Banks Don't Have Money These Days

There was a time when a robber would hold up a bank because that's where the money was.

Not any more.

The banks are failing. They loaned all their assets to property developers and those developers went bust, so there's the money all gone and not coming back. Unless the European Union makes another donation to that most worthy cause, the bailout fund.

Where's a robber to go, so?

A pair of clever criminals figured out that as long as those with a few euro are still eating in style, the money is to be found in a restaurant.

They hit the Rustic Stone on Saturday night, the busiest and most lucrative night for a restaurant.

And lucrative it is. The fine dining establishment in Dublin is owned and operated by star chef Dylan McGrath. He's been on television, so he's famous in Ireland. Not too hard for a computer-savvy criminal to put two and two together and come up with a plan.

The two men, faces covered by balaclavas, entered the premises at the end of the night, when the only people around would be a few staff members cleaning up.

Then they cleaned up, taking in up to 10,000 euro after relieving the staff of their cell phones. No YouTube video of this robbery getting posted online, thank you very much.

Gardai have no leads. Without a description of the perpetrators, it's difficult to pin down any particular criminal element. Chances are good that they'll start by asking about recently sacked staff who would know that the restaurant would present a tasty target worth the effort of buying a new balaclava and obtaining a gun.

So if your significant other has a lot of cash to throw around suddenly, An Garda Siochana would like to hear from you.