According to a recent story from NBC News, NYPD have arrested the man responsible for five attempted bank robberies, as well as one successful bank robbery, in Manhattan early last week.
The suspect, Michael Sancinella, 42, has been charged with six counts of robbery, according to the NYPD. Sancinella was seen on video surveillance cameras in the banks in question, bringing his bicycle inside the bank with him every time. (With nearly 13 million bicycles sold in 2013 alone, it’s an unfortunate but statistically sound truth that at least one of those customers will commit an ill-planned crime.) His choice of vehicle apparently wasn’t quick enough to keep away from the long arm of the law.
Of Sancinella’s robbery attempts, the only successful sting happened around 10 a.m. Thursday, where he was able to walk — or rather, bike — away from a First Avenue bank with $1000. Not a lofty sum, considering the five other banks that he’d attempted to accost.
The bicycling bandit wasn’t the only one looking to make some quick cash in Manhattan. Police arrested another man, Derrick Olmo, 41, who was also involved in a string of robberies. Olmo successfully robbed a Chase bank on Eighth Ave. and an HSBC Bank in the Flatiron District, where he was able to escape with $2,850 and $1,992, respectively.
Olmo also attempted to rob a Chase located in Chelsea, but was unsuccessful. Police said that the robberies happened over a span of five days, and that Olmo had conducted the robberies by handing the teller a note.
Police suspected briefly that Olmo and Sancinella may have been working together to conduct these heists. However, while the two Manhattan robbers were both homeless, they had no apparent connection. No word on whether the men have legal representation, or what their final sentence will be.
