- Six months after his death, a man who became one of America’s most wanted fugitives after robbing a bank in Ohio more than 50 years ago was finally identified by U.S. Marshals
- At the age of 20 in 1969, Theodore John Conrad was working as a teller at the Society National Bank in Cleveland and was responsible for one of the largest robberies in the city’s history
- After Conrad’s case went cold, he became part of Cleveland lore and was featured on TV’s “America’s Most Wanted” and “Unsolved Mysteries”
CLEVELAND, Ohio: Six months after his death, a man who became one of America’s most wanted fugitives after robbing a bank in Ohio more than 50 years ago was finally identified by U.S. Marshals, it was announced on Friday.
At the age of 20 in 1969, Theodore John Conrad was working as a teller at the Society National Bank in Cleveland and was responsible for one of the largest robberies in the city’s history, by stealing cash worth $215,000.
When Conrad did not show up for work the following Monday, the bank checked its vault and discovered the cash, equivalent to more than $1.7 million in 2021, was missing.
As the former employee already had a two-day head start, law enforcement officers were never able to capture him during his 52 years on the run.
After Conrad’s case went cold, he became part of Cleveland lore and was featured on TV’s “America’s Most Wanted” and “Unsolved Mysteries.”
In a statement, U.S. Marshals said detectives followed leads on Conrad around the country, including in Washington DC, California, Texas, Oregon and Hawaii.
In reality, Conrad had lived under the name Thomas Randele in the Boston suburb of Lynnfield.
According to his obituary, he had a family and worked as a golf and tennis professional, and a car salesman. He died of lung cancer in May 2021 at the age of 71.
U.S. Marshals said they positively identified Randele as Conrad two weeks ago.
Peter J. Elliott, U.S. Marshal for Northern Ohio, said he knew this case “all too well” after his father spent more than 20 years investigating the robbery, adding that his father “never stopped searching for Conrad and always wanted closure up until his death in 2020.”
“Everything in real life does not always end like in the movies,” he added, as quoted by the New York Post.
