He was certain he would be considered a strong suspect and wanted to begin establishing an alibi immediately.) During this visit, Gusciora got up from his bed, and, in full view of the clergyman, slipped to the floor, striking his head. 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. 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. At approximately 9:50 p.m., the details of this incident were furnished to the Baltimore Field Office of the FBI. 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. When OKeefe admitted his part in the Brinks robbery to FBI agents in January 1956, he told of his high regard for Gusciora. 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. At 4:20 p.m. on January 6, 1956, OKeefe made the final decision. Later, when he counted the money, he found that the suitcase contained $98,000. This was a question which preyed heavily upon their minds. 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 November and December 1949, the approach to the Brinks building and the flight over the getaway route were practiced to perfection. The thieves quickly bound the employees and began hauling away the loot. And it nearly was. The Bureau was convinced that it had identified the actual robbers, but evidence and witnesses had to be found. Apparently, they had planned a leisurely trip with an abundance of extracurricular activities.. An appeal was promptly noted, and he was released on $15,000 bond. By Beth Rose. Burke, a professional killer, allegedly had been hired by underworld associates of OKeefe to assassinate him. 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. The families of OKeefe and Gusciora resided in the vicinity of Stoughton, Massachusetts. Brian The Colonel Robinson, 78, was cheated out of his share of the record haul. 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. 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. All denied any knowledge of the alleged incident. This is not the first time that Cuomo has commuted a sentence for someone involved in the Brink's robbery. 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. 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. Soon the underworld rang with startling news concerning this pair. He arrived in Baltimore on the morning of June 3 and was picked up by the Baltimore Police Department that evening. Before the robbers could take him prisoner, the garage attendant walked away. Fat John and the business associate of the man arrested in Baltimore were located and interviewed on the morning of June 4, 1956. 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. Three of the newspapers used to wrap the bills were identified. OKeefe immediately returned to Boston to await the results of the appeal. 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. Subsequently, OKeefe left his carand the $200,000in a garage on Blue Hill Avenue in Boston. Brian Reader, 76, was jailed over the 26m Brink's-Mat armed robbery in 1983. 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. OKeefe wore crepe-soled shoes to muffle his footsteps; the others wore rubbers. Prior to his murder, He was not involved in the Brinks robbery. All identifying marks placed on currency and securities by the customers were noted, and appropriate stops were placed at banking institutions across the nation. Occasionally, an offender who was facing a prison term would boast that he had hot information. At the time of his arrest, there also was a charge of armed robbery outstanding against him in Massachusetts. The removal of the lock cylinder from the outside door involved the greatest risk of detection. THE brains behind the 26million Brinks-Mat bullion robbery has died penniless. Each of them had surreptitiously entered the premises on several occasions after the employees had left for the day. 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 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. The FBIs jurisdiction to investigate this robbery was based upon the fact that cash, checks, postal notes, and United States money orders of the Federal Reserve Bank and the Veterans Administration district office in Boston were included in the loot. OKeefe was the principal witness to appear before the state grand jurors. WebLASD confirmed this was not a typical Brinks armored car seen in a city environment. The robbers carefully planned routine inside Brinks was interrupted only when the attendant in the adjoining Brinks garage sounded the buzzer. The full details of this important development were immediately furnished to the FBI Office in Boston. A federal search warrant was obtained, and the home was searched by agents on April 27, 1950. Prominent among the other strong suspects was Vincent James Costa, brother-in-law of Pino. Ten of the persons who appeared before this grand jury breathed much more easily when they learned that no indictments had been returned. Captain Marvel mask used as a disguise in the robbery. Each of the five lock cylinders was taken on a separate occasion. 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.. 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. He had been questioned concerning his whereabouts on January 17, 1950, and he was unable to provide any specific account of where he had been. This cooler contained more than $57,700, including $51,906 which was identifiable as part of the Brinks loot. [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 other gun was picked up by the officer and identified as having been taken during the Brinks robbery. He had been released on parole from the Norfolk, Massachusetts, Prison Colony on August 22, 1949only five months before the robbery. Like Gusciora, OKeefe was known to have associated with Pino prior to the Brinks robbery. (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. From his cell in Springfield, OKeefe wrote bitter letters to members of the Brinks gang and persisted in his demands for money. He claimed there was a large roll of bills in his hotel roomand that he had found that money, too. As a cooperative measure, the information gathered by the FBI in the Brinks investigation was made available to the District Attorney of Suffolk County, Massachusetts. None of these materialized because the gang did not consider the conditions to be favorable. I think a fellow just passed a counterfeit $10.00 bill on me, he told the officer. That prison term, together with Pinos conviction in March 1928 for carnal abuse of a girl, provided the basis for the deportation action. Only $58,000 of the $2.7 million was recovered. From their prison cells, they carefully followed the legal maneuvers aimed at gaining them freedom. This man, subsequently identified as a small-time Boston underworld figure, was located and questioned. Immediately upon leaving, the gang loaded the loot into the truck that was parked on Prince Street near the door. OKeefes reputation for nerve was legend. Neither had too convincing an alibi. Three and one-half hours later, the verdict had been reached. On June 17, 1954, the Boston police arrested Elmer Trigger Burke and charged him with possession of a machine gun. OKeefe claimed that he left his hotel room in Boston at approximately 7:00 p.m. on January 17, 1950. WebHere is what we know of those involved in the robbery. Minutes later, police arrived at the Brinks building, and special agents of the FBI quickly joined in the investigation. Other information provided by OKeefe helped to fill the gaps which still existed. Others fell apart as they were handled. Gusciora died on July 9. The recovery of part of the loot was a severe blow to the gang members who still awaited trial in Boston. 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. Extensive efforts were made to detect pencil markings and other notations on the currency that the criminals thought might be traceable to Brinks. Even fearing the new bills might be linked with the crime, McGinnis suggested a process for aging the new money in a hurry.. 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. 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. Two of the prime suspects whose nerve and gun-handling experience suited them for the Brinks robbery were Joseph James OKeefe and Stanley Albert Gusciora. Special agents subsequently interviewed Costa and his wife, Pino and his wife, the racketeer, and OKeefe. 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. As the loot was being placed in bags and stacked between the second and third doors leading to the Prince Street entrance, a buzzer sounded. Allegedly, he pulled a gun on OKeefe; several shots were exchanged by the two men, but none of the bullets found their mark. Some persons claimed to have seen him. At the time it was Britains 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. Gordon John Parry, Brian Perry, Patrick Clark, Jean Savage and Anthony Black were all given between five and 10 years in prison for their part in the crime. 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. 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. On October 11, 1950, Gusciora was sentenced to serve from five to 20 years in the Western Pennsylvania Penitentiary at Pittsburgh. Following the federal grand jury hearings, the FBIs intense investigation continued. A number of them discontinued their operations; others indicated a strong desire that the robbers be identified and apprehended. Before removing the remainder of the loot from the house on January 18, 1950, the gang members attempted to identify incriminating items. [16] At 7:10 pm, they entered the building and tied up the five employees working in the vault area. 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.. [19] Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, J. Edgar Hoover, took over supervision of the investigation.[20]. 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. A lock () or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. First, there was the money. As the investigation developed and thousands of leads were followed to dead ends, the broad field of possible suspects gradually began to narrow. [14] By 7:37, one of the Brink's employees managed to free themselves and raise the alarm. 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. 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. 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. All of them wore Navy-type peacoats, gloves, and chauffeurs caps. Both are real characters. Even if released, he thought, his days were numbered. [17] Approximately a million dollars in silver and coins was left behind by the robbers, as they were not prepared to carry it. A passerby might notice that it was missing. His explanation: He had been drinking at a bar in Boston. Two hours later he was dead. Three years later, almost to the day, these ten men, together with another criminal, were to be indicted by a state grand jury in Boston for the Brinks robbery. 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. Released to McKean County, Pennsylvania, authorities early in January 1954 to stand trial for burglary, larceny, and receiving stolen goods, OKeefe also was confronted with a detainer filed by Massachusetts authorities. 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. 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. Three of the remaining five gang members were previously accounted for, OKeefe and Gusciora being in prison on other charges and Banfield being dead. This man claimed to have no knowledge of Pinos involvement in the Brinks robbery.). OKeefe was sentenced on August 5, 1954, to serve 27 months in prison. And the gang felt that the chances of his talking were negligible because he would be implicated in the Brinks robbery along with the others. In December 1954, he indicated to the agents that Pino could look for rough treatment if he (OKeefe) again was released. Pino, Richardson, and Costa each took $20,000, and this was noted on a score sheet. WebThe robberys mastermind was Anthony Fats Pino, a career criminal who recruited a group of 10 other men to stake out the depot for 18 months to figure out when it held the On the night of January 17, 1952exactly two years after the crime occurredthe FBIs Boston Office received an anonymous telephone call from an individual who claimed he was sending a letter identifying the Brinks robbers. This underworld character told the officers that he had found this money. 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. 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. WebMore than 6,000 gold bars were stolen in the robbery from a warehouse on the outskirts of Heathrow on 26 November, 1983. Former inmates of penal institutions reported conversations they had overheard while incarcerated which concerned the robbing of Brinks. Thirteen people were detained in the hours following the robbery, including two former employees of Brink's. If Baker heard these rumors, he did not wait around very long to see whether they were true. Another week passedand approximately 500 more citizens were consideredbefore the 14-member jury was assembled. He was through with Pino, Baker, McGinnis, Maffie, and the other Brinks conspirators who had turned against him. 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 As a protective measure, he was incarcerated in the Hampden County jail at Springfield, Massachusetts, rather than the Suffolk County jail in Boston. As of 2004, it was Had any particles of evidence been found in the loot which might directly show that they had handled it? They were held in lieu of bail which, for each man, amounted to more then $100,000. The gang members who remained at the house of Maffies parents soon dispersed to establish alibis for themselves. An immediate effort also was made to obtain descriptive data concerning the missing cash and securities. Both denied knowledge of the loot that had been recovered. Instead, they said the trailer was targeted near Frazier Park in the mountains along I-5. He was granted a full pardon by the acting governor of Massachusetts. Burlap money bags recovered in a Boston junk yard from the robbery, Some of the recovered money from the robbery. Vincent Costa was the group's lookout, and signalled with a flashlight from a nearby rooftop when he saw the vault being opened. Robinson died in a London In examining the bill, a Federal Reserve note, the officer observed that it was in musty condition. Banfield, the driver, was alone in the front. Shortly after these two guns were found, one of them was placed in a trash barrel and was taken to the city dump. A systematic check of current and past Brinks employees was undertaken; personnel of the three-story building housing the Brinks offices were questioned; inquiries were made concerning salesmen, messengers, and others who had called at Brinks and might know its physical layout as well as its operational procedures. From Boston, the pressure quickly spread to other cities. The loot was quickly unloaded, and Banfield sped away to hide the truck. other securities in the 1950 Brinks heist. The alibi was strong, but not conclusive. Here, we look at the people involved and where they are now. Approximately one and one-half hours later, Banfield returned with McGinnis. Much of the money taken from the money changer appeared to have been stored a long time. 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. Early in June 1956, however, an unexpected break developed. Prior to this time, McGinnis had been at his liquor store. After a couple of attempts he hired underworld hitman Elmer "Trigger" Burke to kill O'Keefe. He had been short changed $2,000. The ninth man had long been a principal suspect. 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. Inside the building, the gang members carefully studied all available information concerning Brinks schedules and shipments. Soon after OKeefes return in March 1954, Baker and his wife left Boston on a vacation.. In the succeeding two weeks, nearly 1,200 prospective jurors were eliminated as the defense counsel used their 262 peremptory challenges. Members of the Purple Gang of the 1930s found that there was renewed interest in their activities. On January 12, 1953, Pino was released on bail pending a deportation hearing. As the truck drove past the Brinks offices, the robbers noted that the lights were out on the Prince Street side of the building. After nearly three years of investigation, the government hoped that witnesses or participants who had remained mute for so long a period of time might find their tongues before the grand jury. Nothing suggests it was a stick-em-up robbery or strong-arm heist. This is good money, he said, but you cant pass it around here in Boston.. 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. Underworld sources described him as fully capable of planning and executing 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. She also covered the 1950s Brinks robbery and was a medical reporter for the Boston Herald. O'Keefe later claimed that he had never seen his portion of the loot after he had given it to Maffie for safekeeping. 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. Following their arrests, a former bondsman in Boston made frequent trips to Towanda in an unsuccessful effort to secure their release on bail. 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. Well-meaning persons throughout the country began sending the FBI tips and theories which they hoped would assist in the investigation. Jeweler and also a bullion dealer, John Palmer, was arrested. After careful checking, the FBI eliminated eight of the suspects. WebBrian Robinson was convicted of armed robbery and sentenced to 25 years in prison. All had been published in Boston between December 4, 1955, and February 21, 1956. Adding to these problems was the constant pressure being exerted upon Pino by OKeefe from the county jail in Towanda, Pennsylvania. There were recurring rumors that this hoodlum, Joseph Sylvester Banfield (pictured), had been right down there on the night of the crime. 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. Shakur's conviction includes planning the $1.6 million Brinks robbery in Rockland on Oct. 20, 1981. 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. Two of the participants in the Brinks robbery lived in the Stoughton area.