"I'm 68 now, retired...well I'm retired although I've never worked in my life anyway," laughs Melvin Mingo.
Mingo, 68, sits in front of a plate of eggs at a West Island hot dog joint.
He has a glint in his eye and a story to tell of surviving the brutal world of Montreal crime with sense of humour and charm still fully intact.
"I'm likable, I'm a story teller," said Mingo, who dreams of taking the stage in a one-man performance telling his life story.
"I was a happy guy, a person you wanted to be around. I was fun. I'd rent an entire club on Crescent on New Year's Eve just for my friends."
***
On 21 December 1984 Melvin Mingo, 36, and his crew awaited a pair of employees to board an elevator at the Merrill Lynch office at 800 Dorchester W.
An insider had tipped Mingo off to the precious package which was delivered unguarded downstairs daily, containing up to $100 million US in bearer bonds.
Two unsuspecting Merrill Lynch employees, Michael Iasenza, 24, and Frank Destaulo, 65, moved the boxes every afternoon at the same time. It was considered a casual affair and neither were armed or trained to protect the cases.
Mingo's crew were experienced bank robbers but this caper required an entirely different approach. The thieves could not wear masks, as that would make it impossible to blend in.
Their plan entailed riding the elevator with guns furtively pointed at the unarmed employees.
The employees needed to choose the right elevator for the plan to work.
The thieves cased out the building and noticed that the two always took the same elevator.
"It's because they were lazy and didn't want to go to the one further down," said Mingo.
Mingo noticed one of the employees craning his neck to get a view of an attractive chesty woman. So Mingo enlisted a woman of that description to lure them towards the correct elevator on the fateful day.
**
Melvin Mingo's father was a Polish-Canadian carpenter familiar with the ways of the criminal world. His mom, now 94, is an Irish-Montrealer. The family of five moved almost annually, living in Ville St. Laurent, Addington in NDG, the Point and Selby Street in Westmount where a total of 17 kids were staying in the same house for a while.
Melvin spent two years in prison awaiting trial for robbing a TD bank on St. Catherine at the age of 19 after teller Bruce Dawe was shot in the stomach and injured.
Mingo was acquitted in Dec. 1970. "I wasn't there and had nothing to do with it," says Mingo.
The judge made it clear, however, that he would have found Mingo guilty had the case been decided by judge.
**
Mingo became a familiar guest at Quebec prisons for various other misdeeds and formed deep friendships with the all stars of crime, including Machine Gun Molly, Richard Blass and Ted Orban who tried to tunnel across into a bank in Snowdon,
He knew and liked mob hit man Dickie Lavoie, "He could do 1,000 push-ups straight."
But Mingo was less fond of West End Gang killer Jackie McLaughlin who he often saw at the Cavalier Motel on St. James. "He was a strange dude. A deadly man. He could go off at any time. A crook of an eye and you'd be dead. That was the world that I lived in."
Others were more civilized, such as Davie Johnston, who became a close friend and nightclub pal with Mingo and the two spent countless hours in the bar at the Windsor Hotel and the Hotel Colonnade among others.
**
One time after being released Mingo decided that he did not want to mooch cash from his friends, so he rented a restaurant on St. Paul Street and hosted a one-man variety show, called the I Need Money show.
All variety of local Irish, Italian and French criminal showed up for the two shows, which he still raves about.
One friend later lent him a car that had no registration. When a cop pulled him over, Mingo inserted a $100 bill in his wallet next to his license. He was tossed back in jail for a parole violation of attempting to bribe a police officer.
Indeed Mingo was in prison for all of the 1980s with the exception of a nine month period starting in 1984, the time the magnificent heist would take place.
***
This article is brought to you by Kristian Gravenor's Montreal: 375 Tales of Eating, Drinking, Living and Loving, on sale in bookstores and online in 2017.
***
Mingo and his crew stood inside the Merrill Lynch building nervously awaiting a pager to buzz, a sign that the duo had entered the elevator with the precious package.
Once the pager went off, Melvin pushed the button to board the same elevator on another floor.
Melvin and an accomplice entered the elevator and calmly told the two employees that they were armed and ready to shoot if necessary and that they would be taking the package once they arrived in the basement.
The tense descent down into the pit of the building was halted as a mailman entered.
The letter carrier happily chatted away in French. Had he stayed on to the bottom someone might have gotten hurt, Mingo notes.
The mailman disembarked without suspecting a thing, leaving the thieves pointing guns furtively at the employees while the elevator descended.
Once the elevator arrived at its destination Mingo and his crew tied up the two employees to a urinal in a bathroom. A janitor noticed them about 15 minutes later and untied them.
But by then Mingo and his fellow thieves were long gone. Nobody saw their vehicle. They drove away normally. Nobody pursued them and they made no effort to hide the car.
See also: Montreal's West End Gang all-time power rankings
**
Once safely arrived, Mingo opened the boxes and counted $68.5 million US in bearer bonds, which could be cashed without question of ownership.
Detectives were sent up from New York City in an attempt to recover the lost loot and Merrill Lynch offered a reward for anybody able to help locate the thieves.
The Mingos went to Toronto and struck a deal with an offshore banker to give them ten cents on the dollar for the bonds.
The bearer bonds came with identification numbers that could eventually make them null and void. A crafty banker might have been able to bury the bonds for a very long time, swapping them with legit bonds whenever someone made a withdrawal.
The offshore banker, Mingo believes, planned to flee once he switched the stolen bonds with legit bonds.
Mingo was not concerned with such details. He just wanted to cash in and was drooling at the thought of the over $6.8 million that awaited.
Eventually, however, detectives got a tip and started following the brothers everywhere.
The brothers were ultimately nabbed driving to a meeting to finalize the transaction of their stolen goods.
Melvin's brothers Robert, Nelson and Miles were charged with possession but prosecutors sought to pin the robbery on Melvin. Two women, Colleen Delaney and Frances Greeley were arrested but released without charge.
Melvin's brothers pleaded guilty and were sentenced to nine years for possession.
But Melvin fought the armed robbery charge and went to trial. Their father died at around that same time.
When prosecutors asked Melvin Mingo to sign a document allowing the return of the evidence to Merrill Lynch, he balked, knowing that its absence was costing the company every day.
Melvin Mingo did not testify and was eventually found guilty. Prior to sentencing he spoke to the court passionately claiming his innocence.
The prosecutor sought 10 years, the defence asked the judge for seven. He was given nine years, the same sentence as his brothers who were charged with the lesser crime of possession.
Mingo quit drinking and renounced crime upon his release. He fell in love and married 28 years ago and has stayed clean since. He blames cocaine for encouraging crime.
In spite of his rough road he wouldn't change a thing.
Actually, "I'd change one thing. I'd be taller," he says.
Only $62.8 million of the $68.5 million from the heist was recovered.
What become of the $5.7 million missing?
"That's a story for another time," says Melvin Mingo.
Newsflash:
ReplyDeletehttp://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/contractor-finds-human-remains-during-westmount-home-renovation
Whodunnit?
Lovell's Directory lists 5 different residents at 597 Victoria from 1936 to 1959.
The corpse was wrapped in old newspapers having articles about former Quebec Premier Maurice Duplessis who was in power (minus one brief gap) from 1936-1959.
Was this a case of infanticide, illegal abortion, accidental death?
Lovell's Directory lists 5 residents living at that address from 1936-1959.
Are those responsible still alive? If so, the day they most feared has arrived. If not, any remaining family members may or may not have had knowledge of the crime.
Was this in fact a vintage, police files cold case that will finally result in justice?
Thanks for a great comment UL (although unrelated to this story if people are curious). I grew up 30 seconds walk away at 580 Grosvenor. Lived there from birth Dec. 62 to about 1981 (lived elsewhere from c.1970-72). What names did you come up with on the Lovells?
ReplyDeletehttps://www.newspapers.com/clip/8575045/robber_found_in_montreal/
ReplyDeleteKristian, the relevant names of the residents of the aforementioned address can be easily found by anyone who cares to check Lovell's and no doubt the police have already done so.
ReplyDeleteI did consider posting the names here but thought that it would not be prudent for me to do so as I have no proof regarding any culpability linked to them or any living members of their families.
Let us allow the authorities to proceed with their investigation. Needless to say, it will be fascinating to know what they come up with and if anyone directly involved in the crime actually comes forward.
I'm sure you will be closely following this story as well.
I suspect the dentist who lived there in '51. I'd put money on it LOL
ReplyDeleteThe Strange Case of the Corpse in the Ceiling - Part Two
ReplyDeleteIt is a well-known common practice that unwanted pregnancies are often dealt with by sending the expectant mother away and out of sight until the child is born in a safe and anonymous environment and later given up for adoption. Why this wasn't done in this instance is a matter for conjecture.
Depending upon the date of the crime (presumably between 1936 and 1959 plus or minus) and if the mother was indeed a teenager at the tail end of that time frame, she could very well be alive today and in her 60s or 70s, living anywhere on the planet and unlikely to come forward even if she is now aware that the bones of her child have been discovered.
Alternatively, if the mother is long-deceased, there is a good chance that a younger sibling resident in the household during the relevant time frame is still alive today and remember something. Depending on the sibling's age and memory retention, he or she may either have a vague recollection of some inexplicable family upheaval which occurred back then, or, if old enough (say 6 years of age or more) they could indeed know exactly what had taken place those many years ago and speak up today without fear of prosecution.
Will anyone come forward to solve this mystery? I doubt it, but time will tell. Then again, we may never know the truth of exactly what happened.
UL, I think I accidentally deleted the Part One. Sorry. Can you repost?
ReplyDeleteThe Strange Case of the Corpse in the Ceiling - Part One
ReplyDeleteThe temptation to play armchair detective concerning the infant bones recently discovered in the ceiling of that Westmount home compels me to speculate as to why it was decided to conceal the corpse inside the house rather than take it to some far away location for disposal or burial as clearly the latter choice would have virtually eliminated any potential future discovery.
One may arguably assume that the "concealment of convenience" was made in a panic by the woman or girl who gave birth, who then hastily wrapped the child in whatever was handy at the moment--in this case newspapers (presumably tied with string?). You would think that a blanket, towel, or a more solid container would be preferable? Depending on how easily or not the ceiling space was accessible (moveable panels?), a man's help might not have been needed.
We are, of course, assuming that the information thus far released to the public is accurate and complete, since the police often withhold facts for investigative reasons. One may assume that a publication date visible on some of the old newspapers would reveal the relevant timeline of the crime. A this point in time, it is highly unlikely that fingerprints on the newpapers would be of any use, for on which data base could they be traced and compared?
Did the mother give birth all by herself or was she assisted and by whom? Was the infant premature, stillborn, deformed? Otherwise, did it die shortly after birth or was it deliberately killed? The true cause of death may never be determined and any recoverable DNA evidence may be unusable and thus impossible to match with surviving family members if they are ever tracked down.
Was the mother the wife of the homeowner? Was the homeowner the actual father? If not, then who? Could a female teenager or even a pre-teen daughter living in the home at the time have been the mother; the result of an indescretion with a boyfriend, a rape, or even incest?
Perhaps the mother was none of the above, but instead one of the domestic staff (such as a maid or nanny) and a cover-up was preferable to public shame and/or the admission of a crime--the severity of which ranged from illegally concealing the corpse of a stillbirth to outright murder.
Did only those actually resident in the household know about the pregnancy, the birth, and the death--including any existing older sons or daughters--or were all existing children kept in the dark or sworn to secrecy on pain of punishment? Is it possible that non-resident family members, friends, or neighbours were aware of any pregnancies or unusual behaviour in the household around this time? One might suspect a family that for no apparent reason suddenly moved away from the house and henceforth to parts unknown.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteKristian, regarding bank robbery history in the city, I finally tracked down the story about the spectacular Scotia Bank branch (4785 Van Horne Avenue) multiple safe deposit box burglary as reported on page 3 of the Montreal Gazette of October 13, 1988.
ReplyDeleteA cursory Google Search brings up nothing about it, therefore presumably the culprits were never caught nor named suspects identified as being on the run and that the investigation remains in the Cold Case File unless and until someone belatedly ever comes forward.
One might assume that the perpetrators--likely a professional crew--fled immediately to a country where an extradition treaty with Canada doesn't exist. Fans of Ronnie Biggs perhaps?