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The geezer ringleader of the band of “grandpa robbers’’ who allegedly tied up and raided Kim Kardashian in a 2016 hotel-room invasion is so deaf that he has to have questions submitted to him in writing at trial.
Some of the other accused elderly suspects are supposedly suffering from their own maladies ranging from cancer to Alzheimer’s disease — alleged conditions that could all come into play at their sensational court proceeding, which began Monday.
Kardashian is set to testify herself May 13.
The trial for 10 of the accused crooks — several of whom are in their late 60s and early 70s — began nearly a decade after they allegedly targeted the world-famous influencer’s Paris hotel room, tied her up and made off with $10 million in jewelry.
A 72-year-old defendant died in March.
Alleged lookout Yunnis Abbas, 72, underwent triple-bypass heart surgery in prison and requires constant care — although he managed to still write a book titled, “I Kidnapped Kim Kardashian.”
Another suspect, 69-year-old accused ringleader Aomar Ait Khedache, a k a “Old Omar,” has admitted to taking part in the caper but is so hard of hearing that he will be formally answering questions written down for him when asked about his illicit antics.
Prosecutors say the gang hatched their scheme when they received a tip that a “big American star” was coming to France for Paris Fashion Week and had been flaunting her wealth on Instagram, the Daily Mail reported.
The thieves reportedly gained information about Kardashian’s movements from Gary Madar, a VIP greeter who allegedly had a close relationship with the reality star.
Kardashian was staying in the Hôtel de Pourtalès, a boutique getaway for celebrities and millionaires, when the older armed thugs dressed as police officers overwhelmed the concierge, nabbed Kardashian’s personal bodyguard and forced him to show them to Kardashian’s room.
The crooks busted through the door and bound the star’s hands with zip-ties before making off with millions of dollars of her jewelry, including her diamond engagement ring from then-fiance Kanye West.
Kardashian recalled in later interviews that she was wearing nothing but a bathrobe as the attackers put duct tape on her mouth and eyes and dragged her out into the hallway.
“[A man] grabbed me and pulled me towards him, but I wasn’t wearing anything underneath so I was like, ‘OK, this is the time I’m going to get raped. Just deal. It’s going to happen. You know, just prepare yourself,’ ” she told David Letterman in 2020.
French police used DNA evidence, security camera footage, local phone records and other clues to link the crime to several career criminals who operated in Paris.
The suspects included “Old Omar” and Didier “Blue Eyes” Dubreucq, who had served 23 years in prison for a previous robbery and for smuggling 2 tons of cocaine into Europe on a Saudi Arabian prince’s private jet, according to the Mail.
Detectives tracked the movements of the suspects and their apparent associates, who included Omar’s mistress Cathy Glotin and the late Marceau “Rough Nose” Baumgertner — a black-market fencer with a dog named “Al Capone.”
Investigators eventually spotted several of the crew allegedly “sharing the loot” while sipping espressos on a cafe terrace. The gang was rounded up and charged in 2017.
Their trial is scheduled to go on until late May.
More than 400 journalists have signed up for press access — 10 times the number normally allowed in the central Paris courtroom, according to the New York Times.
Not all of the “Kardashian 12” — a nickname for the ten defendants plus two other alleged accomplices — have one foot in the grave.
Harminy Aït Khedache, the son of “Old Omar” and the alleged getaway driver, is 38.
But in general, the gang is looking worse for wear.
“Blue Eyes,” now 69, has lung cancer.
Pierre ‘Big Pierrot’ Bouianère, 72, who was previously convicted of drug trafficking, claims to have Alzheimer’s
Glotin, 78, who allegedly helped hide “Old Omar” and sell the jewelry, has back problems, heart problems and throat cancer.
“Old Omar” — who was arrested for drug charges at just 14 — was released from his remand cell in 2020 because of serious heart problems.
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