The Durham Ranger: “The Durham Ranger,” BestClassicSalmonFlies.com, n.d., http://www.bestclassicsalmonflies.com/durham_ranger.html.
When he asked: Muzeroll interview.
“I only wish I possessed such a friend!”: T. E. Pryce-Tannatt, How to Dress Salmon Flies: A Handbook for Amateurs (London: Adam and Charles Black, 1914), p. 53.
“This is what it’s all about”: Muzeroll interview.
the Fly Boys: “Teen Brothers Make Exotic Art with ‘Flies,’” Columbia-Greene Community College: News & Class Schedule, Fall 2006, p. 3, https://www.sunycgcc.edu/Forms_Publications/CGCCNewsletters/2006-10_cgcc_mininews06.pdf.
There were disasters: Rick Clemenson, “Teenage Brothers Create Salmon Fly Art,” Albany Times Union, September 6, 2006.
“They would spend all day out”: “Teen Brothers Make Exotic Art.”
“There is something”: “Cotinga on eBay,” ClassicFlyTying.com, October 29, 2007, http://www.classicflytying.com/index.php?showtopic=29391.
“If you’re going to tie good flies”: “Materials for Sale,” FeathersMc.com, screenshot of page as it existed on August 12, 2004, https://web.archive.org/web/20041009151910/http://www.feathersmc.com/home.php, accessed May 23, 2016.
“to ensure everybody that wants”: Ibid.
“Do your parents know you’re”: John McLain, interview by author, November 20, 2011.
He called up the Bronx Zoo: “Teen Brothers Make Exotic Art.”
“the master of infinite elaboration”: George M. Kelson, in Anonymous, ed., Fishing, Fish Culture & the Aquarium (1886; reprint Nabu Press, 2012), p. 185.
what he called “thematical flies”: “Luc Couturier,” FeathersMc.com, screenshot of page as it existed in 2008, https://web.archive.org/web/20080801201429/http://www.feathersmc.com:80/friends/show/12.
When Edwin first saw: “Friends,” EdwinRist.com, screenshots on Kirkwjohnson.com/screenshots.
When Couturier replied: Ibid.
“Fly-tying is not merely a hobby”: Edwin Rist and Anton Rist to Ronn Lucas, Sr., http://www.ronnlucassr.com/rists.htm, accessed May 23, 2016, page no longer exists.
“Good grief, Edwin!”: “Blacker Celebration Fly,” ClassicFlyTying.com, January 17, 2006, http://www.classicflytying.com/index.php?showtopic=13892&hl=cites#entry129465.
Curtis thought it’d be fun: Curtis Rist, “Dogged Determination,” Robb Report Worth, October 2004, http://www.hudsondoodles.com/pages/INTHENEWS.htm.
“fly looks a little droopy”: “Blue Boyne,” ClassicFlyTying.com, March 2, 2006, http://www.classicflytying.com/?showtopic=15111.
“They are two of the finest young”: Quoted in “Anton & Edwin Rist,” FeathersMc.com, screenshot of page as it existed on May 15, 2008, accessed May 23, 2016, https://web.archive.org/web/20080515060043/http://feath ersmc.com/friends/show/38.
“All they need to remember”: Quoted in “Ed Muzzy Muzeroll,” Feath ersMc.com, screenshot of page as it existed on May 15, 2008, accessed June 17 2017, https://web.archive.org/web/20080515055338/http://www.feathersmc.com:80/friends/show/14.
“I’m toying with the idea”: Quoted in “Anton & Edwin Rist,” Feath ersMc.com, screenshot.
He dreamed of becoming: Rist interview.
7. FEATHERLESS IN LONDON
He was no stranger: Edwin Rist, interview by author, May 26, 2015.
“Unfortunately I’m not tying”: “British Fly Fair,” ClassicFlyTying.com, October 16, 2007, http://www.classicflytying.com/index.php?showtopic=29028.
“I will eat absolutely anything”: Edwin Rist to Terry, January 28, 2008. In possession of the author.
“Life without tying”: Edwin Rist to Terry, January 14, 2008. Ibid.
On February 9, 2008: Mark Adams and Dr. Robert Prys-Jones, interview by author, January 21, 2015.
Edwin created a fake e-mail: Ibid.
“He is the BEST”: Terry to author, February 14, 2008.
“I look forward to coming back”: Rist to author, February 16, 2008.
the guard smiled: Rist interview.
On November 5, 2008: Adams and Prys-Jones interview.
“let him know when you’re done”: Rist interview.
In 2008 ten Riflebird: “Buying Magnificent Riflebird,” ClassicFlyTying.com, December 19, 2008, http://www.classicflytying.com/index.php?show topic=35774.
Standing inside the Tring: Ibid.
“the head, throat”: Alfred Russel Wallace, The Annotated Malay Archipelago, ed. John van Wyhe (Singapore: National University of Singapore Press, 2015), p. 715.
He knew Couturier: Rist interview.
8. PLAN FOR MUSEUM INVASION.DOC
It won’t be easy: Edwin Rist, interview by author, May 26, 2015.
At first it was a game: Ibid.
If he owned these birds: Ibid.
But his desire to possess the birds: Ibid.
a $20,000 golden flute: Curtis Rist to Terry, December 6, 2010. In the author’s possession.
the birds would be an inoculation: Rist interview.
Maybe, he thought, if: Ibid.
“PLAN FOR MUSEUM INVASION”: Regina v. Edwin Rist, St. Albans Crown Court, April 8, 2011, transcript, p. 3.
a list of tools: Rist interview.
This is ridiculous!: Ibid.
If you’re going to do it: Ibid.
I’m gonna need a pair: Ibid.
On June 11, 2009: “Fluteplayer 1988: Seller Feedback,” eBay.com.
he ordered a box of fifty mothballs: “Information from Police from Interview with Edwin Rist,” copy provided to author.
a kind of limbic motor movement: Rist interview.
By his estimation: Ibid.
adrenaline shuddered through him: Ibid.
Hoping not to wake: Ibid.
he felt it was the greatest day: Curtis Rist to Terry, December 6, 2010.
9. THE CASE OF THE BROKEN WINDOW
“Extinct and Endangered Bird Collections: J. H. Cooper and M. P. Adams, “Extinct and Endangered Bird Collections: Managing the Risk,” Zoologische Mededelingen 79, no. 3 (2005): 123–30.
Asked by police for an estimate: Sergeant Adele Hopkin of Hertfordshire Constabulary, interview by author, January 20, 2015.
$11.5 million at auction: Scott Reyburn, “‘Birds of America’ Book Fetches Record $11.5 Million,” Bloomberg News, December 7, 2010.
relieved that nothing appeared to be missing: Mark Adams and Dr. Robert Prys-Jones, interview by author, January 21, 2015.
consumed with paranoia and guilt: Curtis Rist to Terry, December 6, 2010.
“Fly Tier of the Year”: “2008 FTOTY Overall Winners,” ClassicFlyTying.com, February 27, 2009, http://www.classicflytying.com/index.php?showtopic=36532.
He opened up a blank file: Edwin Rist, interview by author, May 26, 2015.
Using tweezers, he began: Ibid.
When he was younger: Curtis Rist to Terry.
Edwin packed the birds: Rist interview.
10. “A VERY UNUSUAL CRIME”
Pyroderus scutatus is here: Mark Adams and Dr. Robert Prys-Jones, interview by author, January 21, 2015.
Only the dull-colored females: Ibid.
they were beginning to sense: Ibid.
“It’s about four miles of nothing”: Sergeant Adele Hopkin of Hertfordshire Constabulary, interview by author, January 20, 2015.
Had the birds been taken: Ibid.
Initially, Adele wondered: Ibid.
“The museum took pity on him”: M. P. Walters, “My Life with Eggs,” Zoologische Mededelingen 79, no. 3 (2005): 5–18.
the “incalculable damage”: “‘Irreparable Damage’ to National Heritage by Museum Eggs Theft,” article from unknown publication hanging on the foyer wall of the Tring Police Station, photographed by author on January 20, 2015.
th
e rest of his career: Walters, “My Life with Eggs.”
Colonel Richard Meinertzhagen: Brian Garfield, The Meinertzhagen Mystery: The Life and Legend of a Colossal Fraud (Washington, D.C.: Potomac, 2007).
a depressing amount of time: Pamela C. Rasmussen and Robert P. Prys-Jones, “History vs. Mystery: The Reliability of Museum Specimen Data,” Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club 1232.A (2003): 66–94.
Between 1998 and 2003: Jennifer Cooke, “Museum Thief Jailed,” Sydney Morning Herald, April 20, 2007.
“Why Museums Matter”: “Why Museums Matter: Avian Archives in an Age of Extinction,” papers from a conference at Green Park, Aston Clinton, and workshops at the Natural History Museum, Tring, November 12–15, 1999, Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club 1232.A (2003): 1–360.
“It is very distressing”: Andy Bloxham, “Hundreds of Priceless Tropical Bird Skins Stolen from Natural History Museum,” Telegraph, August 13, 2009.
11. HOT BIRDS ON A COLD TRAIL
“Somebody stole birds from a museum!”: Edwin Rist, interview by author, May 26, 2015.
“We would ask any collectors”: Arthur Martin, “Priceless Tropical Birds ‘Stolen to Decorate Dresses’ from Natural History Museum,” Daily Mail, August 13, 2009.
“gang of thieves”: Sam Jones, “Fears National History Museum Birds Will Be Used as Fishing Lures,” Guardian, August 13, 2009.
“We keep an open mind”: Chris Greenwood, “Bird Specimens Stolen from National Collection,” Independent, August 13, 2009.
Edwin knew that it was too late: Rist interview.
Edwin purchased eleven hundred small Ziploc: “Fluteplayer 1988: Seller Feedback,” eBay.com.
On November 12: “Indian Crow Feathers for Sale, Buying New Flute!” ClassicFlyTying.com, November 12, 2009, now deleted from website, scan at Kirkwjohnson.com/screenshots.
The following day: “Fluteplayer 1988: Seller Feedback,” eBay.com.
“so if you still want some”: “Crow Feathers,” ClassicFlyTying.com, November 12, 2009, now deleted from website, scan at Kirkwjohnson.com/screenshots.
On November 28: “Blue Chatter,” ClassicFlyTying.com, November 29, 2009. http://www.classicflytying.com/index.php?showtopic=38760.
She was skeptical: Sergeant Adele Hopkin of Hertfordshire Constabulary, interview by author, January 20, 2015.
a dedicated CITES team: “Wildlife Crime in the United Kingdom,” Directorate-General for Internal Policies, Policy Department A: Economic and Scientific Policy, April 2016, p. 16, http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/IDAN/2016/578963/IPOL_IDA(2016)578963_EN.pdf.
Adele asked them to be on the lookout: Hopkin interview.
Edwin didn’t seem particularly concerned: Mortimer to author, May 11, 2016.
Mortimer, unsure of their legality: Mortimer to author, May 2, 2016.
Shortly after Edwin started selling: Phil Castleman, interview by author, April 9, 2012.
Edwin found that his buyers: Rist interview.
Two initial suspects emerged: Natural History Museum at Tring to author, February 17, 2016.
they had privately come to the conclusion: Unpublished account of the scientific impact of the theft by the Tring’s curators, provided to the author January 14, 2015.
On March 6, he packed: Rist interview.
Dave Carne, who had recently sent: Dave Carne to author, May 13, 2012.
At the show, Carne saw Edwin: Ibid.
“Why are you selling this?!”: Jens Pilgaard, interview by author, April 16, 2017.
The bill came to about $6,000: Jens Pilgaard to author, September 22, 2013.
he had recently started taking Japanese: EdwinRist.com, screenshots at Kirkwjohnson.com/screenshots.
he sent a follow-up note to Jens: Edwin Rist to Jens Pilgaard, April 18, 2010.
12. FLUTEPLAYER 1988
Massive salmon steaks: Spezi, “DUTCH FLY FAIR 2010, the World of Fly Fishing,” Teutona.de, August 3, 2010.
To keep sane in those dark times: Irish to author, September 13, 2016.
Irish wandered through the tent: Ibid.
To Irish, it didn’t look: Ibid.
“Some kid in England named Edwin Rist”: Ibid.
“Flame Bowerbird male full skin”: “Flame Bowerbird Male Full Skin,” ClassicFlyTying.com, May 7, 2010, http://www.classicflytying.com/index.php?showtopic=40163.
Her department didn’t have: Sergeant Adele Hopkin of Hertfordshire Constabulary, interview by author, January 20, 2015.
September 2010 offerings: “Talented Fly Tier Turns Thief,” FlyFishing.co.uk, November 18, 2010.
A few weeks later: Edwin Rist to Jens Pilgaard, April 18, 2010.
“A Mix pack for sale”: “Classic Fly Tying—Trading Floor,” ClassicFlyTying.co.uk, https://web.archive.org/web/20101129081054/http://www.classicflytying.com/index.php?showforum=9, screenshot of trading floor activity in 2010.
That night Edwin: Edwin Rist, interview by author, May 26, 2015.
He already had an invitation: Curtis Rist to Terry, December 6, 2010.
Early in the morning: Hopkin interview.
He was awake: Rist interview.
“Is something wrong?”: Ibid.
13. BEHIND BARS
Edwin confessed immediately: Edwin Rist, interview by author, May 26, 2015.
He led them to his room: Ibid.
“I was having some psychological problems”: Regina v. Edwin Rist, St. Albans Crown Court, April 8, 2011, transcript, p. 2.
He pointed out a flatscreen TV: Sergeant Adele Hopkin of Hertfordshire Constabulary, interview by author, January 20, 2015.
As the bars locked shut: Rist interview.
Adele called up the Tring: Hopkin interview.
Thinking that if he cooperated: Rist interview
He didn’t feel particularly bad: Ibid.
“Oh my god! Is that a fly?!”: Hopkin interview.
I could just leave!: Rist interview.
14. ROT IN HELL
Confessing to her was worse: Edwin Rist, interview by author, May 26, 2015.
When Anton, who was headed: Ibid.
His father also wanted to locate: Ibid.
The morning after his arrest: Ibid.
At his first court appearance: Ibid.
But Edwin’s prosecutors: Ibid.
“extremely childish fantasies”: “Exotic Bird Pelts ‘Worth Millions’ Stolen from Natural History Museum by Musician Acting Out ‘James Bond’ Fantasy,” Daily Mail, November 27, 2010.
“Flute player admits”: “Flute Player Admits Theft of 299 Rare Bird Skins,” BBC.com, November 26, 2010.
“Exotic bird pelts”: “Exotic Bird Pelts . . . ,” Daily Mail, November 27, 2010.
“RARE FEATHER THIEF BUSTED”: “Rare Feather Thief Busted . . . and He’s One of Us. SHOCKING,” FlyTyingForum.com, November 23, 2010, http://www.flytyingforum.com/index.php?showtopic=55614.
“I hope Rist, if found guilty”: “Talented Fly Tier Turns Thief,” FlyFishing.co.uk, November 18, 2010.
Before it was deleted: “Classic Fly Tying—The Lodge,” ClassicFlyTying.com, https://web.archive.org/web/20101129081749/http://www.classicflytying.com/index.php?showforum=10, screenshot of Lodge activity, November 29, 2010.
described as “irresponsible accusations”: Ibid.
On November 29, 2010: “Stolen Bird Post,” ClassicFlyTying.com, November 29, 2010, http://www.classicflytying.com/index.php?showtopic=41583.
“There is no way to condone”: “Welcome to FeathersMc.com,” FeathersMc.com, screenshot of page as it appeared on December 1, 2010, https://web.archive.org/web/20101215041809/http://feathersmc.com/.
rot in hell: Rist interview.
The Honorable Judge Stephen Gullick: Regina v. Edwin Rist, St. Albans Crown Court, January 14, 2011, t
ranscript, p. 1.
“Are you going to invite”: Ibid.
15. THE DIAGNOSIS
“I prefer to do things”: Simon Baron-Cohen, Sally Wheelwright, Janine Robinson, and Marc Woodbury-Smith, “The Adult Asperger Assessment (AAA): A Diagnostic Method,” Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 35, no. 6 (2005): 807–19.
“Sorry, am I making you uncomfortable?”: Edwin Rist, interview by author, May 26, 2015.
His diagnosis of: David Kushner, “The Autistic Hacker,” IEEE Spectrum, June 27, 2011, http://spectrum.ieee.org/telecom/internet/the-autistic-hacker.
to the term Asperger’s Defense: “Did Asperger’s Make Him Do It?” NPR, August 24, 2011.
Because of the way Edwin had spoken: Rist interview.
After Edwin filled out the questionnaire: Ibid.
“taken fly-tying to the highest level”: Simon Baron-Cohen, Re Edwin Rist (report), January 30, 2011.
“I am persuaded that the shock of being arrested”: Ibid.
armed with a diagnosis: Rist interview.
16. THE ASPERGER’S DEFENSE
To him, Edwin seemed fully aware: Regina v. Edwin Rist, St. Albans Crown Court, April 8, 2011, transcript, p. 1.
“offence was committed for financial gain”: Ibid.
“explained that he used the money”: Ibid., p. 3.
“a catastrophic event”: Ibid.
“stealing knowledge from humanity”: Dr. Richard Lane, interview by author, January 20, 2015.
“things didn’t always go as”: Ibid.
The prosecution was making him: Edwin Rist, interview by author, May 26, 2015.
“There’s one TIC to be put”: Regina v. Edwin Rist, St. Albans Crown Court, April 8, 2011, transcript, p. 4.
The door was secured: Regina v. Simon James Gibson, Maxine Ann Burridge, Jack Barnaby Anderson, Court of Appeal, Royal Courts of Justice, Strand, March 6, 2001, transcript.
They had meant only to look around: Ibid.
“offensive to the public”: “Posing with the Dead,” News24.com, December 16, 2000.
“a chocoholic being let loose”: Regina v. Simon James Gibson, Maxine Ann Burridge, Jack Barnaby Anderson, Court of Appeal, Royal Courts of Justice, Strand, March 6, 2001, transcript.
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