The Thief Who Stole Only Silver

A sterling true-crime tale by an author of "Freakonomics." View in browser | Update your preferences Annals of Crime The Silver Thief For one obsessive burglar, only sterling will do. By Stephen J. Dubner By the time his crimes were catalogued in The New Yorker, the master thief Blane Nordahl “was thought to have stolen at least ten million dollars’ worth of silver in more than fifteen states.” His victims included Ivana Trump, and the list likely would have included Steven Spielberg if not for a well-placed motion detector. Nordahl’s techniques had become so distinctive, and were so well known, that he could become the prime suspect in a robbery as soon as a detective read a description in the newspaper. In 2004, the year before the journalist Stephen J. Dubner co-published the best-selling book “Freakonomics,” he profiled Nordahl for the magazine, examining the sophistication of the thief’s methods and outlining his long game of cat and mouse with police. Nordahl’s father was a successful painter—collectors of his work included Michael Jackson and, notably, Spielberg—and the younger man had come to view his own livelihood in similar terms, as “both a profession and an art,” Dubner wrote. One of Nordahl’s signatures was to take a home’s silver but none of its other valuables. Law-enforcement officials theorized about his psychology with Dubner, as did the thief himself. But another interview subject took a somewhat less complicated view of Nordahl’s behavior. “He’s not a completely bad person,” his mother told the writer. “I think his big problem was intelligence and no common sense.” Read the story Also from the Archive Annals of Retail Stop, Thief! From 2008: The high-tech approach to catching shoplifters. By John Colapinto Daily Shouts Clues That You Are the Unorthodox Detective in a Murder Mystery From 2019: You have an iconic accessory that people associate with you. Your sidekick, if you have one, is a lovable doofus. By Ellis Rosen and Colin Stokes More from The New Yorker Profiles Eric Adams’s Administration of Bluster The Mayor of New York City tells a personal story that is compelling and often untruthful. With a thin list of accomplishments so far, can he address the city’s problems? By Ian Parker The Weekend Essay The Hidden Harms of CPR The brutal procedure can save lives, but only in particular cases. Why has it become a default treatment? By Sunita Puri Today’s newsletter was written by Nathan Burstein. Thanks for Reading. Let us know your thoughts about today’s edition. Plus, browse more newsletters and invite a friend to sign up for The Daily. You’re receiving this e-mail because you signed up for the New Yorker Classics newsletter. Manage your preferences | View our Privacy Policy | Unsubscribe The New Yorker may earn a portion of sales from the products and services that are purchased through links in our newsletters as part of our affiliate partnerships with retailers. Copyright © Condé Nast 2023. One World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007. All rights reserved.