The first recorded instance of a bank robbery was way back in 1798. Since then, enterprising criminals have managed to steal millions from the places that store and manage our money.
In case you’re considering bank robbery as a career, please note that most robberies do not end well for the criminals; that said, there have been several bank robbers who have accomplished impressive—albeit ethically wrong—feats in pursuit of ill-gotten riches. Here are nine examples of bank robbers throughout history who are particularly noteworthy:
1. Anthony Curcio
Anthony Curcio is partially responsible for one of the most elaborate car heists—and it was an armored car, not just any regular vehicle—in history. For several months, he followed an armored van as it made its deliveries, making note of the truck’s route and schedule and where its cameras were. By pepper spraying a guard in the face, Curcio managed to score over $400K via the heist. He even hired 20 workers via Craigslist to help him do so. They thought they were part of a cleanup crew.
He was arrested over a month later, and most of the money he stole was eventually recovered. DNA linked him to the crime. Curcio spent 6 years in prison, including several months in solitary confinement, and wrote children’s books while incarcerated.
Curcio, who refused to identify any co-conspirators, is now working with youth, talking about his addiction problems and the importance of making good choices. An award-winning author due to his writing, he has more-or-less redeemed himself in the eyes of society.
H/T – Source
2. Northern Bank’s Robbers
On the 20th of December in 2004, tens of millions of pounds and other currencies was stolen from Belfast, Northern Ireland’s Northern Bank. Just the fact that over 25 million was stolen makes the robbery very impressive.
Even more impressive is the amount of planning that went into the robbery. Armed men, masquerading as police officers, actually held two bank officials and their families at gunpoint in their homes the night before; they instructed the bank’s officials to report to work as normal the next day so that they would be able to “assist” in the robbery, which they unwillingly did.
At the time, the Provisional Irish Republican Army was suspected of being involved in the robbery; this was denied by the organization.
While people have been arrested and convicted for laundering money stolen during the robbery, the actual robbers themselves have not been caught. Considering it has been well over 10 years since the robbery, it seems unlikely we’ll ever know who the armed men were.
H/T – Source
3. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Out in the American Old West, Butch Cassidy was a legend. As a leader of a gang of outlaws, he robbed banks and trains and became an icon of the time period and region.
Cassidy first robbed a bank in 1889, earning himself over $20,000. He formed his gang in 1896 or so, and they robbed an Idaho bank in August of that year. Shortly thereafter, he brought Harry Alonzo Longabaugh, a.k.a “the Sundance Kid”, into “The Wild Bunch”. Together, the pair and the gang robbed a Union Pacific Train, which was their most famous robbery.
Eventually, due to pressure from law enforcement, Cassidy had to leave the old west and wound up in New York City, and from there he left for Argentina. Traveling with him was the female companion of the Sundance Kid. It is possible that Cassidy and Longabaugh held up a bank in Argentina in 1905, earning themselves a sum that would be worth roughly $100,000 today.
In November of 1908, the pair were reportedly killed in a shootout with Bolivian police and buried in unmarked graves. It has been alleged, however, that Cassidy survived the shootouts, and there has been talk of his surviving well into the 1920’s.
H/T – Source
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