Bad times are big times for bank heists

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - Times are tough - this we already know.

Millions of people are out of work, and millions more are inching dangerously close to the edge of the cliff as they juggle dwindling finances and mounting debt.

So some figure, why not rob a bank?

FBI officials say they've noticed an alarming rise in the number of local bank robberies - some committed by thieves who just want to pay their bills.

Since the start of the year, 29 banks have been robbed in eastern Pennsylvania and three counties in New Jersey, a 30 percent increase over last year, the FBI said. Twelve banks have been held up in Philadelphia alone.

Some of the suspects appear to be tried-and-true street thugs and drug addicts who flash a gun or a threatening note to get a quick score.

Others, though, have clean backgrounds and motives that might resonate with average folks.

"For the past couple of years, most of the note-job bandits were pathetic drug addicts. Now, we're just seeing guys who lost their jobs and need to pay their bills," said Special Agent Bastian Freund, a bank robbery coordinator for the FBI's Philadelphia Division.

Freund said three '09 bank robbery suspects who have been arrested by FBI agents confessed to pulling the heists because they "couldn't find work and had families to support. That doesn't make it right, but it's a different type of person than we're used to seeing."

William Glass has been charged by Philadelphia Police with using a threatening note to rob a Philadelphia Federal Credit Union, on 13th Street near Montgomery Avenue, in North Philadelphia, on Jan. 2.

Freund said that Glass told investigators he just wanted to pay his gas bill.

Similar trends are echoing across the country.

Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey said he recently attended a meeting with other big-city police chiefs in Washington, D.C.

Robberies - of banks, retail businesses or regular citizens - were a popular topic.

"Everyone was talking about seeing an increase in robberies. It's not just a Philadelphia problem," Ramsey said.

"I don't know how much it has to do with the economy, but you will start to find you're dealing with people who aren't necessarily career criminals," he said.

"But you also have to remember that a robbery can be one bad move away from being a homicide."

Some are serial robbers who aren't shy about having their face captured by surveillance cameras, like the twentysomething white man who is shown in images released by the FBI robbing a Northeast Philadelphia M&T Bank on Jan. 26. The same thief held up a Northeast Philly Citizens Bank on Dec. 31, 2008.

Others, like the two twenty-something black men who robbed a Third Federal Bank in Northern Liberties on Jan. 17, pulled a gun while on tape.

Their haul is often minimal - usually about $1,000 to $4,000, according to national averages, Freund said. But the penalties for robbing banks are stiff.

According to federal-sentencing guidelines, thieves can serve up to 20 years in prison for each bank they rob, with seven years tacked on if they use a firearm, Kitzinger noted.

Although there is no additonal penalty for using threatening notes to rob banks, FBI officials take so-called note-job bandits as serious as those who wave around knives or guns.

"It's easy after the fact to say it was only a note, but you can't minimize the fear factor for the bank tellers," said Kitzinger.

"The tellers believe it when someone tells them they'll blow their heads off if they don't put the money in the bag. It's a traumatic experience."

Freund noted the FBI clears more than 65 percent of bank robberies every year.

The high clearance rate is attributed in part to tipsters who recognize surveillance images of robbers and can provide the FBI with tips without having to use their names or appear in court.

Tipsters can also receive rewards, depending on how helpful their information proves to be.

"Most robbers are local," Freund said. "They start out robbing their own neighborhoods."

"We want get these guys before they start getting out of hand."

Tipsters should call the FBI at 215-418-4000. *