6 ms·

The Untold Story of the World's Biggest Diamond Heist

108 points by jwb119 18y ago

nazgulnarsil 18y ago
one of the draws of thievery is that it is a profession for the renaissance man and also the profession for those who can look outside the box to solve a problem. the best way to get into a place is to use a method no one who designed the security system would have thought of. I'm betting that a lot of people who make good thieves are also the kind who would make good entrepreneurs.
- thaumaturgy 18y ago
  Be careful not to confuse common thievery with the Hollywood style, or the occasional case like this one. The vast majority of thievery is simply bashing car windows or taking advantage of naivete.
  - deleted 18y ago
    [deleted]
  - raganwald 18y ago
    Be careful not to confuse common entrepreneurism with tech start-ups. The vast majority of business startups are landscaping and snow-plow services or dry cleaning store-fronts ;-)
- vinutheraj 18y ago
  I am actually in awe of this guy right now [:D], man, this is some really exciting profession, thievery, its more like an art ! This story was better than any episode of Hustle !
nazgulnarsil 18y ago
this would make a good movie. it's quite funny that despite the extreme technical sophistication of the vault the thieves were only undone by a panicky cohort.
- mhb 18y ago
  In that vein, I'd recommend Inside Man: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0454848/ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0454848/
dantheman 18y ago
Amazing story, once again security fails due to a lot of human error. Spoilers below if you haven't read the article: 1. The key shouldn't be kept in the closet outside the safe 2. Opening the door should force the magnetic sensor to be triped, the door must be in the way of the sensor. Additionally, why was the sensor on the outside of the door? 3. The combination lock should have a viewing angle that requires the user to block any cameras. 4. You need human patrols. 5. Sensors should be independent; the heat/motion sensor shouldn't both need to be tripped. 6. They needed sensors that could not be easily seen or detected by someone in the safe (hidden cameras, sensors embedded in another object). 7. The needed multiple sensors instead of one each. 8. The sensors should adjust the current flowing through them so that the wires can't be bridged, and the wires shouldn't be exposed. 9. There needs to be a random factor inserted such as random patrols, a sensor that moves in a random way, the combination is changed randomly. 10. They should have a time control on the safe that only allows it to be opened during certain times. There could be an override, but it'd be it should be difficult and rarely used (hard to copy). Just a few off the top of my head, more cameras would also be good -- what else did they do wrong?
- dantheman 18y ago
  11. Video cameras -- keep the lights on everywhere.
- nazgulnarsil 18y ago
  There needs to be a random factor inserted thiis the #1 thing that would prevent a lot of crime. people dont do it because it makes logistics harder. people like routines.
- ErrantX 18y ago
  DOnt forget this was several years ago - some of the technology was not a minature as it might be now :)
- thaumaturgy 18y ago
  On #8, I was surprised that this hack worked at all, especially in what must have been a terribly expensive alarm system. It should have been monitoring for changes in both voltage and resistance, and tripping the alarm if the circuit fluctuated. If nothing else, it would help detect a failing component.
rjurney 18y ago
This is the most entertaining article I have read in a very long time.
dantheman 18y ago
The thieves made quite a few mistakes. 1. Why did they have anything with their names on it. The invoice, and business card should have been destroyed long before they broke in. 2. He should have emptied his apartment before the robbery. 3. Of course the other trash should have been destroyed. 4. Why didn't he have a back up plan for his friend, he knew his friend might get panicky, so he should've planned to drop him off at the earliest possible moment. 5. They should've done random checks to make sure the cases they were moving contained the diamonds (if you believe this segment of the story).
- jfornear 18y ago
  For all we know, these 'mistakes' could have been intended. :D
  - dantheman 18y ago
    I don't quite follow your reasoning, why would they want to get caught? Or are you implying that they may have been framed?
    - mdolon 18y ago
      The stolen goods are still unaccounted for and four Italians (with links to the mafia) are caught after making pretty stupid mistakes for such an elaborate (and difficult) robbery. How could guys like 'The Genius' and 'The Monster' not have come up with a better plan to dispose of the trash and clean out the apartment? Maybe Notarbartolo is just serving time as part of a bigger deal, either for a share of the spoils or safety from rival mafia members? The others could have been framed, running errands like buying sandwich meats for the masterminds or having their DNA strewn across the vault. Anyone else want to write a Hollywood script with me?
      - andreyf 18y ago
        This seems very likely - I imagine a lot of prosecutors are as careerist as people in any other profession. Given a choice between "high probability of successfully prosecuting someone who might have been set up" versus "low probability of successfully prosecuting the real criminals", they will, of course, pick the former. In a way, everyone wins here - except the insurance companies, I suppose. The criminals some money, the prosecutors make a career.
yason 18y ago
So, while they did arrange for and actually worked out a spectacular break-in, then they got caught because of stupid lack of planning. And there was a scamming Jewish dealer involved, or maybe not. And of course they like to brag about not really telling whether the insurance scam cover story itself is a cover-story. To me it smells so fishy that I could imagine that they're not only pretty good thieves but also really good at writing bad ficticious criminal stories. Well, hence the six years of silence, perhaps? One thing probably happened and a whole another thing was now told; it's just that they practically borrowed anything like that you might see in a Hollywood movie in the criminal genre. Just nicely laid around the undeniable facts. And like a good movie this story also ends with a lot of presented implications but nothing you would know for sure. According to my limited and somewhat indirect knowledge of criminals there are two kinds that get caught. There are those who are utterly spontaneous, idiotic, just otherwise crack-headed or all three and they get caught because of the simplest things. Then there are those who are actually professional and get caught because of being betrayed or because of unbelievably back luck. These guys are neither; despite imprisoned for a few years because of the things laid out in the story, maybe they were actually never caught for what they actually did? It's an ancient strategy to admit something and getting away with that, while actually having done a lot more than just that something.
mroman 18y ago
In all seriousness, doesn't Notarbartolo look like pg in that picture? :) I swear, to me, he looks a lot like pg!
justlearning 18y ago
the one thing that I don't get is how they managed the camera in the room to capture the safe lock and the fire extinguisher? i could visualize the whole drama except for this part
Eliezer 18y ago
Who's dumb enough to steal diamonds?
- sho 18y ago
  People who want an untraceable, universally recognised store of value? You might as well ask who's dumb enough to steal gold. And yes, I know that the value of diamonds is largely artificial. However, the current situation is, and is likely to remain for some time, that people think diamonds are valuable, and will trade them for actual money at a reasonably consistent exchange rate, anywhere in the world, no questions asked. There's quite an interesting story in this whole system, actually. Diamonds have become a kind of underground currency in some circles. Unlike gold, they're not metallic, so can be transported safely by air. Unlike paintings (another other major money laundering commodity), they're small and not delicate. One could write an interesting analysis of the dynamics of such a self-supporting, consensual-illusion-becomes-reality of the diamond trade. It really is proof that if something is needed, people will make it. Yes, it's carbon that has been compressed a bit. So what? The romans used salt as a currency! The point is, as of today, diamonds are an excellent currency to be paid in, especially if you have something to hide.
  - RobGR 18y ago
    I understand from various articles I have read, that when you go to actually sell loose diamonds, you don't get much for them and find it hard to get near the "appraised value" offered. Consider this article: http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/print/198202/diamond http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/print/198202/diamond I believe the problem the article describes, the lack of a secondary market in diamonds, still exists. However, the article was published in 1982, and the prediction of collapse in the diamond bubble didn't happen.
    - sho 18y ago
      The problem you describe may exist at the consumer level, but for the high end I don't think it is an issue. I mean think about it - secondary market? It's not like a car where you have "new" and "second hand" - it's a 50,000 year old rock. There's no such thing as a "new" diamond. Consumers without the necessary knowledge and connections are probably taken for a ride. Dealers would exploit their lack of knowledge and options, just like 2nd hand car dealers offer terrible prices for cars - they know that if you're there at all, you're desperate. In this market, everything is sold at auction. Going to a dealer by yourself is holding a fire sale auction with 1 bidder. Of course you lose. Between dealers, or high end customers with a dealer acting as their agent, selling for-real quantities, the market is much more stable, consistent, and liquid. Unless you want to be utterly ripped off, you must buy at a proper auction and sell at a proper auction too. You can say the same about pretty much any other store of value in the world, by the way. But all this is obvious; if diamonds really did lose half their value every time they changed hands, no-one would bother - and yet they obviously do. By the way, I agree wholeheartedly with that article - which I read years ago. I think I read it in the actual magazine! Anyway, yes, the value of diamonds is almost completely illusory - it's wholly artificial and if if the real supply were ever released to market, value would plummet. However, that hasn't happened, the consensual hallucination that compressed carbon is worth a lot of money stands, and you can buy and sell diamonds for a lot of money. I don't see this market changing anytime soon. It is in no-one's interest to break the spell. And if you got rid of diamonds, people would just find something else with an agreed value. A lot of people need this kind of currency. Until crypt.kk comes online, of course.
rob_rasmussen 18y ago
Great story, and also gave me a flash of insight: when considering people to work with, "Would I plan a bank heist with this person?" isn't a half bad question to ask. It implies complete trust both in the person and their ability to perform. (Or maybe I'm just goofy...when I can't put my finger on what's causing me to hesitate about a person or situation, off-the-wall questions/scenarios usually help me figure out what's really bothering me.)

108 points by jwb119 18y ago

one of the draws of thievery is that it is a profession for the renaissance man and also the profession for those who can look outside the box to solve a problem. the best way to get into a place is to use a method no one who designed the security system would have thought of. I'm betting that a lot of people who make good thieves are also the kind who would make good entrepreneurs.

thaumaturgy 18y ago
Be careful not to confuse common thievery with the Hollywood style, or the occasional case like this one. The vast majority of thievery is simply bashing car windows or taking advantage of naivete.
- deleted 18y ago
  [deleted]
- raganwald 18y ago
  Be careful not to confuse common entrepreneurism with tech start-ups. The vast majority of business startups are landscaping and snow-plow services or dry cleaning store-fronts ;-)
vinutheraj 18y ago
I am actually in awe of this guy right now [:D], man, this is some really exciting profession, thievery, its more like an art ! This story was better than any episode of Hustle !

nazgulnarsil 18y ago

this would make a good movie. it's quite funny that despite the extreme technical sophistication of the vault the thieves were only undone by a panicky cohort.

mhb 18y ago
In that vein, I'd recommend Inside Man: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0454848/ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0454848/

dantheman 18y ago

Amazing story, once again security fails due to a lot of human error. Spoilers below if you haven't read the article: 1. The key shouldn't be kept in the closet outside the safe 2. Opening the door should force the magnetic sensor to be triped, the door must be in the way of the sensor. Additionally, why was the sensor on the outside of the door? 3. The combination lock should have a viewing angle that requires the user to block any cameras. 4. You need human patrols. 5. Sensors should be independent; the heat/motion sensor shouldn't both need to be tripped. 6. They needed sensors that could not be easily seen or detected by someone in the safe (hidden cameras, sensors embedded in another object). 7. The needed multiple sensors instead of one each. 8. The sensors should adjust the current flowing through them so that the wires can't be bridged, and the wires shouldn't be exposed. 9. There needs to be a random factor inserted such as random patrols, a sensor that moves in a random way, the combination is changed randomly. 10. They should have a time control on the safe that only allows it to be opened during certain times. There could be an override, but it'd be it should be difficult and rarely used (hard to copy). Just a few off the top of my head, more cameras would also be good -- what else did they do wrong?

dantheman 18y ago
11. Video cameras -- keep the lights on everywhere.
nazgulnarsil 18y ago
There needs to be a random factor inserted thiis the #1 thing that would prevent a lot of crime. people dont do it because it makes logistics harder. people like routines.
ErrantX 18y ago
DOnt forget this was several years ago - some of the technology was not a minature as it might be now :)
thaumaturgy 18y ago
On #8, I was surprised that this hack worked at all, especially in what must have been a terribly expensive alarm system. It should have been monitoring for changes in both voltage and resistance, and tripping the alarm if the circuit fluctuated. If nothing else, it would help detect a failing component.

rjurney 18y ago

This is the most entertaining article I have read in a very long time.

dantheman 18y ago

The thieves made quite a few mistakes. 1. Why did they have anything with their names on it. The invoice, and business card should have been destroyed long before they broke in. 2. He should have emptied his apartment before the robbery. 3. Of course the other trash should have been destroyed. 4. Why didn't he have a back up plan for his friend, he knew his friend might get panicky, so he should've planned to drop him off at the earliest possible moment. 5. They should've done random checks to make sure the cases they were moving contained the diamonds (if you believe this segment of the story).

jfornear 18y ago
For all we know, these 'mistakes' could have been intended. :D
- dantheman 18y ago
  I don't quite follow your reasoning, why would they want to get caught? Or are you implying that they may have been framed?
  - mdolon 18y ago
    The stolen goods are still unaccounted for and four Italians (with links to the mafia) are caught after making pretty stupid mistakes for such an elaborate (and difficult) robbery. How could guys like 'The Genius' and 'The Monster' not have come up with a better plan to dispose of the trash and clean out the apartment? Maybe Notarbartolo is just serving time as part of a bigger deal, either for a share of the spoils or safety from rival mafia members? The others could have been framed, running errands like buying sandwich meats for the masterminds or having their DNA strewn across the vault. Anyone else want to write a Hollywood script with me?
    - andreyf 18y ago
      This seems very likely - I imagine a lot of prosecutors are as careerist as people in any other profession. Given a choice between "high probability of successfully prosecuting someone who might have been set up" versus "low probability of successfully prosecuting the real criminals", they will, of course, pick the former. In a way, everyone wins here - except the insurance companies, I suppose. The criminals some money, the prosecutors make a career.

yason 18y ago

So, while they did arrange for and actually worked out a spectacular break-in, then they got caught because of stupid lack of planning. And there was a scamming Jewish dealer involved, or maybe not. And of course they like to brag about not really telling whether the insurance scam cover story itself is a cover-story. To me it smells so fishy that I could imagine that they're not only pretty good thieves but also really good at writing bad ficticious criminal stories. Well, hence the six years of silence, perhaps? One thing probably happened and a whole another thing was now told; it's just that they practically borrowed anything like that you might see in a Hollywood movie in the criminal genre. Just nicely laid around the undeniable facts. And like a good movie this story also ends with a lot of presented implications but nothing you would know for sure. According to my limited and somewhat indirect knowledge of criminals there are two kinds that get caught. There are those who are utterly spontaneous, idiotic, just otherwise crack-headed or all three and they get caught because of the simplest things. Then there are those who are actually professional and get caught because of being betrayed or because of unbelievably back luck. These guys are neither; despite imprisoned for a few years because of the things laid out in the story, maybe they were actually never caught for what they actually did? It's an ancient strategy to admit something and getting away with that, while actually having done a lot more than just that something.

mroman 18y ago

In all seriousness, doesn't Notarbartolo look like pg in that picture? :) I swear, to me, he looks a lot like pg!

justlearning 18y ago

the one thing that I don't get is how they managed the camera in the room to capture the safe lock and the fire extinguisher? i could visualize the whole drama except for this part

Eliezer 18y ago

Who's dumb enough to steal diamonds?

sho 18y ago
People who want an untraceable, universally recognised store of value? You might as well ask who's dumb enough to steal gold. And yes, I know that the value of diamonds is largely artificial. However, the current situation is, and is likely to remain for some time, that people think diamonds are valuable, and will trade them for actual money at a reasonably consistent exchange rate, anywhere in the world, no questions asked. There's quite an interesting story in this whole system, actually. Diamonds have become a kind of underground currency in some circles. Unlike gold, they're not metallic, so can be transported safely by air. Unlike paintings (another other major money laundering commodity), they're small and not delicate. One could write an interesting analysis of the dynamics of such a self-supporting, consensual-illusion-becomes-reality of the diamond trade. It really is proof that if something is needed, people will make it. Yes, it's carbon that has been compressed a bit. So what? The romans used salt as a currency! The point is, as of today, diamonds are an excellent currency to be paid in, especially if you have something to hide.
- RobGR 18y ago
  I understand from various articles I have read, that when you go to actually sell loose diamonds, you don't get much for them and find it hard to get near the "appraised value" offered. Consider this article: http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/print/198202/diamond http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/print/198202/diamond I believe the problem the article describes, the lack of a secondary market in diamonds, still exists. However, the article was published in 1982, and the prediction of collapse in the diamond bubble didn't happen.
  - sho 18y ago
    The problem you describe may exist at the consumer level, but for the high end I don't think it is an issue. I mean think about it - secondary market? It's not like a car where you have "new" and "second hand" - it's a 50,000 year old rock. There's no such thing as a "new" diamond. Consumers without the necessary knowledge and connections are probably taken for a ride. Dealers would exploit their lack of knowledge and options, just like 2nd hand car dealers offer terrible prices for cars - they know that if you're there at all, you're desperate. In this market, everything is sold at auction. Going to a dealer by yourself is holding a fire sale auction with 1 bidder. Of course you lose. Between dealers, or high end customers with a dealer acting as their agent, selling for-real quantities, the market is much more stable, consistent, and liquid. Unless you want to be utterly ripped off, you must buy at a proper auction and sell at a proper auction too. You can say the same about pretty much any other store of value in the world, by the way. But all this is obvious; if diamonds really did lose half their value every time they changed hands, no-one would bother - and yet they obviously do. By the way, I agree wholeheartedly with that article - which I read years ago. I think I read it in the actual magazine! Anyway, yes, the value of diamonds is almost completely illusory - it's wholly artificial and if if the real supply were ever released to market, value would plummet. However, that hasn't happened, the consensual hallucination that compressed carbon is worth a lot of money stands, and you can buy and sell diamonds for a lot of money. I don't see this market changing anytime soon. It is in no-one's interest to break the spell. And if you got rid of diamonds, people would just find something else with an agreed value. A lot of people need this kind of currency. Until crypt.kk comes online, of course.

rob_rasmussen 18y ago

Great story, and also gave me a flash of insight: when considering people to work with, "Would I plan a bank heist with this person?" isn't a half bad question to ask. It implies complete trust both in the person and their ability to perform. (Or maybe I'm just goofy...when I can't put my finger on what's causing me to hesitate about a person or situation, off-the-wall questions/scenarios usually help me figure out what's really bothering me.)