Ballad of the Whiskey Robber by Julian Rubinstein

After this success, Ambrus continued a string of 27 robberies of banks, post offices, and travel agents that ended with his arrest in 1999, stealing in all about 100 million forints (about half a million US dollars). Ambrus' hockey teammates gave him the nickname 'The Panther from Csík.' Ambrus's income continued to be insecure as he worked a variety of side jobs, and he committed his first robbery of a post office in 1993. Despite his abysmal performance, he was admitted to the roster as goaltender while doubling as the team's janitor. Īmbrus made a living through a variety of odd jobs, including being a gravedigger and a pelt smuggler, after which he tried out for the professional hockey team Újpesti TE. In 1988, Ambrus illegally crossed Romania's borders by riding underneath a freight train and applied for political asylum and citizenship in Hungary, the latter of which he obtained in 1994. Īmbrus had trouble with the law from a young age for committing petty thefts. His story was told in the 2004 book Ballad of the Whiskey Robber by author Julian Rubinstein and the 2017 film A Viszkis directed by Nimród Antal.Īmbrus was born in a Székely Hungarian family in Fitod, a small village in eastern Transylvania, Romania, right outside Miercurea Ciuc ( Csíkszereda). Ambrus was eventually caught and imprisoned for about 12 years, released in 2012.

He became infamous in Hungary as a folk hero symbolic of the times in the decade after the introduction of capitalism to the former Communist state. He became notorious during the 1990s for committing a string of undercover 'gentleman robberies' in and around Budapest, Hungary, while working a day job as a goaltender. The Whiskey Robber, The Panther from CsíkĪttila Ambrus (born October 6, 1967), alias The Whiskey Robber, is a Hungarian bank robber and professional ice hockey player.

Ballad of the Whiskey Robber by Julian Rubinstein