Albert Spaggiari is one of the most legendary thieves of all time. Find out what its modus operandi was and how it mocked the police.
Few stories in the criminal world have the level of intrigue, boldness and mystery surrounding the Albert case, better known as “the French thief.” This man that his true identity is still the object of debate, carried out one of the most spectacular robberies in history, managed to evade the police for decades and disappeared in the shadows after finding refuge in Argentina.
Spaggiari also became a Symbol of the “antiheroes” of the time. While many saw him as a simple criminal, others considered him a man who had challenged the system in an act of rebellion against an oppressive society.
Albert Spaggiari
The robbery of the Albert Spaggiari century
On July 16, 1972, Spaggiari, a man of Italian origin but naturalized French, carried out what would become one of the most ingenious and elaborate robberies in history. For weeks, he and a group of accomplices managed to go unnoticed while drawing their plan. Its objective: the Bank of Nice.
What this robbery was especially shocking was his method: instead of entering through the bench’s doors, Spaggiari and his band agreed to the building through a tunnel that excavated from the nearby sewers. This tunnel, which required meticulous planning, allowed them to directly reach the bank vault, where They stole approximately 50 million francsan impressive amount for the time.
Life as an Albert Spaggiari fugitive
What made this robbery even more amazing was Spaggiari’s escape. When the authorities began to investigate the theft, the main suspect, Albert Spaggiari, was arrested. However, what seemed like the end of its criminal history turned out to be only the beginning of a legend.
In 1973, during his judgment, Spaggiari He managed to escape police custody in an almost cinematographic way. While he was transported in a truck, he took a moment of carelessness to jump through an open window and escape on foot through the streets of Nice. It never knew about him.
According to journalistic and police reconstructions, It is believed that Spaggiari was carried out an aesthetic surgeon on the face so as not to be recognized And he fled to Argentina, where he lived most of his life after theft. There are also witnesses who indicate that it was also for Brazil, while others claim that he returned to France to see his mother repeatedly.
Doubts about the death of Albert Sppagiari
Despite his ability to avoid justice, Spaggiari’s fate ended in a somewhat more prosaic way. In 1989, The French government announced that Albert Spaggiari had diedalthough it is not clear how or when it happened exactly. What was clear is that his figure continued to be a mystery until the end.
Source: Ambito
