Quote:
Originally Posted by aaron4040
Saw this on another thread and thought I'd localize it -
I know Rochester has a rather storied (and some times sordid) history. Some of my favorite shows on TV are of the "true crime" variety. What are some of the famous crimes of Rochester's past? I'll get it started -
On History Channel (or Biography perhaps) there is a show called "City Confidential", hosted by actor Paul Winfield. There was an episode I saw a few months ago on Rochester, highlighting the $4mil Brinks heist, the largest armored car robbery ever up to that point, and the connection to the IRA. Fascinating stuff, although it happened before I got here. But Johnny's Irish pub was featured prominently in the episode, and I thought that was kind of cool. Were any of you here when that happened, and do you remember any of the details? Any cool / interesting stuff the show might have missed?
|
The Brinks heist was interesting. Yes, some of the money made it to N. Ireland. $500K was found in a Catholic priest's closet in NYC, in fact he was tried and convicted of aiding and abetting. The Millar(sp?) guy made it back to N. Ireland, but I seem to remember he was extradited back to the states for trial. The inside guy was a retired cop who worked part time as a guard at the Brinks facility, in fact as I remember he left a door open at the facility for the robbers. The robbers dropped him off at the old Red Fedele's Brook House out in Greece, and the guy plopped himself down on a stool at the bar and proceeded to tell the bartender and the patrons how he'd (allegedly) been kidnapped at the Brinks facility. He was convicted of helping the robbers.
The AMSA heist was the largest in U.S. history, ca. 1990 (approx. $13M). I can't recall all the names involved, but, the two main ones were Albert Ranieri, Jr., and Albert Ranieri, Sr. Junior worked at AMSA and knew the routine, there. Not sure if he was still working there when they knocked off the truck. One of the truck's guards had to have been involved.
The truck was bound for the Reserve bank in Buffalo, when the guards decided to stop for coffee at a store out in Henrietta. Someone stuck a long gun through a broken gun port on the side of the truck (one can see this was planned), and held up whomever was inside (usually there's someone in the back at all times, in addition to the driver and co-driver). The truck was driven to a dirt road not far from the initial robbery point, and thus emptied of all the money. Turned out they were all UNMARKED BILLS. Junior had to have known this.
The next day, a work van was found by the old Lincoln Ave. Kodak plant (where they made military stuff), empty in the back save for about $10K in cash. A security camera caught it on tape, but, the robbers transferred the cash so quickly to another vehicle the camera didn't get a shot of the bad guys.
Nobody was ever convicted of this crime, although Junior was tailed by the FBI for years, to the point where he got a lawyer to help him get the FBI to back off. They literally tailed him, in fact two agents rear-ended the guy one time when he on his way home from work. A few years go by, and father and son decide to open up a gun store in the city (I remember it was in the news).
A few more years go by (now it's 2000), and a mob-style hit happens on North Ave. in the town of Greece. The whole city was buzzing, as I remember. People thought the mob was alive again in Rochester. Vaccaro (can't remember his first name) was gunned down at about 2AM on his way home from work. The guy was several blocks from his house when someone pulled up beside him in another vehicle and blasted several dozen rounds into Vaccaro's. Vaccaro owned Classic Billiards along with his brother (very nice people).
Flipping, flipping, flipping, the case goes unsolved, for a while. Meanwhile, famous attorney Anthony Leonardo gets busted for helping run a cocaine ring in Rochester. Turns out Leonardo, Junior, and Vaccaro, ran the ring. They were getting coke from the Cleveland mafia. An informant in Cleveland tipped off the FBI, there, about the Rochester connections.
Leonardo, Vaccaro, and Ranieri owned the club down at the lake which is now a BBQ joint (One of the reasons why I never spent much time there when I was younger, although I went there once in '99 to say hi to a friend. I always knew it was a drug joint. Place gave me the creeps.). Raneri had a hunch that somebody within their group was a snitch, and he surmised it was Vaccaro, so he went ahead and murdered him, with Leonardo's blessing. 'Course Junior had no clue it was Leonardo who was bringing heat down on the group.
Ranieri never admitted to the AMSA heist, although he was convicted of the murder of Vaccaro.
It was rumored that Ranieri had so much cash in his house after the heist in 1990 that he was burning it in a pit in his backyard for several nights after the robbery.
I feel bad for the Vaccaro family. The brothers ran the billiards place for years, in fact I think the other brother still owns it. They used to do after-hours gambling there, until the police busted the joint back in the late 90's (that Brother Wease guy was one of the folks arrested). Kind of a fun fact I tell people. There's a large room with lots of pool tables, and a smaller back room where the serious players play (I think it's invite-only).
Birds of a feather flock together. I've got all kinds of mindless Rochester mob info. memorized, so I'll share that if the thread gets interesting. I grew up with some folks who were related to the "big players" in the mob, in fact one guy I know is a son of one of Gingello's bodyguards (the father just got out of prison last year).
Edit: I forgot to add that the largest armored car heist (last I knew) happened in Florida in the late 90's. The perp turned out to be from none other than Rochester, NY.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
