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. It was used by the defense counsel in preparing a 294-page brief that was presented to the Massachusetts State Supreme Court. The criminals had been looking to do a. Some of the jewelry might. 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. All right, he told two FBI agents, what do you want to know?. In the late summer of 1944, he was released from the state prison and was taken into custody by Immigration authorities. From interviews with the five employees whom the criminals had confronted, it was learned that between five and seven robbers had entered the building. 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. At the time of the Brinks robbery, Geagan was on parole, having been released from prison in July 1943, after serving eight years of a lengthy sentence for armed robbery and assault. Paul Jawarski (sometimes spelled Jaworski) in a yellowed newspaper . If Baker heard these rumors, he did not wait around very long to see whether they were true. You'd be forgiven for mistaking the 2005 Miami Brinks heist for a movie script. The person ringing the buzzer was a garage attendant. The team of burglars bypassed the truck's locking mechanism and used the storage containers to haul away precious gems, gold and other valuables. He was not able to provide a specific account, claiming that he became drunk on New Years Eve and remained intoxicated through the entire month of January. 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. The crime inspired at least four movies and two books, including The Story of the Great Brink's Robbery, as Told by the FBI. It was almost the perfect crime. 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. 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. (Geagan, who was on parole at the time, left the truck before it arrived at the home in Roxbury where the loot was unloaded. (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. The group were led . After denying any knowledge of the escape of Trigger Burke, Pino was released. He had been released on parole from the Norfolk, Massachusetts, Prison Colony on August 22, 1949only five months before the robbery. 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. Adding to these problems was the constant pressure being exerted upon Pino by OKeefe from the county jail in Towanda, Pennsylvania. What happened in the Brink's-Mat robbery? Shortly after 6.40am, six armed robbers in balaclavas entered a warehouse at Heathrow airport belonging to security company Brink's-Mat. Minutes later, police arrived at the Brinks building, and special agents of the FBI quickly joined in the investigation. He subsequently was convicted and executed.). The police officer said he had been talking to McGinnis first, and Pino arrived later to join them. 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.. The alibi was strong, but not conclusive. The planning and practice had a military intensity to them; the attention to detail including the close approximation of the uniform of the Brinks guards was near . Years earlier, a private investigator, Daniel Morgan, was said to have been looking into the robbery. On January 10, 1953, following his appearance before the federal grand jury in connection with the Brinks case, Pino was taken into custody again as a deportable alien. Evidently resigned to long years in prison or a short life on the outside, OKeefe grew increasingly bitter toward his old associates. Since Brinks was located in a heavily populated tenement section, many hours were consumed in interviews to locate persons in the neighborhood who might possess information of possible value. A detective examines the Brinks vault after the theft. 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. 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. Then, there was the fact that so much dead wood was includedMcGinnis, Banfield, Costa, and Pino were not in the building when the robbery took place. Pino had been questioned as to his whereabouts on the evening of January 17, 1950, and he provided a good alibi. 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. 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. The Brink's-Mat robbery the name alone is enough to spark excitement in viewers of a certain age, such as your correspondent became one of the most celebrated cases, and convoluted plots . During this visit, Gusciora got up from his bed, and, in full view of the clergyman, slipped to the floor, striking his head. (McGinnis trial in March 1955 on the liquor charge resulted in a sentence to 30 days imprisonment and a fine of $1,000. In the fall of 1955, an upper court overruled the conviction on the grounds that the search and seizure of the still were illegal.). BY The Associated Press. Costa was associated with Pino in the operation of a motor terminal and a lottery in Boston. Jewelers report over $100 million in losses after Brinks armored truck robbed in California. The detainer involved OKeefes violation of probation in connection with a conviction in 1945 for carrying concealed weapons. The heist happened on Prince Street in Boston's North End on Jan. 17, 1950. 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. This is good money, he said, but you cant pass it around here in Boston.. Pino was determined to fight against deportation. It was called the crime of the century, the largest heist in US history, an almost perfect robbery. In addition to the general descriptions received from the Brinks employees, the investigators obtained several pieces of physical evidence. He was not with the gang when the robbery took place. The men had thought they were robbing a sum of foreign money, but instead found three tonnes of gold bullion (6,800 ingots), with a value of 26 million back then, around 100 million today. 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. This phase of the investigation greatly disturbed many gamblers. An appeal was promptly noted, and he was released on $15,000 bond. It was positively concluded that the packages of currency had been damaged prior to the time they were wrapped in the pieces of newspaper; and there were indications that the bills previously had been in a canvas container which was buried in ground consisting of sand and ashes. FBI.gov is an official site of the U.S. Department of Justice. 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. 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. Even Pino, whose deportation troubles then were a heavy burden, was arrested by the Boston police in August 1954. The full details of this important development were immediately furnished to the FBI Office in Boston. 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. 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. 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. Three years later, Great Train Robber. 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. Other members of the robbery gang also were having their troubles. Instead, they found three tonnes of gold bullion. 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 thorough investigation was made concerning his whereabouts on the evening of January 17, 1950. The names of Pino, McGinnis, Adolph Jazz Maffie, and Henry Baker were frequently mentioned in these rumors, and it was said that they had been with OKeefe on the Big Job.. In the deportation fight that lasted more than two years, Pino won the final victory. 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. From masked gunmen and drugs to kidnappings and bags of cash, the $7.4 million robbery had it all. He was so cold and persistent in these dealings with his co-conspirators that the agents hoped he might be attempting to obtain a large sum of moneyperhaps his share of the Brinks loot. The mass of information gathered during the early weeks of the investigation was continuously sifted. 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.. When OKeefe admitted his part in the Brinks robbery to FBI agents in January 1956, he told of his high regard for Gusciora. Each carried a pair of gloves. During the trip from Roxbury, Pino distributed Navy-type peacoats and chauffeurs caps to the other seven men in the rear of the truck. On November 26, 1981, six armed men from South London broke into the Brink's-Mat warehouse near London Heathrow. 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. During the period in which Pinos deportation troubles were mounting, OKeefe completed his sentence at Towanda, Pennsylvania. Pino, Richardson, and Costa each took $20,000, and this was noted on a score sheet. Even if released, he thought, his days were numbered. Faherty and Richardson fled to avoid apprehension and subsequently were placed on the list of the FBIs Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list. 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. And it nearly was. As this bag was being emptied later that evening, the glasses were discovered and destroyed by the gang. Prior to this time, McGinnis had been at his liquor store. Another week passedand approximately 500 more citizens were consideredbefore the 14-member jury was assembled. Early in June 1956, however, an unexpected break developed. Two weeks of comparative quiet in the gang members lives were shattered on June 5, 1954, when an attempt was made on OKeefes life. However, the group were shocked to find a massive 26 million in gold . ), (After serving his sentence, Fat John resumed a life of crime. Their hands were tied behind their backs and adhesive tape was placed over their mouths. The removal of the lock cylinder from the outside door involved the greatest risk of detection. Both of these strong-arm suspects had been questioned by Boston authorities following the robbery. In examining the bill, a Federal Reserve note, the officer observed that it was in musty condition. 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. 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. After these plans were reviewed and found to be unhelpful, OKeefe and Gusciora returned them in the same manner. Seventy years ago today, a group of men stole $1.2 million in cash and $1.5 million in checks. Unfortunately, this proved to be an idle hope. As a protective measure, he was incarcerated in the Hampden County jail at Springfield, Massachusetts, rather than the Suffolk County jail in Boston. From his cell in Springfield, OKeefe wrote bitter letters to members of the Brinks gang and persisted in his demands for money. One of his former girl friends who recalled having seen him on the night of the robbery stated that he definitely was not drunk. Information received from this individual linked nine well-known hoodlums with the crime. Those killed in the. More than 100 persons took the stand as witnesses for the prosecution and the defense during September 1956. 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. Many other types of information were received. Shortly after these two guns were found, one of them was placed in a trash barrel and was taken to the city dump. Each of the five lock cylinders was taken on a separate occasion. 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. Six members of the gangBaker, Costa, Geagan, Maffie, McGinnis, and Pinowere arrested by FBI agents on January 12, 1956. 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. OKeefe wore crepe-soled shoes to muffle his footsteps; the others wore rubbers. Two other men, ex-Brink's guard Thomas O'Connor and unemployed teacher Charles McCormick, were acquitted. 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. 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. 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. The robbers carefully planned routine inside Brinks was interrupted only when the attendant in the adjoining Brinks garage sounded the buzzer. The other keys in their possession enabled them to proceed to the second floor where they took the five Brinks employees by surprise. 00:29. The Great Brinks Robbery was the biggest armed robbery in U.S. history at the time.
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