Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is the result of a multi-artist collaboration organized by The Avenue Concept, who selected ABOVE as a guest curator and lead artist to fulfill Hudson Fur and Leather’s desire to adorn the exterior of their building with public art. Above executed the mural’s main theme–The Bonded Vault Heist–elements of which dot the wall and are juxtaposed with classic graffiti writing. To compliment his work and complete the mural, he selected Geser, Jimboe, Kems, and Osteo, all of whom have a long history painting in Providence and surrounding areas and large online following of fans of their work.

The mural theme references the building’s infamous history surrounding the 1975 robbery of the Bonded Vault Company, a commercial safe-deposit business occupying a vault inside the building. The vault served as the unofficial “bank” used by the Patriarca crime family and associates. The stolen valuables were worth about $30 million (equivalent to upwards of $150 million today). According to The Providence Journal, it was among the biggest heists in US history and resulted in the longest and costliest criminal trial in Rhode Island history.

The burglars are portrayed as cartoony bandit-like animals including weasels, foxes, badgers, which playfully also references the building’s main contemporary business of storing and cleaning furs. In the mural the “bandits” are cutting alarm cords, using torches to break into window vents and making off with big bags of goods marked with an oversized $. All while animal-like eyes peer out from cracks in the building.

The artists and The Avenue Concept would like to thank Hudson Fur and Leather, who made this public art mural possible.