With a story that was literally lifted from a Hollywood action film, a trio of robbers are on trial in Brooklyn Federal Court. The unique twist to the case is that the men, who are all Black, disguised themselves as white police officers using a notable special effects company to aid them in their crime.
Akeem Monsalvatge, Derrick Dunkley and Edward Byam faced the court Tuesday (July 30) for their role in the robbery of a Queens check-cashing facility that netted the group $200,000 last year, reports the New York Post. The men were inspired by heist film, The Town starring Ben Affleck, and spent two months planning their scheme.
Enlisting the services of CFX Composite Effects, which has worked on films such as Wolverine and others, the men had masks made fashioned to make them appear as white. The robbers told CFX they were making a movie, and paid $2,000 each for the lifelike masks.
Using other tips from the movie, the men dressed as NYPD, used bleach to destroy forensic evidence inside the Pay-O-Matic store and even threatened to harm the clerk if she told anyone about the crime back in February 2012.
Ironically, the case broke open after an email from Byam to CFX was seized, where he allegedly praised the company for their work after the robbery. “I’m sending you this message to say I’m extremely pleased by CFX work on the mask,” Byam wrote. “The realism of the mask is unbelievable.”
Prosecutors will also present a photo in court of Monsalvatge wearing a t-shirt featuring the likeness of one of the masked robbers from The Town while standing next to one of his accomplices. According to reports, the men blew through their cash by buying expensive Gucci and Louis Vuitton clothes, and one man reportedly spent $11,000 on a Rolex watch.
Check out photos of one of the robbers and the mask on the following pages.
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Photos: Ellis Kaplan, CompositeEffects.com, NYPD
