The guy said they would only hit jewellers that had made false insurance claims. This isn't for ethical reasons, or because it's right, it's because the ones who made false insurance claims wouldn't then make a second claim that the stuff was stolen, as they'd already reported it stolen, and they wouldn't afford to bring attention to themselves. They'd be more afraid of getting arrested for insurance fraud than getting robbed. Therefore robbing the place has less chance of (enthusiastic) involvement of the law.

NGL: This dude was pretty damn smart with his robberies. Not morally but financially by doing his best to not get caught. He actually did a solid job on that.

Insurance companies never get screwed. They are happy for costs to rise, so they can make their 15% above costs.

Insider is slowly teaching me how to become a successful criminal

For those of you wondering what happened to his father and brother for them to both die on the same day, apparently they died in a double suicide, or possible murder/suicide. I skimmed through his podcast so I didn't get all the deets but if you want more info it's S3E13

My spouse and I intentionally got an engagement ring with fake diamonds because we knew real diamonds are a ripoff, and we get more compliments on how good it looks anyway from people who don't know.

Out of all of this, I love how he couldn't get hired anywhere bc he was a felon...so he created his own certification to become a PT and recreated a more positive version of himself. This is a great story.

Man, I wish these were longer. They're so great.

I love to see people reformed and changed for the better after doing bad things. People like this guy who has grown and learned from his past. Sad about the father and brother though

I genuinely thought he would say “This is diamond thief support”

I can only speak to my jewelry experience in the U.S., but much of what he said about the gemstones themselves simply isn't true. If you are in a reputable business, the diamonds on display will be exactly what they claim to be. We even kept a diamond on display that was not for sale. We used it to show what you would find at a less reputable jewelry retailer. It was exactly 1ct, but was noticeably smaller than the other 1ct diamonds we had in stock. Why? Firstly, it did weigh out to exactly 1ct and it was S1 in clarity with a g color. On paper it's a very nice stone. The difference was the cut. the girdle was too thick, and the Pavillion was too deep. Because the cut was poor it made the diamond's table area, the flat area at the top of the diamond, much smaller. These are things we took into account when sourcing diamonds. We would order 3-5 of the same (or as close as possible) size and quality diamonds, pick the ones (if there were any) that met our required percentages for the cuts, and then did a clarity and color verification ourselves. I did get certified by the GIA to grade diamonds. He is correct in the statement that diamonds are not rare. Perfect diamonds are rare, even when they are man made. The probability of carbon turning to diamond instead of graphite is low, and even lower still is the probability that the resulting diamond's crystalline structure is free from imperfections or inclusions. Then he commented on Sapphire and Emerald being more rare than diamond. Emeralds, especially perfect emeralds are very rare. Sapphire is not. If he is referring to a perfect deep blue sapphire, then yes those are rare. Sapphires in general however, not at all rare. In fact, if you purchase a watch at over $600 the chances are very high that the crystal covering the watch face is sapphire. Personally if I was going to reference a stone as being much more rare than diamond, then I would have said Alexandrite. If you don't know about Alexandrite, please take some time to check it out. Right now it looks like quality Alexandrite is only available to be mined in 3 countries. If its so rare, how come I can find some for pretty cheap? If you are seeing inexpensive Alexandrite, then it's either lab created or is a brownish yellow color with little to no color shift, and that is undesirable. If you want a real challenge, find a perfect deep blue (almost purple) to green shifting Alexandrite at 2ct or larger. Yes the stone changes colors depending on the type of light it is reacting to. As a side note, if anyone ever tells you to buy jewelry as an investment or labels something as "investment quality," punch them in the face and leave because they are trying to screw you. Only ever buy jewelry because you love the piece and it will bring you joy. Jewelry is not an investment. maybe 1% of the time you will find a buyer willing to pay more for your piece than you did. It just does not happen. Also keep in mind that appraisals are retail value. You will never sell your piece to a retailer or wholesaler for that price. They will give you 30-45%, if you are lucky, of what the appraisal states your piece is worth. My apologies for the small novel.

I'm not sure how I feel about the dad telling his sons to drop their school, their futures, their education, their everything pretty much for a life of crime because of HIS own mistake. How do you give your whole life savings to someone you don't know, HOPING that a stranger is being truthful, especially when you have kids who are wanting to have a bright future? That's really, really bad on the dad's part. I feel for you Bryan, I really do. I'm sorry for what happened to your brother and your father.

Thanks for the tutorial! Very helpful!

"regret sucks man"I know the feeling, brother. Really interesting look into the criminal mind...gone straight. Bravo!.

Love to see this guy sit down with Larry Lawton, just to hear them compare notes would be epic

He seems to be a very smart and calculating person, learned this from his dad. A shame they went this path down, he could achieve something else with his time. Which he has now.

This should be a 90 mins Netflix special!

In fact, most security systems are designed to go off just bc the power goes out. It is an immediate trigger to the system that someone may be attempting to cut the power, so the signal sends just in case.

The thing at least that I’ve noticed working as an electrician when it comes to battery back ups for alarms, most people I find don’t maintain them so there’s been times where I have to shut the power off and 20 minutes in the alarm is complaining of no battery. Also I find that if you disguise yourself as someone who looks like they’re supposed to be doing some thing then you can get away with it so part of the crew in disguise themselves as a lineman or actually works as a lineman then shutting the power off and waiting about 30 minutes could probably work to disable the alarm. You would have to do something like pull the electric meter on small stick freestanding businesses or you would have to do something drastic like open up a set of switches on the poles the dumps in entire neighborhood

The rehab system sucks and stigma is pushing away more people like him that could actually turn into a new leaf, it's no wonder why criminals will mostly go back doing their crimes - because society and the system doesn't forgive them even if they can become good again

Glad to know that the uselessness of prisons is a global phenomenon - Pete from the cocaine trafficking video called prisons the "finishing schools of crime."

it's really cool that they had a rule to not hurt people tbh

Diamond heists occur when you least expect them to happen. The real experts have got what it takes to know the value of diamond and how it can be taken for granted by those who fall during desperate times.

Glad you're home man, stay safe

"regret sucks man" I know the feeling, brother

Absolutely the right guy for this kind of interview

Was in Denny's with my father over 20 years ago in West Palm Beach. Walked in and father said something about the backed in car in front of exit. A traveling jewelry salesman put his briefcase in a booth and went to the Salad Bar with his back to the booth. Three guys walked by grabbed the case, ran out and took off in the car. This Denny's was only a minute off I-95. Thinking this was probably inside job if car was backed in before the guy arrived.

I always wondered why there weren't more mugging and robberies of all the diamond brokers walking around the Diamond District in NYC.

This guy is incredible. So many details, just all over it, incredible to hear. I wish these guys put this much effort into a legitimate business, they would have been so successful.

Thanks for sharing a very personal story

Really interesting look into the criminal mind...gone straight. Bravo!. Thanks for the tutorial! Very helpful!.

I enjoyed this story, will buy his book to support.

he's so genuine ..

nice tutorial, I'll make sure to use it in my next diamond heist :)

Thank you for the lesson- I mean the awareness

Thank you for the tips my guy

On the flip side, diamonds are light and gold is heavy. You might be able to carry a sack of diamonds out the door without an issue. But a gallon sized piece of pure 24kt gold weighs 161 pounds. 161 pounds of gold is worth over $3 million so thats a very big payday if they have gallon sized chunks of pure gold lying around. Obviously jewelry isn't pure gold and there will be air pockets lowering its overall density but you get the point.

Thanks for the guide 👍🏻

this needs to be a movie.

I am a silversmith but my work is in making replica medieval renaissance pieces and I basically have retired. I can attest to the industry mark up of popular jewelry itens, not just stone but metal aswell. And even some of the more expensive jewelers do not actually make the piece. They can customize and order the style piece you want through certain precious metal and stone suppliers who offer a range of services. These pieces are made overseas with labour being far cheaper.

thanks i’ll keep all this in mind for next time

9 years ago, one of the biggest malls in my country had a gold jewellery shop robbed by a Latin gang during the linar new year. They flew 24h to come here lol. Since the shop is run by chinese, they had locked up all their jewellery in their safes in the back and went on their lunar new year holiday for 4 days. My family was in the mall at the time just walking around. It was a busy weekend night. Suddenly the electricity for the whole mall went out. Complete darkness except for the exit signs. Everyone obviously panicked and left the mall except the mall security who were asked to patrol the mall while lights were out. After 1 hour they managed to fix the power. When the staff for the gold shop came back after the 4 day holiday they found their safes broken into with a oxy torch. The robbers melted the doors lol. Immediately locked down the shop and cops came for the investigation. The robbers took the cctv recorder for the shop. They somehow deactivated the motion sensor alarms and also broke through the backdoor of the shop. They didnt even go through the front door cause they knew the guards were patrolling the mall so they used the back entrance to the shop. They found out it was the same gang that robbed another shop 2 years prior based on mall cctv but cops said they suspect it was an inside job based on how clean the robbery was. Maybe for insurance like this guy said.

This guy is pretty damn amazing. Real happy for him too.

Me and my boys appreciate the tips!

Really interesting look into the criminal mind...gone straight. Bravo!

Love this tutorial ☺️

Thanks for the tutorial

We need to introduce this man to our brother Larry Lawton! 💎

Another great tutorial ❤

His story can be made into a movie and the actor will be played by Howard from BCS

thanks for the tips :)

The easiest way to put a hammer through a glass is hit the corner. Less flex in glass, therefore less energy absorbed. But if you also use a center punch it will also concentrate the force. A sale is a sale even if it's to the insurance company.

Wow, what a life turnaround

Family, moral code, cars, estranged brothers......dude this is Fast and Furious!

Man times were so simple to do things back then

Every rehab I have been too had someone that worked there that was a recovering addict that was in prison

This is absolutely the craziest thing I've ever heard man.

I prefer glass to diamond... unless I need to cut or grind something..is it economically viable to use diamond to mine diamonds without enchants? Seeing as we can evaporate and construct diamonds, id like to see the demand drop.

He's not a gangster, he's just a businessman whose business happens to be crime

One minute he’s saying they’re robbing stores and the next the travelling salesmen. I’m surprised expensive stores didn’t require you to be buzzed in through double doors even years ago. It was certainly true even in the 80s here.

Good point about the markup on them

I have herd the so called “gem mafia” fixing the gem stone price around the world. Especially diamond… it’s just carbon and carbon are very common element….

really useful video, ill try this out one day.

Yall really placed monster lighting on this guy

A guy you actually want to hear share at meetings.

im Boston born and lived in nashua. this story is WILD to here. I know all these places

You should make a bank thief edition but using a guy from Boston. That would be awesome.

Would cops be able to subpoena the producers to get the names that were bleeped out? Or were these crimes committed so long ago that it wouldn’t matter?

As soon I heard the thing from the safe is so genius

Thanks for this video, it'll be really useful once I make a real heist with my mates

There is a book called The Blue Chip Store by Clay Tumey who turned himself in to prison after successfully robbing banks for years. It's an interesting book.

Bro how’d they get a insider on diamond heists 💀

this makes me want to watch the scene from HEAT again

Insider should put a crew together.

thanks for the tip today is my first heist

I’m not gonna sell this dude short, but man, I would have loved to have seen Larry Lawton explain this; still has an unbroken record for highest (in dollar amount) career take in the jewelry heist business.

This was a fascinating one. Now I’m intrigued to check out his podcast 😊

Wow What a story

Maybe somwhere down the line people hearing about the "used to dip in bleach" said around 11:30, have been confused for perhaps sulphuric acid actually being the agent used, as sulphuric acid doesn't react with gold, but it do react with say magnesium, aluminium, iron, zinc and more. (it breaks down metals basically and produce hydrogen gas), or maybe I'm wrong, who knows... (Anyone with a degree in chemistry I'd assume)

Very interesting... 😮

Finally, something useful in daily life!

I need a step by step real life walk through pls tell me exactly what to do for instructional purposes

He keeps talking about the markup and it makes me think that the probably THE most aggressive force to make jewelry robbery more difficult (laser engraving etc) is the diamond cartel and their distributors. In other words, it's less about losing profit from robberies and more about maintaining a monopoly on the industry, determining who can and can't sell. Obviously shoplifting/theft could be expensive, but I wonder how much it plays into it.

Woaaah. I live very close to Nashua. Interesting... I'm never prepared to hear that anything ever happens in New Hampshire.

0:45 Hank judged Walter for cooking meth but he was secretly a mastermind behind many diamond heists

Really interesting vid

I grew up in Chelsea myself..the city is just under 2 miles big,but had the highest murder rate in the country at one point

A mark up of 5-800% is utter bullocks especially since the internet has become widespread and you can compare diamonds very easily.

"my dad would just send people back and forth to the safe until the left it open" funny how many people don't actually do their jobs...

Nice Tutorial 😁

Has anyone watched the documentary 3000 miles to Graceland? All about bank robbery and fencing. The Elvis stuff is confusing, but Courtney Cox sort of narrates... I'm a bit fuzzy on that, but she's a great mom

im pretty sure the insurance companies are doing just fine lmao

Glad he there’s rules because not honor amongst thieves

they have wifi and cellphone jammers for alarms tho they can be tracked if leave them on too long highly illegal tho

2:35 seemed like that wasn't his final answer. I think he wanted that "call a friend", or at least the 50-50 help available

This seems like straight forward Boston Townie policy

People always talk about the drug business being shady , and i dont know if its a morocco thing , but in my over a decade of using drugs iv never been shafted by an actual drug dealer in my life

Great family.

My jewelry store got robbed out of 2.5 mil worth of jewelry and insurance only covered 10% of that...

Insurance companies never get screwed. They do not absorb the cost of robberies and burglaries, that is and always has been false. Insurance companies (all) including those that insure jewelry stores and those that insure backs ALWAYS pass the cost of the robberies and burglaries on to the customers who pay the premium. So for each robbery/burglary that happens there is an increase in the cost to YOU in the form of higher premiums, those companies sometimes spread the increases over time so you don't notice it, sometimes there is a sudden increase, it depends on what they feel that you will tolerate. But there is no such thing as a victimless crime, all crimes cast somebody something and all crimes that involve insurance (including all bank and jewelry store robberies to be clear) make you the victim because you are the customer that pays the increase in premium because the insurance company that you use had to pay out millions f dollars in robbery/burglary claims.