Stephanie Schorow is back, with a story that is “stranger—and far more compelling—than Hollywood led us to believe” (author David Kruh). On January 17, 1950, seven robbers in Halloween masks walked into a counting room of the Brink’s armored car garage on Prince Street in Boston and walked out with $2.5 million in cash, checks, and securities. It was the
largest robbery in U.S. history to date. Yet not a shot was fired, not a drop of blood shed. The robbers simply said, “This is a stick-up,” before gagging and tying up the guards. Within minutes they escaped into the night with bags stuffed with money, leaving almost no clues behind.

This is Stephanie’s third program for the Needham History Center. She has previously spoken to us about the Cocoanut Grove Fire, and the Boston Harbor Islands Adventure. After stints as a journalist at the Boston Herald, the Associated Press and newspapers large and small, Stephanie Schorow turned to nonfiction narratives. She has written or co-written six other books on Boston’s history: Boston On Fire: A History of Fire and Firefighting in Boston; The Cocoanut Grove Fire; East of Boston: Notes from the Harbor Islands; The Boston Mob Guide: Hitmen, Hoodlums and Hangouts (with Beverly Ford); and Drinking Boston: A History of the City and its Spirits.

This talk is free and open to everyone. Refreshments will be served.