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| DSK and the missing BlackBerry | DSK and the missing BlackBerry |
| (12 months later) | |
| DSK had used his IMF BlackBerry several times between 10.07 and 10.30am on May 14 to call Paris, according to the records subpoenaed from BlackBerry by the district attorney. The purpose of these calls was to arrange to have his BlackBerry examined by a team of security experts as soon as he arrived in Paris. He was convinced that his messages were still being intercepted even after he had changed the SIM card in it. But these calls to Paris were made on the IMF BlackBerry, so if it had been bugged, those eavesdropping on the call would know of his plan to have it examined. | DSK had used his IMF BlackBerry several times between 10.07 and 10.30am on May 14 to call Paris, according to the records subpoenaed from BlackBerry by the district attorney. The purpose of these calls was to arrange to have his BlackBerry examined by a team of security experts as soon as he arrived in Paris. He was convinced that his messages were still being intercepted even after he had changed the SIM card in it. But these calls to Paris were made on the IMF BlackBerry, so if it had been bugged, those eavesdropping on the call would know of his plan to have it examined. |
| The last call DSK made on that phone was at 12.13pm, when he called his daughter to say that he was on his way to meet her at the restaurant. That call lasted less than one minute, according to phone records. He then, as he recalled, put the phone down, brushed his teeth, combed his hair, and finished getting dressed. He left the room about 12 minutes later. At 12.28:54, as recorded by a CCTV camera at the 44th Street exit, he was in a taxi. His phone, as he only discovered later, was missing. Its location, pinpointed by signals it continued to send out, was in the Sofitel, at least until 12.51, when these signals abruptly stopped. So, 23 minutes after DSK departed the hotel, his phone was still there. But the police did not find it there when they searched the presidential suite. Nor was it found in the corridor, elevator, checkout desk, or lobby. The room was locked at 12.51 and not reopened until the police arrived later that afternoon. It is reasonable to conclude that some unknown party took the phone between 12.14 and 12.51. | The last call DSK made on that phone was at 12.13pm, when he called his daughter to say that he was on his way to meet her at the restaurant. That call lasted less than one minute, according to phone records. He then, as he recalled, put the phone down, brushed his teeth, combed his hair, and finished getting dressed. He left the room about 12 minutes later. At 12.28:54, as recorded by a CCTV camera at the 44th Street exit, he was in a taxi. His phone, as he only discovered later, was missing. Its location, pinpointed by signals it continued to send out, was in the Sofitel, at least until 12.51, when these signals abruptly stopped. So, 23 minutes after DSK departed the hotel, his phone was still there. But the police did not find it there when they searched the presidential suite. Nor was it found in the corridor, elevator, checkout desk, or lobby. The room was locked at 12.51 and not reopened until the police arrived later that afternoon. It is reasonable to conclude that some unknown party took the phone between 12.14 and 12.51. |
| Assuming the police search was thorough, and they were specifically looking for the phone, its disappearance presents a locked-room mystery. One possibility is that DSK left it behind in the rush to meet his daughter. That would account for the continued signals from the Sofitel. But if that was the case, the phone would have been found in the room after he departed at 12.26. We know that the door was locked, because Diallo swiped her key to reopen the suite at 12.26. Aside from Diallo, the only employees to use their electronic keys to enter the room were the head housekeeper, who entered the suite at 12.38, along with Diallo, according to her statement, and the head engineer, who entered the suite at 12.45 and a second time at 12.51. But none of these employees reported seeing the phone. Nor did the police, who then entered the suite. | Assuming the police search was thorough, and they were specifically looking for the phone, its disappearance presents a locked-room mystery. One possibility is that DSK left it behind in the rush to meet his daughter. That would account for the continued signals from the Sofitel. But if that was the case, the phone would have been found in the room after he departed at 12.26. We know that the door was locked, because Diallo swiped her key to reopen the suite at 12.26. Aside from Diallo, the only employees to use their electronic keys to enter the room were the head housekeeper, who entered the suite at 12.38, along with Diallo, according to her statement, and the head engineer, who entered the suite at 12.45 and a second time at 12.51. But none of these employees reported seeing the phone. Nor did the police, who then entered the suite. |
| The other possibility is that the phone was taken before DSK had left the presidential suite. Since it is a large four-room suite – pantry, dining room, living room, and bedroom – it cannot be ruled out that someone else was in the suite, possibly even before Diallo had entered at 12.06. That person could have taken the phone from DSK's briefcase or elsewhere while he was getting dressed, and had taken it somewhere else in the Sofitel. In that case, the phone would continue to send out GPS signals from the hotel – as it did – until it was disabled at 12.51. | The other possibility is that the phone was taken before DSK had left the presidential suite. Since it is a large four-room suite – pantry, dining room, living room, and bedroom – it cannot be ruled out that someone else was in the suite, possibly even before Diallo had entered at 12.06. That person could have taken the phone from DSK's briefcase or elsewhere while he was getting dressed, and had taken it somewhere else in the Sofitel. In that case, the phone would continue to send out GPS signals from the hotel – as it did – until it was disabled at 12.51. |
| The phone has never been found. We don't know who took it from the room, when it was taken, or why it stopped sending GPS signals at 12.51. | The phone has never been found. We don't know who took it from the room, when it was taken, or why it stopped sending GPS signals at 12.51. |
| • This is an extract from Three Days in May: Sex, Surveillance and DSK by Edward Jay Epstein, to be published next week by Melville House | • This is an extract from Three Days in May: Sex, Surveillance and DSK by Edward Jay Epstein, to be published next week by Melville House |
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