Before Thomas died, his wife asked his golfing buddies and his co-workers from the dealerships where he sold cars to come by their home.
A line stretched outside the funeral home a week after they said goodbye to a man they called one of the nicest people they had ever known.
The cancer in his lungs had taken away his voice by the time they visited his house in suburban Boston. They all left without knowing that their friend had never told them his biggest secret.
For the past 50 years, he was a fugitive wanted in one of the largest bank robberies in Cleveland's history, living in Boston under a new name after the 1969 robbery. His wife and daughter were unaware until he told them about his deathbed confession.
He left behind one family and created a new life while evading a father and son from the U.S. marshals service.
Ted Conrad was a teller at the Society National Bank in Cleveland when he started in 1969.
He told his friends that it would be easy to rob the place.
Conrad walked out of the vault with $215,000 on his 20th birthday, a haul worth $1.6 million today. Conrad was flying across the country when the money was missing.
He thought he could return when the statute of limitations expired. That was no longer true when he was indicted.
Conrad cut off contact with his family. Matt Boettger said that some people assumed he was dead.
He said that his mom was relieved to know that her brother had a happy life. He said that she thought she would never see her grave.
The 1969 bank robbery didn't grab the attention of the nation or even Cleveland. Apollo 11's historic flight to the moon was the focus of everyone else.
John and Conrad were both from the same side of town.
Conrad was disciplined enough to not make a mistake.
Pete Elliott, the top U.S. marshal in Cleveland, said that his father traveled across the U.S. looking for Conrad after he retired.
His father died in March 2020 and investigators were able to piece together details from his past. In November, the family confirmed that he told them what he had done.
The reason Conrad committed the robbery has been analyzed many times.
It was not about money. He always wanted to impress people.
The 1968 movie "The Thomas Crown Affair" is believed to have inspired him.
Conrad ended up in the Boston area after the robbery in Cleveland.
Conrad applied for a Social Security number in Boston in 1970 and created Thomas Randele.
During the 1970s, she worked at a country club and became its manager. After arriving in Boston, he met his wife. They were married in 1982.
He worked in the car business for nearly 40 years before retiring.
What happened to the money? The marshals service is looking into whether he lost it early on.
While Kathy and Randele lived in a pleasant Boston suburb for most of their lives, they filed for bankruptcy protection. She told Cleveland.com that her husband was a great man. She has turned down interview requests.
No one would have guessed that he was trying to hide from authorities.
The FBI agent in Boston was one of the many people he became friends with.
Jerry said that he was a gentle soul and that he spoke well.
Matt Kaplan was the manager of two dealerships where he worked and golfed with him.
Kaplan said that it was a challenge at that age, and that it makes sense.
He said that if he had told us back then, we wouldn't have believed him. The man was different from the kid.
His friends couldn't believe it when he was revealed as the person they knew. Some things make sense now. He had a beard. He was reluctant to talk about where he grew up or his family.
Tommy never mentioned a sister, a mother, or a brother or a father, according to Healy.
Brad Anthony said that he could never get anything from him.
He said it is almost impossible to believe. He said it seemed out of character for the Tom he knew.
