How I Stole $300 Million in Rare Diamonds | Informer
Вставка
- Опубліковано 8 тра 2023
- This Informer was part of a syndicate of jewel thieves that hailed primarily from the Balkans. He’s been entangled in crime his whole life, including many high stake jewel heists - stealing hundreds of millions of dollars worth of uncut diamonds, jewelry and cash.
It only takes him 60 seconds to walk into a jewelry store, smash the displays with hammers and crowbars and grab all he could get his hands on.
He’d loot these diamonds at night and then sell them right back to the district during the day - describing this as the perfect continuum.
There were enemies, violence and back stabbing situations. Once, he was kidnapped, wrapped in duct tape and had his life threatened in exchange for his blueprints and keys to the city’s diamond district.
He says guys like him do not last long and was eventually caught and imprisoned for over a decade. Nowadays, the Informer has retired from crime but he misses the adrenaline, the action and the abundance of cash. He still pictures himself doing the robberies in his head and lives with no regrets, “ I lived a pretty full life, I took chances”.
Check out the VICE World News playlist for global reporting you won't find elsewhere: • World News
Watch more form this series:
Drugs, Sex and Gangs Inside Rikers Island Prison
• Drugs, Sex and Gangs I...
What the Gambling Industry Doesn’t Want You To Know
• What the Gambling Indu...
I Was Sold At A Slave Market
• I Was Sold at a Slave ...
Click here to subscribe to VICE: bit.ly/Subscribe-to-VICE
About VICE:
The Definitive Guide To Enlightening Information. From every corner of the planet, our immersive, caustic, ground-breaking and often bizarre stories have changed the way people think about culture, crime, art, parties, fashion, protest, the internet and other subjects that don't even have names yet. Browse the growing library and discover corners of the world you never knew existed. Welcome to VICE.
Connect with VICE:
Check out our full video catalog: bit.ly/VICE-Videos
Videos, daily editorial and more: vice.com
More videos from the VICE network: www. vicevideo
Click here to get the best of VICE daily: bit.ly/1SquZ6v
Like VICE on Facebook: vice
Follow VICE on Twitter: / vice
Follow us on Instagram: / vice
Follow us on TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@vice?lang=en
The VICE UA-cam Network:
VICE: / vice
MUNCHIES: / munchies
VICE News: / vicenews
VICELAND: / vicelandtv
Vice Life: / broadly
Noisey: / noisey
Motherboard: / motherboardtv
VICE Sports: / noc
i-D: / idmagazine
Waypoint: / waypointvice - Розваги
What makes me sad about these criminals is how they just waste their money instead of using it wisely and leave the criminal life.
Criminal life is their way of life.
Smart people don’t typically become criminals and when they do we call them politicians
Blood in blood out
The ones that do, you don't hear from them which in turn gives such impression that everyone is the same. Yet, there's plethora ppl who invested wisely and got out of the swamp.
You can only go so far from the criminal life when you’ve gotten that deep into it. Not only because of the pull back to what you’ve always known, but also because the moment you leave, you’re taking everything you know about everyone you’ve worked with back into the real world. Very few criminal enterprises will ever trust someone with that kind of knowledge when they’re not under their roof anymore.
These interviews are eye-opening to watch. It's interesting to see how events unfold in this narrative. There's so much more to these people than meets the eye.
Well of course...we all have a story. & all of us no matter across class or whatever everyone of us has some sort of affliction. That's what I've noticed in Life about us. No excuses though for victimizing people...that's a conscious decision.
They look fake. Specially this one. I think 60-70% of the content on this channel is fake. People a mad on trying to understand/know something more about criminals live, but it is easier to fake it, than to make real. And in history of media 40-50% of such interviews on such channels were fake.
It's amazing that anyone could put on a mask, hide their voice, and then make up a story. Good stuff!
80% chance this is a Vice employee in a mask
@@johnburke8375 r/nothingeverhappens
They completely failed to cover up this guy’s voice, I know who he is. I’ve seen him working at every pizza place in New York City.
😂
Lol 😂 Uncle Vinny
😂
Bro fr snitched on him😭
@@Virus-lg5ij lol 😂
My thing about these videos is how do you 1) find these people? 2)motivate them to confess to their crime(s)? 3) get them to trust you with their identity?
I know. I'd like to think this rat has done time in prison (whoever he is)
@@writer46m72 exactly
They sign NDAs
@@writer46m72 He did say he got arrested and was 'out of commission' for 15 years if that implies to you anything.
@@writer46m72 Did you not even watch the relatively brief video all the way to the end? He spent at least fifteen years in state prison. I wonder what else you fail to fundamentally understand.
I gotta be honest. After watching so many of these and similar documentaries I wonder how much truth there is.
I'll asume is based off real stuff that happened ,and the masked person is just an person paid to say and act, if that was true, i'm sure he would've been put in prison and such, there is no way they would allow someone to be with criminal history out on youtube or platform flexing, cops don't like someone to flex on them, you know how cops work they're the biggest corupts. Leaving it aside, no way the person is the real person who did it.
Ikr. I don’t believe these stories but I believe JFK Jr will come back from the dead and be president of the united states!
He sounds like he overinflates his story... He was probably heisting, but some details sound so made up ... Like factualy very improbable to happen how he say it happened...
@@lazymassnah he was definitely taped up, handcuffed and left in a bathtub. So lucky they left a paperclip laying around the bathroom floor. He would have died. For real. /Sarcasm
@@ArashiKageTaro lmao
The first heist he is talking about is probably the 1992 Regency Hotel heist.
This Informer series is hella addictive.
Should get this guy to help you guys get out of Bankruptcy🤣
lol
Why am I just discovering this series on VICE? This is so fascinating!
right! i think i’ve watched almost all of them & this is my favorite
Had me right up until 'and then I opened the cuffs with a paperclip I found' 😂
Like he could open up bank vaults, opening up normal locks with paperclips shouldn't be a problem for experts like him. But doing it while being duck taped is sus.
Hah you’re right. There’s a different way that all went down. It was just a lil story right after he said “but they weren’t watching me” and maybe a bit before that. Like the duct tape part. That was different too prolly.
The Pierre hotel robbery was a January 2, 1972 robbery at The Pierre in New York City. The robbery netted $3 million (worth $27 million today), and was organized by Samuel Nalo; Robert "Bobby" Comfort, an associate of the Rochester Crime Family; and Christie "the Tic" Furnari, an associate of the Lucchese Crime Family. The heist was carried out by several of Furnari's gang burglars.[1] This robbery would later be listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest, most successful hotel robbery in history. Copied from Wikipedia most definitely happened and they went to jail to.
i know i know but its... TOO. 🤣
The Lufthansa robbery by the Jimmy Burke crew dwarfed that
Facts
3:46 this transition was so funny 😅
I noticed that as well. It was maybe supposed to be scary? It was just hilarious.
I wonder how many of these stories or entire interviews are real.
Same. But heists happen. And people who do this stuff get a thrill out of bragging about it. But also how does vice get in contact with them???
Good question
This guy seems too far fetched
This story has far too many incriminating details that could be tracked, I hope you don't think a voice changer fools the government
Probably pretty real the extent gone to cover up identity and also the candidness in which some speak
He just so happened to find a paperclip and pick the lock with it! Lol
this guy has nearly lied about everything he has said in this video but it still was fun to watch
Well, once you understand where the diamonds come from and how the diamonds ended up in the EU or the US, you will actually know that he was just stealing from REAL THIEVES!
A successful criminal is not one who is in and out of prison for the crimes he committed.
99% of criminals end that way
Thank you 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
idk. i've seen a lot of interviews with ones who aren't anonymous and their crimes can be verified, and most of them say they've gone to prison.
The ones who ain't going to prison ain't that dumb to make an interview for a news agency
I would say they're more successful than the ones that get killed.
I had a very good friend like this dude. He was something more than a "father" to me when I was growing up.
He would show up in Lambo's, Ferrari's and cash money like you wouldnt believe. He lived like a billionaire. He was also very "generous" w/ people he liked, and he took really good care of his family; put his kids through the finest colleges, bought them homes, money in the bank etc.
He was an *adrenaline junkie* and in the end, it cost him his life.
Irony is that he was an ex-fireman and an ex-cop while he committed all his 'crimes'.
He never got caught, he was way too intelligent.
On Sept. 11, he rushed down to "Ground Zero" to help out his men & his "Engine Ladder" --- four days later, they dug him out of the rubble and the debris, crushed by steel beams, holding a woman he had apparently tried to rescue. During his 'career' as a Firefighter, he had saved countless of lives prior to transferring over to being a cop.
RIP #Lion 🌹
Very strange use of '' and "".
A billionaire cop fireman. Cool story bro
Gotcha.
yip and yap
Yeah bullshit
How are they verifying these people really did this stuff..
Right. Sounds like fibbing sometimes, he even doubted himself in the story saying he somehow escaped the cuffs
Lmao it’s all for internment anything to get view’s
"I randomly found a paper clip and used that to escape". The guy thinks he's Sarah Connor from Terminator 2 escaping that mental hospital.
For all ya know it could be faked like Fox Entertainment.
@@jacobmoore1331 yeah anything to get views for his social media/Instagram. Oh, wait, but he’s anonymous…. 🤔
Was waiting for this informer series
Does anyone believe this? Seems a bit far fetched, 'I picked the handcuf locks with a paper clip I found'
Seems a bit off
Handcuffs have a simple locking and release mechanism actually. Even the standard one's cops use.
You don’t keep your paperclips in the bathroom?
@@Chris-cf2kp There is an actual way at least on some models to where you need to slip something between the teeth and the casing of the handcuffs. I'd also advise people to hide razors on their person to dealing with zipcuffs in a mass arrests scenario. They can't use all chains on everyone and high durability though they may be, they're still plastic and still can be cut through.
@@drek9k2 I wonder. Even something thin that can be used to pierce and tear would work - more concealable. Perhaps in a watch, assuming they don't take the watches of everyone off. The metal tab that holds the watches strap could be kept sharp just for that scenario. Maybe there could be a very small pocket on the inner waist lining of pants front and back for a small tool with a handcuff release and also a piercing end - like a pocket the size of the manufacturers tab for waist sizing.
I know how he feels. One time I downloaded a whole car.
Thats illegal man, please confess your crime to the authorities. It takes a lot of time and money to build a car man
Me too , it's a fake taxi
Isn’t it pretty obvious this is Larry Lawton working up an exaggerated accent??? He’s the guy with a UA-cam channel who openly talks about his heists and stuff
Yeah this guy can't hide his mannerisms and personality lol. That makes him identifiable
This would make for a really good movie. I'd definitely watch.
There's hundreds of films like this though lol
@@CryptoRoast_0 perhaps...but if the story is good some still rewatch so why not add another one with a different plot ? No harm in that
RIP Vice, thank you.
Dont worry friend, we are all a product of our own environment. I know because im right there with you.
They aren’t fooling me. They can change his voice with effects all they want but they can’t hide the super villain DOOM from me.
it's a woman under the mask
This one is definitely a special episode 🎉
Vice are really good in bringing good actors
This guy is smoking that rock.
Rip vice 💀💀ur reports will be missed
“. I was criminally insane “ he said ….I love when a criminal invokes insanity where in the same sentence he told us he plans a heist his head ….witch tells us he is totally in control of his mind …..” I am a product of my neighborhood” …we all go trough hard times but some people CHOOSE NOT to steal ….
He literally says that these days he is clean from crime but he still thinks about it
Criminally insane doesn't mean "insane" in the typical medical sense.
Great audio. Very tolerable and heartwarming.
You ever feel like the person in these videos is just straight up lying?
saw several other people mention someone named larry lawton on youtube. checked him out, it does seem like it could be him. i suspect that he actually did it but he's acting extra dramatic, putting on an accent, and embellishing his stories.
he said he spent 15 years in prison. larry lawton spent 12. pretty close. the speech patterns match up- he makes his voice more intense, talks with more confidence and pride, but the timing, pauses, and vocabulary are the same. field of work is the same.
Thank goodness he was able to understand himself.
He's a true Italian and I'll tell you why. He uses his hands like me and everyone who knows a true Italian does this without knowing it lol
how do fake Italians talk?? xD
Awesome they got Larry!
This guy has more stories than Walt Disney. I'm from 1980's Boston & grew up around men in the life & anybody that references "the mafia" watched way too much television/youtube videos & knows absolutely nothing about that life.
they usually call it a family, right? also the thing about having to either kill or steal doesn't check out, they do tons of legitimate business and less glamorous/dramatic crimes i think
walt disney... lol
He got out of the handcuffs from paper clip he found this was definitely a setup😂
Bro pulled off more heists irl than I’ve done on Payday 2
Unbelievable sick world 😢 very interesting seeing people born into these sad lives ❤
He stole my heart ❤️
VICE goated for this one 😂
I went to go look it up and forgot UA-cam shut him down, where is he doing his podcasts now?
Just discovered this channel and i already love it
Vice is hoping to get some of that diamond 💎$$ to avoid bankruptcy 😅
I like how he said he robs finished goods, this guy has his own categories of materials
Vice needs some of this money
He said "traveled and rented Lamborghinis"...dude that's dumb af
This guy was by far the most intelligent in the series.
This fellow could have avoided all of that, if he just played GTA.
Italian just cannot resist gesturing with hands during talking.
I once stole a box of upper deck baseball cards.
I like the anonymous snuggie outfit you use in these
Hey maybe he can buy Vice and bring it back to what it used to be, an actual real alternative news organization.
I love retired thieves who coach from the sidelines.
That ending statement tho 👏
Probably just some random dude they said “hey we will pay you $5,000 if you pretend to be a diamond thief on our video.”
Fake.
Well then he did a pretty good job.
"Instant millionaires" lottery with a side of 10 to 15 years 😢😂😂😂
that paperclip came in clutch
5:44 and I come back to my office where they were going to do the heist 😂
You can tell is a true criminal, when he speaks about the crimes and nasty things he did, he does not have any emotion sign on his face expression.
@@iRiShNFT lol
He's wearing a mask... Through the voice filter you can hear some emotion when he said "thank god nobody died."
@@AccidentallyOnPurpose are you sure he is wearing a mask?
@@civilbro5800 ...you can literally see it on the chair at the beginning, also the footage of him adjusting it on
someone said money stolen,99% doesn't help the beneficiary, you've to be smart to make something out of it
Damn I picked the wrong line of work, this sounds great
He should work with security firms to make ALOT of money!
They cut out the part where he says "and then the GTA session went temporarily offline"
the last sentence is the root of the situation
Vice interview ex government members😂
Damn, RIP Vice
Started from the bottom now we broke!
Started from the bottom but we will always be f***ing broke! Lol
6:44 people who say this are the ones who can never take responsibility for their actions
Those gloves are clean and this guy better be in Payday 3
Your GTA Online character, after you unninstall the game.
Everyone knows this is Michael De Santa from GTA V.
I love these videos.
Lol you guys going bankrupt is just sweet sweet music. Well done chaps.
Vice media after going bankrupt be like
Please do a masked interview of a slaughterhouse worker.
what is that overhjead light fixture called? thank you!
And here we have a real-life DnD Rogue!
I was more interested in finding out where he actually sold them.
I haven't heard the expression criminally insane for a long time
this is eye opening fr
Hard to understand. Audio is back. Thx.
Its sad to hear that Vice filed for bankruptcy
He claims he didn't wake up a criminal, but he didn't choose differently at any point in his miserable life. Death becomes you
Cool story. His kicks are dope.
You could hire him to help with your bankruptcy.
How many unknowns are out there...?!
best episode
When even the voice changer can’t hide the thick NY accent
Let the diamond industry be inflated. It's an artificial market to make a very abundant gem expensive. Emeralds are actually rare, there's a ton more diamonds around.
not to mention we can literally make diamonds; there's no difference between a natural diamond and man-made one. buying natural blood diamonds likely comes from extremely terrible human rights violations and conditions.
Homeboy rockin those Home Depot Firm Grips.
#IYKYK
I like this guy low key 😂😂
He would make a good Chief Security Officer.
They need to make these faster best thing going for vice
Vice will soon be history
how the f you guys manage to find these wild people
That probation seems to get everyone. It’s a real problem
The headline for me rare diamonds 😂