who was involved in the brinks robbery

All right, he told two FBI agents, what do you want to know?. 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. Subsequently, OKeefe left his carand the $200,000in a garage on Blue Hill Avenue in Boston. In the hours immediately following the robbery, the underworld began to feel the heat of the investigation. This lead was pursued intensively. Each man also was given a pistol and a Halloween-type mask. Prominent among the other strong suspects was Vincent James Costa, brother-in-law of Pino. WebMore than 6,000 gold bars were stolen in the robbery from a warehouse on the outskirts of Heathrow on 26 November, 1983. Immediately upon leaving, the gang loaded the loot into the truck that was parked on Prince Street near the door. 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. As a guard moved to intercept him, Burke started to run. On August 30, he was taken into custody as a suspicious person. (Costa, who was at his lookout post, previously had arrived in a Ford sedan which the gang had stolen from behind the Boston Symphony Hall two days earlier.). Costa was associated with Pino in the operation of a motor terminal and a lottery in Boston. The money inside the cooler which was concealed in the wall of the Tremont Street office was wrapped in plastic and newspaper. The FBI also succeeded in locating the carpenter who had remodeled the offices where the loot was hidden. 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. His explanation: He had been drinking at a bar in Boston. WebBrian Robinson was convicted of armed robbery and sentenced to 25 years in prison. On January 12, 1956, just five days before the statute of limitations was to run out, the FBI arrested Baker, Costa, Geagan, Maffie, McGinnis, and 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. Both had served prison sentences, and both were well known to underworld figures on the East Coast. 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. Less than $60,000 of the more than $2.7 million stolen would ever be recovered. During November and December 1949, the approach to the Brinks building and the flight over the getaway route were practiced to perfection. Sentenced to serve from five to seven years for this offense, he was released from prison in September 1941. This man, subsequently identified as a small-time Boston underworld figure, was located and questioned. Within two months of his return, another member of the gang suffered a legal setback. WebAt 6.30 am on 26 November 1983, a South London gang of six armed robbers, headed by Brian Robinson and Mickey McAvoy, broke into the Brinks Mat warehouse at Heathrow Airport, expecting to make off with about 3 million in cash. The eight men were sentenced by Judge Forte on October 9, 1956. Shortly after 6.40am, six armed robbers in balaclavas entered a warehouse at Heathrow airport belonging to security company Brinks-Mat. This vehicle was traced through motor vehicle records to Pino. The loot was quickly unloaded, and Banfield sped away to hide the truck. 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. 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. Considerable thought was given to every detail. A lock () or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. McGinnis had been arrested at the site of a still in New Hampshire in February 1954. This man subsequently identified locks from doors which the Brinks gang had entered as being similar to the locks which Pino had brought him. acknowledges it was involved in the gold transport. The mass of information gathered during the early weeks of the investigation was continuously sifted. First, there was the money. From interviews with the five employees whom the criminals had confronted, it was learned that between five and seven robbers had entered the building. OKeefe was sentenced to three years in Bradford County Jail and Gusciora to 5-to-20 years in the Western State Penitentiary at Pittsburgh. 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. Apparently in need of money he kidnapped Vincent Costa and demanded his part of the loot for ransom. Well-known Boston hoodlums were picked up and questioned by police. 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 WebRobbery Seven of the group went into the Brink's building: OKeefe, Gusciora, Baker, Maffie, Geagan, Faherty, and Richardson. And it nearly was. A federal search warrant was obtained, and the home was searched by agents on April 27, 1950. This man claimed to have no knowledge of Pinos involvement in the Brinks robbery.). Using the outside door key they had previously obtained, the men quickly entered and donned their masks. Other information provided by OKeefe helped to fill the gaps which still existed. They moved with a studied precision which suggested that the crime had been carefully planned and rehearsed in the preceding months. 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. Investigation revealed that Geagan, a laborer, had not gone to work on January 17 or 18, 1950.). She also covered the 1950s Brinks robbery and was a medical reporter for the Boston Herald. Then the lock cylinders were replaced. The results were negative. They had brought no tools with them, however, and they were unsuccessful. Others fell apart as they were handled. The new proceedings were based upon the fact that Pino had been arrested in December 1948 for a larceny involving less than $100. Both men remained mute following their arrests. At approximately 7:30 p.m. on June 3, 1956, an officer of the Baltimore, Maryland, Police Department was approached by the operator of an amusement arcade. 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. On October 11, 1950, Gusciora was sentenced to serve from five to 20 years in the Western Pennsylvania Penitentiary at Pittsburgh. The hideout also was found to contain more than $5,000 in coins. There were recurring rumors that this hoodlum, Joseph Sylvester Banfield (pictured), had been right down there on the night of the crime. Approximately one and one-half hours later, Banfield returned with McGinnis. Both of these strong-arm suspects had been questioned by Boston authorities following the robbery. At the Prison Colony, Baker was serving two concurrent terms of four to ten years, imposed in 1944 for breaking and entering and larceny and for possession of burglar tools. At the time of Bakers release in 1949, Pino was on hand to drive him back to Boston. Vincent Costa was the group's lookout, and signalled with a flashlight from a nearby rooftop when he saw the vault being opened. Seven months later, however, he was again paroled. Faherty had been questioned on the night of the robbery. Underworld sources described him as fully capable of planning and executing the Brinks robbery. All but Pino and Banfield stepped out and proceeded into the playground to await Costas signal. The trip from the liquor store in Roxbury to the Brinks offices could be made in about 15 minutes. Of the $4,822 found in the small-time criminals possession, FBI agents identified $4,635 as money taken by the Brinks robbers. Even fearing the new bills might be linked with the crime, McGinnis suggested a process for aging the new money in a hurry.. Prior to his murder, It was given to him in a suitcase that was transferred to his car from an automobile occupied by McGinnis and Banfield. FBI.gov is an official site of the U.S. Department of Justice. Livvy standing in the middle of two masked people involved in kidnap gangs. 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. 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 immediately returned to Boston to await the results of the appeal. At approximately 9:50 p.m., the details of this incident were furnished to the Baltimore Field Office of the FBI. Banfield was already dead. Banfield, the driver, was alone in the front. When the employees were securely bound and gagged, the robbers began looting the premises. From their prison cells, they carefully followed the legal maneuvers aimed at gaining them freedom. Yet, when he was Pino had been questioned as to his whereabouts on the evening of January 17, 1950, and he provided a good alibi. The robbery received significant press coverage, and was eventually adapted into four movies. This is good money, he said, but you cant pass it around here in Boston.. As the truck drove past the Brinks offices, the robbers noted that the lights were out on the Prince Street side of the building. [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. During the period immediately following the Brinks robbery, the heat was on OKeefe and Gusciora. What happened in the Brinks-Matt robbery? A detailed search for additional weapons was made at the Mystic River. Prior to this time, McGinnis had been at his liquor store. 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. Six members of the gangBaker, Costa, Geagan, Maffie, McGinnis, and Pinowere arrested by FBI agents on January 12, 1956. [17], Immediately following the robbery, Police Commissioner Thomas F. Sullivan sent a mobilization order for all precinct captains and detectives. Before the robbery was carried out, all of the participants were well acquainted with the Brinks premises. As the investigation developed and thousands of leads were followed to dead ends, the broad field of possible suspects gradually began to narrow. 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. The All of them wore Navy-type peacoats, gloves, and chauffeurs caps. Robinson died in a London This is not the first time that Cuomo has commuted a sentence for someone involved in the Brink's robbery. 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 All had been published in Boston between December 4, 1955, and February 21, 1956. One of his former girl friends who recalled having seen him on the night of the robbery stated that he definitely was not drunk. 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. Had any particles of evidence been found in the loot which might directly show that they had handled it? The discovery of this money in the Tremont Street offices resulted in the arrests of both Fat John and the business associate of the criminal who had been arrested in Baltimore. He arrived in Baltimore on the morning of June 3 and was picked up by the Baltimore Police Department that evening. The missing racketeers automobile was found near his home; however, his whereabouts remain a mystery. The other gang members would not talk. The other keys in their possession enabled them to proceed to the second floor where they took the five Brinks employees by surprise. In pursuing the underworld rumors concerning the principal suspects in the Brinks case, the FBI succeeded in identifying more probable members of the gang. It was billed as the perfect crime and the the crime of the century.. On March 4, 1950, pieces of an identical truck were found at a dump in Stoughton, Massachusetts. Binoculars were used in this phase of the casing operation. Both are real characters. 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. OKeefe was sentenced on August 5, 1954, to serve 27 months in prison. 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. Adolph Maffie was convicted and sentenced to nine months for income tax evasion. Underworld figures in Boston have generally speculated that the racketeer was killed because of his association with OKeefe. The Great Brink's Robbery, and the 70-year-old question: What happened to the money? Brian The Colonel Robinson, 78, was cheated out of his share of the record haul. On January 12, 1953, Pino was released on bail pending a deportation hearing. Pino paid a small ransom but then decided to try to kill O'Keefe. In the back were Pino, OKeefe, Baker, Faherty, Maffie, Gusciora, Michael Vincent Geagan (pictured), and Thomas Francis Richardson. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. The pardon meant that his record no longer contained the second conviction; thus, the Immigration and Naturalization Service no longer had grounds to deport him.

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