MANHATTAN — A bank robber was more interested in pulling the rug from under Chase's feet than grabbing cash.
Prosecutors said William Footman robbed six Manhattan Chase branches, taking off with rolled up rugs from the ATM kiosks instead of money.
Cops finally caught Footman, 55, on May 25 as he was leaving 80 Broadway with a rubber-backed mat, according to a criminal complaint.
Footman began April 27, when he used his debit card to access the ATM at 253 Broadway about 1:33 a.m. before leaving with the rug, valued at about $400, prosecutors said.
Over the next month, Footman carried off at least $2,400 worth of Chase rugs after hitting six Manhattan branches, prosecutors said.
Footman was able to get away with his bank robberies because witnesses thought he was a maintenance worker. He unloaded the loot at a Harlem warehouse for $30 each, the New York Observer reported.
The NYPD has at least 30 similar cases, the Observer noted, presumably because bank rugs "really tie the room together," the paper said — a reference to the movie The Big Lebowski.
Footman, who has been charged with burglary and grand larceny, is being held on $10,000 bail and is due back in court Thursday, according to the Department of Correction.
