1 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:05,080 Speaker 1: My name is Punch Stanymerivich. I'm the highest and youngest 2 00:00:05,120 --> 00:00:08,280 Speaker 1: ranking member of the Pink Panthers. I'm the first American 3 00:00:08,320 --> 00:00:08,799 Speaker 1: Pink Panther. 4 00:00:10,160 --> 00:00:13,039 Speaker 2: They call me Punch. By the way, for the Punch Safe. 5 00:00:13,200 --> 00:00:15,560 Speaker 2: There's a safe that I could open in like fifteen 6 00:00:15,640 --> 00:00:18,200 Speaker 2: sixteen seconds. If you ever let me demonstrate it, I 7 00:00:18,239 --> 00:00:20,200 Speaker 2: will punch. 8 00:00:20,400 --> 00:00:24,560 Speaker 3: Stanimerevich was born in New York City to Serbian immigrants 9 00:00:25,120 --> 00:00:28,560 Speaker 3: in nineteen seventy one, the year before Punch was born, 10 00:00:28,920 --> 00:00:31,760 Speaker 3: both of his parents were arrested in connection with a 11 00:00:31,880 --> 00:00:35,440 Speaker 3: heist at a museum in Miyami, where thieves made off 12 00:00:35,520 --> 00:00:39,240 Speaker 3: with one point five million dollars in artwork and silver. 13 00:00:40,159 --> 00:00:42,600 Speaker 3: As it turned out, the couple had already been under 14 00:00:42,680 --> 00:00:45,919 Speaker 3: surveillance by the police for a series of jewel heists 15 00:00:45,920 --> 00:00:47,680 Speaker 3: in Manhattan's Diamond District. 16 00:00:48,600 --> 00:00:51,960 Speaker 1: So I'm very rare when it comes to any of 17 00:00:51,960 --> 00:00:54,200 Speaker 1: these Pink Panther guys because I was born into this. 18 00:00:54,880 --> 00:00:56,560 Speaker 1: You know, I have my father's son, So I was 19 00:00:56,560 --> 00:00:59,320 Speaker 1: born into this. Since I was a little, little little baby, 20 00:00:59,400 --> 00:01:02,520 Speaker 1: like little kid, a little child, witnessing all these people 21 00:01:02,560 --> 00:01:03,880 Speaker 1: coming in and out of my house. 22 00:01:04,280 --> 00:01:07,640 Speaker 3: Punch's father managed to avoid a prison sentence and then 23 00:01:07,720 --> 00:01:11,920 Speaker 3: started various businesses, hiring many of his fellow countrymen to 24 00:01:12,040 --> 00:01:15,679 Speaker 3: work for him. For Punch, they were like family. 25 00:01:16,080 --> 00:01:19,520 Speaker 2: I grew up with so many intelligent people that came 26 00:01:19,560 --> 00:01:23,560 Speaker 2: from Bosnia, from Croatia, from Montenegro, and you know, I 27 00:01:23,640 --> 00:01:27,160 Speaker 2: was practically raised by these guys because my father, you know, 28 00:01:27,360 --> 00:01:31,360 Speaker 2: the big inconstruction business, and he employed fifty sixty people 29 00:01:31,360 --> 00:01:32,400 Speaker 2: from the Balkans. 30 00:01:33,000 --> 00:01:35,840 Speaker 3: But they weren't coming to America just to work in construction. 31 00:01:37,160 --> 00:01:39,240 Speaker 1: Guys are hungry, they want to make some money. They 32 00:01:39,280 --> 00:01:41,200 Speaker 1: do a job with my dad and they go back rich. 33 00:01:41,600 --> 00:01:43,479 Speaker 2: And that's how the Pink Panthers started over there, because 34 00:01:43,480 --> 00:01:45,679 Speaker 2: they had guys that actually worked with us. You know. 35 00:01:46,520 --> 00:01:49,240 Speaker 2: So this is all the evolution of how the pink 36 00:01:49,280 --> 00:01:52,080 Speaker 2: Panthers became the Pink Panthers. Because you don't wake up 37 00:01:52,080 --> 00:01:54,000 Speaker 2: one morning and then there's a bunch of Pink Panther 38 00:01:54,080 --> 00:01:57,320 Speaker 2: guys that are robbing Harry Winston or graft. This is 39 00:01:57,400 --> 00:01:58,720 Speaker 2: like the first Pink Panther crew. 40 00:01:59,600 --> 00:02:03,480 Speaker 3: Punch is making a major claim here that when these 41 00:02:03,520 --> 00:02:06,440 Speaker 3: guys who had been working with his father returned home 42 00:02:06,480 --> 00:02:09,280 Speaker 3: to the Balkans in the mid nineteen eighties, with their 43 00:02:09,320 --> 00:02:13,440 Speaker 3: money and their newfound skills. That's when the Pink Panthers 44 00:02:13,560 --> 00:02:26,480 Speaker 3: were born. I'm Natalia Antalava. I'm a journalist based in 45 00:02:26,520 --> 00:02:28,880 Speaker 3: Eastern Europe, and I'm going to take you into the 46 00:02:28,880 --> 00:02:36,000 Speaker 3: world of Serbia's most brazen jewel thieves, the. 47 00:02:35,960 --> 00:02:39,000 Speaker 1: Most daring and successful diamond thieves in the world. 48 00:02:39,240 --> 00:02:42,799 Speaker 4: Thirty to forty seconds in how. 49 00:02:42,960 --> 00:02:46,560 Speaker 5: They've stolen half a billion dollars worth of valuables. 50 00:02:46,280 --> 00:02:49,160 Speaker 3: Two well dressed men strolled into an exclusive rollery store 51 00:02:49,160 --> 00:02:52,760 Speaker 3: in London and walked out with sixty six million dollars 52 00:02:52,760 --> 00:02:53,280 Speaker 3: in jewels. 53 00:02:53,520 --> 00:02:59,200 Speaker 6: They called the Pink Panthers, their loosely connected crew of 54 00:02:59,320 --> 00:03:04,359 Speaker 6: over edge, underemployed ambitious young people who rose from the 55 00:03:04,400 --> 00:03:08,160 Speaker 6: ashes of the Yugoslav Wars of the nineteen nineties to 56 00:03:08,240 --> 00:03:12,960 Speaker 6: commit elaborate smash and grab heists all across the globe, 57 00:03:13,400 --> 00:03:15,080 Speaker 6: often in broad daylight. 58 00:03:16,360 --> 00:03:22,959 Speaker 3: This is infamous international The Pink Panthers story, episode six, 59 00:03:23,600 --> 00:03:24,720 Speaker 3: Who's the Boss. 60 00:03:33,000 --> 00:03:34,400 Speaker 7: Kind of dollars? 61 00:03:36,480 --> 00:03:40,520 Speaker 4: The story actually starts in the seventies and the eighties 62 00:03:40,760 --> 00:03:42,280 Speaker 4: in Yugoslavia. 63 00:03:43,520 --> 00:03:47,960 Speaker 3: Punch Sandimirovich has one story about the Panthers' origins. Serbian 64 00:03:48,040 --> 00:03:52,600 Speaker 3: investigative journalist Yelenasorrich has another she's one of the leading 65 00:03:52,600 --> 00:03:56,200 Speaker 3: experts on the pink panthers. We're hearing her through a translator. 66 00:03:56,720 --> 00:04:00,760 Speaker 4: And that's where we still lived in the immunism which 67 00:04:00,840 --> 00:04:04,160 Speaker 4: was very strong in our country. And these people actually 68 00:04:04,160 --> 00:04:08,680 Speaker 4: they were helped by our secret services who help them 69 00:04:08,760 --> 00:04:10,800 Speaker 4: with logistics. I mean what I mean what I say 70 00:04:10,840 --> 00:04:15,320 Speaker 4: logistics is like they helped them move outside of Yugoslavia 71 00:04:15,400 --> 00:04:19,320 Speaker 4: and live somewhere else in Europe, find the apartment, everything 72 00:04:19,360 --> 00:04:22,640 Speaker 4: they needed for their life. They did smaller robberies there 73 00:04:22,800 --> 00:04:25,840 Speaker 4: to have a better living. They were protected by the 74 00:04:25,880 --> 00:04:30,400 Speaker 4: secret services. They had fake documents, they had faith passports. 75 00:04:30,440 --> 00:04:33,719 Speaker 4: They were helping them with that. And also whenever they 76 00:04:33,760 --> 00:04:36,960 Speaker 4: were in travel around the world or in Europe, they 77 00:04:36,960 --> 00:04:41,160 Speaker 4: could always come back to Serbia, which was protecting them. 78 00:04:41,960 --> 00:04:45,080 Speaker 3: Now, why would the yugoslavin secret service help a bunch 79 00:04:45,080 --> 00:04:49,000 Speaker 3: of criminals operate in the West? Ylenosorach says it was 80 00:04:49,000 --> 00:04:51,720 Speaker 3: an arrangement with benefits for both sides. 81 00:04:52,000 --> 00:04:54,760 Speaker 4: They would help them hide so that they could use 82 00:04:54,839 --> 00:04:58,080 Speaker 4: their services when they needed them. So when the secret 83 00:04:58,120 --> 00:05:01,159 Speaker 4: service had to kill this and then this is how 84 00:05:01,200 --> 00:05:03,680 Speaker 4: they would pay them. Okay, we hype you hired, we 85 00:05:03,760 --> 00:05:06,000 Speaker 4: help you escape, we help you go somewhere else, but 86 00:05:06,120 --> 00:05:08,360 Speaker 4: you're going to pay us back because we're going to 87 00:05:08,520 --> 00:05:10,720 Speaker 4: order this murder and you're going to do it for us. 88 00:05:10,760 --> 00:05:17,000 Speaker 4: So that's what they were doing. In the communist Yugoslavia. 89 00:05:17,040 --> 00:05:21,240 Speaker 3: According to Julenos Orchis reporting, the Yugoslav criminals operating in 90 00:05:21,279 --> 00:05:25,560 Speaker 3: the West were part time assets for the state security services, 91 00:05:25,760 --> 00:05:29,040 Speaker 3: doing off the books, dirty work in exchange for support 92 00:05:29,279 --> 00:05:33,080 Speaker 3: and protection. But after the collapse of Yugoslavia in the 93 00:05:33,160 --> 00:05:36,920 Speaker 3: nineteen nineties, with the loss of their government backers, these 94 00:05:36,960 --> 00:05:41,679 Speaker 3: criminals returned to Serbia to two cities in particular where 95 00:05:41,680 --> 00:05:42,960 Speaker 3: many of them were from. 96 00:05:43,120 --> 00:05:47,800 Speaker 4: That's a Niche and Ujitze, and they are like the 97 00:05:47,839 --> 00:05:51,000 Speaker 4: first settlement of these people who are going to start 98 00:05:51,400 --> 00:05:55,760 Speaker 4: much bigger and more important group. And these people were 99 00:05:55,800 --> 00:06:02,279 Speaker 4: actually looking to recruit new younger generations and they were 100 00:06:02,320 --> 00:06:07,839 Speaker 4: looking for them in the local bars, in various sports 101 00:06:07,839 --> 00:06:10,479 Speaker 4: club because they knew exactly what kind of people to 102 00:06:10,560 --> 00:06:11,039 Speaker 4: look for. 103 00:06:12,440 --> 00:06:16,159 Speaker 3: This new younger generation are people in their twenties who 104 00:06:16,200 --> 00:06:18,960 Speaker 3: grew up during the Balkan Wars and the hard Times 105 00:06:19,000 --> 00:06:24,240 Speaker 3: that followed people like Mladen Lazarevich, Boyana Mitch, and Milan Lipuya. 106 00:06:25,080 --> 00:06:28,320 Speaker 3: Some of these new recruits might, as Punch claims, have 107 00:06:28,400 --> 00:06:31,560 Speaker 3: got an experience with his father pulling jobs in the 108 00:06:31,600 --> 00:06:35,320 Speaker 3: Diamond District in New York City, and some might have 109 00:06:35,400 --> 00:06:38,799 Speaker 3: been state sponsored criminals who had returned from Western Europe, 110 00:06:38,839 --> 00:06:43,600 Speaker 3: as Yleno Zorich says. My colleague, reporter in l Greenberg, 111 00:06:43,760 --> 00:06:47,760 Speaker 3: researched the Pink Panthers extensively for an article for British 112 00:06:47,800 --> 00:06:51,640 Speaker 3: GQ several years ago. I asked him about what he 113 00:06:51,720 --> 00:06:55,359 Speaker 3: uncovered about the groups somewhat murky origins. 114 00:06:57,240 --> 00:06:59,400 Speaker 8: One of the things you hear again and again is 115 00:06:59,440 --> 00:07:02,560 Speaker 8: they met and were organized in the football clubs, the 116 00:07:02,640 --> 00:07:04,800 Speaker 8: soccer clubs in Niche. 117 00:07:04,520 --> 00:07:06,240 Speaker 3: Really they played soccer together. 118 00:07:06,400 --> 00:07:09,800 Speaker 8: Well, yeah, they don't seem like soccer playing types. These 119 00:07:09,800 --> 00:07:12,840 Speaker 8: are fan clubs. Sometimes they're called the ultras because they're 120 00:07:12,840 --> 00:07:15,960 Speaker 8: such ultra fans. They're hanging out, you know, at bars 121 00:07:16,000 --> 00:07:20,160 Speaker 8: and cafes. They're you know, they're watching their teams play. 122 00:07:20,280 --> 00:07:23,440 Speaker 8: These are team fan clubs and they're fanatics, but it's 123 00:07:23,440 --> 00:07:25,520 Speaker 8: not really about rooting for their team. I mean, make 124 00:07:25,560 --> 00:07:27,240 Speaker 8: no mistakes these are games. 125 00:07:27,240 --> 00:07:29,120 Speaker 3: And what is the theory there in terms of how 126 00:07:29,120 --> 00:07:30,960 Speaker 3: the Panthers spring from the ultras. 127 00:07:31,480 --> 00:07:32,120 Speaker 4: Let me explain. 128 00:07:32,280 --> 00:07:35,160 Speaker 8: So, there's some people who believe that the Panthers grew 129 00:07:35,160 --> 00:07:39,400 Speaker 8: out of this paramilitary group known as Arkins Tigers, which 130 00:07:39,520 --> 00:07:42,760 Speaker 8: was connected to the Red Star Belgrade soccer fan club, 131 00:07:43,360 --> 00:07:46,120 Speaker 8: and it was led by this gruesome figure known simply 132 00:07:46,160 --> 00:07:51,040 Speaker 8: as Arkhan. And beyond street crime, Arkins Tigers actually committed 133 00:07:51,080 --> 00:07:55,440 Speaker 8: war crimes in Bosnia and Croatia. They murdered, they raped, 134 00:07:55,640 --> 00:07:58,760 Speaker 8: and they tortured. These are really seriously nasty guys. 135 00:07:59,000 --> 00:08:02,000 Speaker 3: So you're saying there's actual proof that Arkan originated the 136 00:08:02,000 --> 00:08:02,760 Speaker 3: Pink Panthers. 137 00:08:03,600 --> 00:08:06,400 Speaker 8: No, we don't know for certain, but it's a really 138 00:08:06,400 --> 00:08:08,920 Speaker 8: good bet. Look, these soccer clubs were mixed up in 139 00:08:08,960 --> 00:08:13,040 Speaker 8: all kinds of criminal activity, from drug smuggling to robberies, 140 00:08:13,240 --> 00:08:16,400 Speaker 8: you know, even murders. And you know, when you talk 141 00:08:16,400 --> 00:08:19,320 Speaker 8: to people who really know about the Pink Panthers, they 142 00:08:19,400 --> 00:08:21,960 Speaker 8: all go back to the soccer clubs. The soccer clubs 143 00:08:21,960 --> 00:08:28,440 Speaker 8: are the Pink Panther's origin story. 144 00:08:29,760 --> 00:08:32,360 Speaker 3: The fact that there are so many different ideas about 145 00:08:32,400 --> 00:08:36,240 Speaker 3: their beginnings brings up another question about the Pink Panthers. 146 00:08:36,960 --> 00:08:40,320 Speaker 3: How do they operate as a criminal organization? What's the 147 00:08:40,360 --> 00:08:44,360 Speaker 3: structure of this gang, the hierarchy, and maybe most importantly, 148 00:08:44,880 --> 00:08:49,480 Speaker 3: who's in charge. There are essentially three theories. Elance spoke 149 00:08:49,520 --> 00:08:53,520 Speaker 3: to Serbian film scholar Dmitri Voinov. He researched the Pink 150 00:08:53,520 --> 00:08:58,640 Speaker 3: Panthers extensively for his film All Panthers Are Paying Here. 151 00:08:59,040 --> 00:09:01,080 Speaker 3: Voinov takes us the first theory. 152 00:09:01,559 --> 00:09:05,680 Speaker 7: This organization is actually a franchise, like al Kaeda for example. 153 00:09:06,120 --> 00:09:08,680 Speaker 7: So as you know, there isn't a core al Kaeda, 154 00:09:08,800 --> 00:09:14,720 Speaker 7: It's a franchise. People appear radicalize, take the name, maybe coordinate, 155 00:09:15,040 --> 00:09:17,920 Speaker 7: maybe not, and claim they're Alka you know what I mean. 156 00:09:18,160 --> 00:09:20,720 Speaker 7: Then the same thing is with the Pink Panthers, because 157 00:09:20,760 --> 00:09:24,400 Speaker 7: they are heists that are done by different teams under 158 00:09:24,440 --> 00:09:28,360 Speaker 7: the same moniker. So now you can really pose a question. 159 00:09:28,559 --> 00:09:33,400 Speaker 7: Is Pink Panther a solid collective of same persons doing 160 00:09:33,440 --> 00:09:36,600 Speaker 7: all kinds of heists or is it a franchise where 161 00:09:36,880 --> 00:09:41,480 Speaker 7: different people are doing things in style and sort of 162 00:09:41,559 --> 00:09:46,000 Speaker 7: identify as pink painters. It's like a brand. Yeah, it's 163 00:09:46,040 --> 00:09:48,719 Speaker 7: like a brand. Yeah. 164 00:09:48,800 --> 00:09:51,400 Speaker 3: The way to between one of describes the Pink Panthers 165 00:09:51,559 --> 00:09:55,000 Speaker 3: as a franchise. Echoes with the Panthers themselves have said 166 00:09:55,160 --> 00:09:59,480 Speaker 3: on the rare occasions when they've talked. Filmmaker Havana Marking 167 00:09:59,640 --> 00:10:02,040 Speaker 3: interview the member of the Pink Panthers for her twenty 168 00:10:02,160 --> 00:10:07,800 Speaker 3: thirteen documentary Smash and Grab. This man called Mike described 169 00:10:07,840 --> 00:10:10,439 Speaker 3: the highly compartmented nature of his work. 170 00:10:11,400 --> 00:10:14,480 Speaker 9: Well, I don't have a badge that says Pink Panther 171 00:10:14,600 --> 00:10:17,840 Speaker 9: on it. We are a network of teams working together. 172 00:10:18,520 --> 00:10:22,240 Speaker 9: Everybody has their specific job to do. Understand, you know, 173 00:10:22,320 --> 00:10:25,280 Speaker 9: you never know where you stand in hierarchy because you 174 00:10:25,320 --> 00:10:26,439 Speaker 9: never meet the boss. 175 00:10:27,000 --> 00:10:30,440 Speaker 3: And punch Stanymerevich takes it even one step further. 176 00:10:31,320 --> 00:10:34,520 Speaker 1: You have a bunch of these organizations. They're like seals. 177 00:10:34,800 --> 00:10:37,920 Speaker 1: But as I said, most of the people that are 178 00:10:37,920 --> 00:10:40,000 Speaker 1: in the Pink Panthers, I guarantee you they don't even 179 00:10:40,120 --> 00:10:41,320 Speaker 1: know they're in Pink Panthers. 180 00:10:41,679 --> 00:10:42,559 Speaker 8: How do you like that one? 181 00:10:44,040 --> 00:10:46,880 Speaker 3: According to this theory, the Panthers are a network of 182 00:10:46,960 --> 00:10:51,280 Speaker 3: separate teams working independently, possibly connected to a big boss, 183 00:10:51,760 --> 00:10:58,000 Speaker 3: one they may never even meet. But the way that 184 00:10:58,280 --> 00:11:01,439 Speaker 3: law enforcement refers to the Pink Panthers paints a very 185 00:11:01,480 --> 00:11:06,920 Speaker 3: different picture. They continually talk about the gang's organization in 186 00:11:06,960 --> 00:11:09,360 Speaker 3: a way that makes it feel like the Panthers are 187 00:11:09,400 --> 00:11:14,520 Speaker 3: a unified criminal enterprise. Sixteen Minutes of Australia ran this 188 00:11:14,600 --> 00:11:18,400 Speaker 3: piece in twenty fourteen, which leans heavily into the notion 189 00:11:18,480 --> 00:11:22,560 Speaker 3: that the Pink Panthers are a global squad of super thieves. 190 00:11:23,000 --> 00:11:27,000 Speaker 4: Detective Jan Glossie has been hunting the Pink Panthers for 191 00:11:27,040 --> 00:11:28,319 Speaker 4: more than ten years. 192 00:11:28,800 --> 00:11:31,319 Speaker 3: How would you describe the Pink Panthers. 193 00:11:30,920 --> 00:11:35,160 Speaker 10: For me, perhaps most organized teams in the world, the 194 00:11:35,240 --> 00:11:38,240 Speaker 10: most organized teams in the most organized team in the world. 195 00:11:38,320 --> 00:11:43,199 Speaker 3: Yes, Interpals Inspector General Ron Nobel talks about the Panthers 196 00:11:43,280 --> 00:11:47,080 Speaker 3: the same way as a highly organized criminal syndicate like 197 00:11:47,120 --> 00:11:51,560 Speaker 3: the Mafia Here's novel. In an interview on CBS sixty minutes. 198 00:11:52,040 --> 00:11:55,680 Speaker 8: I'd say that they're the most notorious organized crime group 199 00:11:55,720 --> 00:11:57,360 Speaker 8: that I've been involved investigating. 200 00:11:56,840 --> 00:11:57,319 Speaker 11: In my life. 201 00:11:58,520 --> 00:12:02,520 Speaker 3: For law enforcement, portraying the Pank Panthers this way is useful. 202 00:12:03,040 --> 00:12:06,240 Speaker 3: The more impressive the criminals are, the more impressive it 203 00:12:06,280 --> 00:12:09,400 Speaker 3: is when you bring them to justice. Consider the way 204 00:12:09,480 --> 00:12:12,760 Speaker 3: the Dubai police turned the heist at the Waffi Mall 205 00:12:13,120 --> 00:12:18,440 Speaker 3: from an embarrassment to a point of pride. In twenty thirteen, 206 00:12:18,840 --> 00:12:22,600 Speaker 3: authorities in Dubai purchased the blue Nissan rental car the 207 00:12:22,640 --> 00:12:26,319 Speaker 3: Panthers had used in their getaway and installed it as 208 00:12:26,360 --> 00:12:30,240 Speaker 3: an exhibit at the police museum, complete with a cash 209 00:12:30,320 --> 00:12:34,000 Speaker 3: of a fake jewels and then veiling. The Dubai Chief 210 00:12:34,040 --> 00:12:37,160 Speaker 3: of Police said, and I quote, it was the first 211 00:12:37,240 --> 00:12:40,800 Speaker 3: time the gang, who committed robberies for over twenty years, 212 00:12:41,240 --> 00:12:44,160 Speaker 3: fell in the police net before managing to flee with 213 00:12:44,200 --> 00:12:48,640 Speaker 3: the jewels. It was a great pr exercise. But according 214 00:12:48,640 --> 00:12:52,320 Speaker 3: to journalist Yelena Zorich, at least some of the details 215 00:12:52,400 --> 00:12:53,320 Speaker 3: are far fetched. 216 00:12:56,920 --> 00:13:02,040 Speaker 4: Dubai police claiming that practically nothing was taken out from Dubai, 217 00:13:02,520 --> 00:13:06,280 Speaker 4: and then other sources were saying, yes, something was taken 218 00:13:06,320 --> 00:13:09,839 Speaker 4: with them, but practically the only thing that maybe can 219 00:13:09,920 --> 00:13:12,360 Speaker 4: lead to a conclusion that can tell us that they 220 00:13:12,400 --> 00:13:16,000 Speaker 4: really took the money was the lifestyle they had after 221 00:13:16,120 --> 00:13:18,839 Speaker 4: the heightst because they had a very easy life, very 222 00:13:18,920 --> 00:13:22,000 Speaker 4: nice life. 223 00:13:22,080 --> 00:13:25,200 Speaker 3: Even authorities in Serbia have found the Pink Panthers to 224 00:13:25,240 --> 00:13:28,120 Speaker 3: be a useful source of positive pr. 225 00:13:28,600 --> 00:13:31,840 Speaker 5: Mass police officers in Serbia moved in to arrest the 226 00:13:31,920 --> 00:13:36,080 Speaker 5: four men accused of snatching an impressive haul of Impressionist 227 00:13:36,080 --> 00:13:40,400 Speaker 5: works A Monet, a Degas, a van Go and The 228 00:13:40,520 --> 00:13:44,280 Speaker 5: Boy in the Red Vest by Paul Saison, all taken 229 00:13:44,320 --> 00:13:47,200 Speaker 5: from a museum in Zurich. Back in two thousand and eight. 230 00:13:47,920 --> 00:13:51,679 Speaker 3: Scott Pelly on CBS Evening News reports on the recovery 231 00:13:51,720 --> 00:13:55,160 Speaker 3: of a stolen painting worth over one hundred million dollars. 232 00:13:55,760 --> 00:13:59,240 Speaker 3: Serbian authorities claimed that the theft was the work of 233 00:13:59,280 --> 00:14:02,920 Speaker 3: the paint pant at the press conference held by the 234 00:14:02,960 --> 00:14:07,640 Speaker 3: Serbian Interior Minister. This desan is flanked by police officers 235 00:14:07,640 --> 00:14:12,600 Speaker 3: in balaclavas and camouflage holding AK forty seven's, and this 236 00:14:12,760 --> 00:14:16,400 Speaker 3: triumph of law enforcement couldn't have come at a better time. 237 00:14:17,200 --> 00:14:20,520 Speaker 3: Sabier is pushing ahead with moves to join the European Union, 238 00:14:20,800 --> 00:14:26,040 Speaker 3: but brusselshimself are unimpressed with its reforms. That interview on 239 00:14:26,080 --> 00:14:30,040 Speaker 3: the news program Conflict Zone hints at how useful it 240 00:14:30,120 --> 00:14:33,480 Speaker 3: might be for a country notorious for its corruption to 241 00:14:33,520 --> 00:14:37,400 Speaker 3: make a dramatic recovery of a stolen European artwork and 242 00:14:37,560 --> 00:14:41,720 Speaker 3: arrest a few local celebrity criminals. It's the kind of 243 00:14:41,800 --> 00:14:45,760 Speaker 3: news that might just ease Serbia's way into the EU. 244 00:14:53,360 --> 00:14:57,000 Speaker 3: Like law enforcement, the medium is also prone to describe 245 00:14:57,000 --> 00:15:00,800 Speaker 3: the Pink Panthers as a glamorous and highly organ gang. 246 00:15:01,560 --> 00:15:06,080 Speaker 3: With their elaborate heights, cinematin gataways, and the eye popping 247 00:15:06,200 --> 00:15:09,840 Speaker 3: value of the things they steal, the Panthers do make 248 00:15:09,920 --> 00:15:12,640 Speaker 3: for excellent headlines and compelling television. 249 00:15:13,040 --> 00:15:15,400 Speaker 12: The gang linked to at least three hundred and eighty 250 00:15:15,480 --> 00:15:20,360 Speaker 12: robberies around the world, famously using cars and motorcycles inside 251 00:15:20,360 --> 00:15:23,760 Speaker 12: shopping malls. Police they've stolen get this, more than three 252 00:15:23,880 --> 00:15:27,040 Speaker 12: hundred and seventy one million dollars in jewels. 253 00:15:29,440 --> 00:15:32,920 Speaker 3: That ABC News report sums up the breathless tone of 254 00:15:33,040 --> 00:15:36,240 Speaker 3: so much of their reporting about the Panthers. In fact, 255 00:15:36,520 --> 00:15:40,360 Speaker 3: the media's fascination as such that anytime there is a big, 256 00:15:40,440 --> 00:15:43,720 Speaker 3: dramatic heist, they're likely to pit it on the Panthers. 257 00:15:44,400 --> 00:15:47,880 Speaker 3: In twenty sixteen, Kim Kardashian was robbed at her hotel 258 00:15:47,920 --> 00:15:51,680 Speaker 3: in Paris. She was tied up while the thieves escaped 259 00:15:51,720 --> 00:15:56,120 Speaker 3: with millions of dollars in jewels inside. Addition, was quick 260 00:15:56,160 --> 00:15:58,000 Speaker 3: to make the connection to the Pink Panthers. 261 00:15:58,960 --> 00:16:02,160 Speaker 13: The Lightning speed of the raid on Kim Kardashian's hotel 262 00:16:02,320 --> 00:16:05,320 Speaker 13: is a hallmark of the Pink Panthers. The Pink Panthers 263 00:16:05,320 --> 00:16:08,320 Speaker 13: have hundreds of members, mainly from Eastern Europe, and they're 264 00:16:08,320 --> 00:16:11,840 Speaker 13: spread across the continent. They are said to have extensive 265 00:16:11,960 --> 00:16:15,160 Speaker 13: contacts who tip them off when a vulnerable target like 266 00:16:15,240 --> 00:16:17,160 Speaker 13: Kim Kardashian has checked in. 267 00:16:18,920 --> 00:16:24,240 Speaker 3: Except it was not true. Captain Nerve Konan of the 268 00:16:24,240 --> 00:16:28,200 Speaker 3: Paris Police worked on many Pink Panther cases. This was 269 00:16:28,280 --> 00:16:29,040 Speaker 3: not one of them. 270 00:16:29,760 --> 00:16:32,840 Speaker 14: I was dealing with the Kim Garashan case because none 271 00:16:32,840 --> 00:16:36,880 Speaker 14: and I did French guys, French guys, pure local. But 272 00:16:37,600 --> 00:16:40,840 Speaker 14: each time something happened, people are thinking it is the 273 00:16:40,880 --> 00:16:41,920 Speaker 14: Pink Panthers. 274 00:16:42,840 --> 00:16:45,720 Speaker 3: As it turned out, Kardashian was a victim of the 275 00:16:46,240 --> 00:16:50,760 Speaker 3: Granddad Gangsters, a group of elderly thieves led by a 276 00:16:50,800 --> 00:16:55,160 Speaker 3: sixty seven year old French Algerian Man. They were eventually 277 00:16:55,200 --> 00:16:59,240 Speaker 3: caught and prosecuted. And yet the Pink Panther connection clinks 278 00:16:59,280 --> 00:17:01,920 Speaker 3: to this story. Even now, you'll see what I mean 279 00:17:01,920 --> 00:17:07,480 Speaker 3: if you google it. 280 00:17:07,480 --> 00:17:13,840 Speaker 15: It doesn't necessarily make sense that there's this one centralized 281 00:17:14,000 --> 00:17:19,359 Speaker 15: hierarchy that can dictate all of these different incidents. They're 282 00:17:19,600 --> 00:17:22,520 Speaker 15: very complicated. It's very hard to follow the money. 283 00:17:23,320 --> 00:17:27,400 Speaker 3: Sociologist Elizabeth Williams has studied the ping panthers and written 284 00:17:27,560 --> 00:17:31,600 Speaker 3: about how politicians, police, and the media will often overstate 285 00:17:31,640 --> 00:17:35,920 Speaker 3: the threat of criminal organizations. She thinks there's a practical 286 00:17:36,000 --> 00:17:36,720 Speaker 3: reason why. 287 00:17:37,119 --> 00:17:42,360 Speaker 15: It's very self serving for law enforcement entities and agencies 288 00:17:42,440 --> 00:17:47,240 Speaker 15: that are tasked with addressing these kinds of crimes. It's 289 00:17:47,359 --> 00:17:51,720 Speaker 15: very self serving for them to create narratives that might 290 00:17:51,800 --> 00:17:54,840 Speaker 15: not be grounded in reality. It's a lot easier to 291 00:17:54,920 --> 00:17:58,720 Speaker 15: say that they understand the scope of the problem and 292 00:17:58,800 --> 00:18:01,600 Speaker 15: that they know how to attack. Then we have no 293 00:18:01,720 --> 00:18:03,760 Speaker 15: idea what's going on, but. 294 00:18:03,720 --> 00:18:06,800 Speaker 3: There could be some value in reinforcing a specific version 295 00:18:06,800 --> 00:18:07,480 Speaker 3: of the story. 296 00:18:08,000 --> 00:18:11,600 Speaker 15: If there's no criminal enterprise to take down, then why 297 00:18:11,760 --> 00:18:14,960 Speaker 15: is so much time and effort being spent to take 298 00:18:15,000 --> 00:18:17,800 Speaker 15: down a criminal enterprise. There's certain people in power, and 299 00:18:17,840 --> 00:18:20,920 Speaker 15: they will use the system to further their own interests. 300 00:18:21,119 --> 00:18:26,000 Speaker 15: And who's going to benefit from this particular story being 301 00:18:26,040 --> 00:18:28,840 Speaker 15: told or this particular story being told in this way. 302 00:18:31,440 --> 00:18:34,840 Speaker 3: That's a good question. Who is going to benefit from 303 00:18:34,840 --> 00:18:37,440 Speaker 3: this story being told in this way? Where the Panthers 304 00:18:37,520 --> 00:18:42,560 Speaker 3: are a highly organized, far reaching criminal network. Attorney Michelle 305 00:18:42,680 --> 00:18:47,560 Speaker 3: Estland specializes in getting INTERPOL red notices removed from her 306 00:18:47,600 --> 00:18:52,240 Speaker 3: client's records. According to her, there's a clear reason why 307 00:18:52,240 --> 00:18:56,480 Speaker 3: the international crime fighting organization would prioritize a group like 308 00:18:56,560 --> 00:18:57,480 Speaker 3: the Panthers. 309 00:18:58,240 --> 00:19:02,440 Speaker 16: You have to remember is a political organization. It has 310 00:19:02,480 --> 00:19:05,400 Speaker 16: a lot of member countries and all of the members 311 00:19:05,440 --> 00:19:08,480 Speaker 16: want something from the other members, just like any other organization. 312 00:19:09,080 --> 00:19:12,719 Speaker 16: So Ronobel was American, and what do Americans do? We 313 00:19:12,760 --> 00:19:14,879 Speaker 16: do stuff about money, right, it all comes down to 314 00:19:14,960 --> 00:19:15,520 Speaker 16: money with us. 315 00:19:15,560 --> 00:19:21,200 Speaker 3: At some point Interpals Inspector General Ronobyl had big ambitions 316 00:19:21,240 --> 00:19:26,800 Speaker 3: for the organization and those ambitions required money funding from 317 00:19:26,800 --> 00:19:28,200 Speaker 3: Interpals member countries. 318 00:19:28,680 --> 00:19:32,320 Speaker 16: Interpol has got a huge mission, a wide reaching set 319 00:19:32,359 --> 00:19:36,879 Speaker 16: of goals, so he was faced with the challenge of 320 00:19:37,280 --> 00:19:42,320 Speaker 16: getting funding to be able to expand Interpol's reach and ability. 321 00:19:42,840 --> 00:19:45,359 Speaker 16: They do have some capabilities that some of the member 322 00:19:45,359 --> 00:19:47,760 Speaker 16: countries are never going to have if Interpol doesn't jump 323 00:19:47,800 --> 00:19:49,560 Speaker 16: in and help out in combating crime. 324 00:19:51,240 --> 00:19:55,160 Speaker 3: It's worth noting that the UA, which needed Interpals help 325 00:19:55,240 --> 00:19:59,320 Speaker 3: in solving the Dubai heist, then became one of interpol's 326 00:19:59,359 --> 00:20:07,240 Speaker 3: top donor. When Elan Greenberg began investigating the Pink Panthers, 327 00:20:07,840 --> 00:20:11,000 Speaker 3: he saw that INTERPOL had a number of stated priorities 328 00:20:11,720 --> 00:20:16,360 Speaker 3: major global issues like human trafficking and narcotics, but then 329 00:20:16,400 --> 00:20:20,280 Speaker 3: also the Pink Panthers, a group of jewel thieves who 330 00:20:20,280 --> 00:20:23,679 Speaker 3: are striking terror into the hearts of luxury brands like 331 00:20:23,760 --> 00:20:27,040 Speaker 3: Graf and Harry Winston. On the face of it, it 332 00:20:27,080 --> 00:20:30,120 Speaker 3: did not make a lot of sense. Why would INTERPOL 333 00:20:30,200 --> 00:20:33,720 Speaker 3: put their project Pink Panther on the same level as 334 00:20:33,760 --> 00:20:36,280 Speaker 3: these more serious global crimes. 335 00:20:38,640 --> 00:20:42,280 Speaker 11: My name is Karen Greenaway. I am a retired FBI 336 00:20:42,480 --> 00:20:46,240 Speaker 11: Special Agent. For more than eighteen of my twenty three 337 00:20:46,280 --> 00:20:51,440 Speaker 11: years in the FBI, I worked transnational organized crime investigations, 338 00:20:51,800 --> 00:20:56,040 Speaker 11: mostly from the former Soviet Union and the Balkans. 339 00:20:56,560 --> 00:21:00,760 Speaker 3: Elan asked Karen Greenway what she thinks Interpal placed such 340 00:21:00,760 --> 00:21:02,760 Speaker 3: a high importance on the Pink Panthers. 341 00:21:03,119 --> 00:21:05,760 Speaker 11: It's because they were in Europe, and because they were 342 00:21:05,800 --> 00:21:09,240 Speaker 11: so successful on some of their heists that they did 343 00:21:09,640 --> 00:21:13,680 Speaker 11: as a criminal enterprise, they were prioritized. But I think 344 00:21:13,720 --> 00:21:16,480 Speaker 11: it was something that came out of an analysis that 345 00:21:16,640 --> 00:21:19,960 Speaker 11: was done with an Interpol that this was a priority 346 00:21:20,119 --> 00:21:23,200 Speaker 11: target for a number of countries, and therefore they were 347 00:21:23,200 --> 00:21:28,440 Speaker 11: going to focus resources on them, and so they prioritized 348 00:21:28,480 --> 00:21:29,800 Speaker 11: it over other things. 349 00:21:30,640 --> 00:21:33,320 Speaker 3: The pink panthers. We're a priority for a number of 350 00:21:33,320 --> 00:21:38,960 Speaker 3: interpols member countries, specifically places where they had struck. Wealthy 351 00:21:39,000 --> 00:21:42,399 Speaker 3: countries where tourism and luxury shopping might be affected by 352 00:21:42,520 --> 00:21:45,959 Speaker 3: high profile crime, especially the kind that tends to end 353 00:21:46,040 --> 00:21:49,199 Speaker 3: up all over the media. You can see that's just 354 00:21:49,240 --> 00:21:53,080 Speaker 3: bad for business. But given that INTERPOL could be spending 355 00:21:53,119 --> 00:21:55,920 Speaker 3: its time and resources on the other things on the list, 356 00:21:56,480 --> 00:22:00,000 Speaker 3: like human trafficking and drugs, is this a mistake? 357 00:22:00,880 --> 00:22:03,200 Speaker 11: I wouldn't call it a mistake. I would call it 358 00:22:03,359 --> 00:22:07,000 Speaker 11: a conscious choice because you didn't feel like you could 359 00:22:07,040 --> 00:22:10,159 Speaker 11: get the collective agreement to put it on a target 360 00:22:10,200 --> 00:22:13,680 Speaker 11: that was much higher value and potentially international importance. 361 00:22:14,800 --> 00:22:17,040 Speaker 3: So in the end, what does Karen Greenway think of 362 00:22:17,040 --> 00:22:19,720 Speaker 3: Interval's decision to focus on the pink panthers. 363 00:22:20,840 --> 00:22:23,920 Speaker 11: So my answer is, if I had a choice an 364 00:22:23,920 --> 00:22:26,160 Speaker 11: investigator between them and the groups that I know were 365 00:22:26,160 --> 00:22:29,280 Speaker 11: more violent and do have victims and are causing heartache 366 00:22:29,320 --> 00:22:31,959 Speaker 11: to people who are average citizens, I would choose that 367 00:22:32,000 --> 00:22:35,399 Speaker 11: group over the Pink Panthers. But that being said, you 368 00:22:35,440 --> 00:22:38,760 Speaker 11: know it wasn't the victim was crime. Now, the victims, 369 00:22:39,119 --> 00:22:41,840 Speaker 11: for the most part, could afford the thefts that were 370 00:22:41,840 --> 00:22:45,879 Speaker 11: happening to them. And I'm sure somebody will get angry 371 00:22:45,920 --> 00:22:48,720 Speaker 11: at me for saying this that insurance companies covered the losses. 372 00:22:55,520 --> 00:22:58,879 Speaker 3: When the Pink Panthers are portrayed as more organized or 373 00:22:58,920 --> 00:23:02,159 Speaker 3: more widespread than they really are, it does more than 374 00:23:02,240 --> 00:23:05,520 Speaker 3: create a useful story for law enforcement or some splashy 375 00:23:05,560 --> 00:23:11,040 Speaker 3: headlines for the media. It reinforces a stereotype. Journalist David 376 00:23:11,080 --> 00:23:14,119 Speaker 3: Samuels wrote a major profile of the Ping Panthers for 377 00:23:14,200 --> 00:23:17,440 Speaker 3: The New Yorker. He talked on the magazine's Out Loud 378 00:23:17,440 --> 00:23:21,640 Speaker 3: podcast about the narrative that's taken shame around Serbia. 379 00:23:22,359 --> 00:23:26,919 Speaker 10: They have a historical narrative, this sort of Serbian sense 380 00:23:26,960 --> 00:23:30,280 Speaker 10: of being the bulwark of Europe and at the same 381 00:23:30,320 --> 00:23:34,960 Speaker 10: time scorned and rejected by Europe, and then Serbs themselves 382 00:23:35,040 --> 00:23:39,880 Speaker 10: being either left to suffer or being held up as villains. 383 00:23:41,480 --> 00:23:45,119 Speaker 3: This depiction of Serbia as a gateway between East and West, 384 00:23:45,560 --> 00:23:49,639 Speaker 3: a trading post for smugglers and thieves. We've heard it before. 385 00:23:50,680 --> 00:23:55,000 Speaker 3: Journalist Lilly Lynch is editor of The Balconist magazine. She 386 00:23:55,119 --> 00:23:57,960 Speaker 3: spent over a decade living and reporting in Serbia. 387 00:23:59,200 --> 00:24:02,760 Speaker 17: I think that this sort of stereotypes about the Balkans 388 00:24:02,840 --> 00:24:07,639 Speaker 17: is really drawn from the nineties war and also organized crime, 389 00:24:07,760 --> 00:24:10,840 Speaker 17: and this is a place where you know, criminals flourish. 390 00:24:11,240 --> 00:24:14,760 Speaker 17: There's always an answer to these sorts of depictions of 391 00:24:14,760 --> 00:24:17,280 Speaker 17: the Balkans is being uniquely prone to violence. The Serbs 392 00:24:17,320 --> 00:24:19,760 Speaker 17: are always kind of depicted in films, for example, as 393 00:24:19,800 --> 00:24:24,159 Speaker 17: being you know, very blood their sea and violent. That 394 00:24:24,240 --> 00:24:28,760 Speaker 17: there's something you know, uniquely warlike about not to Sturbs, 395 00:24:28,760 --> 00:24:30,399 Speaker 17: but people from the Balkans. 396 00:24:31,040 --> 00:24:35,240 Speaker 3: And yet, according to Lili Litch, whatever resistance everyday serves 397 00:24:35,359 --> 00:24:38,720 Speaker 3: might have to the stereotypes of Western media, there is 398 00:24:38,760 --> 00:24:40,080 Speaker 3: some pride to it as well. 399 00:24:40,520 --> 00:24:42,360 Speaker 17: I think that there is a bit of a sort 400 00:24:42,400 --> 00:24:46,359 Speaker 17: of pleasure indulging those stereotypes. And it can be you know, 401 00:24:46,480 --> 00:24:49,560 Speaker 17: kind of a part of national pride for sure, in 402 00:24:49,600 --> 00:24:51,919 Speaker 17: a sick kind of way. And we see stories in 403 00:24:52,000 --> 00:24:55,600 Speaker 17: local media and Serbia about you know, Serbs in London, 404 00:24:55,960 --> 00:24:58,200 Speaker 17: you know, getting up to all kinds of trouble. This 405 00:24:58,320 --> 00:25:00,520 Speaker 17: is the sort of element of like ari our guys 406 00:25:00,560 --> 00:25:03,119 Speaker 17: are sort of like making it out there, you know, 407 00:25:03,880 --> 00:25:06,320 Speaker 17: even if it's you know, in crime. And of course 408 00:25:06,320 --> 00:25:09,160 Speaker 17: I think pianthers are kind of the most flashiest, sort 409 00:25:09,200 --> 00:25:10,960 Speaker 17: of in some way is more successful. 410 00:25:13,359 --> 00:25:16,200 Speaker 3: So I mentioned that there are a few ideas about 411 00:25:16,200 --> 00:25:19,359 Speaker 3: how the being panthers are organized and ultimately who is 412 00:25:19,400 --> 00:25:22,280 Speaker 3: in charge. On the one hand, they're described as a 413 00:25:22,359 --> 00:25:26,680 Speaker 3: kind of franchise, or they're the highly organized criminal gang 414 00:25:26,760 --> 00:25:29,879 Speaker 3: that law enforcement describes and that the media likes to 415 00:25:29,960 --> 00:25:33,240 Speaker 3: report on like a cartel, but with more style and 416 00:25:33,320 --> 00:25:37,080 Speaker 3: less bloodshed. But there is at least one other possibility, 417 00:25:37,480 --> 00:25:40,679 Speaker 3: a third option that's specific to the Balkan states of 418 00:25:40,720 --> 00:25:45,560 Speaker 3: the former Yugoslavia. Stevando Jinovic is founder and editor in 419 00:25:45,640 --> 00:25:50,080 Speaker 3: chief of the Crime and Corruption Reporting Network in Belgrade, Serbia. 420 00:25:50,720 --> 00:25:54,160 Speaker 18: There's one difference in Balkan organized crime, which is big 421 00:25:54,160 --> 00:25:57,080 Speaker 18: difference than in the countries and the West. When we 422 00:25:57,200 --> 00:26:01,359 Speaker 18: say about corruption, Balkan groups they don't work like in 423 00:26:01,400 --> 00:26:04,680 Speaker 18: a way that they will find some weak spot into 424 00:26:04,720 --> 00:26:08,440 Speaker 18: the police system, some weak police officer which they can 425 00:26:08,520 --> 00:26:12,920 Speaker 18: bribe and use, or some other bureaucrat like we'll find 426 00:26:13,000 --> 00:26:14,400 Speaker 18: in some Western countries. 427 00:26:14,720 --> 00:26:18,720 Speaker 3: According to Stevando Ginovich. The ties between criminals and the 428 00:26:18,760 --> 00:26:22,159 Speaker 3: Balkan governments are at a totally different level than we 429 00:26:22,240 --> 00:26:23,199 Speaker 3: might see in the West. 430 00:26:23,680 --> 00:26:28,280 Speaker 18: If you look all discovered cases of corruption, we see 431 00:26:28,320 --> 00:26:31,960 Speaker 18: that Balkan gains already had connection at the top. There's 432 00:26:32,080 --> 00:26:35,960 Speaker 18: always connected to Minister of Police, to prime ministers, to presidents, 433 00:26:36,240 --> 00:26:39,280 Speaker 18: and this is going for decades. We're literally like top 434 00:26:39,320 --> 00:26:41,800 Speaker 18: of the state like literally made agreement to the Organs 435 00:26:41,840 --> 00:26:44,840 Speaker 18: crime group to get support and in return they will 436 00:26:45,000 --> 00:26:49,040 Speaker 18: be more safe to continue doing smuggling. But they also 437 00:26:49,160 --> 00:26:52,680 Speaker 18: share their benefits with the state, which there's even terms, 438 00:26:52,720 --> 00:26:54,200 Speaker 18: it's called black funds. 439 00:26:54,840 --> 00:26:58,400 Speaker 3: This isn't simply a case of authorities turning a blind eye. 440 00:26:58,760 --> 00:27:02,919 Speaker 3: Stephan's reporting shows that the highest levels of government provide 441 00:27:02,960 --> 00:27:07,040 Speaker 3: the criminals with protection. In return, they receive a cut 442 00:27:07,160 --> 00:27:09,879 Speaker 3: of the proceeds. They're more like partners. 443 00:27:10,560 --> 00:27:14,760 Speaker 18: You want to really look from right perspective, Vulcan organis crime. 444 00:27:14,960 --> 00:27:17,000 Speaker 18: What do they do? They make some kind of joint 445 00:27:17,320 --> 00:27:20,600 Speaker 18: venture business between organized crime and the state. 446 00:27:21,840 --> 00:27:26,359 Speaker 3: In Serbian investigative reporter Lena Zorich's origin story, the Pink 447 00:27:26,359 --> 00:27:29,760 Speaker 3: Panthers got their start as part time assets of the 448 00:27:29,800 --> 00:27:34,640 Speaker 3: Yugoslav Secret police. It may be that that relationship never 449 00:27:34,720 --> 00:27:35,720 Speaker 3: truly ended. 450 00:27:35,960 --> 00:27:39,480 Speaker 4: The clinician Echo studies, So we have a police that 451 00:27:39,640 --> 00:27:43,480 Speaker 4: is corrupted. We have the secret services which are corrupted, 452 00:27:43,680 --> 00:27:47,160 Speaker 4: and to these people are always useful to them. 453 00:27:47,600 --> 00:27:53,000 Speaker 3: According to her, this arrangement creates some useful flexibility. Once 454 00:27:53,040 --> 00:27:56,360 Speaker 3: the teams are trained up, you can ask almost anything 455 00:27:56,440 --> 00:27:56,760 Speaker 3: of them. 456 00:27:56,920 --> 00:28:01,440 Speaker 4: They're using them specifically because the senate for the heist 457 00:28:01,600 --> 00:28:04,720 Speaker 4: and the scenario for the murder are exactly the same. 458 00:28:04,920 --> 00:28:07,800 Speaker 4: But everything that's leading to that point and everything the 459 00:28:07,960 --> 00:28:11,720 Speaker 4: escape afterwards, it always has the same scenario. It's just 460 00:28:11,800 --> 00:28:14,080 Speaker 4: that final stage that it is different. 461 00:28:16,080 --> 00:28:19,080 Speaker 3: This idea that the Pink Panthers enjoy the support and 462 00:28:19,160 --> 00:28:22,720 Speaker 3: protection of the Serbian state in exchange for doing their 463 00:28:22,720 --> 00:28:26,280 Speaker 3: dirty work. It's very different from the glamorous image the 464 00:28:26,320 --> 00:28:30,640 Speaker 3: Panthers seem to work so hard to project, so different 465 00:28:31,000 --> 00:28:34,960 Speaker 3: from the breathless way the media tells this story. This 466 00:28:35,640 --> 00:28:39,080 Speaker 3: is a much more sinister equation where a heist and 467 00:28:39,120 --> 00:28:44,840 Speaker 3: a hit are not so far apart. Coming up next 468 00:28:45,240 --> 00:28:49,560 Speaker 3: on Infamous International, the Pink Panthers story. If there is 469 00:28:49,600 --> 00:28:52,640 Speaker 3: a place on Earth that's made for the Pink Panthers, 470 00:28:53,040 --> 00:28:56,880 Speaker 3: it's a very tiny, very rich place called Monaco. 471 00:28:57,240 --> 00:29:00,520 Speaker 2: I said, well, why would any criminal come to Monaco 472 00:29:00,800 --> 00:29:01,680 Speaker 2: to steal? 473 00:29:02,120 --> 00:29:05,280 Speaker 10: He said, very simple and direct hands, he said, because 474 00:29:05,320 --> 00:29:06,720 Speaker 10: there's a lot of money here. 475 00:29:06,920 --> 00:29:11,320 Speaker 19: The amount that they're pulling in these two minute heis. 476 00:29:11,000 --> 00:29:14,320 Speaker 3: Is so astonishing. I think people can't really grasp it. 477 00:29:14,320 --> 00:29:18,320 Speaker 3: It's like magic when highly effective police chief finds that 478 00:29:18,400 --> 00:29:22,160 Speaker 3: going after Monica's criminals might land him in deep water. 479 00:29:22,960 --> 00:29:27,320 Speaker 6: In our lot meeting, he said, obviously I can't investigate crime, 480 00:29:27,360 --> 00:29:29,680 Speaker 6: but they don't want me to, so I might as 481 00:29:29,680 --> 00:29:31,200 Speaker 6: well just become part of it. 482 00:29:31,520 --> 00:29:35,720 Speaker 19: I can't imagine a more hideous, but yet in some 483 00:29:35,800 --> 00:29:40,800 Speaker 19: ways fitting death for someone who was as powerful as 484 00:29:40,840 --> 00:29:42,360 Speaker 19: this guy really was in Monica. 485 00:29:42,840 --> 00:29:54,240 Speaker 3: That's next time on Infamous International, The Pink Panther's Story. 486 00:29:57,280 --> 00:30:01,600 Speaker 3: Infamous International The Pink Panther's Story was produced by Best 487 00:30:01,640 --> 00:30:05,920 Speaker 3: Case Studios in association with Koda's Story, hosted by me 488 00:30:06,320 --> 00:30:10,920 Speaker 3: Natalia aunt Lava, and written by Katrina Wolfe, Adam Pinkis, 489 00:30:11,240 --> 00:30:16,000 Speaker 3: Suzanne Meyers, and David Markowitz, with help from Brent Katz 490 00:30:16,280 --> 00:30:21,600 Speaker 3: and Matt Levin. For Best Case Studios Executive Producer, Adam 491 00:30:21,640 --> 00:30:28,480 Speaker 3: pinkis Senior producer David Markowitz, producer Katrina Wolfe, associate producer 492 00:30:28,840 --> 00:30:34,000 Speaker 3: Hannah Libovitz, Lockhart, and consulting producers Julie Goldstein and Louis 493 00:30:34,000 --> 00:30:38,600 Speaker 3: Spiegeler for Koda. Story reporting by Lane Greenberg with associate 494 00:30:38,680 --> 00:30:43,680 Speaker 3: producer Rebecca Robinson. Edited and sound designed by Gayleen Mullens 495 00:30:43,840 --> 00:30:49,600 Speaker 3: and Max Michael Miller. Music by Dave Harrington. Archival producers 496 00:30:49,840 --> 00:30:53,400 Speaker 3: Mark de Goora and Paul Dallas. This has been an 497 00:30:53,400 --> 00:31:00,160 Speaker 3: exactly write production. Executive producers Karen Kilgareth Georgia Hartstark and 498 00:31:00,280 --> 00:31:04,080 Speaker 3: Daniel Kramer. Was consulting producer Kyle Ryan