Latest news with #Stolen:HeistoftheCentury
Irish Independent
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Today's top TV and streaming choices: The Veil, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Summer of 69
Michael Mosley: Secrets of the Superagers Channel 4, 8pm Attention turns to keeping bodies healthy on the inside. Among those featured is an 86-year-old cyclist with the immune system of someone a quarter of his age and a scientist who believes that tai chi enables practitioners to age well. Fake or Fortune? BBC One, 9pm Could a painting of a woman with a funerary urn found in a cupboard be a lost masterpiece by 18th-century Swiss artist Angelica Kauffman? That's the question Fiona Bruce and Philip Mould try to answer in the latest episode. The Veil RTÉ2, 10.40pm As the taut drama's penultimate episode begins, the pieces of the puzzle seem to be falling into place for Imogen (Elisabeth Moss), but is taking matters into her own hands really the right path to take? Once Upon a Time in Hollywood TG4, 9.30pm Quentin Tarantino's brilliant comedy-drama re-imagines LA in the summer of 1969. A washed-up actor and his stunt double inadvertently become embroiled with the Manson family. Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt star. Stolen: Heist of the Century Netflix, streaming now For every Sally Lindsay or Sheridan Smith dramady thrust upon us... for every possession-themed offering from the Philippines (this week it's Isolated), and every arbitrary addition to their arsenal (Bend it Like Beckham, Normal People). Even for every Bible-thumping YouTuber from Brazil attempting to save you and your children (Deive Leonardo's The Answer coming atcha from Sunday, obvs), we (thankfully) still have what Netflix does best. No, not dating shows or Argentine prison dramas (although In The Mud does look good, debuting Friday), but cold, hard true-crime documentaries. From the makers of The Tinder Swindler, American Nightmare, Don't F**k With Cats and Big Vape comes this gripping true-crime tale: the 2003 Antwerp diamond heist. With never-before-heard accounts from detectives and the alleged mastermind, this documentary uncovers how hundreds of millions in gems vanished – and were never recovered. FX's Necaxa Disney+, streaming now Actors Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds are now so astute at breathing life into ailing FC clubs that fellow actor Eva Longoria enlists their help to revive Mexico's Club Necaxa. Summer of 69 Disney+, streaming now Things are getting a little racy over on Disney+ this week. Hell-bent on landing the heart of her long-time crush, Abby enlists the help of a local stripper named Santa Monica, hoping to learn the secrets of self-assurance and the art of sexual allure.
Irish Independent
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
What to watch on TV and streaming today: The Manhattan Project in Colour, Always and Heist of the Century
Live Hockey RTÉ2, 2.15pm Ireland face a tricky task in their opening match of the Women's EuroHockey Championship. They're due to take on current title holders the Netherlands in Mönchengladbach, Germany. Channel 4, 8pm Black-and-white photographs and film have been colourised, adding a new dimension to the story of how Robert Oppenheimer and his team developed the first atomic bomb, a terrifying weapon that proved instrumental in bringing about the end of World War II. Cleo Laine at the BBC BBC Two, 9.10pm The acclaimed jazz singer passed away last month at the age of 97. To celebrate her life and achievements, the BBC is reshowing this programme from 2022, which showcases some of her most amazing performances. Look out for her husband, composer and musician John Dankworth, too. Always RTÉ One, 3.40pm Steven Spielberg's romantic fantasy stars Richard Dreyfuss as a ghostly pilot trying to help his girlfriend (Holly Hunter) deal with loss and move on with her life. Audrey Hepburn also appears in her final film role. Michael Collins RTÉ One, 9.30pm True-life political drama focusing on Collins' role in the Easter Rising of 1916 and its aftermath. Neil Jordan directs an all-star cast that includes Liam Neeson, Julia Roberts, Alan Rickman, Aidan Quinn and Stephen Rea. Stolen: Heist of the Century Netflix, streaming now For every Sally Lindsay or Sheridan Smith dramady thrust upon us... for every possession-themed offering from the Philippines (this week it's Isolated), and every arbitrary addition to their arsenal (Bend it Like Beckham, Normal People). Even for every Bible-thumping YouTuber from Brazil attempting to save you and your children (Deive Leonardo's The Answer coming atcha from Sunday, obvs), we (thankfully) still have what Netflix does best. No, not dating shows or Argentine prison dramas (although In The Mud does look good, debuting Friday), but cold, hard true-crime documentaries. From the makers of The Tinder Swindler, American Nightmare, Don't F**k With Cats and Big Vape comes this gripping true-crime tale: the 2003 Antwerp diamond heist. With never-before-heard accounts from detectives and the alleged mastermind, this documentary uncovers how hundreds of millions in gems vanished – and were never recovered. FX's Necaxa Disney+, streaming now Actors Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds are now so astute at breathing life into ailing FC clubs that fellow actor Eva Longoria enlists their help to revive Mexico's Club Necaxa. Summer of 69 Disney+, streaming now Things are getting a little racy over on Disney+ this week. Hell-bent on landing the heart of her long-time crush, Abby enlists the help of a local stripper named Santa Monica, hoping to learn the secrets of self-assurance and the art of sexual allure.
Time Magazine
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time Magazine
Stolen: Heist of the Century Features the Main Robber
Warning: This post contains spoilers for Stolen: Heist of the Century Stolen: Heist of the Century, a documentary about what's considered the world's largest diamond heist, is a cut above other true crime fare because in this one, the filmmakers interview the mastermind of the crime about how he pulled it off. The robber, Leonardo Notarbartolo, who had an office in the building he stole from, speaks on camera for the first time about his role in the theft of about $100 million worth of diamonds in Antwerp, Belgium, over the weekend of Feb. 15, 2003. His memory is selective, however, and Stolen also features law enforcement officials who fact-check his claims. The documentary, out on Netflix on Aug. 8, is based on the 2010 book Flawless: Inside the Largest Diamond Heist in History, which examines how the diamond thieves pulled off the heist and what led to police eventually catching them. Here, the book's co-author Scott Selby talks to TIME about the 'flawless' theft and what he thinks about Notarbartolo's account. How the thieves pulled off a massive diamond robbery Antwerp has long been considered the diamond capital of the world: About 85% of the world's diamonds pass through the city. The thieves targeted a building called the Antwerp Diamond Center, which housed dozens of gem trading companies. While the center was heavily guarded on the weekdays, there was less security on the weekends. Authorities believe that the thieves entered through the garage where a door led to the ground floor of the building and then opened it by modifying an alien key. Stolen shows thieves covering motion sensors with hairspray, light sensors with black duct tape, and cameras with black plastic bags. When the thieves were done, they stole security tapes so that no one could see them committing a crime. Somehow, they managed to break into the explosion-resistant steel door to the vault. 'For me, the biggest mystery is, how did they get past that combination lock?' Selby says. In the doc, Notarbartolo claims he hid a camera inside a fire extinguisher, which enabled him to see what combination was inside. But Selby argues the only way to see the numbers on the lock is through a piece of glass on top of the lock that acts like a magnifying glass. To open each safe deposit box in the vault, the thieves invented a device that hooks into the keyhole and then uses leverage to bend the deadbolt so the door pops open. Notarbartolo claims he trained for the heist in a recreation of the vault outside of the building. But Selby doesn't believe that because Notarbartolo had a safe deposit box in the vault. 'I'm not sure why one would need a replica of a vault that you already have total access to,' he says. To this day, almost all of the diamonds remain unaccounted for. Many of the safe deposit box owners did not have insurance because the Antwerp Diamond Center was considered the safest place to store diamonds, with plenty of CCTV and armed police guarding it during the week. 'It's important to remember these real victims,' Selby says. 'Real people with small businesses were wiped out.' Notarbartolo does not seem to have any regrets. 'I've always wanted to be part of something like this,' he says in the film, adding later, 'We felt proud of doing something so strong and powerful.' How the thieves got caught 'The theft itself was flawless—I mean, they pulled it off, right? It's just that the getaway was badly bungled,' says Selby. Police found some helpful clues in a heap of trash that was tossed into the last bit of forest off of the highway between Antwerp and Brussels. Unfortunately for the thieves, they dumped their trash onto the property of a man named August Van Camp, who routinely picked up the trash ditched by drivers and sifted through it to see if he could identify who was littering, regularly reporting the contents to the police. In this case, he told police that the trash had diamond-related materials, and since they were in the process of investigating the diamond heist, the police showed up right away. Inside the trash were tiny emeralds. There was a supermarket receipt, and police were able to go to the store and look at security footage to identify the person ringing up the listed items, Ferdinando Finotto, someone police had been looking for in connection to a different robbery. There was a piece of paper identifying Elio D'Onorio, an alarm specialist, authorizing him to do security work for Leonardo Notarbartolo, who had a safe deposit box at the Antwerp center. Police found out that he was from Turin, Italy, and called the head of the detectives for the robbery squad in the city to find out who Notarbartolo was and learned he was on their radar. Turin authorities told Antwerp authorities about the so-called School of Turin, a network of criminals in the area. Then, the building manager of the Antwerp Diamond Center was able to point him out for authorities on security footage. Notarbartolo's safe deposit box was one of the safe deposit boxes that had not been broken into, which was suspicious. Nearly a week after the heist, on Feb. 21, Notarbartolo was caught when he returned to the scene of the heist to enter the building with his badge so that it didn't look like he was the only tenant who didn't go into the building after the heist. The building's security team had already been fielding questions from authorities about him for days, so they recognized him immediately when he showed up. The building manager called the police, and then stopped Notarbartolo at the door, talking his ear off until the police arrived and arrested him. 'By then, you surrender,' Notarbartolo says in the doc. 'You face the situation.' Police ordered Notarbartolo to direct them to the thieves' safe house, where they found a carpet covered in emeralds, the same kind that police found in the trash pile. Notarbartolo was sentenced to 10 years in prison, because he was found guilty of being the mastermind, while D'Onorio and Finotto were each sentenced to five years in prison. What happened to Notarbartolo? Notarbartolo already did his time for the crime, so he can talk openly about it. 'There's no longer any legal jeopardy for him,' Selby explains. 'He served his time.' Notarbartolo lives with his wife in the countryside on the outskirts of Turin, where police still monitor him closely. He has a small business making wood pellets commonly used for fireplaces. Throughout the doc, he talks about how a man named Alessandro commissioned him to do the heist. But authorities interviewed say they never found any evidence of a partner named Alessandro. 'I don't think any outside partner commissioned him to do this,' Selby says. While the diamond heist was a complex operation, there are everyday steps that people can take to keep their personal property safe. 'Just because you live in a gated community doesn't mean that you don't need a good lock on your door,' says Selby. 'It doesn't mean that you can be complacent and just not have your security alarm on.'
Daily Mirror
5 days ago
- Daily Mirror
Netflix's Stolen Heist of the Century mastermind identity and what happened to criminals
What happened to the small group of master thieves said to be behind the heist A new Netflix documentary looks into the case of what is often described as one of the most daring diamond heists that ever took place. Stolen: Heist of the Century releases on the streaming platform from Friday (August 8). It comes from the same production company, RAW, who are behind other Netflix hits such as Don't F*** With Cats, American Nightmare and The Tindler Swindler. According to the synopsis of this new feature length doc tells the story of the ultimate true-life crime caper. The Antwerp detectives who cracked the case along with the alleged criminal mastermind are gathered for the first time to give a blow-by-blow account of what really happened. On the morning of February 17, 2003, detectives from Antwerp's infamous Diamond Squad were called to investigate the brazen night-time robbery of an allegedly impregnable vault in the middle of the City of Diamonds. It is estimated that at least $100 million worth of diamonds were stolen. Now, after more than 20 years, the world will finally learn how they pulled it off. One of the biggest questions viewers will have, is just who was the mastermind behind the heist and what happened to the criminals responsible? Be warned, below includes full spoilers for Stolen: Heist of the Century, so you should watch the film first if you want to go in without knowing anything. Who was the mastermind behind the Antwerp diamond heist? An ingenious gang of master thieves from Italy, known as The School of Turin were said to be behind the audacious heist. Despite his claims in the documentary, the individual said to be the mastermind behind this group was Leonardo Notarbartolo. He was assisted by four other individuals who Notarbartolo referred to in interviews by their aliases. These were: Speedy - a long-time friend of Notarbartolo and responsible for scattering the rubbish in the woods. Belgian police believe this to be Pietro Tavano. The Monster - apparently an expert lock picker, electrician, mechanic and driver. Belgian police believe this to be Ferdinando Finotto. The Genius - a specialist in alarm systems. Belgian police believe this to be Elio D'Onorio linked to series of robberies. The King of Keys - described as one of the best key forgers in the world. His true identity is unknown. What happened to the criminals responsible behind the diamond heist? Notarbartolo was found guilty of orchestrating the heist. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison by the court of appeal of Antwerp in 2005, but was released on parole in 2009. Tavano, D'Onorio, and Finotto each got five years in prison for their roles. The King of Keys was never identified. In an interview with Wired magazine, Notarbartolo claimed the heist was a part of an insurance fraud scheme. However, this is heavily disputed as the vault itself was uninsured. In that same piece, he also claims an anonymous diamond dealer told him how the heist could be done. According to Good To Know, Notarbartolo was found to be violating some terms of his parole, believed to be linked to paying back the value of stolen goods. As result he was arrested again in 2013 and made to serve the rest of his sentence. He is thought to be living in Turin since his release in 2017.
Daily Mirror
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Don't F*** With Cats team drops new Netflix documentary on 'world's greatest diamond heist'
The feature film will tell an extraordinary true crime story The creative team behind popular docuseries Don't F*** With Cats have dropped their brand new title on Netflix about the 'world's greatest diamond heist'. Stolen: Heist of the Century releases on the streaming platform from Friday (August 8). It is produced by the company RAW, not only known for the hit true crime series but also American Nightmare and The Tindler Swindler. Their latest entry is said to tell the story of the ultimate true-life crime caper, the world's greatest diamond heist. According to the synopsis provided by Netflix, the Antwerp detectives who cracked the case along with the alleged criminal mastermind are gathered for the first time to give a blow-by-blow account of what really happened. The feature length documentary is said to reveal the secrets of 'The Heist of the Century'. Unlike the previous limited series released, this will be a film coming in at around one hour and 35 minutes in length. On the morning of February 17, 2003, detectives from Antwerp's infamous Diamond Squad were called to investigate the brazen night-time robbery of an allegedly impregnable vault in the middle of the City of Diamonds. It is estimated that between $100 million and half a billion dollars worth of diamonds were stolen. An ingenious gang of master thieves from Italy, known as The School of Turin were said to be behind the audacious heist. Now, after more than 20 years, the world will finally learn how they pulled it off. Sharing the same director as Don't F*** With Cats, the new film is based on the book Flawless, which was written by Scott Andrew Selby and Greg Campbell. Fans were full of praise for Don't F*** With Cats, with one person claiming it was 'the best documentary ever made'. Another fan posted online saying: "A really excellent crime and investigation series based on true events, the only downside is that at first it feels a little dry and uninteresting, but if you can tolerate the beginning, this is a masterpiece series." Someone else stated: "Don't F**k with Cats" is a gripping rollercoaster of a documentary that will leave you on the edge of your seat from start to finish." It means that Stolen: Heist of the Century has been set a high bar of expectations if it is to be as well received. Anticipation has been building for its release ever since Netflix shared the trailer online. Replying to the teaser on its YouTube page, one user claimed it looked like a real life version of action movie Den of Thieves. Another said: "These guys pulled off something so wild, I thought it was straight out of Grand Theft Auto."
