1 00:00:04,439 --> 00:00:06,441 - We get this name, Boris Kostov. 2 00:00:06,484 --> 00:00:09,052 He was the John Gotti of Stockholm. 3 00:00:10,227 --> 00:00:13,535 Boris allegedly had high value stolen art pieces 4 00:00:13,578 --> 00:00:15,058 that he was trying to unload. 5 00:00:17,017 --> 00:00:20,585 - A $35 million, 300 years old Rembrandt, 6 00:00:22,152 --> 00:00:23,849 stolen from their national museum. 7 00:00:23,893 --> 00:00:26,069 [police sirens] 8 00:00:26,113 --> 00:00:28,680 I'm going to play the role of an authenticator 9 00:00:30,073 --> 00:00:32,206 buying this painting for the Russian mob. 10 00:00:35,078 --> 00:00:36,819 - Boris was a ruthless bargainer, you know, 11 00:00:36,862 --> 00:00:38,995 from all his years of doing dope deals. 12 00:00:42,607 --> 00:00:44,044 - It's all about the Benjamins, you know. 13 00:00:44,087 --> 00:00:46,437 The money is all they were caring about. 14 00:00:48,700 --> 00:00:49,571 Something went wrong. 15 00:00:49,614 --> 00:00:51,442 Did I blow this case? 16 00:00:51,486 --> 00:00:54,141 [suspenseful music] 17 00:01:00,277 --> 00:01:01,322 [narrator]: In the FBI. 18 00:01:01,365 --> 00:01:03,106 We make a lot of headlines. 19 00:01:03,150 --> 00:01:04,977 [riveting music] 20 00:01:06,457 --> 00:01:09,417 Drug busts, mob stings. 21 00:01:10,548 --> 00:01:12,072 Terrorist takedowns. 22 00:01:12,115 --> 00:01:13,682 [people shouting] 23 00:01:13,725 --> 00:01:16,771 We understand why people want to tell stories about us. 24 00:01:16,815 --> 00:01:18,426 [director]: Mark it. - Freeze! 25 00:01:18,469 --> 00:01:19,557 - FBI! 26 00:01:19,601 --> 00:01:20,993 - FBI! [man in the background]: Action! 27 00:01:21,037 --> 00:01:22,646 [narrator]: But they don't know the half of it. 28 00:01:24,693 --> 00:01:25,520 What really goes down? 29 00:01:26,608 --> 00:01:29,045 We save that for each other 30 00:01:29,089 --> 00:01:31,134 When we're talking agent to agent. 31 00:01:34,311 --> 00:01:37,140 This is FBI. True. 32 00:01:45,714 --> 00:01:47,585 [Cindy Coppola]: So it's great having you guys here today. 33 00:01:47,628 --> 00:01:49,413 I appreciate you coming in. 34 00:01:49,457 --> 00:01:52,460 [narrator]: Cindy Coppola is a 23-year veteran of the FBI. 35 00:01:52,503 --> 00:01:55,419 She worked on cases that included organized crime 36 00:01:55,463 --> 00:01:59,031 and terrorism, and took part in multinational investigations 37 00:01:59,075 --> 00:02:00,903 into drug trafficking and money laundering. 38 00:02:00,946 --> 00:02:02,731 - How did you two meet? 39 00:02:03,166 --> 00:02:06,952 - Primarily we met on this Swedish museum case 40 00:02:06,996 --> 00:02:11,957 when Bob was a renowned art UC, and we had a case 41 00:02:12,001 --> 00:02:13,220 that dealt with stolen art. 42 00:02:13,698 --> 00:02:16,962 [narrator]: Special Agent Sean Sterle joined the FBI in 1998. 43 00:02:17,006 --> 00:02:21,837 Based in the la field office, he specialized in gangs and violent crimes. 44 00:02:22,228 --> 00:02:24,622 - What had happened in 2000, it was a heist, 45 00:02:24,666 --> 00:02:27,451 and three guys went into the Swedish National Museum. 46 00:02:27,495 --> 00:02:30,802 [narrator]: A renowned undercover agent, Bob Wittman 47 00:02:30,846 --> 00:02:34,154 helped recover over $300 millin worth of art and artifacts 48 00:02:34,197 --> 00:02:36,329 during two decades with the FB. 49 00:02:39,333 --> 00:02:41,465 - They went in and they put everybody on the floor. 50 00:02:41,509 --> 00:02:44,207 And they had guns, which is unusual, of course, 51 00:02:44,251 --> 00:02:45,948 for European criminals. 52 00:02:46,383 --> 00:02:48,603 And for the next few minutes, two of them ran around 53 00:02:48,646 --> 00:02:50,648 the museum and stole three paintings. 54 00:02:51,649 --> 00:02:54,609 [suspenseful music] 55 00:02:56,785 --> 00:02:59,656 They had used these Spanish riders which were basically 56 00:02:59,701 --> 00:03:03,183 tack strips to stop any police from responding. 57 00:03:03,226 --> 00:03:05,533 They had set off two cars on fire 58 00:03:07,448 --> 00:03:09,711 on the main roads leading to the end of the peninsula 59 00:03:09,754 --> 00:03:13,323 where they would have to get to in order to respond to the theft. 60 00:03:13,715 --> 00:03:15,107 Got away in a high-speed boat. 61 00:03:15,151 --> 00:03:18,459 [boat engine whirring] 62 00:03:19,503 --> 00:03:21,636 The whole thing happened in less than two minutes. 63 00:03:22,071 --> 00:03:23,377 So they went and stole all three paintings 64 00:03:23,420 --> 00:03:25,727 in less than two and a half minutes or so. 65 00:03:25,770 --> 00:03:27,119 Two by Renoir. 66 00:03:27,163 --> 00:03:29,078 One was called The Conversation. 67 00:03:32,647 --> 00:03:35,215 Another one was called the Young Parisian. 68 00:03:38,609 --> 00:03:41,656 And the third one, which is a Rembrandt, was a self-portrait 69 00:03:41,699 --> 00:03:44,746 from 1630, when Rembrandt was 24 years old. 70 00:03:50,317 --> 00:03:53,276 Renoirs were about $3.5 million a piece. 71 00:03:53,320 --> 00:03:55,409 The Rembrandt was about 35 million. 72 00:03:55,757 --> 00:03:58,238 The total value of that heist was $42 million. 73 00:03:58,281 --> 00:04:01,284 - Works of art by Rembrandt and Renoir have been stolen 74 00:04:01,328 --> 00:04:02,720 by armed robbers in Sweden. 75 00:04:02,764 --> 00:04:05,332 - Did the Swedish authorities ever catch anybody? 76 00:04:05,375 --> 00:04:08,073 - Yeah, they got one of the Renoir's back within a year. 77 00:04:10,946 --> 00:04:15,037 At the time, they arrested ten people and put them all on trial. 78 00:04:15,080 --> 00:04:17,952 Seven of them were convicted and received 79 00:04:17,995 --> 00:04:19,476 fairly long prison sentences. 80 00:04:19,519 --> 00:04:25,482 But the Young Parisian and the Rembrandt are still missing. 81 00:04:31,227 --> 00:04:35,318 - It was about August 2004, we had a task force officer 82 00:04:35,362 --> 00:04:37,451 who had an informant who said, 83 00:04:37,494 --> 00:04:39,279 there's a Eastern European guy named Boris. 84 00:04:42,194 --> 00:04:44,414 Here's his phone number and he's been selling 85 00:04:44,457 --> 00:04:47,461 kilos of coke, kilos of heroin and boats of ecstasy, 86 00:04:47,504 --> 00:04:50,768 and allegedly had high value stolen art pieces 87 00:04:50,812 --> 00:04:54,337 that he was trying to unload for, around $500,000. 88 00:04:54,381 --> 00:04:57,122 - Was he known to the FBI prior? - No. 89 00:04:57,166 --> 00:04:59,473 So we go back, go to ACS, you know, 90 00:04:59,516 --> 00:05:01,605 run up the number and we get this name, 91 00:05:01,649 --> 00:05:02,737 Boris Kostov... 92 00:05:05,130 --> 00:05:07,045 and run him in ACS. 93 00:05:07,089 --> 00:05:09,526 Boom, you know, like the computer almost blew up. 94 00:05:09,570 --> 00:05:13,791 So, you know, it's like FBI Tampa, FBI Chicago, 95 00:05:13,835 --> 00:05:16,446 FBI Seattle, FBI San Francisco. 96 00:05:16,490 --> 00:05:18,187 Which office didn't have a case on him? 97 00:05:18,230 --> 00:05:21,712 Primarily heroin, but all kinds of stuff besides that. 98 00:05:21,756 --> 00:05:26,587 Any kind of stolen jewelry, watches and also artwork. 99 00:05:26,630 --> 00:05:28,153 - So you know he's a known individual. 100 00:05:28,197 --> 00:05:30,242 - Right. - What were the first steps then? 101 00:05:30,286 --> 00:05:32,462 - We set up doing a lot of surveillance on his street. 102 00:05:35,552 --> 00:05:39,207 He lived on Winona Boulevard between Hollywood Boulevard 103 00:05:39,251 --> 00:05:41,210 and Sunset Boulevard in East Hollywood. 104 00:05:44,126 --> 00:05:45,997 There was lots of traffic in and out of his house. 105 00:05:46,041 --> 00:05:48,391 So it looked like it's just a lot of drug activity there. 106 00:05:48,435 --> 00:05:50,567 So we're getting to that point where it's like: "gosh", 107 00:05:50,611 --> 00:05:52,787 you know, we need to dirty up his line 108 00:05:52,830 --> 00:05:54,049 to get up on the phone, right? 109 00:05:54,092 --> 00:05:56,399 As luck would have it, one of his drug runners 110 00:05:56,443 --> 00:05:58,749 got caught up and was going to get deported. 111 00:05:58,793 --> 00:06:02,057 This guy that we've got, he doesn't want to get deported. 112 00:06:02,100 --> 00:06:05,190 He's willing to work with law enforcement. 113 00:06:05,234 --> 00:06:08,890 And we're like cha-ching, you know, like "oh, my God", 114 00:06:08,933 --> 00:06:10,500 here's our chance to get into him. 115 00:06:10,544 --> 00:06:13,329 So we get this guy and we're going to have him call Boris, 116 00:06:13,373 --> 00:06:16,288 you know talk about it on the line and set up 117 00:06:16,332 --> 00:06:18,421 a one kilo buy for $18,000. - Like a buy and bust? 118 00:06:18,465 --> 00:06:20,249 - No, we weren't going to do a buy and bust 119 00:06:20,292 --> 00:06:21,729 because we wanted to go up on the phone. 120 00:06:21,772 --> 00:06:23,165 So it's a buy-walk, right? 121 00:06:23,207 --> 00:06:24,601 So we're going to buy the dope, let it walk. 122 00:06:24,645 --> 00:06:27,169 Finally we're able to get the buy you know, 123 00:06:27,212 --> 00:06:29,127 test it out, almost 100% purity. 124 00:06:29,171 --> 00:06:33,871 And then his telephone, both his home and his cell were dirtied up. 125 00:06:33,915 --> 00:06:35,960 And we were able to go up on wiretaps on both. 126 00:06:40,704 --> 00:06:42,663 - When you go up on the wire. 127 00:06:42,706 --> 00:06:46,971 Were you guys looking for any other drug deals 128 00:06:47,015 --> 00:06:49,365 that he might be doing, or what else were you looking for? 129 00:06:49,409 --> 00:06:50,801 - Well, I mean, there was the rumor 130 00:06:50,845 --> 00:06:52,324 that there was that art, you know, the stolen art. 131 00:06:52,368 --> 00:06:55,980 So then on, on the wire, within the first couple of days 132 00:06:56,024 --> 00:06:59,419 he starts talking about something that he had from 133 00:06:59,462 --> 00:07:01,116 Sweden that he wanted to get out of his house. 134 00:07:01,159 --> 00:07:05,250 So we're thinking, okay, now Boris is talking about this art. 135 00:07:07,383 --> 00:07:09,690 He says on the line: "Hey, I'm going to move this thing out 136 00:07:09,733 --> 00:07:11,387 to Palm Springs tomorrow." 137 00:07:15,957 --> 00:07:17,741 And so, everybody's ears perked up. 138 00:07:17,785 --> 00:07:20,048 Early that morning, you know, we're out. 139 00:07:20,091 --> 00:07:21,310 Surveillance. 140 00:07:21,353 --> 00:07:23,181 You know, we got about, eight, nine people. 141 00:07:23,225 --> 00:07:25,488 Gary Bennett, my partner, Homeland Security, 142 00:07:25,532 --> 00:07:27,882 and the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department. 143 00:07:27,925 --> 00:07:30,667 Boris comes out early, looks up and down the street, 144 00:07:30,711 --> 00:07:32,974 typical drug dealer, looking for surveillance. 145 00:07:33,017 --> 00:07:37,892 Then comes out with a package about this, you know, yay big, 146 00:07:37,935 --> 00:07:41,548 maybe a little bit bigger than a phone book or whatnot, and takes off. 147 00:07:41,591 --> 00:07:43,332 We're figuring he's going to Palm Springs, right? 148 00:07:43,375 --> 00:07:45,856 But he's not, he's driving through Mid City LA. 149 00:07:48,772 --> 00:07:51,601 And then he goes and parks at a house, package in hands. 150 00:07:51,645 --> 00:07:53,690 Starts walking up the driveway. 151 00:07:53,734 --> 00:07:56,476 And so I went running up the sidewalk 152 00:07:56,519 --> 00:07:58,086 and everybody else is coming behind me. 153 00:07:58,129 --> 00:08:00,871 As he's knocking on the door and I grabbed him by the back 154 00:08:00,915 --> 00:08:02,917 and I'm like: "Come on Boris" you know, I turn him around, 155 00:08:02,960 --> 00:08:04,353 take the package away from him. 156 00:08:04,396 --> 00:08:07,269 They open up the package and there is a cable box. 157 00:08:08,749 --> 00:08:10,620 And of course, Boris being Boris, he's like: 158 00:08:10,664 --> 00:08:13,884 "wow, you really take stealing cable seriously, look at all you guys." 159 00:08:14,842 --> 00:08:16,844 My partner Gary gets his Leatherman out 160 00:08:16,887 --> 00:08:21,588 he's taken apart the thing hoping that maybe it's rolled up inside this cable box. 161 00:08:21,631 --> 00:08:22,806 Nothing. 162 00:08:22,850 --> 00:08:24,504 Boris is snickering laughing, you know, 163 00:08:25,330 --> 00:08:26,723 like "You've got nothing. You have nothing. 164 00:08:26,767 --> 00:08:28,332 Just let me go" - So at this point, 165 00:08:28,377 --> 00:08:32,076 how do you then convince him to talk to you? 166 00:08:32,120 --> 00:08:36,124 - Therein lies the one kilo buy 167 00:08:36,167 --> 00:08:37,691 walk that we had in our back pocket. 168 00:08:37,734 --> 00:08:40,693 So later that day we took him back to the FBI office, 169 00:08:40,736 --> 00:08:42,433 get him in an interview room, right? 170 00:08:42,477 --> 00:08:43,784 And he's still smug. 171 00:08:43,827 --> 00:08:46,395 And then we started breaking out the recordings 172 00:08:46,438 --> 00:08:48,571 of his drug deal where he sold our informant 173 00:08:48,615 --> 00:08:51,922 the kilo and it was like you could see 174 00:08:51,966 --> 00:08:53,620 the blood just drop out. 175 00:08:53,663 --> 00:08:57,667 I mean, he just went, like pale white and started pouring sweat. 176 00:08:57,711 --> 00:09:02,759 And with his criminal history he's looking at a minimum of 17 years. 177 00:09:02,803 --> 00:09:04,239 And he's like, okay, he goes: 178 00:09:04,282 --> 00:09:05,849 "I'll give you all kinds of dope dealers" and whatever. 179 00:09:05,893 --> 00:09:09,853 And I go okay: "let me see if the AUSA thinks that's enough." 180 00:09:09,897 --> 00:09:13,596 So I go back and talk to our AUSA and then she'd be like: 181 00:09:13,640 --> 00:09:15,685 "No, just, it's the painting or nothing. 182 00:09:15,729 --> 00:09:17,644 Or he can just... or he's going to do the time." 183 00:09:17,687 --> 00:09:20,821 And I come back: "Boris, they want something else. 184 00:09:20,864 --> 00:09:22,170 You know what it is." 185 00:09:22,213 --> 00:09:24,041 And he's like "what, what?" 186 00:09:24,085 --> 00:09:26,827 Three hours later, he's like: "You want the painting, don't you?" 187 00:09:26,870 --> 00:09:30,047 [laughing] And we're like: "cha-ching. Yeah, we want the painting." 188 00:09:30,091 --> 00:09:32,920 So he's like: "All right, come on, I'll take you." 189 00:09:32,963 --> 00:09:36,010 At that point we cuff him back up, put him back in the car, 190 00:09:36,053 --> 00:09:41,189 and he guides us to a rare coin shop in Studio City, California. 191 00:09:41,232 --> 00:09:43,887 And Boris goes with the owner in the safe, and he says: 192 00:09:43,931 --> 00:09:46,194 "Hey, I need my package that I've been storing there." 193 00:09:46,716 --> 00:09:48,762 - So, he doesn't go in and says: "give him my Renoir?" 194 00:09:48,805 --> 00:09:50,415 - No, no! [laughs] 195 00:09:50,459 --> 00:09:53,114 I need that Renoir now, yeah. 196 00:09:53,680 --> 00:09:56,290 It was wrapped up in, I don't know, six seven layers 197 00:09:56,334 --> 00:09:58,467 of blankets and there it was and all of a sudden, 198 00:09:58,510 --> 00:10:00,295 we were just like: "wow." 199 00:10:00,338 --> 00:10:06,518 You know, it was kind of just like a thought 200 00:10:06,562 --> 00:10:08,564 that there might be this stolen art. 201 00:10:08,608 --> 00:10:11,567 We had no idea that it was that we'd ever get it. 202 00:10:11,611 --> 00:10:13,264 But for you, being on a drug squad-- - Yeah. 203 00:10:13,308 --> 00:10:15,397 - And working in drug cases this had to be, like, shocking-- 204 00:10:15,440 --> 00:10:17,312 - It was crazy. - Like, what do I do with this? 205 00:10:17,355 --> 00:10:18,879 - Yeah, right. - Right. 206 00:10:18,922 --> 00:10:20,576 - I've booked lots of dope evidence and things like that, 207 00:10:20,620 --> 00:10:23,318 but it's like, how do I book something that's worth 208 00:10:23,361 --> 00:10:25,276 3,5 million dollars? 209 00:10:25,320 --> 00:10:29,672 It's like... When Boris decided he was going to come over 210 00:10:29,716 --> 00:10:32,762 and start cooperating, he goes: "I can get you the Rembrandt, 211 00:10:32,806 --> 00:10:33,981 but you have to take me to Europe. 212 00:10:34,024 --> 00:10:35,504 We're going to have to do it in Europe." 213 00:10:35,547 --> 00:10:36,940 - Who did he say it was with? 214 00:10:36,984 --> 00:10:38,594 - He said: "it's never left Sweden. 215 00:10:38,638 --> 00:10:42,163 And one of my sons would be able to get it." 216 00:10:42,206 --> 00:10:46,123 - Wow. So at this point, he's basically getting his son 217 00:10:46,167 --> 00:10:48,952 involved in this criminal-- - That was the big shocker 218 00:10:48,996 --> 00:10:52,086 when he said, you know: "yeah, my son Sasha Lindgren can get it 219 00:10:52,129 --> 00:10:55,959 from two brothers Dieya and Baha Kadhum", 220 00:10:56,003 --> 00:10:59,397 who were part of the Swedish National Museum heist. 221 00:10:59,789 --> 00:11:02,662 And Sasha doesn't know that it's an FBI set-up. 222 00:11:02,705 --> 00:11:06,317 - So, Bob is told you're going to do this undercover op-- 223 00:11:06,361 --> 00:11:07,579 - Well, I'm asked. 224 00:11:07,623 --> 00:11:09,146 [Sean]: You're asked! [laughing] 225 00:11:09,190 --> 00:11:11,061 - And I met with Sean and Gary, 226 00:11:11,105 --> 00:11:12,584 and they introduced me to Boris, 227 00:11:12,628 --> 00:11:14,891 and I guess we kind of hit it off, 228 00:11:14,935 --> 00:11:16,371 Boris and I did. 229 00:11:16,414 --> 00:11:18,590 And I was probably in my early 50, something like that. 230 00:11:18,634 --> 00:11:20,505 And Boris was a little bit older, 231 00:11:20,549 --> 00:11:22,203 so he kind of trusted me a little bit. 232 00:11:22,246 --> 00:11:23,421 I think, don't ya think? 233 00:11:23,465 --> 00:11:24,684 - Yeah, for sure. - I mean, he figured, 234 00:11:24,727 --> 00:11:26,381 "okay, this guy will work." 235 00:11:26,424 --> 00:11:28,557 - Right. - So, Bob, then, what was your cover story for this? 236 00:11:28,600 --> 00:11:31,168 - Yeah, so working with Boris, you know, he's Bulgarian. 237 00:11:31,212 --> 00:11:34,345 My cover story was I was working as an authenticator 238 00:11:34,389 --> 00:11:38,132 for the Russian mob to do the deal to make sure 239 00:11:38,175 --> 00:11:40,874 the payment occurred, and that the painting was real. 240 00:11:40,917 --> 00:11:44,399 And that was, you know, my story with the Kadhum brothers. 241 00:11:44,442 --> 00:11:46,749 [somber music] 242 00:11:48,577 --> 00:11:52,450 - So when you all did some negotiations over the phone 243 00:11:52,494 --> 00:11:55,671 trying to determine what the cost is going to be. 244 00:11:55,715 --> 00:11:57,499 How does that come about? 245 00:11:57,542 --> 00:12:01,633 Boris starts saying: "Hey, I've got a buyer for the Rembrandt", right? 246 00:12:01,677 --> 00:12:03,897 And of course, we're trying to get them to the US. 247 00:12:03,940 --> 00:12:07,596 It would be much easier, right, to bring the painting to the US. 248 00:12:07,639 --> 00:12:09,380 And they're like: "No, no, no, no, no. 249 00:12:09,424 --> 00:12:11,078 You guys come over to Europe." 250 00:12:38,975 --> 00:12:41,151 - If I was going to go buy a car, I'd bring Boris with me 251 00:12:41,195 --> 00:12:42,631 because that guy could haggle, man. 252 00:12:42,674 --> 00:12:45,415 I mean, he was brutal, he was a ruthless bargainer, 253 00:12:45,460 --> 00:12:48,376 you know, from all his years of doing dope deals, I think. 254 00:12:48,419 --> 00:12:52,206 So, because they wanted, like, over, $1,000,000 upfront. 255 00:12:52,249 --> 00:12:56,210 Next thing you know it's $250,000 upfront and 256 00:12:56,253 --> 00:12:59,256 "we'll give you the painting and then pay us $300,000 once 257 00:12:59,300 --> 00:13:01,781 you get back to the US with the Rembrandt." 258 00:13:01,824 --> 00:13:03,565 - So at that point we had a plan. 259 00:13:03,608 --> 00:13:07,569 - And then when you get the approval, you go over to Sweden. 260 00:13:07,612 --> 00:13:09,919 - Well, first, we go to Sweden, and we have a meeting 261 00:13:09,963 --> 00:13:15,142 with the prosecutors, national police, and local Stockholm city police. 262 00:13:15,185 --> 00:13:18,101 And they tell us, well: "you can't bring Boris because 263 00:13:18,145 --> 00:13:20,277 he's got an arrest warrant in Sweden". 264 00:13:20,321 --> 00:13:23,454 - Right before going to the US he had come from Sweden. 265 00:13:23,498 --> 00:13:25,239 He was their John Gotti.. 266 00:13:25,282 --> 00:13:26,936 - Of Sweden.. [Sean]: Yeah, of Sweden. 267 00:13:26,980 --> 00:13:29,156 - That made it difficult. - It sure did. 268 00:13:29,199 --> 00:13:30,853 There's no such thing as cooperating 269 00:13:30,897 --> 00:13:32,507 to work down your sentence. 270 00:13:32,550 --> 00:13:36,163 It was the minute you landed on Swedish soil, you were arrested. 271 00:13:36,206 --> 00:13:39,688 So we decided on Denmark, which, you know, our legat 272 00:13:39,731 --> 00:13:43,213 had a great relationship with their law enforcement people, which is huge, right? 273 00:13:46,651 --> 00:13:48,044 - So, Bob, tell me about that. 274 00:13:48,088 --> 00:13:53,093 You are in Copenhagen. - Gary and Sean are managing 275 00:13:53,136 --> 00:13:57,227 Boris and they have Boris make the call to Sasha-- 276 00:13:57,271 --> 00:13:58,838 - His son. [Sean and Bob]: Yeah. 277 00:13:58,881 --> 00:14:01,405 [suspenseful music] 278 00:14:02,624 --> 00:14:05,627 - ...to come down to start these negotiations. 279 00:14:05,670 --> 00:14:07,890 - So where's Boris's son, to your knowledge?. 280 00:14:07,934 --> 00:14:10,588 - Boris's son was in Stockholm. - Okay. 281 00:14:10,632 --> 00:14:12,721 - And, of course, Boris was with us in Copenhagen. 282 00:14:12,764 --> 00:14:14,941 It's about a five-hour train ride from Stockholm 283 00:14:14,984 --> 00:14:16,551 all the way down to Copenhagen. 284 00:14:16,594 --> 00:14:19,989 - Didn't Sasha bring someone with him that was unexpected? 285 00:14:20,033 --> 00:14:21,382 - That was the shocker, wasn't it? 286 00:14:21,425 --> 00:14:24,211 Sasha shows up and he's and he's got a little baby 287 00:14:24,254 --> 00:14:25,560 with him, a little child. 288 00:14:27,431 --> 00:14:29,564 And it was his daughter. - Yeah. 289 00:14:29,607 --> 00:14:32,393 So it's Boris's gran-- - It was Boris's granddaughter. 290 00:14:32,436 --> 00:14:34,874 It's the first time Boris is seeing his granddaughter. 291 00:14:34,917 --> 00:14:36,179 - Wow. - So there was a very, 292 00:14:36,223 --> 00:14:39,704 very touching moment where Boris gives her a hug 293 00:14:39,748 --> 00:14:41,489 and says I'm your grandfather. 294 00:14:41,532 --> 00:14:45,667 And it was really interesting to see this family dynamic 295 00:14:45,710 --> 00:14:47,103 in this situation. 296 00:14:47,147 --> 00:14:49,105 And I'm standing here thinking: "oh, my goodness. 297 00:14:49,149 --> 00:14:52,195 Here's the guy giving up his son and his granddaughter at the same time." 298 00:14:52,239 --> 00:14:55,807 But then again, his son's a criminal, alright. 299 00:14:55,851 --> 00:14:58,027 He's bringing her with him for cover. 300 00:14:58,071 --> 00:15:00,595 It's not just to introduce her to her grandfather. 301 00:15:00,638 --> 00:15:03,772 It's so that it looks good that father and daughter 302 00:15:03,815 --> 00:15:05,208 are traveling together on a train. 303 00:15:05,252 --> 00:15:07,167 - So how did that conversation go then? 304 00:15:07,210 --> 00:15:09,604 - Any undercover operation I did using art, 305 00:15:10,126 --> 00:15:12,433 it was always my first belief that it was real. 306 00:15:12,476 --> 00:15:14,261 I wasn't an agent. I wasn't a policeman. 307 00:15:14,304 --> 00:15:16,480 I'm buying this thing and I'm paying this much money. 308 00:15:16,524 --> 00:15:17,612 - Absolutely. 309 00:15:17,655 --> 00:15:18,961 - I was just doing what was natural. 310 00:15:19,005 --> 00:15:20,180 - Yeah. - We showed Sasha the money 311 00:15:20,223 --> 00:15:21,703 so he would know that we were for real. 312 00:15:21,746 --> 00:15:25,011 We just made sure that he knew that Boris was working 313 00:15:25,054 --> 00:15:27,970 for me with the Russian mob 314 00:15:28,014 --> 00:15:30,277 and that he wasn't in charge of money. I was. 315 00:15:30,320 --> 00:15:32,801 - They're worried that they're going to bring the painting 316 00:15:32,844 --> 00:15:35,282 and Boris is going to go stick them up, 317 00:15:35,325 --> 00:15:36,500 give me the painting and take off. 318 00:15:36,544 --> 00:15:38,415 No honor among thieves at this point. 319 00:15:38,459 --> 00:15:41,418 - And so we told, basically told them, you've seen the money. 320 00:15:41,462 --> 00:15:42,854 Now go home and get the painting. 321 00:15:42,898 --> 00:15:44,204 You know, it's time to do the deal. 322 00:15:44,247 --> 00:15:46,554 - Sasha calls Boris several days later and says: 323 00:15:46,597 --> 00:15:50,688 "okay, everybody's agreed in their little crook conclave 324 00:15:50,732 --> 00:15:52,821 there, you know, everybody's blessed, blessed off 325 00:15:52,864 --> 00:15:56,259 on the 250,000 upfront for this, you know, for the painting. 326 00:15:56,303 --> 00:15:58,566 And we're going to do it tomorrow." 327 00:15:59,001 --> 00:16:02,352 [rhythmic music] 328 00:16:05,138 --> 00:16:06,748 - We're staying at the Scandic Hotel 329 00:16:06,791 --> 00:16:10,317 and I had a room there we were using as the undercover room. 330 00:16:10,360 --> 00:16:11,622 - And we had the adjoining room. 331 00:16:11,666 --> 00:16:14,103 We had a closed, closed circuit TV, you know, 332 00:16:14,147 --> 00:16:17,150 real live feed with Bob's room. 333 00:16:20,675 --> 00:16:22,111 And we were in the next room. 334 00:16:22,155 --> 00:16:24,287 I was in there with members of the Danish SWAT team. 335 00:16:24,331 --> 00:16:26,463 - Yeah, we get a call and the call is from 336 00:16:26,507 --> 00:16:28,552 the Swedish National Police, and they said that they were 337 00:16:28,596 --> 00:16:30,685 watching the houses of the Kadhum Brothers, 338 00:16:30,728 --> 00:16:33,253 the two brothers that were involved, going back and forth. 339 00:16:33,296 --> 00:16:34,689 A lot of movement the night before. 340 00:16:34,732 --> 00:16:36,778 They said that three individuals were on their way 341 00:16:36,821 --> 00:16:38,388 back to Copenhagen on the train. 342 00:16:38,432 --> 00:16:41,739 Again, it was Sasha, Dieya and Baha Kadhum. 343 00:16:45,569 --> 00:16:47,267 They have a package they're carrying looks like 344 00:16:47,310 --> 00:16:49,051 the size of the painting. 345 00:16:49,399 --> 00:16:52,446 [enigmatic music] 346 00:16:58,887 --> 00:17:02,108 [riveting music] 347 00:17:04,196 --> 00:17:06,460 When these guys were coming towards the hotel 348 00:17:06,502 --> 00:17:09,984 from the train station I checked the SWAT team's 349 00:17:10,029 --> 00:17:12,031 key cards on my door. 350 00:17:12,074 --> 00:17:13,510 They didn't work. Did you know that? 351 00:17:13,554 --> 00:17:15,643 - You know what? I did not know that. 352 00:17:15,685 --> 00:17:17,688 That must have made you feel really confident. 353 00:17:17,732 --> 00:17:20,300 - So I ran downstairs-- - Scrambling... 354 00:17:20,343 --> 00:17:22,214 -...to get new key cards, and I ran back upstairs 355 00:17:22,258 --> 00:17:24,608 and gave it to the guy in the SWAT team. 356 00:17:24,652 --> 00:17:27,046 Said we ought to fix it at the last second, right? 357 00:17:27,089 --> 00:17:28,134 - Yeah. 358 00:17:28,176 --> 00:17:29,526 Can you imagine if that didn't work? 359 00:17:29,570 --> 00:17:34,357 [frantic music] 360 00:17:34,401 --> 00:17:36,011 - All three of them come to the hotel. 361 00:17:36,446 --> 00:17:39,754 At that point Boris and Baha Kadhum come up to my room. 362 00:17:45,281 --> 00:17:47,240 They come in and they want to see the money. 363 00:17:47,283 --> 00:17:49,633 And the first thing I'm going to do is frisk them, 364 00:17:49,677 --> 00:17:51,331 because I wanna make sure they don't have a weapon. 365 00:17:51,374 --> 00:17:53,768 Because what we're afraid of is that Baha Kadhum, 366 00:17:53,811 --> 00:17:56,814 he's seen the money and now he's going to be able to, 367 00:17:56,858 --> 00:17:57,772 you know, rob me. 368 00:18:02,603 --> 00:18:04,257 And I always tell my wife I want to come back 369 00:18:04,300 --> 00:18:05,867 with the same amount of holes I left with. 370 00:18:05,910 --> 00:18:07,695 That's a good idea, right, Sean? - That's always a good idea. 371 00:18:07,738 --> 00:18:11,481 - ...in any of these jobs. So anyway, we do that. There's no weapons. 372 00:18:11,525 --> 00:18:13,396 That's great. No knives or anything like that. 373 00:18:13,440 --> 00:18:14,876 So we bring in the money. 374 00:18:14,919 --> 00:18:17,096 We show them all the money, we put it out on the bed. 375 00:18:17,139 --> 00:18:18,271 $100 bills in piles. 376 00:18:18,314 --> 00:18:22,362 [stressful music] 377 00:18:23,972 --> 00:18:25,408 And he sits down on the bed. 378 00:18:25,452 --> 00:18:28,063 He's staring at every, every pile of money. 379 00:18:28,107 --> 00:18:31,110 [frantic music] 380 00:18:34,461 --> 00:18:36,115 And he goes through it all. 381 00:18:36,158 --> 00:18:37,812 Finally, he's convinced, he's happy. 382 00:18:39,683 --> 00:18:41,294 I said, You know, we have to get this done. 383 00:18:41,337 --> 00:18:43,296 The Russians are getting nervous. Let's go. 384 00:18:43,557 --> 00:18:45,602 So they said: "okay, we're going to go get the painting." 385 00:18:49,824 --> 00:18:52,131 I knew the guy was down on the corner, you know, 386 00:18:52,174 --> 00:18:54,176 the guy that had the package was staying outside 387 00:18:54,655 --> 00:18:56,831 and I knew that they were out there to go get him. 388 00:18:59,355 --> 00:19:01,270 And then I get a call and it's Sean. 389 00:19:01,314 --> 00:19:03,838 And Sean says something went wrong. 390 00:19:03,881 --> 00:19:04,795 - Oh no. 391 00:19:04,839 --> 00:19:05,840 - ...and they all ran away. 392 00:19:09,670 --> 00:19:11,193 He said: "do you think we should arrest them?" 393 00:19:11,237 --> 00:19:13,543 I said: "if they get on the train arrest them. 394 00:19:13,587 --> 00:19:16,633 But before that, see where they go, you know, see what happens." 395 00:19:16,677 --> 00:19:19,332 I'm sitting in the room and I'm going back and forth 396 00:19:19,375 --> 00:19:21,812 in that room, pacing, thinking, what could I have said wrong? 397 00:19:21,856 --> 00:19:23,466 What did I do wrong? 398 00:19:23,510 --> 00:19:26,817 Did I blow this case after all this work these guys went to? 399 00:19:26,861 --> 00:19:29,342 You know, it's just a terrible feeling, you know? 400 00:19:31,779 --> 00:19:34,173 When they came to the room, they didn't have the painting, 401 00:19:34,216 --> 00:19:35,652 so they have to go get it somewhere, Right? 402 00:19:35,696 --> 00:19:37,828 - And the guy supposedly outside has the painting, right? 403 00:19:37,872 --> 00:19:42,181 - That guy was just a decoy to make sure that nobody 404 00:19:42,224 --> 00:19:43,878 was surveilling them or law enforcement 405 00:19:43,921 --> 00:19:45,445 wasn't part of this thing. [Cindy]: Interesting. 406 00:19:48,535 --> 00:19:50,711 - Finally, they bring a different package 407 00:19:58,153 --> 00:20:00,851 and it's wrapped up in this velvet cloth. 408 00:20:04,507 --> 00:20:08,642 And it's tied so tight and I had nothing to open it with. 409 00:20:08,685 --> 00:20:12,080 [stressful music] 410 00:20:17,041 --> 00:20:21,176 It took me minutes and minutes to try to open this thing up. 411 00:20:21,220 --> 00:20:22,743 It was so tight with the knots. 412 00:20:22,786 --> 00:20:25,006 It seemed like three hours it took you to get that thing 413 00:20:25,049 --> 00:20:27,008 undone with the... - It took forever. 414 00:20:27,051 --> 00:20:29,010 ...the velvet that it was in, or whatever. 415 00:20:29,053 --> 00:20:34,233 It was like: "Come on, Bob, open it." It was torture. 416 00:20:38,237 --> 00:20:40,456 - But finally, when I got it open, you know, 417 00:20:40,500 --> 00:20:42,676 I pulled it apart and I looked at it, 418 00:20:42,719 --> 00:20:44,025 and it was the Rembrandt. 419 00:20:45,374 --> 00:20:48,943 [calm music] 420 00:20:48,986 --> 00:20:52,555 I mean, for a minute it was like, you know "Eureka". 421 00:20:52,947 --> 00:20:54,122 Your feet don't touch the ground. 422 00:20:54,165 --> 00:20:55,341 - It's stunning, right? 423 00:20:55,384 --> 00:20:57,647 - It's stunning. I mean, I felt like that 424 00:20:57,691 --> 00:20:58,822 when I had my children. 425 00:20:58,866 --> 00:21:02,348 A $35 million, 300 years old Rembrandt, 426 00:21:02,391 --> 00:21:04,263 you know, done by the master. 427 00:21:06,439 --> 00:21:09,616 [calm music] 428 00:21:10,878 --> 00:21:13,402 So I'm looking at it thinking, oh, my gosh, you know, 429 00:21:13,446 --> 00:21:15,186 what an amazing piece to have in your hands. 430 00:21:21,889 --> 00:21:24,935 The SWAT team code word on this was "this is a done deal". 431 00:21:24,979 --> 00:21:27,590 So I knew where the camera was and the microphone. 432 00:21:27,634 --> 00:21:30,506 I go to the microphone, silence... 433 00:21:36,033 --> 00:21:39,515 And when I said that these guys are going to come racing into the room, 434 00:21:39,559 --> 00:21:42,257 break the door down, save me, 435 00:21:42,301 --> 00:21:44,259 save the painting and save the day. 436 00:21:44,303 --> 00:21:45,695 [laughing] 437 00:21:45,739 --> 00:21:47,784 - We had a key for that room that he was doing it, 438 00:21:47,828 --> 00:21:50,178 and of course, it's like one of those, key fob things-- 439 00:21:50,221 --> 00:21:52,398 - Key fob... - And of course, it's like: "it's not working. 440 00:21:52,441 --> 00:21:54,443 It's not working." 441 00:21:54,487 --> 00:21:56,619 And then finally the door, you know, opens, 442 00:21:56,663 --> 00:21:58,099 you know, the lock unlocks and... 443 00:21:58,142 --> 00:22:00,710 - So at the point I ran out of the room and they all 444 00:22:00,754 --> 00:22:03,322 came in and they grabbed these guys, I ran out of the room 445 00:22:03,365 --> 00:22:04,192 with the painting. 446 00:22:04,235 --> 00:22:06,499 [indistinct conversation] 447 00:22:11,025 --> 00:22:12,940 Boris gets handcuffed. - A second time. 448 00:22:12,983 --> 00:22:13,854 - Yeah! 449 00:22:19,599 --> 00:22:21,905 This one's just for play though, you know? 450 00:22:24,995 --> 00:22:27,955 - So for his protection we had him arrested as well. 451 00:22:27,998 --> 00:22:30,392 Right. So get him back to the United States 452 00:22:30,436 --> 00:22:32,263 before they knew he was a cooperator. 453 00:22:40,097 --> 00:22:44,058 - And then within a year, the European courts overturned 454 00:22:44,101 --> 00:22:47,017 the conviction, saying that the use of the father, 455 00:22:47,061 --> 00:22:51,413 you know, Boris against his son was a civil rights violation. 456 00:22:51,457 --> 00:22:53,720 - Almost like more of a outrageous government conduct 457 00:22:53,763 --> 00:22:58,115 to actually use a blood relative to fool the crooks. 458 00:22:59,900 --> 00:23:01,902 - But what happened when Boris went to court in L.A.? 459 00:23:01,945 --> 00:23:04,861 - He had gotten the largest downward departure, meaning 460 00:23:04,905 --> 00:23:07,168 time knocked off, as you know, time knocked off his sentence 461 00:23:07,211 --> 00:23:10,737 of anyone in history of the Central District of California. 462 00:23:10,780 --> 00:23:12,042 - Central District, okay. 463 00:23:12,086 --> 00:23:15,481 - So he went from 17 years to about the week 464 00:23:15,524 --> 00:23:16,699 that he spent in jail. - Probation? 465 00:23:16,743 --> 00:23:18,832 - Yeah. - So, Bob, tell me why 466 00:23:18,875 --> 00:23:20,660 this type of case is important? 467 00:23:20,703 --> 00:23:23,271 The Rembrandt is an icon of Western civilization. 468 00:23:23,314 --> 00:23:26,492 [classical music] 469 00:23:31,801 --> 00:23:35,544 So it's our job as a culture to protect cultural heritage 470 00:23:35,588 --> 00:23:38,808 and protect these pieces for the future of the world. 471 00:23:45,336 --> 00:23:48,165 [piano music] 472 00:23:55,999 --> 00:23:58,828 Subtitling: difuze