U.S. Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Investigation

2111 West Roosevelt Road Chicago, Illinois 60608 (312) 421-6700

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 26, 2007	Chicago FBI Press Office Phone: (312) 829-1199

THIS WEEK IN CHICAGO FBI HISTORY   On October 21, 1974, over $4 million is discovered missing from a locked vault at Purolator’s Armored Express Company, located at 127 West Huron Street in Chicago.  The theft is discovered when company officials and firefighters responded to a smoke alarm from inside the vault. The thieves had apparently tried to set fire to the remaining contents of the vault in an effort to conceal the theft, but the fire burned itself out due to a lack of oxygen. Subsequent investigation by the FBI resulted in the arrest and conviction of seven men for the theft, which at the time, was the largest such crime in U.S. history. Approximately $3 million in stolen money was also recovered. In the early morning hours of October 27, 1975, bombs explode outside three Chicago loop office buildings, including the Sears Tower. A fourth device is found outside the Standard Oil building, but is disarmed before detonating. Almost simultaneously, five bombs explode outside four New York banks and the U.S. Mission to the United Nations while two devices detonate outside government buildings in Washington, D.C. A caller to the Associated Press office in New York claimed that the Puerto Rican independence group FALN was responsible for the blasts. The bombings were part of a series of such incidents that occurred in Chicago, starting in 1975 and continuing through March of 1980, that were attributed to the FALN. A total of 19 bombings, six incendiary attacks and two armed take-overs of offices and businesses occurred in the Chicago area during this period. Editor’s Note: This release is part of a weekly series designed to help commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which will be celebrated on July 26, 2008. Additional facts about the history of the FBI are available on-line at www.fbi.gov.   # # # #

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