by Megan Grimes
On January 17th, 1950, in Boston, Massachusetts, 11 men stole more than $2 million dollars from a Brinks Armored Car depot. The men believed to have committed the perfect crime and were not caught until January 1956, just days before the statue of limitations for the theft would have expired. The men planned for 18 months to determine when the most money could be stolen from the car. Anthony “Fats” Pino was given the title of the robbery’s mastermind. He was able to steal the plans to the depot’s alarm system and return them before anyone noticed. Dressed similarly to the Brinks employees, the men entered the depot with copies of the keys and tied up many of the surprised employees. 14 canvas bags were filled with more than $2.7 million dollars, which was the largest robbery in history up until that time. Since barely any clues were discovered at the scene and no one was hurt during the time of the robbery, the men created the perfect getaway. They promised to stay out of trouble and not touch the money for 6 years in order to have the statue of limitations run out. However, one man changed their fate. Joseph “Specs” O’Keefe was sentenced to prison for another burglary. While in prison, he threatened to expose his accomplices if they didn’t provide him with his share of the money. To silence O’Keefe, the group sent a hit man to kill him in prison. However, the hit man was caught before he was able to complete the task and a wounded O’Keefe then made a deal with the FBI to testify against the other robbers. 8 of the 11 men were caught, convicted and given life sentences; however, two died before they could go to trial. Only a small portion of the money was recovered, and it is believed to be hidden in the hills north of Grand Rapids, Minnesota.
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