Pierre Hotel robbery facts for kids

The Pierre Hotel robbery happened on January 2, 1972, at The Pierre hotel in New York City. It was a very big theft where about $3 million was taken. Today, that would be like $27 million! This event was later called the largest and most successful hotel robbery ever in the Guinness Book of World Records.

How the Robbery Was Planned

Samuel Nalo and Robert Comfort were skilled thieves. They had stolen many valuable things before from other fancy hotels. Nalo was the main planner for these thefts. Comfort also helped a lot with organizing them.

On December 30, Nalo gathered his team. He told them about their next target: The Pierre hotel. The team included Robert G, whose job was to open the special lock boxes for guests. Ali-Ben and Al Green were also part of the group.

The Robbery Begins

The group arrived at The Pierre hotel very early on January 2, 1972. It was about 3:50 in the morning. Ten minutes later, Al Green, dressed as a driver, pulled up in a black car. Robert G told the security guard that they were with "Dr. Foster's party." The guard checked and let them in. Once inside, they held the guard with a gun. Green stayed outside to watch.

The day of the robbery was perfect for the thieves. Most hotel guests were sleeping after New Year's Eve parties. Many had their expensive jewels in safety deposit boxes. These boxes were in a vault downstairs. Banks would not open until 9:00 AM. Also, because of the holiday, the hotel had very few staff members working.

Inside the Hotel

The thieves quickly gathered all the hotel staff. They used handcuffs on anyone who got in their way. They led the staff to a large area near the front desk. There, they told everyone to lie face down on the floor. In total, nineteen people were held. The robbers had brought many handcuffs, so they were ready.

The robbers wore disguises. Nalo had a big wig, a fake nose, and glasses. All the thieves wore gloves and carried guns. Nalo made the hotel's auditor give him cards that showed who owned each lock box. They only opened boxes belonging to people they knew, like famous guests. The thieves were polite to the hostages. They called them "sir" and "miss." They never raised their voices. They did not handcuff anyone who seemed sick.

The whole robbery took two and a half hours. During this time, Robert G and Comfort opened almost a quarter of the 208 lock boxes in the vault. At 6:15 AM, Comfort told the hostages they were leaving. He told them not to tell the police if they could identify anyone. Before leaving, Comfort gave $20 to each hotel employee they had held. They left at 6:30 AM, just before the hotel's 7:00 AM staff shift began.

What Happened After

Samuel Nalo was arrested for his part in the robbery. Two of the thieves received four-year prison sentences. After Comfort and Nalo were arrested, a friend of Nalo's became worried. This friend gave $750,000 worth of jewels to the police. Millions more in money and jewels were taken by another friend of Nalo's. This friend went to Mexico and was never seen again.

Ali-Ben and Al Green read in the newspaper about the stolen items found in Michigan. They thought Nalo had tried to cheat them out of their share. They left the country and went to Europe. They spent their money there for several years.

Donald Frankos was supposed to get $750,000. He was very angry when he first received only $50,000. Later, Donald received a total of $175,000. The same amount went to Robert G and Al Visconti. Nick Sacco received about $2,000,000. Ali-Ben and Al Green spent most of their money in Europe. Robert Comfort ended up with $1.5 million. Samuel Nalo got back some of his jewels that his friends had not stolen.

Today, the only person still alive from the Pierre Hotel heist is Nick "The Cat" Sacco. He is now in the Federal Witness Protection Program for something else. Sacco is working with an author named Daniel Simone. They are writing a book about the Pierre Robbery.

See also

• List of large value US robberies