Jake Hanrahan interviews Michel Van Rijn, one of the most successful art smugglers in the world, whose exploits reached such proportions "that Scotland Yard detectives allegedly placed bets on how long he had left to live before he was murdered by a hitman." Here's how Van Rijn describes his experiences in Russia:
Don’t think this was some kind of scumbag organization—we were dealing with people who were very high up on the political ladder. All you had to do was make sure everybody had his cut. I remember having dinners with VIPs and there’d be a hooker under the table. You’d have to try to keep your face straight while she crawled around giving all the blokes blowjobs. If you couldn’t keep your face straight while she was sucking you off you had to pay the bill.
How he survived:
Look, I’ve been shot at on three separate occasions, I’ve had guns on my head, I’ve had police chasing me … To survive I have been a chameleon. As you know, I speak many languages. Also, I’m not attached to anything. It’s like living near a fault line—if you hear a noise, pack your things and get the fuck out of there. Don’t become too accustomed to anything. I can sleep like a baby on a little field bed.
The Dish 