Summary
- Scott Scurlock, inspired by Bodhi in “Point Break,” pulled off a series of heists, amassing over $2 million.
- Seattle saw an uptick in bank robberies; Scott’s low-profile crimes initially went unnoticed by the police.
- Scott and his associates almost pulled off one last heist and quit for good, but they were tracked by police.
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You are watching: 10 Most Shocking Reveals From Netflix’s How To Rob A Bank Documentary
Netflix’s latest true-crime documentary, How to Rob a Bank, tells the story of Scott Scurlock, a bank robber who operated in the 1990s in Seattle. Scott was known to authorities as “Hollywood” due to the movie-grade prosthetics he wore during his heist to conceal his identity. Alongside his accomplices, Scott pulled a series of heists and stole over $2 million before his death in 1996.
Netflix has plenty of true-crime documentaries, and How to Rob a Bank is another great addition to the streaming platform’s collection. The movie uses interviews from Scott’s friends and accomplices as well as the law enforcement agents who were tasked with tracking him down. Hollywood isn’t as famous as some other American thieves, like D.B. Cooper or the Barrow Gang, but How to Rob a Bank uncovers his remarkable story.
10 Scott Was Inspired By Bodhi From Point Break
Scott had a lot in common with Patrick Swayze’s character
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Scott was first inspired to rob banks after watching Point Break, which was released in 1991. He was particularly drawn to Patrick Swayze’s character Bodhi, a free-spirited bank robber who uses his money to fund his passion for surfing all over the world. Scott wasn’t a surfer, but he resonated with Bodhi’s peaceful message and his philosophical takes on modern life and money.
Scott was drawn to Patrick Swayze’s character Bodhi, a free-spirited bank robber who uses his money to fund his passion for surfing all over the world.
In Point Break, Bodhi leads a gang called the ex-presidents, who rob banks wearing rubber Halloween masks of former presidents. In tribute, Scott pulled his first bank robbery wearing a Ronald Reagan mask, which is the same as Bodhi’s. Scott and his accomplices were also inspired by other classic heist movies. They saw the violent, chaotic shootout in Michael Mann’s Heat and worried if they would ever find themselves in a similar situation.
9 Seattle Was A Hotspot For Bank Robberies At The Time
Police didn’t initially pay much attention to Scott’s crimes
Scott and his associates were far from the only bank robbers operating in Seattle during the 1990s. How to Rob a Bank explains that the city saw a financial boom with the influx of Microsoft, Amazon, and other tech companies. This influx of money meant that there were more banks than ever before, and this subsequently caused a rise in robberies. One FBI agent states that there was almost a new robbery every night in the city.
This uptick in bank robberies initially worked in Scott’s favor. His first few robberies were relatively small, and this allowed his crimes to slip under the radar.
This uptick in bank robberies initially worked in Scott’s favor. His first few robberies were relatively small, and this allowed his crimes to slip under the radar. The police and the FBI were working on much bigger robberies involving huge amounts of money, so Scott Scurlock’s crime spree wasn’t a priority, at least until he figured out how to get inside the bank’s vaults and exponentially increase his take.
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8 Despite Stealing Millions Of Dollars, Scott Lived In A Treehouse That He Built
Scott and his friends lived a carefree lifestyle in the woods
Scott made over $2 million in total from his bank robberies, but he still lived in the same treehouse which he built before he started making money. He built the treehouse with some of his friends in the lush forests of the Pacific Northwest just outside of Seattle, and a group of them lived there isolated from the outside world. The treehouse was surprisingly modern in some ways, as it had a working bathroom and electricity.
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Scott enjoyed the lifestyle that he built for himself at the treehouse with his friends and girlfriends, and the privacy allowed him to frequently wander around in the nude.
Even when he started taking in hundreds of thousands of dollars from his heists, Scott wasn’t tempted to buy another home. He enjoyed the lifestyle that he built for himself at the treehouse with his friends and girlfriends, and the privacy allowed him to frequently wander around in the nude. The treehouse collapsed shortly after Scott’s death, but fortunately nobody was inside at the time.
7 Scott Had Several Accomplices, Including One Who Worked In A Bank
“Mustang” is never named
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How to Rob a Bank examines Scott’s accomplices as well as the man himself. Although the police initially thought that Hollywood was a one-man operation, Scott had several people helping him at different times. He was usually the only person who would actually enter the bank, but his friends were often outside listening to police scanners and watching the streets for any activity.
Scott received help from a woman who worked at Seafirst bank, who passed on her inside information about the vaults and the bank protocols.
Scott’s two main accomplices were Steve Meyers and Mike Biggins, both of whom served long prison sentences for their involvement. Scott also received help from a woman who worked at Seafirst bank, who passed on her inside information about the vaults and the bank protocols. This is what initially allowed Scott to increase his hauls from under $10,000 to hundreds of thousands. She is identified in How to Rob a Bank by the pseudonym “Mustang,” and there is no indication that she served any jail time.
6 Scott Was Kicked Out Of College For Cooking Crystal Meth
Scott could have been a doctor if he had finished his studies
Scott’s bank robberies weren’t his first foray into criminal activity. How to Rob a Bank reveals that he initially hoped to become a doctor, but he became disillusioned during his studies. Scott excelled in his classes, especially chemistry, but he was forced to drop out of college just a few credits shy of graduating after he was discovered using his college’s laboratories to cook crystal meth.
Scott excelled in his classes, especially chemistry, but he was forced to drop out of college just a few credits shy of graduating after he was discovered using his college’s laboratories to cook crystal meth.
According to his friends, Scott’s crystal meth became well-known locally for its high quality. Scott took meth recreationally, but he was never addicted to the point that it became a serious problem for him. This chapter in his life provided him with a good income for a while, and this is how he managed to afford the land which he eventually built his treehouse on, but he quit the drug trade when he became worried that it was too dangerous. This is when he turned to robbing banks as an alternative source of income.
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5 The FBI Thought That Hollywood Could Be A Police Officer
Scott was always one step ahead of his pursuers
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How to Rob a Bank focuses on the efforts of law enforcement just as much as it focuses on Scott, but the investigation into Hollywood wasn’t always smooth. There were frequent disputes between the police and the FBI, and even among different people working on the same teams. One of the theories that was floated in the FBI was that Hollywood could be a police officer, since he appeared to know so much about police tactics.
Different interviewees in How to Rob a Bank offer their own opinions on this theory, but their conflicting reports make it hard to pin down who exactly supported the idea and who dismissed it.
Different interviewees in How to Rob a Bank offer their own opinions on this theory, but their conflicting reports make it hard to pin down who exactly supported the idea and who dismissed it. How to Rob a Bank also shows the lack of communication between the FBI and the Seattle police, as police officers are surprised to arrive at the scene of a bank robbery and see that the FBI are already there.
4 Scott Burned Through $21,000 A Month
Hollywood fancied himself as a Robin Hood character, so he gave money to his friends when they needed it
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One of the key details that eventually caused Scott’s downfall was that the FBI was able to accurately predict when he might target his next bank. They figured this out by recognizing the pattern of his previous robberies. Agents determined that he robbed a new bank whenever he was running low on cash. Based on the amount of money that he took from each robbery and the time between robberies, they figured that he was probably spending around $21,000 a month.
One of the key details that eventually caused Scott’s downfall was that the FBI was able to accurately predict when he might target his next bank.
This figure turned out to be accurate, although it’s a little unclear how Scott spent so much money while living in his treehouse. Some of the money must have been reinvested as Scott and his gang bought new vehicles and equipment, and some of it would have been split among other members, but this still leaves a lot of cash unaccounted for. Scott’s friends said that he never guarded his money too closely, and he would happily lend thousands of dollars to a friend if they were in need.
3 Scott Planned To Hit Three Banks In One Day Before Quitting
Scott’s final heist could have been worth $5-6 million
Scott’s career as a bank robber ended when a heist went wrong on Thanksgiving eve, but that day almost went completely differently. Although Scott always envisioned it as his final robbery before retiring and living off of the profits, his initial plan was to hit three banks in a single day. Scott reasoned that he could stay one step ahead of the police by quickly moving from one bank to another.
This plan seems like a risky escalation, but it actually reflects Scott’s actions after his very first robbery.
This plan seems like a risky escalation, but it actually reflects Scott’s actions after his very first robbery. Before he had worked on his technique, Scott and one of his friends pulled off a sloppy heist in which they made several rookie errors, such as using each other’s real names and fleeing on foot over a golf course full of witnesses. Despite the chaos of that initial robbery, Scott was keen to hit another bank immediately.
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2 The Hollywood Bandits Came Close To Escaping
The trio found one of the two trackers hidden in the stolen money
The Thanksgiving eve heist was Scott’s biggest job ever, and he came agonizingly close to pulling it off. He and his associates, Steve Meyers and Mike Biggins, knew that once they got the money in the van, they would have to quickly locate the two tracking devices concealed in the piles of cash and toss them out the window. As police units closed in on the tracking devices from all around, the Hollywood Bandits faced a race against the clock.
If they had managed to find the second tracking device a little faster, there’s a good chance the trio would have evaded the police and escaped for good.
Scott, Steve and Mike managed to locate one of the trackers relatively quickly, and the police found it abandoned by the side of the road. If they had managed to find the second device a little faster, there’s a good chance the trio would have evaded the police and escaped for good. Unfortunately for the robbers, they struggled to find the tiny tracker hidden among the hundreds of thousands of dollars in the van. They even practiced how to find the trackers under pressure with a smaller heist beforehand, but this ended up being inadequate preparation.
1 There’s Some Dispute Over The Details Of The Shootout
The police and the robbers offer different stories
Scott and his gang always feared that they would end up in a firefight just like the one in Heat, and this turned out to be the case on the night of their disastrous Thanksgiving eve heist. After police located their getaway van using the tracking devices which were concealed in the stacks of cash, Scott realized he would have to fight his way out. It’s evident that Scott stepped out of the driver’s seat with a gun, but some of the other details have been disputed.
The main point of contention is over who fired the first shot. Police claim it was the robbers, while the robbers claim that the police opened fire.
The main point of contention is over who fired the first shot. Police claim it was the robbers, while the robbers claim that the police opened fire. Even after the shootout, there were disagreements about the actions of the police officers on the scene. Shawn Johnson, one of the FBI agents tasked with apprehending Hollywood, states that he would have preferred to take the robbers in alive, but How to Rob a Bank suggests that law enforcement may not have had another chance before Scott disappeared for good.
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