Coin Heist: A Drama In Three Acts

The theft

The scene bore a strong resemblance to an old Peter Sellers movie. A lone guard answers a knock at the Fogg Art Museum door. The time: 12:30 a.m. Sunday. A man wearing a beige trench coat identifies himself as "Mr. Ryan," and says he was told to pick up a package left earlier in the day.

The guard, warned to expect "Mr. Ryan," unsuspectingly opens the door. "Ryan" pulls a gun, binds and gags the watchman, and lets in four other gunmen. The band proceeds to the third-floor coin room and rips off 5600 Greek and Roman coins, valued at up to $5 million.

The happy thieves then vacate the scene of the crime, and drive off with the loot in two cars.

Daniel Robbins, director of the Fogg, bemoans the heist of the silver, gold, and bronze coins. "This is an incalcuable loss to the study of art history and the ancient world," he says.

The chase

The chagrined guard unties himself and phones the Harvard police. The FBI immediately enters the case. The Cambridge police send over two detectives who helped crack the last coin theft at the Fogg. The thieves don't stand a chance.

On Monday, the FBI assigns almost one-fourth of its 156-man Boston staff to the heist. Cambridge police put together composite drawings of four thieves from descriptions provided by the guard, Charles Pearson, and by an unidentified woman.

The police start their search for the men with only a few leads: one thief is 5 ft. 10 in. tall, gray-haired, and slightly overweight. Another is 25-years-old and wore a brown cloth coat. Some of the gang live in the South Shore area.

The arrest

Four days of investigation finally pay off. Late Thursday night, Cambridge police arrest one suspect, Leonard J. Piazza, outside a store in Lynn. Piazza pleads innocent and is released after posting $10,000 bond.

Piazza's arrest brings the police no closer to the missing money. The police still hold a warrant for the arrest of an East Boston man. The search continues.