OKeefes reputation for nerve was legend. Captain Marvel mask used as a disguise in the robbery. Where is Edwyn Cooper of the Brink's-Mat robbery now? Before they left, however, approximately $380,000 was placed in a coal hamper and removed by Baker for security reasons. After surrendering himself in December 1953 in compliance with an Immigration and Naturalization Service order, he began an additional battle to win release from custody while his case was being argued. The only physical evidence left at the crime scene was a cap and the tape and rope used to bind up the employees. Approximately one and one-half hours later, Banfield returned with McGinnis. Until the FBI and its partners painstakingly solved the case. With the death of Gusciora, only eight members of the Brinks gang remained to be tried. He had been released on parole from the Norfolk, Massachusetts, Prison Colony on August 22, 1949only five months before the robbery. Later, when he counted the money, he found that the suitcase contained $98,000. Between 1950 and 1954, the underworld occasionally rumbled with rumors that pressure was being exerted upon Boston hoodlums to contribute money for these criminals legal fight against the charges in Pennsylvania. 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. You get me released, and Ill solve the case in no time, these criminals would claim. 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. Former inmates of penal institutions reported conversations they had overheard while incarcerated which concerned the robbing of Brinks. During the period in which Pinos deportation troubles were mounting, OKeefe completed his sentence at Towanda, Pennsylvania. Thieves stole more than $1.2 million in cash and another $1.5 million in checks and. OKeefe and Gusciora reportedly had worked together on a number of occasions. (The arrests of Faherty and Richardson also resulted in the indictment of another Boston hoodlum as an accessory after the fact). It ultimately proved unproductive. Both are real characters. WebThe series stars Hugh Bonneville as Brian Boyce, the detective chief inspector on the case, and the cast also includes Jack Lowden, Adam Nagaitis, Tom Cullen and Dominic 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. Pino previously had arranged for this man to keep his shop open beyond the normal closing time on nights when Pino requested him to do so. 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. As this bag was being emptied later that evening, the glasses were discovered and destroyed by the gang. He was paroled in the fall of 1944 and remained on parole through March 1954 when misfortune befell him. This phase of the investigation greatly disturbed many gamblers. Inside the building, the gang members carefully studied all available information concerning Brinks schedules and shipments. Following the robbery, authorities attempted unsuccessfully to locate him at the hotel. 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. Had the ground not been frozen, the person or persons who abandoned the bags probably would have attempted to bury them. [21] Any information police could get from their informers initially proved useless. A federal search warrant was obtained, and the home was searched by agents on April 27, 1950. [15] 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. acknowledges it was involved in the gold transport. (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. All denied any knowledge of the alleged incident. In the end, the perfect crime had a perfect endingfor everyone but the robbers. Commonly regarded as a dominant figure in the Boston underworld, McGinnis previously had been convicted of robbery and narcotics violations. 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. Brinks Gusciora now had passed beyond the reach of all human authority, and OKeefe was all the more determined to see that justice would be done. Unfortunately, this proved to be an idle hope. Each man also was given a pistol and a Halloween-type mask. A t the time, the Brinks-Mat vault was thought to be one of the most secure facilities in the world. [17] Approximately a million dollars in silver and coins was left behind by the robbers, as they were not prepared to carry it. Each robbers face was completely concealed behind a Halloween-type mask. WebInvestigators didnt know if this money was related to the Brinks-Mat robbery, but Diamond led officers to investigate the British Virgin Islands, and one accountant in particular. 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. Meet the man who cracked one of Britain's biggest heists 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 A Secret Service agent, who had been summoned by the Baltimore officers, arrived while the criminal was being questioned at the police headquarters, and after examining the money found in the bill changers possession, he certified that it was not counterfeit. Nonetheless, the finding of the truck parts at Stoughton, Massachusetts, was to prove a valuable break in the investigation. The removal of the lock cylinder from the outside door involved the greatest risk of detection. The hideout also was found to contain more than $5,000 in coins. The robbers did little talking. After weighing the arguments presented by the attorneys for the eight convicted criminals, the State Supreme Court turned down the appeals on July 1, 1959, in a 35-page decision written by the Chief Justice. The money inside the cooler which was concealed in the wall of the Tremont Street office was wrapped in plastic and newspaper. WebThe robberys mastermind was Anthony Fats Pino, a career criminal who recruited a group of 10 other men to stake out the depot for 18 months to figure out when it held the From his cell in Springfield, OKeefe wrote bitter letters to members of the Brinks gang and persisted in his demands for money. While action to appeal the convictions was being taken on their behalf, the eight men were removed to the State prison at Walpole, Massachusetts. In December 1948, Brinks moved from Federal Street to 165 Prince Street in Boston. WebA Byte Out of HistoryThe Great Brinks Robbery. 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. He told the interviewing agents that he trusted Maffie so implicitly that he gave the money to him for safe keeping. The Gold - Meet the cast of the drama inspired by the true story