I've got so many favorites, but here's one of my tops.

History's richest jewel robbery — truly smacks of the skilled Ocean crew. The heist took place at the Antwerp Diamond Center in Antwerp, Belgium, and netted the thieves an estimated $100 million in gems. No alarms were triggered, the bombproof vault doors were not tampered with and there was no sign of a break-in, so no one knows when 123 of the 160 vaults were actually emptied. The crime was discovered on February 17, 2003, and, according to BBC News, is believed to have been carried out by a veteran group of Italian thieves known only as the School of Turin.

http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1494863/story.jhtml
http://www.courttv.com/onair/shows/impossible_heists/real-heists4.html

Quintus Servilius Caepio the Elder was a Roman statesman and general, Consul in 106 BC, Proconsul of Cisalpine Gaul 105 BC. He was the father of Quintus Servilius Caepio the Younger, the grandfather of Servilia Caepionis, and the great-grandfather of Marcus Junius Brutus. He led one of the two forces against the Germanic tribes, the Teutones, the Cimbri, and Tungri/Marcomanni/Cherusci in the Battle of Arausio in 105 BC, along with then consul, Gnaeus Mallius Maximus.

While marching to Arausio, Caepio plundered the temples of the town of Tolosa, finding over 50,000 15 lb. bars of gold and 10,000 15 lb. bars of silver. The riches of Tolosa were shipped back to Rome, but only the silver made it; the gold was stolen by a band of marauders, who were believed to have been hired by Caepio himself. The Gold of Tolosa was never found, and was said to have been passed all the way down to the last heir of the Servilii Caepiones, Marcus Junius Brutus.

At the Battle of Arausio, Caepio refused to co-operate with his superior officer, consul Gnaeus Mallius Maximus, who was a New Man, not a member of the Roman Elite. Caepio refused to even camp with Maximus and his troops, when it appeared that Maximus was going to reach a treaty and take the glory for the battle, Caepio ordered his men to engage the Germans, and the battle that ensued saw the complete destruction of the Roman army.

Upon his return to Rome, Caepio was tried for "the loss of his Army" by Tribune of the Plebs, Gaius Norbanus. Caepio was convicted, and was given the harshest sentence allowable: he was stripped of his citizenship, forbidden fire and water within eight hundred miles of Rome, fined 15,000 talents (about 825,000 lb) of gold, and forbidden from seeing or speaking to his friends or family until he had left for exile.

Caepio spent the rest of his life in exile in Smyrna in Asia Minor.

http://www.answers.com/topic/quintus-servilius-caepio

Smyrna?! Did he get to meet Santa Claus?

I don't have a favorite heist. I don't celebrate thievery, however sophisticated it might be.

You can still admire how something is done, even if it's against your principles. I admire Hitler's ability to appease the masses - doens't mean I like anything he did.

Hah--my favorite subject--crime.

No discussion of brazen heists would be complete without mentioning the exploits of the 1930's favorite freelancer, John Dillinger.

For more info, check out this superb site http://www.johnniedillinger.freeservers.com/ maintained by Dillinger historian, personal friend and local crime buff Tony Stewart ( not the race car driver). Thanks to Tony for his unending work in getting to the bottom of the many myths and misconceptions about this man. And yes, I admire the guy. If you're gonna be a crook, be a smart and classy one, like Johnnie. Truly he robbed from the rich and gave to the poor.



These are banks John Dillinger and/or the Pierpont gang actually robbed.
They had been carried out without a shot fired, with the exception of Racine and East Chicago.
Any others not noted below are just a guess. Dillinger is thought to have robbed banks in Vandalia, Ohio and Gravel Switch, Kentucky also.

June 17, 1933
Daleville, Ind.
John Dillinger and Harry Copeland.
Net-$3,500

June 21, 1933
New Carlisle Bank
New Carlisle, Ohio
Dillinger, Harry Copeland, possibly Sam Goldstein or Hilton Crouch
Net- $10,000


August 4, 1933
First National Bank
Montpelier, Indiana
Dillinger, Harry Copeland and Sam Goldstein
Net-$10,000

August 14, 1933
Citizens National
Bluffton, Ohio
Dillinger, Copeland and Goldstein
Net- $2,100


Sept. 6, 1933
State Bank of Massachusetts Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana
Dillinger, Copleland and Hilton Crouch
Net- $24,000


October 3, 1933
First National
St. Mary's, Ohio
Harry Pierpont, Charles Makley, John Hamilton and Russell Clark
Net- $14,993


October 23, 1933
Central National
Greencastle, Indiana
Dillinger, Pierpont, Makley, Clark, Hamilton, Copeland, (and two unidentified men)
Net-$75,000 (Dillinger claimed it was only $32,000)

November 20, 1933
American Bank and Trust
Racine, Wisconsin
Dillinger, Pierpont, Makley, Clark and Leslie Homer
Net- $28,000

Janurary 15, 1934
First National
East Chicago, Indiana
Dillinger, Hamilton and unknown third man
Net- $20,000 (Dillinger always stated he didn't rob this bank)

(Edited to add link)