I know you shouldn’t really look up to them. But for some reason, they tend to fascinate.
Whether they be bank robbers, looters or organised gangs, there’s this kind of mysterious aura they bring with them and the thrill of hearing about daring, innovative and slick crimes always makes for a good story.
So, in your HP(s), who were the greatest (read as “coolest”) thieves/cutthroats of all time?
Long-term murderers need not apply.
Dan Cooper, the guy who hijacked the 727 and bailed out with the ransom money. Can’t find a good account of what happened on the internet, but I am sure most people are familiar with the story.
He even has a switch on the plane named after him.
If I could go back in time I would live in Chicago in the late 20’s/early 30’s and be John Dillinger’s girlfriend.
Robin Hood???
The Yellow Kid Weil. Chicago con man from the 20s and 30s. There was a biography of him published a long time ago that is no longer in print, although it might be at your library. He did all the classic big cons, and if I recall correctly, he came up with quite a number of them himself.
Damn, I was going to say D.B. Cooper. Nobody knows whether he’s alive or dead – he was simply never heard from again. And they only found part of the money, if I recall.
He was Adam West!!
If you’re talking about the thief that was the most fun to be around, I would have to agree with misstee that it would be Robin Hood. Though Robin Hood is not really know for “daring, innovative and slick crimes”.
Nothing really compares in my mind to the romance of the suave and chic jewel thief (such as the fictional character “The Phantom” played by David Niven in “The Pink Panther” movie), but I don’t know of any real-life examples.
Jacques Mesrine, the french bank thief and kidnapper, was very bold (IIRC he once walked into a police station, pretending to be a highly ranked police officer, to attempt to obtain police uniforms - this when he was already a famous criminal!) and clever. He escaped from prison at least three times and once robbed two banks in the same neighborhood in the space of half an hour. Also he had a Dillinger or Bonnie and Clyde type ending, with the police filling him with more than 20 bullets. However, he murdered several people in his career so that does prevent him from really being “cool” IMHO.
There was a guy, who, on his deathbed in Florida admitted to being DB cooper.
Aparently, it checked out.
Discovery Channel, methinks.
http://www.google.ca/search?q=D.+B.+Cooper+Florida&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&meta=
Go here!
My vote goes to Albert Spaggiari, who pulled of one of the most amazing bank robberies in history.
He went into the bank vault from the sewer line, tunneling through 25 feet of earth to do so. When they broke into the vault they looted it only pausing to enjoy a gourmet lunch of pate, cheese, soup and wine. :> He got away with about $18 million dollars and as a final act spray painted on the walls “Without guns, without hatred and without violence.”
He WAS caught by the police but got away during questioning, leaping from a 2 story window onto the roof of a car and then hopped onto a waiting motorcycle to speed away… he still remains at large. He did send the owner of the car a check for $625 to cover the damages. :>
Alright, I have to ask. After much googling I was unable to find a story about Dan Cooper. I just want to ask…
Who is he and what did he do?
Much appreciated and many thanks in advance,
KBean
My vote I think goes to the mixed Algerian-French team that commited bank robberies all around the French-Spanish area, robbing security vans and banks over a ten year period (around 1988-96).
I remember the leader of the gang was called (something) Bernoulli, the gangs number 2 was definately called Michel Crutel. I haven’t found anything about them on the web.
They were slick, ruthless and innovative and the way they went about making these robberies was spectacular. Their children went to all the best Spanish private schools and they had famous wives. They became folk heroes in France due to the fact that in all that time they never harmed any civilians.
There was about 8 in the gang - mainly made of ex-pats who had served in the French army. Two of them actually played rugby with France’s Perpignon club (this is coming from memory - details may be a little sketchy).
They planned each raid meticulously. You’d have to read the details to see how cool they were. I’ll try and find some - problem is they seem to be rather elusive. Even the inspector who caught them never knew whether it was really them or not.
Bonnie and Clyde, no question.
First thing I thought of was ** Frank Abganale ** who lived and wrote ** Catch Me If You Can ** which is coming out at Xmas as a movie.
Teenage con man travels the world posing as a pilot, conning people for their money. True exploits of the author.
How about a vote for **Charles Ponzi ** the man who invented the pyramid scheme.
Anyone who got away with it without injuring or killing anyone.
The Legion of Doom–who needs Aquaman when you’ve got Black Manta?
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[sup]Butch and Sundance.[/sup][/ul]
Richard Nixon
I do miss the trickster. Bob Dole, one of the last Nixon defenders in the Senate during Watergate was once in a room with Presidents Reagan, Carter and Nixon and said in an aside: “Look, there they are: See no evil, Hear no evil and Evil.”
Lokij? Was that famous robbery in Nice in 1976? If so, I was in France at the time as a youngster. I can remember how the robbery captivated the country - very Robin Hoodish was the vibe I recall.
I was 14 years old I think. I couldn’t speak French very well, bu well enough. The french have a law where they can pick anyone up off the street and lock you up for 48 hours and just question you until you crack. And I’m pretty sure the guy in this story escaped during that 48 hour period.
Lokij? Am I close?
Murph the Surf.
The surfer/jewel thief dude that “Point Break” was loosely based on. I can’t recall the exact details but he went though the roof of the museum of natural history (?) and stole the star of india with virtually no prior experience.
Dillinger was cool too.