Who is Dante J McCluney? Newark man charged for stealing $1.7M from armored car in 'Ocean's 13' style heist
In what is being described as a robbery out of the "1930s", three men stole over $1.7 million from an armored vehicle parked outside Bally's Casino in Atlantic City on November 5. One of them, Dante J McCluney, has been identified as a former employee of the Rapid Armored Corporation and the identities of his two accomplices have been revealed as well, but they are yet to be taken into custody.
Describing the incident, Atlantic County Prosecutor Damon Tyner said, "This was a brazen burglary of an armored car on a public street in broad daylight."
Who is Dante J McCluney?
Dante J McCluney is a 35-year-old man from Newark. According to the New York Post, he was previously employed with the Brooklyn-based Rapid Armored Corporation, where he worked as a guard. His experience from his previous job as the armored guard is said to have helped him stage the heist. He worked the "AC ATM" run that services Bally's and that's how McCluney became familiar with its timing and other procedures, according to the prosecutor.
Two of McCluney's former colleagues identified him in the surveillance footage from the boardwalk only a few minutes before the burglary took place. The video reportedly shows three men walking up to the armored car, remained there until about 12:15 am and then entering it to remove what appeared to be "bags of cash". The police responded after the casino Bally's reported that $1,760,000 was stolen from the Rapid Armored Transportation vehicle parked outside their building. The video showed the three men hopping onto a gray Hyundai and driving away.
The burglary was reminiscent of how Danny Ocean (George Clooney) and his gang of men in 'Ocean's 13' rigged a new casino's opening night to steal cash and inflict maximum damage on the casino owner Willy Bank (Al Pacino).
Apparently, the investigators used the "old fashioned detective work” to identify McCluney. The accused is charged with burglary, theft, and conspiracy. An initial court hearing was held on Tuesday, November 24, before Judge Donna Taylor and McCluney was reportedly held at the Atlantic County Jail after detention. According to the Daily Mail, it is unknown if he has hired an attorney. It states, "The prosecutor's office said it did not know, and a message left with the court was not immediately returned Wednesday." Meanwhile, the other two suspects are on the lam. Tyner said that a "substantial amount of the ill-gotten loot has been recovered".
Commenting on the robbery he further added, “Out of all the crimes I’ve seen committed in Atlantic County during my tenure, this incident harkened back to something out of the 1930s.”
Following the detention hearing of McCluney, Chief Assistant Prosecutor John Flammer, who represents the state in the matter, said in a statement, "I want to thank the Atlantic City Police Department, the Atlantic City Resident Office of the FBI, and the detectives of the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office for all of their investigative efforts in this matter."