These individuals have meticulously planned countless scores, some even resorting to swallowing diamonds to evade capture, and have spent years behind bars for their criminal expertise.
So, what do these ‘retired’ professional jewelry thieves think of the audacious robbery that has captivated global attention?
Could they have executed such a daring plan themselves? Was this a meticulously orchestrated act of criminal genius, or merely a fortunate outcome stemming from the museum’s profound security lapses?
Several former high-profile jewelry thieves offered their candid, ‘professional’ assessments of last Sunday’s shocking incident at the Louvre in Paris. Intruders managed to breach a second-floor window of the world’s most-visited museum, escaping with over $100 million worth of royal jewels and priceless crown diamonds.
All this, executed in a mere seven minutes. Move over, “Ocean’s Eleven.”
“I understand that adrenaline rush,” stated Larry Lawton, who spent over a decade in federal prison for a series of East Coast jewelry store robberies in the 1980s and 90s. “You have to perfectly time everything. If you don’t know what you’re doing, you can easily become disoriented.”
Mr. Lawton, 64, who was linked by authorities to more than $18 million in stolen gems, recounted being woken up at his Florida home by a friend informing him of the legendary museum’s recent misfortune.
“The most crucial thing to understand is that you must be certain you can escape before attempting a robbery,” Mr. Lawton advised. His memoir, “Gangster Redemption,” chronicles his remarkable journey from a life of crime to becoming a motivational speaker and advocate for criminal justice reform.
In his active days, he explained, he would meticulously scout jewelry stores, identifying weaknesses and assessing all potential risks. His method then involved a swift entry, using a BB gun and zip ties to subdue owners before making off with the valuables.
Any experienced thief, he emphasized, would always have a pre-arranged buyer, or ‘fence,’ ready to handle the stolen merchandise.
According to Mr. Lawton, it was no accident that the Louvre thieves precisely targeted the ornate Galerie d’Apollon, where the precious jewels were displayed. They deployed a truck-mounted electric ladder, a ‘monte-meubles’, to reach the gallery, and then used grinders to smash through a window.
“I’m telling you, they had an inside connection,” he asserted. “This doesn’t necessarily mean they knew the person. It could have been a girlfriend who works as a tour guide, and she casually knew the layout.”
Mr. Lawton stressed that the most successful thieves are adept at knowing precisely when to act and when to abandon a plan.
“I once planned to rob the Fontainebleau hotel,” he recalled, referring to the opulent Miami Beach resort. “It was a huge operation. But I called it off after six to eight weeks of surveillance because it just didn’t feel right.”
Joan Hannington, 69, a notorious figure in the 1980s London underworld known as ‘the Godmother’ for her prolific diamond thefts—and habit of swallowing gems—believes the Louvre crew possessed intricate knowledge of the museum’s security vulnerabilities.
“It absolutely had to be an inside job,” Ms. Hannington stated in a phone interview from her home in West Sussex, England.
Her captivating memoir, “Joan: The true story of how I became Britain’s most notorious diamond thief,” was recently adapted into a 2024 ITV mini-series featuring Sophie Turner.
Ms. Hannington indicated that disposing of the Louvre’s stolen gems should not pose a significant challenge for the thieves.
The stolen collection comprised eight priceless artifacts, notably a royal sapphire necklace, a royal emerald necklace with matching earrings, and a diadem once worn by Empress Eugénie, wife of Napoleon III, the 19th-century ruler of France.
“They can easily dismantle them and sell the individual stones,” she explained. “They can also be fashioned into new rings.”
“Let me tell you, they had an inside person,” he said. “An inside person doesn’t mean they even know him. Could it be a girlfriend who’s a tour guide, and she knows, oh, where it is?”
Mr. Lawton said that the most successful thieves know when to pounce and when to cut bait.
“I was going to rob the Fontainebleau hotel,” he said of the Miami Beach resort. “Mega job. And I called it off after casing for six, eight weeks, you know, because it wasn’t right.”
Joan Hannington, 69, who gained notoriety in the London underworld during the 1980s as a prolific diamond thief, swallowing jewels and earning the nickname “the Godmother,” said that the crew that hit the Louvre appeared to have detailed knowledge of security lapses.
“It’s got to be an inside job,” Ms. Hannington said in a phone interview from her home in West Sussex, England.
Her memoir, “Joan: The true story of how I became Britain’s most notorious diamond thief,” was adapted into a 2024 television mini-series on ITV starring Sophie Turner.
Ms. Hannington said that it should not be difficult for the thieves to unload the gems from the Louvre.
Their haul included eight precious objects, including a royal sapphire necklace, a royal emerald necklace and its matching earrings, and a diadem worn by Empress Eugénie, the wife of Napoleon III, France’s 19th-century ruler.
“They can break them all up and sell the individual stones,” she said. “They can be made into rings.”
Ms. Hannington, who herself served roughly two-and-a-half years in prison during the 1970s for check fraud (not jewel theft), lambasted both the French authorities and the Louvre. Both entities have faced severe criticism regarding their handling of the break-in and the museum’s security, especially given that the priceless jewels were uninsured due to “prohibitive costs.”
“Where I come from,” Ms. Hannington declared, “if you possess such a vast quantity of diamonds, jewelry, or artifacts and they aren’t insured, that’s just shameful. They couldn’t catch a cold, let alone a thief. How utterly incompetent can you be?”
While Mr. Lawton echoed criticisms of the museum, he pointed out that the heist was far from flawless. The thieves left behind gloves, a helmet, a vest, and other items that authorities confirmed contained DNA traces.
“They aren’t masterminds,” he concluded. “They’re opportunists who got lucky.”
Even more astonishing to him was that during their escape, the thieves carelessly dropped a crown crafted for Empress Eugénie, intended for the 1855 Universal Exposition in Paris.
“I robbed between 25 and 30 jewelry stores, making off with 18 to 20 million dollars,” Mr. Lawton remarked. “And I never once dropped a single ring or earring, let alone a crown valued at 20 million.”
His advice for the culprits?
Leave France immediately, if they haven’t already. While air travel is inherently risky for smugglers, Mr. Lawton noted there are clandestine methods to get jewels past airport security.
“It’s called ‘suitcasing,’” he explained. “That’s when you conceal something in your rectum.”
Ms. Hannington, who sometimes worked in the very jewelry stores she later robbed, admitted to occasionally swallowing gemstones with olive oil.
“It passes through the system,” she stated, adding, “We don’t need to be too graphic about it.”
She, like Lawton, found it unfathomable that the thieves abandoned the crown.
“A truly skilled thief acts like a vacuum cleaner,” she quipped. “They Hoover up every single diamond.”
Mr. Lawton believes it’s only a matter of time before the thieves are apprehended and prosecuted, unless they strategically hold onto some of the jewels as leverage.
“You can bury diamonds forever,” he noted.
The intricate execution of the Louvre heist failed to impress some real-life criminals, yet actor George Clooney, renowned for his portrayal of master thief Danny Ocean on screen, told Variety this week that the theft felt like it was plucked directly from a Hollywood screenplay.
Clooney had recently been hinting at a potential ‘Ocean’s 14’ production.
“It was undeniably cool, though,” Mr. Clooney admitted. “Of course, it’s a terrible crime. But if you consider yourself a professional thief, like my character, I must say I felt a sense of pride in those individuals.”