The shocking true stories behind new Netflix crime docuseries 'Heist'

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By VT

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From millions in stolen cash to barrels of missing luxury bourbon, Netflix's new true-crime docuseries sees ordinary people almost get away with extraordinary heists.

The six-part series looks at three different crimes, with the help of the people who actually committed them. But before you settle in with some popcorn, you can read more about them here...

wp-image-1263119748 size-full
(Credit: Netflix)

'Sex Magick Money'

In what was one of the biggest truck robberies in Vegas history, American fugitive Heather Tallchief and her partner Roberto Solis went on the run after stealing $3 million.

Tallchief, who was 21-years-old at the time, met the convicted murderer, Solis, in 1993. She went onto fall in love with the 48-year-old, and later claimed that she was manipulated by him — primarily through the use of hypnotism.

Under instruction from Solis, Tallchief took a job at armoured security company Loomis. On October 1st, 1993, she drove a truck, which was transporting $3.1 million in cash to cash machines in the city, to Solis, who was waiting at an industrial estate with a getaway carr.

They took the cash, and went on the run, before eventually settling down in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, in 1994.

Their story, which is documented in the first two episodes of the series, also tracks the complicated aftermath of the crime. Tallchief ended up getting pregnant by Solis, and gave birth to a son — all while being on the run for a total of 12 years.

"She was on the run for 11 years but never found true freedom until she turned herself in. She had the heavy burden of having to lie to her son," the director of the episode explained. "He didn't even know her real name until one night, after a few drinks, she broke down and told him the truth. He didn't know what to do with that."

In 2005, Tallchief, who now goes by the name Donna, turned herself in. "I truly feel this is the right thing to do," she said as she handed herself in, adding that she was tired and she wanted her son to have a normal life.

When she was arrested, Tallchief said that she had left Solis there with the money, and did not know where he was. His whereabouts are still unknown, but she said that she believes Solis, who would now be 76-years-old, is no longer alive.

She faced charges of embezzlement, bank fraud, bank robbery, and using a firearm for a violent crime. She was sentenced to prison for five years in 2006, and was released in 2010.

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(Credit: Netflix)

'The Money Plane'

In episodes three and four of the docuseries, Karls Monzon tells the story about how he and his wife pulled off a $7.4 million heist at Miami International Airport.

It all came about as the couple were grieving two miscarriages, and had attempted rounds of unsuccessful fertility treatments. Desperate to build the family they had always dreamed of, they decided to go down the adoption route — before realising just how prohibitively expensive it is.

A self-confessed fan of crime shows, Monzon enlisted a few friends, and then planned and executed one of the largest heists in Florida history. After some research, he discovered that $100 million from Miami's Federal Reserve Bank regularly landed via one particular flight at Miami International Airport, and that it was left unguarded in an open warehouse.

He and his accomplices managed to get away with $7.4 million.

While the group decided to lay low, Monzon's brother-in-law, Jeffrey, proceeded to flaunt his money by spending it on escorts, drugs and flashy watches, per the docuseries. His spending was making him worried, so Monzon hired two hitmen to kidnap him, steal money, and otherwise frighten him on two separate occasions.

They all went undetected until the FBI offered a $150,000 reward for information leading to the recovery of the money, and the criminals.

One of Monzon's friends was enticed by the offer, and provided a list of suspects, and the FBI tapped their phones.

In February of 2006, the hitmen that Monzon had hired to scare Jeffrey kidnapped him for a third time, without telling Monzon, and demanded $500,000 in ransom. Monzon refused to pay it, and told them to just kill his brother-in-law.

The FBI, who were listening along, tracked Monzon's location, and proceeded to arrest him. He was ultimately charged with armed robbery, and pleaded guilty. He was sentenced to 11 years, but served 10.

Speaking about the price of the crime in the docuseries, the Cuban native said: "This robbery cost me my American Dream. I had the house, I had a wife, I just needed a child."

Monzon is no longer with his wife, and has no children. She, on the other hand, started a new relationship, and has two daughters.

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(Credit: Netflix)

'The Bourbon King'

The final two episodes of the series looks at one of history's biggest bourbon heists. Gilbert "Toby" Curtsinger, a former elite-league softball player, was working at Kentucky spirit distillery, Buffalo Trace.

"If you had an opportunity to steal if you worked in a bank with a vault wide open and nobody seeing you, are you going to do it if you don't get caught?" he asks during the docuseries, and that's exactly what he did.

Curtsinger smuggled bottles of the very rare Pappy Van Winkle bourbon — which were worth more than $1000 apiece — and by October 2013, over $100,000 of the stuff had gone missing. Over the years, his illegal operation grew to include friends who worked in other distilleries, and he ended up selling barrels and barrels of the limited edition spirit.

Eventually, in 2015, law enforcement received a tip and discovered five barrels of Wild Turkey bourbon with the logo obscured in a shed at Curtsinger's home. While it wasn't the missing Pappy Van Winkle bourbon from 2013's "Pappygate", they were stolen nonetheless, and the 45-year-old was arrested.

Curtsinger pleaded guilty to charges including theft by unlawful taking and receiving stolen property. Ten people, including his wife and father, were reportedly indicted for being involved, but as Curtsinger was deemed the mastermind, he was the only one who served time in prison.

He received a sentence of 15 years, but was released after just one month on "shock probation", which can be given to first-time offenders who are believed to pose no threat to society.

size-full wp-image-1263119752
(Credit: Netflix)

Netflix's 'Heist' is available to stream now

Feature image credit: Netflix

The shocking true stories behind new Netflix crime docuseries 'Heist'

vt-author-image

By VT

Article saved!Article saved!

From millions in stolen cash to barrels of missing luxury bourbon, Netflix's new true-crime docuseries sees ordinary people almost get away with extraordinary heists.

The six-part series looks at three different crimes, with the help of the people who actually committed them. But before you settle in with some popcorn, you can read more about them here...

wp-image-1263119748 size-full
(Credit: Netflix)

'Sex Magick Money'

In what was one of the biggest truck robberies in Vegas history, American fugitive Heather Tallchief and her partner Roberto Solis went on the run after stealing $3 million.

Tallchief, who was 21-years-old at the time, met the convicted murderer, Solis, in 1993. She went onto fall in love with the 48-year-old, and later claimed that she was manipulated by him — primarily through the use of hypnotism.

Under instruction from Solis, Tallchief took a job at armoured security company Loomis. On October 1st, 1993, she drove a truck, which was transporting $3.1 million in cash to cash machines in the city, to Solis, who was waiting at an industrial estate with a getaway carr.

They took the cash, and went on the run, before eventually settling down in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, in 1994.

Their story, which is documented in the first two episodes of the series, also tracks the complicated aftermath of the crime. Tallchief ended up getting pregnant by Solis, and gave birth to a son — all while being on the run for a total of 12 years.

"She was on the run for 11 years but never found true freedom until she turned herself in. She had the heavy burden of having to lie to her son," the director of the episode explained. "He didn't even know her real name until one night, after a few drinks, she broke down and told him the truth. He didn't know what to do with that."

In 2005, Tallchief, who now goes by the name Donna, turned herself in. "I truly feel this is the right thing to do," she said as she handed herself in, adding that she was tired and she wanted her son to have a normal life.

When she was arrested, Tallchief said that she had left Solis there with the money, and did not know where he was. His whereabouts are still unknown, but she said that she believes Solis, who would now be 76-years-old, is no longer alive.

She faced charges of embezzlement, bank fraud, bank robbery, and using a firearm for a violent crime. She was sentenced to prison for five years in 2006, and was released in 2010.

size-full wp-image-1263119714
(Credit: Netflix)

'The Money Plane'

In episodes three and four of the docuseries, Karls Monzon tells the story about how he and his wife pulled off a $7.4 million heist at Miami International Airport.

It all came about as the couple were grieving two miscarriages, and had attempted rounds of unsuccessful fertility treatments. Desperate to build the family they had always dreamed of, they decided to go down the adoption route — before realising just how prohibitively expensive it is.

A self-confessed fan of crime shows, Monzon enlisted a few friends, and then planned and executed one of the largest heists in Florida history. After some research, he discovered that $100 million from Miami's Federal Reserve Bank regularly landed via one particular flight at Miami International Airport, and that it was left unguarded in an open warehouse.

He and his accomplices managed to get away with $7.4 million.

While the group decided to lay low, Monzon's brother-in-law, Jeffrey, proceeded to flaunt his money by spending it on escorts, drugs and flashy watches, per the docuseries. His spending was making him worried, so Monzon hired two hitmen to kidnap him, steal money, and otherwise frighten him on two separate occasions.

They all went undetected until the FBI offered a $150,000 reward for information leading to the recovery of the money, and the criminals.

One of Monzon's friends was enticed by the offer, and provided a list of suspects, and the FBI tapped their phones.

In February of 2006, the hitmen that Monzon had hired to scare Jeffrey kidnapped him for a third time, without telling Monzon, and demanded $500,000 in ransom. Monzon refused to pay it, and told them to just kill his brother-in-law.

The FBI, who were listening along, tracked Monzon's location, and proceeded to arrest him. He was ultimately charged with armed robbery, and pleaded guilty. He was sentenced to 11 years, but served 10.

Speaking about the price of the crime in the docuseries, the Cuban native said: "This robbery cost me my American Dream. I had the house, I had a wife, I just needed a child."

Monzon is no longer with his wife, and has no children. She, on the other hand, started a new relationship, and has two daughters.

size-full wp-image-1263119736
(Credit: Netflix)

'The Bourbon King'

The final two episodes of the series looks at one of history's biggest bourbon heists. Gilbert "Toby" Curtsinger, a former elite-league softball player, was working at Kentucky spirit distillery, Buffalo Trace.

"If you had an opportunity to steal if you worked in a bank with a vault wide open and nobody seeing you, are you going to do it if you don't get caught?" he asks during the docuseries, and that's exactly what he did.

Curtsinger smuggled bottles of the very rare Pappy Van Winkle bourbon — which were worth more than $1000 apiece — and by October 2013, over $100,000 of the stuff had gone missing. Over the years, his illegal operation grew to include friends who worked in other distilleries, and he ended up selling barrels and barrels of the limited edition spirit.

Eventually, in 2015, law enforcement received a tip and discovered five barrels of Wild Turkey bourbon with the logo obscured in a shed at Curtsinger's home. While it wasn't the missing Pappy Van Winkle bourbon from 2013's "Pappygate", they were stolen nonetheless, and the 45-year-old was arrested.

Curtsinger pleaded guilty to charges including theft by unlawful taking and receiving stolen property. Ten people, including his wife and father, were reportedly indicted for being involved, but as Curtsinger was deemed the mastermind, he was the only one who served time in prison.

He received a sentence of 15 years, but was released after just one month on "shock probation", which can be given to first-time offenders who are believed to pose no threat to society.

size-full wp-image-1263119752
(Credit: Netflix)

Netflix's 'Heist' is available to stream now

Feature image credit: Netflix