All of these great thievery stories, and I forgot to tell about the time I was actually robbed; i.e., held up at knife point.
Cleveland, around 1971. My part-time job was driving a cab, which most of the time was quite enjoyable. Long story short, one night I was "hailed" at a downtown taxi stand and directed to a neighborhood that none of us ever voluntarily went into except maybe in broad daylight. The situation became crystal clear when I felt the blunt side of a cold blade held at the back of my neck. In the middle of a block with few streetlights, I was asked for the key which was tossed out in front of the cab. It was explained to me that I'd been good and wasn't going to get hurt as long as I waited five minutes after the gentleman departed, then I could get the key to the cab and continue on my way.
The police were involved, and my experience turned out to be much like other drivers had described, before and after. I heard they caught the guy some months later, but who knows.
