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Ex-Con Tries to Rob 2 Upper East Side Banks in 15 minutes, Police Say

By Shaye Weaver | October 18, 2016 4:27pm
 Police arrested a man who tried to rob the Citi Bank at 1445 Third Ave. and the Ridgewood Savings Bank at 1404 Second Ave. on Monday.
Police arrested a man who tried to rob the Citi Bank at 1445 Third Ave. and the Ridgewood Savings Bank at 1404 Second Ave. on Monday.
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UPPER EAST SIDE — A Bronx man out on parole for previous robberies tried to rob two neighborhood banks within minutes of each other on Monday, according to the NYPD.

John Gregg, 39, first hit a Citi Bank at 1445 Third Ave. near East 82nd Street at about 11:30 a.m., passing a note to a teller reading "20s, 50s, no dye packs, no alarms," police said.

But when the teller stepped aside to read the note and looked up, he saw Gregg walking away empty-handed, according to a criminal complaint.

Just minutes later, at 11:44 a.m., Gregg walked into the Ridgewood Savings Bank at 1404 Second Ave. near East 74th Street and passed another note to a cashier, this time making off with $720, police said.

Police tracked Gregg down in front of 1629 First Ave. at 12:22 p.m. and arrested him.

Gregg was arraigned on attempted robbery and robbery charges, and did not post bail, which was set at $30,000 cash or bond, according to court records.

He had been out on parole for two counts of robbery and was released in April 2015, after spending nearly five years in state prison, State Department of Corrections records show.

Gregg has a long rap sheet for charges including robberies, criminal possession of a controlled substance, petit larceny, assault and criminal possession of stolen property, police said.

His attorney did not immediately return a call for comment on Tuesday. Both banks declined to comment.

The 19th Precinct congratulated one of its own on the capture of the suspect: