By Jeff Lipton
The Baldwin heist occurred last Thursday at 11:15 a.m. when the robber walked into Bank of America, at 1150 Grand Ave., and slipped the teller a note demanding money, police said. After being handed an undisclosed amount of cash, the robber left the bank and ran south on Grand Avenue into a nearby parking lot, where he dropped some of the money after a red dye pack exploded inside the bag, police added.
He then fled west on Willis Street, where it is believed that he entered a green compact vehicle.
During the robbery, six employees and two customers were inside the bank, but no one was reported injured. The robber is described as a Hispanic man, 25 to 30 years old, 5-feet-6 to 5-feet-8, with a medium build and wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, a black baseball cap, black gloves and darksunglasses, police said.
In the Oceanside heist, which occurred on Saturday, May 24 at 10:15 a.m., the robber strode into Capital One Bank, at 3151 Long Beach Rd., and slipped a note to the 23-year-old female teller, demanding money, detectives said. After he was handed an undisclosed amount of cash, the robber left the bank and was last seen running west on Perkins Avenue.
Six employees and two customers were inside the bank at the time of the heist, but no one was reported injured, police said. A weapon was not displayed in either robbery, police added.
The heist at Capital One is believed to be the third the same robber has committed in Oceanside so far this year, investigators said. He hit the Commerce Bank on Long Beach Road on Feb. 26 and the Roslyn Savings Bank on Long Beach Road -- directly across from Capital One -- on March 13, investigators said. After the initial two bank heists in Oceanside, the robber also hit three banks in Franklin Square -- Washington Mutual on Franklin Avenue on March 24, Commerce Bank on Hempstead Turnpike on April27 and Astoria Federal on Franklin Avenue on May 7, police said.
"It’s the same M.O.: He passes the teller a note and there’s no weapon shown," said Detective Sgt. John Giambrone of the Nassau County Robbery Squad, who has been in charge of tracking the bank robbery pattern. "Healways wears a baseball hat and gloves.
"It looks like he’s back at it again," Giambrone added. "He’s doing these robberies at all hours of the day and every day of the week so far except Friday."
The same robber was originally believed to have been connected to heists at Commerce Bank in Wantagh on Feb. 27 and March 12, but a weapon was used in those robberies and any connection was later ruled out, officials said.
Giambrone said police have bolstered their surveillance of local banks, assigning plainclothes officers to surrounding areas. Wanted posters of the robber as well as bank photos showing him committing the crimes have been distributed to the media.
Giambrone stopped short of calling the robber a "professional," as police anxiously wait for him to slip up. "He has been able to elude us so far, and the key words are ‘so far,’" said Giambrone, who expressed confidencethat he will be captured. "When robbers go on a spree like that, I believe they can be caught. It’s easier to catch them that way than if they do one and disappear."
One such robber held up the Community National Bank, at 3121 Long Beach Rd. in Oceanside, on March 21, which is believed to be his only heist before he "disappeared," officials said.
Nassau police have been besieged with bank robberies since February. Giambrone said he can't explain the recent wave of bank robberies, but some in law enforcement have suggested that these types of crimes usually increase when the economy goes bad, with the robbers often using the money to support their drug habits.
Detective Lt. Larry Feffer of the 4th Squad gave a more simple explanation. "There are more banks and they are open more days and more hours," he said.Feffer said detectives continue to gather forensic evidence at the crime scenes in hopes of solving the bank heists.
Earlier this year, police arrested Charles Riehl, 37, of Island Park, and charged him with robbing the Astoria Federal Savings, at 3535 Long Beach Rd. in Oceanside, on Feb. 23. The robbery occurred the day after he was released from prison, having been convicted of robbing three Nassau County banks in 2004, Giambrone said. Riehl was also charged with robbing a North Fork bank in Westbury on Feb. 25, police said.
Anyone with information on any unsolved bank robbery is urged to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 244-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential, police said.
Comments about this story? Jlipton@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 210.
