After burning himself out with factory work, and as Greek government and economy began to show the fault lines that would one day lead to the economic crash around the turn of the millennium, Vassilis Palaiokostas (above), his brother Nikos, and an accomplice pulled off a string of robberies from the late ’70s to the mid-1980s. The criminals would then distribute what they stole to the poor and needy. As the Greek economy worsened, the risky exploits of the Palaiokostas brothers and their accomplices enraptured the public. They became folk heroes, taking a stand against the monied elite, as the BBC reports.

Authorities caught up with the Palaiokostas brothers by the early ’90s, and both were imprisoned on separate occasions. Around this time, the Palaiokostas brothers also became expert escape artists. The first attempt at a prison break — driving a tank through a wall of the facility — failed, but the second, using bed sheets to climb over the wall, was successful. Vassilis Palaiokostas was once more at large, and the stealing continued. What made catching him so difficult? He continued stealing from the rich, and giving to the poor, which helped maintain his cover.