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After news of a major heist at a $20 million seaside Massachusetts mansion, one former FBI investigator says details provided by the home’s owner could point to an inside job.
“It certainly sounds to me pretty clear that there was some inside information about this property, about the home, and more so about the specific valuables that were taken,” Bill Daly told Fox News Digital, adding that unless certain items were widely and publicly known to be inside the home, investigators will likely hone in on potential suspects who had access to the property.
Daly was an investigator and counterintelligence operative for the federal law enforcement agency.
Drone photo of 34 Paine Avenue on March 30, 2026. An armed robbery occurred at the waterfront mansion. (Danielle Parhizkaran/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
Beverly, Massachusetts police said the brazen robbery occurred in the early morning hours on Saturday, and that a neighbor called the police at 8:50 a.m., alerting them of the crime. The opulent 27,000-square-foot mansion rests on ocean front property northeast of Boston.
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“Through an investigation, Beverly Police determined that an armed suspect had broken into the home and assaulted and tied up the home’s sole occupant before stealing several items from the house, including a vehicle, which the suspect used to leave the scene,” the agency said.
Thomas Swan III owns the luxe property, and told WCVB that the victim was his housekeeper.
“What they did to my housekeeper was just horrendous,” Swan said. “She was held at gunpoint, sometimes dragged by her hair, ultimately tied up and left in the garage. She’s really, really special, but truly traumatized by this, truly traumatized.”
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The housekeeper was pistol-whipped by the suspect during the home invasion, according to NBC Boston.
Swan added that the items taken from the home were “some very specific and valuable things.”
A photo of 34 Paine Avenue on March 30, 2026. An armed robbery occurred at the waterfront mansion. (Danielle Parhizkaran/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
The robber reportedly fled the scene in a Porsche stolen from the home, which was ultimately located by police several miles away in the town of Lynn, Massachusetts.
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Daly noted that the tactics used by the suspect differ from those typically found in high-profile targeted robberies involving expensive items.
“It is interesting in this case that [the suspect] appears to have abused, pistol-whipped and perhaps even dragged the housekeeper by her hair,” said Daly. “It’s different from the typical method of operation. If you look at the people who robbed the gems and the art out of the Louvre, they were sleek, they kind of blended in, they didn’t hurt anyone in the process. And you see that often when you talk about high net worth break-ins or you hear about valuables taken from art galleries or from museums.”
“It’s done in a much more low-key fashion. This one was much more brazen, and also seems to be a little bit bordering, kind of a bit thuggish, if you will.”
A photo of 34 Paine Avenue on March 30, 2026. An armed robbery occurred at the waterfront mansion. (Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
The Beverly Police Department and the Massachusetts State Police are currently investigating.
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Beverly police declined to comment further on Wednesday morning. Fox News Digital reached out to the Massachusetts State police.
Fox News’ Julia Bonavita contributed to this report.