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Boston Globe

Providence's Bonded Vault robbery, 50 years later

I asked Tim to reflect on everything he's learned, and update us on whether we'll ever see a proper version of this story told on the big screen. Q: You're airing a special report at 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. on the 50th anniversary of the heist. What should viewers expect to see? Advertisement White: I've tracked down a lot of material over two decades of reporting on the heist, including a wild video of the lead gunman's alleged funeral. A while ago, someone leaked me another video of him discussing the caper – he was in witness protection at the time, so it was kept under wraps for years. Tonight's reports use WPRI archive video to retell how the heist went down, showcase its impact on Get Rhode Island News Alerts Sign up to get breaking news and interesting stories from Rhode Island in your inbox each weekday. Enter Email Sign Up Q: This story has had a decades-long shelf life, and you coauthored the definitive book on it. But I still wonder if readers today understand quite how seismic it was in the 1970s. Is this even the kind of heist that could happen today? Advertisement White: This heist shouldn't have happened then, to be honest – the gang of thieves that stormed 101 Cranston St. in Providence wasn't exactly the crew from 'Ocean's 11.' And what made it even more remarkable was that Bonded Vault was probably the safest place to hide ill-gotten gains in 1975, because it was controlled by the mob itself. But as we detailed in the book, the gang had the approval of the boss himself, the late Raymond L.S. Patriarca, though he always denied involvement. The case wound up leading to the longest and most expensive trial in state history, and had all sorts of other ripple effects. Q: Your father was obviously a legendary reporter, and you have a great story about how your family helped you land the scoop of a lifetime when you tracked down one of the leaders of the robbery. Tell us about that. White: My coauthors and I were struggling to figure out what happened to the lead gunman, Robert Dussault. The feds whisked him away after he testified for the government. In 2008, three years after Dad died, my mom brought me a box of stuff from her basement which included an empty envelope. The return address was from Colorado with a name I didn't recognize: Robert Dempsey. But I remembered Dad telling me Dussault was relocated and given a job at Coors Brewing. I figured out the return address was a prison, and records showed the inmate was dead. I used those documents to request Dempsey's FBI file, and nearly two years later I got a box in the mail with hundreds of pages. The top sheet: 'Robert Dussault a.k.a. Robert Dempsey.' It completed the story. If mom hadn't dropped off that box, I'm not sure we'd be doing this Q&A. Advertisement Q: You wrote the book about this, and there was also a third-rate White: Bestselling author and screenwriter Don Winslow is still very interested in the project, and as far as Wayne, Randy and I are concerned, he has the best vision for it. Keep your fingers crossed for us. Q: I have to finish with the obligatory organized crime question. We know the Mafia isn't remotely as powerful as it was in the 1970s. But do underground safes or banks like the one in this story still exist for mobsters to hide their ill-gotten gains? White: If there's anything like Bonded Vault that exists today, I'm not aware of it. In this era, tangible loot is more likely to be smuggled to a foreign country with looser rules. And contemporary organized crime cases show 'underground safes' are more often computer network servers that store scammed funds. Call me old school, but it's just not as interesting as a secret room tucked away inside a Providence fur storage warehouse. This story first appeared in Rhode Map, our free newsletter about Rhode Island that also contains information about local events, links to interesting stories, and more. If you'd like to receive it via email Monday through Friday, . Advertisement Dan McGowan can be reached at