The trio of black robbers who donned Hollywood-grade masks to appear Caucasian during the stickup of a Queens check cashing joint were found guilty on all counts in Brooklyn federal court today and each face life in prison.
Akeem Monsalvatge, Derrick Dunkley, and Edward Byam remained expressionless as the jury handed down their verdict while relatives broke into sobs in the court gallery.
Drawing their criminal inspiration from the Ben Affleck flick “The Town,” the crew shelled out nearly $3,000 for three masks and dressed up as cops during the heist that netted them a $200,000 windfall.
The threesome immediately embarked on a coast to coast shopping spree from Manhattan to Beverly Hills as they gorged on luxury items including $1,600 Christian Louboutin shoes and $600 Louis Vuiton belts.
The robbers managed to fool staffers at the check cashing store that they were white – but a trail of criminal miscues eventually led to their arrest and yesterday’s guilty verdict.
The men showed an employee at the bank a picture of her house to indicate a readiness to harm her family if she resisted.
Cops found the picture at the crime scene and traced it to a nearby Walgreen’s where surveillance footage showed one of the men purchasing the image from the store’s photo department.
The blunders didn’t stop there. Byam made the questionable decision to e-mail an effusive thank you note to the mask company to praise the realism of their product.
Prosecutors also showed jurors pictures of the men drenched in luxury items in hotel lobbies and nightclubs across the country.
One shot showed Monsalvatge wearing a t-shirt from “The Town,” the movie prosecutors said they copied during the stickup.
As in the film, the crew wore masks, doused the crime scene with bleach and intimidated staffers by announcing details of their personal lives.
Prosecutors also revealed text message exchanges between the childhood buddies after the crime where they praised their collective handiwork and signaled a readiness for another heist.
The three pals blew kisses to their crying families in the gallery and shouted “I love you” to several buddies before being escorted out of court.