Brinks Robbery Driver Granted Parole; Rockland Seethes

ROCKLAND COUNTY, NY — Former Weather Underground radical David Gilbert has been granted parole after 40 years behind bars for his role in the deadly 1981 Brink’s robbery, the Associated Press reported.

The news came as a blow to many in Rockland County.

"Today’s ruling by the New York State Parole Board is a cruel and unjust slap in the face to the families of Sergeant Edward O'Grady, Officer Waverly "Chipper" Brown and Brinks guard Peter Paige as well as the people of Rockland County," said County Executive Ed Day. "Especially given the fact that only days ago Rockland held our annual ceremony commemorating the lives of those that David Gilbert was convicted of killing 40 years ago."

Gilbert, 76, has been imprisoned since shortly after the infamously botched armored car robbery in which a guard and two police officers were killed. Sentenced to 75 years to life, Gilbert became eligible for parole after being granted clemency by Gov. Andrew Cuomo in August, hours before he left office.

In what was a violent remnant of left-wing extremism born in the 1960s, the Brinks robbery was carried out by members of the Black Liberation Army and Weather Underground in 1981.

The domestic terrorists stole $1.8 million from a Brinks armored truck at the Nanuet Mall on Oct. 20, 1981, killing Paige in a shootout. Nyack police tried to stop the robbers at the Route 59 entrance to the New York State Thruway shortly afterward. O'Grady and Brown were killed in the gunfight and Detective Arthur Keenan was wounded.

Rockland County Sheriff Louis Falco said the decision is disrespectful not only to the memory of these brave men who gave their lives protecting their communities but to all members of law enforcement.

"As I stated when clemency was granted, 'David Gilbert deserved to spend the rest of his life in prison. Chesa Boudin could still visit his father in prison, these families could only visit their loved one in a cemetery,'" Falco said. "These men left behind nine children, who have had to grow up without their fathers to share life’s milestones and their many achievements. To now tell them that one of the people responsible for the murder of their father has served enough time, or that she shouldn’t have to face the full consequences for his crimes, is in a word, outrageous. Today’s decision diminishes respect for victims and their families in our criminal justice system and weakens public safety."

Gilbert was one of the drivers.

He was among the last surviving people still imprisoned for the crime. Kathy Boudin was paroled in 2003. Marilyn Jean Buck was released from a federal prison in Texas a month before dying of cancer in 2010. Judith Clark was granted parole in 2019. There's a separate effort to secure the release of the ringleader, Mutulu Shakur, 70, who is at a federal medical center in Kentucky with advanced-stage bone marrow cancer, and who was denied parole in 2018.

Hundreds of people met at Rockland County's memorial Wednesday for the 40th anniversary event, filled with not only sadness but frustration in anticipation of Gilbert's release.

Diane O'Grady, widow of Nyack police Sgt. Edward O'Grady, Jr; Constance Frazier, cousin of Nyack police officer Waverly "Chipper" Brown; and Michael Paige, whose father Peter Paige, was the Brinks guard killed in the robbery, were among the attendees (see photos on lohud.com).

SEE:

• Rockland Leaders Express Outrage At Clemency For Brinks Driver
• Killer's Death Stirs Memories of a Deadly October Day in Rockland
• Brinks Robbery Mastermind Denied Parole
• Prosecutor Son Seeks Father's Release In Fatal Brink's Heist