50 Years Ago Today: The Bonded Vault Heist

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — On August 14, 1975, eight armed men carried out one of the largest robberies in U.S. history, the Bonded Vault heist in Providence, Rhode Island.

Hudson Fur Storage was a commercial storage facility located at 101 Cranston Street in the West End of Providence. Hidden inside was the Bonded Vault Company which operated as an unofficial “bank” for the Patriarca crime family, housing valuables in 146 large safe-deposit boxes.

That morning, Robert “The Deuce” Dussault walked in wearing sunglasses and posing as a businessman, drew a revolver on co-owner Samuel Levine, and ordered employees to cover their heads with pillowcases.

Six more men then joined him, while another stood watch outside. Unable to drill open the boxes, they pried them apart with crowbars, stuffing duffel bags with gold, cash, and jewelry worth an estimated $30 million (about $175 million today).

Before leaving, they locked employees in a bathroom, told them to wait five minutes, and warned them not to call police. They took Hyman Levine’s driver’s license as a way to threaten him not to identify them to the police.

After waiting around 5 minutes, the employees left the room and pushed the  alarm button to call the police. In its entirety the robbery lasted around 90 minutes.

After the group went to a hideout in East Providence, splitting some of the  cash and planning to sell off the jewelry, and other tangible items. 

Dussault blew through his share gambling in Las Vegas, and began asking for more of the loot, causing them to worry that he would do give them up. A fellow member of the heist, Charles “Chucky” Flynn was sent to Las Vegas to kill him. Expecting this, Dussault confronted Flynn with a shotgun in a Las Vegas parking lot, telling him to get into a car with him.  Both men unable to kill the other parted ways and Flynn returned to a hotel where another member of the group Joe “The Dancer” Danese was waiting and the two returned to Rhode Island.

In January 1976, when Dussault was arrested in Las Vegas after a fight with his girlfriend, police  were able to identify him by his fingerprints and tattoos. Subsequently, authorities flew from Providence to Nevada to interview him, where Providence police officer Tony Mancuso told him that Flynn had been killed and he was next on his fellow thieves list. Despite being a lie, Dussault believed it and confessed to the heist.

Hudson Fur Storage employee, Barbara Oliva was able to identify both Dussault and Flynn, who were not wearing masks, and because the pillowcase they put over her head was see through.

During the trial witnesses were guarded at all times, and the courtroom was filled with armed officers. Dussault and Danese ended up turning  state’s evidence and testified against the other six men.

The trial lasted four months and at the time Rhode Island Public Radio described it as “the lengthiest, most costly trial in state history”.

After deliberating for seven hours the jury convicted three of the defendants and acquitted three others.

Walter Ouimette was charged with conspiracy and being an accessory before the fact but was acquitted on both counts.

Gerald Tillinghast and Jacob Tarzian were also found not guilty on all counts.

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.

Charles Flynn was found guilty on all counts and sentenced to life in prison, but  was released after around 10 years.

John Ouimette was found guilty of conspiracy and being an accessory after the fact and was sentenced to 45 years, with 15 years suspended, however his conviction was overturned 10 years into his sentence. 

Tillinghast, Walter Ouimette, and Tarzian had alibis the prosecution could not disprove.

After Dussault  turned state’s evidence, he was put into a Federal witness protection program, but he continued a life of crime while under Federal protection. 

After a store robbery went wrong in July 1982, he was arrested, convicted, and sent to prison in Colorado. After being released to a halfway house in North Dakota he died of a heart attack in 2001.

Authorities suspected the involvement of Raymond L. S. Patriarca, leader of the Patriarca crime family, but he was never prosecuted.

According to FBI agents who had been involved in the investigation Patriarca’s  involvement was confirmed years later, and Dussault stated that the robbery was executed at Patriarca’s request. 

It is alleged that Patriarca, who at the time, was serving a prison sentence  felt that he was not receiving what he was due from his associates, so he decided to use this heist as a way to get revenge. Dussault said he had the door left open into the vault that day.

The Bonded Vault heist went down as one of the largest robberies in the history of the country.

In 2017, film producer Chad A. Verdi announced plans for a movie based on the Bonded Vault heist, titled Vault and directed by Tom DeNucci. The film was released in the summer of 2019.