StarbucksAddict
March 10th, 2003, 2:00pm
Police say man who swallowed $37,500 gem has yielded loot
March 8, 2003
BY FRANK MAIN CRIME REPORTER - Chicago Sun-Times
He said he was shopping for a diamond for his girlfriend.
But Peter J. Mannix didn't leave the store Monday with a gem in a pretty velvet box. It was in his stomach, after he swallowed a three-carat diamond priced around $37,500, police said.
He was caught and left the shop in handcuffs. Investigators had been waiting ever since for the loot to make its way through his intestinal tract.
Mannix--who allegedly gulped down the stone at a shop on Jewelers Row, at 5 S. Wabash, while trying to switch it with a fake--finally gave up the gem Friday morning, officials said.
He is charged with felony theft.
Although police do not believe Mannix is a professional jewel thief, there has been an unusual rash of such heists in Chicago.
Five diamonds--valued from $26,000 to $65,000--have been swiped in the last nine months from stores on Jewelers Row and the Near North Side, a detective source said. The $26,000 stone was taken last week from an Oak Street jeweler.
Among the alleged thieves Chicago police are seeking is Nordine Herrina, who was on the FBI's Most Wanted List. Herrina, who allegedly poses as "Prince Khalid of Saudi," is believed to be in France, which will not extradite him, the source said. He is a suspect in a jewel theft here about five years ago, officials said.
Detectives said the cases show that clerks need to exercise more caution in showing their wares to customers. "They lose sight of security in their rush to sell a diamond," the source said.
Mannix, 40, of Des Plaines, was arrested at 1:45 p.m. Monday. He was handling a diamond, pretended to cough and handed the clerk back a cubic zirconium, police said. The clerk called police and locked the doors.
After he was arrested, Mannix complained of abdominal pain and was taken to Mercy Hospital and Medical Center, where an X-ray showed the diamond in his intestines. He was returned to the Central District lockup.
Mannix was convicted of theft of services in 1985, records show. He was arrested on the same charge last year for allegedly failing to pay a cabbie $62 after a taxi ride, but the case was dropped.
Police did not give Mannix a laxative because a doctor told them it could create medical problems for him. All week, officers poked through his bowel movements, but they did not find the gem until 7:50 a.m. Friday.
"Some courageous volunteers went beyond the call of duty," said Sgt. Joseph Petrenko, an Area 4 detective. "They should get a big 'attaboy.' "
For those familiar with the three C's of jewelry--cut, clarity and carat--the diamond was a "round brilliant" with a color grade of G and VS2 clarity, Petrenko said.
"Some lucky woman is going to have that on her finger some day," said David Bayless, a police spokesman. "As they say, diamonds are a girl's best friend."
------------------------------------------------------------------
John Kass - Chicago Tribune
As Slyder tales go, this 1 turns out to be a gem
Published March 9, 2003
Aveteran Chicago cop called with a tip in the Case of the Immovable Stone.
"The eagle has landed," he announced.
Loyal readers know the case involves a stolen $40,000 diamond, the fool who swallowed it last week, and sacks of White Castle burgers used by police in hope of solving the crime.
"Here's a follow-up," the cop said Friday. "The eagle landed at 0745 this morning. The offender released the diamond."
You know what he means.
Police officials confirmed it and said Peter Mannix, 40, of Des Plaines, was charged with felony theft. He did it to impress a woman, they said.
Were there any words of contrition or cries of pain?
"The report did not indicate any pain," said a police spokesman. "But I don't think he got hemorrhoids. And the jewel was recovered."
So the $40,000 jewelry robbery was solved, although strangely, police now say the 3-carat gem is valued at only $37,500.
That's amazing. I thought that diamonds with fascinating criminal histories only increase in value.
"Usually, yes," said my friend Moshe, a diamond merchant. "But in this case, I don't think so."
Wouldn't a bride-to-be relish telling her friends all about her special diamond?
Just to make sure, we called the victim of the theft, Tucker Inc. Jeweler, at 5 S. Wabash Ave.
"No comment, no comment!" said a gentleman with a high-pitched voice.
Another reporter talked to a Mr. Tucker, who said he didn't want publicity. When we called back to speak to him, the angry high-pitched voice guy answered instead.
"Sir! If you call here again, I'm going to call the police!"
Mannix had been kept in the lockup for days, the diamond stubbornly lodged in his intestine. This infuriated a police officer whose job it was to search for evidence at least three times a day.
Doctors prohibited police from using laxatives for fear of hurting Mannix. But they allowed tasty treats.
So the ingenious Central District cops fed him sacks of those delicious White Castle Slyders. It worked.
I called White Castle corporate headquarters to congratulate them, and to nominate Mannix to the White Castle "Cravers Hall of Fame."
Corporate bosses said that if the public supports his nomination on their Web site, Mannix might be their man of the year.
"We've been in Chicago since 1928," said Jamie Richardson, national marketing director for White Castle. "And because we've been in Chicago so long, we're not at all surprised at the resourcefulness of the Chicago police force.
"And we're so happy that we could be helpful," he said, poignantly.
I had my doubts that White Castle Slyders would work. And to my everlasting shame, I asked readers to send in their own food-related remedies to dislodge the diamond.
I betrayed you, I told Richardson. I betrayed the Slyder craver's code. Forgive me, please, I cried.
"Don't feel sad," he said. "Don't worry about it. We know you're a craver."
So many readers put on chef-detective hats and sent in home remedies to dislodge the diamond that I can't possibly list them all.
Sean Casey, a young golf nut from the western suburbs, suggested 11 pints of Guinness and a large gyros sandwich.
"Isn't that a great combo?" Casey asked.
Young moms suggested Gerber's strained prunes. Other folks offered pineapple, oatmeal, various sausages, spiced cabbages and ethnic foods from every continent.
A Scottish woman said her country's national dish, traditional haggis--cooked sheep intestines and a treat I have not yet had the good fortune to sample-- would work.
Sheila Hagar, a far-flung reader from Milton-Freewater, Ore., said psychology was the key.
"Here's what works on my kids," said the mother of six. "The threat of doing dinner dishes. No matter what's on the menu, if they have to do dishes that night, they run to the bathroom and stay there, insisting they're too busy. So put this guy [Mannix] on KP. Six kids and I have never seen it fail."
Readers also shared their histories about items they had swallowed years ago.
"In 1942 in Czechoslovakia, I swallowed a round whistle," said Vlasta Giese, 80. "I rushed to the doctor. He immediately recommended I eat only sauerkraut, either raw or cooked, and wash it down with a good Czech pilsner.
"In a couple of days the whistle came out. End of problem."
She still eats sauerkraut, "but only the type found in the dairy section or in glass jars."
Giese is a true kraut craver, but I'll stick with my Slyders. And I can't wait to hear the testimony in this case, when it comes to court.
I know you crave that testimony too.
jskass@tribune.com
March 8, 2003
BY FRANK MAIN CRIME REPORTER - Chicago Sun-Times
He said he was shopping for a diamond for his girlfriend.
But Peter J. Mannix didn't leave the store Monday with a gem in a pretty velvet box. It was in his stomach, after he swallowed a three-carat diamond priced around $37,500, police said.
He was caught and left the shop in handcuffs. Investigators had been waiting ever since for the loot to make its way through his intestinal tract.
Mannix--who allegedly gulped down the stone at a shop on Jewelers Row, at 5 S. Wabash, while trying to switch it with a fake--finally gave up the gem Friday morning, officials said.
He is charged with felony theft.
Although police do not believe Mannix is a professional jewel thief, there has been an unusual rash of such heists in Chicago.
Five diamonds--valued from $26,000 to $65,000--have been swiped in the last nine months from stores on Jewelers Row and the Near North Side, a detective source said. The $26,000 stone was taken last week from an Oak Street jeweler.
Among the alleged thieves Chicago police are seeking is Nordine Herrina, who was on the FBI's Most Wanted List. Herrina, who allegedly poses as "Prince Khalid of Saudi," is believed to be in France, which will not extradite him, the source said. He is a suspect in a jewel theft here about five years ago, officials said.
Detectives said the cases show that clerks need to exercise more caution in showing their wares to customers. "They lose sight of security in their rush to sell a diamond," the source said.
Mannix, 40, of Des Plaines, was arrested at 1:45 p.m. Monday. He was handling a diamond, pretended to cough and handed the clerk back a cubic zirconium, police said. The clerk called police and locked the doors.
After he was arrested, Mannix complained of abdominal pain and was taken to Mercy Hospital and Medical Center, where an X-ray showed the diamond in his intestines. He was returned to the Central District lockup.
Mannix was convicted of theft of services in 1985, records show. He was arrested on the same charge last year for allegedly failing to pay a cabbie $62 after a taxi ride, but the case was dropped.
Police did not give Mannix a laxative because a doctor told them it could create medical problems for him. All week, officers poked through his bowel movements, but they did not find the gem until 7:50 a.m. Friday.
"Some courageous volunteers went beyond the call of duty," said Sgt. Joseph Petrenko, an Area 4 detective. "They should get a big 'attaboy.' "
For those familiar with the three C's of jewelry--cut, clarity and carat--the diamond was a "round brilliant" with a color grade of G and VS2 clarity, Petrenko said.
"Some lucky woman is going to have that on her finger some day," said David Bayless, a police spokesman. "As they say, diamonds are a girl's best friend."
------------------------------------------------------------------
John Kass - Chicago Tribune
As Slyder tales go, this 1 turns out to be a gem
Published March 9, 2003
Aveteran Chicago cop called with a tip in the Case of the Immovable Stone.
"The eagle has landed," he announced.
Loyal readers know the case involves a stolen $40,000 diamond, the fool who swallowed it last week, and sacks of White Castle burgers used by police in hope of solving the crime.
"Here's a follow-up," the cop said Friday. "The eagle landed at 0745 this morning. The offender released the diamond."
You know what he means.
Police officials confirmed it and said Peter Mannix, 40, of Des Plaines, was charged with felony theft. He did it to impress a woman, they said.
Were there any words of contrition or cries of pain?
"The report did not indicate any pain," said a police spokesman. "But I don't think he got hemorrhoids. And the jewel was recovered."
So the $40,000 jewelry robbery was solved, although strangely, police now say the 3-carat gem is valued at only $37,500.
That's amazing. I thought that diamonds with fascinating criminal histories only increase in value.
"Usually, yes," said my friend Moshe, a diamond merchant. "But in this case, I don't think so."
Wouldn't a bride-to-be relish telling her friends all about her special diamond?
Just to make sure, we called the victim of the theft, Tucker Inc. Jeweler, at 5 S. Wabash Ave.
"No comment, no comment!" said a gentleman with a high-pitched voice.
Another reporter talked to a Mr. Tucker, who said he didn't want publicity. When we called back to speak to him, the angry high-pitched voice guy answered instead.
"Sir! If you call here again, I'm going to call the police!"
Mannix had been kept in the lockup for days, the diamond stubbornly lodged in his intestine. This infuriated a police officer whose job it was to search for evidence at least three times a day.
Doctors prohibited police from using laxatives for fear of hurting Mannix. But they allowed tasty treats.
So the ingenious Central District cops fed him sacks of those delicious White Castle Slyders. It worked.
I called White Castle corporate headquarters to congratulate them, and to nominate Mannix to the White Castle "Cravers Hall of Fame."
Corporate bosses said that if the public supports his nomination on their Web site, Mannix might be their man of the year.
"We've been in Chicago since 1928," said Jamie Richardson, national marketing director for White Castle. "And because we've been in Chicago so long, we're not at all surprised at the resourcefulness of the Chicago police force.
"And we're so happy that we could be helpful," he said, poignantly.
I had my doubts that White Castle Slyders would work. And to my everlasting shame, I asked readers to send in their own food-related remedies to dislodge the diamond.
I betrayed you, I told Richardson. I betrayed the Slyder craver's code. Forgive me, please, I cried.
"Don't feel sad," he said. "Don't worry about it. We know you're a craver."
So many readers put on chef-detective hats and sent in home remedies to dislodge the diamond that I can't possibly list them all.
Sean Casey, a young golf nut from the western suburbs, suggested 11 pints of Guinness and a large gyros sandwich.
"Isn't that a great combo?" Casey asked.
Young moms suggested Gerber's strained prunes. Other folks offered pineapple, oatmeal, various sausages, spiced cabbages and ethnic foods from every continent.
A Scottish woman said her country's national dish, traditional haggis--cooked sheep intestines and a treat I have not yet had the good fortune to sample-- would work.
Sheila Hagar, a far-flung reader from Milton-Freewater, Ore., said psychology was the key.
"Here's what works on my kids," said the mother of six. "The threat of doing dinner dishes. No matter what's on the menu, if they have to do dishes that night, they run to the bathroom and stay there, insisting they're too busy. So put this guy [Mannix] on KP. Six kids and I have never seen it fail."
Readers also shared their histories about items they had swallowed years ago.
"In 1942 in Czechoslovakia, I swallowed a round whistle," said Vlasta Giese, 80. "I rushed to the doctor. He immediately recommended I eat only sauerkraut, either raw or cooked, and wash it down with a good Czech pilsner.
"In a couple of days the whistle came out. End of problem."
She still eats sauerkraut, "but only the type found in the dairy section or in glass jars."
Giese is a true kraut craver, but I'll stick with my Slyders. And I can't wait to hear the testimony in this case, when it comes to court.
I know you crave that testimony too.
jskass@tribune.com