Whit Rummel-THE ACCIDENTAL PICASSO THIEF

Speaking of Writers · Mar 26, 2026 · 34m

In 1969, a Picasso painting titled Portrait of a Woman and Musketeer vanished from Logan International Airport’s loading dock in Boston and ended up in the home of Merrill “Bill” Rummel, a forklift operator. Unaware of its contents, Rummel took the crate home, later discovering that it contained the painting and hiding it in his closet. As the missing Picasso drew the attention of the FBI and the Winter Hill Gang, Rummel and his fiancée panicked. Could this accidental Picasso thief avoid both the mob and the FBI?What happened next was a sort of reverse heist. Stealing this painting was…