An alleged member of organized crime had his luxury watch of several thousand euros in Saint-Tropez (Var) were robbed on Sunday 10 August. The suspects were arrested less than an hour after the facts.
Ironically, fate for Joseph Menconi. The emblematic figure of vans robbery in the 1990s-2000 was shirked its luxury watch last Sunday in Saint-Tropez (Var). Four defendants, prosecuted for “organized gang flight”, appeared at the Draguignan court on Thursday, August 14.
According to information from our colleagues from the Parisian, the facts occurred on the Place des Lices while the retirement criminal participated in a charity pétanque competition. His watch Richard Mille, worth more than 100,000 euros, was violently torn off.
The suspects, four Neapolitans alleged members of organized gangs, were apprehended 45 minutes later in a McDonald’s in Sainte-Maxime.
Among them, only Salvatore, Mariano, and Pietro, all approaching thirty, recognized the facts in court. Mauricio, 68, including thirty years behind bars, denied any involvement.
45 minutes of run
While the DNA of one of the suspects had already been identified last year after the flight of a watch, still in Saint-Tropez, a Mexican tourist, Salvatore was precisely sought for acts committed in Cannes (Alpes-Maritimes) last May.
The group had used false identities to rent two vehicles, including a T-Max scooter, and an Airbnb accommodation located in the arcs, in the hinterland rather than on the coast.
A thief admitted to having “made a big stupidity”, while apologizing, with his two accomplices, “with the French Republic, and with the gentleman”, referring to Joseph Menconi, supposed member of the Corsican mafia gang of the sea breeze. The latter, known to murders, robberies and money laundering, made the island of beauty and France tremble.
The robber, who formed a civil party, took advantage of the deliberation to exchange in Italian with his attackers in a relaxed atmosphere. “What do you want. With the life I had, it is normal that I have trouble for them, “he said.
The Draguignan prosecutor, Pierre Couttenier, required and obtained the placement in pre -trial detention of the four Neapolitans before their trial scheduled for October.
An increase in snatched flights since the start of the summer
This snatching flight has registered in a series of similar assaults in the Gulf of Saint-Tropez since the start of the summer. A Swedish film producer had also targeted by an attempted theft on Friday August 8, still in Saint-Tropez. He had nevertheless managed to escape the two individuals who tried to tear off his watch estimated at 300,000 euros, with the help of his VTC driver.
In response, the prefect of the Var has announced the exceptional CRS reinforcement since Tuesday August 12 to patrol the streets of the city alongside a team already reinforced since the start of the season.
“31 gendarmes have been positioned in reinforcement since the start of the summer season, in particular 13 additional soldiers detached for the benefit of the Saint-Tropez brigade, which are added to the 115 enrollment of the Gassin-Sant-Tropez gendarmerie company,” he said in a statement.
A specialized survey group (GHG) was also trained in the research brigade, specifically responsible for investigations concerning these flights with violence.
