Netflix 'Heist': The chilling story behind Karls Monzon and America's biggest airport heist
Be it The Dunbar Armored robbery in the USA or The Northern Bank robbery in Ireland, the perpetrators found unique and dangerous ways to get their job done. However, there is one heist that stood out -- the Miami airport heist, which will be one of the storylines of the upcoming Netflix docuseries titled ‘Heist’.
The incident took place at the Miami International Airport in 2005 and stunned the entire country. The robbery of a Brinks warehouse at the MIA could have been ripped from the script of a police drama. The man behind all the chaos was Karls Monzon. So, what did he do? And why did he plan to rob millions of dollars? Let’s dig a little deeper and know about the entire incident.
If true-crime docuseries' like 'Heist' intrigues you, then you should definitely watch 'Evil Genius', 'The Sons of Sam' and 'The Night Stalker' for their riveting storylines.
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Who is Karls Monzon now?
At 6 feet tall, Monzon was an immigrant from Cuba living in Miami and working as a driver for United Rentals. He was married to a woman named Cinnamon and was about to welcome a baby girl into the family. However, they were not that rich and Monzon had a dream of having a good amount of money in his life so that his children won’t face problems.
In April 2005, he gets a phone call from one of his friends, Onelio Diaz, who worked as a security guard at the Miami International Airport, and told him about the security issues at the airport. He also gave him the idea about the millions worth of cash that lands at the airport. Additionally, he suggested that Monzon should steal the money and change his life forever.
Monzon knew that it wasn’t easy, but Onelio said it was easy because the guards don’t close the doors of the warehouse when they store the money as it doesn’t have air conditioners. Meanwhile, the warehouse never had an armed guy and the doors for the warehouse also opened to the street. What could go wrong?
He made a lot of plans on how to do it and even went to the airport many times to check out if it was true or not. Surprisingly, it was all true. Monzon started working and stole two Ford F450s from a dealer in Florida and kept them at a storage facility. After that, he assembled a team and everything was falling into place and then, a tragedy struck. About two months before the heist, Cinnamon went to the hospital with high blood pressure and gave birth to a stillborn child.
The day had arrived and it was November 6, 2005, when Monzon and the entire team decided to accomplish their task. As soon as they reached the airport, they heard a lot of police sirens and they got nervous with all the police presence. But Monzon wasn’t backing down and the exchange was underway at the warehouse.
Monzon and two other members got out and pulled bandanas over their faces. They entered the warehouse through one of its bay doors and ordered the security guards and workers to the ground, then grabbed six bags of money worth $7.4 million and made a run for it. Fortunately, no one was hurt.
They transferred the money into plastic bags and changed cars. The first two cars were burned so that there is no evidence. The nervousness was gone and everything went back to normal. However, his brother-in-law Boatwright, one of the accomplices, was spending money like anything and got kidnapped for showing off too much money. When Boatwright arrived at the hospital, he was beaten and his fingernails had been torn with pliers. Even after what happened, Boatwright continued to spend money on parties, and one day, two ladies lured him in and he was kidnapped once again. But this time, Monzon wasn’t ready to help him.
One day, while going for a doctor’s appointment, police stopped and questioned Monzon for his involvement in the robbery at the MIA. The FBI told him to help him find the kidnappers of his brother and they’ll help him in having a shorter prison sentence. FBI nabbed all the abductors with the help of Monzon.
Monzon also led the FBI to $1.2 million he had hidden, but they couldn’t find the remaining $6.2 million. Every member of the group received different sentences. Monzon was given 17 years in prison, but because he helped the FBI in the kidnapping case, six years were taken off his sentence.
Where is Karls Monzon now?
After spending 11 years in jail, Monzon came out and started to live in Miami. He started working as a tow truck driver and lives with his girlfriend and her child in Miami. Monzon also hopes to help people and guide them to not make the same mistakes.
“I’m not a guy who does drugs, I don’t hang out with nobody. I just go to work and go to my house and that’s it. I don’t feel bad for me,” Monzon said in a recent interview.
The upcoming Netflix series will see Monzon talking about the heist and how he planned it. ‘Heist’ will be premiering exclusively on Netflix on Wednesday, July 14 at 3 am ET.