Six months after his death, a man working as a bank clerk in Cleveland robbed $215,000 from his employer.
Theodore John Conrad passed away in May at the age 71. Conrad had been selling luxury cars for a profession and was eventually broke. As he died from cancer, his wife Kathy and their daughter Ashley found out the truth about her father’s death.
Conrad successfully pulled off one of the biggest bank robberies in Cleveland, Ohio history making off with what would now be the equivalent of more than $1.7 million in today’s money.
He did it all from the inside as he walked into his job as a teller at the Society National Bank in Cleveland, where he had access to hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash every single day.
Conrad claimed to his pals that it was easy to rob the bank. Conrad later kept his word and walked out with cash in hand.
Theodore John Conrad, 20 years old, walked into his bank teller job and stole $215,000
Photofit of Conrad, shown left, was created to aid in his search after he had been claimed to be spotted in Hawaii in 2017.
Conrad (pictured) is left in an image of him in wanted, while Conrad can be seen right in another picture.
The man walked out on Friday with $215,000 of cash, in a bag made from paper.
Conrad (age 20 at that time) didn’t appear for work Monday morning, which led to the discovery of the robbery.
After two days of trying to clean up, the bank discovered that both the cash and their employee were gone.
This shocking theft caused a media frenzy and rival claims about where Conrad went missing to.
Conrad worked with coworkers who revealed to authorities that he was obsessed by the 1968 Steve McQueen film The Thomas Crown Affair.
This movie is about a fictional billionaire who steals for amusement. Conrad was familiar with the movie more than half a dozen times. Conrad even boasted to his friends that it was easy to get money at the bank and that he would do it again.
An Ohio couple was talking with a young man at the Princess Kaiulani Hotel Waikiki three months following the robbery. Conrad is believed to be the man, according to law enforcement
Conrad was employed at Cleveland’s Society National Bank, on Public Square.
In 1969, he quit his job with $215,000 in cash. He had 1,500 $100 bills (100 $50s), 1,200 $50s, and 250 $20s.
Conrad had been obsessed with the film The Thomas Crown Affair which details a brazen robbery and he vowed to pull off something similar at the bank. This photo shows actor Steve McQueen (who starred in 1968’s film)
Conrad altered his name and lifestyle. He had a child, was a golf pro, and sold luxury cars north of Boston.
David Siler, Assistant U.S. KITV heard from Marshal at the Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force.
They recognized the victim from news articles about earlier crimes when the Hawaii couple returned home.
“He owned an apartment. Siler explained that it was apparent that he was renting out the apartment.
“Everything is just a clue away.” Every thing is just a tip away. Conrad is in touch with someone out there over the years.
Investigators have been puzzled for over five decades by the Theodore “Ted” Conrad fugitive probe.
Conrad was been featured on America’s Most Wanted and Unsolved Mysteries while investigators chased leads across the country, including Washington D.C., Inglewood, California, western Texas, Oregon, and Honolulu, Hawaii.
The case was still cold up until the United States Marshals of Cleveland, Ohio traveled to Boston, Massachusetts, and positively identified Thomas Randele, Lynnfield, Massachusetts, as Theodore J. Conrad’s fictitious identity.
Conrad lived a simple life in a Boston suburb for over 40 years. This is his home.
Since 1970, he had lived in a quiet Boston suburb near the filming location of the Thomas Crown Affair.
The stolen money didn’t last long and he had struggled financially in recent years, according to Cleveland.com. His secret was revealed to his family just days before he succumbed to lung cancer.
An obituary reveals how Conrad would split his time between Florida and Boston, where he was the Assistant Golf Pro and Teaching Pro at Pembroke Country Club.
Apart from his love for golf, he was also passionate about cars and enjoyed a long career in luxury vehicle sales that spanned nearly 40 years.
“He loved to cook and watched all kinds of cooking. He enjoyed trying new recipes and asking his daughter and wife, “So, can you make it again?” “At the end of every meal,” the obituary states.
Also, he had Kathy Randele, his wife and a daughter Ashley Randele.
Although Conrad wasn’t caught, numerous news stories were published about his brazen act of theft.
“This week we identified Thomas Randele to be Theodore J. Conrad. He lived a quiet life in Boston suburbs and was well known in his local community. U.S. At a Friday press conference, Marshal Pete Elliot.
United States Marshals officers from Cleveland were capable of matching documents Conrad created in the 1960s with Randele’s documents, even documents dating back to when Randele filed for Bankruptcy before Boston Federal Court.
Marshals were able to confirm that Thomas Randele was Theodore J. Conrad after additional investigation.
Randele, who was born July 10, 1947 in Lynnfield Massachusetts, died from lung cancer. Conrad was only 71 when he died. His true date of birth is July 10, 1949.
Online, a glowing obituary of Conrad was published. However, it did not mention his criminal history. Conrad’s widow and his daughter declined to discuss Conrad’s past.
U.S. Marshalls eventually tracked Conrad down in the last week. Conrad, however, had already died of lung cancer at age 71.
“This case is one I am familiar with. John K. Elliott was my father and a dedicated career deputy United States Marshal. He served in Cleveland between 1969 and 1990. Conrad, who lived near me in the 1960s and later became a US Marshal in Cleveland in 1969, inspired my father to become interested in this case. Elliott agreed.
“My father searched for Conrad all his life and wanted to find him until the day he died in 2020. Some of the documents my father found in Conrad’s college years in 1960s were matchable with Randele documents, which led to Conrad being identified.
“I wish my father rests a bit easier knowing that his investigation and United States Marshals Service provided closure to this long-running mystery. Real life is not always like the movies.