Bonded Vault heist

[2] The boxes were a separate legal entity from Hudson Fur Storage called the Bonded Vault Company, used by members of the Patriarca crime family and their associates.

[1] On Thursday, August 14, 1975, eight men traveled in a van to Hudson Fur Storage: Robert "The Deuce" Dussault, Charles "Chucky" Flynn, Joe "The Dancer" Danese, Gerald "Gerry" Tillinghast, Ralph Byrnes, Jacob Tarzian, John Ouimette, and Walter Ouimette.

The storage facility had a minimal security system, thought to be unnecessary due to the reputation of Patriarca and his associates.

[2] At around 8:00 AM, Dussault entered the business by the front door, wearing sunglasses and a suit and carrying a briefcase, posing as a client.

[2][3] He pointed a .38-caliber revolver at business co-owner Samuel Levine and warned employees not to "reach for any buttons or I'll blow your head off".

[2] The thieves tried unsuccessfully to drill into the safe deposit boxes, but they succeeded by using a crowbar to pry the doors off their hinges, and proceeded to stuff valuables into duffel bags.

Dussault told them to wait five minutes before leaving, and one of the thieves took co-owner Hyman Levine's driver's license, threatening him not to try to identify them.

[4][2] Hudson Fur Storage employee Barbara Oliva, who was previously unaware of the secret bank, said that the men called each other "Harry" to conceal their real names.

[1][6] The thieves went to a hideout at 5 Golf Avenue in East Providence[3][2] where they divided what they had stolen, each taking $64,000 in cash and planning to split what they could get for some of the jewelry and other non-cash valuables.

[3][5] A source in the Patriarca crime family gave police the names of most of the people involved soon after the heist,[2] and Oliva was able to describe both Dussault and Flynn, who were not wearing masks when they entered, because the pillowcase put over her head was threadbare and transparent.

Ralph Byrnes was found guilty on 13 of 14 counts, including robbery, kidnapping, and possession of burglary tools, but innocent of assault with a pistol.

[2][6][5][3] Patriarca was serving a prison sentence and felt that he was not receiving what he was due from his criminal associates, so he decided to steal from them to teach them a lesson.

[3][6] He had the door left open into the vault for the thieves that day, according to Dussault, and he had called for the robbery to be rescheduled at one point because his son Raymond Jr. wanted to take his valuables out of the safe first.