The $6M Heist and a Lucky Text: 5 Notorious New Year’s Eve Crimes

While the world cheers for a new beginning, some use the noise of the countdown to cover their tracks. New Year's Eve has historically provided the perfect blindspot for the opportunistic and the sinister. From high-stakes jewelry heists to botched terror plots, here's how the night of celebration turned into a night of crime.

The $6 Million Times Square Diamond Heist

You'd think Times Square would be the safest place on Earth on New Year’s Eve. In 2016, nearly 7,000 police officers patrolled the area. Yet, just blocks away, thieves broke into the Gregg Ruth jewelry wholesaler and escaped with $6 million in rare diamonds. The mastermind, Damir Pejcinovic, was caught two years later and linked to heists totaling over $24 million across multiple countries.

Assassination and Incompetent Burglaries

On New Year’s Eve 1969, a power struggle within the coal mining union led to the assassination of Joseph Yablonski, ordered by his rival Tony Boyle. Meanwhile, in New Delhi, former guards at an Amazon warehouse tried to pull a New Year's heist during a snack break. Their inside knowledge didn't save them; security cameras they once operated led directly to their arrest.

The Carrier Text That Saved Red Square

Perhaps the most ironic failure happened in Moscow in 2010. A terrorist group planned to bomb Red Square where 120,000 people had gathered. However, an automated ‘Happy New Year’ text message from the phone carrier triggered the explosive prematurely at a safe house, killing only the bomber. The unintended digital greeting saved thousands of lives.