Aug 14, 1962: Route 3 heist shocks America

On August 14, 1962, one of history's most spectacular cash-in-transit robberies unfolded on a stretch of Route 3 in Plymouth, Massachusetts. At dusk, around 8:30 PM, a U.S. Postal Service truck en route from Cape Cod to the Federal Reserve Bank in Boston was stopped by two men in police uniforms. Threatening them with submachine guns, they forced the driver, Patrick Schena, and the guard, William Barrett, out of the vehicle, tied them up, and disappeared with the truck's cargo: $1.5 million in cash – a fortune equivalent to over $15 million today. This daring robbery shook the U.S. Postal Service and triggered an extensive investigation that, for years, fruitlessly hunted for both the stolen money and the perpetrators, cementing the case as a notoriously unsolved one.

Bold plan: Fake uniforms and quest for millions

It was an incredibly daring plan, with every detail seemingly thought out. The robbers acted professionally, and their use of fake police uniforms gave them the necessary authority to stop the mail truck without difficulty. According to witness William Barrett, one of the overpowered guards, the voice of one of the perpetrators sounded as if he had rehearsed his lines. While Schena and Barrett were being tied up, the robbers opened the cargo hold, where 127 mailbags awaited, filled with new $1 and $5 bills – a large sum of money from Cape Cod's lucrative tourist season.

Heist executed: Roadblocks and smooth FBI escape

The robbery itself was orchestrated with impressive ingenuity. Accomplices had set up fake roadblocks further down Route 3, wearing road crew attire, to divert traffic and keep onlookers away from the impending crime scene. Minutes after tying up the postal workers, the robbers fled in a stolen Chevrolet. Other accomplices waited at secret handover points to receive the numerous mailbags of money. When the FBI arrived at the scene, agents found only the abandoned getaway vehicles with false license plates and a single piece of tape used to bind the victims.

Investigation: John 'Red' Kelley, Mafia links

The investigation evolved into a massive ghost hunt. Postal inspectors, FBI agents, and state police scoured New England's criminal underworld, from Boston's underbelly to Rhode Island's Mafia networks. One of the prime suspects was John “Red” Kelley, a notorious criminal known for his precisely executed robberies. His alibi of a movie night with his wife was quickly debunked by neighbors who had seen him drive away that evening. Kelley also had a past as a prison guard in Plymouth and therefore had intimate knowledge of the area and the weaknesses of potential routes. The known Mafia figure Vincent Teresa later claimed in his memoirs that the Patriarca family had financed this major robbery in exchange for a significant share of the loot.

1967 Trial: Masterful defense and Boston acquittal

Despite the intense investigation and a large reward of $150,000 for information leading to the stolen money, the evidence against Kelley and three other suspects, including Patricia Diaferio and Thomas Richards, was primarily circumstantial. When the trial began in Boston in 1967, the prosecution faced an enormous problem: their key witness, George “Billy Aggie” Agisotelis, had vanished without a trace. During the trial, the renowned defense attorney F. Lee Bailey mounted an effective defense. He argued, among other things, that the Postal Service's own negligence in using regular mail trucks instead of armored vehicles for such a valuable transport had made the robbery possible – almost an invitation to a crime of this magnitude. After just three hours of deliberation, the jury acquitted all defendants, and the case remained unsolved.

Aftermath: Mystery of millions and lasting effects

Since the acquittals, the mystery of the missing money's fate has spawned numerous theories. Some legends claim the Patriarca Mafia hid the loot in the walls of a warehouse in Boston's North End. Other speculation suggests John Kelley buried his share in the woods of Myles Standish State Forest, an area he knew intimately. A 1982 book allegedly contained a map with coordinates to the hidden money, but extensive searches in the area yielded no results.

The consequence of this daring robbery was that the Postal Service immediately reinstated the use of armored cars for cash transports. The case also played a role in the FBI's reform of strategies against organized crime in the USA. For the local population of Plymouth, Massachusetts, the Plymouth Mail Truck Robbery is a blend of fascinating local history and a bitter reminder of a serious crime that went unpunished. Every year, the incident is recalled at the crime scene on Route 3, and Patrick Schena's words from that night – that the robbers acted like professionals, and they were defenseless – stand as a testament to the heist's shocking efficiency. The fact that over $1.5 million vanished without a trace, and no one was ever convicted for this spectacular robbery, solidifies the Plymouth Mail Truck Robbery as an enduring unsolved case and a fascinating chapter in American crime history.

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