William Mason is arguably America’s greatest ever jewel thief. During a thirty-year career he charmed his way into the inner circles of high society and stole over $35 million worth of fabulous jewels from people such as Robert Goulet, Armand Hammer, Phyllis Diller (twice), Bob Hope, Margaux Hemingway, Truman Capote, Johnny Weissmuller and even the Mafia.
Along the way he seduced a high-profile Midwest socialite into leaving her prominent industrialist husband, nearly died after being shot in a robbery, tricked both Christie’s and Sotheby’s into fencing stolen goods for him, was a fugitive for five years and the object of a nationwide manhunt, and yet spent a total of less than three years in prison despite the best efforts of law-enforcement agencies from several states as well as the federal government.
Shadowy, elusive and intensely private, Mason has been the subject of many magazine and newspaper features, but no journalist has ever come close to uncovering the true story. Now, in his own words and with no holds barred, Nine Lives: Confessions of a Master Jewel Thief reveals it all, and the real story is more incredible than any of the reporters, detectives or FBI agents who pursued Mason ever imagined.