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. Subsequently, this machine gun was identified as having been used in the attempt on OKeefes life. As long as he was in prison, he could do no physical harm to his Boston criminal associates. Solicitor Michael Relton was jailed in 1987 for his part in the money He was certain he would be considered a strong suspect and wanted to begin establishing an alibi immediately.) During his brief stay in Boston, he was observed to contact other members of the robbery gang. FBI.gov is an official site of the U.S. Department of Justice. [19] Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, J. Edgar Hoover, took over supervision of the investigation.[20]. 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.. Ten of the persons who appeared before this grand jury breathed much more easily when they learned that no indictments had been returned. The At the time it was Britains 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. [14] By 7:37, one of the Brink's employees managed to free themselves and raise the alarm. One of his former girl friends who recalled having seen him on the night of the robbery stated that he definitely was not drunk. 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. 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. On February 5, 1950, however, a police officer in Somerville, Massachusetts, recovered one of the four revolvers that had been taken by the robbers. WebWho Was Involved In The Brinks 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. In pursuing the underworld rumors concerning the principal suspects in the Brinks case, the FBI succeeded in identifying more probable members of the gang. 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. The person ringing the buzzer was a garage attendant. In June 1950, OKeefe and Gusciora were arrested in Pennsylvania for a burglary. 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. When the employees were securely bound and gagged, the robbers began looting the premises. His explanation: He had been drinking at a bar in Boston. 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. 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. 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. In addition to the general descriptions received from the Brinks employees, the investigators obtained several pieces of physical evidence. Five bullets which had missed their mark were found in a building nearby. What happened in the Brinks-Matt robbery? They had brought no tools with them, however, and they were unsuccessful. Seven months later, however, he was again paroled. To muffle their footsteps, one of the gang wore crepe-soled shoes, and the others wore rubbers. The robbery received significant press coverage, and was eventually adapted into four movies. 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. WebTwo 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. 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. [17] Approximately a million dollars in silver and coins was left behind by the robbers, as they were not prepared to carry it. Livvy standing in the middle of two masked people involved in kidnap gangs. 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. 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. Had any particles of evidence been found in the loot which might directly show that they had handled it? 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.). After these plans were reviewed and found to be unhelpful, OKeefe and Gusciora returned them in the same manner. Race tracks and gambling establishments also were covered in the hope of finding some of the loot in circulation. At approximately 7:00 p.m. on January 17, 1950, members of the gang met in the Roxbury section of Boston and entered the rear of the Ford stake-body truck. WebThe robbery occurred around 9:35 a.m. as the Brinks truck was parked in front of Pete's Fresh Market in the 1900-block of Sibley Blvd., Calumet City spokesperson Sean Howard Instead, they said the trailer was targeted near Frazier Park in the mountains along I-5. WebOne of the robbers, Micky McAvoy, entrusted his share to associates Brian Perry and George Francis. Until the FBI and its partners painstakingly solved the case. 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. The other keys in their possession enabled them to proceed to the second floor where they took the five Brinks employees by surprise. 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. 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. 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. 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.. 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. In 1936 and 1937, Faherty was convicted of armed robbery violations. The FBI approached O'Keefe in the hospital and on January 6, 1956, he decided to talk. None of these materialized because the gang did not consider the conditions to be favorable. This phase of the investigation was pursued exhaustively. In December 1948, Brinks moved from Federal Street to 165 Prince Street in Boston. Soon the underworld rang with startling news concerning this pair. Shortly after 6.40am, six armed robbers in balaclavas entered a warehouse at Heathrow airport belonging to security company Brinks-Mat. On October 11, 1950, Gusciora was sentenced to serve from five to 20 years in the Western Pennsylvania Penitentiary at Pittsburgh. In a series of interviews during the succeeding days, OKeefe related the full story of the Brinks robbery. John had a smelter in his garden hut near Bath. Three of the remaining five gang members were previously accounted for, OKeefe and Gusciora being in prison on other charges and Banfield being dead. WebHe was the police intelligence officer who identified Noye as a suspect in the notorious Brink's-Mat 26m gold bullion robbery and began the surveillance operation from an old On June 2, 1950, OKeefe and Gusciora left Boston by automobile for the alleged purpose of visiting the grave of Guscioras brother in Missouri. 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. All five employees had been forced at gunpoint to lie face down on the floor. During the period immediately following the Brinks robbery, the heat was on OKeefe and Gusciora. 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. After being wounded on June 16, OKeefe disappeared. Here, we look at the people involved and where they are now. 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. During this operation, one of the employees had lost his glasses; they later could not be found on the Brinks premises. Shortly thereafterduring the first week of Novembera 1949 green Ford stake-body truck was reported missing by a car dealer 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. While on bond he returned to Boston; on January 23, 1954, he appeared in the Boston Municipal Court on the probation violation charge. Others fell apart as they were handled. While OKeefe and Gusciora lingered in jail in Pennsylvania, Pino encountered difficulties of his own. He had been released on parole from the Norfolk, Massachusetts, Prison Colony on August 22, 1949only five months before the robbery. On August 29, 1954, the officers suspicions were aroused by an automobile that circled the general vicinity of the abandoned car on five occasions. 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. Soon after OKeefes return in March 1954, Baker and his wife left Boston on a vacation.. 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. Evidently resigned to long years in prison or a short life on the outside, OKeefe grew increasingly bitter toward his old associates. 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. Apparently suspicious, OKeefe crouched low in the front seat of his car as the would-be assassins fired bullets that pierced the windshield. This is good money, he said, but you cant pass it around here in Boston.. During the preceding year, however, he had filed a petition for pardon in the hope of removing one of the criminal convictions from his record. Brian The Colonel Robinson, 78, was cheated out of his share of the record haul. The month preceding January 17, 1950, witnessed approximately a half-dozen approaches to Brinks. 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. A number of them discontinued their operations; others indicated a strong desire that the robbers be identified and apprehended. 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 In addition, although violent dissension had developed within the gang, there still was no indication that any of the men were ready to talk. Based on the available information, however, the FBI felt that OKeefes disgust was reaching the point where it was possible he would turn against his confederates. [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. In addition to mold, insect remains also were found on the loot. Their hands were tied behind their backs and adhesive tape was placed over their mouths. A detailed search for additional weapons was made at the Mystic River. [16] At 7:10 pm, they entered the building and tied up the five employees working in the vault area. The ninth man had long been a principal suspect. Continuous investigation, however, had linked him with the gang. OKeefe was sentenced on August 5, 1954, to serve 27 months in prison. The Brinks case was front page news. This occurred while he was in the state prison at Charlestown, Massachusetts, serving sentences for breaking and entering with intent to commit a felony and for having burglar tools in his possession. All of them wore Navy-type peacoats, gloves, and chauffeurs caps. If local hoodlums were involved, it was difficult to believe that McGinnis could be as ignorant of the crime as he claimed. Stanley Gusciora (pictured left), who had been transferred to Massachusetts from Pennsylvania to stand trial, was placed under medical care due to weakness, dizziness, and vomiting. Pino had been questioned as to his whereabouts on the evening of January 17, 1950, and he provided a good alibi. The thieves quickly bound the employees and began hauling away the loot. 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. (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 back were Pino, OKeefe, Baker, Faherty, Maffie, Gusciora, Michael Vincent Geagan (pictured), and Thomas Francis Richardson. A thorough investigation was made concerning his whereabouts on the evening of January 17, 1950. WebSix armed men broke into the Brinks-Mat security depot near Londons Heathrow airport and inadvertently stumbled across gold bullion worth 26m. Even if released, he thought, his days were numbered. As the truck drove past the Brinks offices, the robbers noted that the lights were out on the Prince Street side of the building. Had the ground not been frozen, the person or persons who abandoned the bags probably would have attempted to bury them. Executive producers are Tommy Bulfin for the BBC; Neil Forsyth and Ben Farrell for Tannadice Pictures; and Kate Laffey and Claire Sowerby-Sheppard for VIS. This man, subsequently identified as a small-time Boston underworld figure, was located and questioned. The last false approach took place on January 16, 1950the night before the robbery. The serial numbers of several of these bills were furnished to the FBI Office in Baltimore. 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. All were guilty. First, there was the money. He was not involved in the Brinks robbery. It was later claimed that most of O'Keefe's share went to his legal defense. The results were negative. 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. O'Keefe pleaded guilty January 18. More than 100 persons took the stand as witnesses for the prosecution and the defense during September 1956. Interviews with him on June 3 and 4, 1956, disclosed that this 31-year-old hoodlum had a record of arrests and convictions dating back to his teens and that he had been conditionally released from a federal prison camp less than a year beforehaving served slightly more than two years of a three-year sentence for transporting a falsely made security interstate. 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. [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. 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. [14], Seven of the group went into the Brink's building: OKeefe, Gusciora, Baker, Maffie, Geagan, Faherty, and Richardson. THE brains behind the 26million Brinks-Mat bullion robbery has died penniless. The truck that the robbers had used was found cut to pieces in Stoughton, Massachusetts, near O'Keefe's home. Shortly after these two guns were found, one of them was placed in a trash barrel and was taken to the city dump. The new proceedings were based upon the fact that Pino had been arrested in December 1948 for a larceny involving less than $100. Among the early suspects was Anthony Pino, an alien who had been a principal suspect in numerous major robberies and burglaries in Massachusetts. Adding to these problems was the constant pressure being exerted upon Pino by OKeefe from the county jail in Towanda, Pennsylvania. During questioning by the FBI, the money changer stated that he was in business as a mason contractor with another man on Tremont Street in Boston. Nothing suggests it was a stick-em-up robbery or strong-arm heist. Approximately one and one-half hours later, Banfield returned with McGinnis. McGinness masterminded the crime. A trial began on August 6, 1956. Both are real characters. In December 1954, he indicated to the agents that Pino could look for rough treatment if he (OKeefe) again was released. (The arrests of Faherty and Richardson also resulted in the indictment of another Boston hoodlum as an accessory after the fact). 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. Unfortunately, this proved to be an idle hope. Some of the bills were in pieces. As a government witness, he reluctantly would have testified against him. Captain Marvel mask used as a disguise in the robbery. Other members of the robbery gang also were having their troubles. After continuing up the street to the end of the playground which adjoined the Brinks building, the truck stopped. And it nearly was. Two members of the gang were quickly caught but the Yet, when he was The robbers carefully planned routine inside Brinks was interrupted only when the attendant in the adjoining Brinks garage sounded the buzzer. As a guard moved to intercept him, Burke started to run. Binoculars were used in this phase of the casing operation. It was at the time the largest robbery in the history of the United States, and has been called "the crime of the century". 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. During their forays inside the building, members of the gang took the lock cylinders from five doors, including the one opening onto Prince Street. 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 Well-known Boston hoodlums were picked up and questioned by police. WebJudith Clark was paroled in 2019 after then Gov. Both denied knowledge of the loot that had been recovered. Prior to his murder, It ultimately proved unproductive. Banfield was already dead. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. At the centre of The Gold are the detective Brian Boyce, played by Hugh Bonneville, and Kenneth Noye, played by Jack Lowden. Two days after Christmas of 1955, FBI agents paid another visit to OKeefe. Two other Baltimore police officers who were walking along the street nearby noted this maneuver. The alibi, in fact, was almost too good. McGinnis had been arrested at the site of a still in New Hampshire in February 1954. Robinson died in a London An appeal was promptly noted, and he was released on $15,000 bond. [14] They each wore a chauffeur cap, pea coat, rubber Halloween mask, and each had a .38 caliber revolver. 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. Inside the building, the gang members carefully studied all available information concerning Brinks schedules and shipments. Pino could have been at McGinnis liquor store shortly after 7:30 p.m. on January 17, 1950, and still have participated in the robbery. WebA Byte Out of HistoryThe Great Brinks Robbery. 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.
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