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Fri 10 Jun, 2005 11:34 pm
Germany's 'Grandpa Gang' of elderly bank robbers convicted, get 9 to 12 years
at 8:19 on June 10, 2005, EST.
HAGEN, Germany (AP) - A German court on Friday found three elderly men, known as the "Grandpa Gang," guilty of bank robbery and sentenced them each to between nine and 12 years in prison.
The oldest man, Rudolf Richter, 74, was sentenced to nine years in prison, while 73-year-old Wilfried Ackermann received a 10-year sentence. Both men had confessed to taking part in the robberies when their trial opened last month.
The third member, 64-year-old Lother Ackermann, who did not enter a plea, was sentenced to 12 years.
Prosecutors had alleged the trio robbed 14 German banks over 16 years, stealing the equivalent of more than $1.23 million US.
They were certainly old enough to know better.
I wonder what drove them to it? Boredom? Needed excitement? Greed? Or, really did need the money? Seems like an awful lot of it over an extended period of time.
Quote: I wonder what drove them to it?
Bottom line--they wanted the money.
I'd bet that the defense attorneys were lyrical about putting these grandfatherly types in jail to die.
The robbers said they needed the money because they had not been able to save up bigger pensions.
And the defence lawyers said the men were relieved about their terms and would apply in a few years for parole.
Hmm, I think if they had played it smart, they should have quit much sooner than later. $1.23 million should be enough for the 3 of them. Heck, a fraction of that.
I guess it was the "let's pull one more job" routine that did them in.
Walter--
Were weapons involved?
We've had a spate of local bank robberies by young, not-too-empathetic, louts who think "I wouldna shot the gun" testimony after the fact should absolve them of jail time.
The story hasn't received much air or paper time here. I guess the photos are from German papers?
Well, I'm not going to send them cakes with lockpicks baked inside or land a helicopter in the prison yard to rescue them.
I wonder if they've got any loot stashed away?
400,000 Euros were found.
Well, and although the story sounds a bit harmless - people who had been in the bank offices during the armed robberies thought different.
(All had a criminal carreer - one even since 40 years, btw.)
Agreed. Armed robbery is never harmless. I'm sure that there is no sympathy for this trio of thieves.
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