A Crime For Love

6. Gumball, using the codes I'd furnished, enters the inner security chamber. Muscle-bound Flipper takes control of the loot and rolls it out to me on a dolly kept in the safe room. I'm waiting with the rear van doors opened.

7. Once the van is loaded and the doors are shut, I'd take off for the gang hideout. I drive the van directly to the gang headquarters and watch as the loot is put in the safe.

8. A lower-level gang member drives the van to a riverside destination and torches it. He photographs the burning van to prove he completed his job.

9. Each participant was to get a minimum of 50g in cash. If the loot was over half a million, each participant would get an unspecified percentage added to the 50k.

The best plans, when carried out, do not always follow the masterminds' presumptions.

This is what really happened the night of the robbery:

We learned the layout of the terminal warehouse based on architectural blueprints from the Building and Safety Permit Office. Google's sky-cam printouts showed us the warehouse, parking area, and the building's ingress and egress. It was a dark night following the waning lunar crescent of the full moon cycle. We were fortunate that it was a Jewish Holiday. Hiam Devravitz, the director of the warehouse, was absent.

We left Brooklyn driving three stolen vehicles, Black Henry and Lemonball, leading the way in a yellow cab. Gumball, the electrician, and Flipper were in a red Mercury station wagon. I followed their tail lights at a safe distance in a Ford van. As you might expect, we had changed the license plates.

Black Henry and Lemonball waited in the dark until the guard left for the shitter. They quickly cut the gate padlock. Once inside the wire gate, they chained the exit gate shut. When the guard returned, they neutralized him, and he could barely shuffle. They dragged the guard to the main entrance. Gumball, the electrician, climbed the power pole and cut the juice to the warehouse, which cut the lights and muted the alarm system.

Gumball and Flipper and the two heavy hitters entered the dark warehouse with lights on their foreheads and a fireman's battery suitcase powering two spotlights. The employees welcomed the men, thinking they were there to turn the electricity back on. When the workers saw the barrels of the submachine guns, they quickly understood they were intruders. No employees argued with them.

Once the room was cleared, five warehouse workers were locked in a bathroom, and the door was chained shut. The Electrician used the codes I'd enabled and approached the heavy metal vault of the high-security safe room. Once he opened the vault, the contents of gold coins, negotiable bonds, and stacks of banknotes were placed in blue plastic sacks and carried and dollied by Flipper, Black Hank, and Lemonball to the van where I waited. The outside gate was unchained. Once they passed through, they chained the gate. The Electrician followed at a short distance.

I was parked 100 yards away as a lookout and watching the gang members through the windshield with military night goggles. The Electrician, seeing all was in order, quit the scene and drove off. The Flipper and the two strong arms piled the loot into the back of my van. Then all hell broke loose!

An overlooked security guard who wasn't supposed to be present was sleeping in a back room. He awoke in the dark, and seeing the closed circuit TV was not functioning, he realized something was amiss. He went to a window and saw the loot being transferred to the van. The guard raised the window and emptied his .357 pistol at them. The magnum pistol is notoriously inaccurate at more than 50 feet, but the first bullet shattered the glass on the rear door. The next bullet caught Black Henry in the chest as he closed the van door. Lemonball tried to comfort Black Henry, who was bleeding profusely. While the guard was reloading, Gumball slammed the twin doors closed and shouted to me,

"Get the fuck out of here."

As I turned my head, one bullet tore through the van's side wall. I stepped on the gas and in my haste, I ran over Gumball's foot. I saw him limp away as I drove like a rocket straight to Brooklyn. The late-night traffic was light. In the darkness. As no one was apprised of the robbery or noticed the bullet holes in the van. I proceeded noticed. I drove into the empty parking garage at Mr. Lane's office. That was when I threw up.

"Don't eat a full meal before a heist," said Lane's assistant, who unloaded the loot onto a large gray magnesium dolly and rolled it into the office. My pickup truck was nearby. I drove carefully back to Juliet's warm arms.

The four thieves met the next morning in the back of Nathan's parking lot in Coney Island. A representative of the boss was there who explained that Black Henry had bled out at the scene. His corpse was driven back to Brooklyn and he was cremated in a furnace behind a Mafia Italian restaurant.

It was a quick meeting. Our share of the promised money was packaged in small suitcases, and there was a sizable bonus. Mr. Lane's assistant said Black Henry's share was divided among the four of us, and when time had passed, we were told assistance would be given to his family. To do so now would draw attention to all of us. We were warned not to spend any of the money until a year or more had passed.

Nb. At the time of this robbery, a number of South American countries (Colombia, Ecuador, Brazil, and a few other places) would not extradite to the USA. Since then, America has since plugged existing loopholes, making extradition treaties with almost every country worldwide. Even if there is no treaty, the USA can reach out and successfully request extradition of any felon they want as Banana Republics will do their bidding. The cryptocurrency guru Bankman-Fried was turned over to US authorities even though no extradition treaty exists with the Bahamas. The only remaining safe spots from extradition are Russia, Cuba, Yemen, Afghanistan, and a few small Middle Eastern Arab Emirates. Where extradition exists, there is no statute closure for murder or conspiracy to murder.

Once I received my share, I took Julie on a vacation. We traveled by air to Jamaica and from there, we flew to Cuba. A visiting permit was made available for a fee. I paid an official a bribe of $500.

Of course, I knew there was no extradition. I encouraged Julie to consider a long-term living arrangement until I could determine if we'd be safe to return to the States. The authorities never figured out I was involved, or if they knew, they kept it secret. The possibility of returning to the US always existed, but life in Cuba was very comfortable, and you never know the rat who might spoil a perfect heist. Some insurance detectives never forget. When you least expect it, they will be waiting for you with leg irons.

After a few months, I took the loose diamond from the Ontario job, and I found a n old Jewish diamond cutter on Obispo Street in downtown Old Havana. He cut a nice 1 ½-carat round stone from the rough and sent me to a skilled jeweler who furnished a platinum setting. That made a nice gift for my wife.

Although Cuba was sanctioned by the USA, this made life a little more difficult to obtain certain commodities. But it wasn't necessary to leave the country. You could order anything you wanted from black market traders who operated much like Amazon. Announcements of American sanctions worldwide are State Department public relations gambits by whatever politicians are currently in power. They are rarely effective and tranquilize the American public..

Before leaving the US, I had deposited my share of the take in a German bank in New York City and immediately transferred it to a secret Swiss-numbered bank account linked to the Banco Central de Cuba. Every month, $2000 dollars is transferred from the Swiss account to the Cuban bank. Believe me, $2000 is plenty to live on in Havana. By now, I have $259,000 tucked away in my numbered Swiss account invested in high-interest European currencies (like CDs but with a shorter term of 6 months), and gold coins and ingots funds that cost so little years back are now worth ten times what they were.

When we arrived in Havana years ago, Julie and I rented a large suite in an old Havana Hotel. Most of the evenings, we'd eat at various restaurants and home kitchens that are very popular and inexpensive. I sleep with a .32 automatic pistol under my pillow. It was easy to find in the old market. We have no contact with anyone in the States. Even Julie's parents have no idea where we are. In the evenings, we made love for hours, and after the first year and a half, we had our first child.

Life is not so bad. We have been here for 39 years and now have three children, two sons and one daughter. The schools were good, and the childcare was great and free. Our kids are professional and doing well. If we need anything, I wire the bank to add to our monthly allowance. The principle of our savings has increased considerably on the gold fund, as well as the currency investments. We are doing fine.

The level of education is better than in the US, and medical care is quite good, although because of the US embargo, some medical prescriptions are harder to come by, but couriers can get most Rx's from neighboring countries within 24 hours. I've developed diabetes, probably inherited from my grandmother, but I keep it under control by avoiding sugary products and bread, which is not so easy. Diabetes is a common ailment here; the medical care is good, up to date, and metformin pills are available.

I've learned that life is all a game, and you must know how to play it. I'd say we've done well. I consider myself to be retired. I'm taking guitar lessons from a musician. A skilled lothario built me a fine handmade acoustic guitar. Juliet has a few violin students, and we stay away from politics and don't ruffle anyone's feathers. Life passes so quickly. Happiness is everything.

Dear Reader,

If you want to know more about the Lufthansa heist, the robbery took place at JFK Airport on December 11, 1978. $5.875 million was stolen ($5 million in cash and $875,000 in jewelry). It was the largest cash robbery committed in the USA. The heist has spawned books and films, and the details can be found on Wikipedia.

James Burke planned the robbery but was never charged. He is alleged to be implicated in the murders of the participants to avoid being discovered. Louis Werner, an airport worker who helped plan the heist, was the only one charged. The money and jewelry were never recovered.

The planning began after Louis Werner informed Martin Krugman, who he owed $20,000 for gambling debts, of the shipments. Krugman informed Henry Hill that Lufthansa was flying currency to its terminal, and Hill recruited Burke. Frank Burke drove a backup vehicle, and Parnell "Stacks" Edwards' was to dispose of the van.

At 3 a.m., six men arrived at the Lufthansa cargo building. The gate padlock was cut. The crew entered wearing ski masks and gloves. A car was positioned in the terminal parking lot. Inside, employees were taken hostage and locked in the lunchroom. The robbers carried seventy-two 15-pound boxes of money to their van. The gang warned the employees not to call the police, but ten minutes later, the employees broke free. The robbery took an hour and twenty minutes.

This event was the main subject of two television films, 'The 10 Million Dollar Getaway (1991)' and 'The Big Heist (2001)' and was a unifying element in the film 'Goodfellas (1990).' For the book, see 'The Lufthansa Heist.'