Final confession : the unsolved crimes of Phil Cresta

265 Pages·2013·1.38 MB·English

by  Brian P Wallace

Final Confession

F I N A L
C
O N F E S S I O N
The
Unsolved
Crimes
of Phil
Cresta
Brian P. Wallace & Bill Crowley
University Press of New England
hNaonrtohveearst earnnd U lnoinvderosnity Press BOSTON
University Press of New England
www.upne.com
© 2000 Brian P. Wallace and William Crowley
NAlol rrtihgehatss treersne rUvendiversity Press
First University Press of New England paperback edition 2013
CMoapnyurfigahcttu 2r0e0d0 ibny t hBer iUann iPt.e Wd Saltlaatcees of America
ADlel sriiggnhetds rbeys eArnvned T. wEoxmcebplty for the quotation of short passages for
tThyep epsuertp ions eFsa iorffi cerldit ibcyis Wm ealnlidn grteovnie Gw,r anpoh picasrt of this book may be
risebpnro fdour ctehde ipna apneryb faocrkm e odrit bioyn a: n9y7 8m-1e-a6n1s16, 8e-le37c8tr-o3nic or mechani-
cisabl,n i nfocrl uthdien egb pohookt oecdoitpioynin: g9, 7r8e-c1o-6rd11in68g-, 3o7r9 a-0ny information stor-
age and retrieval system now known or to be invented, without
wForirt tpeenr mpeisrsmioisns itoon r eopf rtohdeu pcue balnisyh oefr. the material in this book, contact
Permissions, University Press of New England, One Court Street,
NSuoirtteh 2e5a0s,t eLrenb Uannoivne rNsiHty 0P3r7e6s6s; hoars v misiatd we wewve.uryp nreea.csoonmable effort
to confirm the accuracy of the facts contained in this account
aOnrdig binealilelyv epsu ibt ltiosh beed tirnu e2.000 by Northeastern University Press
LTihber aLriyb oraf rCy oonf gCreosnsg Creastsa hloagsi ncagt-ainlo-gPeudb tlhicea thiaornd Dcoavtear edition as follows:
Wallace, Brian P., 1949–
Final confession : the unsolved crimes of Phil Cresta /
Brian P. Wallace & Bill Crowley.
p. cm.
isbn1-55553-449-x(cloth : alk. paper)
1. Cresta, Phil. 2. Thieves—Massachusetts—Boston—
Biography. 3. Burglary—Massachusetts—Boston.
4. Organized crime—Massachusetts—Boston. I. Crowley,
Bill. II. Title.
hv6653.c74w35 2000
364.16′2′0974461—dc21 00-058224
5D e4s i3g n2e d1 by Ann Twombly
Composed in Fairfield by Wellington Graphics, Westwood, Mas-
sachusetts. Printed and bound by Quebecor Printing, Fairªeld,
Pennsylvania. The paper is Quebecor Liberty, an acid-free stock.
manufactured in the united states of america
04 03 02 01 00 5 4 3 2 1
To the memory of Billy Cresta

Contents
Contents
Foreword: dennis lehane ix
FInotrreowdourcdt:iodne:ngnilisgleeihsanxeiii ix
IPnrtorloodguucet:i oOnp:egni lCagseesi sNowxi iCi losed xxiixii
Prologue: Open Cases Now Closed xix
1 The Parker House Heist 3
21 TSchhe oPoalsr kfoerr THhoouuseg hHteis1t3 3
23 SMcahsosaoclsh fuosre Ttths oTuigghhttens1 3Its Pockets 27
43 MThaes sTaecahmus Fetotrsm Tsigh3te3ns Its Pockets 27
45 TAh Kee Tye faomr YFoourrm Tsho3u3ghts 41
65 AE xKpeeyn sfoivre Y Couurp T ohf oJuavgahts4741
67 EHxopliednasyi vWe eCeukpen odf AJacvtaivit4y7 53
87 HThoeli dCahye Wckese Ckeanndc eAl cOtiuvitty 6353
89 TKhane sCash Ceciktys, CHaenrec eWl Oe uCtom6e3 73
109 KBarenaskads oCwitnys, H8e3re We Come 73
1101 BCrreeastkad Towrienss It 8A3lone 99
1121 CThrees tNa oT-rHieesa Idtl iAnleodn Tehe9ft9 109
12 The No-Headlined Theft 109
viii Contents
13 The Highwaymen, One Last Time 117
14 Machine Guns at the VA 121
15 Life Is What Happens When You’re Busy Making
Other Plans 129
16 Suspended Sentences for a Fee 137
17 Brink’s Déjà-vu 161
18 On the Run 191
19 Surrounded 207
20 Settling Scores 213
Aftermath: The Main Characters 225
Aftermath: Other Characters 227
Index 231
Acknowledgments 241
Foreword
when i was asked toreadFinalConfessionforthepurposeof
writing this foreword, my ªrst inclination was to say no.
I don’t read much in the way of true-crime chronicles, and I
can’tstandthosebiographiesorpseudoautobiographiesofcrim-
inalsandmobstersthathaveªlledtheshelvesofourbookstores
lately. Most of these books attempt to make the criminal—the
Salvatore “Sammy the Bull” Gravano or the John Gotti—seem
shrewd and intelligent, which I ªnd hard to believe if they are
either in Witness Protection or in jail or have been so unsuc-
cessful at practicing illicit activities that someone can write a
bookaboutthem.Ialsoªndthesebooksunreadablebecauseof
what I call The Godfather syndrome, which essentially boils
down to the idea that our collective perception of the Maªa is
that it’s like an extension of the Corleone family—we see
maªosi as handsome, Machiavellian, tragic heroes who spend a
lotoftimetalkingabouthonorandhostinglavishweddingsand
who occasionally (but with wistful regret) do the odd bad thing
to horses and guys named Carlo. The criminals I had contact
withinmyyouthweren’tlikethat.Theywereusuallydumbguys
or, if in the mob, far more like the Al Pacino in Donnie Brasco
thantheAlPacinoinTheGodfather:PartII,whichistosaythey