Sunny
Warsaw, Reuters photo by Kacper Pempel:
Headline from nypost.com: “Here’s why the $30 million Los Angeles heist on Easter Sunday could go unsolved.” According to the article by Olivia Land, the bills are used, have no sequence. They were collected from stores. Wow. I have no knowledge of the greatest robberies of all-time, but this one seems to be one. Here are five unsolved heists listed among others at gosocial.com:
The Carlton Hotel Heist, France, 2013. Lone thief made off with an estimated $136 million in jewelry.
Great Train Robbery, UK, 1963. Majority of the £2.6 million (equivalent to approximately $61 million today) was never recovered. Several of the crooks were apprehended.
Banco Central Burglary, Brazil, 2005. 160 million Reals (approximately $70 million). Several arrests, but the bulk of the cash has not been recovered.
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Heist, USA, 1990. Boston, two guys dressed as cops walked away with approximately half a billion in art.
Antwerp Diamond Heist, Belgium, 2003. Hundreds of millions of dollars of ice, mastermind caught, only a fraction of the goods recovered.
RIP Jerry Grote, 81, stellar MLB catcher, favorite of Mets’ fans. Born in San Antonio, he played one season of college ball, then signed with the Colt 45s, who soon became the Astros. He had his first taste of the majors at the end of 1963. In ’65 he was traded to the Mets and became the starter next season. He was the starting NL catcher in the ’68 All-Star game. Then came the amazing ’69 miracle run. Grote guided the young pitching staff to excellence, his fielding percentage .991, caught-stealing rate 56.3%, second best in the league. He caught every inning in the post-season and contributed two key hits: a single to keep the game-winning rally alive in the ninth inning of Game Two of the World Series, and a lead-off double in the tenth inning of Game Four, as the Amazin’s toppled a great Orioles team in five. Grote caught every inning of the ’73 post-season as well, when the Mets extended the mighty A’s to seven games. He earned his second All-Star selection in ’74, then injuries began to mount. In August of ’77 he was traded to the Dodgers and was primarily a reserve. He appeared in the “77 and ’78 World Series, both lost to the Yankees. He retired at the end of the ‘78 season, then was lured back in ’81 by the Royals, for whom he hit .304 in 22 games before they released him. In all, he had 1092 hits, batted .252, slugged 39 homers. He did a little managing in the minors, dabbled in business and broadcasting, and played one season, ’89, in the Senior Professional Baseball Association. He is a member of the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame, the New York Mets Hall of Fame and the San Antonio Sports Hall of Fame. Married three times, he was a father of three. Although his personal conduct was disappointing, there’s no denying he was/is among the greatest defensive catchers of all-time. Photo from Google Images:
It will be a relief to not have the eclipse as a topic of conversation. The media’s tendency to overdo was even more ridiculous than usual. I was taking a nap at the time.
Finally, a perfect day for curbside business, barely a breeze, plenty of sunshine. My thanks to Gordie, who donated two hardcovers, and to Alice, who bought The Testament by John Grisham and L.A. Dead by Stuart Woods; and to Steve, poet laureate of Sheepshead Bay, who purchased an audio book of Gods of Guilt by Michael Connelly; and to the gentleman who took home a hardcover in Russian; and to the woman who overcompensated me for a book on Karate in that language.
My Amazon Author page: https://www.amazon.com/Vic-Fortezza/e/B002M4NLJE
FB: https://www.facebook.com/Vic-Fortezza-Author-118397641564801/?fref=ts
Read Vic’s Stories, free: http://fictionaut.com/users/vic-fortezza
