This Day in History: What has been termed the first documented bank heist in U.S. history, happened when burglars stole $245,000 (1831 values) from the City Bank (now Citibank) on Wall Street happened on this day in 1831.
The amount stolen would come to over $52 million in 2013 currency. Initial reports variously reported the name of the culprits as Edward Smith, Edward Jones, James Honeyman and James Murray. A modern source, drawing on period newspapers, names James Honeyman and William J. Murray.
"The pair had gained entry with a set of duplicate keys carefully made from wax impressions of the door locks by Honeyman's brother in law, a locksmith. They emptied out the vault and some safe deposit boxes and disappeared undetected.
When the theft was discovered the next day, suspicion fell on the employees because there was no sign of forced entry." Source
Murray and Honeyman, who used both "Smith" and "Jones" as aliases, spent $60,000 before they were caught. Murray fled to Philadelphia while Honeyman remained in New York under an alias. Both were captured, convicted, and both sentenced to five years in Sing Sing prison.
While this is posited as the first bank heist in US history, there was actually an earlier one in 1798. Read more here.
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