Police seek 6-time bank robber

Police suspect the same man committed six bank robberies over a 10-week span, including one at a Chase branch in Northport on Tuesday evening.

The man is suspected of robbing two Nassau County banks, including one twice, two in Suffolk and another in upstate Newburgh between May 14 and Tuesday, police said.

"He's been a lot more active lately," said Det. Sgt. John Giambrone, commanding officer of Nassau's Robbery Squad.

Det. Lt. Gerard Pelkofsky of Suffolk police said the man, who appears to be between 50 and 60 years old, stocky to heavyset and 5-foot-5 to 5-foot-8, is shown Tuesday on video surveillance robbing a Chase Bank at 721 Fort Salonga Rd. in Northport about 5:35 p.m.

The same man appears to have robbed a People's United Bank on June 30 on Larkfield Road in East Northport, he said.

Pelkofsky said police in Suffolk, Nassau and Newburgh are working together in an effort to make an arrest.

He also said the frequency of the robberies suggests the man has "some kind of need where he needs cash, and he's robbing the banks to satisfy this need."

On Friday, Nassau police said the suspect hit a People's United Bank at 401 Glen Cove Rd. in East Hills. On July 6, the same man struck an Orange County Trust bank on North Plank Road in Newburgh, police said.

"The M.O., the physical description, it looks like him," Lt. Michael Clancy of the Town of Newburgh Police Department told Newsday earlier this month.

Nassau police said the man began his spree May 14, robbing a Marathon Bank at 1577 Northern Blvd., in Manhasset, then robbing the same bank again on June 25.

Giambrone said the way the man works has been the same in all six robberies. He enters the bank wearing a cap and armed with a semiautomatic gun in his gloved left hand. "We think the glove may be hiding a mark or a scar," Giambrone said.

During some robberies, he has masked the lower part of his face with a dark cloth, police said.

"All his commands are verbal," Giambrone said. "Sometimes during the robbery, he switches the gun to his right hand and continues giving orders.

"It's clear from the photos his finger is on that trigger."

The robber then takes the cash, places it in a black canvas shoulder bag and leaves.

Anyone with information may call Nassau's Robbery Squad at 516-573-8040 or Suffolk Crime Stoppers at 800-220-8477. All calls will be kept confidential.