The Dunbar Armored Heist

On September 12, 1997, a gang of thieves executed one of the most audacious armored car robberies in American history at the Dunbar Armored facility in Los Angeles. An inside man — Dunbar employee Allen Pace — had used his access to the facility to scout the vault layout and security over months. On the night of the robbery, Pace and five accomplices entered the facility during the shift change, subdued employees at gunpoint, and removed approximately $18.9 million in cash — making it the largest cash robbery in United States history at the time.

The robbery was almost perfectly executed. The perpetrators wore gloves, left minimal forensic evidence, and used Pace's intimate knowledge of the facility to move efficiently through a building they knew well. The cash was dispersed quickly. For nearly a year, the FBI had almost no leads. The case appeared headed for the cold case files.

Pace's undoing came from human weakness rather than forensic evidence. He began spending money conspicuously and gave a bag of cash to a childhood friend as a gift. That friend was arrested on an unrelated charge and cooperated with investigators. The FBI quickly unraveled the conspiracy from that thread, arresting Pace and most of his accomplices. However, only a fraction of the money was ever recovered — approximately $5 million of the $18.9 million was located.

Pace and his co-conspirators were convicted and sentenced to lengthy prison terms. The case became a textbook study of the inside-man heist and the importance of operational security for criminals — specifically, how the human tendency to share good fortune with trusted friends can unravel even meticulously planned crimes. The remaining $13+ million from the Dunbar robbery has never been found.