Armored Car Heist: LA Investigation

• In Los Angeles, a group of gunmen robbed an armored car company, stealing millions before disappearing
• Due to insufficient evidence, the FBI was unable to arrest the suspects initially
• Law enforcement agencies aimed to infiltrate the gunmen's secretive network to ensure they face justice
• An armed robbery occurred at a Los Angeles cash vault, with the gang threatening lethal violence to anyone resisting
• The heist was the largest in U.S. history, with a piece of plastic being the only initial evidence
• Jim calstrom, former head of the FBI's New York office, oversaw the joint effort of the FBI, LAPD, and IRS to investigate
• The investigation focused on a complex network of money laundering, fraud, and a strict code of silence among those involved
• The Los Angeles warehouse district, where the armored car company was located, is known for street gangs and violence
• The area's businesses, including the armored car company, are in nondescript buildings, many with barbed wire fences
• The robbery took place on Friday, September 13, 1997.

The Armored Car Heist

• Employees at an armored car company were processing over $20 million for weekend ATM distribution in Los Angeles.
• Five employees, including two security guards, were on the graveyard shift.
• At 12:30 a.m., one security guard took his regular break in the lunchroom.
• Five armed men quickly subdued the guard in the lunchroom.
• The hostage guard was dragged to an office where security monitors were located.
• A second, unarmed and out-of-uniform security guard entered and did not resist.
• Four assailants went to the cash vault, while one guarded the hostages and monitored cameras.
• Employees in the vault prep area were unaware of the ongoing situation.
• The gunman threatened to shoot anyone who disobeyed orders.
• The robbers gained direct access to the vault containing $20 million.
• One man appeared to be the leader, issuing orders to accomplices using numbered codes.
• The leader used a concealed radio headset to communicate with someone outside.
• The robbers efficiently wheeled millions to the loading dock in under ten minutes.
• A sixth person was waiting outside to drive the diesel truck.
• The gunman in the office removed the surveillance recorder bolted to a desk.
• Employees heard destruction in the back office.
• The leader and another man stole the vault manager's pickup truck keys.
• The guards freed themselves and called 9-1-1 after the robbers appeared to have left.
• LAPD officers were dispatched to the scene immediately.
• Detective John Licotta noted the unusual nature of the crime, which was a facility hit.
• Detectives interviewed employees who said the assailants moved like they had been there before.
• Employees heard a diesel engine truck pulling into, and then out of, the loading area.
• One employee thought she recognized the voice of a former armored car driver.
• The employee agreed to view a photo lineup of former employees.
• The vault manager's truck keys were stolen, leading police to believe the suspect knew him and the vehicle.
• The vault manager recognized one of the voices.
• Forensic technicians found the locks had been opened with a key, then signs of forced entry were faked.
• The company estimated the loss at $18.9 million.
• Only high cash bins were stolen, suggesting the robbers knew how the company stored cash.
• The robbers knew the location of video surveillance recorders, including a hidden backup machine.
• Most employees (80%) did not know about the recording devices in the back office.
• Investigators found a broken truck reflector or lens cover in the loading area,.
• It was surmised it was left by the suspect's vehicle.
• Since the money was federally insured, the FBI joined the investigation.
• The media was given vague descriptions of the robbers.
• Victims said the robbers were black, with one possibly Hispanic, based on skin color seen through masks.
• An employee identified a former driver in a photo lineup as a possible voice match, but he had an alibi.
• Investigators believed it was an inside job.

The Investigation

• The vault manager recognized the voice of a recently fired employee, Alan Pace.
• Alan Pace had been suspended the day before the robbery for disciplinary reasons but had not returned his keys.
• Pace claimed to be at a party with his girlfriend on the night of the crime.
• Pace's girlfriend had worked in the cash vault area, handling security video equipment, and had been terminated four weeks prior.
• She confirmed Pace's alibi, and there were witnesses at the all-night party in Long Beach.
• The only physical evidence was a cracked amber lens found at the scene.
• Investigators patrolled the area and found a homeless man who saw a rental truck idling near the armored car company on the night of the robbery.
• Investigators canvassed Los Angeles rental facilities that rented diesel trucks and showed employees the partial lens photo.
• Employees recognized the lens as the type used on the running lights for a certain model of truck frequently in need of replacement.
• Investigators subpoenaed rental records, but there were no rentals by Alan Pace or his girlfriend.
• Alan Pace denied any involvement, claimed an alibi, and was under surveillance.
• The reward for information was $250,000, but there were no leads, forensic evidence, or eyewitnesses.
• One year after the crime, an informant called the FBI and said hill might know one of the robbers.
• The informant had been an employee of the armored car company around the time of the robbery.
• After the robbery, the informant was given $100,000 in cash to purchase a home for Eugene Hill, with the deed in Hill's girlfriend's name.
• The informant kept the bank straps, whoch were dated two days prior to the heist.
• The papers could later be matched to money stolen from the armored car company.
• Hill asked for the money back in cashier's checks, not cash.
• The informant had kept $15,000 and Hill threatened him, so he sought FBI protection.
• Eugene Hill had no criminal record but had worked with Alan Pace at another security agency.
• Investigators began surveillance on Hill and followed him to Extreme Entertainment, a company co-owned by Hill and Pace.
• Extreme Entertainment was suspected of laundering money.
• The IRS was brought in to prepare money laundering charges.
• Extreme Entertainment listed Terry Brown and Fred McCrary as partners, all former colleagues from the same security agency, and suspected robbers.
• Investigators subpoenaed bank statements, credit card reports, and tax returns.
• Eugene Hill received checks from Rainforest, which also paid Thomas Johnson as a consultant.
• Hill and Johnson invested $2 million in Rainforest.
• Investigators found Eugene Hill rented the truck used on the night of the robbery, and returned it after.

Arrests and Convictions

• The fbi forensics lab compared it to the lens that was found on the loading dock area.
• Johnson's girlfriend alleged that Johnson laundered money through Las Vegas casinos, exchanging chips for cash in amounts under $10,000 to avoid cash reports.
• She said Johnson mentioned a big job in Los Angeles and invested in a company with a gambling friend like Eugene Hill.
• Eugene Hill's girlfriend rolled, telling investigators about how Hill stored two foot lockers filled with boxes of cash in her apartment.
• She and a friend would sort and wash the money, and then Thomas Johnson and Hill went to Las Vegas, buying gambling chips with the money, and exchanging them for new cash.
• The girlfriend, who rolled, was given immunity
• Johnson was arrested by the FBI, and decided to cooperate, to try and secure a lighter sentence.
• Hill's sister had several accounts held in-trust for Eugene, with unexplained cash deposits to those accounts.
• Shortly after this phone call, Eugene Hill arrived.
• Hill was arrested with only circumstantial evidence, although he was a flight risk.
• Ledgers showed Hill purchased real estate in other people's names, and Alan Pace was listed as having purchased real estate and others names.
• There was over a million dollars worth of real estate purchased for Alan Pace.
• Eugene Hill confessed that Alan Pace recruited him, Terry Brown, Freddie Mcgreary, and Thomas Johnson
• Pace was the mastermind, who planned the robbery for a Friday night when there would be less employees.
• Pace knew who the employees were and said that they wouldn't offer any resistance, and just tie them up and take the money, quickly.
• The gang went to the warehouse district, and 5 walked to the armored car company.
• During the robbery, one man stayed with a truck a few blocks away.
• After loading up, Pace took the surveillance equipment and they transferred the money to a storage unit rented by Thomas Johnson.
• They disposed of the guns and vcrs, changed clothes, and returned to the party.
• Pace's colleagues were arrested for their involvement with the robbery.
• Pace self-surrendered at the LAPD federal building, as there was already a warrant for his arrest.
• Pace refused to cooperate with the investigation.
• Four of the robbers plead guilty to robbery and conspiracy, and there sentences varied from 7 and a half years to 10 years.
• Boyd fought the charges against him and was found guilty, and sentenced to 17 years.
• Pace was sentenced to 24 years in prison.
• $5 million of the stolen money was recovered, with $14 million still missing.
• The fbi will be watching, and if they make any moves to recover hidden money, they'll go straight back to jail.