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49 Comments
- kevinsboy, on 03/12/2009, -1/+36I enjoyed the article, it would be an awesome story to be turned into a book. Then turned into a crappy movie.
- stealthspc, on 03/12/2009, -0/+23You hear about stories like that in movies, but it's crazy they actually pulled that off. I'm impressed.
- nick111, on 03/12/2009, -0/+13The biggest ever diamond heist was the creation of the diamond industry, and Europe's "relationship" with its diamond-producing colonies, but not necessarily in that order.
- jswig, on 03/12/2009, -0/+13Long article but worth the read. Wired integrates some neat artifacts and other supporting documents perfectly.
- SmpleJohn, on 03/12/2009, -0/+11Oceans 23?
- shadowspawn, on 03/12/2009, -0/+10That was kinda cool. As a kid I wanted to do that, but my dad always said "if you can't do the time, don't do the crime." For 20m in Euro's (what, 28m USD today? or 40 when it happened?) some could spend 10 years in a prison with 3 squares a day...
But I couldn't. I'd go insane.
Then again, get caught with your personal supply of over an ounce of pot and/or shrooms in some places, you'd do the same time in America.
Hmm.
Just tried that hairspray trick on the house alarm sensor. It worked. Now I gotta figure out how to get the stuff off. - pathouston22, on 03/12/2009, -1/+11Wow, an 8 page story on the internet.....worth reading.
And that is why criminals get caught, they do stupid things, like throwing evidence out like trash. - Jamminn, on 03/12/2009, -0/+8What a great read.
- ryanonfire, on 03/12/2009, -0/+7Then back into a book.
- orlyfactor, on 03/12/2009, -0/+75 or 10 years for that kind of payoff...I'd do it. Are Belgian prisons akin to the US' Federal Pound-Me-In-The-Ass prisons?
- taallison, on 03/12/2009, -0/+7He's Keyser Soze!
- strictnein, on 03/12/2009, -0/+6Assuming this line from the article is correct:
"Though he's an inmate and wears the requisite white prisoner jacket, Notarbartolo radiates a sunny Italian charm. A silver Rolex peeks out from under his cuff"
I'm guessing prisons in Belgium aren't that bad. Of course, maybe he just has the right connections.
edit: Oh, yeah, I guess he does have the right connections:
"The Italian anti-Mafia police contend he is tied to the Sicilian mob, that his cousin was tapped to be the next the capo dei capi—the head of the entire organization." - banderwocky, on 03/12/2009, -0/+6Epic story.
- scoot2006, on 03/12/2009, -0/+4Take your adderall and read 8 pages. It's really not difficult.
- digjam, on 03/12/2009, -0/+4FTA..." It was protected by 10 layers of security, including infrared heat detectors, Doppler radar, a magnetic field, a seismic sensor, and a lock with 100 million possible combinations. "
Wow.... these guys are amazing...with such talent they should have targetted the country's mint. - morcheeba, on 03/12/2009, -0/+4Have you heard of a Belgian Waffle? It's not what you think it is.
- jerry8135, on 03/12/2009, -0/+3Favorite part was when the high tech sensor got defeated by hairspray
- Ratteler, on 03/12/2009, -3/+5Worlds biggest heist my ass. The Republicans have stolen $13 Trillion and they are still at it.
These guys are rank amateurs compared to Cheney and crew. - jeff823, on 03/12/2009, -0/+2....how did they get that modified fire extinguisher in there as well??
- Stuart750, on 03/12/2009, -0/+2Sneaky buggers....
- Daxx22, on 03/12/2009, -1/+3I believe the article mentioned both the Monster and the Genius did maintenance "jobs" around the area. Article's decidedly thin on details on that point, but it might have been that.
- Retnuh730, on 03/12/2009, -0/+2BOOM BABY!
- jsainz, on 03/12/2009, -0/+2great read to start the day.
- strictnein, on 03/12/2009, -0/+2My question: they mention how they get the combination lock by filming them opening the safe from a hidden camera in the ceiling. How did they get that camera there?
- simonthomas, on 03/13/2009, -0/+2It was a fascinating article. Very well written. I finally watched Blood Diamond the other day, so this was intriguing. One thing that's odd about it all is that the thief didn't seem to feel in any way remorseful about stealing just that he had made a mistake in destroying the evidence. Warped.
- Kidddrunkadelic, on 03/13/2009, -0/+2Funny my dad says if you're gonna steal, steal once that will provide for a lifetime. i.e. what happened in the article.
- Daxx22, on 03/12/2009, -0/+1Yeah, ass-pounding the Don of Don's cousin wouldn't be very smart.
- strictnein, on 03/12/2009, -0/+1According to someone I know in the diamond biz, they've actually come up with a pretty rudimentary way of discovering which diamonds are man made. He could be full of it, but he's usually pretty trustworthy.
- inactive, on 03/12/2009, -2/+3Man, I wanna be a ***** diamond thief. Not for the loot, just for the excitement.
- LiLi009, on 03/16/2009, -0/+1He's probably lying. He's waiting till he is released to pick up the loot that he hid.
- kd1s, on 03/12/2009, -0/+1More to the point, do you smell a certain, oh I don't know, setup here? I'm three pages in and the thought occurs to me that wouldn't the police want to keep a cousin of the Capo dei capi on ice for a bit?
- kd1s, on 03/12/2009, -0/+1I don't understand diamond heists. You can get man made diamonds that are indistinguishable from the natural product for about $10 to $20 per karat.
Gold on the other hand, at $900 per ounce/31 grams that's a no brainer. - Daxx22, on 03/12/2009, -0/+1Rubbing alcohol probably.
- Greengoo, on 03/12/2009, -1/+2It's the diamond as big as the Ritz
What you gonna do with this
Tell me who's goin' to save you
When you're a slave to the
Diamond as big as the Ritz - raks1991, on 03/13/2009, -0/+1WOW
- EMGroup, on 03/12/2009, -0/+1This actually reminds of that one movie by Jason Stathum, The Bank Job
- akamurph, on 03/12/2009, -0/+1I thought the same thing
- Kidddrunkadelic, on 03/13/2009, -1/+2Awesome article. What made it even better was Shirley Bassey came on my music player when reading this.
- stygiansonic, on 03/13/2009, -0/+1Yep, the first thing I thought of was Snatch...
- BobCFC, on 03/13/2009, -0/+1The diamond community is very insular and never reports heists because it drives up the insurance for all of them.
- Kewjoe, on 03/12/2009, -1/+1It'll be called Oceans 5. With this current recession, Danny Ocean won't be able to afford his usual crew.
- novenator, on 03/12/2009, -1/+1been there, but didn't done it
- strictnein, on 03/12/2009, -2/+2Reply abuse:
Article on one page
http://www.wired.com/politics/law/magazine/17-04/f ... - rexpem, on 03/16/2009, -0/+0What an amazing story!!!! Joshua Davis must be the best writer on the earth!!! I love the story, make the movie! Make the movie!!!
- RudMan, on 03/12/2009, -2/+1This story was almost too good to be true. It read like the plot of a movie. And then I see it is scheduled for the April issue of Wired. Could this just be an April fool's hoax?
- waleedo, on 03/12/2009, -1/+0Ocean's 14?
- MarkusX, on 03/12/2009, -2/+1Reading the headline I thought this was about the "Paink Panther". ;-)
- davehak5, on 03/12/2009, -4/+0That's an awesome story. thanks for the share!
twitter.com/hey_thanks
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