WEBVTT FILE

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[church bells toll]

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Downloaded from
YTS.MX

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♪ jazzy espionage music playing ♪

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OFFICER LARRY LEVASSEUR:
I've never even heard
of anything like this.

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Nev-- Never even heard of it.

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Official YIFY movies site:
YTS.MX

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It's ingenious.

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It's-it's mind-boggling.

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What makes it romantic

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is the thievery behind it.

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♪

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- This is the story
of a conniving, creative,

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intelligent man committing frauds
that were fairy-tale like.

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♪

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- Blanchard is probably
the savviest criminal mind

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I've ever experienced as a police officer.

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- He's a professional.

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He looks like my doctor.

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♪

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♪

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- He was like a James Bond kinda guy
on the other side of the fence.

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- He's been committing crime
his entire life and never getting caught.

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- It sounds like the script
from a Hollywood movie,

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from bank robbery and fraud

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to stealing a diamond broach
from an Austrian museum.

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- Okay, this precious, uh,
piece of jewelry was, uh, stolen,

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but at least by somebody like James Bond.

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♪

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[prison door slams]

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DANNY GUNN:
Mr. Blanchard ranks at the very top.

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There have been
more factually complex cases,

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but none quite as bizarre and entertaining

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and unusual as Mr. Blanchard.

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♪ jazzy espionage music continues ♪

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♪

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♪

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[birds chirping]

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♪ light music playing ♪

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CAROL PHEGLY:
The son I raised is very caring.

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He's very loving to the people
that are important to him.

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He has a lot of skills

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that had he not put them
towards a life of crime,

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he could have been extremely successful

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in whatever he chose to do.

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GERALD DANIEL BLANCHARD:
For sure I take pride in what I've done.

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My story's probably very fascinating

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because everyone wishes they could do
the things that I've done

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or go do these James Bond 007s.

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PHEGLY: My son has had
a lot of things to overcome.

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He had learning disabilities,
borderline dyslexia.

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BLANCHARD:
When you were a little kid,

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people dream of robbing banks
or making all this money

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and living the lifestyle that I've lived.

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So I think it's a fantasy
that most people have,

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but they actually never
executed it like I did.

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♪ light music continues ♪

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♪

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- If he'd have told me
that he was gonna be

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a mastermind international thief,

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I would've just, pfft, blown it off
and go, "Yeah, sure you are."

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You know, "Okay, kid."

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But he's always been, you know,
as you say, a little guy.

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He looks like a nerd.

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You know? [laughs]

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He looks like a nerd.

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[Blanchard chuckles]

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♪ upbeat music playing ♪

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- When I was a kid
I was very quiet and I kept to myself,

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and I studied electronics
and took things apart.

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♪

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Everyone knew me.

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They knew my street name as MacGyver.

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I would build like
little electronic contraptions

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and because I would always
do these little jokes with other students.

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♪

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So I was adopted at six days old
by my mother, Carol.

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♪

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When my mother and stepfather broke up,

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we went from
this very nice house in Canada

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to basically being poor
in Omaha, Nebraska.

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♪ tense music playing ♪

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Omaha, Nebraska,
it's not the nicest place to live.

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It's actually one of the worst,
and only the strongest survive.

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♪

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I remember from early childhood

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when the bank was trying
to foreclose on the house

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that my mother and I
and my sister lived in.

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I remember my mother crying
talking to the bank

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saying she would make payments
and the bank didn't care.

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♪

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So I've always had this grudge
against the banks.

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We didn't have milk for the cereal,
and I'm not exaggerating,

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like, I used to use
like, ginger ale for milk.

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That's how bad it was.

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So I had to go steal milk
from the neighbors.

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- [sighs] He never stole milk.

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I mean, that's part of his story,
but they did steal penny candy

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and they got walked right back
to the store to return it.

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So, those kinds of stories
I think are just enhanced stories.

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[chuckles]

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- Things weren't good for us

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until I learned to go into the store
and I could steal food from the store,

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which got my addiction
to my life of crime.

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♪ upbeat rock music playing ♪

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BLANCHARD:
It's a police officer.

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♪

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Are you video recording me?

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CLAY:
Yep.

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BLANCHARD:
You said there's a police officer?

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- He wasn't shy about it.

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He'd tell the kids in class
what he was doin'.

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BLANCHARD:
Record me.

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CLAY:
I am recording you.

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BLANCHARD: You are?
CLAY: Yep.

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BLANCHARD:
Damn, a police officer.

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[Blanchard sneezes]

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CLAY:
Bless you.

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BLANCHARD:
Anyways--

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Excuse me, sir.

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OFFICER:
Yes?

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- Do you give lots of tickets
for speeding?

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LAURIE NELSON:
I think he definitely liked the attention

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from cameras and stuff that people our age
just did not have.

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CLAY:
Thank you.

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BLANCHARD:
I'll see you later.

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[door hinges creak]

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CLAY: And here goes Dan running
because he stole a map.

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♪

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- Well, like I say, I documented
my whole life from back in the '80s

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when the VHS video cameras were out

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way back in the day, the big ones.

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And I documented my whole entire life
so I could look back and watch things.

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- No, get away from me!

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NELSON:
People knowing, you know,

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talking about what he did,
he liked that attention.

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- This was his way to make, make him
known, make himself known.

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♪

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[bell ringing]

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DYLAN HART:
Gangs were super prevalent.

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And he had a little,
I think it was a slight speech impediment

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and with his thick glasses,

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you just would think

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that th-this little scrawny white kid's
gonna get killed.

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BLANCHARD:
Going to a school that's really tough,

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you have to, like,
make a name for yourself

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in order to be accepted
around peers around.

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- How-how you feel starin'-starin'
at the barrel of a... [echoing] gun?

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- He could move
in and out of these circles,

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and everybody had
a certain respect for him.

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So he created an individual identity,

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and that identity
is the one that he carried through.

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Uh, I'm gonna say the life of crime
that he was living.

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- Hey, look, she's busy.
- Danny.

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- Clay, you smoke, don't you?

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[girls laugh]

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CLAY:
Hurry up, man.

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- Shh.

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[door bells chime]

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[laughter]

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[indistinct chatter]

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GIRL:
He's coming now.

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[door bells chime]

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BLANCHARD:
Oh.

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I had to run out and check the gas.

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[girl laughs]

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- Where'd those cigarettes go?

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- Oh, you put those cigarettes up there.

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[laughs]

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Remember, you stacked them up there?

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So--

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[girls laughing]

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- Why are you two laughing?

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- Well, I don't know.

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- Clay, these immature girls
don't know anything, like--

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Back in the early days,

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I was stealing from the stores
and it was all a play. Like,

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you have someone
go talk to someone,

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you distract this person, you steal this,
and then you could go sell it,

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and it was a challenge to see
if you could get away with it.

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And I was pretty good at it.

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- After he would pull somethin' off,

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it was just like, uh, elation almost.

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And you could see it just in his eyes,
almost what he lived for I think,

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and his drug was the thrill of...
getting caught.

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♪ Been Caught Stealing
by Jane's Addiction playing ♪

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CLAY:
Let's get the shoplifter here.

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- Please.

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- [mouths] What's up?

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- I couldn't believe
some of the things he pulled off.

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They were amazing.

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- ♪ And I walk right
through the door... ♪

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JEFF FULFS:
He likes excitement

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and he likes doing stuff

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right underneath your nose
when you're least expecting it.

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We looked for trouble to find excitement

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because... you know, the normal life
wasn't that exciting.

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[laughs]

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BLANCHARD:
They got a security camera

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even doesn't work.

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HARLAN:
It's not fake.

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HART:
It was jewelry, silk shirts,

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cell phones just coming,
and pagers being out there.

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RadioShack was sort of
like a go-to place.

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♪

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FULFS:
Just the idea of walking in there,

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distracting the salesman

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and havin' a eight-millimeter camera
underneath both armpits,

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underneath the bomber jacket.

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HART:
Pretty evident even from an early stage

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that he was gonna be, uh,

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what I would call, like, a master thief.

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CLAY:
Look at that butt.

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- Yeah, all those girls like that butt.
That's the thing about it.

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- ♪ Walk right through the door ♪

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- It seemed like he wasn't satisfied, um,

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and he wanted to take
more and more risks, um,

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and not just, you know,
shoplifting something.

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- ♪ The best stuff ever ♪

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ANNOUNCER:
Brought to you by RadioShack.

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Put the whole world in your hand,

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with RadioShack's
new portable cellular phone.

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A price and technology--

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CLAY:
Stop, I'm getting sucked in.

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BLANCHARD: Back in the '80s,
RadioShack was like the Best Buy.

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It was like, the number one store
in North America.

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I'm a fugitive.

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Freeze, or else I'm gonna blow you.

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[device trills]
[Clay chuckles]

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BLANCHARD: We literally took
so much stuff from that store.

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Millions of dollars every year.

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- It's a nice, strong motor.
[steady beeping]

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- Yep. This here,
trying to steal them all.

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And what ended up happening
was Easter Sunday,

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we actually cleared out
the whole entire store.

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We, like, disconnected the alarm,
took everything out with a moving truck.

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♪ tense music playing ♪

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I just became too confident.

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[indistinct chatter on dispatch]

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PHEGLY:
I was at work,

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and when the SWAT team
showed up at my house

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and broke in my front door
with their battering ram--

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[door bangs]

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- my son called me and he goes,
"Mom, you might wanna come home."

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He said,
"The police just broke in the front door."

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And I was like, "What?"

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He said, "Yeah."

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He said,
"I'm sure they're here to arrest me."

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[indistinct radio chatter]

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PHEGLY:
My house was a chaotic mess.

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00:11:04.623 --> 00:11:07.042
It looked like a tornado
went through everything

251
00:11:07.042 --> 00:11:09.378
and dumped every drawer everywhere.

252
00:11:09.378 --> 00:11:12.172
I mean, underwear drawers. Hello?

253
00:11:12.172 --> 00:11:16.677
What electronics is some woman gonna keep
in her underwear drawer, really?

254
00:11:16.677 --> 00:11:19.304
Well, we won't talk about that.

255
00:11:19.304 --> 00:11:23.308
♪

256
00:11:23.308 --> 00:11:24.685
BLANCHARD:
Race played a big part.

257
00:11:24.685 --> 00:11:27.104
I was the white kid that went to school,

258
00:11:27.104 --> 00:11:30.774
and in the court system
when they see this little kid,

259
00:11:30.774 --> 00:11:33.193
"Oh, he stole some stuff from RadioShack.

260
00:11:33.193 --> 00:11:34.278
"Let's give them probation

261
00:11:34.278 --> 00:11:36.822
versus sending him off
to juvenile school,"

262
00:11:37.614 --> 00:11:38.615
it helped a lot.

263
00:11:44.830 --> 00:11:46.498
It's recording?
CLAY: Yep.

264
00:11:46.498 --> 00:11:47.624
- Hi, my name's Dan.

265
00:11:48.792 --> 00:11:52.421
I got back.
It's, uh, 22nd of

266
00:11:53.589 --> 00:11:56.175
um... October.

267
00:11:56.175 --> 00:11:58.927
The 2nd of October.
This is a commitment.

268
00:11:58.927 --> 00:12:01.305
I'm stayin' outta trouble,
and Clay's gonna make sure.

269
00:12:01.305 --> 00:12:02.723
Alright. Thank you.

270
00:12:05.267 --> 00:12:06.435
Hi, Mom.

271
00:12:06.435 --> 00:12:07.686
Aren't you glad I'm home?

272
00:12:07.686 --> 00:12:09.313
- I'm thrilled to death. Hi.

273
00:12:09.313 --> 00:12:11.690
- If I happen to die,
anything it's all up to my mom.

274
00:12:11.690 --> 00:12:14.151
If I owe any-any money, tough luck.

275
00:12:14.151 --> 00:12:15.152
[Carol chuckles]

276
00:12:15.152 --> 00:12:16.987
Who knows what might happen?
- What do you mean--

277
00:12:16.987 --> 00:12:21.283
I mean, I didn't know what to do.
I was totally dumbfounded.

278
00:12:21.283 --> 00:12:26.705
I could not even fathom that my son

279
00:12:26.705 --> 00:12:29.708
was this person they were talking about.

280
00:12:29.708 --> 00:12:32.628
He ended up living a double life.

281
00:12:33.337 --> 00:12:38.258
So he kept that life away from his family,
the people he cared about.

282
00:12:38.926 --> 00:12:42.846
- I ended up getting probation
for, like, two years for this.

283
00:12:42.846 --> 00:12:46.016
My probation officer knew about my past.

284
00:12:46.016 --> 00:12:50.604
He worked with a lotta kids in my school,
and he basically said, "Look,

285
00:12:53.190 --> 00:12:55.275
can I have some stuff from RadioShack?"

286
00:12:55.275 --> 00:12:57.152
♪ hip-hop music playing ♪

287
00:12:57.152 --> 00:12:59.154
♪

288
00:13:07.663 --> 00:13:09.623
- I thought for sure
that he would straighten up,

289
00:13:09.623 --> 00:13:12.376
but, of course, he couldn't let it go.

290
00:13:12.376 --> 00:13:13.919
He had to keep on doing it.

291
00:13:13.919 --> 00:13:15.796
♪

292
00:13:15.796 --> 00:13:18.423
- And he just becomes
smarter and better and bigger.

293
00:13:18.423 --> 00:13:21.885
HART: We saw him remove
parts off of a cash register

294
00:13:21.885 --> 00:13:24.721
to fabricate receipts
that were so authentic

295
00:13:24.721 --> 00:13:28.308
that the stores could not tell
that they were a fake receipt.

296
00:13:30.060 --> 00:13:31.979
FULFS:
We were coming back from Kansas City.

297
00:13:31.979 --> 00:13:35.315
Uh, we had a carload
of stolen merchandise,

298
00:13:35.315 --> 00:13:36.984
and, of course, we get pulled over

299
00:13:36.984 --> 00:13:41.655
and, uh, asked to come in for questioning,
and he had receipts for everything.

300
00:13:41.655 --> 00:13:42.906
[indistinct chatter]

301
00:13:42.906 --> 00:13:45.492
HART: Figured out a way to make
far more money off that stuff

302
00:13:45.492 --> 00:13:48.161
by returning it right back
to the places he took it from,

303
00:13:48.161 --> 00:13:49.079
and they gave him money for it.

304
00:13:49.079 --> 00:13:50.080
It was just shocking.

305
00:13:50.080 --> 00:13:51.206
CLAY:
What time is it?

306
00:13:51.206 --> 00:13:52.416
- It's Gucci time.

307
00:13:52.416 --> 00:13:54.960
I would keep everything away from my mom.

308
00:13:54.960 --> 00:13:58.839
I kept stuff in the lockers at the school,
at friend's house, in storage lockers.

309
00:13:58.839 --> 00:13:59.923
♪

310
00:13:59.923 --> 00:14:01.341
We're gonna make some money here, Dylan.

311
00:14:01.341 --> 00:14:02.301
- I know.

312
00:14:03.093 --> 00:14:04.178
BLANCHARD:
What do you say about that, Mom?

313
00:14:04.178 --> 00:14:05.262
Are you down with that?

314
00:14:06.013 --> 00:14:07.139
- Wrong way.

315
00:14:07.139 --> 00:14:08.473
BLANCHARD:
No, we're doing it the right way.

316
00:14:08.473 --> 00:14:10.392
Wrong--
PHEGLY: No, the sign says, "Wrong way."

317
00:14:10.392 --> 00:14:13.187
BLANCHARD: Oh.
[laughter]

318
00:14:13.187 --> 00:14:14.771
♪

319
00:14:14.771 --> 00:14:17.566
But she would always see me
with cars coming to the house

320
00:14:17.566 --> 00:14:19.860
with boxes of merchandise
and I would just tell her,

321
00:14:19.860 --> 00:14:21.778
"Oh, I'm-I'm reselling stuff

322
00:14:21.778 --> 00:14:24.156
that I bought at an auction
or at a garage sale,"

323
00:14:24.156 --> 00:14:25.115
stuff like that.

324
00:14:25.115 --> 00:14:27.284
HART:
He would fill up U-Haul trailers

325
00:14:27.284 --> 00:14:30.621
sometimes full of merchandise
and return 'em

326
00:14:30.621 --> 00:14:33.040
all around the country for cash.

327
00:14:33.040 --> 00:14:35.626
- On a bad week we make about $4,000.

328
00:14:35.626 --> 00:14:38.504
On a good week we make
about seven, $8,000.

329
00:14:38.504 --> 00:14:39.338
CLAY:
Oh.

330
00:14:39.338 --> 00:14:42.007
HART:
A few good holiday seasons,

331
00:14:42.007 --> 00:14:46.094
he was approaching
sometimes six figures

332
00:14:46.094 --> 00:14:48.096
of monetary gains.

333
00:14:49.348 --> 00:14:52.518
FULFS:
He went from a small-town little thief

334
00:14:52.518 --> 00:14:55.229
to a money-making machine type deal.

335
00:14:55.229 --> 00:14:59.024
- Open a wallet and you got a hundred--
you know, ten $100 bills in there.

336
00:14:59.024 --> 00:15:00.859
You-you're popular all of a sudden.

337
00:15:00.859 --> 00:15:02.736
BLANCHARD:
When you make money like I do,

338
00:15:02.736 --> 00:15:03.695
you could buy anything you want.

339
00:15:03.695 --> 00:15:06.114
♪ hip-hop music playing ♪

340
00:15:06.114 --> 00:15:08.158
- ♪ Get hip to it, it's a hit ♪

341
00:15:08.158 --> 00:15:09.952
- One of these days
I'm gonna own this place.

342
00:15:09.952 --> 00:15:10.869
I'll buy it.

343
00:15:12.204 --> 00:15:15.624
I had close to 90, $100,000 stored up.

344
00:15:15.624 --> 00:15:18.377
On the backside of our house,
we had these concrete bricks

345
00:15:18.377 --> 00:15:19.795
that are two feet by two feet.

346
00:15:19.795 --> 00:15:22.506
I would lift up this brick
and I'd put the money in garbage bags,

347
00:15:22.506 --> 00:15:26.009
and I dug a hole through the sand,
put the bags in there,

348
00:15:26.009 --> 00:15:30.347
put the sand on top
and drop the concrete brick back on top.

349
00:15:30.347 --> 00:15:33.225
I ended up buying a house
at the age of 16.

350
00:15:33.225 --> 00:15:35.978
My mom was really surprised
when I told her I bought the house,

351
00:15:35.978 --> 00:15:39.356
and I explained to her
that I bought it through a friend

352
00:15:39.356 --> 00:15:43.026
and I basically said, "My friend and I
are splitting the mortgage cost."

353
00:15:43.026 --> 00:15:44.278
And it felt good.

354
00:15:45.237 --> 00:15:49.032
I didn't have to worry about money
'cause I had plenty.

355
00:15:49.032 --> 00:15:52.661
You work hard, ladies and gentlemen,
you can buy anything.

356
00:15:53.537 --> 00:15:55.122
Come on in. [chuckles]

357
00:15:56.373 --> 00:15:57.833
Look at our new kitchen.

358
00:15:58.584 --> 00:16:01.211
Stove came from Mrs. B's.

359
00:16:01.211 --> 00:16:04.131
The dishwasher came from
Nebraska Furniture Mart.

360
00:16:04.131 --> 00:16:07.509
These cupboards were designed
by somebody, I don't know who.

361
00:16:08.427 --> 00:16:12.181
HART:
I think Danny progressed to a crazy level.

362
00:16:12.181 --> 00:16:15.475
It was fun initially,
but became very dangerous and dark,

363
00:16:15.475 --> 00:16:17.853
uh, towards the end of our relationship.

364
00:16:18.645 --> 00:16:21.106
And even not with the thefts, uh,

365
00:16:21.106 --> 00:16:24.401
even in the street world with gang members

366
00:16:24.401 --> 00:16:28.906
and other ways of trying
to launder money, and, uh--

367
00:16:28.906 --> 00:16:32.451
It got to the point
where I pretty much thought

368
00:16:32.451 --> 00:16:34.494
that he wasn't gonna be around anymore.

369
00:16:34.494 --> 00:16:35.913
BLANCHARD:
That fuckin' pig.

370
00:16:35.913 --> 00:16:37.456
HART:
Omaha fucking Police.

371
00:16:38.332 --> 00:16:40.167
BLANCHARD:
Look at that fuckin' pig.

372
00:16:40.167 --> 00:16:44.004
I think the anger
comes from being disrespected.

373
00:16:44.004 --> 00:16:46.673
Everyone should be respected
no matter what,

374
00:16:46.673 --> 00:16:50.010
but when someone outright disrespects you,
then you have a problem with it.

375
00:16:50.761 --> 00:16:52.513
Or at least I have a problem with it,

376
00:16:53.680 --> 00:16:55.641
and I'll make you pay for it.
[chuckles]

377
00:16:57.226 --> 00:16:59.978
For an example,
a friend of mine set his car on fire

378
00:16:59.978 --> 00:17:01.813
to collect on insurance.

379
00:17:01.813 --> 00:17:04.191
- Yeah, You know,
what it comes down to is, uh,

380
00:17:04.191 --> 00:17:07.110
I-I helped Dan, uh,
dispose of a stolen car.

381
00:17:07.110 --> 00:17:08.362
[laughs]

382
00:17:09.196 --> 00:17:10.405
BLANCHARD:
And you don't realize

383
00:17:10.405 --> 00:17:14.868
when you put ten gallons of gas on a car,
how big of a fire bomb it actually makes.

384
00:17:14.868 --> 00:17:17.329
♪ tense music playing ♪

385
00:17:17.329 --> 00:17:20.082
And a police officer was nearby.

386
00:17:20.082 --> 00:17:21.500
FULFS:
And we both could've walked away

387
00:17:21.500 --> 00:17:23.043
and it would've been no big deal,

388
00:17:23.043 --> 00:17:25.587
but, uh, he chose to confront the police

389
00:17:25.587 --> 00:17:27.297
and tried to talk himself out of it,

390
00:17:27.297 --> 00:17:29.466
and it didn't work out very well for him.

391
00:17:30.300 --> 00:17:33.303
- I immediately recognized
the kid as, uh, as Blanchard,

392
00:17:33.303 --> 00:17:34.638
'cause I've had past dealings with him.

393
00:17:34.638 --> 00:17:36.265
BLANCHARD: He was like,
"Hey, what are you doing here?"

394
00:17:36.265 --> 00:17:38.559
I'm like, "I don't know,
some car's on fire."

395
00:17:38.559 --> 00:17:41.436
- And as I get closer to him,
I could smell gasoline from him.

396
00:17:41.436 --> 00:17:43.063
- I was watching him from afar

397
00:17:43.063 --> 00:17:45.983
and at the time
something must have blew up in the car.

398
00:17:45.983 --> 00:17:47.734
The gas tank or somethin' blew up.

399
00:17:47.734 --> 00:17:50.904
[explosion blasts]

400
00:17:50.904 --> 00:17:53.949
FULFS: And at that point in time,
Dan was in handcuffs immediately,

401
00:17:53.949 --> 00:17:56.660
and the cop knew
he was up to somethin', so--

402
00:17:56.660 --> 00:17:58.328
[laughs]

403
00:17:58.328 --> 00:17:59.997
Oh, it was comical.

404
00:17:59.997 --> 00:18:01.164
BLANCHARD:
They brought me to the police station

405
00:18:01.164 --> 00:18:04.418
and the police officer
totally disrespected me,

406
00:18:04.418 --> 00:18:06.753
and I knew I was smarter than him.

407
00:18:06.753 --> 00:18:08.005
I knew I was better than him.

408
00:18:08.005 --> 00:18:09.173
- I hop in the car, um,

409
00:18:09.798 --> 00:18:12.759
turned the scanner on, and I hear,
"Suspect escaped from custody."

410
00:18:12.759 --> 00:18:16.054
I'm like, "What?
Escaped from custody?"

411
00:18:16.805 --> 00:18:17.639
That's about right.

412
00:18:17.639 --> 00:18:19.141
[indistinct radio chatter]

413
00:18:19.141 --> 00:18:23.061
♪ tense music playing ♪

414
00:18:23.061 --> 00:18:25.898
- More or less the police
walked outta the interrogation room

415
00:18:25.898 --> 00:18:29.109
probably to regroup
'cause this kid's outsmartin' them.

416
00:18:29.109 --> 00:18:32.279
And in that course of time, yeah,
he got up on the table like we're standin'

417
00:18:32.279 --> 00:18:33.989
and scuffles way up of a false ceiling,

418
00:18:33.989 --> 00:18:37.159
put the ceiling pad back and he was
up on the ceiling the entire time.

419
00:18:37.159 --> 00:18:38.911
BLANCHARD:
I can see, like, the whole ceiling

420
00:18:38.911 --> 00:18:39.995
of the police department.

421
00:18:39.995 --> 00:18:42.039
I'm up there and then I hear
the detective come,

422
00:18:42.039 --> 00:18:44.082
and he was like, "Oh, shit!"

423
00:18:44.708 --> 00:18:45.709
OFFICER MARK GALVIN:
And we hear just, you know,

424
00:18:45.709 --> 00:18:47.377
some loud footsteps
coming down the stairs

425
00:18:47.377 --> 00:18:49.129
and, uh, it's Detective Lieber.

426
00:18:49.129 --> 00:18:50.797
"Did you see him? Where'd he go?"

427
00:18:50.797 --> 00:18:53.133
And we're like, "Wh-what do you mean?
Who you talking about?"

428
00:18:53.133 --> 00:18:55.302
"Blanchard. He's gone. He's-he's gone!"

429
00:18:55.302 --> 00:18:57.554
- Me being a kid, not very smart,

430
00:18:57.554 --> 00:19:01.016
I was circling the police station
thinkin' Dan's gonna jump out of a bush

431
00:19:01.016 --> 00:19:03.310
and hop in the car
and I can help him escape,

432
00:19:03.310 --> 00:19:04.937
and that didn't work out either for me.

433
00:19:04.937 --> 00:19:06.021
[knocking]

434
00:19:06.021 --> 00:19:07.231
♪

435
00:19:07.231 --> 00:19:08.857
BLANCHARD:
And they come back to the room,

436
00:19:08.857 --> 00:19:11.151
like, 30 minutes later
with my friend Jeff.

437
00:19:11.735 --> 00:19:13.237
And his exact words were,

438
00:19:13.237 --> 00:19:16.156
"I came here to help him get away."

439
00:19:16.156 --> 00:19:18.951
And I was like, "Wow.
My friend's, like, really solid."

440
00:19:18.951 --> 00:19:21.119
OFFICER GALVIN: We're searching
for hours for Blanchard in the area,

441
00:19:21.119 --> 00:19:22.663
and we're getting tired, gettin' worn out.

442
00:19:22.663 --> 00:19:25.123
At one point somebody calls,
one of the supervisors calls and says,

443
00:19:25.123 --> 00:19:26.834
"Okay, we're-we're just gonna
have to call it for the night."

444
00:19:26.834 --> 00:19:29.753
- He had the patience to hang out there
in the ceiling until everybody went home.

445
00:19:29.753 --> 00:19:31.588
♪

446
00:19:31.588 --> 00:19:34.800
They shut down the police shop,
and then another fun night for him

447
00:19:34.800 --> 00:19:38.428
as he got to explore
the inside of a police department,

448
00:19:38.428 --> 00:19:40.472
where no one's allowed all on his own.

449
00:19:40.472 --> 00:19:41.640
[laughs]

450
00:19:42.891 --> 00:19:45.352
BLANCHARD:
And the detective that insulted me,

451
00:19:45.352 --> 00:19:48.188
I took his gun,
his badge, his walkie-talkie,

452
00:19:48.188 --> 00:19:50.774
the pictures of his wife and kids
off of his desk,

453
00:19:50.774 --> 00:19:52.442
his Rolodex file,

454
00:19:52.442 --> 00:19:54.820
and I took a bullet out of his gun,

455
00:19:55.821 --> 00:19:59.575
put a happy face on it and stuck it
right on the middle of his desk.

456
00:19:59.575 --> 00:20:00.826
Took his police jacket,

457
00:20:00.826 --> 00:20:04.580
put all the stuff in the police duffel bag
and walked out of the police station.

458
00:20:04.580 --> 00:20:05.789
♪

459
00:20:05.789 --> 00:20:08.417
Then I thought, there's no way the police

460
00:20:08.417 --> 00:20:10.752
would go to my mom's house to arrest me.

461
00:20:10.752 --> 00:20:12.379
Why would I be so stupid?

462
00:20:13.213 --> 00:20:16.008
But that's what I did.
I went to my mom's house.

463
00:20:16.008 --> 00:20:19.845
- He was wore out, he was tired,
and that is his weak point.

464
00:20:19.845 --> 00:20:22.097
I mean, he needs rest.

465
00:20:22.097 --> 00:20:25.517
- The police ended up
kicking down the door that morning.

466
00:20:25.517 --> 00:20:27.477
I look outside the door and I see, like,

467
00:20:27.477 --> 00:20:30.564
the SWAT vehicles
going across the park toward the house.

468
00:20:31.064 --> 00:20:35.110
- I was part of the Omaha ERU,
Emergency Response Unit.

469
00:20:35.110 --> 00:20:35.944
Uh, the SWAT team.

470
00:20:35.944 --> 00:20:39.489
From the time we turned the corner
when we were running up to the house

471
00:20:39.489 --> 00:20:42.951
to the time we hit that door
was 65 seconds.

472
00:20:42.951 --> 00:20:44.620
♪

473
00:20:44.620 --> 00:20:47.748
So we searched and we looked,
"He's not here, he's not here.

474
00:20:48.498 --> 00:20:49.833
Keep lookin', keep lookin'."

475
00:20:50.667 --> 00:20:54.004
We looked in the closet several times,
there were all these boxes,

476
00:20:54.004 --> 00:20:55.672
and it took us, uh,

477
00:20:55.672 --> 00:20:59.676
ten fifteen minutes
to get all these boxes out of this closet.

478
00:20:59.676 --> 00:21:04.306
There was a little cubbyhole,
and we saw Blanchard hidin' behind, uh,

479
00:21:04.306 --> 00:21:07.684
I think it was a cement chimney stack
comin' out of the main level,

480
00:21:07.684 --> 00:21:09.645
but he was just hidin' back there.

481
00:21:09.645 --> 00:21:13.941
Um, he, he was stark naked,
but anyway, um--

482
00:21:13.941 --> 00:21:15.067
I-- and I remember that.

483
00:21:15.067 --> 00:21:16.693
[indistinct radio chatter]

484
00:21:16.693 --> 00:21:17.945
BLANCHARD:
So they put me in the police car.

485
00:21:17.945 --> 00:21:19.321
All the cops were giving high-fives.

486
00:21:19.321 --> 00:21:20.280
"Yeah, we got him.

487
00:21:20.280 --> 00:21:21.740
"We found the cop, the badge,

488
00:21:21.740 --> 00:21:23.742
the walkie-talkies
from the police station."

489
00:21:23.742 --> 00:21:24.826
- So we're pretty happy, you know?

490
00:21:24.826 --> 00:21:26.286
The officers are like, "Hey, score."

491
00:21:26.286 --> 00:21:29.373
You know, we had
had a stolen car, uh, an arson,

492
00:21:29.373 --> 00:21:32.376
um, an escapee all in one night,

493
00:21:32.376 --> 00:21:33.585
and it was, it had been solved.

494
00:21:33.585 --> 00:21:35.838
We got the guy arrested,
so we were pretty happy about that.

495
00:21:35.838 --> 00:21:38.131
OFFICER JEFF BAKER:
He was already cuffed behind his back.

496
00:21:38.131 --> 00:21:40.300
We put him
into the backseat of the cruiser.

497
00:21:40.300 --> 00:21:44.137
Uh, the detective actually told me,
"Be careful with this guy.

498
00:21:44.137 --> 00:21:45.347
"Uh, he's kind of slick.

499
00:21:45.347 --> 00:21:48.433
He got away from Council Bluffs
Police Department last night."

500
00:21:48.433 --> 00:21:50.644
So I was quick to tell the detective,
"Oh, don't worry about it.

501
00:21:50.644 --> 00:21:52.145
You know, this kid's
not gonna get away from me."

502
00:21:52.145 --> 00:21:53.605
♪

503
00:21:53.605 --> 00:21:54.731
[siren chirps]

504
00:21:54.731 --> 00:21:57.901
OFFICER BAKER: I'm not sure if he had ever
been arrested and transported

505
00:21:57.901 --> 00:21:59.486
to Central Station before.

506
00:21:59.486 --> 00:22:03.740
If he had, then he would know
what the practice was of leaving--

507
00:22:03.740 --> 00:22:07.369
- Keys in the car. They walk--
They lock their guns in a little box,

508
00:22:07.369 --> 00:22:08.620
then they come back to the car,

509
00:22:08.620 --> 00:22:11.081
take you out of the car
and take you to the jail,

510
00:22:11.081 --> 00:22:13.000
which is in the basement
of the police station.

511
00:22:13.000 --> 00:22:14.918
And there was the news media.

512
00:22:14.918 --> 00:22:16.587
[reporters clamoring]

513
00:22:16.587 --> 00:22:18.130
- No, there was no press.

514
00:22:18.130 --> 00:22:20.340
I don't know what the hell
he's talkin' about.

515
00:22:20.340 --> 00:22:21.425
Yeah, there was no press.

516
00:22:21.425 --> 00:22:25.012
Um, so I get out,
keys are still in the car.

517
00:22:25.012 --> 00:22:26.638
♪

518
00:22:26.638 --> 00:22:27.639
BLANCHARD:
I jumped in the front seat,

519
00:22:27.639 --> 00:22:28.640
locked the front doors.

520
00:22:28.640 --> 00:22:29.474
[locks click]

521
00:22:29.474 --> 00:22:30.934
- I just happened to glance back

522
00:22:30.934 --> 00:22:34.271
and I noticed Blanchard
is no longer handcuffed behind his back.

523
00:22:34.897 --> 00:22:37.316
He's just like this
with his handcuffs in front.

524
00:22:37.316 --> 00:22:38.734
♪

525
00:22:38.734 --> 00:22:41.945
At this point, my career
is starting to flash before my eyes

526
00:22:41.945 --> 00:22:43.405
and I realize what-what's about to happen.

527
00:22:43.405 --> 00:22:44.156
[engine starts]

528
00:22:44.156 --> 00:22:46.575
- And I'm screaming at him
at the top of my lungs

529
00:22:46.575 --> 00:22:47.868
that I'm gonna shoot him
through the windshield.

530
00:22:48.493 --> 00:22:50.954
The car goes into drive,
there's a cacophony,

531
00:22:50.954 --> 00:22:53.665
an explosion of noise and tire smoke.

532
00:22:53.665 --> 00:22:54.708
[tires squeal]

533
00:22:54.708 --> 00:22:56.752
- Police officer slightly gets hit.

534
00:22:56.752 --> 00:22:59.671
[body slams, thuds]

535
00:22:59.671 --> 00:23:00.797
OFFICER BAKER:
Son of a bitch!

536
00:23:00.797 --> 00:23:03.175
BLANCHARD: I smashed through
the front doors of the police station.

537
00:23:03.175 --> 00:23:05.302
The news media
are still outside racking up,

538
00:23:05.302 --> 00:23:06.637
and I'm driving away.

539
00:23:06.637 --> 00:23:09.640
- You know, he's gone in an instant,
out-out of the garage.

540
00:23:09.640 --> 00:23:11.600
And I stood up and I,

541
00:23:11.600 --> 00:23:15.729
I-I couldn't believe what had happened.
I literally could not believe my eyes.

542
00:23:16.730 --> 00:23:18.690
- Didn't surprise me 'cause we told him.

543
00:23:18.690 --> 00:23:21.443
I know everybody was sayin',
telling the cruiser guys,

544
00:23:21.443 --> 00:23:24.947
"You gotta watch him.
You-you just can't let your guard down."

545
00:23:24.947 --> 00:23:26.907
So it was like,
"Oh, my God, here we go again."

546
00:23:26.907 --> 00:23:27.866
- Well-- [sighs]

547
00:23:27.866 --> 00:23:30.577
Uh, I shit my pants and, uh, figured,

548
00:23:30.577 --> 00:23:33.247
"Well, uh, this-- I, I guess this is
the way I'm gonna get fired."

549
00:23:33.247 --> 00:23:35.541
So I ran outside and I took my radio off.

550
00:23:35.541 --> 00:23:36.959
BLANCHARD:
And I hear on the police radio,

551
00:23:36.959 --> 00:23:38.710
"Blanchard just escaped
from the police station.

552
00:23:38.710 --> 00:23:41.880
All units," blah, blah, blah.
And I'm like, "Yeah, he's heading here."

553
00:23:41.880 --> 00:23:43.131
And it's me talking to them,

554
00:23:43.131 --> 00:23:45.300
trying to send them,
send them the other way.

555
00:23:45.300 --> 00:23:46.969
- Blanchard takes off and goes back

556
00:23:46.969 --> 00:23:49.596
into the state of Iowa
with an Omaha Police car.

557
00:23:49.596 --> 00:23:52.224
He approaches an accident scene

558
00:23:52.224 --> 00:23:54.226
that's being worked
by Council Bluffs Police Department,

559
00:23:54.226 --> 00:23:56.228
and that's Officer Galvin
if I'm not mistaken.

560
00:23:56.228 --> 00:23:59.773
- I'm just directing traffic,
kind of keeping-keeping people moving.

561
00:23:59.773 --> 00:24:01.692
I go up and I wave
to the officers to go by

562
00:24:01.692 --> 00:24:03.277
just 'cause that's normally what we do,

563
00:24:03.277 --> 00:24:05.112
uh, and I see the guy.

564
00:24:05.112 --> 00:24:07.865
OFFICER BAKER: He sees Danny Blanchard
with no shirt on,

565
00:24:07.865 --> 00:24:11.034
handcuffed and actually
slows down and waves.

566
00:24:11.034 --> 00:24:12.119
- He waves back at me.

567
00:24:12.119 --> 00:24:14.872
I-I seriously thought for a second
it was just in my head,

568
00:24:14.872 --> 00:24:16.039
but clearly it was him.

569
00:24:16.039 --> 00:24:18.667
- So Galvin literally
like drops his clipboard,

570
00:24:18.667 --> 00:24:20.002
drops what he's doing--

571
00:24:20.002 --> 00:24:22.045
- I got back to my cruiser,
I jump in, I take off.

572
00:24:22.045 --> 00:24:24.089
He was weaving
in and outta traffic pretty good.

573
00:24:24.089 --> 00:24:26.633
BLANCHARD: I ended up
getting off, like, ten minutes later,

574
00:24:26.633 --> 00:24:28.427
took some side roads.

575
00:24:28.427 --> 00:24:29.761
- Officer Brad Wright says,
"Hey, I got it.

576
00:24:29.761 --> 00:24:31.555
It's comin' off of Highway 6 right now."

577
00:24:31.555 --> 00:24:32.973
And as he rounds the corner,

578
00:24:32.973 --> 00:24:34.641
Blanchard is jumping
outta the cruiser and running

579
00:24:34.641 --> 00:24:36.018
into, like, a wooded area.

580
00:24:36.018 --> 00:24:36.977
OFFICER BAKER:
Foot pursuit took place.

581
00:24:36.977 --> 00:24:37.811
OFFICER GALVIN:
He starts chasin' him.

582
00:24:37.811 --> 00:24:40.355
He's yellin' for him to stop.
"Stop or I'm gonna shoot ya."

583
00:24:40.355 --> 00:24:41.315
Officer Wright realizes--

584
00:24:41.315 --> 00:24:43.817
He can see that he's handcuffed
and doesn't have a weapon,

585
00:24:43.817 --> 00:24:45.944
so he takes off after him
and tackles him at that point.

586
00:24:46.570 --> 00:24:49.406
♪

587
00:24:49.406 --> 00:24:54.328
♪ solemn music playing ♪

588
00:24:54.328 --> 00:24:58.373
- When your child is taken away,

589
00:24:59.625 --> 00:25:02.836
there are all kinds of terrible things
going through your mind.

590
00:25:03.462 --> 00:25:07.341
He'd have black eyes,
he'd have a fat lip, his face--

591
00:25:07.341 --> 00:25:09.718
You could tell clearly
that he had been beaten,

592
00:25:10.886 --> 00:25:13.222
and it was difficult.

593
00:25:13.222 --> 00:25:15.098
♪

594
00:25:15.098 --> 00:25:15.933
[clicks tongue]

595
00:25:15.933 --> 00:25:16.850
[voice breaking] I'm sorry.

596
00:25:16.850 --> 00:25:22.606
♪

597
00:25:22.606 --> 00:25:25.859
♪

598
00:25:25.859 --> 00:25:29.363
♪

599
00:25:29.363 --> 00:25:34.701
His day in prison,
I'm sure changed him a lot.

600
00:25:34.701 --> 00:25:37.996
He wasn't the same person
that came out of there afterwards.

601
00:25:39.498 --> 00:25:42.167
BLANCHARD: I used to do
1,000 sit-ups a day, 1,000 pushups a day.

602
00:25:42.167 --> 00:25:43.752
I was in the best shape of my life.

603
00:25:44.169 --> 00:25:46.463
I was given a seven-year prison sentence.

604
00:25:46.463 --> 00:25:49.883
That drops down to three and a half years
and you're eligible for parole after that.

605
00:25:51.051 --> 00:25:52.845
And then I was deported back to Canada.

606
00:25:52.845 --> 00:25:58.016
♪

607
00:26:00.018 --> 00:26:02.771
[train horn blaring]
[train chugging]

608
00:26:06.567 --> 00:26:08.819
BLANCHARD:
So the first day when I arrived in Canada

609
00:26:08.819 --> 00:26:11.196
after being deported from the States,

610
00:26:12.030 --> 00:26:13.490
no money, no nothing,

611
00:26:13.991 --> 00:26:18.287
uh, Canadian Customs
gave me ten dollars to take the bus.

612
00:26:19.538 --> 00:26:23.500
I bought a nine dollar disposable camera,
took the sales receipt,

613
00:26:23.500 --> 00:26:26.545
photocopied it at Staples for ten cents,

614
00:26:26.545 --> 00:26:29.840
stole a couple of them
and started returning those cameras.

615
00:26:29.840 --> 00:26:32.134
By the end of the day
I had a couple hundred dollars.

616
00:26:32.134 --> 00:26:35.888
I felt like I was on top of the world,
back to my old self.

617
00:26:35.888 --> 00:26:41.560
♪ light music playing ♪

618
00:26:41.560 --> 00:26:43.854
PHEGLY:
It was like starting all over.

619
00:26:45.397 --> 00:26:48.775
And he would have to do
pretty much everything on his own.

620
00:26:49.651 --> 00:26:52.154
- When I arrived in Winnipeg in 1997,

621
00:26:52.154 --> 00:26:53.822
I met this beautiful blonde girl,

622
00:26:53.822 --> 00:26:56.200
and it happened to be Aaron's girlfriend,

623
00:26:56.200 --> 00:26:57.534
and that's how I met Aaron.

624
00:26:57.534 --> 00:27:00.037
And we became friends and I said to him,

625
00:27:00.037 --> 00:27:02.414
"Hey, if you wanna
make some money..."

626
00:27:02.414 --> 00:27:04.541
I said, "...I can help you very easily."

627
00:27:06.627 --> 00:27:08.462
AARON SYBERG:
I, you know, I was 15 years old

628
00:27:08.462 --> 00:27:10.506
and I had just gotten
out of the Youth Center.

629
00:27:10.506 --> 00:27:11.673
I didn't really--

630
00:27:11.673 --> 00:27:14.676
Like, I was pretty confused
and I was, like, getting into trouble.

631
00:27:16.386 --> 00:27:19.223
Dan came along and he just
seemed like kind of exceptional.

632
00:27:19.806 --> 00:27:21.391
The first day I met him, he took me out,

633
00:27:21.391 --> 00:27:22.935
we went to the, to the mall,

634
00:27:22.935 --> 00:27:25.145
and he just had, like, these keys,

635
00:27:25.938 --> 00:27:30.442
and he was opening up like, the showcases
and stuff in all of the stores,

636
00:27:30.442 --> 00:27:32.528
and it was just overwhelming

637
00:27:32.528 --> 00:27:35.072
the amount of stuff
he was taking from the stores.

638
00:27:35.948 --> 00:27:38.242
BLANCHARD:
Aaron, look through the mirror.

639
00:27:38.242 --> 00:27:39.535
SYBERG:
Some days, like, with the returns

640
00:27:39.535 --> 00:27:42.329
he would make 30, $50,000,

641
00:27:42.329 --> 00:27:44.706
but I think he was a little bit
tired of it by that time.

642
00:27:44.706 --> 00:27:46.792
He'd been doing it for, like,
20 years, you know?

643
00:27:47.501 --> 00:27:49.086
We're in, uh, Polo Park.

644
00:27:49.086 --> 00:27:50.295
This guy's up from the States.
- I want--

645
00:27:50.295 --> 00:27:52.381
SYBERG:
Just did four years in Fed, eh?

646
00:27:52.381 --> 00:27:54.800
He's out and he's fuckin' out and about.

647
00:27:55.592 --> 00:27:57.135
Full of mischief and he's, uh--

648
00:27:57.135 --> 00:27:58.428
- I haven't done anything.

649
00:27:58.428 --> 00:28:00.389
SYBERG:
Nothing. He hasn't done a damn thing.

650
00:28:00.389 --> 00:28:02.766
This guy is fuckin' clean as a whistle.

651
00:28:02.766 --> 00:28:04.476
Yeah. He's never done a thing.

652
00:28:04.476 --> 00:28:05.477
MAN:
Is it on right now?

653
00:28:07.271 --> 00:28:08.188
[indistinct chatter]

654
00:28:08.188 --> 00:28:09.273
SYBERG:
He would often sit there

655
00:28:09.273 --> 00:28:11.692
and stare at things for hours,

656
00:28:11.692 --> 00:28:13.569
and sometimes we would, we would sit

657
00:28:13.569 --> 00:28:15.529
and he would watch a store
or a bank or something,

658
00:28:15.529 --> 00:28:18.156
and he would literally spend
eight hours sitting there,

659
00:28:19.116 --> 00:28:22.286
uh, you know, eating candy the whole day

660
00:28:22.286 --> 00:28:24.288
and he would be hyper-focused.

661
00:28:24.288 --> 00:28:26.081
♪

662
00:28:26.081 --> 00:28:28.208
So, I think that's when he started,
you know,

663
00:28:28.208 --> 00:28:30.043
trying to progress to bigger things.

664
00:28:30.043 --> 00:28:34.298
♪

665
00:28:34.298 --> 00:28:37.134
BLANCHARD:
I was driving one hot summer day,

666
00:28:37.134 --> 00:28:39.595
two o'clock in the morning
coming back from a nightclub,

667
00:28:39.595 --> 00:28:42.014
and I passed a Scotiabank
in South Edmonton.

668
00:28:42.514 --> 00:28:46.143
And I was like, "You know what?
This bank could be taken very easily."

669
00:28:46.143 --> 00:28:47.728
And then I realized,

670
00:28:47.728 --> 00:28:50.606
why am I doing these
small returns for small money

671
00:28:50.606 --> 00:28:53.817
when I can actually
just take the cash from the bank?

672
00:28:53.817 --> 00:28:58.447
♪ suspenseful music playing ♪

673
00:28:58.447 --> 00:29:02.784
So I rented a hotel across the street,
set up all my security equipment there,

674
00:29:02.784 --> 00:29:05.078
watching the bank
for at least a month and a half.

675
00:29:05.871 --> 00:29:07.956
If someone was inside the bank,
I was watching.

676
00:29:08.582 --> 00:29:09.833
I'd studied everything.

677
00:29:09.833 --> 00:29:13.128
"Okay, how am I gonna get into the bank?
How do you bypass the security systems?

678
00:29:13.128 --> 00:29:15.047
"How are you gonna bypass
the motion sensors?

679
00:29:15.047 --> 00:29:17.341
"Take them apart,
figure them out, analyze them.

680
00:29:17.341 --> 00:29:19.092
"Where are the police stations located?

681
00:29:19.092 --> 00:29:21.011
"How are you gonna open up the ATM door?

682
00:29:21.011 --> 00:29:23.222
How are you gonna open up the ATMs?
How are you gonna get into--"

683
00:29:23.222 --> 00:29:27.309
Every ATM has five trays,
every tray holds about 80 to $100,000.

684
00:29:27.309 --> 00:29:29.353
Measure the whole bank out.
How many feet?

685
00:29:29.353 --> 00:29:31.104
Practice exactly what I need to do.

686
00:29:31.104 --> 00:29:33.649
Put tape on the floor,
run from here to there.

687
00:29:33.649 --> 00:29:35.025
It's like playing a chess game

688
00:29:35.025 --> 00:29:36.735
because one mistake,

689
00:29:36.735 --> 00:29:38.153
your freedom is gone.

690
00:29:38.153 --> 00:29:42.115
♪

691
00:29:42.115 --> 00:29:46.245
That taught me a lesson in life
where if you're confident in yourself

692
00:29:46.245 --> 00:29:49.289
and you plan things enough,
you'll get away with it.

693
00:29:49.289 --> 00:29:53.085
Like, who else can go into a bank
and walk out with half a million dollars?

694
00:29:53.085 --> 00:29:56.296
No one knows anything.
Like, it just vanished.

695
00:29:56.296 --> 00:30:00.592
♪ dramatic music playing ♪

696
00:30:00.592 --> 00:30:04.096
♪

697
00:30:04.096 --> 00:30:07.057
So my feeling is
I could only trust myself.

698
00:30:07.641 --> 00:30:10.769
So growing up, basically I was by myself

699
00:30:10.769 --> 00:30:14.189
when I had to do things or learn things.

700
00:30:14.189 --> 00:30:17.276
I didn't have someone
I could talk to or take advice from.

701
00:30:17.276 --> 00:30:18.819
[indistinct chatter]

702
00:30:18.819 --> 00:30:20.153
OPERATOR:
Scene three, take one. Mark.

703
00:30:20.153 --> 00:30:21.071
- Okay. [chuckles]

704
00:30:21.655 --> 00:30:23.407
My name is Richard Fedoruk,

705
00:30:24.032 --> 00:30:28.120
and I'm the biological father
of Gerald Blanchard,

706
00:30:28.120 --> 00:30:30.747
criminal mastermind of the world.

707
00:30:30.747 --> 00:30:34.209
♪ groovy funk music playing ♪

708
00:30:34.209 --> 00:30:35.085
Okay.

709
00:30:36.044 --> 00:30:37.546
My girlfriend was 15,

710
00:30:38.130 --> 00:30:40.799
I was 17.
We were kids ourself,

711
00:30:41.466 --> 00:30:43.594
and she put him up for adoption.

712
00:30:43.594 --> 00:30:46.221
I had no say.
She was the mother.

713
00:30:46.221 --> 00:30:49.641
And my older brother called me up
and said, you know, um,

714
00:30:49.641 --> 00:30:53.562
"Your son's here and he'd like to know
if he could talk to you."

715
00:30:53.562 --> 00:30:57.274
I said, "Sure, I'd love to talk to him.
Why wouldn't I? That's my blood."

716
00:30:58.442 --> 00:31:03.572
And I said-said, um, "Dan, just to
let you know I'm recording you,

717
00:31:03.572 --> 00:31:06.033
"so when I hit that rocking chair
when I'm 100,

718
00:31:06.033 --> 00:31:07.659
I'll have something to listen to."

719
00:31:08.452 --> 00:31:10.871
And he said,
"Don't worry, I'm recording you, too."

720
00:31:10.871 --> 00:31:14.583
So it's kinda like, like father, like son,
we're on the same page.

721
00:31:14.583 --> 00:31:15.667
♪

722
00:31:15.667 --> 00:31:20.422
Maybe he felt, um,
rejected being put up for adoption.

723
00:31:20.422 --> 00:31:24.384
- The way I see my relationship
with my father is just friends.

724
00:31:24.384 --> 00:31:26.053
He hasn't been a part of my life.

725
00:31:26.053 --> 00:31:29.681
So I consider him as a friend,
but not a father figure.

726
00:31:31.266 --> 00:31:34.228
- Maybe what made him what he is,

727
00:31:34.228 --> 00:31:36.897
I think he just wanted
to show the world that...

728
00:31:37.689 --> 00:31:40.817
[laughs] ...the smartest man
in the world just got rejected.

729
00:31:41.318 --> 00:31:44.821
- So I was in a new line of work
after the very first bank job,

730
00:31:45.447 --> 00:31:47.241
and every bank that I did after that,

731
00:31:47.241 --> 00:31:50.661
I got better and better
at my unique techniques

732
00:31:50.661 --> 00:31:51.787
to get into them.

733
00:31:51.787 --> 00:31:55.165
♪ thrilling TV News theme music plays ♪

734
00:31:55.165 --> 00:31:57.668
ANNOUNCER:
CTV News: Top Stories.

735
00:31:57.668 --> 00:32:01.129
- Tonight, a sophisticated robbery
at a CIBC branch

736
00:32:01.129 --> 00:32:02.381
in the Polo Park area.

737
00:32:02.381 --> 00:32:04.383
REPORTER 1:
This CIBC branch in Empress Street

738
00:32:04.383 --> 00:32:07.761
hadn't even opened yet,
but its automatic teller machines--

739
00:32:07.761 --> 00:32:09.221
REPORTER 2:
Eight ATMs were robbed

740
00:32:09.221 --> 00:32:11.515
while the bank
was still under construction.

741
00:32:11.515 --> 00:32:13.433
More than half a million dollars
was stolen.

742
00:32:13.433 --> 00:32:14.935
NEWSCASTER:
It's got authority shaking their heads

743
00:32:15.519 --> 00:32:18.355
over the high level
of sophistication it took

744
00:32:18.355 --> 00:32:19.606
to pull this off.

745
00:32:21.358 --> 00:32:22.651
[indistinct radio chatter]

746
00:32:22.651 --> 00:32:26.113
♪

747
00:32:26.113 --> 00:32:29.199
OFFICER LEVASSEUR:
For me, it started as a... as a young boy.

748
00:32:29.199 --> 00:32:30.826
[indistinct radio chatter]

749
00:32:30.826 --> 00:32:35.414
- I was always impressed
with wanting to be a police officer,

750
00:32:35.956 --> 00:32:39.543
and, uh, that was my dream as a, as a boy

751
00:32:39.543 --> 00:32:42.546
and-and the rest was history, so to say.

752
00:32:42.546 --> 00:32:44.590
♪

753
00:32:44.590 --> 00:32:45.841
OFFICER MITCH MCCORMICK:
They were looking for the right-winger

754
00:32:45.841 --> 00:32:49.261
on the, uh, Winnipeg Police,
uh, hockey team.

755
00:32:49.261 --> 00:32:52.764
They approached me about maybe applying
and I ended up getting on and--

756
00:32:53.974 --> 00:32:55.267
I just kinda, it was my niche.

757
00:32:55.267 --> 00:32:57.269
It was, it was really good
because it's a team.

758
00:32:57.269 --> 00:33:01.231
♪ light music playing ♪

759
00:33:01.231 --> 00:33:04.735
♪

760
00:33:04.735 --> 00:33:06.612
OFFICER LEVASSEUR:
I've never even heard
of anything like this.

761
00:33:06.612 --> 00:33:08.238
Nev-- Never even heard of it.

762
00:33:08.238 --> 00:33:12.284
An outright theft of, uh, three quarters
of a million dollars cash?

763
00:33:12.284 --> 00:33:13.660
That's a big deal.

764
00:33:13.660 --> 00:33:15.579
Um, you know, that's a really big deal.

765
00:33:17.039 --> 00:33:19.458
- This is a very sophisticated-type
break and enter.

766
00:33:19.458 --> 00:33:21.376
This is not something we saw every day.

767
00:33:21.376 --> 00:33:24.630
Never saw it in 27 years of, of my career.

768
00:33:24.630 --> 00:33:26.173
OFFICER LEVASSEUR:
You know, the CIBC just

769
00:33:27.216 --> 00:33:29.176
constructed this brand new building

770
00:33:29.176 --> 00:33:34.264
that was so secure and,
well, it was circumvented.

771
00:33:34.264 --> 00:33:36.391
♪

772
00:33:36.391 --> 00:33:39.269
It was really quite a mystery,

773
00:33:39.269 --> 00:33:42.272
quite a mystery how these locked ATMs

774
00:33:42.272 --> 00:33:46.401
could have been opened so quickly,
and then the cash taken out

775
00:33:46.401 --> 00:33:49.530
and there was nothing to be seen,
nothing to be seen.

776
00:33:49.530 --> 00:33:51.198
♪

777
00:33:51.198 --> 00:33:52.449
OFFICER MCCORMICK:
People kinda threw up and said,

778
00:33:52.449 --> 00:33:53.325
"Well, there's other work to do

779
00:33:53.325 --> 00:33:56.119
and this one looks
a little too hard to get done."

780
00:33:56.119 --> 00:33:58.664
It looked to me that it was solvable.

781
00:33:59.456 --> 00:34:02.668
So we formed a task force
that we eventually called Project Kite.

782
00:34:02.668 --> 00:34:03.752
♪

783
00:34:03.752 --> 00:34:05.337
OFFICER LEVASSEUR:
Uh, we had a war room, you know?

784
00:34:05.337 --> 00:34:07.923
Where desks and cork boards up.

785
00:34:07.923 --> 00:34:11.635
At the high of it, we probably had
a dozen, fourteen detectives, you know,

786
00:34:11.635 --> 00:34:14.471
running around for us,
gathering what was needed.

787
00:34:14.471 --> 00:34:16.890
- We didn't wanna go to the task force,

788
00:34:16.890 --> 00:34:19.434
but Mitch wanted us
and we were forced to go.

789
00:34:19.434 --> 00:34:23.939
- I think the crime scene just really
was the open backs of the ATMs.

790
00:34:23.939 --> 00:34:28.318
So at the time, nobody knew
how the person even got into the ATMs.

791
00:34:28.318 --> 00:34:30.904
- So, you would've seen media, movies,

792
00:34:30.904 --> 00:34:33.365
and similar interesting thefts

793
00:34:33.365 --> 00:34:36.285
or strange, uh, crimes
that have been committed

794
00:34:36.285 --> 00:34:38.829
that were certainly
outside the lines of the norm,

795
00:34:38.829 --> 00:34:40.289
and this is one of those.

796
00:34:40.289 --> 00:34:42.708
- So we got a lot of ground to cover

797
00:34:42.708 --> 00:34:47.087
to finally figure out how this happened.

798
00:34:49.173 --> 00:34:50.632
BLANCHARD:
Well, what happened was I flew

799
00:34:50.632 --> 00:34:52.885
to Winnipeg to visit my family

800
00:34:52.885 --> 00:34:54.678
and my grandmother was tellin' me

801
00:34:54.678 --> 00:34:57.806
about how they're closing down
her CIBC branch.

802
00:34:57.806 --> 00:34:59.099
And I said, "What do you mean?"

803
00:34:59.099 --> 00:35:02.644
And she said, "They're closing
all the little smaller branches

804
00:35:02.644 --> 00:35:04.897
"and putting
seven or eight smaller branches

805
00:35:04.897 --> 00:35:06.899
into this one big mega branch."

806
00:35:06.899 --> 00:35:08.567
And that piqued my interest.

807
00:35:08.567 --> 00:35:11.236
OFFICER LEVASSEUR:
There was a big sign out front saying,

808
00:35:11.236 --> 00:35:14.406
"Future home of
the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce."

809
00:35:14.406 --> 00:35:16.074
There, the seed was set.

810
00:35:16.074 --> 00:35:18.118
- 'Cause at that time
there was no securities on the banks

811
00:35:18.118 --> 00:35:19.411
when they were being built.

812
00:35:19.411 --> 00:35:21.580
No alarm systems, no guards.

813
00:35:21.580 --> 00:35:23.916
It's just a shell,
there's no money, there's no nothing.

814
00:35:23.916 --> 00:35:25.667
BLANCHARD: So I went
across the street to Home Depot,

815
00:35:25.667 --> 00:35:28.795
bought a hard hat, a vest,
put it on, walked in there.

816
00:35:28.795 --> 00:35:30.672
OFFICER LEVASSEUR:
This was an opportunity for him

817
00:35:30.672 --> 00:35:33.509
to put devices into the bank

818
00:35:33.509 --> 00:35:37.054
that would aid him in the future.

819
00:35:37.054 --> 00:35:39.306
Uh, I-- I don't know
how people think that way.

820
00:35:39.306 --> 00:35:40.849
- Well, the first time was pretty easy.

821
00:35:40.849 --> 00:35:44.561
I just went to Toys"R"Us
and bought a $50 baby monitor.

822
00:35:44.561 --> 00:35:49.066
Screw that in there, plaster it up,
sand it down, repaint it,

823
00:35:49.066 --> 00:35:51.652
and within two hours you're done.

824
00:35:51.652 --> 00:35:53.403
OFFICER LEVASSEUR:
So, he would've been able to listen

825
00:35:53.403 --> 00:35:55.322
to the general contractor say,

826
00:35:55.322 --> 00:35:57.199
"Okay, well, boys,
this room's gotta be done

827
00:35:57.199 --> 00:36:01.078
"by such and such a day
because the ATMs are coming on May 13th."

828
00:36:01.078 --> 00:36:02.579
So he would know that.

829
00:36:02.579 --> 00:36:04.122
OFFICER MCCORMICK:
As the bank is being built,

830
00:36:04.122 --> 00:36:07.751
he's also putting ways to get in the bank,
ways to get outta the bank.

831
00:36:07.751 --> 00:36:10.170
He had gone into the bank
when it was being built

832
00:36:10.170 --> 00:36:12.714
into the back of the motion detector,

833
00:36:12.714 --> 00:36:16.802
and he'd soldered the wire and ran it
all the way back into the bathroom

834
00:36:16.802 --> 00:36:18.929
so that he can go in there and go, twist.

835
00:36:18.929 --> 00:36:21.515
Now the motion detector
in the ATM doesn't work,

836
00:36:21.515 --> 00:36:23.934
so when he drops
through the ceiling later,

837
00:36:23.934 --> 00:36:25.102
it doesn't go off.

838
00:36:25.102 --> 00:36:27.813
- The preparation takes
as long as it takes to build the building,

839
00:36:27.813 --> 00:36:30.148
which could be several months,
could be a year.

840
00:36:30.148 --> 00:36:33.652
The level of patience
is just mind blowing to me.

841
00:36:33.652 --> 00:36:36.280
♪

842
00:36:36.280 --> 00:36:38.073
SHEILLA LEINBURD:
And so, what happened is he realized

843
00:36:38.073 --> 00:36:41.994
that each ATM holds about
$100,000 Canadian dollars.

844
00:36:41.994 --> 00:36:44.288
All you need to do is figure out a way

845
00:36:44.288 --> 00:36:46.832
to get into these "little safes."

846
00:36:46.832 --> 00:36:50.460
And he figured out a...
brilliant way to do it.

847
00:36:50.460 --> 00:36:52.379
- And the way it works is that,

848
00:36:52.379 --> 00:36:53.714
you know, he brings cart, has a fob,

849
00:36:53.714 --> 00:36:57.301
and then he has, he has to phone in
for a code that works once.

850
00:36:57.301 --> 00:37:00.637
So he spins a dial,
punches in a code, uses the fob,

851
00:37:00.637 --> 00:37:01.638
and the door opens.

852
00:37:01.638 --> 00:37:05.017
So it's fairly--
It's very secure... normally.

853
00:37:05.475 --> 00:37:06.560
- None of that matters.

854
00:37:06.560 --> 00:37:09.188
It's just show-and-tell.

855
00:37:09.188 --> 00:37:12.107
It's like when you're doing it
from the inside out,

856
00:37:12.107 --> 00:37:14.860
modify things, you have full access.

857
00:37:14.860 --> 00:37:18.071
OFFICER LEVASSEUR:
Gerald found a way to manipulate

858
00:37:18.071 --> 00:37:23.702
a very sophisticated, well-engineered lock
by just manipulating

859
00:37:23.702 --> 00:37:26.622
some of the screws
that held that lock in position.

860
00:37:27.122 --> 00:37:30.209
It was ingenious.
It was absolutely ingenious.

861
00:37:30.209 --> 00:37:31.919
OFFICER BEN HAEGEMAN:
The body of the screw

862
00:37:31.919 --> 00:37:35.672
had been sawed through
to about 80% through.

863
00:37:36.798 --> 00:37:39.218
So now when they
reef on the locking mechanism,

864
00:37:39.218 --> 00:37:42.596
those already tampered with screws sever,

865
00:37:43.222 --> 00:37:45.390
and they all peel back

866
00:37:45.390 --> 00:37:48.018
and the locking mechanism swings open

867
00:37:48.519 --> 00:37:50.604
and, shazam, there's your money.

868
00:37:51.772 --> 00:37:54.149
OFFICER LEVASSEUR:
On the eve of when this bank

869
00:37:54.149 --> 00:37:58.237
was gonna open to the public,
they were filled with money

870
00:37:58.237 --> 00:38:01.865
to the tune of about $750,000 cash.

871
00:38:01.865 --> 00:38:03.200
♪

872
00:38:03.200 --> 00:38:04.201
BLANCHARD:
And I knew all that money

873
00:38:04.201 --> 00:38:05.661
would be in my pockets,

874
00:38:06.203 --> 00:38:10.290
so I just sat patiently and watched
and waited until the time was right.

875
00:38:10.290 --> 00:38:15.546
♪ tense music playing ♪

876
00:38:15.546 --> 00:38:18.423
I felt like it would be better
to have at least two people

877
00:38:19.216 --> 00:38:22.594
because I figured
if there's seven bank machines,

878
00:38:22.594 --> 00:38:25.097
there's going to be
four trays per machine,

879
00:38:25.097 --> 00:38:28.100
that's quite a bit of boxes to carry out.

880
00:38:28.767 --> 00:38:31.979
So I had my cousin
be the driver for the vehicle,

881
00:38:32.729 --> 00:38:36.942
and he's the one who wanted
to bring his friend John Doe into the mix.

882
00:38:38.277 --> 00:38:40.529
So that night when I did the robbery,

883
00:38:41.530 --> 00:38:43.448
I climbed up to the roof,

884
00:38:43.448 --> 00:38:46.118
had the steel bars
in the air vents precut,

885
00:38:46.910 --> 00:38:49.413
dropped through the air vents,
crawled to the other side,

886
00:38:49.413 --> 00:38:51.290
dropped down into the ATM room.

887
00:38:51.290 --> 00:38:52.124
[thuds]

888
00:38:53.000 --> 00:38:56.295
I could hear the fans of the machines
and it was nice and quiet.

889
00:38:57.504 --> 00:38:59.256
[ticking]

890
00:38:59.673 --> 00:39:01.675
BLANCHARD:
Once I twisted the two wires,

891
00:39:01.675 --> 00:39:04.303
they gave me full access
to walk around the ATM room

892
00:39:04.845 --> 00:39:08.140
without any security devices going off.

893
00:39:08.140 --> 00:39:12.019
Now, as soon as I opened the ATM machine,
I knew the alarm was going to go off.

894
00:39:12.352 --> 00:39:13.770
[safe door thuds]

895
00:39:14.271 --> 00:39:15.772
[device clatters]

896
00:39:16.815 --> 00:39:19.443
[alarm blaring]

897
00:39:20.903 --> 00:39:24.156
♪ jazzy espionage music playing ♪

898
00:39:24.156 --> 00:39:28.202
- He was able to get into
these ATMs one after another,

899
00:39:28.202 --> 00:39:30.162
probably within 20 or 30 seconds.

900
00:39:30.162 --> 00:39:32.372
He just-- We could see
by the alarms afterwards

901
00:39:32.372 --> 00:39:34.249
that they went
bang, bang, bang, bang, bang.

902
00:39:34.249 --> 00:39:36.502
The adrenaline rush must be overwhelming.

903
00:39:36.502 --> 00:39:38.420
BLANCHARD:
So I opened up the machine,

904
00:39:38.420 --> 00:39:39.922
twisted the lock,

905
00:39:39.922 --> 00:39:42.216
grabbed the four trays from each machine,

906
00:39:42.216 --> 00:39:43.675
sat them on the dolly.

907
00:39:44.635 --> 00:39:46.303
OFFICER WADE MCDONALD:
The police officers responded,

908
00:39:46.303 --> 00:39:47.930
checked the bank.

909
00:39:48.680 --> 00:39:51.975
There was no signs of forced entry,
uh, there was nothing suspicious,

910
00:39:52.476 --> 00:39:54.686
and, uh, kinda cleared the call.

911
00:39:55.562 --> 00:39:57.231
BLANCHARD:
So after we took all the trays out,

912
00:39:57.231 --> 00:40:00.442
we closed the doors,
opened up the fire exit,

913
00:40:01.068 --> 00:40:02.528
we drove away and then we went

914
00:40:02.528 --> 00:40:06.198
to the safe house
and started counting the money.

915
00:40:06.198 --> 00:40:07.199
♪

916
00:40:07.199 --> 00:40:08.200
[cash register dings]

917
00:40:08.200 --> 00:40:10.744
♪

918
00:40:10.744 --> 00:40:12.663
OFFICER LEVASSEUR:
If you're the bank manager coming in,

919
00:40:13.372 --> 00:40:15.666
that morning you open the front door,

920
00:40:15.666 --> 00:40:19.878
you look at the six ATM machines,
"Mm. Everything looks good here." Right?

921
00:40:19.878 --> 00:40:23.006
It's only when you
go into the back room, behind,

922
00:40:23.006 --> 00:40:24.591
where the machines are serviced,

923
00:40:24.591 --> 00:40:27.302
that you would see
each one of the doors open, right?

924
00:40:27.302 --> 00:40:28.929
And the cash trays gone.

925
00:40:28.929 --> 00:40:31.056
Everything is, uh, intact.

926
00:40:31.056 --> 00:40:33.141
It looks like if I close the door,
it would lock.

927
00:40:33.767 --> 00:40:36.019
- They canvased the area a-and the CIBC

928
00:40:36.019 --> 00:40:38.939
was in a shopping mall area
and there was a Walmart.

929
00:40:40.023 --> 00:40:41.900
So it just happened on that night,

930
00:40:41.900 --> 00:40:45.279
there happened to be a Walmart greeter
in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

931
00:40:45.279 --> 00:40:49.032
that was checkin' for license plates,
and when they checked the plate,

932
00:40:49.032 --> 00:40:52.619
it came up to a Gerald Daniel Blanchard
from Edmonton, Alberta,

933
00:40:52.619 --> 00:40:55.789
and it was being rented
from Avis at the airport.

934
00:40:55.789 --> 00:40:59.418
And from there, Gerald Daniel Blanchard
became a person of interest.

935
00:41:02.504 --> 00:41:04.923
- Danny Blanchard,
he registered that vehicle,

936
00:41:04.923 --> 00:41:06.675
rented it in his name.

937
00:41:07.092 --> 00:41:10.804
- You ask yourself the question,
"How could someone so smart be so dumb?"

938
00:41:11.972 --> 00:41:13.098
BLANCHARD:
But I must say, when the police

939
00:41:13.098 --> 00:41:17.519
were in the ATM room
behind the bank machines,

940
00:41:17.519 --> 00:41:18.687
fingerprinting everything,

941
00:41:18.687 --> 00:41:20.689
trying to figure everything out,
I was watching them.

942
00:41:21.398 --> 00:41:23.692
I could see what they were talking about.

943
00:41:23.692 --> 00:41:25.360
And they said, "Hey, this guy,

944
00:41:25.360 --> 00:41:28.822
Gerald Blanchard had this van
in the parking lot."

945
00:41:28.822 --> 00:41:31.700
- Uh, the bank manager received a call,

946
00:41:31.700 --> 00:41:34.745
uh, that someone
from inside the bank, cons--

947
00:41:34.745 --> 00:41:37.331
that constructed the bank was responsible.

948
00:41:37.331 --> 00:41:38.290
[phone rings]

949
00:41:39.082 --> 00:41:40.167
[phone beeps]

950
00:41:40.167 --> 00:41:41.668
BLANCHARD [over phone]:
Hi, I have a tip for you.

951
00:41:42.336 --> 00:41:46.089
I know who robbed your bank,
they're going to rob you again.

952
00:41:46.089 --> 00:41:47.799
But this time with guns blazing.

953
00:41:47.799 --> 00:41:48.842
You better be careful.

954
00:41:49.635 --> 00:41:50.844
I don't want anybody hurt.

955
00:41:53.514 --> 00:41:57.017
- That totally diverts the police

956
00:41:57.518 --> 00:42:00.896
investigating at the time
on two different tangents.

957
00:42:00.896 --> 00:42:02.189
- So we're running one way,

958
00:42:02.189 --> 00:42:04.650
and he's-he's running outta the city
with everything he's got.

959
00:42:05.275 --> 00:42:09.196
♪ thrilling music playing ♪

960
00:42:09.196 --> 00:42:13.075
[inaudible dialogue]

961
00:42:13.075 --> 00:42:16.411
♪

962
00:42:16.411 --> 00:42:19.373
- You know, it's Gerald Daniel Blanchard,
uh, from Edmonton.

963
00:42:19.373 --> 00:42:20.541
Who is he?

964
00:42:20.541 --> 00:42:22.584
We didn't have any intelligence on him.

965
00:42:22.584 --> 00:42:24.044
- So, we make a phone call

966
00:42:24.878 --> 00:42:27.506
to the Canadian Bankers Association,
and we say,

967
00:42:28.799 --> 00:42:30.384
"Have you ever had anything similar?"

968
00:42:31.635 --> 00:42:32.761
"Similar?

969
00:42:32.761 --> 00:42:35.138
Well, as a matter of fact, Larry,
yes, there have been."

970
00:42:36.014 --> 00:42:38.851
We learned that similar events
happened in Edmonton,

971
00:42:38.851 --> 00:42:42.521
similar events happened, uh,
out east in Etobicoke.

972
00:42:42.521 --> 00:42:45.941
OFFICER HAEGEMAN: The, uh, Scotiabank
in the Branford, Ontario area.

973
00:42:45.941 --> 00:42:47.860
OFFICER MCDONALD:
Went to the Alberta Treasury Board.

974
00:42:47.860 --> 00:42:49.820
OFFICER LEVASSEUR:
An additional CIBC.

975
00:42:49.820 --> 00:42:52.364
TRACY OLIVER: Two or three
at least there were in Edmonton.

976
00:42:52.364 --> 00:42:54.575
OFFICER LEVASSEUR:
Scotiabank in British Columbia.

977
00:42:54.575 --> 00:42:57.744
- B.C., we had in Alberta,
we had teams locally here in Winnipeg.

978
00:42:57.744 --> 00:42:59.580
- It started to get bigger and bigger.

979
00:42:59.580 --> 00:43:01.248
- And we had banks callin' us.

980
00:43:01.248 --> 00:43:03.959
- I would say probably in the dozens.

981
00:43:03.959 --> 00:43:05.335
♪

982
00:43:05.335 --> 00:43:07.337
- I don't think
there's a number you can say.

983
00:43:08.046 --> 00:43:09.089
[chuckles]

984
00:43:09.089 --> 00:43:11.884
You can see the smile to my face,
it was very good.

985
00:43:11.884 --> 00:43:12.718
[chuckles]

986
00:43:12.968 --> 00:43:14.261
- More details tonight from police

987
00:43:14.261 --> 00:43:17.097
on the organized crime ring
with Winnipeg ties.

988
00:43:17.097 --> 00:43:19.391
- As we started to move along,

989
00:43:19.391 --> 00:43:22.060
it, uh, it really started to expand.

990
00:43:22.060 --> 00:43:23.979
- A sophisticated operation,

991
00:43:23.979 --> 00:43:26.356
Winnipeg Police can't help but marvel at.

992
00:43:26.773 --> 00:43:28.275
BLANCHARD:
I was out of control.

993
00:43:28.275 --> 00:43:30.611
I just wanted every bank
that was being done

994
00:43:30.611 --> 00:43:31.445
as much as I could.

995
00:43:32.154 --> 00:43:34.406
And that's why I went
from the bank in Winnipeg,

996
00:43:34.406 --> 00:43:37.701
right to the bank in Toronto,
from the bank in Toronto,

997
00:43:37.701 --> 00:43:39.119
back to the bank in Edmonton.

998
00:43:39.578 --> 00:43:41.830
I was just a wild man at the time.

999
00:43:43.165 --> 00:43:44.791
I flew back to Winnipeg,

1000
00:43:44.791 --> 00:43:48.170
and there was
a Royal Bank ATM machine sitting outside

1001
00:43:48.170 --> 00:43:49.254
of the drive-through.

1002
00:43:49.254 --> 00:43:51.089
I put the tarp over the machine,

1003
00:43:51.089 --> 00:43:54.510
and I took circular saw
and I bought a diamond blade

1004
00:43:54.510 --> 00:43:56.720
that will cut through
an inch of steel like butter.

1005
00:43:56.720 --> 00:43:59.932
[saw blade whirring]

1006
00:43:59.932 --> 00:44:01.600
BLANCHARD:
The door popped right open.

1007
00:44:01.600 --> 00:44:03.519
There's $200,000 right there.

1008
00:44:03.519 --> 00:44:04.353
[sirens wailing]

1009
00:44:04.353 --> 00:44:07.606
BLANCHARD: So, I look out the tarp,
and I'm being surrounded by the police,

1010
00:44:08.190 --> 00:44:10.025
but I had a backup plan.

1011
00:44:10.025 --> 00:44:12.569
I'm wearing a vest
with six smoke grenades.

1012
00:44:13.070 --> 00:44:15.405
I pull the two grenades off of my vest,

1013
00:44:15.405 --> 00:44:18.617
throw them out from underneath the tarp
toward the police officers.

1014
00:44:18.617 --> 00:44:19.993
Smoke everywhere.

1015
00:44:19.993 --> 00:44:21.745
I run a couple blocks away,

1016
00:44:21.745 --> 00:44:23.747
and I hide under this car

1017
00:44:23.747 --> 00:44:25.916
and before you know it,
there's a dog.

1018
00:44:25.916 --> 00:44:28.001
Dog has me, I'm arrested.

1019
00:44:28.001 --> 00:44:30.671
♪ tense music playing ♪

1020
00:44:30.671 --> 00:44:34.633
So I go to jail,
and as I'm walking in the jail,

1021
00:44:34.633 --> 00:44:35.884
I look to my left

1022
00:44:35.884 --> 00:44:38.595
and I see this room
and it's like a classroom.

1023
00:44:38.595 --> 00:44:40.430
It has my picture at the very top,

1024
00:44:40.430 --> 00:44:43.642
and it has like all my relatives,
and all my associates underneath.

1025
00:44:43.642 --> 00:44:46.979
And I realize there's a big investigation
going on regarding me.

1026
00:44:47.521 --> 00:44:50.691
And the detective,
like, yanks me and tells me,

1027
00:44:50.691 --> 00:44:52.651
"Mind your own business,"
as I'm walking by.

1028
00:44:53.861 --> 00:44:58.657
Strange thing is they give me,
like, $2,000 cash bail.

1029
00:44:59.116 --> 00:45:01.076
- He was interviewed and then released

1030
00:45:01.076 --> 00:45:02.995
on what we call
promise to appear on paper.

1031
00:45:02.995 --> 00:45:04.496
And he used an alias.

1032
00:45:04.496 --> 00:45:07.207
So, his true identity never ever came out

1033
00:45:07.708 --> 00:45:09.960
until later when we found--
we started running names

1034
00:45:09.960 --> 00:45:11.545
and-and doing background,
and then we went,

1035
00:45:12.087 --> 00:45:14.173
"Holy crow. He's upstairs."

1036
00:45:14.173 --> 00:45:15.716
I mean, he was just upstairs.

1037
00:45:16.216 --> 00:45:17.759
That's when things came up

1038
00:45:17.759 --> 00:45:22.890
that, you know, Gerald had at least
22 aliases and different names.

1039
00:45:24.600 --> 00:45:27.019
- He wouldn't say it was
Daniel Blanchard that did it.

1040
00:45:27.019 --> 00:45:31.315
It was one of his aliases,
that would again, have no record.

1041
00:45:31.315 --> 00:45:34.318
He would be released shortly thereafter

1042
00:45:34.318 --> 00:45:36.737
of-of doing that break-in,

1043
00:45:36.737 --> 00:45:38.864
and then he's back on the street again.

1044
00:45:38.864 --> 00:45:40.616
PERSON 1: Down there.
PERSON 2: You can see the
green tower there?

1045
00:45:40.616 --> 00:45:41.658
[indistinct chatter]

1046
00:45:42.326 --> 00:45:43.744
BLANCHARD:
It's not like the U.S.

1047
00:45:43.744 --> 00:45:44.953
Everyone knows here in Canada,

1048
00:45:44.953 --> 00:45:47.831
non-violent crime is a slap on the hands.

1049
00:45:48.498 --> 00:45:51.960
In the U.S. I was looking
at 160 years in prison.

1050
00:45:51.960 --> 00:45:53.545
[siren wailing in distance]

1051
00:45:53.545 --> 00:45:57.382
♪

1052
00:45:57.382 --> 00:46:00.969
♪

1053
00:46:00.969 --> 00:46:02.638
BLANCHARD:
I knew the police were investigating me,

1054
00:46:03.388 --> 00:46:06.517
and they were getting
in the way of my goals.

1055
00:46:07.267 --> 00:46:10.187
So, I would always antagonize them

1056
00:46:10.187 --> 00:46:12.022
if they caused an issue with me.

1057
00:46:14.024 --> 00:46:16.527
- Very early on, Gerald wanted to talk

1058
00:46:16.527 --> 00:46:17.903
to the people running the squad.

1059
00:46:17.903 --> 00:46:19.279
He knew our names.

1060
00:46:19.279 --> 00:46:21.073
I don't know how he knew our names,
but he knew our names.

1061
00:46:21.073 --> 00:46:22.616
[phones ringing]
[indistinct chatter]

1062
00:46:22.616 --> 00:46:24.785
OFFICER MCCORMICK:
He phoned down to the major crimes unit,

1063
00:46:24.785 --> 00:46:26.119
posing as Winnipeg Police,

1064
00:46:26.119 --> 00:46:28.121
said that Gerald Blanchard
was a friend of his

1065
00:46:28.121 --> 00:46:31.083
and give him preferred, uh, treatment,
to treat him right.

1066
00:46:31.083 --> 00:46:32.876
He's just playing with me, right?

1067
00:46:33.418 --> 00:46:36.713
At one point in time,
he sent me a-a text message

1068
00:46:36.713 --> 00:46:39.633
with a whole bunch of pictures
of him sitting on a yacht

1069
00:46:39.633 --> 00:46:41.552
and, uh, driving a Ferrari

1070
00:46:41.552 --> 00:46:44.304
and, you know, money on a ATM,

1071
00:46:44.763 --> 00:46:47.057
just to kinda poke me again, you know?
And just like--

1072
00:46:47.057 --> 00:46:49.268
- Pokin' the bear, I suppose.

1073
00:46:49.268 --> 00:46:50.185
[BlackBerry chimes]

1074
00:46:50.185 --> 00:46:51.854
OFFICER LEVASSEUR:
He likes to tease a little bit.

1075
00:46:51.854 --> 00:46:54.273
He sent pictures when he was in China

1076
00:46:54.273 --> 00:46:55.732
and he's at an ATM machine.

1077
00:46:55.732 --> 00:46:59.778
He had piles of cash piled up,
you know, wrapped.

1078
00:46:59.778 --> 00:47:00.612
[BlackBerry chimes]

1079
00:47:01.613 --> 00:47:02.739
OFFICER MCCORMICK:
It's the game he plays.

1080
00:47:02.739 --> 00:47:04.116
It's the challenge he likes.

1081
00:47:04.992 --> 00:47:06.493
You know, he likes that challenge.

1082
00:47:06.493 --> 00:47:08.787
Much like we or I like the challenge

1083
00:47:08.787 --> 00:47:11.748
of trying to figure it out
and catch him, you know?

1084
00:47:12.916 --> 00:47:13.750
So,

1085
00:47:15.085 --> 00:47:17.045
different challenges, but we all--

1086
00:47:17.045 --> 00:47:18.422
That was the most enjoyable thing,

1087
00:47:18.422 --> 00:47:21.925
is trying to match wits
with whoever you're trying to arrest.

1088
00:47:23.635 --> 00:47:24.636
BLANCHARD:
Well, Larry and Mitch,

1089
00:47:25.220 --> 00:47:27.055
they had sleepless nights.

1090
00:47:27.055 --> 00:47:29.224
They had no vacation, they told me.

1091
00:47:29.224 --> 00:47:32.603
They worked 24 hour days sometimes,

1092
00:47:33.353 --> 00:47:35.856
exhausting days, to catch me.

1093
00:47:36.315 --> 00:47:38.442
So, they put so much effort into me,

1094
00:47:38.442 --> 00:47:41.445
they felt like they knew me better
than they knew their own wife.

1095
00:47:43.155 --> 00:47:45.115
OFFICER MCCORMICK:
I hate to say it, but it's a game.

1096
00:47:45.908 --> 00:47:47.034
It becomes a game.

1097
00:47:47.826 --> 00:47:51.288
We're always thinking, trying to plan
on how to, how we're gonna catch him.

1098
00:47:51.288 --> 00:47:53.498
How are we gonna get evidence on this guy?

1099
00:47:53.498 --> 00:47:56.877
How are we gonna bring him to,
to the courts and-and prosecute him?

1100
00:47:56.877 --> 00:47:58.212
- Conditions of the courtroom,

1101
00:47:58.212 --> 00:48:03.675
all the rules around accusing people,
finding them guilty,

1102
00:48:03.675 --> 00:48:05.135
that's a different world.

1103
00:48:05.135 --> 00:48:08.222
- If you don't have your evidence,
you're done.

1104
00:48:09.139 --> 00:48:10.557
OFFICER LEVASSEUR:
There wasn't a lot there.

1105
00:48:10.557 --> 00:48:13.769
There was a few little snippets
of good information.

1106
00:48:13.769 --> 00:48:16.146
This file was really calling for it.

1107
00:48:16.146 --> 00:48:17.606
It was just screaming

1108
00:48:18.357 --> 00:48:20.817
wiretap, wiretap.

1109
00:48:20.817 --> 00:48:22.903
- I-I lost the jug of whiskey besk--

1110
00:48:22.903 --> 00:48:24.821
betting that he wouldn't say
two words on the phone

1111
00:48:24.821 --> 00:48:26.240
and it'd be a waste of time.

1112
00:48:26.865 --> 00:48:28.075
And he never shut up.

1113
00:48:29.034 --> 00:48:31.078
[static]

1114
00:49:04.278 --> 00:49:06.154
- The same day that we hooked up,

1115
00:49:06.154 --> 00:49:09.324
he was already active
and involved in crime

1116
00:49:09.324 --> 00:49:11.952
and that's really when
everything just took off,

1117
00:49:11.952 --> 00:49:14.705
because when you listen
to somebody on a wiretap,

1118
00:49:14.705 --> 00:49:16.206
you really get to know them.

1119
00:49:16.206 --> 00:49:19.668
♪ upbeat music playing ♪

1120
00:49:19.668 --> 00:49:21.587
- He was livin' the life of Riley,
you know?

1121
00:49:21.587 --> 00:49:23.630
He had money, lots of it.

1122
00:49:24.131 --> 00:49:27.843
He was keepin' company
with, uh, the rich and famous...

1123
00:49:27.843 --> 00:49:29.553
♪

1124
00:49:29.553 --> 00:49:30.888
...beautiful women.

1125
00:49:30.888 --> 00:49:32.514
♪

1126
00:49:32.514 --> 00:49:33.807
[screams]

1127
00:49:34.474 --> 00:49:37.311
- Yeah, he was, he had
the-the world by the tail.

1128
00:49:37.311 --> 00:49:39.479
[crowd cheering]

1129
00:49:39.479 --> 00:49:41.106
♪

1130
00:49:41.106 --> 00:49:42.608
OFFICER MCCORMICK:
The aha moment would be

1131
00:49:42.608 --> 00:49:44.610
is that he just continues to commit crime.

1132
00:49:44.610 --> 00:49:45.819
It's not the money.

1133
00:49:45.819 --> 00:49:47.821
And you start to think,
"Well, why is he doing this?

1134
00:49:47.821 --> 00:49:50.782
He doesn't-- He can't use the money.
He doesn't, he doesn't need the money."

1135
00:49:50.782 --> 00:49:52.784
- Some of his crimes seem very petty,

1136
00:49:52.784 --> 00:49:54.494
actually almost comical.

1137
00:49:54.494 --> 00:49:57.748
[race car zooms]

1138
00:49:57.748 --> 00:50:00.209
- He would fabricate badges indicating

1139
00:50:00.209 --> 00:50:04.213
he was the press or, um,
he was a special VIP

1140
00:50:04.213 --> 00:50:06.507
and get into Indy races.

1141
00:50:07.174 --> 00:50:08.759
OFFICER LEVASSEUR:
Or get a bird's eye view

1142
00:50:08.759 --> 00:50:10.594
of a Stanley Cup final game.

1143
00:50:10.594 --> 00:50:12.513
[crowd cheering]

1144
00:50:12.513 --> 00:50:15.265
♪

1145
00:50:15.265 --> 00:50:17.434
[fans cheering]

1146
00:50:17.434 --> 00:50:19.019
- He was traveling the world.

1147
00:50:19.019 --> 00:50:22.689
♪

1148
00:50:22.689 --> 00:50:24.274
- So as you listen to him more,

1149
00:50:24.274 --> 00:50:26.693
you start to get a sense
of who you think he is,

1150
00:50:27.319 --> 00:50:28.904
and-and what he's all about.

1151
00:50:28.904 --> 00:50:30.322
♪

1152
00:50:34.493 --> 00:50:36.036
[Blanchard laughs]

1153
00:50:36.036 --> 00:50:37.996
- He does things
just for the thrill of it.

1154
00:50:37.996 --> 00:50:40.040
He did a-a break into our bank

1155
00:50:40.040 --> 00:50:43.710
and got $600,000
and then very shortly thereafter,

1156
00:50:43.710 --> 00:50:45.671
he's shoplifting a toaster.

1157
00:50:45.671 --> 00:50:50.843
- There was this little wheel going round
and round and round and it never stopped.

1158
00:50:50.843 --> 00:50:54.721
In my experience,
the more you commit this type of crime,

1159
00:50:54.721 --> 00:50:59.101
the more you are in fact addicted
to the high that it gives you.

1160
00:50:59.101 --> 00:51:01.645
♪

1161
00:51:04.022 --> 00:51:07.651
And you hear him on the wiretaps saying,

1162
00:51:07.651 --> 00:51:09.736
"I know I am being taped,"

1163
00:51:09.736 --> 00:51:12.406
and then going
into the details of the crimes

1164
00:51:12.406 --> 00:51:15.033
that he has committed
or potentially will commit,

1165
00:51:15.033 --> 00:51:18.036
knowing full well
that there is a police officer

1166
00:51:18.036 --> 00:51:20.956
on the other end of that listening device.

1167
00:51:20.956 --> 00:51:24.001
By way of saying,
"I can fool you big boys.

1168
00:51:24.001 --> 00:51:26.211
I'm just a little guy, but watch me run."

1169
00:51:26.211 --> 00:51:27.045
♪

1170
00:51:27.045 --> 00:51:30.382
- He deals with an, an adrenaline rush.

1171
00:51:30.382 --> 00:51:32.509
That's what it is.
It's a challenge.

1172
00:51:33.343 --> 00:51:34.511
I have it, too.

1173
00:51:34.511 --> 00:51:36.054
I'm a professional fighter.

1174
00:51:36.054 --> 00:51:38.140
♪ groovy funk music playing ♪

1175
00:51:38.140 --> 00:51:39.349
I've said to people,

1176
00:51:39.349 --> 00:51:41.476
"I wouldn't be afraid
to bite your eyeball out

1177
00:51:41.476 --> 00:51:43.854
"if it came down to it,
or bite your nose off.

1178
00:51:43.854 --> 00:51:45.314
I'm not out to lose."

1179
00:51:45.314 --> 00:51:50.277
♪

1180
00:51:50.277 --> 00:51:52.404
BLANCHARD: While they're
trying to chase me all over the globe,

1181
00:51:52.404 --> 00:51:53.906
I actually kind of enjoy it.

1182
00:51:54.615 --> 00:51:57.117
I see them there,
they know that I see them.

1183
00:51:57.117 --> 00:52:00.370
I gave chase a few times
to the undercover detective cars,

1184
00:52:00.370 --> 00:52:02.998
letting them know like,
"Hey, I know who you are."

1185
00:52:03.582 --> 00:52:06.126
And it's like, "Catch me if you can."

1186
00:52:06.126 --> 00:52:08.545
That's my th-- my thought at the time.

1187
00:52:11.757 --> 00:52:16.220
PHEGLY:
I wanna tell this story to let people know

1188
00:52:16.845 --> 00:52:21.391
that there is another side to my son
and not just the criminal side.

1189
00:52:22.142 --> 00:52:26.813
When my son got sent back
to Canada was when he met Ramona.

1190
00:52:27.314 --> 00:52:28.774
[Ramona laughs]

1191
00:52:29.316 --> 00:52:30.776
RAMONA:
That's so funny.

1192
00:52:30.776 --> 00:52:33.195
- As you see, Mother, I'm doing good.

1193
00:52:33.195 --> 00:52:34.947
And this is my friend.

1194
00:52:34.947 --> 00:52:36.990
And your name is?
- Ramona.

1195
00:52:36.990 --> 00:52:38.575
BLANCHARD: Ramona?
- Poss.

1196
00:52:38.575 --> 00:52:39.701
BLANCHARD:
Poss?

1197
00:52:39.701 --> 00:52:41.078
And she's flying to where?

1198
00:52:41.078 --> 00:52:42.079
- Germany.

1199
00:52:42.079 --> 00:52:44.122
BLANCHARD: For how long?
- For four months.

1200
00:52:44.122 --> 00:52:45.457
BLANCHARD:
That must be nice.

1201
00:52:45.457 --> 00:52:46.500
[Ramona laughs]

1202
00:52:46.959 --> 00:52:47.793
- Hello?

1203
00:52:48.460 --> 00:52:51.839
BLANCHARD: And-and how can you afford
all these lovely vacations?

1204
00:52:52.589 --> 00:52:53.966
- Through my parents.

1205
00:52:53.966 --> 00:52:55.676
BLANCHARD:
And what do your parents do for work?

1206
00:52:57.010 --> 00:52:58.720
- Why do you wanna know that?
You know all that.

1207
00:52:58.720 --> 00:53:02.474
BLANCHARD: They're a real estate
ki-- kicoon, kitoon--

1208
00:53:02.474 --> 00:53:04.184
What's that word?
- Owners?

1209
00:53:04.184 --> 00:53:06.812
BLANCHARD:
No. Real estate ki--

1210
00:53:06.812 --> 00:53:08.230
Cut. Do it again.

1211
00:53:08.230 --> 00:53:09.898
- We own estate, you know?

1212
00:53:09.898 --> 00:53:10.983
[Blanchard laughs]

1213
00:53:10.983 --> 00:53:13.235
- I had no idea that my son

1214
00:53:13.235 --> 00:53:16.697
was living a double life, basically.

1215
00:53:17.406 --> 00:53:19.741
I was extremely happy that my son

1216
00:53:19.741 --> 00:53:23.996
had found a young woman
that I really liked,

1217
00:53:23.996 --> 00:53:26.331
and he seemed extremely happy with her.

1218
00:53:26.331 --> 00:53:31.670
He felt confident,
and he was getting to live a life

1219
00:53:31.670 --> 00:53:34.256
that I couldn't imagine living myself.

1220
00:53:34.256 --> 00:53:36.592
♪ whimsical music playing ♪

1221
00:53:37.009 --> 00:53:40.846
They started, you know, scuba diving,
they went snorkeling,

1222
00:53:40.846 --> 00:53:42.556
they went skiing.

1223
00:53:42.556 --> 00:53:44.349
They were doing all kinds of things

1224
00:53:44.349 --> 00:53:47.144
that I never had the opportunity to do.

1225
00:53:47.144 --> 00:53:49.521
I really, really liked Ramona.

1226
00:53:49.521 --> 00:53:53.400
I grew to love her,
and she became a part of our family.

1227
00:53:53.400 --> 00:53:57.321
So, I saw my son being happy.

1228
00:53:57.321 --> 00:53:58.488
♪

1229
00:53:58.488 --> 00:53:59.448
[camera shutter clicks]

1230
00:53:59.448 --> 00:54:00.824
♪

1231
00:54:00.824 --> 00:54:05.245
♪

1232
00:54:05.245 --> 00:54:09.208
PHEGLY:
According to my son, financially then,

1233
00:54:09.917 --> 00:54:14.755
her father was helping them
establish real estate.

1234
00:54:15.547 --> 00:54:18.258
So, there was no question

1235
00:54:18.258 --> 00:54:23.222
about my son being involved
in any kinda crimes.

1236
00:54:24.431 --> 00:54:27.142
I mean, why would I even think that

1237
00:54:27.142 --> 00:54:30.103
when he got established with this family

1238
00:54:30.896 --> 00:54:32.147
who had money?

1239
00:54:34.441 --> 00:54:36.985
BLANCHARD:
So I was married to a German lady,

1240
00:54:36.985 --> 00:54:40.656
and her father was quite wealthy,
so we took a tour across Europe.

1241
00:54:40.656 --> 00:54:42.324
Ramona, nice?

1242
00:54:42.324 --> 00:54:45.911
And he received a private tour
of the castle in Austria.

1243
00:54:45.911 --> 00:54:48.997
And that's when I saw the Sisi Star
on display for the first time.

1244
00:54:48.997 --> 00:54:51.250
♪ Shining Star
by Earth, Wind & Fire playing ♪

1245
00:54:51.250 --> 00:54:53.752
- It's the romantic part of it,
of the whole story.

1246
00:54:53.752 --> 00:54:55.212
It-it truly is.

1247
00:54:55.212 --> 00:54:59.299
Which comes along kind of
out of the blue to us, right?

1248
00:54:59.299 --> 00:55:00.968
Uh, we do an Interpol check

1249
00:55:00.968 --> 00:55:04.012
because, you know,
that's, uh, w-what you would do

1250
00:55:04.012 --> 00:55:07.057
in a, in a high-profile file like this.

1251
00:55:07.057 --> 00:55:08.934
Uh, and lo and behold,

1252
00:55:08.934 --> 00:55:11.687
you know, we received
this information back that says,

1253
00:55:12.646 --> 00:55:14.773
"Gerald Blanchard of Canada

1254
00:55:14.773 --> 00:55:18.193
is a person of interest
in the theft of the Sisi Star."

1255
00:55:18.193 --> 00:55:22.739
- That would've been in, eh,
in-in like '98, '98, '99.

1256
00:55:23.657 --> 00:55:24.950
That's a long time ago.

1257
00:55:24.950 --> 00:55:28.203
♪ Blue Danube Waltz Op. 314
by Johann Strauss II playing ♪

1258
00:55:28.203 --> 00:55:30.998
♪

1259
00:55:30.998 --> 00:55:33.208
♪

1260
00:55:33.208 --> 00:55:35.043
CHRISTOPH KOECHERT:
It is so much known and it's so famous,

1261
00:55:35.043 --> 00:55:38.088
these diamond stars
because there's such a story behind it.

1262
00:55:38.088 --> 00:55:43.343
Uh, It's such an important,
beautiful story behind it.

1263
00:55:44.094 --> 00:55:47.306
They're very rare
and this precious, uh, piece of jewelry

1264
00:55:47.306 --> 00:55:51.435
was-was stolen and everybody was shocked,
like, "How can this happen?"

1265
00:55:51.435 --> 00:55:54.479
♪

1266
00:55:54.479 --> 00:55:58.066
Sisi, the famous empress,

1267
00:55:58.066 --> 00:56:01.695
she was a wonderful, beautiful lady
with long, long hair

1268
00:56:01.695 --> 00:56:05.032
and she used to adorn her hair
with diamond stars.

1269
00:56:05.032 --> 00:56:09.745
And she was painted with her long hair
with the stars in her hair.

1270
00:56:09.745 --> 00:56:11.788
And so, this got somehow iconic,

1271
00:56:11.788 --> 00:56:13.916
and these diamond stars
are very much known.

1272
00:56:15.042 --> 00:56:17.503
- After Sisi's death
and then after the monarchy,

1273
00:56:17.503 --> 00:56:20.172
it was not quite clear
where all these stars went.

1274
00:56:20.172 --> 00:56:21.006
They were gone.

1275
00:56:21.006 --> 00:56:22.090
♪

1276
00:56:22.090 --> 00:56:24.968
We had one of the stars.
We had one of the original stars,

1277
00:56:24.968 --> 00:56:26.428
which Elisabeth wore.

1278
00:56:26.428 --> 00:56:29.515
It was just, um,
a highlight of the exhibition.

1279
00:56:29.515 --> 00:56:30.891
♪

1280
00:56:33.560 --> 00:56:34.394
BLANCHARD:
Alright.

1281
00:56:35.729 --> 00:56:37.689
Birdie, who are you talking to?

1282
00:56:37.689 --> 00:56:39.149
Let me see your walkie-talkie.

1283
00:56:39.900 --> 00:56:40.943
And how does it work?

1284
00:56:41.652 --> 00:56:42.486
- Play.

1285
00:56:43.487 --> 00:56:45.739
And then it explains what it is.

1286
00:56:45.739 --> 00:56:47.824
AUTOMATED VOICE GUIDE [on device]:
Empress Elisabeth from Austria,

1287
00:56:47.824 --> 00:56:51.370
nicknamed Sisi, was known
for her impossibly thin waist,

1288
00:56:51.370 --> 00:56:53.455
and incredibly long hair.

1289
00:56:53.455 --> 00:56:55.499
One of the most famous depictions of her

1290
00:56:55.499 --> 00:56:57.835
is a portrait with her hairs decorated

1291
00:56:57.835 --> 00:57:00.170
in a series of diamond and pearl stars.

1292
00:57:01.046 --> 00:57:04.049
What you see now
is the last of Sisi's famous stars.

1293
00:57:06.552 --> 00:57:08.345
BLANCHARD:
I just couldn't pass up the Sisi Star

1294
00:57:08.345 --> 00:57:09.471
because it was so beautiful.

1295
00:57:09.471 --> 00:57:12.266
Like, it was shining
under the light, sparkling,

1296
00:57:12.266 --> 00:57:14.476
and I knew I needed to take it with me.

1297
00:57:15.894 --> 00:57:18.230
♪ Strauss II's Blue Danube Waltz
resumes playing ♪

1298
00:57:18.230 --> 00:57:20.774
[reporter speaking German]

1299
00:57:27.030 --> 00:57:30.158
[museum employee speaking German]

1300
00:57:32.744 --> 00:57:34.705
[continues speaking German]

1301
00:57:38.876 --> 00:57:41.837
- Reported to the police, the police came,
and the police searched the whole thing,

1302
00:57:41.837 --> 00:57:44.173
um, and, uh, no, there was nothing.

1303
00:57:44.756 --> 00:57:45.841
Nothing.

1304
00:57:45.841 --> 00:57:50.345
[speaking German]

1305
00:57:50.345 --> 00:57:54.308
♪

1306
00:57:54.308 --> 00:57:57.436
FRANZ SATTLECKER:
If you can't say what exactly happened,

1307
00:57:58.687 --> 00:58:03.942
there was a lot of kind of
mysterious, um, stories going around.

1308
00:58:03.942 --> 00:58:05.861
- The Star was stolen, it's terrible.

1309
00:58:05.861 --> 00:58:08.864
But at least, uh, it's a very good story
how it was stolen.

1310
00:58:08.864 --> 00:58:12.034
And, uh, all-- in all the newspapers, uh,

1311
00:58:12.034 --> 00:58:14.328
and it's still in-in the head
of everybody in Austria.

1312
00:58:15.996 --> 00:58:17.873
- Okay, I have to be careful
on how I say that

1313
00:58:17.873 --> 00:58:20.918
because if I outright say I stole it--
DIRECTOR: Right.

1314
00:58:20.918 --> 00:58:23.629
- then I could be charged
in Austria for the theft.

1315
00:58:24.213 --> 00:58:26.006
So it was reported in the newspaper

1316
00:58:26.006 --> 00:58:28.258
that I had jumped out of this airplane

1317
00:58:28.258 --> 00:58:30.344
and landed on the roof of the castle.

1318
00:58:30.344 --> 00:58:31.553
♪ dramatic music playing ♪

1319
00:58:31.553 --> 00:58:32.930
This is the Hollywood version.

1320
00:58:32.930 --> 00:58:34.473
♪

1321
00:58:34.473 --> 00:58:35.724
OFFICER LEVASSEUR:
He said he was flown

1322
00:58:36.934 --> 00:58:39.978
over top of the museum,
and he parachuted out.

1323
00:58:39.978 --> 00:58:42.231
♪

1324
00:58:42.231 --> 00:58:43.357
SATTLECKER:
No, no, no, no, no.

1325
00:58:43.649 --> 00:58:44.483
No, no, no.

1326
00:58:44.483 --> 00:58:48.820
It would be absolutely crazy
to jump down with a parachute.

1327
00:58:48.820 --> 00:58:52.324
- I know there was a parachute
found in the garbage in the castle,

1328
00:58:52.324 --> 00:58:55.410
and the guards have a record
of the-- finding a parachute.

1329
00:58:56.078 --> 00:58:57.538
- No. No, no, no.

1330
00:58:58.664 --> 00:59:01.416
We never, no,
got any information about this.

1331
00:59:01.416 --> 00:59:04.127
OFFICER LEVASSEUR:
He climbed down the side of the museum,

1332
00:59:04.127 --> 00:59:06.505
he went in through a window.

1333
00:59:06.505 --> 00:59:09.091
I don't particularly believe
that part of the story.

1334
00:59:09.091 --> 00:59:12.761
- The State Department
has secured from the outside.

1335
00:59:12.761 --> 00:59:15.305
So if somebody would
break in the windows,

1336
00:59:15.305 --> 00:59:16.557
if you opened the windows, alarm.

1337
00:59:16.557 --> 00:59:18.350
If you walked in the room, alarm.

1338
00:59:18.350 --> 00:59:19.726
♪

1339
00:59:19.726 --> 00:59:21.687
OFFICER LEVASSEUR:
The glass case housing it

1340
00:59:21.687 --> 00:59:23.730
with the security screws were removed,

1341
00:59:24.857 --> 00:59:27.401
a pressure-sensitive, uh,
device underneath

1342
00:59:27.401 --> 00:59:29.069
was somehow cheated in a way

1343
00:59:29.069 --> 00:59:31.530
that it could be replaced with a fake.

1344
00:59:31.530 --> 00:59:35.033
- It was only
until two or three weeks later

1345
00:59:35.492 --> 00:59:38.370
it was determined
that it was a replica from a gift shop.

1346
00:59:38.370 --> 00:59:42.875
♪

1347
00:59:42.875 --> 00:59:44.877
- Yeah, it was sold in the shop. [scoffs]

1348
00:59:45.586 --> 00:59:48.589
It was a, a shop item, best seller.

1349
00:59:49.548 --> 00:59:52.634
- I'm quite astonished
that it took them such a long time

1350
00:59:52.634 --> 00:59:54.803
because, uh,
'cause it's-it's quite obvious.

1351
00:59:54.803 --> 00:59:56.180
They look really different.

1352
00:59:56.180 --> 00:59:58.515
- Um, they must have had help

1353
00:59:59.016 --> 01:00:01.935
from probably-probably
even inside the palace.

1354
01:00:01.935 --> 01:00:03.520
But we-we still don't know exactly

1355
01:00:03.520 --> 01:00:07.608
because Mr. Blanchard says
he kind of did something different.

1356
01:00:07.608 --> 01:00:08.942
- Which one do I believe?

1357
01:00:08.942 --> 01:00:12.279
I believe he shoplift the, the-the gem

1358
01:00:12.279 --> 01:00:15.115
and-and, and went and switched it out.

1359
01:00:15.115 --> 01:00:19.369
I think the other thing
is just to sell newspapers as they say.

1360
01:00:20.037 --> 01:00:22.497
- Actually I took it
because I knew maybe someday

1361
01:00:22.497 --> 01:00:26.627
this could be a bargaining tool
for future crimes that I had planned.

1362
01:00:27.419 --> 01:00:29.755
And it was a priceless item from a museum

1363
01:00:30.255 --> 01:00:31.673
and that's why I took it.

1364
01:00:31.673 --> 01:00:32.591
Plus, it looked nice.

1365
01:00:32.591 --> 01:00:34.259
♪

1366
01:00:37.095 --> 01:00:39.264
KOECHERT:
It's boring to steal money,

1367
01:00:39.264 --> 01:00:42.309
but to steal a piece like that,
who is doing that?

1368
01:00:42.309 --> 01:00:43.477
Nobody else in the world.

1369
01:00:43.477 --> 01:00:46.230
So you get famous
if you steal the Mona Lisa,

1370
01:00:46.230 --> 01:00:47.773
if you steal a Van Gogh, or whatever.

1371
01:00:47.773 --> 01:00:51.109
There-there are maybe
hundred of pieces in the, in the world

1372
01:00:51.109 --> 01:00:53.028
which are really special.

1373
01:00:53.028 --> 01:00:54.404
Everybody knows them.

1374
01:00:54.404 --> 01:00:57.324
In Austria everybody knows the Sisi Stars.

1375
01:00:57.324 --> 01:01:00.369
So, you-you get somehow immortal.

1376
01:01:00.369 --> 01:01:02.412
You get, you-you-- [stammers]

1377
01:01:02.412 --> 01:01:05.415
You might get famous
through-through doing that.

1378
01:01:05.415 --> 01:01:07.751
And he did get famous, of course.

1379
01:01:08.585 --> 01:01:09.419
[chuckles]

1380
01:01:11.755 --> 01:01:15.634
♪ jazzy espionage music playing ♪

1381
01:01:15.634 --> 01:01:17.636
SYBERG:
We went to his grandma's house

1382
01:01:17.636 --> 01:01:20.889
and he was like,
"I need to show you something."

1383
01:01:20.889 --> 01:01:21.890
And I was like, "Okay."

1384
01:01:21.890 --> 01:01:23.851
So he pulls out the diamond
and he was like,

1385
01:01:23.851 --> 01:01:25.644
"This thing's worth a lot of money."

1386
01:01:25.644 --> 01:01:26.812
And I was like, "It--"

1387
01:01:26.812 --> 01:01:28.480
To me it didn't really look--

1388
01:01:28.480 --> 01:01:31.024
Like, it looked old and kinda like
grandma's jewelry, you know.

1389
01:01:31.024 --> 01:01:33.902
I was like, "Alright,
well, let's get it up into the ceiling

1390
01:01:33.902 --> 01:01:35.028
"so we could get back out

1391
01:01:35.028 --> 01:01:37.614
and do whatever we were up to
before that," you know?

1392
01:01:37.614 --> 01:01:39.408
I was like-- I wasn't really--

1393
01:01:41.034 --> 01:01:43.120
I wasn't really too interested in it
but I figured,

1394
01:01:43.120 --> 01:01:45.747
like, he told me,
"If we ever get arrested,

1395
01:01:45.747 --> 01:01:48.375
this is our ticket outta jail,
so keep it between us."

1396
01:01:48.917 --> 01:01:51.545
- It wasn't until later
that Interpol got information,

1397
01:01:52.045 --> 01:01:53.589
um, that he was responsible.

1398
01:01:53.589 --> 01:01:56.550
"A guy by the name
of Gerald Blanchard from Canada."

1399
01:01:56.550 --> 01:01:57.676
That's all they had.

1400
01:01:57.676 --> 01:02:02.347
But it was right around that time
that him and his then wife separated.

1401
01:02:02.347 --> 01:02:06.977
So, you can probably figure out
where that information came from.

1402
01:02:07.561 --> 01:02:11.648
- Things changed for him
pretty drastically at that point

1403
01:02:11.648 --> 01:02:15.319
after he and Ramona were divorced.

1404
01:02:15.319 --> 01:02:18.864
♪ solemn music playing ♪

1405
01:02:18.864 --> 01:02:20.365
BLANCHARD:
At that time I was married to my wife,

1406
01:02:20.365 --> 01:02:21.992
where she really didn't know

1407
01:02:22.659 --> 01:02:25.370
the type of person I was deep down inside.

1408
01:02:25.370 --> 01:02:26.872
♪

1409
01:02:26.872 --> 01:02:29.249
She found out about my criminal past

1410
01:02:29.249 --> 01:02:31.710
and it was, uh, shocking to her
and her family.

1411
01:02:31.710 --> 01:02:36.381
- He ended up getting into,
uh, relationships

1412
01:02:36.381 --> 01:02:39.593
that, um, were more one-sided,

1413
01:02:39.593 --> 01:02:42.596
and I could tell

1414
01:02:42.596 --> 01:02:45.891
that my son looked worried and stressed.

1415
01:02:45.891 --> 01:02:48.560
♪

1416
01:02:48.560 --> 01:02:52.356
- He actually wanted me to join
his Mission: Impossible team.

1417
01:02:52.356 --> 01:02:55.651
But I was too into
my martial arts instead.

1418
01:02:57.236 --> 01:02:59.029
Like, uh, Canadian Wolverines.

1419
01:03:00.155 --> 01:03:01.532
Chuck Norris of Canada.

1420
01:03:01.532 --> 01:03:03.283
♪

1421
01:03:06.119 --> 01:03:09.498
BLANCHARD: I would probably say
my right hand person was Angela James.

1422
01:03:10.082 --> 01:03:13.710
She was my girlfriend from the past.
We trusted each other.

1423
01:03:13.710 --> 01:03:16.755
We had good chemistry
and we worked pretty well.

1424
01:03:17.548 --> 01:03:18.924
And she was an hon-honest girl.

1425
01:03:18.924 --> 01:03:19.925
What's wrong?

1426
01:03:19.925 --> 01:03:21.176
- Get outta here.

1427
01:03:22.719 --> 01:03:24.555
Get that thing outta my face.

1428
01:03:24.555 --> 01:03:26.014
BLANCHARD:
Fuck, you do this to everyone else.

1429
01:03:26.014 --> 01:03:27.182
It can't be done to you?

1430
01:03:27.182 --> 01:03:28.517
- I don't do it to nobody.

1431
01:03:28.517 --> 01:03:29.726
- It's sitting right there.

1432
01:03:29.726 --> 01:03:30.686
[friend laughs]

1433
01:03:36.233 --> 01:03:39.069
BLANCHARD:
I could've stopped a long time ago,

1434
01:03:39.069 --> 01:03:40.988
but you always need that thrill.

1435
01:03:40.988 --> 01:03:42.781
It's-it's actually an addiction,

1436
01:03:43.490 --> 01:03:45.951
because I've had
tens of millions of dollars

1437
01:03:45.951 --> 01:03:49.371
throughout my life,
and I continued doing crimes.

1438
01:03:50.664 --> 01:03:52.791
But then started spiraling out,

1439
01:03:52.791 --> 01:03:55.502
once I met Sergei,
or I call him the Boss.

1440
01:03:55.919 --> 01:03:59.381
♪ suspenseful music playing ♪

1441
01:03:59.381 --> 01:04:00.924
OFFICER MCCORMICK:
We had gone for the day,

1442
01:04:00.924 --> 01:04:04.136
and the girls in the monitoring room
immediately phoned us.

1443
01:04:04.136 --> 01:04:07.764
I received a, a phone call
from, uh, the United Kingdom.

1444
01:04:07.764 --> 01:04:12.603
The person had
a, uh, English accent and, uh, he said,

1445
01:04:12.603 --> 01:04:14.813
"How quick can you get
your crew together, Danny?

1446
01:04:15.397 --> 01:04:18.775
I need you to do somethin'
for me in Cairo." Right?

1447
01:04:18.775 --> 01:04:21.695
And, whoa, what's that all about, right?

1448
01:04:21.695 --> 01:04:23.947
♪

1449
01:04:47.054 --> 01:04:49.556
- He's in Vancouver, she's in Edmonton.

1450
01:04:49.556 --> 01:04:51.517
Aaron Syberg's in Manitoba.

1451
01:05:15.874 --> 01:05:18.418
- "The Boss" is the only name we ever get,

1452
01:05:18.418 --> 01:05:21.380
but we understand him
to be very, very involved

1453
01:05:21.380 --> 01:05:24.007
in-in credit card fraud all across Europe.

1454
01:05:24.007 --> 01:05:26.009
And that he, this is a big fish.

1455
01:05:26.009 --> 01:05:27.052
[phone line beeps]

1456
01:05:40.941 --> 01:05:42.317
OFFICER LEVASSEUR:
This was a trip like,

1457
01:05:42.317 --> 01:05:44.903
"I want you moving tomorrow."

1458
01:05:44.903 --> 01:05:48.073
That's the level of urgency
that there was to that call.

1459
01:05:48.073 --> 01:05:50.576
- As soon as he hung up the phone
with the Boss,

1460
01:05:50.576 --> 01:05:52.953
he was on his-- he was the phone
to Angela James.

1461
01:05:59.960 --> 01:06:01.920
- She's, uh, you know,
a little bit beside herself,

1462
01:06:01.920 --> 01:06:03.380
doesn't know what to do,

1463
01:06:03.380 --> 01:06:05.632
and Danny says,
"Well, put your mom on the phone."

1464
01:06:05.632 --> 01:06:10.679
And perfectly describes
what they're going to be doing.

1465
01:06:35.913 --> 01:06:39.291
- He also included a,
a person by the name of Balume Kashongwe.

1466
01:07:01.313 --> 01:07:04.274
- From the time
the phone call came in from the Boss

1467
01:07:04.274 --> 01:07:08.362
to the time he was on a plane
on his way to Heathrow and then Cairo

1468
01:07:08.362 --> 01:07:10.364
was probably within days or hours.

1469
01:07:10.364 --> 01:07:12.658
Now we're scrambling,
trying to cover that,

1470
01:07:12.658 --> 01:07:14.701
trying to, to gather the evidence

1471
01:07:14.701 --> 01:07:17.454
and not really having enough time
to put everything in place.

1472
01:07:17.454 --> 01:07:19.665
[ambient traffic noise, horns honking]

1473
01:07:24.002 --> 01:07:25.337
[indistinct chatter]

1474
01:07:29.508 --> 01:07:30.509
- Alright, thank you.

1475
01:07:32.678 --> 01:07:35.347
BOSS' ASSOCIATE: They find
Saddam Hussein underground.

1476
01:07:35.347 --> 01:07:36.473
- We'll catch him.

1477
01:07:36.473 --> 01:07:38.058
BOSS' ASSOCIATE: They will catch the rat.
- Yeah.

1478
01:07:38.058 --> 01:07:39.393
BOSS' ASSOCIATE:
The rat, they will catch the rat.

1479
01:07:39.393 --> 01:07:43.105
- We'll catch the rat,
we'll kill the enemy. [chuckles]

1480
01:07:43.105 --> 01:07:45.440
BOSS' ASSOCIATE:
Kill them. You know?

1481
01:07:45.440 --> 01:07:48.569
America, it's like a movie, Hollywood.
BALUME "KEN" KASHONGWE: Yeah.

1482
01:07:48.569 --> 01:07:52.030
- They believe the magic
more than the truth.
KASHONGWE: Eh. Eh.

1483
01:07:52.030 --> 01:07:54.867
[indistinct chatter]

1484
01:07:55.492 --> 01:07:56.743
BLANCHARD:
What are you looking at?

1485
01:07:58.036 --> 01:07:58.912
- My ticket.

1486
01:08:00.873 --> 01:08:02.124
BLANCHARD:
And where are you gonna go?

1487
01:08:02.624 --> 01:08:04.626
- Back home.
BLANCHARD: Ha, ha, that's what you think.

1488
01:08:05.961 --> 01:08:07.588
So we land in Cairo.

1489
01:08:07.588 --> 01:08:09.882
We contacted the Boss back in England,

1490
01:08:09.882 --> 01:08:12.634
and we're all going to start
hitting these ATM machines

1491
01:08:12.634 --> 01:08:14.011
using these debit cards.

1492
01:08:14.011 --> 01:08:15.721
LEINBURD:
They had credit card recorders

1493
01:08:15.721 --> 01:08:18.140
that they had machines
that imprinted credit cards,

1494
01:08:18.140 --> 01:08:21.935
and he went with people
to ATMs across Cairo...

1495
01:08:21.935 --> 01:08:24.229
♪

1496
01:08:24.229 --> 01:08:26.690
...stealing hundreds
of thousands of dollars.

1497
01:08:26.690 --> 01:08:30.360
♪

1498
01:08:30.360 --> 01:08:32.821
BOSS' ASSOCIATE:
There goes Dan the man.

1499
01:08:33.530 --> 01:08:35.532
PERSON: That's him?
BOSS' ASSOCIATE: With the master plan.

1500
01:08:37.075 --> 01:08:40.120
♪ uptempo percussive music playing ♪

1501
01:08:40.120 --> 01:08:41.205
BLANCHARD:
And we were just standing there

1502
01:08:41.205 --> 01:08:44.583
for hours and hours
until the machines ran out of money.

1503
01:08:44.583 --> 01:08:46.001
♪

1504
01:08:46.001 --> 01:08:49.087
After we went for the day,
we'd bring all these duffel bags in,

1505
01:08:49.087 --> 01:08:50.672
empty them in the bathtub.

1506
01:08:50.672 --> 01:08:53.300
The bathtub was completely
filled with money.

1507
01:08:53.300 --> 01:08:55.886
There was a lot,
there was a pile of money.

1508
01:08:56.512 --> 01:08:58.805
- Obviously they were very successful.

1509
01:08:59.890 --> 01:09:02.976
There's video that shows an individual

1510
01:09:02.976 --> 01:09:05.145
sitting in a closet counting money

1511
01:09:05.145 --> 01:09:08.315
and, uh, as the camera veers in
you can see,

1512
01:09:08.815 --> 01:09:13.403
uh, you know, a pile like three feet
by three feet high of stacked money.

1513
01:09:14.154 --> 01:09:15.697
Uh, they were obviously having fun.

1514
01:09:15.697 --> 01:09:17.950
- Uh, we got some
pretty specific information

1515
01:09:17.950 --> 01:09:20.077
in that Danny was dressed in a burka,

1516
01:09:20.077 --> 01:09:23.497
which is the typical customary dress
of, uh, Muslim women,

1517
01:09:23.497 --> 01:09:27.042
so that he wouldn't be identifiable
on any of the video that might exist.

1518
01:09:27.626 --> 01:09:30.462
LEINBURD: So there was this man
from small-town Omaha

1519
01:09:30.462 --> 01:09:33.549
committing frauds
that were fairy-tale like.

1520
01:09:33.549 --> 01:09:35.342
He dressed in a burka.

1521
01:09:35.342 --> 01:09:36.552
- So everything was good.

1522
01:09:37.219 --> 01:09:39.805
But Balume Kashongwe decided to

1523
01:09:40.764 --> 01:09:42.474
take some of the Boss' cards,

1524
01:09:43.308 --> 01:09:45.227
take some of the Boss' money,

1525
01:09:45.227 --> 01:09:49.356
and skedaddle off
to, uh, another point in Africa.

1526
01:09:49.356 --> 01:09:52.317
This didn't sit well with the Boss, right?

1527
01:09:52.317 --> 01:09:55.654
And, uh, you know,
Danny was gettin' some pressure for this.

1528
01:09:55.654 --> 01:09:56.864
♪ tense music playing ♪

1529
01:09:56.864 --> 01:09:58.198
BLANCHARD:
We should go see if Ken's here.

1530
01:09:58.198 --> 01:10:01.201
♪

1531
01:10:01.201 --> 01:10:02.035
MAN:
The door.

1532
01:10:02.035 --> 01:10:05.372
♪

1533
01:10:05.372 --> 01:10:06.832
[indistinct chatter]

1534
01:10:06.832 --> 01:10:08.041
[phone line beeps]

1535
01:10:26.101 --> 01:10:28.437
BOSS' ASSOCIATE 2:
I said, what, did Mom and Dad
grab my money?

1536
01:10:28.437 --> 01:10:30.772
- Ken took that money
and bought blood diamonds.

1537
01:10:30.772 --> 01:10:34.735
He jumped on a plane to Paris
and was thrown in immigration jail.

1538
01:10:34.735 --> 01:10:37.362
They found the diamonds
and they got seized.

1539
01:10:38.113 --> 01:10:40.240
Now, I had no idea where Ken was.

1540
01:10:40.240 --> 01:10:42.701
He just stopped answering the phone.
He just vanished.

1541
01:10:42.701 --> 01:10:44.036
- Blanchard was very amped up.

1542
01:10:44.036 --> 01:10:45.370
He was-- He sound concerned.

1543
01:10:45.370 --> 01:10:49.374
He said the guy that he was with
had taken off with the credit cards,

1544
01:10:49.374 --> 01:10:52.836
that the Boss didn't know where he was,
and he was now threatening

1545
01:10:52.836 --> 01:10:55.756
both Blanchard and Balume
with physical harm.

1546
01:11:10.479 --> 01:11:11.313
- Oh, he's scared.

1547
01:11:11.313 --> 01:11:13.440
He's scared that, you know,
"If they don't find him,

1548
01:11:13.440 --> 01:11:14.983
they're gonna find me."

1549
01:11:14.983 --> 01:11:17.778
- I'm sure he figured
that Balume would be killed

1550
01:11:17.778 --> 01:11:18.987
because now there was guns

1551
01:11:18.987 --> 01:11:22.950
and now there was things
where he felt uncomfortable and threatened

1552
01:11:22.950 --> 01:11:24.993
and was worried for his safety.

1553
01:11:24.993 --> 01:11:26.745
BLANCHARD:
The Boss, he was freaking out thinking

1554
01:11:26.745 --> 01:11:28.747
maybe we were going to stiff him

1555
01:11:28.747 --> 01:11:31.124
for millions of dollars we had from Cairo.

1556
01:11:31.124 --> 01:11:35.546
So he sent another crew in from Cairo
to babysit us.

1557
01:11:36.255 --> 01:11:37.214
BOSS' ASSOCIATE 2:
Sit down.

1558
01:11:37.214 --> 01:11:38.590
♪ tense music playing ♪

1559
01:11:38.590 --> 01:11:40.217
[Blanchard breathing heavily]

1560
01:11:40.217 --> 01:11:41.510
BLANCHARD:
They're basically his muscle.

1561
01:11:41.510 --> 01:11:43.220
They're like gangsters,
you could call them.

1562
01:11:43.220 --> 01:11:45.138
Like, they look like killers.

1563
01:11:45.138 --> 01:11:47.266
♪

1564
01:11:47.266 --> 01:11:48.559
OFFICER LEVASSEUR:
It was pretty clear to him

1565
01:11:48.559 --> 01:11:52.396
that the London boss
was more than just a fraudster.

1566
01:11:52.396 --> 01:11:56.525
I learned that he was the figurehead,

1567
01:11:56.525 --> 01:11:59.111
the leader of a criminal organization

1568
01:11:59.111 --> 01:12:03.031
to fund terrorist activities
in the Middle East.

1569
01:12:03.031 --> 01:12:04.074
That's what I learned.

1570
01:12:04.074 --> 01:12:06.535
♪

1571
01:12:06.535 --> 01:12:08.620
OFFICER MCCORMICK:
So Gerald's stuck in Cairo now.

1572
01:12:08.620 --> 01:12:10.497
The Boss not letting him go.

1573
01:12:10.497 --> 01:12:13.792
They let Angela go home,
but they kept Blanchard there.

1574
01:12:13.792 --> 01:12:15.502
So I think he was pretty worried.

1575
01:12:21.466 --> 01:12:22.718
BOSS' ASSOCIATE 2:
Sit down!

1576
01:12:28.849 --> 01:12:31.518
- I think he appreciated
that the Boss was not fooling around

1577
01:12:31.518 --> 01:12:33.812
and not making vacant threats.

1578
01:12:33.812 --> 01:12:37.357
- He's got himself into something now
and he doesn't know how to get out of it.

1579
01:12:37.357 --> 01:12:41.320
- And what he had to do was figure out
another scheme to steal money.

1580
01:12:41.945 --> 01:12:42.779
[phone line beeps]

1581
01:12:55.209 --> 01:12:57.711
He was upset and he didn't know
if he could trust us.

1582
01:12:57.711 --> 01:13:01.840
I said, "There's just so much more money
we could make than fighting over

1583
01:13:01.840 --> 01:13:05.052
a lousy $100,000 that's missing from Ken."

1584
01:13:21.568 --> 01:13:26.782
[plane engines roaring]

1585
01:13:26.782 --> 01:13:30.661
[ship horn blaring]

1586
01:13:30.661 --> 01:13:32.204
OFFICER LEVASSEUR:
He lands in Vancouver,

1587
01:13:32.204 --> 01:13:36.959
but he doesn't do what we expect
and-and go to his residence and sleep.

1588
01:13:36.959 --> 01:13:40.003
He actually drives 90 miles inland,

1589
01:13:40.003 --> 01:13:42.923
and he attends to a bank there
that's under construction.

1590
01:13:43.841 --> 01:13:47.094
And we know this because he receives
a phone call from the London Boss.

1591
01:13:47.094 --> 01:13:52.140
The London Boss is very upset.
Very upset because the three guys

1592
01:13:52.140 --> 01:13:56.687
that he just flew
from Heathrow to Montreal,

1593
01:13:56.687 --> 01:13:59.022
he learned are now being deported.

1594
01:13:59.022 --> 01:14:03.068
♪ tense music playing ♪

1595
01:14:03.068 --> 01:14:03.902
[phone beeps]

1596
01:14:03.902 --> 01:14:04.987
[tape static]

1597
01:14:54.453 --> 01:14:56.413
- And now that call,

1598
01:14:56.955 --> 01:14:59.333
'cause now he's doing somethin' in Canada

1599
01:14:59.333 --> 01:15:01.919
and he's also doing something
like what we're trying to investigate.

1600
01:15:01.919 --> 01:15:03.003
- It's beautiful.

1601
01:15:03.003 --> 01:15:07.424
It's absolutely-- It was our crown jewel.

1602
01:15:07.424 --> 01:15:10.844
Here he was in a venting system

1603
01:15:10.844 --> 01:15:14.014
in the process of doing another bank.

1604
01:15:14.014 --> 01:15:16.266
And we wanted to catch him in the act,

1605
01:15:16.975 --> 01:15:20.687
and I found out exactly
where that cell phone tower was

1606
01:15:20.687 --> 01:15:22.147
and made a circle.

1607
01:15:22.147 --> 01:15:25.776
- And lo and behold,
here's this Scotiabank under construction.

1608
01:15:25.776 --> 01:15:26.818
OFFICER LEVASSEUR:
We were able to confirm

1609
01:15:26.818 --> 01:15:29.112
that there was a projected grand opening

1610
01:15:29.112 --> 01:15:31.198
about eight weeks down the road,

1611
01:15:31.198 --> 01:15:34.034
and everything fit that fit his MO.

1612
01:15:34.034 --> 01:15:36.870
- So we start formulating a plan
on how we're gonna take him down

1613
01:15:36.870 --> 01:15:38.288
and how we're gonna surveil him.

1614
01:15:38.288 --> 01:15:39.748
- It just cemented everything for us.

1615
01:15:48.131 --> 01:15:49.550
- There was lots of things
going on with Gerald.

1616
01:15:49.550 --> 01:15:52.052
I know he-he was talking about
how he couldn't sleep.

1617
01:15:52.052 --> 01:15:53.971
He was so anxious
and I'm sure he was worried

1618
01:15:53.971 --> 01:15:57.641
about, you know, the Boss,
who is really not this nice guy.

1619
01:15:57.641 --> 01:16:00.227
"But I'm pretty much,
now I'm entrenched with him.

1620
01:16:00.227 --> 01:16:01.728
Like, what do I do?"

1621
01:16:01.728 --> 01:16:04.022
And he must be thinking
in the back of his head that,

1622
01:16:04.022 --> 01:16:07.109
"The police may know more
and-and I'm on a short leash."

1623
01:16:07.109 --> 01:16:09.278
♪ tense suspenseful music playing ♪

1624
01:16:13.532 --> 01:16:14.950
[siren wailing]

1625
01:16:23.542 --> 01:16:26.170
- His, uh, future would've
looked very bleak

1626
01:16:26.170 --> 01:16:28.755
either paying a debt to the London Boss

1627
01:16:28.755 --> 01:16:31.258
with either his skin or money,

1628
01:16:31.258 --> 01:16:35.053
and/or worrying about,
uh, law enforcement.

1629
01:16:35.053 --> 01:16:37.931
- This was serious stuff,
and, and I think at that point in time

1630
01:16:37.931 --> 01:16:39.224
that's really scared him,

1631
01:16:39.975 --> 01:16:42.561
and, uh, it was way over his head.

1632
01:16:42.561 --> 01:16:44.521
♪

1633
01:16:48.358 --> 01:16:50.110
[siren wailing]

1634
01:16:50.110 --> 01:16:52.154
AUTOMATED VOICE [on recording]:
Thank you for calling Canada Police.

1635
01:16:52.154 --> 01:16:55.324
- Oh, I felt the pressure closing in,
and I felt the doors closing in,

1636
01:16:55.324 --> 01:16:58.744
being followed 24/7,
your phone acting strangely.

1637
01:16:59.494 --> 01:17:01.747
So you just basically, you're waiting

1638
01:17:01.747 --> 01:17:03.540
for an endless day for them to come.

1639
01:17:04.791 --> 01:17:06.668
- And we wanna take him down

1640
01:17:06.668 --> 01:17:09.505
inside the bank
in the process of breaking in.

1641
01:17:09.505 --> 01:17:11.548
But then we're blindsided
by this information

1642
01:17:11.548 --> 01:17:13.175
that comes in through his text messages.

1643
01:17:13.175 --> 01:17:15.677
He's now involved
in trafficking of firearms.

1644
01:17:15.677 --> 01:17:17.846
- Yeah, that's right.
We got blindsided a little bit.

1645
01:17:17.846 --> 01:17:20.098
We intercepted some more information,

1646
01:17:20.098 --> 01:17:25.729
and it, it was very clear that Danny
was middle-manning an arms deal.

1647
01:17:25.729 --> 01:17:28.524
♪

1648
01:17:28.524 --> 01:17:30.651
OFFICER MCCORMICK:
And the information continued to come in.

1649
01:17:30.651 --> 01:17:32.653
"When are you getting 'em?
When are they coming?"

1650
01:17:32.653 --> 01:17:36.740
And at some point in time
we even saw pictures of the AK-47s.

1651
01:17:36.740 --> 01:17:39.201
[projector whirring]

1652
01:17:39.201 --> 01:17:41.078
OFFICER MCCORMICK:
And we ended up having eventually

1653
01:17:41.078 --> 01:17:43.705
seeing that Blanchard
was buying ammunition.

1654
01:17:43.705 --> 01:17:45.999
- Well, when I started reaching out

1655
01:17:45.999 --> 01:17:48.377
to the so-called Boss from England,

1656
01:17:48.377 --> 01:17:51.630
I started branching out
into different types of crimes.

1657
01:17:51.630 --> 01:17:53.298
My motivation was greed.

1658
01:17:54.174 --> 01:17:56.760
Other people's motivations in the UK

1659
01:17:56.760 --> 01:17:59.972
were to help their own people
regarding a war,

1660
01:17:59.972 --> 01:18:01.598
which I had nothing to do with.

1661
01:18:01.598 --> 01:18:05.352
- He turned the tables on us
by being involved in this arms deal.

1662
01:18:05.352 --> 01:18:08.230
- So Larry and Mitch
thought this arms deal

1663
01:18:08.230 --> 01:18:10.899
was illegal, and it wasn't.

1664
01:18:10.899 --> 01:18:13.861
I was never charged
with shipping ammunition.

1665
01:18:13.861 --> 01:18:18.240
I was never charged
for possession of unregistered firearms.

1666
01:18:18.240 --> 01:18:20.868
- We couldn't take the chance
of those guns ending up

1667
01:18:20.868 --> 01:18:22.494
in the streets of Winnipeg.

1668
01:18:22.494 --> 01:18:24.454
What if people would've died from that?

1669
01:18:24.913 --> 01:18:27.124
DIRECTOR: They'd also said
that you had a rocket launcher?

1670
01:18:28.250 --> 01:18:30.794
- [chuckles] I have no comment.

1671
01:18:31.086 --> 01:18:32.045
[chuckles]

1672
01:18:32.880 --> 01:18:34.756
- We wanted to catch him in the act

1673
01:18:34.756 --> 01:18:37.259
the night before the, the grand opening.

1674
01:18:37.259 --> 01:18:39.761
- The plan was that we would wait

1675
01:18:40.387 --> 01:18:43.390
till Gerald drove to the bank,
got in the bank,

1676
01:18:43.390 --> 01:18:45.392
and then that we would arrest him,

1677
01:18:45.392 --> 01:18:48.520
which would be the-the-the signal

1678
01:18:48.520 --> 01:18:51.356
that everybody else would now
execute their search warrants

1679
01:18:51.356 --> 01:18:52.900
and arrest all their people.

1680
01:18:52.900 --> 01:18:56.069
And it would go simultaneously
so nobody could contact the other.

1681
01:18:56.069 --> 01:18:57.529
So at a certain time in the morning,

1682
01:18:57.529 --> 01:19:00.407
I can't remember if it was
5:30 Vancouver time or what it was,

1683
01:19:01.116 --> 01:19:03.410
it was obvious
that he wasn't driving to Chilliwack.

1684
01:19:03.410 --> 01:19:06.038
♪

1685
01:19:06.038 --> 01:19:08.916
BLANCHARD: I noticed
there was a lot more police presence

1686
01:19:08.916 --> 01:19:11.084
around that particular bank.

1687
01:19:11.084 --> 01:19:13.879
There was always an undercover car
sitting close by,

1688
01:19:13.879 --> 01:19:16.590
so I decided to not do anything.

1689
01:19:16.590 --> 01:19:18.759
OFFICER MCCORMICK: We found out later
that he actually was able to tap

1690
01:19:18.759 --> 01:19:22.596
into the bank surveillance cameras
at the bank

1691
01:19:22.596 --> 01:19:24.223
and saw somebody that looked like a cop.

1692
01:19:24.223 --> 01:19:25.432
♪

1693
01:19:25.432 --> 01:19:27.601
OFFICER LEVASSEUR:
So a decision was made at that point

1694
01:19:27.601 --> 01:19:29.102
that we would arrest him

1695
01:19:29.686 --> 01:19:32.648
on, uh, on the evidence that-that we had.

1696
01:19:32.648 --> 01:19:35.484
- The authorization was to go--
is to hit his place,

1697
01:19:36.652 --> 01:19:38.820
arrest everybody across Canada,

1698
01:19:38.820 --> 01:19:40.614
and do the search warrants
all at the same time.

1699
01:19:40.614 --> 01:19:41.573
Bang, bang, bang.

1700
01:19:41.573 --> 01:19:44.368
♪ House of the Rising Sun
by Chase Holfelder playing ♪

1701
01:19:44.368 --> 01:19:47.871
- ♪ There is a house ♪

1702
01:19:48.622 --> 01:19:51.416
♪ In New Orleans ♪

1703
01:19:52.626 --> 01:19:58.632
♪ They call the Rising Sun ♪

1704
01:20:00.843 --> 01:20:05.013
♪ And it's been the ruin ♪

1705
01:20:05.013 --> 01:20:09.059
♪ Of many a poor boy ♪

1706
01:20:09.059 --> 01:20:11.019
♪ And God ♪

1707
01:20:11.019 --> 01:20:13.105
♪ I know ♪

1708
01:20:13.105 --> 01:20:14.815
♪ I'm one ♪

1709
01:20:17.276 --> 01:20:19.570
♪ My mother... ♪

1710
01:20:19.570 --> 01:20:21.405
BLANCHARD:
The first time I met Larry and Mitch

1711
01:20:21.405 --> 01:20:24.783
was when the emergency task force

1712
01:20:24.783 --> 01:20:28.787
broke down my apartment door
and they pulled me outta bed,

1713
01:20:28.787 --> 01:20:30.664
stuck their knee in my neck.

1714
01:20:30.664 --> 01:20:33.208
And they were like,
"You're going back to Winnipeg with us."

1715
01:20:33.208 --> 01:20:34.543
And I was like, "For what?"

1716
01:20:34.543 --> 01:20:39.381
And they were like, "For theft
of the money from the CIBC Bank."

1717
01:20:39.381 --> 01:20:42.259
- ♪ ...gamblin' man ♪

1718
01:20:42.259 --> 01:20:48.140
♪ Down in New Orleans ♪

1719
01:20:48.140 --> 01:20:50.142
♪

1720
01:20:50.142 --> 01:20:52.352
[crickets chirping]

1721
01:20:54.730 --> 01:20:57.524
♪ solemn music playing ♪

1722
01:20:57.524 --> 01:20:59.276
- I had no clue that morning

1723
01:20:59.276 --> 01:21:03.614
that that was gonna be
a life changer for, for all of us.

1724
01:21:04.323 --> 01:21:06.909
And it was. When he called and said,

1725
01:21:07.659 --> 01:21:09.328
"Mom, I've been arrested."

1726
01:21:11.121 --> 01:21:12.456
I was terrified,

1727
01:21:13.916 --> 01:21:15.626
and I was desperate.

1728
01:21:15.626 --> 01:21:16.668
[shallow breaths]

1729
01:21:17.503 --> 01:21:21.882
It was difficult for me
to try and carry on life

1730
01:21:23.467 --> 01:21:27.971
as usual or as normal with him there.

1731
01:21:29.681 --> 01:21:30.682
Sorry.

1732
01:21:30.682 --> 01:21:34.353
♪

1733
01:21:34.353 --> 01:21:35.521
[heavy sigh]

1734
01:21:36.396 --> 01:21:38.273
[sniffles]

1735
01:21:39.191 --> 01:21:40.776
BLANCHARD:
The best sleep was the first night

1736
01:21:40.776 --> 01:21:42.986
in jail after I was arrested.

1737
01:21:42.986 --> 01:21:44.988
All the pressure and the stress of

1738
01:21:44.988 --> 01:21:48.116
playing cat and mouse was over.

1739
01:21:49.326 --> 01:21:51.453
- Sad, I find it very sad.

1740
01:21:51.453 --> 01:21:55.958
But on the other hand,
he lived the life that he chose,

1741
01:21:56.667 --> 01:21:59.711
uh, which many people
cannot do and never do do.

1742
01:21:59.711 --> 01:22:02.631
Um, he came across on his fantasies.

1743
01:22:02.631 --> 01:22:05.592
He actually realized them
in many, many ways,

1744
01:22:05.592 --> 01:22:07.177
which most people don't.

1745
01:22:07.177 --> 01:22:08.470
And who caught him?

1746
01:22:08.470 --> 01:22:10.722
A Walmart security guard.

1747
01:22:10.722 --> 01:22:12.474
[director laughs]
- That's what it comes down to.

1748
01:22:13.100 --> 01:22:15.727
One Walmart security guard.

1749
01:22:16.353 --> 01:22:17.479
BLANCHARD:
It's not true.

1750
01:22:17.479 --> 01:22:20.148
I feel like I'm very confident
at what I do,

1751
01:22:20.148 --> 01:22:22.568
and I knew they didn't
have any information

1752
01:22:22.568 --> 01:22:25.779
other than that might be the guy
who stole the money from the bank.

1753
01:22:26.780 --> 01:22:30.033
The police made it seem like, "Oh, it was
the license plate of the Walmart."

1754
01:22:30.617 --> 01:22:32.244
It wasn't. It was John Doe.

1755
01:22:33.871 --> 01:22:36.748
John Doe was actually the one
that went into the bank with me

1756
01:22:36.748 --> 01:22:38.417
to unload the ATM machines.

1757
01:22:38.417 --> 01:22:40.586
He went behind everyone's back
at that time,

1758
01:22:40.586 --> 01:22:42.004
and to make a deal with the police

1759
01:22:42.004 --> 01:22:45.174
to get off on his federal gun charges
in the States,

1760
01:22:45.174 --> 01:22:47.384
telling the police how the bank happened,

1761
01:22:48.010 --> 01:22:51.013
and that gave them
enough information to get warrants,

1762
01:22:51.013 --> 01:22:52.306
tap our phones.

1763
01:22:52.306 --> 01:22:56.101
But the police can't discuss that
because he's a confidential informant.

1764
01:22:56.101 --> 01:23:00.189
One day he'll have his day
in street court, we can call it.

1765
01:23:00.564 --> 01:23:02.024
[chuckles]

1766
01:23:02.441 --> 01:23:04.693
I think he'll be left
in a field somewhere.

1767
01:23:04.693 --> 01:23:06.528
♪ ominous sting ♪

1768
01:23:06.528 --> 01:23:08.030
[distant traffic noise]

1769
01:23:08.030 --> 01:23:10.741
SYBERG: My lawyer said it was
one of the most intense interrogations

1770
01:23:10.741 --> 01:23:12.034
that he had seen,

1771
01:23:12.034 --> 01:23:14.953
but they were willing to, like,
completely destroy my family's life

1772
01:23:14.953 --> 01:23:17.998
to get me to talk about... about Dan.

1773
01:23:18.790 --> 01:23:19.750
[phone line rings]

1774
01:23:19.750 --> 01:23:20.584
[phone line beeps]

1775
01:23:25.047 --> 01:23:26.715
♪ tense music playing ♪

1776
01:23:39.978 --> 01:23:41.146
AARON'S MOM: Well, I know, Aaron.

1777
01:23:42.523 --> 01:23:43.565
[tape clicks]

1778
01:23:44.191 --> 01:23:47.486
- I think it's Mitch,
the shorter one with the mustache.

1779
01:23:47.486 --> 01:23:50.489
He took me in the hallway and he said,
"Look, man, I wish you the best of luck."

1780
01:23:50.489 --> 01:23:53.450
He-he said to me, "You know, we really
thought that you were gonna be the one

1781
01:23:53.450 --> 01:23:56.119
"to-to crack and give us what we want,

1782
01:23:56.119 --> 01:23:58.664
but, uh, I guess you're not, you know?"

1783
01:23:59.206 --> 01:24:01.166
[siren wailing]

1784
01:24:14.429 --> 01:24:15.264
[Angela sighs]

1785
01:24:36.618 --> 01:24:39.288
- Well, I felt betrayal
when it came to Angela

1786
01:24:39.288 --> 01:24:41.373
cooperating with the police.

1787
01:24:41.373 --> 01:24:44.126
But you know what?
I'm a forgiveful type of person.

1788
01:24:44.126 --> 01:24:45.127
[chuckles]

1789
01:24:46.753 --> 01:24:51.008
And then once everybody was arrested,
when Angela James spilled the beans,

1790
01:24:51.425 --> 01:24:53.135
that was the nail in the coffin.

1791
01:24:53.552 --> 01:24:55.304
Had she kept her mouth shut,

1792
01:24:55.304 --> 01:24:58.682
I really don't think they would've
really had a case against any of us.

1793
01:24:59.349 --> 01:25:02.019
But it only took one leak-- one weak chain

1794
01:25:03.520 --> 01:25:06.940
in the link and it all crumbled.

1795
01:25:08.400 --> 01:25:10.861
[sobbing]

1796
01:25:23.165 --> 01:25:24.374
[Angela gasps]

1797
01:25:31.882 --> 01:25:37.554
♪ tense music playing ♪

1798
01:25:38.472 --> 01:25:42.893
- So Angie was scared after she cooperated
with the police and told them

1799
01:25:42.893 --> 01:25:45.771
that she feels
that she could be in danger.

1800
01:25:45.771 --> 01:25:49.650
And the reason why she felt that is
'cause she knows the type of person I am.

1801
01:25:49.650 --> 01:25:51.485
If somebody double crosses me,

1802
01:25:51.485 --> 01:25:53.904
I'll get them back one way or the other.

1803
01:25:53.904 --> 01:25:55.364
She said to the police,

1804
01:25:55.364 --> 01:25:58.325
"I saw Dan crawl into a mirror
in the middle of the night

1805
01:25:58.325 --> 01:26:00.369
"and come out with all this money

1806
01:26:00.369 --> 01:26:02.329
and all this electronic stuff."

1807
01:26:02.329 --> 01:26:04.998
So the police smashed all my mirrors
and all my drywalls

1808
01:26:04.998 --> 01:26:07.459
and found the safe room
hidden behind a mirror.

1809
01:26:07.459 --> 01:26:11.255
- But what we found was that he actually
had two hidden rooms.

1810
01:26:11.922 --> 01:26:14.842
OFFICER LEVASSEUR: The entry to it
was concealed behind a mirrored wall.

1811
01:26:14.842 --> 01:26:17.761
Uh, you know, there was
a pressure switch to-to get in there,

1812
01:26:17.761 --> 01:26:19.721
and it was full of evidence.

1813
01:26:20.514 --> 01:26:22.599
OFFICER MCCORMICK:
He kept records of everything he had done

1814
01:26:22.599 --> 01:26:23.684
and what he bought.

1815
01:26:23.684 --> 01:26:27.062
OFFICER LEVASSEUR: He had
literally thousands of physical keys.

1816
01:26:27.062 --> 01:26:30.399
MITCH MCCORMICK:
Video and memory sticks and phones, and--

1817
01:26:30.399 --> 01:26:33.068
OFFICER LEVASSEUR:
There was cash and lots of it.

1818
01:26:33.068 --> 01:26:35.612
He had the security guard uniforms.

1819
01:26:35.612 --> 01:26:38.031
OFFICER MCCORMICK:
All his ID, all his phony ID.

1820
01:26:38.031 --> 01:26:40.534
OFFICER LEVASSEUR:
Files on all the different aliases.

1821
01:26:40.534 --> 01:26:43.620
- We had cops driving a U-Haul van back

1822
01:26:43.620 --> 01:26:46.790
from Vancouver to Winnipeg
loaded with exhibits, right?

1823
01:26:46.790 --> 01:26:49.459
- But more importantly,
what the gem were was all his video.

1824
01:26:49.459 --> 01:26:51.336
He videotaped everything.

1825
01:26:51.336 --> 01:26:52.171
- 'Cause he-- [laughs]

1826
01:26:52.171 --> 01:26:55.215
He recorded everything
to his own detriment.

1827
01:26:55.215 --> 01:26:56.508
That's his downfall.

1828
01:26:57.426 --> 01:26:58.677
He kept everything.

1829
01:26:58.677 --> 01:27:00.554
- I picked the strongest charges,

1830
01:27:00.554 --> 01:27:05.267
the most undermining
in terms of his criminal organizations,

1831
01:27:05.267 --> 01:27:07.436
uh, the ones
that carried the greatest sanctions.

1832
01:27:07.436 --> 01:27:09.438
- He was going to be convicted,

1833
01:27:09.438 --> 01:27:13.108
and he was gonna be convicted
of a number of significant charges.

1834
01:27:13.108 --> 01:27:17.946
- The maximum sentence
on, on some of those charges--

1835
01:27:17.946 --> 01:27:19.364
- The phrase the judge used

1836
01:27:19.364 --> 01:27:22.534
is, uh, the total, uh, number of years
he could face.

1837
01:27:22.534 --> 01:27:24.119
- Life imprisonment.

1838
01:27:24.828 --> 01:27:26.705
- One hundred and sixty eight years.

1839
01:27:26.705 --> 01:27:28.207
[laughs]

1840
01:27:28.457 --> 01:27:30.542
[prisoners yelling indistinctly]

1841
01:27:31.710 --> 01:27:33.337
OFFICER MCCORMICK:
The first time I talked to Gerald,

1842
01:27:33.337 --> 01:27:35.923
it was in a, uh, interview office setting.

1843
01:27:35.923 --> 01:27:38.300
And you're thinking, "Well, this guy's
gonna have the weight of the world.

1844
01:27:38.300 --> 01:27:39.760
"He's, you know,
he's gonna go to jail a long time.

1845
01:27:39.760 --> 01:27:40.928
The police have--"

1846
01:27:40.928 --> 01:27:42.429
No, it was just kind of like,

1847
01:27:43.138 --> 01:27:46.058
kinda matter of fact
and-and feeling good about everything,

1848
01:27:46.517 --> 01:27:48.227
kinda jovial almost.

1849
01:27:48.227 --> 01:27:51.355
- We had amassed an incredible
amount of evidence against him

1850
01:27:51.355 --> 01:27:53.398
that came from various jurisdictions.

1851
01:27:53.398 --> 01:27:56.652
We had individuals
who were prepared to testify against him.

1852
01:27:56.652 --> 01:27:59.530
So we had a very, very strong case
against Mr. Blanchard,

1853
01:27:59.530 --> 01:28:00.739
and he knew it.

1854
01:28:00.739 --> 01:28:02.366
[inaudible dialogue]

1855
01:28:02.366 --> 01:28:04.076
GUNN:
Look, we've got troubles here,

1856
01:28:04.076 --> 01:28:07.454
so, you know, what is it that we have

1857
01:28:08.038 --> 01:28:11.250
that the prosecution
might be interested in?

1858
01:28:11.250 --> 01:28:13.210
And at that point he said,
"Well, you know,

1859
01:28:13.210 --> 01:28:16.713
what about full restitution
and, uh, a diamond that was stolen?"

1860
01:28:17.798 --> 01:28:20.926
Well, you know, I-- he hadn't
told me about that yet. [laughs]

1861
01:28:20.926 --> 01:28:24.179
- So we ended up going to, uh,
his grandma's house

1862
01:28:24.680 --> 01:28:27.432
where he said he had the, uh,
Sisi Star hidden.

1863
01:28:27.432 --> 01:28:31.103
♪ downbeat funk music playing ♪

1864
01:28:31.103 --> 01:28:34.189
GUNN:
I made sure that he understood

1865
01:28:34.189 --> 01:28:36.024
that if it wasn't there,

1866
01:28:36.024 --> 01:28:39.444
we were gonna have
a lot of trouble securing cooperation

1867
01:28:39.444 --> 01:28:41.154
from that point forward.

1868
01:28:41.154 --> 01:28:42.573
- Well, I didn't have
very much money, if any,

1869
01:28:42.573 --> 01:28:45.033
but I would've bet that he didn't have it.

1870
01:28:45.033 --> 01:28:48.745
You've gotta think that this guy
is notoriously an escape artist.

1871
01:28:48.745 --> 01:28:50.289
So, like, he was handcuffed.

1872
01:28:50.289 --> 01:28:51.832
There was one guy sittin' beside him

1873
01:28:51.832 --> 01:28:54.126
and-and, you know, two in the front

1874
01:28:54.126 --> 01:28:56.003
and he wasn't gettin' away.

1875
01:28:56.461 --> 01:28:58.422
[indistinct chatter]

1876
01:28:58.422 --> 01:28:59.256
BLANCHARD:
Hello, Grandma.

1877
01:28:59.256 --> 01:29:00.674
- There's something behind.

1878
01:29:00.674 --> 01:29:01.800
BLANCHARD:
This is my Grandma from--

1879
01:29:01.800 --> 01:29:04.011
OFFICER MCCORMICK: We knocked
on Grandma's door and we go in there.

1880
01:29:04.011 --> 01:29:07.723
But Gerald immediately goes to the far end
of the crawl space

1881
01:29:07.723 --> 01:29:10.434
and he starts pulling out the Styrofoam.

1882
01:29:11.018 --> 01:29:14.229
There was a cutout where something was.

1883
01:29:14.229 --> 01:29:16.690
Larry pulled that out
and there was that Sisi Star.

1884
01:29:16.690 --> 01:29:20.944
♪

1885
01:29:20.944 --> 01:29:24.823
- There was certainly a media release
that we had recovered this item,

1886
01:29:24.823 --> 01:29:27.576
and that sparked interest
all over the world.

1887
01:29:27.576 --> 01:29:30.245
♪ Strauss II's Blue Danube Waltz
resumes playing ♪

1888
01:29:30.245 --> 01:29:34.208
♪

1889
01:29:34.208 --> 01:29:36.668
OFFICER LEVASSEUR:
There was a theft of a royal crown jewel,

1890
01:29:36.668 --> 01:29:41.173
and it was recovered in Winnipeg
and we had it, right?

1891
01:29:42.174 --> 01:29:45.344
So it absolutely was, it was notorious.

1892
01:29:45.344 --> 01:29:46.678
♪

1893
01:29:46.678 --> 01:29:48.222
[inaudible dialogue]

1894
01:29:48.222 --> 01:29:49.890
♪

1895
01:29:49.890 --> 01:29:51.266
BLANCHARD:
Larry and Mitch were excited

1896
01:29:51.266 --> 01:29:54.561
because they never had
anything like this in their life.

1897
01:29:54.561 --> 01:29:57.064
So they wanted to let the media know that,

1898
01:29:57.064 --> 01:29:59.316
"Hey, here are these two cops
from Winnipeg

1899
01:29:59.316 --> 01:30:01.735
"that caught this
international jewel thief,

1900
01:30:01.735 --> 01:30:04.988
man of mystery, criminal genius,"
et cetera, et cetera.

1901
01:30:04.988 --> 01:30:09.034
And that's why there was so much
worldwide attention regarding my case.

1902
01:30:10.202 --> 01:30:13.247
- Look, normally when you do this job,

1903
01:30:13.247 --> 01:30:15.832
you don't want the press.

1904
01:30:15.832 --> 01:30:18.377
But if you imagine yourself
as this romantic figure

1905
01:30:18.377 --> 01:30:20.337
that I-I think he did,

1906
01:30:20.879 --> 01:30:22.840
that sense of-of being known

1907
01:30:23.465 --> 01:30:27.010
was very, uh, intoxicating for him.

1908
01:30:27.010 --> 01:30:29.680
♪

1909
01:30:29.680 --> 01:30:32.391
Now, he had this audience that was

1910
01:30:32.391 --> 01:30:36.186
aware of some of his capacity,

1911
01:30:36.186 --> 01:30:39.064
and, uh, he-he could not help himself,

1912
01:30:39.064 --> 01:30:41.984
but had to talk about everything.

1913
01:30:42.484 --> 01:30:44.862
Things that the police
didn't know anything about,

1914
01:30:44.862 --> 01:30:46.321
he was telling them about.

1915
01:30:46.321 --> 01:30:47.865
OFFICER MCCORMICK:
He told us all how he did it,

1916
01:30:47.865 --> 01:30:51.785
the planning,
what he used, why he did things.

1917
01:30:52.286 --> 01:30:54.371
- We still didn't know
about the covert cameras

1918
01:30:54.371 --> 01:30:55.455
or listening devices.

1919
01:30:56.039 --> 01:30:58.292
He explained where they were.

1920
01:30:58.792 --> 01:31:00.544
- You know, you talk to a guy
and he admits to it,

1921
01:31:00.544 --> 01:31:01.879
that-that's one thing.

1922
01:31:01.879 --> 01:31:03.881
But when he goes into the finite details

1923
01:31:03.881 --> 01:31:06.383
of all the preparation and that he did,

1924
01:31:07.009 --> 01:31:08.510
that's something you don't see.

1925
01:31:08.510 --> 01:31:11.680
[inaudible dialogue]

1926
01:31:11.680 --> 01:31:14.474
GUNN:
It's-it's all about that ego,

1927
01:31:14.474 --> 01:31:19.688
that desire to be known
as, uh, the best and most interesting.

1928
01:31:19.688 --> 01:31:22.983
And, uh, that he was a, a success,

1929
01:31:22.983 --> 01:31:27.279
and he wanted to be a success
that was recognized by the world.

1930
01:31:28.447 --> 01:31:30.449
- In the end I think I won

1931
01:31:30.449 --> 01:31:33.202
because it was my public persona

1932
01:31:33.202 --> 01:31:37.164
and my image that they created
that got me where I am today.

1933
01:31:38.415 --> 01:31:40.709
So when I was in prison,
I was a superstar.

1934
01:31:41.210 --> 01:31:42.044
[chuckles]

1935
01:31:42.044 --> 01:31:43.337
♪

1936
01:31:43.337 --> 01:31:45.464
REPORTER: He's been described
as a criminal mastermind,

1937
01:31:45.464 --> 01:31:46.840
an international jewel thief.

1938
01:31:46.840 --> 01:31:50.886
OFFICER LEVASSEUR:
There was this persona of Gerald Blanchard

1939
01:31:50.886 --> 01:31:54.348
being a mastermind thief.

1940
01:31:54.348 --> 01:31:56.808
And I think it really captured

1941
01:31:56.808 --> 01:32:00.521
the-the, the imagination
is because it was real.

1942
01:32:01.647 --> 01:32:03.106
It was real.

1943
01:32:03.106 --> 01:32:05.526
♪

1944
01:32:05.526 --> 01:32:07.945
LEINBURD:
I think also his ego is enormous.

1945
01:32:07.945 --> 01:32:11.031
And I think
satisfaction was given to that ego

1946
01:32:11.031 --> 01:32:12.407
and fueled that ego.

1947
01:32:12.407 --> 01:32:14.993
He knew that he was notorious.

1948
01:32:14.993 --> 01:32:16.703
And it's my understanding

1949
01:32:16.703 --> 01:32:19.623
that he tried to author a book about this.

1950
01:32:19.623 --> 01:32:23.460
He's more than happy
to contribute his name to, uh, films.

1951
01:32:23.460 --> 01:32:26.046
- Well, when Warner Brothers
did the option agreement,

1952
01:32:26.046 --> 01:32:28.340
Zac Efron, was supposed to play me.

1953
01:32:28.340 --> 01:32:31.093
But when that movie got shelved,
I was okay with it.

1954
01:32:32.261 --> 01:32:33.762
- Documentaries.

1955
01:32:33.762 --> 01:32:35.514
I mean, I think you can see that yourself.

1956
01:32:35.514 --> 01:32:39.893
He-he is very good at showing off
what he did and who he is.

1957
01:32:39.893 --> 01:32:41.854
♪ epic music plays ♪

1958
01:32:41.854 --> 01:32:45.524
You can rob five or six banks
and never become famous,

1959
01:32:45.524 --> 01:32:48.318
but do what Gerald Blanchard did,
and you're a star.

1960
01:32:48.944 --> 01:32:51.154
You'll be remembered,
you'll be documented,

1961
01:32:51.154 --> 01:32:54.992
you'll be filmed, you'll be
in every newspaper in the world as he was.

1962
01:32:55.993 --> 01:32:59.079
So, I mean, he got exactly what he wanted.

1963
01:32:59.079 --> 01:33:00.747
Notoriety, fame, and money.

1964
01:33:00.747 --> 01:33:02.875
♪ orchestral music playing ♪

1965
01:33:02.875 --> 01:33:08.005
♪

1966
01:33:08.005 --> 01:33:11.842
♪ gentle piano music playing ♪

1967
01:33:11.842 --> 01:33:17.264
♪

1968
01:33:42.080 --> 01:33:44.333
OFFICER MCCORMICK: You are curious
as to where he's gone from here.

1969
01:33:46.168 --> 01:33:48.086
I don't think he has the ability to stop.

1970
01:33:48.837 --> 01:33:52.508
If it's, if it's not, uh,
actively doing it,

1971
01:33:52.508 --> 01:33:57.179
he's tied into some organized
crime or something. You know?

1972
01:33:57.179 --> 01:33:59.431
It-it's not all legit. Can't be.

1973
01:34:00.098 --> 01:34:02.100
He just, he doesn't know anything else.

1974
01:34:02.643 --> 01:34:06.730
- He's never personally
taken anything from anybody

1975
01:34:06.730 --> 01:34:11.985
that he knows personally
or family members.

1976
01:34:11.985 --> 01:34:15.697
It's always been
more like corporate America.

1977
01:34:16.657 --> 01:34:20.452
And, yes, I'm gonna say banks
because his attitude,

1978
01:34:20.452 --> 01:34:22.120
and quite honestly, my attitude,

1979
01:34:22.120 --> 01:34:25.707
has always been
the banks are legal criminals

1980
01:34:25.707 --> 01:34:27.918
because they can do anything
they wanna do,

1981
01:34:28.502 --> 01:34:30.921
and they take money
from people all the time.

1982
01:34:30.921 --> 01:34:32.881
♪

1983
01:34:32.881 --> 01:34:34.174
OFFICER LEVASSEUR:
I mean, I don't have any proof

1984
01:34:34.174 --> 01:34:36.760
that he, that he is doing
anything criminal,

1985
01:34:36.760 --> 01:34:38.345
but I'd be very surprised

1986
01:34:38.345 --> 01:34:40.848
if he wasn't, if he wasn't.

1987
01:34:40.848 --> 01:34:43.016
I think that challenge,

1988
01:34:43.016 --> 01:34:48.272
that, that, uh, need to conquer,

1989
01:34:48.939 --> 01:34:51.358
uh, is probably still there.

1990
01:34:51.358 --> 01:34:56.864
- Well, my drive to fight
is similar to Dan stealing.

1991
01:34:56.864 --> 01:34:58.073
I'm a survivor.

1992
01:34:58.782 --> 01:35:02.035
And I'm very proud to say that's my boy.

1993
01:35:02.035 --> 01:35:05.873
♪

1994
01:35:05.873 --> 01:35:08.208
♪

1995
01:35:08.208 --> 01:35:11.211
LEINBURD:
In my experience, it's my belief

1996
01:35:11.211 --> 01:35:14.131
that reform has no place
in Gerald Blanchard's life.

1997
01:35:14.923 --> 01:35:17.176
I don't think he's reformed.

1998
01:35:17.176 --> 01:35:19.511
Um, I don't think he ever will reform.

1999
01:35:19.511 --> 01:35:25.475
I think he is the kind of man
who revels in this type of behavior.

2000
01:35:25.475 --> 01:35:27.144
And I don't think, frankly,

2001
01:35:27.144 --> 01:35:29.021
he could live
without this kind of behavior.

2002
01:35:29.021 --> 01:35:32.608
♪

2003
01:35:32.608 --> 01:35:34.902
BLANCHARD: And when all the cards
came falling down,

2004
01:35:34.902 --> 01:35:36.445
it was a sense of relief,

2005
01:35:37.029 --> 01:35:39.615
because I knew I would go do my jail time,

2006
01:35:39.615 --> 01:35:43.535
and then I would be free
someday to start over.

2007
01:35:43.535 --> 01:35:45.829
♪

2008
01:35:45.829 --> 01:35:46.872
[chuckles]

2009
01:35:46.872 --> 01:35:49.208
- ♪ Shining star for you to see ♪

2010
01:35:49.208 --> 01:35:51.168
♪ What your life can truly be ♪

2011
01:35:51.710 --> 01:35:57.341
♪ Dream Your Little Dream
by The Braun Brothers
featuring Lady Blackbird playing ♪

2012
01:36:16.902 --> 01:36:22.866
- ♪ Look into your future ♪

2013
01:36:26.537 --> 01:36:32.417
♪ You will see your past ♪

2014
01:36:36.046 --> 01:36:39.091
♪ Look into ♪

2015
01:36:39.091 --> 01:36:43.387
♪ The crystal ball ♪

2016
01:36:45.430 --> 01:36:50.936
♪ The light is dimming fast ♪

2017
01:36:54.022 --> 01:36:57.818
♪ Dream your little dream ♪

2018
01:36:58.819 --> 01:37:03.657
♪ Dream of starting over ♪

2019
01:37:03.657 --> 01:37:07.870
♪ Dream your little dream ♪

2020
01:37:08.370 --> 01:37:13.375
♪ Dream, dream ♪

2021
01:37:13.375 --> 01:37:16.461
♪ Dream ♪

2022
01:37:28.974 --> 01:37:31.852
♪ Look into ♪

2023
01:37:31.852 --> 01:37:34.813
♪ My hazel eyes ♪

2024
01:37:38.442 --> 01:37:43.405
♪ Dream with me if you dare ♪

2025
01:37:48.243 --> 01:37:51.079
♪ Hear the truth ♪

2026
01:37:51.079 --> 01:37:54.541
♪ It never lies ♪

2027
01:37:57.544 --> 01:38:01.924
♪ Follow me, I'll take you there ♪

2028
01:38:08.388 --> 01:38:12.601
♪ Dream your little dream ♪

2029
01:38:13.227 --> 01:38:18.023
♪ Dream of starting over ♪

2030
01:38:18.023 --> 01:38:22.069
♪ Dream your little dream ♪

2031
01:38:22.819 --> 01:38:27.866
♪ Dream, dream ♪

2032
01:38:27.866 --> 01:38:31.078
♪ Dream ♪

2033
01:38:31.078 --> 01:38:32.371
♪ vocalizing ♪

2034
01:38:32.371 --> 01:38:37.251
♪ Dream, dream ♪

2035
01:38:37.251 --> 01:38:41.380
♪ Dream ♪

2036
01:38:42.047 --> 01:38:47.010
♪ Dream, dream ♪

2037
01:38:47.010 --> 01:38:49.972
♪ Dream ♪

2038
01:38:49.972 --> 01:38:51.640
♪ vocalizing ♪

2039
01:38:51.640 --> 01:38:56.436
♪ Dream, dream ♪

2040
01:38:56.436 --> 01:38:59.940
♪ Dream ♪

2041
01:38:59.940 --> 01:39:01.233
♪ vocalizing ♪

2042
01:39:01.233 --> 01:39:05.612
♪ Dream of starting over ♪

2043
01:39:06.071 --> 01:39:10.784
♪ Dream
of starting over ♪

2044
01:39:10.784 --> 01:39:16.123
♪ Dream of starting over ♪

2045
01:39:16.123 --> 01:39:20.878
♪ Dream
of starting over ♪

2046
01:39:22.671 --> 01:39:26.967
- For sure my friends and family were
trying to steer me on the correct path,

2047
01:39:27.801 --> 01:39:29.970
but... and I say, "But,"

2048
01:39:30.596 --> 01:39:32.264
that doesn't pay the bills.