I guess it is better to lose an expensive ring than your life. ---- New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft revealed the real story behind a 2005 meeting with Vladimir Putin, during which the Russian president pocketed his Super Bowl ring, worth more than $25,000. Kraft, at the time, claimed the diamond-encrusted bauble was a gift, but he now admits Putin stole it, and the White House intervened when he demanded it back. Kraft explained the incident happened while Sandy Weill and other business execs were in St. Petersburg. âI took out the ring and showed it to [Putin], and he put it on and he goes, âI can kill someone with this ring,â â Kraft told the crowd at Carnegie Hallâs Medal of Excellence gala at the Waldorf-Astoria. âI put my hand out and he put it in his pocket, and three KGB guys got around him and walked out.â Kraft released a statement at the time, âPresident Putin, a great and knowledgeable sports fan, was clearly taken with its uniqueness. I decided to give him the ring as a symbol of the respect and admiration that I have for the Russian people and [his] leadership. But Kraft really wanted the 4.94-carat bauble back, he said Thursday, admitting heâd gotten a call from the George W. Bush-run White House, saying, ââIt would really be in the best interest of US-Soviet relations if you meant to give the ring as a present.â (In fact the Soviet Union had collapsed 14 years earlier.) But, Kraft said, âI really didnât [want to]. I had an emotional tie to the ring, it has my name on it. I donât want to see it on eBay. There was a pause on the other end of the line, and the voice repeated, âIt would really be in the best interest if you meant to give the ring as a present.â â The ring is now reportedly kept in the Kremlin library. http://www.nypost.com/p/pagesix/kraft_putin_stole_bowl_ring_qtB16b5PI0jipYT6tQxUGO