Flawless: Inside the Largest Diamond Heist in History (45 page)

181
  
From the wiretap inside . . . 1997 bank job in Antwerp:
Giorgio Ballario, “Il Furto Del Secolo Al Diamond Center,”
La Stampa
(Turin), March 29, 2003.

181
  
Both men denied their involvement . . . their innocence
: In the order to arrest Fontanella and Spurgo, the Attorney General wrote: “Fontanella and others are enthusiastic and dedicated to the daily planning of crimes against property . . . the business [Personal Chiavi] serves only as a place of meeting to plan crimes.” Information sheet provided by a source in Italian law enforcement.

181
  
he had been in jail . . . Turinese jewelry store:
Giorgio Ballario, “Giovanni Spurgo con Altri Due Complici Era Inserito nell’Elenco dei Sospetti del ‘Colpo del Secolo’ di Anversa,”
La Stampa
(Turin), May 10, 2003.

181
  
Giovanni Poliseri . . . a cream or a gel
: Also, Poliseri and Scelza were believed to own a house in Germany; Belgian detectives would discover through cell phone records that some of the thieves involved in the diamond heist returned to Italy though Germany. Both Poliseri and Scelza denied so much as knowing Notarbartolo. Massimo Numa, “I Due Rapinatori Arrestati l’Altro Giorno in Una Gioielleria Belga Erano nella Lista dei Sospettati per il Colpo al Diamond Centre,”
La Stampa
(Turin), May 7, 2003.

181
  
But just two months later . . . outside of Antwerp:
Ibid.

182
  
Falleti later laughed about . . . overlooked it entirely:
Antonino Falleti, interviews with author, various locations in Turin, September 2008.

183
  
Detectives kept him under surveillance . . . for DNA analysis:
Information obtained from an Italian law enforcement official with close knowledge of the case who requested anonymity. September 2008.

184
  
cagily pocketing the butts . . . wouldn’t leave DNA behind:
Ibid.

184
  
There were seven “entities,” . . . closed network:
Peys used the term
entities
to differentiate from
people
because he said there could have been as many as eight perpetrators involved in the heist. Patrick Peys, interview with author, in his office, Antwerp, September 23, 2008.

185
  
Using this triangulation technique . . . until 4:44 a.m.:
From the Court of Appeal of Antwerp judgment in this case on May 19, 2005.

185
  
The calls were placed to Tavano’s prepaid cell . . . Charlottalei apartment:
Ibid.

185
  
Whoever left Belgium from Brussels . . . for his getaway:
If one or more people did fly somewhere other than to Italy from Brussels, it was not any of the suspects whose names the detectives did have. They ran those and found no hits for them anywhere. Patrick Peys, interview with author, in his office, Antwerp, September 23, 2008.

186
  
A gem expert in Valenza:
This expert was Dr. Carlo Cumo. From the Court of Appeal of Antwerp judgment in this case on May 19, 2005.

186
  
A gemologist in Antwerp . . . the heist trash:
Lieve Peeters of Infinity Diamonds identified these as small cheap emeralds in a marquise shape. The diamond detectives gave her a green stone found in the apartment and one found at the Floordambos dumpsite and asked her for a written report on these two stones. To the untrained eye, they could have appeared to be small green diamonds. Lieve Peeters, interview with author, via telephone, February 1, 2009.

187
  
at the time of the robbery . . . busy at his job:
The birthday party that Falleti had told police he went to, and his wife had not mentioned, was not his alibi but an accounting of where he was the night after the heist.

187
  
The nature of the heist . . . heard minor criminal matters:
We have used the French names here as the system is based on a French one. Names of government institutions such as the courts in Belgium tend to exist in sets of two, one in Flemish and one in French. The courts in Antwerp used Flemish though, and so people there would have referred to them by their Flemish names, not the French ones used here.

188
  De Standaard
newspaper reporter . . . address its flaws:
Jean-Charles Verwaest,
De Diamantroof van de Eeuw
, 232.

188
  
the time Notarbartolo punched an inmate:
Garbutt, “A Chronicle of Criminal Coincidences.”

188–189
  
Notarbartolo apologized for the mess he’d gotten his friend into:
Ibid.

189
  
DNA tests showed no connection:
The Belgian police had also sent Falleti’s and Zwiep’s DNA to British police to test against evidence from a jewel heist there. The results were negative. Patrick Peys, interview with author, in his office, Antwerp, September 23, 2008.

190
  
“This uncertainty is killing us . . . by pure coincidence”:
Jan Heuvelmans, “Parket-generaal Wil Plots Geen Verwijzing Meer voor Zwiep,” PagiA (a small press bureau for legal news in Antwerp), November 15, 2004.

Chapter Twelve: The Trial

192
  “
Any time you . . . a million dollar job”:
The Killing
, directed by Stanley Kubrick, written by Stanley Kubrick, Jim Thompson, and Lionel White (1956).

192
  “
the Man of Gold”:
Giorgio Ballario, “Il Furto del Secolo al Diamond Center,”
La Stampa
(Turin), March 29, 2003.

192
  
another called the decision . . . “beginners”:
Maria Maggiore and Lodovico Poletto, “Nel 2001 Notarbartolo Aveva Preso in Affitto i Locali Dentro il Palazzo dei Diamanti di Anversa,”
La Stampa
(Turin), February 28, 2003.

192
  
A third wrote . . . Merry Men:
Massimo Numa, “I Due Rapinatori Arrestati l’Altro Giorno in Una Gioielleria Belga Erano nella Lista dei Sospettati per il Colpo al Diamond Centre,”
La Stampa
(Turin), May 7, 2003.

192
  
belonging to the Mafia:
Jean-Charles Verwaest, “Recordbuit van 100 Miljoen Euro Bij Diamantroof,”
De Standaard
(Antwerp), February 28, 2003.

192
  
describing Notarbartolo not only . . . a drug dealer: De Standaard
newspaper’s characterization of Notarbartolo as Mafioso was refuted by Notarbartolo’s lawyers and also, strangely enough, by
La Stampa
. Almost as if to set the record straight and defend Turin’s honor, the Italian paper wrote in response to Belgian press accounts that the School of Turin was nonviolent and not involved in organized crime. But in fact, Notarbartolo has relatives in the Sicilian Mafia. Mafia involvement in the heist, while not considered likely by investigators, has never been entirely ruled out. Jean-Charles Verwaest, “Italiaanse Maffia Bereidde Kraak Twee Jaar Lang Voor,”
De Standaard
(Antwerp), February 28, 2003.

193
  
“Nobody left Antwerp . . . a great job
”: Philip Claes, interview with author, in his office at the AWDC, September 22, 2008.

193
  
“kicked out of many buildings”:
Simon Surowicz, interview with author, via telephone, April 23, 2009. The description of Surowicz’s activities in this section comes from multiple telephone and e-mail interviews between him and the author in 2009.

193
  
they were directly ordered by their supervisors:
Patrick Peys, interview with author, in his office, Antwerp, September 26, 2008.

194
  
“I went to the place . . . I know of”:
Simon Surowicz, interview with author, via telephone, April 23, 2009.

194
  
The hour-long show aired almost exactly a year after the heist: Primetime Live
, “The Great Diamond Heist,” ABC, February 12, 2004.

194
  
compared the perpetrators to . . .
Ocean’s Eleven: Correspondent Jay Schadler made the comparison to
Ocean’s Eleven
three different times during the program. Ibid.

195
  
after he’d been imprisoned for nearly six months:
The timing was not a coincidence; in Belgium, six months is the limit that the government can imprison someone without a certain amount of evidence.

195
  
mid-September 2004 when . . . to continue the case:
“Zes van Zeven Verdachten Antwerpse Diamantroof Naar Rechtbank,”
Gazet van Antwerpen
(Antwerp), September 21, 2004.

195
  
“absolutely no reason . . . these proceedings”:
“Parket Succesol in Beroep Tegen Voorlopige Vrijlating Notarbartolo,”
Gazet van Antwerpen
(Antwerp), November 16, 2004.

197
  
There was nothing comparable in U.S. criminal law:
A court of final instance, such as the Supreme Court of the United States for federal cases, exists for a possibility of a further appeal, although the chances of a case being heard may be slim. Criminal cases are heard at a trial level first, then can go to a court of appeals, and a court of final instance may or may not agree to hear a final appeal. However, there are very unusual circumstances in which civil cases could be heard for the first instance at a non-trial court level. For example, under section 2 of Article 3 of the Constitution, the U.S. Supreme Court has original jurisdiction for cases involving diplomats and states. It is extremely unusual that the Court avails itself of this power and holds an actual trial.

197
  
“It’s a kind of strategic . . . keep the case”:
Ben Theunis, interview with author, via telephone, May 4, 2009.

198
  
“there was a suggestion”:
Ibid.

198
  
“Of course . . . lost an appeal”:
Ibid.

199
  
although these lawyers did not fully participate in the court case:
Finotto hired Belgian lawyers Stanislas Le Paige and Pierre Monville; Tavano hired Belgian lawyer Philippe Carsau; and D’Onorio hired Belgian lawyer Patrick Kortleven. These attorneys participated in varying degrees during the trial and in fact didn’t even come to court some days. That meant there were times when some defendants were not represented in the proceedings at all.

199
  
their lawyers needed to make the difficult decision:
This is similar to what happens in the United States when one is sued and wants to argue that the court in question has no jurisdiction. For example, if a defendant is sued in California over a business dispute that has occurred primarily in Colorado, she could hire a lawyer to argue that the California court lacks jurisdiction in the case, or she could default, just having a lawyer listen to the case but not do anything. In this case, when the plaintiff comes after her in Colorado, she can challenge the original jurisdiction of the California case, but if she loses then, she has to accept the default judgment. We don’t have this with criminal cases, as courts need to have custody of the defendant in criminal cases in the United States.

199
  
Any dissent about a decision . . . the three of them:
Jean-Charles Verwaest, interview with author, in the courtroom where the appellate level trial was held, Antwerp, September 30, 2008.

200
  
“Obviously, he isn’t the most innocent . . . for the minimum”: Primetime Live
, “The Great Diamond Heist,” ABC, February 12, 2004.

200
  
“When that gang in fact . . . be five years”:
Jan Heuvelmans, “Parket-Generaal Wil Plots Geen Verwijzing Meer voor Zwiep.”

201
  “
the Soloist with the Kalashnikov”:
Lodovico Poletto, “Libero e Ricco il Solista del Kalashnikov,”
La Stampa
(Turin), April 15, 2008.

201
  
“You can see the hand of Pancrazio behind all of this”:
Lodovico Poletto, interview with author, in the
La Stampa
office, Turin, January 16, 2009.

202
  
“The guy came back . . . and Agim”:
Denice Oliver, interview with author, in her office, Antwerp, September 29, 2008.

202
  
“That guy came back . . . and whatever”:
Ibid.

203
  
While Notarbartolo also had an uncle with Mob ties:
Garbutt, “A Chronicle of Criminal Coincidences.”

203
  
Notarbartolo while he . . . son in Palermo:
Antonino Falleti, interview with author, Turin, September 20, 2008. Also, Garbutt, “A Chronicle of Criminal Coincidences.” In the latter account, Notarbartolo claimed he recognized one of the anti-Mafia investigators as the man who took his photo at the wedding in Palermo.