
Why We All Dream of Being Jewel Thieves - nols
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/01/03/why-we-all-dream-of-being-jewel-thieves.html
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sandworm101
>> Their estimated take was anywhere from £14 million worth of gemstones and
cash to a truly eye-popping £200 million. Some of the booty was later found
buried under a headstone, but only about one-third of the stolen goods have so
far been recovered.

There are some allegations floating around that some victims might have
exaggerated the amount of their loss. I'd be very interested to hear whether
any insurance fraud investigations are ongoing (attempted fraud). Perhaps that
1/3 is 1/3 of the reported theft, but most all of the actual theft. In such a
case, the over-reporting "victims" would have attempted a greater crime than
the actual thieves.

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cantrevealname
The BBC report the OP mentions is highly interesting:

" _One reporter for the BBC even taught himself basic climbing skills and
familiarized himself with a specific make of concrete drill in order to
reenact the heist._ "

[http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-32431557](http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-32431557)

Particularly interesting is the video in which he drills in 2 hours and 20
minutes the exact same hole that the thieves drilled -- a hole that police and
other reporters claimed to have taken all night and possibly a second day.

I wish more reporters were this enterprising with their fact checking and in
doing a bit of their own original research.

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jedmeyers
What an awesome submarine for Hilti tools. Hilti tools make a corporate
comeback, apparently.

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Animats
Right. A few years ago I had to drill through concrete-filled cinderblock to
run a conduit, using a rented masonry drill. The tool wasn't really up to the
job. Now I know what to rent.

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dawnbreez
The real appeal of skilled heisters is that their work is entirely about
skill.

A thief _must_ be good at his job, assuming he gets away with it. He must be
clever, deft, nimble, witty. He must make a plan, lead his team of bandits,
and do so effectively even if the plan changes. In short, he's one step from
being a hero, and that one step is easily waved away by those of us who love
to hate the rich (and who doesn't want to be Robin Hood?).

