Favorite Bank Robbery? - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

buckeyeblogger · 02-18-2006, 09:52 PM

Odd topic I know, but I rarely see the bank robbery segments discussed here since joining. And a quick search of the boards archive didn't yield much in the way of in depth discussions, either.

Just wanted to open the floor to anyone to discuss your favorite bank robbery segment or ask a question about one you never saw an update for.

My personal favorite has to be the "Trenchcoat Bandits" (I believe this is what the FBI dubbed them). Actually, the UM segment about them just aired this week, Friday I think. I've actually kind of followed their saga ever since I first saw that UM segment back in the day. Kinda freaked out by it for some reason (robbers masks tend to do that to me).

Several years ago FBI Files (I think) did an hour on them and I knew early in the episode it was the same guys because of the reporter that took the picture of them as they made their get away. They would rob a place and go their seperate ways for as long as a year at a time. Get together and then case a new bank for as long as a month and then hit, then disappear again. Both men lead very ordinary lives and were eventually brought down by their greed and carelessness. Their biggest hit was a casino in the Northwest (I think). One of their names was Raymond?...

One of the robbers I remember UM featuring that I never saw an update on was the "Chevy Chase Bandit". Anyone remember this guy?

fivecats · 02-18-2006, 10:56 PM

I don't know if this counts as a bank robbery, but my favorite is the one with the kindly, grandmotherly bank employee who regularly brought in cookies for her coworkers. She then proceeded to take large sums of cash. No one knew what hit them until it was too late. I can't remember if they caught her or not, but it was a great segment!

Awsi Dooger · 02-18-2006, 11:41 PM

My favorite bank robbers were the guys who utilized the Los Angeles sewer system and made sophisticated tunnels from the sewers to the brink of the bank vaults. They apparently bought small all terrain vehicles in the San Diego area and used them in the sewers to transport the heavy materials needed to carve the tunels. At least one of those vehicles was left behind and discovered when they were nearly captured. Then several more completed tunnels were discovered. Looked like they were very close to netting millions. Just imagine all the work it took to plan and execute those tunnels. I'm amazed that case hasn't generated more publicity or scrutiny. I don't think they were ever captured.

Frankly, I always root for the robbers to escape, if they didn't harm anyone and it was a company, not individuals, they stole from. Especially the people who rob casinos. How is that even a crime? I mean, being accused of robbing a casino is like being accused of drowning a fish. Doesn't even compute.

nohwheregirl · 02-19-2006, 05:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by buckeyeblogger

Just wanted to open the floor to anyone to discuss your favorite bank robbery segment or ask a question about one you never saw an update for.

My personal favorite has to be the "Trenchcoat Bandits" (I believe this is what the FBI dubbed them). Actually, the UM segment about them just aired this week, Friday I think. I've actually kind of followed their saga ever since I first saw that UM segment back in the day. Kinda freaked out by it for some reason (robbers masks tend to do that to me).

Several years ago FBI Files (I think) did an hour on them and I knew early in the episode it was the same guys because of the reporter that took the picture of them as they made their get away. They would rob a place and go their seperate ways for as long as a year at a time. Get together and then case a new bank for as long as a month and then hit, then disappear again. Both men lead very ordinary lives and were eventually brought down by their greed and carelessness. Their biggest hit was a casino in the Northwest (I think). One of their names was Raymond?...

The trenchcoat bandits are my favorite too! I LOVE the sequence that UM created where they show the reporter attempting to snap an inconspicuous photograph of the robbers from her car. Talk about suspense! I'm also really glad they were caught. They were some bad dudes.

I also like the one where the bank robber applies super glue to the alarms in the bank, and handcuffs one of the bank employees to a rolling shelf. By the time the swat team gets there, the robber is long gone.

A little side story and question....
I took a criminology class back in college and there was a lecture on bank robberies. The professor had been instructed by the FBI not to reveal different security measures that banks put in place to notify authorities during a robbery (which he obviously disagreed with), but he asked if students in the class knew anything about the subject. I remembered that one UM segment where the teller removes the bottom bill in the drawer and trips the alarm, so I mentioned it in class. The professor said that the FBI had specifically asked him not to mention that! Needless to say, I've always wondered why the FBI would let UM talk about it on national tv, but my prof wasn't supposed to talk about it in class. Does anyone remember which segment that was from?

Tony Ballesteros · 02-19-2006, 06:31 PM

NIXON BANDIT

justins5256 · 02-20-2006, 10:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nohwheregirl

Does anyone remember which segment that was from?

A season three segment about a "cowboy" bank robber in the Pacific Northwest. It is one of those stories that shows how dated UM can be. The guy held up about twenty banks and managed to avoid having his picture taken, but on his most recent robbery (the one where the bill trap was pulled) he hit up a bank that had a surveillance camera, and he was photographed. D'oh! This was in 1985 or so. Are there any banks these days that don't utilize some tye of video surveillance?

JckNapier2 · 02-20-2006, 05:03 PM

This is as good a place as any...

I've always wondered why I've never seen a certain bank robbery segment. It aired in the mid-90s and featured two cases... one was called the bicycle bandit (or the grandpa bandit, can't remember which) and the other was just a normal bank robbery segment. I think I've seen every segment from my youth repeated on Lifetime at least once, but never that one. Anyone with a copy let me know.

UMfan0682 · 02-20-2006, 08:06 PM

My favorite has to be the one where this guy gets into the back of a taxi cab, straps a bomb onto the cab driver, tells him to walk into the bank with a letter he wrote, and demand money. I think the segment talked about how the taxi cab driver might have been in on the robbery. I think the segment ended with the police arriving and taking the bomb off the cab driver. It's been a little while since I've seen the segment, so I might not have the details right.

These are the type of segments I would love to see arrive on a dvd set.

justins5256 · 02-20-2006, 09:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JckNapier2

This is as good a place as any...

I've always wondered why I've never seen a certain bank robbery segment. It aired in the mid-90s and featured two cases... one was called the bicycle bandit (or the grandpa bandit, can't remember which) and the other was just a normal bank robbery segment. I think I've seen every segment from my youth repeated on Lifetime at least once, but never that one. Anyone with a copy let me know.

The Bicycle Bandit has been on Lifetime. The story originally aired in the spring of 1989. I have no clue on the second story you mentioned.

There is a mid-nineties story about a Jewish-looking bank robber who always concludes his heists by shooting out the bank surveillance cameras. The story has been rerun on Lifetime on numerous occasions, but when I first saw it on NBC it was longer, and profiled three or four other unidentified bank robbers. One of whom kind of resembled (in my opinion) actor John Wesley Shipp. I've never seen this portion of the segment aired on Lifetime. If anyone has the uncut version, I would be interested in trading.

CODIS · 02-21-2006, 07:35 AM

Crazy Glue bandit...............Genius!

JckNapier2 · 02-22-2006, 01:14 PM

the one I'm thinking of must be the grandpa bandit then, as it aired after the survailence camera one, and after the bit about the guy who gave false information as to his indentity (any updates on that one, or any info on the actors involved... the person playing the teller looked familiar)? So it had to have been after 1993.

mercy1825 · 02-22-2006, 01:23 PM

How about the armored car robbery that aired yesterday on lifetime? They got away with 11 million dollars!?!?! The largest armored car robbery ever! There is a whopping 500,000 dollar reward for their capture! Anyone have any updates on this? RS said it "had all the earmarks of an inside job."

I am very curious about this one.....

JimmyHendricks · 02-22-2006, 03:03 PM

The Krazy Glue bandit was one of the best segments they ever did. How that guy drilled into the bank and wasn't caught is beyond me.

Besides that, my favorite ones were the "Ronald Reagan Mask" robber (because they made such point at mentioning the Reagan mask) and the one (perhaps it's the same?) robbery where they announced....

"Now...(holds up bag)....THIS IS A BOMB!! Nobody move, and it won't go off!"

I have always laughed out loud at that one, because HE was moving as he said that, which meant the bomb should have gone off, right? Hilarious.

I also loved Stack's deadpan...."The bomb was a phony." right after that. Duh, Bob. Thanks for the info.

justins5256 · 02-22-2006, 03:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimmyHendricks

The Krazy Glue bandit was one of the best segments they ever did. How that guy drilled into the bank and wasn't caught is beyond me.

Kind of like the "cowboy robber" segment I brought up in an earlier post on this thread. This is another example of a story that makes UM look dated. That robbery occurred in the mid-eighties. Perhaps perimeter alarms weren't common then. Go figure.

buckeyeblogger · 02-22-2006, 04:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mercy1825

How about the armored car robbery that aired yesterday on lifetime? They got away with 11 million dollars!?!?! The largest armored car robbery ever! There is a whopping 500,000 dollar reward for their capture! Anyone have any updates on this? RS said it "had all the earmarks of an inside job."

I am very curious about this one.....

Totally! I had forgotten about this one until I saw it yesterday (I've only seen it once before). It strikes me that only one of the armored car guards was interviewed for the segment. Makes me wonder if the other guard was suspected as having been part of the "inside job".

Lots of details left out of this one by UM.

02-18-2006, 09:52 PM	#1
buckeyeblogger Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Jan 09, 2006 Location: Columbus, Ohio Posts: 83	Favorite Bank Robbery? Odd topic I know, but I rarely see the bank robbery segments discussed here since joining. And a quick search of the boards archive didn't yield much in the way of in depth discussions, either. Just wanted to open the floor to anyone to discuss your favorite bank robbery segment or ask a question about one you never saw an update for. My personal favorite has to be the "Trenchcoat Bandits" (I believe this is what the FBI dubbed them). Actually, the UM segment about them just aired this week, Friday I think. I've actually kind of followed their saga ever since I first saw that UM segment back in the day. Kinda freaked out by it for some reason (robbers masks tend to do that to me). Several years ago FBI Files (I think) did an hour on them and I knew early in the episode it was the same guys because of the reporter that took the picture of them as they made their get away. They would rob a place and go their seperate ways for as long as a year at a time. Get together and then case a new bank for as long as a month and then hit, then disappear again. Both men lead very ordinary lives and were eventually brought down by their greed and carelessness. Their biggest hit was a casino in the Northwest (I think). One of their names was Raymond?... One of the robbers I remember UM featuring that I never saw an update on was the "Chevy Chase Bandit". Anyone remember this guy?

02-18-2006, 10:56 PM	#2
fivecats Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Feb 03, 2006 Location: Waukegan, IL Posts: 29	Beware of old ladies bearing cookies! I don't know if this counts as a bank robbery, but my favorite is the one with the kindly, grandmotherly bank employee who regularly brought in cookies for her coworkers. She then proceeded to take large sums of cash. No one knew what hit them until it was too late. I can't remember if they caught her or not, but it was a great segment!
	__________________ The most heroic word in all languages is revolution.-- Eugene V. Debs

02-19-2006, 06:31 PM	#5
Tony Ballesteros Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Dec 28, 2005 Location: Chicago Posts: 123	NIXON BANDIT
	__________________ The Face of Pure EVIL: http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/4...eofevil3gl.png Baseball's Sad Lexicon by Franklin Pierce Adams © These are the saddest of possible words: "Tinker to Evers to Chance." Trio of bear cubs, and fleeter than birds, Tinker and Evers and Chance. Ruthlessly pricking our gonfalon bubble, Making a Giant hit into a double- Words that are heavy with nothing but trouble: "Tinker to Evers to Chance."

02-20-2006, 08:06 PM	#8
UMfan0682 Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Jul 11, 2004 Posts: 124	My Favorite Robbery Segment My favorite has to be the one where this guy gets into the back of a taxi cab, straps a bomb onto the cab driver, tells him to walk into the bank with a letter he wrote, and demand money. I think the segment talked about how the taxi cab driver might have been in on the robbery. I think the segment ended with the police arriving and taking the bomb off the cab driver. It's been a little while since I've seen the segment, so I might not have the details right. These are the type of segments I would love to see arrive on a dvd set.

02-22-2006, 01:23 PM	#12
mercy1825 Member Frequent Poster Join Date: May 04, 2004 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Posts: 176	Armored car robbery? How about the armored car robbery that aired yesterday on lifetime? They got away with 11 million dollars!?!?! The largest armored car robbery ever! There is a whopping 500,000 dollar reward for their capture! Anyone have any updates on this? RS said it "had all the earmarks of an inside job." I am very curious about this one.....

02-18-2006, 11:41 PM	#3
Awsi Dooger Member Senior Member Join Date: Feb 18, 2003 Location: Miami Posts: 1,537	My favorite bank robbers were the guys who utilized the Los Angeles sewer system and made sophisticated tunnels from the sewers to the brink of the bank vaults. They apparently bought small all terrain vehicles in the San Diego area and used them in the sewers to transport the heavy materials needed to carve the tunels. At least one of those vehicles was left behind and discovered when they were nearly captured. Then several more completed tunnels were discovered. Looked like they were very close to netting millions. Just imagine all the work it took to plan and execute those tunnels. I'm amazed that case hasn't generated more publicity or scrutiny. I don't think they were ever captured. Frankly, I always root for the robbers to escape, if they didn't harm anyone and it was a company, not individuals, they stole from. Especially the people who rob casinos. How is that even a crime? I mean, being accused of robbing a casino is like being accused of drowning a fish. Doesn't even compute.

02-20-2006, 05:03 PM	#7
JckNapier2 Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Aug 12, 2005 Posts: 5	This is as good a place as any... I've always wondered why I've never seen a certain bank robbery segment. It aired in the mid-90s and featured two cases... one was called the bicycle bandit (or the grandpa bandit, can't remember which) and the other was just a normal bank robbery segment. I think I've seen every segment from my youth repeated on Lifetime at least once, but never that one. Anyone with a copy let me know.

02-21-2006, 07:35 AM	#10
CODIS Member Occasional Poster Join Date: May 02, 2005 Posts: 58	Crazy Glue bandit...............Genius!

02-22-2006, 01:14 PM	#11
JckNapier2 Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Aug 12, 2005 Posts: 5	the one I'm thinking of must be the grandpa bandit then, as it aired after the survailence camera one, and after the bit about the guy who gave false information as to his indentity (any updates on that one, or any info on the actors involved... the person playing the teller looked familiar)? So it had to have been after 1993.

02-22-2006, 03:03 PM	#13
JimmyHendricks Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Sep 11, 2004 Posts: 112	The Krazy Glue bandit was one of the best segments they ever did. How that guy drilled into the bank and wasn't caught is beyond me. Besides that, my favorite ones were the "Ronald Reagan Mask" robber (because they made such point at mentioning the Reagan mask) and the one (perhaps it's the same?) robbery where they announced.... "Now...(holds up bag)....THIS IS A BOMB!! Nobody move, and it won't go off!" I have always laughed out loud at that one, because HE was moving as he said that, which meant the bomb should have gone off, right? Hilarious. I also loved Stack's deadpan...."The bomb was a phony." right after that. Duh, Bob. Thanks for the info.