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It's supposed to be easy:
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00:00:04,126 --> 00:00:05,001
Get in... get out.
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Get rich.
Nobody gets hurt.
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00:00:08,085 --> 00:00:12,376
Each airline had
their own cargo vaults.
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00:00:12,376 --> 00:00:15,126
There's a lot of money
and a lot of valuables.
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00:00:15,251 --> 00:00:18,126
But when New York mobsters
go after the millions
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00:00:18,251 --> 00:00:21,001
in Lufthansa's cargo area...
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00:00:21,001 --> 00:00:23,001
If anybody's seen
that movie, "Goodfellas,"
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this is the way it happened.
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Nothing goes to plan.
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If anything goes wrong,
they're dead.
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00:00:29,418 --> 00:00:31,626
Like, he wanted
something to go wrong.
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00:00:31,751 --> 00:00:34,293
An inside job with
more than a few twists.
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It's shocking and violent.
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The Lufthansa heist
is definitely
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00:00:40,835 --> 00:00:43,710
one of the deadliest robberies
that's ever been committed.
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00:00:45,418 --> 00:00:46,710
It was about staying alive.
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00:00:49,085 --> 00:00:50,918
The masterminds
behind every great heist
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00:00:51,043 --> 00:00:52,710
see what most people don't...
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00:00:54,835 --> 00:00:58,085
Risking everything to pull
off the score of a lifetime.
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00:00:58,210 --> 00:01:00,751
It takes a bold plan...
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the right team...
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00:01:03,085 --> 00:01:05,835
and the skill to stay
one step ahead of the law.
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John F. Kennedy
International Airport,
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one of the busiest cargo
terminals in the world,
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and the largest in the US.
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It's December, 1978, and more
than a million tons of goods
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are moving through here,
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goods that include cash, jewels,
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you name it.
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For New York's mafia families,
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the airport is a cash cow,
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There are five main
organized crime families.
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00:02:04,585 --> 00:02:07,376
By the 1970s, they've
been occupying New York
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and operating for so long
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00:02:09,876 --> 00:02:12,543
that, in a lot of ways,
they feel invincible.
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00:02:12,668 --> 00:02:15,876
These families
operate independently,
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00:02:16,043 --> 00:02:18,085
but they also
cooperate together.
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They have their own
spheres of influence.
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The mob,
they would make money
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00:02:22,043 --> 00:02:24,043
out of the airport
in any way they could,
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00:02:24,168 --> 00:02:26,626
but mostly
they would hijack trucks.
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You would get the driver
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and literally
take his load from him.
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JFK was the king of
the hill.
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Today, there's going
to be $10 million
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worth of goods coming in.
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Next week, there's
going to be 50 million.
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So you might think that
there was a lot of robberies
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going on at the airport--
not so.
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00:02:46,668 --> 00:02:49,918
Where most thefts happened
were off-airport.
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But sometime in 1976,
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a Lufthansa cargo agent
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named Peter Gruenwald
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gets an idea.
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Why not stage
a heist right here
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inside Lufthansa's cargo area?
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00:03:05,210 --> 00:03:08,960
His only questions are:
when and how?
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00:03:09,085 --> 00:03:12,376
He thought he was a schemer
and a great planner,
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00:03:12,376 --> 00:03:15,376
and he knew
the cargo movements.
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So he thought about
this a long time.
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For the next 24 months,
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Gruenwald obsessively
looks for shipping patterns
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00:03:23,168 --> 00:03:25,376
and security flaws.
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What he sees
are dollar signs.
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00:03:29,460 --> 00:03:31,543
By the late fall of 1978,
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00:03:31,543 --> 00:03:34,793
he knows December
is the right time to strike.
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00:03:34,918 --> 00:03:37,251
December, without a doubt,
is the busiest time
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for cargo traffic
at Kennedy Airport.
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Lufthansa Cargo
would get pretty busy
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00:03:42,751 --> 00:03:44,460
during the holidays,
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especially around
the Christmas holidays.
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European banks use Lufthansa
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to ship
millions of dollars a month
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00:03:50,835 --> 00:03:53,710
in currency exchange
to banks in the US.
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00:03:53,876 --> 00:03:57,543
The airline also transports
expensive luxury goods.
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00:03:57,668 --> 00:04:00,876
People are sending gifts,
valuable gifts,
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00:04:00,876 --> 00:04:02,251
to the United States.
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00:04:02,376 --> 00:04:04,376
It could potentially
be millions
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00:04:04,501 --> 00:04:06,126
and millions of dollars.
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00:04:06,251 --> 00:04:08,543
It's the perfect target.
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00:04:10,710 --> 00:04:14,168
And it's in
the perfect location.
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Lufthansa's cargo
is held in building 261,
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the last warehouse inside the
airport's secure perimeter.
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The Lufthansa building
was huge.
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00:04:24,751 --> 00:04:28,376
It was about 180,000
square feet.
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It had three floors,
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and the third floor was
where all the offices were,
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and the lunchroom was there.
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The main floor
was all the cargo area.
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00:04:38,585 --> 00:04:41,210
And there was
the high value room.
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At Lufthansa, we call
the vault the val room.
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00:04:45,918 --> 00:04:49,668
Each airline had
their own cargo vaults,
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00:04:49,668 --> 00:04:52,793
warehouses where they
put in the high value,
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00:04:52,918 --> 00:05:00,001
like currency and jewelry
and maybe some high-value art.
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00:05:00,501 --> 00:05:02,251
The most valuable shipments
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00:05:02,376 --> 00:05:05,376
are held in Lufthansa's
high-value room
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00:05:05,376 --> 00:05:08,043
until they can be picked up
by armored cars.
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00:05:10,418 --> 00:05:14,210
Brinks would take those
things to a designated bank
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00:05:14,335 --> 00:05:16,918
that the airline
would have deposited.
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00:05:17,043 --> 00:05:19,585
And jewelry, a lot of times,
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00:05:19,710 --> 00:05:23,543
would go into the jewelry
center in Manhattan.
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00:05:23,668 --> 00:05:28,126
The high-value room at
the Lufthansa Cargo hangar
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was actually two rooms that
were divided by a steel door.
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00:05:32,251 --> 00:05:34,460
When you went
into the outer door,
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you had to lock it behind you
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before you could
open the inner door.
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If you didn't,
you would set off an alarm
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00:05:43,668 --> 00:05:45,210
again at the Port Authority.
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00:05:45,376 --> 00:05:47,168
And the inner room is where
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they had all of
the high-value items--
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cash, jewels.
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And so you needed to get
into that main room there
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in order to pull off the heist.
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00:05:56,168 --> 00:05:59,460
And there are
more challenges.
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00:05:59,585 --> 00:06:01,376
Even if Gruenwald
hits the warehouse
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00:06:01,376 --> 00:06:03,251
during the night shift,
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00:06:03,376 --> 00:06:05,418
he needs to subdue
seven workers.
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00:06:05,543 --> 00:06:07,085
Once they're under control,
he can
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00:06:07,210 --> 00:06:08,960
use the supervisor's keys to
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00:06:09,085 --> 00:06:10,918
get into the high-val room.
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00:06:11,085 --> 00:06:14,668
There's just one problem,
Gruenwald has a plan.
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00:06:14,793 --> 00:06:17,085
What he doesn't have
is a team.
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00:06:17,210 --> 00:06:21,210
So he turns to a colleague
with a known gambling problem
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00:06:21,210 --> 00:06:25,126
and ties to the mob--
Louis Werner.
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00:06:26,793 --> 00:06:31,418
I heard from guys at work,
Louis liked the gamble,
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00:06:31,585 --> 00:06:34,710
and he was into
some money to the mob.
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00:06:34,710 --> 00:06:37,418
Louis Werner
owes about $6,000
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00:06:37,543 --> 00:06:40,251
in gambling debts,
which is about $26,000
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00:06:40,418 --> 00:06:41,668
in today's money.
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00:06:41,668 --> 00:06:44,376
So he was desperate
to pay off that debt.
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00:06:44,376 --> 00:06:47,376
You don't want to
be in debt to the mob
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00:06:47,376 --> 00:06:50,543
because they'll ask you
once for the money.
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00:06:50,710 --> 00:06:52,543
And if you don't have it
the second time
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00:06:52,668 --> 00:06:53,960
they'll come back
and break your legs.
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00:06:55,793 --> 00:06:58,751
A lot of guys like this guy
Werner want to get involved
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00:06:58,918 --> 00:07:01,543
with the mob and want to
bring something to the mob
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00:07:01,668 --> 00:07:03,501
to get into their good graces.
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00:07:03,626 --> 00:07:06,418
Once a civilian brings
something to the mob,
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00:07:06,543 --> 00:07:07,876
there's no turning back.
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00:07:07,876 --> 00:07:11,126
Werner brings Grunwald's
plan to his bookie,
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00:07:11,251 --> 00:07:15,168
and it eventually makes its
way to a notorious mobster,
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00:07:15,168 --> 00:07:17,043
Jimmy Burke.
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00:07:17,210 --> 00:07:20,668
He's a member of New York's
Lucchese crime family,
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00:07:20,793 --> 00:07:23,626
and the guy played by Robert
De Niro in "Goodfellas."
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00:07:23,751 --> 00:07:25,460
Jimmy Burke
was an associate
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00:07:25,585 --> 00:07:27,001
for the Lucchese family.
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00:07:27,001 --> 00:07:30,043
Jimmy was more like a captain,
the status of captain,
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00:07:30,043 --> 00:07:31,376
because he had his own crew,
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00:07:31,501 --> 00:07:33,793
even though
he was an associate.
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00:07:33,918 --> 00:07:36,876
Jimmy Burke has a nickname,
it's "Jimmy, the Gent,"
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00:07:37,043 --> 00:07:38,710
and he gets
this nickname because
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00:07:38,835 --> 00:07:42,626
of this little habit
of tipping drivers $50
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whenever he hijacks
their trucks.
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Either you take the tip and
your truck gets hijacked,
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00:07:47,543 --> 00:07:52,376
or you get killed and
your truck gets hijacked.
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00:07:52,376 --> 00:07:54,543
Burke spies an opportunity
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and sends a trusted lieutenant
named Joe Buddha
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00:07:58,710 --> 00:08:00,293
to check out Werner.
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00:08:03,876 --> 00:08:06,710
Werner, he really does feel
that this is his only way out
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00:08:06,835 --> 00:08:09,460
of his gambling debts,
and so he meets with Joe Buddha
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as sort of a gamble.
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00:08:12,001 --> 00:08:15,710
When Lou Werner met up
with Joe Buddha,
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he put his life on the line.
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Because if things
didn't go right,
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00:08:20,710 --> 00:08:23,210
or they suspected him
of being an informant,
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00:08:23,335 --> 00:08:25,168
he was getting killed.
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00:08:27,543 --> 00:08:29,251
But he's a gambler.
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He's willing to take
that shot,
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00:08:30,543 --> 00:08:31,918
willing to take that bet.
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Werner gives Buddha
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00:08:37,710 --> 00:08:39,335
essentially everything that he has.
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00:08:41,543 --> 00:08:43,710
So that's the site plan,
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00:08:43,835 --> 00:08:46,543
that's the list
of employees' names,
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00:08:46,668 --> 00:08:49,043
the security protocol
for the high-value room.
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00:08:50,876 --> 00:08:54,251
But Werner is too
scared to really make
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00:08:54,376 --> 00:08:56,501
the conditions of this deal.
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00:08:56,501 --> 00:08:57,960
And so the mob
sort of implies, yeah,
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00:08:58,085 --> 00:08:59,543
you're going
to get a cut of this,
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00:08:59,668 --> 00:09:02,668
but Werner doesn't leave
these meetings knowing exactly
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00:09:02,793 --> 00:09:04,418
what he's going to get.
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00:09:04,543 --> 00:09:06,001
There's always
a chance if you're
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00:09:06,126 --> 00:09:08,043
coming to a crew
like the Burke crew
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00:09:08,043 --> 00:09:10,751
and you are telling them
how to steal $1 million
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00:09:10,876 --> 00:09:13,876
that they will kill you and
take you out of the equation
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00:09:14,001 --> 00:09:16,251
to make a million dollars
on their own.
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00:09:16,376 --> 00:09:17,960
A civilian who goes
to the mob
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00:09:18,085 --> 00:09:19,460
never thinks
about the end game,
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00:09:19,585 --> 00:09:21,626
and it's never
gonna go good for them.
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00:09:21,751 --> 00:09:24,043
With a plan
that's a roadmap to riches,
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00:09:24,168 --> 00:09:27,168
Jimmy the Gent
starts building his team.
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00:09:27,293 --> 00:09:30,126
Some of New York's
most vicious made men
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00:09:30,251 --> 00:09:31,626
will be part of it.
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00:09:40,210 --> 00:09:43,501
It's just after
Thanksgiving, 1978,
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00:09:43,501 --> 00:09:45,043
and mobster Jimmy the Gent
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00:09:45,168 --> 00:09:47,543
is holding a meeting
in Queens.
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00:09:47,543 --> 00:09:49,210
He's gathered
the most trusted members
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00:09:49,376 --> 00:09:51,585
of his crew to brief
them on what could be
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00:09:51,751 --> 00:09:52,876
the score of a lifetime.
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00:09:58,501 --> 00:10:02,918
The first person invited
onto the job: Vinny Asaro,
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00:10:03,085 --> 00:10:05,085
not part of Jimmy's
usual crew.
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00:10:05,251 --> 00:10:07,668
Jimmy was with the
Lucchese crime family,
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00:10:07,668 --> 00:10:10,918
and Vinny was
with the Bonannos.
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00:10:11,085 --> 00:10:13,043
There was no
question whatsoever
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00:10:13,043 --> 00:10:15,210
that Jimmy Burke
would bring Vinny Asaro
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00:10:15,376 --> 00:10:17,126
onto the Lufthansa heist.
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00:10:17,251 --> 00:10:20,751
So that each of
the two crime families can,
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00:10:20,918 --> 00:10:23,126
in Burke's words, get a taste,
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00:10:23,251 --> 00:10:27,876
Vinny recruits his cousin,
Gaspare "Gary" Valenti.
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00:10:28,001 --> 00:10:31,210
Gary's an experienced
hijacker, and a big earner
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00:10:31,376 --> 00:10:32,543
for the Bonannos.
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00:10:32,710 --> 00:10:34,543
My cousin Vinny
came to me, he says,
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00:10:34,668 --> 00:10:36,793
"We got a big score
coming down."
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00:10:36,918 --> 00:10:40,626
He says Jimmy personally
wants me to invite you
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00:10:40,751 --> 00:10:42,793
to be part of the crew.
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00:10:42,918 --> 00:10:44,918
I says, okay, you know?
I'm honored.
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00:10:45,085 --> 00:10:47,085
In that life, it was an honor.
218
00:10:47,251 --> 00:10:49,043
I says okay.
219
00:10:49,043 --> 00:10:51,751
This is probably
$1 million or $2 million.
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00:10:53,085 --> 00:10:55,043
I said wow.
221
00:10:56,460 --> 00:10:58,751
To head the team, Burke
picks his right hand man,
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00:10:58,876 --> 00:11:02,293
Tommy DeSimone,
immortalized by Joe Pesci
223
00:11:02,418 --> 00:11:04,751
in "Goodfellas."
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00:11:04,918 --> 00:11:08,001
Tommy's a made man,
and a guy who scares even
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00:11:08,126 --> 00:11:10,001
the most hardened mobsters.
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00:11:12,085 --> 00:11:14,543
The hairs just stood up
on the back of my neck.
227
00:11:14,668 --> 00:11:16,793
Tommy was "Two Gun" Tommy.
228
00:11:16,918 --> 00:11:18,918
He always carried two pistols.
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00:11:19,043 --> 00:11:20,668
He was just a wild guy.
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00:11:20,668 --> 00:11:24,210
He was about 6'3," 6'4,"
good-looking guy.
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00:11:24,210 --> 00:11:27,751
If anybody's seen
that movie "Goodfellas,"
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00:11:27,918 --> 00:11:30,626
he was an angel in that
movie compared to what
233
00:11:30,751 --> 00:11:32,210
his real life was about.
234
00:11:33,668 --> 00:11:36,001
Tommy was
a volatile individual.
235
00:11:36,001 --> 00:11:39,585
He was quick to start a fight
and would not hesitate
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00:11:39,710 --> 00:11:42,626
to kill you if he needed to.
237
00:11:42,751 --> 00:11:46,376
Jimmy showed us,
this is Lufthansa.
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00:11:46,501 --> 00:11:48,501
This is the score of scores.
239
00:11:51,210 --> 00:11:53,543
This should be
a million at least.
240
00:11:56,168 --> 00:11:58,876
Closer to $2 million in cash.
241
00:11:58,876 --> 00:12:02,376
Jimmy Burke was the real
boss behind the robbery
242
00:12:02,543 --> 00:12:06,210
at Lufthansa, knowing how
many employees were there,
243
00:12:06,335 --> 00:12:09,085
how many handcuffs
would be needed,
244
00:12:09,210 --> 00:12:13,210
how many individuals he
needed to conduct a robbery.
245
00:12:13,210 --> 00:12:15,085
Jimmy put everything together.
246
00:12:17,626 --> 00:12:19,293
No doubt about that.
247
00:12:21,501 --> 00:12:25,251
Jimmy's version of the
plan seemed simple on paper.
248
00:12:25,418 --> 00:12:28,751
The crew would arrive at
Lufthansa at exactly 3:00 a.m.
249
00:12:28,876 --> 00:12:31,251
during the night shifts'
meal break.
250
00:12:31,418 --> 00:12:34,876
The van will drop off six men
at the front entrance
251
00:12:34,876 --> 00:12:37,043
then continue to the back
of the building
252
00:12:37,168 --> 00:12:40,001
and wait for a signal
that the robbers inside
253
00:12:40,001 --> 00:12:42,543
have secured
the third floor lunchroom.
254
00:12:42,710 --> 00:12:44,543
That's where all but one
of the employees
255
00:12:44,668 --> 00:12:46,043
should be gathered.
256
00:12:52,210 --> 00:12:54,210
That one employee?
257
00:12:54,335 --> 00:12:57,543
He's the warehouse supervisor,
and he's key to the heist
258
00:12:57,710 --> 00:13:01,626
because he literally holds the
keys to the high-val room.
259
00:13:01,751 --> 00:13:05,876
To pull off that plan, the team
has to lure him of his office
260
00:13:06,043 --> 00:13:08,835
and prevent him from tripping
the silent alarm.
261
00:13:10,335 --> 00:13:11,876
Hmph.
262
00:13:14,376 --> 00:13:17,876
Our warehouse supervisor
was Rudy Eirich.
263
00:13:18,001 --> 00:13:21,876
He needed two keys in
order to open the doors.
264
00:13:22,043 --> 00:13:25,751
He needed both keys
to turn simultaneously
265
00:13:25,918 --> 00:13:30,335
to unlock the door,
because if it didn't,
266
00:13:30,335 --> 00:13:32,751
an alarm would go off
at the Port Authority.
267
00:13:38,710 --> 00:13:40,210
The plan is set.
268
00:13:40,335 --> 00:13:43,418
Insider Louis Werner
will tip off the heist team
269
00:13:43,543 --> 00:13:45,543
when the val room is full.
270
00:13:45,543 --> 00:13:48,751
He leaves original mastermind
Peter Gruenwald in the dark.
271
00:13:48,876 --> 00:13:52,043
Werner never tells
the mob about Gruenwald,
272
00:13:52,168 --> 00:13:54,585
and he never tells
his co-worker,
273
00:13:54,751 --> 00:13:56,835
who invested
two years in planning,
274
00:13:56,960 --> 00:13:58,501
what's about to go down.
275
00:13:58,626 --> 00:14:01,793
Werner thinks that if he cuts
Gruenwald out of the heist,
276
00:14:01,918 --> 00:14:03,293
that he's going to
make more money,
277
00:14:03,418 --> 00:14:06,043
and this is important to him
because of his gambling debts.
278
00:14:06,210 --> 00:14:08,751
Gruenwald doesn't really
realize what's happening.
279
00:14:08,918 --> 00:14:10,543
He thinks that
he's still in on this,
280
00:14:10,668 --> 00:14:14,293
and he thinks that Werner's
just biding his time
281
00:14:14,418 --> 00:14:17,501
to come up with a plan.
282
00:14:17,501 --> 00:14:20,918
December 8, 1978,
283
00:14:21,085 --> 00:14:23,293
Werner learns
that a Lufthansa flight
284
00:14:23,418 --> 00:14:25,876
just landed with
millions in cash
285
00:14:26,001 --> 00:14:28,043
on board from overseas banks.
286
00:14:28,043 --> 00:14:30,835
Whenever we had
valuable cargo coming in
287
00:14:30,960 --> 00:14:35,210
on an inbound flight,
Brinks was notified
288
00:14:35,335 --> 00:14:39,376
to pick up the valuable cargo.
289
00:14:39,376 --> 00:14:42,210
Brinks would basically
pick up money,
290
00:14:42,335 --> 00:14:45,835
and they would take it
to the bank.
291
00:14:45,835 --> 00:14:50,418
And back in 1978,
the banks closed at 3:00.
292
00:14:50,543 --> 00:14:55,210
So if it got too late, Brinks
was not taking the money.
293
00:14:55,335 --> 00:14:58,335
They left it there
at our val room.
294
00:15:00,501 --> 00:15:02,835
If Werner can prevent
the Brinks armored truck
295
00:15:02,960 --> 00:15:05,876
from making the pickup,
millions in cash
296
00:15:06,001 --> 00:15:08,335
will spend the weekend
in the high-value room.
297
00:15:08,460 --> 00:15:10,710
When the val shipment
came in,
298
00:15:10,835 --> 00:15:13,001
Louis delayed the paperwork.
299
00:15:13,001 --> 00:15:14,793
Brinks said, no,
banks are closed
300
00:15:14,918 --> 00:15:16,501
and we're not taking
the money.
301
00:15:16,626 --> 00:15:18,001
See, this is the key.
302
00:15:18,001 --> 00:15:21,043
Brinks couldn't
make that pickup.
303
00:15:21,168 --> 00:15:23,585
That meant all
that cash had to sit
304
00:15:23,751 --> 00:15:28,376
in the vault over the weekend,
and it was a lot of money.
305
00:15:33,876 --> 00:15:35,876
It's almost too
good to be true.
306
00:15:36,043 --> 00:15:38,626
So Werner lets the team know
307
00:15:38,751 --> 00:15:42,876
there's a ripe opportunity
if they can move fast.
308
00:15:43,043 --> 00:15:45,460
We already had the
supplies, the ski masks,
309
00:15:45,585 --> 00:15:47,751
the cuffs, the gloves.
310
00:15:47,918 --> 00:15:49,793
Everybody had guns.
311
00:15:49,918 --> 00:15:51,335
We didn't have to
worry about that.
312
00:15:51,335 --> 00:15:53,710
Jimmy's crew has
everything they need,
313
00:15:53,835 --> 00:15:56,001
except for the perfect vehicle.
314
00:15:56,126 --> 00:15:58,418
They need to steal one ASAP.
315
00:15:58,585 --> 00:16:01,710
Jimmy tells the guys
get a van big enough
316
00:16:01,835 --> 00:16:04,501
to hold eight or ten guys.
317
00:16:04,626 --> 00:16:07,001
Because they're planning
the heist to be at nighttime,
318
00:16:07,001 --> 00:16:09,668
they would want a black van
to blend in better.
319
00:16:09,668 --> 00:16:12,585
It's difficult to come up
with the right vehicle.
320
00:16:12,751 --> 00:16:14,751
They spent the whole weekend
321
00:16:14,918 --> 00:16:17,960
looking for a black van
to steal.
322
00:16:19,376 --> 00:16:23,501
Joe Buddha finally finds
the right van for the job,
323
00:16:23,626 --> 00:16:27,918
just as another huge cargo
shipment arrives at Lufthansa.
324
00:16:28,085 --> 00:16:31,085
It should be good news,
but there's a catch.
325
00:16:31,210 --> 00:16:34,918
More cash also means
additional personnel on site,
326
00:16:35,085 --> 00:16:37,043
something the heist team
doesn't know about.
327
00:16:37,168 --> 00:16:39,210
Because we had
an extra freighter,
328
00:16:39,210 --> 00:16:41,001
they called in people
on overtime.
329
00:16:41,001 --> 00:16:46,960
That night, December 11th, we
had three more guys scheduled.
330
00:16:47,085 --> 00:16:49,668
But if you weren't
working that day,
331
00:16:49,668 --> 00:16:51,918
you didn't know about
the extra section,
332
00:16:52,043 --> 00:16:53,418
you would not know
there was extra people
333
00:16:53,585 --> 00:16:55,543
called in on overtime.
334
00:16:56,501 --> 00:16:59,126
Unaware of the extra
workers, the heist team
335
00:16:59,251 --> 00:17:01,876
meets to review plans.
336
00:17:02,043 --> 00:17:03,585
It's finally go time.
337
00:17:03,710 --> 00:17:07,585
That night of the heist,
we meet up at Jimmy's.
338
00:17:07,751 --> 00:17:08,876
Everybody shows up.
339
00:17:11,710 --> 00:17:14,376
Everybody checked their guns,
checked their gloves,
340
00:17:14,501 --> 00:17:17,835
checked the cuffs,
ski mask, everything.
341
00:17:17,960 --> 00:17:21,126
Jimmy said, "Listen, guys,
you're the best there are.
342
00:17:21,251 --> 00:17:23,710
"There's nobody
better than you guys.
343
00:17:23,710 --> 00:17:25,543
"That's why I picked you.
344
00:17:25,668 --> 00:17:27,918
"You guys are very capable
of pulling this off.
345
00:17:28,085 --> 00:17:29,626
There's no doubt in my mind."
346
00:17:29,751 --> 00:17:32,918
The crew heads out in the
van, followed by a crash car,
347
00:17:33,085 --> 00:17:34,710
a vehicle ready and waiting
348
00:17:34,835 --> 00:17:38,876
to crash into Port Authority
police vehicles if necessary.
349
00:17:39,001 --> 00:17:41,126
They were parked there
at a gas station
350
00:17:41,251 --> 00:17:43,543
about two miles
away from the airport.
351
00:17:43,710 --> 00:17:46,418
They had their guns outside
the car behind the wheels
352
00:17:46,543 --> 00:17:48,168
in case the cops came,
you know,
353
00:17:48,168 --> 00:17:50,335
"What are you doing here?"
whatever.
354
00:17:50,460 --> 00:17:53,876
So they would stash the guns
on the inside of the wheel.
355
00:17:54,001 --> 00:17:56,210
At 3:00 a.m.,
the van pulls up
356
00:17:56,376 --> 00:17:58,210
to the unrestricted
front entrance
357
00:17:58,335 --> 00:18:02,001
of Lufthansa Building 261.
358
00:18:02,001 --> 00:18:05,001
All but two of the
crew exit the van.
359
00:18:05,001 --> 00:18:06,710
The heist begins now.
360
00:18:11,376 --> 00:18:14,251
To get into the building,
you needed nothing.
361
00:18:14,418 --> 00:18:16,918
We had no alarms
and no security guard.
362
00:18:20,168 --> 00:18:22,418
At that time at
Lufthansa Cargo,
363
00:18:22,585 --> 00:18:26,210
we never expected
a robbery like this.
364
00:18:26,210 --> 00:18:28,960
We had no idea
that the biggest
365
00:18:29,085 --> 00:18:34,501
robbery in airline history was
about to happen that night.
366
00:18:40,251 --> 00:18:44,085
Just after 3:00 a.m.
on December 11, 1978,
367
00:18:44,210 --> 00:18:46,501
Tommy DeSimone and crew
368
00:18:46,626 --> 00:18:50,001
storm into the Lufthansa
Cargo Building 261.
369
00:18:50,001 --> 00:18:52,335
They've timed their
entry to coincide
370
00:18:52,460 --> 00:18:54,168
with an employee meal break.
371
00:18:54,168 --> 00:18:57,293
When the inside team
came in to the lunchroom,
372
00:18:57,418 --> 00:18:59,210
most of the people,
from what we understand,
373
00:18:59,376 --> 00:19:03,126
after speaking to them,
they were, my words,
374
00:19:03,251 --> 00:19:04,668
"pissing in their pants."
375
00:19:04,668 --> 00:19:07,085
They were very, very
scared because these guys
376
00:19:07,210 --> 00:19:09,251
are flashing guns out there.
377
00:19:09,376 --> 00:19:11,293
It was upstairs,
the lunchroom.
378
00:19:11,418 --> 00:19:13,876
These guys come in.
Tommy was a bad dude.
379
00:19:14,043 --> 00:19:15,293
He was homicidal.
380
00:19:15,418 --> 00:19:18,668
He would kill you
without blinking an eye.
381
00:19:18,668 --> 00:19:21,168
No reason. Just kill you.
382
00:19:21,168 --> 00:19:24,460
If anything goes wrong,
they're dead.
383
00:19:24,585 --> 00:19:27,293
All of the men that are
working that evening--
384
00:19:27,418 --> 00:19:31,376
none of them expected
that this was going to happen.
385
00:19:31,501 --> 00:19:34,293
This was sudden,
and it's terrifying.
386
00:19:34,418 --> 00:19:37,626
I look at life, when
your number's up, it's up,
387
00:19:37,751 --> 00:19:39,376
and there's nothing
you can do about it.
388
00:19:39,543 --> 00:19:41,710
For some of the guys,
in fact, it might have
389
00:19:41,710 --> 00:19:44,751
been the most terrifying
night of their life.
390
00:19:44,876 --> 00:19:48,668
Meanwhile, the van drives
to the side of the building,
391
00:19:48,793 --> 00:19:51,876
but Gary Valenti deals with
the padlocked gate
392
00:19:52,001 --> 00:19:55,168
blocking access
to Lufthansa's loading dock.
393
00:19:57,585 --> 00:20:01,126
I was out of a van
with bolt-cutters.
394
00:20:01,251 --> 00:20:02,960
I didn't cut the lock.
395
00:20:03,085 --> 00:20:06,876
I was too smart for that,
because security would come
396
00:20:06,876 --> 00:20:08,710
around and check the lock.
397
00:20:08,876 --> 00:20:11,960
So I cut the link on
a chain and un-linked it.
398
00:20:12,085 --> 00:20:14,668
And then when Frankie
pulled in with the van...
399
00:20:17,168 --> 00:20:20,043
I just hooked the link back up.
400
00:20:20,168 --> 00:20:23,335
Valenti is right
to be cautious.
401
00:20:23,335 --> 00:20:28,085
Kennedy is a 24-hour by 7 airport.
402
00:20:28,210 --> 00:20:30,376
Planes come in late,
late at night.
403
00:20:30,501 --> 00:20:34,043
They don't stop like at
midnight and shut down.
404
00:20:36,460 --> 00:20:38,835
So that's why we had a large
group of police officers
405
00:20:38,960 --> 00:20:40,293
always patrolling.
406
00:20:40,418 --> 00:20:43,460
We had about 60
on the midnight shift.
407
00:20:43,585 --> 00:20:47,418
At that time of night, there
should have been no one back
408
00:20:47,543 --> 00:20:51,293
behind the building unless
they were Port Authority people
409
00:20:51,418 --> 00:20:53,418
or Lufthansa employees.
410
00:20:53,543 --> 00:20:56,043
There should not have
been anybody there.
411
00:20:58,501 --> 00:21:00,876
Back in the break room,
Tommy DeSimone
412
00:21:01,043 --> 00:21:04,126
checks to ensure
he secured all the employees
413
00:21:04,251 --> 00:21:06,043
listed by Louis Werner.
414
00:21:06,210 --> 00:21:10,210
They rounded up all the
employees into the lunchroom.
415
00:21:10,335 --> 00:21:11,876
They handcuffed them,
and they were
416
00:21:12,043 --> 00:21:13,543
told to put their heads down.
417
00:21:13,668 --> 00:21:17,251
We were told over
and over again,
418
00:21:17,418 --> 00:21:20,126
do as we're told, and nobody
was going to get hurt.
419
00:21:21,668 --> 00:21:24,543
They asked for everybody's
wallet and car keys,
420
00:21:24,668 --> 00:21:26,668
and they said this way
we know where you are.
421
00:21:26,793 --> 00:21:28,376
If you say anything,
we know where you live.
422
00:21:28,501 --> 00:21:31,335
If you threaten a person,
that person
423
00:21:31,460 --> 00:21:33,376
may or may not try to be
a hero.
424
00:21:33,501 --> 00:21:35,210
But when you start
threatening their family,
425
00:21:35,210 --> 00:21:37,668
they think twice.
426
00:21:37,793 --> 00:21:39,876
And these guys
weren't the brainiest guys,
427
00:21:40,001 --> 00:21:42,626
but they knew how to
threaten people's families.
428
00:21:42,751 --> 00:21:45,210
They go to the wife,
they go to the children,
429
00:21:45,335 --> 00:21:47,960
and mothers and fathers.
430
00:21:48,085 --> 00:21:50,418
They put that threat
to them, and nobody,
431
00:21:50,543 --> 00:21:52,585
nobody wanted to do anything.
432
00:21:52,710 --> 00:21:54,626
They just wanted them to
get the hell out of there.
433
00:21:56,210 --> 00:21:59,543
Even the heist team wants
to get the hell out of there,
434
00:21:59,543 --> 00:22:02,835
but there are two men missing
from the list of employees.
435
00:22:02,960 --> 00:22:08,626
Back outside, the guys in the
van are growing concerned.
436
00:22:08,751 --> 00:22:12,835
By now, they expected crew to
have locked down the employees
437
00:22:12,835 --> 00:22:14,543
and open the cargo door.
438
00:22:14,668 --> 00:22:16,335
But we're sitting in a van.
439
00:22:16,335 --> 00:22:19,210
We took off the mask
because they see two guys
440
00:22:19,210 --> 00:22:21,126
in a van with ski masks on--
441
00:22:21,251 --> 00:22:23,626
something's wrong, you know?
442
00:22:31,335 --> 00:22:33,376
Sitting in the van,
I saw a truck
443
00:22:33,543 --> 00:22:36,335
headed towards the cargo area.
444
00:22:39,585 --> 00:22:42,668
One of the guys working
overtime was Kerry Whalen.
445
00:22:44,751 --> 00:22:48,876
He was doing transfers,
taking cargo from Lufthansa
446
00:22:49,001 --> 00:22:50,335
to the other airlines.
447
00:22:52,043 --> 00:22:55,668
He must have seen the van
out at the back door.
448
00:22:55,668 --> 00:22:57,668
Kerry approaches
the cargo bay door
449
00:22:57,793 --> 00:22:59,876
with his eyes on the van.
450
00:23:00,001 --> 00:23:03,251
When he spots the
unfamiliar faces inside,
451
00:23:03,418 --> 00:23:05,626
he panics and starts to run.
452
00:23:05,751 --> 00:23:08,168
And if he makes it
from here to there,
453
00:23:08,293 --> 00:23:10,210
it's not just the heist
that's in danger.
454
00:23:10,335 --> 00:23:12,043
Tommy "Two Guns"
up in the break room
455
00:23:12,168 --> 00:23:17,001
is volatile and violent, and he
got his nickname for a reason.
456
00:23:18,668 --> 00:23:22,501
When I seen the guy walking
towards me, he sees me,
457
00:23:22,501 --> 00:23:24,043
and I know he made me.
458
00:23:24,168 --> 00:23:26,168
I said he can't get away.
459
00:23:26,168 --> 00:23:26,501
'Cause he gets away,
460
00:23:26,626 --> 00:23:28,376
my guys in there
are going to get caught.
461
00:23:28,501 --> 00:23:30,001
They're trapped.
462
00:23:30,001 --> 00:23:33,960
I said this guy has got to be
taken, one way or the other.
463
00:23:38,918 --> 00:23:40,710
Less than half an hour
into the heist,
464
00:23:40,876 --> 00:23:43,710
Gary Valenti
and van driver Frankie Burke
465
00:23:43,835 --> 00:23:47,543
are caught off guard by the
arrival of an extra employee.
466
00:23:47,668 --> 00:23:53,001
I jumped out and ran up to
him, and I says, "Don't move.
467
00:23:53,126 --> 00:23:54,335
Nobody's looking to hurt you."
468
00:23:54,460 --> 00:23:56,126
And he starts to
run and holler.
469
00:23:58,585 --> 00:24:00,126
So I hit him in the head
with the pistol,
470
00:24:00,251 --> 00:24:03,501
split his head open,
and he fell to the ground.
471
00:24:03,626 --> 00:24:06,751
Frankie stuck his pistol
in his eye and says,
472
00:24:06,876 --> 00:24:09,210
"Don't move or I'll
blow your eye out.
473
00:24:09,376 --> 00:24:10,543
Now just get up."
474
00:24:10,543 --> 00:24:12,876
We cuffed him,
and put him in the van.
475
00:24:13,043 --> 00:24:16,668
My crew went to lunch and
I was there working because
476
00:24:16,793 --> 00:24:19,876
I was trying to get
everything caught up,
477
00:24:20,043 --> 00:24:23,335
and I heard a
holler at the back,
478
00:24:23,335 --> 00:24:26,751
and that's when I left
my desk to walk over
479
00:24:26,918 --> 00:24:28,418
to see what the noise was.
480
00:24:31,335 --> 00:24:34,543
So I open the outer
walkthrough door.
481
00:24:34,668 --> 00:24:38,460
This other guy
Ralph comes out...
482
00:24:38,585 --> 00:24:40,543
because he heard the screams.
483
00:24:40,668 --> 00:24:42,543
There's a van back there,
and somebody's
484
00:24:42,543 --> 00:24:44,543
standing outside the van.
485
00:24:44,668 --> 00:24:46,876
I guess he heard the
door open, and he saw me,
486
00:24:47,043 --> 00:24:48,710
and I asked him if
I could help him.
487
00:24:48,835 --> 00:24:52,335
And he said, yes,
and stuck a gun in my face.
488
00:24:52,335 --> 00:24:54,043
I put the gun to him.
489
00:24:54,043 --> 00:24:57,126
I said, "Look, I'm not
looking for trouble.
490
00:24:57,251 --> 00:25:00,251
Just follow me to the van.
Get in the van and be quiet."
491
00:25:00,418 --> 00:25:03,251
And he accommodated,
no problem.
492
00:25:03,376 --> 00:25:04,876
And so, we had two of them.
493
00:25:07,085 --> 00:25:09,960
I got in the van, and
then I was kind of worried
494
00:25:10,085 --> 00:25:13,210
because I saw the guy
that stuck the gun
495
00:25:13,376 --> 00:25:15,543
in my face with no mask on.
496
00:25:17,585 --> 00:25:19,376
The only thing that
came to my mind
497
00:25:19,543 --> 00:25:21,043
is that if they're
going to shoot me,
498
00:25:21,168 --> 00:25:25,210
I hope it's fast, and worried
about my wife and kids.
499
00:25:28,751 --> 00:25:29,876
Then, Joe Buddha come out.
500
00:25:29,876 --> 00:25:33,168
He says, "We can't find
two guys."
501
00:25:33,168 --> 00:25:35,751
I said, "Look in my van."
502
00:25:35,876 --> 00:25:37,210
Somebody hollered out.
503
00:25:37,335 --> 00:25:38,543
We're looking for
this guy Ralph.
504
00:25:38,668 --> 00:25:39,835
We got everybody.
505
00:25:39,960 --> 00:25:41,543
We're looking for
this guy Ralph.
506
00:25:41,710 --> 00:25:43,460
And then the guy that
was outside the van
507
00:25:43,585 --> 00:25:45,210
that I saw said,
is one of you Ralph?
508
00:25:45,335 --> 00:25:46,960
And I said, yes, me.
509
00:25:50,418 --> 00:25:54,543
They got me out of the van
to come in and open the door.
510
00:25:57,668 --> 00:25:59,876
Once the cargo
bay door opens,
511
00:25:59,876 --> 00:26:04,168
the van pulls into
the warehouse.
512
00:26:04,168 --> 00:26:07,626
They led me through
the warehouse with Kerry
513
00:26:07,751 --> 00:26:10,126
with a gun at my
back up the stairs.
514
00:26:13,710 --> 00:26:16,210
Things are not
going as planned.
515
00:26:16,376 --> 00:26:18,626
There are too many employees,
and they're not all
516
00:26:18,751 --> 00:26:20,710
where Werner said
they would be.
517
00:26:20,710 --> 00:26:24,501
Potentially outnumbered now,
the crew needs to reassert
518
00:26:24,501 --> 00:26:26,126
control of the situation.
519
00:26:29,418 --> 00:26:32,710
In the lunchroom, I could
see all the rest of the crew
520
00:26:32,835 --> 00:26:35,210
laying face down on the floor.
521
00:26:35,376 --> 00:26:38,001
I grabbed Kerry, and they
said what happened to him?
522
00:26:38,001 --> 00:26:40,710
I said, well, I says,
he wanted to be a tough guy.
523
00:26:40,835 --> 00:26:45,960
One of the guys that hit
Kerry outside was straddled
524
00:26:46,085 --> 00:26:48,960
over him and hit him again,
and said,
525
00:26:49,085 --> 00:26:52,210
"This guy tried to get away
when I told him not to."
526
00:26:52,376 --> 00:26:55,751
I said, hey guys, take
a look at your buddy here.
527
00:26:55,918 --> 00:26:57,251
It could happen to you.
528
00:26:57,376 --> 00:27:01,501
Nobody wants to hurt you.
You're going to hurt yourself.
529
00:27:01,501 --> 00:27:04,918
And I heard somebody say we
don't have enough handcuffs.
530
00:27:05,085 --> 00:27:08,960
So somebody else said
use rope and tie them up.
531
00:27:09,085 --> 00:27:12,210
And they tied me and
Kerry together with rope.
532
00:27:12,335 --> 00:27:15,210
The cargo workers
may be accounted for,
533
00:27:15,376 --> 00:27:16,876
but phase two is trickier.
534
00:27:17,001 --> 00:27:19,960
They need to coax the
supervisor out of his office
535
00:27:20,085 --> 00:27:23,960
and keep him from pressing the
Port Authority panic button.
536
00:27:24,085 --> 00:27:27,293
Doing that hinges on the
questionable people skills
537
00:27:27,418 --> 00:27:29,376
of Tommy
"Two Gun" DeSimone,
538
00:27:29,543 --> 00:27:31,793
a man not known
for his patience.
539
00:27:31,918 --> 00:27:35,001
Tricking the supervisor
to leave his enclosed office
540
00:27:35,126 --> 00:27:39,168
was a critical part to
making the heist successful.
541
00:27:39,293 --> 00:27:44,793
He was a person that knew
about the alarm systems,
542
00:27:44,918 --> 00:27:48,543
and you needed to get
him in your custody.
543
00:27:50,418 --> 00:27:53,043
Rudy didn't leave his
office, no matter what.
544
00:27:53,168 --> 00:27:58,168
So they made the office senior
agent call Rudy on the phone
545
00:27:58,293 --> 00:28:01,376
and told him he had to
come up to the office
546
00:28:01,501 --> 00:28:02,668
and talk to them.
547
00:28:05,043 --> 00:28:07,043
He says anything goes
wrong, he says--
548
00:28:07,210 --> 00:28:09,585
Like, he wanted something
to go wrong.
549
00:28:09,710 --> 00:28:12,043
If anything goes wrong,
they're dead.
550
00:28:12,168 --> 00:28:14,001
With a gun to his head,
the senior agent
551
00:28:14,126 --> 00:28:16,710
is finding it difficult
to lure Rudy Eirich
552
00:28:16,835 --> 00:28:18,210
to the third floor break room.
553
00:28:18,335 --> 00:28:21,543
Tommy DeSimone tells him,
get Rudy and his vault
554
00:28:21,543 --> 00:28:25,335
keys upstairs, or else.
555
00:28:25,335 --> 00:28:28,960
And he called down to
Rudy on the office phone
556
00:28:29,085 --> 00:28:30,710
that he had a call
from Germany,
557
00:28:30,710 --> 00:28:33,210
and they wanted to
talk to the supervisor.
558
00:28:35,293 --> 00:28:38,168
Please, just come up.
559
00:28:38,293 --> 00:28:39,543
And it worked.
560
00:28:41,335 --> 00:28:45,585
When Rudy came upstairs,
they also stuck a gun on him.
561
00:28:45,751 --> 00:28:48,668
So now he knew there
was a robbery going on.
562
00:28:48,793 --> 00:28:51,335
The crew heads for
the high-val room
563
00:28:51,335 --> 00:28:54,960
with Rudy in tow, ready
to put their inside info
564
00:28:55,085 --> 00:28:56,710
to the ultimate test.
565
00:28:56,710 --> 00:28:58,418
If the locks on the
doors aren't handled
566
00:28:58,585 --> 00:29:03,085
in exactly the right sequence,
tempers and alarms
567
00:29:03,210 --> 00:29:04,335
will go off.
568
00:29:04,460 --> 00:29:08,210
When the supervisor
is leading these men
569
00:29:08,335 --> 00:29:11,376
into the vault,
he definitely at this point
570
00:29:11,543 --> 00:29:14,751
does not realize that there's
an inside man for this job,
571
00:29:14,918 --> 00:29:18,418
and I think that he believes
that he can still trigger
572
00:29:18,585 --> 00:29:21,918
the alarm and get out of this.
573
00:29:22,085 --> 00:29:24,668
Unlock it now.
Go ahead.
574
00:29:24,793 --> 00:29:28,293
You needed both keys
and turned simultaneously
575
00:29:28,418 --> 00:29:31,876
to unlock the door,
because if you didn't,
576
00:29:31,876 --> 00:29:34,543
an alarm would go off
at the Port Authority.
577
00:29:36,168 --> 00:29:37,876
The supervisor,
he was nervous.
578
00:29:37,876 --> 00:29:39,501
His hands were shaking.
579
00:29:39,501 --> 00:29:42,210
Tommy told him put your
hands down and just relax,
580
00:29:42,376 --> 00:29:44,835
because if your hands
shake again, he says,
581
00:29:44,960 --> 00:29:46,251
I'll blow your brains out.
582
00:29:46,376 --> 00:29:48,043
Go ahead.
Come on.
583
00:29:53,168 --> 00:29:55,876
It's nearly one hour
into the Lufthansa heist,
584
00:29:55,876 --> 00:29:58,376
and Jimmy Burke's
crew still doesn't
585
00:29:58,543 --> 00:30:00,543
have their hands on the loot.
586
00:30:00,543 --> 00:30:03,376
Success hinges on persuading
587
00:30:03,501 --> 00:30:07,460
the high-value room
supervisor to play ball.
588
00:30:08,710 --> 00:30:11,793
Werner told Joe Buddha you
had to open the first door,
589
00:30:11,918 --> 00:30:13,626
close it, and then
open the second door
590
00:30:13,751 --> 00:30:15,335
to get into the vault.
591
00:30:15,335 --> 00:30:18,960
The supervisor probably
could have done something,
592
00:30:19,085 --> 00:30:22,876
but it was a risk I don't think
that he was willing to take.
593
00:30:23,001 --> 00:30:25,585
I don't think he
wanted to jeopardize
594
00:30:25,710 --> 00:30:27,876
all the employees' lives.
595
00:30:28,001 --> 00:30:29,710
If I had a gun
to my head, I think
596
00:30:29,876 --> 00:30:33,543
it would be very hard
to say no to what
597
00:30:33,543 --> 00:30:35,293
someone is asking you to do.
598
00:30:35,418 --> 00:30:37,126
It's self-preservation.
599
00:30:37,251 --> 00:30:40,126
When Eirich realizes
the thieves know
600
00:30:40,251 --> 00:30:44,793
the secret protocols to avoid
tripping the alarm, he folds.
601
00:30:44,918 --> 00:30:47,710
The supervisor went
along with everything.
602
00:30:47,835 --> 00:30:49,710
He didn't want to
become a dead hero.
603
00:30:49,835 --> 00:30:52,918
The val room is now theirs.
604
00:30:53,043 --> 00:30:56,418
Once the robbers
had the vault open,
605
00:30:56,543 --> 00:30:58,293
they moved quickly.
606
00:31:00,210 --> 00:31:01,835
I was the first one
in with Tommy,
607
00:31:01,835 --> 00:31:04,751
and there were boxes
on the side.
608
00:31:07,585 --> 00:31:09,710
There were exactly 50 boxes.
609
00:31:09,710 --> 00:31:11,251
So Tommy took one.
610
00:31:11,418 --> 00:31:13,960
He threw it on the floor,
and he stepped on it.
611
00:31:14,085 --> 00:31:18,543
And he saw 125,000
in hundreds.
612
00:31:18,543 --> 00:31:21,876
When I seen the money, I
started doing math in my head.
613
00:31:21,876 --> 00:31:24,043
This is the score of scores.
614
00:31:24,210 --> 00:31:26,210
They're shocked
at the amount of money
615
00:31:26,335 --> 00:31:27,376
that they have.
616
00:31:27,376 --> 00:31:30,376
This is more than double
what they were expecting.
617
00:31:30,376 --> 00:31:33,376
Thanks to the
surprise cargo shipment,
618
00:31:33,501 --> 00:31:36,751
the crew now faces
the best kind of work,
619
00:31:36,876 --> 00:31:39,710
carrying off even more cash.
620
00:31:39,835 --> 00:31:41,835
As the boxes
are being taken away,
621
00:31:41,835 --> 00:31:45,876
Gary Valenti
spies something else.
622
00:31:46,043 --> 00:31:48,835
There was an aluminum case
623
00:31:48,960 --> 00:31:52,210
that was about
maybe 3-foot by 3.
624
00:31:52,376 --> 00:31:56,126
I opened up the drawer,
and I seen diamonds.
625
00:31:56,251 --> 00:31:58,168
I opened another drawer,
and I seen rubies,
626
00:31:58,168 --> 00:32:01,085
and another drawer
was emeralds.
627
00:32:01,210 --> 00:32:05,251
The contents of the jewelry
case add nearly 900,000
628
00:32:05,376 --> 00:32:06,710
to the whole.
629
00:32:06,835 --> 00:32:09,835
Now, all they need
is a clean getaway.
630
00:32:14,210 --> 00:32:17,543
After they got the money
out of the val room,
631
00:32:17,668 --> 00:32:19,710
they brought Rudy back
upstairs and told him
632
00:32:19,835 --> 00:32:21,376
to lie down on the floor also.
633
00:32:21,501 --> 00:32:23,460
And then we were
told that they were
634
00:32:23,585 --> 00:32:27,085
going to leave a guy behind,
and we were not to get up.
635
00:32:28,085 --> 00:32:29,210
They got everything out
636
00:32:29,210 --> 00:32:31,001
right into the back of
the van.
637
00:32:31,001 --> 00:32:32,585
They were like precise.
638
00:32:34,043 --> 00:32:37,335
As we leave the
airport, we're driving,
639
00:32:37,335 --> 00:32:42,043
and Jimmy and Vinny
were in a crash car.
640
00:32:42,168 --> 00:32:45,710
And we pull up to them,
and say, where to?
641
00:32:45,710 --> 00:32:47,210
Where should we go with it?
642
00:32:47,335 --> 00:32:49,543
Just two minutes after
leaving with the loot,
643
00:32:49,668 --> 00:32:51,376
the crew hits a speed bump.
644
00:32:51,501 --> 00:32:55,918
They have a getaway van,
but no real getaway plan.
645
00:32:56,085 --> 00:32:58,793
As some say,
the brains, right?
646
00:32:58,918 --> 00:33:01,710
You pull off
a $6 million heist,
647
00:33:01,835 --> 00:33:03,501
you don't know where to go.
648
00:33:03,501 --> 00:33:06,335
So Vinny yells out,
"Go to my cousin's house."
649
00:33:06,335 --> 00:33:08,460
That's what we did,
we went to my house,
650
00:33:08,585 --> 00:33:12,376
backed the van in, and
unloaded it in my basement.
651
00:33:13,710 --> 00:33:16,876
As the team heads to Gary's,
the employees managed to call
652
00:33:17,001 --> 00:33:19,210
the police and share the news.
653
00:33:19,335 --> 00:33:22,460
Lufthansa Cargo
has been hit--hard.
654
00:33:22,585 --> 00:33:24,585
The Port Authority's
Operations Captain,
655
00:33:24,751 --> 00:33:27,918
Henry DeGeneste,
is one of the first to arrive.
656
00:33:28,043 --> 00:33:32,710
We had our own detective
unit that investigated the mob
657
00:33:32,835 --> 00:33:34,335
for the Port Authority police.
658
00:33:34,460 --> 00:33:37,168
And when they came,
they all said,
659
00:33:37,168 --> 00:33:38,876
this has got to be a mob hit.
660
00:33:39,043 --> 00:33:40,543
Nobody else would
be brazen enough
661
00:33:40,668 --> 00:33:43,710
to do the robbery at John F.
Kennedy Airport than the mob.
662
00:33:45,210 --> 00:33:47,918
Back in Gary Valenti's
basement,
663
00:33:48,043 --> 00:33:50,793
the heist team's spirits
are high,
664
00:33:50,918 --> 00:33:52,376
and so are the stacks of cash.
665
00:33:52,501 --> 00:33:55,501
And Joe Buddha
counted the money.
666
00:33:55,501 --> 00:33:59,501
He says, $2 million,
$2.5 million, $3 million,
667
00:33:59,501 --> 00:34:00,876
$4 million.
668
00:34:01,001 --> 00:34:03,043
Oh my God. The money
was stacked this high,
669
00:34:03,168 --> 00:34:05,293
all $100 bills.
670
00:34:05,418 --> 00:34:07,335
He says, could you
believe this here?
671
00:34:07,460 --> 00:34:09,918
And we're still
not done counting.
672
00:34:10,085 --> 00:34:12,876
You talk about euphoria.
It was amazing.
673
00:34:13,001 --> 00:34:15,876
You know, the idea
that they essentially
674
00:34:16,001 --> 00:34:19,168
stumble upon 5 million,
almost $6 million,
675
00:34:19,168 --> 00:34:24,168
it's incredible, especially
in that day and age as money.
676
00:34:24,293 --> 00:34:27,376
I mean, this is more than
$20 million in today's money.
677
00:34:27,543 --> 00:34:32,168
The idea that that is
just one night's take,
678
00:34:32,293 --> 00:34:34,501
it's unbelievable.
679
00:34:38,543 --> 00:34:43,126
The next step should be
easy--get rid of the van.
680
00:34:43,251 --> 00:34:47,043
Jimmy Burke assigns
this job to crew member
681
00:34:47,210 --> 00:34:49,710
Parnell "Stacks" Edwards.
682
00:34:51,335 --> 00:34:53,418
When a mob uses
a car in a robbery,
683
00:34:53,585 --> 00:34:55,543
it's mandatory to
get rid of that car.
684
00:34:55,668 --> 00:34:58,168
Being there are so many
mob-related junkyards,
685
00:34:58,293 --> 00:35:00,585
you would send it to a
junkyard to get crushed.
686
00:35:00,710 --> 00:35:02,043
That's the plan here.
687
00:35:02,168 --> 00:35:06,126
Burke orders Stacks to make
the van disappear immediately.
688
00:35:06,251 --> 00:35:08,126
Stacks went over
his girlfriend's house,
689
00:35:08,251 --> 00:35:10,043
got drunk, and did some drugs,
690
00:35:10,210 --> 00:35:13,043
and he left the van on
the streets for two days
691
00:35:13,168 --> 00:35:15,585
parked illegally.
692
00:35:15,710 --> 00:35:19,543
Meanwhile, news of
the heist is everywhere.
693
00:35:19,710 --> 00:35:22,585
There was a holdup
of historic proportions
694
00:35:22,751 --> 00:35:25,043
at New York City's Kennedy
Airport this morning--
695
00:35:25,210 --> 00:35:28,043
Several million dollars
in cash and jewelry
696
00:35:28,168 --> 00:35:31,585
taken from a cargo hanger
by a band of armed men
697
00:35:31,710 --> 00:35:33,376
wearing masks.
698
00:35:33,376 --> 00:35:35,376
The news went viral.
699
00:35:35,376 --> 00:35:38,876
It was the biggest robbery
in airline history.
700
00:35:39,001 --> 00:35:43,293
And whispers about an
inside job are growing louder.
701
00:35:43,418 --> 00:35:45,918
Within days,
our informants told us
702
00:35:46,085 --> 00:35:47,876
that Jimmy Burke
and his crew
703
00:35:48,001 --> 00:35:49,335
were involved in the robbery.
704
00:35:49,460 --> 00:35:51,376
There's nothing
bigger and better.
705
00:35:51,501 --> 00:35:54,585
We walk around with
our chests like this.
706
00:35:54,751 --> 00:35:57,543
And the FBI said, well,
we know it was you guys.
707
00:35:57,668 --> 00:36:00,751
Well, if you knew it was us,
why don't you pinch us?
708
00:36:00,876 --> 00:36:02,501
The FBI got its first break
709
00:36:02,501 --> 00:36:04,876
when the New York City
Police Department
710
00:36:04,876 --> 00:36:10,335
called in the plates of a van
that was illegally parked.
711
00:36:10,335 --> 00:36:13,085
When they ran the plates,
determined that the van had
712
00:36:13,210 --> 00:36:16,876
been stolen, I specifically
was the individual
713
00:36:16,876 --> 00:36:18,210
who recovered that evidence.
714
00:36:18,335 --> 00:36:21,251
There were airway bills
from the Lufthansa,
715
00:36:21,418 --> 00:36:24,085
and also envelopes
were marked Lufthansa.
716
00:36:24,251 --> 00:36:26,126
What did they find?
They didn't find anything.
717
00:36:26,251 --> 00:36:27,751
They said they found
this, this, and that.
718
00:36:27,876 --> 00:36:29,710
They found nothing.
719
00:36:29,710 --> 00:36:33,793
A few days later,
New York City PD connected
720
00:36:33,918 --> 00:36:36,210
the van to Stack Edwards.
721
00:36:36,335 --> 00:36:38,335
I'm sure when
Jimmy Burke heard
722
00:36:38,335 --> 00:36:41,793
about Stacks and his failure
to get rid of the van,
723
00:36:41,918 --> 00:36:43,460
that he was livid.
724
00:36:43,585 --> 00:36:46,793
Stacks has to get rid of the
van, and he had one job to do,
725
00:36:46,918 --> 00:36:48,085
and he didn't do it.
726
00:36:48,251 --> 00:36:50,418
In Jimmy Burke's mind,
Stacks has to go.
727
00:36:57,585 --> 00:37:01,376
The Lufthansa heist
went off without a hitch.
728
00:37:01,376 --> 00:37:04,668
When Jimmy Burke hears that
someone didn't do their job,
729
00:37:04,793 --> 00:37:07,876
he sends
Tommy "Two Gun" DeSimone
730
00:37:08,001 --> 00:37:10,710
to take care of the problem.
731
00:37:10,835 --> 00:37:16,085
When NYPD tracked
Stacks to his apartment,
732
00:37:16,251 --> 00:37:18,710
they found him dead.
733
00:37:18,835 --> 00:37:21,335
In that life if you're
told to do something,
734
00:37:21,460 --> 00:37:22,835
there's a reason
you're told to do it,
735
00:37:22,960 --> 00:37:25,585
and you don't do it,
your life is at risk.
736
00:37:25,751 --> 00:37:28,710
With $6 million on
the line and pressure
737
00:37:28,876 --> 00:37:32,085
building from the FBI,
Burke is determined
738
00:37:32,210 --> 00:37:34,043
to tie up loose ends.
739
00:37:34,210 --> 00:37:37,001
Stacks Edwards
is only the first.
740
00:37:37,001 --> 00:37:41,085
The first person Louie Werner
contacted to get to the mob
741
00:37:41,210 --> 00:37:44,043
disappeared in January 1979.
742
00:37:44,210 --> 00:37:48,668
Around that same period,
Tommy DeSimone also vanished.
743
00:37:48,668 --> 00:37:51,501
Jimmy starts killing
people because people
744
00:37:51,626 --> 00:37:53,835
start spending a couple of
dollars that he gave them.
745
00:37:53,960 --> 00:37:55,543
He got paranoid.
746
00:37:55,668 --> 00:37:59,168
They bought cars, mink coats
and fur coats for their wives,
747
00:37:59,293 --> 00:38:00,710
jewelry, watches.
748
00:38:00,835 --> 00:38:04,335
If members of your crew
are spending a lot of money,
749
00:38:04,335 --> 00:38:06,543
it brings attention to you.
750
00:38:06,668 --> 00:38:08,585
Throughout the course
of the investigation,
751
00:38:08,751 --> 00:38:11,418
it seemed like
we were just a step
752
00:38:11,543 --> 00:38:13,793
or two behind Jimmy Burke.
753
00:38:13,918 --> 00:38:15,543
Every time I went out
754
00:38:15,543 --> 00:38:19,085
to talk to one of
Jimmy Burke's associates
755
00:38:19,251 --> 00:38:21,418
that was
involved in the robbery,
756
00:38:21,543 --> 00:38:25,168
it seemed that they
would end up dead.
757
00:38:26,543 --> 00:38:29,043
Investigators are also determined.
758
00:38:29,043 --> 00:38:33,043
They need to find the inside
man before he disappears too.
759
00:38:35,251 --> 00:38:38,001
Poor Peter Gruenwald
finds out about the heist
760
00:38:38,001 --> 00:38:40,126
at the same time that the rest
of the world does.
761
00:38:40,251 --> 00:38:43,876
He gets so panicked that he
decides to flee the country,
762
00:38:44,001 --> 00:38:47,376
and he's arrested
while trying to flee.
763
00:38:47,376 --> 00:38:50,876
Gruenwald admits
that the plan was his,
764
00:38:50,876 --> 00:38:54,376
but he tells investigators
he didn't act on it,
765
00:38:54,501 --> 00:38:57,376
and that Louie Werner
brought it to the mob.
766
00:38:57,501 --> 00:38:59,543
Werner winds up
being the only person
767
00:38:59,668 --> 00:39:01,710
convicted for the
Lufthansa hijacking.
768
00:39:01,835 --> 00:39:04,376
The very next day after
Werner is convicted
769
00:39:04,376 --> 00:39:06,460
and starts talking
about Joe Buddha,
770
00:39:06,585 --> 00:39:08,001
Joe Buddha is murdered.
771
00:39:08,001 --> 00:39:11,043
Law enforcement found
Joe Buddha dead on May 17.
772
00:39:11,168 --> 00:39:14,835
They shot him in the head
in a car in Brooklyn
773
00:39:14,960 --> 00:39:16,960
and left him there.
774
00:39:16,960 --> 00:39:19,501
Eventually,
police link 12 murders
775
00:39:19,626 --> 00:39:21,501
to the Lufthansa heist.
776
00:39:21,501 --> 00:39:25,251
Even more, a classified
was potentially linked.
777
00:39:25,418 --> 00:39:27,418
In organized crime circles,
778
00:39:27,585 --> 00:39:30,043
knowing too much about this heist
779
00:39:30,210 --> 00:39:32,168
is a death sentence.
780
00:39:32,293 --> 00:39:34,710
People are getting killed
around Jimmy left and right.
781
00:39:34,835 --> 00:39:37,335
I would say
approximately between 20
782
00:39:37,335 --> 00:39:40,835
and 30 people got killed, massacred.
783
00:39:40,835 --> 00:39:43,418
Not killed, I would say
"massacred," more or less.
784
00:39:43,585 --> 00:39:45,251
The Lufthansa heist
is definitely
785
00:39:45,376 --> 00:39:48,543
one of the deadliest robberies
that's ever been committed.
786
00:39:48,668 --> 00:39:50,501
As the body count escalates,
787
00:39:50,501 --> 00:39:54,585
the FBI recovers $60,000
from Louis Werner,
788
00:39:54,751 --> 00:39:58,751
but more than
$5 million simply vanishes.
789
00:39:58,918 --> 00:40:02,835
Jimmy got the lion's
share of the money.
790
00:40:02,835 --> 00:40:06,335
Because of the people
who were getting killed,
791
00:40:06,460 --> 00:40:09,085
he was keeping their share.
792
00:40:09,210 --> 00:40:10,585
That's how it
goes in the mob.
793
00:40:10,751 --> 00:40:13,210
The guy at the top is
getting most of the money,
794
00:40:13,335 --> 00:40:18,251
and the cuts underneath that
just get smaller and smaller.
795
00:40:18,376 --> 00:40:21,751
Vinny and I received
$750,000 apiece.
796
00:40:21,876 --> 00:40:24,210
A lot of guys never
received a full amount.
797
00:40:24,335 --> 00:40:28,543
And the rest of the loot,
$60,000 from Louis Verna,
798
00:40:28,543 --> 00:40:31,376
well, that's all the
police ever recover.
799
00:40:31,501 --> 00:40:33,668
In the end,
Jimmy Burke is convicted,
800
00:40:33,793 --> 00:40:35,668
not for the greatest
airline heist in history
801
00:40:35,793 --> 00:40:37,418
or all the murders
that followed,
802
00:40:37,585 --> 00:40:39,126
but for his involvement
803
00:40:39,251 --> 00:40:42,543
in a conspiracy to fix
college basketball games.
804
00:40:42,668 --> 00:40:45,710
Burke died in prison in 1996.
805
00:40:45,710 --> 00:40:48,918
In the late 1970s,
a detailed analysis
806
00:40:49,085 --> 00:40:52,210
of the security measures
at JFK is undertaken
807
00:40:52,376 --> 00:40:53,835
by Port Authority officials,
808
00:40:53,960 --> 00:40:56,876
although some call it
too little too late.
809
00:40:57,043 --> 00:40:58,626
Security in
the cargo buildings
810
00:40:58,751 --> 00:41:00,418
changed dramatically.
811
00:41:00,585 --> 00:41:02,710
We put cameras in all
the cargo buildings
812
00:41:02,835 --> 00:41:05,460
that went right into
our police desks
813
00:41:05,585 --> 00:41:09,418
so we also could see
what was going on.
814
00:41:09,585 --> 00:41:12,835
Gary Valenti and his
cousin Vincent Asaro
815
00:41:12,960 --> 00:41:15,376
are the last living
survivors of the team
816
00:41:15,376 --> 00:41:17,251
associated with the heist.
817
00:41:17,418 --> 00:41:21,210
In 2015, Gary testified
against Asaro,
818
00:41:21,376 --> 00:41:23,126
regarding his
cousin's involvement
819
00:41:23,251 --> 00:41:24,626
in the Lufthansa job.
820
00:41:24,751 --> 00:41:26,710
Once I couldn't be
an earner anymore,
821
00:41:26,835 --> 00:41:28,751
you know, in that life,
that's how you survive.
822
00:41:28,918 --> 00:41:32,168
Either you earn,
you're dead,
823
00:41:32,168 --> 00:41:34,085
or you're on a shelf.
824
00:41:34,251 --> 00:41:36,168
So I said, you know what?
825
00:41:37,918 --> 00:41:39,876
I'm gonna become
an informant.
826
00:41:40,001 --> 00:41:41,876
I decided.
I made up my mind.
827
00:41:42,001 --> 00:41:46,751
I cleared my soul,
and I wanna testify.
828
00:41:46,918 --> 00:41:49,960
To the surprise of everyone,
including the defendant,
829
00:41:50,085 --> 00:41:52,710
Vincent Asaro is acquitted
on all charges
830
00:41:52,876 --> 00:41:55,501
relating to the heist
that started right here
831
00:41:55,501 --> 00:41:57,876
in Lufthansa's Building 261.
832
00:41:57,876 --> 00:42:00,501
What began as
one worker's fantasy
833
00:42:00,626 --> 00:42:03,876
became the most
infamous heist in mob history,
834
00:42:04,001 --> 00:42:07,251
its bloody aftermath,
immortalized in "Goodfellas,"
835
00:42:07,418 --> 00:42:09,960
with dozens killed and a take
836
00:42:10,085 --> 00:42:13,210
worth more than $20 million
in today's dollars.
837
00:42:13,335 --> 00:42:17,876
The Lufthansa job belongs with
history's greatest heists.
65334
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