"David Desclos talks like what he was: a pro who knew how to make alarms go quiet. In an interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday just outside I.M. Pei's glass pyramid, the reformed burglar said he flagged the gallery's windows and nearby display cases years ago, after the Louvre invited him to the Apollo Gallery to weigh in for its 2020 in-house podcast about a historic 1792 theft."
""Have you seen those windows? They're a piece of cake. You can imagine anything - people in disguise, slipping in through the windows," he said, recounting that he told a senior official involved in the Louvre's podcast production - not the museum director - about the risk. "Through the windows - even from the roofs - there are plenty of ways in.""
"Then came Sunday's heist. Authorities say two thieves in high-visibility jackets smashed through a window of the Apollo Gallery and used power tools to cut open cases. Eight crown-jewel items - valued in some reports at more than $100 million - disappeared in minutes. A ninth piece, Empress Eugénie's diamond-studded crown, was found on the ground outside the museum, damaged but salvageable. Two suspects have been arrested; others remain at large."
Two thieves entered the Apollo Gallery by smashing a window and used power tools to cut open cases, making off with eight crown-jewel items within minutes. A ninth item, Empress Eugénie's diamond-studded crown, was recovered damaged outside the museum. Several suspects remain at large while two have been arrested. A reformed bank robber who had been invited to the museum for a 2020 podcast warned years earlier that streetside windows and nearby display cases were easy to exploit and cited timing, rehearsed choreography and a 2019 overhaul as security weak points. Reported value of the stolen items exceeds $100 million.
Read at ABC7 Los Angeles
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