Holy high tech, Batman," says Robin, as the bad guy’s getaway
car releases a slippery liquid onto the pavement.
"To the Batmobile," the Caped Crusader yells over his
shoulder, slipping and falling on the greasy spray, knocking himself
unconscious.
Robin tugs and tugs, but because Batman’s outfit is so tight,
he can’t get the Batmobile keys loose from the Caped one’s pocket.
"Holy form-fitting attire," laments Robin, as the getaway
car speeds off into the night.
As unbelievable as "the bad guy’s" car sounds, it didn’t
come out of a Batman movie. It didn’t have to. It’s what happened
in real life when auto-savvy criminals got creative.
Recently, federal agents arrested members of a burglary ring who
allegedly stole millions of dollars in jewels from wealthy homes
and escaped in high-tech getaway cars, according to James Kallstrom,
head of the New York office of the FBI. The seven suspects are
accused of robbing hundreds of homes from New York to Florida.
One getaway car had a rear license plate that dropped down to
reveal high-intensity lamps designed to blind police who may be
chasing them, and another car was equipped with two rear ports
that squirted a "grease-like oil spray" on the road
to foil pursuers. "They were quite ingenious," Kallstrom
says of the culprits in custody.
The burglars also built secret compartments into the cars to hide
valuables. To open them, the air conditioning switch, fan and
other dashboard devices all had to be triggered in a particular
sequence.
"Holy criminal minds at work," Robin says when Batman
finally regains consciousness.
Sometimes, real life supplies the script.
Georgina Kajganic is editor of BodyShop Business.
