PARK RIDGE, N.J.—The Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office and Park Ridge Police Department are seeking the public’s assistance in identifying the suspect in yesterday’s Oritani Bank robbery in Park Ridge.
On Wednesday, April 17 at approximately 12:20 p.m., the male suspect entered the Oritani bank, at 177 Kinderkamack Road, and asked to speak with the bank manager.
While speaking with the manager, the suspect advised that he was in possession of a bomb and requested that all employees accompany him to the vault.
Once in the vault, he had the employees empty the safe and place U.S. currency into a large black bag.
The Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office said the suspect might have fled the area in a white minivan. Anyone with information that can help identify the suspect should contact the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office at (201) 226-5782.
In the immediate aftermath, police K-9 units were seen aiding in the investigation.
The suspect, seen in security camera footage waring glasses, a beard and mustache, a bike helmet, and dark cold-weather gear including gloves and a biking scarf, is thought to be the one who had called in a fake 911 call on a shooting elsewhere in town—likely as a distraction.
According to the FBI, 2018 saw 3,033 bank robberies, burglaries, and larcenies. Investigation to date has resulted in the identification of 1,938 of the 3,378 persons known to be involved.
Of these 1,938 identified persons, 35.4 percent were determined to be users of narcotics, and 27.2 percent were found to have been previously convicted in either federal or state court for bank robbery, bank burglary, or bank larceny.
The FBI says that, each year, robbers collectively steal millions of dollars from banks, credit unions, savings and loan associations, armored car companies, and related businesses. In some cases, these criminals have weapons, and they often threaten, and sometimes kill, employees and customers.
The FBI has had a primary role in bank robbery investigations since the 1930s, when John Dillinger and his gang were robbing banks and capturing the public’s imagination.
In 1934, it became a federal crime to rob any national bank or state member bank of the Federal Reserve System. The law soon expanded to include bank burglary, larceny, and similar crimes, with jurisdiction delegated to the bureau, the FBI says online.
