Saturday, April 10, 2010

Aging diamond thieves held in alleged bank plot

CHICAGO — Two men convicted of stealing the 45-carat Marlborough Diamond in a $3.6 million daylight robbery in London 30 years ago have been arrested on charges of scheming to rob a suburban Chicago bank.

Seventy-three-year old Joseph "Jerry" Scalise and 71-year-old Arthur Rachel were arrested Thursday, along with 69-year-old Robert Pullia. Authorities claim the men planned to rob the First National Bank of LaGrange.

The men appeared Friday before Magistrate Judge Nan Nolan, who set a bond hearing for Wednesday. Defense attorney Terence P. Gillespie told reporters all three would plead not guilty.

Scalise and Rachel were convicted in a British court of robbing Graff Jewelers in central London in 1980. They went to prison in 1984 and were released in 1993.

No comments: