JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Aug. 27 (UPI) -- Blane Nordahl, a convicted cat burglar known as the "Silver Thief," has been arrested in north Florida on felony charges out of Georgia, police say.
It was the latest arrest over a span of some 20 years in which he acknowledged hundreds of residential burglaries in which he took high-end and historical silver home furnishings, The (Jacksonville) Florida Times Union reported Monday.
His arrest Monday, in the tiny town of Hilliard west of Jacksonville, was on warrants from Atlanta on charges of burglary with intent to commit a first-degree felony and conspiracy to commit a felony.
Nordahl's signature style made him the prime suspect in a number of robberies across the country investigated by a special team of four retired law enforcement officers who had dealt with him over the years, officials said.
The team said Nordahl had a certain way of removing panes of glass from window so he could crawl in. He took only high-quality silverware, leaving behind even expensive jewelry. He had a taste for pieces of a historical nature, once taking a silver set made by Paul Revere.
Nordahl was arrested and served several terms in prison, but investigators said he couldn't stop committing burglaries because he was so good.
He learned from his mistakes, said Cornell Abruzzini, a former Connecticut detective who was a member of the investigative team
"Every time he figured out what jammed him up, he changed," said Abruzzini, who once arrested Nordahl for six burglaries.
