The Friday payroll heist was once a criminal staple in Montreal as companies would pay employees in cash, or offer to cash employees' cheques, leading thieves to the aroma of large amounts of often poorly-protected cash money to be grabbed.
Here's a list of payroll robberies in Montreal over the years. (Please submit suggestions for this evolving list).
1975 Two men were arrested in St. Leonard six months after robbing $1 million earmarked as pay for 2,400 Hydro Quebec employees 150 northeast of Quebec City. Bank officials were held hostage in the theft but the cash money was soon after found in the woods and the pair was arrested about 20 miles away from the scene of the crime. They escaped on June 24 and were recaptured in Montreal.
1967 October 2: Five hooded men armed with sawed off semi-automatic shotguns robbed about $10,000 from National Sales Distributors Limited in Old Montreal at 477 St. Jean Baptiste, a narrow street across from the courthouse.
1967 July 7: Thieves make off with $8,000 from Jarry Hydraulics in the East End.
1967 July 7: Three machine gun-toting men took $86,000 from Brinks trucks from the Sacre Coeur Hospital in Cartiervielle -$78,000 that was earmarked to pay 3,000 workers.
1967 June 19 D.R. Hogman VP of Operation announced from Chicago that Brinks would no longer cash cheques in Montreal following a spate of payroll thefts that took place as police were busy dealing with Expo 67. In the past year thieves had made of with $952,000 in payroll thefts.
1967 April 17: $400,000 in cash and non-negotiable cheques was stolen by four masked gunmen who held up two Brinks guards in the sub-basement of Simpson's department store.
1967April 7: Coca Cola plant thieves took $10,000 from a payroll cash operation at 200 Bellechasse at 9:30 a.m. Three masked men forced five employees to lie on the floor, one was carrying a machine gun. They missed out on another $22,000 that was in another box. They were caught and sentenced to seven years each.
1967March 9: $95,000 was taken from Dominion Glass in Point St. Charles. Four armed and hooded gunmen disarmed armed guards and forced 50 employees to lie face down on the floor at 7:15 a.m. as they robbed $95,000 from Dominion Glass in the Point. One shot bullets into a pillar to show he was serious.
1967 Feb 25: A big haul of $275,000 was taken from a Brinks truck on Villeray St. outside a supermarket where payroll was being delivered.
1967 Feb 23: Three men armed with machine guns escaped with $21,000 from a payroll theft at Smith Transport in Dorval.
1966 Feb. 18: Thieves stole an undisclosed amount from the Automatic Slipper Company at 9767 Birnam.
1966 July 22: Three masked men grabbed $77,000 from Brinks at payroll operation at Crane Canada on St. Patrick St.
1963: Sept 19: Payroll thieves took $10,000 from Boulevard Pontiac in North Central Montreal.
1962- December 28: Montreal police officer Jean-Louis Langlois shot Claude Laframboise, a 39-year-old waiter and would-be payroll thief dead at the New Method Laundry Company at 6455 Christophe Colomb. The same company which was targeted one year earlier. Two others escaped. Cops had received a tip that there would be na attempt to steal the $7,000 payroll.
1961 Oct: 16: New Method Laundry was robbed of $6,000 after thieves entered the building through the garage.
1960 Dec, 2: At 10 a.m. three masked and armed men held up messenger from George G. Hodges Ltd. at 205 Vitre West. They relieved him of about $4,000 in workers' pay.
1960 Dec. 2: Thieves stole $1,600 from the Prince Hat and Cap Co. 91 King St. (Roy) Marylin Pratt had been carrying the bag.
1960 Sept. 23: Three masked gunmen held up the Provincial Transport Company's east end terminal at Berri and de Montigny and took about $50,000. They threatened Roger Dupuis and five employees and dashed down the stairs. The pay was for 600 workers.
1960 Sept. 23: The Seafarers' international union lost a $2,500 payroll when a young man attacked an employee Anne De Bellevefeuille carrying the money in a paper back to 718 St. James St. W. in broad daylight in Old Montreal.
1963: August 30: Two men escaped with the $3,370 payroll of an insurance agency while police chased the wrong red car. The men stole from employee Henri Chartrand returning from the bank for the Georges Tanguay company.
1959 Aug 4: George Ehrman of Acme Slide Fastenener described the theft of $1,900 in cash for employees at 1740 St Antoine. "He pulled a gun and asked me to give him the money. I threw the briefcase and ran up the stairs.
1954 July 23: This is in Joliette, about 45 minutes from Montreal: Two masked gunmen took $23,768 from the Howard Smith Paper Co. on the way from the bank to Crabtree Mills.
1953- Leslie Kovach, 27, was charged with robbery of $2,681 from the Monitor Publishing Company. Ruth Webster said that she wasn't sure it was him so he was acquitted.
1953 June 12: Norman Sidel of the Empire Glove Company at 3480 St. Dominique reported that thieves took $460, pay for about 40 employees.
1952Aug 28: David et Frere wholesale biscuits lost $19,668 in a payroll theft.
1952 Aug 20. A thief nicked $950 from Riva Pastal on her way to Room 202 of the Balfour Building 3575 St. Lwrence. A man levelled a nickel-plated gun at her and snatched her briefcase. The gun turned out to be plastic.
1947: May 14: Charles Hockman, 24, was sentenced to five years in prison for $4,000 theft of Lunham of Canada and Backett Ltd. at 231 Notre Dame W. He did it to buy jewelry and furs for his girlfriend who was crying in court. Two thirds of the money was found sewn in her coat. The rest was buried in a lot in Ville Emard.
1947Sept 26: $2,000 was stolen from Montreal Laundry Ltd at 936 Busby (?) in a daylight robbery conducted by one young man and young middle-aged partner in crime.
1946 March 8: - St. Jean D'Arc Hospital on St. Urbain lost $28,000 in workers' wages when a man with a gun took off with the loot. He was described as 5'7" 135 lbs and about 35 years old. He'd be 104 now.
1945 March 1, Two bandits in ski masks and windbreakers staged the holdup in a narrow passeageway between one section of Wilsil Ltd. meat packing plant. They were gone in three minutes. in a station wagon, with a haul of $15,000 as night shift workers waited in vain for their pay. Some speculated that the thieves were army deserters.
1933 Lucien hogue and George Starke are sentenced to life in prison for the $4,000 payrol heist at Gagnon Lachapelle and the Catelli Macaroni Company -
1927 -Oct. 31 George Starke took $1,380 from the Montreal Tramsways Company on Victoria Ave. He was setnenced to two years and 20 lashes but was released after a bus driver late convinced that he did the inside job.
1924 April 1: Former cop Louis Morrell was ambushed on Ontario St. near Morea in a massive payroll heist of $142,288 - leaving behind another $200,000. Courier Henri Cleroux and bandit Harry Stone died in the shootout. Seven were eventually convicted and four of them hanged.
1923 April 16:Fred Young, 26, of Albany stole $6,000 in payroll from a Montreal shirt factory before it could be delivered to employees.
1922 An unnamted suspect was arrested after stealing $29,000 in payroll from the Dominion Textile plant on St. Ambroise in St. Henri.
Here's a list of payroll robberies in Montreal over the years. (Please submit suggestions for this evolving list).
1975 Two men were arrested in St. Leonard six months after robbing $1 million earmarked as pay for 2,400 Hydro Quebec employees 150 northeast of Quebec City. Bank officials were held hostage in the theft but the cash money was soon after found in the woods and the pair was arrested about 20 miles away from the scene of the crime. They escaped on June 24 and were recaptured in Montreal.
1967 October 2: Five hooded men armed with sawed off semi-automatic shotguns robbed about $10,000 from National Sales Distributors Limited in Old Montreal at 477 St. Jean Baptiste, a narrow street across from the courthouse.
1967 July 7: Thieves make off with $8,000 from Jarry Hydraulics in the East End.
1967 July 7: Three machine gun-toting men took $86,000 from Brinks trucks from the Sacre Coeur Hospital in Cartiervielle -$78,000 that was earmarked to pay 3,000 workers.
1967 June 19 D.R. Hogman VP of Operation announced from Chicago that Brinks would no longer cash cheques in Montreal following a spate of payroll thefts that took place as police were busy dealing with Expo 67. In the past year thieves had made of with $952,000 in payroll thefts.
1967 April 17: $400,000 in cash and non-negotiable cheques was stolen by four masked gunmen who held up two Brinks guards in the sub-basement of Simpson's department store.
1967April 7: Coca Cola plant thieves took $10,000 from a payroll cash operation at 200 Bellechasse at 9:30 a.m. Three masked men forced five employees to lie on the floor, one was carrying a machine gun. They missed out on another $22,000 that was in another box. They were caught and sentenced to seven years each.
1967March 9: $95,000 was taken from Dominion Glass in Point St. Charles. Four armed and hooded gunmen disarmed armed guards and forced 50 employees to lie face down on the floor at 7:15 a.m. as they robbed $95,000 from Dominion Glass in the Point. One shot bullets into a pillar to show he was serious.
1967 Feb 25: A big haul of $275,000 was taken from a Brinks truck on Villeray St. outside a supermarket where payroll was being delivered.
1967 Feb 23: Three men armed with machine guns escaped with $21,000 from a payroll theft at Smith Transport in Dorval.
1966 Feb. 18: Thieves stole an undisclosed amount from the Automatic Slipper Company at 9767 Birnam.
1966 July 22: Three masked men grabbed $77,000 from Brinks at payroll operation at Crane Canada on St. Patrick St.
1963: Sept 19: Payroll thieves took $10,000 from Boulevard Pontiac in North Central Montreal.
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| New Method at left, Jean-Louis Langlois renenacting his shooting technique for a cameraman and Claude Laframboise, |
1962- December 28: Montreal police officer Jean-Louis Langlois shot Claude Laframboise, a 39-year-old waiter and would-be payroll thief dead at the New Method Laundry Company at 6455 Christophe Colomb. The same company which was targeted one year earlier. Two others escaped. Cops had received a tip that there would be na attempt to steal the $7,000 payroll.
1961 Oct: 16: New Method Laundry was robbed of $6,000 after thieves entered the building through the garage.
1960 Dec, 2: At 10 a.m. three masked and armed men held up messenger from George G. Hodges Ltd. at 205 Vitre West. They relieved him of about $4,000 in workers' pay.
1960 Dec. 2: Thieves stole $1,600 from the Prince Hat and Cap Co. 91 King St. (Roy) Marylin Pratt had been carrying the bag.
1960 Sept. 23: Three masked gunmen held up the Provincial Transport Company's east end terminal at Berri and de Montigny and took about $50,000. They threatened Roger Dupuis and five employees and dashed down the stairs. The pay was for 600 workers.
1960 Sept. 23: The Seafarers' international union lost a $2,500 payroll when a young man attacked an employee Anne De Bellevefeuille carrying the money in a paper back to 718 St. James St. W. in broad daylight in Old Montreal.
1963: August 30: Two men escaped with the $3,370 payroll of an insurance agency while police chased the wrong red car. The men stole from employee Henri Chartrand returning from the bank for the Georges Tanguay company.
1959 Aug 4: George Ehrman of Acme Slide Fastenener described the theft of $1,900 in cash for employees at 1740 St Antoine. "He pulled a gun and asked me to give him the money. I threw the briefcase and ran up the stairs.
1954 July 23: This is in Joliette, about 45 minutes from Montreal: Two masked gunmen took $23,768 from the Howard Smith Paper Co. on the way from the bank to Crabtree Mills.
1953- Leslie Kovach, 27, was charged with robbery of $2,681 from the Monitor Publishing Company. Ruth Webster said that she wasn't sure it was him so he was acquitted.
1953 June 12: Norman Sidel of the Empire Glove Company at 3480 St. Dominique reported that thieves took $460, pay for about 40 employees.
1952Aug 28: David et Frere wholesale biscuits lost $19,668 in a payroll theft.
1952 Aug 20. A thief nicked $950 from Riva Pastal on her way to Room 202 of the Balfour Building 3575 St. Lwrence. A man levelled a nickel-plated gun at her and snatched her briefcase. The gun turned out to be plastic.
1947: May 14: Charles Hockman, 24, was sentenced to five years in prison for $4,000 theft of Lunham of Canada and Backett Ltd. at 231 Notre Dame W. He did it to buy jewelry and furs for his girlfriend who was crying in court. Two thirds of the money was found sewn in her coat. The rest was buried in a lot in Ville Emard.
1947Sept 26: $2,000 was stolen from Montreal Laundry Ltd at 936 Busby (?) in a daylight robbery conducted by one young man and young middle-aged partner in crime.
1946 March 8: - St. Jean D'Arc Hospital on St. Urbain lost $28,000 in workers' wages when a man with a gun took off with the loot. He was described as 5'7" 135 lbs and about 35 years old. He'd be 104 now.
1945 March 1, Two bandits in ski masks and windbreakers staged the holdup in a narrow passeageway between one section of Wilsil Ltd. meat packing plant. They were gone in three minutes. in a station wagon, with a haul of $15,000 as night shift workers waited in vain for their pay. Some speculated that the thieves were army deserters.
1933 Lucien hogue and George Starke are sentenced to life in prison for the $4,000 payrol heist at Gagnon Lachapelle and the Catelli Macaroni Company -
1927 -Oct. 31 George Starke took $1,380 from the Montreal Tramsways Company on Victoria Ave. He was setnenced to two years and 20 lashes but was released after a bus driver late convinced that he did the inside job.
1924 April 1: Former cop Louis Morrell was ambushed on Ontario St. near Morea in a massive payroll heist of $142,288 - leaving behind another $200,000. Courier Henri Cleroux and bandit Harry Stone died in the shootout. Seven were eventually convicted and four of them hanged.
1923 April 16:Fred Young, 26, of Albany stole $6,000 in payroll from a Montreal shirt factory before it could be delivered to employees.
1922 An unnamted suspect was arrested after stealing $29,000 in payroll from the Dominion Textile plant on St. Ambroise in St. Henri.