Final Confession by Brian P. Wallace

Final Confession by Brian P. Wallace

Author:Brian P. Wallace [Wallace, Brian P., Geis, Gilbert, Lehane, Dennis, Crowley, Bill]
Language: eng
Format: epub


14

Machine Guns at the VA

DESPITE CRESTA’S EFFORTS to keep violence to a minimum during his crimes, violence erupted on a sizzling hot Tuesday, July 26, 1966. The temperature was approaching 90 humid degrees as the staff of the VA Hospital in Jamaica Plain was going to lunch. It was exactly 12:22 P.M. when Bernard Fisher and Donald Bettano, of Armored Banking Services of Lynn, pulled their truck into a small alcove near the main lobby of the hospital. As usual on a Tuesday, the guards were bringing $68,000 cash so that the hospital could cash its employees’ paychecks the next day.

Fisher, the first guard, walked toward the front entrance of the hospital as his partner, Bettano, moved toward the back door of the truck to lock it. Each had three bags of money in his hands. The men would normally go into the hospital together, drop off the six bags of cash, return to the truck, unlock the back door, and bring in more bags of cash. But this day was different.

As Bettano started to lock the back door, a blue panel truck came roaring up the hospital driveway and screeched to a halt directly behind him. According to witnesses, three men dressed in black and wearing ski masks bolted from the blue truck and began to open fire. Two of the bandits were carrying submachine guns, while the third had a handgun. Fisher, hearing the screeching tires, turned quickly and reached for his .38-caliber revolver. He was immediately cut down by bullets fired by the man with the handgun. Bettano, seeing his partner wounded on the ground, tried to finish locking the armored truck’s back door. He didn’t succeed. The same gunman who shot Fisher wheeled and fired, hitting Bettano somewhere near his back. He fell to the ground.

Within a matter of seconds, the same robber was standing directly over Fisher, whose gun was lying a few feet to his right. Fisher tried to get up but collapsed. The masked gunman kicked Fisher’s gun about ten yards down the driveway, then reached down and took the three moneybags lying on the pavement. He said something to Fisher; then, walking backward and keeping the gun pointed directly at the guards, retreated only slightly.

The other two robbers, by that time, had put their submachine guns away, taken Bettano’s three moneybags, and opened the back door with Bettano’s keys. The smaller of the two moved the blue panel truck so that it was back-to-back with the armored truck, and remained at the wheel. The robber in the armored truck then began to throw the remaining bags of money into the back of the panel truck. The one who had shot the guards just stood there pointing his gun at both Fisher and Bettano.

Within a matter of seconds it was over. The man in the back of the armored truck jumped into the back of the blue panel truck and shut the doors. The driver beeped his horn once. The one standing over the wounded guards turned and jumped into the front seat, and they were gone.



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