Brian Robinson was arrested in December 1983 after Stephen Black - the security guard who let the robbers into the Brink's-Mat warehouse, and Robinson's brother-in-law - named him to police. The theft occurred in July when a Brink's big rig paused at a Grapevine truck stop while transporting jewelry from a Northern California trade show to the Southland. Many other types of information were received. Before his trial in McKean County, he was released on $17,000 bond. He needed money for his defense against the charges in McKean County, and it was obvious that he had developed a bitter attitude toward a number of his close underworld associates. If passing police had looked closer early that Saturday morning on November 26, 1983, they would have noticed the van was weighted down below its wheel arches with three tons of gold. Minutes later, police arrived at the Brinks building, and special agents of the FBI quickly joined in the investigation. This man subsequently identified locks from doors which the Brinks gang had entered as being similar to the locks which Pino had brought him. Continuous investigation, however, had linked him with the gang. From masked gunmen and drugs to kidnappings and bags of cash, the $7.4 million robbery had it all. During the regular exercise period, Burke separated himself from the other prisoners and moved toward a heavy steel door leading to the solitary confinement section. Each carried a pair of gloves. They did not expect to find the Aladdin's cave to contain some 26m in gold bullion and diamonds that they stumbled upon. Even after these convictions, OKeefe and Gusciora continued to seek their release. During this operation, a pair of glasses belonging to one of the employees was unconsciously scooped up with other items and stuffed into a bag of loot. He had been released on parole from the Norfolk, Massachusetts, Prison Colony on August 22, 1949only five months before the robbery. Three of the remaining five gang members were previously accounted for, OKeefe and Gusciora being in prison on other charges and Banfield being dead. The eight men were sentenced by Judge Forte on October 9, 1956. There were the rope and adhesive tape used to bind and gag the employees and a chauffeurs cap that one of the robbers had left at the crime scene. Within minutes, theyd stolen more than $1.2 million in cash and another $1.5 million in checks and other securities, making it the largest robbery in the U.S. at the time. The Great Brinks Robbery of 1950 met all of these requirementsa great pile of cash disappeared with no evidence, leads, or suspects. Todd Williamson/Getty Images David Ghantt attends the 2016 after party for the Hollywood premiere of Masterminds, based on the Loomis Fargo heist that he helped carry out. He claimed he had been drinking in various taverns from approximately 5:10 p.m. until 7:45 p.m. Each man also was given a pistol and a Halloween-type mask. The group were led . OKeefe was bitter about a number of matters. The Brink's truck was robbed in the early morning . They were checked against serial numbers of bills known to have been included in the Brinks loot, and it was determined that the Boston criminal possessed part of the money that had been dragged away by the seven masked gunmen on January 17, 1950. Due to his criminal record, the Immigration and Naturalization Service instituted proceedings in 1941 to deport him. Even fearing the new bills might be linked with the crime, McGinnis suggested a process for aging the new money in a hurry.. Many problems and dangers were involved in such a robbery, and the plans never crystallized. They moved with a studied precision which suggested that the crime had been carefully planned and rehearsed in the preceding months. And what of McGinnis himself? Seventy years ago today, a group of men stole $1.2 million in cash and $1.5 million in checks. On September 8, 1950, OKeefe was sentenced to three years in the Bradford County jail at Towanda and fined $3,000 for violation of the Uniform Firearms Act. The robbers removed the adhesive tape from the mouth of one employee and learned that the buzzer signified that someone wanted to enter the vault area. The robbery of 26m of gold bars from a warehouse near Heathrow airport is one of Britain's most notorious - and biggest - heists. Burke, a professional killer, allegedly had been hired by underworld associates of OKeefe to assassinate him. On the afternoon of August 28, 1954, Trigger Burke escaped from the Suffolk County jail in Boston, where he was being held on the gun-possession charge arising from the June 16 shooting of OKeefe. Three years later, Great Train Robber. A 32-year-old Cuban immigrant living in Miami, Karls Monzon was . . The heist. None of these materialized because the gang did not consider the conditions to be favorable. Later, when he counted the money, he found that the suitcase contained $98,000. Examination by the FBI Laboratory subsequently disclosed that the decomposition, discoloration, and matting together of the bills were due, at least in part, to the fact that all of the bills had been wet. Mutulu Shakur, born Jeral Wayne Williams, is serving a 60-year sentence for organizing multiple bank and armored car robberies in New York and Connecticut. On April 11, 1955, the Supreme Court ruled that Pinos conviction in 1948 for larceny (the sentence that was revoked and the case placed on file) had not attained such finality as to support an order of deportation. Thus, Pino could not be deported. This was in their favor. Charged with unlawful possession of liquor distillery equipment and violation of Internal Revenue laws, he had many headaches during the period in which OKeefe was giving so much trouble to the gang. At the time of their arrest, Faherty and Richardson were rushing for three loaded revolvers that they had left on a chair in the bathroom of the apartment. T he robbers were there because they knew there was 3 million in cash locked in the . The series surrounds the 1983 Brink's-Mat robbery in which 26 million (equivalent to 93.3 million in 2021) worth of gold bullion, diamonds, and cash were stolen from a storehouse near Heathrow Airport. What happened to the other half of the Brink's-Mat gold? Although Gusciora was acquitted of the charges against him in Towanda, he was removed to McKean County, Pennsylvania, to stand trial for burglary, larceny, and receiving stolen goods. As the robbers sped from the scene, a Brinks employee telephoned the Boston Police Department. His explanation: He had been drinking at a bar in Boston. Two of the gang members moved toward the door to capture him; but, seeing the garage attendant walk away apparently unaware that the robbery was being committed, they did not pursue him. On January 12, 1953, Pino was released on bail pending a deportation hearing. Immediately upon leaving, the gang loaded the loot into the truck that was parked on Prince Street near the door. Even if released, he thought, his days were numbered. OKeefe was enraged that the pieces of the stolen Ford truck had been placed on the dump near his home, and he generally regretted having become associated at all with several members of the gang. Well-known Boston hoodlums were picked up and questioned by police. More than 100 persons took the stand as witnesses for the prosecution and the defense during September 1956. Investigation revealed that Geagan, a laborer, had not gone to work on January 17 or 18, 1950.). You get me released, and Ill solve the case in no time, these criminals would claim. How much money was stolen in the Brinks robbery? A third attempt on OKeefes life was made on June 16, 1954. The missing racketeers automobile was found near his home; however, his whereabouts remain a mystery. The trip from the liquor store in Roxbury to the Brinks offices could be made in about 15 minutes. The Brinks Mat Robbery: The real story that inspired The Gold. The full details of this important development were immediately furnished to the FBI Office in Boston. The truck found at the dump had been reported stolen by a Ford dealer near Fenway Park in Boston on November 3, 1949. Fat John announced that each of the packages contained $5,000. Except for $5,000 that he took before placing the loot in Maffies care, OKeefe angrily stated, he was never to see his share of the Brinks money again. The criminals had been looking to do a. Information received from this individual linked nine well-known hoodlums with the crime. LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Jewelry, gems, high-end watches and other valuables worth millions of dollars were stolen from a transport vehicle in Southern California. On this day, Jawarski made history by pulling off the nation's first armored car robbery. David Ghantt was the vault supervisor for Loomis, Fargo & Co. armored cars, which managed the transportation of large sums of cash between banks in North Carolina. If passing police had looked closer early that Saturday morning on November 26, 1983, they would have noticed the van was weighted down below its wheel arches with three tons of gold. Terry Perkins. All identifying marks placed on currency and securities by the customers were noted, and appropriate stops were placed at banking institutions across the nation. While action to appeal the convictions was being taken on their behalf, the eight men were removed to the State prison at Walpole, Massachusetts. Many of the details had previously been obtained during the intense six-year investigation. After denying any knowledge of the escape of Trigger Burke, Pino was released. The trial of these eight men began on the morning of August 6, 1956, before Judge Feliz Forte in the Suffolk County Courthouse in Boston. (On January 18, 1956, OKeefe had pleaded guilty to the armed robbery of Brinks.) The roofs of buildings on Prince and Snow Hill Streets soon were alive with inconspicuous activity as the gang looked for the most advantageous sites from which to observe what transpired inside Brinks offices. Accordingly, another lock cylinder was installed until the original one was returned. When questioned concerning his activities on the night of January 17, 1950, Richardson claimed that after unsuccessfully looking for work he had several drinks and then returned home. Born in Italy in 1907, Pino was a young child when he entered the United States, but he never became a naturalized citizen. On February 5, 1950, however, a police officer in Somerville, Massachusetts, recovered one of the four revolvers that had been taken by the robbers. On November 26, 1983, six armed robbers broke into the Brink-Mat security depot near Heathrow Airport in hopes of stealing 3.2 million in cash. Some of the jewelry might. The team of burglars bypassed the truck's locking mechanism and used the storage containers to haul away precious gems, gold and other valuables. Shortly after these two guns were found, one of them was placed in a trash barrel and was taken to the city dump. Perkins was handed a 22-year jail sentence for that one, but absconded from open prison in 1995 and managed to . Shortly before 7:30 p.m., they were surprised by five menheavily disguised, quiet as mice, wearing gloves to avoid leaving fingerprints and soft shoes to muffle noise. Despite the lack of evidence and witnesses upon which court proceedings could be based, as the investigation progressed there was little doubt that OKeefe had been one of the central figures in the Brinks robbery. He was granted a full pardon by the acting governor of Massachusetts. On August 1, 1954, he was arrested at Leicester, Massachusetts, and turned over to the Boston police who held him for violating probation on a gun-carrying charge. None proved fruitful. He later was to be arrested as a member of the robbery gang. Two other Baltimore police officers who were walking along the street nearby noted this maneuver. Each of the five lock cylinders was taken on a separate occasion. They stole 26 million in gold bullion - the biggest robbery of . They did not expect to find the Aladdin's cave to contain some 26m in gold bullion and diamonds that they stumbled upon. While the others stayed at the house to make a quick count of the loot, Pino and Faherty departed. The. The. OKeefe and Gusciora reportedly had worked together on a number of occasions. During the period in which Pinos deportation troubles were mounting, OKeefe completed his sentence at Towanda, Pennsylvania. Each of these leads was checked out. Gusciora also claimed to have been drinking that evening. Had the ground not been frozen, the person or persons who abandoned the bags probably would have attempted to bury them. After dousing security guards with petrol and threatening them with a lit match if they didn't open the safes, the six men made an amazing discovery when they stumbled upon 3,000kg worth of gold bars. Next year January 2023 to be precise will mark 30 years since the Brink's depot in Rochester was looted for $7.4 million, then the fifth largest armored car company heist in the country. Before removing the remainder of the loot from the house on January 18, 1950, the gang members attempted to identify incriminating items. On November 26, 1981, six armed men from South London broke into the Brink's-Mat warehouse near London Heathrow. Kenneth Noye now: What happened to the criminal depicted in The Gold after the Brink's-Mat robbery,The Gold tells the remarkable true story of a heist that went almost too well, with success bringing a host of problems Investigation established that this gun, together with another rusty revolver, had been found on February 4, 1950, by a group of boys who were playing on a sand bar at the edge of the Mystic River in Somerville. During the period immediately following the Brinks robbery, the heat was on OKeefe and Gusciora. Although he had been known to carry a gun, burglaryrather than armed robberywas his criminal specialty, and his exceptional driving skill was an invaluable asset during criminal getaways. Paul Jawarski (sometimes spelled Jaworski) in a yellowed newspaper . While some gang members remained in the building to ensure that no one detected the operation, other members quickly obtained keys to fit the locks. Early in June 1956, however, an unexpected break developed. At 4:20 p.m. on January 6, 1956, OKeefe made the final decision. It was almost the perfect crime. After surrendering himself in December 1953 in compliance with an Immigration and Naturalization Service order, he began an additional battle to win release from custody while his case was being argued. After these plans were reviewed and found to be unhelpful, OKeefe and Gusciora returned them in the same manner. On January 13, 1956, the Suffolk County grand jury returned indictments against the 11 members of the Brinks gang. In December 1954, he indicated to the agents that Pino could look for rough treatment if he (OKeefe) again was released. Considerable thought was given to every detail. OKeefe paid his respects to other members of the Brinks gang in Boston on several occasions in the spring of 1954, and it was obvious to the agents handling the investigation that he was trying to solicit money. Since the robbery had taken place between approximately 7:10 and 7:27 p.m., it was quite probable that a gang, as well drilled as the Brinks robbers obviously were, would have arranged to rendezvous at a specific time. Since he claimed to have met no one and to have stopped nowhere during his walk, he actually could have been doing anything on the night of the crime. Adding to these problems was the constant pressure being exerted upon Pino by OKeefe from the county jail in Towanda, Pennsylvania. Another old gang that had specialized in hijacking bootlegged whiskey in the Boston area during Prohibition became the subject of inquiries. Even with the recovery of this money in Baltimore and Boston, more than $1,150,000 of currency taken in the Brinks robbery remained unaccounted for. Pino, Costa, Maffie, Geagan, Faherty, Richardson, and Baker received life sentences for robbery, two-year sentences for conspiracy to steal, and sentences of eight years to ten years for breaking and entering at night. Mr. Gilbert was 37 on the day of the attack, Oct. 20, 1981, when nearly $1.6 million in cash was stolen from an armored Brink's car outside the Nanuet Mall near Nyack. During 1955, OKeefe carefully pondered his position. Chicago police said at about 3 p.m., a 38-year-old male armored truck . That same afternoon (following the admission that Fat John had produced the money and had described it as proceeds from the Brinks robbery), a search warrant was executed in Boston covering the Tremont Street offices occupied by the three men. It unleashed a trail of eight murders and a global hunt for. This phase of the investigation greatly disturbed many gamblers. The thieves quickly bound the employees and began hauling away the loot. OKeefe had left his hotel at approximately 7:00 p.m. Pino and Baker separately decided to go out at 7:00 p.m. Costa started back to the motor terminal at about 7:00 p.m. Other principal suspects were not able to provide very convincing accounts of their activities that evening. Thorough inquiries were made concerning the disposition of the bags after their receipt by the Massachusetts firm. Reports had been received alleging that he had held up several gamblers in the Boston area and had been involved in shakedowns of bookies. Inside the building, the gang members carefully studied all available information concerning Brinks schedules and shipments. Officials said the incident happened at a Wendy's in a strip mall at 87th and Lafayette, right off the Dan Ryan Expressway. The pardon meant that his record no longer contained the second conviction; thus, the Immigration and Naturalization Service no longer had grounds to deport him. Jazz Maffie was convicted of federal income tax evasion and began serving a nine-month sentence in the Federal Penitentiary at Danbury, Connecticut, in June 1954. Both men remained mute following their arrests. (Burke was arrested by FBI agents at Folly Beach, South Carolina, on August 27, 1955, and he returned to New York to face murder charges which were outstanding against him there. OKeefe did not know where the gang members had hidden their shares of the lootor where they had disposed of the money if, in fact, they had disposed of their shares. Some of the bills were in pieces. He had been convicted of armed robbery in 1940 and served several months in the Massachusetts State Reformatory and the Norfolk, Massachusetts, Prison Colony. (The arrests of Faherty and Richardson also resulted in the indictment of another Boston hoodlum as an accessory after the fact). As the investigation developed and thousands of leads were followed to dead ends, the broad field of possible suspects gradually began to narrow. All right, he told two FBI agents, what do you want to know?. Stanley Gusciora (pictured left), who had been transferred to Massachusetts from Pennsylvania to stand trial, was placed under medical care due to weakness, dizziness, and vomiting. One Massachusetts racketeer, a man whose moral code mirrored his long years in the underworld, confided to the agents who were interviewing him, If I knew who pulled the job, I wouldnt be talking to you now because Id be too busy trying to figure a way to lay my hands on some of the loot.. He told the interviewing agents that he trusted Maffie so implicitly that he gave the money to him for safe keeping. Soon after OKeefes return in March 1954, Baker and his wife left Boston on a vacation.. Subsequently, this machine gun was identified as having been used in the attempt on OKeefes life. Subsequently, he engaged in a conversation with McGinnis and a Boston police officer. In 1997, Loomis Fargo employee David Ghantt robbed the armored car company of $17 million. When OKeefe admitted his part in the Brinks robbery to FBI agents in January 1956, he told of his high regard for Gusciora. After receiving the go ahead signal from Costa, the seven armed men walked to the Prince Street entrance of Brinks. On October 20, 1981, members of the Black Liberation Army robbed a Brink's truck at the Nanuet Mall. In addition, McGinnis was named in two other complaints involving the receiving and concealing of the loot. In pursuing the underworld rumors concerning the principal suspects in the Brinks case, the FBI succeeded in identifying more probable members of the gang. Pino was determined to fight against deportation. After weighing the arguments presented by the attorneys for the eight convicted criminals, the State Supreme Court turned down the appeals on July 1, 1959, in a 35-page decision written by the Chief Justice. July 18, 2022, 9:32 AM UTC. He, too, had left his home shortly before 7:00 p.m. on the night of the robbery and met the Boston police officer soon thereafter. After a period of hostility, he began to display a friendly attitude. Two weeks of comparative quiet in the gang members lives were shattered on June 5, 1954, when an attempt was made on OKeefes life. Somehow the criminals had opened at least threeand possibly fourlocked doors to gain entrance to the second floor of Brinks, where the five employees were engaged in their nightly chore of checking and storing the money collected from Brinks customers that day. In addition, although violent dissension had developed within the gang, there still was no indication that any of the men were ready to talk. Based on the available information, however, the FBI felt that OKeefes disgust was reaching the point where it was possible he would turn against his confederates. Each robbers face was completely concealed behind a Halloween-type mask. In examining the bill, a Federal Reserve note, the officer observed that it was in musty condition. As this bag was being emptied later that evening, the glasses were discovered and destroyed by the gang. Almost. While the officer and amusement arcade operator were talking to him, the hoodlum reached into his pocket, quickly withdrew his hand again and covered his hand with a raincoat he was carrying. To muffle their footsteps, one of the gang wore crepe-soled shoes, and the others wore rubbers. On November 26, 1982, six armed robbers forced their way into the Brink's-Mat warehouse, the plan was to steal the 3.2m in cash they were expecting to find stored there. The Brink's cargo trailer was. OKeefe claimed that he left his hotel room in Boston at approximately 7:00 p.m. on January 17, 1950. Shortly after 6.40am, six armed robbers in balaclavas entered a warehouse at Heathrow airport belonging to security company Brink's-Mat. First, there was the money. On the evening of January 17, 1950, employees of the security firm Brinks, Inc., in Boston, Massachusetts, were closing for the day, returning sacks of undelivered cash, checks, and other material to the company safe on the second floor.
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