16:33,270 trying to figure out where money was going, verifying that, no, the church 247 00:16:33,270 --> 00:16:37,390 didn't own any cargo ships. They weren't engaged in foreign currency 248 00:16:37,390 --> 00:16:42,830 transaction, and we found no evidence of gold or silver or, you know, mines in 249 00:16:42,830 --> 00:16:46,450 Africa. The pair concludes it was all a sham. 250 00:16:46,770 --> 00:16:49,430 The only source of the revenues was from the investors. 251 00:16:49,970 --> 00:16:52,250 But in greater ministries, there was no product. 252 00:16:53,450 --> 00:16:56,810 It was money going from the left hand to the right hand, to the next left hand, 253 00:16:56,870 --> 00:16:57,870 to the next right hand. 254 00:16:58,610 --> 00:17:02,950 But for eight years, greater ministries get away with it because they argue that 255 00:17:02,950 --> 00:17:06,710 the cash was a gift to the church and not an investment. 256 00:17:07,069 --> 00:17:10,970 But people forget that these are investments, and they are looking to get 257 00:17:10,970 --> 00:17:11,970 something back. 258 00:17:12,190 --> 00:17:13,490 This is not a gift. 259 00:17:13,890 --> 00:17:17,750 Call it what you will, but if you're promised double your money in 17 months, 260 00:17:18,010 --> 00:17:19,869 you're getting a payment back. 261 00:17:20,329 --> 00:17:24,970 And selling investments requires a license, a license that Gerald Payne 262 00:17:24,970 --> 00:17:29,790 have. They were breaking securities laws in my state. The securities had to be 263 00:17:29,790 --> 00:17:32,250 licensed, and the persons who sold them had to be licensed. 264 00:17:32,930 --> 00:17:38,630 As Alabama authorities build their civil case, IRS agent Angelo Troncoso is 265 00:17:38,630 --> 00:17:40,990 closing in on Greater Ministries back in Tampa. 266 00:17:41,550 --> 00:17:46,410 After a four -year investigation, a grand jury hands down a 20 -count 267 00:17:46,410 --> 00:17:49,610 charging Gerald Payne and six church elders with conspiracy. 268 00:17:50,320 --> 00:17:52,140 money laundering, and mail fraud. 269 00:17:52,660 --> 00:17:56,680 This is the residence of Gerald Payne. On March 12, 1999, 270 00:17:57,400 --> 00:18:01,780 Angelo Troncoso moves in on Payne and his wife Betty as they leave their 271 00:18:02,380 --> 00:18:04,680 They were arrested on that driveway. 272 00:18:05,260 --> 00:18:09,620 There was intelligence that we had that Mr. Payne always carried a weapon in his 273 00:18:09,620 --> 00:18:11,840 car and a weapon in his boot. 274 00:18:12,340 --> 00:18:15,800 We found no weapon on Mr. Payne. We found no weapon in the car. 275 00:18:16,460 --> 00:18:21,360 We did, however, find a .25 caliber pistol in Betty Payne's purse. 276 00:18:22,720 --> 00:18:27,300 The church leaders are cuffed and booked, and word travels quickly to 277 00:18:27,300 --> 00:18:30,320 Kittay, the legal advisor for Greater Ministries. 278 00:18:30,660 --> 00:18:35,620 You can't raise that kind of money without the government sticking their 279 00:18:35,620 --> 00:18:36,620 into it. 280 00:18:37,120 --> 00:18:40,560 Kittay says the government's case is weak at best. 281 00:18:40,860 --> 00:18:42,440 I say talk's cheap. 282 00:18:42,680 --> 00:18:45,200 Show me your proof, because I can prove otherwise. 283 00:18:46,000 --> 00:18:50,960 Just like they wanted to say that Greater Ministries was a pyramid or 284 00:18:50,960 --> 00:18:51,960 scheme. 285 00:18:52,200 --> 00:18:53,300 It wasn't. 286 00:18:53,640 --> 00:18:57,280 Gerald Payne made his money by doing international trades. 287 00:18:58,300 --> 00:19:01,400 Gattay heads to jail and bonds out the church leaders. 288 00:19:01,780 --> 00:19:06,140 Almost immediately, they're back at it, urging people to hand over their money 289 00:19:06,140 --> 00:19:08,200 despite a pending criminal trial. 290 00:19:08,780 --> 00:19:12,320 We're on our eighth year now. We don't know if anybody's lost a dollar in our 291 00:19:12,320 --> 00:19:15,400 program. But it's not ours. It's God's. 292 00:19:15,920 --> 00:19:17,600 Well, they didn't care. 293 00:19:18,540 --> 00:19:24,180 Their spiel was, we're a religious organization. We can do whatever it is 294 00:19:24,180 --> 00:19:25,180 want to do. 295 00:19:25,380 --> 00:19:28,140 I have nothing to hide. We're not doing anything wrong. 296 00:19:28,540 --> 00:19:31,340 But the Bible says, cast not your pearl before slime. 297 00:19:32,220 --> 00:19:35,980 They knew the end was near, and they continued to take people's money at that 298 00:19:35,980 --> 00:19:39,340 point because somehow they thought the rules didn't count. 299 00:19:39,860 --> 00:19:44,720 We saw it expanding. They were pulling $18 million to $16 million down a month. 300 00:19:45,520 --> 00:19:49,240 And so it was growing like crazy, and we had to shut it down quick in order to 301 00:19:49,240 --> 00:19:51,140 protect the people who were being defrauded. 302 00:19:51,920 --> 00:19:55,140 A federal indictment isn't enough to stop Gerald Payne. 303 00:19:55,760 --> 00:20:00,060 Krebs and Borg decide they need to shut Greater Ministries down before more 304 00:20:00,060 --> 00:20:01,360 investors are fleeced. 305 00:20:02,260 --> 00:20:05,980 We actually convinced a federal judge that we needed to stop the hemorrhaging. 306 00:20:06,700 --> 00:20:10,940 and he gave us the injunctions necessary to take control of that building and 307 00:20:10,940 --> 00:20:11,799 those records. 308 00:20:11,800 --> 00:20:16,920 But this came after the Waco, Texas, shootout, and the federal marshals were 309 00:20:16,920 --> 00:20:17,920 little bit apprehensive. 310 00:20:18,140 --> 00:20:22,320 They were concerned because it was a bank building, and there was suspicion 311 00:20:22,320 --> 00:20:23,320 these folks were armed. 312 00:20:23,760 --> 00:20:26,280 The U .S. marshals called in reinforcements. 313 00:20:26,500 --> 00:20:31,760 Around 7 p .m., an arsenal rolls down Bird Street, and investigators storm 314 00:20:31,760 --> 00:20:32,920 Greater Ministries. 315 00:20:33,640 --> 00:20:36,180 So they stormed it basically with a SWAT team and a tank. 316 00:20:36,380 --> 00:20:39,120 So it was a fairly dramatic entry. 317 00:20:39,920 --> 00:20:44,340 The team makes its way inside Greater Ministries and begins a room -by -room 318 00:20:44,340 --> 00:20:49,740 search. They find heavy security and a stash of weapons, postal boxes full of 319 00:20:49,740 --> 00:20:54,980 letters to investors, and a tape library documenting more than 100 meetings. 320 00:20:55,800 --> 00:20:59,940 Altogether, it is an operation much larger than investigators had 321 00:21:00,540 --> 00:21:06,860 Well, we ultimately found about $450 million taken from people from all over 322 00:21:06,860 --> 00:21:07,719 this country. 323 00:21:07,720 --> 00:21:14,360 The amazing thing to me today still is how much money they made. $16 324 00:21:14,360 --> 00:21:18,240 million in August and $15 million in September of 1997. 325 00:21:19,180 --> 00:21:22,380 Investigators find cash stashed throughout the building. 326 00:21:22,680 --> 00:21:26,820 I, for example, opened a secretary's desk, pulled it open, and there was 327 00:21:26,820 --> 00:21:28,980 $14 ,000 in cash, $100 bills. 328 00:21:29,740 --> 00:21:32,040 you know, tied up in a bundle in a little bag. 329 00:21:32,380 --> 00:21:36,340 But when they crack open the vaults, investigators discover that most of the 330 00:21:36,340 --> 00:21:37,560 money is gone. 331 00:21:38,200 --> 00:21:42,480 $1 ,100, $1 ,200, $1 ,300. 332 00:21:43,140 --> 00:21:46,160 They count just $40 ,000 in total. 333 00:21:46,780 --> 00:21:50,840 Internal records detail where much of the money went, including millions of 334 00:21:50,840 --> 00:21:55,760 dollars in kickbacks paid to insiders listed in the files as gas money. 335 00:21:56,080 --> 00:21:59,800 It is money to you for having brought people into the faith promise plan. 336 00:22:00,280 --> 00:22:01,280 It's a commission. 337 00:22:02,280 --> 00:22:06,000 A 5 % commission that adds up to more than $20 million. 338 00:22:06,880 --> 00:22:13,800 There's some people here who were pulling down $161 ,000 in one month for 339 00:22:13,800 --> 00:22:19,540 commissions. The board of directors were getting paid huge amounts of money. 340 00:22:20,220 --> 00:22:22,900 And a lot of money was squandered in bad investments. 341 00:22:23,680 --> 00:22:27,720 To put it quite frankly, the con men came out of the woodwork trying to 342 00:22:27,720 --> 00:22:32,600 funds from Gerald Payne to invest in every scam imaginable. 343 00:22:33,020 --> 00:22:38,440 Greater ministries lost $20 million in the best bank collapse and more than $12 344 00:22:38,440 --> 00:22:43,600 million in failed mining efforts in Liberia. Con men are not exempt from 345 00:22:43,600 --> 00:22:48,720 conned, you know. And when the cash began to run out... Greater Ministries 346 00:22:48,720 --> 00:22:53,320 trying to issue bonds and sell gold coins and jewelry, anything to keep the 347 00:22:53,320 --> 00:22:54,320 money flowing. 348 00:22:55,000 --> 00:23:01,960 These are greater trust in God bonds, guaranteed by God if you listen to them. 349 00:23:02,140 --> 00:23:08,540 Now, these are $100 and $500, $1 ,000, all the way up to $50 ,000, 350 00:23:08,800 --> 00:23:14,080 which, of course, had absolutely no value. We found where they had been 351 00:23:14,080 --> 00:23:16,100 gold coins and gold rings. 352 00:23:16,620 --> 00:23:20,240 You know, the greater trust in God logo on the back. 353 00:23:20,800 --> 00:23:25,920 For weeks, investigators sift through the wreckage until they uncover a set of 354 00:23:25,920 --> 00:23:28,580 documents, a possible escape plan. 355 00:23:29,400 --> 00:23:33,700 This is a package of documents that we found inside the building dealing with 356 00:23:33,700 --> 00:23:37,840 their attempt to buy an island and make it their own sovereign country. They 357 00:23:37,840 --> 00:23:39,820 called it Greater Royal Island. 358 00:23:40,410 --> 00:23:44,750 And this video, obtained by American Greed, shows church leaders scouting an 359 00:23:44,750 --> 00:23:48,870 island off the coast of Honduras, just days after the indictment was handed 360 00:23:48,870 --> 00:23:52,850 down. They wanted to create what they called the ecclesiastical domain, 361 00:23:52,850 --> 00:23:55,650 to the Vatican, its own freestanding state. 362 00:23:56,310 --> 00:23:59,150 Here are the things they would need. They'd need some jeeps. They'd need some 363 00:23:59,150 --> 00:24:00,150 fuel tanks. 364 00:24:00,470 --> 00:24:04,610 A 22 -page plan details the setup and operations of the land. 365 00:24:05,230 --> 00:24:09,670 You order the tools and equipment, order security equipment, and then sixth 366 00:24:09,670 --> 00:24:12,910 step, import Filipinos, as you see right here. 367 00:24:13,830 --> 00:24:16,950 Thirty Filipinos would be needed to staff the island. 368 00:24:17,350 --> 00:24:20,370 That was going to be their labor pool. They were going to import Filipino 369 00:24:20,370 --> 00:24:23,510 laborers to help them build all this so they could have places to live. 370 00:24:24,110 --> 00:24:26,450 And then there is the security detail. 371 00:24:27,130 --> 00:24:31,230 The most disturbing part was the security registry that they had. 372 00:24:31,820 --> 00:24:37,760 10 M16 rifles, 10 9mm machine pistols with silencers, for obvious reasons, 373 00:24:38,040 --> 00:24:40,960 sniper rifles with scopes, 10 night vision helmets. 374 00:24:42,600 --> 00:24:46,480 Investigators suspect Gerald Payne was trying to flee before the scheme came 375 00:24:46,480 --> 00:24:47,319 crashing down. 376 00:24:47,320 --> 00:24:49,900 But now, he isn't going anywhere. 377 00:24:50,420 --> 00:24:55,900 When American Greed returns, will Payne's next sermon be in federal 378 00:24:57,520 --> 00:25:03,180 For more information and special web exclusives, log on to americangreed 379 00:25:03,180 --> 00:25:04,180 .com. 380 00:25:14,320 --> 00:25:20,780 By 1999, the demise of Greater Ministries International 381 00:25:20,780 --> 00:25:22,920 is making news around the nation. 382 00:25:23,340 --> 00:25:28,200 They invested on faith in a house of worship by a man who claims to have God 383 00:25:28,200 --> 00:25:29,199 his side. 384 00:25:29,200 --> 00:25:33,520 The church pulled in hundreds of millions of dollars from people all 385 00:25:33,520 --> 00:25:37,300 country. But on August 6th, the feds shut it down. 386 00:25:37,880 --> 00:25:41,600 That was the end of greater ministries, no question about that. We shut it at 387 00:25:41,600 --> 00:25:42,600 that point. 388 00:25:42,780 --> 00:25:46,700 It's news that is hard to take for many who believe in Gerald Payne. 389 00:25:47,180 --> 00:25:50,720 We weren't the most popular people in that community for a while. 390 00:25:50,920 --> 00:25:53,680 At that time, they still believed the program. 391 00:25:54,020 --> 00:25:57,620 Outside the headquarters, crowds protest and pray. 392 00:25:58,060 --> 00:26:01,540 I remember looking out the window and somebody raising his fist, you know, 393 00:26:01,540 --> 00:26:04,300 pointing at us, and they were wearing the God Squad shirts. 394 00:26:04,960 --> 00:26:10,180 But investigators can prove it was all a fraud and continue to uncover evidence 395 00:26:10,180 --> 00:26:11,820 of heartbreaking losses. 396 00:26:12,320 --> 00:26:15,680 These are letters from victims to greater ministries. 397 00:26:16,320 --> 00:26:19,960 He says, I gifted twice in 1998, $20 ,500. 398 00:26:20,740 --> 00:26:24,320 And it so happens it was for me everything I had. 399 00:26:24,940 --> 00:26:31,440 I'm 74 years old. I don't have rent money or a place to live or food money. 400 00:26:31,440 --> 00:26:32,440 am I to do? 401 00:26:32,620 --> 00:26:36,060 I want these guys in a special place in hell. 402 00:26:37,060 --> 00:26:39,100 I want to go to the hottest fire. 403 00:26:39,440 --> 00:26:41,820 They destroy dreams. They destroy lives. 404 00:26:42,880 --> 00:26:45,780 And remember, they did it in the name of God. 405 00:26:46,380 --> 00:26:51,880 In January of 2001, Gerald Payne and four church elders stand trial. 406 00:26:52,220 --> 00:26:56,820 Well, we're basically telling them it was a Ponzi scheme, that they took in 407 00:26:56,820 --> 00:27:01,500 of investors' money, they made a lot of false promises, and when the money dried 408 00:27:01,500 --> 00:27:03,660 up, the scheme collapsed. 409 00:27:04,300 --> 00:27:08,920 But according to the defense, there was no fraud, because the money was a gift 410 00:27:08,920 --> 00:27:10,440 and not an investment. 411 00:27:11,230 --> 00:27:13,070 You see, this was a gifting program. 412 00:27:13,270 --> 00:27:18,890 You signed a form when you became a member of Greater Ministries that any 413 00:27:18,890 --> 00:27:21,330 you gave was a gift. 414 00:27:21,750 --> 00:27:28,310 You had no expectations of a return except how the Lord 415 00:27:28,310 --> 00:27:31,210 provided. They understood, but people are greedy. 416 00:27:31,890 --> 00:27:35,850 Of course, you talk to everybody. No, we were looking to get our, you know, 417 00:27:35,850 --> 00:27:39,910 twice our money back as promised by God in the church. 418 00:27:40,480 --> 00:27:44,060 And perhaps the best evidence came from Greater Ministries recordings. 419 00:27:44,720 --> 00:27:48,740 They videotaped every meeting they had. It was great evidence. 420 00:27:48,940 --> 00:27:54,180 I mean, we did not have to worry about proving what it is they told people in 421 00:27:54,180 --> 00:27:57,700 order to induce them to give their money. It was very clear. You're getting 422 00:27:57,700 --> 00:27:59,620 double your money back in 17 months. 423 00:28:00,200 --> 00:28:01,740 The evidence is overwhelming. 424 00:28:02,160 --> 00:28:05,140 After seven weeks of trial, the verdict is in. 425 00:28:05,660 --> 00:28:11,110 Guilty. At sentencing, Gerald Payne receives 27 years behind bars. 426 00:28:11,530 --> 00:28:15,930 His co -defendants receive sentences ranging from 11 years to 20 years. 427 00:28:16,790 --> 00:28:20,490 Gerald Payne now serves his time in a federal prison in Minnesota. 428 00:28:20,770 --> 00:28:23,770 He has suffered five strokes and is in poor health. 429 00:28:24,030 --> 00:28:28,590 But in a phone interview, he told American Greed that he stands behind his 430 00:28:28,590 --> 00:28:29,590 program. 431 00:28:33,160 --> 00:28:37,440 We did nothing wrong, and we were relying on the deity of God to take 432 00:28:37,440 --> 00:28:42,480 back. We did a good job of it for nine or nine and a half years. 433 00:28:43,460 --> 00:28:48,660 But that's not enough for the victims who gave to the church and lost so much. 434 00:28:49,340 --> 00:28:51,800 I put in $79 ,850. 435 00:28:52,160 --> 00:28:56,320 Around $150 ,000. About $66 ,000. 436 00:28:56,740 --> 00:29:00,280 Think about that half a billion dollars in one scam. 437 00:29:01,190 --> 00:29:04,990 And when the dust settles, investors are left to pick up the pieces. 438 00:29:05,630 --> 00:29:11,270 My seed money for the future was gone, and that's what was so heartbreaking. 439 00:29:11,610 --> 00:29:12,910 I had to start from scratch. 440 00:29:13,970 --> 00:29:19,170 Mary Coy and Nancy Ross are both forced out of retirement to go back to work. 441 00:29:19,550 --> 00:29:23,490 I began working at Wycliffe Bible Translators. 442 00:29:23,710 --> 00:29:26,670 At that time, I was 73 years old. 443 00:29:27,490 --> 00:29:30,230 And Audrey Wharton lost her son's college fund. 444 00:29:31,260 --> 00:29:34,840 all of his college fund, which would have given him plenty of education money 445 00:29:34,840 --> 00:29:36,720 for whatever he needed to do. 446 00:29:37,080 --> 00:29:40,000 But we lost it, and there was not a thing we can do. 447 00:29:40,200 --> 00:29:44,680 Greater Ministries wasn't the first scam cloaked in religion, and it certainly 448 00:29:44,680 --> 00:29:45,800 won't be the last. 449 00:29:46,320 --> 00:29:48,660 Because wherever the money's around, you're going to have thieves. 450 00:29:49,480 --> 00:29:51,340 If it's too good to be true, it is. 451 00:29:51,920 --> 00:29:55,680 Whoever says that you're going to double your money in 17 months, turn around 452 00:29:55,680 --> 00:29:57,660 and walk away. It's just not going to happen. 453 00:29:58,380 --> 00:30:02,700 For these victims, their lives will forever be altered, but one thing 454 00:30:02,700 --> 00:30:03,700 unchanged, 455 00:30:03,980 --> 00:30:04,980 their faith. 456 00:30:05,020 --> 00:30:08,520 God will take care of that, and he's seen that we get through most 457 00:30:08,760 --> 00:30:11,520 so we just keep believing. 458 00:30:11,880 --> 00:30:17,500 I've only become stronger, so it has not destroyed my faith at all. I think this 459 00:30:17,500 --> 00:30:22,100 has been the testing that has brought a deeper faith, a deeper understanding, 460 00:30:22,360 --> 00:30:24,920 and so my faith in him is really much greater. 461 00:30:26,410 --> 00:30:28,730 Coming up next on American Greed. 462 00:30:29,110 --> 00:30:34,170 Bill may have been the most successful jewel thief ever. I love the thrill of 463 00:30:34,170 --> 00:30:36,390 it. I love the adrenaline rush. 464 00:30:36,670 --> 00:30:38,130 He robbed the rich and famous. 465 00:30:38,490 --> 00:30:43,710 He was driven to do this. This was in his blood. He literally got high off of 466 00:30:43,710 --> 00:30:44,710 what he did. 467 00:30:57,870 --> 00:31:00,450 It's after midnight on Florida's Gold Coast. 468 00:31:01,430 --> 00:31:06,250 Fifteen stories above the beach, a man clings to the side of a building, 469 00:31:06,250 --> 00:31:07,250 along the ledge. 470 00:31:07,570 --> 00:31:14,430 I was standing, and I shimmied along, holding on to the back of the ledge as 471 00:31:14,430 --> 00:31:15,249 best I could. 472 00:31:15,250 --> 00:31:17,250 Why is this man risking his life? 473 00:31:17,630 --> 00:31:21,590 He knows that if he can make it to the balcony at the end of the ledge, he'll 474 00:31:21,590 --> 00:31:24,530 inside the apartment of one of the world's richest men. 475 00:31:24,990 --> 00:31:26,650 That's where all the Jews were. 476 00:31:27,850 --> 00:31:30,190 They are now elsewhere. 477 00:31:30,530 --> 00:31:32,130 His name is Bill Mason. 478 00:31:32,510 --> 00:31:37,290 After a life in the shadows, he's now come clean as one of the world's most 479 00:31:37,290 --> 00:31:38,710 successful jewel thieves. 480 00:31:39,270 --> 00:31:44,010 With little more than a rope and nerves of steel, the cat burglar took in more 481 00:31:44,010 --> 00:31:45,990 than $10 million worth of jewels. 482 00:31:46,410 --> 00:31:53,270 I loved the thrill of it. I loved the adrenaline rush, and I got addicted 483 00:31:53,270 --> 00:31:54,189 to it. 484 00:31:54,190 --> 00:31:56,490 I could make a million dollars one night. 485 00:31:56,910 --> 00:31:58,690 and start looking for another one the next day. 486 00:31:59,890 --> 00:32:02,310 His targets are like a Hollywood's who's who. 487 00:32:03,210 --> 00:32:06,170 Bill had no desire to rob celebrities. 488 00:32:07,090 --> 00:32:10,430 Lee Gruenfeld co -wrote Mason's autobiography. 489 00:32:10,910 --> 00:32:14,530 But as Willie Sutton once said about robbing, why did you rob banks? He said, 490 00:32:14,570 --> 00:32:15,690 because that's where the money is. 491 00:32:15,910 --> 00:32:19,450 As Mason sees it, greed runs the jewelry trade. 492 00:32:20,010 --> 00:32:24,570 Mason says he fenced millions of dollars of jewels through a respected jeweler. 493 00:32:25,000 --> 00:32:27,020 who knew exactly what Mason was up to. 494 00:32:27,280 --> 00:32:32,700 Oh, yeah, yeah, he knew what was up. I mean, you know, he was, yes, he 495 00:32:32,700 --> 00:32:34,300 definitely knew what was up. 496 00:32:34,840 --> 00:32:37,100 And, you know, we could work out a pretty good price. 497 00:32:37,640 --> 00:32:42,800 Bill Mason says he has gone straight, and he wants to teach others not to be 498 00:32:42,800 --> 00:32:44,640 lulled into a false sense of security. 499 00:32:45,360 --> 00:32:50,640 Everybody gets complacent. A lot of times I would get up and rappel down to 500 00:32:50,640 --> 00:32:53,080 various patios. I like patios. 501 00:32:54,430 --> 00:32:58,030 People leave them open all the time. People don't think that anybody can get 502 00:32:58,030 --> 00:33:00,450 there, so, you know, they're just careless. 503 00:33:01,010 --> 00:33:05,350 These are some of the buildings that we used to manage here. In Cleveland, Ohio, 504 00:33:05,650 --> 00:33:08,630 where the story begins, Mason lives a double life. 505 00:33:08,890 --> 00:33:10,550 By night, a jewel thief. 506 00:33:11,130 --> 00:33:13,490 By day, an apartment manager. 507 00:33:13,930 --> 00:33:15,090 This was my day job. 508 00:33:15,510 --> 00:33:17,890 And in Florida, I had another group down there. 509 00:33:18,790 --> 00:33:22,330 I learned a lot about people's... 510 00:33:22,680 --> 00:33:27,260 security thoughts. I learned a lot about locks. I learned about buildings and 511 00:33:27,260 --> 00:33:29,380 how they work and how cameras work. 512 00:33:30,160 --> 00:33:34,280 All the while, Mason is secretly on the lookout for new victims. 513 00:33:34,720 --> 00:33:39,360 It's easy to pick probably 10 prospects out of this page here. 514 00:33:39,920 --> 00:33:43,180 I mean, this woman's got a $200 ,000 necklace on. 515 00:33:43,770 --> 00:33:47,230 We were in Palm Beach once, and there were about a dozen pictures of women at 516 00:33:47,230 --> 00:33:51,190 some big gala. And he said, which one of these do you think is worth going 517 00:33:51,190 --> 00:33:56,110 after? And there were all these women with just fabulous jewels. And then 518 00:33:56,110 --> 00:34:00,170 was this gorgeous woman with one elegant strand of pearls. 519 00:34:00,510 --> 00:34:05,430 She was about, I don't know, 22 or 23, and she was with a guy who was about 130 520 00:34:05,430 --> 00:34:09,710 years old. And I picked everybody else, and Bill said, that's the one you want. 521 00:34:10,139 --> 00:34:11,139 I said, why? 522 00:34:11,159 --> 00:34:14,219 He said, because you think that she's with him for love? 523 00:34:14,420 --> 00:34:19,460 This guy is showering her with jewels, and she's got enough elegance to only 524 00:34:19,460 --> 00:34:23,060 wear a little bit while she's out at this party. I guarantee you there's a 525 00:34:23,060 --> 00:34:26,380 a million dollars worth of stuff back at home. And that's the way he thought. 526 00:34:27,380 --> 00:34:31,179 This kind of prospecting leads Mason to his first big score. 527 00:34:32,159 --> 00:34:37,440 She was on Mike Douglas in Cleveland years and years ago, and she just had 528 00:34:37,440 --> 00:34:38,440 of jewelry on. 529 00:34:38,699 --> 00:34:41,560 She is the comedian Phyllis Diller. 530 00:34:43,280 --> 00:34:45,840 Thank you, thank you very much. I'm so glad you came here today. 531 00:34:46,219 --> 00:34:47,400 I love jewelry. 532 00:34:48,360 --> 00:34:49,360 Big. 533 00:34:51,520 --> 00:34:56,440 I had a 90 -carat star sapphire ring. 534 00:34:56,920 --> 00:34:58,140 That's a biggie. 535 00:34:58,960 --> 00:35:03,000 And then I had a lot of big, big rings. I love big rings. 536 00:35:03,580 --> 00:35:07,220 After a gig in Cleveland, Miss Diller goes back to her hotel room. 537 00:35:07,670 --> 00:35:11,490 She turns on the lights and sees that all her jewels are gone. 538 00:35:12,090 --> 00:35:15,270 It was like a quarter of a million, all white. 539 00:35:15,730 --> 00:35:17,070 We're talking diamonds. 540 00:35:18,370 --> 00:35:25,130 I made it so easy. How dumb this is. In a cheap motel, in a top drawer, on a 541 00:35:25,130 --> 00:35:27,430 towel, all lying there. 542 00:35:29,130 --> 00:35:31,350 We're talking Robbie Dummy. 543 00:35:32,650 --> 00:35:35,010 The heist is big news in Cleveland. 544 00:35:35,480 --> 00:35:40,100 And the pressure is on police to find the thief. The trail quickly grows cold. 545 00:35:40,500 --> 00:35:42,600 They never could figure out how I got in. 546 00:35:43,440 --> 00:35:47,580 Now that he's outlived the statute of limitations, Bill Mason is willing to 547 00:35:47,580 --> 00:35:48,558 about it. 548 00:35:48,560 --> 00:35:53,380 Well, I hung up on the other building's roof and watched with two binoculars, 549 00:35:53,560 --> 00:35:56,480 you know, trying to see some movement through the curtains. 550 00:35:57,040 --> 00:35:59,020 Miss Diller is staying in a motel. 551 00:35:59,420 --> 00:36:02,620 Mason simply rappels down the roof onto her balcony. 552 00:36:02,920 --> 00:36:04,380 To Mason's surprise... 553 00:36:04,650 --> 00:36:06,030 The patio door is open. 554 00:36:06,330 --> 00:36:09,870 I was in and out of there about five minutes with, you know, walked out the 555 00:36:09,870 --> 00:36:10,808 front door. 556 00:36:10,810 --> 00:36:14,550 He took a gold watch that was inscribed from Bob Hope to me. 557 00:36:15,170 --> 00:36:17,530 That was probably the thing I missed the most. 558 00:36:18,290 --> 00:36:23,470 Unfortunately, it was a Cartier watch, and the 559 00:36:23,470 --> 00:36:27,830 only thing I could do was melt down the back. 560 00:36:28,030 --> 00:36:33,430 I took the back off, got a new back, and melt down the back, and then sold it 561 00:36:33,430 --> 00:36:34,430 from there. 562 00:36:34,960 --> 00:36:37,200 It was easy, and Mason was hooked. 563 00:36:37,860 --> 00:36:43,720 When we returned, his heists get much bigger, more daring, and more dangerous. 564 00:36:57,760 --> 00:37:02,860 For cat burglar Bill Mason, the high -rises of South Florida are giant jewel 565 00:37:02,860 --> 00:37:05,260 boxes. waiting to be pried open. 566 00:37:05,560 --> 00:37:09,300 The building behind me is where Armand Hammer lived on the 15th floor. 567 00:37:09,900 --> 00:37:11,640 Armand Hammer is an oil baron. 568 00:37:11,940 --> 00:37:16,560 Mason wants his girlfriend's diamonds, so he decides to do what's worked for 569 00:37:16,560 --> 00:37:19,180 in the past, getting in through the back door. 570 00:37:19,960 --> 00:37:24,460 I wanted to go in through the balcony because I assumed the locks were locked 571 00:37:24,460 --> 00:37:26,420 the front door and the alarms were set. 572 00:37:27,340 --> 00:37:29,360 But how can he get to the balcony? 573 00:37:29,720 --> 00:37:31,500 The answer comes to him in a flash. 574 00:37:32,140 --> 00:37:34,040 A ledge runs all around the building. 575 00:37:34,440 --> 00:37:35,900 It's the green one up there. 576 00:37:36,340 --> 00:37:39,920 And it connects Hammer's apartment with a vacant apartment next door. 577 00:37:40,800 --> 00:37:45,480 The empty apartment has no alarm and a cheap lock, which Mason easily picks 578 00:37:45,480 --> 00:37:49,060 open. The apartment is now Mason's base of operations. 579 00:37:49,740 --> 00:37:56,360 I came out of the 15th floor unit facing south and walked around the ledge 580 00:37:56,360 --> 00:37:57,640 over to the patio. 581 00:37:58,200 --> 00:38:00,440 There was no safety precautions I could take. 582 00:38:00,940 --> 00:38:05,200 Really, because there wasn't anything to hang on to. I just sort of hung on to 583 00:38:05,200 --> 00:38:06,420 the wall the best I could. 584 00:38:07,420 --> 00:38:11,820 Finally, Mason gets to the patio where fortune smiles upon him. 585 00:38:12,200 --> 00:38:13,200 It was a great relief. 586 00:38:14,060 --> 00:38:16,840 And it was even a greater relief when I found the door open. 587 00:38:17,820 --> 00:38:21,140 The patio door is unlocked and opened a crack. 588 00:38:21,660 --> 00:38:24,820 Mason walks in and makes his way to the master bedroom. 589 00:38:25,120 --> 00:38:26,840 Almost everybody leaves them in their bedroom. 590 00:38:27,850 --> 00:38:31,730 I figured there might be a safe in there or something, some kind of security. 591 00:38:32,270 --> 00:38:36,910 I mean, when you see that many jewels, you know there's no safe around. 592 00:38:37,110 --> 00:38:41,590 She's just laying them out on the dressing table in a box, a jewelry box. 593 00:38:42,110 --> 00:38:45,930 Walked out the front door, walked down the driveway, and found the beach. 594 00:38:47,870 --> 00:38:53,450 Mason is made off with an estimated $600 ,000 in jewels, and the police have no 595 00:38:53,450 --> 00:38:54,450 suspects. 596 00:38:54,790 --> 00:38:56,990 Mason thinks he's gotten away scot -free. 597 00:38:57,560 --> 00:38:58,560 But he's wrong. 598 00:38:58,740 --> 00:39:03,380 A short time later, Mason is caught casing a Fort Lauderdale hotel. 599 00:39:04,000 --> 00:39:09,240 They pounced on him. At the time, David Damore is an assistant state's attorney. 600 00:39:09,520 --> 00:39:14,100 And, of course, he had this large set of keys and burglary tools with him, not 601 00:39:14,100 --> 00:39:18,260 just the master keys, but he had some pliers and he had some screwdrivers and 602 00:39:18,260 --> 00:39:22,020 several other things that normally a guy walking around in shorts and a Hawaiian 603 00:39:22,020 --> 00:39:24,840 shirt is not going to carry if he's on his day to the beach. 604 00:39:25,550 --> 00:39:29,630 They came over and searched my house, and they found $40 ,000 worth of 605 00:39:29,730 --> 00:39:31,470 stolen jewelry, in the house. 606 00:39:31,870 --> 00:39:35,230 At the time, police think Mason is small potatoes. 607 00:39:35,710 --> 00:39:38,070 They really didn't have any idea who they had. 608 00:39:38,490 --> 00:39:41,210 The police just want to know where Mason got the jewels. 609 00:39:41,850 --> 00:39:47,770 He said, you know, if you tell us where the jewels came from, we'll give you 610 00:39:47,770 --> 00:39:48,770 immunity. 611 00:39:48,880 --> 00:39:52,300 They wanted to clean their books up and at least be able to say, well, this is 612 00:39:52,300 --> 00:39:57,060 who did that burglary and not have another suspect necessarily on their 613 00:39:57,900 --> 00:40:00,040 Mason can hardly believe his luck. 614 00:40:00,420 --> 00:40:03,860 So I got it in writing, and I thought, boy, I'm home free. 615 00:40:04,820 --> 00:40:09,620 Mason takes a driving tour with the police and begins to point out his 616 00:40:09,880 --> 00:40:13,920 And I think by the time he finished, you know, there were dozens, maybe more 617 00:40:13,920 --> 00:40:18,140 than dozens of locations which Bill had pointed out, and he was immunized. 618 00:40:18,600 --> 00:40:21,520 You know, he had what was known as transactional immunity, could not be 619 00:40:21,520 --> 00:40:28,380 prosecuted. I ran a list off on him, about 13 jobs, and they about 620 00:40:28,380 --> 00:40:29,540 got a coronary. 621 00:40:30,120 --> 00:40:35,340 The list of jobs for which Mason takes credit or blame includes the Arm and 622 00:40:35,340 --> 00:40:36,340 Hammer heist. 623 00:40:36,580 --> 00:40:41,500 Mason has played his cards well. He's sentenced to a mere 90 days in county 624 00:40:41,500 --> 00:40:43,120 and seven years of probation. 625 00:40:43,700 --> 00:40:47,380 I did 90 days in jail. I did 77 of the 90 days. 626 00:40:47,800 --> 00:40:51,460 Mason gets off easy, but a tiger can't change his stripes. 627 00:40:51,840 --> 00:40:55,140 Two years later, he's picked up on suspicion of another burglary. 628 00:40:55,600 --> 00:40:58,300 Now he's looking at several years in prison. 629 00:40:58,880 --> 00:41:04,080 This time, on the eve of trial, Mason jumps Bond and flees into the night. 630 00:41:04,440 --> 00:41:09,860 I was just fed up. I was fighting with my wife all the time, and I just had it, 631 00:41:09,920 --> 00:41:11,040 you know, and I... 632 00:41:11,340 --> 00:41:16,280 It sounded like a good idea at the time. I thought I'd move up to someplace and 633 00:41:16,280 --> 00:41:22,640 bring my family along and we'd start a new life. Well, it doesn't quite work 634 00:41:22,640 --> 00:41:23,399 like that. 635 00:41:23,400 --> 00:41:25,740 He was a federal fugitive. 636 00:41:26,160 --> 00:41:32,080 For five years, Mason is on the run until he runs into FBI Special Agent Art 637 00:41:32,080 --> 00:41:38,440 Krinsky. I developed some informant information that Bill Mason was in 638 00:41:38,440 --> 00:41:39,440 Cleveland. 639 00:41:40,150 --> 00:41:41,530 Mason is ratted out. 640 00:41:41,770 --> 00:41:46,390 A tipster says exactly where he is. And the cops catch up with Mason at 641 00:41:46,390 --> 00:41:47,490 Cleveland's airport. 642 00:41:48,310 --> 00:41:50,510 So that's how we physically arrested him. 643 00:41:51,070 --> 00:41:53,970 Cornered and with plenty of manpower. 644 00:41:54,930 --> 00:41:59,550 Mason pleads guilty to one count of grand larceny and is sentenced to five 645 00:41:59,550 --> 00:42:00,550 in prison. 646 00:42:00,810 --> 00:42:04,390 It may seem like a light sentence considering all the people Bill Mason 647 00:42:04,390 --> 00:42:08,670 victimized, but Mason feels his is a cautionary tale. 648 00:42:09,240 --> 00:42:12,800 If I'd have stayed on with the real estate business and buying buildings 649 00:42:12,800 --> 00:42:17,540 was, I'd probably have a couple hundred units now bringing in a tremendous 650 00:42:17,540 --> 00:42:23,680 amount of money. I wouldn't have lost my first wife. I wouldn't have spent three 651 00:42:23,680 --> 00:42:27,760 years in the joint, plus spent a lot of money on lawyers and so on and so forth. 652 00:42:29,020 --> 00:42:32,900 And I'd be much more of a content guy, I guess. 653 00:42:33,840 --> 00:42:36,880 Very little of the stolen lewd is returned to victims. 654 00:42:37,600 --> 00:42:42,040 The lion's share of the jewelry was broken apart into loose stones and 655 00:42:42,040 --> 00:42:43,760 through jewelers in New York and Cleveland. 656 00:42:44,160 --> 00:42:49,060 To potential victims, the jewel thief says, you're not as safe as you think. 657 00:42:50,000 --> 00:42:53,320 If you're going to flaunt a lot of jewelry, somebody's going to see you 658 00:42:53,320 --> 00:42:58,700 while. And, you know, maybe they won't be as nuts as I used to be, but maybe 659 00:42:58,700 --> 00:42:59,700 they will, too. 660 00:43:00,540 --> 00:43:02,340 As for Mason's victims... 661 00:43:02,650 --> 00:43:06,870 One of his most famous now has second thoughts about investing too much money 662 00:43:06,870 --> 00:43:11,150 jewels. I've learned about money recently, just recently, like yesterday. 663 00:43:11,970 --> 00:43:17,750 Like, in other words, put your money where it makes money, not where it's 664 00:43:17,750 --> 00:43:20,110 in the drawer waiting for Bill Mason.