Editor’s Note
This article details the meticulous planning behind one of history’s most infamous diamond heists, orchestrated by the sophisticated and patient Leonardo Notarbartolo.
The name you will hear most in this story is Leonardo Notarbartolo. This man was no ordinary thief: he was a professional with decades of experience and a gift for social manipulation. He posed as just another businessman in Antwerp’s Diamond District and rented an office inside the Diamond Center itself. From there, for over two years, he planned the heist with his team. That’s how calculated everything was.
The vault was two floors underground, protected by multiple layers of security. But Notarbartolo and his team — with nicknames worthy of a TV series: Speedy, The Monster, The Genius, and The King of Keys — left nothing to chance. They placed hidden cameras, sprayed hairspray on heat sensors, forged three-dimensional keys, and even used a polystyrene shield to block their thermal signature.
The craziest part is that they used a custom-made aluminum plate to keep the magnetic field intact while opening the vault. Every step was thought out, every move had its reason. They forced open 109 safe deposit boxes in one night without anyone — not even the security guards — noticing.
Years later, in an interview with Wired, Notarbartolo dropped a bombshell: according to him, it was all an insurance fraud. He claimed a diamond merchant hired them to stage the robbery and that the actual stolen loot was worth far less than reported. The idea? Make diamonds disappear, collect the insurance, and split the profit. Although this theory was widely discussed, most experts consider it implausible. For many, it’s just another attempt to divert attention.
As with every great heist, human error was present. After the robbery, Notarbartolo and his team disposed of trash in a forest near the E19 highway. The problem: among the remains, police found items linked to the group, including a partially eaten salami sandwich with his DNA. That mundane detail was enough for the Antwerp Diamond Detectives Brigade to arrest him shortly after.
He was sentenced to 10 years in prison, though he was released on parole in 2009. But, as he never paid compensation to the victims, he was arrested again in 2013 at Paris’s Charles de Gaulle airport. He served the remainder of his sentence until 2017.
Now, more than two decades later, comes the Netflix documentary “Stolen: Heist of the Century,” produced by Amblin Entertainment and Raw TV. This new title adds to the growing interest in the case, which has already inspired books like “Flawless” by Scott Andrew Selby and Greg Campbell, series like “Everybody Loves Diamonds” (Amazon), and even films in development like “Den of Thieves 2: Pantera,” which, according to Christian Gudegast, is also based on this same heist.
Although several members of the group — such as Pietro Tavano, Ferdinando Finotto, and Elio D’Onorio — were convicted, most of the loot remains missing. That’s what keeps the mystery alive. Where are the diamonds? Were there more accomplices? Was Notarbartolo truly the mastermind, or is there someone else in the shadows?
Regardless, what is certain is that this documentary will not only bring the story back into focus but will also show what many suspect: that even in a hyper-surveilled world, the greatest crimes sometimes happen in plain sight, and without violence.