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 Forum index » Archive » Archive: The Art of the Heist » The Art of the Heist: General/Updates
[CASE INFO] Anastasia - "A Modest Proposal"
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Varin
I Have No Life


Joined: 02 Dec 2002
Posts: 2456
Location: South of where I used to be

[CASE INFO] Anastasia - "A Modest Proposal"

Trying to make sense of the mass quanity of data we've been given. Here's what I've gathered so far about the Anastasia case. Not sure if this will be helpful in the end, but here it is...

Backstory:

Quote:
1769 - The first edition of Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal" is published.

1936 - The book is stolen while on a train from Boston to Quebec.

Newspaper Clipping wrote:
Vermand convicted of murder, robbery

A Boston jury found Maxwell Vermand guilty of murder yesterday. According to several jurors, litle deliberation was needed. Every juror felt convinced of Vermand's guilt.

The crime took place nearly six months ago on an Easter Express train bound for Montreal, Canada. At around 8 p.m., Edward Tookson, a native of Toronto, was killed during the course of a robbery. Tookson, a book collector, was transporting a first edition copy of Jonathan Swift's A Modest Proposal. The book has not been recovered. Authorities are at a loss to explain the book's dissappearance.

The prosecution's case relied heavily on the testimony of an eye witness who saw Vermand on the train with the victim's briefcase.

Vermand was sentenced to life without parole.


November 2004, Vermand dies in prison.

Dec. 12, 2004, Last Resort Retrieval takes the case.

A tantalizing clue [was] found on the wall of Maxwell's prison cell. [the number 22]

Reconstruction of events proved time consuming. Finally a narrative was reached....

Edward Tookson took the book onboard the "Eastern Express" on June 8th, 1936 in his briefcase. Also on board, [was] the 19 year old petty criminal, Maxwell Vermand. Around 8pm Maxwell murdered Tookson while robbing him. Another passenger saw Maxwell flee carrying the bag. The witness told the train staff who alerted Canadian police. Maxwell was arrested when the train reached Quebec. Maxwell was sentenced to life in prison. The train was thoroughly searched, but the briefcase was never found. How did Maxwell get rid of the case? Tossed from the nonstop train? Given to an accomplice? Both unlikely... and how did the train contact the police? They must have made an unscheduled stop to phone ahead. A deposition was found that had never been entered into the records. The train had stopped... in St. Joaquin Canada. We flew to Canada to investigate. The number on the prison wall showed us exactly where to look... a specific train station locker.


January 13, 2005

Nisha's blog entry:
Quote:

Jan. 13.

I flew up to Toronto—though I wasn't so sure Ian was right—his reasoning was impeccable, as usual, and he'd busted his ass putting together a convincing narrative of what could have or must have happened on a train journey almost seventy years earlier—when the Swift first edition of 'A Modest Proposal' had been stolen but never recovered—even though the thief had been caught while still on the train. Ian said he was so sure that he could almost see exactly where it was.


January 15, 2005

Nisha's blog entry:
Quote:

Jan. 15.

Of course he was exactly right. I put my hand on the book—surely enough. The frigid weather had not been kind to this first edition.


Chat:
Quote:

11:19pm Jan 15, 2005

DJH4X: Your serious about this?

NishaLRR: Yes, Im not paying some huge bribe…
NishaLRR: To get this book across a border…..
NishaLRR: It's Canada for Christ's sake

DJH4X: Ya but they take this shit a lot more seriously now

NishaLRR: Bull, they say they take it more serious
NishaLRR: But they don't
NishaLRR: No one is going to see me

DJH4X: Well its your ass

NishaLRR: And our money, Im not going to lower our take….
NishaLRR: By paying half of it out on a bribe

DJH4X: We could just charge it to her

NishaLRR: Kinda hard to produce a receipt…
NishaLRR: Trust me, this is the easy solution

DJH4X: Easy till you get caught and sent to Guantomo

NishaLRR: Get me a way out of here
NishaLRR: Back woods preferred

DJH4X: Sure, first class or business?
DJH4X: Heh, ill figure something out

NishaLRR: Ok, bye

NishaLRR has logged off at 11:55 pm


January 17, 2005

Quote:
milford maine - car rental

Crossed US/Canadian border on snowmobile, rented car to complete travel to NYC


see documentation below (from the Nisha/Anastasia folder)

Alias used : Susan Starr
snow_rent.jpg
 Description   January 18th - snowmobile rental receipt
 Filesize   36.45KB
 Viewed   273 Time(s)

snow_rent.jpg

snow_cert.jpg
 Description   January 18th - snowmobile training certificate
 Filesize   44.19KB
 Viewed   301 Time(s)

snow_cert.jpg

millford_car_rental_recepit.jpg
 Description   January 17th - car rental receipt
 Filesize   159.47KB
 Viewed   298 Time(s)

millford_car_rental_recepit.jpg

Image_10.jpg
 Description   Retrieved Item
 Filesize   23.41KB
 Viewed   300 Time(s)

Image_10.jpg

_________________
"I still miss him to this day and probably always will." - Todd Keeler, Chasing the Wish

"meta meta meta, I made you out of play..." ~ j5


PostPosted: Sun Apr 03, 2005 11:19 am
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Varin
I Have No Life


Joined: 02 Dec 2002
Posts: 2456
Location: South of where I used to be

A more detailed telling of the Anastasia Case

Anastasia Dumond hires LRR to find a first edition of Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal" that was stolen from her murdered grandfather, Edward Tookson.

1769
First edition of Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal" is published.

June 8th, 1936

Edward Tookson takes the "Eastern Express" from Boston to Quebec. He carries the book in his briefcase. Maxwell Vermand, a 19-year-old petty criminal, is also on board.
8pm: Maxwell murders Tookson and is seen fleeing with the bag by another passenger.
The train stops in St. Joaquin, Canada, so that the train personnel can call ahead to the Canadian Police.
Maxwell is arrested in Quebec. (1 | 2)

Note: It doesn't look like this arrest record matches up at all. It really looks like March 8th, 1906. I'll believe that the 0 is a 3, but don't know what to do about the month. Also, some apparent bleed through of writing from the other side, which might be able to be reconstructed by someone more tech. savvy than me.
Vermand is tried and is convicted of the robbery and murder and sentenced to life in prison, but the book is not recovered.

November 2004

Maxwell Vermand dies in prison.

December 9, 2004

8:48am, Anastasia Dumond (sp?), Tookson's Granddaughter, leaves message for LRR about hiring them. She leaves her number: (212) 656-1320

December 12, 2004

LRR takes the case.

December 15th, 2004

1:47: Veronica Swinson calls from the Montréal Correctional Facility about seeing Vermand's prision cell. She requests a call back at the central office in Los Angeles: (213) 402-5333

Research on the Train timetables is done.

The clue "22" was found on wall of Maxwell's prison cell.

January 2nd, 2005

3:14pm: Call from Anastasia concerning progress of recovery.

Nisha gets a Walk-in. Woman wants her to find a film still stolen at a party.

January 3rd, 2005

Nisha solves this little side case.

January 13th, 2005

Nisha flies to Toronto, Canada.

January 14th, 2004

9:21am: Conversation between Ian and Customs Official. He wants double the agreed upon fee to pass Nisha through customs.
11:21am: Ian e-mails Nisha about Customs guy.
7:49pm: E-mail from Nisha. She's having trouble finding the location where the train station used to be.
9:48pm: Ian sends her a map from 1952.

January 15th, 2005

Nisha finds the book in locker 22 at the Saint Joaquin train station.
8:12am: Nisha doesn't want to make the increased payments to the official. Wants Ian to find her another way out.
11:19am: Nisha still doesn't want to pay the increased price and would still like Ian to come up with something else.
4:49pm Nisha still needs a way out of Canada and suggests a snowmobile.
4:53pm: Ian rents Nisha a Snowmobile in Saint-Just de Breteniers, creates a training certificate, and reserves a car for her in Milford, Maine. All of this is under the name Susan Starr.

January 16th, 2005

10:39pm: Nisha is back in the US.
1:58am: Nisha calls to report that she picked up the car in Milford and everything went fine. She's on her way home.

Other:
Contemporary picture of Boston Train Station.

This case took a bunch of research.

Thank you Dr.Jinx for compiling this information.
And thanks to Jamesi for letting me steal this from the wiki and copy it here
_________________
"I still miss him to this day and probably always will." - Todd Keeler, Chasing the Wish

"meta meta meta, I made you out of play..." ~ j5


PostPosted: Mon Apr 04, 2005 3:16 pm
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