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"Boarding School Bandit" Pleads Guilty To Central Park Robbery Spree
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Aug 16, 2011
Modified Sep 7, 2011
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By
Christopher Robbins
Published Aug 16, 2011
Modified Sep 7, 2011
Share
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18-year-old Westchester resident Jesse Wasserman pleaded guilty today to an armed robbery spree in Central Park last summer. Dubbed the "Boarding School Bandit" because he previously attended the $42K/year Vermont Academy, Wasserman and another teenager he "tagged along" with allegedly used a rubber gun to rob three victims until police surrounded them after one victim called 911.
Wasserman's attorney told the Daily News that his client's co-defendant (whose charges are still pending) held the gun while Wasserman went through their victims' pockets. "He has some issues, but he's not violent," his attorney said, "It was a hasty action, not the action of a hardened criminal."
The judge told Wasserman at today's hearing, "I could sentence you for the rest of your life," but granted him youthful defender status, which would wipe his record clean after displaying good behavior. Wasserman's father is a doctor who owns a store in the Diamond District, and the family lives in a $1.75 million home in New Rochelle. A "friend" of Wasserman's told the paper last year, "He thinks he's from the streets, but he's this rich kid whose family buys him whatever he wants." Wasserman will be sentenced on September 6, and is currently free on $150K bail.
Tagged
boarding school bandit
central park
crime
jesse wasserman
nypd
westchester
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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