Truth Seekers
The Gardner Heist
by Cailin D.
The Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum is known for housing an art collection of world importance, including examples of European, Asian and American art styles. It is the only art collection in the world where the building, collection, and installations are all done by one individual. The Museum was established by Isabella Stewart Gardner herself in 1903 and is located in Boston, Massachusetts. Gardner traveled around the world, purchasing different works to add to her collection.
In the early morning of March 18, 1990, however, two men robbed the museum. They entered the museum by disguising themselves as two Boston police officers. They told the night guard that they were simply responding to an emergency call, causing the guard to let the two men in through the museum’s security door. Once the thieves had gathered the two guards on duty at the time, they hand cuffed them and took them to the basement. They were both secured to pipes where their hands, feet and head were duck taped. The two men then stole thirteen works from the museum. These works included five paintings, five drawings, an etching, an ancient beaker, and a bronze eagle finial that once toped the Napoleonic battle flag, all valuing as much as 500 million dollars. The next morning, two guards arrived for their shift when they discovered that the museum had been robbed and later notified the police and Director Anne Hawley.
To this day, none of the thirteen works have been found. This is still considered to be an active case and a top priority of the museum and the FBI. It is considered the largest single property theft in recorded history and the reward for the stolen works still remains at five million dollars. As a reminder of the heist, the museum leaves empty frames up in the museum to await the return of the stolen works.
SOPA, MegaUpload, and what it means for you
by Mairead B.
With the recent outcry of the Internet coming down to a close, one might wonder what all the hubbub was about. The blacking out of Wikipedia, the link on Google’s homepage, and the other signs around the Internet (Reddit going offline, Tumblr users not using the website for a full day, etc) it was easy to see that the younger generation was up in arms. This was surrounding controversial bills known as SOPA, and PIPA (stop online piracy act, and protect IP act). Both of these acts could affect user’s actions on the Internet, and what’s available to them legally. While this protest did raise an amount of awareness, close observers began to question whether these bills are actually necessary.
SOPA aims to tighten restrictions and increase the government’s ability to stop illegal sharing of intellectual property and counterfeit products. It would theoretically be an extraordinarily laborious task to find every file online that would violate this bill (possibly future law). It wouldn’t just affect the people who post these banned pieces of media, but the website that allows it to be shared. It could ban Google from linking to illicit content, but that would be an engineering feat to be matched. While it’s true that the issues of personal property and intellectual integrity are ever increasing, there is question whether SOPA would really be the best way to change the current state of affairs.
As it is, the government has powers to shut down websites that are conspiring to share illegal materials. That’s exactly what happened on January 19, 2012 to MegaUpload, one of the premiere file-sharing websites on the Internet. The US Department of Justice shut this giant site down on charges of the owners leading an organization to further copyright infringement. The owner and founder Kim Dotcom (né Schmitz) a German Finnish computer programmer was then arrested the next day, January 20, 2012 by the New Zealand Police, who were collaborating with the United States FBI. Dotcom remains behind bars while his partners, who were also arrested at the same time, have all been offered bail.
This situation begs the questions: 1) is it really their fault, 2) what about all of the files uploaded legally to the site, and 3) what will SOPA really do to stop it? The first question will be decided upon at their trial, which for some was scheduled for January 26, 2012 but never occurred. While one would hope that their fate would be decided upon completely correctly, this issue has been so public that the jury’s view may have been skewed. As for the second question, time will tell. When the Department of Justice seized the URL and took down the servers (which were based in Hong Kong), the files people uploaded completely legally were, and are, unavailable. Whether or not access to those files will be possible in the future is unknown. It is interesting to note that ever since 2009, users with IP addresses located in Hong Kong have been blocked from accessing the site, so it’s possible to speculate that in fact Kim Dotcom was worried about future allegations. The last is quite probably the most difficult to answer, and it’s unsure whether anyone will fully have a response. While the vote has been postponed many times in the past, there is no date currently set for debate either in the House or the Senate; President Barak Obama has stated that he will not support the bill.
While it is certainly illegal to profit off of someone else’s intellectual property, it is unclear whether this bill might in fact begin to hinder freedom of expression and speech. This could land many young people in legal trouble, and once the line of freedoms become blurrier; a gray space emerges, as does a slippery slope. The question here is how much does congress truly believe it is a crime, versus an issue that needs to be dealt with monetarily.
The Gardner Heist
by Romina Jimenez
On March 18, 1990 one of history’s most infamous criminal mysteries occurred: the Gardner Heist. On this day two thieves, dressed up as cops easily deceived and tied up two security guards of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum located in Boston, Massachusetts. While the thieves were criminal geniuses, it was evident their art expertise did not match up. For example: the thieves sent around 2 hours cutting art from frames. If the thieves had simply even researched the basics of art they would have known cutting art from frames could have potentially ruined the art forever, particularly the fact that the art is centuries old and has already endured so much. The art stolen range in age of more than 3,000 years old to 130 years old. Among the thirteen art pieces stolen was: one Vermeer, three Rembrandts and five Degas. These art pieces are worth approximately more than $200 million, however the true value is incalculable. These art pieces served as records that represented different countries like the Netherlands, France, and China. In the past 20 years everyone from art lovers, FBI agents, filmmakers, journalists, writers, and others deeply puzzled of the Gardner heist have investigated and accused those thought guilty, however not once has there been a close lead. The frames of the stolen art were indicated to remain hanging in Isabella Stewart Gardner’s will and it’s that legendary mandate that her collection will never be changed that creates hope that one day the art will be found and returned to it’s rightful home.
The Gardner Heist
by Elena P.
Over 20 years ago, thirteen pieces of art from all over the world were stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and remain missing to this day. Nicknamed “The Gardner Heist,” the unsolved crime continues to puzzle investigators. Although the trail has gone cold, as the crime was committed in 1990, investigators have hope of finding the pieces eventually.
Since the robbery occurred on March 18, 1990, investigators have attempted to piece together what happened the evening of the crime. The two thieves posed as police officers checking up on the museum, so the guards let them in, although it was against the security protocol of the museum. The thieves overpowered and tied-up the museum guards and then had 81 minutes to steal the art and make their escape.
It is estimated that art pieces may have been worth as much as $300 million and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) issued a $5 million reward for information leading to the capture of the perpetrators or the location of the art pieces. Five paintings, five drawings, an etching, an ancient beaker, and a sculpture were taken. The thieves stole pieces created by Vermeer, Rembrant, Govaert Flink, and Manet that were being housed in the Boston museum.
The FBI has not lost hope in catching the thieves. According to special agent Geoffrey Kelly, in an interview with the Boston magazine, “art can stay hidden for decades before it comes back.” The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum has also revamped its security system, including high-tech cameras that can be found throughout the museum, since the theft to prevent another heist.
Although the 1980s and 90s were host to many art crimes, the Gardner Heist stands out. The thirteen pieces of art stolen were all very different, representing different time periods, artists and styles. The diversity of the pieces is one of the reasons that the theft was impacted the art world so greatly; these pieces were irreplaceable and with them stolen, the whole world is missing out on what they have to offer.
Crime Scene Investigations: The Real Gadgets Luminol
by Katelyn Rowland
Luminol is a chemical discovered accidentally in 1928 by a German chemist, H.O. Albrecht. Nine years later, in 1937, it made its debut at a crime scene. Since then, it has become an invaluable tool in the world of criminalistics. Luminol reacts to the iron in red blood cells. It helps ensure that nothing vanishes without a trace.
Criminalists prepare luminol by mixing luminol powder (C8H7O3N3) with a liquid containing hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), a hydroxide (OH-), and water (H2O). However, a catalyst is necessary to produce the tell-tale blue-green glow. Iron catalyzes luminol and can be found in blood and organic material (human or otherwise), bleach, copper/copper compounds, iron/iron compounds, and horseradish. Therefore, further tests are necessary to figure out what it is reacting to. Unfortunately, because luminol is made with hydrogen peroxide, it also oxidizes the blood,thus destroying the genetic markers. For this reason, it is best to collect samples before spraying luminol, or spray only a little luminol to find where samples should be collected from, so as not to risk a potential evidence ruining accident.
Luminol may have been discovered by accident, but it was a good accident. Luminol has become a very helpful tool in crime scene investigation, even with its limitations. As science moves forward, maybe we can look forward to more of these lucky “accidents” that change the face of criminalistics and forensics forever.
