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A team of Hollywood scriptwriters couldn't have done a better job putting this story line together. This, however, is a real-life story of armed robberies and dramatic escapes by a dashing robber who gave flowers to the female bank tellers he robbed, then escaped by hailing a taxi and hurtling through the back streets of Budapest, or by swimming across the Danube.

Attila Ambrus, "the Whiskey Robber," is Hungary's latest folk-hero fugitive, admired across the generations for his daring criminal exploits. Celebrated on commemorative T-shirts and buttons, and the talk of the country's bars and cafes, Ambrus -- who reportedly once even disguised himself as a policeman while robbing a bank -- now has his own Hungarian fan club on the Internet, which offers a Whiskey Robber screensaver, news archive and details of a look-alike contest. (Law-abiding citizens concerned that crime is being glorified have set up a rival anti-whiskey site.)

Police checkpoints dot Budapest at night, and cars are stopped in a nationwide manhunt for the 32-year-old Ambrus, who has reportedly collected 142 million forints (about $590,000) from his robberies. Like any good criminal, Ambrus has gained a reputation for high living; as Budapest gossip has it, a holiday with Ambrus has become highly prized among his female friends.

Ambrus' lawyer, Gyorgy Magyar, announced that an unnamed American public relations firm has offered a large (and so far undisclosed) sum to make a film about Ambrus' exploits, and that his client has been inundated with offers from newspapers and publishers to buy his life story. There is also some talk that the money made could be used to compensate banks for their losses.

Magyar also announced that Ambrus will be at the center of an advertising campaign for a new energy drink. Manufacturers have bought the rights to use Ambrus' face for six months. Promotional T-shirts, buttons and souvenirs are already in production, and the drink will be produced by a Western European company together with a Hungarian partner.

Peter Nagy, general secretary of the Hungarian Advertising Association, told the Hungarian newspaper Nepszava that while it is unethical for a criminal to appear in advertisements, there is no law against it.

Ambrus' current whereabouts are unknown, although most Hungarians believe he has left the country. But his exploits have caught the public's imagination, to the dismay of police officers and officials who are baffled that a serial lawbreaker has somehow morphed into the talk of the town, lauded for his derring-do.

Few expect that there will be many takers for the police reward of 1 million forints (about $4,150) for anyone helping to catch the Whiskey Robber. Ambrus was only caught after he went home to his apartment to fetch his dog before fleeing Hungary -- a move that brought him even more public support in this nation of dog-lovers.

Moreover, the country's still powerful, chivalrous tradition of flower-giving -- "No one who likes flowers can be a bad man," goes one saying -- assures that among the Hungarian public, Ambrus is seen as the archetypal thief with a heart of gold.

Next page | Who's the real criminal?