MASTER-THIEF DEAD

New Zealand Times, Volume L, Issue 11685, 24 November 1923, Page 14

MASTER-THIEF DEAD

STORY OF GREAT PEARL COUP HOW A CLEVER “CROOK’ S GREW RIGII, . Few stories of the criminal world portray a more amazing and sinister figure than that of Joseph Kamni Grizard, the famous jewel crook, who has died from diabetes and tuberculosis at his home in Amherst road, Hackney. A year ago Grizard was sentenced to ' twelve months’ imprisonment, and the judge stated then that if it had not been for the man’s ill-health . the sen- * tence would have been penal servitude. He had been released from prison only 1 a few weeks when death came. | From 'his appearance no one could ' have suspected that 'Grizard was one - of the cleverest criminals in the world. , He was fifty-six years of -age when he i died, of medium height, with iron-grey , hair, and bore that sleek, well-washed ; appearance that usually is described as ’ “gentlemanly,” with a refined manner " and cultured diction. Grizard will best be remembered l as . associated with the robbery of tho £136,000 pearl necklace belonging to , the late Mr Max Mayer, of Hatton , Garden. The robbery took place in 1913, and eventually some of the pearls were picked up in a matchbox from the gutter at Islington by a North London piano tuner named Horne, after Grizard) and his accomplices had been arrested. ■ Home tried to trade some of the ■'pearls, and when he went to the police they laughed at him at first, never 1 having heard of pearls as hig as marbles. An interesting fact which has not previously been revealed is that this liistorio necklace, probably without peer, was sold by Mr Max Mayer in 1916 to a well-known United States citizen, in whose possession it still is. Grizard received seven years’ penal servitude for his share in the robbery, but what his share in the robbery really was has only been revealed for the first time to a “Sunday Chronicle” reporter by Grizard’s son. SON’S STORY. “Many accounts of the coup have been given inaccurately,” he said, “and I will tell the ‘Suuday Chronicle’ the truth, from. my recollection of the case. > ■ .“The seals of the package containing tlie necklace were broken, and the pearls were abstracted in London. My father was staying at the Hotel Nouville, in Paris, at the tiirfc, so it is not correct to say that he tricked a postman and obtained the pocket. “As a matter of fact, the man who actually planned the theft and opened the case is still at large. He was and is known to the police as a master crook, but they were unable to touch him owing to lack of evidence—they are so bound by the present legal code. “The men who stood in the dock with my father were only catspaws, but they refused to give any information. My fathefi entered the case when he returned from Paris on the nigiit of the day the loss was announced in the Press. That I can state positively was his first intimation of the theft. ‘ ‘Meanwhile the thieves had approached a firm of agents, who said they would try and fix a deal. They went, however, straight to the underwriters, told them what they knew, and claimed the £IO,OOO reward. TRAPPED. “On the advice of the underwriters the agents communicated again with the thieves, saving they would find a purchaser and arranging for all parties to meet. “Before the date of that appointment the agents approached my father, who agreed to buy tlie pearls at a huge price, though not, of course, their real value. , “The parties duly met, and over tea I think it was the deal was arranged. The necklace had been broken, as is the custom of jewel thieves, and at the meeting only three or four of tlie pearls changed hands, several thousand franc notes being actually paid across the table. ‘‘Then the infoiraers having done their work, the police stepped in and made their ariests. “My father’s part was that of the receiver of the stolen goods, not that of the man 'behind the coup.. He was very well known in the purlieus of Hatton Garden. “'His method of working was not as it has been described. He had no •fixed business address, and certainly fio telephone. He worked entirely alone, transacting his business in tlie cafes and hotels around Hatton Garden. “That is the truth,” put in Mrs Grizard. “My husband, although ho was a big, strong man, contracted consumption and diabetes in prison. When he came out he was a wreck, and in spite of insulin treatment he gradually sank and died a little while ago.” SPOILED GEM. During the years he spent in prison Grizard’® behaviour was a model of rectitude, but his subsequent history showed that the punishment had not the slightest effect on him. He could al- j ways find a market for valuable gems where no questions were asked and oash was ready. In the courso of his picturesque career ho handled thousands of pounds, 'and probably had a hand in almost every parcel of plunder which reached Hatton Garden. Returning to Hatton Garden after his imprisonment, lie began trading again..None of the reputable dealers would have anything to do .with him, but that did not worry Grizard. In tho famous case of the pearl robbery hi® bank account was investigated, with disastrous results to himself, and afterwards he refrained from ever drawing cheques in his own name. He never dealt in rubbish, and one of the cardinal iules he laid down to his intimates was that it was no use bringing cheap stuff to him. He was able to borrow conveniently any sum of money he wanted, and very often his transactions ran into thousands of j pounds. On one occasion no less than ' £3OOO was drawn in Treasury notes to pay one man who negotiated a difficult j sale for him. 1 His imprisonment lost year was due J to his dealing with, a large diamond , which was easily recognised by a black ] spot in the centre. lie succeeded in selling it in Antwerp, but it was traced back to him. Ilad it not been 1 for that, the series of frauds which he I was then running, by which valuable ‘ gems were coming into his hands, might have gone on for a long while. J In- later years Grizard had represen- , tative®, often women, who beted for i him with swell thieves, while lie re- j mained a shadowy unknown figure in t the background. Years of successful exploits brought e Grizard wealth, and at his death it is j presumed that lie must have been * worth £30,000 or more. *