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Cops Bust Alleged Serial Bank Robber Of Many Hats
By
Nathan Tempey
Published Aug 31, 2016
Modified Aug 31, 2016
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By
Nathan Tempey
Published Aug 31, 2016
Modified Aug 31, 2016
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Police on Tuesday caught up to the man who they say has robbed or tried to rob 11 banks since March, each time wearing a different sort of headgear as a disguise. Pix11 reports that officers cornered Joseph DiBenedetto, 34, after workers at a Popular Community Bank on West 96th Street recognized him and called cops, then took their time handing over the cash.
Spooked, DiBenedetto allegedly left without the money, a bank worker followed him, and cops caught up to him as he tried tried to board a crosstown bus, according to federal prosecutors. He was still wearing his disguise of sunglasses and a paperboy hat, Pix11 reported.
During previous robberies, DiBenedetto's MO was to lose the hat, strip off a layer, and change shirts as he left the bank, according to the station. His alleged choices in lids included a bike helmet, fedoras, and a fitted baseball cap. He allegedly netted $22,336 from banks in Greenwich Village, Midtown, Murray Hill, the Upper West Side, and the Upper East Side, favoring HSBC and Santander banks. Police and prosecutors say he hit the same Santander Bank on Lexington Avenue twice, in March and in May, and was foiled earlier on Tuesday when workers at an Amsterdam Avenue HSBC recognized him, because he had robbed the same branch back in June, and called police.
According to a federal indictment, a typical note passed by DiBenedetto read:
Robbery. Do as I say. No one gets hurt. No alarms. No dye packs. No tracers. Put all loose bills 100's - 50's in the window. Act normal - move fast. No alarms. I'm listening to scanners. Hurry up. No one gets hurt. Gun.
The Post reports that the suspect was using his ill-gotten proceeds to feed a heroin habit.
DiBenedetto was carrying his driver's license, passport, and social security card at the time of his arrest, prosecutors say.
This week's slip-up seems to be the break cops needed in what had been a relatively seamless crime spree.
NYPD Detective Cliff Parks told Pix11 earlier this summer, "He is very good at what he does. He's in and out of there in less than two minutes. He's calm."
A man with the same name and age as the suspected bank robber served two years in state prison for an attempted robbery in Suffolk County in the late 2000s, prison records show.
Tagged
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Nathan Tempey
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