They’re calling it Ocean’s 64, the Old Man Heist, and dubbing them “Dad’s Army.”
On Easter weekend this year, a three-day banking holiday, nine thieves made off with one of the largest heists in Britain’s history. In a scene some are comparing to the movie The Italian Job, 73 empty safe deposit boxes were found in the vault at London’s Hatton Garden Safe Deposit. Their missing contents were jewels, gold, and diamonds worth about £200 million ($300 million).
Eight out of the 10 men arrested on suspicion of robbery were in court on May 19 and much was made of their ages — which combined is just shy of 500 years. The oldest of the defendants complained that they had trouble hearing what the judge was saying. Another, it’s been reported, limped so badly that prison guards had to help him to his seat.
I always said 80 is the perfect age to conduct a heist, but these men were no beginners. In fact, in the case of oldest suspect, 76-year-old Brian Reader of Dartmoor, Kent, it was a chance to make the heist into a family business, as son and fellow suspect , 50-year-old Paul Reader was supposedly part of the crew.
DAD’S ARMY’: THE CHARGED MEN, AGED BETWEEN 48 TO 76
- Hugh Doyle, 48
- Paul Reader, 50
- Daniel Jones, 58
- Carl Wood, 58
- William Lincoln, 59
- Terry Perkins, 67
- John Collins, 74
- Brian Reader, 76
There’s no doubt it was a professional job, and The Mirror aptly nicknamed the thieves suitably cinematic names — Mr Ginger, Mr Strong, Mr Montana, The Gent, The Tall Man, Moped Man and The Old Man. The job was incredibly intricate and physically challenging. London’s metropolitan police released pictures of the scene.
After the thieves entered a side door dressed as workers, disabled an elevator and rappelled down the shaft, while carrying an incredibly heavy and powerful Hilti DD-350 diamond coring drill to get through the vault and at the safety deposit boxes.
While we at Caregiverlist certainly don’t condone unlawful behavior at any age, after reading about so many senior scams and the variety of frauds perpetrated against the elderly, it sure is interesting to see the tables turn and read about some older gentlemen who continue to “work” beyond retirement.
