Nation: The Ultimate Heist

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Only five days after the robbery, Rifkin sold twelve diamonds to a Beverly Hills jeweler for $12,000. Then he jetted to Rochester, where he tried to arrange more diamond sales through a former business associate. But the associate tipped off the FBI. With federal agents on his heels, Rifkin flew to San Diego and was met at the airport by an old friend from school days, a photographer named Daniel Wolfson. Rifkin told Wolfson that he had decided to give himself up but first wanted refuge for the weekend.

Shortly before midnight on Sunday, Nov. 5, FBI agents knocked on the door of Wolfson's apartment. After a brief argument with the photographer, they entered and began to search. Suddenly, Rifkin stepped out of a closet, hands raised, and gave up. He turned over to the agents a suitcase, filled with $12,000 in cash and about 40 packets of diamonds. As agents led Rifkin from the apartment, Wolfson snapped a few pictures of his friend that he sold to news organizations the next day for $250.

So far, the FBI has connected only Rifkin to the bank robbery. Agents believe that they have exonerated Jeweler Lon Stein, who claims that he had nothing to do with the diamond deal in Geneva. As for the mysterious Mr. Nelson, agents are trying to learn his real identity by tracing his messages through Western Union.

People who know Rifkin are shocked by the accusations against him. Says Gerald Smith, a professor of management science at California State University Northridge: "The guy is not a bank robber, he's a problem solver. I have a feeling Stan viewed the thing as an incredible problem. He's always five years ahead of anything else going on." Rifkin has been charged with transporting stolen property over state lines. If convicted, he could be sentenced to a $10,000 fine and ten years in jail. Wolfson was charged with harboring a criminal.

The bank, meanwhile, has recovered about $2 million of its money and will probably sell the diamonds, valued on the retail market at $13 million. Result: the bank stands to make nearly a $5 million profit from the heist.