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THE GREAT BRINKS HEIST (75th Anniversary)
Seventy-five years ago, one of the most audacious heists in American history occurred at 165 Prince Street, in Boston’s North End neighborhood, the Great Brinks Robbery. This meticulously planned operation was carried out by an eleven-member group of men who made off with almost three million dollars in cash, checks and securities, crowning it the largest robbery in U.S. history.
It was often referred to as “the perfect crime” and “the crime of the century.” The group, led by Tony Pino, spent over a year preparing for the heist. Using binoculars, they conducted detailed surveillance of the Brinks Armored Car Depot with painstaking patience from the roof top of neighboring buildings on Prince and Snow Hill Streets.
On the evening of January 17, 1950, just before 7:30 p.m., employees of the Brinks security firm were closing the safe for the evening, five heavily disguised men entered the building wearing latex Halloween masks, gloves, pea coats, chauffer caps, rubber soled shoes, tied up the employees, and filled canvas bags with more than $1.2 million in cash and another $1.5 million in checks and other securities, leaving behind over a million dollars in coins due to their weight.
The thieves barely spoke and moved with such precision the FBI believed the plan had been carefully practiced and rehearsed for quite some time. It took no more than half an hour to complete the job. The robbers left minimal evidence behind, presenting a significant challenge to law enforcement. The FBI and Boston Police joined efforts and launched an extensive investigation but remain stymied for close to six years.
In the hours immediately following the robbery, local underworld figures were picked up and questioned by the police. Since the Brink’s was in a heavily populated neighborhood, many hours were spent interviewing and speaking to neighbors and North End persons who might possess valuable information.
The breakthrough came when one of the members, Joseph “Specs” O’Keefe, felt betrayed by his accomplices, and decided to cooperate with the authorities. His testimony in January 1956 led to the arrest of the ten remaining gang members, eight of which were convicted and given life sentences and two more who died before going to trial, just days before the statue-of-limitations expired.
To this day only a fraction of the stolen money was ever recovered. The Great Brinks Robbery has long been a symbol of criminal ingenuity and has been immortalized in numerous books and films over the past seventy-five years. In the end, the “perfect crime” had a perfect ending, for everyone but the robbers.
Article Reprint from Post Gazette, 5 Prince Street, Boston.
Also special thank you to Historian Director Vito Aluia who provided many of the following photos from his vast collection of North End/Boston photos.
Newsletter: Editor Tom Damigella
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