By Jeff Lipton
and an attempt in South Valley Stream, struck in Oceanside last week, police said. But the teller refused to open the note, forcing the robber to run away empty-handed, officials said.
The robber walked into the HSBC Bank, at 3544 Long Beach Rd. in Oceanside, on Tuesday, Dec. 2 at 1 p.m., and slipped his folded note under what police call the “bandit barrier,” the bulletproof glass window the teller stands behind.
“This individual has a tendency to fold up his notes,” said Detective Sgt. John Giambrone of the Nassau County Robbery Squad. “When he passed it under the bandit barrier, he told the teller to open it up. And the teller said, 'No, you open it up.' It became like an Abbott and Costello routine.”
When the teller refused to take the note, the robber scooped it up and escaped north on Long Beach Road, police said. “He just grabbed the note, turned around and walked out,” Giambrone said.
Investigators said they believe the robber is also responsible for the attempted heist at Chase Bank on Rosedale Road in South Valley Stream on Nov. 26 at 1:30 p.m., and the robberies at Astoria Federal Savings on Hempstead Turnpike in East Meadow on Friday, Oct. 31 at 2:04 p.m., Bank of America on Main Street in East Rockaway on Saturday, Nov. 15 at 12:30 p.m. and Chase Bank on Merrick Avenue in Merrick on Friday, Nov. 21 at 12:15 p.m.
“In all these cases, besides passing a folded up note, he threatens the use of a gun, but never shows it,” Giambrone said.
No one was injured in any of the five incidents, police said.
Giambrone said that since the teller in the Oceanside bank was behind the “bandit barrier,” the teller was able “to use a little more discretion since she didn't like what she saw.”
Giambrone said many banks shy away from using the bulletproof glass because they want a more open, customer-friendly atmosphere, and the glass is very expensive.
Giambrone said there have been 79 bank heists, including five attempts, so far this year, well ahead of the 51 for the same period last year. Authorities have made several arrests of serial bank robbers during the past year, closing out 70 of the 79 cases, Giambrone said.
“We've been pretty good with it,”
he said.
Despite tough economic times, most of the robberies are not committed because of the faltering economy, said Giambrone, who added that feeding a heroin addiction appears to be the leading cause for bank heists.
“Most bank robberies are committed because of the addiction to drugs, alcohol or gambling,” said Giambrone.
He said banking officials met with Nassau County police officials in July in response to the wave of bank heists.
“They discussed the security during the robberies, and how to make the bank a safer environment for customers and employees,” said Giambrone. “We've seen some improvements that they were able to implement right away. We're hoping that in the future more changes
take place.”
Giambrone said that bank robberies in Nassau County had ceased from the end of August until the end of October, “but now it's starting to pick up again.”
The robber is described as a black man, 27 to 30 years old, 5-feet-10, wearing a blue baseball cap with white lettering and a blue jacket with ahood, police said.
Anyone with information is urged to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 244-TIPS. All calls will be kept strictly confidential, police said.
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