Hinsdale bank teller takes cash on way out door

A supervising cashier who gave herself a $23,760 parting gift when she was about to be fired from the Hinsdale branch of Bank of America in April 2009 faces up to seven years in prison after pleading guilty to theft Tuesday.

After being told she was about to be terminated because of personnel issues, Latoya White, 33, of the 4000 block of Blanchan Avenue in Brookfield, took the money from a teller drawer, Assistant DuPage County State's Attorney William Wu told Judge George Bakalis on Tuesday.

White then wrote a cash-out ticket to try to conceal her theft, Wu said.

The theft was uncovered by routine bank accounting.

Wu said none of the missing funds has been returned.

The bank is at 118 W. 1st St.

Bakalis set May 25 for sentencing.

from the Tribune

Downtown ATM stolen

Someone made off with an entire automated teller machine in Millennium Park, police said Friday morning.

Police were notified at 7 a.m. that the ATM was taken from 11 N. Michigan Ave. in Millennium Park near the Bean, according to a Central District police lieutenant.

Police were reviewing video surveillance of the area to see who last used the machine but it appeared someone was able to get into the vestibule of the building, that is locked but accessible by swiping an ATM card, according to the lieutenant.

“They took the entire machine,’’ the lieutenant said.

No alarms went off at the building, which was closed at the time and the lieutenant said money could be retrieved from machine, though it is difficult.

No windows were broken on the building and as of 10:15 a.m. no one was arrested.

from the Sun-Times

Bank robbed in yuppie-hipster central

FBI agents remain on the scene of a bank robbery that happened Friday morning at a Bank of America branch in the Wicker Park neighborhood.

No one was hurt but at 10:30 a.m. when a suspect entered a Bank of America branch at 1585 N. Milwaukee Ave., displayed a weapon, took an unidentified amount of money and fled, according to police News Affairs Officer JoAnn Taylor.

There was no dye pack, according to the officer.

FBI spokesman Ross Rice said at 1 p.m. agents remained on the scene interviewing witnesses. He confirmed there were no injuries and no arrests made.

from the Sun-Times

Bank robbers caught after daring chase

A Calumet City police officer was shot during a nearly three-hour police pursuit of three suspected bank robbers after the men crashed their vehicle on the Bishop Ford Freeway during a police chase and fled the scene.

The incident also sparked a lockdown of Carver Military Academy, 13100 S. Doty Ave. from 2:25 p.m. until about 5:45 p.m. as a precaution to students as authorities searched for the suspects.

As of 5:45 p.m., all three men were in police custody, according to Calumet City police Chief Edward Gilmore.

The incident began after the three alleged suspects robbed the Citibank at the River Oaks Mall in Calumet City at gunpoint about 2:15 p.m., according to Illinois State Police Sgt. Juan Valenzuela, who said it appeared the suspects involved in the robbery were in pursuit by Calumet City police when their vehicle crashed on the Bishop Ford near 130th Street near the Beaubien Woods Forest Preserve.

As the police chase ensued, the men blew a tire on their car and attempted to flee, according to Gilmore. At about 131st Street and the Bishop Ford, the men abandoned their car and attempted to flee.

The men fired shots at police and an officer was shot in the leg. The police officer was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, authorities said. The officer suffered a through-and-through gunshot wound to the leg and was said to be in "stable" condition Tuesday evening, Gilmore said.

One of the suspects was shot by police while fleeing the scene. The man ran into the woods along with another suspect behind the Carver Military School but surrendered to police and emerged from the woods about 3:35 p.m. near 135th Street and the Beaubian Woods Forest Preserve, Gilmore said.

The man had a gunshot wound to the arm and was taken by Chicago Fire Dept. personnel to Roseland Community Hospital in "stable" condition, Fire Media Affairs spokesman Will Knight said.

more at Sun-Times

Robbers break banks, but not record

A Metropolitan Bank branch was robbed this morning on the South Side, the FBI said.

FBI agents were called to the branch at 1947 W. 35th St. in the McKinley Park neighborhood. The robbery occurred about 9:45 a.m.

The robber got away "with unknown proceeds," according to Chicago Police Officer Daniel O'Brien. It was not immediately known if he had a weapon.

The bank robbery unofficially is the 270th of the year in the metropolitan area, said FBI spokeswoman Cynthia Yates. That exceeds last year's total of 226, but falls short of the record of 284 set in 2006.

Bank robbery suspect tries to run over FBI agent

A bank robbery suspect who was being detained in an FBI van on the Gold Coast Monday morning commandeered the vehicle, threw it into reverse and struck an FBI agent before he was shot, authorities said.

No charges were immediately filed against the suspect, who was being treated at a hospital. An FBI spokesman said the agent, who wasn't identified, wasn't injured and refused treatment.

The 27-year-old suspect allegedly robbed a bank in Uptown earlier Monday and was tracked to the 100 block of East Pearson by FBI agents, who arrested him there after a short foot chase.

The suspect was handcuffed, shackled and sitting in the back of an undercover FBI vehicle -- a Dodge Caravan -- about 10:30 a.m. as the two agents collected evidence outside the car, according to a police report.

He managed to slip out of the handcuffs and put the van in reverse, striking one of the agents, according to the report, and a second agent then fired a shot at him, causing the suspect to crash the van.

The keys were in the ignition because of the cold weather, the FBI said.

The suspect, a Chicago man, was believed to have robbed a TCF Bank at 4355 N. Sheridan in Uptown, the FBI said.

from the Trib

Four banks nailed in Chicago area

Police are searching for robbers who hit four banks across the Chicago area today.

The first heist occurred around 9:15 a.m. at a North Communty Bank at 4701 N. Clark St. in the Uptown neighborhood, police said.

The robber, described as a white man in his late 20s, standing about 6 foot 2 to 6 foot 4 inches tall, walked into the bank and handed a note to a teller demanding money. After getting cash, the man fled. He was further described as wearing a dark knit cap, wire-rimmed glasses, a dark brown hooded coat and blue jeans.

More than three hours later, a man described as in his 30s, walked into a Fifth Third Bank branch at 145 W. North Ave. and slid a note to a teller and ran off with an unknown amount of money. Police do not believe the robberies were committed by the same man.

Shortly before 5 p.m., the Hoffman Estates Community Bank, 2497 W. Golf Rd., was robbed by an armed man wearing a ski mask.

The man, who was captured on security footage, was about 5 feet 7 to 5 feet 10 inches tall, with a medium build and thought to be in his 20s. He was wearing a red ski-style jacket with a label for Marlboro brand cigarettes on it, according to police.

The third robbery occurred at Archer Bank, 3259 W. 95th St., in Evergreen Park this afternoon.

Evergreen Park police declined comment about the situation, referring calls to supervisors who would not be available until Thursday.

The FBI, which has jurisdiction over bank robbery investigations, could not be reached for comment tonight. It was not immediately known if any of the robberies were related.

from the Trib

Bloomingdale bank robber makes getaway

Bloomingdale police and the FBI were searching today for a bank robber who escaped on foot from a First American Bank with a bag filled with money, authorities said.

The robbery occurred at about 10:10 a.m. Thursday in the western suburb when a man entered the bank at 80 Stratford Drive, displayed a handgun, and demanded that the teller fill a bag with money, according to a press release from police.

The suspect is described as white, about 5-foot 8-inches tall with a medium build. He was wearing a black ski mask, a red T-shirt and jeans. He left southbound on foot with an undisclosed amount of cash.

Anyone with information is asked to [keep it to themselves]

from the Trib

Man robs bank on Northwest Side

Police are looking for the man who robbed a Northwest Side bank Tuesday afternoon.

About 1 p.m. Tuesday, a black male, believed to be in his mid-20s, entered a Charter One Bank branch in the 2800 block of North Narragansett Avenue, according to police News Affairs.

The man demanded money from a bank teller, who complied, police said. The man then fled with an unknown amount of money.

Chicago Police and the FBI are probing the robbery.

from Sun-Times

Bank robbers fail to escape

Three people were in custody this afternoon for making off with more than $35,000 during a holdup at a Far South Side bank Tuesday, according to a federal complaint.

The trio, David L. Newton Jr., Sean D. Smith and Charles M. Smith, was arrested in connection with the heist at a Charter One Bank branch in the 1300 block of West 103rd Street in the East Beverly neighborhood.

About 9:10 a.m. Tuesday, Newton and Sean Smith entered the bank and one of them pointed a gun at a teller, according to a federal complaint. Newton allegedly approached a security guard, asked if he was armed, searched him and ordered him to the floor.

Newton then fired a gunshot into the air, the records show. No one was hurt.

Smith then jumped over the teller counter and ordered tellers to open their drawers, according to the records. Smith allegedly made off with about $35,721 along with a red dye pack before he and Newton exited the bank.

Bank employees said the two then entered a white Chevrolet Blazer driven by Charles Smith, a fled the scene, the records show.

A teller at the bank then activated a silent alarm, notifying Chicago police who eventually found the vehicle abandoned several blocks away, according to the records.

Newton and Sean Smith were found a short distance away hiding under a porch with a black book bag that had red dye stains on it, the records show, adding that the money also was stained.

The two were eventually taken back to the bank and identified by employees as the robbers, according to records. Charles Smith was arrested shortly thereafter and admitted to FBI agents he was the getaway driver during the robbery, the records show.

from the Trib

2 Chicago banks robbed today

Robbers struck at two banks in different parts of Chicago within hours today, bringing the total number of bank heists to at least 170 for the year in the area, federal officials said.

The heists appeared to involve different suspects, based on physical descriptions.

The first robbery occurred around 8 a.m. when a masked man walked into Archer Bank Central, 5821 S. Archer Ave., and announced a robbery, according to the FBI. The man, who was armed with a handgun and described as tall and slim, took off with an undisclosed amount of cash.

The second report came in about three hours later at a Chase Bank branch at 5813 N. Milwaukee Ave. A shorter man, roughly 5 feet 5 inches tall and wearing a hooded sweatshirt, came into the bank and implied he had a weapon.

The suspect did not show a weapon, and he left after getting an unknown amount of cash.

FBI spokeswoman Cynthia Yates said bank robberies in the Chicago region in 2008 are on pace to fall below last year's total of 226 bank heists. There were a record-breaking 284 bank robberies in the area in 2006.

from the Trib