The largest heist of the century, the mastermind behind it lived freely after altering his appearance through cosmetic surgery. Meet the "Sewer Rats."
The gang, known as the "Sewer Rats," successfully robbed the largest and most fortified bank in the French city of Nice. The mastermind behind the crime was unexpected, and despite cooperating with the police to implicate many gang leaders, he managed to escape later, living freely under an assumed identity after undergoing cosmetic surgery to change his appearance.
Learn about what has been called the "biggest heist of the century," the Sewer Rats operation:
In 1976, citizens, foreign tourists, and the wealthy safeguarded their assets in the largest and most fortified bank, Societe Generale. The vault door weighed 20 tons, and the surrounding walls were reinforced with concrete, protecting millions of French francs and thousands of safety deposit boxes.
On a regular workday, a bank employee attempted to open the vault door, but it was stuck. The bank summoned a specialist to inspect the locks, but despite the locks functioning smoothly, the door remained closed, showing no signs of tampering.
Efforts to open it continued past noon when the bank's management decided to drill into the side wall to find the problem. When they finally looked inside, the vault was empty of cash, with only papers covering the floor and equipment that seemed to have been used in the theft.
After investigations, they discovered the method of entry: a hole had been drilled in the vault wall, leading to a 30-foot tunnel that connected to the main sewer network of the city.
With the occurrence of the biggest heist of the century, a massive investigation began to apprehend the Sewer Rats.
During the investigations and search, the police found 2,500 pounds of equipment left behind by the thieves inside the vault, and even more in the tunnel. They also discovered 27 acetylene cylinders used as fuel for torches.
The bank offered a reward of a quarter of a million dollars for information leading to the capture of the Sewer Rats.
These thieves stole approximately 10 million dollars in cash and jewels. It took 12 investigations to catalog all the vault's contents, and not a single fingerprint was found that could lead to the culprits.
One of the officers noticed a red Zippo lighter while examining the evidence, which seemed very familiar, as the notorious criminal Daniel Micoloche was known to use such lighters.
However, the red Zippo was not enough to convict Micoloche, who denied any involvement in the heist.
Nevertheless, investigations into Micoloche's activities began, as he was the only thread the police could grasp.
Another lead emerged when a report came in that Micoloche had been seen with several suspicious men in a rural village house two weeks before the heist.
The police raided the house, finding Micoloche with individuals claiming they were gathering for a party. Upon a thorough search for evidence, the police found a waterproof battery-powered light, covered in the same mud found in the sewers.
The police arrested everyone in the house in hopes that one of them would confess to the crime.
Among those detained, only one criminal's confession pointed to Albert Spaggiari as the mastermind behind the heist.
It was surprising that Albert, a modest photographer with no criminal history, would be the mastermind behind such a crime. Nevertheless, he was arrested for questioning regarding the incident.
After 36 hours of interrogation, Albert continued to maintain his innocence in the matter.
However, what incriminated Albert was his possession of illegal explosives and weapons in his cabin, which the police discovered during the questioning.
The mastermind eventually confessed to the crime, revealing the details of its preparation.
Despite Albert Spaggiari's lack of criminal history, the idea had occurred to him two years earlier when his neighbor, who worked at the bank, informed him that the vault had no alarm system.
Spaggiari rented a safety deposit box, photographed the vault's interior, and realized that it would take several hours to open all the deposit boxes. Therefore, he needed a brilliant and inconspicuous method to access the vault.
What helped him complete this heist was Nice's extensive sewer network. Spaggiari located the sewer branch leading to the bank and drew up a detailed plan involving digging a tunnel from within the sewer network to the vault. All he needed were the equipment and labor.
To obtain the necessary equipment and labor, he traveled to the neighboring city of Marseille, a hub for infamous criminal gangs. There, he presented his ambitious plan to the gang leaders, offering them a substantial share of the loot in exchange for manpower and equipment.
Some of the Sewer Rats were engineers and electricians, making the task meticulously executed. Despite the tunnel's poor ventilation and extreme heat, they completed their mission after nine weeks of digging.
Their first task was to cut through the main vault door, allowing for a quick escape if someone inside the bank tried to open it.
Afterward, they systematically broke open the safety deposit boxes one by one, uncovering vast sums of money, precious gems, and gold and silver bullion, along with government securities, stocks, and bank drafts.
Four hours before the bank was due to open, the Sewer Rats had completed their mission and made their escape.
Spaggiari had secured an agreement not to serve more than two years in prison if he cooperated fully with the authorities and revealed the whereabouts of all involved in the heist, especially since the crime had not involved violence.
However, Spaggiari had no intention of spending a single day behind bars. During his final trial session, he approached the investigating judge and handed him three drawings depicting the Nice sewer system. Spaggiari remained calm, standing behind the judge, explaining how he and his gang had started digging and how they ultimately reached the vault's walls.
After completing his explanation, he made a quick hand signal, opened the courtroom window, leaped onto a car parked beneath the window, and rode away on a bicycle, disappearing from sight in less than ten seconds.
Authorities recovered the stolen money from all those involved in the crime, except for Spaggiari. He lived the rest of his life freely in Argentina, reportedly undergoing cosmetic surgery to alter his appearance and secretly visiting France to meet his mother.
Nevertheless, Spaggiari was not a wholly bad man. He sent $600 to the owner of the car he jumped over on the day of his courtroom escape.