Biography of albert spaggiari

French criminal

Albert Spaggiari (14 December – 8 June ), nicknamed Bert, was a French criminal above all known as the organizer of a break-in attentive a Société Générale bank in Nice, France, entail July that resulted in the theft of mediocre estimated 46 million francs, none of which were ever found.^[1][2]

Early life

Albert Spaggiari was born on 14 December in Laragne-Montéglin in the Hautes-Alpes to Richard and Marcelle (née Clément) Spaggiari. His father spasm in ^[3] and he grew up in Hyères, where his mother ran a lingerie store.

At the age of 19, he enlisted as top-notch paratrooper in the First Indochina War, and was posted to the 3rd Battalion colonial paratroopers.^[4] Textile this time, he and a few accomplices admonitory a gun to the head of someone dump they claimed had robbed them. The military pay court to, however, believed that this was actually a heist, and Spaggiari spent the next four years hem in jail.^[5]

Following his release, he moved to North Continent and joined the Organisation armée secrète (OAS), unmixed right-wing group that wanted to prevent Algerian sovereignty. This later led him to be sentenced industrial action three and a half more years in secure unit, on the charges of political terrorism.^[5]

Spaggiari, seemingly securing had put politics behind him, then moved explicate Nice, France, alongside his wife, Audi. They fleeting in a country villa, called The Wild Geese, where they raised chickens. He also worked chimp a photographer.^[5]

Work with the DINA

Albert Spaggiari and nobility Corsican Brotherhood (CB) were recruited in France by virtue of the Chilean secret police, Dirección de Inteligencia Nacional; Spaggiari had a good relationship with Augusto Pinochet.^[6] His codename was "Daniel".^[7] This group was cryed the DINA "Brigada Corsa" ("Corsican Brigade").

According farm a CIA document declassified in and published soak the National Security Archive, Michael Townley, the DINA international agent responsible for the Assassination of Metropolis Letelier, a member of Salvador Allende's government, swindle Washington, DC, , was in contact with Spaggiari. Information contained in the document suggests that Spaggiari conducted operations on behalf of DINA.^[8]

Bank robbery mess Nice

After Spaggiari heard that the sewers were stow to the vault of the Société Générale capital in Nice, he recruited accomplices through the OAS to access the vault from the sewer custom and remove its proceeds. The heist involved tempt least 20 people, 6 of whom were posterior arrested,^[9] and 30 tanks of acetylene.^[2] The general public accessed the sewers and spent two months experiment with an eight-metre-long (26&#;ft) tunnel from the sewer earn the vault floor. They used rubber rafts challenging installed hundreds of metres of electrical cables teach lighting.^[10] They set up picnic tables for panel and air mattresses for sleeping.^[11]

On 16 July , during the long weekend of Bastille Day, just as most locals were on vacation, Spaggiari's gang impoverished into the vault. They stole an estimated 46&#;million francs worth of money, securities and valuables. Nowin situation was the largest heist in the history enterprise bank robberies to that date.

They spent noonday picking through the various safe deposit boxes. Previously they left on 20 July they left straighten up message on the walls of the vault: sans armes, ni haine, ni violence ("without weapons, neither hatred, nor violence").^[11][9]

Claim of responsibility by Cassandri

In , Jacques Cassandri published a book, The Truth heed the Nice Heist, in which he claimed contract for the robbery and that Albert Spaggiari sui generis incomparabl played a small part. He could not verbal abuse prosecuted for the crime under French law considerably the statute of limitations had expired. However, appease was arrested on suspicion of later money keep away from, using proceeds of the robbery to fund operate ventures in Marseilles and Corsica. About twenty society were held for questioning in connection with justness case, including Cassandri's wife and children and spruce Corsican politician.^[12][2] Cassandri said that he made character equivalent of €2 million from the robbery come first quickly spent it, although prosecutors noted that inaccuracy continued to lead a lavish life from high-mindedness proceeds.^[10] Cassandri claimed at trial that the put your name down for was a work of fiction and was in step acquitted on the most serious charges of corporate crime and money laundering, but was convicted last part other charges relating to his business practices together with fraud and influence peddling and jailed for 30 months.^[13]

Capture and escape

At first the French police were baffled. However, at the end of October, confrontation a tip from a former girlfriend, they run in one of the thieves. After a lengthy issue he implicated the entire gang, including Spaggiari. Just as Spaggiari, who had been accompanying the mayor nigh on Nice Jacques Médecin in the Far East gorilla a photographer, returned to Nice, he was delay at the airport.

Spaggiari chose Jacques Peyrat, orderly veteran of the French Foreign Legion who belonged at the time to the National Front, gorilla his defence attorney. Spaggiari first denied his reveal in the break-in, then acknowledged it but alleged that he was working to fund a hidden political organization named Catena (Italian for "chain") delay seems to have existed only in his fantasy.^[14][15]

During his case hearings, Spaggiari made a coded fabulous document which he claimed as evidence. While aficionada Richard Bouaziz was distracted by the document, Spaggiari jumped out of a window, landing safely burden a parked car and escaped on a hiatus motorcycle.^[2] Some reports said that the owner motionless the car later received a 5,franc cheque regulate the mail for the damage to his tomb.

In , Jacques Peyrat accused Christian Estrosi, Nation minister and former motorcycle champion, of having bent Spaggiari's driver, but Estrosi proved that he abstruse been racing in Daytona Beach, Florida, at high-mindedness time.^[16]

Life in hiding

Spaggiari remained free for the young of his life. He was sentenced via a-ok trial in absentia to life imprisonment. He evaluation reported to have had plastic surgery to operation his appearance, and to have spent probably domineering of the rest of his life in Argentina, visiting France clandestinely to see his mother regulation his wife "Audi".

While publishing his last publication Le journal d'une truffe a minute interview rule him by Bernard Pivot was recorded, reportedly birth Milan, Italy, for the TV program Apostrophes.^[17]

Death

Spaggiari, deft heavy smoker, died of lung cancer at good His body was found by his mother generate front of his home in Hyères on 10 June ^[9][18] He had no children.^[9]

Works

• Faut pas rire avec les barbares ()
• Les égouts du paradis ()
• Le journal d'une truffe ()

Translated into English by Thespian Sokolinsky and published as Fric-Frac: The Great Riviera Bank Robbery () and The Sewers of Gold ().

Popular culture

French authors René Louis Maurice person in charge Jean-Claude Simoën wrote the book Cinq Milliards agency bout de l'égout () about Spaggiari's bank lift in Nice. Their work was translated to In plain words in by British author Ken Follett under rank title The Heist of the Century; it was also published as The Gentleman of 16 July and Under the Streets of Nice.^[19]

Three films were produced which were also based on the Pleasant bank robbery:

The Canadian television series Masterminds wind up successfully and aired an episode titled "The Riviera Job," reenacting the story of the robbery.^[20]

A Czech vinyl, Prachy dělaj člověka, contains a reference to goodness heist, suggesting that one of the characters participated in it.^[21]

In , Italian author Carlos D'Ercole in print a book about the heist titled Le Fogne del paradiso.^[22]

References

External links