Fourth Suspect Still at Large : Three Charged in $8-Million Robbery at Wells Fargo Depot
NEW YORK — Three men have been arrested and charged in the robbery of nearly $8 million in untraceable bills from a Wells Fargo vault last month, the FBI announced Thursday.
A fourth gunman was still at large, FBI spokesman Joseph Valiquette said. None of the stolen cash, which was on its way to the Federal Reserve Bank at the time of the robbery, was recovered.
The $7.94 million taken in the April 29 robbery makes it possibly the biggest cash robbery in U.S. history. It was the most ever stolen from Wells Fargo.
New York Arrests
One of the suspects, Jeffrey Grubczak of Manhattan, was arrested late Wednesday at his home. Rosario Leanzo, 61, of Malverne, N.Y., was arrested Thursday at a social club in Manhattan. Thomas Lacarruba, of Lake Ronkonkema, N.Y., also was arrested Thursday in Manhattan, Valiquette said.
All three were charged with violations of federal bank robbery laws, which carry a maximum of 20 years in jail and a $5,000 fine, he said. None of the men were Wells Fargo employees, he said.
The FBI said the three arrested men and a fourth man still at large used a sledgehammer to break through a cinder-block wall of a Wells Fargo depot in lower Manhattan in the early morning of April 29, and ambushed four security guards as they reported to work. The depot was unguarded for hours during weekends, and the security guards discovered the gunmen as they opened the vault for a routine inspection, detectives said.
Handcuffed Guards
The gunmen, armed with revolvers, handcuffed the guards to a forklift, then stole the $7.94 million, authorities said.
The truck used in the robbery was found several hours later, 1 1/2 miles from the robbery site, under the Brooklyn Bridge.
Valiquette said an unidentified witness saw Grubczak use a sledgehammer to pry open the back door of the truck while Leanzo acted as a lookout.
She then saw Lacarruba transfer the money to another vehicle and the three men drive off, the FBI spokesman said.
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