Some persons claimed to have seen him. In addition, McGinnis was named in two other complaints involving the receiving and concealing of the loot. 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. It was at the time the largest robbery in the history of the United States, and has been called "the crime of the century". After completing its hearings on January 9, 1953, the grand jury retired to weigh the evidence. Minutes later, police arrived at the Brinks building, and special agents of the FBI quickly joined in the investigation. 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. 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. WebThe robbery occurred around 9:35 a.m. as the Brinks truck was parked in front of Pete's Fresh Market in the 1900-block of Sibley Blvd., Calumet City spokesperson Sean Howard Their plan was to enter the Brinks building and take a truck containing payrolls. In the succeeding two weeks, nearly 1,200 prospective jurors were eliminated as the defense counsel used their 262 peremptory challenges. This cooler contained more than $57,700, including $51,906 which was identifiable as part of the Brinks loot. 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. Costa claimed that after working at the motor terminal until approximately 5:00 p.m. on January 17, 1950, he had gone home to eat dinner; then, at approximately 7:00 p.m., he left to return to the terminal and worked until about 9:00 p.m. 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 The record of the state trial covered more than 5,300 pages. From interviews with the five employees whom the criminals had confronted, it was learned that between five and seven robbers had entered the building. Local officers searched their homes, but no evidence linking them with the truck or the robbery was found. WebNahome was a "financer" and associate of the Adams family, who were also suspected of having been involved in the laundering of the Brink's-Mat gold. Before the robbers could take him prisoner, the garage attendant walked away. 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. For example, from a citizen in California came the suggestion that the loot might be concealed in the Atlantic Ocean near Boston. The officer verified the meeting. WebRobbery Seven of the group went into the Brink's building: OKeefe, Gusciora, Baker, Maffie, Geagan, Faherty, and Richardson. After receiving the go ahead signal from Costa, the seven armed men walked to the Prince Street entrance of Brinks. THE brains behind the 26million Brinks-Mat bullion robbery has died penniless. Thieves stole more than $1.2 million in cash and another $1.5 million in checks and. 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. While OKeefe and Gusciora lingered in jail in Pennsylvania, Pino encountered difficulties of his own. Richardson had participated with Faherty in an armed robbery in February 1934. OKeefe was the principal witness to appear before the state grand jurors. At least four movies were based, or partially based, on the Great Brink's Robbery: Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}422202N 710327W / 42.3672N 71.0575W / 42.3672; -71.0575. After continuing up the street to the end of the playground which adjoined the Brinks building, the truck stopped. They put the entire $200,000 in the trunk of OKeefes automobile. The families of OKeefe and Gusciora resided in the vicinity of Stoughton, Massachusetts. 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. Thirteen people were detained in the hours following the robbery, including two former employees of Brink's. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. 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 results were negative. Inside this container were packages of bills that had been wrapped in plastic and newspapers. Before removing the remainder of the loot from the house on January 18, 1950, the gang members attempted to identify incriminating items. Neither had too convincing an alibi. Pino was known in the underworld as an excellent case man, and it was said that the casing of the Brinks offices bore his trademark.. 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. Among the early suspects was Anthony Pino, an alien who had been a principal suspect in numerous major robberies and burglaries in Massachusetts. 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. Here, we look at the people involved and where they are now. During November and December 1949, the approach to the Brinks building and the flight over the getaway route were practiced to perfection. This lead was pursued intensively. All right, he told two FBI agents, what do you want to know?. They had brought no tools with them, however, and they were unsuccessful. The last false approach took place on January 16, 1950the night before the robbery. This vehicle was traced through motor vehicle records to Pino. Even if released, he thought, his days were numbered. Although he had been known to carry a gun, burglaryrather than armed robberywas his criminal specialty, and his exceptional driving skill was an invaluable asset during criminal getaways. Much of the money taken from the money changer appeared to have been stored a long time. 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 Adolph Maffie was convicted and sentenced to nine months for income tax evasion. Again, he was determined to fight, using the argument that his conviction for the 1948 larceny offense was not a basis for deportation. involved When OKeefe admitted his part in the Brinks robbery to FBI agents in January 1956, he told of his high regard for Gusciora. With the death of Gusciora, only eight members of the Brinks gang remained to be tried. Ten of the persons who appeared before this grand jury breathed much more easily when they learned that no indictments had been returned. Three and one-half hours later, the verdict had been reached. 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. 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. O'Keefe received four years and was released in 1960. The Brinks Mat robbery gang now: What happened to Kenneth An immediate effort also was made to obtain descriptive data concerning the missing cash and securities. He had been questioned concerning his whereabouts on January 17, 1950, and he was unable to provide any specific account of where he had been. Following their arrests, a former bondsman in Boston made frequent trips to Towanda in an unsuccessful effort to secure their release on bail. Faherty and Richardson fled to avoid apprehension and subsequently were placed on the list of the FBIs Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list. Both OKeefe and Gusciora had been interviewed on several occasions concerning the Brinks robbery, but they had claimed complete ignorance. 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. A few months prior to the robbery, OKeefe and Gusciora surreptitiously entered the premises of a protective alarm company in Boston and obtained a copy of the protective plans for the Brinks building. Their hands were tied behind their backs and adhesive tape was placed over their mouths. During this visit, Gusciora got up from his bed, and, in full view of the clergyman, slipped to the floor, striking his head. Shortly after 6.40am, six armed robbers in balaclavas entered a warehouse at Heathrow airport belonging to security company Brinks-Mat. Robinson died in a London John had a smelter in his garden hut near Bath. [14] They each wore a chauffeur cap, pea coat, rubber Halloween mask, and each had a .38 caliber revolver. Sentenced to serve from five to seven years for this offense, he was released from prison in September 1941. 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. 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. WebOne of the robbers, Micky McAvoy, entrusted his share to associates Brian Perry and George Francis. 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. Within two months of his return, another member of the gang suffered a legal setback. Subsequently, OKeefe left his carand the $200,000in a garage on Blue Hill Avenue in Boston.