A dying man, Tom Randele, revealed something to his family before his last breath.
First off, his real name was Theodore “Ted” Conrad and not Thomas Randele. A more shocking confession: he had been among America’s most-wanted criminals for over 50 years, as reported on SFGATE.
It was supposed to be a normal shift for the then-20-year-old Conrad on a Friday, July 11, 1969, when he came to his work at Society National Bank, according to a release by the U.S. Marshals. But he left work that day with $215, 000 or now about $1.7 million inside a paper bag.
His co-workers came back Monday and realized the money was gone, and so did Conrad, who had the weekend ahead of authorities.
Conrad was found to be a big fan of a Steve McQueen movie “The Thomas Crown Affair” which revolves around a rich and bored businessman who robs a bank. Investigators found out that Conrad told his friends about his robbing plans.
“He was a darer, so to speak,” according to U.S. Marshal Peter Elliott who talked to the New York Times. “After seeing that movie, I believe he thought, ‘Hey, what if I do this and get away with this?’ I really think it was a challenge for him to be able to do it.”
The release said federal investigators have come after Conrad in California, D.C., Texas, Oregon, and even in Hawaii.
The case remained unsolved for decades.
According to the release, new leads were found after U.S. Marshals investigators in Cleveland compared the documents completed by Conrad in the 1960s and those by Randele in 2014. Among the information that matched between the two are their birthdays, birthplace, parents’ names, as well as the schools they attended.
Federal authorities went to Boston last week to verify the new information they had. It appeared that before his death, the suspect confessed to his family about the crime he committed 52 years ago at the bank.
Going by the name Randele, Conrad lived in Lynnfield, Mass. in Boston after he disappeared from the bank he works in. The suspect became a golf pro there as he established “an unassuming life.” He also hopped into other jobs like luxury vehicle selling.
“He was also an excellent cook who loved watching any and all cooking shows, and enjoyed testing out new recipes on his wife and daughter, always asking ‘So, can I make this again?’ at the end of every meal,” his obituary stated.