BOSTON: "It was probably for the better," said Tom Green, recalling how he first pitched Marty Leppo and Myles Connor about his original idea on writing the life of Myles as narrative non-fiction, to be titled "The Gun Collector's Son". The book as memoir got to market much more quickly," he concedes. "My concept, back in May of 2007, would have taken lots more research and fact finding. Memoir leaves it up to the subject, in this case Myles Connor, to provide the facts, as he knows them."

The book in question: "The Art of the Heist: Confessions of a Master Thief, Rock-and-Roller and Prodigal Son," the memoirs of career criminal Myles Connor. Co-written with Jenny Siler, the book will be published in May by HarperCollins. "Jenny's idea was a good one about changing the concept to memoir," said Green. "In parallel, I had my hands full researching and writing my book on the Gardner heist. I couldn't possibly have done both. As it is, some of the ideas from my Gardner research and my interviews with Myles Connor drifted into her content, which helped, I think, to make the memoir stronger. Call it cross-pollination, whatever. It helped her through a couple of re-writes early on. Myles' book is much stronger for it."

Coordinating everything in the background between both books was the ever-present maestro, Marty Leppo.

"Marty had been trying for years with a bunch of other writers, even a Hollywood producer, to get something off the ground for either one of his dream duo of books: the Myles Connor story and the Gardner heist," remembered Green of his first encounter with the very energetic and determined 77-year-old criminal trial attorney. "Marty had stacks of boxes all over his office stuffed with two decades of prime Gardner material. But in 2007, it looked like everything was going to stay in those boxes for the foreseeable future, which to Marty meant forever. 'Could I do anything,' he asked, 'to make something of it all?'"

Two books, a movie, and a TV special.

"Marty's problem back then was that he was mixing the two potential book concepts together, flipflopping between concepts on Myles and the Gardner. He was so close to both Myles and the Gardner heist that he couldn't separate them well enough to get a concept going for either one. I wasn't as close as he was; I had a fresh perspective. I saw two distinct books and put a proposal together, along with a few sample chapters, to capture the first concept on paper. Somehow that created focus, made it real. Eyes opened. Everyone loved "The Gun Collector's Son". Suddenly we had some momentum. The plan was that I'd ghost write the book for Marty. I sent a book proposal package off to a Manhattan literary agent that I'd first met while peddling my book on the origins of Information Technology--Dan Conaway at Writers House. He was much more receptive to crime than he had been to 1950's technology.

Dan brought in his client Jenny Siler, who had some six or so fiction thrillers under her belt as well as a large following, what publishers today call a platform. She, on the other hand, adored Old Master art, especially Rembrandt and Vermeer, and had followed Myles' museum heists in the papers for years. Myles, she reckoned, also had a formidable platform (punch his name in online and Google goes nuts). Plus she was looking for a piece of non-fiction in the crime/thriller genre to become a sort of a non-fiction, breakout book for her. We all saw a perfect match between Jenny and Myles, which freed up time for me to begin digging into Marty's boxes for my book on the Gardner heist. By late 2008, we had one book on press getting ready for bookstores, a month after that a movie deal for Myles' memoir was struck with Bill Monahan, and my book half done was looking for an agent or publisher. We could also feel a TV special in the wind for the Gardner's 20th anniversary quickly upcoming in March of 2010. A TV special seemed likely because ABC had already done one in 2004 for the 15th anniversary. And the 20th anniversary would make for an even better focal point. From 2007 to today, we've come full circle: from the circle of gloom in Marty's face to circles of people gathering around him and Myles in bookstores."

And the second book is "The Perfect Plan: The Gardner Heist"

"I've got a proposal as well as half a book ready for "The Perfect Plan: The Gardner Heist", and we're hoping to repeat the first book's success in the not too distant future." Green seems certain that the new book will break fresh ground in the two-decades-old Gardner mystery. "Just the piece about Myles masquerading as Dr. Michael Joesph to case the Gardner puts a whole new slant on the goings-on the night of the robbery," he says. "Marty and his boxes of Gardner memorabilia have been superb resources in unearthing the book's new heist scenario."

"That scenario," Green teases a bit, "takes a fresh look at a brilliant heist plan, double dealing, unforseen good fortune, surprising misfortune, false clues, overlooked clues, desperation, and how a dash of corruption might have unexpectedly conspired with everything else to provide all the necessary ingredients for one of the all-time most perfect crimes. It's a midnight romp in the house that Isabella built...and then some."