French Security Driver Who Stole $15 Million Gets 3 Years

PARIS, May 12, 2010— -- A French armored car driver accused of stealing $15 million admitted in court that he did it to punish his boss, but the driver insisted he didn't know what happened to $3.2 million of the loot that was never recovered.

"Everybody says I am Robin Hood, but I'm not. I'm just a normal person," Toni Musulin, 39, told the court at the opening of the trial in Lyon, France, Tuesday.

After Musulin admitted to the crime, a judge fined him $57,000 and sentenced him to three years in prison. The prosecution had sought a five-year prison term, and this morning the Lyon prosecutor's office has said it would lodge an appeal.

"For me, the case is not over. For the justice system, the case is not over. I can assure you that Mr. Musulin will not be able to enjoy in peace the 2.5 million euros (almost $3.2 million) he has or he thinks he has put in a safe place somewhere in Eastern Europe," Lyon prosecutor Marc Desert told reporters outside the courtroom last night after the verdict.

Musulin is of Serbo-Croatian origin and has family ties in Eastern Europe.

Musulin gained notoriety and online fans when he vanished last November in Lyon behind the wheel of his armored van with 11.6 million euros (nearly $15 million) in cash inside following a routine pickup with two other security workers from a branch of the Banque de France.

A website "tonymusulin.fr" even sold mugs, pins and T-shirts showing a photo of Musulin with the caption "Tony Musulin, Best Driver 2009."

But a few days later, French police received a tip and recovered 9.1 million euros (close to $11.6 million) inside a van parked in a garage Musulin had rented in Lyon. Musulin became the target of a massive manhunt, and 11 days after the heist, Musulin turned himself in to police in Monaco.

Musulin appeared before a Lyon court to answer charges of theft and fraud attempt after he allegedly made a false car insurance claim involving a Ferrari he had bought prior to the theft.

"I had a problem with my boss. He had been stealing from me for three years. I wanted to make him pay this way," he said, explaining that the theft was an act of revenge and his way of denouncing work conditions at his security firm Loomis.

"It was not the right decision," said Musulin, who wore a gray jacket, a black pullover and sported a graying beard which contrasted with the clean-shaven pictures shown in the press over the past few months.

The big issue everyone had in mind was to hear from Musulin about the missing money. Musulin has always claimed that he did not know the whereabouts of the cash and today was no different.