5 The Brink's Robbery

Joseph“Big Joe”McGinnisdreamed of committing the perfect crime. In 1948 he hooked up with Tony “Fats” Pino. Pino shared McGinnis's dream. Together, these two longtime criminals set to work. They spent two years planning a flawless robbery. Nothing would be left to chance. No evidence would be left behind. And, if all went well, they would both end up rich.

Brink's armored trucks such as this one, filled with cash on the way to vaults, have been the targets of many robbers. But one gang didn't stop at just the money in a single truck. They went straight to Brink's headquarters.

The two thieves picked a tough target to rob—the Brink's Company in Boston.Brink's is an armored car service.It sends steelplated cars to pick up money from stores around town. The armored cars take the money to Brink's headquarters. There it is counted, sorted, and held until the stores need it again. In 1950, as much as$10 million a day flowed through the Brink's office.

McGinnis and Pino planned their robbery with great care. They picked nine other men to join them. These were not just any nine men. Each brought a special skill to the group. Some,for instance, were good drivers or sharp lookout men. Also, seven of the men had to be the same size. McGinnis and Pino chose men who were about five feet nine inches tall and weighed between 170 and 180 pounds. These men would be the ones to enter the Brink's office and bring out the money. They would all dress alike. They would wear the same scary masks,rubber-soled shoes,gloves,coats,and caps.That would make it hard for the Brink's guards to identify them.(McGinnis would be one of the seven, but Pino was too heavy for the job. He agreed to stay with the getaway truck.)

Robbing the Brink's headquarters would not be easy. The place was full of steel vaults and armed guards. McGinnis and Pino knew this. So they took plenty of time. They studied the layout of the building. They found out when the guards were on duty and where they were stationed. They watched the money flow in and out of the office. They knew when the big money was there.

One of the toughest problems they faced was the locks. The gang had to pass through five locked doors to get from the street to the Brink's office. McGinnis and Pino came up with a bold plan. Late one night, a few of the gang members slipped into the building. One of them,a professional locksmith,removed the lock on the first door. He took it away and quickly made a key for it. Then—that same night—he hurried back to the Brink's building. He got the lock back in place before anyone noticed it was missing.

The robbers returned on four other nights.Each time they repeated their actions. They made keys for the locks on the four other doors. Now they would be able to walk right into the Brink's office. There, they knew, they would find guards standing inside a wire cage. That was where all the money was.

Next, McGinnis and Pino made the gang practice the robbery. More than 20 times, the thieves slipped into the building. They used their keys to unlock door after door. Each time, they got right up to the innermost door.Then they turned and left.

At last, McGinnis and Pino decided they were ready for the real thing. On January 17, 1950, they gave the signal. That night, a little before seven o'clock, the men took their places. Seven of them put on masks and sneaked into the building. They opened the five locked doors. At 7:10 p.m., they opened the innermost door. They were in the Brink's office. There, as expected, they saw five guards. The guards were all inside the wire cage, counting money.

The thieves stuck their guns through the holes in the cage.“This is a stickup,”one growled.“Open the gate and don't give us any trouble.” Thomas Lloyd, the head guard, looked at the seven drawn guns.He knew it was hopeless to put up a fight.He instructed one of the other guards to go ahead and open the cage door.

Inside the cage,the thieves ordered the guards to lie facedown on the floor. They tied the guards' hands behind their backs. In addition, they tied their feet together and put tape across their mouths. Then the crooks grabbed the money. They took all they could carry. In total, they stole more than 1,200 pounds in coins, bills, and checks. By 7:27 p.m. they were out of the building. The robbery had gone perfectly. In cash alone, they had made off with exactly$1,218,211.29!

When news of the heist spread,people were stunned.They hadn't thought anyone would ever dare rob Brink's. But, clearly, someone had. The police had no clues about who had done it. They searched everywhere. They organized a huge manhunt, but they didn't even know whom they were looking for. All they knew for sure was that the seven robbers were “of medium weight and height.”

Meanwhile,the Brink's robbers played it safe.They drove the loot to the home of Jazz Maffie in nearby Roxbury. Then each man went back home to his family. The next day they all went to their regular day jobs as if nothing had happened. The thieves stayed calm. They waited a month before splitting up the money. Each man got about$100,000.

For six years, the police tried to solve the crime. They failed. But during that time, trouble was brewing inside the gang. One of the robbers did not like the way the money had been divided. Specs O'Keefe began demanding a larger share of the loot. McGinnis and the others became worried. They feared O'Keefe might go to the police.So they hired a gunman named Trigger Burke to kill him.One day Burke opened fire as O'Keefe drove by in his car. Luckily for O'Keefe—and unluckily for the rest of the gang—Burke missed his target.

Furious about the attack, O'Keefe did turn to the police. He told them the whole story. The police quickly rounded up all the Brink's robbers. The 11 men were brought to trial in 1956. All of them, including Specs O'Keefe,were found guilty.Since O'Keefe had helped solve the crime, however, police allowed him to go free. The rest of the gang got long prison terms. In the end, then, the dream of Big Joe McGinnis and Fats Pino had turned into a nightmare.