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In the early 1960s, in Montreal, Canada, a young boy exploded onto the youth boxing scene. He was fearless and won bout after bout. The young fighter seemed to be off to a promising career, but at some point in his teens, his interests switched from athletics to acquisition by illegal means.
From rubbing shoulders with the violent Irish mob to growing up in a family marked by crime, this young slugger would abandon the ring and instead go on to plan and execute the largest bank robbery in Canadian history. Part 1. The Slugger
December 30th, 1960 was a cold day, but inside the Snowden Young Man's Hebrew Association, or YMHA, on Westbury Street in Montreal, sweat was flying. The holiday sports carnival was in full swing, and the Little Gloves Boxing Championship was the main attraction.
Young sluggers fought hard to win their matches, but none harder than 11-year-old, 85-pound class Melvin Mingo. A favorite among fans, the kid never stopped throwing punches. He won all three of his matches. At the final bell, Melvin collapsed on the mat. Later, he would admit to reporters that he was tired because he'd played hockey earlier in the day. And when asked if he was nervous before his fights, Melvin shook his head.
He declared that he knew he was going to win, and at no time did he fear his opponents. Young Melvin would keep on winning and become so acclaimed in the ring that he was considered for the 1961 Bloomfield Memorial Medal, a YMHA award given to the athlete of the year. Melvin would go on to win the title in his weight group in 1961 and become the Open champ in 1962 and in 1963.
And on New Year's Eve in 1963, now 14-year-old Melvin would compete in another holiday sports carnival, this time on the wrestling mat. And again, he would notch another win. From boxing to wrestling, Melvin seemed to be a natural-born athlete. He had innate strength and tenacity. Winning was in his nature. But there were other forces that would influence his life.
One of these was an incident that occurred in Northern Ontario nearly a decade earlier. Part 2: Missing Gold and Silk Stockings On April 22, 1952, two men were stopped at a roadblock near Larder Lake, a remote Ontario community nearly 600 miles north of Toronto and near the Quebec border.
The police searched the car the two men were driving and found a briefcase containing melted gold valued at $3,000. One of the men was Melvin's father, Charles Mingo. At his hearing, he said he had three children at home in Montreal and a fourth on the way. He needed the money for his family, but the magistrate saw things differently. Both men were sentenced to a year in prison for the illegal possession of gold.
Fifteen years later, in 1969, Charles would be back in court.
At the busy port of Montreal, a shipment of silk stockings arrived by boat from England. This being the era of the miniskirt, the stockings were labeled "extra length for shorter skirts" and the delivery was valued at $46,000. After being unloaded into a storage shed, the importer arrived to collect his goods, but discovered 18 cases missing.
Later, he would receive a phone call from a man offering to sell back the stolen goods for $14,000 in cash. The importer cautiously agreed, and when the thieves showed up to complete the deal, they were arrested by plain-clothes policemen. Charles Mingo of 47 Paris Street in Point St. Charles was one of the thieves. Part 3: The Irish Mob
Today, Point St. Charles is a gentrified neighborhood in Montreal's West End. But back in the 1950s and 60s, it was a working-class Irish neighborhood and the oldest industrial slum in Canada. It was also the stomping ground of Montreal's notorious Irish mob. The gang was led by Frank Peter Ryan Jr. aka Dooney Ryan.
During the 1960s, while young Melvin was earning wins in the ring, Dooney Ryan was earning court dates. A smash and grab in 1962, stealing furs in 1963, a jewelry heist in 1964. These are three incidents in which Dooney was caught. How many crimes did he get away with? The answer to that question was buried along with Dooney.
But we do know that in 1966, Dooney and several other men robbed a bank in Boston. They were armed with pistols and a machine gun and were wearing masks.
The holdup would net Dooney six years in an American prison. As Melvin Mingo matured from kid boxer to young man, these criminals and their escapades would have swirled around him. From his father's illegal quests for cash, to men of violence like Dooney and his crew, who were both respected and feared. These were men who got rich quick, outsmarted the law, and lived the gangster life.
The film Bonnie and Clyde opened the 8th Montreal Film Festival in August of 1967. By September, this Hollywood blockbuster played a month's long run at Montreal's York cinema. Did Melvin see it? Was it further proof to him of the noble life of the gangster?
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Part 4. Melvin Goes to Court In 1969, Melvin was 20. Even though his boxing days were behind him, he was still determined to win.
and to put on a show, but in a different way. In January of 1969, his father Charles was nabbed in the silk stocking heist at the Port of Montreal. Three months later, in October, Melvin would be arrested for committing armed robbery and for attempted murder.
On March 27, 1969, at 11:00 a.m., Melvin Mingo allegedly entered the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce on St. Catherine Street in downtown Montreal. According to 19-year-old bank teller Bruce Daw, Melvin fired a shot into the wall behind his head to announce the holdup. Then, as Bruce was getting the money from his till, his hands trembling, Melvin shot him.
Bruce Dahl would undergo an hours-long operation to have a .38 caliber bullet removed from his abdomen and would spend three weeks in a hospital. At a hearing five months after the incident, Bruce pointed at Melvin and said, "That face is in my mind, and that is the man!" But in time, this positive ID would be tested. In addition to charges of armed robbery and attempted murder, Melvin was also awaiting a hearing on two other counts.
that he staged a masked robbery at another bank, stealing $2,146, and that he stole a car. 14 months later, in May of 1970, Melvin's youngest brother Miles, who was 18 at the time, would plead guilty to robbing another bank in Montreal, and would be sentenced to five years in prison. With more than two heists a week,
Montreal had earned the notorious title of Bank Robbery Capital of North America. While Melvin waited for his own trial to start, was he reeling from the news of Miles' prison term? Did he wonder if he had influenced his younger brother and been a poor role model? Or was criminal activity a thread that knitted the Mingo family together?
Finally, on June 23, 1970, Melvin's trial for armed robbery and attempted murder was set to begin. But an infectious disease would derail the process. One of the members of the jury came down with hepatitis. The judge dismissed the entire jury and advised them to see their doctors, and a new court date was set. While the jury was sent home, Melvin was not.
The judge declined to grant him bail, and he would await his trial from behind bars. Meanwhile, on the streets of Montreal, major political events were unfolding. On October 5th of that year, armed members of a militant, separatist group called the FLQ kidnapped British Trade Commissioner James Cross. They sought to use the diplomat as a bargaining chip to achieve their demands for an independent, socialist Quebec.
Less than a week later, Labour Minister Pierre Laporte was also kidnapped. These violent events triggered what would become known as the October Crisis and set off the largest police manhunt in Canadian history. The federal government enacted the War Measures Act. Civil liberties were suspended. Hundreds of people were arrested without due process. It was a difficult time to be a law-abiding citizen, let alone a criminal.
Armored cars and military personnel swarmed the streets of Montreal as the police and army searched for the kidnappers. James Cross would survive his ordeal and eventually be released by his abductors. Pierre Laporte would not be so lucky. Seven days after he was kidnapped, his lifeless body was discovered in the trunk of a car, murdered by strangulation.
During this tumultuous time, Melvin sat in his cell awaiting his trial. In December of 1970, it finally began. At this point, a year and a half had passed since he allegedly held up the bank on St. Catherine Street. The young teller, Bruce Daw, who was so certain in his identification of Melvin, was now less sure.
When the Crown attorney in the case asked Bruce to point out the man who shot him, he pointed to a member of the jury in error. But Bruce wasn't the only witness on the scene. An accountant at the bank named Wayne Bishop would take the witness stand and recount to the jury how he picked Melvin Mingo out of a lineup. When asked to indicate the man he saw hold up the bank, he pointed across the courtroom at Melvin.
Wayne Bishop was convinced beyond a doubt that Melvin was the man who fired two shots and ran out of the building. For his part, Melvin testified that he had nothing to do with the bank holdup. Two days later, and after deliberating for five hours, the jury acquitted Melvin. Their decision was largely based on the inconclusive identification of the accused. Kenneth McKay, the judge in the case, was disappointed.
He revealed to reporters that if it had been up to him, he would have found the accused guilty. Melvin Mingo was a free man, but was his criminal activity behind him? As Melvin said, rhetorically, "If you hang around with thieves, what will you be? An artist? A plumber? A pizza delivery guy?
In those days, he considered many of the Irish mob to be among his friends. There was John McLaughlin, a debt collector who Melvin noted would kill you and not think twice. Another pal was Bootsy Orban, an associate of Montreal Mafia member Frank Catroni. In 1967, the two men had attempted to break into the city district and savings bank by digging a 53-foot tunnel into the bank's vault.
Their plan failed because of a cave-in and because they told one too many people. By December of 1972, Dooney Ryan was paroled for his part in the Boston armed bank robbery. Back in Montreal, he turned his attention from extortion and robbery to the burgeoning drug trade. Using suppliers in Colombia, Dooney imported hashish, cocaine, and heroin through the port of Montreal, which was under his control.
His 300-man crew operated as wholesalers and sold the drugs to biker gangs and street gangs. By the end of the decade, the Irish mob became known as the West End Gang. And Dooney, who was rumored to be worth $20 million, was crowned the King of Coke. With the help of his loyal foot soldiers and a few crooked cops, Dooney appeared untouchable.
He had a beautiful wife and two children, a nice house, and even a yacht, which he sailed on the St. Lawrence River. Was Melvin a foot soldier for Dooney during this time? By the mid-1980s, we know that his rap sheet had grown to include two armed robberies, forgery, receiving stolen property, drug trafficking, and breaking and entering.
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Part 5. The Main Event
The final months of 1984 would be marked by two major events in Montreal's criminal underworld. The first occurred at Nettolo's Garden Motel on St. Jacques Street West. Dooney owned the place and was in his office when three men ambushed him. They wanted his money, and their plan was to tape him to a chair and force him to reveal where he kept his fortune. When Dooney resisted, he was shot in the neck and chest.
the King of Coke died in a pool of his own blood. A week and a half later, Dooney's murder was avenged. The men who carried out his killing were hunted down and located living in a 22-story building in downtown Montreal. On November 26th at 4:10 AM, newspaper reports describe a powerful explosive ripping through the apartment and killing everyone inside.
Many other innocent residents in the building were also injured, and many more had to move into a hotel until engineers could determine the building's safety. During this time, Melvin was hanging out at a bar on Crescent Street that was popular with Dooney's gang one night when he listened in on a conversation. A man was working hard to impress a woman by talking about how much money he handled.
Melvin listened carefully as the man explained how the cash, in the form of securities, was taken up and down elevators in a building on Dorchester Street, from a main floor bank to Merrill Lynch's Canadian headquarters on the building's 24th floor. This overheard conversation gave Melvin an idea. For the next month, he wore different disguises, from a delivery man to a businessman, as he observed activities in the Dorchester Street office tower.
He noted that the couriers who delivered the securities were not carrying guns. He noticed that there were eight elevators, however just one went down to the basement. He also observed that a certain pair of couriers were lazy and always took the same elevator to avoid extra walking. That elevator would become the heist elevator. Melvin also noted the habits of a security guard near the elevators and how he was easily distracted by women's cleavage.
After weeks of planning, Melvin enlisted his three brothers, Robert, Nelson, and Miles, and two women, his girlfriend Colleen and Robert's wife, Frances. He had his crew. On December 21st, 1984, the second major event after Dooney's murder occurred, Melvin Mingo set out to rob a bank.
Melvin and his crew arrived at the bank in the morning. One of the women was dressed to distract the guard. That was her only job. Meanwhile, Melvin, who wore a courier's uniform, entered the building, his gun safely concealed. Part of his detailed plan included finding a contact inside Merrill Lynch. Once they received the contact's signal that the couriers were on the move, they set their plan into action.
Melvin and one of his crew boarded the elevator and waited. Once the couriers got on, the job would be quickly accomplished. Melvin's rule was to keep things simple. The simpler the job, the fewer things could go wrong. But something did go wrong. The two men rode the elevator from the top to the bottom of the building. Where were the couriers? With their load of securities, Melvin started to sweat.
How many times could the two men go up and down in the elevator before their presence would draw attention? What Melvin didn't realize was that Brink's couriers took precedent over all others. And because of the arrival of a Brink's team in the building, the Merrill Lynch couriers had to wait. Ten minutes would pass before the doors finally opened and the two couriers appeared and stepped on board. Melvin quickly made the couriers aware of his gun. He ordered them to follow the man in front.
the other member of his crew. At mercy of the elevator, the four traveled again up to the 24th floor, then back down to the basement. Except people continued to get on and off, and Melvin continued to sweat. And what about the two couriers, Frank Di Stalo and Michael Lassenza? They must have been terrified, caught between wanting to expose the man who secretly held a gun to their backs and fearing for their lives.
The elevator stopped at least 10 times. Before finally coming to a stop in the basement, Melvin tied up the two couriers and locked them in a maintenance washroom. Moments later, the crew left the building by different means, one even taking public transport. Back at Melvin's house, everyone gathered to go over the hall and discovered they had stolen a staggering $68.5 million in securities.
the largest bank robbery in Canadian history. While news of the heist made headlines around the country and was the talk of Montreal, the robbers decided to stay quiet. As usual, Melvin hung out at the Crescent Street bar where everyone was talking about the heist, including members of the West End gang. Everyone wondered who could have done it. Melvin recalls suggesting that they must have been out-of-towners. He wanted to deflect interest.
He also wanted to convert the securities into cash. What Melvin didn't realize was that Merrill Lynch had alerted the global financial industry to the missing securities. No one would ever be able to cash them. Believing he could net $1.2 million for his part in the heist, Melvin found an offshore banker and arranged to meet him at the Harbour Castle Hilton in Toronto. But the banker needed extra time to get funds together to buy the securities.
The pair set up a second meeting, and a second time, Melvin set off for the train station. He sat in his car outside the station with his brother, unsure if he was making the right move. He was nervous and smoked a joint. From outside, someone yelled, "Get out of the car!" A second later, Melvin and Robert Mingo were face down in the snow, with machine guns pointed at them. The heist was over. Four months later, Melvin's three brothers were out on bail.
but not Melvin. Ten months later, Melvin's trial began. A pivotal question arose: was Melvin actually present when the heist took place? His mother, Patricia Mingo, told the jury that her son could not have been involved because he was at his parents' house helping fix a broken dishwasher. Two others in the house, a renter and a nephew, confirmed the alibi. The Crown Attorney asked why Ms. Mingo had not come forward sooner with this crucial information.
She responded simply that no one had asked her. But Patricia Mingo's alibi was not enough to keep the heat off Melvin. He was convicted of masterminding and committing armed robbery, forcibly confining the two couriers and possession of the stocks. The Crown Attorney called him a danger to society. Melvin's three brothers were each sentenced to 30 months in jail, while all charges against the two women were dropped.
As for Melvin, on October 13th, 1985, he was sentenced to nine years in prison. Two months later, his father, Charles Mingo, died. Melvin would recollect that he felt oddly grateful to get the prison sentence, and not the $1.2 million. He thought he would probably have blown it all on a big party.
In the end, the police located the stolen securities and returned them to Merrill Lynch. All except $5.75 million worth. When asked about this discrepancy, Melvin simply says, "That's a story for another time." Nearly 30 years free of Montreal's crime world, Melvin now lives peacefully and happily, having given up drinking, cocaine, and crime. Melvin Mingo has hung up his gloves.
But the spotlight still finds him, most recently regarding the $20 million gold heist from Toronto's Pearson Airport on April 17th, 2023. When asked for his opinion on the robbery, Melvin felt that it was a professional job, and if the gold isn't found soon, it could be gone forever.
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