France’s Nickname for Kardashian Suspects: Grandpa Robbers

http://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/13/world/europe/kim-kardashian-robbery.html

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PARIS — Some in the French news media are already calling it the case of the “grandpa robbers.”

Ten people — including several men in their 50s and 60s — were charged and placed under formal investigation in connection with the robbery of the reality television star Kim Kardashian West during Paris Fashion Week in October, the Paris prosecutor’s office said on Friday.

Several of the suspects had extensive criminal records and previous convictions for armed robbery, drug trafficking and counterfeiting, according to prosecutors. One was identified as the brother of Ms. Kardashian West’s driver during her stay in Paris.

It was the older suspects — men who adopted Rat Pack-inspired street names like Omar the Old and Blue Eyes, according to the newspaper Le Parisien — who investigators say were directly responsible for the Oct. 3 heist at a luxury residence where Ms. Kardashian West was staying.

Two of the assailants, who all wore balaclavas and jackets marked “police,” held her at gunpoint, tied her up in the bathroom and took jewelry worth at least $9 million, along with cellphones and a wallet, before fleeing on bicycles or on foot, prosecutors said.

Omar the Old, identified by the authorities only as Aomar A., 60, and Didier D., 61, also known as Blue Eyes, were part of the core group of grizzled career criminals identified by the prosecutor’s office on Friday.

According to French news reports, Aomar A.’s DNA was found on one of the plastic bands used to tie up Ms. Kardashian West, and he is suspected of being the mastermind of the robbery. The police had placed him under surveillance, enabling them to identify the rest of the network, the reports said.

Three others were identified as Yunice A., 63; Pierre B., 72; and François D., 54. Most had previous convictions and were charged with taking part in an armed robbery by an organized gang, and with kidnapping.

Le Parisien also reported that Didier D. was convicted and sentenced in 2003 to an eight-and-a-half-year jail term for complicity in the 1999 smuggling of cocaine into France, via a Saudi prince’s private jet.

A sixth man, identified as Harminy A., 29, was also charged with taking part in the armed robbery and kidnapping. He is suspected of having driven some of the thieves on the night of the robbery.

The remaining four who were charged — three men and one woman — are suspected of having assisted but not directly taking part in the heist.

Two of them, identified as Florus H., 44, and Gary M., 27, were charged late Thursday with complicity in the robbery and are suspected of having helped provide information to the thieves, although how and about what were unclear.

Gary M.’s brother, identified in news reports as Michael Madar, works for a private chauffeur company and was Ms. Kardashian West’s driver during her stay in Paris. He was also arrested, but was later released.

Another suspect, identified as Marceau B., 64, was charged with handling stolen goods. Investigators suspect that he went to Antwerp, Belgium, a major center of the diamond trade, to help sell off the jewels. His nickname, according to Le Parisien, is Nez Rapé, roughly translated as Scraped-Nose.

The woman, identified as Christiane G., 70, was charged with complicity in the robbery and illegal possession of ammunition. Some French news reports identified her as Aomar A.’s companion, and Harminy A., suspected of being the driver, as his son.

The Paris prosecutor’s office said no traces of the jewels had been found by investigators.

Le Parisien reported that Marceau B. had been convicted and sentenced to 30 months in jail for a jewelry theft in 2008, when he and other robbers dressed as policemen and held up drivers on several French highways, making off with valuables worth 6 million euros, or about $6.4 million.

All 10 suspects were charged with taking part in a criminal association, and they were all detained, except for Gary M., who was released under judicial supervision.

Seventeen people — 14 men and three women — were arrested on Monday in various parts of France on suspicions of being involved in the robbery, but seven of them were released without charges in the days that followed.