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Robbin' Siblings' Cult Past
By
Jen Chung
Published Aug 23, 2006
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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By
Jen Chung
Published Aug 23, 2006
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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Some more background on the twentysomething robbing relatives, Joe and Shemini Kirby, who were arrested for three bank heists this month. Friends tell the NY Post that
the Kirbys had grown up in a Catskills cult, being "psychologically abused" in a "strange 'hyper-religious'" community. Joe Kirby was "kept him in line by doling out punishments like being locked in a closet or forced to stand naked in front of a group of adults." The Kirbys were put into foster care after they escaped, and they both fell into drugs, with Joe turning tricks to support his habit. An friend from upstate said, "She's not going to rob no bank. Every once in a while, she might go to Wal-Mart and 'pick up' a ChapStick, but she didn't have the mentality to rob a bank."
The Kirbys robbed an Independence Bank on East 86th, a North Fork Bank on Broadway and West 87th, and a Commerce Bank on Third Avenue and East 85th Street. Joe Kirby, who did the robbing, was held on $75,000 bail and Shemini, who was the lookout, was held on $50,000 bail. The Manhattan DA said that Shemini had "Googled bank robbery."
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Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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