Andrew Venskus Announces Closing of 33-Year Guild Square Jewelry Store Following Armed Robbery and Shootout-September 13, 1978

Citing escalating crime, surging insurance rates, and the terrifying ordeal of an armed holdup and shootout, Andrew Venskus, 65, announced yesterday that he is permanently closing Venskus Jewelers in Guild Square after operating the business for 33 years.

A Lifetime of Dedication Concludes in Fear

When Andy Venskus returned home to Norwood in December 1945 after serving in World War II, he started his jewelry store with just $2,000 in savings and a dream. Over the next three decades, he and his family sacrificed to build a community institution known for honesty and integrity. However, an armed robbery on the preceding Saturday afternoon shattered that legacy.

During the holdup, two gunmen surprised Andy and his 28-year-old son, Allen, ordering them into a back room and binding them with plastic tape. While one gunman held Allen at gunpoint, the other forced Andy to open the safe. As he approached the safe, Andy managed to press a secret silent alarm button. When struck on the wrist and shoulder with a gun butt for failing to keep his hands raised, Andy coolly replied, “Okay, I won’t let my hands down anymore.”

Patrolman David DeCosta, patrolling the uptown district, responded instantly and exchanged gunfire with the robbers as they tore a rear door off its hinges to escape. Outside, Patrolman Frank Fruci joined the gunfight. Following a swift manhunt, one suspect—identified upon arrest as Mark David Gaman, 21, of Brighton, but unmasked by Det. Sgt. William F. Travers as Bruce Scott Ziskind, 20, of Revere—was captured hiding under cardboard on a railroad embankment behind Puritan Furniture by Patrolmen Richard Wall and Raymond McCue.

Reflecting on the eight minutes of terror, Andy Venskus stated, “I’ve found out how easy it is for men to come in here with guns and rob you. We just as easily could have been killed, too.” Although he absorbed roughly $40,000 in merchandise losses from break-ins over the previous three years, soaring insurance premiums and the realization that his son no longer wanted to inherit the business sealed its fate. Venskus vowed not to liquidate his remaining stock to dealers, but rather to sell it piece by piece directly to his loyal customers until the last item is gone.

Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger