THE GENTLEMAN THIEF

Vincenzo Pipino, an Italian thief who was born in Venice, is a modern example of the gentleman thief. Like Robin Hood, he only stole from the rich. In fact, he wouldn’t even steal broken watches or other items that were in need of repair because doing so might affect the livelihoods of the repairmen. Pipino was a true lover of his city and always made sure that the art pieces he stole would never leave Venice. He did that by returning them to their rightful owners for a ransom. For a thief, he was surprisingly moral and clean—he never used violence or blackmail, and he tried to make as little of a mess as possible while he was robbing someone. It is said that he would even empty sugar bowls out onto a kitchen towel instead of just dumping the sugar straight onto the table or the floor. Most importantly, Pipino is the only person to successfully steal from the Doge’s Palace. His method of doing so was surprisingly easy and involved little more than patience. On October 9, 1991, Pipino entered the palace with a group of tourists. He lagged behind the group, and while they were busy admiring art, he slipped into a cell in the palace’s connected prison to wait for nightfall. Since Pipino knew the exact time the guards would make their rounds, he waited for them to pass and then slipped back into the palace. He simply took the painting Madonna col Bambino off the wall. Finally, he left the palace through a side door.