‘GENTLEMAN BURGLAR.’ AN AMAZING RECORD.
FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT. PARIS, Tuesday.
Full details of the past of Serge de Lenz, the “gentleman burglar,” are now available, and they make an amazing story worthy of the creators of “Arsène Lupin” and “Raffles.” He belongs to a highly honourable family, who live in the Boulevard Bineau at Neuilly and figure in the annual reference book “Tout Paris,” from which he took the names and addresses of his prospective victims. This elegantly-dressed and monocled burglar actually lived with his parents, who, though he had given them trouble in the past, and had, in fact, been denied the house, were unaware of the double life he was leading. He had been taken back as a prodigal son, a position was found for him in the motor industry, and, to make things run smoothly, his father made him an allowance. But it was not sufficient to enable him to hire a motor-car at 4,000f a month, to frequent the most expensive restaurants, and to keep mistresses. So Serge de Lenz, in order to satisfy his expensive tastes, became, to quote his own description of himself, “an aristocratic burglar.”
His extraordinary career may well attract the attention of psychologists and criminologists, for he is a criminal of a new genre. Not only his appearance but his speech and gestures convey the impression that he is a young man of ultra-refinement. And there is this peculiarity about him – he glories in the rôle he has played. With gusto he has told the police of his exploits, speaking of them as though they were achievements to be proud of. He has kept nothing back, even racking his memory to complete the list of burglaries he has committed. But he was silent on his past. The police have turned up his record. It is a bad one, dating from his youth. In 1914 he was sentenced to ten months’ imprisonment for theft. In 1916 he was fined for theft and assault, and sentenced by a courtmartial to five years’ imprisonment for theft, desertion, forgery, and falsifying passports. Again in the following year a court-martial sentenced him to two years’ imprisonment for desertion. In this same year sentences of six months and three years were imposed upon him for theft. In 1920 he reappeared and was sentenced to three years and forbidden to reside in Paris tor a period of five years, but was released on an amnesty bill being passed.
He made the most of his name in pursuing his career of crime. At Nice, Pau, and Ostend he was to be found in the best circles, and when he disappeared jewels, objects of art, and furs were missing. At one address in Paris two years ago two trunks filled with these articles were discovered. They had been stolen by Serge de Lenz, and it was for this theft that the he received his seventh and last sentence, which he did not serve, thanks to the Government measure of clemency.
Thenceforward the “gentleman burglar” led a gay life with his women. He even confesses to having robbed one of the women of the class with which he associated of her jewels, and confirms the statement that the total value of the articles he has stolen during hie career is 2,000,000f. But he did not enjoy all the profits; the receivers of stolen goods get the lion’s share. He has a grudge against them, and has given the addresses of several to the police. At the house of one woman who styled herself a comtesse, a large number of articles which the police suspect to have been stolen were discovered. She denies having received stolen property, and declares that she is a victim of the burglar. A jeweller indicated by De Lenz M has confessed that he bought jewels, silver articles, statuettes, and bronzes from him. He has been arrested.