Air France Robbery (1967)

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In 1967 mobster Henry Hill, aged 23, pulled off a robbery at the Air France air-cargo terminal in New York's JFK International Airport to the tune of $420,000.

The heist is memorable for its sheer audacity, and the unusualness of the target, particularly in that an airline should keep such sums in storage at an airport: Air France was the carrier for American currency that had been exchanged in France by tourists and military personnel. The airline had contracted to return the money to the US for depositing with American banks. It was carried out by Hill, Robert "Frenchy" McMahon and Jimmy Burke, on a tip off from McMahon.

1 Planning
2 Execution
3 Portrayal in Film
4 External Sources

[edit] Planning

There were a few obstacles to the heist: The money was stored in a "strong room", which was being upgraded to cement block construction; Once the strong room would have only one key, which was kept by a guard - he would never let the key out of his sight and could not be bribed; the presence of the money could never be ascertained, as no-one ever knew when or how much would be transported. The money would usually be carried in large, white canvas bags, with red seals over the sides, each containing US$60,000.

Air France aircraft regularly deivered 3 or 4 of these $60,000 loads at a time, and McMahon was of the opinion that 3 or 4 men with pistols could easily steal it. A reconnaissance mission revealed further potential complications: The warehouse was quite large. The entrance was at a point across the warehouse floor from the strong room. At the time of the recon, there were approximately 30 people in the area - without masks, they would invariably be identified by one of the witnesses.

Upgrades to the strong room were underway. They had seen the canvas bags, which were stacked against a wall during the upgrades. However, it was evident that they couldn't pull off the robbery the conventional way, with guns and ski masks.

Of all these obstacles, the most difficult one would prove to be the guard, who kept the key with him at all times, even on days off. Jimmy Burke wanted to kidnap him and take the key. According to Hill, he believed that Burke would have murdered the guard just to avoid the possibility of being identified.

Another break-in to the guard's home turned up a potential weaknesses beyond money. McMahon introduced the guard to a girl. In time, the guard and the girl became intimate. After a number of dry runs involving the theft, search, and replacement of the guard's clothes, they discovered the guard did in fact keep the key, one of many, with him at all times.

A short time before the event, McMahon heard that between $400,000 and $700,000 was being brought into the strong room, and decided the time was right for the heist for maximum profit. Without further rehearsals, Hill decided they would do it for real. McMahon took the man to meet the girl again; however, they needed to take the man's key, copy it, and return it within a narrow window of opportunity. It wasn't until half an hour before the deadline that the guard separated himself from his clothes.

Already running late when they obtained the keys, they found the keyring had 18 different keys, any of which could have been the one to the strong room. Hill took the keys, jumped into Jimmy Burke's waiting car and zoomed to a locksmith. Although closing, the locksmith was happy to duplicate the keys. However, he duplicated all except 3 of the keys because he didn't have the blanks. Working quickly, Hill replaced the keys without being discovered.

[edit] Execution

Fortunately for the robbers, one of the 15 keys McMahon tested the following Saturday, worked. McMahon maintained the best time for the actual robbery would be just before midnight. There wasn't to be a bank collection until the subsequent Monday, due to a Jewish holiday. Hill bought the largest suitcase he could find.

On the day of the robbery, Hill and Tommy DeSimone drove to the Air France cargo terminal at John F. Kennedy International Airport. At 11.40 p.m, they entered the Air France cargo terminal. McMahon said that they should just walk in, as people often came to the terminal to pick up lost baggage. DeSimone and Hill entered the unsecured area unchallenged. They unlocked the door with the duplicate key. Using a a small flashlight, they found seven of the bags, which they loaded into the suitcase.

They walked out of the cargo terminal. No alarm was raised, no shots fired, no one injured. They were never prosecuted for the theft.

[edit] Portrayal in Film

The robbery was portrayed in the in 1990 Hollywood film, GoodFellas. The film concentrated on the robbery, the consequences of the robbery, and impact on Hill and the Vario crew's lives.

Hill still believes it was the Air France Robbery which endeared him to the mafia.