America is the world's richest country, with a historical streak of heists and bank robberies. A heist is an armed robbery, often times masterminded by regular workers with hired friend associates. New York is the scene for three of the eight most legendary heists, while two of the biggest happened in a third-of-a-year span for a total amount of around $60 million. The most intriguing heists involve crafty criminals, inside jobs, airports, and hotels. Upon stealing a lump of cash and valuables from banks and corporations, many criminals face prison, with only some of the money recovered. These biggest heists and bank robberies in American history are as diverse as the individuals who planned and committed them.
United California Bank Robbery (March 24, 1972) - $30 million
Thirty million worth stolen from the United California Bank was the biggest heist in American history. It took place on March 24, 1972, days after the main culprits Amil and James Dinsio, professional criminals from Ohio, flew in their nephews, brother-in-law, and two associates for the heist in Laguna Niguel, California. These criminals heard a rumor that President Richard Nixon kept a multimillion-dollar stash at this particular United California Bank. Upon renting a townhouse, they planned and carried out the heist by disarming the alarms and blasting a hole in the bank's safe deposit vault roof with dynamite.
The gang flawlessly left the scene of the crime, carrying out $30 million worth of cash and valuables, following which they meticulously scrubbed the townhouse from evidence and fled the city. The cops identified the robbers with a generous tip from their taxi driver, as well as forgotten fingerprints inside the dishwasher. The Dinsio brothers used their real names to travel, and upon return home, the greedy bunch tried performing a similar heist in Ohio. Eventually, investigators linked the two heists and upon compiling evidence, arrested all members of the gang, with most of the loot, recovered.
Pierre Hotel, New York, New York (January 2, 1972) - $27 million
Samuel Nalo and Robert Comfort went down in history in 1972 with a crime in the Guinness World Records as the "most successful hotel robbery." Stolen from the Pierre Hotel in New York, the legendary heist was worth $27 Million. The weathered and skilled criminals had already stolen $1,000,000 each in jewelry and cash from the Sherry Netherlands Hotel. Nalo and Comfort respectively planned and organized the heist on the Pierre Hotel, with a diverse group of criminals involved in direct action.
There was Robert "Bobby" Germaine and Alan Visconti, two associates of the Lucchese crime family, Ali-Ben, a contract killer for the Turkish mafia, and his brother-in-law, Al Green. Nick "the cat" Sacco, and a freelance contract killer, Donald Frankos also participated. They flawlessly performed the heist at 3:04 on January 2nd, 1972, taking 19 hostages at the scene. The group had various fates upon parting ways, with Nalo killed by an unknown gunman in 1988, and Comfort, killed by mafia bosses. Ali-Ben and Al Green escaped to Europe, while "The Cat" sole survivor sits imprisoned for another crime.
Dunbar Armoured Robbery (September 12, 1997) - $18.9 million
One of the biggest heists in American history happened on September 12, 1997, for the stolen amount of $18.9 million. It involved a six-man team with Allen Pace in the lead, who was a "safety inspector" at the Dunbar Armored trucking company. Pace learned the inner workings and security procedures at the Dunbar facility in Los Angeles during his employment, including cameras, and timed the heist to avoid them. He also knew that the vault would be open on a Friday night when large quantities of money were removed.
He recruited five childhood friends for the robbery, who all broke in during lunch break, assaulted two guards, and robbed the vault, all in half an hour. Pace also took the recording devices away from the cameras before loading $18.9 million dollars into a U-Haul truck and getting away. The robbers started slowly laundering stolen cash through property deals and phony businesses, but one sloppy robber lent some of the money to a friend in its original cash straps. Caught hot-handed, only about $5 million of the cash was ever recovered.
March 1997 Loomis Fargo Robbery (March 29, 1997) - $18.8 million
On March 29, 1997, in Jacksonville, Florida, Loomis Fargo lost $18.8 million in the fourth-biggest heist in American history. Philip Noel Johnson, the company’s armored car driver took the money from the Loomis Fargo vehicle that he was driving, upon handcuffing his co-workers and leaving them in different locations.
Johnson hid the money and moved to Mexico, but tried to return to the US too soon, in August. Upon giving suspicious responses at Customs, the agents put him under the scrutiny of the authorities and arrested him for carrying multiple passports. His storage shed with approximately $18 million was also already uncovered.
October 1997 Loomis Fargo Robbery (October 4, 1997) -$17.3 million
Loomis Fargo's bad-luck streak continued, losing another hefty $17.3 just over half a year later, in October, in Maiden, North Carolina. The mastermind, David Scott Ghantt, was the regional vault supervisor for Loomis Fargo, with easy access to the vault and conspirators helping in the background. Upon loading over $17.3 million into a branded truck, Ghantt moved the cash to private cars with his associates. Planning to stash most of the stolen money away for time being, Ghantt crossed the border to Mexico with an allowed $50,000 on him.
The following morning Ghantt was the main suspect at work as the only absent employee, as well as seen on cameras. The investigators finally connected the whole gang to the crime scheme, with most cash returned, $2 million still missing, and "Masterminds" comedy released following the events. The authorities convicted eight more people for the crime and found sixteen others of indirect involvement.
Sentry Armoured Car Company Robbery (December 12, 1982) - $11 million
One of the most famous robberies in American history took place in the Bronx neighborhood of New York City when Sentry Armoured Car Company lost a hefty $11 million in a cleverly-orchestrated heist. The guard, 25-year-old Christos Potamitis, composed a scenario with armed associates, who punched a hole in the wooden roof of the armored company’s headquarters. Potamitis let them in and handcuffed himself to appear victimized, for the best inside job of the century.
The crime happened on a weekend before millions of dollars left on Monday, lending to the biggest cash robbery in US history at the time. Five of the criminals faced prison charges, with only $1.5 million ever recovered. The authorities arrested Christo on February 2nd, 1983 on vacation in San Juan at a private resort. His partner in crime, 21-year-old George Legaki voluntarily showed up for questioning and was taken on the spot.
JFK International Airport, New York, New York (December 11, 1978) - $5.9 million
"The Lufthansa Heist" was the largest cash robbery at the time in American history with an estimated $5.9 million stolen. The robbery on December 11th, 1978 happened at the JFK International Airport in New York City, New York. Rumor has it that American gangster, Jimmy Burke, was the mastermind behind the heist.
Burke was never formally charged and got away with $5 million cash and $875,000 in jewels. The crime is the longest in American history under investigation, with the latest arrest in 2015. There are also three movies inspired by the heist of "10 Million Dollar Getaway," "The Big Heist," and the infamous "Goodfellas" film.
Brinks Building, Boston, Massachusetts (January 17, 1950) - $2.8 million
The Brinks Building lost $2.8 million on January 17th, 1950 in a heist that went down in history as the "crime of the century." The main culprit, mastermind, and leader, Joseph “Big Joe” McGinnis led his armed gang of eleven, dressed in bank uniforms and Halloween masks. That evening, they accessed the second floor with copied keys, bound and gagged the workers, taking everything but a box of Payroll for the General Electric company McGinnis, and even revolvers from the employees.
They got away with $1,218,211.29 stolen cash and $1,577,183.83 in checks, money orders, and other securities. They agreed not to spend the money for two years, the time for the statute of limitations to run out, but just five days prior to it running out the majority of the gang faced arrest. Eight of them received maximum life sentences. They were all paroled in 1971 except for McGinnis, who died in prison, and as for the money, only one-fifth of the $2.7 million was ever recovered.
It is no surprise that the richest country in the world is set for historical heists and bank robberies. New York is plagued with historically-big crimes, while Loomis Fargo may just be the unluckiest rich company in America, losing over $36 million in six short months. These biggest heists and bank robberies in American history are also some of the most interesting ones. Both weathered and new criminals stole hefty sums, with still-pending investigations, and much of the money often unrecovered. With better security, bigger charges, and worse punishments, there are no recent heists or big bank robberies. However, history dictates that the most notorious criminals will overcome challenges to get rich on the spot.
Biggest Heists and Bank Robberies in American History
| Rank | Location | Year | Value Stolen (USD in the year of the heist) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United California Bank Robbery | 1972 | $30 million |
| 2 | Pierre Hotel | 1972 | $27 million |
| 3 | Dunbar Armoured Robbery | 1997 | $18.9 million |
| 4 | Loomis Fargo Robbery (March) | 1997 | $18.8 million |
| 5 | Loomis Fargo Robbery (October) | 1997 | $17.3 million |
| 6 | Sentry Armoured Car Company | 1982 | $11 million |
| 7 | JFK International Airport | 1978 | $5.9 million |
| 8 | Brinks Building | 1950 | $2.8 million |