Masterminds (Canadian TV series)

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For other uses of "Masterminds", see Masterminds (disambiguation).

Masterminds is a true crime documentary television series produced in Canada with Court TV. As of 9 October 2006, the program is broadcast on History Television in Canada and Court TV in the United States. Masterminds is a term used for exceptionally clever people which have natural cleverness. Each 30 minute episode features one true crime story. The profiled crimes generally involve large sums of cash or merchandise and, more importantly, extremely unique and/or elaborate methods of criminal operation which were never before (and sometimes never since) seen by law enforcement agencies.

With a few notable exceptions, most criminals profiled in this series were caught within a couple of years of committing their crime(s).

[edit] Topic of selected episodes

Michael de Guzman - key figure in the Bre-X stock scandal
Ronnie Leibowitz (a.k.a. "The Motorcycle Bandit") - infamous Israeli bank robber
Ely Sakhai - suspected purveyor of millions of dollars in forged art
Albert Spaggiari - organizer of the 1976 Société Générale bank robbery in Nice, France
Mark Hofmann - master forger who deceived the Mormon church by selling them false documents. The Anthon Forgeries
Eric Rubin and Valerio Viccei - masterminds behind the Knightsbridge Security Deposit robbery.
Martin Cahill - Irish mob boss who earned the nickname "The General" for his meticulous planning of massive robberies.
Bobby Comfort - organized the 1972 robbery of The Pierre Hotel.
Wesley Weber - Most successful counterfeiting banknote operation in Canada
Jonathan Tokeley-Parry - Successfully smuggled millions of dollars of artifacts from Egypt to other parts of the world. The Cairo Caper
Brian O'dea Canadian Drug smuggler of hashish and marijuana. A Smuggler Supreme
Amil Alfred Dinsio - Mastermind of the 1972 Laguna Niguel heist.
Judy Amar - Mastermind of over 500 home burglaries in Florida, and a master of disguise.
Balwinder (Bill) Dhaliwal - Mastermind of a ring of car thieves who stole high-end luxury cars in the 1990s The King of Car Thieves
Clarence Burnett - Mastermind of the Tivol Jewlery Store Heist in Kansas City.
Rik Luytjes - flew loads of cocaine into the United States, Air America
Gerald Barnes AKA: Gerald Barnbaum - Masqueraded as a licensed Doctor (Dr. Gerald C Barnes, orthopedic surgeon) for years until his negligence and lack of medical knowledge contributed to the death of John McKenzie, a patient with a 900 Blood Sugar level. He is later found guilty of Manslaughter and practicing without a license. After his release (for good behavior) and numerous arrests for practicing without a license at 70 years old, he is arrested yet again, but this time for Federal Fraud charges (impersonating a doctor but this time as part of his job he did physical checkups on FBI agents, hence why it was upgraded to a Federal crime) and is now serving a 20-year sentence in a federal penitentiary. Bad Medicine