The mass of information gathered during the early weeks of the investigation was continuously sifted. 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. Jewelers report over $100 million in losses after Brinks armored truck robbed in California. OKeefe had no place to keep so large a sum of money. Race tracks and gambling establishments also were covered in the hope of finding some of the loot in circulation. None of these materialized because the gang did not consider the conditions to be favorable. 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. LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Jewelry, gems, high-end watches and other valuables worth millions of dollars were stolen from a transport vehicle in Southern California. The Brinks Mat Robbery: The real story that inspired The Gold. The person ringing the buzzer was a garage attendant. Through long weeks of empty promises of assistance and deliberate stalling by the gang members, he began to realize that his threats were falling on deaf ears. 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 . If local hoodlums were involved, it was difficult to believe that McGinnis could be as ignorant of the crime as he claimed. And what of McGinnis himself? Even after these convictions, OKeefe and Gusciora continued to seek their release. Discover the true story of the Brink's-Mat Robbery that inspired BBC's Continuous investigation, however, had linked him with the gang. 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. Before removing the remainder of the loot from the house on January 18, 1950, the gang members attempted to identify incriminating items. 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. OKeefe wore crepe-soled shoes to muffle his footsteps; the others wore rubbers. Kenneth Noye now: What happened to the criminal depicted in The Gold 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. What Happened To The Brinks Mat Robbery? An automobile identified as the car used in the escape was located near a Boston hospital, and police officers concealed themselves in the area. The casing operation was so thorough that the criminals could determine the type of activity taking place in the Brinks offices by observing the lights inside the building, and they knew the number of personnel on duty at various hours of the day. 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. 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. 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.. All right, he told two FBI agents, what do you want to know?. 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. A few weeks later, OKeefe retrieved his share of the loot. Two of the prime suspects whose nerve and gun-handling experience suited them for the Brinks robbery were Joseph James OKeefe and Stanley Albert Gusciora. When the employees were securely bound and gagged, the robbers began looting the premises. Brink's-Mat heist ringleader dies before claiming share of Britain's A $7.4 Million Heist Made for Hollywood - The New York Times Had any particles of evidence been found in the loot which might directly show that they had handled it? 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. What Was the Brink's-Mat Heist and What Happened to All the Gold? 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. After these plans were reviewed and found to be unhelpful, OKeefe and Gusciora returned them in the same manner. 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. Video captures attempted armored truck robbery in South Africa While OKeefe and Gusciora lingered in jail in Pennsylvania, Pino encountered difficulties of his own. 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. 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. The curse of Brink's-Mat: What happened to the Brink's-Mat robbers? Noye is currently being depicted in a new six-part BBC series into the infamous Brinks-Mat robbery, which took place in 1983. They Pulled Off A $17.3 Million Heist But They Still May Have Been Brink's Robbery FBI - Federal Bureau of Investigation By this time, Baker was suffering from a bad case of nerves. In the series Edwyn Cooper (played by Dominic Cooper) is a lawyer who gets involved in the robbery, deciding he wants to earn some big bucks. 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.). Six armed men stole diamonds, cash and three tonnes of gold bullion from a warehouse close to . Geagan claimed that he spent the evening at home and did not learn of the Brinks robbery until the following day. Even before Brinks, Incorporated, offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the persons responsible, the case had captured the imagination of millions of Americans. The last false approach took place on January 16, 1950the night before the robbery. In the deportation fight that lasted more than two years, Pino won the final victory. All but Pino and Banfield stepped out and proceeded into the playground to await Costas signal. While action to appeal the convictions was being taken on their behalf, the eight men were removed to the State prison at Walpole, Massachusetts. Some of the jewelry might. In addition to the general descriptions received from the Brinks employees, the investigators obtained several pieces of physical evidence. Underworld figures in Boston have generally speculated that the racketeer was killed because of his association with OKeefe. A passerby might notice that it was missing. 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. Within two months of his return, another member of the gang suffered a legal setback. To muffle their footsteps, one of the gang wore crepe-soled shoes, and the others wore rubbers. On October 20, 1981, a Brinks Company armored car was robbed of $1,589,000 in cash that it was preparing to transfer from the Nanuet National Bank in Clarkstown, N.Y. One of the guards of the. Terry Perkins. 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. The alibi was strong, but not conclusive. 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. Two died before they were tried. How America's Biggest Heist, the Great Brinks Robbery, Fell Apart The Gold fact vs fiction: how accurate is the BBC's Brink's-Mat robbery Five bullets which had missed their mark were found in a building nearby. 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 careful checking, the FBI eliminated eight of the suspects. More than 100 persons took the stand as witnesses for the prosecution and the defense during September 1956. Officials said the incident happened at a Wendy's in a strip mall at 87th and Lafayette, right off the Dan Ryan Expressway. Allegedly, other members of the Brinks gang arranged for OKeefe to be paid a small part of the ransom he demanded, and Costa was released on May 20, 1954. 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. 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. (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. Brinks Heist: Mystery of the Missing Millions Perkins was handed a 22-year jail sentence for that one, but absconded from open prison in 1995 and managed to . Well-known Boston hoodlums were picked up and questioned by police. 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. Richardson had participated with Faherty in an armed robbery in February 1934. In September 1949, Pinos efforts to evade deportation met with success. Until the FBI and its partners painstakingly solved the case. ), (After serving his sentence, Fat John resumed a life of crime. The Great Brinks Robbery was the biggest armed robbery in U.S. history at the time. There were the rope and adhesive tape used to bind and gag the employees and a chauffeurs cap that one of the robbers had left at the crime scene. The Bureau was convinced that it had identified the actual robbers, but evidence and witnesses had to be found. This man, subsequently identified as a small-time Boston underworld figure, was located and questioned. 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. Three years later, Great Train Robber. Due to his criminal record, the Immigration and Naturalization Service instituted proceedings in 1941 to deport him. Underworld rumors alleged that Maffie and Henry Baker were high on OKeefes list because they had beaten him out of a large amount of money. Where men behind 26m Brink's-Mat robbery are now - cornwalllive.com From their prison cells, they carefully followed the legal maneuvers aimed at gaining them freedom. Adding to these problems was the constant pressure being exerted upon Pino by OKeefe from the county jail in Towanda, Pennsylvania. 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. 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. In addition, McGinnis received other sentences of two years, two and one-half to three years, and eight to ten years. The Brinks Mat Robbery: The real story that inspired The Gold. He arrived in Baltimore on the morning of June 3 and was picked up by the Baltimore Police Department that evening. He. Captain Marvel mask used as a disguise in the robbery. 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. Like the others, Banfield had been questioned concerning his activities on the night of January 17, 1950. The Gold mixes fact and fiction for dramatic purposes Two days after Christmas of 1955, FBI agents paid another visit to OKeefe. On October 11, 1950, Gusciora was sentenced to serve from five to 20 years in the Western Pennsylvania Penitentiary at Pittsburgh. 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. The BBC has greenlit a documentary telling the real story of the 26M ($31.2M) Brink's-Mat robbery spotlighted in Neil Forsyth drama The Gold. The truck found at the dump had been reported stolen by a Ford dealer near Fenway Park in Boston on November 3, 1949. July 18, 2022, 9:32 AM UTC.