World Record Bank Robber...Who Should Play Him In A Movie?

[Greg B]

Thursday, December 11, 2003

Repeat robber gets 17 1/2 years
Pa. man hit Ulster banks as part of 3-decade spree
By Gabriel J. Wasserman
Poughkeepsie Journal

One of the most prolific bank robbers in U.S. history was sentenced to 17 1/2 years in prison Tuesday, ending a three-decade spree that included four heists in Ulster County.
Federal investigators said Carl Gugasian, a shy engineer and statistician living in a well-to-do Philadelphia suburb, robbed at least 50 banks up and down the East Coast.

One of them, in the remote northern Ulster hamlet of Shokan, he robbed twice. It was called Norstar Bank in 1991, Fleet Bank in 1999. He also robbed a Key Bank in Kerhonkson and a Fleet Bank in Rosendale, authorities said.

''Given Mr. Gugasian's track record, it's ... very comforting that he's going to be out of circulation for a very long time,'' said Karl Felsen, a regional Fleet spokesman. ''The guy was obviously a professional.''

For years, Gugasian's exploits frustrated FBI agents, who long suspected a single person they dubbed the ''Friday Night Bank Robber'' was responsible for the robberies. But they had no evidence pointing at a suspect.

''He was always masked and always covered and very clever at what he did and very meticulous,'' said Special Agent Linda Vizi, a spokeswoman for the FBI's Philadelphia office.

The 56-year-old Gugasian, a third-degree black belt, mountain climber and marksman, walked away with hundreds of thousands of dollars from banks in Connecticut, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania, prosecutors said.

''He tended to target rural banks,'' regional FBI Chief Counsel Lee Pugh said. ''He was an avid outdoorsman.''

Authorities believe Gugasian worked alone, hiding weapons, maps, Halloween masks and other tools of his trade in secret bunkers. Children accidentally stumbled on one of these evidence troves, leading to his arrest in February 2002, federal officials said.

Only recently did Gugasian admit the full scope of his solo crimes, amazing investigators, Pugh said.

''I think there's going to be documentaries on this guy,'' Pugh said. ''I don't think there has been'' a bank robber who eluded capture longer.

His sentence came in U.S. District Court for Eastern Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, the result of a pooled, multi-jurisdictional prosecution. The court ordered him to pay restitution of $201,214.66, plus fines totaling 1,300.

The penalties pertain to crimes for which he could be prosecuted, Pugh said. Most fell outside statutes of limitations.

''Our investigation shows he no longer has that kind of money,'' Pugh said.

Guilty plea

Gugasian pleaded guilty Dec. 4 to five bank robberies: four in Pennsylvania and the 1999 heist on Route 28 in Shokan. Ulster County robbery evidence, including witness testimony, was used in the prosecution, Pugh said.

As part of the plea bargain, Gugasian confessed to dozens of other robberies and offered to help FBI agents understand what makes for a successful heist. He may appear in an FBI training video that will be distributed to law enforcement academies.

''I think it is a just sentence,'' Ulster County District Attorney Donald Williams said. ''No sentence is enough to adequately address these types of violent crimes, but I'm not only comfortable, I'm pleased with the efforts of the U.S. Attorney and the FBI with securing a conviction.''

The jail term will ''send a message'' to others considering bank-robbery careers, Williams said.

Despite Gugasian's getaways, the district attorney said, dragnets in rural Ulster County have become more effective in the past three decades. This is because of improved cooperation among law-enforcement agencies, he said.

''Sept. 11th just further emphasized how important it was,'' he said. ''The escape routes have specifically been addressed.''

Fleet's Felsen said the bank is ''always looking at security measures .... We don't say what they are.''

But rural banks, he said, are less of a robbery concern than urban ones. Bank robbers stand out in rural settings, but blend in with crowds in more densely populated areas, Felsen said.

Gugasian, in a one-page letter submitted to the federal court in Philadelphia Tuesday, said he was not proud of his crimes.

''While I always rationalized my conduct by believing that robbing banks had no victims, I have come to realize that everyone ... who was forced to endure the harrowing experience of a robbery suffered tremendous harm, even though they were not physically injured,'' he wrote.

He was captured at the Philadelphia Library's main branch after a lengthy stake-out of his home in nearby Plymouth Meeting, the FBI said.

Authorities ''wanted to do it in a safe and effective manner,'' Vizi said. Gugasian did not resist, she said.

Police searched and found a secret bunker containing guns, a list of 160 banks, detailed maps, surveillance notes and newspaper accounts of successful robberies. The bunker -- one of 18 Gugasian had hidden around the Northeast -- also contained a brochure about the karate studio where he trained, as well as his fingerprints.

He fit the modus operandi

Agents asked the studio owner whether he knew anyone who was short, athletic and had an interest in statistics, the outdoors and weapons. The owner named Gugasian, who is 5 feet, 5 inches tall.

In a court memorandum, prosecutors said Gugasian flew to North Carolina and used a stolen car to rob his first bank in 1973, but not before losing his nerve eight times first.

Later, he perfected the method that earned him his moniker. He planned each robbery carefully, donned scent block to confuse police dogs, performed dry runs of his escapes, and almost always struck near closing time Friday nights.

He used a variety of ''old man'' masks and one described as a ''Freddy Krueger'' mask, Pugh said. He always wore a coat and a bag slung over his shoulder, the regional chief counsel added.

Investigators don't know if Gugasian thought about retiring from robbing banks, the FBI said.

Gugasian's attorney, Bill Winning, did not return a phone call following the sentencing hearing Tuesday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

[Spunky]

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