The Stopwatch Gang

They spent their days playing poker with the sheriff and frequenting shops in Sedona. Friendly and generous, the boys supported local businesses and took flying lessons at the Sedona airport.  If people had paid attention they might have been suspicious of the amount of dollar bills in large denominations the boys were passing around town.  Friends knew them to be concert promoters.  Often gone “on tour” the boys returned with money and time to spend with local pals.  However, their lifestyle was far from show business; though their real occupation would be the stuff of an action thriller.

Paddy Mitchell, Lionel Wright and Stephen Reid were infamous bank robbers.  They were part of an elite group of criminals occupying the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted List.  Law men called them the Stopwatch Gang because Lionel wore a stopwatch around his neck.  Ninety seconds was just enough time to commit a robbery and evade authorities.  The gang planned their jobs carefully; in and out of banks quickly without firing a shot.  The movie “Point Break” was inspired by their style of shock and awe.  They were polite and always in disguise.  No one ever got hurt during their many robberies.

In the final year together Paddy, Lionel and Stephen had been hiding out in Oak Creek Canyon. It was a beautiful hole in the ground just north of Sedona, Arizona.  This is where the boys made their plans and where they disappeared into after executing the holdups.  

Ten years of meticulous planning went flawlessly but finally failed them.  The odds of something going wrong overwhelmed the preparation and the chutzpah.  Bad luck sabotaged their final heist.  A cop pulled up to the dumpster where the gang was waiting to stash disguises and bank bags from the holdup.  Lionel got anxious, even though the officer left without incident.  The truck that was supposed to empty the wastebin did not arrive.  Not wanting to wait any longer, Lionel threw the bags in the big trash can and took a plane to Arizona. 

Dumpster divers went foraging through that container.  Sacks were found filled with disguises, bank bags and a fake ID.  Unfortunately the gang's actual Oak Creek address was on that ID.  Authorities were able to lift fingerprints on some of the items.  It wasn't long before the FBI came to their door.

The Stopwatch Gang was the most successful robbers in North American history.  There are no reliable figures, but the gang might have committed as many as one hundred robberies.  The take for their efforts was between $5M and $10M.  That amount includes a $750,000 gold heist at the Ottawa Airport (Canada). They moved south of the border to plan and execute heists all over the United States.  In San Diego one robbery yielded $280,000 all in $20 bills.

FBI agents assigned to the gang remain friends with them to this day.  Paddy wrote a book and asked the lead agent on his case to critique it.  They would send cordial letters back and forth during his incarceration until Paddy died.

Genteel and gifted holdup artists, the Stopwatch Gang cared enough never to harm anyone.  Much of the money they stole was never recovered.  There are tall tales about where that money might have been stashed.

A movie about the Stopwatch Gang is in preproduction.  For information click on the following links.

http://alloftheaboveproductions.com/root/

and

http://indiegogo.com/stopwatchgang