United California Bank robbery
The United California Bank burglary took place on 24 March 1972, when the safe deposit vault at United California Bank in Laguna Niguel, California, was broken into and $30 million ($170 million today) in cash and valuables were looted by professional burglars led by Amil Dinsio. His accomplices were his brother, James Dinsio, his nephews Harry and Ronald Barber, his brother-in-law Charles Mulligan and tag along men Phil Christopher and Charles Broeckel. The Dinsio crew was from Youngstown, Ohio and Christopher and Broeckel were from Cleveland. Amil Dinsio was the alarm expert and mastermind of the operation but he worked closely with his brother, James who was the explosives expert, burglary tool designer and fabricator. His brother-in-law, Charles Mulligan was the best and most trusted driver and look out man in the business. The inclusion of Phil Christopher and Charles Broeckel was forced upon Dinsio by the person who clued him in on the score. Dinsio reluctantly took them along as muscle men only and that action proved to be a critical mistake to Dinsio. Neither man had the skills needed to assist in any other way with the score as they were nothing more than petty thieves. Charles Broeckel helped inside the vault to bust open safe deposit boxes while Phil Christopher never saw the inside of the bank or vault. He simply was a look out man communicating with Dinsio via walkie talkie. The total stolen from this score was estimated at nearly $30 million.[1] The gang gained entry to the vault by using dynamite to blast a hole in its reinforced concrete roof.
While the burglary itself was executed perfectly, the thieves made the mistake of perpetrating a similar crime back in Ohio a few months later. The FBI linked the two burglaries, and their investigation of transportation records revealed that the entire gang had travelled to California on a single flight. They also learned of the townhouse used as an HQ, which had been rented by one of the gang members. A search initially found nothing, until the dishwasher was checked. The burglars had forgotten to wash their dishes before returning to Ohio, and the recovered fingerprints permitted federal arrest warrants to be made, leading to the arrest and conviction of all the burglars, along with the recovery of most of the loot. Surprisingly, the FBI website does not have an account of the incident or the investigation that led to apprehension of the burglars.
Accounts of the burglary and investigation have been shown on truTV and Investigation Discovery. Dinsio’s book, “Inside The Vault,” was self-published in 2014 with the assistance of his daughter.
See also
List of large value US robberies
References
- Porrello, Rick; Superthief: A Master Burglar, the Mafia, and the Biggest Bank Heist in U.S. History; 272 pp.; Next Hat Press (2005); ISBN 0-9662508-5-0
