Rumors from the underworld pointed suspicion at several criminal gangs. Pino, Richardson, and Costa each took $20,000, and this was noted on a score sheet. 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. At the time of his arrest, there also was a charge of armed robbery outstanding against him in Massachusetts. Fact or fiction? The truth behind TV crime dramas Unfortunately, this proved to be an idle hope. A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. 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. 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. On January 12, 1953, Pino was released on bail pending a deportation hearing. Several hundred dollars were found hidden in the house but could not be identified as part of the loot. 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. On June 19, 1958, while out on appeal in connection with a five-year narcotics sentence, he was found shot to death in an automobile that had crashed into a truck in Boston.). Adding to these problems was the constant pressure being exerted upon Pino by OKeefe from the county jail in Towanda, Pennsylvania. Apparently, they had planned a leisurely trip with an abundance of extracurricular activities.. Both men remained mute following their arrests. Some of the bills were in pieces. The truck that the robbers had used was found cut to pieces in Stoughton, Massachusetts, near O'Keefe's home. 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. WebGordon John Parry, Brian Perry, Patrick Clark, and Jean Savage were all convicted at the Old Bailey. Instead, they said the trailer was targeted near Frazier Park in the mountains along I-5. When this case was continued until April 1, 1954, OKeefe was released on $1,500 bond. The robbery remained unsolved for nearly six years, until estranged group member Joseph O'Keefe testified only days before the statute of limitations would have expired. Inside this container were packages of bills that had been wrapped in plastic and newspapers. A few weeks later, OKeefe retrieved his share of the loot. From the size of the loot and the number of men involved, it was logical that the gang might have used a truck. Soon after OKeefes return in March 1954, Baker and his wife left Boston on a vacation.. One of his former girl friends who recalled having seen him on the night of the robbery stated that he definitely was not drunk. 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. Adolph Maffie was convicted and sentenced to nine months for income tax evasion. Both of these strong-arm suspects had been questioned by Boston authorities following 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. A lock () or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Brink Considerable thought was given to every detail. Livvy Haydock: 'Disabled gangsters supported me with my MS THE Brink's-Mat robbery is one of the most notorious crimes in British history. Subsequently, OKeefe left his carand the $200,000in a garage on Blue Hill Avenue in Boston. OKeefe claimed that he left his hotel room in Boston at approximately 7:00 p.m. on January 17, 1950. Many problems and dangers were involved in such a robbery, and the plans never crystallized. Due to unsatisfactory conduct, drunkenness, refusal to seek employment, and association with known criminals, his parole was revoked, and he was returned to the Massachusetts State Prison. Their hands were tied behind their backs and adhesive tape was placed over their mouths. Local officers searched their homes, but no evidence linking them with the truck or the robbery was found. The gang members who remained at the house of Maffies parents soon dispersed to establish alibis for themselves. The new proceedings were based upon the fact that Pino had been arrested in December 1948 for a larceny involving less than $100. 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. In addition to mold, insect remains also were found on the loot. During his brief stay in Boston, he was observed to contact other members of the robbery gang. 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. Meet the man who cracked one of Britain's biggest heists The results were negative. The recovery of part of the loot was a severe blow to the gang members who still awaited trial in Boston. In July 1956, another significant turn of events took place. The loot was quickly unloaded, and Banfield sped away to hide the truck. Binoculars were used in this phase of the casing operation. 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. 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. Before the robbery was carried out, all of the participants were well acquainted with the Brinks premises. [15] Two vehicles were stolen: a truck, to carry away the loot from the robbery; and a car, which would be used to block any pursuit. Pino was known in the underworld as an excellent case man, and it was said that the casing of the Brinks offices bore his trademark.. Geagan claimed that he spent the evening at home and did not learn of the Brinks robbery until the following day. Livvy standing in the middle of two masked people involved in kidnap gangs. The alibi, in fact, was almost too good. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Both denied knowledge of the loot that had been recovered. WebBrian Robinson was convicted of armed robbery and sentenced to 25 years in prison. Banfield drove the truck to the house of Maffies parents in Roxbury. 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. Pino paid a small ransom but then decided to try to kill O'Keefe. 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. He subsequently was convicted and executed.). None of these materialized because the gang did not consider the conditions to be favorable. The robbers did little talking. John Palmer: How Brinks-Mat millions came to Bedminster First, there was the money. While Maffie claimed that part of the money had been stolen from its hiding place and that the remainder had been spent in financing OKeefes legal defense in Pennsylvania, other gang members accused Maffie of blowing the money OKeefe had entrusted to his care. On January 11, 1956, the United States Attorney at Boston authorized special agents of the FBI to file complaints charging the 11 criminals with (1) conspiracy to commit theft of government property, robbery of government property, and bank robbery by force and violence and by intimidation, (2) committing bank robbery on January 17, 1950, and committing an assault on Brinks employees during the taking of the money, and (3) conspiracy to receive and conceal money in violation of the Bank Robbery and Theft of Government Property Statutes. The FBI also succeeded in locating the carpenter who had remodeled the offices where the loot was hidden. The Gold true story where are Micky McAvoy and the other Brinks Robbery Building in Boston - Celebrate Boston The person ringing the buzzer was a garage attendant. The following is a brief account of the data which OKeefe provided the special agents in January 1956: Although basically the brain child of Pino, the Brinks robbery was the product of the combined thought and criminal experience of men who had known each other for many years. 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. On June 5 and June 7, the Suffolk County grand jury returned indictments against the three mencharging them with several state offenses involving their possessing money obtained in the Brinks robbery. 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. 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. Each of them had surreptitiously entered the premises on several occasions after the employees had left for the day. Banfield was already dead. (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.). Vincent Costa was the group's lookout, and signalled with a flashlight from a nearby rooftop when he saw the vault being opened. At 10:25 p.m. on October 5, 1956, the jury retired to weigh the evidence. Two of the participants in the Brinks robbery lived in the Stoughton area. Brink [14], Seven of the group went into the Brink's building: OKeefe, Gusciora, Baker, Maffie, Geagan, Faherty, and Richardson. All right, he told two FBI agents, what do you want to know?. A roll of waterproof adhesive tape used to gag and bind bank employees that was left at the scene of the crime. You get me released, and Ill solve the case in no time, these criminals would claim. WebSix armed men broke into the Brinks-Mat security depot near Londons Heathrow airport and inadvertently stumbled across gold bullion worth 26m. Two other Baltimore police officers who were walking along the street nearby noted this maneuver. 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. 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. At the centre of The Gold are the detective Brian Boyce, played by Hugh Bonneville, and Kenneth Noye, played by Jack Lowden. As a protective measure, he was incarcerated in the Hampden County jail at Springfield, Massachusetts, rather than the Suffolk County jail in Boston. There was Adolph Jazz Maffie, one of the hoodlums who allegedly was being pressured to contribute money for the legal battle of OKeefe and Gusciora against Pennsylvania authorities. The removal of the lock cylinder from the outside door involved the greatest risk of detection. In June 1950, OKeefe and Gusciora were arrested in Pennsylvania for a burglary. Among the early suspects was Anthony Pino, an alien who had been a principal suspect in numerous major robberies and burglaries in Massachusetts. This phase of the investigation was pursued exhaustively. [18] The total amount stolen was $1,218,211 in cash and $1,557,183 in checks and other securities. 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. At the outset, very few facts were available to the investigators. 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. The robbers killed Peter Paige at the Nanuet Mall in front of a bank. The Great Brinks Robbery of 1950: Not Quite the Perfect Crime He was not with the gang when the robbery took place. The record of the state trial covered more than 5,300 pages. WebRobbery Seven of the group went into the Brink's building: OKeefe, Gusciora, Baker, Maffie, Geagan, Faherty, and Richardson. Brink's 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. In addition to the general descriptions received from the Brinks employees, the investigators obtained several pieces of physical evidence. 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. [13] Most of the cash stolen was in denominations of $1 to $20, which made it nearly impossible to trace the bills through serial numbers. 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. Of the hundreds of New England hoodlums contacted by FBI agents in the weeks immediately following the robbery, few were willing to be interviewed. 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. Baker fled and the brief meeting adjourned. In the back were Pino, OKeefe, Baker, Faherty, Maffie, Gusciora, Michael Vincent Geagan (pictured), and Thomas Francis Richardson. The Brinks case was front page news. Both are real characters. 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. The other gun was picked up by the officer and identified as having been taken during the Brinks robbery. Ten of the persons who appeared before this grand jury breathed much more easily when they learned that no indictments had been returned. All but Pino and Banfield stepped out and proceeded into the playground to await Costas signal. A second shooting incident occurred on the morning of June 14, 1954, in Dorchester, Massachusetts, when OKeefe and his racketeer friend paid a visit to Baker. 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. The money inside the cooler which was concealed in the wall of the Tremont Street office was wrapped in plastic and newspaper. The truck found at the dump had been reported stolen by a Ford dealer near Fenway Park in Boston on November 3, 1949. 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. Subsequently, this machine gun was identified as having been used in the attempt on OKeefes life. Fact vs Fiction: The Gold did the Brink's-Mat robbers get caught? 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. Boston Strangler starring Keira Knightley as Milton reporter hits Hulu His case had gone to the highest court in the land. The last false approach took place on January 16, 1950the night before the robbery. Other information provided by OKeefe helped to fill the gaps which still existed. Like the others, Banfield had been questioned concerning his activities on the night of January 17, 1950. At approximately 9:50 p.m., the details of this incident were furnished to the Baltimore Field Office of the FBI. In September 1949, Pinos efforts to evade deportation met with success. On January 13, 1956, the Suffolk County grand jury returned indictments against the 11 members of the Brinks gang. [3] After five aborted runs, Costa finally gave the go-ahead on the night of January 17, 1950. robbery On the afternoon of July 9, he was visited by a clergyman. Extensive efforts were made to detect pencil markings and other notations on the currency that the criminals thought might be traceable to Brinks. There was James Ignatius Faherty, an armed robbery specialist whose name had been mentioned in underworld conversations in January 1950, concerning a score on which the gang members used binoculars to watch their intended victims count large sums of money. Brinks customers were contacted for information regarding the packaging and shipping materials they used. 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. Reports had been received alleging that he had held up several gamblers in the Boston area and had been involved in shakedowns of bookies. Before fleeing with the bags of loot, the seven armed men attempted to open a metal box containing the payroll of the General Electric Company. 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 It was given to him in a suitcase that was transferred to his car from an automobile occupied by McGinnis and Banfield. The other keys in their possession enabled them to proceed to the second floor where they took the five Brinks employees by surprise. The hideout also was found to contain more than $5,000 in coins. They had brought no tools with them, however, and they were unsuccessful. During the period in which Pinos deportation troubles were mounting, OKeefe completed his sentence at Towanda, Pennsylvania. When the pieces of the 1949 green Ford stake-body truck were found at the dump in Stoughton on March 4, 1950, additional emphasis was placed on the investigations concerning them. The most important of these, Specs OKeefe, carefully recited the details of the crime, clearly spelling out the role played by each of the eight defendants. Brinks Robbery FBI - Federal Bureau of Investigation The trip from the liquor store in Roxbury to the Brinks offices could be made in about 15 minutes. Investigation revealed that Geagan, a laborer, had not gone to work on January 17 or 18, 1950.). The truck pieces were concealed in fiber bags when found. The Gold - Meet the cast of the drama inspired by the true story Banfield, the driver, was alone in the front. WebOne of the robbers, Micky McAvoy, entrusted his share to associates Brian Perry and George Francis. Where is Edwyn Cooper of the Brink's-Mat robbery now? In addition, McGinnis was named in two other complaints involving the receiving and concealing of the loot. The hoodlum was taken to police headquarters where a search of his person disclosed he was carrying more than $1,000, including $860 in musty, worn bills. As the investigation developed and thousands of leads were followed to dead ends, the broad field of possible suspects gradually began to narrow. Even after these convictions, OKeefe and Gusciora continued to seek their release. McAvoy wanted members of the Arif crime family, specialists in armed robbery, on the job. OKeefe wore crepe-soled shoes to muffle his footsteps; the others wore rubbers. After the truck parts were found, additional suspicion was attached to these men. Approximately one and one-half hours later, Banfield returned with McGinnis. 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. The wall partition described by the Boston criminal was located in Fat Johns office, and when the partition was removed, a picnic-type cooler was found.