Eighty percent of the world’s diamonds pass through Antwerp’s Diamond District. It’s a veritable fortress with armed patrols, two police stations, thorough video surveillance on the streets in the district and within the various buildings. There are many other safeguards.

But they were no match for a band of Italian thieves, a loosely aligned band of professionals who in toto were called “The School of Turin.” Two years before the heist, Leonardo Notarbartado rented an apartment in Antwerp and an office at what the thieves considered the least secure of the establishments in the Diamond District. Notarbartado scoped out all the security measures, and he and his band found work-arounds for all of them.
On February 15th (Valentine’s Day Weekend), 2003, the team of thieves broke into the vault, spent a night looting strong boxes and made off with an estimated half a billion dollars in diamonds, cash jewelry, bonds and other valuables.

When security entered the vault on Monday morning, the floor was covered with less valuable items such as smaller diamonds and even a gold bar which the thieves just couldn’t carry.

It would have been a perfect heist except for some bad luck when trash from the apartment was discarded in an out of the way forest with a very diligent forest-keeper. The trash led detectives to the thieves.

However – Belgian law has a maximum of a 5 year penalty for theft, no matter how large the theft is. A ringleader can be given ten years. So, while the trials were pretty much open and shut, incarceration was only five years for most of the men and ten years for Notarbartado. It is also a fact that convicts in Belgium usually serve only a third of their time. Very, very little of the loot was recovered. In effect, the thieves served two or three years in Belgian prisons for hundreds of million dollars each in payoff.

Hard to see a downside.

Fascinating look at the Antwerp diamond district, an almost Oceans 11 type theft and the Belgian justice system. Although there are several conflicting stories on how the theft was accomplished, the authors include a detailed bibliography of their research, giving this account an air of authenticity. ( )

This book details the story of the 2003 Antwerp diamond heist, the largest jewel heist in history. A team of thieves, most notably Leonardo Notarbartolo, broke into a supposedly impenetrable vault in Antwerp's secure diamond district and stole more than $100 million of diamonds, jewels, and cash. The book aims to, as authoritatively as possible, trace what occurred before, during, and in the aftermath of the crime. (Incidentally, it strongly argues that most of the details of the heist given in the Wikipedia page are very incorrect, based on a less-than-factual interview that Notarbartolo later gave.)

This book is definitely impressively thorough--it's clear that the authors know what they are talking about and have a real interest in the heist. The beginning of the book definitely drags, as the authors go on a lot of long tangents about the Turin organized crime scene and people's personal histories when I sort of was expecting a tense buildup to the crime, but I found the later portion of the book really interesting. ( )

Entertaining but doesn't sensationalize overmuch - a solid true crime heist book. ( )

Turns out, real life theft isn't as slick as it is in Oceans Eleven, but is as interesting. Telling the story of the history of diamond trading as well as the modern diamond industry as well as the theft, and the hunt that lead to the arrest of four of the thieves. The heist took two years to plan and one mistake to get caught. ( )

The first half of the book, describing the diamond theft, is fun and engaging, if padded. The story of the police investigation is much less interesting, and unfortunately Selby really draws it out:

> The judges sat on bright orange kindergarten-style plastic chairs that were a few shades more intense than the orange carpeting on their dais. These clashed mightily with fluorescent green desk pads and the electric blue curtains. To complete the palate, one wall was painted mustard yellow and the main door bright red. Fluorescent tubes hummed overhead. Overall, the room looked more likely to host Alcoholics Anonymous meetings than criminal trials. ( )