Flawless: Inside the Largest Diamond Heist in History (43 page)

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had been thoroughly cleaned:
As they knew going into the job that they would have to leave equipment behind, they should have brought with them something to destroy any trace of evidence that could have remained on their tools or been left during their time in the vault. For example, the thieves in a 2008 bank vault heist sprayed the vault with a fire extinguisher and plugged a sink to flood the place. David P. McGuinn, Safe Deposit, available online at
http://www.sdspec.com/PDF/SDBM.pdf
(accessed October 2, 2009).

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tapes that had recorded the happenings of February 10:
The tapes were organized and clearly labeled by date, so this was not as hard as it would have been if the Diamond Center had used another method for marking the tapes such as sequentially numbering them.

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outdated Belgian francs:
Although Belgian francs had stopped being legal tender about a year before the heist, they could still be exchanged at the Belgian National Bank for euros. The exchange rate was set in January 1, 1999, with one Belgian franc valued at
0.024789. There is no time limit for this exchange for banknotes in Belgium so although traders could no longer use this money for diamond transactions, there was no rush for them to exchange them for euros. Coins, though, became worthless at the start of 2005. “Opinion of the European Central Bank at the Request of the Nationale Bank van België,” the European Central Bank, June 26, 2001.

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four or five hundredths of a carat:
They were four or five points, which means 0.04 or 0.05 carats. Stones so small would not be polished in Antwerp but in a country with very low labor costs such as India, Thailand, or Sri Lanka. Stones like that are worth about a dollar a carat, so 4 or 5 cents a stone. Lieve Peeters, the expert used by the court regarding these stones, interview with author, via telephone, February 1, 2008.

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“Even though this . . . small coins”:
Patrick Peys, interview with author, in his office, Antwerp, September 23, 2008.

Chapter Nine: One Man’s Trash Is Another Man’s Treasure

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“They always call it ‘the crime of the century,’ but it never is”:
Lodovico Poletto, interview with author, in the
La Stampa
office, Turin, January 16, 2009.

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“The lights were on . . . everything on the floor”:
Jorge Dias De Sousa, interview with author, via telephone, April 24, 2009.

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“People were making gestures . . . how it was possible”:
Philip Claes, interview with author, in his office at the AWDC, September 22, 2008.

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“Apparently, he had memory problems . . . like a headless chicken down there”:
Denice Oliver, interview with author, in her office, Antwerp, September 29, 2008.

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“Our dear Jorge . . . from the inspector”:
Fay Vidal, interview with author, Antwerp, September 28, 2008.

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“Not me . . . I don’t know that”:
Jorge Dias De Sousa, interview with author, via telephone, April 24, 2009. Note that the other concierge, Jacques Plompteux, quit working at the Diamond Center shortly after the heist and couldn’t be located by the authors.

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following his boss’s orders to keep his mouth shut:
Denice Oliver, interview with author, in her office, Antwerp, September 29, 2008.

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they could tell from a glance that it was a professional job
: Patrick Peys, interview with author, in his office, Antwerp, September 26, 2008.

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Two forensic technicians:
The description of forensic collection in this chapter comes from author’s April–June, 2009, e-mail correspondence with Peter Kerkhof, who was one of these technicians. He was a federal police officer, specialized in forensic investigations; in Belgium he is a member of the Technical and Scientific Police; in the United States, he could be called a crime scene investigator. The second forensic technician in the vault that day was his colleague Gerlinde Vermeiren.

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“We spoke about it . . . So we didn’t”:
Patrick Peys, interview with author, in his office, Antwerp, September 23, 2008.

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“I can assure you . . . bar of gold”:
Ibid.

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“The landing was full of people . . . opened or not”:
Fay Vidal, interview with author, Antwerp, September 28, 2008.

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“decimated, destroyed”:
Ibid.

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“The floor was littered . . . floor as well”:
Ibid.

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“Everything in that building was just so lax
”: Denice Oliver, interview with author, in her office, Antwerp, September 29, 2008.

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De Vos explained that . . . he always averted his eyes:
The description of De Vos’s activities the day the heist was discovered come from his own narration of these events to authors. De Vos was present when the combination was reset, as it had been his job to come in and reset the combination whenever a manager or concierge left the job. That way, only the owner, manager, and two concierges ever knew the code, and former employees did not. Paul De Vos, interview with author, in his home, Heist-op-den-Berg (Belgium), October 3, 2008.

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Once, he discovered a pile of dozens of old tires . . . a victim of foul play:
The description of Van Camp’s activities surrounding his discovery of the trash in the Floordambos comes from his own narration of these events to the authors. The authors accompanied him on a guided tour of the dumpsite on October 3, 2008.

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turned on to a wooded road where a tongue of dirt emerged between the trees on the right and led into the cornfield:
At the time of the heist and its aftermath there was no gate between the dirt path and the paved road. There was only the gate inside the property between the cornfield and the woods. A locked gate was later installed here to protect the property. Ibid.

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decided to take a stroll into the forest:
Van Camp’s cousin was with him that day, but he left before Van Camp contacted the police. August Van Camp’s wife, Annie Lauwers, interview with author, via telephone, April 28, 2009.

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His wife, however, tells a slightly different story:
August Van Camp’s wife, Annie Lauwers, interview with author, at her house, Vilvoorde (Belgium), October 3, 2008.

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“On every highway . . . collect it”:
Patrick Peys, interview with author, in his office, Antwerp, September 23, 2008.

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Doing so would have risked drawing unwanted attention:
Peys explained that if the thieves set the garbage on fire “then police might cross the highway and ask ‘what’s burning.’ Seen afterward they made an enormous mistake, but again it’s partly coincidence and partly because there are no other options just to throw it away and get away. You could take it to Italy if you would have the nerves and, in Italy, I would imagine when you are at home you would know where to get rid of it . . . or even burn it in a quiet place where you wouldn’t see anybody. They likely didn’t have the nerve.” Ibid.

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“We’re talking about . . . by people”:
Ibid.

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“It was the day after . . . I assure you”:
Ibid.

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The bags contained . . . emerald pointers:
Ibid. Also, Peter Kerkhof, e-mail to author, April 20, 2009.

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more than
100 million to more than
400 million:
Belgian authorities announced the more-than-
100-million figure three days after the heist was discovered. Some American journalists forgot to convert this number into dollars, leading to them reporting a figure of $100 million. The
400-million figure is what the police believe and what one of the prosecutors told the court during the criminal case. Philip Claes also placed the amount stolen at
400 million in
Mega Heist.