The rough, unpolished gems were flown to London, where they were divided and placed in 120 boxesone for each official De Beers distributor, many of which were headquartered in Antwerp. The magnetic plates were now loose, but the sticky aluminum held them together, allowing the Genius to pivot them out of the way and tape them to the antechamber wall. Patrick Peys and Agim De Bruycker arrived at the Diamond Center the next morning. The police dug out a series of prepaid SIM cards that were linked to cell phones used almost exclusively to call three Italians: Elio D'Onorio, aka the Genius; Ferdinando Finotto, alias the Monster; and the person most likely to be Speedy, an anxious, paranoid man named Pietro Tavano, a longtime associate of Notarbartolo's. It was one of the few places in the district that wasn't under video surveillance. Facebook gives people the power to share and makes the world more open and connected. "That's not so easy," Notarbartolo pointed out. On July 15, 1976, 26 children ranging in age from five to 14 boarded a bus driven by 55-year-old Frank Edward "Ed" Ray for a summer field trip to a local swimming pool. The mud around the car was flecked with dozens of tiny, glittering diamonds. The lab techs also bagged a half-eaten salami sandwich. His tone had changed however. His wife decided to come along; she hadn't seen much of him lately. Or: There was no insurance scam. They could be anywhere by now: Brazil, Thailand, Russia. Leonardo Notarbartolo known as organiser of the "diamond robbery of the century" was released from prison. With his hands over his head, the Monster used a tool to strip the plastic coating off the wires. He has an intimidating reputation. It wasn't just about the money anymore. Speedy had lost it. He took a sip of cold coffee and waited. Join Leonardo and his ring of Italian thieves as they infiltrate the diamond capitol of the world in the "heist of the century". The Monster bypassed the vault security system's main inbound and outbound wires and then covered this light sensor with tape, rendering it useless. While one of his friends from the Netherlands waited on the street outside the Diamond Center, Notarbartolo waved at the security guard and dropped in to collect his mail. There was no reason to worry. Nobody would ever find the stuff here. Internal security camera10. The buyer: Leonardo Notarbartolo. There was a combination wheel with numbers from 0 to 99. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. It made him fume with anger. Spools of videotape clung to the branches like streamers on a Christmas tree. Notarbartolo says the Italian authorities traveled to Belgium soon after the heist to question him about Capizzi's possible role in the robbery. That brought the total value of the heist to about $100 million. Tom Horn, infamous as a multi-talented criminal who was hanged to death. The following Official Record of Leonardo Notarbartolo is being redistributed by Mugshots.com and is protected by constitutional, publishing, and other legal rights. How did Leonardo Notarbartolo get caught? He was sitting in the Peugeot and could see the front of the Diamond Center a block and a half away. Speedy ran up the stairwell. Eighty percent of the world's rough diamonds pass through this three-square-block area, which is under 24-hour police surveillance and monitored by 63 video cameras. Notarbartolo DNA . He put the car in gear and slowly pulled away. "I want to introduce you to some people," he said, unlocking the battered front door. He spun the handle, and the vault door swung open. The other robbers in The School of Turin got five years each. News Leonardo Notarbartolo known as organiser of the "diamond robbery of the century" was released from prison. Leonardo Notarbartolo Is Considered The Mastermind Of The Heist And Was Recently Paroled After Serving 10 Years In Prison. Notarbartolo refuses to talk about what happened to the goods, adding that it is something best discussed once he is out of prison. He began his reconnaissance at the police surveillance booth on the Schupstraat, a street leading into the center of the district. It might actually be nicer to do the trip without his friend driving him crazy. In 2000, Leonardo Notarbartolo rented an office at the Antwerp Diamond Centre, posing as a gem trader. He was extradited to Belgium in November 2007 to begin a five-year sentence. The Chelambra bank robbery in the Malappuram district of Kerala, India is considered to be one of the biggest and most sensational bank robberies in the crime history of Kerala. One slip could cut through, instantly breaking the circuit and tripping the alarm. The extinguisher was fully functional, but a watertight compartment inside housed electronics that picked up and recorded the video signal. Hundreds of millions of users. He was alone. Notarbartolo was released by the ruling of Probation commission. At first, Notarbartolo was confused. The city was crawling with copsmaybe they would be looking for them. Then they picked up the data of magnetic card keys and generated universal algorithm to open any door at ADC. "I'll do the rest.". Leonardo Notarbartolo is on Facebook. this note is legal tender. Notarbartolo was only caught when residents reported evidence he had dumped to police - including security tapes from the vault. 1,100 . The others on the team hadnt wanted Speedy in on this onethey said he was a liability. Leonardo. If so what happened to him? They were coming out. His biggest problem was that he needed to go back to Belgium; the rental car was due in Antwerp the next day. "Just get me a clear video of it," the man told Notarbartolo. One of his contributions would be to duplicate the nearly impossible-to-duplicate foot-long vault key. The criminals seized two thirds of all valuables stored in ADC. 12.8%. By the time of his death, he was wanted in more than 100 cases of identity . It was a delicate task. Upstairs, he got a signal and dialed his old friend. Each could then claim that their gems were stolen and collect the insurance while secretly keeping their stones. He has refused to allow his attorney to make any statements on his behalf. The forest was quiet except for the occasional sound of a car or truck on the highway. Leonardo Notarbartolo strolls into the prison visiting room trailing a guard as if the guy were his personal assistant. He rented a sparsely furnished office for approximately $700 per month in the Diamond Centre two and a half years prior to the robbery. It was an embarrassing oversight, but what really irked him was that he had vouched for his friend, and the guy had cracked. Still, it was hard to guess how long the trick would work. Once the truck's doors slammed shut, the convoy sped away, sirens wailing. Notarbartolo used women's hair spray to temporarily disable the vault's combined heat/motion sensor. By mid-afternoon, a half-dozen detectives swarmed the forest, painstakingly gathering the garbage and collecting stray gems. Acting on the surveillance-system invoice discovered on Van Camp's land, the Belgian diamond detectives had asked the Italian police to search Notarbartolo's house. The landmark robbery committed shall be considered as an example of genius simplicity. During business hours, the door was actually left open, leaving only a steel grate to prevent access. There were also some white envelopes printed with the words diamond center, antwerp. Next, the King of Keys played out a hunch. Notarbartolo's specialty was charm. On the night of the heist, a cell tower in the Diamond District logged the presence of all three, plus Notarbartolo. Those accusations reached a crescendo last year when anti-Mafia police arrested Notarbartolo's cousin Benedetto Capizzi, claiming he was about to become the new leader of the Sicilian Mafia. As usual, his 3-year-old granddaughter played with his cell phone and made him laugh. The spot wasn't visible from the highway, though the headlights of passing cars fractured through the trees. . The Guide to Getting More out of Life That way, if the cops were looking for tenants who'd disappeared, he wouldn't be on the list. If he tipped off a group of his fellow merchants, they could have pulled their inventory out of the vault before the heist. This Official Record was collected on 9/30/2013. Antwerp Diamond Center heist: In 2003, a group of Italian thieves known as the The School of Turin broke into the underground vault of the Antwerp Diamond Center, then protected by infrared heat detectors, sophisticated locks, and eight other layers of security. Source: smithsonianmag.com. Notarbartolo sits down across from me at one of the visiting room's two dozen small rectangular tables. They were known as the School of Turin. At night, all those gems are locked up in safes and underground vaults. When the thieves searched the room, they found a major security lapse: The original vault key was hanging inside. Leonardo notarbartolo, the man found guilty of being the mastermind thief behind an antwerp diamond heist that took place in february 2003, was caught last week with an unexplained large amount of rough diamonds during a random police check in italy. To disarm the field, a code had to be typed into a nearby keypad. Notarbartolo could see their point, but out of loyalty, he defended his friend. Trapped in Silicon Valleys Hidden Caste System. Venus Williams smashed the ball crosscourt with a yelp, overwhelming her leggy Slovakian opponent. What are the benefits of believing in God. He tried to pretend that everything was normal. He decided to burn the stuff near a shed beside a small pond and headed back to the car. The Belgian courts came down hard. The police were finally treating his litter situation with the proper respect. PITTSFIELD An Etna woman who wanted to spend more time with her boyfriend was arrested after she directed two separate bomb threats at Puritan Medical Products where he worked, forcing. And he had. Notarbartolo pulled off the highway and turned onto a dirt road that led into a dense thicket. In the predawn half-light, the four men raced out of the building. The door was monitored by a pair of abutting metal plates, one on the door itself and one on the wall just to the right. Answer: Leonardo Notarbartolo is a former Italian thief who was convicted in connection with the 2003 Antwerp Diamond Heist, also known as the "heist of the century." Notarbartolo was the leader of a group of thieves who stole over $100 million worth of diamonds, gold, and other precious stones f. In February 2003, Notarbartolo was arrested for heading a ring of Italian thieves. He expected the total take to exceed $100 million. They couldn't run the risk. There were 100 million possible combinations. Amazon's previously announced high-end show follows a group of thieves led by Sicilian mastermind Leonardo Notarbartolo being played by Italy's Kim Rossi Stewart who in 2003 managed to . Stay safe online for free at http://www.dashlane.com/rllTo get 10% off upgrading to premium, use the code "rll" at checkoutThis video was heavily inspired by. he said. 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