Kriti Mehrotra
As a documentary film revisiting the 2003 incident wherein a group of thieves targeted the Antwerp Diamond Center, Netflix’s ‘Stolen: Heist of the Century’ is unlike any other. It comprises not only archival footage but also exclusive interviews with those close to the matter to really underscore how jewelry worth over $100 million was robbed without any detection or violence. This incident actually gained international notoriety as the largest diamond heist ever, yet its perpetrators were identified in a week, and amongst them was Ferdinando Finotto (AKA The Monster).
Ferdinando Finotto Was a Part of The School of Turin
Although not a lot of details about Ferdinando Finotto’s background or early years are publicly available as of writing, we do know he was born around 1959/1960 and was a proud native of Turin, Italy. This city is reportedly well-known for being full of individuals who specialize in metalworking, thanks to the strong presence of Fiat, especially since it was founded here in 1899. They are all strong mechanics with an innate understanding of metal composition and the trivial details of fortified walls, vaults, etc, resulting in many of them evolving into criminals.
According to reports, the concentration of so many people with such particular skill sets in this small area is what led to the creation of the now-popular term “The School of Turin.” This indicates the city was like a school for thieves, considering each of them had a particular criminal pattern, and they hand-picked one another for particular jobs depending on their specialty. Ferdinando was allegedly affiliated with them for years, too, and he was known not only for his expertise as an electrician, lock picker, and mechanic but also for his strong, muscular physique.
In fact, the Italian was purportedly nicknamed “The Monster” because of his looks when he was hired for the diamond heist in Antwerp, Belgium, in late 2000 (around 27 months before the fact). After all, while his aesthetic was reportedly of a straight-cut man so handsome he could be a film star, the fact that he stood at 6’3″ and was heavily built also made him appear dangerous. However, it’s imperative to note that no matter how Ferdinando looked, he was a career criminal who spent his life amidst robberies, escapes, and prison before doing it all over again.
Ferdinando Finotto Spent Several Years in Prison After the 2003 Heist
It was not long after the vaults at the Antwerp Diamond Center building at 9/11 Schupstraat in Antwerp, Belgium, were robbed during the weekend of February 15/16, 2003, that officials got a lead. A colleague let them know of an eerily similar crime from around 6 years ago, albeit on a smaller scale, for which they had an active arrest warrant against Ferdinando of Turin, Italy. When detectives from the Diamond Squad looked into this file, they noticed that the pattern was the same – a fake company had been registered in a building in the Diamond District, and months later, the vaults of it were opened and emptied by a group of thieves who did so with no violence.
Ferdinando is how they got to learn about The School of Turin, and when they already had Leonardo Notarbartolo as a suspect since he was the one to rent the office this time around, they were able to move forward. The fact that they also had evidence from their discarded trash near the E19 highway between Antwerp and Brussels also helped them since it gave them a receipt for the items used in the crimes. When they checked the surveillance footage and tracked the SIM cards of the discarded folder, they found the individuals responsible. Ferdinando was caught in the surveillance footage.
Even though officials had Ferdinando’s name, image, and incriminating evidence against him, they weren’t able to arrest him immediately because he was nowhere to be found. They even persuaded French authorities to raid the home of his girlfriend, who resided in the French Riviera, but all they were able to retrieve were a few marked $100 bills that belonged to one of the heist victims. Therefore, he was convicted in absentia and ordered to serve 5 years in prison as well as pay a fine of €5,000 ($5,800+). He and his three co-defendants were also ordered to pay an additional €4.5 million ($5.2 million) in damages to their civil victims. It was in November 2007 that he was arrested, following which he served his sentence in his homeland after fighting extradition.
Ferdinando Finotto Passed Away in 2022
While some of the individuals involved in the Antwerp Diamond Heist have preferred to lead a quiet life since their release from prison, Ferdinando Finotto reportedly went back to his old ways. In fact, he was arrested in November 2015 on suspicion that he was a part of the Umbrella gang, which was known for robbing ATMs at supermarkets and banks using keys they themselves copied and created. Then in 2022, he was a person of interest in another criminal activity revolving around a false bank filing, but officials were reportedly never able to arrest, question, or convict him in connection with this. That’s because the Grugliasco, Turin, resident had sadly passed away in mid-July 2022 after a brief yet intense battle with a serious illness – he was 63 at the time.
Read More: Agim De Bruycker: Where is the Ex-Antwerp Diamond Squad Commander Now?
