Where the Money Is

Famed bank robber Willie Sutton was asked, “Why do you rob banks?”

“Because that’s where the money is,” was his reply.

Imagine yourself as an armed robber in the Philadelphia area last night. Would you rob a major casino in trendy King of Prussia or would you knock over a storefront pizza shop in the run-down Spring Garden section of the city? Both robberies actually happened and in both cases the perpetrators got away. Forget about the risk of being caught in the act, just consider the potential reward. Clearly, the casino is “where the money is”.

Surprise! The casino thiefs got away with a whopping $120. The pizza malefactor is $2,300 richer.

The casino was spared a costly “Ocean’s Twelve” type robbery despite itself. Four guys in hoodies, gloves, and ski masks were not stopped by Security when they sauntered through the casino doors on a 60 degree night. Pocono ski resorts are only 60 miles away. Maybe these guys never bothered to change their outfits. They flashed guns at the cashiers behind the Sports Bet cage and demanded money. The well-trained cashiers hit a silent alarm that locked all the cash drawers and ducked beneath the bullet-proof counter. The thieves got away with only $120 from the cashiers’ tip jar.

The pizza shop thief was luckier. He claimed to be a Door Dash driver and boldly walked behind the counter to pick up an order. He then flashed a gun and emptied the cash register of $300. He cleverly asked the owner and the workers to empty their pockets. Somehow three pizza guys had $2,000 in cash. Why do I think that pizza was not the only thing being sold at that shop?

Success in crime still depends on “where the money is”. It’s just harder to figure that out today.

By Ed Dufton