The FBI Caught Karls Monzon, but Where Is the Money He Stole?
Jul. 14 2021, Published 2:37 p.m. ET
If there's one thing to be learned from various true-crime programs and documentaries about elaborate bank robberies, it's that there are no clean getaways. Obviously there's a bit of a skewed bias here in these stories, however, because there are probably tons of other crimes no one's ever heard of that folks managed to get away with. But there are real-life cases of authorities being extremely calculating and talented, like this FBI phone sting that was just masterful. But the story of Karls Monzon is the "classic" heist cautionary tale. So where is he now?
Where is Karls Monzon now? What is he up to?
Warning: SPOILERS follow for those who aren't familiar with Karls Monzon's case or haven't watched the "Money Plane" episode of Heist on Netflix.
Karls' story is a sympathetic one: The man immigrated from Cuba to Southern Florida and worked his butt off after landing a job at a local towing company.
He was known as an extremely dependable employee and a ridiculously hard worker who went out of his way to help other people. According to his friends, Karls cared deeply for others and had love for simple pleasures.
He also was, by all accounts, a model citizen who loved his wife Brandy deeply and wanted to start a family. Unfortunately, Brandy experienced two miscarriages despite undergoing treatments to try to have children.
The two decided to adopt a baby girl, but couldn't afford to do so. That's when Karl decided to "break bad" when the opportunity from a friend to orchestrate an inside job popped up.
A couple of his close friends, his brother-in-law, and his uncle-in-law put their heads together to nab $7.4 million from Miami International Airport's warehouse on Nov. 6, 2005. The stack of greenbacks was part of an $80 million Federal Reserve Bank shipment out of Frankfurt, Germany.
How did Karls Monzon pull off the heist meant to give him and his wife a shot at starting a family?
Karls Monz wasn't a criminal mastermind, nor was he someone who dreamed of becoming a career criminal. In fact, the only reason he pulled off the heist was to give him and Brandy a life that was impossible to attain at his current job.
Karls simply took note of all the details authorities looked for on TV shows. He made sure to not leave any DNA evidence behind and not harm anyone during the theft.
Karls' team of friends and family were able to pull everything off, and they'd made a pact beforehand to not change their lifestyles so as not to draw suspicion. Everyone followed this agreement except for Jeffrey Boatwright, who started flaunting his cash, buying wrist watches and tons of drugs, and partying with women.
Karls and his crew orchestrated robberies and kidnappings to keep Jeffrey quiet, but the third attempt at silencing Jeffrey — something Karls says he had no part in — culminated in a $500,000 ransom.
Karls was ultimately brought into FBI and ICE custody months later on Feb. 17, 2006, and was made to participate in a mission to rescue Jeffrey.
Karls ultimately pleaded guilty to theft and was sentenced to 17 years in prison but was out in nine, presumably for good behavior and compliance. On April 1, 2016, he was released and spent eight months in a halfway house for assistance in reintegrating into society.
He's living back in Miami now and working for Regulated Towing, Inc., as a truck driver. He is sharing his story with youngsters and those who are considering dabbling in crime to encourage them not to follow the same path he did. Ultimately Karls never did have the family he dreamt of: Brandy was charged as an accessory to the crime for not reporting it and served three years. She left Karls, met someone else, and now has two healthy daughters.
To date, $6 million of the $7.4 million that Karls' crew stole has not been accounted for. So either Karls' got some scratch chilling out somewhere, the other folks involved got their hands on it, or some crooked cops who found the money all got their houses renovated.
