
The Great Brink's Robbery was an armed
robbery
Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person o ...
of the
Brink's
The Brink's Company is an American Automated cash handling, cash handling company, headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. Its operations include cash-in-transit, ATM replenishment & maintenance, and cash management & payment services, such as va ...
building in the
North End of
Boston, Massachusetts
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
, on January 17, 1950. The $2.775 million ($ million today) theft consisted of $1,218,211.29 in cash and $1,557,183.83 in
checks,
money order
A money order is a directive to pay a pre-specified amount of money from prepaid funds, making it a more trusted method of payment than a cheque.
History
Systems similar to modern money orders can be traced back centuries. Paper documents known ...
s, and other securities. It was at the time the largest robbery in the history of the United States and has been called "the
crime of the century". The robbery remained unsolved for nearly six years, until estranged group member Joseph O'Keefe testified only days before the
statute of limitations
A statute of limitations, known in civil law systems as a prescriptive period, is a law passed by a legislative body to set the maximum time after an event within which legal proceedings may be initiated. ("Time for commencing proceedings") In ...
would have expired.
Of the eleven people involved in the robbery, eight would receive
life sentences after a trial, with two others dying before they could be convicted. Less than $60,000 of the more than $2.7 million stolen would ever be recovered. The robbery received significant press coverage and was eventually adapted into
four movies.
Perpetrators
* Joseph McGinnisaccording to O'Keefe's testimony, McGinnis was the mastermind behind the robbery; however, this was later disputed by Geagan.
He was responsible for destroying incriminating evidence, including guns, the truck, and clothes.
McGinnis died in prison on October 5, 1966.
* Joseph "Specs" O'KeefeO'Keefe died in March 1976, at the age of 67.
* Anthony Pinoaccording to Geagan, Pino was the leader of the gang.
Pino died in October 1973, at the age of 67.
* Adolph "Jazz" MaffieMaffie died in September 1988, at the age of 77. He was the last surviving member of the robbery.
* Thomas "Sandy" RichardsonRichardson died in 1980, at the age of 73.
* Vincent CostaCosta was released from prison in 1969 after being paroled. He was arrested again in 1985 and charged with cocaine trafficking.
* Michael GeaganGeagan was released in 1969 after being paroled.
* Henry BakerBaker died in prison in 1961, at the age of 54.
* James FahertyFaherty, along with Geagan and Maffie, was released in 1969 after being paroled.
* Joseph BanfieldBanfield died in 1955, at the age of 45.
* Stanley GuscioraGusciora died in July 1956 of a brain tumor, before he could be tried for his role in the robbery.
Planning
The robbery was first conceived in 1947; however, in 1948, after months of planning, the group learned that Brink's had moved to a new location. While the theft was originally intended to be a
burglary
Burglary, also called breaking and entering (B&E) or housebreaking, is a property crime involving the illegal entry into a building or other area without permission, typically with the intention of committing a further criminal offence. Usually ...
, rather than an armed robbery, they could not find a way around the building's burglar alarm. After observing the movements of the guards, they decided that the robbery should take place just after 7 pm, as the vault would be open and fewer guards would be on duty.
Over a period of several months, the robbers removed each lock from the building and had a key made for it, before returning the lock. Two vehicles were stolen: a truck, to carry away the loot from the robbery, and a car, which would be used to block any pursuit. Vincent Costa was the group's lookout and signalled with a flashlight from a nearby rooftop when he saw the vault being opened.
After five aborted runs, Costa finally gave the go-ahead on the night of January 17, 1950.
Robbery
Seven of the group went into the Brink's building: O’Keefe, Gusciora, Baker, Maffie, Geagan, Faherty, and Richardson.
They each wore a chauffeur cap,
pea coat, rubber
Halloween mask
A rubber mask is one made of rubber such as latex or silicone, or a soft plastic like polyvinyl chloride, as a form of theatrical makeup or disguise. Typically, such masks are designed to be pulled over the head, or cover only the wearer's f ...
, and each had a
.38 caliber revolver.
At 7:10 pm, they entered the building and tied up the five employees working in the vault area. They spent about twenty minutes inside the vault, putting money into large canvas bags.
Approximately a million dollars in silver and coins was left behind by the robbers; they were not prepared to carry it. The total amount stolen was $1,218,211 in cash and $1,557,183 in
checks and other securities.
By 7:37, one of the Brink's employees managed to free himself and raise the alarm.
Investigation and falling out
Immediately following the robbery, Police Commissioner
Thomas F. Sullivan sent a mobilization order for all precinct captains and detectives. Thirteen people were detained in the hours following the robbery, including two former employees of Brink's.
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. Director of the
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...
,
J. Edgar Hoover, took over supervision of the investigation.
The only physical evidence left at the crime scene was a cap and the tape and rope used to bind the employees.
Most of the cash stolen was in
denominations of $1 to $20, which made it nearly impossible to trace the bills through serial numbers.
Any information police could get from their
informer
An informant (also called an informer or, as a slang term, a "snitch", "rat", "canary", "stool pigeon", "stoolie", "tout" or "grass", among other terms) is a person who provides privileged information, or (usually damaging) information inten ...
s initially proved useless. The truck that the robbers had used was found cut to pieces in
Stoughton, Massachusetts
Stoughton (official name: Town of Stoughton) is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 29,281 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The town is located approximately from Boston, from Providence, Rh ...
, near O'Keefe's home.
In June 1950, O’Keefe and Gusciora were arrested in
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
for a
burglary
Burglary, also called breaking and entering (B&E) or housebreaking, is a property crime involving the illegal entry into a building or other area without permission, typically with the intention of committing a further criminal offence. Usually ...
. O’Keefe was sentenced to three years in
Bradford County Jail and Gusciora to 5-to-20 years in the Western State Penitentiary at
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
. Police heard through their informers that O'Keefe and Gusciora demanded money from Pino and MacGinnis in Boston to fight their convictions. It was later claimed that most of O'Keefe's share went to his legal defense.
FBI agents tried to talk to O'Keefe and Gusciora in prison but the two professed ignorance of the Brink's robbery. Other members of the group came under suspicion, but there was not enough evidence for an indictment, so law enforcement kept pressure on the suspects. Adolph Maffie was convicted and sentenced to nine months for
income tax
An income tax is a tax imposed on individuals or entities (taxpayers) in respect of the income or profits earned by them (commonly called taxable income). Income tax generally is computed as the product of a tax rate times the taxable income. Tax ...
evasion.
After O'Keefe was released, he was taken to stand trial for another burglary and
parole
Parole, also known as provisional release, supervised release, or being on paper, is a form of early release of a prisoner, prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated ...
violations and was released on a bail of $17,000. O'Keefe later claimed that he had never seen his portion of the loot after he had given it to Maffie for safekeeping. Apparently in need of money, he kidnapped Vincent Costa and demanded his part of the loot for ransom.
Pino paid a small ransom but then decided to try to kill O'Keefe. After a couple of attempts, he hired underworld
hitman
Contract killing (also known as murder-for-hire) is a form of murder or assassination in which one party hires another party to kill a targeted person or people. It involves an illegal agreement which includes some form of compensation, moneta ...
Elmer "Trigger" Burke to kill O'Keefe. Burke traveled to Boston and shot O'Keefe, seriously wounding him but failing to kill him. The FBI approached O'Keefe in the hospital, and on January 6, 1956, he decided to talk.
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. They apprehended Faherty and Richardson on May 16 in
Dorchester. O'Keefe pleaded guilty on January 18. Gusciora died on July 9. Banfield was already dead. A trial began on August 6, 1956.
Eight of the gang's members received maximum sentences of life imprisonment. All were paroled by 1971 except McGinnis, who died in prison. O'Keefe received four years and was released in 1960. Only $58,000 of the $2.7 million was recovered. O'Keefe cooperated with writer
Bob Considine on ''The Men Who Robbed Brink's'', a 1961 "as told to" book about the robbery and its aftermath.
Films
At least four movies were based, or partially based, on the Great Brink's Robbery:
*''
Six Bridges to Cross'' (1955, Joseph Pevney)
*''
Blueprint for Robbery'' (1961, Jerry Hopper)
* ''
Brinks: The Great Robbery'' (1976, Marvin J. Chomsky)
* ''
The Brink's Job'' (1978, William Friedkin)
See also
*
List of bank robbers and robberies
**
Large-value US robberies
*
1981 Brink's robbery, an armed robbery in the state of New York
*
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum theft, a robbery of artwork in Boston in 1990
References
Further reading
*
*
*
External links
Article on the Great Brink's RobberyBrink's Robbery- FBI famous casesThe Great Brink's Robbery, and the 70-year-old question: What happened to the money?
{{coord, 42.3672, -71.0575, type:event_region:US-MA, display=title
1950 crimes in the United States
Bank robberies in the United States
1950s in Boston
Crimes in Massachusetts
1950 in Massachusetts
January 1950 in the United States
North End, Boston
Organized crime in Boston