1 00:00:12,640 --> 00:00:17,840 Speaker 1: Prologue, How to rob a bank. Here's the thing about 2 00:00:17,920 --> 00:00:20,919 Speaker 1: robbing a bank. As soon as you walk in the door, 3 00:00:21,600 --> 00:00:25,200 Speaker 1: every single second counts, so you better have a plan. 4 00:00:27,400 --> 00:00:30,520 Speaker 1: When Greece's top bank robber does a job, he and 5 00:00:30,560 --> 00:00:32,760 Speaker 1: his crew have it down to a science. 6 00:00:33,040 --> 00:00:34,040 Speaker 2: Can press. 7 00:00:34,280 --> 00:00:38,519 Speaker 3: The three of us enter the bank with our faces uncovered. 8 00:00:39,440 --> 00:00:42,400 Speaker 1: As the other two step team. I stood near the entrance. 9 00:00:43,440 --> 00:00:46,760 Speaker 1: Let's get a close up on this guy. He's in 10 00:00:46,840 --> 00:00:51,559 Speaker 1: his thirties, medium build, handsome with a square jaw. His 11 00:00:51,720 --> 00:00:56,560 Speaker 1: name is Costas Samaras. The press calls him the Artist 12 00:00:57,080 --> 00:01:01,640 Speaker 1: because he designs these brazen yet perfectly heists, with every 13 00:01:01,720 --> 00:01:06,319 Speaker 1: detail accounted for. The clock is ticking, but the Artist 14 00:01:06,400 --> 00:01:10,120 Speaker 1: is relaxed. Focused. He hangs back by the door while 15 00:01:10,160 --> 00:01:13,399 Speaker 1: his partners walk up to the teller and flash friendly smiles. 16 00:01:14,040 --> 00:01:17,000 Speaker 1: They also wave the semi automatics their kring, you know, 17 00:01:17,080 --> 00:01:18,920 Speaker 1: to move things along a little bit. 18 00:01:20,120 --> 00:01:23,559 Speaker 2: Dam Good morning, how are you doing. 19 00:01:24,160 --> 00:01:25,280 Speaker 3: We've come for a loan. 20 00:01:27,600 --> 00:01:30,760 Speaker 1: Yeah, they're not here for a loan. They keep it light, 21 00:01:30,920 --> 00:01:34,280 Speaker 1: but move fast. They know they have about four minutes 22 00:01:34,319 --> 00:01:37,600 Speaker 1: before the cops show up. And here in the small 23 00:01:37,680 --> 00:01:41,480 Speaker 1: city of Columbaca, Greece. There really isn't anywhere to hide. 24 00:01:43,440 --> 00:01:44,280 Speaker 4: A parents with them. 25 00:01:44,920 --> 00:01:47,200 Speaker 2: My two friends go to the central cass here in 26 00:01:47,280 --> 00:01:47,600 Speaker 2: the buck. 27 00:01:48,480 --> 00:01:52,480 Speaker 1: His friends they're brothers, and they're kind of famous in 28 00:01:52,520 --> 00:01:56,200 Speaker 1: these parts. Mikos is the older one. They call him 29 00:01:56,360 --> 00:02:00,720 Speaker 1: the Ghost. He's got a real talent for avoiding arrests. 30 00:02:01,280 --> 00:02:05,360 Speaker 1: He can't be god. Then there's the kid brother of Vasilis. 31 00:02:05,840 --> 00:02:08,360 Speaker 1: He's actually the reason I'm telling you this story in 32 00:02:08,400 --> 00:02:14,400 Speaker 1: the first place. Vasilis doesn't look like much, stocky, balding, 33 00:02:14,639 --> 00:02:19,639 Speaker 1: a little unassuming, but they call him Robin Hood because 34 00:02:19,680 --> 00:02:23,840 Speaker 1: he's the generous one. Whether he's a hero or a criminal, 35 00:02:23,960 --> 00:02:30,520 Speaker 1: well that depends on your perspective, but right now he 36 00:02:30,600 --> 00:02:34,720 Speaker 1: definitely looks more like a criminal. Robin Hood points his 37 00:02:34,760 --> 00:02:38,000 Speaker 1: gun at the teller and notices the man is shaking, 38 00:02:39,320 --> 00:02:45,760 Speaker 1: so he reassures him gently. Which is here to take 39 00:02:45,800 --> 00:02:50,880 Speaker 1: the bank's money, not your lives. Still, this is a robbery, 40 00:02:51,080 --> 00:02:56,799 Speaker 1: and they've got three minutes left the key. 41 00:02:58,240 --> 00:02:58,400 Speaker 5: Key. 42 00:03:00,520 --> 00:03:02,760 Speaker 1: Robin Hood and the Ghost walk over to the manager 43 00:03:02,840 --> 00:03:04,919 Speaker 1: who's frozen behind his desk. 44 00:03:06,040 --> 00:03:08,639 Speaker 3: Open the safe. 45 00:03:09,320 --> 00:03:12,560 Speaker 1: Now they're down to two minutes. The artist has his 46 00:03:12,639 --> 00:03:17,000 Speaker 1: gun tucked under his coat, and he's watching the front door. 47 00:03:18,680 --> 00:03:23,000 Speaker 3: At some point, the lady offers starts walking into the bank. 48 00:03:24,320 --> 00:03:27,239 Speaker 3: I'm standing next to her and say, come on in, lady, 49 00:03:27,280 --> 00:03:31,119 Speaker 3: come on in, but se notices the other two holding guns. 50 00:03:31,840 --> 00:03:32,600 Speaker 1: He turns back. 51 00:03:33,360 --> 00:03:35,120 Speaker 3: No, I'm leaving. I'm leaving, she says. 52 00:03:36,600 --> 00:03:39,280 Speaker 1: What this lady doesn't know is that these guys live 53 00:03:39,360 --> 00:03:44,480 Speaker 1: by a simple do no harm code. No drugs, definitely 54 00:03:44,600 --> 00:03:48,480 Speaker 1: no killing. They just want the cash. They don't want 55 00:03:48,520 --> 00:03:51,760 Speaker 1: to get caught up with blood on their hands. I 56 00:03:51,840 --> 00:03:55,680 Speaker 1: sawed to the brothers finish up. The brothers fill up 57 00:03:55,680 --> 00:03:59,000 Speaker 1: a few canvas bags with cash, and then time's up. 58 00:03:59,360 --> 00:04:00,400 Speaker 1: They need to exit. 59 00:04:00,520 --> 00:04:06,480 Speaker 2: Now we go outside, We get in the car, we 60 00:04:06,600 --> 00:04:14,520 Speaker 2: start driving, and within a few meters. 61 00:04:11,760 --> 00:04:15,920 Speaker 1: Someone is soothing others instead of minding her business. The 62 00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:19,359 Speaker 1: lady went for help, and now a cop has taken 63 00:04:19,400 --> 00:04:22,200 Speaker 1: aim at their getaway car like he's some kind of hero. 64 00:04:23,560 --> 00:04:27,880 Speaker 1: But these guys are pros. They don't even bother returning fire. 65 00:04:28,600 --> 00:04:31,800 Speaker 1: They just laugh and hit the gas, speeding toward one 66 00:04:31,839 --> 00:04:33,960 Speaker 1: of the stolen cars they'd stashed around town. 67 00:04:36,080 --> 00:04:40,839 Speaker 3: We took the road north, where it's where the other 68 00:04:40,960 --> 00:04:45,120 Speaker 3: getaway car was changed. Car changed close. 69 00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:49,000 Speaker 1: And just like that, the three men disappear into the 70 00:04:49,080 --> 00:04:59,000 Speaker 1: dark mountains that loom over Columbaca. That was June nineteen 71 00:04:59,080 --> 00:05:02,960 Speaker 1: ninety two, and they've made off with a crazy amount 72 00:05:03,040 --> 00:05:06,240 Speaker 1: of money. It's the equivalent of about one point four 73 00:05:06,320 --> 00:05:10,360 Speaker 1: million US dollars. In fact, it's the biggest bank robbery 74 00:05:10,400 --> 00:05:15,880 Speaker 1: in Greek history. This wasn't their first bank job, and 75 00:05:15,920 --> 00:05:19,040 Speaker 1: it wasn't their last either. To date, they've held up 76 00:05:19,160 --> 00:05:23,599 Speaker 1: dozens of banks. They've evaded police with comical ease, and 77 00:05:23,680 --> 00:05:26,120 Speaker 1: even when they did get caught, they broke out of 78 00:05:26,160 --> 00:05:32,960 Speaker 1: prison not once, not twice, but ten times. These days, 79 00:05:33,240 --> 00:05:35,760 Speaker 1: the artists and the ghost they're out of the game. 80 00:05:36,440 --> 00:05:40,839 Speaker 1: But Vasilis Palio Coostas Robin Hood, he's still on the run. 81 00:05:41,480 --> 00:05:44,479 Speaker 1: He's one of the most wanted men in the world, 82 00:05:44,800 --> 00:05:47,400 Speaker 1: with a bounty of more than a million euros on 83 00:05:47,440 --> 00:05:51,440 Speaker 1: his head. Despite the best efforts of the Greek police, 84 00:05:51,680 --> 00:05:55,960 Speaker 1: various intelligence agencies, and even inner poll it's been fourteen 85 00:05:56,080 --> 00:05:59,640 Speaker 1: years since anyone's caught a glimpse of him, and that's 86 00:05:59,640 --> 00:06:03,880 Speaker 1: turned into a bona fide folk hero. He's like a 87 00:06:03,920 --> 00:06:08,520 Speaker 1: storybook character with all these tales following him around. Of 88 00:06:08,520 --> 00:06:11,800 Speaker 1: being a criminal with a conscience of sharing his lute 89 00:06:11,880 --> 00:06:15,359 Speaker 1: with the poor mountain folk he grew up with. The 90 00:06:15,440 --> 00:06:19,760 Speaker 1: thing is this Robin Hood. He isn't a character someone invented. 91 00:06:20,680 --> 00:06:29,120 Speaker 1: He's actually real. I'm Miles Gray from Kaleidoscope and iHeart Podcasts. 92 00:06:29,640 --> 00:06:41,320 Speaker 1: This is the Good Thief Chapter one, Cops and Robbers. 93 00:06:46,680 --> 00:06:47,520 Speaker 6: You know something, Robin. 94 00:06:47,560 --> 00:06:51,440 Speaker 1: I was just wondering, are we good guys or bad guys? 95 00:06:51,600 --> 00:06:51,839 Speaker 2: You know? 96 00:06:52,120 --> 00:06:55,279 Speaker 1: I mean, are Robin the rich to feed the poor? 97 00:06:55,640 --> 00:07:01,560 Speaker 1: Rob That's a naughty word. We never rob so to 98 00:07:01,640 --> 00:07:03,360 Speaker 1: borrow a it from those who could have thought it. 99 00:07:04,360 --> 00:07:07,360 Speaker 1: When I was growing up, every kid I knew loved Robinhood, 100 00:07:07,640 --> 00:07:09,480 Speaker 1: and there was no shortage of versions. I mean, there 101 00:07:09,560 --> 00:07:12,160 Speaker 1: was the nineteen ninety one movie, you know, shout out 102 00:07:12,200 --> 00:07:15,480 Speaker 1: Morgan Freeman, The Painted Man. There was the other nineteen 103 00:07:15,520 --> 00:07:18,960 Speaker 1: ninety one movie Robin Hood Men in Tights, and then 104 00:07:19,000 --> 00:07:21,880 Speaker 1: there's that animated Fox. I mean, look, there's a lot 105 00:07:21,920 --> 00:07:26,160 Speaker 1: to choose from. Obviously, the Og legend has been around 106 00:07:26,240 --> 00:07:33,160 Speaker 1: a lot longer. For hundreds of years, people have composed ballads, poems, books, plays, 107 00:07:33,480 --> 00:07:38,080 Speaker 1: and now a podcast about this idea of a lone 108 00:07:38,120 --> 00:07:41,559 Speaker 1: swashbuckler who steals from the rich and gives to the poor. 109 00:07:42,200 --> 00:07:45,720 Speaker 1: It's an idea that just doesn't get tired, and these 110 00:07:45,800 --> 00:07:49,880 Speaker 1: days we need it more than ever. You see it 111 00:07:49,920 --> 00:07:53,240 Speaker 1: in the news all the time, rich and powerful people 112 00:07:53,600 --> 00:07:57,480 Speaker 1: patting their pockets at everyone else's expense, and if they 113 00:07:57,480 --> 00:07:59,640 Speaker 1: break a few laws along the way, they don't care. 114 00:08:00,200 --> 00:08:03,360 Speaker 1: For every evil billionaire that gets caught, there's one hundred 115 00:08:03,440 --> 00:08:07,080 Speaker 1: more getting away with it. But robin hoods, they give 116 00:08:07,160 --> 00:08:09,800 Speaker 1: us someone to root for and something to believe in. 117 00:08:10,480 --> 00:08:13,440 Speaker 1: It's the idea that we can take back what's ours. 118 00:08:15,000 --> 00:08:18,880 Speaker 1: That's what drew us to Vasili's Paliocostas. He sounded like 119 00:08:18,920 --> 00:08:22,520 Speaker 1: a crook with a conscience, a real life robin Hood 120 00:08:22,600 --> 00:08:27,360 Speaker 1: who's out there right now. But Vasilis Paliocostas is a 121 00:08:27,400 --> 00:08:31,480 Speaker 1: total mystery. Nobody knows where he is or who he 122 00:08:31,600 --> 00:08:35,120 Speaker 1: really is, how he got this way. We don't even 123 00:08:35,120 --> 00:08:38,400 Speaker 1: know if all the fantastic stories about his generosity are 124 00:08:38,480 --> 00:08:41,520 Speaker 1: true or if people just want them to be true. 125 00:08:42,679 --> 00:08:46,439 Speaker 6: So oh fuck may okay. 126 00:08:48,240 --> 00:08:51,520 Speaker 1: We assembled a team in Athens and decided to find 127 00:08:51,559 --> 00:08:53,400 Speaker 1: this robin hood ourselves. 128 00:08:53,760 --> 00:08:58,160 Speaker 6: It's like three as a woman, and what looks like 129 00:08:58,280 --> 00:08:59,640 Speaker 6: is that you can't see. 130 00:09:00,679 --> 00:09:03,400 Speaker 1: One of my partners in cracking this case is Daphne, 131 00:09:03,400 --> 00:09:07,199 Speaker 1: our producer and lead reporter in Athens. Daphne, I'm guessing 132 00:09:07,240 --> 00:09:09,440 Speaker 1: you'd heard of us Elis before we reached out to you. 133 00:09:10,240 --> 00:09:13,480 Speaker 7: Yeah, definitely. I mean, everybody in Greece really knows the 134 00:09:13,559 --> 00:09:17,360 Speaker 7: name Palo Costas. When we were children. I remember hearing 135 00:09:17,400 --> 00:09:20,560 Speaker 7: about them on TV, in the newspapers, you know, our 136 00:09:20,600 --> 00:09:22,360 Speaker 7: parents mentioning their names. 137 00:09:23,320 --> 00:09:25,079 Speaker 1: So what did you know about them? 138 00:09:25,640 --> 00:09:29,360 Speaker 7: I mean, I'd heard that Vasilis specifically got started early 139 00:09:29,520 --> 00:09:32,400 Speaker 7: in life, you know, in this kind of line of work, 140 00:09:32,440 --> 00:09:35,280 Speaker 7: partly because it runs in the family. He's got a 141 00:09:35,280 --> 00:09:38,920 Speaker 7: big brother, an older brother, Nikos, who he often partnered with, 142 00:09:38,960 --> 00:09:40,680 Speaker 7: the one you called the ghost. 143 00:09:41,120 --> 00:09:44,840 Speaker 1: And as we discovered, these brothers had a pretty wild upbringing. 144 00:09:45,320 --> 00:09:47,720 Speaker 1: Here's Christina, a reporter on Daphne's team. 145 00:09:48,360 --> 00:09:52,120 Speaker 8: Vasilisa Nikos grew up in a very poor farming family 146 00:09:52,280 --> 00:09:55,920 Speaker 8: in the mountains of northern Greece. The brothers were very 147 00:09:55,960 --> 00:09:59,640 Speaker 8: isolated until their teams and eventually they moved near the 148 00:09:59,640 --> 00:10:02,920 Speaker 8: city Strikla, and when they finally got a taste of 149 00:10:03,200 --> 00:10:06,920 Speaker 8: urban life, they well, they took advantage of it. Even 150 00:10:06,960 --> 00:10:10,080 Speaker 8: early on. The petty crimes they committed were pretty daring. 151 00:10:10,840 --> 00:10:13,080 Speaker 8: There's so many stories about them, but I think that 152 00:10:13,160 --> 00:10:16,120 Speaker 8: my favorite one from their early years was how as 153 00:10:16,200 --> 00:10:18,760 Speaker 8: Nikos was just starting in his life of crime, he 154 00:10:18,840 --> 00:10:21,720 Speaker 8: robbed a jewelry store directly across the street from a 155 00:10:21,720 --> 00:10:24,959 Speaker 8: police station. And what he did was that he padlocked 156 00:10:25,000 --> 00:10:28,360 Speaker 8: the police station doors and then walked right across the street, 157 00:10:28,600 --> 00:10:31,199 Speaker 8: smashed the window, and took off with a bunch of jewels, 158 00:10:31,520 --> 00:10:34,040 Speaker 8: and the cops couldn't do anything about it because they 159 00:10:34,040 --> 00:10:34,840 Speaker 8: were stuck inside. 160 00:10:35,840 --> 00:10:38,360 Speaker 1: I mean, to be clear, I don't condone stealing from 161 00:10:38,360 --> 00:10:40,880 Speaker 1: small businesses, but that's just funny. 162 00:10:41,360 --> 00:10:45,079 Speaker 8: It's creative, which became the hallmark of the Palokostas brothers. 163 00:10:45,559 --> 00:10:48,280 Speaker 8: They didn't just commit crimes, they did it with flair. 164 00:10:49,600 --> 00:10:54,160 Speaker 1: Of course, not everybody buys into the hype, including Vasilis Fimiu, 165 00:10:54,679 --> 00:10:57,200 Speaker 1: a cop who worked in the trica La police department. 166 00:10:58,120 --> 00:11:01,320 Speaker 1: He spent years trying to track the brothers down and 167 00:11:01,320 --> 00:11:07,000 Speaker 1: he knows better than anyone what they're capable of. So 168 00:11:07,240 --> 00:11:13,559 Speaker 1: Daphne headed north to meet him. 169 00:11:13,960 --> 00:11:17,120 Speaker 7: I'm with my team and we're driving to Tricarla, and 170 00:11:17,160 --> 00:11:19,120 Speaker 7: I should say tri Calai is not the grease you 171 00:11:19,200 --> 00:11:22,079 Speaker 7: probably know from tourist brush shaws. It's not like colin 172 00:11:22,240 --> 00:11:26,439 Speaker 7: ruins and sparkling beachside villas. It's a bit more provincial. 173 00:11:26,520 --> 00:11:31,439 Speaker 7: There's rocky green peaks, cliff top monasteries and these zigzagging 174 00:11:31,720 --> 00:11:32,440 Speaker 7: dirt roads. 175 00:11:32,760 --> 00:11:35,400 Speaker 8: Isn't it lovely how the mountains from a distance always 176 00:11:35,400 --> 00:11:39,600 Speaker 8: look blue. It's a bit strange looking at those mountains 177 00:11:39,600 --> 00:11:43,240 Speaker 8: whilst working on this project. I can't help but wonder 178 00:11:43,240 --> 00:11:46,480 Speaker 8: if the silica is somewhere close. Rumors do suggest that 179 00:11:46,520 --> 00:11:49,480 Speaker 8: he has secret hideouts all over, and there's others that 180 00:11:49,640 --> 00:11:52,280 Speaker 8: say that a network of supporters is out there helping 181 00:11:52,320 --> 00:11:55,440 Speaker 8: him stay hidden. The team was driving to Tricola to 182 00:11:55,480 --> 00:11:57,760 Speaker 8: meet with the man who once led to the effort 183 00:11:57,960 --> 00:12:02,679 Speaker 8: to catch Paalo Costas, retired police officer named Vasili Sefimu. 184 00:12:03,679 --> 00:12:06,600 Speaker 8: In two thousand and three, he received a special assignment 185 00:12:06,640 --> 00:12:09,800 Speaker 8: to scour those same mountains in search of the country's 186 00:12:09,800 --> 00:12:11,040 Speaker 8: most wanted man. 187 00:12:12,400 --> 00:12:12,800 Speaker 2: O Mother. 188 00:12:13,200 --> 00:12:16,600 Speaker 9: The team was formed to chase a Costas brother had 189 00:12:16,679 --> 00:12:19,600 Speaker 9: four people feeling this case on a daily basis around 190 00:12:19,640 --> 00:12:24,120 Speaker 9: the Clockma. 191 00:12:22,000 --> 00:12:24,120 Speaker 8: Is retired now, so we met with him at a 192 00:12:24,120 --> 00:12:27,679 Speaker 8: cafe in the old tricala prison that's now been turned 193 00:12:27,720 --> 00:12:31,400 Speaker 8: into a museum. He still maintains the gruffness of an 194 00:12:31,480 --> 00:12:34,480 Speaker 8: old school cop. He started police work back in the 195 00:12:34,520 --> 00:12:37,640 Speaker 8: eighties and proudly claims that during all that time he 196 00:12:37,840 --> 00:12:41,840 Speaker 8: never picked up a pantophile a pre investigation report. He 197 00:12:41,960 --> 00:12:45,080 Speaker 8: was always on the streets where the action was. In 198 00:12:45,160 --> 00:12:47,640 Speaker 8: nineteen ninety nine, he was working the streets of Athens, 199 00:12:47,679 --> 00:12:50,240 Speaker 8: but he decided to take his big city shops back 200 00:12:50,240 --> 00:12:53,920 Speaker 8: to his hometown and well, it didn't really take him 201 00:12:54,000 --> 00:12:56,000 Speaker 8: very long to find where the action was. 202 00:12:57,600 --> 00:13:03,480 Speaker 9: Attend the Printristulian and it was right before Christmas. December 203 00:13:04,480 --> 00:13:08,880 Speaker 9: two thousand and three, Sunday, we had intel that a 204 00:13:08,960 --> 00:13:10,040 Speaker 9: car had been stolen. 205 00:13:11,040 --> 00:13:13,920 Speaker 1: Ftmu and his partners are driving an unmarked car through 206 00:13:13,920 --> 00:13:19,960 Speaker 1: the mountains when they hear the dispatch radio crackle. 207 00:13:25,520 --> 00:13:28,480 Speaker 9: The car was seen on the mountain range of so 208 00:13:28,520 --> 00:13:30,679 Speaker 9: my team and I drove into the mountains to locate 209 00:13:30,760 --> 00:13:31,720 Speaker 9: him and track. 210 00:13:32,960 --> 00:13:38,800 Speaker 1: The police accelerate up these steep inclines. Suddenly Ftmu spots 211 00:13:38,840 --> 00:13:41,959 Speaker 1: the stolen car racing ahead and figures he can catch up. 212 00:13:42,559 --> 00:13:46,920 Speaker 4: But then when he sezes in the mirror, he speeds 213 00:13:47,000 --> 00:13:48,400 Speaker 4: up and drives higher again. 214 00:13:49,000 --> 00:13:52,400 Speaker 1: Ftmu steps on the gas and the engine grinds into 215 00:13:52,520 --> 00:13:55,720 Speaker 1: high gear. He's white knuckling it around a series of 216 00:13:55,720 --> 00:13:58,839 Speaker 1: hairpin turns. He thinks he's going to catch them, and 217 00:13:58,880 --> 00:14:01,640 Speaker 1: then he comes upon the car. 218 00:14:03,679 --> 00:14:05,640 Speaker 4: Give me a U turn and turns the car the 219 00:14:05,760 --> 00:14:09,280 Speaker 4: sideways bas The stolen car is just. 220 00:14:09,280 --> 00:14:13,640 Speaker 1: Parked there, and for a moment Ftmu is convinced he 221 00:14:13,760 --> 00:14:18,240 Speaker 1: has the fugitive trapped. But that thought only lingers for 222 00:14:18,320 --> 00:14:18,880 Speaker 1: a second. 223 00:14:20,280 --> 00:14:23,720 Speaker 4: We hear a barrage of shots. Bang, bang bang. 224 00:14:23,880 --> 00:14:26,240 Speaker 1: It's a gun, and not just any gun. 225 00:14:27,120 --> 00:14:29,920 Speaker 9: He had a scorpions, a machine gu The bullets were 226 00:14:29,960 --> 00:14:32,680 Speaker 9: flying everywhere above us, to the right, to the left. 227 00:14:33,120 --> 00:14:37,400 Speaker 1: Ftmu slams on the brakes. He opens a driver's side door, dusts. 228 00:14:37,840 --> 00:14:39,320 Speaker 1: He's rolling out onto the dirt. 229 00:14:40,320 --> 00:14:41,640 Speaker 4: We go out of the car and took cover. 230 00:14:42,280 --> 00:14:45,600 Speaker 1: He reaches for his service weapon and then opens fire. 231 00:14:46,680 --> 00:14:49,760 Speaker 1: Bullets fly. The police scramble for a ditch. 232 00:14:51,920 --> 00:14:54,520 Speaker 4: One of our bullets hit his car on the passenger 233 00:14:54,600 --> 00:14:58,400 Speaker 4: side and went through the windshiels then he refers to 234 00:14:58,560 --> 00:14:59,400 Speaker 4: left for the mountain. 235 00:15:00,720 --> 00:15:03,840 Speaker 1: If the Mu watches as the stolen car speeds away, 236 00:15:04,400 --> 00:15:13,000 Speaker 1: disappearing behind a cloud of dust. The officer's heart is 237 00:15:13,040 --> 00:15:18,320 Speaker 1: still racing. He looks around and notices something unusual. His 238 00:15:18,480 --> 00:15:22,560 Speaker 1: car is fine, like none of the bullets got anywhere 239 00:15:22,560 --> 00:15:27,040 Speaker 1: near him or his team. The crook, he realizes, was 240 00:15:27,040 --> 00:15:31,600 Speaker 1: shooting toward them, not at them, and that confirmed f 241 00:15:31,680 --> 00:15:35,920 Speaker 1: the MEU's suspicions. It has to be a Palocostis boy 242 00:15:36,080 --> 00:16:02,240 Speaker 1: behind the wheel. Chapter two, Hometown Heroes. Officer Ftimiu has 243 00:16:02,320 --> 00:16:06,520 Speaker 1: chased Vasilis Palocostis around Greece for years. There have been 244 00:16:06,600 --> 00:16:10,200 Speaker 1: high stakes chases and bullets flying, but he has a 245 00:16:10,320 --> 00:16:13,960 Speaker 1: funny relationship to his target. While he made clear to 246 00:16:14,080 --> 00:16:17,760 Speaker 1: us that he does not like Vasilis, in fact, Ftmiu 247 00:16:17,840 --> 00:16:21,280 Speaker 1: considers him a terrorist, he has come to have a 248 00:16:21,400 --> 00:16:26,480 Speaker 1: level of admiration for Vasilis's skill. Vasilis, he tells us, 249 00:16:26,800 --> 00:16:30,040 Speaker 1: isn't like other criminals. He's dangerous for sure. I mean, 250 00:16:30,120 --> 00:16:33,200 Speaker 1: dude is armed to the teeth, but he never shoots 251 00:16:33,200 --> 00:16:37,120 Speaker 1: to kill and his ability to get away every single 252 00:16:37,360 --> 00:16:42,760 Speaker 1: time is frankly impressive. But Christina, my colleague that we 253 00:16:42,800 --> 00:16:47,600 Speaker 1: met earlier, she discovered that in Vasilis' hometown, the admiration 254 00:16:47,760 --> 00:16:49,000 Speaker 1: goes a lot further. 255 00:16:50,000 --> 00:16:52,400 Speaker 8: As we were trying to get a read on how 256 00:16:52,480 --> 00:16:56,120 Speaker 8: locals view the Palocostas brothers. We met with Valiant claud, 257 00:16:56,360 --> 00:16:58,960 Speaker 8: a journalist who spent a lot of time in tricolars 258 00:16:58,960 --> 00:17:02,280 Speaker 8: reporting on their ures. She told us that the first 259 00:17:02,280 --> 00:17:04,720 Speaker 8: time she visited, she was struck by just how many 260 00:17:04,720 --> 00:17:12,199 Speaker 8: people sympathized with Vasilis. The locals, they were very reluctant 261 00:17:12,280 --> 00:17:14,720 Speaker 8: to talk to her, and the people who did talk 262 00:17:15,000 --> 00:17:20,720 Speaker 8: they said really good things about both Vasilis and Nas. 263 00:17:21,680 --> 00:17:25,919 Speaker 8: Apparently she encountered a man that was hitch hiking. They 264 00:17:25,960 --> 00:17:29,360 Speaker 8: decided to pick him up and they introduced themselves. They 265 00:17:29,400 --> 00:17:32,119 Speaker 8: said that they were journalists, that they wanted to do 266 00:17:32,160 --> 00:17:35,919 Speaker 8: a story on Costas, and the man turned around and said. 267 00:17:36,320 --> 00:17:37,400 Speaker 1: Vasilis is a good guy. 268 00:17:37,760 --> 00:17:44,440 Speaker 8: We we were classmates at the sixth primary school. He said, 269 00:17:44,880 --> 00:17:47,560 Speaker 8: I don't believe he's a common criminal. He's helping people, 270 00:17:47,960 --> 00:17:50,640 Speaker 8: and he pointed at the value that Costas brothers hadn't 271 00:17:50,720 --> 00:17:55,119 Speaker 8: killed anybody. 272 00:17:57,160 --> 00:18:01,120 Speaker 1: Valia kept hearing stories like this. People told her that 273 00:18:01,320 --> 00:18:05,080 Speaker 1: Jaaliocosta stole cars and returned them in mint condition with 274 00:18:05,400 --> 00:18:08,920 Speaker 1: wads of cash on the passenger seat. Others have reported 275 00:18:08,920 --> 00:18:12,280 Speaker 1: that he put young women through school, helped poor farmers 276 00:18:12,359 --> 00:18:15,720 Speaker 1: pay off loans. One time he stole a farmer's tractor 277 00:18:15,800 --> 00:18:19,160 Speaker 1: and returned it with the wagon filled with fresh hay. 278 00:18:20,040 --> 00:18:23,040 Speaker 1: Others said that when he robbed banks, he tossed money 279 00:18:23,040 --> 00:18:25,400 Speaker 1: out the window of his getaway car to the pedestrians. 280 00:18:26,520 --> 00:18:30,600 Speaker 1: It struck Valia that nobody had any real criticisms of 281 00:18:30,640 --> 00:18:34,400 Speaker 1: this guy, I mean, with stories like that. Of course, 282 00:18:34,480 --> 00:18:38,800 Speaker 1: Vassilis and his brother were celebrities here, but Valia noticed 283 00:18:38,800 --> 00:18:42,040 Speaker 1: that nobody seemed to have first hand experience with all 284 00:18:42,040 --> 00:18:45,719 Speaker 1: this generosity. Either it was always from a cousin's neighbor 285 00:18:46,200 --> 00:18:50,280 Speaker 1: or a friend of a friend, which felt suspicious. And 286 00:18:50,359 --> 00:18:54,040 Speaker 1: also she couldn't really nail down the details. The stories 287 00:18:54,040 --> 00:18:57,520 Speaker 1: are always a little vague, and when she pushed for more, 288 00:18:58,200 --> 00:19:01,160 Speaker 1: it seemed like there was something they didn't want to say. 289 00:19:02,000 --> 00:19:04,560 Speaker 4: In the perier, It's a strange thing. 290 00:19:05,160 --> 00:19:07,080 Speaker 8: It was as if they were trying to protect the 291 00:19:07,119 --> 00:19:10,359 Speaker 8: brothers and Vandigotta's feeling that they didn't want to say 292 00:19:10,400 --> 00:19:13,040 Speaker 8: too much. They only wanted to say the best things 293 00:19:13,080 --> 00:19:16,040 Speaker 8: about them. She would push back, but what do you think. 294 00:19:16,200 --> 00:19:19,240 Speaker 8: You know, they've lived a life of hard crime, and 295 00:19:19,280 --> 00:19:22,720 Speaker 8: they would always answer, I'm sure, but they've also been 296 00:19:22,760 --> 00:19:24,400 Speaker 8: helping lots of the locals. 297 00:19:25,240 --> 00:19:28,200 Speaker 1: I don't know about you, but this made my ears 298 00:19:28,200 --> 00:19:32,760 Speaker 1: perk up, Like why was everybody so tight lipped? Is 299 00:19:32,760 --> 00:19:37,040 Speaker 1: it possible they knew where Vasilis was hiding? After all, 300 00:19:37,560 --> 00:19:41,399 Speaker 1: this is his home turf. Those rugged mountains outside the city, 301 00:19:41,960 --> 00:19:46,120 Speaker 1: they're the perfect place to hide if you know your 302 00:19:46,160 --> 00:19:51,320 Speaker 1: way around. So is somebody watching out for Vasilis Palo Coostas. 303 00:19:52,119 --> 00:19:54,199 Speaker 1: We asked Vali if she ever got to the bottom 304 00:19:54,200 --> 00:19:57,720 Speaker 1: of it, but she said no. Every time she raised 305 00:19:57,720 --> 00:20:01,760 Speaker 1: the question of his whereabouts, she always got the same answer. 306 00:20:02,600 --> 00:20:05,960 Speaker 1: Vasilis Palio Costas is untouchable. 307 00:20:10,160 --> 00:20:13,760 Speaker 8: They were talking to Valley about Robinhood Balo Costas, and 308 00:20:13,800 --> 00:20:17,359 Speaker 8: they said, Vasilis is gone. The man knows the mountains, 309 00:20:17,560 --> 00:20:20,160 Speaker 8: he knows how to hide, he knows how to disguise himself. 310 00:20:20,720 --> 00:20:24,520 Speaker 8: He's brilliant, and no matter what happens, they will never 311 00:20:24,560 --> 00:20:28,640 Speaker 8: find him. 312 00:20:28,720 --> 00:20:36,520 Speaker 1: Chapter three, The Artist's Apprentice. For the past fourteen years, 313 00:20:36,600 --> 00:20:40,240 Speaker 1: Vasilis Palo Costas has been m i a, avoiding the 314 00:20:40,280 --> 00:20:45,760 Speaker 1: spotlight and the Greek prison system. Some say he's in Athens, 315 00:20:46,280 --> 00:20:49,199 Speaker 1: Others say he's hiding in the mountains of northern Greece. 316 00:20:49,960 --> 00:20:54,160 Speaker 1: Still others suggest he's kicking back, sipping on Margarita's on 317 00:20:54,160 --> 00:20:56,639 Speaker 1: one of the many far flung islands where Greeks go 318 00:20:56,760 --> 00:21:01,080 Speaker 1: to disappear. It's all hearsay. Daphne and her team spent 319 00:21:01,280 --> 00:21:05,720 Speaker 1: months pulling on threads, chasing internet leads and hitting dead ends, 320 00:21:06,160 --> 00:21:09,800 Speaker 1: but one name kept popping up. Of course, that's Samaras 321 00:21:09,800 --> 00:21:12,680 Speaker 1: oh Cosa Samaras Yamara. 322 00:21:13,560 --> 00:21:17,280 Speaker 7: We interviewed dozens of people, handful more that spoke off 323 00:21:17,280 --> 00:21:21,240 Speaker 7: the record, but many of them kept mentioning the name Samaras. 324 00:21:21,480 --> 00:21:26,720 Speaker 1: Coursta Samaras, also known as the Artist. Does the word 325 00:21:26,840 --> 00:21:30,960 Speaker 1: artist ring a bell, well, you should costa. Samaras is 326 00:21:31,000 --> 00:21:34,280 Speaker 1: the Artist, the criminal mastermind who was guarding the bank 327 00:21:34,400 --> 00:21:36,320 Speaker 1: entrance at the top of this episode. 328 00:21:36,680 --> 00:21:39,640 Speaker 6: Samaras is a career criminal. He spent twenty one years 329 00:21:39,640 --> 00:21:41,959 Speaker 6: in prison. He's seen the inside of twelve or thirteen 330 00:21:41,960 --> 00:21:45,160 Speaker 6: different jails, and he's also a bona fide escape artist. 331 00:21:45,720 --> 00:21:48,640 Speaker 6: He's escaped prison five different times. 332 00:21:49,240 --> 00:21:53,520 Speaker 1: George, another reporter on Daphne's team, dug deep into Samaras's 333 00:21:53,520 --> 00:21:57,399 Speaker 1: background to find out why this guy is so important. 334 00:21:57,400 --> 00:22:00,240 Speaker 6: Turns out Samaras actually played quite a big part to 335 00:22:00,320 --> 00:22:03,879 Speaker 6: Vasilis's origin story. Samaras is one of the main people 336 00:22:03,920 --> 00:22:06,840 Speaker 6: that help Vasillis go from poor Mountain kit to one 337 00:22:06,880 --> 00:22:10,240 Speaker 6: of Greece's most wanted criminals. And the trajectory is actually 338 00:22:10,400 --> 00:22:13,560 Speaker 6: kind of funny because originally Samaras was actually friends with 339 00:22:13,600 --> 00:22:17,560 Speaker 6: the older brother Nikos, but eventually he take Vasillis under 340 00:22:17,560 --> 00:22:17,920 Speaker 6: his wing. 341 00:22:18,440 --> 00:22:20,880 Speaker 1: And this was when in the in the nineteen eighties. 342 00:22:21,240 --> 00:22:24,960 Speaker 6: Yeah, that's right, Vasillis was about twenty years old. And 343 00:22:25,000 --> 00:22:27,720 Speaker 6: what's really interesting is that, you know, in addition to 344 00:22:27,760 --> 00:22:31,080 Speaker 6: teaching him how to pick locks and steal cars, Samaras 345 00:22:31,119 --> 00:22:34,840 Speaker 6: apparently taught Vasillis that the crime doesn't always need a victim. 346 00:22:35,280 --> 00:22:38,240 Speaker 6: You know, that crimes can be done morally and that 347 00:22:38,280 --> 00:22:41,359 Speaker 6: there can be this real honor amongst thieves in a sense. 348 00:22:42,320 --> 00:22:44,960 Speaker 6: We wanted to learn more about this so called moral 349 00:22:45,040 --> 00:22:48,440 Speaker 6: code to crime, so we track down somebody who wants 350 00:22:48,520 --> 00:22:53,680 Speaker 6: interview Samaras. An investigative journalist from Reporters United named Doloris 351 00:22:54,080 --> 00:23:00,000 Speaker 6: jdro Janos or Cos Samarass told us cost Us Samaras 352 00:23:00,200 --> 00:23:03,720 Speaker 6: obsessed with fighting any system that hurts the week and 353 00:23:03,760 --> 00:23:06,159 Speaker 6: He told us that what struck him is how Samaras 354 00:23:06,160 --> 00:23:08,880 Speaker 6: and the Palo Costas brothers were always thinking of things 355 00:23:08,880 --> 00:23:12,520 Speaker 6: in moral terms, Like he gave us this example of 356 00:23:12,600 --> 00:23:16,240 Speaker 6: a bank robbery and the fact that they're robbing a bank. 357 00:23:16,359 --> 00:23:19,080 Speaker 6: They're not, you know, robbing the people. They're not stealing 358 00:23:19,119 --> 00:23:23,520 Speaker 6: grandma and grandpa's pension. They're stealing from the strong. And 359 00:23:24,200 --> 00:23:26,960 Speaker 6: a lot of people would see that as a positive thing. 360 00:23:28,080 --> 00:23:31,800 Speaker 1: Okay, think about it. What have big, faceless corporate banks 361 00:23:31,880 --> 00:23:35,400 Speaker 1: ever done for you except try to nickel and dime 362 00:23:35,480 --> 00:23:39,120 Speaker 1: you with overdraft fees that don't make sense. A good 363 00:23:39,160 --> 00:23:42,679 Speaker 1: old fashioned bank robbery is kind of a perfect crime. 364 00:23:43,320 --> 00:23:47,240 Speaker 1: The banks are ensured the customer's personal accounts aren't touched, 365 00:23:47,600 --> 00:23:51,160 Speaker 1: and meanwhile the execs are probably committing white collar crime 366 00:23:51,280 --> 00:23:54,840 Speaker 1: literally as we speak. At least that's what Vasili Sin 367 00:23:54,880 --> 00:23:58,480 Speaker 1: Samaras thought, and that's what made them such a good team. 368 00:23:59,000 --> 00:24:03,600 Speaker 1: They punched up up, never down. Besides, it wasn't just 369 00:24:03,600 --> 00:24:07,159 Speaker 1: some of US's philosophy that impressed the Ladis. He was 370 00:24:07,200 --> 00:24:10,760 Speaker 1: also blown away by someone Us' determination to be free, 371 00:24:11,480 --> 00:24:14,879 Speaker 1: Like even when he got caught, he always found a 372 00:24:14,920 --> 00:24:23,280 Speaker 1: way to break out. Oh, somebodras. I'd better this for this. 373 00:24:23,440 --> 00:24:26,400 Speaker 6: So Thoris loved the facts that Samaras never gave up. 374 00:24:26,720 --> 00:24:29,240 Speaker 6: You'd expect that he commits a crime, gets caught, goes 375 00:24:29,280 --> 00:24:32,880 Speaker 6: to jail, and it's over. But no, he never let 376 00:24:32,880 --> 00:24:36,920 Speaker 6: the system or un arrest anyway get the better of him. 377 00:24:37,160 --> 00:24:40,399 Speaker 1: He just had this crazy never say die attitude, which 378 00:24:40,680 --> 00:24:44,639 Speaker 1: obviously rubbed off on Vassilis. One time, some of us 379 00:24:44,720 --> 00:24:47,399 Speaker 1: had just done a robbery and as he's racing away, 380 00:24:47,560 --> 00:24:51,920 Speaker 1: he gets cornered on a rooftop with nowhere to jump. Caught, 381 00:24:52,200 --> 00:24:55,960 Speaker 1: he ends up cuffed and taken down town. But just 382 00:24:56,080 --> 00:24:59,359 Speaker 1: a few days later, some of us puts his natural 383 00:24:59,480 --> 00:25:03,800 Speaker 1: charms to work. He befriends this prison guard and starts 384 00:25:03,920 --> 00:25:07,119 Speaker 1: shooting the breeze with him. They even share a meal together, 385 00:25:07,520 --> 00:25:10,840 Speaker 1: grubbing on chicken. When Samaras looks down at his hands, 386 00:25:10,880 --> 00:25:13,680 Speaker 1: where Greece has collected on his fingers. 387 00:25:15,400 --> 00:25:20,399 Speaker 4: Or go to samarasda idiot. 388 00:25:19,800 --> 00:25:22,960 Speaker 6: Samaras sees the opportunity. He asks the guard if he 389 00:25:23,000 --> 00:25:24,800 Speaker 6: can go wash his hands, and he lets him go 390 00:25:25,080 --> 00:25:28,679 Speaker 6: very calmly. Samaras goes into the bathroom and he heads 391 00:25:28,760 --> 00:25:31,960 Speaker 6: out of the bathroom window, and he goes out, hops 392 00:25:32,000 --> 00:25:34,920 Speaker 6: onto the roof terrace, looks around and heads to the stairs, 393 00:25:35,359 --> 00:25:38,200 Speaker 6: and at some point there's this lady and she's shouting, hey, 394 00:25:38,320 --> 00:25:40,520 Speaker 6: one of them is trying to get away police, but 395 00:25:40,640 --> 00:25:43,040 Speaker 6: he just jumps off the stairs and makes a run 396 00:25:43,040 --> 00:25:47,320 Speaker 6: for it. Samaras hadn't even been in prison for more 397 00:25:47,359 --> 00:25:49,520 Speaker 6: than a week, and he's already got his sight set 398 00:25:49,520 --> 00:25:51,640 Speaker 6: on freedom. You know, he wants to get out. He's 399 00:25:51,640 --> 00:25:55,840 Speaker 6: got this fire to be free. 400 00:25:59,800 --> 00:26:03,160 Speaker 1: And that's not even like one of the better Samaras stories. 401 00:26:03,560 --> 00:26:06,720 Speaker 1: One time he broke out by digging through walls and 402 00:26:06,800 --> 00:26:10,960 Speaker 1: hiding in the pits below vault toilets. Another time police 403 00:26:11,000 --> 00:26:14,480 Speaker 1: were transferring him by truck and he chiseled a hole 404 00:26:14,560 --> 00:26:17,320 Speaker 1: in the bottom of his holding cell while the truck 405 00:26:17,400 --> 00:26:20,760 Speaker 1: was speeding down a highway like Looney Tune style. He 406 00:26:20,880 --> 00:26:23,240 Speaker 1: just sawed his way onto the road and made a 407 00:26:23,240 --> 00:26:26,600 Speaker 1: break for it. And after that escape, who do you 408 00:26:26,640 --> 00:26:30,040 Speaker 1: think he called to come get him? That's right, his 409 00:26:30,240 --> 00:26:37,280 Speaker 1: young pupil Vasilis Palio Costas. For years, Samadas mentored Vasilis. 410 00:26:37,640 --> 00:26:40,760 Speaker 1: He taught him everything he knew how to commit an 411 00:26:40,800 --> 00:26:44,159 Speaker 1: ethical crime, one where no one got hurt how to 412 00:26:44,200 --> 00:26:46,679 Speaker 1: plan a heist and get away when there was no 413 00:26:46,760 --> 00:26:49,959 Speaker 1: exit in sight, and he taught him how to do 414 00:26:50,040 --> 00:26:55,440 Speaker 1: it with flair. But long after these lessons were over, 415 00:26:55,880 --> 00:27:00,000 Speaker 1: and long after the pair had parted ways, Vasilis paliokosa 416 00:27:00,160 --> 00:27:03,960 Speaker 1: Us would one up his mentor, hatching the jail break 417 00:27:04,400 --> 00:27:25,560 Speaker 1: that would make him a legend. Chapter four, A Great Escape. 418 00:27:28,240 --> 00:27:31,800 Speaker 1: Vasimply Spilio Costas is the legend he is today because 419 00:27:31,880 --> 00:27:37,720 Speaker 1: his mentor, Costas Samaras, taught him the ropes. Together they 420 00:27:37,800 --> 00:27:41,240 Speaker 1: perfected the art of the bank robbery. But here's the 421 00:27:41,280 --> 00:27:46,040 Speaker 1: strange thing. When Samadas talked to journalist told hodro Janos, 422 00:27:46,200 --> 00:27:48,360 Speaker 1: he was downright humble about his role. 423 00:27:51,920 --> 00:27:55,479 Speaker 6: He was actually surprisingly modest. He didn't take any credit 424 00:27:55,640 --> 00:27:59,080 Speaker 6: to teaching Greece's most wanted man. He just indicated that 425 00:27:59,160 --> 00:28:04,840 Speaker 6: there was this unbreakable bond between him and Vasilis. For Samaras, 426 00:28:04,960 --> 00:28:07,520 Speaker 6: when you're living in a legal life, it doesn't really 427 00:28:07,560 --> 00:28:10,760 Speaker 6: matter who teaches who, you know, what's more important is 428 00:28:10,840 --> 00:28:12,160 Speaker 6: that the camaraderie lasts. 429 00:28:14,080 --> 00:28:16,719 Speaker 1: I mean, there's a phrase thickest thieves for a reason. 430 00:28:17,560 --> 00:28:20,840 Speaker 1: After all those years of stick ups and escapes of course, 431 00:28:20,880 --> 00:28:22,760 Speaker 1: he's not just gonna go and snitch on his boy. 432 00:28:23,720 --> 00:28:26,840 Speaker 1: But the Laris wondered if it was something deeper than that, 433 00:28:28,000 --> 00:28:30,960 Speaker 1: Like maybe there's something else some of us doesn't want 434 00:28:31,000 --> 00:28:35,240 Speaker 1: to talk about, like how Vasili's escaped prison with more 435 00:28:35,280 --> 00:28:39,280 Speaker 1: panache than anyone before him, how he secured his place 436 00:28:39,520 --> 00:28:43,600 Speaker 1: as Greece's greatest living folk hero. Because forget the bank 437 00:28:43,680 --> 00:28:46,600 Speaker 1: robberies and the stories of his generosity, this is the 438 00:28:46,680 --> 00:28:51,240 Speaker 1: part that no rider could make up. Vasilis Paliocostas has 439 00:28:51,320 --> 00:28:55,959 Speaker 1: pulled off not one, but two of the most absolutely 440 00:28:56,120 --> 00:28:59,920 Speaker 1: insane prison breaks of all time, and once you hear 441 00:29:00,080 --> 00:29:02,479 Speaker 1: this story, it's easy to see why some of us 442 00:29:02,560 --> 00:29:08,800 Speaker 1: might be just a little jealous of his pupil Cut 443 00:29:08,840 --> 00:29:14,320 Speaker 1: to Athens, February two thousand and nine. Corridalos the biggest 444 00:29:14,320 --> 00:29:20,920 Speaker 1: maximum security prison in Greece. Corridaalos is Greece's Alcatraz. It's 445 00:29:20,920 --> 00:29:24,920 Speaker 1: where the countries of most dangerous criminals are detained, and 446 00:29:25,120 --> 00:29:30,360 Speaker 1: among them is Vasilis Paliocostas. He's been locked up for 447 00:29:30,800 --> 00:29:33,760 Speaker 1: just a few weeks on trial for a pass that 448 00:29:33,960 --> 00:29:37,880 Speaker 1: finally caught up to him. The verdict is coming soon, 449 00:29:38,400 --> 00:29:43,840 Speaker 1: and he knows he's probably facing a life sentence. Vasilis 450 00:29:43,880 --> 00:29:48,000 Speaker 1: is under heightened surveillance, kept in solitary with armed guards 451 00:29:48,040 --> 00:29:56,160 Speaker 1: and cameras monitoring his every move. Around three in the afternoon, 452 00:29:56,480 --> 00:30:01,640 Speaker 1: the beat of helicopter blades creates this Inside the jail cells, 453 00:30:02,360 --> 00:30:06,160 Speaker 1: a helicopter is hovering just above the roof of the prison, 454 00:30:06,680 --> 00:30:09,840 Speaker 1: right on top of the roof covering the solitary confinement 455 00:30:09,920 --> 00:30:14,160 Speaker 1: with a rope ladder drops from the chopper. People in 456 00:30:14,240 --> 00:30:17,560 Speaker 1: nearby apartments lean out their windows to see. Some grab 457 00:30:17,600 --> 00:30:22,280 Speaker 1: their cameras and start filming. Suddenly guards appear on the roof. 458 00:30:22,680 --> 00:30:26,200 Speaker 1: They start chasing after a shadowy figure scrambling up the 459 00:30:26,280 --> 00:30:31,760 Speaker 1: rope ladder into the helicopter, and then the chopper begins 460 00:30:31,800 --> 00:30:36,120 Speaker 1: to rise. The guards open fire, brace they're too late. 461 00:30:36,640 --> 00:30:40,280 Speaker 1: The helicopter rises above the hail of bullets and keeps climbing. 462 00:30:40,840 --> 00:30:46,640 Speaker 1: It reaches altitude, rotates northeast, speeds off towards downtown Athens, 463 00:30:46,680 --> 00:30:53,680 Speaker 1: and then the prison yard erupts with shears. Every inmate 464 00:30:53,920 --> 00:30:58,560 Speaker 1: knows who just escaped, and soon the world will. 465 00:30:58,400 --> 00:31:04,280 Speaker 9: Too feistinish sociality that the europo le Vai costas. 466 00:31:06,120 --> 00:31:26,240 Speaker 5: Vo escaping the Greek Alcatraz by helicopter is impressive, But 467 00:31:26,360 --> 00:31:29,760 Speaker 5: the most incredible thing is this wasn't the first time. 468 00:31:30,640 --> 00:31:33,720 Speaker 1: Just two and a half years earlier, Vasilis Palio Costas 469 00:31:33,840 --> 00:31:37,720 Speaker 1: had broken out of the exact same prison the exact 470 00:31:37,880 --> 00:31:42,520 Speaker 1: same way. Whatever heightened security measures were in place, they 471 00:31:42,560 --> 00:31:46,040 Speaker 1: weren't enough, because he managed to catch people off guard. 472 00:31:46,560 --> 00:31:49,560 Speaker 1: It's like a magician who performs a trick, explains how 473 00:31:49,560 --> 00:31:52,520 Speaker 1: he did it to the audience, then somehow does it again, 474 00:31:53,000 --> 00:31:58,120 Speaker 1: astonishing everyone. On February twenty second, two thousand and nine, 475 00:31:58,560 --> 00:32:04,040 Speaker 1: Vasilis Palio Costas disappeared into the sky. Since that afternoon, 476 00:32:04,160 --> 00:32:09,920 Speaker 1: fourteen years ago, nobody's seen him. The Greek police, Interpol, 477 00:32:10,520 --> 00:32:13,720 Speaker 1: even the world's top intelligence agencies. None of them know 478 00:32:14,040 --> 00:32:17,920 Speaker 1: where he's hiding, but that hasn't stopped them from looking. 479 00:32:18,560 --> 00:32:22,440 Speaker 1: Because Vasilis Paliokostas is much more than a clever fugitive 480 00:32:22,480 --> 00:32:26,400 Speaker 1: on the run. He humiliated the people who were supposed 481 00:32:26,400 --> 00:32:30,320 Speaker 1: to keep him behind bars. He is widely considered a 482 00:32:30,480 --> 00:32:34,880 Speaker 1: genuine threat to the rich and powerful. The authorities aren't 483 00:32:34,880 --> 00:32:40,000 Speaker 1: gonna let that slide, and yet so many people are 484 00:32:40,120 --> 00:32:44,560 Speaker 1: rooting for him to stay free. Maybe even me. There's 485 00:32:44,640 --> 00:32:49,240 Speaker 1: just something about a heroic outlaw getting one over the system, 486 00:32:49,400 --> 00:32:52,880 Speaker 1: a living, breathing exception to the rule that the rich 487 00:32:52,960 --> 00:32:56,640 Speaker 1: get richer. Maybe it doesn't have to be this way. 488 00:32:57,600 --> 00:32:59,920 Speaker 1: Maybe we just need the fairy tale to come to 489 00:33:00,120 --> 00:33:03,960 Speaker 1: life every once in a while. Either way, I want 490 00:33:04,000 --> 00:33:06,600 Speaker 1: to go deeper. I want to get lost in the 491 00:33:06,640 --> 00:33:09,320 Speaker 1: Greek mountains trying to find this guy. I want to 492 00:33:09,400 --> 00:33:15,040 Speaker 1: understand his motives, his instincts. But the first step has 493 00:33:15,040 --> 00:33:18,880 Speaker 1: got to be with the man who inspired the Greek robinhood. 494 00:33:19,480 --> 00:33:22,760 Speaker 1: We need to find his mentor the man they call 495 00:33:23,160 --> 00:33:25,200 Speaker 1: the artist Kostas. 496 00:33:25,480 --> 00:33:26,440 Speaker 6: Some of us. 497 00:33:30,880 --> 00:33:34,000 Speaker 1: This season on The Good Thief. Would this have been 498 00:33:34,040 --> 00:33:36,080 Speaker 1: a place that Panel Costas would come and hang out 499 00:33:36,960 --> 00:33:37,880 Speaker 1: in these villages? 500 00:33:38,080 --> 00:33:41,480 Speaker 8: If you say anything bad about Polo Costas, they will 501 00:33:41,600 --> 00:33:41,959 Speaker 8: kill you. 502 00:33:42,160 --> 00:33:44,960 Speaker 9: We went over to the embassy and there's this big, 503 00:33:45,080 --> 00:33:48,000 Speaker 9: humongous six foot rocket smoldering. 504 00:33:48,480 --> 00:33:50,040 Speaker 1: One of the reactions is to look for in a 505 00:33:50,120 --> 00:33:53,280 Speaker 1: robin hood. You put your hope in this robinhood. 506 00:33:54,960 --> 00:33:58,680 Speaker 8: It's brilliant and no matter what happens, they will never 507 00:33:58,720 --> 00:34:13,759 Speaker 8: find him. 508 00:34:14,120 --> 00:34:16,759 Speaker 1: The Good Thief is a Kaleidoscope production in partnership with 509 00:34:16,800 --> 00:34:20,920 Speaker 1: iHeart Podcasts. It's hosted by me Miles Gray. Our executive 510 00:34:20,960 --> 00:34:25,800 Speaker 1: producers are Mangesh Chatikadur Kosaslinos Oz Wollashan and Kate Osborne. 511 00:34:26,200 --> 00:34:29,560 Speaker 1: From My Heart executive producers are Katrina Norvel and Nikki Etor. 512 00:34:30,360 --> 00:34:32,360 Speaker 1: We are so grateful to our partners at the Greek 513 00:34:32,400 --> 00:34:35,319 Speaker 1: Podcast Project in Athens, without whom this show would not 514 00:34:35,360 --> 00:34:40,400 Speaker 1: be possible. That's executive producer Daphne Carnesis, field producers Christina 515 00:34:40,440 --> 00:34:45,480 Speaker 1: Pilioni and George Miatis, and sound designer Nikos Sclavenitis, who 516 00:34:45,560 --> 00:34:49,120 Speaker 1: edited and mixed this episode and provided the English voice 517 00:34:49,120 --> 00:34:52,920 Speaker 1: of Kosa Samaras. Here in the US, Mary Phillips Sandy 518 00:34:53,000 --> 00:34:56,200 Speaker 1: is our supervising producer and Shane McKeon is our producer. 519 00:34:56,800 --> 00:34:59,480 Speaker 1: The show is written in research by Lucas Riley. Donya 520 00:34:59,520 --> 00:35:02,319 Speaker 1: Suleman is our fact checker, sound design and final mixed 521 00:35:02,360 --> 00:35:06,680 Speaker 1: by Soundboard. This episode featured the voice of George I. Valiotis. 522 00:35:07,600 --> 00:35:09,880 Speaker 1: There's gonna be a lot of great music in this series, 523 00:35:10,000 --> 00:35:12,239 Speaker 1: and that's thanks to a Mom Baldi who wrote our 524 00:35:12,280 --> 00:35:16,160 Speaker 1: theme song and Botany who composed additional music. If you 525 00:35:16,160 --> 00:35:18,120 Speaker 1: want to hear more from them. We've put links in 526 00:35:18,120 --> 00:35:20,080 Speaker 1: the show notes, or you can find them on your 527 00:35:20,080 --> 00:35:24,080 Speaker 1: favorite music streaming service. Last, but not least, you want 528 00:35:24,080 --> 00:35:28,399 Speaker 1: to thank Will Pearson, Connell Byrne, Bob Pittman, and John 529 00:35:28,440 --> 00:35:30,880 Speaker 1: Mary Knapolis. Thanks so much for listening.