“Whenever we needed money, we’d rob the airport. To us, it was better than Citibank.” – Henry Hill, Goodfellas.
In what is suspected to have been an inside job, a pair of crooks stole two pallets full of Apple iPad minis — worth $1.5 million — from the same JFK airport cargo building that was the site of the 1978 Lufthansa heist featured in the classic Martin Scorsese film “Goodfellas.”
The crooks struck shortly before midnight on Monday and used one of the airport’s own forklifts to load two pallets of the tablet computers into a truck, according to law-enforcement sources.
The thieves were then challenged by an airport worker returning from dinner, and drove off, leaving behind another three pallets of the tablets behind.
“So, as a caper goes, it was probably unsuccessful,” a source said.
Investigators, believing the caper might have been an inside job, have questioned airport workers, and given three of them a polygraph test, according to sources.
The crooks pulled up to Building 261 approximately 11PM in a white tractor with the name “CEVA” on the side. They approached from the street side of the building, which has less security than the other side.
Police believe someone let the culprits into the area, letting them out after they grabbed their haul.
The scofflaws were able to get away with about 3,600 of the iPad minis that were being shipped by a company called Cargo Airport Services. The devices had just arrived from China and were intended for locations around the U.S.
It is unknown if the minis were LTE models, many of which are being reported “out for delivery” to preorder customers today.
A group of crooks stole $5 million in cash and nearly $900,000 of jewelry from the same building on December 11, 1978. The heist was immortalized in the movie classic “Goodfellas.”
