Historic Pittsburgh: The Nation's First Armored Car Robbery, in 1927

Paul Jawarski was the leader of the "Flatheads" gang, who committed the first-ever armored car robbery, on March 11, 1927. 

The gang stole over $104,000 from an armored vehicle on Bethel Road, 7 miles outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The bandits placed a landmine under the roadbed, and made off with money that was on its way to Coverdale, Pennsylvania for the Pittsburgh Terminal Coal Company.

 The exploding charges overturned a Brinks truck. Its doors popped open and Jawarski and his pals made off with more than $100,000 without firing a shot. Guards were too stunned to resist.

 An escort vehicle plunged into one of the holes made by Jawarski's charges.

After a shootout with Cleveland police, Jawarski lay bleeding on the porch of a home in the city's Fleet Street neighborhood. He survived his wounds, only to die in Rockview Prison's electric chair.