‘Straw Hat Bandit’ strikes again! Paroled serial bank robber arrested by FBI for ‘holding up 11 Pennsylvania banks and stealing $500,000’
Serial bank robber dubbed the ‘Straw Hat Bandit’ is arrested by FBI agents for ‘holding up 11 Pennsylvania banks and stealing $500,000’
Richard Boyle, 57, who runs an aerial photography business, was arrested Thursday by FBI for a serial bank robbery spree, spanning four years
He is accused of holding up 11 banks from 2012-16 in the Philadelphia area, netting $495,686
Nicknamed the ‘Straw Hat Bandit’ because of a straw hat disguise, he allegedly carried a firearm during stickups
The parolee who once held a $250,000 a year job, was convicted in 2008 for robbing eight banks, he was released in 2011
He’s charged with 11 counts bank robbery, 10 counts carrying a firearm during the holdups, 10 counts money laundering
Faces 200 years in prison, if convicted
A convicted bank robber, dubbed the ‘Straw Hat Bandit’, by feds has been arrested again on suspicion of being responsible for a recent string of Pennsylvania bank robberies.
Richard Boyle, [left, photo], who was convicted in 2008 of holding up eight banks, was arrested on similar charges by federal agents on Thursday.
The FBI the 57-year-old parolee who was released in 2011, has robbed 11 banks in the Philadelphia area, which cost the victimized institutions almost $500,000. His second spell of robberies spanned from 2012 to 2016.
Boyle from Doylestown, Pennsylvania, was given the moniker, the ‘Straw Hat Bandit’ for his disguise during the stickups, including a straw hat and mask, officials said.
He was already in custody for a parole violation when he appeared before a federal judge on Thursday to be formally charged with 11 counts of bank robbery, 10 counts of carrying a firearm during the holdups, and 10 counts of money laundering.
Richard Boyle [seen during a heist], runs an aerial photography business
Authorities slapped him with the counts of money laundering because Boyle allegedly laundered some of the stolen money through his photography business Sky Eye View, according to ABC 6.
In a four year span, Boyle is accused of stealing $495,686, with the largest robbery totaling $90,618 in early January of 2015 at a Wells Fargo Bank in Plymouth Meeting.
Images from a surveillance video provided by the FBI show a disguised suspect robbing his marks including one from a PNC Bank hold up on July 2, 2016. Agents said Richard Boyle is the man behind the disguise.
The parolee first delved back into robbing banks police said, a year after his 2011 release from prison, in June of 2012. Wearing his trademark ensemble of straw hat and cloth mask, he demanded cash and made off with $49,464.
Investigators said the suspect’s last alleged robbery was in July of 2016 where he grabbed $32,744 in cash.
Richard Boyle got his nickname the ‘Straw Hat Bandit’ [photo], for his disguise during the stickups. The ensemble includies a straw hat and mask
If he is found guilty of the recent string of bank robberies, he faces 200 years behind bars.
On his first sentencing, Boyle’s lawyer, Craig Penglase, reported his client being a troubled man who became unstable after he stopped taking his medication.
Philly.com reports the suspect’s former defense attorney telling the judge that his client stopped taking prescribed medication due to the death of his psychiatrist. Around the same time, he allegedly lost a $250,000-a-year job selling supplies to orthopedic surgeons. He then impulsively took his family on a two-year trek to various cities across the country, where they made their livings doing odd jobs.
As opposed to declaring bankruptcy, the former salesman carved out a new career in robbing banks. The stolen money was used to pay off his bills, he claimed in court.
If anything his financial woes have deepened since his first incarceration. He was ordered as part of his sentence to repay the $102,000 he stole during his first crime spree and his creditors are not letting up.
One of the banks he robbed, Huntingdon Valley Bank in Warwick Township, secured a $40,000 judgment against him in 2008 to cover the cash he stole.
For his current spate of robberies, Boyle was arrested last year October on a probation violation, after FBI agents and local police linked him to the more recent bank robberies.
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