The families of OKeefe and Gusciora resided in the vicinity of Stoughton, Massachusetts. An immediate effort also was made to obtain descriptive data concerning the missing cash and securities. The Great Brinks Robbery of 1950 met all of these requirementsa great pile of cash disappeared with no evidence, leads, or suspects. Defendant in 2020 aggravated robbery found guilty, gets 99-year sentence Continuous investigation, however, had linked him with the gang. The Brinks Mat Robbery: The real story that inspired The Gold. 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.. Again, the FBIs investigation resulted merely in the elimination of more possible suspects. While the others stayed at the house to make a quick count of the loot, Pino and Faherty departed. For example, from a citizen in California came the suggestion that the loot might be concealed in the Atlantic Ocean near Boston. (Following pleas of guilty in November 1956, Fat John received a two-year sentence, and the other two men were sentenced to serve one years imprisonment. 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. A passerby might notice that it was missing. The heist. 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. He arrived in Baltimore on the morning of June 3 and was picked up by the Baltimore Police Department that evening. He received a one-year sentence for this offense; however, on January 30, 1950, the sentence was revoked and the case was placed on file.. The robbers carefully planned routine inside Brinks was interrupted only when the attendant in the adjoining Brinks garage sounded the buzzer. Pino previously had arranged for this man to keep his shop open beyond the normal closing time on nights when Pino requested him to do so. What happened to the other half of the Brink's-Mat gold? Underworld sources described him as fully capable of planning and executing the Brinks robbery. 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. In examining the bill, a Federal Reserve note, the officer observed that it was in musty condition. 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. 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. Another week passedand approximately 500 more citizens were consideredbefore the 14-member jury was assembled. Their hands were tied behind their backs and adhesive tape was placed over their mouths. (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. Extensive efforts were made to detect pencil markings and other notations on the currency that the criminals thought might be traceable to Brinks. 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. On June 17, 1954, the Boston police arrested Elmer Trigger Burke and charged him with possession of a machine gun. This lead was pursued intensively. It was billed as the perfect crime and the the crime of the century.. On the afternoon of July 9, he was visited by a clergyman. 26 million (equivalent to 93.3 million in 2021 [1]) worth of gold bullion, diamonds, and cash was stolen from a warehouse operated by Brink's-Mat, a former joint . Subsequently, this machine gun was identified as having been used in the attempt on OKeefes life. Where is Nikki Jennings now? The Brink's-Mat police woman explained This phase of the investigation was pursued exhaustively. On November 26, 1982, six armed robbers forced their way into the Brink's-Mat warehouse, the plan was to steal the 3.2m in cash they were expecting to find stored there. 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. Brinks Robbery Cap FBI The robbers did little talking. On August 29, 1954, the officers suspicions were aroused by an automobile that circled the general vicinity of the abandoned car on five occasions. Inside this container were packages of bills that had been wrapped in plastic and newspapers. Pino also was linked with the robbery, and there was every reason to suspect that OKeefe felt Pino was turning his back on him now that OKeefe was in jail. Well-meaning persons throughout the country began sending the FBI tips and theories which they hoped would assist in the investigation. On March 4, 1950, pieces of an identical truck were found at a dump in Stoughton, Massachusetts. Six members of the gangBaker, Costa, Geagan, Maffie, McGinnis, and Pinowere arrested by FBI agents on January 12, 1956. McAvoy had attempted to reach a settlement with prosecutors in the case when he offered to repay his share, but by that time the money was gone. 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. Local officers searched their homes, but no evidence linking them with the truck or the robbery was found. Before they left, however, approximately $380,000 was placed in a coal hamper and removed by Baker for security reasons. Six armed men stole diamonds, cash and three tonnes of gold bullion from a warehouse close to . In 1997, Loomis Fargo employee David Ghantt robbed the armored car company of $17 million. An official website of the United States government. The other keys in their possession enabled them to proceed to the second floor where they took the five Brinks employees by surprise. Noye is currently being depicted in a new six-part BBC series into the infamous Brinks-Mat robbery, which took place in 1983. Mutulu Shakur, born Jeral Wayne Williams, is serving a 60-year sentence for organizing multiple bank and armored car robberies in New York and Connecticut. 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. 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. This phase of the investigation greatly disturbed many gamblers. Before removing the remainder of the loot from the house on January 18, 1950, the gang members attempted to identify incriminating items. 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. Photo courtesy Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection. Special agents subsequently interviewed Costa and his wife, Pino and his wife, the racketeer, and OKeefe. You'd be forgiven for mistaking the 2005 Miami Brinks heist for a movie script. The Brink's-Mat robbery occurred at the Heathrow International Trading Estate, London, United Kingdom, on 26 November 1983 and was one of the largest robberies in British history. I think a fellow just passed a counterfeit $10.00 bill on me, he told the officer. However, the group were shocked to find a massive 26 million in gold . Information received from this individual linked nine well-known hoodlums with the crime. Unfortunately, this proved to be an idle hope. 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. In the years following a shared event, like an assassination, everyone remembers where they were when it happened. Pino was determined to fight against deportation. ), (After serving his sentence, Fat John resumed a life of crime. Two days after Christmas of 1955, FBI agents paid another visit to OKeefe. Adolph Maffie, who had been convicted of income tax violation in June 1954, was released from the Federal Corrections Institution at Danbury, Connecticut, on January 30, 1955. FBI investigating massive jewelry heist in SoCal - ABC7 Los Angeles OKeefe did not know where the gang members had hidden their shares of the lootor where they had disposed of the money if, in fact, they had disposed of their shares. That prison term, together with Pinos conviction in March 1928 for carnal abuse of a girl, provided the basis for the deportation action. On November, 26, 1983, three tonnes of solid gold bullion was taken by six armed robbers from the Brink's-Mat security depot near . Soon the underworld rang with startling news concerning this pair. BBC Greenlights 'The Gold: The Inside Story' Companion Doc; Dorothy OKeefe immediately returned to Boston to await the results of the appeal. 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. The group were led by Mickey McAdams and Brian Robinson who planned to find 3 million in cash. In the new series, Tallchief tells the true story of the $3.1 million dollar Vegas heist she committed with her boyfriend Roberto Solis. 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. Like Gusciora, OKeefe was known to have associated with Pino prior to the Brinks robbery. OKeefe was the principal witness to appear before the state grand jurors. All but Pino and Banfield stepped out and proceeded into the playground to await Costas signal. How much money was stolen in the Brinks robbery? With the death of Gusciora, only eight members of the Brinks gang remained to be tried. What happened in the Brink's Mat heist? - vuseadia.dcmusic.ca FBI.gov is an official site of the U.S. Department of Justice. BBC's The Gold: The true story of the Brink's-Mat Robbery Some of the jewelry might. Three of the newspapers used to wrap the bills were identified. This was a question which preyed heavily upon their minds. The eight men were sentenced by Judge Forte on October 9, 1956. A few years before the Brink's-Mat robbery . Brinks employee fights for job after being accused in half - CBC 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. From masked gunmen and drugs to kidnappings and bags of cash, the $7.4 million robbery had it 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. It was called the crime of the century, the largest heist in US history, an almost perfect robbery. OKeefes reputation for nerve was legend. 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. The full details of this important development were immediately furnished to the FBI Office in Boston. Costa was associated with Pino in the operation of a motor terminal and a lottery in Boston. The fiber bags used to conceal the pieces were identified as having been used as containers for beef bones shipped from South America to a gelatin manufacturing company in Massachusetts. All efforts to identify the gang members through the chauffeurs hat, the rope, and the adhesive tape which had been left in Brinks proved unsuccessful. 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 . During his brief stay in Boston, he was observed to contact other members of the robbery gang. Later, when he counted the money, he found that the suitcase contained $98,000. 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. All identifying marks placed on currency and securities by the customers were noted, and appropriate stops were placed at banking institutions across the nation. The Gold is a 2023 television series created for BBC One and Paramount+. 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. Within two months of his return, another member of the gang suffered a legal setback. Kenneth Noye now: What happened to the criminal depicted in The Gold An automobile identified as the car used in the escape was located near a Boston hospital, and police officers concealed themselves in the area. OKeefe had left his hotel at approximately 7:00 p.m. Pino and Baker separately decided to go out at 7:00 p.m. Costa started back to the motor terminal at about 7:00 p.m. Other principal suspects were not able to provide very convincing accounts of their activities that evening. A few weeks later, OKeefe retrieved his share of the loot. 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. The Brinks case was front page news. Each robbers face was completely concealed behind a Halloween-type mask. In the end, the perfect crime had a perfect endingfor everyone but the robbers.