Aflevering 1 | Nog geen boef

Key Points

• Philippe Lacroix, known as the "brain" of the "Bende van Nijvel" gang, shares his life story for the first time, covering his criminal career, the "escape of the century," and his current life as a free man.
• His troubled childhood, marked by his father's affair and a violent confrontation that left him with permanent eye damage, set the stage for his descent into delinquency.
• Lacroix's criminal path began with petty theft as a teenager, influenced by friends in a neighborhood where crime was common, and escalated into serious organized crime.
• The narrative details his complex family dynamics, including being used as a pawn in his parents' bitter separation and his eventual choice to live with his mother.
• The account provides insight into his personal life, current subdued lifestyle in Brussels, and reflections on the pivotal moments that led to his life of crime.

Summary

This transcription is the first part of a podcast interview with Philippe Lacroix, the infamous mastermind behind the Belgian criminal gang the "Bande van Nijvel" (Bende van Nijvel). Now 62 and living a quiet life in a residential Brussels neighborhood, Lacroix reflects on his journey from childhood to becoming one of Belgium's most wanted criminals. The interview begins with a description of his current modest home, which he partly rents to international students, and his disciplined routine, a habit retained from his time in prison.

Lacroix's story starts with his birth in 1960 in Uccle, Brussels, to Albert, a paint salesman, and Emma, an Italian-born seamstress. He describes an initially normal, happy childhood with his younger brother, Georges. However, his life unraveled during his early teens when his father moved to Italy for work, leaving the family behind. A pivotal, violent confrontation with his father during a summer in Bologna at age 15—where Lacroix struck his father with a stick, resulting in a severe eye injury that never fully healed—fundamentally changed him. He vowed from then on to win every fight.

His family life deteriorated further due to his father's affair, which led to a bitter separation. Lacroix and his brother were caught in the middle, at one point being sent to live with their father and his new partner in Italy. During this period, he had no contact with his mother, as his father actively turned the children against her. This manipulation culminated in Lacroix, under pressure, giving false testimony to a social worker that contributed to his mother temporarily losing custody. He later felt profound guilt for this betrayal.

Returning to Brussels as a troubled teenager, Lacroix was expelled from multiple schools and engaged in fights. Seeking a sense of belonging, he found it in a peer group where petty crime was normalized. His official entry into crime began when he intervened to protect his younger brother, Georges, from a local delinquent named Thierry Smets. Lacroix offered to be the lookout for Smets during a theft instead of his brother. This first "delict" marked the beginning of a long criminal career, quickly escalating from stealing mopeds to cars. He consciously chose a criminal life over a conventional one, setting his definitive direction. The segment ends by setting the scene in the late 1970s in his neighborhood of Woluwé, where such criminal activity among youth was commonplace.