Paul Jawarski (sometimes spelled Jaworski) in a yellowed newspaper . This was in their favor. The Brink's-Mat robbery remains to this day one of Britain's biggest and most audacious heists. He later was to be arrested as a member of the robbery gang. Each of the five lock cylinders was taken on a separate occasion. 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. One of his former girl friends who recalled having seen him on the night of the robbery stated that he definitely was not drunk. It was used by the defense counsel in preparing a 294-page brief that was presented to the Massachusetts State Supreme Court. On June 4, 1956 a man named "Fat John" admitted he had money that was linked to the Brink's robbery in his possession. Investigation revealed that Geagan, a laborer, had not gone to work on January 17 or 18, 1950.). 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. The other gang members would not talk. In April 1950, the FBI received information indicating that part of the Brinks loot was hidden in the home of a relative of OKeefe in Boston. In addition, McGinnis was named in two other complaints involving the receiving and concealing of the loot. 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. The families of OKeefe and Gusciora resided in the vicinity of Stoughton, Massachusetts. 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. As a protective measure, he was incarcerated in the Hampden County jail at Springfield, Massachusetts, rather than the Suffolk County jail in Boston. 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. At 10:25 p.m. on October 5, 1956, the jury retired to weigh the evidence. Nonetheless, the finding of the truck parts at Stoughton, Massachusetts, was to prove a valuable break in the investigation. During November and December 1949, the approach to the Brinks building and the flight over the getaway route were practiced to perfection. Faherty had been questioned on the night of the robbery. Sentenced to serve from five to seven years for this offense, he was released from prison in September 1941. ), (After serving his sentence, Fat John resumed a life of crime. He had been released on parole from the Norfolk, Massachusetts, Prison Colony on August 22, 1949only five months before the robbery. The gang members who remained at the house of Maffies parents soon dispersed to establish alibis for themselves. The month preceding January 17, 1950, witnessed approximately a half-dozen approaches to Brinks. 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. Members of the Purple Gang of the 1930s found that there was renewed interest in their activities. How much money was stolen in the Brinks robbery? This phase of the investigation was pursued exhaustively. But according to the ruling filed in B.C., Brinks paid the money back immediately after the victim bank notified the company that a robbery had occurred making use of "keys, access codes and . A detailed search for additional weapons was made at the Mystic River. A t the time, the Brink's-Mat vault was thought to be one of the most secure facilities in the world. The Brinks vehicle, followed closely by guards traveling in an automobile, turned onto a stone-paved lane called Old Bethel Road. 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. On November 26, 1983, six armed robbers broke into the Brink-Mat security depot near Heathrow Airport in hopes of stealing 3.2 million in cash. 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. Reports had been received alleging that he had held up several gamblers in the Boston area and had been involved in shakedowns of bookies. During this operation, a pair of glasses belonging to one of the employees was unconsciously scooped up with other items and stuffed into a bag of loot. Brinks customers were contacted for information regarding the packaging and shipping materials they used. The person ringing the buzzer was a garage attendant. When this case was continued until April 1, 1954, OKeefe was released on $1,500 bond. This was a question which preyed heavily upon their minds. Terry Perkins celebrated his 67th birthday on the weekend of the Hatton Garden job, exactly 32 years after he'd taken part in another gigantic Easter raid: the 6 million armed robbery of a London security depot. Three of the remaining five gang members were previously accounted for, OKeefe and Gusciora being in prison on other charges and Banfield being dead. Six members of the gangBaker, Costa, Geagan, Maffie, McGinnis, and Pinowere arrested by FBI agents on January 12, 1956. Neither had too convincing an alibi. And what of McGinnis himself? California thieves pulled off a heist straight out of "Ocean's 11'' swiping up to $150 million in jewels from a Brink's armored truck as it drove from one convention show to . 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. An automobile identified as the car used in the escape was located near a Boston hospital, and police officers concealed themselves in the area. He claimed he had been drinking in various taverns from approximately 5:10 p.m. until 7:45 p.m. 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. They had brought no tools with them, however, and they were unsuccessful. 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. During this visit, Gusciora got up from his bed, and, in full view of the clergyman, slipped to the floor, striking his head. Two of the participants in the Brinks robbery lived in the Stoughton area. For the Rockland County community, the Brink's Robbery rises to that historic standard. As this bag was being emptied later that evening, the glasses were discovered and destroyed by the gang. (Geagan, who was on parole at the time, left the truck before it arrived at the home in Roxbury where the loot was unloaded. This chauffeurs cap was left at the scene of the crime of the centurythe 1950 robbery of a Brink's bank branch in Massachusetts. The theft occurred in July when a Brink's big rig paused at a Grapevine truck stop while transporting jewelry from a Northern California trade show to the Southland. The door opened, and an armed masked man wearing a prison guard-type uniform commanded the guard, Back up, or Ill blow your brains out. Burke and the armed man disappeared through the door and fled in an automobile parked nearby. 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. A thorough investigation was made concerning his whereabouts on the evening of January 17, 1950. OKeefe immediately returned to Boston to await the results of the appeal. Since the robbery had taken place between approximately 7:10 and 7:27 p.m., it was quite probable that a gang, as well drilled as the Brinks robbers obviously were, would have arranged to rendezvous at a specific time. 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. The conviction for burglary in McKean County, Pennsylvania, still hung over his head, and legal fees remained to be paid. 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. While action to appeal the convictions was being taken on their behalf, the eight men were removed to the State prison at Walpole, Massachusetts. 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. His explanation: He had been drinking at a bar in Boston. Then, there was the fact that so much dead wood was includedMcGinnis, Banfield, Costa, and Pino were not in the building when the robbery took place. Subsequently, he engaged in a conversation with McGinnis and a Boston police officer. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison in 1984 for involvement in the Brink's Mat job. OKeefe was sentenced on August 5, 1954, to serve 27 months in prison. The thieves quickly bound the employees and began hauling away the loot. Had any particles of evidence been found in the loot which might directly show that they had handled it? Officials said the incident happened at a Wendy's in a strip mall at 87th and Lafayette, right off the Dan Ryan Expressway. Prior to this time, McGinnis had been at his liquor store. The Bureau was convinced that it had identified the actual robbers, but evidence and witnesses had to be found. What Happened To The Brinks Mat Robbery? The crime inspired at least four movies and two books, including The Story of the Great Brink's Robbery, as Told by the FBI. To his neighbors in Jackson Heights in the early 1990s, Sam . Two hours later he was dead. The new proceedings were based upon the fact that Pino had been arrested in December 1948 for a larceny involving less than $100. A man of modest means in Bayonne, New Jersey, was reported to be spending large sums of money in night clubs, buying new automobiles, and otherwise exhibiting newly found wealth. It was called the crime of the century, the largest heist in US history, an almost perfect robbery. After each interview, FBI agents worked feverishly into the night checking all parts of his story which were subject to verification. The. 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. 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 . 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. 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. He needed money for his defense against the charges in McKean County, and it was obvious that he had developed a bitter attitude toward a number of his close underworld associates. Well-meaning persons throughout the country began sending the FBI tips and theories which they hoped would assist in the investigation. The incident happened outside of a Chase Bank in . Before the robbers could take him prisoner, the garage attendant walked away. On November 26, 1981, six armed men from South London broke into the Brink's-Mat warehouse near London Heathrow. From Boston, the pressure quickly spread to other cities. In addition to the general descriptions received from the Brinks employees, the investigators obtained several pieces of physical evidence. There had been three attempts on his life in June 1954, and his frustrated assassins undoubtedly were waiting for him to return to Boston. Shakur, the stepfather of hip-hop star . The robbers carefully planned routine inside Brinks was interrupted only when the attendant in the adjoining Brinks garage sounded the buzzer. The Great Brinks Robbery of 1950 met all of these requirementsa great pile of cash disappeared with no evidence, leads, or suspects. 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. During his brief stay in Boston, he was observed to contact other members of the robbery gang. The results were negative. Each man also was given a pistol and a Halloween-type mask. The Brink Mat robbery was a heist that occurred at Heathrow International Trading Estate on November 26, 1983, when six armed robbers broke into a warehouse run by a US and British joint venture, Brink's Mat. (The arrests of Faherty and Richardson also resulted in the indictment of another Boston hoodlum as an accessory after the fact). A few weeks later, OKeefe retrieved his share of the loot. 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. Two other Baltimore police officers who were walking along the street nearby noted this maneuver. In the late summer of 1944, he was released from the state prison and was taken into custody by Immigration authorities. A roll of waterproof adhesive tape used to gag and bind bank employees that was left at the scene of the crime. Pino, Richardson, and Costa each took $20,000, and this was noted on a score sheet. 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. LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Jewelry, gems, high-end watches and other valuables worth millions of dollars were stolen from a transport vehicle in Southern California. On August 29, 1954, the officers suspicions were aroused by an automobile that circled the general vicinity of the abandoned car on five occasions. Had the ground not been frozen, the person or persons who abandoned the bags probably would have attempted to bury them. 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. He was found brutally murdered in his car in 1987. From this lookout post, Costa was in a position to determine better than the men below whether conditions inside the building were favorable to the robbers. They did not expect to find the Aladdin's cave to contain some 26m in gold bullion and diamonds that they stumbled upon. T he robbers were there because they knew there was 3 million in cash locked in the . OKeefe was the principal witness to appear before the state grand jurors. 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. Banfield had been a close associate of McGinnis for many years. Democrat and Chronicle. They put the entire $200,000 in the trunk of OKeefes automobile. Faherty and Richardson fled to avoid apprehension and subsequently were placed on the list of the FBIs Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list. It was almost the perfect crime. (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. During the trip from Roxbury, Pino distributed Navy-type peacoats and chauffeurs caps to the other seven men in the rear of the truck. A gang of 11 men set out on a meticulous 18-month quest to rob the Brinks headquarters in Boston, the home-base of the legendary private security firm. The money inside the cooler which was concealed in the wall of the Tremont Street office was wrapped in plastic and newspaper. 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 last false approach took place on January 16, 1950the night before the robbery. Six armed men stole diamonds, cash and three tonnes of gold bullion from a warehouse close to . Due to his criminal record, the Immigration and Naturalization Service instituted proceedings in 1941 to deport him. 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. Costa was associated with Pino in the operation of a motor terminal and a lottery in Boston. On June 2, 1950, OKeefe and Gusciora left Boston by automobile for the alleged purpose of visiting the grave of Guscioras brother in Missouri. A passerby might notice that it was missing. Special agents subsequently interviewed Costa and his wife, Pino and his wife, the racketeer, and OKeefe. Approximately one and one-half hours later, Banfield returned with McGinnis. Todd Williamson/Getty Images David Ghantt attends the 2016 after party for the Hollywood premiere of Masterminds, based on the Loomis Fargo heist that he helped carry out. The men had thought they were robbing a sum of foreign money, but instead found three tonnes of gold bullion (6,800 ingots), with a value of 26 million back then, around 100 million today. While the others stayed at the house to make a quick count of the loot, Pino and Faherty departed. An official website of the United States government. On November, 26, 1983, three tonnes of solid gold bullion was taken by six armed robbers from the Brink's-Mat security depot near . After dousing security guards with petrol and threatening them with a lit match if they didn't open the safes, the six men made an amazing discovery when they stumbled upon 3,000kg worth of gold bars. From masked gunmen and drugs to kidnappings and bags of cash, the $7.4 million robbery had it all. Banfield, the driver, was alone in the front. 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. Both had served prison sentences, and both were well known to underworld figures on the East Coast. The series surrounds the 1983 Brink's-Mat robbery in which 26 million (equivalent to 93.3 million in 2021) worth of gold bullion, diamonds, and cash were stolen from a storehouse near Heathrow Airport. 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. Until now, little has been known about the dogged methods police used to infiltrate the criminal underworld behind the 1983 robbery. Burlap money bags recovered in a Boston junk yard from the robbery, Some of the recovered money from the robbery. Shortly after these two guns were found, one of them was placed in a trash barrel and was taken to the city dump. Even after these convictions, OKeefe and Gusciora continued to seek their release. On the afternoon of July 9, he was visited by a clergyman. As of January 1956, more than $2,775,000, including $1,218,211.29 in cash was still unaccounted for. Underworld figures in Boston have generally speculated that the racketeer was killed because of his association with OKeefe. Pino would take the locks to the mans shop, and keys would be made for them. 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. While on bond he returned to Boston; on January 23, 1954, he appeared in the Boston Municipal Court on the probation violation charge. 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.
