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The long fall from ripping off Rembrandts to shoplifting sunglasses
There's nothing like an art heist to make journalists spout hyperbole. What else could explain the wild things they've said about Myles J. Connor, the Boston career criminal who by his own account has tiptoed by night through literally dozens of museums?

MASTERMIND OR TWO-BIT CROOK? Myles J. Connor claims he planned the Gardner heist — but now faces charges for shoplifting.

There's nothing like an art heist to make journalists spout hyperbole. What else could explain the wild things they've said about Myles J. Connor, the Boston career criminal who by his own account has tiptoed by night through literally dozens of museums?

He was "a Mayflower-descended master criminal" in Vanity Fair, and "the world's greatest crooked connoisseur" in Town & Country. "A true professional," reads an old Time magazine profile, "who could probably run Christie's and Sotheby's from inside the can."

But the drivel dried up a few weeks ago, when Connor was arrested in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, a gritty mill town with zero tolerance for bullshit. Police allege he tried to sneak out of a Rite Aid pharmacy with a $20 pair of sunglasses tucked up his sleeve.

"To us, he's just another shoplifter," said Captain Ed Lee.

"He was downsizing," quipped another officer who declined to give his name.

Connor, 68, was arraigned April 12 on a charge of misdemeanor shoplifting and released on his own recognizance. He pleaded not guilty.

THE GARDNER GUY?

Connor's wild reputation is partly the result of his own public-relations campaign. Unlike most underworld figures, he can't say no to an interview. But there's no denying that his 40-year outlaw career has been remarkable.

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