Subsequently, OKeefe left his carand the $200,000in a garage on Blue Hill Avenue in Boston. On November 16, 1959, the United States Supreme Court denied a request of the defense counsel for a writ of certiorari. Prominent among the other strong suspects was Vincent James Costa, brother-in-law of Pino. The detainer involved OKeefes violation of probation in connection with a conviction in 1945 for carrying concealed weapons. A 32-year-old Cuban immigrant living in Miami, Karls Monzon was . 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. Three of the newspapers used to wrap the bills were identified. Until the FBI and its partners painstakingly solved the case. A search of the hoodlums room in a Baltimore hotel (registered to him under an assumed name) resulted in the location of $3,780 that the officers took to police headquarters. Apparently, they had planned a leisurely trip with an abundance of extracurricular activities.. In its determination to overlook no possibility, the FBI contacted various resorts throughout the United States for information concerning persons known to possess unusually large sums of money following the robbery. BY The Associated Press. He had been short changed $2,000. Reports had been received alleging that he had held up several gamblers in the Boston area and had been involved in shakedowns of bookies. In the succeeding two weeks, nearly 1,200 prospective jurors were eliminated as the defense counsel used their 262 peremptory challenges. At 10:25 p.m. on October 5, 1956, the jury retired to weigh the evidence. 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. 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. Binoculars were used in this phase of the casing operation. It was almost the perfect crime. After the heist was completed, one of the warehouse workers managed to free themselves from their restraints and notify the authorities, but the robbers were already long gone. Again, he was determined to fight, using the argument that his conviction for the 1948 larceny offense was not a basis for deportation. Underworld figures in Boston have generally speculated that the racketeer was killed because of his association with OKeefe. McGinnis previously had discussed sending a man to the United States Patent Office in Washington, D.C., to inspect the patents on the protective alarms used in the Brinks building. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison in 1984 for involvement in the Brink's Mat job. Serious consideration originally had been given to robbing Brinks in 1947, when Brinks was located on Federal Street in Boston. T he robbers were there because they knew there was 3 million in cash locked in the . He arrived in Baltimore on the morning of June 3 and was picked up by the Baltimore Police Department that evening. A thorough investigation was made concerning his whereabouts on the evening of January 17, 1950. Each of them had surreptitiously entered the premises on several occasions after the employees had left for the day. "A search warrant was executed in Boston covering the Tremont Street offices occupied by the three men" (FBI). As a guard moved to intercept him, Burke started to run. LOS ANGELES COUNTY, Calif. (KGO) -- The FBI and the Los Angeles County. The other gun was picked up by the officer and identified as having been taken during the Brinks robbery. It was billed as the perfect crime and the the crime of the century.. Soon the underworld rang with startling news concerning this pair. Pino previously had arranged for this man to keep his shop open beyond the normal closing time on nights when Pino requested him to do so. All right, he told two FBI agents, what do you want to know?. The loot was quickly unloaded, and Banfield sped away to hide the truck. An automobile identified as the car used in the escape was located near a Boston hospital, and police officers concealed themselves in the area. Prior to this time, McGinnis had been at his liquor store. As the truck drove past the Brinks offices, the robbers noted that the lights were out on the Prince Street side of the building. The conviction for burglary in McKean County, Pennsylvania, still hung over his head, and legal fees remained to be paid. McAvoy had attempted to reach a settlement with prosecutors in the case when he offered to repay his share, but by that time the money was gone. Between 1950 and 1954, the underworld occasionally rumbled with rumors that pressure was being exerted upon Boston hoodlums to contribute money for these criminals legal fight against the charges in Pennsylvania. Within two months of his return, another member of the gang suffered a legal setback. The trip from the liquor store in Roxbury to the Brinks offices could be made in about 15 minutes. On August 30, he was taken into custody as a suspicious person. Other members of the robbery gang also were having their troubles. Costa claimed that after working at the motor terminal until approximately 5:00 p.m. on January 17, 1950, he had gone home to eat dinner; then, at approximately 7:00 p.m., he left to return to the terminal and worked until about 9:00 p.m. 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. It was used by the defense counsel in preparing a 294-page brief that was presented to the Massachusetts State Supreme Court. Perhaps most remarkable, its mastermind didn't even have a criminal record when he planned it out. During this visit, Gusciora got up from his bed, and, in full view of the clergyman, slipped to the floor, striking his head. The heist. The incident happened outside of a Chase Bank in . By this time, Baker was suffering from a bad case of nerves. How much money was stolen in the Brinks robbery? The Bureau was convinced that it had identified the actual robbers, but evidence and witnesses had to be found. It ultimately proved unproductive. Both had served prison sentences, and both were well known to underworld figures on the East Coast. Veteran criminals throughout the United States found their activities during mid-January the subject of official inquiry. The FBIs analysis of the alibis offered by the suspects showed that the hour of 7:00 p.m. on January 17, 1950, was frequently mentioned. 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. Thorough inquiries were made concerning the disposition of the bags after their receipt by the Massachusetts firm. In addition, McGinnis was named in two other complaints involving the receiving and concealing of the loot. The serial numbers of several of these bills were furnished to the FBI Office in Baltimore. Underworld sources described him as fully capable of planning and executing the Brinks robbery. Well-known Boston hoodlums were picked up and questioned by police. After a period of hostility, he began to display a friendly attitude. Even after these convictions, OKeefe and Gusciora continued to seek their release. Pino admitted having been in the area, claiming that he was looking for a parking place so that he could visit a relative in the hospital. The gang members who remained at the house of Maffies parents soon dispersed to establish alibis for themselves. You get me released, and Ill solve the case in no time, these criminals would claim. California thieves pulled off a heist straight out of "Ocean's 11'' swiping up to $150 million in jewels from a Brink's armored truck as it drove from one convention show to . When this case was continued until April 1, 1954, OKeefe was released on $1,500 bond. Of the $4,822 found in the small-time criminals possession, FBI agents identified $4,635 as money taken by the Brinks robbers. The public called the robbery the crime of the century: On January 17, 1950, armed men stole more than $2.7 million in cash, checks, money orders, and other securities from a Brink's in. Despite the fact that substantial amounts of money were being spent by members of the robbery gang during 1954, in defending themselves against legal proceedings alone, the year ended without the location of any bills identifiable as part of the Brinks loot. The record of the state trial covered more than 5,300 pages. Accordingly, another lock cylinder was installed until the original one was returned. As the investigation developed and thousands of leads were followed to dead ends, the broad field of possible suspects gradually began to narrow. What happened in the Brink's-Mat robbery? He was paroled in the fall of 1944 and remained on parole through March 1954 when misfortune befell him. The $2.775 million ($31.3 million today) theft consisted of $1,218,211.29 in cash and $1,557,183.83 in checks, money orders, and other securities. He was not involved in the Brinks robbery. All of them wore Navy-type peacoats, gloves, and chauffeurs caps. Early in June 1956, however, an unexpected break developed. The results were negative. OKeefe claimed that he left his hotel room in Boston at approximately 7:00 p.m. on January 17, 1950. Two died before they were tried. In addition to the general descriptions received from the Brinks employees, the investigators obtained several pieces of physical evidence. In December 1948, Brinks moved from Federal Street to 165 Prince Street in Boston. A third attempt on OKeefes life was made on June 16, 1954. OKeefe was sentenced on August 5, 1954, to serve 27 months in prison. The team of burglars bypassed the truck's locking mechanism and used the storage containers to haul away precious gems, gold and other valuables. The alibi, in fact, was almost too good. A t the time, the Brink's-Mat vault was thought to be one of the most secure facilities in the world. In 1997, Loomis Fargo employee David Ghantt robbed the armored car company of $17 million. Even if released, he thought, his days were numbered. Many other types of information were received. The robbery saw six armed men break into a security depot near London . This phase of the investigation greatly disturbed many gamblers. The robbers carefully planned routine inside Brinks was interrupted only when the attendant in the adjoining Brinks garage sounded the buzzer. In the end, the perfect crime had a perfect endingfor everyone but the robbers. Inside the building, the gang members carefully studied all available information concerning Brinks schedules and shipments. He received a one-year sentence for this offense; however, on January 30, 1950, the sentence was revoked and the case was placed on file.. In the new series, Tallchief tells the true story of the $3.1 million dollar Vegas heist she committed with her boyfriend Roberto Solis. While OKeefe and Gusciora lingered in jail in Pennsylvania, Pino encountered difficulties of his own. On 26 November, 1983, six armed men did break into the Brink's-Mat security depot near Heathrow Airport expecting to find around 1m in pesetas. Three and one-half hours later, the verdict had been reached. The families of OKeefe and Gusciora resided in the vicinity of Stoughton, Massachusetts. Subsequently, this machine gun was identified as having been used in the attempt on OKeefes life. The Boston underworld rumbled with reports that an automobile had pulled alongside OKeefes car in Dorchester, Massachusetts, during the early morning hours of June 5. To his neighbors in Jackson Heights in the early 1990s, Sam . On January 13, 1956, the Suffolk County grand jury returned indictments against the 11 members of the Brinks gang. The amusement arcade operator told the officer that he had followed the man who passed this $10.00 bill to a nearby tavern. Shortly after these two guns were found, one of them was placed in a trash barrel and was taken to the city dump. A new BBC crime drama series follows the gripping twists and turns of what was dubbed the "crime of the century" in the 1980s. Then the lock cylinders were replaced. They did not expect to find the Aladdin's cave to contain some 26m in gold bullion and diamonds that they stumbled upon. Yet, it only amounted to a near perfect crime. (Investigation to substantiate this information resulted in the location of the proprietor of a key shop who recalled making keys for Pino on at least four or five evenings in the fall of 1949. The Brinks Job, 1950. 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. Examination revealed the cause of his death to be a brain tumor and acute cerebral edema. From his cell in Springfield, OKeefe wrote bitter letters to members of the Brinks gang and persisted in his demands for money. 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. While on bond he returned to Boston; on January 23, 1954, he appeared in the Boston Municipal Court on the probation violation charge. Two other Baltimore police officers who were walking along the street nearby noted this maneuver. At approximately 7:30 p.m. on June 3, 1956, an officer of the Baltimore, Maryland, Police Department was approached by the operator of an amusement arcade. 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. 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. 00:29. Two other men, ex-Brink's guard Thomas O'Connor and unemployed teacher Charles McCormick, were acquitted. The Brinks case was front page news. After these plans were reviewed and found to be unhelpful, OKeefe and Gusciora returned them in the same manner. Perkins was handed a 22-year jail sentence for that one, but absconded from open prison in 1995 and managed to . 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. He later was to be arrested as a member of the robbery gang. Pino had been at his home in the Roxbury Section of Boston until approximately 7:00 p.m.; then he walked to the nearby liquor store of Joseph McGinnis. A few weeks later, OKeefe retrieved his share of the loot. After completing its hearings on January 9, 1953, the grand jury retired to weigh the evidence. Some of the bills were in pieces. After continuing up the street to the end of the playground which adjoined the Brinks building, the truck stopped. Following their arrests, a former bondsman in Boston made frequent trips to Towanda in an unsuccessful effort to secure their release on bail. The door opened, and an armed masked man wearing a prison guard-type uniform commanded the guard, Back up, or Ill blow your brains out. Burke and the armed man disappeared through the door and fled in an automobile parked nearby. During the trip from Roxbury, Pino distributed Navy-type peacoats and chauffeurs caps to the other seven men in the rear of the truck. Costa was associated with Pino in the operation of a motor terminal and a lottery in Boston. Baker fled and the brief meeting adjourned. After being wounded on June 16, OKeefe disappeared. Others fell apart as they were handled. Occasionally, an offender who was facing a prison term would boast that he had hot information. On June 17, 1954, the Boston police arrested Elmer Trigger Burke and charged him with possession of a machine gun. Many problems and dangers were involved in such a robbery, and the plans never crystallized. Nonetheless, several members of the Brinks gang were visibly shaken and appeared to be abnormally worried during the latter part of May and early in June 1954. On August 29, 1954, the officers suspicions were aroused by an automobile that circled the general vicinity of the abandoned car on five occasions. All efforts to identify the gang members through the chauffeurs hat, the rope, and the adhesive tape which had been left in Brinks proved unsuccessful. In the years following the infamous 1983 Brink's-Mat robbery, many of the criminals and police alike were killed, leading to speculation there might be . 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. According to the criminal who was arrested in Baltimore, Fat John subsequently told him that the money was part of the Brinks loot and offered him $5,000 if he would pass $30,000 of the bills. Gusciora also claimed to have been drinking that evening. All identifying marks placed on currency and securities by the customers were noted, and appropriate stops were placed at banking institutions across the nation. He advised that he and his associate shared office space with an individual known to him only as Fat John. According to the Boston hoodlum, on the night of June 1, 1956, Fat John asked him to rip a panel from a section of the wall in the office, and when the panel was removed, Fat John reached into the opening and removed the cover from a metal container. If local hoodlums were involved, it was difficult to believe that McGinnis could be as ignorant of the crime as he claimed. But according to the ruling filed in B.C., Brinks paid the money back immediately after the victim bank notified the company that a robbery had occurred making use of "keys, access codes and . A roll of waterproof adhesive tape used to gag and bind bank employees that was left at the scene of the crime. 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. On November, 26, 1983, three tonnes of solid gold bullion was taken by six armed robbers from the Brink's-Mat security depot near . Members of the Purple Gang of the 1930s found that there was renewed interest in their activities. The Great Brinks Robbery of 1950 met all of these requirementsa great pile of cash disappeared with no evidence, leads, or suspects. 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. Continuous investigation, however, had linked him with the gang. The discovery of this money in the Tremont Street offices resulted in the arrests of both Fat John and the business associate of the criminal who had been arrested in Baltimore. He. Before they left, however, approximately $380,000 was placed in a coal hamper and removed by Baker for security reasons. An acetylene torch had been used to cut up the truck, and it appeared that a sledge hammer also had been used to smash many of the heavy parts, such as the motor. OKeefes racketeer associate, who allegedly had assisted him in holding Costa for ransom and was present during the shooting scrape between OKeefe and Baker, disappeared on August 3, 1954. Some of the jewelry might. Before his trial in McKean County, he was released on $17,000 bond. 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. During the period immediately following the Brinks robbery, the heat was on OKeefe and Gusciora. This was a question which preyed heavily upon their minds. Special agents subsequently interviewed Costa and his wife, Pino and his wife, the racketeer, and OKeefe. 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. Adolph Maffie, who had been convicted of income tax violation in June 1954, was released from the Federal Corrections Institution at Danbury, Connecticut, on January 30, 1955. In the series Edwyn Cooper (played by Dominic Cooper) is a lawyer who gets involved in the robbery, deciding he wants to earn some big bucks. During these weeks, OKeefe renewed his association with a Boston racketeer who had actively solicited funds for the defense of OKeefe and Gusciora in 1950. (Costa, who was at his lookout post, previously had arrived in a Ford sedan which the gang had stolen from behind the Boston Symphony Hall two days earlier.). Seven months later, however, he was again paroled. (On January 18, 1956, OKeefe had pleaded guilty to the armed robbery of Brinks.) LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Jewelry, gems, high-end watches and other valuables worth millions of dollars were stolen from a transport vehicle in Southern California. The criminals had been looking to do a. Allegedly, other members of the Brinks gang arranged for OKeefe to be paid a small part of the ransom he demanded, and Costa was released on May 20, 1954. A few months prior to the robbery, OKeefe and Gusciora surreptitiously entered the premises of a protective alarm company in Boston and obtained a copy of the protective plans for the Brinks building. 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. Two of the participants in the Brinks robbery lived in the Stoughton area. The FBI further learned that four revolvers had been taken by the gang. 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. As of January 1956, more than $2,775,000, including $1,218,211.29 in cash was still unaccounted for. Pino was determined to fight against deportation. Their success in evading arrest ended abruptly on May 16, 1956, when FBI agents raided the apartment in which they were hiding in Dorchester, Massachusetts. He was certain he would be considered a strong suspect and wanted to begin establishing an alibi immediately.) The person ringing the buzzer was a garage attendant. 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. As the robbers sped from the scene, a Brinks employee telephoned the Boston Police Department. Thieves vanished after stealing $2.7 million, leaving few clues. 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. Thus, when he and Gusciora were taken into custody by state authorities during the latter part of January 1950, OKeefe got word to McGinnis to recover his car and the $200,000 that it contained. Race tracks and gambling establishments also were covered in the hope of finding some of the loot in circulation. 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 Many of the details had previously been obtained during the intense six-year investigation. As the truck sped away with nine members of the gangand Costa departed in the stolen Ford sedanthe Brinks employees worked themselves free and reported the crime. Apparently suspicious, OKeefe crouched low in the front seat of his car as the would-be assassins fired bullets that pierced the windshield. McGinnis, who had not been at the scene on the night of the robbery, received a life sentence on each of eight indictments that charged him with being an accessory before the fact in connection with the Brinks robbery. Even in their jail cells, however, they showed no respect for law enforcement. The new proceedings were based upon the fact that Pino had been arrested in December 1948 for a larceny involving less than $100. The Gold: The Inside Story will hear from the . Allegedly, he pulled a gun on OKeefe; several shots were exchanged by the two men, but none of the bullets found their mark. An attempted armored truck heist in South Africa was caught on camera recently; it illustrates the dangers of the job. All efforts to identify the persons responsible for the theft and the persons who had cut up the truck were unsuccessful. Even fearing the new bills might be linked with the crime, McGinnis suggested a process for aging the new money in a hurry.. OKeefe was the principal witness to appear before the state grand jurors. 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. Tarr was doomed to the role of unlucky Brinks driver. Inside this container were packages of bills that had been wrapped in plastic and newspapers. The Brink's-Mat robbery remains to this day one of Britain's biggest and most audacious heists. During 1955, OKeefe carefully pondered his position. Much of the money taken from the money changer appeared to have been stored a long time. It was called the crime of the century, the largest heist in US history, an almost perfect robbery. The ninth man had long been a principal suspect. From the size of the loot and the number of men involved, it was logical that the gang might have used a truck. His case had gone to the highest court in the land. Each of these leads was checked out. Following the robbery, authorities attempted unsuccessfully to locate him at the hotel. From Boston, the pressure quickly spread to other cities. OKeefe was bitter about a number of matters. There are still suspicions among some readers that the late Tom O'Connor, a retired cop who worked Brinks security during the robbery, was a key player, despite his acquittal on robbery charges at . Each carried a pair of gloves. While action to appeal the convictions was being taken on their behalf, the eight men were removed to the State prison at Walpole, Massachusetts. Five bullets which had missed their mark were found in a building nearby. What Happened To The Brinks Mat Robbery? The truck pieces were concealed in fiber bags when found. Henry Baker, another veteran criminal who was rumored to be kicking in to the Pennsylvania defense fund, had spent a number of years of his adult life in prison. 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. 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. 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. He was found brutally murdered in his car in 1987. Other information provided by OKeefe helped to fill the gaps which still existed. Returning to Pennsylvania in February 1954 to stand trial, OKeefe was found guilty of burglary by the state court in McKean County on March 4, 1954. The Brinks Mat Robbery: The real story that inspired The Gold. Nonetheless, the finding of the truck parts at Stoughton, Massachusetts, was to prove a valuable break in the investigation. It appeared to him that he would spend his remaining days in prison while his co-conspirators would have many years to enjoy the luxuries of life. In the hope that a wide breach might have developed between the two criminals who were in jail in Pennsylvania and the gang members who were enjoying the luxuries of a free life in Massachusetts, FBI agents again visited Gusciora and OKeefe. This was in their favor. Evidently resigned to long years in prison or a short life on the outside, OKeefe grew increasingly bitter toward his old associates. One of his former girl friends who recalled having seen him on the night of the robbery stated that he definitely was not drunk. Years earlier, a private investigator, Daniel Morgan, was said to have been looking into the robbery. 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. His records showed that he had worked on the offices early in April 1956 under instructions of Fat John. The loot could not have been hidden behind the wall panel prior to that time. Before removing the remainder of the loot from the house on January 18, 1950, the gang members attempted to identify incriminating items. During their forays inside the building, members of the gang took the lock cylinders from five doors, including the one opening onto Prince Street. It unleashed a trail of eight murders and a global hunt for. Underworld rumors alleged that Maffie and Henry Baker were high on OKeefes list because they had beaten him out of a large amount of money. On November 26, 1981, six armed men from South London broke into the Brink's-Mat warehouse near London Heathrow. The Transit's heavily armed occupants had stolen the bullion less than an hour earlier from the Brink's-Mat security warehouse 12 miles away at Heathrow.
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