Skip to content

The Brink’s Robbery That Turned Into a Deadly Manhunt

June 5, 2026 · 37 min

Show notes

October 20, 1981. What began as a carefully planned armored truck robbery outside a shopping center in Rockland County, New York quickly became one of the most infamous crimes in American history.

Armed members of the Black Liberation Army and Weather Underground ambushed a Brink’s armored truck, stealing $1.6 million in cash. Within minutes, the robbery erupted into deadly gunfire that left a Brink’s guard dead and sparked a violent confrontation with police. By the end of the day, two Nyack police officers had also been killed, launching one of the largest manhunts in FBI history.

In this episode of Unlawful Acts, Connie and Jocelyn break down the planning, execution, investigation, arrests, and lasting impact of the Brink’s Robbery—a crime that blurred the lines between political extremism, terrorism, and organized robbery.

What really happened that day? Who was behind the attack? And how did this case reshape law enforcement's approach to domestic extremist groups?

Subscribe for new true crime episodes every week.


Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

All episodes of Unlawful Acts

Settings

Display

Language

Decides which stations you see first on the home page.

History

Recently played stations and episodes and your latest searches are only stored in this browser.

Notifications

A short notice when a podcast you follow has a new episode. Turn off single podcasts with the bell on their page.

Account

Save favorites – in the app and on the website.

Keyboard shortcuts

/
Open search
Space
Play or pause
← →
In the player: back 15 s, forward 30 s (episodes) · in a row: next tile
↑ ↓
In a row: target within the tile
Home / End
In a row: first or last tile
Esc
Close window or menu
?
This overview
Now playing

Go to station page

Play next

    Add episodes with “Play next” – they play after the current episode.