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in: Pennsylvania, 1977, 1985,
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Pennsylvania Bank Robber

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Real Name: Unknown
Aliases: None Known
Wanted For: Armed Robbery
Missing Since: May 24, 1993

Case[]

Details: An unidentified man has been wanted by the FBI since 1977 for robbing several banks in small towns throughout central Pennsylvania. Oddly, he does not wear a mask or a disguise, nor does he try to avoid bank surveillance cameras. The police hope that someone will recognize him and end his seventeen-year reign of terror.
Campbelltown, Pennsylvania, population 1,250, is so small that it does not even employ a single full-time policeman. For the unknown robber, Campbelltown was the perfect target. He struck the town’s Meridian Bank on the afternoon of May 24, 1993. One of the tellers, Deanna Gingrich, remembers that it was a slow day, as they had not had many customers. When the robber walked in at 1:20pm, she did not recognize him. She says he looked like a normal, everyday bank customer.
The robber met with Deanna and said that he wanted to open up a business account. She told him that their manager, Arline Brandt, could help him with that. She told him to have a seat, and Arline would be with him shortly. Arline says that he sat right outside her office for just a few seconds. He then got up, came into her office, and opened up his briefcase on her desk. He kept it open so that the other customers and employees would not be able to see what he was doing.
The robber pulled out a 9mm semiautomatic handgun and told Arline to get up from her chair. He then handed her a duffel bag and told her to fill it up with money. She agreed to do what he asked so that he would not hurt anyone. She says she was angry, and she felt very hostile towards him. He walked Arline at gunpoint past Deanna. Deanna was stunned when she saw what was happening. She says she immediately started shaking in fear.
The robber then forced bank employees to admit him to the restricted area behind the teller windows. He told the tellers to get down on the floor. Arline felt that he knew what he was doing. She believed that as long as they cooperated, he would not “lose his cool.” Deanna says that she was already on the floor by the time he got to the restricted area. Because of that, she was unaware that a customer, Don Rothermel, had walked into the bank.
Don, unaware of what was happening, began talking to the tellers. Moments later, the robber came back into the lobby, announced that it was a “stickup,” and told Don to get on the ground. At first, he thought the robber was pulling a prank. All of that changed when the robber fired a bullet into the floor next to Don. When he looked down and saw the bullet hole in the linoleum floor, he realized that it was real. The robber demanded that he get down on the floor, which he did.
Deanna says she was scared to death during the robbery. All she could think about was her child and the possibility of him growing up without his mother. The robber, still in the lobby, demanded that Arline fill up his bag with money. All of the bank’s cash reserves were stored in the vault. Arline put most of the vault’s money in the bag and gave it to him. She felt that if she did not put enough in, he would make her go back in the vault and probably kill her.
As in his previous robberies, the robber left with a flourish, a calling card of sorts: he fired several shots at one of the bank’s security cameras. He then drove off in a blue, four-door Ford Taurus sedan with New Jersey license plates, which the authorities determined had been stolen. The same plates, RVP-935, had been used in all but one of the robber’s previous holdups. He was last seen heading west on Route 322 toward Hershey. No one was hurt during the robbery, although Don was taken to the hospital after complaining of chest pains.
After reviewing the bank’s surveillance cameras, the FBI quickly recognized a familiar face. For nearly two decades, this same robber has raided a string of small town banks in central Pennsylvania. His first known robbery took place at the Upper Dauphin National Bank in Halifax on March 14, 1977.
At 10:25am, the robber entered the bank and told the teller he wanted to speak to the bank manager. The teller took him to the manager’s office. Once inside, he pulled out a bag and an automatic pistol. He told the manager to fill the bag with money. He and the manager went to three of the teller’s drawers and emptied them into the bag. He warned the employees not to follow him as he left the bank. He then drove off in a two-tone brown Oldsmobile.
On February 28, 1985, the robber struck the Upper Dauphin National Bank in Pillow. At 1:44pm, he met with a teller to ask about a certificate of deposit. Then he pulled out a gun. While leaving, he fired shots at the surveillance cameras. He then fled in an early 1980s dark blue Buick Regal. He was last seen heading north on Route 225 toward Mandata.
On April 3, 1990, the robber targeted the Mid Penn Bank in Dalmatia. At around 1:40pm, he went to a teller’s window with a canvas bag and a revolver. He demanded she fill the bag with only large bills, saying that he “did not have all day.” As he left, he fired three shots, one of which disabled one of the surveillance cameras. Dye packs were placed in his bag, which exploded as he entered the parking lot, covering himself, the trunk and left rear of his car, and the money with bright red dye. He fled in an early 1980s General Motors mid-size car, possibly a Chevrolet or Buick, dark blue or black in color (probably the same one used in the previous robbery).
On December 18, 1990, the robber struck the Jersey Shore State Bank in Montgomery. When he first entered it at 1:38pm, he asked to see the manager and was directed to him. He then pulled out a gun and took the manager behind the counter. He ordered the tellers to lie on the ground. He directed the manager to remove the money from behind the tellers’ windows. He then told the employees to get into the bank vault. He put the money into a briefcase and fired seven shots at the surveillance cameras as he fled.
On March 26, 1992, the robber targeted the Turbotville National Bank in Turbotville. At 1pm, he entered and asked to speak to the loan manager about a business loan. A teller took him behind the counter to the manager’s office. At that point, he pulled out a 9mm semiautomatic pistol and ordered the manager to accompany him to the front of the building. He then ordered the tellers to fill a nylon bag with money from their drawers.
A customer entered during the robbery but was unaware what was taking place until the robber told him to “hit the floor.” The robber then ordered the four tellers into the vault, where he took more money. He told them not to move. After that, he shot at the surveillance cameras, sprayed homemade gas (possibly tear gas) into the lobby, and fled. Employees in the back of the bank did not even know a robbery was taking place until they heard the gunfire. Customers in the bank’s drive-thru witnessed the robbery.
On November 23, 1992, the robber struck the Commonwealth Bank in Beech Creek. At 2pm, he entered, went to the new accounts desk, and asked to open an account. He then pulled out a gun and forced a teller to put money from each teller’s window into a bag. He then forced the employees into the vault, made them face the wall, shot at the security cameras, and fled. All told, the robber has made off with close to $250,000.
For the authorities, the robber is a walking contradiction. He obviously takes great care to avoid arrest by targeting small town banks and driving a getaway car with stolen plates. And yet he is not shy when it comes to surveillance cameras, shooting them only after his picture has been recorded. FBI Special Agent Glenn Bonczek believes that the robber made this his “signature act” early on and believes, somehow, that this has helped him elude capture.
The robber is about fifty years old (in 1994), stands about 5’9”, and weighs between 170 and 180 pounds. He has a pale complexion. He is left-handed and walks with a slight limp. Although he appears to have sandy brownish hair, authorities believe it is a hair piece. He sometimes has a mustache. He has bright blue eyes, which may have been tinted with contact lenses. He is well-dressed and well-mannered.
During the Campbelltown robbery, the robber wore a necktie, dress pants, dress shoes, and a sweater. He has also been seen wearing a tan hat, raincoat, jacket, and tan, three-quarter-length coat with a fur collar. Investigators say he is knowledgeable of bank procedures and appears to “case” his targets carefully. He should be considered armed and dangerous.
Extra Notes:

  • This case first aired on the April 13, 1994 episode. A bank robber roll call was also featured following it, which included Deroy King, Jr, Tampa Bay Robber, Miami Robber, and Southern California Robber.
  • He is the most photographed bank robber ever featured on the show.
  • It was excluded from the FilmRise release of the Robert Stack episodes.
  • It was submitted to the show by the FBI and Pennsylvania State Police.
  • The height of the robber has varied in reports from 5’7” to 6’0”, and the weight has varied from 155 to 200 pounds.

Results: Wanted - If he is still alive, the robber would be in his late seventies or early eighties.
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