Masterminds and Misdeeds: True Tales of Infamous Heists

In an era before modern forensics and digital surveillance, a group of clever criminals orchestrated a railway heist so precise, it baffled Victorian law enforcement and captivated the public. On a summer night in 1855, as a train carried war funds from London to Folkestone, thieves swapped the shipment’s gold bars with lead and escaped undetected.

In The Lufthansa Heist: The Mob’s Big Score, author James G. Edwards II delivers a gripping account of the people, the plan, and the bloody aftermath of the crime that stunned law enforcement and fed the public imagination for decades. From Jimmy Burke’s deadly leadership to Henry Hill’s later confessions, this book explores how mob discipline broke down, how investigators struggled to connect dots, and how Hollywood mythologized a heist that remains shrouded in mystery.

In January 1950, eleven men walked into the Brinks Armored Car Depot in Boston and pulled off what was then the largest cash heist in American history. Wearing Halloween masks and stolen uniforms, they vanished with over $2.7 million—and left behind almost no clues. For years, it looked like they had committed the perfect crime.