Netflix’s ‘Bank Robbers: The Last Great Heist’ is a documentary that can only be described as gripping and baffling in equal parts, owing to its examination of an Argentinian coup unlike any other. After all, it details the notorious Friday the 13th of January 2006 looting of a Bank Rio branch in Acassuso, San Isidro, through unfiltered first-hand accounts of the proud perpetrators themselves. Among them was Rubén Alberto “Beto” De la Torre (also known as The Thug) — so now, if you wish to learn more about him as well as his overall standing these days, we’ve got you covered.
Who is Alberto “Beto” De la Torre?
Although Constitución-born Rubén Alberto “Beto” De la Torre attended a catholic school until he was around 12, his casual shenanigans took a truly drastic turn as soon as he left the institution. “I’d go out and get into mischief with friends, who were also quite like me,” he said in the original. “It all started as an adventure. Later it became a habit, and then I started stealing.” However, his subsequent stint in prison just led him to get involved in a gang, meaning he quickly moved on to armed robberies as well as kidnappings for ransom. “It becomes second nature: theft and crime.”
Beto had actually spent almost two decades of his 52 years in prison by the time of that fateful January morning, per the film, and his connections are how he’d gotten involved in the first place. He was among the first to be recruited for the job, the first to walk into the scene, and the first to be apprehended as well since it was his then-wife Alicia di Tullio who turned the entire gang in. Some theories suggest her actions were a direct result of his alleged infidelity and plan to flee with his girlfriend, whereas he insists it was simply following a fight over her using the haul quite freely.
Alberto “Beto” De la Torre Has Built Himself a New Life
With Alicia turning into an informant as well as the 938,700 dollars, 30,084 euros, and 80,315 pesos recovered from their home, Beto’s hand in the “robbery of the century” became undeniable. Therefore, with the legal proceedings reportedly shining a light upon his past, along with his short temper, through witness statements, he was ultimately sentenced to 15 years behind bars in 2010. He actually received the harshest sentence out of anyone in the crew, including mastermind/artist Fernando Araujo, but an appeal reduced it to 12 ½ years, and he was released after 8½.
As for his current whereabouts, apart from the fact that Beto shared part of his story in the journalistic book ‘Robbery of the Century: The Secret History,’ it seems like he’s even an aspiring actor. The former cell phone shop owner may be nearing his 70s at the moment, yet he still appears relatively active. He thus managed to land not only a notable role in a miniseries called ‘Un Gallo Para Esculapio’ (‘The Cockfighter’) but also a cameo in the 2020 movie ‘El Robo Del Siglo’ (‘The Heist of the Century’).
Furthermore, we should mention that Netflix’s production indicates that the Buenos Aires ex-criminal presently serves as an advocate for those like him. Beto is kind of proud of the theft in itself, yet he concedes, “no amount of money can pay for the time I lost. In the span of a year, I can do a lot of things but locked up; I’m useless. I can’t do anything. Then you look back at the time you lost, banging your head against the wall, wanting revenge, and getting let out, only to get locked up again. You add up the years, and you lost your whole life to this. I can say it wasn’t worth it.”
“I am sorry for what I did in the crime, but I am not sorry for who I am,” Beto once told Infobae. “And the robbery of the century was incredible because we were a strong group and it was my dream retirement. From then on, unforeseen things came to my mind, like many people greeting me because we defeated, in some way, the power of a bank.”
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