türkçe links to original Turkish article
(Hürriyet Newspaper, 11 March 2019)
"Have I got a deal for you!"
The famous thief Mustafa Serttaş, who was known by the name
'Tavuri', and who swindled hundreds of people, including Greek
politicians, by assuming various disguises, has died at age 55. Serttaş,
who spent 36 years of his life in prison (!), was in intensive
care for heart trouble in a Lefkoşa (Nicosia) hospital.
'Tavuri' began his career in thievery at age 13 when he stole a pot
of dry beans from a restaurant. When he returned the pot after
washing it he was caught and sentenced to 16 months in jail.
Three years ago, Serttaş was released from a Greek Cypriot prison
where he had spent 3.5 years, thanks to an amnesty granted by
Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Annastasiadis. Sertttaş had earlier
been released from prison in the 1990s with a pardon from the
Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktaş.
In a newspaper article, Serttaş explained how he hoodwinked
Greek Cypriot leader Tasos Papadopulos: "I put on a suit and
went to Papadopulos's law office. I told him I was a bank
owner in the TRNC (Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus)
and that because my situation had gone bad I needed to escape
with suitcases full of money to the Greek Cypriot side of the
island. I showed him some fake documents and won him over.
I told him that I needed cash to free up the money I would
flee with so he gave me 50,000 worth of lira. Then I escaped
to the TRNC. Papadopulos called me a few times but I didn't
pick up the phone. I used the same technique on some other
Greek Cypriot leaders, too."
'Tavuri' liked to claim that he stole from the rich and gave
to the poor. He faced a judge 405 times in the TRNC and
spent 36 years of his life in prison.
Hiç yorum yok:
Yorum Gönder