10 True Crime Stories That NEED A Netflix Documentary

When it comes to crimes rich in derring-do, particularly gentlemanly heists and prison escapes, no one does it like the French. Mesrine and Papillon are the nation’s headline acts, but high up on France’s list of criminal cult heroes is Albert Spaggiari, a bank robber extraordinaire who even the most strident fans of law and order could hardly fail to admire.

Spaggiari cut his teeth during the Algerian war, where he joined an anti-de Galle quasi-terrorist organisation that saw him serve time. Hardened against the state, on release he began his real criminal career.

His most notable exploit was the robbery of a major bank in Nice. A long term operation, the heist saw Spaggiari and his crew dig an eight meter tunnel up through the sewers and into the bank’s vault. Once in, they managed the most profitable bank robbery to date.

Things slowed down for Spaggiari from there - he was arrested, escaped prison, fled to Argentina, and vanished from the face of the earth. He died mysteriously in 1989, but was a keen enough storyteller and self aggrandiser that there’s plenty of information around which to build a narrative.