Albert Spaggiari

Albert Spaggiari (December 14th 1933 with Laragne-Montéglin, Hautes-Alpes - June 8th 1989 with Belluno, Italy) was a criminal French. It is known to have been the brain of the Casse of the century to the General society of Nice, in 1976. Former soldier of the War of Indo-China, in favor of OAS, writer and photographer, it will have nargué the French police force during his mare which will last until its death, after a spectacular escape.

Biography

Albert Spaggiari was born in 1933, with Laragne-Montéglin. Whereas it is only three years old, his/her father dies (in 1935). He was thus raised by his mother only, who had a store of linen room with Hyères. He would have made its first flight to offer a diamond to his boyfriend.

“Break-in of the century”

In 1976, it has a studio of photography in Nice and a property in the hills called the Wild gooses . But it quickly will have enough of this monotonous life of it, for this reason it conceives and directs an operation which will be named the Casse of the century of Nice.

The idea to attack the General society Nice came to him after having heard of the proximity about room-strong with the sewers about the city. Also, it decided the digging of a tunnel which would come to lead in lower part of room-strong. For that, it went to rent a trunk at the General society in which it placed an alarm clock, regulated to sound the night. The goal of such an operation was to make sure of the absence of systems of seismic or accoustic detection and to guide its work.

Spaggiari contacted professional gangsters of Marseilles. Although that never could be proven, it probably accepted the assistance of Gaëtano Zampa to build its team to which were going to be added former friends of the OAS, with in particular Gaby Anglade and Jean Kay. For three months, about fifteen men dig a tunnel of 8 meters while passing by the sewers from the river of the Paillon and to the strongroom of the branch of the General society. Spaggiari had taken great precautions during this work. Its men worked without slackening, but it prohibited the consumption to them of coffee or of alcohol and imposed to them some 10 hours pauses between each changing, to avoid compromising the mission.

During the weekend of the July 17th to the July 19th 1976, three hundred thirty-seven trunks are open: fifty franc million of the time. According to certain testimonys, Spaggiari brought to its men in the trunk of the wine and pie to celebrate their victory. They found in the trunks of the stripped photographs of certain local celebrities whom they posted on the walls of the trunk so that they are seen by those which would return there. The July 20th, before leaving Spaggiari leaves a message on the wall of the trunk " Neither arms, Nor violence and Without haine".

Later developments

Initially, the French police force will trample in the investigation. But it will end up discovering the identity of the members of the group after having stopped a tramp who had taken part in work, like Francis Pellegrin and Alain Bournat, which had tried to negotiate ingots coming from the break-in. Spaggiari is then in Asia, where it accompanies Jacques Médecin, as a photographer. Stopped on its return to the airport, he will initially deny the facts, before recognizing them finally. He will choose for his defense the lawyer Maître Jacques Peyrat, member of the National front and future mayor of Nice. According to its dires of the time the break-in would have been intended to finance a secret political organization, the " Catena" ( Chaîne in Italian), which apparently existed only in its spirit.

The escape

Whereas he is questioned by the examining magistrate Richard Bouaziz, Spaggiari will put at execution its plan of escape. The March 10th 1977, after having created a coded false document that it presents like a proof, and whereas the judge is occupied examining the document, Spaggiari jumped by the window of the office of the judge and lands eight meters lower on a parked car. He managed to escape thanks to an accomplice who awaited it in the motor bike. Beautiful player, the owner of the damaged car accepted thereafter a check of 5.000 francs, as a refunding. Spaggiari, in mare, became the first media gangster.

Newspapers of left affirmed that Spaggiari had profited from assistances among his/her friends politicians, and in particular on behalf of the former militant of the OAS and mayor of Nice, Jacques Médecin. These charges complicated the task of Doctor to the second turn of the municipal elections of 1977.

In 1995, Jacques Peyrat showed Christian Estrosi, future minister, and former champion of motor bike to have been the accomplice with motor bike of Spaggiari. But Estrosi managed to prove that this day there it was engaged in a race with Daytona.

A global area network of extreme right-hand side

In its absence, Spaggiari was condemned to the prison with perpetuity. He would have been seen in Argentine, where he would have undergone an operation of cosmetic surgery. It is probably in this country that it will pass the remainder of its life, returning from time to time to France, under a false identity to return visit to his mother and his wife. For the publication of its last book the Newspaper of a truffle , it gave an interview to Bernard Pivot for her program televised Apostrophes , which made great noise, emission recorded in Milan (Italy).

In 2000, documents déclassifiés of the CIA and published by the National Security Files, will prove the bonds maintained between Albert Spagiarri and the Chilean mode Augusto Pinochet, in particular with the agent of the DINED Michael Townley, person in charge of the assassination of the ex-minister of Salvador Allende, Orlando Letelier, with Washington, D.C, in 1976 (defendant to be implied in the international narco-traffic), as well as that of the general Carlos Prats, in Buenos Aires (see National Security Archives).

These complicities with the military Junta Chile enne, as with the dictatorial mode of Argentine explain its exile in this country.

Died

He dies the June 8th 1989, at 55 years, of a Cancer of the throat in exile in Italy, after twelve last years grimer and to flee. His/her partner deposits her body with Hyères (Var) in her mother the June 10th. It is buried with Laragne-Montéglin.

Writings of Spaggiari

1977 : Is not necessary to laugh with the barbarians
1978: Sewers of the paradise
1983: the Newspaper of a truffle

Catalog of films

Sewers of the paradise , 1979, of Jose Giovanni; according to the homonymous book of Albert Spaggiari.
In addition Jean-Paul Rouve, French actor, carries out a film on Albert Spaggiari entitled Without weapon, neither hatred, nor violence , turning as from September 2007, left envisaged in spring 2008.

To see in Nice

the mouth of the Spangle, between the Walk of the English and the Quay of the United States,
the agency of the General society to the angle of the Which occurred Jean-Doctor and the street of the Post office building,
the frontage of the Law courts (Old man-Nice), side street of the Prefecture.

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