← Ongoing History of New Music
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- [00:00]
Alan
Hey, it's Alan and I just wanted to let you know that you can now listen to the ongoing history of new music, early and ad free on Amazon. Music included with Prime. Hey, it's Alan and I wanted to share a new crime show with you that I think you're really gonna love. It's called A Most Audacious Heist. A Most Audacious Heist is a gripping true crime story filled with all kinds of ambition and risk and obsession. As it follows the exploits of a 19th century empress and a 20th century thief. Their fates are intertwined by the same dazzling treasure, a perfect cluster of diamonds known as the Sisi Star. Empress Elizabeth of Austria loves her jewels and she uses them to defy the rules and carve out her own legacy of beauty and power. And the episode that I got for you today is the first in the series and it's hosted by Sarah Jones from the award winning podcast Black and Blue. In this episode, petty crook Daniel Blanchard spots the crown jewel as a tourist and becomes enamored by it. This is the challenge he's been waiting for. He plans to steal it in a high stakes, daring nighttime parachute jump. Yeah, parachute jump. He knows that if he gets his hands on the star, he will be launched into the criminal big leagues. His exploits unleash an international manhunt as determined police attempt to track him down. But somehow Daniel manages to elude them each time. But how long can CC Star stay lucky for Daniel? Listen to find out and then search for a most audacious heist. Wherever you're listening to right now.
- [01:43]
Seren Jones
It'S June 1998, long past midnight, and we're in the air. About a mile above Vienna, the Austrian capital. In a small plane, a slight man squats on the floor. There are no lights, just the red glow from the instruments in the cockpit. This is a clandestine mission to a world famous target. The man cannot risk being seen. His eyes dart back and forth towards the pilot. He's watching, waiting for the signal. Every one of his muscles is tense. He checks the straps on his parachute. All secure. The man leans forward and tugs the handle of the plane door. A roar of wind blasts through the plane and needles his eyes. He blinks, pulls down his goggles, lets his eyes adjust. Far below him, the sparse lights of the sleeping city glint softly like diamonds. The man hugs his knees. Is he on target for the drop zone? He can't be sure. He just knows that somewhere down there is something he wants very badly. He gets into position. This is the most daring and dangerous job he's ever done. If he pulls it off, his name will be etched into the history books. And if he gets this wrong, good thing. This guy is no quitter. He's ready. He hurls himself into the inky black void. Pummeled by crosswinds, he feels his past and future spiraling in free fall. And with the adrenaline pumping, he sees his name lit up in stars from Curious Cast and Blanchard House. I'm Seren Jones and this is a most audacious heist. Episode 1 Shoot for the Moon.
- [04:50]
Jennifer Bowers
You can see the scales here. Scales were extremely.
- [04:53]
Seren Jones
36 hours earlier and we're in the Schonbrunn palace in Vienna. Once upon a time, this was the summer residence of the Imperial Habsburg family, the most powerful family in Europe who ruled not only Austria, but huge swathes of the continent for six centuries with their incredible wealth and those unfortunate Habsburg jaws. But they're long gone. And these days the palace is just a museum, a magnet for tourists. We're following a couple of young newlyweds, honeymooners from Canada, on the European trip of a lifetime, ticking off every must see sight in the guidebook.
- [05:39]
Jennifer Bowers
So this was the common bedroom of Franz Josef and Elisabeth. Right after the wedding, this was refurbished very beautifully with silk wall hangings from Lyon in France.
- [05:50]
Seren Jones
It all starts with love, of course. Doesn't it always?
- [05:55]
Jennifer Bowers
And this is where the couple spent the first few years when they were still quite happy together.
- [06:02]
Seren Jones
Our honeymooners have taken double decker bus tours around London, gorged themselves on tapas in Barcelona, and they're bronzed from the beaches of the French Riviera. And now they're here in Austria, hand in hand as they tour the gilded halls of the Schoenbrunn palace, once the grand home of Emperor Franz Joseph and his wife, Empress Elizabeth, better known as Sisi.
- [06:30]
Jennifer Bowers
Now, if you look at the screen that covers the stove, you can see an awful lot of images when Sissi was young, when she was a bride. Not all of them, but for example.
- [06:41]
Seren Jones
The young women's loving this. She hangs on every word the guide says. But her husband, Daniel, quit yawning. Well, it's pretty clear that history's not really his thing. Daniel Blanchard is fresh faced, slender build. He's 26, but he could still pass for a teenager.
- [07:03]
Gordon Schumacher
He was very soft spoken.
- [07:05]
Seren Jones
That's Jennifer Bowers, Barney. She's a writer and journalist and one of the few people who's ever interviewed Daniel Blanchard. And once you get to know him, there's something about this guy.
- [07:18]
Gordon Schumacher
I describe him as a combination of, you know, James Bond, kind of with the swagger, but also a little bit of Rain man, if you remember that movie from back in the day.
- [07:32]
Seren Jones
When Jennifer asked Daniel what he remembered about his tour around the Viennese Royal Palace, Daniel admitted he'd kind of zoned out.
- [07:40]
Gordon Schumacher
So I asked him if, when he went to Austria, if he knew anything about Sissi, who Sissi was, and he said, nope, I knew absolutely nothing about who this person was.
- [07:54]
Seren Jones
He's just tagging along on autopilot. But then.
- [08:02]
Jennifer Bowers
This is the famous Sissy style. It's a ten point star star studded with diamonds. And at the very center, it has a little pearl. And if you turn round to the right, what I would like to mention.
- [08:16]
Seren Jones
To you still is the guide and Daniel's wife have already moved on to the next exhibit. But Daniel's frozen. He's just staring into the glass case, drinking in the beauty of the gems that nestle on top of the purple velvet cushion. The Sisi star, a glittering mega cluster of diamonds. The pearl of the Austrian crown jewels. And Daniel's head over heels in love with it.
- [08:51]
Gordon Schumacher
He didn't care who it belonged to, what the providence was, who had owned it. He just saw it and he said, I just knew I had to have it.
- [09:04]
Seren Jones
Later, Daniel and his wife visit the gift shop to buy some must have Cece souvenirs.
- [09:10]
Nick
Those notebooks are really cute.
- [09:11]
Gordon Schumacher
I love those.
- [09:13]
Seren Jones
Daniel's distracted. His head's already in the clouds. Daniel, should we get the mug or.
- [09:19]
Gordon Schumacher
Do you want the fridge magnets?
- [09:21]
Seren Jones
He only has eyes for the star. He just has to make a quick phone call. Daniel. Because he's made a decision.
- [09:30]
Gordon Schumacher
Are you even listening to me?
- [09:32]
Seren Jones
And he's wasting no time. Oh, that star. But Daniel's not the first to fall for those diamonds. Let's wind back 134 years to 1860. Because here, in the same room that Daniel visited, someone else is transfixed by that star. A tall, slender woman with long, glossy chestnut hair. Empress Sisi herself. She's almost exactly the same age as Daniel, just turning 27. And for her 27th birthday, her husband, Emperor Franz Joseph, the most powerful man in Europe, has given his enchanting wife the most bedazzling gift. Not just one star, but 27 of them. When Cece claps eyes on those glittering diamonds, it's love at first sight. Each Star is about 5cm across and has 10 points. They're studded with diamonds on gleaming white gold right down to their tips. They're so brilliant, they make Sisi blink. It's like beauty meeting beauty for the very first time. It's life changing.
- [11:10]
Dr. Tessa Dunlop
There's a magical alchemy to the combination of Sisi and the star. One needs the other. They are the perfect, almost fatal partnership.
- [11:20]
Seren Jones
That's historian Dr. Tessa Dunlop. She's basically an expert on all European royal dynasties. But Sisi, she says, was the crown jewel of the Austrian royal family.
- [11:35]
Dr. Tessa Dunlop
There was something rather otherworldly about her and these stars embodied that. There were lots of them and they moved and shone in the light. Of course they did, because they were often attached to her moving, beautiful hair. Scattered through it were stars.
- [11:52]
Seren Jones
The stars could be worn as brooches, as pendants, or arranged onto a tiara. But Sisi wanted them only in her hair, as if the night saw sky had rained its celestial light down on her.
- [12:06]
Dr. Tessa Dunlop
It was almost like she was the metaphor for heaven.
- [12:20]
Seren Jones
It's one of those same diamond studded stars that Cece wore in her hair that's got Daniel all giddy. That's quite literally swept the ground from under his feet. Because that guy jumping out of a plane over Vienna in the pitch black, that's Daniel Blanchard, who just the day before was being dragged around the Schoenbrunn Palace. Now, while his wife sleeps, oblivious in their honeymoon suite, he's skydiving over that same palace. Palace. And a jump like that, believe me, is not for the faint hearted.
- [12:59]
Nick
You hit terminal velocity after the first thousand feet at 120 miles per hour. So you're falling pretty quick.
- [13:04]
Seren Jones
That's Nick. And yes, he tends to speak at terminal velocity, too.
- [13:10]
Nick
The sensation is, I would call it high pressure.
- [13:14]
Seren Jones
I can't give you Nick's full name because he's a US Special operations veteran and he still works overseas in war zones. But let's just say that nighttime parachute jumps are his bread and butter.
- [13:29]
Nick
So it's very disorienting. More likely than not, you're going to start what is called a tumble. And that is sort of a ragdoll effect of your body being thrown around by these incredibly powerful winds. And you would be tumbling over yourself several times before you could stabilize.
- [13:42]
Seren Jones
The feeling is like being punched. It's violent.
- [13:47]
Nick
It is a very violent thing. It's something that you need to remain calm and get your body position right. It is a very exhilarating experience and incredibly dangerous.
- [13:56]
Seren Jones
Dangerous enough if you're a seasoned military professional like Nick. But if you're Daniel, time to tell you a little bit more about what Daniel does for a living. Actually, very few People understand how Daniel pays his way. In fact, even his wife isn't in the know because Daniel also does something a little bit secret, sort of undercover. Like Nick. Daniel's very skilled at getting in and out of places undetected. But he's not in the military. Daniel works for himself. He's a thief. And Daniel's only skydived a couple of times before for fun on vacation, never under these conditions.
- [14:47]
Nick
After free falling, you deploy your canopy. What you're supposed to do is look up and check for any tears. At nighttime, it's so dark, you might not be able to see very clearly, or you won't be able to see the details. And a very small tear can become a big tear in those last 3,000ft.
- [15:02]
Seren Jones
But Daniel's willing to risk everything for this chance, so he's just going for it. You see, he's sick of being a small time criminal. He wants his ticket to the big boys club. And if he can get his hands on the CC star, well, that'll take him to a whole new level. To the upper echelons of international jewel thieves. He's proving his worth to the world and to himself.
- [15:33]
Nick
Skydiving is very much the ultimate in what a human can do. Pushing the boundaries.
- [15:38]
Seren Jones
But first, Daniel's got to stick the landing, and that's going to be challenging.
- [15:44]
Nick
I have certainly missed several drop zones, especially at nighttime, but I have never tried to jump onto a building. It seems like a very foolhardy thing to do. It would take a skilled person to try it, or someone that doesn't fully understand their own limitations.
- [16:01]
Seren Jones
But that's just it. To Daniel, the only limitation is in the mind. Sweep away self doubt, and the possibilities are infinite. It's two months since Empress Sisi received her special stars, and today she's giving them their first public outing at her brother's wedding. The bride and groom make a lovely couple. Picture perfect. But the problem is no one's looking at the bride and groom. All eyes are elsewhere. Elsewhere, all eyes are on the sister of the groom, on Empress Sisi, who stands ethereal, with a galaxy of stars suspended in her hair.
- [16:59]
Dr. Tessa Dunlop
People went insane.
- [17:01]
Seren Jones
It's the first time Sisi has worn her stars in public. Royal historian Tessa Dunlop says she's a knockout.
- [17:09]
Dr. Tessa Dunlop
The people have never seen anyone having such an effect before. The stars in her hair, they're as big as a child's fist.
- [17:16]
Seren Jones
And Sisi does what one must never do at a wedding. She outshines the bride. Eclipses her totally and utterly.
- [17:28]
Dr. Tessa Dunlop
She is the Star.
- [17:29]
Seren Jones
But while she might feel a tiny bit sorry at having stolen the limelight from her new sister in law, Ceci largely feels delightful because she has a sort of divine revelation at this wedding. She realizes the stars give her something. A magic influence, power. When she wears those diamonds, people fawn over her, are in awe of her, and more to the point, they believe in her.
- [17:59]
Dr. Tessa Dunlop
Well done.
- [18:00]
Seren Jones
And quite suddenly, in the twinkling of 27 Star, Sisi believes in herself, too. From now on, she's no longer just an empress. She's a goddess. Hurtling through the darkness, Daniel can just about make out the Schoenbrunn palace below him. But he's falling fast, way too fast. Special ops veteran Nick wouldn't want to be in Daniel's position right now.
- [18:39]
Nick
A city like Vienna, there's power lines there, and if your parachute hits a power line, you're done. That's it, it's over.
- [18:47]
Seren Jones
Somehow, Daniel avoids electrocution, but he has no idea when he should flare or basically slow down the parachute to break his fall. The ground's getting closer. Maybe about now, he pulls the toggle.
- [19:06]
Nick
If you're nervous and it's at nighttime and you're doing a robbery, you might flare too early. And if you flare too early, you will find yourself suspended in air just above where you want it to be. And then you're kind of at the mercy of the winds and you could very easily be blown off that building. And now you have a whole, whole other set of problems.
- [19:24]
Seren Jones
Daniel flares too early. He lands on the palace roof all right, but he was aiming for a flat ledge. Instead, he's blown sideways onto the pitched roof. It's steeply sloped. It's also tiled, which makes it extremely slippery. And did we mention, at the end of the slope, there's a four story drop.
- [19:54]
Gordon Schumacher
When he did land, he slid toward the edge of the roof, but was able to stop himself. And he must have been very quiet to see, you know, did anybody see me? Am I good?
- [20:10]
Seren Jones
He holds his breath. Then, steadying himself against one of the huge stone urns that flank the roof, he gingerly peeps over the edge. The sweeping gravel driveway lies empty. The manicured grounds are 500 acres of inky stillness.
- [20:35]
Gordon Schumacher
There were no sirens and nobody came yelling and screaming, so he realized that he had made it.
- [20:46]
Seren Jones
Stuffing his parachute into his bag, Daniel slowly begins to edge his way along the roof's railings. There are over 1400 rooms in this palace, but Daniel's interested in only one. When he's sure he's above it, he swings his leg over the edge and eases himself over the side. He shimmies down the stonework, legs gripping the column, while his feet search for the ledge under the window. Not just a window, actually. The window. The window of Empress Elizabeth's sitting room, where Daniel knows the CC star is sitting in a glass case, waiting for him. Ever so gently, inch by inch, he prizes open the window.
- [21:41]
Alan
This guy, he was a wallsy guy. He would be able to go and do things that other people would be nervous to do.
- [21:48]
Seren Jones
I'll introduce you properly to Gordon Schumacher later on. Right now, you just need to know that Gordon has never met anyone quite like Daniel before.
- [21:58]
Alan
This guy was just like a James Bond.
- [22:02]
Seren Jones
Daniel sweeps one final glance over the vast grounds of the palace. Then, in true 007 style, he swings his legs over the windowsill and jumps.
- [22:15]
Gordon Schumacher
The adrenaline had to be off the charts, and I'm sure at that point, his heart must have been beating out of his chest.
- [22:35]
Seren Jones
1864. And at the Schoenbrunn palace, you'd be well advised not to enter Empress Elizabeth's dressing room. Inside, everyone's tense because Sisi's having her hair styled. And when it comes to her hair, word in the palace is that Sisi's a bit of a princess.
- [22:58]
Jennifer Bowers
Elizabeth was very difficult because she was so fussy about her hair. She was furious when hair was combed out.
- [23:07]
Seren Jones
According to Austrian historian Regina Neuhauser, Sisi's hair means everything to her. It's the first thing anyone notices about her. Untied, it reaches down to her ankles. It's literally her crowning glory. So woe betide her maids if they don't quite get the look she's going for.
- [23:29]
Jennifer Bowers
And it happened that she threw brushes or combs at the hairdresser, because once.
- [23:37]
Seren Jones
Cece has seen her chestnut tresses gleaming with those stars scattered through them, she's spoiled. She just can't accept anything less.
- [23:48]
Jennifer Bowers
She spent at least two hours at the dressing table every day to get her hair done. At least two hours. She said, I'm a slave to my hair.
- [23:56]
Seren Jones
She's more than vain. She's obsessed.
- [24:01]
Jennifer Bowers
She had some signature coiffures or hairdos that were very difficult to copy. She wanted to accentuate, underline her natural, pristine beauty, her magnificent hair.
- [24:17]
Seren Jones
So imagine the preparations when it's time to have her official imperial portrait painted. The Emperor invites the famous artist Franz Xaver Winterhalter to the palace, and Sisi agrees to sit for him. Of course, she insists on wearing his signature jewels so Empress Sisi is immortalized in a life size portrait. She's dressed in a white satin gown, itself peppered with silver stars that shimmer under a layer of stiffened silk. Even her moon white shoulders gleam and her glorious dark hair hangs heavy down her back. Intricately braided and lit by 27 diamond stars. The Empress looks out from the canvas with a satisfied Mona Lisa smile.
- [25:13]
Jennifer Bowers
The stars, the diamonds, the way they shine, that just make her shine even more. It's part of the heavenly sphere in a way.
- [25:24]
Seren Jones
The picture's reproduced and that star studded image is sent all over the world. And pretty soon, she's gone viral. Cece becomes a star herself.
- [25:37]
Jennifer Bowers
This is what appealed to her. It's this fantastic fantasy that she weaved around it.
- [25:46]
Seren Jones
An influencer, an icon, a fairy queen. The diamond standard against which all, all beautiful women now measure themselves.
- [25:58]
Dr. Tessa Dunlop
She was the star of her time.
- [26:01]
Seren Jones
But being the benchmark of beauty comes at a price. Cece has to live up to her legend. She has to stay as perfect as her picture. And as any influencer will tell you, over time, that gets harder and harder. Historian Tessa Dunlop thinks Cece's fame imprisoned her.
- [26:26]
Dr. Tessa Dunlop
She's trapped. She's trapped in her position. She's then trapped in her own relationship with her own body. And her body is trapped. It's sewn into clothes. The bodices are laced ever tighter. Her hair grows ever longer, ever heavier. Needs more and more maintenance. It's almost a sort of cult, the.
- [26:43]
Seren Jones
Cult of the stars. And Ceci will have to keep that sparkle alive to preserve her star quality at any price.
- [26:52]
Dr. Tessa Dunlop
She was spinning on the line between beauty and danger. She had achieved and reached great heights. But you can't always hold onto the stars. She's a reminder that we'll probably all fall back down to earth in the end anyway.
- [27:11]
Seren Jones
Inside. Inside the Schoenbrunn Palace, Daniel's feet hit the parquet floor and he feels like he's just landed in heaven.
- [27:21]
Gordon Schumacher
He snuck through again. He's a wiry little guy, so he was able to get himself through the window.
- [27:30]
Seren Jones
Jennifer Bowers. Barney doesn't know how Daniel kept a cool head.
- [27:34]
Gordon Schumacher
When he dropped to the floor, it was another moment of anxiety where, you know, did any alarm go off? Did anyone hear me? Am I okay? Is there a guard behind that door?
- [27:47]
Seren Jones
But there's no alarm and no guard comes running. Just silence. So Daniel pads carefully across Cece's drawing room, watching his every step.
- [28:03]
Gordon Schumacher
He was able to circumvent the laser.
- [28:08]
Seren Jones
Yeah, there are lasers guarding this room.
- [28:11]
Gordon Schumacher
The laser beam security and maneuver his way up to the case.
- [28:18]
Seren Jones
The glass case, the one that had mesmerized him the day before when the star imprinted itself on his retinas. And even now, in the dark, his eyes can pick out the hypnotic flash of the diamonds inside. He sets to work. He's borrowed a little something from his hotel breakfast buffet.
- [28:42]
Gordon Schumacher
He said he brought along a butter knife with him. And when he got to the case, it was that butter knife he used to finish unscrewing these pressure sensitive screws.
- [28:59]
Seren Jones
He takes it ever so gently, feeling.
- [29:03]
Gordon Schumacher
His way how he knew to not trip that alarm again. It was like he was experimenting in real time.
- [29:16]
Seren Jones
The case opens and the CC star pretty much falls into Daniel's hand like a magnet. Like it wants him to take it in his hot palm. Daniel feels the coolness of the diamonds, the sharp points of the star, and it feels right. It feels like Daniel and the CC star were always meant to be together.
- [29:47]
Gordon Schumacher
He had the star in his possession.
- [29:53]
Seren Jones
He closes the case and stuffs the jewel into his jacket. The jewel. The last remaining CC star. Because here's the thing. The other 26, they're lost. They've just disappeared. Which is why the Schonbrunn palace is so proud to display this gem. Because it's the very last one.
- [30:21]
Gordon Schumacher
The palace considered the star to be priceless, of course, because of its origin, the story behind it, the fact that Sisi became known for it and it was priceless to Austria because of what it stood for.
- [30:39]
Seren Jones
But does Daniel quite realize the enormity of what he's done, the repercussions? Because this star also shot Empress Sisi into the halls of fame and, well, let's just say her fortunes didn't always glitter. So if Daniel had bothered to read the information card on the glass case, if he'd still stopped to read Cece's story properly, he might have hesitated before lifting that jewel from its cushion. He might have felt a shiver of fear course down his spine. An uncanny sense of deja vu, maybe. A ghostly slender hand slipping into his. Because Sisi and Daniel, they may be world's apartment, but their stars are very much aligned.
- [31:33]
Jennifer Bowers
Elizabeth's determination was to go down in history as the eternally beautiful woman. And the result was everybody knows Sisi. She wanted to be legendary.
- [31:45]
Alan
Daniel, too, he has etched his way into history. There's no doubt about it.
- [31:52]
Seren Jones
Ben Hagerman wouldn't exactly describe himself as a friend of Daniel's. But for now, let's just say he Knows Daniel quite well.
- [32:01]
Alan
If you can't be famous, some people say it's good to be infamous. Well, he's going to be remembered forever because of it.
- [32:10]
Seren Jones
But history, well, history has a funny habit of repeating itself. And like it or not, Daniel and Sisi are now inextricably linked. However many centuries might separate them, their fates are fixed to that same star. But Daniel doesn't think about Sisi as he creeps back towards the window. He doesn't think about what the star meant to her. It's what it means for him that counts right now.
- [32:44]
Alan
Well, it certainly does serve as a badge of honor. I mean, it was something that no one else had accomplished before. And look, no one has accomplished since.
- [32:54]
Seren Jones
And what a line for his cv.
- [32:57]
Alan
It certainly would have been influential in his life in terms of, you know, his crime resume. And I'm sure there's other players out there who've done similar, but boy, this guy was good at it.
- [33:08]
Seren Jones
And suddenly Daniel realizes just how good he is. And he wants other people to see that too. So on his way out of the palace, he decides to leave a little clue. Catch me if you can. And who can blame him? I mean, deep down, we all want our talents recognized, don't we?
- [33:32]
Gordon Schumacher
So when the police realized that their star was gone, they searched the grounds of and they found a parachute stuffed in a trash can. And it was kind of Blanchard's way of saying I was here.
- [33:50]
Alan
It was also a trophy. Right? And it really sets him up as, you know, international jewel thief.
- [33:58]
Seren Jones
What's he gonna do with the gem? Daniel doesn't know that yet. He's just got this funny feeling that some way down the line, the CC star is going to come in really handy. And in Daniel's line of work, it's always good to have a little something up your sleeve. Something to fall back on in case times get tough. But right now, Daniel Blanchard has got exactly what he wanted and no one has taken seen him do it. He's escaped scot free.
- [34:37]
Gordon Schumacher
That had to be such an adrenaline rush for him to say, haha, I got away with this, you know.
- [34:46]
Seren Jones
Will Cece's star prove lucky for Daniel or has that parachute just cost him his cover? You've been listening to a most audacious heist. A Blanchard House production for Curious Cast hosted by me, Seren Jones. It's written and produced by Emma Jane Kirby. Research by Hannah Tavacolazade. Original music is by Daniel Lloyd Evans, Louis Nancmanel and Toby Matamong. Sound design and mix engineering by Toby Matamong and Louis Nankmanel, with special thanks to Kathy Kenzora and Rob Johnston. The creative director of Blanchard House is Rosie Pye. The head of content at Blanchard House is Lawrence Grizzel. For Blanchard House, the executive producers are Amica Shortino Nolan and Lawrence Grisel. For Curious Cast, the executive producers are Dila Velasquez and Chris Duncombe. A most audacious heist is inspired by the book Stealing CC Star by Jennifer Bowers. Barney.