All language subtitles for Lucio.2007.DVDRip.XviD-CNT

It's one of those things...

...I could never forget.

Your question actually
moves me.

My father fell ill.

He went to Pamplona...

...and they discovered
that it was cancer.

So my father said to me,
"My son...

..."go and see uncle Pablo...

"and he'll lend you the 5.000 pesetas
he promised."

He'd said to him,
as was the village custom...

..."If you need help,
I'll be there for you."

I went to ask uncle Pablo
for the money.

Pablo said to me, "I don't have any.
Besides, I said it to your father...

..."to try and cheer him up."

He didn't give me the money.

But my father's illness
dragged on.

He was in terrible pain.

He called me and said.
"My son...

..."you have guts, kill me
if you really love me."

"I wouldn't want my worst enemies
to suffer like this."

He was in great pain.

It broke my heart...

because it's frightening to see
your father...

...begging you to kill him
so as not to suffer.

And all for a handful of pesetas.

You watch him dying
in pain.

It obviously makes you willing
to do anything.

I went to the savings bank.

The teller was a woman.

My intention was to kill
her and take the money.

I couldn't do it.

If I had killed that woman...

...I'm absolutely certain
that my life...

...would have been a total disaster.

CAFÉ "LES DEUX MAGOTS".
PARIS. 9 JULY, 1980.

Everyone has his or her place.

I'll wait
for the boss's order.

Let's go.

Police.
Don't move.

You're under arrest,
don't move.

The man behind the gendarme
is Lucio Urtubia.

After following him closely
for months...

...the French police
eventually catch him.

More importantly...

...they arrest him
with conclusive evidence.

Among his possessions,
they find a bunch of keys.

One of them belongs
to the case seized.

When they open it...

...they find it full of false
traveller's cheques...

...of the First National City Bank.

The police find it hard
to believe...

...that Lucio has put City Bank
in a tight spot.

According to their investigations...

...Lucio is a humble bricklayer
and family man.

The fact that a man
with practically no education...

...who hardly went to school...

...is able to forge almost perfect
cheques...

...according to the Bank's
own experts...

...the most perfect
they'd ever seen...

...seems remarkable to me.

When he was telling
me about all this...

...it started to fascinate me.

I began to listen
more carefully.

There were things...

...that I could relate to
as an illiterate farmer.

I could put Lucio
in my own position.

It seemed impossible to me
that he could have done it.

Impossible that he was
clever enough to do it.

How could such
strength and talent...

...come from a simple
bricklayer?

All the things I've learned
about Lucio's life...

...have fascinated me.

NAVARRE CHARACTER

Navarre, mountain and lowlands,
from the Pyrenees to the riverbanks...

...offers us its marvellous
countryside...

...and the courageous character
of its ancient people...

...examples of simple,
hard-working folk...

...blessed with a gracious,
sincere personality...

...deeply attached
to their traditions.

I'm fond of Navarre.
Why wouldn't I be?

But I'd like it to be
more revolutionary.

When the Spanish Civil War
ended...

...being from a poor, socialist family
made you stick out.

I was lucky enough
to be born very poor...

...so I didn't have to make
any effort...

...to lose my respect
for the Establishment.

The Church, private property,
the State.

There were six of us
in the family. The others...

...were all very different.

They all had different characters.

I don't know.

He was completely different
to the rest. Even as a little kid.

He was different.

He wasn't quarrelsome,
but he could be annoying.

At 17. Lucio was looking
for adventure.

He wanted to leave Cascante...

...so his brother took him to work
in Valcarlos...

...near the border
with France.

He was immediately involved
in contraband...

...possibly his first
underground job.

However, he had to give up
contraband for the army.

He started his military service
in Logroño.

Certain posts were more
highly-valued than others.

One of them
was canteen duty.

Lucio was persuasive
and managed to work there.

He quickly struck up a friendship
with two soldiers in the warehouse.

It was full of products...

that could be sold for a god price
on the black market.

Lucio and his friends
knew this.

It wasn't hard to take products
from the warehouse.

The real challenge...

was to get them out of the barracks.
That was where Lucio came in.

The rubbish bins
were the perfect hiding place.

Lucio was delighted.
He began to earn money.

But what he most enjoyed...

...was being able
to trick his superiors.

He sent us parcels
and we sold them.

He sent us blankets, bots.
He sent cups.

Cheese.
Tinned sardines.

If he'd served in the army longer
he would have ruined Logroño.

But all good things
come to an end.

When they uncovered
their business...

...Luckily Lucio was on leave.

He knew he'd be severely punished
if he went back.

Lucio decided
not to return.

I'm a deserter.

I'm really pleased I did it.

I didn't want to end up serving
that rabble.

All of those military men
who took part in the war of 36...

...killing Republicans.

I'm increasingly proud
of what I did in my life.

I stole,
and I didn't hurt a soul.

Once again he crossed the border
he Knew from his contraband days.

At that time,
all roads led to Paris.

I always felt comfortable
in Paris.

Now I've been here almost 50 years.

Coming to France back then
was a step forward.

I didn't know a thing.
I was completely innocent.

This is where
I discovered everything.

This bloody city has something
that attracts us.

As if it were a magnet.

At that time Satur, his sister,
lived in Paris.

She helped him to get work
and sort out his papers.

At first,
he worked anywhere.

But he ended up specialising
as a bricklayer and tile layer.

They were terrible jobs.

For example...

...the tile layers on the ground
always worked...

...in damp, wet conditions,
on their Knees.

Lucio is tough.
But he's tough at work. too.

Not everybody
has that physical strength.

Strength for work.
Lucio is hard-working.

Work has helped me
throughout my whole life.

It has been god for making
hiding places, helping others...

...searching for and buying material.

For making friends and helping them.
For everything.

Work...

...deemed the most compulsory
duty of all...

...shall be the only exponent
of the people's will.

Lucio considered himself
a communist...

...simply because
he was against Franco.

But at work...

...he had several run-ins with reps
from the communist union CGT.

This attracted the attention
of some Catalan colleagues.

During lunch
they asked me...

..."What is your opinion?
Where do you stand politically?"

I said, "I'm a communist".

Then they all began to laugh.

They said. "You. a bloody
communist? You're an anarchist."

Then they explained
what anarchy was.

He began to frequent the CNT,
the anarchist union.

At that time...

...it was a mixture of workers,
intellectuals, artists, those in exile.

Lucio was impressed.

He told everyone in Cascante
about what he was learning.

Anarchy: a series of doctrines
followed by the anarchists.

A political movement...

...that seeks to destroy
authority...

...and subvert
social order.

I think it's good...

...to destroy certain things.
By doing that...

...you can build others
in their place.

A country...

ruled by a monarchy or a republic,
parliamentary regimes.

A Soviet-style government
or fascism.

But it can not live
in a regime of anarchy.

People believe an anarchist
is a violent terrorist.

And it is the complete opposite.

Initially an anarchist
is a person...

...who is god at heart.
He is a responsible individual.

He is responsible...

...because he has an education,
feelings. sentiments.

The complete opposite
of what they tell us.

For me, anarchist ideology
is the best. It is unbeatable.

Whether we can put it in to practise
is another matter.

There are contradictory things
about the anarchists. to.

They disappointed me
in many things.

If it means not having anything.
then I'm an anarchist.

We are used to obeying.

At school we obey the teacher.
the headmaster.

We obey our parents at home.
Then our wife.

In companies, the boss.
In the army, the lieutenant.

To envisage another society
where relationships are different...

...is not easy.

I think anarchy and life
mean work. creation.

Many people have a lot
of resources and are not creative.

They are wrapped up
in themselves.

Life is creation,
life is action.

What was he like when he first came
to the CNT?

A restless man.

He was trying
to find himself.

He was looking for something
that would urge the masses...

...to rise up and oppose Franco.

Did he stand out
from other people?

Yes. in the sense...

...that he wanted the union
to be combative...

...and to show that we weren't
just a load of crap...

Who knows.
with Francisco Sabaté...

There was a question mark.

Sabaté was one of the most
wanted men by the Franco regime.

In late 1958, "El Quico" turned up
in Paris, fleeing from Franco.

But he was also wanted in France
and needed a place to hide.

The CNT immediately thought
of Lucio...

...who wanted to collaborate
and was not on police records.

For an uneducated kid like me,
meeting somebody like El Quico...

...was a sort of miracle.

He was a legendary anarchist
among Spanish libertarians.

A type of myth.

El Quico stayed at Lucio's house.
They got along immediately.

Lucio was like a sponge
and took in everything El Quico said.

Often certain meetings,
certain conversations...

...can completely change you.

There was probably a complicity
between these two tough men.

Lucio probably latched on to this.

He was like a sort
of father figure.

Every morning,
when I have a shave...

...I see my bushy eyebrows
and hairy ears.

Quico had thick eyebrows
and hairs sprouting from his ears.

He used to walk like a duck.
With his feet spread out.

He was a tremendously
good person.

However, Spanish and French law
did not share that opinion.

Prison awaited him in France.
In Spain, execution.

So El Quico decided to spend
a few months in a French jail...

...rather than be extradited
to Spain.

But before he gave himself up...

...he provided Lucio with arms...

...to be used in case France decided
to send him back to Spain.

We decided he should surrender.

He handed over the arms
to me.

And I was involved
in several robberies...

...before Quico Sabaté left.

These guys are just interested
in stories of guns and hold-ups!

There's many a slip
twixt cup and lip.

Lots of people decide...

to cross a mountain when they see it,
but they don't actually do it.

When they see that society
is unfair and deserves no respect...

...they don't make that move.

I don't know how much Sabaté
may have influenced me...

...to take part in certain things...

...that people don't normally do.

I think the biggest crooks
are banks.

All banks are protected
by the State and by laws.

They are the real crooks.

-¿Did they have weapons?
-Two carried guns...

...and one had a machine gun.

-Were you afraid? Be honest.
-Yes, a little.

Some of our robberies
didn't work out very well.

There were no victims,
but quite a lot of violence.

Of course it's tough. You have a gun
and you're not a criminal.

I used to wet myself.

Imagine pointing a gun
at a bank employee.

I never killed anybody.

But I could have done.

That is hard to deal with
when it's all for money.

I wasn't made
to rob banks.

We did it because
there were no other bloody options.

It was the only means
the anarchists had.

The anarchists
didn't have businesses.

They didn't have deputies
or ministers to fund them.

The anarchists often died
during these hold-ups.

That was what made me change
my mind about the robberies.

When El Quico
was released...

...he was surprised to see how much
money his disciple had amassed.

Lucio wanted to send the money...

...to those suffering from Franco's
regime. But he didn't know how.

El Quico gave him a series
of addresses in Spain...

...where he could deliver
the money.

So Lucio travelled from Paris
to the border by train.

Crossing the border was not
a problem for him...

...thanks to his contraband
experience.

Back then. the border
was quite another matter.

La Junquera border post
in Spain...

...is crossed every day
by 8,000 cars...

...and more than 30,000 people.

They come to spend
their holidays...

...drawn by the beauty. atmosphere,
and peace and quiet of our country.

El Quico was not the same
since his term in jail.

He desperately needed
to return to Catalonia.

Lucio tried to convince him
not to. but El Quico didn't listen.

Together with five friends,
he decided to cross the border.

6 JANUARY. 1960

A division of the civil guard
on the French-Spanish border...

...Killed a group
of bandits and their leader...

...the infamous
Francisco Sabaté...

...a renowned criminal...

...known for his bloody,
violent activities.

FRANCISCO SABATÉ
LLOPART, "EL QUICO".

ANARCHIST.
DIED FOR FREEDOM.

Quico's death was a tremendous
blow to me.

I felt very alone.

It brought back memories
of his father.

He stopped the bank robberies
and focused on his work.

He continued to attend
the CNT meetings...

...but El Quico had taught him
not to trust anybody.

Lucio began to operate
on his own.

I was never in the CNT,
my friends are the CNT.

I was never registered
as a member.

Organisations are the same
all over the place...

...whether they are anarchists
or what have you.

People want to be in charge.

"LA SANTÉ" PRISON.
PARIS, 1980.

After his arrest at the café
"Les Deux Magots"...

...Lucio is sent to jail.

He left a lot of loose ends
and was worried.

Jail is absolutely suffocating.

You're locked up
and you become anxious...

...because you can't breathe.
You don't know what's going on.

You think things will turn out badly.

Meanwhile, the police look
for evidence to implicate Lucio...

...in the case of the forged cheques
that were seized.

They especially need to find
the printing plates.

They spend hours searching,
but find no definitive clues.

I made hiding places
under the bath tub...

We didn't find
the real hiding place...

We had to find the hiding places
in order to find the other one.

It was like Russian dolls.

It is clear that the plates still exist
and are in full operation.

While Lucio is still in jail,
cheques turn up in different places:

Oslo, Brussels, Helsinki.

Europe is being swamped
by forged City Bank cheques...

...and the police
feel increasingly helpless.

What worried everyone,
both the police and City Bank...

...was that despite
Lucio's arrest...

...and he was considered to be
head of the whole operation...

...the traffic did not stop.
And that was intriguing.

Interpol provides an essential clue.

A Georges Corquelle
is arrested in Amsterdam...

...doing business with forged
City Bank cheques.

Corquelle owns a printer's
in Paris.

The police search the building
and show photos to a neighbour.

The neighbour recognises
Lucio immediately.

She has seen him frequenting
the printer's.

Lucio will need help
to get out of this one.

I defended Lucio
in the traveller's cheques" trial.

He had been arrested...

...and when he told me
about the false traveller's cheques...

...it confirmed my opinion
about him.

The cheques were not for him.

I realised
it was a political venture...

...I'd even say it was a bit crazy.

The idea was to forge cheques
and put them into circulation...

...with the aim of destabilising
the regime.

I demanded my freedom.
I was innocent.

Even if I wasn't innocent...

...they had no right
to keep me in prison.

I had as much right
to be free...

...as the Pope.

I would have given my life
for the Cuban Revolution.

I thought Bautista was a crook.
As bad as they come.

So anything that meant fighting
him was god.

I stated categorically...

...that we are not communists.

Quite categorically.

If I had to choose today...

...I'd think about it, because Fidel
is really the Devil incarnate.

In the early 60s..

certain Spanish Marxists frequented
the Cuban embassy in Paris.

Lucio became good friends
with the Cuban ambassador.

He also made the acquaintance
of the anarchist forger L. Cerrada.

Thanks to him...

...Lucio had access to high-quality
forged dollars.

It was easier to forge
the dollar...

...than other jobs we had done.

The hard part is the paper.

You can either tell or you can't,
do you understand?

And it was the perfect country
to forge money.

Lucio went to the Cuban embassy
with dollars and a proposal.

He would provide the plates
and Cuba would produce the notes.

Together they could devalue
the dollar.

Cuba had the opportunity...

...to produce as many tonnes
as it wanted.

They had militants all over the world.
banks all over the world....

...and lots of popular support
to flood the market with dollars.

Europe became the centre
of operations for Cuba.

I didn't know what
they would propose.

They suggested I meet El Che.

I don't believe it at all.

I don't believe it at all!

Even if he got down
on his knees.

He must have dreamt it.

I know him and checked
the story out.

It's absolutely true.

El Che travelled extensively then
as Finance Minister.

Taking advantage
of a visit to Paris...

the Cuban embassy set up a meeting
with the leader in Orly Airport.

Lucio was like a madman
when he went there.

He was desperate to make
a proposal of some sort.

To a certain extent, El Che...

...liked that sort of person.

I've never had complexes.
Never.

He put forward a series of points...

...that El Che was sceptical about.
He didn't show much interest.

He took the notes, looked at them
and put them away.

He'd decide what to do in Cuba.
He'd make proposals.

-How did you get on with him?
-Badly. I didn't like him.

He was cold.
I didn't see that passion and zest...

...he might have shown
towards me.

A few months later,
El Che rejected the proposal.

He didn't think the plan
would devalue the dollar.

It was like a flea
biting an elephant.

For Lucio it was let down,
but at least...

...it enabled him to see the potential
the forged notes might have.

1968.
MONTH OF MAY.

"Come to the meeting
of the Federation of Revolutionary Students"

May '68 in Paris...

...was like an outburst
of freedom.

I remember that time because
it was when I met Anne.

She was a pretty girl
from a good catholic family.

French, well-educated. Middle class.
The complete opposite of me.

But I think my passion
is what really fired her.

To begin with,
I didn't fancy a relationship...

...but Lucio has a certain way...

...and when he wants something,
whatever it takes...

He wrote a very provocative note
saying that...

We were in the middle of May 68,
he knew how to hit the target.

He said he didn't want to go out
with me because I was middle class...

That really caught my attention.

To say those things
one must be really in love.

We took refuge in a cinema
during one of the demos.

The police beat us
when we came out.

They hit Anne quite hard. She
was limping and could barely walk.

She was in a bad way.

That Sunday she went to see
her parents.

Her parents had a small
plumbing business.

During the meal
Anne said to her father...

"Your business isn't yours anymore,
it belongs to the workers.

"You have to let it run itself."

"What does that mean?" he asked.
"Just what I'm saying."

"The company belongs to everyone,
you must make it....

"...available to the workers."

"Didn't the cops beat you enough?"
he replied.

PRINTER"S

May '68 was a time of great euphoria.
Much of it was short-lived.

Lucio's ideas gained more impetus...

...and he set up a printer's to support
various revolutionary causes...

...together with several friends.

The initial idea was the create
political leaflets. posters...

...anti-establishment and anarchist
advertising for several countries.

We didn't realise then...

...but a simple pamphlet
was a sacred thing in Spain.

The day came when I said
to certain friends there...

"Wouldn't it be easy to forge
the Spanish ID card...

"...and help save lots of lives?"

They laughed
because the Spanish ID card...

...was terribly difficult to forge.

The Spanish ID card was a complex
blend of seven colours.

The most difficult part
was separating them.

Lucio went to a well-known
anarchist printer's in Paris...

...and explained his idea.

Despite initial reluctance...

...the printer's ended up
taking on the job.

The ID was only the first
in a series of documents.

The documents were used
to hire cars. rent flats...

...and open bank accounts
anywhere.

It paved the way for us.

It's a document...

...that means risking your life.
your freedom...

...so you try and copy it
as best you can.

A passport
is the most important document.

The main driving force is freedom.

It enables you to travel...

...a Spaniard can leave the country
and go somewhere he's not known...

...and live a new life.

That was the aim.
particularly for refugees...

...and those who were persecuted.

One of the hardest things
to copy was actually quite simple.

The passports have rounded edges.

We had to import a small machine
from America.

Once the pages of the passport
are printed...

...they had to be sewn
with a very tight sort of stitch...

...and I was in charge
of that process.

Above all, those documents
were used...

...to enable people
to lead safe lives.

A Columbian arrives, goes out
on the street. enters the metro...

...and the police ask him
for his ID.

The Columbian shows them
his ID.

"What is your name?"
"José Luis."

And the man walks off
calmly.

He goes to a bank
and wants to open an account.

If he shows his ID,
he can open it.

To cross a border,
the passport has to look real.

If not. you risk your freedom.

Even if it's not completely perfect...

...some documents
are easier to forge than others.

You have to be more careful
with ID cards.

To apply for ID cards in France,
for example...

...you wouldn't submit
forged Spanish ones.

This was for renting. for stealing,
for lying.

It wasn't for fooling the police.
You can't fol the police.

THE WEDDING

Well, anarchists don't marry.

They live together.
but they don't marry.

He was the one
who wanted to marry.

True. it's a contradiction.

It also caught my attention.

Did nobody ask why you married
if you were an anarchist?

I can do whatever I want.

That's why I'm an anarchist.
Because I can do what I want.

My daughter looked like
a little beetroot.

She was completely red.

I think he really wanted
to have kids.

From when Juliette was really little,
he was a very caring father.

He knew how to combine his work.
his militant activities...

...and his responsibilities
as a father.

Lucio got the Kid mixed up
in problems with the police.

He'd ask the kid to Keep
a look out for them.

My house was a haven to them.

Sometimes my methods
have been questioned...

...but I did everything I could
for my daughter.

In jail or out of jail. working...

...I gave my daughter everything.

Yes. surprisingly well.
He would get up very early...

...because building work
usually starts early...

...so he would leave first thing
in the morning.

Usually at about four or five
in the afternoon...

...he'd start his activities
as a militant anarchist...

...and work on...
until late at night.

They started working
at the printer's at night.

They had to be very discreet.
That was why...

...only the person who opened
the door knew what was going on.

Sometimes even the owner
didn't know.

My job consisted of ensuring...

...there was no trace of our work
in any of the presses.

No marks on the roller
or signs of printing on the rubber.

No signs of paper that was printed...

...because that could be disastrous.

I didn't even trust the people
who were with me.

There could be an informer.

Passers-by might stop because
of the noise. A printing press at night?

So we had to be very discreet.

However. the risk
did not stop them.

In view of the success
the Spanish ID cards had...

...they began forging documents
from other countries.

We forged and replaced
Italian ID cards.

We forged and replaced
Spanish ID cards.

The idea was to take the place
of the government.

We could say that back then
we replaced the governments.

Many revolutionary groups...

...benefited from these documents.

Italian, Basque, Catalan, Spanish...

...South American, Bolivian,
Tupac Amaru. Argentinian...

The documents were delivered
by hand.

Afterwards,
they did whatever they wanted.

It's great to know that you
can give 30-40 IDs to somebody...

...and they can then be used
for hundreds of things.

I've helped lots of people
without knowing them.

I won't meet the thousands
of people...

...who used the documents
and ID cards...

...that were produced
in France. I knew a couple.

Crooks and criminals
also definitely used them.

...A whole cargo found
in lvry, Val-de-Marne...

...consisting of 5,000
driving licenses...

...5,000 IDs made from filigree
paper with official stamps.

A lucrative business.
because a forged driving license...

...can cost up to 3,000 francs.

Those who had money, paid.
Those who didn't. didn't pay.

If we had money.
we bought presses, cars.

We sent money to pay for lawyers.
We did what we could.

But nobody did it
to earn a wage.

The cause was stronger
than all that.

Why did I help?

I believe that what is needed
in a society such as this...

...are people with a fighting spirit.

Whether I agree or not with other
organisations is another matter.

I don't agree with Killing.

But if there are people who...

...there's no need for me
to say who...

Anyway, there are people
who shouldn't have been born.

For example, I think it would
be OK if Franco had been aborted.

A person who does not react
violently at times...

...is not normal as far
as I'm concerned.

If you're walking down the street
and somebody insults you...

...it's normal to defend yourself.
But you shouldn't Kill a person.

On 2 March, 1974...

...the young anarchist Salvador Puig
Antich was executed in Spain.

Two months later...

an anarchist group went into action
to ensure it didn't happen again.

MANAGER OF BANCO
DE BILBAO...

...KIDNAPPED IN PARIS.

ANARCHIST GROUP
ALLEGEDLY RESPONSIBLE

An obscure movement. GARI...

...the lnternationalist
Revolutionary Armed Group...

...states that in exchange
for the release...

...of political prisoners in Spain.
Mr. Suárez will be freed.

At first, it was a media ploy...

...to make public opinion
and European governments aware...

...so they would exercise pressure...

...to bring an end to executions
using the garrotte.

FIRST NEWS ABOUT
BALTASAR SUÁREZ

I'll ask you to do something
a bit unusual.

Do everything possible
to get me out of this situation.

SUÁREZ, FREE

Mr. Suárez is relaxing at home
with his family...

...in Neuilly, after being kidnapped
for 20 days.

Did they treat you well?

Physically speaking. yes.

-Do you Know who they were?
-No, not at all. Not at all.

One of the Spanish rebels
who organised the kidnapping...

...was arrested this morning,
but police have still not confirmed it.

The Urtubias were among the first
of the seven people arrested.

It was the first time Lucio's name
appeared in the media.

They accused me...

...of sending a French newspaper
to Barcelona...

...containing a message
about delivering the ransom.

There were protests in France
demanding their release.

A democratic country
such as France...

...could not be seen to cooperate
with Franco's dying regime.

Thus they were eventually
released on parole.

The French judge
in charge of the case...

...created an international
investigative commission.

He requested the police,
the Guardia Civil...

...to continue investigating
the case.

The Guardia Civil used the Commission.
they distorted it...

...arresting and torturing
anti-Franco militants.

This is something
French law cannot tolerate...

...and quickly leads...

...to the release of people
who should not have been jailed.

Lucio began to feel
that he was being watched.

He had to be careful.

He decided to rent two garages
under his sister's apartment.

The police thought he was just
visiting Satur...

...but Lucio went downstairs
from his sister's flat...

...and was able to access
his secret warehouse.

I didn't suspect a thing,
but my husband ran into him...

...when he was leaving
the parking lot.

"Your brother is up
to his old tricks," he said.

We didn't know
he'd rented them.

My brother
never used to go down there.

I didn't know what was there,
but it was best not to go down.

Lucio was churning out material.

He needed a place to hide
forging plates. false documents...

...and even weapons.

-What do you think the arms were for?
-I'd like you to tell me.

I can't. They were thrown
into the Seine. End of story.

If that convinces you, great.
How can I tell you...

...if I gave them to somebody
to kill another person?

"LA SANTÉ" PRISON.
PARIS, 1980.

Lucio has been in jail four months
and things are getting complicated.

Seven years later. a date is set
for the kidnapping trial.

The hearing will be in two months...

...and Lucio is the only one in jail
for another reason.

So the prosecution counsel
could use the argument...

"Yes. they say the Suárez case
was political, but look...

..."there is a famous forger
among them...

..."a common criminal in jail
for a very serious crime."

It was detrimental.

That was why it was essential
to release Lucio.

The aim was to ensure the pre-trial
lasted more than six months.

Why?

Because if the judge didn't conclude
the proceedings after six months...

...he had to free Lucio Urtubia.

But Judge Francine Caron
does not make it easy for him.

The final pre-trial report
must be submitted...

...within a period of six months.

This means that Lucio will not be
released before the B. Suárez trial.

EXPERT"S REPORT

They only have one option.

Submit a plea report...

...and gain more time
that way.

The lawyers study the report
and detect certain irregularities...

...regarding the evidence
from Amsterdam.

Just before the six-month deadline
is up...

...Dumas submits a counter-report
setting out these irregularities.

The judge falls into the trap.

He had to renew the arrest warrant
within six months and he didn't.

She went white.

"You wouldn't do this
to me, would you?"

"Yes, madam, I would,
your procedure is cancelled."

She began
pacing up and down...

...and in the end said,
"Yes, it's obvious."

We left at around six or seven
in the afternoon...

...and he was free
half an hour later.

Although the case was still open,
he was free.

The Paris courthouses become
Lucio's second home.

They release him on January 10,
but he can't relax...

...because the Suárez trial
begins in ten days.

In Spain, those who were accused
in the same case...

...had received amnesty
from the ruling government.

It was a totally anachronistic affair.
politically absurd.

It was senseless.

Spain had changed,
France had changed.

The French press actually
referred to it...

...as the last trial
of the Franco regime.

The main reason for this trial
are the upcoming elections in France.

The extreme right criticise
Giscard d"Estaing...

...for being too soft on groups
that do not respect the law.

It was therefore a way
of avoiding these attacks.

During the hearing...

...Lucio's main fear is that the jury
sides more...

...with the extreme right's view.

However, this does not occur.

After a ten-day trial,
they are all acquitted.

"Lucio Urtubia,
innocent in this case."

What part did you play
in the Kidnapping?

I had no part in it.
No part in it.

That was something
the police said.

I don't have to tell anybody
if I was involved or not.

They arrested me,
and after a two-week trial...

...we were all acquitted...

...because there was insufficient
evidence.

So I won't tell you now
what my role was.

How could I say I was the one...

...who grabbed him, drove him
in the car, and led him to the room?

Besides, kidnappings...

...are something that a person
never forgives.

The fact it was against Franco
worked very much in his favour.

The best years of my life
were the ones fighting Franco.

I wouldn't wish the Franco regime
on anyone...

...but experiencing that injustice...

...was like a privilege for me.

Your attention. please...

...here is the president.
Carlos Arias Navarro.

Spaniards...

Franco's death meant
the greatest enemy was also dead.

Lucio should have slowed down.
but he did not.

Democracy in Spain would need
some time to take root, besides...

...South America son became
ripe for lost causes.

NOVEMBER 1977

"ELS JOGLARS"
ARRESTED

FOR PERFORMING
"LATORNA"

...And ends with a scene...

...in which all the members
of the court are completely drunk.

Those in power during Franco's
regime were still active...

...and unwilling to let a group
of comics make fun of them.

So despite street protests...

..."Els Joglars" were sentenced
to prison.

A theatre actor suddenly becomes
a man of action.

The playwright Boadella
escaped from hospital.

Police sources believe
he has fled to France.

Boadella's documents
were prepared here.

It was outrageous for Spain
and France...

...to go and play football
in Argentina...

...while thousands of people
were going missing there.

And you have four simple guys
like us trying to intervene.

"Argentina: strange attack
against Hidalgo."

"Mysterious assault
on Michel Hidalgo."

An anonymous caller
claimed responsibility...

...and drew attention
to France's hypocrisy...

by selling military material
to Argentina.

At that time, Dumas had diplomatic
relations with Spain.

He requested Lucio's help
in various affairs.

Kidnappings and other conflicts
caused problems in Spain.

NOVEMBER 1979

UCD MINISTER
JAVIER RUPEREZ KIDNAPPED

Javier Ruperez has been kidnapped
by an ETA terrorist cell.

I immediately thought
of Lucio...

..."How can I contact certain circles
out of my reach?"

It was an amazing way...

...of getting in touch with people
I couldn't reach directly.

FEBRUARY 1981. THREE
DIPLOMATS KIDNAPPED

I spoke to Lucio a lot...

...but I didn't ask him questions.

Despite everything,
he was hardworking.

He was a bricklayer.

He never missed work.

He always focussed
on his work.

He didn't earn a living
from other things...

...his job was his living,
and he centred on that.

They couldn't arrest him for that.

Two days after he was acquitted
from the Suárez case...

...Lucio went back to work
as a bricklayer. He feels calm...

...even though he knows they could
call him about the City Bank case.

As if that was not enough...

...new problems son crop up.

A Saharan is arrested in Paris...

...in possession of several
forged passports.

During the interrogation...

...the man confesses that the person
who gave him the documents...

...is a bricklayer he met
in jail who has a red van...

...and a lawyer called
Roland Dumas.

The judge orders Lucio
to appear in court.

I sent him a letter saying
I wouldn't appear...

...because the holidays were coming
up, everyone was away...

...and I wasn't guilty
of any serious crime...

...that might have led to me
being jailed for several months.

Thus in July 81...

...Lucio obtains a false ID...

...and disappears in Paris
without a trace.

He has lots to think about
and plenty of time in which to do it.

You read, you wait...

...expecting that things calm down.

They mustn't catch you
when they catch the others.

If they arrest you
at the same time...

...you don't know
what the other guy will say.

It's best to let time go by
and wait and see what he says.

Lucio is tremendously instinctive.

He knows how to react quickly.

He believes that everything
is possible...

...and if you want it badly enough,
you can make it happen.

This is what most fascinates people
about Lucio.

Most people don't think it's possible,
but Lucio does.

By using the documents...

...Lucio and his colleagues make
forgery a source of direct financing.

They started by printing
forged wage slips.

Some companies send wage slips
via post enclosing a cheque.

So Lucio decided to create
imaginary workers.

He produced false documents.

Together with the wage slips.
he went to the banks or post offices

...to cash the cheque.

Thanks to these companies,
he made his first tidy sum.

But if he were going to rob...

...Lucio Knew only too well
who his first victims would be.

Banks are a bunch of crooks.

They exploit you and take
your money.

Anyone who works in a bank
will tell you that.

You have to attack them.

Spanish banks
were the first victims.

Their infrastructure meant
you could buy a real cheque book

...using forged ID.

Spanish banks' traveller's cheques

...were like football tickets,
they were easy to copy.

You give them good money,
they give you crap, paper.

That was what it was about.

By using the real
cheque book...

...they made copies repeating
the series numbers they had.

This way, they produced many
cheques with the same series number.

When you went to cash it,
the teller...

...checked the list.
There were lists...

...of traveller's cheques
that were lost or stolen.

If they were on the list.
they didn't pay you.

But since they were cheques
that weren't on any list...

...the teller paid you.

Afterwards, they had their
processing system.

The Banco de Bilabo would send it
to the central office in Spain...

...and those cheques built up.

As the cheques built up...

...they discovered that several
had the same numbers.

But it was already too late.

FORGING

Spanish cheques could not
be exchanged just anywhere.

Something was needed to make them
payable all over the world.

What could have been better
than US banks?

Their traveller's cheques were harder
to copy than the dollar itself...

...but that was what motivated them.

They began to forge
City Bank cheques.

It was and is
the world's biggest bank.

It was not easy to obtain
the definitive printing plates.

City Bank had made great efforts
to avoid being tricked.

Unlike other experts,
he probably didn't think about...

...how he could make
an exact copy...

...so that the notes
would be the best.

They were the best.

Fist National City Bank plates...

...helped fund the network
without resorting to hold-ups.

All that was needed was to buy
genuine traveller's cheques...

...duplicate a given number
of copies...

...and exchange them all
over Europe.

I was the boss.

I made the cheques.
distributed and cashed them.

The distribution network
for the cheques...

...was made up of members
of various subversive groups.

ETA, Tupac Amaru, Red Brigade.
Even common criminals.

It's one thing to make the notes,
quite another to distribute them.

You need an apparatus
and lots of people...

...able to cash millions
in just one day.

They knew they were facing
a tough opponent.

They spread out in various
European capitals in twos...

...to avoid being followed.

Lucio was the first to try it out.
If everything went well...

...he would make a call to give
the green light to the others.

That way, on the same day
and at the same time...

several European banks received
cheques with the same number.

The person waiting outside...

collected the money and watched
in case there were problems.

When you handle a lot of money,
rumours start to circulate.

I worked like a slave
and didn't get a penny.

Why not?

Who Kept that money?

It went where it was meant to go.

It wasn't to pay whores, drinks
or nightlife.

It went where it was meant
to go.

I handled the money
the way I wanted.

The way I wanted.

Of all the people I met,
that I worked with...

...Italians, Tupac Amarus,
Argentineans, Basques...

...Acción Directa, GARI...

...nobody ever got rich.
Nobody.

You could eat out in a restaurant
now and again...

...or buy trousers,
but that was all.

They divided it in three parts.

A third for him. or for whoever
carried out the operation...

...and he kept another third
for the cause...

...and another for prisoners.
Those who were in jail.

He's a person who doesn't
keep the money for himself.

It's for a cause,
and that's unusual.

You usually
think of yourself first.

In July 1980, Lucio was about
to make his biggest mistake.

Despite the distribution network...

...the stock of cheques
was increasingly large...

...and he needed another way
of cashing them.

The solution came
in the form of Toni Sarra...

...a young man
who he had met.

Toni said he Knew somebody
who would buy them at 30%.

There's no torrent like greed.

Straight away I thought
it was a serious contact.

We arranged to meet
an American in Le Grand Hotel.

They met up with the American
and a friend several days in a row.

Lucio didn't trust him
and wanted to make sure.

Sometimes I hid and watched them.

I never caught him out.

The day came to negotiate
the deal.

The exchange was to take place
in Les Deux Magots.

I went with my friend.

We sat outside for breakfast.

Lucio didn't suspect that
the American was an infiltrator.

The French police
had set a trap for him.

The police might get it wrong
9 times out of 10. but you can't.

If you get it wrong just once,
you're finished.

1981. A YEAR AND A HALF
AFTER THE ARREST

Lucio is still in jail
a year and a half later.

He went from being locked
up in La Santé...

...to an apartment
on the Rue Rémé.

But Michat does not give up
in his efforts to clarify

...the case of the forged passports.

However, his attention is drawn
to the letter Lucio sent him...

...before fleeing.

A fugitive does not normally
bother to give explanations.

Fargart tries to take advantage
of this fact.

He began selling the image
of Lucio to the judge.

The judge was really interested.

He was very curious...

...to meet Lucio because
he had received that letter...

...and had talked to me...

and was very interested
in knowing who he really was.

At the same time...

the police pull out all the stops
to find Lucio.

They recorded Lucio with microphones,
they watched him...

...opened his letters...
All the time.

They used informers...
That existed, too.

Their efforts pay off.

On 9 October, 1981,
Lucio's hiding comes to an end.

At last Michat meets
the bricklayer.

The judge notices that Lucio
does not try and apologise.

He has strong convictions.

Judges are trained to deal
with common criminals.

People who always try
to defend themselves, who lie.

But he seems much more honest,
he tells the truth. The judges...

"Who is this guy?
Why is he telling me this?

"Why does he trust me?"

I think that helped
Lucio a lot.

Lucio's arrest led to a rapport
between them.

There was a certain sympathy
between Michat and Lucio.

Lady luck shines on Lucio
once again.

He is assigned a judge
who is sympathetic to his cause.

In addition, Lucio has a full-time
job and a family to look after...

...so he is released.

But Judge Caron
is not quite as sympathetic.

A few days after his release...

...a letter arrives indicating the date
for the traveller's cheque hearing.

Things do not look good.

Only an influential person
could get him out of this one.

Lucio starts pulling strings until
he reaches Louis Joannet...

...the French Prime Minister's
adviser.

A bricklayer may be a bricklayer...

...but he can have friends
in high places.

Joannet's reply is ambiguous,
but it is Lucio's only hope.

In the meantime...

...City Bank continues to receive
false traveller's cheques.

It seemed it would stop
once Lucio had been arrested.

But that was not the case.

For City Bank it was like a currency
used all over the world.

Suddenly they discovered
it was not in Paris...

...but all over Europe...

...where this currency could
be exchanged with no trouble...

...because nobody
could tell the difference.

It just made things worse.

City Bank central office
begins to receive...

...complaints from different
Europe branches.

Tourists suddenly find
their money is worthless.

Their holidays
are ruined.

We've lost our money.

-Forget it. it's no use.
-Excuse me!

A bank relies
on its customers" trust.

The banking system and customers
began to mistrust City Bank.

That's a tragedy for a bank.
It can close down, go bankrupt.

City Bank was thus
under enormous pressure.

It was not surprising
that City Bank went to court...

...with the aim of making
the bricklayer pay dearly.

The defence council wants
to save time and delay the trial.

The meeting between Lucio
and Joannet was not in vane.

The judge had made his move.

Louis began to check
certain things...

...to find out if the money
actually reached...

...the Latin American movements.

He used his own contacts
to verify it.

He came to the conclusion
that it was true.

It wasn't a common swindle...

Lucio didn't trick people
and fill his own pockets...

...it was definitely
a political thing.

This judge, who had a post
in the government of the time...

...spoke to City Bank's lawyer
saying...

...that he thought it was detrimental
for France...

...that he had to stop,
he couldn't go on like that...

...and that there was still
traffic despite the arrests...

...and perhaps the solution
was for City Bank to negotiate...

...with Lucio. who everyone
thought was the ringleader.

Walter Wriston's team
in New York...

...was throwing up its hands
in horror.

Their pride had been damaged.

Besides. there was more than
enough evidence to punish Lucio.

City Bank wants its garrotte.

However, they finally decide
to negotiate.

Regardless of the evidence
they have...

...the printing plates
have still not turned up...

...and this means Lucio
has lots of power.

During the hearing. two English-
speaking men say hello to Lucio.

Fargart later explains that one
is Jeffrey Hogart...

...City Bank's head of security.

They came because
they wanted to negotiate.

I asked them how...

if they were demanding hundreds
and thousands of dollars?

He told me we had to negotiate.

So I agreed to do it.

The atmosphere was notably
tense in the boardroom.

Lucio wanted to say hello
to the Head of Security.

But the Head was very English,
very dignified...

...a former Scotland Yard
policeman...

...he said, "I don't know why
I should shake your hand."

He spoke very god French,
but with an English accent.

"I don't see why I should shake
the hand of a crook like you."

I stood up and swore.

"Jesus Christ,
I'm no crook!"

"But you, with your dollars,
just corrupt the whole world...

"...and cause all the wars.
You're the real crooks."

I was swearing...

but I was also speaking my mind.
I don't know if they understood...

...but I was speaking
from the heart.

I told them that I would give
them what we had...

...but in exchange they would
give us what we asked for.

It was quite a reasonable request.
We didn't have much money.

"If you give us money...

"...I promise to stop
the whole operation.

"And if not...

"you can arrest me and do whatever
you like, but they'll carry on."

City Bank
didn't Know a thing!

However many people they arrested,
there were still false cheques.

They arrested a person,
but it carried on.

And it spread to other countries.

It could last a long time.

And City Bank did not have
time on its side.

The best solution
was for the traffic to stop.

That was City Bank's
top priority.

The huge US bank ended up
accepting Lucio's conditions.

They trusted me.

It was a positive move
to stop everything.

The whole thing
had caused problems.

Lucio prepares to surrender his best
weapon and feels vulnerable.

Seen from a distance,
it was something...

...quite terrifying.

We met the day before
he had to hand over the material...

...to record him explaining
who was involved.

We recorded it all in case something
happened to him.

It was clear it couldn't be
Lucio or one of his group...

...who delivered the plates
or the remaining cheques.

It was to dangerous.

It could only be the lawyer.

It was decided I would go
and look for the material...

...in the left-luggage
of a station.

I put it in my car,
started driving...

...to the meeting place,
a hotel on the Champs Elysees.

I was anxious to get rid
of the material.

Every time the lights
turned red...

...I was dying for them
to turn green quickly.

I arrived at the hotel...

...where the City Bank rep
was waiting in a room.

I made the delivery.
Like in a cop movie.

It was amazing,
like in a film.

I was handing over false cheques,
printing plates.

When they had checked it...

...the City Bank man
handed me...

...a large sum
in French banknotes.

And I left.

I carried the money to my car.

That's where
the City Bank story ends.

Some claim...

...that some of those notes
went missing.

I know a lot of people think
my brother is loaded.

I know they do. But that's because
they don't know him.

He's told me stuff about money,
people.

If he were to tell others,
all hell would break lose.

I think what Lucio says
is reasonable.

Because of the way
different people work.

Those who were loaded...

...Know full well
where that money ended up.

At a friend's house
in the country...

...Lucio burns his past
as a forger.

It is part of his commitment.

At just 50...

...he is forced to change a lifestyle
he has lead for 30 years.

He still has his job
as a bricklayer.

He decides to think big...

...and sets up a cooperative
along with other friends.

The cooperative was made up
of close friends I truly love...

...but they were revolutionaries.
Now that's one thing...

...but being a bricklayer
is another. The cop folded.

I immediately founded a company.

It's in Lucio's nature
to be an entrepreneur...

...so setting up a company
comes naturally to him.

His project is everyday life...

...that doesn't mean he hasn't
behaved like a real anarchist.

There is a certain dichotomy
between his ideas...

...and the political affiliation
it involves...

...and everyday life.

Maybe that was how it was.
Life is so complex.

Who will pave the way?

The guy who lays
the paving stones?

He was a god bricklayer.
perhaps better than the rest.

Instead of earning a thousand francs,
he earned two thousand.

"In 1996. Lucio bought
a derelict building...

"...on the Rue des Cascades
in the Belleville neighbourhood.

"He refurbished it, turning it into
a non-profit venue...

"...where all sorts of cultural
activities are organised...

"...related to anarchism and
anti-establishment movements."

"He named it
The Louise Michel Centre...

"...in homage to the historical leader
of the Paris Communes.

"Lucio lives just about the Centre.

"If he is at home,
he always leaves the door open...

"...so that anyone who wants
can pop in to see him."