By JEFF LIPTON
The robber entered Roslyn Savings Bank, at 3140 Long Beach Road, last Saturday at 12:50 p.m. and handed a teller a note demanding money, investigators said. After the teller handed over an undisclosed amount of cash, the suspect fled, and was last seen walking west on Perkins Avenue, police said.
At the time of the robbery, there were eight employees and one customer in the bank, police said, adding that no one was reported injured.
Police said the robber was described as a white man, about 5 feet 7 and weighing 140 pounds, wearing a blue hat, sunglasses and a white T-shirt. Anyone with information is urged to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 244-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential, police said.
Detective Sgt. John Giambrone of the Nassau County Robbery Squad said the same robber may have struck a day earlier at a Bank of America branch at 269 Hempstead Ave. in Malverne, at 11:55 a.m. He is also believed to have robbed a Citibank branch at 1 Robins Lane in Jericho on July 11 at 3:15 p.m., Giambrone said.
"In a week's period, he's struck three times," said Giambrone. "It's the same description and M.O. He goes in without a weapon and presents a note to the teller demanding money. He leaves the bank on foot and no vehicle is seen."
The Nassau County Robbery Squad has been busy tracking bank robbery patterns since February. As of Monday morning, a total of 53 banks had been robbed in the county this year, already surpassing last year's total of 51, Giambrone said.
Three serial bank robbery suspects were arrested last month, including Jason Ross, 29, of Elmont, who was connected with a dozen bank heists in 2004 and 2008. Among his five heists in Oceanside was Roslyn Bank, which he is accused of robbing twice, in August of 2004 and in March of this year, police said.
"We've been very active in closing them out," said Giambrone, who added that 31 bank robbery cases have been closed with the arrests of the suspects.
Law enforcement authorities have attributed the large number of bank heists in part to a weak economy, which has compelled some who are unemployed to take desperate measures. Others say that the loot has been used to support gambling and drug habits, while others have attributed the increase to a greater number of banks being open for longer periods of time.
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