FLAWLESS
Inside the largest diamond heist in history
Scott Andrew Selby, Greg Campbell
Union Square Press, $55, hbk
Reviewed by Clarke Isaacs.
It was on February 15, 2003, that four Italian bandits - members of a group of professional thieves known as "the School of Turin" - penetrated the Antwerp Diamond Centre, one of the most secure buildings in the world.
Their reward: half a billion dollars in diamonds, cash and other valuables.
The two authors, Scott Andrew Selby and Greg Campbell, have dug deep and ranged widely in compiling their impressively detailed account of a crime, the financial enormity of which beggars belief.
There remains "some mystery" as to precisely how it was pulled off.
The four bandits who robbed the diamond centre were Leonardo Notarbartolo, Ferdinando Finotto, Elio D'Ornio, and Pietro Tavano.
All were caught, convicted and imprisoned.
The robbers overcame supposedly foolproof security measures without tripping a single alarm or injuring anyone.
The building they raided is situated in the heart of one of the most secure square miles on Earth, known as the Secure Antwerp Diamond Area, a three-block canyon of grey glass and concrete buildings as well defended against thieves as Fort Knox.
Notarbartolo, who was released from jail on March 8, 2009, served the most time, just over six years.
"It was hardly a steep price to pay, considering that none of the diamonds had been recovered, and it was assumed the men would return to their homes to enjoy a life of quiet luxury financed by the spoils of the diamond heist," the authors write.
One dealer lost $1 million in cash alone.
A woman who had inherited her husband's box and contents upon his death found herself suddenly destitute: "the large gemstones and irreplaceable heirlooms left to her by her husband were meant to finance her remaining years, and now they were gone".
The authors, whose research has been painstaking, have analysed closely all aspects of this crime.
They have produced a racy, fascinating account of a stupendous and daring nefarious achievement which befits the sorry observation: crime does pay.
• Clarke Isaacs is a former chief of staff of the Otago Daily Times.
