“Cresta. Phil Cresta.” “How do you know Phil Cresta?” Sullivan continued. Kelley identified Cresta as one of the bandits who robbed the Brink’s truck and further testified that it was Cresta who used a key-making machine to copy the truck’s key that Andrew DeLeary turned over to Angelo in a phone booth on Boylston Street.
Kelley told of clocking the truck’s route for three or four Saturdays, and of making two aborted attempts before the robbery was accomplished. “Was Mr. Cresta involved in the planning of the robbery?” Sullivan asked. “Yes.” “What role did Mr. Cresta have?” “I assigned him to be a driver,” Kelley lied. “I watched from a station wagon as Angelo and Diaferio used the key Cresta made to enter the Brink’s truck.” “What happened next?” Sullivan asked. “We followed the route I had designed, from Canal Street to the parking lot behind the Registry of Motor Vehicles,” Kelley said. “Where was Mr. Cresta at that time?” Sullivan asked. “He was following me in one of the cars,” Kelley said, looking directly at Phil for the first time since he’d started manufacturing his testimony.
Phil said later that he was thinking, “That son of a bitch didn’t even have the balls to be there when we took the truck down, and there he was on the stand lying about how he’d masterminded the job and how he was in the lead car, when he was at home faking an illness! What could I do, stand up in front of the jury and say, ‘You’re a fucking liar. You weren’t even there’?
“I don’t know what made me madder, his taking me down or his lying to make himself a big shot, when he was nothing but a turncoat coward. I knew that Kelley had set up Bobby Rasmussen, Jackie Murray, Leo Lowry, Frankie Benjamin, and Georgie Ash. They were all killed because they’d trusted that rat-bastard Kelley. And there he was trying to kill me by taking away my freedom for a long, long time. I should’ve whacked him when I had the chance. I never should’ve gotten involved with him in the first place. It turned out that we only needed him to meet with DeLeary—anyone could’ve done that.”
Phil sat through two days of Kelley’s bravado-filled testimony. “It was the most difficult two days of my life,” Phil recalled, “having to sit there and listen to that rat bastard making himself the mastermind when he wasn’t even there.” Not only did Phil have to listen to Kelley’s fabrications of Cresta’s Brink’s robbery, he had to look at them in print. On June 25 the Record American headline read, $1M BRINKS HEIST MASTERMIND TELLS OF PLANNING, BANDITS’ ROLES.
Farese went after Kelley’s credibility. He basically let the jury see what kind of man Red Kelley was and how he had spent his life. Farese was able to introduce some of the things he wanted the jury to hear but was not allowed to discuss others. He knew it was a crapshoot anyway, and Phil’s fate would rest on whether the jury believed Red Kelley’s story or not. Farese rested his case on June 26.
On June 28, 1974, a memo was sent to the director of the FBI:
TO: DIRECTOR, FBI
FROM: SAC, BOSTON
SUBJECT: PHILIP JOSEPH CRESTA JR. AKA JOSEPH PAUL ZITO
On 6/28/74 Suffolk County, Boston, Mass. Jury returned guilty verdict re PHILIP J. CRESTA, former Bureau 10 fugitive, and CRESTA then received a State Prison term of 25–40 years.
Phil was taken from the Suffolk County Courthouse immediately after the verdict was read and transported to Walpole State Prison, where he was reunited with Angelo and Tony. They were in the fifth year of their own twenty-five-to-forty-year sentences.
ON THE INSIDE, Phil Cresta’s brain, which had helped him outwit authorities during hundreds of jobs, went to work helping other convicts. Phil became what is known as a jailhouse lawyer, and he filed brief after brief with courts throughout Massachusetts on behalf of convicts doing time at Walpole. Regarding his petition to overturn his own verdict, Phil received a letter from a Harvard Law School student, who said that Phil’s argument to overturn, based on the seven-year plea that was offered, was absolutely brilliant.
One day, in the prison waiting room, Phil ran into F. Lee Bailey, Kelley’s defense lawyer both for the Plymouth mail robbery and for Cresta’s Brink’s robbery. Phil couldn’t help himself. All the old bitterness came out—at Kelley, and at Bailey. Their argument had to be broken up by guards, but not before Cresta spit in Bailey’s face.
Other than that confrontation, Phil Cresta became known as a model prisoner during his last stay at Walpole. His only crime in jail was picking the lock of the candy machine once a month, which drove the prison guards wild. It was a crime, like most of the others he committed, that has not been solved until now.
AFTERMATH
The Main Characters
POLICE RECOVERED $35,360 from ANDREW DELEARY’S share of the 1968 Brink’s take, buried outside a little cottage in New Hampshire owned by DeLeary’s father-in-law. No other Brink’s money was ever recovered.
ANGELO and TONY are alive and free; hence their real names have not been given.
PHIL CRESTA served twelve years at Walpole State Prison. Following his release in 1986, he moved to Chicago, where he stayed in an apartment that his sister Mari continued to rent but seldom lived in. She, by that time, had divorced Augie and moved to Miami, where her brother Billy “Bad” was living. Phil did not get along with some of the Miami wise guys Billy hung out with, so he preferred Chicago. Besides, Phil thought, he’d done enough time, and if he hung out in Miami with Billy and his friends, chances were …
Phil had had enough of prison.
While in Chicago Phil was treated at University Hospital for a heart condition. In 1990 he moved back to the Boston area and lived with his mother and his sister Rose, in Malden. Just about all his savings had been spent.
Then, broke, he moved in with Billy Crowley in South Boston, where he lived from March 1991 until July 1994. In August 1994 his heart problems intensified, so he decided to go back to Chicago, to be near the doctors who had previously treated him. There he lived with friends for the last few months of his life.
On January 8, 1995, Phil Cresta, the man who stole more than ten million dollars in his lifetime, died in Chicago’s University Hospital. He was penniless.
AFTERMATH
Other Characters
IN FEBRUARY 1972, Harvard Law professor Archibald Cox, who would be the special prosecutor in the Watergate scandal from 1973 on, served for three months as counsel to a Massachusetts legislative committee investigating charges of judicial impropriety against two state Superior Court judges, Edward J. DeSaulnier Jr. and VICTOR BOWMAN. The committee had the sole power to remove either judge from the bench. In January of that same year, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court had ordered disbarment as a lawyer for Judge DeSaulnier, but DeSaulnier subsequently resigned from the bench, so Cox declared that case moot. That same Supreme Court had censured Judge Bowman and referred the case to Cox’s legislative committee for decision.
On April 11, 1972, on the basis of Cox’s investigation, the legislative committee recommended no further action against Judge Bowman. Bowman continued to serve as a judge of the Massachusetts Superior Court until March 1982, when he resigned, citing low salary as a reason. In his letter to then-governor Edward J. King, Bowman stated, “The salary of a Superior Court judge may be enough to live on if one has no dependents; unfortunately, it is not enough to die on.” Victor Bowman took up the practice of law as a defense attorney.
On December 2, 1982, according to the Boston Globe, minutes after payroll driver “Andrew DeLeary drove away from an East Boston bank with his company’s weekly payroll—almost $4,200 in cash—he was held at gunpoint. One of the robbers grabbed the money and ordered DeLeary into the trunk of his car. He was rescued 20 minutes later after a bystander who had witnessed the incident called police.” Given that it was DeLeary who originally approached Angelo and Tony about the 1968 Brink’s robbery, one might wonder—was this also planned? Or was it some kind of odd retribution?
JERRY ANGIULO is presently in prison on federal racketeering charges.
JOHN “RED” KELLEY was placed in prot
ective custody on June 4, 1969. He became one of the FBI’s top witnesses against the mob. He apparently was held under heavy guard at Pease Air Force Base in New Hampshire when needed for testimony. In March 1970, after having testified in several other cases, he helped put Raymond Patriarca, the head of La Cosa Nostra, in prison. He was then placed in the witness protection program. Nobody knows for sure if he is alive or dead today. If he is alive, which is highly unlikely, he would be in his eighties.
AUGIE CIRCELLA, along with his brother Nicky and other Chicago mobsters, was arrested on a charge of extortion in connection with a million-dollar scandal involving the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees and 20th Century Fox. Augie’s brother was found guilty and deported to Mexico, where he ran a fleet of shrimp boats until he died. Charges against Augie were dismissed for lack of evidence. He returned to Chicago, where he died.
Phil Cresta’s older brother, MIKE, became a Medford police officer, and pretty much separated himself from most of his family.
The date of MARI Cresta Circella’s divorce from Augie has not been established, but it is known that they continued to spend time together. She lived in various cities after leaving Chicago, including Miami, where she dated Johnny Irish for a while. She died in Las Vegas, Nevada, on March 25, 1998.
Phil’s younger sister, rose, took care of her mother until she died in 1999.
His younger brother BILLY “BAD” CRESTA became well-known in Miami and New York, and was considered to be close to Columbo’s Carmine Persico and Johnny Irish. He died early in the year 2000.
His youngest brother, BOBBY, like Phil, became an expert pick man. He was arrested in December 1983 and did six years for conspiracy to import twenty-five tons of marijuana. He is presently free and living in New Hampshire, and contributed greatly to this book.
EDWARD MCALENEY is no longer living.
SERGEANT JIM DOHERTY is alive and well, living on Cape Cod. He has vivid memories of “that Cresta kid” as being the “toughest son of a bitch” he ever met. He especially remembers the night Phil fought the entire on-duty staff at the Cambridge police station, when Doherty was trying to arrest him.
LOUIE “DIAMONDS” COHEN, Phil once said, “reminded me of Ben Tilley. He liked to hang around with wise guys and he loved the action. But he didn’t want to take any of the risks involved. Like Tilley, he also kissed Angiulo’s ass—which made me sick.” Phil was not sympathetic when he heard that Louie Diamonds, who always seemed to be a phone call away from being whacked, disappeared. It is not clear whether he was killed, or whether he took off before being killed.
After Phil was released from his last prison term, he received an invitation to meet WHITEY BULGER at a bar in Southie. As usual, Phil arrived early. While drinking a beer in Triple O’s, he noticed a lot of punks and druggies hanging out there. Uneasy, Phil left, telling the bartender to tell Bulger he’d been there. He never heard from Whitey again.
In late 1994 Whitey Bulger, anticipating indictments from the feds he had informed for from 1971 through 1990, went on vacation. It was a good idea. On January 4, 1995, a federal warrant was secretly issued for him, for extortion. A federal racketeering indictment followed a week later. Bulger was placed on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list. Phil Cresta’s advice helped prepare Bulger to run.
“Whitey Bulger was always two steps ahead of everyone else,” Phil said before he died. “Before my trial we talked often about how I’d avoided the feds for so many years. He wanted to know everything: how much money I had when I left, what kind of contacts I had, how I got in touch with friends and family back home, what aliases I used, whether I used disguises. … He was like a sponge, taking everything in with those ice-cold blue eyes. Bulger, like me, knew there’s always someone out there trying to take you down. Sometimes it’s the cops, sometimes the robbers, but it’s always someone. He knew that when the time came—and it will always come for guys like us—he’d have to be ready to go on a minute’s notice. How long you stay gone depends on how much preparation you’ve done before.”
Both Whitey Bulger and Phil Cresta were masters of preparation. As of this writing, Bulger, who has been seen here and there, remains at large.
Index
Accardo, Tony “Big Tuna,” 10, 136, 194,html#page_202; Chicago mob and,html#page_4, 5, 29
ADT alarm company, 138–39
Aiuppa, Joseph “Joey O’Brien,” 194, 202
alarms, 45, 89, 109, 110, 138
Alex, Gussie, 74
aliases, 77, 194, 201, 208–9, 210
Angelo (crime partner of Cresta), 53, 101, 102–3, 211; armored car robbery and, 49–51, 65–71, 161–89; bank robbery and, 44–45; car theft and, 39–40; in court, 151, 152; danger from Angiulo, 105–8; at farmhouse, 110; first meeting with Cresta, 34–36; highwaymen robberies and, 119; jewelry theft and, 92–98, 113–14, 138–45, 144–60; in Kansas City, 74–81; meeting with Red Kelley, 162–69; in New York, 83–88; Parker House Hotel heist and, 4–6, 7, 9; Rideout robbery and, 53–62; sentencing of, 193; VA Hospital job and, 125, 127; in Walpole Prison, 201, 213, 217–18, 219
Angiulo, Jerry, xv, 30, 43, 53, 86, 127; appreciation for jokes, 63–64; Cresta’s dislike of, 27, 33–34, 229; Cresta’s early association with, 19–21, 23–24; encounter with Cresta, 130–34; highwaymen robberies and, 97, 109, 110; media attention and, 73; Patriarca and, 42; in prison, 228; suspicions of Cresta team, 105–6; threats to kill debtor, 58; VA Hospital job and, 200, 201
Armored Banking Services, 121
Armored Car Carrier Corporation, 39, 66, 104
armored cars, xiv, 65, 73, 99–100, 108; Brink’s heist (1950), 22, 31, 165; Brink’s heist (1968), xvii, 161–89; guards’ uniforms, 39; Quincy heist (1965), 48–51, 53; violence in robbery of, 121–27
Ash, George E., 162, 223
bagmen, 61, 155, 157, 158, 160
Bailey, F. Lee, 164, 188, 189, 224
Bain, Walter, 111–12, 115, 117–20
Baione, Larry, 23, 134–35, 136
Baker, Nathan, 157, 160
bank guards, 43–44, 45
bank robbery, 44–45, 53, 73, 161
barbers, as informants, 42–43, 54
Barboza, Joe “The Animal,” 21, 22, 29
bartenders, as informants, 42, 43
Baumgold, Inc. (jewelers), 92, 111, 119
Bean, Orson, 18
Benjamin, Francis “Frankie,” 162, 223
Bettano, Donald (guard), 121–22, 125
Bochicchio, William (police officer), 149
bondsmen, 211
Bones (crime partner of Cresta), 20
bookmaking, 20–21
Boston: Cresta’s knowledge of, 93; criminals of, 18–22; immigrants in, 13; investigation of Cresta’s activities, 30–31; Mafia in, 19–25; police in, xv–xvi
Boston Globe, xiv, 228; obituary for Ben Tilley, 217; reports of Cresta jobs, 57–58, 69, 103, 119, 123, 140–41, 188
Boston Herald, xiv, 23, 58, 69–70
Boston Red Sox, 42, 43, 44, 62, 129–30
Bourque, Holland (police officer), 149
Bowman, Detective Gary, 175
Bowman, Judge Victor, 147–48, 151–52; bribing of, 156–57, 158, 160; investigation of, 160, 227
Brady, District Attorney Peter F., 148–49, 150–52
Brink’s, Inc., 38, 39, 165
Brink’s armored car robbery (1950), 22, 31, 165
Brink’s armored car robbery
(1968), xvii, 161–89; Cresta’s arrest and trial for, 207–12, 218–24; trial (1969), 193–94
Brown Jug bar, 141–43, 158, 214–16
Buccola, Phil (Filippo Bruccola), 19, 20
Bulger, Whitey, xv, 107, 200, 201, 217, 229–30
Byrne, Garrett (district attorney), 211, 212
Cadigan, Lt. Neil, 96, 119
Cameron, Lawrence (assistant D.A.), 187–88, 189
canceled check robbery, 63–71, 73
Capone, Al, 18, 29
car-stalling device, 90–92, 95–97, 119
car theft, 39–40, 49, 173
Carroll, Dr. Francis (eyewitness), 124
Carroll, James E., 50
Carter, Detective John, 187
Carty, Tom, 30–31
casing (“clocking”), 54–56, 65–66, 99–100, 115, 166–68
Cerone, Jackie, 194, 203
Charles Street Jail, 189, 210
Chenetti, Detective Robert, 175
Chicago, xxi, 5, 61; Follies Burlesque Theater, 4, 60, 194, 203; Mafia in, 4, 18, 29, 76, 201–4, 225
Circella, Augie, 10, 29, 76, 80; arrest of Cresta and, 208, 210; Civella family and, 75, 80; Cresta’s fugitive days and, 200; fate of, 228; Follies Burlesque Theater and, 4, 60, 194, 203; as informant, 74, 83; Mayor Daley and, 202; pen theft and, 88
Civella family, 75, 77, 78, 79, 80
Coffey, Tim, 19
Cohen, Louie “Diamonds,” 92–93, 105, 112, 115; fate of, 229; highwaymen robberies and, 95, 97–98, 110, 120; Parker House Hotel heist and, 3–4, 74; pen theft and, 86–88
coin collections, 54, 55, 57–58
Coll, Mad Dog, 18
Columbo family, 136, 229
Connolly, Detective Thomas, 187
Cosa Nostra, La, 33, 132, 201, 228. See also Mafia; wise guys
Costello, Frank, 18
courts, 32, 147–53, 200, 208, 218–24
Cox, Archibald, 227
Cresta, Billy “Bad” (brother of P.C.), 13, 132–36, 191, 225, 229
Cresta, Bobby (brother of P.C.), xvi, 13, 198–200, 204, 213; bail money for Phil and, 211; childhood of, 16; lock picking and, 229
Cresta, “Dorothy” (first wife of P.C.), 18, 29, 43, 207, 212
Cresta, Mari (sister of P.C.), 13, 74, 89, 212; Chicago mob and, 194–95; childhood of, 16; dancing career of, 4, 18; divorce from Augie Circella, 225, 228; FBI manhunt for Phil Cresta and, 195, 202, 204–5; marriage to Augie Circella, 4, 60
Cresta, Mike (brother of P.C.), 13, 228
Cresta, Mike (uncle of P.C.), 14, 15, 16
Cresta, Phil, Jr.: aliases of, 77, 201, 208–9, 210; armored car robberies, 65–71; arrests of, 188–89, 207–8; bank robbery and, 44–45; Billy Crowley remembers, xiii–xvii; Boston Mafia and, 19–25; Brink’s armored car heist (1968), 161–89; carelessness of, 205; casing (“clocking”) before a crime, 54–56, 65–66, 99–100, 115; Chicago Mafia connections, 29–30, 38–39, 73–74, 89, 136, 194–95, 201–4; childhood of, 13–17; in Civil Defense (World War II), 16–17; crime team of, xv, xvi, 33–40, 41, 47, 66, 74, 83, 162; death of, 226; dislike of Angiulo, 27, 33–34, 229; enemies of, 22, 24–25, 31–32, 51, 213–18; farm in New Hampshire, 109–10, 127; as fugitive, 191–205; fur heist, xvii–xviii, 75–81, 104, 126; hatred of authority, 15; highwaymen robberies and, 105, 106, 108, 117–20; intelligence of, 194; jewelry theft and, 3–11, 92–98, 110–16, 138–45; in Kansas City, 74–81; lock-picking skills, xvii, 18, 21–22, 56, 58, 85, 114, 138, 224; meeting with Red Kelley, 162–69; in New York, 83–88; one-man jobs, 99–108; parking-meter scam, 27–32, 33, 34, 38, 48, 89, 109; philosophy of, 126, 127; in prison, 17–18, 21–22, 29, 224, 225; reasons for choosing crime; Rideout heist and, 53–62; run-in with Angiulo, 130–36; safe-deposit boxes of, 192, 194, 210; separation from wife, 43; Skelly armored car heist (1968), 99–104, 192; trial for Brink’s job, 218–24; use of violence, xvii, 121–27, 184–87; on Whitey Bulger, 230
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