The Pierre Hotel Heist - 704

about tonight? Well, in January of 1972, in front of a very prestigious hotel, a black limousine pulled up and a man got out and he went up to the security guard for the hotel.

It's a very prestigious hotel.

And he said, I'm a registered guest.

So of course, this guard checks to see if this person is a registered guest, confirms and unlocks the door for him.

And that's when a group of other men come up.

They're armed and they basically seize the hotel.

I know, this kind of sounds like Die Hard or something, but this is a very famous heist that happened in 1972 at the Pierre, and that's what we're talking about tonight.

Even the Guinness Book of World Records lists it as one of the largest, most successful hotel robberies in history, so...

It's a big deal.

And it all starts with a man named Robert or Bobby Comfort, who was a career criminal.

There's a book called The Man Who Robbed the Pierre by Ira Berko.

And Bobby Comfort was growing up at seven years old.

His mom got him to steal $20 from his father.

And by age 12, he was robbing department stores and mansions in Rochester, New York.

He was placed in a penal institution at age 13.

His father tried to get him to stop stealing and start cheating at card games and advised him to never admit anything to the cops, always deny everything, no matter what promises they make to you.

Wow.

Well, should we put that on a shirt? Yeah.

I mean, it's not bad advice.

Yeah, so this book that Justin mentioned, The Man Who Robbed a Pierre, it's an amazing source of information.

The author, Berko, he began working on it in 1978.

And by then, the statute of limitations had expired.

So Bobby Comfort couldn't be prosecuted for his criminal career.

So lots of good information that could be shared.

No. Bobby was released on parole in 1969, and he met his future partner in crime, Sesecho, or Samuel Nalo.

about tonight? Well, in January of 1972, in front of a very prestigious hotel, a black limousine pulled up and a man got out and he went up to the security guard for the hotel.

It's a very prestigious hotel.

And he said, I'm a registered guest.

So of course, this guard checks to see if this person is a registered guest, confirms and unlocks the door for him.

And that's when a group of other men come up.

They're armed and they basically seize the hotel.

I know, this kind of sounds like Die Hard or something, but this is a very famous heist that happened in 1972 at the Pierre, and that's what we're talking about tonight.

Even the Guinness Book of World Records lists it as one of the largest, most successful hotel robberies in history, so...

It's a big deal.

And it all starts with a man named Robert or Bobby Comfort, who was a career criminal.

There's a book called The Man Who Robbed the Pierre by Ira Berko.

And Bobby Comfort was growing up at seven years old.

His mom got him to steal $20 from his father.

And by age 12, he was robbing department stores and mansions in Rochester, New York.

He was placed in a penal institution at age 13.

His father tried to get him to stop stealing and start cheating at card games and advised him to never admit anything to the cops, always deny everything, no matter what promises they make to you.

Wow.

Well, should we put that on a shirt? Yeah.

I mean, it's not bad advice.

Yeah, so this book that Justin mentioned, The Man Who Robbed a Pierre, it's an amazing source of information.

The author, Berko, he began working on it in 1978.

And by then, the statute of limitations had expired.

So Bobby Comfort couldn't be prosecuted for his criminal career.

So lots of good information that could be shared.

No. Bobby was released on parole in 1969, and he met his future partner in crime, Sesecho, or Samuel Nalo.