I have always been fascinated by thieves who could pull off multimillion-dollar heists, steal paintings from museums beefed up with security, etc. However, all of the stories included a ring of thieves. Not this one. Singlehandedly, a family man with a double night life stole from the rich and famous. Risked his life scaling the sides of the 15th floor of the home of Armand Hammer during a storm to find some "baubles," as he refers to jewels. 

Seems that one of the hobbies of the rich and famous who live a life of leisure is to advertise their wealth...on their person...and in magazines. Mason looked through the latest high society magazines like they were free catalogs of riches just waiting to be his. He hobnobbed with both the wealthy and criminals in order to learn about security systems. Seemlessly, he slipped between his conventional life and his addiction to the adrenaline and thrill of committing an illicit act. He told no one of his crimes and left few clues, except for the time that his wife found US currency plastered about the house to dry. 

Mason had no financial need to steal jewels. He loved the thrill of the heist, the challenge of the act, and the adventure. Being somewhere he was not supposed to be that no one thought he could get into appealed to him. At times, he was really amazed that wealthy individuals would spend so much money on security systems, locks, and safes, and sometimes leave their jewels out on counters in plain sight, leave locks unlocked and safes unused. Guess how much time he spent in jail for his years of night prowling.

Confessions of a Master Jewel Thief by Bill Mason, 2003

My Favorite Cat Burglar: I first became aware of Bill Mason when one of the many crime TV shows that I watch featured his story. The show mentioned that he was an author. Of course, as a librarian, the first thing I did was go to my public library and search the catalog. Sure enough, we carry his autobiography! This guy is really smart; he pulled off million-dollar heists repeatedly on his own, and he ended up receiving less than five years in jail total. I was excited to read Bill Mason's autobiography.

Traversing a High-Rise Building During a Storm: Bill Mason robbed a number of high-profile people during his criminal career, including Armand Hammer. There is a photo in the book of his high-rise 15th floor apartment in southern Florida. It is almost incredible to believe how Mason robbed him. He found an apartment on the other side of the building that was less equipped with locks, where he stashed his burglary bag. Craftily (some people might say foolishly) enough, he decided that he needed to make the hit on a stormy night to drown out any noise he might make by breaking locks, etc. He exited the apartment where he stashed his gear, then proceeded to walk down 18-inch wide ledges between the balconies with nothing to hold onto amidst the storm and rain. He feared that every gust of wind would knock him to his death. Amazingly enough, he made it into Armand's apartment alive, only to find out that his victim had left two of the locks on his apartment unlocked, making the entire outdoor sojourn unnecessary.

Robbing the Mob?: Mason once robbed mob man Angelo Lonardo. People thought that a gang of thieves was carrying off the hits, and the mob was surprised to learn that it was just a lone thief. Mason was glad that DNA testing was not used in those days because he left enough sweat behind to incriminate himself.

Researching His Hits: Mason did thorough research for weeks before making his hits. He learned about security in apartments by working in apartment building maintenance. He also observed his targets for lengthy periods of time to aid his planning process. He learned a surprising amount of useful information by being a fly on the wall in an auto body shop where criminals liked to hang out and chat. It can be a shock to hear about criminal activity the first time, but it can seem like old news the thirtieth time.

Mason was meticulous in his preparation for and behavior during his crimes. He strove to leave crime scenes in exactly the same condition in which he found them, in order to leave no clues for law enforcement. He even thought to bring a water bottle to stave off dehydration should the safe-cracking work become strenuous. Mason did not tell anyone about his crimes, and he committed them alone so that he had no witnesses. He never kept identifiable pieces of jewelry from his victims for himself, no matter how tempting. He had them broken down and sold them. Mason said that the insurance companies were the ones really being victimized by him, since most of his victims had insurance. However, I am sure that some of the pieces were not insured and/or had sentimental value to the people that he stole from.

Con People Are Actors: Turns out that Mason was a decent actor. He regularly hobnobbed with patrons of exclusive clubs, and he sneaked in by joining an unsuspecting group and simply acted as though he belonged. He suspected that the staff knew the real deal, but they did not reveal him.

The Perfect Crime?: Once, however, the gig was almost up when his wife found money plastered about the house for drying. John E. Douglas, pioneer of the psychological profiling unit at the FBI, stated that it was impossible even for him with all his knowledge to commit the perfect crime, because human beings are perennially fallible. Mason was eventually caught, and he worked with the FBI to develop ways to apprehend thieves.   

• John E. Douglas books 
• Books about burglars
• College Parents of America - Preventing Theft
• Insurance Bureau of Canada - Preventing Theft
• National Crime Prevention Council - Preventing Theft