Did any you see the news that there was a daring jewel heist in Paris at the National Syndicate of Antique Dealers 22nd Biennial? Protected by four security guards and several salespeople, two huge diamonds, worth $14 million, were lifted into thin air.
According to the reporter:
The French news media were quick to draw analogies with the country's famous fictional gentleman burglar, Arsène Lupin, and the caper might make Americans think of Cary Grant's dapper character in "To Catch a Thief." But the police say the real thieves, though skilled, are probably far less refined.
That's the French news media, you see, making those comparisons. That's probably why the most natural one did not occur to them. No, not the dashing Cary Grant, but the bumbling Peter Sellers from the Pink Panter movies is the one who comes immediately to mind. You wonder how they could have missed that film reference. Or, maybe you don't.
Detectives at France's Brigade de Répression du Banditisme say there is little chance of recovering the diamonds. They say the gems are probably somewhere in Eastern Europe or Russia by now. While it will be nearly impossible to sell such easily recognizable stones on the open market, they say, the diamonds can be recut and then sold. The police say there are also plenty of private buyers in Russia and the Arab world willing to accept a discount in return for leaving difficult questions unanswered.
I'm telling you, if the internationally famous detectives at the Brigade de Répression du Banditisme (or, Brigade for the Repression of Banditism) have already given up, then only Inspector Clouseau can crack this case!
Posted by Random Penseur at October 1, 2004 07:38 AMDo you have a rheum?
Posted by: GrammarQueen at October 1, 2004 02:29 PMBanditism??!! Or Banditry? :)
Posted by: Mark D. Firestone at October 1, 2004 10:05 PM