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The Accidental Picasso Thief: The True Story of a Reverse Heist, Outrunning the Fbi, and Fleeing the Boston Mob (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9798765188262)
Vendor:
Noah Charney
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Books
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Description
xIn 1969, a Picasso painting titled Portrait of a Woman and a Musketeer vanished from Logan International Airport's loading dock in Boston and ended up in the home of Merrill "Bill" Rummel, a forklift operator. Unaware of its contents, Rummel took the crate home, discovering that it contained the painting only later. Not appreciating the art, he hid it in his closet. As the FBI began investigating the missing Picasso, Rummel and his fiancée panicked. They panicked further when they learned that the Winter Hill Gang, the Boston mob run by Whitey Bulger, had also learned about the Picasso and was on the hunt for it. Could this accidental Picasso thief avoid both the mob and the FBI? What happened next was a sort of reverse heist. Stealing this painting was easy-it was actually an accident. The tricky part was to devise a foolproof plan to return it without getting arrested or killed.
Bill's father, Whitcomb Rummel Sr., a respected figure in Waterville, Maine, devised a plan to return the painting anonymously. He instructed his son, Whit Jr. (co-author of this book), to write an untraceable note, which he signed "Robbin' Hood." The Rummels pulled off this reverse heist, successfully returning the painting. But that wasn't the end of the story. Despite its return, the Picasso's whereabouts remained unclear. Decades later, Whit Rummel Jr., now a filmmaker, hired an investigator to trace the painting. It was found that the painting had been part of a 1971 exhibition in Milwaukee and was owned by Sidney and Dorothy Kohl, prominent art collectors. The current status of the painting remains unknown, but it is presumed to be part of the Kohls' private collection. This story was featured in a New York Times article that went viral. But that only skimmed the surface.
This book, co-authored by Whit Rummel Jr. and best-selling author and art crime expert Noah Charney, will tell the full story, while also looking at incidents of art theft in the United States, thus putting this particular, quirky crime into context.
Author: Noah Charney, Whit Rummel
ISBN-13: 9798765188262
Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
Language: English
Published: 11/13/2025
Pages: 160
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.11lbs
Size: 1.11h x 1.11w x 1.11d
By Noah Charney
xWhit Rummel Jr. is an award-winning screenwriter and filmmaker. He has spent his professional lifetime working in almost every aspect of filmmaking. After graduating with a Master's in Film from Boston University, he began his career as a documentarian. His first project, TATTOO, was a quirky 16mm film about heavily tattooed people that aired nationally on the PBS series, Independent Focus.
He went on to establish WITCOM Associates, a Boston-based production house specializing in innovative programming for corporate and commercial clients. With an excellent staff of producers and Whit directing, the company quickly grew into one of New England's premier production houses, working with dozens of Fortune 500's including IBM, Microsoft, GM, RJR Nabisco, DuPont, Motorola, Sony, Exxon, and Citicorp.
After many years immersed in the corporate world, Whit sold WITCOM to a national communications company in order to spend time on his own personal passions. His first screenplay, Secret Boy, was awarded the Nicholl Fellowship from The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He was contracted by DisneyToon studios to script an animated feature called Pigs Might Fly. A number of his other spec scripts have also been optioned.
Besides a Master's in Film, Whit holds a BA in Sociology from Tulane University. He served in the United States Marine Corps.
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