
The Gang of Retirees Behind the Hatton Garden Heist - nols
http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2016/03/biggest-jewel-heist-in-british-history
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junto
Their age is unimportant. They made the same mistakes that all criminals make
when they can't keep their mouths shut. Socialising together is stupid.

My father worked in Scotland Yard. He once told me that their are villians and
professionals. They never catch the professionals. They always catch the
villians through loose talk.

The hardest thing isn't the theft, it's the fencing of the goods, and then
hiding the proceeds from the taxman. You can't just start driving around in a
Bentley and buying houses.

These guys were always going to get caught however old they were.

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Sven7
I'd like to believe there is a secret rag tag bunch of 60-70 year old, retired
Engineers out there working on some cool tech.

If we have 60-70 year old's running for president, moving the markets on wall
st and robbing diamonds there just have to be a few greybeards dying of cancer
working on perpetual motion or something. I mean this is the generation that
built the first rockets and computers with fucking slide rules. I am sure a
few lurk around here. What are you busybodies upto?

~~~
BJBBB
60+ become candidates because of accumulated wealth, accumulated critical mass
of professional and political connections, and a bit of end-of-life ego.

As for what old STEM people do, my father started to learn C++ at 66, learned
Python at 68, modified and invented variations of heat pipes for energy
efficient home cooling, designed and built a home-brew control system (before
weenie arduino stuff), mastered the art of the perfect grilled pork burrito,
and learned to play jazz clarinet. Really miss that cranky old geezer. RIP,
Dad.

~~~
nekopa
Hey, thanks for sharing that. RIP indeed.

P.S. Can you (pretty please) pass on the secret for the burrito?

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jefvader
Is anybody else really, really tired of the focus on their age? I feel like
every British media outlet has been churning out the same low-hanging fruit
for months now: "Old school gangsters" going after "one last job". I vaguely
remember the actual 6 o'clock BBC news making some gag about zimmer frames or
hip replacements. Two of them were in their forties for one thing...

I sincerely hope that when I'm of a certain vintage the only remark on any of
my achievements* won't be "check out how OLD he is".

*Hesitant to call a robbery an achievement, but in a sense it is.

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TheOtherHobbes
The rumour is that it was masterminded by a well-known career criminal who was
subsequently murdered in his garden by a hit man - possibly because the point
of the raid was to find some incriminating evidence that was being kept in the
vault, and the gold and shiny stuff was a useful bonus.

[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3484924/Was-
Goldfing...](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3484924/Was-Goldfinger-
murder-linked-Hatton-Garden-raid-Police-say-conman-killed-connection-major-
organised-crime.html)

This is the Daily Mail, so credibility isn't guaranteed - but still an
interesting angle.

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SpeakMouthWords
I sincerely hope the story gets turned into a quirky British comedy movie.
It's the perfect fit.

~~~
gadders
I bet Michael Caine is already on the phone to his agent.

~~~
arethuza
"You're only supposed to blow the bloody doors off!"

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gadders
If they'd been under 30 they'd have been easier to catch as they'd have put
selfies of themselves in the vault all over instagram.

