The Air France robbery was a major
robbery that took place in April 1967, when associates of the
Lucchese crime family
The Lucchese crime family (pronounced ) is an Italian-American Mafia crime family and one of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City, in the United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as ...
stole $420,000 (equivalent of approximately $ million in ) from the
Air France
Air France (; formally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. It is a subsidiary of the Air France–KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global a ...
cargo terminal at
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
's
JFK International Airport
John F. Kennedy International Airport (colloquially referred to as JFK Airport, Kennedy Airport, New York-JFK, or simply JFK) is the main international airport serving New York City. The airport is the busiest of the seven airports in the New ...
. While there were many cargo thefts at JFK airport in 1967,
[
] this was the largest cash robbery that had taken place at the time. It was carried out by
Henry Hill
Henry Hill Jr. (June 11, 1943 – June 12, 2012) was an American mobster who was associated with the Lucchese crime family of New York City from 1955 until 1980, when he was arrested on narcotics charges and became an FBI informant. Hill testi ...
, Robert McMahon,
Tommy DeSimone and Montague Montemurro, on a tip-off from McMahon. Hill believed it was the Air France robbery that endeared him to the
Mafia
"Mafia" is an informal term that is used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the original “Mafia”, the Sicilian Mafia and Italian Mafia. The central activity of such an organization would be the arbitration of d ...
.
Planning
Air France
Air France (; formally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. It is a subsidiary of the Air France–KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global a ...
was the carrier for American currency that had been exchanged in Southeast Asia. The airline had contracted to return the money to the US for depositing with American banks. The money was usually carried in linen
bags, each containing US$60,000, and Air France shipped up to $1 million per week in this manner. The money was stored in a cement-block
strong room
A bank vault is a secure space where money, valuables, records, and documents are stored. It is intended to protect their contents from theft, unauthorized use, fire, natural disasters, and other threats, much like a safe. Unlike safes, vaults ...
with a round-the-clock private
security guard.
According to Robert McMahon, who worked for Air France's cargo operation, Air France aircraft regularly delivered three or four $60,000 packages at a time, and he told Henry Hill that three or four men with
pistols could easily steal it. However, it was difficult to predict when the money would be there, so a
stickup was risky. Hill decided it would be better to steal the key so they could attempt to steal the money at a moment's notice without tipping off Air France that they knew about the money.
Reconnaissance
In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities.
Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...
missions revealed that the most difficult obstacle would be the security guard, who kept the key with him at all times, even on days off.
A break into the guard's home turned up a potential vulnerability: women. McMahon introduced the guard to an expensive
escort at The Jade East Motel located near JFK International Airport. In time, the guard and the escort became intimate. After a number of dry runs, McMahon and the escort were able to distract the guard long enough for Hill to retrieve the key from his pants and make a copy.
Execution
McMahon received notice that between $400,000 and $700,000 would be delivered on Friday, April 7, 1967. He said the best time for the actual robbery would be just before midnight, when the security guard would be on his meal break.
On the day of the robbery, Hill and
Tommy DeSimone drove to the Air France cargo terminal at
John F. Kennedy International Airport
John F. Kennedy International Airport (colloquially referred to as JFK Airport, Kennedy Airport, New York-JFK, or simply JFK) is the main international airport serving New York City. The airport is the busiest of the seven airports in the Avia ...
with an empty suitcase, the largest Hill could find. At 11:40 p.m, they entered the Air France
cargo terminal
A container port or container terminal is a facility where cargo containers are transshipped between different transport vehicles, for onward transportation. The transshipment may be between container ships and land vehicles, for example train ...
. McMahon said that they should just walk in, as people often came to the terminal to pick up lost baggage. DeSimone and Hill entered the unsecured area unchallenged. They unlocked the door with the duplicate key. Using a small flashlight, they found seven of the bags, which they loaded into the suitcase and left. No alarm was raised, no shots fired, and no one was injured.
The theft was not discovered until the following Monday, when a
Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational financial services company with corporate headquarters in San Francisco, California; operational headquarters in Manhattan; and managerial offices throughout the United States and intern ...
truck arrived to pick up the cash to be delivered to the French American Banking Corporation.
Portrayal in film
The robbery was portrayed in the 1969 film ''
Le clan des siciliens'' by
Henri Verneuil
Henri Verneuil (; born Ashot Malakian; 15 October 1920 – 11 January 2002) was a French-Armenian playwright and filmmaker, who made a successful career in France. He was nominated for Oscar and Palme d'Or awards, and won Locarno International ...
and the 1990 film ''
Goodfellas
''Goodfellas'' (stylized ''GoodFellas'') is a 1990 American biographical crime film directed by Martin Scorsese, written by Nicholas Pileggi and Scorsese, and produced by Irwin Winkler. It is a film adaptation of the 1985 nonfiction book '' W ...
'' by
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of many major accolades, inclu ...
. The latter film portrayed it being an inside job, with a security guard simply giving Henry Hill a key (as opposed to attempting to copy one), and also used the significantly more lucrative
Lufthansa heist
The Lufthansa heist was a robbery at New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport on December 11, 1978. An estimated $5.875 million (equivalent to $ million in ) was stolen, with $5 million in cash and $875,000 in jewelry, m ...
of 1978 to show the deadly consequences of the following internal fight between the robbers.
References
Notes
Sources
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{{Air France
1967 crimes in the United States
1967 in New York City
1960s crimes in New York City
1967 in aviation
Aviation in New York City
Robbery
Lucchese crime family heist
John F. Kennedy International Airport
Robberies in the United States
Crimes in Queens, New York
April 1967 events in the United States