S4 Ep36: Brink's Heist: The Ultimate Caper

Crimes of the Centuries

Amber Hunt and Audioboom

True Crime, Documentary, Society & Culture, History

4.6 • 3.8K Ratings

🗓️ 25 November 2024

⏱️ 51 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

On January 17, 1950, a throng of men wearing superhero Halloween masks stormed into the headquarters of Brink's in Boston, Massachusetts, and made off with nearly $2.8 million. For years, the case baffled federal authorities, who spent 10 times the amount stolen working to solve the crime.

"Crimes of the Centuries" is a podcast from Grab Bag Collab exploring forgotten crimes from times past that made a mark and helped change history. You can get early and ad-free episodes on the Grab Bag Patreon page.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Some crimes are so heartbreaking or shocking that they change laws, change society, or even
0:13.2	earn the label Crime of the Century.
0:16.6	But the stories that made headlines in decades past aren't necessarily remembered today.
0:23.6	I'm Amber Hunt, a journalist and author, and in each episode of this show, I'll examine a case that's maybe lesser known today, but was huge when it happened.
0:34.6	This is Crimes of the Centuries.
0:45.3	Music This is Crimes of the Centuries. I love a good caper, and this is a story about a great caper.
0:52.0	Good evening, Mr. Mrs. North America and all the ships at sea. Let's go to press. Flash,
0:55.9	Boston. The final figures are now in on the spectacular Brinks robbery. Over $2 million taken by
1:01.2	gunman in a commando-style raid, making it the crime of the century. My sources in the FBI report
1:06.7	evidence indicating an inside job with possible links to organized crime and communist subversies.
1:12.7	Well, it was sort of organized, but not in a mob way, and no communist subversives ever showed up.
1:20.9	Still, the caper with the impressive payday is really about how one Poluka in South Boston,
1:27.2	a small-time thief for most of his life,
1:29.8	got his buddies together in 1944, and they, well, mostly it was him,
1:35.6	painstakingly cased the offices of Brinks, the armored car people, for six years,
1:42.3	before they perfected a way to steal almost $2.8 million in 1950.
1:48.7	To be precise, they took $1,218,211.211 in $29 in currency
1:56.1	and $1,557,183 in checks, money orders, and securities.
2:05.7	All of that translates to something like $37 million in today's money,
2:11.9	which is a mighty healthy hunk of change, even if you do have to share it with 10 of your friends.
2:20.6	Now, I should tell you something here before we get into the gritty details.
2:25.3	This story has two versions. One is the official FBI version. It's the one told to them by one of
	...

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