NCJ Number
185654
Date Published
2000
Length
258 pages
Annotation
Drawing from extensive conversations with an experienced and notorious thief, Phil Cresta, the authors tell how Cresta and his partners pulled off robberies of jewelers, rare coin dealers, furriers, and armored trucks and describe the meticulous planning that marked Cresta's criminal career and made him a master at outwitting police.
Abstract
Phil Cresta was the mastermind of a legendary Brink's armored truck robbery in Massachusetts and a string of countless other high stakes heists. He stole more than $10 million in escapades that were often daring and at times inventive. His robberies baffled both police and fellow outlaws for decades. In discussions with the authors, Cresta himself provides the true story of how his crimes were planned and carried out. Born in Boston in 1928, Cresta was raised in an abusive household and was sent to Concord Reformatory as a teenager where he learned the craft of picking locks, a skill later honed during stays at the Charlestown and Walpole prisons in Massachusetts. Following the Brink's robbery in 1968, he was put on the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Ten Most Wanted List. Cresta eluded the law for 5 years, living in Chicago under an assumed name. After serving time at Walpole for the Brink's job, Cresta died penniless in Chicago in 1995. Shortly before his death, however, he revealed the full extent of his criminal career to one of the authors, a retired Boston police detective. Cresta's final account includes vivid stories of betrayal, murder, and intrigue, as well as a variety of characters associated with his criminal activities, such as mob bosses, informants, and corrupt judges and officials.