THE ALMOST PERFECT CRIME
There is something that strikes fear into safe deposit box associations, bank and savings and loans that
lease safe deposit boxes and that is that there are people that get into them illegally – CRIMINALS. As an
attorney in Dallas County, I know that when you see an attorney it always means bad news of some type
on the horizon. In this instance, I happened to prosecute a case involving Richard DeHart Charlesworth
and Terrance Edward Nikrasch. They are an interesting pair of fellows about 40 or 45 years of age,
personable and newsworthy. They were on the front page of the Dallas Texas Morning News in 1979
and back in the news again July 1983, on the front page of the Denver Colorado Post. The Headlines in
the Denver Post read “Pair Held in rigging of Vegas Slots; The Condon Blue of Crooks; Also Charged with
Denver Phone Thefts”.
Let me give you a little breakdown on what was involved in this particular case in Dallas. It all started in
March 1978 when there was a safe deposit box rented in name of Aaron Fry. There were boxes rented in
various banks in several cities and states under separate identities, all rented by Charlesworth and
Kikrasch. They would come in, establish checking accounts with a bank, and then say “Now I would also
like a safe deposit box” so they would get a safe deposit box legally.
From March, 1978 until December, 1979, we know that they were in and out of Dallas banks about 18
times
They would come in about once a month and spend two to three hours working on business items
stored in their safe deposit boxes. Now remember, these were very personable individuals, they would
talk to the safe deposit attendant and tell her how detailed their business dealing was, and why it was
necessary for them to be in the vault such a long time. Most of us have pre-conceived notion of what a
criminal should look like, but these two did not fit the mold art all – They wore three piece suits, and
looked like any executive should.
On December 10, 1979 they returned to Dallas and after going to their safe deposit box, they left in a
nondescript, beat-up grey Olds. They had been under surveillance from our office for some time. We
know they were from California, and we know they were up to NO GOOD; we just did not know what
brand of NO-GOOD.
While they were under surveillance, they dodged and looped and led the officers on a short high speed
chase. They were carrying false identification at the time. The driver stepped from the car, and said that
the car was borrowed and when asked if the police could look in the truck, the driver readily agreed,
stating that nothing in the trunk of the car belonged to him. In the trunk were numerous items, such as
a periscope and briefcase. The driver of the car said that the briefcase was not his, and therefore under
Texas law, it could not be opened without a search warrant. The two were placed under arrest and the
car was impounded. The following day the Dallas Police secured a search warrant for the car, an when
we went into the car, we found literally thousands of safe deposit box keys along with hand drills,
communication devices, assorted signaling devices and very expensive clothes which, by the way were
stolen.
After all of this, THEY ARE STILL UP TO NO GOOD – in Las Vegas, Nevada, in Phoenix and Flagstaff,
Arizona and Denver, Colorado. They were arrested in Denver in July 1983 for taking a coin box out of a
phone booth. They had military ammo boxes in the back of their van and when the police went in with a
search warrant, they found – for one day’s work over $7,000 in nickels, dimes and quarters. I called the
District Attorney in Colorado and alerted him as to what he was holding. In March 1984 Charlesworth
and Nikrasch were sentenced to fifteen years each, which they are now serving at a Federal Correctional
Institution (country club) near the Las Vegas, Nevada, area. Actually, I only told you a part of the crimes
they were involved in.
By the way, do you know where they stashed all of the riches, jewelry, money and other items they had
stolen – RIGHT, IN A SAFE DEPOSIT BOX!
By: Rider Scott, Assistant District Attorney, Dallas, TX