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. The robbers carefully planned routine inside Brinks was interrupted only when the attendant in the adjoining Brinks garage sounded the buzzer. He was through with Pino, Baker, McGinnis, Maffie, and the other Brinks conspirators who had turned against him. (Geagan and Richardson, known associates of other members of the gang, were among the early suspects. Each carried a pair of gloves. 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. He had been released on parole from the Norfolk, Massachusetts, Prison Colony on August 22, 1949only five months before the robbery. The public called the robbery the crime of the century: On January 17, 1950, armed men stole more than $2.7 million in cash, checks, money orders, and other securities from a Brink's in. Shortly after these two guns were found, one of them was placed in a trash barrel and was taken to the city dump. 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. Before the robbery was committed, the participants had agreed that if anyone muffed, he would be taken care of. OKeefe felt that most of the gang members had muffed. Talking to the FBI was his way of taking care of them all. An official website of the United States government. It was used by the defense counsel in preparing a 294-page brief that was presented to the Massachusetts State Supreme Court. All had been published in Boston between December 4, 1955, and February 21, 1956. 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. 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. This incident also took place in Dorchester and involved the firing of more than 30 shots. This occurred while he was in the state prison at Charlestown, Massachusetts, serving sentences for breaking and entering with intent to commit a felony and for having burglar tools in his possession. The ninth man had long been a principal suspect. Evidently resigned to long years in prison or a short life on the outside, OKeefe grew increasingly bitter toward his old associates. "A search warrant was executed in Boston covering the Tremont Street offices occupied by the three men" (FBI). The alibi was strong, but not conclusive. He was paroled in the fall of 1944 and remained on parole through March 1954 when misfortune befell him. All denied any knowledge of the alleged incident. An inside man by the name of Anthony . After nearly three years of investigation, the government hoped that witnesses or participants who had remained mute for so long a period of time might find their tongues before the grand jury. However, the group were shocked to find a massive 26 million in gold . Two days after Christmas of 1955, FBI agents paid another visit to OKeefe. The new proceedings were based upon the fact that Pino had been arrested in December 1948 for a larceny involving less than $100. July 18, 2022, 9:32 AM UTC. Mr. Gilbert was 37 on the day of the attack, Oct. 20, 1981, when nearly $1.6 million in cash was stolen from an armored Brink's car outside the Nanuet Mall near Nyack. A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. Thieves vanished after stealing $2.7 million, leaving few clues. 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. Banfield, the driver, was alone in the front. When OKeefe admitted his part in the Brinks robbery to FBI agents in January 1956, he told of his high regard for Gusciora. As a guard moved to intercept him, Burke started to run. To his neighbors in Jackson Heights in the early 1990s, Sam . Investigation revealed that Geagan, a laborer, had not gone to work on January 17 or 18, 1950.). Continuous investigation, however, had linked him with the gang. Local officers searched their homes, but no evidence linking them with the truck or the robbery was found. It ultimately proved unproductive. This underworld character told the officers that he had found this money. An immediate effort also was made to obtain descriptive data concerning the missing cash and securities. This vehicle was traced through motor vehicle records to Pino. What happened to the other half of the Brink's-Mat gold? In 1936 and 1937, Faherty was convicted of armed robbery violations. 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. His records showed that he had worked on the offices early in April 1956 under instructions of Fat John. The loot could not have been hidden behind the wall panel prior to that time. OKeefe paid his respects to other members of the Brinks gang in Boston on several occasions in the spring of 1954, and it was obvious to the agents handling the investigation that he was trying to solicit money. Even Pino, whose deportation troubles then were a heavy burden, was arrested by the Boston police in August 1954. 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. The FBI further learned that four revolvers had been taken by the gang. 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. Almost. With the death of Gusciora, only eight members of the Brinks gang remained to be tried. He was granted a full pardon by the acting governor of Massachusetts. He claimed there was a large roll of bills in his hotel roomand that he had found that money, too. The Gold is a 2023 television series created for BBC One and Paramount+. 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. On January 10, 1953, following his appearance before the federal grand jury in connection with the Brinks case, Pino was taken into custody again as a deportable alien. After a period of hostility, he began to display a friendly attitude. This was in their favor. Pino had been at his home in the Roxbury Section of Boston until approximately 7:00 p.m.; then he walked to the nearby liquor store of Joseph McGinnis. 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. 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. The missing racketeers automobile was found near his home; however, his whereabouts remain a mystery. Later, when he counted the money, he found that the suitcase contained $98,000. A roll of waterproof adhesive tape used to gag and bind bank employees that was left at the scene of the crime. 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 conviction for burglary in McKean County, Pennsylvania, still hung over his head, and legal fees remained to be paid. 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. Subsequently, OKeefe left his carand the $200,000in a garage on Blue Hill Avenue in Boston. On June 4, 1956 a man named "Fat John" admitted he had money that was linked to the Brink's robbery in his possession. During these approaches, Costaequipped with a flashlight for signaling the other men was stationed on the roof of a tenement building on Prince Street overlooking Brinks. 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. If passing police had looked closer early that Saturday morning on November 26, 1983, they would have noticed the van was weighted down below its wheel arches with three tons of gold. Three years later, Great Train Robber. While some gang members remained in the building to ensure that no one detected the operation, other members quickly obtained keys to fit the locks. Commonly regarded as a dominant figure in the Boston underworld, McGinnis previously had been convicted of robbery and narcotics violations. The police officer said he had been talking to McGinnis first, and Pino arrived later to join them. The recovery of part of the loot was a severe blow to the gang members who still awaited trial in Boston. The heist. He had been convicted of armed robbery in 1940 and served several months in the Massachusetts State Reformatory and the Norfolk, Massachusetts, Prison Colony. The alibi, in fact, was almost too good. On November 26, 1981, six armed men from South London broke into the Brink's-Mat warehouse near London Heathrow. At 4:20 p.m. on January 6, 1956, OKeefe made the final decision. OKeefe and Gusciora had been close friends for many years. On the night of January 18, 1950, OKeefe and Gusciora received $100,000 each from the robbery loot. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison in 1984 for involvement in the Brink's Mat job. McGinnis, who had not been at the scene on the night of the robbery, received a life sentence on each of eight indictments that charged him with being an accessory before the fact in connection with the Brinks robbery. Pino, Richardson, and Costa each took $20,000, and this was noted on a score sheet. Each of the five lock cylinders was taken on a separate occasion. As a government witness, he reluctantly would have testified against him. The defense immediately filed motions which would delay or prevent the trial. While action to appeal the convictions was being taken on their behalf, the eight men were removed to the State prison at Walpole, Massachusetts. Another old gang that had specialized in hijacking bootlegged whiskey in the Boston area during Prohibition became the subject of inquiries. 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. Another week passedand approximately 500 more citizens were consideredbefore the 14-member jury was assembled. Each robbers face was completely concealed behind a Halloween-type mask. (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. 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 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. 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. 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. If passing police had looked closer early that Saturday morning on November 26, 1983, they would have noticed the van was weighted down below its wheel arches with three tons of gold. In pursuing the underworld rumors concerning the principal suspects in the Brinks case, the FBI succeeded in identifying more probable members of the gang. 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. A 32-year-old Cuban immigrant living in Miami, Karls Monzon was . From his cell in Springfield, OKeefe wrote bitter letters to members of the Brinks gang and persisted in his demands for money. In the fall of 1955, an upper court overruled the conviction on the grounds that the search and seizure of the still were illegal.). After denying any knowledge of the escape of Trigger Burke, Pino was released. What Happened To The Brinks Mat Robbery? The. The Gold: The Inside Story will hear from the . Like Gusciora, OKeefe was known to have associated with Pino prior to the Brinks robbery. Neither Pino nor McGinnis was known to be the type of hoodlum who would undertake so potentially dangerous a crime without the best strong-arm support available. 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. 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. For the Rockland County community, the Brink's Robbery rises to that historic standard. During November and December 1949, the approach to the Brinks building and the flight over the getaway route were practiced to perfection. Other members of the robbery gang also were having their troubles. Banfield drove the truck to the house of Maffies parents in Roxbury. Brian Robinson was arrested in December 1983 after Stephen Black - the security guard who let the robbers into the Brink's-Mat warehouse, and Robinson's brother-in-law - named him to police. Prominent among the other strong suspects was Vincent James Costa, brother-in-law of Pino. The Great Brinks Robbery was the biggest armed robbery in U.S. history at the time. During the regular exercise period, Burke separated himself from the other prisoners and moved toward a heavy steel door leading to the solitary confinement section. As of January 1956, more than $2,775,000, including $1,218,211.29 in cash was still unaccounted for. Soon the underworld rang with startling news concerning this pair. Even fearing the new bills might be linked with the crime, McGinnis suggested a process for aging the new money in a hurry.. The Brinks Mat Robbery: The real story that inspired The Gold. Almost immediately, the gang began laying new plans. Paul Jawarski (sometimes spelled Jaworski) in a yellowed newspaper . 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. Following the federal grand jury hearings, the FBIs intense investigation continued. From Boston, the pressure quickly spread to other cities. Underworld figures in Boston have generally speculated that the racketeer was killed because of his association with OKeefe. Neither had too convincing an alibi. 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 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. It was reported that on May 18, 1954, OKeefe and his racketeer associate took Vincent Costa to a hotel room and held him for several thousand dollars ransom. 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. He subsequently was convicted and executed.). This lead was pursued intensively. If Baker heard these rumors, he did not wait around very long to see whether they were true.
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