Bank Robbers

If you're a bad guy, there's one way to know you've hit the big time.You get a nickname: Pretty Boy Floyd. Baby Face Nelson. The Unabomber. It means one thing: You're pretty good at being real bad.It's time to add one to the list: the Countdown Robber.He has robbed 15 banks in Kansas, Missouri and Omaha, Neb., since Feb. 2, 1996. His most recent robbery was Oct. 21 at a North American Savings Bank in Lee's Summit, Mo., FBI spokesman Jeff Lanza said.Each time, it's the same routine: The Countdown Robber enters the bank, announces a robbery and orders everyone to lie face down on the floor.

The Newton Boys were the most successful bank robbers in American history, but they never attained the legendary status of Butch, Sundance or the James gang, probably because they never killed anyone in their exploits.Not incidentally, what made them so successful was that they weren't terribly flamboyant. To them, robbing banks and trains was as workaday as the desk jobs of the bankers and insurance men they loathed so deeply.It's easy to see what attracted director Richard Linklater to the Newtons' story: Four brothers barnstorming the country from Texas to Toronto offer irresistible fodder for epic history and adventure.

Baltimore County police are seeking help finding robbers who dressed as security guards and held up two banks in a week-and-a-half period.The first robbery was about 1 p.m. Feb. 25 at NationsBank in the 6400 block of Security Blvd. in Woodlawn.During that holdup, a man wearing a blue uniform coat with a patch and badge passed a note to the teller, demanding money. He was described as a black man, 20 to 30 years old, 6 feet tall, 175 pounds with a slim build and a mustache.The second robbery was at First Virginia Bank in the 900 block of Frederick Road about 1 p.m. March 7. During that incident, two men, one wearing a security uniform, walked into the bank and showed the tellers a fake bomb and demanded money.

Banks' weapon should have remained secretIn the Sept. 17 Sun, you printed a front-page article, ''Microchip is latest weapon against crime,'' which revealed that ''local banks have been inserting tiny electronic tracking devices into packs of money that tellers give to bank robbers.'' You went on to explain how the device works.The second paragraph indicated such devices had been "the Police Department's most closely guarded secret in its war against bank holdups.''Later in the article, you said the police commissioner, a police spokesman and officials at NationsBank had refused to comment about the microchip.

Two gunmen forced the manager and two tellers of a downtown bank into the vault yesterday morning and stole money in what investigators called a "substantial" robbery that occurred before the bank opened for business.Baltimore police refused to reveal how much money was taken. Bank robbers typically get no more than $2,000, but investigators said much more was taken yesterday.The robbery was the 67th bank holdup in Baltimore this year. The city is on track to break the all-time record of 116 in 1993.

I love the shoplifting suspect who surrendered to a couple of actor-cops on a "Homicide" location here the other day because it reminds me of my duty as a columnist to see a crusade through to its end. Off and on for 15 years, I have been pointing to the need for a new type of plea in criminal courts: Guilty, But Mostly Stupid. This will allow a defendant to admit his guilt while offering boobishness as mitigation.Why not? We have plenty of other pleas -- nolo contendre (also known as the Agnew plea)

People I know in the city of Baltimore are incessantly on the point of moving away. Exactly where, they're not sure, but it's apparently in to an America where crime does not exist, and no one's afraid to walk the streets. It's an America we think we remember from our youth, or the movies, which are seen in our heads through missing and mist.In the city, everybody thinks this fairyland exists in suburbia. In suburbia, they know otherwise. Did I say "they?" I live in the city but sometimes shop in suburbia.

JERUSALEM -- Bank robber Uri Mizrahi turned back the money. His conscience was barely a step ahead of the police.Another would-be robber sent a fax in advance telling the bank to have some money waiting.Toy guns, misspelled robbery notes, panicked robbers and getaway motor scooters all have made their appearance in Israel's rash of bank heists.In short, it's amateur hour for bank robbers in Israel."It's gotten to be a copycat crime. Everybody thinks they can do it," said Eric Bar-Chen, an official of the national police.

It came over the radio one day in 1986, a news flash about a serial killer spotted driving through Maryland on his way to Florida:"Andrew Manning is wanted for kidnapping and killing young women across the United States," the news flash said. "The FBI says that if you should spot Andrew Manning, take no action but call the FBI."Andrew Manning got a chuckle out of that. As FBI spokesman, he had given the radio station the information, and it had gotten muddled in the broadcast, with his name being switched with that of the real killer.

A COUPLE of bank robbers in their 20s had their getaway foiled by two Hereford senior citizens the other day, in what is the most recent in a trend of embarrassing incidents for bank robbers everywhere. After escaping into a brier patch, the robbers got so winded running they simply gave up, presumably preferring a long jail term to the discomfort of hyperventilation.In light of this troubling unprofessionalism, the following bank robbery primer is presented as a public service to the criminal element:First of all, get in shape.

These are some of the faces of people robbing banks in and around Baltimore and Washington: A middle-age, balding man with a sand-colored beard wearing spectacles and a striped polo shirt, holding a demand note while leaning across the teller counter. A young man wearing a Detroit Tigers cap, a T-shirt with an easily identifiable slogan, chatting on his cell phone. A man wearing a construction-site hard hat adorned with the American flag and clad in an orange safety vest. A man in a hooded sweat shirt carrying an umbrella under his right arm. A man disguised with a white surgical mask.

The bank robber didn't even try to conceal his identity. He leaned across the counter of the Chevy Chase Bank in Gaithersburg and practically shoved his face into the surveillance camera, giving authorities one of the clearest pictures of a robber they had ever seen. Newspapers published the shot, and television stations flashed it on the air. FBI Special Agent Jeff Cisar was sure that authorities would have him quickly locked up. But no tips came in. And Cisar was left thinking. "Most of these aren't going to make the front page, especially if it's a note-job bank robbery," Cisar said.

One man is suspected in nine of a record 25 robberies and attempted robberies of banks in Howard County last year, the county's criminal investigations chief said last week. Robbers stole money from banks 21 times last year, a marked increase from the one incident in 2005, said Sherry Llewellyn, a spokeswoman for the Police Department. Four bank robbers were thwarted last year, one in 2005. "This just goes to show you how much of an impact one person can have on crime in this county," said Capt.

The Hot Kid By Elmore Leonard. William Morrow. 282 pages. $25. Considering that the early 1930s was a time of depression, lawlessness and would-be nihilism, it seems altogether fitting that one of the most revered crime writers would take on that period and make it his own. Perhaps there's a better fit for Elmore Leonard, but I'd be hard-pressed to think of one more suited to him than what's depicted in The Hot Kid: a colorful tale of gunslinging heroes,...

This letter was received too late to be included in last week's speakout responses. The question for the previous week was: Do you think it would be appropriate to increase penalties for bank robbers, or is there a better way to increase public safety? Small businesses deserve equal, if not more, justice under the law. The increase in bank robberies over the past 12 months is merely a reflection of Big Business not taking accountability for its actions. The customer-friendly makeover of the banking industry has led certain branches to disassemble their bulletproof glass and lay-off security guards.

Last week's question asked: What are your thoughts on the fairness and effectiveness of imposing an impact fee on new housing as a way to help pay for school construction? Here are readers' views:While listening to the back and forth battle over building impact fees in Harford County, I couldn't help but notice the only people opposing the bill are those it would negatively affect -- namely real estate developers. For over a decade, real estate developers have made millions upon millions of dollars by destroying our farmlands, overpacking our schools and cluttering our roads.

`Gentleman Robber' to hold seminar at community college Carroll Community College will hold a seminar, "Robbery: What Financial Services Employees Need to Know," from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday. The presentation will feature Joe Schapiro, once known as "The Gentleman Robber." Tellers, customer service representatives, branch managers, security officers, human resources personnel, senior officers, and law enforcement personnel will learn about the motives behind robberies; what's going through a robber's mind during a robbery; security awareness; what to do before, during and after a robbery; ways to identify and provide an accurate physical description of a robber; and what happens after a robbery.

OUR NEIGHBORHOOD bank was robbed recently. It happens often, which is why I knew what was up when I saw a policeman in Linkwood Park. The cop was looking down at the mouth of the tunnel through which Stony Run passes beneath Overhill Road. "Been a bank robbery," I said. It wasn't even a question. He nodded, staring at the tunnel as if he expected the robber to emerge at any moment. "Good place to hide," I offered. (If you don't mind getting your feet wet, or the rats.) "Did he come this way?"

If you're a bad guy, there's one way to know you've hit the big time.You get a nickname: Pretty Boy Floyd. Baby Face Nelson. The Unabomber. It means one thing: You're pretty good at being real bad.It's time to add one to the list: the Countdown Robber.He has robbed 15 banks in Kansas, Missouri and Omaha, Neb., since Feb. 2, 1996. His most recent robbery was Oct. 21 at a North American Savings Bank in Lee's Summit, Mo., FBI spokesman Jeff Lanza said.Each time, it's the same routine: The Countdown Robber enters the bank, announces a robbery and orders everyone to lie face down on the floor.

The Newton Boys were the most successful bank robbers in American history, but they never attained the legendary status of Butch, Sundance or the James gang, probably because they never killed anyone in their exploits.Not incidentally, what made them so successful was that they weren't terribly flamboyant. To them, robbing banks and trains was as workaday as the desk jobs of the bankers and insurance men they loathed so deeply.It's easy to see what attracted director Richard Linklater to the Newtons' story: Four brothers barnstorming the country from Texas to Toronto offer irresistible fodder for epic history and adventure.