FEB 16 CONFESSION IN SWEDEN'S CROWN JEWEL HEIST

FEB 16  CONFESSION IN SWEDEN'S CROWN JEWEL HEIST

Big news from Stockholm! Swedish broadcaster SVT reported Thursday that a 22 year-old male has confessed to the crime of century: The Crown Jewel Heist. Special prosecutor Isabelle Bjursten proudly announced that the defendant had boldly stated: "I am the one who committed the theft." Although he has yet to identify his accomplices, Isabelle is confident all three thieves will be brought to justice soon.

It's been six months since the brazen robbery occurred in Strangnas, a town of 30,000 people west of the capital. The small town is home to an eight-hundred year old cathedral which housed some of the Royal family's lesser-known treasures: Two jewel encrusted funeral crowns made for King Karl IX's funeral in 1611. Also displayed was a solid-gold orb for Queen Kristina's funeral a dozen years later. Although most of the Swedish family crown jewels are in the Royal Palace in Stockholm, a couple items are housed in other historically important places like Strangnas.

Anyhow, last August three men pulled of a heist that grabbed headlines worldwide. They simply walked into the cathedral, and calmly smashed the glass case. Naturally, the alarm sounded, but the slow priests on duty were no match for the young men who hurried outside. Waiting for them were three bikes. They tossed the crowns and orbs into the baskets and sped away to nearby Lake Malaren. Ditching the cycles on the shore, they bounded into an awaiting speedboat. It's nearly impossible to find one boat on Sweden's third largest lake. Frustrated local authorities turned to Interpol for help.

While this sounds like something out of the classic movie The Italian Job, it turned out to be a bit more like Dog Day Afternoon. See, it's really hard to sell an priceless artifact after it has been shown on the international news. Months passed, and the anxious crooks must have questioned why they stole the crown and orb in the first place. That's the only reason we can figure out why all three items were found in a trash can in an alley in a Stockholm suburb last week. Naturally, police saved the blood samples from the scene of the crime. (Glass is sharp!) and when they matched a suspect, the confession was sealed.

Bravo! It's always refreshing when the Good Guys win. However, we here at the DUNER BLOG would like to remind all readers who work at museums: Never let the lull of day-to-day, month-to-month, year-to-year monotony of your job get to you. Your important work requires you to guard priceless artifacts. Even in a remote place like Stragnas, Sweden, there will always be people dumb enough to think swiping and stealing are the key to success. So stay awake!