“Who hasn’t read a novel about a big art heist? This was a chance to be a part of a novel,” said former CTV Montreal reporter Bob Beneditti.
When he arrived, police were combing the premises for evidence, looking for any clues as to how 53 pieces of art and jewelry were stolen from the historic museum. “I can probably name a couple of novels where the thieves went in a skylight and went down the [rope], the whole thing was out straight out of a novel,” he said.
Back in 1972, rules for roaming reporters were ‘loose.’ In fact, Beneditti was able to walk right up to the ladder left behind by the thieves, and climb it to record a stand up. CTV has footage of the young intrepid reporter, getting unprecedented access to a piece of evidence, in the middle of a crime scene.
Police were stumped. “I don't remember them ever having a real suspect. You know, a lot of these cases, they used to have somebody they knew did it, but they just couldn't prove it,” said Benedetti. “But in this case, they had no idea. Perhaps that was because of the novelty of this kind of theft in Canada. There weren't professional art thieves roaming around.”