Italy: Gang of Thieves in Their Sixties and Seventies Arrested
Italian police have arrested a gang of six thieves in their sixties and seventies known in the criminal world in Rome for their persistence in carrying out a series of armed robberies on post offices in the city.
The gang is led by two individuals, one being 70-year-old “Italo Di Vito,” nicknamed “The German,” who gained notoriety in the mid-1990s after a complex bank robbery, and the other being a 75-year-old who plays the role of the lookout.
It is alleged that a 68-year-old partner is the main person responsible for carrying out the robberies, while a 66-year-old was tasked with obtaining exact copies of the keys to the back doors of the targeted post offices.
In some locations, two construction workers in their early fifties were digging holes in walls, working throughout the night or on weekends to facilitate the thieves’ entry.
Reports indicate that the gang was responsible for stealing nearly 200,000 euros from a post office in the San Giovanni area in May of last year. Two members, armed with rifles, entered through the back door and threatened an employee who was loading money into an ATM.
According to the Italian newspaper “La Repubblica,” a planned robbery by the gang was thwarted because a 66-year-old member was suffering from an enlarged prostate and needed surgery.
The series of robberies, documented by cameras, ended after a failed robbery attempt at a post office in the Don Bosco area, where the six were arrested on charges of armed robbery.
Reports suggest that the alleged thieves have been known to police as members of the criminal world in the Italian capital for a long time. In 1995, “Di Vito” held 15 employees hostage at gunpoint after entering a branch of “Credito Italiano” using a set of duplicated keys during the staff’s lunch break, leaving with 210 million Italian lire.
