Marlborough Diamond Thieves Among Bank Plot Suspects

May 3, 2010 - PRLog -- The trio's notoriety, however, has more to do with a 1980 heist of Graff Jewellers in London, during which a 45-carat diamond was stolen, along with other diamonds, gems and jewelry. The whereabouts of the jewels remains unknown to this day.    

 

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Diamond Thieves  



Joseph "Jerry" Scalise (73), Robert Pullia (69) Arthur Rachel (71), of Chicago, have been known to US law enforcement authorities as career jewelry thieves for decades.



Back in 1980, Scalise and Rachel, armed with guns and a hand grenade, calmly walked into London's Graff Jewellers and – no more than two minutes later - walked out with £1.5 million (US$2.3 million) worth of diamonds and jewels, according to witness statements.  



The loot included the famed 45-carat Marlborough Diamond, some jewels and 18 other rare precious stones, which according to the case file, were neatly packed into a briefcase by the robbers before they fled using a getaway car, which was waiting about 50 yards away from the store.



The Marlborough Diamond was valued at £400,000 (US$614,000) and was part of Graff's window display.



Scalise and Rachel were eventually apprehended by US authorities and extradited to the UK to face trial. Both men were convicted and sentenced to nine years in jail.



FBI officials have refused to comment on whether the recent arrests have yielded any leads as to the whereabouts of the egg-shaped Marlborough Diamond.  



Scalise, Pullia and Rachel, all from Chicago, are currently suspected of being involved in a plot to rob of the First National Bank of LaGrange in Indiana, and – in what was defined as a bizarre twist of events by investigators –were arrested as they were allegedly getting ready to rob the family home of deceased mob boss Tony LaPietra.



The three have been the subject of an FBI investigation since the robbery of the Harris Bank branch in LaGrange in 2007. During the course of the investigations, the FBI learned the three were plotting another robbery at the First National Bank, as well as the invasion of LaPietra's home.



Scalise, Pullia and Rachel face an indictment including several counts of attempt and conspiracy to commit armed robbery in violation of the Hobbs Act, which is a felony offense.

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