by Jerry Burke
While police say Smith wore heavy winter coats during his daytime thefts, arresting officers found something a lot stranger that a weapon: the suspect had breasts. "The ensuing investigation revealed that the proceeds were used to maintain the necessary hormonal medication to maintain his female physique," said Det. Sgt. Gary Schriffen of the Nassau County Robbery Squad.
The motive echoed one of New York's more famous botched bank robberies, the 1972 Brooklyn hostage situation depicted in the 1975 film "Dog Day Afternoon," starring Al Pacino, in which John "Sonny" Wojtowicz unsuccessfully tried to rob the bank in order to finance a sex-change operation for his transgender lover.
Smith, an unemployed Queens Village resident, told police he was a transsexual but had not yet undergone any surgeries to change his gender. "He has female breasts as a result of hormones," Schriffen said.
Police say that Smith robbed four Hempstead Turnpike banks between Feb. 6 and March 7, including the Citibank at 925 Hempstead Turnpike twice. Each time Smith, 42, entered the bank dressed in a winter coat, reading glasses and a knit cap. Police say he would give a teller a note demanding money "if you don't want to die."
Police believe Smith's spree actually began on Feb. 3 at a Citibank in Queens Village, where he left behind a note with the same handwriting as those in the Franklin Square cases.
On Feb. 6, police say, Smith entered the Citibank at 1060 Hempstead Turnpike at 2:25 p.m., handed a teller the note and made verbal threats announcing a robbery. The teller complied and the suspect fled with cash.
On Feb. 18, according to police, Smith struck Citibank again, this time at 10 a.m. at the branch at 925 Hempstead Turnpike, once again fleeing with cash.
Police say Smith returned to Franklin Square on Feb. 26, this time hitting the Ridgewood Savings Bank at 1010 Hempstead Turnpike.
On March 7, Smith returned to the Ridgewood Savings Bank that he robbed weeks earlier and approached a teller who police say recognized him. Smith then left and walked down the street to the Citibank he allegedly robbed on Feb. 18. As he tried to give a teller his demand note, she also recognized him "and screamed," Schriffen said. "He simply walked to another teller and gave the note to her."
By this time, police had set up an extensive robbery-prevention detail in Franklin Square, with members of the Bureau of Special Operations and the Fifth Precinct keeping a close lookout in the area.
The detail paid off only five days later. Officers David Januszewski and Rita Bopp-Carroll of the Fifth Precinct spotted a man matching the suspect's description a little before 9:30 a.m. last Wednesday. He was looking into the windows of the same Citibank that was struck on Feb. 6.
The officers watched as the suspect then walked toward the Ridgewood Savings Bank robbed on Feb. 26. The officers then stopped and arrested Smith, who was in possession of a note that officials say was identical to the other demand notes. He was not carrying any weapons.
In all, police say, Smith got away with about $6,400, none of which has been recovered. He was arraigned last week in First District Court in Hempstead on four counts of third-degree robbery. The Queens District Attorney's office is still investigating the robbery attempt on Feb. 3.
