who was involved in the brinks robbery

The amusement arcade operator told the officer that he had followed the man who passed this $10.00 bill to a nearby tavern. 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. From this lookout post, Costa was in a position to determine better than the men below whether conditions inside the building were favorable to the robbers. Banfield, the driver, was alone in the front. Each robbers face was completely concealed behind a Halloween-type mask. Their plan was to enter the Brinks building and take a truck containing payrolls. The descriptions and serial numbers of these weapons were carefully noted since they might prove a valuable link to the men responsible for the crime. After these plans were reviewed and found to be unhelpful, OKeefe and Gusciora returned them in the same manner. Nothing suggests it was a stick-em-up robbery or strong-arm heist. After denying any knowledge of the escape of Trigger Burke, Pino was released. A roll of waterproof adhesive tape used to gag and bind bank employees that was left at the scene of the crime. Both men remained mute following their arrests. The FBI further learned that four revolvers had been taken by the gang. [14] Over a period of several months, the robbers removed each lock from the building and had a key made for it, before returning the lock. Interviewed again on December 28, 1955, he talked somewhat more freely, and it was obvious that the agents were gradually winning his respect and confidence. All identifying marks placed on currency and securities by the customers were noted, and appropriate stops were placed at banking institutions across the nation. The truck that the robbers had used was found cut to pieces in Stoughton, Massachusetts, near O'Keefe's home. During the period immediately following the Brinks robbery, the heat was on OKeefe and Gusciora. To muffle their footsteps, one of the gang wore crepe-soled shoes, and the others wore rubbers. The thieves quickly bound the employees and began hauling away the loot. 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. WebLASD confirmed this was not a typical Brinks armored car seen in a city environment. After O'Keefe was released he was taken to stand trial for another burglary and parole violations and was released on a bail of $17,000. Each carried a pair of gloves. The Brinks case was front page news. [18] The total amount stolen was $1,218,211 in cash and $1,557,183 in checks and other securities. Instead, they said the trailer was targeted near Frazier Park in the mountains along I-5. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Great_Brink%27s_Robbery&oldid=1134169121, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 17 January 2023, at 09:19. While the others stayed at the house to make a quick count of the loot, Pino and Faherty departed. During an interview with him in the jail in Springfield, Massachusetts, in October 1954, special agents found that the plight of the missing Boston racketeer was weighing on OKeefes mind. 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. Police heard through their informers that O'Keefe and Gusciora demanded money from Pino and MacGinnis in Boston to fight their convictions. 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. Well-known Boston hoodlums were picked up and questioned by police. Burke, a professional killer, allegedly had been hired by underworld associates of OKeefe to assassinate him. Occasionally, an offender who was facing a prison term would boast that he had hot information. 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. Speaking on film for the first time since the robbery almost 40 years ago, Detective Chief Superintendent Brian Boyce, head of the investigation and DC Tony Yeoman, disclose the challenges they faced and the strategy they used in 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. O'Keefe cooperated with writer Bob Considine on The Men Who Robbed Brink's, a 1961 "as told to" book about the robbery and its aftermath. 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. (The arrests of Faherty and Richardson also resulted in the indictment of another Boston hoodlum as an accessory after the fact). [14] They each wore a chauffeur cap, pea coat, rubber Halloween mask, and each had a .38 caliber revolver. The conviction for burglary in McKean County, Pennsylvania, still hung over his head, and legal fees remained to be paid. Thirteen people were detained in the hours following the robbery, including two former employees of Brink's. From left, Sgt. Shortly thereafterduring the first week of Novembera 1949 green Ford stake-body truck was reported missing by a car dealer in Boston. A Secret Service agent, who had been summoned by the Baltimore officers, arrived while the criminal was being questioned at the police headquarters, and after examining the money found in the bill changers possession, he certified that it was not counterfeit. During their forays inside the building, members of the gang took the lock cylinders from five doors, including the one opening onto Prince Street. The Boston hoodlum told FBI agents in Baltimore that he accepted six of the packages of money from Fat John. The following day (June 2, 1956), he left Massachusetts with $4,750 of these bills and began passing them. 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. The truck pieces were concealed in fiber bags when found. With the death of Gusciora, only eight members of the Brinks gang remained to be tried. This underworld character told the officers that he had found this money. WebHere is what we know of those involved in the robbery. Pino had been questioned as to his whereabouts on the evening of January 17, 1950, and he provided a good alibi. All denied any knowledge of the alleged incident. Reports had been received alleging that he had held up several gamblers in the Boston area and had been involved in shakedowns of bookies. 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. While the theft was originally intended to be a burglary, rather than an armed robbery, they could not find a way around the building's burglar alarm. Many tips were received from anonymous persons. A trial began on August 6, 1956. What happened in the Brinks-Matt robbery? As the investigation developed and thousands of leads were followed to dead ends, the broad field of possible suspects gradually began to narrow. [16] Brink's, Inc. offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those involved in the robbery, with an additional 5% of recovered cash offered by the insurance company. OKeefe immediately returned to Boston to await the results of the appeal. All right, he told two FBI agents, what do you want to know?. He was certain he would be considered a strong suspect and wanted to begin establishing an alibi immediately.) The robbers killed Peter Paige at the Nanuet Mall in front of a bank. In the end, the perfect crime had a perfect endingfor everyone but the robbers. Because the money in the cooler was in various stages of decomposition, an accurate count proved most difficult to make. The eight men were sentenced by Judge Forte on October 9, 1956. WebOne of the robbers, Micky McAvoy, entrusted his share to associates Brian Perry and George Francis. 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. Commonly regarded as a dominant figure in the Boston underworld, McGinnis previously had been convicted of robbery and narcotics violations. OKeefe was sentenced on August 5, 1954, to serve 27 months in prison. WebRobbery Seven of the group went into the Brink's building: OKeefe, Gusciora, Baker, Maffie, Geagan, Faherty, and Richardson. (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. It ultimately proved unproductive. The defense immediately filed motions which would delay or prevent the trial. Several hundred dollars were found hidden in the house but could not be identified as part of the loot. Prior to his murder, ), (After serving his sentence, Fat John resumed a life of crime. OKeefe was sentenced to three years in Bradford County Jail and Gusciora to 5-to-20 years in the Western State Penitentiary at Pittsburgh. Two days after Christmas of 1955, FBI agents paid another visit to OKeefe. This man claimed to have no knowledge of Pinos involvement in the Brinks robbery.). Two of the participants in the Brinks robbery lived in the Stoughton area. (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. At that time, Pino approached OKeefe and asked if he wanted to be in on the score. His close associate, Stanley Gusciora, had previously been recruited, and OKeefe agreed to take part. WebJudith Clark was paroled in 2019 after then Gov. Before the robbers could take him prisoner, the garage attendant walked away. Binoculars were used in this phase of the casing operation. Subsequently, he engaged in a conversation with McGinnis and a Boston police officer. The hideout also was found to contain more than $5,000 in coins. In April 1950, the FBI received information indicating that part of the Brinks loot was hidden in the home of a relative of OKeefe in Boston. 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. Each of the five lock cylinders was taken on a separate occasion. 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. At least four movies were based, or partially based, on the Great Brink's Robbery: Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}422202N 710327W / 42.3672N 71.0575W / 42.3672; -71.0575. First, there was the money. Considerable thought was given to every detail. On June 2, 1950, OKeefe and Gusciora left Boston by automobile for the alleged purpose of visiting the grave of Guscioras brother in Missouri. [19] Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, J. Edgar Hoover, took over supervision of the investigation.[20]. From his cell in Springfield, OKeefe wrote bitter letters to members of the Brinks gang and persisted in his demands for money. Six members of the gangBaker, Costa, Geagan, Maffie, McGinnis, and Pinowere arrested by FBI agents on January 12, 1956. acknowledges it was involved in the gold transport. Inside the building, the gang members carefully studied all available information concerning Brinks schedules and shipments. All had been published in Boston between December 4, 1955, and February 21, 1956. In the hours immediately following the robbery, the underworld began to feel the heat of the investigation. 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. They moved with a studied precision which suggested that the crime had been carefully planned and rehearsed in the preceding months. 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. On January 12, 1956, just five days before the statute of limitations was to run out, the FBI arrested Baker, Costa, Geagan, Maffie, McGinnis, and Pino. WebInvestigators didnt know if this money was related to the Brinks-Mat robbery, but Diamond led officers to investigate the British Virgin Islands, and one accountant in particular. Any doubts that the Brinks gang had that the FBI was on the right track in its investigation were allayed when the federal grand jury began hearings in Boston on November 25, 1952, concerning this crime. After continuing up the street to the end of the playground which adjoined the Brinks building, the truck stopped. After a couple of attempts he hired underworld hitman Elmer "Trigger" Burke to kill O'Keefe. Two members of the gang were quickly caught but the Yet, when he was After completing its hearings on January 9, 1953, the grand jury retired to weigh the evidence. Solicitor Michael Relton was jailed in 1987 for his part in the money This lead was pursued intensively. WebAt 6.30 am on 26 November 1983, a South London gang of six armed robbers, headed by Brian Robinson and Mickey McAvoy, broke into the Brinks Mat warehouse at Heathrow Airport, expecting to make off with about 3 million in cash. There were recurring rumors that this hoodlum, Joseph Sylvester Banfield (pictured), had been right down there on the night of the crime. Of the hundreds of New England hoodlums contacted by FBI agents in the weeks immediately following the robbery, few were willing to be interviewed. You get me released, and Ill solve the case in no time, these criminals would claim. Each of these leads was checked out. The Bureau was convinced that it had identified the actual robbers, but evidence and witnesses had to be found. This cooler contained more than $57,700, including $51,906 which was identifiable as part of the Brinks loot. Burlap money bags recovered in a Boston junk yard from the robbery, Some of the recovered money from the robbery. Race tracks and gambling establishments also were covered in the hope of finding some of the loot in circulation. By fixing this time as close as possible to the minute at which the robbery was to begin, the robbers would have alibis to cover their activities up to the final moment. Faherty and Richardson fled to avoid apprehension and subsequently were placed on the list of the FBIs Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list. In the fall of 1955, an upper court overruled the conviction on the grounds that the search and seizure of the still were illegal.). Thorough inquiries were made concerning the disposition of the bags after their receipt by the Massachusetts firm. It was at the time the largest robbery in the history of the United States, and has been called "the crime of the century". Accordingly, another lock cylinder was installed until the original one was returned. (Following pleas of guilty in November 1956, Fat John received a two-year sentence, and the other two men were sentenced to serve one years imprisonment. 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. OKeefe claimed that he left his hotel room in Boston at approximately 7:00 p.m. on January 17, 1950. When the robbers decided that they needed a truck, it was resolved that a new one must be stolen because a used truck might have distinguishing marks and possibly would not be in perfect running condition. [17], Immediately following the robbery, Police Commissioner Thomas F. Sullivan sent a mobilization order for all precinct captains and detectives. All efforts to identify the persons responsible for the theft and the persons who had cut up the truck were unsuccessful. Using the outside door key they had previously obtained, the men quickly entered and donned their masks. On January 12, 1953, Pino was released on bail pending a deportation hearing. The results were negative. This phase of the investigation greatly disturbed many gamblers. Richardson had participated with Faherty in an armed robbery in February 1934. 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. The Great Brink's Robbery was an armed robbery of the Brink's building in the North End of Boston, Massachusetts, on January 17, 1950. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. And it nearly was. Brian The Colonel Robinson, 78, was cheated out of his share of the record haul. Soon the underworld rang with startling news concerning this pair. In a report which was released on January 16, 1953, the grand jury disclosed that its members did not feel they possessed complete, positive information as to the identify of the participants in the Brinks robbery because (1) the participants were effectively disguised; (2) there was a lack of eyewitnesses to the crime itself; and (3) certain witnesses refused to give testimony, and the grand jury was unable to compel them to do so. For other similarly-named robberies in 1981, 1983 and 2008, see, "Historical Photos: Boston's Great Brinks Robbery", "A quarter-century laterBrink's robber admits guilt to Globe", "O'Keefe Says Brink's Holdup Gang Vowed To Kill Any Member Who Periled Others", "Specs O'Keefe, Informant In Brink's Robbery, Dies", "Tony Pino, 67, Participated In '50 Boston Brinks Holdup", "Adolph (Jazz) Maffie; Last Survivor of Brink's Gang", "Six Arrests Break $1,218,211 Brink's Robbery", "Brink Robbery History Recalled After Decade", "$1,500,000 HOLDUP: 7 Masked Men Rob Brink's, Boston; Leave Another Million", "The False-Face Bandits: Greed Wrecked the Brink's Case Gang", "Gang of Nine Robs Brink's at Boston; $150,000 Reward Out", Historical Photos: Boston's Great Brinks Robbery. Three of the newspapers used to wrap the bills were identified. Captain Marvel mask used as a disguise in the robbery. On June 12, 1950, they were arrested at Towanda, Pennsylvania, and guns and clothing that were the loot from burglaries at Kane and Coudersport, Pennsylvania, were found in their possession. Gusciora now had passed beyond the reach of all human authority, and OKeefe was all the more determined to see that justice would be done. An automobile identified as the car used in the escape was located near a Boston hospital, and police officers concealed themselves in the area. Here, we look at the people involved and where they are now. Until the FBI and its partners painstakingly solved the case. OKeefe had no place to keep so large a sum of money. Shortly after 6.40am, six armed robbers in balaclavas entered a warehouse at Heathrow airport belonging to security company Brinks-Mat. Within two months of his return, another member of the gang suffered a legal setback. Many problems and dangers were involved in such a robbery, and the plans never crystallized. Two days before Maffies release, another strong suspect died of natural causes. WebOn the evening of January 17th 1950, a group of armed gunmen entered the Brinks Building on Prince Street and robbed the company of $1.2 million in cash and $1.6 million in This is good money, he said, but you cant pass it around here in Boston.. Of the $4,822 found in the small-time criminals possession, FBI agents identified $4,635 as money taken by the Brinks robbers. 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. 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. When the employees were securely bound and gagged, the robbers began looting the premises. At 4:20 p.m. on January 6, 1956, OKeefe made the final decision. At the time it was Britains [14] They each wore a chauffeur cap, pea A passerby might notice that it was missing. Rumors from the underworld pointed suspicion at several criminal gangs. Before the robbery was committed, the participants had agreed that if anyone muffed, he would be taken care of. OKeefe felt that most of the gang members had muffed. Talking to the FBI was his way of taking care of them all. 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. As long as he was in prison, he could do no physical harm to his Boston criminal associates. Two other Baltimore police officers who were walking along the street nearby noted this maneuver. WebNahome was a "financer" and associate of the Adams family, who were also suspected of having been involved in the laundering of the Brink's-Mat gold. The trip from the liquor store in Roxbury to the Brinks offices could be made in about 15 minutes. WebMore than 6,000 gold bars were stolen in the robbery from a warehouse on the outskirts of Heathrow on 26 November, 1983. Much of the money taken from the money changer appeared to have been stored a long time. The ninth man had long been a principal suspect. Members of the Purple Gang of the 1930s found that there was renewed interest in their activities. 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. 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. 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. Apparently, they had planned a leisurely trip with an abundance of extracurricular activities.. Even before Brinks, Incorporated, offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the persons responsible, the case had captured the imagination of millions of Americans. At the centre of The Gold are the detective Brian Boyce, played by Hugh Bonneville, and Kenneth Noye, played by Jack Lowden. Other members of the group came under suspicion but there was not enough evidence for an indictment, so law enforcement kept pressure on the suspects. By this time, Baker was suffering from a bad case of nerves. Adolph Maffie was convicted and sentenced to nine months for income tax evasion. WebThe series stars Hugh Bonneville as Brian Boyce, the detective chief inspector on the case, and the cast also includes Jack Lowden, Adam Nagaitis, Tom Cullen and Dominic As this bag was being emptied later that evening, the glasses were discovered and destroyed by the gang. The month preceding January 17, 1950, witnessed approximately a half-dozen approaches to Brinks. It was used by the defense counsel in preparing a 294-page brief that was presented to the Massachusetts State Supreme Court. Underworld sources described him as fully capable of planning and executing the Brinks robbery. [3] After five aborted runs, Costa finally gave the go-ahead on the night of January 17, 1950.

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