Original title
Masterminds
Released
7/16/2003
Origin country
CA
Genre
Documentary
Status
Ended
Number of seasons
4
Number of episodes
70
Masterminds was a true crime documentary television series produced in Canada with truTV. As of February 2011, the program is broadcast on History Television and Global TV in Canada and truTV in the United States. Each 30 minute episode features one true crime story. The profiled crimes generally involve large sums of cash or merchandise and, more important, extremely unique and/or elaborate methods of criminal operation which were never before seen by law enforcement agencies. With a few notable exceptions, most criminals profiled in this series were caught within a couple of years of committing their crime.
Masterminds tells real crime stories about amazing deceptions that brilliant criminals use to pull off seemingly impossible crimes. This new half-hour series combines the mystery of a "whodunit" with the thrill of a "howdunit," revealing the extraordinary world of elite bank robbers, escape artists, impersonators, kidnappers, murderers and frauds.
The story of master forger Mark Hoffmann, who created numerous falsified documents relating to the founding of the Mormon church, and fooled experts all over the world
Mark Hoffman fabricates more than 600 American historical documents.
Britain's largest heist in history netted the culprit $90 million in jewels, cash and drugs.
The criminal acts committed by Scott Scurlock, who robbed 19 Seattle banks between 1992 and 1996
A woman who managed to con over $185,000 out of the residents of Colorado Springs
Profile of America's most successful robber Amil Dinsio, who made history in 1972 when he raided the richest bank in the US
Profile of Brian O'Dea, who used his job as a fisherman to import marijuana into America during the 1980s, making himself $200million in the process
Two Americans discover the man who pulled off the biggest art fraud in U.K. history.
On New Years Eve 1972, Bobby Comfort and his gang pulled off the largest hotel safe heist in U.S. history. It happened at the Pierre Hotel in New York City. After rehearsing a number of scenarios and planning their getaway, Comfort and his gang swooped into the hotel at 4am on New Years Eve. After two and a half hours, they greeted the New Year with more than $10 million dollars in cash and jewels.
Profile of robber William Smarto who hid inside an Illinois bank until closing time and walked away with over $1,000,000 in loot
Fraternity brothers use computer trickery to scam the horse-racing world.
The criminals who won over $3million by forging winning horse racing tickets on the Breeders' Cup before being caught
How the FBI tracked down notorious robber Paddy Mitchell and his gang of thieves who were capable of carrying out heists within 90 seconds
Investigating the capture of Bill Dhaliwal and his gang of elite car thieves who were responsible for stealing high quality cars and selling them to unsuspecting buyers
Albert Spaggiari's robbery of the Societe Generale bank in Nice in 1976, in which he stole gold, cash and gems worth millions
They were the craftiest cat burglars of the 20th Century. For years, Peter Salerno and his partner Dominick Latella plagued the wealthy along the East Coast. In the summer, they struck homes in the ritzy suburbs of New York and Connecticut. When winter came, they trailed their prey to Palm Beach, . There, waterfront properties gave them a great advantage in avoiding police patrolling the roads by approaching their target homes by boat. Over the years they made millions pilfering from the elite of society. The heirs to multimillion dollar businesses such as DuPont, Macy's, Gimbles, the Vat 69 whiskey distillery and others were easy targets for the duo. Salerno and Latella were at the top of their game, and one of the keys to their success was a technique that other thieves would consider suicide. They broke in and carried out their robberies at a time when they knew security alarms would be inactive - while the families were at home having dinner.
An insight into the sophisticated gang of thieves, including a jeweller and a former detective, who stole more than $6million in cash and gems over a 10 year period
A profile of John Drewe, who was caught in 1997 for dealing in forged paintings that had fooled art experts across the world and earned him millions
A recreation of the Bre-X goldmine scam in Indonesia that swindled thousands of investors out of their life savings.
How Judy Amar baffled Florida police with a string of robberies in mansions that had strict security measures
An insight into the James Bond gang, a group of criminals from New York who used customised getaway vehicles in their heists during the 1980s
Investigating the 1986 theft of £30million of paintings from Russborough House, near Dublin, which was carried out by crime boss Martin Cahill
A prolific cat-burglar reveals how he scaled high-rises and made off with diamonds and jewelry.
The crime spree of Carl Gugasian, who organised more than 50 bank robberies - all carried out on Fridays - and evaded capture for 30 years
A gang wearing Halloween masks and overalls steals millions of dollars' worth of jewels.
A perfectionistic thief removes victims' silver spoon sets.
A charming rogue steals more than 2,000 ancient artifacts and re-sells them around the world.
A look at the crime spree of Tommy Lee Carmichael, who stole $2.5million from fruit machines in Las Vegas
Registered jeweler Tony Granims and team robbed jewelery stores and baffled the police.
Cocaine smuggling.
Police officer Jerry Clemente was the mastermind behind a bank heist.
A bank clerk steals over a million dollars from the bank he works at and leaves his wife and the state.
The story of how Jack McClean's crime spree earned him the unofficial title of 'superthief'
A profile of South African police chief Andre Stander, who decided on an unlikely change of career when he became a bank robber
An electronics dealer bilks suppliers, employees and government officials of millions of dollars.
An insight into criminal masterminds and ingenious plots, featuring the Brinks Mat robbery, the biggest heist in British history
An armored-car driver steals $19 million from a cash depot.
Aaron Rogers recruited childhood friends to help rob credit unions.
A train-robbery gang uses high-tech equipment.
Police and FBI agents trail the mastermind behind a car-theft ring.
Jonathon Tokeley-Parry illegally retrieved more than two thousand Egyptian artifacts and sold them around the world.
Gilber Galvan, a master of disguise, robbed over a hundred banks across Canada without leaving a clue as to his true identity.
Counterfeiter Steven Jory flooded the British market with fifty million pounds.
An air-freight delivery driver runs a multimillion-dollar air-cargo theft operation with connections around the globe.
Criminals manage to steal cash and lock guests inside a vault at a bank's Halloween party; an assortment of odd tools assist with bank robberies.
Uncover the crimes of Raymond Flynn, a sophisticated thief who selected his targets from the social register, a directory of America's wealthiest people
A slot machine thief who stole millions of dollars from Las Vegas casinos, overcoming the latest security technology
Carrie Lee Jenkins was the head of a team of thieves posing as maids.
Criminal mastermind Maurizio Percan, who ran a authoparts theft ring that made him $14million is just 3 years
A tunnel allows a thief to steal millions of dollars in cash and jewelry from a bank.
The case of David Brankle, a suburban family man who led a double life as a notorious robber, stealing millions of dollars in the course of 50 heists
The case of Jeffrey Manchester, who escaped from prison and hid for several months in a toy shop and started a new life by stealing stock
A New York clothing wholesaler uses his store as a front for one of the most successful burglary rings in American history.
Ely Sakhai a New York art dealer who sold multiple forged copies of famous painters' works.
How Roni Leibovitz committed 22 band robberies after he was cut out of his wealthy family's will
The story of Carrie Lee Jenkins, the beautiful mastermind behind a team of thieves, who stole over 5 million dollars
Clothing wholesaler Peter Cassese.
The obsession that led to Stephen Blumberg stealing $40million worth of rare books from libraries
Insight into James P Quinn's theft of $1.6million worth of jewellery in the Headley-Whitney Museum, Kentucky, revealing whether the police were able to catch him
Revealing how Paul Mathieson came to lead a band of burglars that travelled America, stealing over $10million worth of loot
The capture of fraudster Wayne Bray, who was responsible for the largest sporting memorabilia scam in American history
Thieves stole over five million dollars worth of sketches and books from the University of Transylvania's rare book collection.
Profiling Steven Krueger, whose ability to use rope ladders and grappling hooks to avoid shop alarms saw the papers dub him the 'Mission Impossible Thief'
The story of forger Wesley Weber, who, while still in his 20s, flooded the Canadian economy with $20million in counterfeit notes
The story of con-man El Sakhai, who made millions dealing in forged paintings in the Asian market
In July 1994, master thief James P. Quinn makes off with over $1.6 million in jewelry from the Headley-Whitney museum in Lexington, Ky.
Dr Gerald Barnes posed as a doctor and ran a Los Angeles clinic - but despite having certificates he never actually attended medical school
The attempted theft of a diamond worth £200million, which was being exhibited at the Millennium Dome
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