A Florida man who pleaded guilty to committing six bank robberies and said he robbed another 15 south Florida banks, was on Monday sentenced to 13 years in federal prison.
Steven Gass, 55 years, dubbed the “Old Man Bandit” pled guilty to the following six robberies: the May 2, 2009 robbery of AmTrust Bank, 3600 West Hillsboro Blvd., Deerfield Beach, FL; the July 22, 2008 robbery of Bank Atlantic, 6568 Atlantic Avenue, Delray Beach, FL; the November 3, 2009 robbery of First Bank, 1220 Ponce De Leon Blvd, Coral Gables, FL; the December 2, 2009 robbery of HSBC Bank, 2199 Ponce De Leon Blvd, Coral Gables, FL; and the April 17, 2008 and June 25, 2008 robbery of Bank of America, 3900 South Ocean Drive, Hollywood, FL.
During each robbery, Gass entered the bank and presented the tellers with a demand note, stating that he wanted cash, was armed, and would shoot the tellers if they did not comply. Fearing for their safety, the respective victim tellers complied with Gass’s demands. As well, in addition to the six robberies to which he pled guilty, Gass admitted to robbing another 15 South Florida banks, including:
* Bank of America, 9760 S. Military Trail, Boynton Beach, FL, on 4/21/2008;
* Amtrust Bank, 3600 W. Hillsboro Blvd., Deerfield Beach, FL, on 6/27/2008 and 11/04/2008;
* Wachovia Bank, 1489 S.E. 17th Street, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, on 7/25/2008, 9/24/2008, and 4/6/2009;
* Bank Atlantic, 19631 State Road 7, Boca Raton, FL, on 5/8/2009;
* HSBC, 2 S. Biscayne Blvd., Miami, FL, on 5/20/2009;
* Wachovia,1395 Brickell Ave., Miami, FL, on 6/19/2009;
* Citibank, 3660 W. Hillsboro Blvd., Deerfield Beach, FL, on 8/22/2009 and 9/25/2009;
* Mercantil Bank, 8181 SW 117 Street, Pinecrest, FL, on 10/08/2009;
* Bank of America, 11205 S. Dixie Highway, Pinecrest, FL, on 1/11/2010;
* Wachovia, 6905 Lake North Rd., Green Acres, FL, on 2/9/2010;
* Iron Stone Bank, 3055 N. 9th Street, Naples, FL, on 2/16/2010.
In total, between April 17, 2008 and February 16, 2010, Steven Gass was responsible for the robberies of 21 banks, netting him a total of approximately $136,758 in stolen money.
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and John V. Gillies, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Miami Field Office, brought the case against Gass.
