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Hulu's The Jewel Thief revisits the life and crimes of Gerald Blanchard, a criminal mastermind and the "world's most ingenious thief," who once stole the Star of Empress Sisi from Vienna's Schönbrunn Palace in 1998. He also robbed banks and ATMs across Canada, using innovative techniques which helped him gain notoriety and find a spot for himself in the limelight for decades to come.
Blanchard was arrested in January 2007 on multiple allegations, including conspiracy, fraud, theft, and trafficking. Following this, raids were executed at the houses of his family members when the Sisi Star was found in a wall in his grandmother's basement in June of that year.
Later that year, Gerald Blanchard pleaded guilty to 16 out of the 54 charges brought against him, facing at least 164 years in prison. He was ultimately sentenced to eight years and released after two years in January 2010.
The Jewel Thief premiered earlier today, July 13, 2023, with a first-hand narrative and interviews with those involved including Blanchard himself. The documentary is now available to stream on Hulu.
The official synopsis states:
“The unbelievable first-hand account of Gerald Blanchard, one of the most creative, calculating and accomplished criminal masterminds in modern history. Two unlikely Winnipeg detectives track Blanchard across the globe as he perpetrates a series of increasingly elaborate heists in a quest for fame and notoriety through a life of crime."
From petty thefts and frauds to Bank/ATM robberies, a transition in the crimes of Gerald Blanchard
Born in Winnipeg, Canada, Gerald Blanchard got involved in petty thefts as a teenager before eventually moving to Bank and ATM robberies and frauds. The nature of his crimes grew once he went from clearing out the entire inventory of a RadioShack with a group of friends on Easter in 1987 to stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars in a burqa in Cairo.
According to The Cinemaholic, Blanchard was first arrested for grand theft at the age of 15 and served only three months in a juvenile correctional facility before his release on probation. Owing to his hustle, mainly consisting of robberies and frauds, the teenager made an estimated amount of $4,000 to $8,000 weekly.
ABC News reported that Blanchard started scamming stores by creating fake receipts for stolen goods and returning them in exchange for a refund. He purchased a house for his family by the time he turned 16 years old and had an extensive criminal record by 21.
In April 1993, Gerald Blanchard was arrested for setting fire to a car in Iowa and then stealing a police officer's badge, gun, and radio, among other official possessions while making an escape.
Blanchard was charged with second-degree arson and second-degree theft and sentenced to seven years in prison but was released after serving four. He was deported back to Canada.
While in Canada, he returned to old thrill-seeking habits - only this time, the felon started hitting banks and ATMs across several states. He executed heists under different aliases, robbing at least $250,000 to $750,000 from each hit.
The stolen Sisi Star from Vienna's Schönbrunn Palace was found in June 2007 after Gerald Blanchard's arrest
Then in 1998, Gerald Blanchard stole the Star of Empress Sisi from the Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, Austria. It was later revealed that he replaced the ornament with a replica from the souvenir shop. The swap was discovered two weeks after the robbery had taken place.
Blanchard later confessed that he had toured the palace a few days before taking his plan into action and that he landed on the roof using a parachute after jumping off a small plane in the middle of the night to make the swap.
The Cinemaholic report mentioned that Blanchard was arrested on the allegations of conspiracy, fraud, and trafficking in January 2007 after he started dipping his toes in the waters of organized crime under a supposed London-based leader.
It was only after Blanchard's arrest that authorities discovered the Sisi Star in the basement wall of his grandfather's house in June 2007. A few months later, in October, he pleaded guilty to 16 out of the 54 charges brought against him and was sentenced to eight years in prison.
He was paroled and released from a Canadian prison in 2010.
Learn more about the crimes of Gerald Blanchard on Hulu's The Jewel Thief.
