who was involved in the brinks robbery

Six members of the gangBaker, Costa, Geagan, Maffie, McGinnis, and Pinowere arrested by FBI agents on January 12, 1956. (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. O'Keefe later claimed that he had never seen his portion of the loot after he had given it to Maffie for safekeeping. Pino, Costa, Maffie, Geagan, Faherty, Richardson, and Baker received life sentences for robbery, two-year sentences for conspiracy to steal, and sentences of eight years to ten years for breaking and entering at night. Investigation revealed that Geagan, a laborer, had not gone to work on January 17 or 18, 1950.). All of them wore Navy-type peacoats, gloves, and chauffeurs caps. A second shooting incident occurred on the morning of June 14, 1954, in Dorchester, Massachusetts, when OKeefe and his racketeer friend paid a visit to Baker. The FBIs jurisdiction to investigate this robbery was based upon the fact that cash, checks, postal notes, and United States money orders of the Federal Reserve Bank and the Veterans Administration district office in Boston were included in the loot. On January 12, 1953, Pino was released on bail pending a deportation hearing. Prominent among the other strong suspects was Vincent James Costa, brother-in-law of Pino. 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. It was positively concluded that the packages of currency had been damaged prior to the time they were wrapped in the pieces of newspaper; and there were indications that the bills previously had been in a canvas container which was buried in ground consisting of sand and ashes. 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. 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. Before they left, however, approximately $380,000 was placed in a coal hamper and removed by Baker for security reasons. At the time it was Britains For example, from a citizen in California came the suggestion that the loot might be concealed in the Atlantic Ocean near Boston. When OKeefe admitted his part in the Brinks robbery to FBI agents in January 1956, he told of his high regard for Gusciora. Inside the building, the gang members carefully studied all available information concerning Brinks schedules and shipments. In the late summer of 1944, he was released from the state prison and was taken into custody by Immigration authorities. Each robbers face was completely concealed behind a Halloween-type mask. It was given to him in a suitcase that was transferred to his car from an automobile occupied by McGinnis and Banfield. WebHe was the police intelligence officer who identified Noye as a suspect in the notorious Brink's-Mat 26m gold bullion robbery and began the surveillance operation from an old 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. The Others fell apart as they were handled. Continuous investigation, however, had linked him with the gang. During the period immediately following the Brinks robbery, the heat was on OKeefe and Gusciora. A thorough investigation was made concerning his whereabouts on the evening of January 17, 1950. WebSix armed men broke into the Brinks-Mat security depot near Londons Heathrow airport and inadvertently stumbled across gold bullion worth 26m. Geagan claimed that he spent the evening at home and did not learn of the Brinks robbery until the following day. From left, Sgt. Immediately upon leaving, the gang loaded the loot into the truck that was parked on Prince Street near the door. Burlap money bags recovered in a Boston junk yard from the robbery, Some of the recovered money from the robbery. The families of OKeefe and Gusciora resided in the vicinity of Stoughton, Massachusetts. 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. Like the others, Banfield had been questioned concerning his activities on the night of January 17, 1950. One Massachusetts racketeer, a man whose moral code mirrored his long years in the underworld, confided to the agents who were interviewing him, If I knew who pulled the job, I wouldnt be talking to you now because Id be too busy trying to figure a way to lay my hands on some of the loot.. Banfield, the driver, was alone in the front. 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. Each of these leads was checked out. 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. They were checked against serial numbers of bills known to have been included in the Brinks loot, and it was determined that the Boston criminal possessed part of the money that had been dragged away by the seven masked gunmen on January 17, 1950. [19] Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, J. Edgar Hoover, took over supervision of the investigation.[20]. 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. The record of the state trial covered more than 5,300 pages. He had been released on parole from the Norfolk, Massachusetts, Prison Colony on August 22, 1949only five months before the robbery. 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 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. 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. Binoculars were used in this phase of the casing operation. Two days after Christmas of 1955, FBI agents paid another visit to OKeefe. 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.). At 4:20 p.m. on January 6, 1956, OKeefe made the final decision. Here, we look at the people involved and where they are now. That prison term, together with Pinos conviction in March 1928 for carnal abuse of a girl, provided the basis for the deportation action. Pino was determined to fight against deportation. This phase of the investigation was pursued exhaustively. Many of the details had previously been obtained during the intense six-year investigation. 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. OKeefe was sentenced to three years in Bradford County Jail and Gusciora to 5-to-20 years in the Western State Penitentiary at Pittsburgh. 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. Local officers searched their homes, but no evidence linking them with the truck or the robbery was found. Pino would take the locks to the mans shop, and keys would be made for them. Pino, Richardson, and Costa each took $20,000, and this was noted on a score sheet. At the outset, very few facts were available to the investigators. On the night of January 18, 1950, OKeefe and Gusciora received $100,000 each from the robbery loot. Their hands were tied behind their backs and adhesive tape was placed over their mouths. Following the federal grand jury hearings, the FBIs intense investigation continued. After receiving the go ahead signal from Costa, the seven armed men walked to the Prince Street entrance of Brinks. Each man also was given a pistol and a Halloween-type mask. Within a week, six of the Brinks suspects Costa, Anthony Pino, Henry Baker, Michael Vincent Geagan, Adolph Jazz Maffie, and Joseph McGinnis were arrested by FBI agents. In December 1954, he indicated to the agents that Pino could look for rough treatment if he (OKeefe) again was released. The officer verified the meeting. As a protective measure, he was incarcerated in the Hampden County jail at Springfield, Massachusetts, rather than the Suffolk County jail in Boston. 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. And what of McGinnis himself? WebThe Brinks Robbery The idea for the heist came from Joseph Big Joe McGinniss, but career criminal Anthony Fats Pino. Again, he was determined to fight, using the argument that his conviction for the 1948 larceny offense was not a basis for deportation. [16] Brink's, Inc. offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those involved in the robbery, with an additional 5% of recovered cash offered by the insurance company. The Boston underworld rumbled with reports that an automobile had pulled alongside OKeefes car in Dorchester, Massachusetts, during the early morning hours of June 5. The ninth man had long been a principal suspect. Reports had been received alleging that he had held up several gamblers in the Boston area and had been involved in shakedowns of bookies. The only physical evidence left at the crime scene was a cap and the tape and rope used to bind up the employees. On August 1, 1954, he was arrested at Leicester, Massachusetts, and turned over to the Boston police who held him for violating probation on a gun-carrying charge. Pino paid a small ransom but then decided to try to kill O'Keefe. The alibi, in fact, was almost too good. 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. The new proceedings were based upon the fact that Pino had been arrested in December 1948 for a larceny involving less than $100. All denied any knowledge of the alleged incident. They apprehended Faherty and Richardson on May 16 in Dorchester. They put the entire $200,000 in the trunk of OKeefes automobile. From his cell in Springfield, OKeefe wrote bitter letters to members of the Brinks gang and persisted in his demands for money. FBI agents tried to talk to O'Keefe and Gusciora in prison but the two professed ignorance of the Brink's robbery. 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. The truck found at the dump had been reported stolen by a Ford dealer near Fenway Park in Boston on November 3, 1949. Costa was associated with Pino in the operation of a motor terminal and a lottery in Boston. Prior to this time, McGinnis had been at his liquor store. He claimed there was a large roll of bills in his hotel roomand that he had found that money, too. 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. On August 29, 1954, the officers suspicions were aroused by an automobile that circled the general vicinity of the abandoned car on five occasions. Information received from this individual linked nine well-known hoodlums with the crime. In addition, although violent dissension had developed within the gang, there still was no indication that any of the men were ready to talk. Based on the available information, however, the FBI felt that OKeefes disgust was reaching the point where it was possible he would turn against his confederates. Two other Baltimore police officers who were walking along the street nearby noted this maneuver. The gang members who remained at the house of Maffies parents soon dispersed to establish alibis for themselves. He later was to be arrested as a member of the robbery gang. OKeefes reputation for nerve was legend. He had been short changed $2,000. (The arrests of Faherty and Richardson also resulted in the indictment of another Boston hoodlum as an accessory after the fact). On the afternoon of August 28, 1954, Trigger Burke escaped from the Suffolk County jail in Boston, where he was being held on the gun-possession charge arising from the June 16 shooting of OKeefe. Two of the gang members moved toward the door to capture him; but, seeing the garage attendant walk away apparently unaware that the robbery was being committed, they did not pursue him. 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. Brian Reader, 76, was jailed over the 26m Brink's-Mat armed robbery in 1983. In examining the bill, a Federal Reserve note, the officer observed that it was in musty condition. 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. WebBoudin plead guilty to murder and robbery for her role as a passenger in the getaway U-Haul van, where the $1.6 million taken from the Brinks armored truck outside the This man subsequently identified locks from doors which the Brinks gang had entered as being similar to the locks which Pino had brought him. From interviews with the five employees whom the criminals had confronted, it was learned that between five and seven robbers had entered the building. 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. A roll of waterproof adhesive tape used to gag and bind bank employees that was left at the scene of the crime. During this visit, Gusciora got up from his bed, and, in full view of the clergyman, slipped to the floor, striking his head. 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. OKeefe was wounded in the wrist and chest, but again he managed to escape with his life. They were held in lieu of bail which, for each man, amounted to more then $100,000. He was paroled in the fall of 1944 and remained on parole through March 1954 when misfortune befell him. One of these officers quickly grabbed the criminals hand, and a large roll of money fell from it. 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. On June 17, 1954, the Boston police arrested Elmer Trigger Burke and charged him with possession of a machine gun. In the hours immediately following the robbery, the underworld began to feel the heat of the investigation. More than 100 persons took the stand as witnesses for the prosecution and the defense during September 1956. Well-meaning persons throughout the country began sending the FBI tips and theories which they hoped would assist in the investigation. 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 gang at that time included all of the participants in the January 17, 1950, robbery except Henry Baker. On November 16, 1959, the United States Supreme Court denied a request of the defense counsel for a writ of certiorari. 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. Following their arrests, a former bondsman in Boston made frequent trips to Towanda in an unsuccessful effort to secure their release on bail. 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. In addition, McGinnis was named in two other complaints involving the receiving and concealing of the loot. On January 11, 1956, the United States Attorney at Boston authorized special agents of the FBI to file complaints charging the 11 criminals with (1) conspiracy to commit theft of government property, robbery of government property, and bank robbery by force and violence and by intimidation, (2) committing bank robbery on January 17, 1950, and committing an assault on Brinks employees during the taking of the money, and (3) conspiracy to receive and conceal money in violation of the Bank Robbery and Theft of Government Property Statutes. [18] The total amount stolen was $1,218,211 in cash and $1,557,183 in checks and other securities. The FBI further learned that four revolvers had been taken by the gang. During the period in which Pinos deportation troubles were mounting, OKeefe completed his sentence at Towanda, Pennsylvania. 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. The defense immediately filed motions which would delay or prevent the trial. 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. Banfield had been a close associate of McGinnis for many years. In the back were Pino, OKeefe, Baker, Faherty, Maffie, Gusciora, Michael Vincent Geagan (pictured), and Thomas Francis Richardson. 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. 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. An immediate effort also was made to obtain descriptive data concerning the missing cash and securities. The other keys in their possession enabled them to proceed to the second floor where they took the five Brinks employees by surprise. In the fall of 1955, an upper court overruled the conviction on the grounds that the search and seizure of the still were illegal.). The Great Brink's Robbery was an armed robbery of the Brink's building in the North End of Boston, Massachusetts, on January 17, 1950. Subsequently, this machine gun was identified as having been used in the attempt on OKeefes life. The Great Brink's Robbery, and the 70-year-old question: What happened to the money? Banfield drove the truck to the house of Maffies parents in Roxbury. 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. Two weeks of comparative quiet in the gang members lives were shattered on June 5, 1954, when an attempt was made on OKeefes life. The recovery of part of the loot was a severe blow to the gang members who still awaited trial in Boston. Early in June 1956, however, an unexpected break developed. Ten of the persons who appeared before this grand jury breathed much more easily when they learned that no indictments had been returned. Within two months of his return, another member of the gang suffered a legal setback. 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. Again, the FBIs investigation resulted merely in the elimination of more possible suspects. 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. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. In 1936 and 1937, Faherty was convicted of armed robbery violations. Only $58,000 of the $2.7 million was recovered. 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. [14] They each wore a chauffeur cap, pea Veteran criminals throughout the United States found their activities during mid-January the subject of official inquiry. Pino admitted having been in the area, claiming that he was looking for a parking place so that he could visit a relative in the hospital. Thirteen people were detained in the hours following the robbery, including two former employees of Brink's. A detailed search for additional weapons was made at the Mystic River. Returning to Pennsylvania in February 1954 to stand trial, OKeefe was found guilty of burglary by the state court in McKean County on March 4, 1954. Since Brinks was located in a heavily populated tenement section, many hours were consumed in interviews to locate persons in the neighborhood who might possess information of possible value. For other similarly-named robberies in 1981, 1983 and 2008, see, "Historical Photos: Boston's Great Brinks Robbery", "A quarter-century laterBrink's robber admits guilt to Globe", "O'Keefe Says Brink's Holdup Gang Vowed To Kill Any Member Who Periled Others", "Specs O'Keefe, Informant In Brink's Robbery, Dies", "Tony Pino, 67, Participated In '50 Boston Brinks Holdup", "Adolph (Jazz) Maffie; Last Survivor of Brink's Gang", "Six Arrests Break $1,218,211 Brink's Robbery", "Brink Robbery History Recalled After Decade", "$1,500,000 HOLDUP: 7 Masked Men Rob Brink's, Boston; Leave Another Million", "The False-Face Bandits: Greed Wrecked the Brink's Case Gang", "Gang of Nine Robs Brink's at Boston; $150,000 Reward Out", Historical Photos: Boston's Great Brinks Robbery. Even fearing the new bills might be linked with the crime, McGinnis suggested a process for aging the new money in a hurry.. 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. 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. As of 2004, it was Two days before Maffies release, another strong suspect died of natural causes. A federal search warrant was obtained, and the home was searched by agents on April 27, 1950. He arrived in Baltimore on the morning of June 3 and was picked up by the Baltimore Police Department that evening. After being wounded on June 16, OKeefe disappeared. Had any particles of evidence been found in the loot which might directly show that they had handled it? Another week passedand approximately 500 more citizens were consideredbefore the 14-member jury was assembled. 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. Less than $60,000 of the more than $2.7 million stolen would ever be recovered. As the investigation developed and thousands of leads were followed to dead ends, the broad field of possible suspects gradually began to narrow. The trip from the liquor store in Roxbury to the Brinks offices could be made in about 15 minutes. And it nearly was. After the truck parts were found, additional suspicion was attached to these men. The serial numbers of several of these bills were furnished to the FBI Office in Baltimore. 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. This cooler contained more than $57,700, including $51,906 which was identifiable as part of the Brinks loot. Underworld figures in Boston have generally speculated that the racketeer was killed because of his association with OKeefe. It was billed as the perfect crime and the the crime of the century.. Richardson had participated with Faherty in an armed robbery in February 1934. Well-known Boston hoodlums were picked up and questioned by police. acknowledges it was involved in the gold transport. An official website of the United States government. (Geagan and Richardson, known associates of other members of the gang, were among the early suspects. This lead was pursued intensively. During 1955, OKeefe carefully pondered his position. Each of the five lock cylinders was taken on a separate occasion. 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. Before the robbers could take him prisoner, the garage attendant walked away. OKeefe was the principal witness to appear before the state grand jurors. When the employees were securely bound and gagged, the robbers began looting the premises. Both had served prison sentences, and both were well known to underworld figures on the East Coast. During questioning by the FBI, the money changer stated that he was in business as a mason contractor with another man on Tremont Street in Boston. 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. After careful checking, the FBI eliminated eight of the suspects. Even if released, he thought, his days were numbered. Both are real characters. As the truck drove past the Brinks offices, the robbers noted that the lights were out on the Prince Street side of the building. Evidently resigned to long years in prison or a short life on the outside, OKeefe grew increasingly bitter toward his old associates. In the end, the perfect crime had a perfect endingfor everyone but the robbers. He was certain he would be considered a strong suspect and wanted to begin establishing an alibi immediately.) The most important of these, Specs OKeefe, carefully recited the details of the crime, clearly spelling out the role played by each of the eight defendants. Both denied knowledge of the loot that had been recovered. All efforts to identify the persons responsible for the theft and the persons who had cut up the truck were unsuccessful. WebA Byte Out of HistoryThe Great Brinks Robbery. Members of the Purple Gang of the 1930s found that there was renewed interest in their activities. Commonly regarded as a dominant figure in the Boston underworld, McGinnis previously had been convicted of robbery and narcotics violations. 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. 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. Sentenced to serve from five to seven years for this offense, he was released from prison in September 1941. The removal of the lock cylinder from the outside door involved the greatest risk of detection. 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. 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. Allegedly, he pulled a gun on OKeefe; several shots were exchanged by the two men, but none of the bullets found their mark. Adding to these problems was the constant pressure being exerted upon Pino by OKeefe from the county jail in Towanda, Pennsylvania. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Great_Brink%27s_Robbery&oldid=1134169121, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 17 January 2023, at 09:19.

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