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Geriatric Bank Robber Headed Back To Prison
By
Ben Yakas
Published Mar 25, 2011
Modified Mar 25, 2011
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Mar 25, 2011
Modified Mar 25, 2011
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The 70-year-old bank robber who was shot in the leg by police while trying to rob a Chase bank the day after he was released from prison is going back to jail. John Daniel Stolarz, aka Johnny Shades, pleaded guilty to the top count of bank robbery for the botched robbery yesterday. He should have stuck to a criminal professional more suitable for an elderly man.
Stolarz was released from prison on October 13, after serving 22 years in federal prison for robbing 14 banks in seven states, including four in NYC. The day after his release, he hopped on a bus to the Big Apple, bought a $2.29 steak knife at K-Mart, and hit "the first bank he saw," the Chase near Madison Square Garden. Stolarz was confused by the modern layout of the bank (he demanded "fifties and hundreds" at the customer service desk), and police shot him in the leg when he wouldn't drop his knife. Stolarz has been free for only 82 days over the past 30 years.
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Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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