[Editor’s note November 12, 2025: There are some Voice stories that we just want to know a lot more about. Below is a Letter To the Editor, with the sign-off “Name Withheld.” Does that mean the editors had the name and withheld it, or that they took the writer at his word and accepted an anonymous letter? More likely the former: a serious editor (and the Voice has always been known for its hard-core staff) would not run such a piece without rigorous fact-checking. Plus, the correspondent’s first paragraph notes that the perps were all World War II vets, which might raise the warning that the writer was just hoping to bask in the fictional glow of Ocean’s 11, the hit 1960 heist flick starring such cool cats as Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., and other nightclub luminaries, as well as Angie Dickinson. That first film projected enough swagger that it has spawned a franchise of four new films from 2001 to 2018, with two more in pre-production. And while the likes of George Clooney, Brad Pitt, and Julie Roberts certainly have their charms, we doubt that any of them had the take that Sinatra did, when he purportedly told fellow Rat Pack star Peter Lawford, “Forget the movie, let’s pull the job!”
Well, according to that half-century-old Voice, there was at least one restaurateur in Manhattan who got his start with some seriously ill-gotten gains.
In future months, during our Platinum Anniversary year, we’ll be visiting the “Unmotivated Bank Robber” piece referenced below, plus a real-life tale of a bank robber who called a Voice reporter right in the middle of the stick-up.
And one final note: We imagine the layout editor back in the day must have gotten a kick out of juxtaposing frequent cartoon contributor Jaf’s typically surreal vision of everyday folks caught in otherworldly realms with the secret robber’s missive.]
→ This article from the archives is part of a series celebrating the Voice‘s Platinum Anniversary — 70 years! — on October 26, 2025. ←
Short Order Crook
By Anonymous
November 30, 1972
Dear Sir:
I’ve just read “Confessions of an Unmotivated Bank Robber” (Voice, September 28). I don’t know if anyone’s ever thought about it or not, but I’m sure you realize not all bank robbers get caught. Three buddies of mine (we all served together in the Second World War) pulled three jobs together in New England in the early ’50s. From the three jobs we netted a little over $200,000 … or about $55,000 apiece. Considering the fact that you can get 10 to 20 years for bank robbery (armed), you must admit 55 grand is not a lot. So what do you do with the money?
One guy lost it all betting on the horses. Got caught a few years later pulling another job (a jewelry store) and got time. I don’t know where he is now.
Another buddy went travelling to Central and South America. Heard from him about five years ago. He’d spent all his money and was heavy into cocaine. Wanted to know if I was interested in getting in with him.
The third buddy went down to Mexico with the second buddy and stayed in Mexico. Has a wife, three kids, his own home with swimming pool, and is — believe it or not — a bank auditor.
Me? You may have had dinner in my restaurant here in New York. You’ll pardon me if I don’t sign my name.
— Name Withheld
Manhattan
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