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| Six Men Are Sentenced in Record Jewelry Theft in London | Six Men Are Sentenced in Record Jewelry Theft in London |
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| LONDON — They have been called the Diamond Geezers and the Bad Grandpas: four thieves in their 60s and 70s who used diamond-tipped drills to break into a safe deposit company in London and make off with plastic garbage bins stuffed with $20 million in gems, gold and cash. | LONDON — They have been called the Diamond Geezers and the Bad Grandpas: four thieves in their 60s and 70s who used diamond-tipped drills to break into a safe deposit company in London and make off with plastic garbage bins stuffed with $20 million in gems, gold and cash. |
| In a case that prosecutors have called the greatest burglary in English history, three of the ringleaders — Daniel Jones, 61; Terrence Perkins, 67; and John Collins, 75 — were each sentenced to seven years in prison on Wednesday at a court in southeast London. | In a case that prosecutors have called the greatest burglary in English history, three of the ringleaders — Daniel Jones, 61; Terrence Perkins, 67; and John Collins, 75 — were each sentenced to seven years in prison on Wednesday at a court in southeast London. |
| Brian Reader, 77, another ringleader, whom the others called The Master, is in a prison hospital after having had a stroke and is expected to be sentenced at a later date. All four had pleaded guilty. | Brian Reader, 77, another ringleader, whom the others called The Master, is in a prison hospital after having had a stroke and is expected to be sentenced at a later date. All four had pleaded guilty. |
| Three other men — Hugh Doyle, 48; William Lincoln, 50; and Carl Wood, 58 — played lesser roles, including helping to either store, transfer or conceal the stolen valuables. On Wednesday, Mr. Lincoln was sentenced to seven years in jail, and Mr. Wood to six years, while Mr. Doyle received a suspended sentence. | Three other men — Hugh Doyle, 48; William Lincoln, 50; and Carl Wood, 58 — played lesser roles, including helping to either store, transfer or conceal the stolen valuables. On Wednesday, Mr. Lincoln was sentenced to seven years in jail, and Mr. Wood to six years, while Mr. Doyle received a suspended sentence. |
| Around Easter last year, members of the white-haired gang slid down an elevator shaft at Hatton Garden Safe Deposit Ltd. in London’s diamond district. Once inside, they disabled the alarm system and bored three large holes through about 20 inches of reinforced concrete. Over four days — including a two-day break to buy a hydraulic pump — they ransacked 73 safe deposit boxes. | Around Easter last year, members of the white-haired gang slid down an elevator shaft at Hatton Garden Safe Deposit Ltd. in London’s diamond district. Once inside, they disabled the alarm system and bored three large holes through about 20 inches of reinforced concrete. Over four days — including a two-day break to buy a hydraulic pump — they ransacked 73 safe deposit boxes. |
| As the judge read out their sentences, the three ringleaders, several of them using electronic hearing aids, were individually asked to stand up in a glass enclosure at the back of the court. | As the judge read out their sentences, the three ringleaders, several of them using electronic hearing aids, were individually asked to stand up in a glass enclosure at the back of the court. |
| Mr. Jones, wearing a plum-colored sweater, stared ahead blankly. “Thank you, judge,” he said, after the sentence was read out. | Mr. Jones, wearing a plum-colored sweater, stared ahead blankly. “Thank you, judge,” he said, after the sentence was read out. |
| The men appeared resigned but shuffled uncomfortably in their seats. As he was led out of court, Mr. Jones blew a kiss to relatives in the gallery. | The men appeared resigned but shuffled uncomfortably in their seats. As he was led out of court, Mr. Jones blew a kiss to relatives in the gallery. |
| Judge Christopher Kinch said the burglary had stood out for the scale of its ambition and the value of the property stolen. “This must rank among the worst offenses of its type,” he said. | Judge Christopher Kinch said the burglary had stood out for the scale of its ambition and the value of the property stolen. “This must rank among the worst offenses of its type,” he said. |
| The case, which captivated Britain and made headlines around the world, presented two contrasting narratives. The defense sought to portray the gang as pill-popping, doddering old men, with ailments such as diabetes and bladder-control problems, who had engaged in a nonviolent folly. They were so inept, defense lawyers argued, that they had used the book “Forensics for Dummies” to help prepare for their crime. | The case, which captivated Britain and made headlines around the world, presented two contrasting narratives. The defense sought to portray the gang as pill-popping, doddering old men, with ailments such as diabetes and bladder-control problems, who had engaged in a nonviolent folly. They were so inept, defense lawyers argued, that they had used the book “Forensics for Dummies” to help prepare for their crime. |
| But the prosecution depicted the men as ruthless and selfish criminals who, the police said, had wanted to sweeten their “pension pots” and were robust enough to wield heavy power tools. Mr. Reader, prosecutors said, had been a close associate of Kenneth Noye, one of Britain’s most dangerous gangsters who is serving a life sentence for a 1996 murder. Prosecutors said Mr. Reader had teamed up with Mr. Noye to help launder $40 million in stolen gold after a theft at Heathrow Airport in 1983, known as the Brinks-Mat robbery. | But the prosecution depicted the men as ruthless and selfish criminals who, the police said, had wanted to sweeten their “pension pots” and were robust enough to wield heavy power tools. Mr. Reader, prosecutors said, had been a close associate of Kenneth Noye, one of Britain’s most dangerous gangsters who is serving a life sentence for a 1996 murder. Prosecutors said Mr. Reader had teamed up with Mr. Noye to help launder $40 million in stolen gold after a theft at Heathrow Airport in 1983, known as the Brinks-Mat robbery. |
| Mr. Perkins also has a long criminal record. He participated in a notorious robbery, also in 1983, in which a hooded gang with sawed-off shotguns stole about $8.6 million in cash from a London security company. | Mr. Perkins also has a long criminal record. He participated in a notorious robbery, also in 1983, in which a hooded gang with sawed-off shotguns stole about $8.6 million in cash from a London security company. |
| The police also emphasized on Wednesday that the gang had ruined the lives of dozens of victims who had kept their life savings in the safe deposit company. Craig Turner, head of the police unit that investigated the case, warned the public not to feel sorry for the perpetrators. “They are all callous career criminals,” he said. | The police also emphasized on Wednesday that the gang had ruined the lives of dozens of victims who had kept their life savings in the safe deposit company. Craig Turner, head of the police unit that investigated the case, warned the public not to feel sorry for the perpetrators. “They are all callous career criminals,” he said. |
| The defense, however, maintained that the thieves were being unfairly treated as dangerous criminals, held in a high-security prison with only about 30 minutes a day to exercise. “It is a comedy,” Mr. Doyle, a plumber who has been out on bail, said in an interview outside the courtroom before the sentencing, referring to the fact that he had spent six months in a prison that is also used to hold terrorists. | |
| Members of the gang were plucky and eccentric, the jury heard during the trial. Mr. Jones wore a fez and sometimes slept in his mother’s dressing gown, alongside his dog, Rocket. Mr. Lincoln was known by the others as Billy the Fish, after a character in a comic strip, because he made extra cash by supplying seafood to his friends. | Members of the gang were plucky and eccentric, the jury heard during the trial. Mr. Jones wore a fez and sometimes slept in his mother’s dressing gown, alongside his dog, Rocket. Mr. Lincoln was known by the others as Billy the Fish, after a character in a comic strip, because he made extra cash by supplying seafood to his friends. |
| While the gang members had long criminal records, during their trial they often came across as bumbling and ill prepared. The crew learned to use their high-tech drills by watching YouTube. Mr. Reader took a bus to the robbery, using his free pass for seniors. The men also continued to use their cellphones and cars weeks after the crime, making it easy for the police to track them. And they hid some of the stolen goods under a gravestone in a Victorian cemetery in North London. | While the gang members had long criminal records, during their trial they often came across as bumbling and ill prepared. The crew learned to use their high-tech drills by watching YouTube. Mr. Reader took a bus to the robbery, using his free pass for seniors. The men also continued to use their cellphones and cars weeks after the crime, making it easy for the police to track them. And they hid some of the stolen goods under a gravestone in a Victorian cemetery in North London. |
| “This was a 1980s team taking on 21st-century law enforcement,” Peter Rowlands, Mr. Perkins’s defense attorney, said in court. | “This was a 1980s team taking on 21st-century law enforcement,” Peter Rowlands, Mr. Perkins’s defense attorney, said in court. |
| The gang also made one big and amateurish mistake: They bragged about what they had done — often in expletive-laced Cockney rhyming slang. Their boasts were picked up by bugs that the police had installed in their cars, which officers had tracked after security cameras near the safe deposit company had recorded their license plates. Lip readers working for Scotland Yard also recorded their boasts at a pub. | The gang also made one big and amateurish mistake: They bragged about what they had done — often in expletive-laced Cockney rhyming slang. Their boasts were picked up by bugs that the police had installed in their cars, which officers had tracked after security cameras near the safe deposit company had recorded their license plates. Lip readers working for Scotland Yard also recorded their boasts at a pub. |
| Prosecutors said that about two-thirds of the valuables had not yet been recovered and that the sentences of the thieves could be extended at a hearing next year if they did not pay back what they had stolen. | Prosecutors said that about two-thirds of the valuables had not yet been recovered and that the sentences of the thieves could be extended at a hearing next year if they did not pay back what they had stolen. |
| Also casting a shadow over the case is the mystery of a fifth ringleader, called Basil, who the police suspect disabled the alarm and who is still at large. Basil’s lanky frame and distinctive red hair were captured by a security camera during the burglary, though the red hair may have been a wig. | Also casting a shadow over the case is the mystery of a fifth ringleader, called Basil, who the police suspect disabled the alarm and who is still at large. Basil’s lanky frame and distinctive red hair were captured by a security camera during the burglary, though the red hair may have been a wig. |
| In February, Mr. Jones wrote a letter to Sky News saying Basil was “the brains” of the operation and describing him as a former police officer who was involved in private security. Mr. Jones said that he did not know Basil’s true identity, and that he would not reveal it even if he did. | In February, Mr. Jones wrote a letter to Sky News saying Basil was “the brains” of the operation and describing him as a former police officer who was involved in private security. Mr. Jones said that he did not know Basil’s true identity, and that he would not reveal it even if he did. |
| The police are concerned that Basil may have fled the country with millions of dollars in stolen valuables, and Scotland Yard on Wednesday renewed its offer of 20,000 pounds, or about $28,500, for information leading to his arrest. | The police are concerned that Basil may have fled the country with millions of dollars in stolen valuables, and Scotland Yard on Wednesday renewed its offer of 20,000 pounds, or about $28,500, for information leading to his arrest. |
| Philip Evans, the leading prosecutor, noted in an interview that the case had sometimes seemed like a cross between “Dad’s Army,” a BBC comedy series about aging Home Guard soldiers during World War II, and the movie “Ocean’s Eleven.” | Philip Evans, the leading prosecutor, noted in an interview that the case had sometimes seemed like a cross between “Dad’s Army,” a BBC comedy series about aging Home Guard soldiers during World War II, and the movie “Ocean’s Eleven.” |
| The audacity of the crime, Mr. Evans said, was “exceptional.” | The audacity of the crime, Mr. Evans said, was “exceptional.” |