Kalvin Ritter (1960–1998) was a Barbadian art collector, thief and member of the Yardbirds, a prominent group of jewel thieves that eventually disbanded due to a botched bank heist. Ritter was eventually assassinated by the ICA at the orders of a former client, due to being sold a counterfeit Gorka painting.
Biography[]
The Yardbirds[]
Not much is known of Ritter's life before crime, however, it is known that he was discovered in the 1980s in London as a member of the Yardbirds, a group of jewel thieves ran by the mythical Serbian bank robber Aleksander Kovac. Kovac became Ritter's mentor, teaching him the tricks and trades of the art of theft. Ritter adopted the moniker "Sparrow", to keep with the theme of the Yardbirds.
However, that all changed when the Yardbirds robbed the Shamal Casino in Las Vegas. Kovac did not know that the money belonged to organized criminals and faced a series of retaliations. This split the heist group, where they agreed that they'd meet to open the stolen coffer once the dust settled.
The Sparrow[]
Kalvin Ritter emerged in the 1990s as a Florida-based art collector under his old nickname of "Sparrow". He stole countless artworks from many people, only to resell it at a high price. This earned Ritter millions of dollars, allowing him to purchase an expensive yacht called the Night Thief, as well as a house in Switzerland. Ritter eventually retired as a cat burglar, due to theft becoming more digital than analog. Unfortunately for him, he sold a former client a counterfeit Gorka painting, which drove him to contacting the ICA to put a hit out on Ritter.
Death[]
In 1998, an unidentified ICA agent accepted the contract, and infiltrated Ritter's yacht, the Night Thief, in Sydney, Australia. He sneaked aboard the ship as a mechanic, eventually disguising himself as a yacht crew member.
The agent then followed Ritter to a meeting with Scottish businessman Terry Norfolk, and shot him through the head with a silenced pistol as he checked his laptop, killing him. The agent then made his escape casually, not being found out by Ritter's guests or crew. Ritter's death was considered an unsolved murder, though his past eventually was revealed postmortem.
Legacy[]
Ritter's assassination was recreated for ICA agents to hone their skills on, with actors and stuntmen portraying the various people on board. In 1999, 47 trained multiple times on the scenario, "assassinating" Ritter in many creative ways.