Both OKeefe and Gusciora had been interviewed on several occasions concerning the Brinks robbery, but they had claimed complete ignorance. At the time of his arrest, there also was a charge of armed robbery outstanding against him in Massachusetts. OKeefe was sentenced to three years in Bradford County Jail and Gusciora to 5-to-20 years in the Western State Penitentiary at Pittsburgh. Less than $60,000 of the more than $2.7 million stolen would ever be recovered. [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. 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. All were guilty. Both had served prison sentences, and both were well known to underworld figures on the East Coast. He had been released on parole from the Norfolk, Massachusetts, Prison Colony on August 22, 1949only five months before the robbery. WebThe Brinks Robbery The idea for the heist came from Joseph Big Joe McGinniss, but career criminal Anthony Fats Pino. Nothing suggests it was a stick-em-up robbery or strong-arm heist. Speaking on film for the first time since the robbery almost 40 years ago, Detective Chief Superintendent Brian Boyce, head of the investigation and DC Tony Yeoman, disclose the challenges they faced and the strategy they used in A t the time, the Brinks-Mat vault was thought to be one of the most secure facilities in the world. In addition, although violent dissension had developed within the gang, there still was no indication that any of the men were ready to talk. Based on the available information, however, the FBI felt that OKeefes disgust was reaching the point where it was possible he would turn against his confederates. All were denied, and the impaneling of the jury was begun on August 7. Apparently in need of money he kidnapped Vincent Costa and demanded his part of the loot for ransom. 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. Former inmates of penal institutions reported conversations they had overheard while incarcerated which concerned the robbing of Brinks. As the robbers sped from the scene, a Brinks employee telephoned the Boston Police Department. Henry Baker, another veteran criminal who was rumored to be kicking in to the Pennsylvania defense fund, had spent a number of years of his adult life in prison. All of them wore Navy-type peacoats, gloves, and chauffeurs caps. Burke, a professional killer, allegedly had been hired by underworld associates of OKeefe to assassinate him. The gang members who remained at the house of Maffies parents soon dispersed to establish alibis for themselves. Adolph Maffie was convicted and sentenced to nine months for income tax evasion. In a series of interviews during the succeeding days, OKeefe related the full story of the Brinks robbery. The door opened, and an armed masked man wearing a prison guard-type uniform commanded the guard, Back up, or Ill blow your brains out. Burke and the armed man disappeared through the door and fled in an automobile parked nearby.
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