The robbers killed Peter Paige at the Nanuet Mall in front of a bank. 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. At the time of their arrest, Faherty and Richardson were rushing for three loaded revolvers that they had left on a chair in the bathroom of the apartment. A trial began on August 6, 1956. As long as he was in prison, he could do no physical harm to his Boston criminal associates. Faherty and Richardson fled to avoid apprehension and subsequently were placed on the list of the FBIs Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list. During his brief stay in Boston, he was observed to contact other members of the robbery gang. 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. FBI agents tried to talk to O'Keefe and Gusciora in prison but the two professed ignorance of the Brink's robbery. The eight men were sentenced by Judge Forte on October 9, 1956. (Burke was arrested by FBI agents at Folly Beach, South Carolina, on August 27, 1955, and he returned to New York to face murder charges which were outstanding against him there. (Costa, who was at his lookout post, previously had arrived in a Ford sedan which the gang had stolen from behind the Boston Symphony Hall two days earlier.). OKeefe had left his hotel at approximately 7:00 p.m. Pino and Baker separately decided to go out at 7:00 p.m. Costa started back to the motor terminal at about 7:00 p.m. Other principal suspects were not able to provide very convincing accounts of their activities that evening. In 1936 and 1937, Faherty was convicted of armed robbery violations. 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. Following the robbery, authorities attempted unsuccessfully to locate him at the hotel. You get me released, and Ill solve the case in no time, these criminals would claim. Here, we look at the people involved and where they are now. 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. OKeefe was the principal witness to appear before the state grand jurors. McGinness masterminded the crime. 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. Gusciora also claimed to have been drinking that evening. 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. A passerby might notice that it was missing. On the evening of January 17, 1950, employees of the security firm Brinks, Inc., in Boston, Massachusetts, were closing for the day, returning sacks of undelivered cash, checks, and other material to the company safe on the second floor. All were denied, and the impaneling of the jury was begun on August 7. As the robbers sped from the scene, a Brinks employee telephoned the Boston Police Department. The police officer said he had been talking to McGinnis first, and Pino arrived later to join them. This was a question which preyed heavily upon their minds. The families of OKeefe and Gusciora resided in the vicinity of Stoughton, Massachusetts. After denying any knowledge of the escape of Trigger Burke, Pino was released. During the trip from Roxbury, Pino distributed Navy-type peacoats and chauffeurs caps to the other seven men in the rear of the truck. Serious consideration originally had been given to robbing Brinks in 1947, when Brinks was located on Federal Street in Boston. Until the FBI and its partners painstakingly solved the case. The roofs of buildings on Prince and Snow Hill Streets soon were alive with inconspicuous activity as the gang looked for the most advantageous sites from which to observe what transpired inside Brinks offices. The names of Pino, McGinnis, Adolph Jazz Maffie, and Henry Baker were frequently mentioned in these rumors, and it was said that they had been with OKeefe on the Big Job.. He claimed there was a large roll of bills in his hotel roomand that he had found that money, too. Information received from this individual linked nine well-known hoodlums with the crime. WebBrian Robinson was convicted of armed robbery and sentenced to 25 years in prison. He was certain he would be considered a strong suspect and wanted to begin establishing an alibi immediately.) At the time it was Britains Geagan claimed that he spent the evening at home and did not learn of the Brinks robbery until the following day. Even with the recovery of this money in Baltimore and Boston, more than $1,150,000 of currency taken in the Brinks robbery remained unaccounted for. Two hours later he was dead. Robinson died in a London On August 29, 1954, the officers suspicions were aroused by an automobile that circled the general vicinity of the abandoned car on five occasions. Underworld figures in Boston have generally speculated that the racketeer was killed because of his association with OKeefe. In June 1950, OKeefe and Gusciora were arrested in Pennsylvania for a burglary. A federal search warrant was obtained, and the home was searched by agents on April 27, 1950. Investigation revealed that Geagan, a laborer, had not gone to work on January 17 or 18, 1950.). This cooler contained more than $57,700, including $51,906 which was identifiable as part of the Brinks loot. During the period in which Pinos deportation troubles were mounting, OKeefe completed his sentence at Towanda, Pennsylvania. 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. In September 1949, Pinos efforts to evade deportation met with success. Two of the prime suspects whose nerve and gun-handling experience suited them for the Brinks robbery were Joseph James OKeefe and Stanley Albert Gusciora. Both denied knowledge of the loot that had been recovered. Reports had been received alleging that he had held up several gamblers in the Boston area and had been involved in shakedowns of bookies. There had been three attempts on his life in June 1954, and his frustrated assassins undoubtedly were waiting for him to return to Boston. If local hoodlums were involved, it was difficult to believe that McGinnis could be as ignorant of the crime as he claimed. 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. acknowledges it was involved in the gold transport. In addition, McGinnis received other sentences of two years, two and one-half to three years, and eight to ten years. OKeefe and Gusciora reportedly had worked together on a number of occasions. Again, the FBIs investigation resulted merely in the elimination of more possible suspects. The truck that the robbers had used was found cut to pieces in Stoughton, Massachusetts, near O'Keefe's home. One of these officers quickly grabbed the criminals hand, and a large roll of money fell from it. On March 4, 1950, pieces of an identical truck were found at a dump in Stoughton, Massachusetts. This lead was pursued intensively. Thorough inquiries were made concerning the disposition of the bags after their receipt by the Massachusetts firm. The loot was quickly unloaded, and Banfield sped away to hide the truck. Fat John announced that each of the packages contained $5,000. The FBI also succeeded in locating the carpenter who had remodeled the offices where the loot was hidden. OKeefe immediately returned to Boston to await the results of the appeal. Well-known Boston hoodlums were picked up and questioned by police. A private security and protection company was co-ordinating the shipment of $20 million worth of gold and high-value goods when they were stolen from Toronto Pearson International Airport. A few weeks later, OKeefe retrieved his share of the loot. Three of the remaining five gang members were previously accounted for, OKeefe and Gusciora being in prison on other charges and Banfield being dead. On June 2, 1950, OKeefe and Gusciora left Boston by automobile for the alleged purpose of visiting the grave of Guscioras brother in Missouri. The person ringing the buzzer was a garage attendant. Even if released, he thought, his days were numbered. The gang members who remained at the house of Maffies parents soon dispersed to establish alibis for themselves. Each man also was given a pistol and a Halloween-type mask. Before the robbers could take him prisoner, the garage attendant walked away. 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 (McGinnis trial in March 1955 on the liquor charge resulted in a sentence to 30 days imprisonment and a fine of $1,000. During 1955, OKeefe carefully pondered his position. A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. Nothing suggests it was a stick-em-up robbery or strong-arm heist. 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. This man subsequently identified locks from doors which the Brinks gang had entered as being similar to the locks which Pino had brought him. The robbers carefully planned routine inside Brinks was interrupted only when the attendant in the adjoining Brinks garage sounded the buzzer. After being wounded on June 16, OKeefe disappeared. Subsequently, OKeefe left his carand the $200,000in a garage on Blue Hill Avenue in Boston. The trial of these eight men began on the morning of August 6, 1956, before Judge Feliz Forte in the Suffolk County Courthouse in Boston. WebTwo of the prime suspects whose nerve and gun-handling experience suited them for the Brinks robbery were Joseph James OKeefe and Stanley Albert Gusciora. From this lookout post, Costa was in a position to determine better than the men below whether conditions inside the building were favorable to the robbers. Despite the fact that substantial amounts of money were being spent by members of the robbery gang during 1954, in defending themselves against legal proceedings alone, the year ended without the location of any bills identifiable as part of the Brinks loot. On the night of January 17, 1952exactly two years after the crime occurredthe FBIs Boston Office received an anonymous telephone call from an individual who claimed he was sending a letter identifying the Brinks robbers. Members of the Purple Gang of the 1930s found that there was renewed interest in their activities. As a cooperative measure, the information gathered by the FBI in the Brinks investigation was made available to the District Attorney of Suffolk County, Massachusetts. Pino paid a small ransom but then decided to try to kill O'Keefe. During this operation, one of the employees had lost his glasses; they later could not be found on the Brinks premises. McGinnis previously had discussed sending a man to the United States Patent Office in Washington, D.C., to inspect the patents on the protective alarms used in the Brinks building. Interviewed again on December 28, 1955, he talked somewhat more freely, and it was obvious that the agents were gradually winning his respect and confidence. 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. An appeal was promptly noted, and he was released on $15,000 bond. Three of the newspapers used to wrap the bills were identified. That prison term, together with Pinos conviction in March 1928 for carnal abuse of a girl, provided the basis for the deportation action. Much of the money taken from the money changer appeared to have been stored a long time. Thieves stole more than $1.2 million in cash and another $1.5 million in checks and. Nonetheless, several members of the Brinks gang were visibly shaken and appeared to be abnormally worried during the latter part of May and early in June 1954. (On January 18, 1956, OKeefe had pleaded guilty to the armed robbery of Brinks.) During an interview with him in the jail in Springfield, Massachusetts, in October 1954, special agents found that the plight of the missing Boston racketeer was weighing on OKeefes mind. All were guilty. Race tracks and gambling establishments also were covered in the hope of finding some of the loot in circulation. Shortly before 7:30 p.m., they were surprised by five menheavily disguised, quiet as mice, wearing gloves to avoid leaving fingerprints and soft shoes to muffle noise. It was used by the defense counsel in preparing a 294-page brief that was presented to the Massachusetts State Supreme Court. 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. Vincent Costa was the group's lookout, and signalled with a flashlight from a nearby rooftop when he saw the vault being opened. The money inside the cooler which was concealed in the wall of the Tremont Street office was wrapped in plastic and newspaper. Jeweler and also a bullion dealer, John Palmer, was arrested. OKeefe was enraged that the pieces of the stolen Ford truck had been placed on the dump near his home, and he generally regretted having become associated at all with several members of the gang. It was later claimed that most of O'Keefe's share went to his legal defense. The Both of these strong-arm suspects had been questioned by Boston authorities following the robbery. 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.
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