MANHATTAN — A dapper thief who's been targeting banks across Manhattan has been tied to four more robberies since police last released images of him, and still remains at large, police said.
The thief, who has now been connected to at least six robberies, appeared most recently at an HSBC bank on the Upper West Side, where he made off with more than $400, according to a police spokeswoman.
He has been tied to robberies or attempted robberies in Murray Hill, the West Village, and the Upper West Side, according to police reports — and in each instance, he was sporting a striking outfit ranging from a jauntily tied scarf and hipster beanie to a bike helmet and rain jacket.
While the suspect is always wearing a pair of reflective sunglasses, he's tried out different looks ranging from a tan jacket and a baseball cap, as well as in a straw hat and dark jacket, according to images released by police.
His facial hair has also evolved, from an all-over scruffy beard and mustache to a 1970s-style mustache.
The robber first struck on March 8, when he strolled into a Santander Bank at 250 Lexington Ave. between East 34th and East 35th streets just after 3 p.m., handed a demand note to a teller and walked away with more than $2,000, a police spokeswoman said.
He appeared again nearly two months later, on May 12, this time hitting the Santander branch at 711 Third Ave. between East 44th and East 45th streets, where he again passed a note and fled with an undisclosed amount of money, police said.
The thief returned to his original target, the Third Avenue Santander Bank, on May 27, just after 4 p.m., but fled empty-handed after a teller refused to comply to his demands and instead called 911, according to a police report.
On May 31 he walked into an HSBC bank at 354 Sixth Ave. between West Fourth and Washington Place at about 4:30 p.m., handed the teller a note that suggested he was armed, and fled with more than $1,200, a police spokeswoman said.
The robber then struck an HSBC bank at 2025 Broadway on the corner of West 70th Street just before 5 p.m. on June 13, where the teller handed him more than $700 after he handed her a note, again suggesting he was armed, police said.
In his most recent robbery, on June 24, he walked into an 721 Amsterdam Ave. HSBC bank at West 95th Street at about 11:45 a.m., where the teller forked over more than $400 in response to a note demanding cash, according to a police spokeswoman.
Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS. The public can also submit tips on the website.
