European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 6, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse A a -1 it amp a a a a ?3c to a of a re 1/ i a. No quota a it a it it �4&Quot-�wo�o�iwbfggs�w ii it dem Teroz a Hshi Omsk Barra life Tiu cd Yeaw Dur a Brant s carnival festival m february. Brags Sasa states Quot godfather of the Barra band Quot Rio s gentleman Crook still reaps Century crime by Todd Lewan the associated press t he camera pans in on a luxurious Garden in Rio de Janiero a tanned elderly Man in a sports shirt and Cream coloured Slacks is relaxing in a Garden chair shaded by a Palm tree. The smiling Man lifts a Glass of whiskey takes a sip turns and says Quot there s nothing like a Good Home alarm system when you re on the run. And if it makes me comfortable imagine How Safe you la the Star of this commercial knows his stuff he is Ronald Biggs one of the great train robbers of 1963 to escape the clutches of British lawmen Biggs and 16 other men plundered the Glasgow to London Royal mail train of $7.3 million. Twelve of the bandits were convicted of the crime and sent to prison but Biggs escaped. Five were never caught. Police recovered some of the $7.3 million but it s not Clear what happened to the rest. These Days Biggs is not hard to find a winding cobbled Street up a quiet Hillside leads to his Quot hideout Quot a a colonial apartment with a Terrace and Pool that looks out Over shimmering. Guanabara Bay. Scotland Yard has known the address for 24 years. But Biggs is untouchable a As Long As he keeps his nose clean and stays right where he is. Now a genteel 64, Biggs has worked hard to Craft an image As a working class Robin Hood a charming rogue who foiled his enemies and made off with a ,. Fortune. A Quot i like to think of myself As the last of the gentlemen Crooks Quot says Biggs leaning Back on a leather cushioned Couch and sipping his favorite Tea Twining s Earl Grey. Quot ours was the last decent crime. Compared to the violent Capers of today Why what we did was puff even in his Twilight years he conjures up a contemporary Beau Brummell. He won t use anything but Gucci Cologne and deodorant and Cussons shaving Cream loves oysters and enjoys Only harrods Cheddar cheese. A notorious woman or Biggs is in his third Quot marriage Quot with Ulla Sopher an Argentine. They Call each other husband and Vwe but live in separate houses. Ronald Arthur Biggs was born in in. London. His father was a bus Driver and. Hotel Cook. His Mother a housewife ,. Pampered him and his three older siblings. A Young Ronnie started Quot nicking Quot. Candy from Corner shops in Grade school. At 16, he stole and sold his brother s Gold rolex watch. His adventures landed him in prison six times by his 28th birthday. In 1957, Biggs met his first wife a t8-year-old Charmain Powell a on a train. They married had three sons and Biggs set up a construction firm. The business soured and in 963 Biggs sought out an old prison mat Ebruce Reynolds for a loan the smooth talking Reynolds instead offered him a role in a train robbing scheme they had always dreamed of. There was but one hitch a the injury to Jack Mills 57, the chief Engineer. Mills was struck on the head with a tape wrapped a handle he never fully recovered and died in 1969 of leukaemia. Britain s press said Biggs was the thug who reduced Mills to a Semi vegetable state a a charge he denied. But years later Biggs expressed remorse. Quot i be always Felt bad about Mills Quot he said. Quot i detest any kind of violence even a Bop on the a jury gave him the maximum 30-year sentence but he scaled the Wall of the Wandsworth prison with three other inmates on july 8,1965. A. It began an Odyssey that would Lake. A him to Paris where ire had a face lift l and took on a new identity to Australia where he settled three separate time Sunder three aliases with his wife and children. A. A. ,. Finally with Scotland Yard dosing in on him he left his family behind and made a last minute escape aboard a luxury liner to Panama he arrived a virtually broke a in Rio on March 11, 1970. British authorities finally found him in 1974, but Brazil had never signed an extradition treaty with Britain. Also Biggs brazilian mistress a a 23-year-Oid waitress and Call girl a became pregnant which protected him under a Law that bars the deportation of the father of a dependent brazilian child. In 1981 two. Men claiming to be a journalists jumped Biggs blindfolded and gagged him and threw him in Canvas sack. A Learjet flew him to the Amazon port City of Belem where he was put on a yacht that set sail for Barbados. Then another Lucky stroke the Barbados parliament had not voted on an extradition treaty with Britain and Biggs was returned to Brazil. The a. Episode turned Biggs into a cult figure. Cl0$eltcd<$k. Al million Dollar chief has million Dollar Mouth by Todd Lewan the associated press Ronald Biggs is Best known As the great train robber who got away. But what really sets him apart from other Crooks is his Mouth. For years Biggs was legally prohibited from holding a Job. But he was such a smooth charismatic talker he made a comfortable living simply by promoting himself As a lovable thief. Quot i make Money the old fashioned Way now a Biggs says. Quot Good Carioca a Rio residents a love him. In their Delight with nicknames they have dubbed him the greatest train robber riots Sundance kid and sir Ronnie the thief. Biggs pops up often in gossip columns with soap opera starlets opining on riots Samba school Champion or the social Impact of the latest shrinkage of riots already microscopic Bikini. Several nights a week he spins yarns of his escape in a local bar. Talk Isnit cheap. He gets a percentage of the House take travel agencies hand out walking tour maps of Biggs favorite drinking places. Flip to channels and there a Ronnie outlawing a talk show Host or giving gardening tips Biggs has starred in several to commercials plugging Swiss door locks Coffee and Home alarm systems he even played a bit part in a to movie about his life a film that netted him a tidy Royalty. His Best scam comes from travel agencies who arrange for foreign tourists to have lunch with the great train robber at his Home a at $50 a head. Biggs throws a few steaks and sausages on the Barbecue cracks open a few liners of rum f and whiskey has a few girls dance a Samba around the Pool and spins yarns of his famed flight. In november Brazil rejected Biggs request for permanent residency but allowed Biggs to marry adopt a child and travel out of Rio state. And he s Safe from deportation at least until his son Michael turns 21 in two years time. What will he do then a was Long As Mike is in school he a legally my dependent a a Biggs says. Quot who knows maybe hell become a professional Biggs Downs with his son Michael in 1993
