A better riddle(20 questions)/whodunit than Albatross...

OK, just got back from work.

No lipstick on the glass.

It was just tap water.

DNA testing only works if you have a suspect. The police did not.

It was regular water, but it was left at every crime scene.

All the art was stolen from affluent people's houses while they were away. This happened in the early 80's, so caller id wasn't available. So they would call houses they knew had art in it, and if there was no answer, those were the houses they would break into. (there was a hint there)

The police didn't know, but assumed it was for something. Should I answer this yet?

Nope. The burglars weren't appraisers, and the homeowners were always gone.

This didn't happen in Houston.

 

Ok, I'm going to divulge a bit more. But what I'm giving up was not how the police solved this. The hint above was how they ultimately found him.

The water was for drinking.

No special location for the water.

No tire tracks, but the police always also noticed a big pile of the victim's property on their dining room table. They determined that the robbers were picking the most valuable items and leaving the remainder of the property. Most likely due to having to carry it all.

 

No, but it was due to a medical condition.

Alright, here is what happened:

A guy went to an art gallery and found a registry of art buyers and paintings. That was how he was able to know who owned what. He would call the people in the registry to find out if they were home. If they didn't answer, he would infiltrate. He had two childhood friends help him out. If the homeowners had a security system, he would cut the security line, tape it back up, and wait for the police to come and determine if it was a false alarm.

Once the police left, he would have one of his guys drop them off on the street, and drive away. Through walkie-talkies, he'd let the guy know when to pick them up.

He did have connections with a corrupt art dealer, who would let him know that landscape art was much more easily resold than portrait art. ie. The dealer let him know specifically what was fenceable.

The cops first big clue was the water. They sent out a bulletin to all law enforcement explaining what was happening.

Turns out, the police in Boston were going crazy about the same details the Connecticut Police were.

So they decided to pull over every Massachussettes license plate they saw.

The robbers first mistake was getting pulled over and presenting their real ids. When the cops found out another burglary happened the same night, they had the FBI follow them.

Unfortunately for the robbers, the FBI followed them to a racetrack, positioned a surveilance van next to the suspect vehicle, flattened a tire, and waited. When the robbers got to the car, they opened the trunk to get the spare and, lo and behold, artwork was in the trunk.

They issued warrants for all 3. The problem was that although 2 of the guys had a criminal history, one had a spotless record. Was he just an innocent bystander?

While they were interrogating the "innocent" third party, he kept asking for a glass of water. When the police asked why, he simply replied "I have Diabetes."

The first two were given 10 year sentences. The best part was the mastermind diabetic got off scott-free by telling the police who the fence was.

There is a show on Court TV called "Masterminds." The whole show is based on true heist stories, and how they did it, as well as how they were eventually caught.

I find it fascinating.

Sorry for the spoiler, but nobody was coming even close. I can present another one, if anyone enjoyed this, and I'll try and present more clues.