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The New Pink Panther Gang
But perhaps the most vivid heist came in Dubai in 2007, inside a huge shopping mall made largely of marble. Two men drove impeccable high-cylinder Audis into the façade of the Emirates’ most expensive jewelry shop and made off with $13 million in baubles. (Surveillance video of that robbery, not surprisingly, is an online favorite).
In March, Interpol brought its national investigators from 16 countries together in Monaco for a third meeting about the “Pinks,” who are believed to take orders from a few dozen men in Belgrade and Zagreb. (Lausanne, the latest victim, is expected to join the next meeting.) The gang’s resourcefulness, creativity, and mobility—their sense that the world “is their hunting ground,” as a French investigator recently described it—has made it difficult for police in any one country to slow the Panthers, although there have been arrests in both Asia and Europe.
Some of those happened thanks to dumb luck. In Monaco, a car ran over the foot of a Serbian pedestrian who was recognized at the hospital from an Interpol “Wanted” listing in connection with the Dubai heist. A tip from Swiss authorities allowed French police to find Kostic and Ivanovic in their obscure Parisian hotel.
In April, the French television show Sept à Huit traveled to Podgorica, Montenegro, one of several Balkan cities where Panthers are believed to have invested heavily in real estate (using cash, of course). Among other suspected Panthers, it is home to a man who served hard time after British police found that ring hidden in skin cream. The man, who has since become the owner of a supermarket in Podgorica—with honest money, he insists—took umbrage at the suggestion that the Panthers’ brilliantly scripted crimes were inspired by Hollywood. "All of this because they found something in a jar. Yeah, right,” he said, dismayed.
Wearing a bright pink shirt in a city where residents prefer to duck questions about Panthers, whether retired or active, he sought to clarify: “They said that I copied a film. But there is no film; there is nothing. I just did it [the crime] like that, but everyone talks about the Pink Panthers!"
The talk isn’t likely to end any time soon.
Eric Pape has reported on Europe and the Mediterranean region for Newsweek magazine since 2003. He is co-author of the graphic novel, Shake Girl, which was inspired by one of his articles. He is based in Paris.
John Talks Joe
Lloyd Grove is editor at large for The Daily Beast. He is also a frequent contributor to New York magazine and was a contributing editor for Condé Nast Portfolio. He wrote a gossip column for the New York Daily News from 2003 to 2006. Prior to that, he wrote the Reliable Source column for the Washington Post, where he spent 23 years covering politics, the media, and other subjects.
Obama, the Un-decider
Lee Siegel has written about culture and politics and is the author of three books: Falling Upwards: Essays in Defense of the Imagination; Not Remotely Controlled: Notes on Television; and, most recently, Against the Machine: Being Human in the Age of the Electronic Mob. In 2002, he received a National Magazine Award for reviews and criticism.
There She Is, Miss Botox
Eric Pape has reported on Europe and the Mediterranean region for Newsweek Magazine since 2003. He is co-author of the graphic novel Shake Girl, which was inspired by one of his articles. He has written for the Los Angeles Times magazine, Spin, Vibe, Le Courrier International, Salon, Los Angeles and others. He is based in Paris.
The Corruption Scandal Gripping Paris
Eric Pape has reported on Europe and the Mediterranean region for Newsweek Magazine since 2003. He is co-author of the graphic novel Shake Girl, which was inspired by one of his articles. He has written for the Los Angeles Times magazine, Spin, Vibe, Le Courrier International, Salon, Los Angeles and others. He is based in Paris.
Will France Ban Scientology?
Eric Pape has reported on Europe and the Mediterranean region for Newsweek Magazine since 2003. He is co-author of the graphic novel Shake Girl, which was inspired by one of his articles. He has written for the Los Angeles Times magazine, Spin, Vibe, Le Courrier International, Salon, Los Angeles and others. He is based in Paris.
Cool
Inspector Cloususo is on the case.
Um yeah. Moulin Rouge is far from seedy; it's like Disney Land does Dallas.
The "Strip Clubs" in Pigalle are not all like the ones of Time Square circa 1970.
Pigalle is almost in Montmartre, one of the most classy and sought after neighborhoods in Paris.
Whoa.
Thank you.
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