Thief tells police to ignore alarms

The CBC reports that a robbery at a British Columbia art gallery was ignored because the thieves called in advance and told people to ignore the alarm.

Sewers of Gold

The Times has an article about a gang of thieves in Rome who were caught trying to tunnel into a bank from the sewers.

When police made arrests yesterday the secret of the gang apparently emerged —- one of those in custody is Salvatore Oliva, the former head of the drains and sewage department for Naples city council.

His knowledge is alleged to have enabled the thieves to melt away into the underground labyrinth of dank, dripping and malodorous tunnels beneath the streets.

Two Picassos stolen in Brazil

Reuters reports that two Picassos have been stolen in an armed robbery in Sao Paulo.

They made off with the Spanish artist's 1963 print "The Painter and the Model" and "Minotaur, Drinker and Women" from 1933, the state culture secretariat said.

They also snatched the print "Couple" by Brazilian artist Lasar Segall (1891-1957) and the painting "Women in a Window" by fellow Brazilian Emiliano Di Cavalcanti (1897-1976).

Yahoo News reports that the paintings were worth over half a million dollars.