Bank heists soar on L.I.
Schumer calls for restoration of FBI agents to probe robberies
By Jeff Lipton
The incidence of bank robberies on Long Island has dramatically risen over the past three years, spurring Sen. Charles Schumer to call on the FBI to restore 85 agents cut from the regional office that oversees bank robbery investigations.
The number of robberies in Nassau County shot up from 21 in 2002 to 32 last year, a 52 percent increase. Since 2000, the number of bank heists in the county has jumped 45 percent.
At a press conference on Jan. 7 in front of a Plainview bank that was robbed last September, Schumer urged the restoration of the 85 agents who have been cut from the New York Regional office since 2000. Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, FBI agents in New York have had to pull double duty, taking on new roles in the protection of homeland security while continuing to fight regular crime, white-collar crime, violations of civil rights and public corruption, all at the expense of investigating bank robberies, Schumer said.
The senator called on the FBI to spend $11.7 million -- less than 1 percent of the FBI's annual budget -- to restore the positions and to assign some of the new agents to probe bank robberies on Long Island. "Willie Sutton said he robbed banks because that's where the money is," Schumer said at the press conference. "Well, that's where the FBI should be, too. I have been fighting hard to get additional resources to fight terrorism, but that doesn't mean we can neglect traditional crime. Robbing Peter to pay Paul is not an option."
The number of FBI field agents dropped from 1,164 in 1999 to 1,074 in 2003.
New York City has experienced an even greater spike in bank robberies in 2003, with 408 reported by New Year's Eve, an increase of 64 percent over the 249 robberies in 2002.
Last June, Schumer said he raised the issue of cuts in the New York Regional Field Office with FBI Director Robert S. Mueller, who admitted that the office had slashed the number of agents by 85. But Mueller promised that "additional agent staff are proposed for permanent assignment [there] before the close of the year."
Mueller testified before a Congressional Joint Intelligence Committee on Oct. 17, 2002, that since Sept. 11 the FBI had doubled the number of agents permanently assigned to counter-terrorism. But Schumer said that moving those resources away from bank robberies has had a significant impact on the failure to prevent bank robberies.
Although the number of robberies has drastically increased in Nassau County, the heists have been pulled mostly by three or four suspects, said Detective Sergeant Gary Schriffen of the county's Robbery Squad. He said these suspects may have been responsible for up to 24 bank heists in 2002 and 2003.
Schriffen said he believes police have cleared up a number of the cases with the arrest of one suspect, Stephen Trantel, 38, of Rockville Centre, on Nov. 28. He was charged with robbing five banks, including branches in East Rockaway and Merrick, but may have been responsible for up to 10 bank heists, Schriffen said.
Another suspect, Patrick Smith, 42, of Queens Village, is accused of robbing four Hempstead Turnpike banks between Feb. 6 and March 7, 2003, including the Citibank at 925 Hempstead Turnpike on two occasions. He was arrested last March 12, said police, who added that the suspect told them he was a transsexual who used the proceeds from the bank heists to purchase "the necessary hormonal medication to maintain his female physique."
Schriffen explained that the Robbery Squad investigates all bank robberies committed in the county and notifies the FBI about them, and most of the time bureau agents respond to the scene. But, Schriffen said, "the affect of the federal agents on these cases is immaterial."
He said banks could play a greater role in preventing heists by installing floor-to-ceiling barriers at teller counters, preventing robbers from vaulting them to get to the tellers. Many banks have chosen not to install the barrier because they feel it impacts the relationship between customer and teller. "They want to make the bank more user-friendly, more customer-friendly," Schriffen said.
Christopher Hahn, a spokesman for Schumer, said, "These bank robberies have to be stopped. These banks need to work on their security, and law enforcement needs to help them."
One local law enforcement official said he does not believe adding more agents will put a dent in the number of bank heists because "they are more of an interrogative tool," than a deterrence.
