
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 27, 1990                   TAG: 9006270216
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: The New York Times
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

ARMORED-CAR ROBBERS TAKE NEARLY $11 MILLION

In an armored-car robbery that the FBI called the second largest in U.S. history, more than $10.8 million was stolen Tuesday from two employees of a car service who stopped at a delicatessen in a suburb of Rochester, N.Y.

Capt. Neil Flood, the commander of the Monroe County Sheriff's criminal investigation division, said Tuesday night that it was "unknown at this time" whether the crime was an "inside job."

"I can tell you," he said, "that it was obviously well planned and successfully executed."

Tom Ryan, a spokesman for the sheriff's office, said the money, all of to be transferred to a Federal Reserve office in Buffalo, N.Y., was stolen from a truck owned by the Armored Motor Service of America.

Ryan said a driver and a guard, whose names were withheld, drove away from the company office shortly before 7 a.m.

"At the intersection of Bailey Road and East River Road in the Town of Henrietta, they pull into a delicatessen to get some sandwiches and coffee to eat on their route," Ryan said.

"The woman guard leaves the truck to go into the store. While she's in there, the driver is accosted by a gunman, who takes control of the truck."

The authorities said they could not determine how the robber entered the truck.

"The woman returns, and she also is surprised by the gunman," Ryan continued.

"The gunman directs the driver to drive east on Bailey Road to a more rural area and orders him to drive down an access road that leads to a wooded area adjacent to a cornfield."

There, Ryan said, an accomplice or accomplices joined the gunman in tying up the driver and guard.

"The money transfer was made to another vehicle, which we believe was already there," Ryan added.

Within 15 minutes, he said, the driver and guard freed themselves and drove to their office.

At a news conference in the afternoon, Sheriff Andrew P. Meloni said his office had no suspects but was pursuing several leads. He said the FBI had been called in.

by CNB