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Police Nab 'Ninja' in Italy

Black-cloaked, bow-wielding bandit preyed on farmers 14th-century-style

By Dustin Lushing,  Newser Staff

Posted Jun 13, 2007 5:42 AM CDT

(Newser) – A weeks-long manhunt in northern Italy for an elusive "ninja"-styled thief ended yesterday after cops pursued the robber as he fled through cornfields on a bicycle, the BBC reports. The culprit, his head wrapped in a black bandanna, had stolen onto several isolated farms at night and robbed victims with his bow and arrow.

Japanese ninjas were notorious assassins known for their stealth. This pretender—a former Russian soldier—was tripped up by an elderly farmer whose rifle accidentally discharged and frightened off the man in black. The bandit, finally busted in an abandoned farmhouse, told police his disguise was inspired by his boyhood idol, Robin Hood.

International Spy Museum in Washington, DC
International Spy Museum in Washington, DC   (Getty Images)
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'   (Getty Images)
Ninja in Chinese calligraphy
"Ninja" in Chinese calligraphy   (IndexOpen (http://www.indexopen.com))
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