Page 169 - Panic Button News Today

Now, but as soon as he was tied up by the two thieves, he realized how vulnerable he really was. >> i was panicking. i didnt realize i was panicking. but i was completely panicking. >> the thieves lead rick and his partner down to the basement to different areas. rick is taken to the boiler room and cuffed to an electrical box. his eyes and mouth were duct taped and he feared for his life. >> i was afraid that they were going to set the place on fire after they were done. that was my -- maybe be...

Basically. one guy would go up and start his rounds, and then when he came back, the other would get behind the desk and the other person would go up. >> on this night, things would be far from boring. during the night shift, there is always one guard manning the computer at the security desk by the side door. the employee entrance, which was the only way into the museum at night. that door was locked. so anyone who wanted to get into the museum would have to ring the buzzer. the guard on duty a...

That could be dodged and one security camera outside. did the thieves have help from inside? would they have been able to pull it off without inside information? suspicion still surrounds the men on guard that night. night watchman rick abbot said while he doesnt know of anyone in the museum who would have knowingly tipped the criminals to the lax security set-up, he admits it was a topic he and other guards spoke about often. >> we talked about in terms if the place got robbed or when it would ...

The desk. but it was a fairly long desk and the computer was all the way over to the left and it was almost all the way over to the right. so it wasnt just within arms reach. >> reporter: still, rick abbot never found any reason to use that panic button. that is until the night of march 18th. that night was unusual from the moment rick arrived at work. he learned his usual partner had called in sick. they couldnt find anyone else, so they paired him with a daytime gallery guard. >> when i got th...

>> reporter: the isabella stewart gardner museum is considered one of the finest institutions in boston. so when two men posing as boston police officers made off with 13 works of art, it became priority number one for investigators working the case. their goal has always been to return the stolen artwork to where it belongs. but even if they do one day, what may always haunt them is how the thieves knew the museum was so vulnerable. >> for 23 years, these empty frames have hung on the walls of ...

>> apparently, there was a half hour between -- 20 minutes between when they tied us up and when they actually headed into the gallery. and ive seen a lot of people questioning, well, what were they doing? im thinking, they were probably waiting to see if we did press the panic button. they were probably waiting to see if the cops were going to show up. >> according to the fbi, nearly nine of every ten museum heists have an inside component. rick abath, the guard who left the thieves in was inte...

Place. >> he couldnt see, couldnt hear, and he had no idea what was happening upstairs. all he knew was that his museum was unguarded and about to be robbed. it all happened so fast, he never had a chance to hit the one panic button by the guard desk. he knew no one was coming to help. did the thieves know that as well? it appears they did. since they were in no rush to get out. >> the path is interesting. they took the guards, after they handcuffed them and taped them and brought them into th...

Uneventful. >> boring. yeah, sit around, walk around, basically. one guy would go up and start his rounds, and then when he came back, the other would get behind the desk and the other person would go up. >> on this night, things would be far from boring. during the night shift, there is always one guard manning the computer at the security desk by the side door. the employee entrance, which was the only way into the museum at night. that door was locked. so anyone who wanted to get into the mus...

>> you know, the same kind of panic button like at a bank. it was up on the underside of the desk. but it was a fairly long desk and the computer was all the way over to the left and it was almost all the way over to the right. so it wasnt just within arms reach. >> reporter: still, rick abbot never found any reason to use that panic button. that is until the night of march 18th. that night was unusual from the moment rick arrived at work. he learned his usual partner had called in sick. they co...

The isabella stewart gardner museum is considered one of the finest institutions in boston. so when two men posing as boston police officers made off with 13 works of art, it became priority number one for investigators working the case. their goal has always been to return the stolen artwork to where it belongs. how the thieves knew the museum was so vulnerable. >> for 23 years, these empty frames have hung on the walls of the isabella stewart gardner museum. but they are more than just evidenc...