A Monumental Heist

A building named in honor of its home, the Empire State,
Was genuinely stolen in December of ’08!
No, Carmen Sandiego didn’t move it from its base.
The New York Daily News just faked a purchase of the place.
They forged a bill of sale and other documents as needed
To fool the city register. The transfer they completed
Was made to “Nelots Properties”; that’s “stolen” in reverse.
The oversight was bad, and further details make it worse:
The notary was named as Willie Sutton, like the crook.
The witness was King Kong’s Fay Wray. Did anybody look?
The process as a whole took 90 minutes. What a move!
Thank goodness they were white hats who announced the theft to prove
The system had a gaping flaw: It didn’t call for clerks
To verify the data. Since the thieves this time weren’t jerks,
They gave the title back without a ransom being paid.
I don’t know if reform ensued, but might I say, well played!