Before removing the remainder of the loot from the house on January 18, 1950, the gang members attempted to identify incriminating items. A federal search warrant was obtained, and the home was searched by agents on April 27, 1950. ), (After serving his sentence, Fat John resumed a life of crime. 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 The families of OKeefe and Gusciora resided in the vicinity of Stoughton, Massachusetts. Like the others, Banfield had been questioned concerning his activities on the night of January 17, 1950. Subsequently, he engaged in a conversation with McGinnis and a Boston police officer. 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. Brian The Colonel Robinson, 78, was cheated out of his share of the record haul. In the succeeding two weeks, nearly 1,200 prospective jurors were eliminated as the defense counsel used their 262 peremptory challenges. 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. 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. 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. Five bullets which had missed their mark were found in a building nearby. WebRobbery Seven of the group went into the Brink's building: OKeefe, Gusciora, Baker, Maffie, Geagan, Faherty, and Richardson. On October 11, 1950, Gusciora was sentenced to serve from five to 20 years in the Western Pennsylvania Penitentiary at Pittsburgh. Eight of the gang's members received maximum sentences of life imprisonment. 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. 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. Geagan claimed that he spent the evening at home and did not learn of the Brinks robbery until the following day. Members of the Purple Gang of the 1930s found that there was renewed interest in their activities. By this time, Baker was suffering from a bad case of nerves. 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. There were recurring rumors that this hoodlum, Joseph Sylvester Banfield (pictured), had been right down there on the night of the crime. WebGordon John Parry, Brian Perry, Patrick Clark, and Jean Savage were all convicted at the Old Bailey. Seven months later, however, he was again paroled. 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. As the truck drove past the Brinks offices, the robbers noted that the lights were out on the Prince Street side of the building. From his cell in Springfield, OKeefe wrote bitter letters to members of the Brinks gang and persisted in his demands for money. Considerable thought was given to every detail. 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. At the time it was Britains In the fall of 1955, an upper court overruled the conviction on the grounds that the search and seizure of the still were illegal.). Local officers searched their homes, but no evidence linking them with the truck or the robbery was found. Jeweler and also a bullion dealer, John Palmer, was arrested. The removal of the lock cylinder from the outside door involved the greatest risk of detection. OKeefe was bitter about a number of matters. A few weeks later, OKeefe retrieved his share of the loot. Edward O'Grady, Officer Waverly Brown and Brink's guard Peter Paige were killed during the Oct. 20, 1981, robbery in Nanuet, New York. Thorough inquiries were made concerning the disposition of the bags after their receipt by the Massachusetts firm. The alibi, in fact, was almost too good. Extensive efforts were made to detect pencil markings and other notations on the currency that the criminals thought might be traceable to Brinks. The robbery was first conceived in 1947; however, in 1948, after months of planning, the group learned that Brink's had moved to a new location. 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. Shortly after 6.40am, six armed robbers in balaclavas entered a warehouse at Heathrow airport belonging to security company Brinks-Mat. All five employees had been forced at gunpoint to lie face down on the floor. On January 13, 1956, the Suffolk County grand jury returned indictments against the 11 members of the Brinks gang. 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. 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. This incident also took place in Dorchester and involved the firing of more than 30 shots. Here, we look at the people involved and where they are now. A lock () or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. WebLASD confirmed this was not a typical Brinks armored car seen in a city environment. During the trip from Roxbury, Pino distributed Navy-type peacoats and chauffeurs caps to the other seven men in the rear of the truck. 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. At the time of his arrest, there also was a charge of armed robbery outstanding against him in Massachusetts. After observing the movements of the guards, they decided that the robbery should take place just after 7 pm, as the vault would be open and fewer guards would be on duty. Had the ground not been frozen, the person or persons who abandoned the bags probably would have attempted to bury them. [19] Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, J. Edgar Hoover, took over supervision of the investigation.[20]. Shortly after these two guns were found, one of them was placed in a trash barrel and was taken to the city dump. All were paroled by 1971 except McGinnis, who died in prison. Continuous investigation, however, had linked him with the gang. In the late summer of 1944, he was released from the state prison and was taken into custody by Immigration authorities. This man claimed to have no knowledge of Pinos involvement in the Brinks robbery.). [14] By 7:37, one of the Brink's employees managed to free themselves and raise the alarm. 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. Race tracks and gambling establishments also were covered in the hope of finding some of the loot in circulation. And it nearly was. With the death of Gusciora, only eight members of the Brinks gang remained to be tried. Early in June 1956, however, an unexpected break developed. Three of the remaining five gang members were previously accounted for, OKeefe and Gusciora being in prison on other charges and Banfield being dead. At the outset, very few facts were available to the investigators. 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. Richardson had participated with Faherty in an armed robbery in February 1934. An automobile identified as the car used in the escape was located near a Boston hospital, and police officers concealed themselves in the area. Reports had been received alleging that he had held up several gamblers in the Boston area and had been involved in shakedowns of bookies. OKeefe claimed that he left his hotel room in Boston at approximately 7:00 p.m. on January 17, 1950. Vincent Costa was the group's lookout, and signalled with a flashlight from a nearby rooftop when he saw the vault being opened. 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. (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. While the others stayed at the house to make a quick count of the loot, Pino and Faherty departed. The FBI approached O'Keefe in the hospital and on January 6, 1956, he decided to talk. WebJudith Clark was paroled in 2019 after then Gov. This phase of the investigation greatly disturbed many gamblers. The officer verified the meeting. 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. The criminal explained that he was in the contracting business in Boston and that in late March or early April 1956, he stumbled upon a plastic bag containing this money while he was working on the foundation of a house. 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. [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. They had brought no tools with them, however, and they were unsuccessful. This lead was pursued intensively. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. 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. Many problems and dangers were involved in such a robbery, and the plans never crystallized. Six members of the gangBaker, Costa, Geagan, Maffie, McGinnis, and Pinowere arrested by FBI agents on January 12, 1956. 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. 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. She also covered the 1950s Brinks robbery and was a medical reporter for the Boston Herald. 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. FBI.gov is an official site of the U.S. Department of Justice. 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. [17] Approximately a million dollars in silver and coins was left behind by the robbers, as they were not prepared to carry it. 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 a government witness, he reluctantly would have testified against him. 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. 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 All denied any knowledge of the alleged incident. Almost immediately, the gang began laying new plans. From interviews with the five employees whom the criminals had confronted, it was learned that between five and seven robbers had entered the building. Before the robbers could take him prisoner, the garage attendant walked away. Until the FBI and its partners painstakingly solved the case. As a guard moved to intercept him, Burke started to run. 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. Serious consideration originally had been given to robbing Brinks in 1947, when Brinks was located on Federal Street in Boston. 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. 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. The police officer said he had been talking to McGinnis first, and Pino arrived later to join them. 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. Faherty had been questioned on the night of the robbery. Adding to these problems was the constant pressure being exerted upon Pino by OKeefe from the county jail in Towanda, Pennsylvania. He was not with the gang when the robbery took place. Questioned by Boston police on the day following the robbery, Baker claimed that he had eaten dinner with his family on the evening of January 17, 1950, and then left home at about 7:00 p.m. to walk around the neighborhood for about two hours. Some persons claimed to have seen him. This phase of the investigation was pursued exhaustively. 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 trial began on August 6, 1956. The truck found at the dump had been reported stolen by a Ford dealer near Fenway Park in Boston on November 3, 1949. FBI agents tried to talk to O'Keefe and Gusciora in prison but the two professed ignorance of the Brink's robbery.
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