Today ’s second archival choice morsel comes from our current proceeds , on stands now . Shame on you if you do n’t already have a transcript .
The Original Ocean ’s 11 : The 2003 Antwerp Diamond Heist
If you think George Clooney ’s " Ocean ’s 11" character was fluid , check out the velvet finish on felonious genius Antonino Finotto . In February 2003 , Finotto and his gang of thief , known as the School of Turin , rip off one of the furtive heist in account . Daring to break into the notable Antwerp Diamond Center — a building that bind 80 percent of the populace ’s baseball diamond — the group made out with $ 120 million in jewels .
How They Did It : Not ones to rush into something this self-aggrandising , the Turin boys began position the basis for the project three years prior . mystify as a society owner , gang extremity Leonardo Notarbartolo rented an office in the Diamond Center in 2000 and proceed to obtain copies of master key Francis Scott Key and learn how the alarm scheme worked . Then , the group waited for the perfect misdirection — the Diamond Games lawn tennis tournament on February 16 , 2003 . As Venus Williams wow throngs of spectator ( many of them Diamond Center employees and security guards ) , Finotto ’s crew used their duplicate winder to sneak into 123 of the construction ’s belowground vaults . Simply riding the lift down to the basement , they deactivate a motion sensor and wiretap over wanton sensor . Then , instead of just covering the lens of the CCTV ( closed circuit TV ) surety cameras , they avoided hunch by supersede the tape measure with previously recorded footage .
Of naturally , the biggest vault was getting past the vault ’s 12 - inch thick door . Knowing the door were equip with internal magnets that would fix off warning gadget if they detach , the robber drilled holes into them , carefully tape the magnet together , and moved them out of the path so that they would n’t separate . After that , all they had to do was break the locks to the refuge deposit box , rake in the diamonds , and then quietly fly the setting . To get off undetected , they con the surveillance blueprint of the 24 - hour police patrols outside the construction . ( Hey , they did n’t have byname like King of Thieves and The Magician with the Keys for nothing . ) Amazingly , even though the holdup took post on a Saturday night , authorities did n’t come upon anything suspect until Monday morning .
How They Got Caught : Here ’s a tip for would - be stealer : If you go forth the crime scene with a udder full of diamond and dispose of the bags on the road leading out of the city , ensure you do n’t leave your half - eaten sandwich in one of them . inspector used the DNA evidence on the intellectual nourishment to nab Notarbartolo , who currently await pursuance . Investigators also found DNA grounds in one of the burial vault that linked Finotto to the Belgian rip-off , but he was already back in Turin , Italy , safe from extradition . Meanwhile , none of the diamonds have been recovered . Some have microscopical inscriptions on them that would reveal their identity , but only if the thieves ever adjudicate to deal them legally .
And with that , we ’re going dark for the next week . Hey , give us a break ! We ’ll be back bright and early on January 1 . Okay , January 2 .
