Episode 022: Bob Bazin – Art Crime, Rodin Museum Armed Robbery

June 18, 2016September 3, 2024Bank Robbery and Property Crime, Philadelphia Cases2 Comments

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In this episode, retired agent Bob Bazin reviews a case he worked with the Philadelphia Police Department of the armed robbery at gunpoint from the Rodin museum of the priceless sculpture—Mask of the Man with the Broken Nose.

He also talks about studying the “masters” at the Barnes Foundation and investigating and recovering stolen art from all over the world while assigned to the Philadelphia Division.

Bob Bazin served in the FBI for 28 years. He spent most of his career working property crimes cases and developed a specialized interest in art crime.

Special Agent (Retired)

Robert R. Bazin

1/6/69 – 3/31/1997

During most of his Bureau career, Bob, along with a few agents in the New York Division, worked art crime cases. He retired many years before the FBI created its rapid deployment Art Crime Team in 2004.

The following is an article about Bob’s Rodin armed robbery case, a profile on recent Art Crime Team members and a link to the FBI website overview of the Art Crime Program.

Cops Bust Man In Rodin Museum Hold-up, Recover ‘Mask’

Anything Can Break Bad: An FBI Special Agent Has Learned the Difference Between the Art World and the Mafia

FBI Website – Art Crime Team Celebrates 10th Anniversary

Scan0002 — Bob holds the Rodin sculpture after it was recovered from its basement hiding place. This case is the only known U.S. art crime robbery at gunpoint.

Mask of Man — Rodin Museum-Mask of the Man with the Broken Nose Rodin considered Mask of the Man with the Broken Nose his first good piece of modeling and said it “determined all my future work.”

Scan0005 — The red book Bob is holding is one of only six copies in the world of Hamlet (valued at $1 million). A research student stole it from the rare book library at the University of Pennsylvania. Bob recovered it when she attempted to sell it to a rare book dealer who knew Bob.

Scan0001 — Bob with former FBI Director Louie Freeh.

Jerri Williams

View posts by Jerri Williams

Jerri Williams, a retired FBI agent, author and podcaster, jokes that she writes about the FBI to relive her glory days. After 26 years with the Bureau specializing in major economic fraud and corruption investigations, she calls on her professional encounters with scams and schemers to write police procedurals inspired by true crime FBI cases in her Philadelphia FBI Corruption Squad crime fiction series featuring flawed female FBI agent Kari Wheeler. Jerri’s FBI for Armchair Detectives nonfiction series enables readers to discover who the FBI is and what the FBI does by debunking misconceptions about the FBI in books, TV, and movies. Her books are available as ebooks, paperbacks, and audiobooks wherever books are sold. She’s also the host of FBI Retired Case File Review, a true crime podcast with more than 300 episodes available on all popular podcast apps and YouTube.

2 Comments

Tom ManleyJune 24, 2016

awesome
AWESOME

Reply
1. Jerri WilliamsJune 24, 2016
  
  Thanks Tom.
  
  Reply

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