21. She later pled guilty to one count of obtaining a false passport and to two counts of embezzlement. And so here was the crux of Heathers story the one thing she wants the world to believe: He made her do it, and bewitched her with his spiritualism, and forced her to act. Solis was sentenced to life in prison, escaped, was recaptured, and this time, stayed in prison for nearly two decades. Heather Catherine Tallchief, center, flanked by her attorneys Daniel J. Albregts, right, and Robert M. Axelrod, turns herself in to authorities at U.S. District Court in downtown Las Vegas on Thursday Sept. 15, 2005. Not necessarily the biggest heist ever, but enough to see him right - $500,000 to be precise, back in 1992. . Here are two more tales of casino theft. After 12 years, Heathers family had moved on, scar tissue forming over the emotional wounds her absence had caused. In the new series, Tallchief tells the true story of the $3.1 million dollar Vegas heist she committed with her boyfriend Roberto Solis. Scared? She was 33 at the time. By DB Kelly / Oct. 20, 2022 4:25 pm EST. Rather successfully?Heather Tallchief: Oh yes. Footage of Heather upon her 2005 surrender in Las Vegas. She drove to a storage unit where her boyfriend Roberto Solis was waiting, they transferred the money into their getaway car, shipped it to Miami in boxes, and drove to the airport where they hopped on a chartered airplane in disguise. There was no sign anywhere of the truck. Twenty years after the story began, Schlumpf, now an investigator at the Nevada state attorney general's office, can't forget the largest bank heist in Nevada history or the events that left Blackburn, Lim and their girls, ages 5 and 4, all dead. Las Vegas, Bellagio - $1.5 million Police: Bellagio Robber Took $1.5M in Chips Watch on Las Vegas, Bellagio $1.5 million Heist | YouTube We kick off with Anthony Carleo, or rather, The Biker Bandit. It was the family friendly phase. There's one more player in this heist that needs an introduction and some background because although it seems like an irrelevant aside, it'll all tie in soon enough. He was also what he described as "fiercely dedicated to the cause of Irish freedom," and was not only a devout priest but also a devout Republican, serving as an active voice in calling for an Ireland once again united under Irish rule. Duis: It looked like it was a slick, slick job. She was also struggling with her own addiction, and unfortunately the pair never established a mother-daughter relationship. Heather Tallchief was an armored car driver making a stop at the Circus Circus casino in 1993 when she suddenly drove off with $2.5 million in cash. LIST - Top 13 Casino Heists In History - Nerdsofgambling Their first stop was Tallchiefs apartment, which she shared with her boyfriend. Elaine Tallchief, Heather's younger sister: Whenever she had a new hairstyle I would ask her to do mine. Intrigued, Heather agreed to let this seemingly spiritual man read her tarot cards. LAS VEGAS A woman accused in a multimillion-dollar armored car heist on the Las Vegas Strip surrendered to federal authorities Thursday, saying she was tired of more than a decade on. I wasnt thinking about money, I was thinking, Holy sh**! She is going to stop running and she is going to turn herself in. 3 of the Biggest Casino Heists of All Time | PartyCasino Blog Our 5 Most Famous Las Vegas Casino Robberies - Online Casinos Heather Tallchief: Well, you certainly dont holler and make yourself noticeable.Morrison: What would have happened if you had hollered, Hey, police, Ive just been forced to do something I didnt want to do and now Im scared.Heather Tallchief: I was told that the authorities would shoot me dead on the spot. Keith Morrison, Dateline correspondent: How many drivers licenses did you get before this happened?Heather Tallchief: One.Morrison: You didnt have identities in several different names?Heather Tallchief: No.Morrison: You didnt have drivers licenses from a number of states?Heather Tallchief: No.Morrison: Just one state?Heather Tallchief: Nevada.Morrison: Under your own name?Heather Tallchief: Yes.Morrison: And no other names?Heather Tallchief: No. Moving boxes, crammed with stolen cash, which were shipped to a secret location to be retrieved later. Then, she says, she managed to get a job as a hotel chambermaid, under an assumed name, she used a fake accent, so she wouldnt sound American. The Bellagio (Las Vegas): $160K | Jose Vigoa's heist of the Bellagio in 2000 was the last in a two-year crime spree. She was gone.Elaine Tallchief: I always thought about it. Heather Tallchief: I was instructed to. They had lost track of her even before she disappeared with Roberto Solis and nearly $3 million from an armored truck in Las Vegas. On October 1, 1993, less than two months after shed started the Loomis job, Heather Tallchief drove away in her armored work vehicle with three million dollars inside while her co-workers were inside the Vegas hotel Circus Circus loading up the ATMs. Morrison: Well, why not?Heather Tallchief: Because you get very tired of running. The Biggest Heist in Las Vegas History!A True Crime Story Stewart: The reason why that truck was so special is because we had nothing but cash.Morrison: So, if youre gonna steal a truck, yours was the one to steal.Stewart: Ours was the one to take. If youre living in a prison mentally, then what is a box, a room, restricted privileges? They black boxed me, meaning they put your hands in a device so you can't even feed yourself." Her record was perfectly clean when she met Roberto Solis the man who would become her apparentpartner in crime. Larry Duis was a sergeant back then. ", Netflix's 'Heist' Creator on Why We Root for the Bad Guy. Two years after the so-called perfect crime, she had a baby, no job, no money, no name. Police must not be informed, we were told, but there was news about Heather Tallchief. What makes this crime truly fascinating is that it was car. He also said that the robbers had instructed him to man both the phones and the doors while they transferred the money to their vehicle, and that was another inconsistency not to mention that unlocked door. And from that point, we just started doing a sweep for the vehicle. Who was Roberto Solis? Time was ticking.". The whole case was told over just two episodes. In 1997, Tallchief held the position of No. And I loved being a part of this belief system and this world. She put up with these new circumstances for a decade before deciding that, as awful as prison time would be, life on the run was almost definitely worse. 15 Greatest Heists in History | Work + Money Image via Warner Bros. Pictures. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. I had no guidelines. It hadnt yet hit her, she says, the gravity of her crime. Heather Tallchief: I woke up one morning and he had some instructions for me. It was a federal case now. Of the $2 million recovered from the Manhattan apartment, the serial numbers on $107,000 of it matched what was stolen from the Brink's depot. For as long as. So what do you do?Morrison: What do you do? Dushek: So we began tracing an address we had located for them. They planned to flee to the Cayman Islands. Who are they? Furthermore, while O'Connor testified that he had been taken in a moving van, evidence including tire tracks suggested that it had been a minivan. A parole violation for selling drugs sent him back to prison briefly, but afterwards he returned to San Francisco, where he met Heather. When Tallchief and her son Emilio left Solis, they managed to get fake passports "through a friend of a friend" which allowed them to stay in Amsterdam for 10 years. Let's start with the bare-bones details and talk about what happened on January 5, 1993. On the spot. When she made that choice to do what she did, she said goodbye to us. And he had two chalices. Former FBI agent haunted by heist, fugitive family slaying It took me a quart of beer and a bag of glue, I was a glue sniffer. When they did a deep dive into his past, the Democrat & Chronicle reports that he was linked to the immigration of an Irishman named Samuel Ignatius Millar, and he will become crucial to the tale. The 1993 Brink's Heist Explained - Grunge Just who was that boyfriend? But forget? Solis may have gotten away with the perfect crime after all. Hurry the f*** up. And, you know, get a move on. I could see he was in a panic. And were gonna shoot to kill if they apprehend her. Stewart and his partner waited, and waited, and began to worry. The two had escaped abroad together and evaded capture for years until she decided to turn herself in in 2005. As he told the Belfast Telegraph, it was absolutely his idea. Pretend like youre an old lady and be sick and do it now and hurry up. She was sentenced to 63 months in prisonand ordered to repay more than $2.9 million to Loomis, per Crime Reads. Its nothing compared to what Ive already been through. We did everything we could to see if they would make a mistake and would suddenly pop up. 5 Biggest Real Life Casino Heists in the World - Casino Directory He told the Irish Independent that although America had been painted as the land of plenty, an up-close-and-personal look quickly showed him that for many, it was anything but. #5. Colin Farrell is definitely involved. Reflecting on Tallchief's story, Heist showrunner Derek Doneen reflected: "Because we're hearing it from her perspective, we're hearing from this person, we're unpacking themes of love and addiction and heartbreak and adolescence, and there's so much there that gets glossed over. I would have given my life for him. He was a single father at 2 and stoned. But then one day Fred Tallchief: She says, Dad, Im going to Las Vegas. We guess you can decide for yourself, though. Heather Tallchief: It just didnt registerthe magnitude. Oscar Cisneros then 23 and Jose Manuel Vigoa then 40 . The Bellagio, Las Vegas (2000) - $160K. She says she didnt think anything of it when he guided her toward armored car services and says she didnt even think about the fact that he had killed a Loomis guard all those years before. Whats its like walking around with a gun. No money was ever found in his possession, and much later, Sam Millar would write a biography and say that he'd had nothing to do with the robbery. She would wear more of a rugged work boot-type thing because she knew she was either gonna be on her feet all day or driving all day. In the documentary, Tallchief recalls falling in love with Solis but also being easily manipulated by him,. I have a lump in my throat. So she wrote to a U.S. lawyer, flew to California, and made her way to Vegas to turn herself in in September 2005. The Bellagio Heist. The couple were now holed up with their two young daughters inside an east Las Vegas apartment. Director: Steven Soderbergh. A Look At The Most Daring Casino Heists In Las Vegas So many questions The story begins in San Franciscos eclectic Haight Ashbury district. Keith Morrison, Dateline correspondent: How much money was in the back of that truck?Scott Stewart, then-Loomis courier: Approximately 3.1 million. She must drive the truck loaded with its $3 million dollars out of the parking lot, said her instructions, drive down the street, and there, shed see a sign. Morrison: Was he inquisitive?Heather Tallchief: He was. But Solis shot him twice in the back anyway. A lot of people thought it was a great thing, you know, Heathers father Fred Tallchief told Dateline. She soon after fell in love again and spent the following years leading a mostly normal life, raising her son with her partner. We were like a pre-packed family. That was at a Woolworths store in San Francisco where Solis and two accomplices approached Loomis driver Louis Dake. Solis was released in September of 1991, and came back to the San Francisco area, though a parole violation for selling drugs too close to a school had him in and out of prison again. Keith Morrison, Dateline correspondent: But did they instruct you to do anything in particular? I truly feel like Im setting myself free, she said at the time. Much, much later, he explained that he had spent a good part of his life accused of being part of a secretive group deep within the IRA. She is in negotiations with the U.S. attorneys office on a possible plea agreement. Someone experienced had to be involved. Sounds straightforward? The male was like a doctor. And what does she look like. Tallchief continually maintained that she couldn't have helped plan the heist, even if she'd wanted to. And the other one was the temptress or the lust card. In the middle of a routine cash delivery to area ATMs, armored truck driver Heather Tallchief who'd been on the job for just a couple of months abandoned her co-workers and sped off with the cash, disappearing entirely for a solid 12 years. It filled from about a third of the way from the front of the vehicle all the way to the back. It was a remarkable scene. According to FBI documentation, the four were connected with an organization called Irish Northern Aid, or NORAID. What do you do with a truck? cards? Given the technology of the time, there was no tracking, there was no GPS, basically all we had was a radio. When I get set up, Ill call you.. Heathers job was to pick them up about 20 minutes later. And so the decision was made. Accusations of IRA sympathies and his work with sheltering undocumented immigrants meant that Moloney had attracted the attention of the FBI. And I was to drive my vehicle from Circus-Circus to a place that he had mapped out on a little bit of paper, and he made me memorize it. Special agent Dushek got the name, and it rang all kinds of bells. New Africa/Shutterstock. Or that day theres a lot of coin there. LAS VEGAS - The largest bank robbery in Las Vegas history went off without a hitch. But then things turned and she lost her job. Located in Las Vegas, it is the epitome of luxury and is also one of the most safely guarded buildings around. Its a lesson she hopes to teach her son. Very big. Heist doesn't touch on the fact Tallchief also spent five years under federal supervision following her release, meaning she wasn't truly "free" until 2015. It was now looking more like a robbery than an abduction one of the largest armored vehicle heists in Las Vegas history. Hardly. Odd, for someone who had been a hostage? This is not a great thing to do, to become a fugitive, to run away, to lose your family, to lose contact with every single person youve ever known and loved. And Skyler. She invoked gods and goddesses and let them take over her body. An Unlikely Robber Unlike Jose, Brennan had no criminal record prior to the big event. 27 Best Heist Movies of the 21st Century - Collider Do people just keep checking and checking and checkingbut the trail goes cold? The story behind the robbery isn't a typical tale, and it's impossible to read without automatically casting the must-see Netflix movie version. Heather Tallchief and her baby escaped their Amsterdam home with only a small amount of cash and some jewelry, per NBC. I havent seen him since then. At the same time, three other men were arrested as well: Thomas O'Connor, the guard working at the Brink's depot when it was robbed; his friend, Sam Millar; and Father Patrick Moloney. Check out "This Is A Robbery: The World's Biggest Art Heist" on Netflix for an in-depth look at this insane heist. Solis was 48 years old and interesting. She was sentenced to only five years in prison for the crime. Scott Stewart, the armored car courier who was working with Heather that day, got a call from a reporter. My worst thought was he dumped her in the ocean for $3 million. 'Heist' Netflix: Who Is Heather Tallchief and Where Is She Now? - Newsweek Ive done enough of that. Fred Tallchief: Because she was the first, I made a lot of mistakes. I got to get away, cause I wanted to have the opportunity to at least have this child. That, says The Buffalo News, is when a door to the Brink's armored car depot in Rochester, New York was left unlocked. Tallchief went searching for her birth mother in her late teens. And the voice would count from ten to one. Patrick Moloney was born in Limerick and emigrated to the U.S. in 1955. I mean there had to be something behind that. Heather Tallchief: He doesnt exist basically. The Biggest Casino Heists of all Time - Casino Bonus Canada Heather Tallchief: Maybe later in life he will understand that Ive done something wrong and I came to do the right thing. She was swept away. Donning bulletproof gear, Vigoa hopped the cashier counter and stuffed a bag . The Bellagio is one of the biggest and most magnificent casinos in the world. On October 1, 1993, Tallchief found herself behind the wheel in one of the largest armored truck robberies in Las Vegas history. No. The tape?Heather Tallchief: No. Keith Morrison, Dateline correspondent: Did you think youd ever see her again?Elaine Tallchief, Heather Tallchief's sister: No.Morrison: In all those years? Eric A. Aguilera and his accomplish Luda Ramos robbed The Soboba Casino in Las Vegas in 2005. It was a job like anything else. 10 Biggest Robberies in Las Vegas | AnyGamble Treasure Island, Las Vegas (2000) - $30,000 Reginald Johnson robbed Treasure Island three times for $30,000. The couple eventually acquired fake documents and made their way to Amsterdam from St. Maarten, where Tallchief became pregnant. Two hours isn't really enough time to tell this stranger-than-fiction tale and there are inevitably details and events that were missed out from the small-screen adaptation. He took it hard, did Dushek, that one case he just couldnt solve. Anything could have been possible. But what aborobinut the ill-fated boxer, just looking for his cut of the take? So why would you necessarily shoot someone if they dont even have the money?Morrison: What does that say to you?Dushek: That brings up some pretty deep questions about his attitude towards life and death and the seriousness of his violence. At the time, there was still more than $5 million missing, and that's not the sort of thing that tends to be taken lightly. Inside the van were more clues. The kind you would use for moving. Thats how this evolved. The Three Biggest Casino Heists Ever Attempted - Part Two Still a wanted man. Up until that moment, I absolutely worshiped him. How could it be? Now I got through this. Heather attended a Catholic high school, got into the goth scene as a teenager. IE 11 is not supported. Skyler Tallchief, Heather's youngest brother: I always have thoughts of when I get older I can, you know, go out looking for her. Consequently, it isn't clear who Donna Marie Eaton was, or if she ever existed. In 2000, Oscar Cisneros, who was 23 at the time, and Jose Manuel Vigoa, aged 40, carried one of the boldest real-life heists in Las Vegas history. But she says she had no idea. And so they flew from Las Vegas to Denver, but there her story is interrupted by her attorney, Bob Axelrod. And every day, before she went to work, she says he played videotapes for her.. Heather Tallchief: A mans voice came in. He'd last been seen alive in 1995, and the investigation into his death turned up no leads. What it would be like to see her. If you're just hearing it from other people, then it just becomes about the 1-2-3 of what happened during the crime. In October, 2000, Reginald Johnson burst into the Treasure Island Casino wielding a gun, making off with $30,000. 10 Most Famous Crimes In The History Of Las Vegas - Listverse And I think, I hope that he will appreciate that. Part one addresses the relationship of Tallchief and Solis and pulling off the heist itself, and part two follows their fall from grace and Tallchief's arrest after she turned herself in more than a decade after the heist was committed. In 2005, Tallchief faced charges of embezzlement, bank fraud, bank robbery, false statements, interstate flight to avoid prosecution and using a firearm for a violent crime. 7 Biggest Heists in Casino History | Slots of Vegas Blog