Infamous America - PIERRE HOTEL HEIST Ep. 1 | “The Plan”

Episode Date: January 18, 2023

Bobby Comfort and Sammy Nalo plan the boldest robbery of their careers. For two years, they successfully rob the elite of New York by targeting the most expensive hotels in the city. The police have no leads, and Bobby and Sammy seem unstoppable. It all builds to their most audacious idea to date: the Pierre Hotel heist.  Check out Infamous America Executive Producer, Mandi Wimmer as the guest historian/expert commentator on the History Channel's "Greatest Heists" Ep. 2, The Pierre Hotel Robbery, hosted by Pierce Brosnan. See Chris Wimmer, Host of Infamous America, on "Greatest Heists Ep 7, The Dunbar Armored Depot Heist. Join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons: blackbarrel.supportingcast.fm/join Apple users join Noiser+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons. Click the Noiser+ banner on Apple or go to noiser.com/subscriptions to get started with a 7-day free trial. On YouTube, subscribe to INFAMOUS+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons. Hit “JOIN” on the Infamous America YouTube homepage.  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm4V_wVD7N1gEB045t7-V0w/featured For more details, please visit www.blackbarrelmedia.com. Our social media pages are: @blackbarrelmedia on Facebook and Instagram, and @bbarrelmedia on Twitter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Since its grand opening in 1930, New York City's iconic Pierre Hotel, 41 stories high with over 700 luxurious suites and private apartments, has stood proudly on the corner of 5th Avenue and East 61st Street with a commanding view of Central Park. For nearly 100 years, the Pierre has been considered one of the most opulent, exclusive, and expensive hotels in New York City. To book the Pierre's presidential suite, it'll cost you $20,000 per night, making it one of the most expensive hotel rooms in New York.

In 2019, there was an apartment for rent that took up an entire floor of the hotel. The price was a bargain at just $500,000 per month. The Pierre Hotel has a history that is as rich as its clientele. It's been a gathering place for Manhattan High Society, a home away from home for the world's rich and famous, or just famously rich. Heads of state, titans of industry, royalty from around the world, and Hollywood celebrities have always gravitated to the Pierre,

either as guests or as full-time residents, and they still do today. But in the early morning hours of January 2nd, 1972, the Pierre played host to eight very unwelcome guests, who, instead of being rich, came to the hotel to get rich. At 4 o'clock in the morning, this motley crew of seasoned criminals took over the hotel, and almost no one was the wiser. They were not intimidated by the hotel's security apparatus. It turned out, the security was laughably weak.

The Pierre Hotel heist was so brazen, so meticulously planned, and so well executed, that it made headlines all over the world, and the payoff was jaw-dropping. Estimates of the total value of the stolen goods have differed wildly over the years, but those in a position to know believe it was as much as $28 million in cash, security bonds, and jewels. After adjusting for inflation, that's the equivalent of about $190 million today. The crooks had certainly hoped for a big score, but that sum was mind-blowing. Without even knowing it, they had pulled off a robbery that is still considered the most lucrative jewelry heist ever committed in America.

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, it remains the largest and most successful hotel robbery in history. And it might have been the perfect crime if the robbers had played it cool and laid low for a while. But greed, hubris, and downright stupidity put one of the thieves in the FBI's crosshairs only days after the heist. And it wasn't long before the others started screwing up and falling like dominoes, either being arrested, going missing, or ending up dead. From Black Barrel Media, this is Infamous America. I'm your host, Chris Wimmer, and this season we're telling the story of one of the boldest robberies in American history,

the Pierre Hotel Heist, and the crazy cast of characters who brought it to life. This is episode one, The Plan. There's been no shortage of infamous robberies committed in America, over the past half century. Not surprisingly, the mob has had a hand in some of the most notable and lucrative. In 1978, the Laftanza Heist, which we covered in season 15 of this podcast, was the biggest cash robbery in the country at the time. It became a key storyline in Martin Scorsese's classic film, Goodfellas. In 1990, a small group robbed the Mary Stewart Gardner Art Museum in Boston. It's still the biggest private property robbery in the world. The stolen

masterpieces are now valued at half a billion dollars, and none of the paintings have ever been recovered. None of the robbers have been identified, but the authorities have always suspected that the Boston mob was behind the theft. But prior to either one of those high-profile robberies, the 1972 Pierre Hotel Heist earned its place in the pantheon of infamous robberies. and the Pierre wasn't the first New York City hotel to be robbed. High-end hotel robberies had become fairly common in New York in the early 70s. The whole city was rife with crime at the time. Robberies and street muggings happened 24 hours a day, and many of them were violent and often deadly.

Hotel robberies, during which no one was seriously hurt, were not a high priority for the police. Average New Yorkers cared even less. They were worried for their own safety. If some of the richest people in the world got robbed of jewelry that was worth more than all the homes and entire neighborhoods, few people were going to muster any sympathy. Hotel owners were understandably afraid of scaring off potential guests, so they did their best to keep a lid on things. But in an effort to discourage more would-be robbers, the big hotels began to enhance their security protocols. They hired more guards, upgraded their art.

alarm systems and either installed or reinforced already existing safes and safe deposit boxes. Hotel rooms didn't have safes in the rooms in those days, so hotels encouraged guests to put their valuables in safe deposit boxes in a vault inside the hotel. It was a setup that was really similar to a bank vault, and in theory it was a good way to keep everything safe. In practice, there were a few problems that would show themselves in the early 1970s, especially when faced with a smart group of robbers. In the hotel robberies, a criminal pattern developed. Depending on the size of the hotel, usually two,

but sometimes as many as three or four men, would enter the lobby wearing suits and carrying suitcases as if they were about to check in. They would go in late at night or very early in the morning, when guests were asleep, and the hotel staff would be at a minimum. The robbers would pull their guns, take the employees hostage, and then go to work.

One man would pose as the front desk clerk, while another would break into the hotel's safe deposit boxes. Any additional men would serve as lookouts or drive the getaway car or provide any other backup that was necessary. After their self-imposed time limit had elapsed, usually two to three hours, they would collect their suitcases

which were now full of valuables and walk out to the getaway car. Although the men were armed, no one was seriously injured, and the vast majority of hotel guests were unaware that a robbery had happened. But in 1970, two years before the Pierre Hotel heist, there were two hotel robberies in New York that grabbed the most attention. They were a bit different from the others. These robberies had a more personal touch, and the victims were two very high-profile women.

The women were well-known actresses. Both were beautiful, rich, and glamorous, and they loved to wear expensive jewelry out in public. They could dazzle their adoring fans, while at the same time capture the attention of press photographers. That meant even more attention and more press. But for a couple of pioneering thieves, those glittering jewels were like big flashing neon signs

that said, rob me. One of the actresses was the beloved Italian movie star Sophia Loren. In the fall of 1970, Miss Loren, her two-year-old son, and her secretary, were staying in a suite at the elegant Hampshire House Hotel on Central Park South while she was in New York to promote her latest film. In the many public events she attended and in several television appearances, she wore an assortment of extravagant eye-catching jewelry. All of it was impressive, but her most impressive piece was a marquee-cut diamond ring that was big enough to cast a blinding glare.

And it would not be hers much longer. It was later reported that Miss Loren had been wearing about $500,000 worth of her own jewelry while she did the public appearances. That was great for her movie star image, but it was risky too. She knew that because she had recently been robbed of several hundred thousand dollars worth of jewelry in London. Nevertheless, for the New York trip, she brought out her finest pieces, and she added some new things to her collection. The famous French jewelers, Van Cleef and Arpels, on Fifth Avenue, loaned her an assortment of pieces that were worth an estimated $200,000. On October 11, 1970, at approximately 7.15 a.m., four armed men entered the lobby of the Hampshire House on Central Park South. Three men wore suits and the fourth was dressed as a chauffeur, which is a tactic that will come back later.

The robbers handcuffed four hotel employees who were on duty at the front desk. Then two of the robbers forced the hotel manager and the bell captain into the elevator and demanded to be taken to the 22nd floor. They exited the elevator and walked to the suite of one of the most famous actresses in the world. The hotel manager unlocked the door and a man. announced that they were there to check for a gas leak. Miss Loren's secretary greeted the four men in the foryer, where one of the robbers promptly knocked her out using the butt of his revolver.

Sophia Loren was asleep in the bedroom, completely oblivious to what was happening. The robbers locked the manager and the bell captain in a closet, and then went in search of the master bedroom. They ignored the stunning views of Central Park through the huge windows in the living room and burst into the bedroom. They jolted Miss Loren out of her sleep and yelled and threatened her with their weapons. The terrified star watched helplessly as the intruders ransacked her room. When she later recounted the story for the police, she said the men kept yelling and demanding to know where, quote, the big stuff was.

Where's the big ring? One of them yelled. Fearing for her life and that of her son and her secretary, she complied and handed over all her jewelry. In less than five minutes, the thieves had a haul of jewelry, along with a couple thousand dollars in loose cash. The robbers then let the hotel manager and the bell captain out of the closet and took their prisoners back downstairs to rejoin the other two thieves. The four partners in crime calmly exited the building, got into a car that was parked in front of the hotel entrance, and sped away. And that was the last time anybody saw them, or the jewelry. Their hall that morning was impressive.

Two diamond broaches, a diamond necklace, a diamond bracelet, a ruby ring, an emerald ring, some pearls, assorted pieces of gold jewelry, and the main event. The giant marquee-cut diamond ring that had been featured in all the photos. After going to police headquarters later that morning, a badly shaken Sophia Loren looked through photographs of some of the city's better-known jewel thieves, but was unable to identify any of the men who held her up. All she remembered was that they were both wearing suits and one of them had a big mustache.

The actress, not surprisingly, cut her New York junket short and returned to Italy the next day. The jewelry was never recovered and no arrests were ever made. In August of that year, just two months before Sophia Loren was robbed, a Hungarian actress,

who would be known more for her marriages than her acting abilities, was also robbed at gunpoint in her hotel. Jaja Gabor was starring in a Broadway production, called, ironically enough, 40 carrots. After that evening's performance, she returned to Park Avenue's famed Waldorf Astoria, where she had been staying as a guest. When she got onto the elevator to go up to her suite on the 34th floor,

she was followed in by two respectable-looking men in suits. She naturally assumed they were guests, But the minute the doors closed, both men pulled out revolvers and threatened to shoot her if she didn't hand over her jewelry. Miss Gabor, preferring not to be shot, handed over a pair of diamond earrings and some diamond rings. The estimated worth of just those few items was more than $600,000. In the space of two months in 1970, Sophia Loren and Zaja Gabor had been robbed of jewelry that was worth well over $2 million in $200,000. total, and both cases were unsolved. There were no good leads and no good suspects, and the spree was just beginning. By the time 1971 came to an end, upscale hotel robberies in New York

were still on the rise. The NYPD put together a special task force to combat the problem, but they still didn't know if this uptick was merely a growing criminal fad or the work of a single well-organized ring of thieves. Eventually they figured it out, but it took the mother of all hotel robberies to do it. As 1971 drew to a close, the Pierre Hotel heist was in its final planning stages. On January 1st, 1972,

which fell on a Saturday that year, two veteran thieves and a handful of accomplices were preparing for what would be one of the most daring robberies in history. Their New Year's resolution was to rob the most exclusive hotel in New York and the Crown Jewel of Fifth Avenue. The strategy was simple yet brilliant, and it was the brainchild of Bobby Comfort and Sammy Nalo. Bobby and Sammy were not only prolific thieves, they were also kindred spirits, at least in a

criminal sense. It's unclear where or how they met. Some say they met in prison, although Sammy Nalo claimed he had never been arrested, let alone sent to prison. But that seems unlikely given his criminal history. In those days, without computer databases and the internet, it's definitely possible that he could have served time under an alias, or even under his real name in another state. Bobby Comfort's criminal career, which started before he was old enough to drive, did eventually land him in prison at age 34. A burglary conviction sent him to

Attica, a maximum security prison in upstate New York, where he did 18 months. Luckily for Bobby, He was released in 1969, two years before Attica became infamous worldwide because of a riot in 1971. The riot, which led to a prolonged standoff with law enforcement, left 33 inmates and 10 correctional officers dead. And it's a story we'll definitely do on this podcast soon. 18 months at Attica wasn't enough to encourage Bobby to reform. In fact, the opposite happened. It was in prison that he saw pictures of all those rich and famous people displaying their extravagant jewelry at fancy parties in New York and thought of a plan to rob them. Bobby Comfort and Sammy Nalo were what you might call middling mobsters.

They both had connections to mob families, but they couldn't be full members, known as Made Men, because they weren't Italian. And they weren't directly connected to any of the five mafia families in New York, though of the two, Bobby came the closest. Bobby grew up in Rochester in upstate New York, where he'd been in and out of reform schools for most of his childhood. Robbery and burglary were his specialties, and he started at about 14 years old. Eventually, he ended up working for an organized crime family in his hometown, known as the Rochester family, which was a spinoff of the Buffalo mob. The Rochester family was run by a guy named Frank Valenti, who had solid ties to New York City's

prominent mafia families. Valenti apparently took an interest in young Bobby comfort and nurtured his criminal career. While Bobby was doing time in Attica, he became fascinated with the lives and lifestyles of American High Society, either living in or orbiting around New York. He read the society pages and gossip columns religiously, studying who was who, who had what, where they lived, and where they went. Bobby decided that after his release from prison, he was going to use his talents to steal from the rich. But unlike the legend of Robin Hood, Bobby had no intention of giving to the poor. Bobby Comfort was described as handsome and charming, which were two traits he would use to his advantage throughout his criminal career. His partner in

many crimes didn't share those traits, but he had other skills that made him a perfect fit. Sammy Nalo grew up in Detroit. He was nicknamed the Arab because he was Turkish. And that'll be a running theme. Mob nicknames are incredibly clever and creative. Sammy started young, also around the age of 14. Like Bobby, Sammy specialized in robbery and burglary. Sammy's criminal career as an adult began with working for the Detroit mob, but in the early 1960s, he moved to New York to play in the big leagues. Sammy had his hand in a variety of nefarious businesses, drug trafficking, racketeering, prostitution, so he was a well-rounded low life. Eventually, he stole or embezzled enough money

to open a strip club in Manhattan that served as headquarters for his criminal enterprises. He also had a knack for breaking into safes and safe deposit boxes, which made him the perfect partner for Bobby Comfort. Unlike Bobby, Sammy was not handsome and he was not a people person. He was more asserted for the dirty work, the hard labor, while Bobby was the face of the operation. Bobby and Sammy started doing jobs together, and then Bobby convinced Sammy that hotel robberies were the way to go.

Security was usually spotty, especially during off hours. Cameras were rarely used, and their cash was unmarked. There was plenty of it, too, because these were the days before credit cards were in widespread use. But the real treasure was the jewelry. In expensive hotels, the safe deposit boxes almost always always. contained valuable jewelry, and jewels were untraceable once they were removed from their settings. Robbing the vault of a high-end hotel was like robbing a bank and an exclusive jewelry store at the same time. It was perfect. And then there were the specialty targets, like Sophia Loren and

Zha Jaja Gabor. Over the course of two or three years, Bobby and Sammy robbed as many as 25 hotels, sometimes by themselves as a two-man team, sometimes with a couple more accomplices. But as 1971 wore on, they knew they were pushing their luck. An undefeated streak never lasts forever. Like many criminals before them, they wanted to do one last big score, something they could retire on. They set their sights on one of the richest targets in New York, the Pierre Hotel. But for a job that big, they couldn't do it by themselves.

They would need a team, and they would also need the blessing and support of one of the five mafia families. First, Bobby and Sammy pitched their plan to a mutual friend named Don Francoz. Frankos was Greek, so he was known in New York's underworld as the Greek. He was a cold-blooded contract killer. He honed his craft as a hitman for a ruthless Irish gang called the Westies. Among their many illegal activities, the Westies were contract killers for the Westies. the Italian mob. The Westies were especially tight with the Gambino family. So in certain situations, a mafia family, the Gambinos, for instance, would contract the Westies to kill someone. The Westies

would contract Don Franco's to do the hit, and then the victim would be removed from society. But the Greek wasn't just a one-trick pony. He was always up for a heist if there was a potential for a big score. And when the right opportunity presented itself, Frankos, like a one-trick, to team up with his good buddy, Nick the Cat Sacco. Sacco owned his nickname to a reputation for being a gifted burglar who was as silent as a cat, and he happened to specialize in big-ticket jewel heists. So, Bobby and Sammy met with Don Franco's. Frankos was in. With the blessing of Bobby and Sammy, Frankos pitched the idea to his friend Nick Sacco. Sacco was in, and that was good because he brought with him something none of the others could deliver. Sacco was a made man in the Lucchese family,

and he could secure the meaning that would make or break the Pierre Heist plan. Luckily for Bobby and Sammy, Nick Sacco was close friends with the consulari of the Lucchese family, Christy the Tick Furnari. Sacco set up the meeting, and Bobby and Sammy pitched the idea to Furnari. Furnari liked it too and took it to the head of the Lucchasee crime family, Carmoni. Carmine Tramonte. Carmine liked it too, especially since he demanded 35% of everything for doing virtually nothing. Bobby and Sammy agreed to the demand because they basically had no choice. The Lucchese family would provide whatever financing was needed as well as protection, but Bobby's crew was going to have to do the heavy lifting. That was the price of attempting a robbery of that size. It was a

damned if you do, damned if you don't situation. If Bobby pulled off the heist without the support of one of the families, he would probably be killed for doing it without them. If he pulled it off with their support, he would have to give them a huge cut. But that cut did come with one more advantage. Every family had friendly relationships with key members of the NYPD and the New York judicial system.

If Bobby's crew did the job with the blessing of one of the families and got caught, the family could use its influence to minimize the damage to the crew, right up until the point where the family decided the crew couldn't be trusted to keep their mouth shut, and then the family would have the crew killed. Crime in New York back in the 1970s was a risky business in pretty much every way imaginable. But there was no turning back now. The plan was approved, and the heist was a go. Bobby and his crew could end up at the bottom of the East River or in the Staten Island landfill.

or they just might end up the most successful jewelry thieves in American history. One of those things happened on January 2nd, 1972. It was going to be a nail-biting history-making experience. Next time on Infamous America, we dive into the meticulous planning that went into the Pierre Hotel Heist and meet the rest of the Motley crew that will stage the largest jewelry heist in U.S. history. That's next week on Infamous America. Members of our Black Barrel Plus program don't have to wait week to week for new episodes.

They receive the entire season to binge all at once with no commercials, and they also receive exclusive bonus episodes. Sign up now through the link in the show notes or on our website, blackbarrelmedia.com. Memberships begin at just $5 per month. This series was researched and written by Michael Byrne, original music by Rob Valier. I'm your host and producer, Chris Wimmer. Find us at our website, blackbarrelmedia.com or on our social media channels. We're Black Barrel Media on Facebook and Instagram and B-Barrell Media on Twitter.

And you can stream all our episodes on YouTube. Just search for Infamous America Podcast. Thanks for listening.