North Carolina's priceless copy of the Bill of Rights is kept out of sight in a secure underground vault, and for good reason: It was once stolen, hidden away for more than 100 years, then recovered in a spectacular FBI raid. In this extended episode, host Jeremy Markovich gets the inside story of how it all went down, directly from the people who were there.
View an online scan of North Carolina's copy of the Bill of Rights here.
Also in the vault: the Carolina Charter of 1663.
Music in this episode:
"Not Those Kind of People" by Bombadil
Additional music: Blue Dot Sessions
Special Thanks: North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, Joe Torsella and the Pennsylvania Treasurer's Office
2005 press conference audio provided by WRAL-TV
Additional Reading:
Lost Rights: The Misadventures of a Stolen American Relic, by David Howard
Priceless: How I Went Undercover to Rescue the World's Stolen Treasures, by Robert K. Wittman and John Shiffman
S2 E7: Stealing Bill