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Which lesson would you draw from this?

'Crime doesn't pay?' or 'Murphy strikes again?'

Here's a story that could be fiction if it wasn't true.

On Sunday, December 19, 2004, a gang of Belfast, Northern Ireland, robbers initiated a daring 24-hour plan to rob the Northern Bank.

While holding family members of two executives hostage, they made off with the staggering sum of $42,000,000. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, this heist rates fourth on the all-time list and first for a peacetime haul of currency alone.

These were not ordinary crooks. They did their homework and executed their plan with military precision.

They wore gloves, masks, overalls, and boots. Police theorize these were burned afterwards.

They trimmed their hair short to minimize incriminating DNA forensic evidence. They burned the executive's car commandeered for the robbery.

However, they did not plan on the huge amount of almost exclusively Northern Irish notes.

That's why they can't spend the money.

Money-laundering experts predict this because Northern Ireland banks produced almost all the stolen currency for use in Northern Ireland. The notes are easily recognizable and not accepted in the rest of the U.K. or other countries.

This is a serious bummer if you have oodles of the stuff.

As a former minister, I could hold forth on 'crime doesn't pay,' but I won't.

Instead, let me pay homage to Mr. Murphy.

No matter how carefully you plan, remember 'What can go wrong, will go wrong.'

Expect it. Welcome it. Summon up all your confidence and think fast when it happens.

You will surely find a way to turn Murphy's Law to your advantage.

So what could these guys do?

Sell the bills off as souvenirs?

At least, they have plenty of cool bookmarks.

Successfully yours,

Tony Papajohn