Ever wonder why there aren’t more holidays in March? We have the official start of spring (March 20) and the Ides of March (March 15)—which isn’t so much a holiday as it is a stark reminder that Julius Caesar probably should have picked his friends better.

It’s the holiday in between that Americans really look forward to: St. Patrick’s Day (March 17). While it began as a religious celebration in the 17th century to commemorate the life of Saint Patrick and his role in bringing Christianity into Ireland, it’s evolved into a celebration of green beer, leprechauns and the luck of the Irish.

NOT an actual photo of St. Patrick!

Speaking of luck, our blog topic this week highlights the roles that good luck and bad luck play in commercial-property burglaries. So, in honor of the first ever St. Patrick’s Day parade, which was held in Boston in 1737, our first crime story is set in the same city, featuring a bad guy with the most iconic of Irish last names: Murphy.

The Great Super Bowl Ring Heist

In February 2008, Sean Murphy, a die-hard New England Patriots football fan and self-proclaimed master thief, watched in disbelief as the New York Giants upset his beloved Pats in Super Bowl XLII. (That means ‘42’—we’re not good at Roman numerals, either.)

As luck would have it, Murphy later discovered the name and address of the company contracted to produce the fancy rings awarded to the champions of each Super Bowl. Ironically, the company creating the rings for the New York Giants that year was located about an hour south of Boston. (Irony and Luck are frequent companions, it would seem.)

Murphy recruited two other men to assault E.A. Dion’s 30,000-square-foot, single-story warehouse, where they disabled the alarm system and cut a hole in the roof to gain entry. They got away with it, too, stealing more than $2 million in jewelry, gold and diamonds, including over two dozen New York Giants Super Bowl rings.

We’re not judging, but they probably didn’t need much luck to break into this building.

Do winter storms have you worried about keeping the perimeter at your commercial business secure? Between harsh weather and having to leave sites unattended, winter can be stressful for anyone in charge of security.

Valentine’s Day is upon us! And at AMAROK, we believe that nothing says, “I love you” like a 7000-volt perimeter security fence around your work property. Speaking of love, while we don’t like property crime, we absolutely love property-crime stories, especially the ones that didn’t execute exactly according to plan.

So, in honor of St. Valentine—who was a victim of property theft, himself, when Roman Emperor Claudius II ripped off his head—we proudly present two of our favorite funny property-crime stories.

#1. “We’re robbing WHAT?”

Many criminals focus on specific types of property to steal. Some prefer automobile parts. Others favor raw materials, like steel or copper. And then there’s that special group that goes after the more bizarre targets —like the men who raided an adult-novelty warehouse in Las Vegas.

Twice.

During their first heist, the criminals broke into the warehouse and successfully stole 30,000 condoms. Over-joyed by their success (or perhaps upset that they’d forgotten to steal anything more valuable than latex rubber), they returned the very next evening.

This time, they rammed their vehicle through the warehouse’s delivery door and then shattered the rear window of their own car because it was the only way to load the merchandise. The thieves made off with a surplus of adult novelty products worth $15,000—minus the cost of repairing the getaway car.

Here’s the punchline: the company had already scheduled a PR event the following week to give away thousands of condoms for free to the public.

“They could have just waited and asked for them like everyone else, instead of ruining the paintwork on a perfectly good SUV," said one commenter.

“Just grabbing a few items for me and the missus.”    (Photo Source - CNBC)   

The AMAROK team has picked their top 5 FIVE blogs of 2020 that everyone should be sure to read! Here they are: 

It is often assumed that criminals are opportunistic with their cargo theft methods. However, criminals are becoming more resourceful, strategic, and are planning out crimes in advance. Like modern technology, thieves are smarter than ever and traditional security measures will no longer protect a commercial business.  Discussed below are the findings of the BSI and TT 2020 Cargo Theft Report.

AMAROK Recognized for Groundbreaking Perimeter Protection System

Jan. 4, 2021 — AMAROK is honored to be the recipient of the coveted 2020 Gold ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Award for Best Perimeter Protection for its FORTIFEYE solution.

Hosted by American Security Today, the Annual ‘ASTORS’ Awards, now in its fifth year, is the preeminent U.S. Homeland Security Awards Program, highlighting the most cutting-edge and forward-thinking security solutions coming onto the market today.

“2020 has been a very challenging year for everyone due to the COVID-19 pandemic however, the 2020 ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Awards Program was a huge success and many new categories were added including a section for COVID-19 Detection and Innovation,” said Michael Madsen, co-founder and publisher of American Security Today.

The program is specifically designed to honor distinguished government and vendor solutions that deliver enhanced value, benefit and intelligence to end users in a variety of government, homeland security, enterprise, and public safety vertical markets.

As the nation continues to respond to escalating threats from home and abroad, the innovative solutions being implemented to meet those threats, has led to tremendous growth in the field of Homeland Security.

“Today, the United States is increasingly focusing on protecting public spaces, as well as IT/cyber security networks and they are calling on innovative companies like AMAROK to help them do so,” according to Tammy Waitt, co-founder and editorial director of American Security Today.

FORTIFEYE was selected for the Gold 'ASTORS' Homeland Security Award for Best Perimeter Protection System for its ability to protect the perimeters of commercial businesses and industrial sites by integrating electric security fencing, video surveillance, and video monitoring to create an ultimate crime prevention solution.

FORTIFEYE rises above other perimeter security solutions because it has multiple layers of integrated security to protect your business, starting with the Electric Guard Dog Fence which delivers 7,000 medically safe, but memorable volts of electricity to would-be thieves. Cameras capture and record every second of activity in real time, from initial approach to flight and finishes with remote video monitoring to validate the breach and dispatch authorities.

Mike Dorrington, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at AMAROK, says, “This honor from American Security Today confirms our market leadership in the growing field of perimeter protection, keeping criminals out of our customers’ property. Our people are focused on effective, efficient safety and security for Americans, and this ASTOR award recognizes their efforts.”

“We’re never going to stop working toward total peace of mind for our customers, which is why we developed FORTIFEYE™,” said Mark Wesley, CEO of AMAROK. “Now we offer not only strong prevention with our electric fence, but also additional layers of protection to ensure an even more robust security solution.”

AMAROK, the ultimate perimeter security provider, is the market leader in electric security fencing and other perimeter security solutions for commercial, industrial and government properties across the U.S. and beyond.  As a trusted partner to commercial organizations across the country, AMAROK is dedicated to protecting commercial properties.

To learn more about AMAROK’s solutions for perimeter security please visit https://www.amarok.com.

About AMAROK

AMAROK™ is a full-perimeter security company based in Columbia, South Carolina, that provides commercial security services throughout the United States and Canada. Specializing in electric fencing and perimeter security systems for commercial properties, AMAROK also provides supplemental surveillance solutions, including cameras, lights, and alarms. Together, these business security services form the ultimate crime prevention solution for any business.

About American Security Today

American Security Today (AST), the ‘New Face in Homeland Security™’, is the premier digital media platform in the U.S. Homeland Security and Public Safety Industry, focused on breaking news and in-depth coverage of the newest initiatives and hottest technologies in physical & IT security on the market today.

AST highlights the most cutting-edge and forward-thinking security solutions across a wide variety of media products delivered daily, weekly and monthly to over 75,000 qualified government and security industry readers, essential to meeting today’s growing security challenges to ‘Secure our Nation, One City at a Time™’.

To learn more visit www.americansecuritytoday.com, or contact AST by email at mmadsen@americansecuritytoday.com or phone 646-450-6027.