73-YEAR-OLD MAN ROBBED 3 BANKS TO PAY MORTGAGE, POLICE SAY !

[Daanyeer]

Source: http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/feb/11 ... ews-metro/


by MICHAEL SPOONEYBARGER





By JOSÉ PATIÑO GIRONA | The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 11, 2010

Updated: 02/11/2010 08:49 pm

TAMPA - James Bruce is not your typical accused bank robber.

First, he's 73 years old.

Second, police say he robbed three banks to help pay his mortgage because he was down on his luck.

Lastly, authorities said, he demanded only $600 each time, and planned to repay the banks the amounts he took.

"He's trying to keep his family in their home, but you can't go about it by robbing a bank," said Tampa police Detective Rachel Cholnik.

"He viewed it as a repayable loan. He thought when he got back on his feet, he would be able to pay the banks back,'' she added. "He just made a bad decision, and he's going to pay the price for it."

Friends of Bruce say he is kind, courteous and smart.

His intellect took him on board ships at the Port of Tampa to calibrate gauges on tanks that carried ammonia, sulfur and oil.

He had a business and rented space at a building owned by the Marine Engineers Beneficial Association, said Joseph Barbacane, the organization's union representative.

Members of the organization talked Thursday at their building on 50th Street about the arrest of Bruce for being suspected of robbing the three Tampa banks, Barbacane said.

They were shocked to learn the news, but were aware that his business had fallen on hard times. With fewer ships entering the port there was less demand for his expertise, Barbacane said. He closed his office about three years ago.

Bruce, of 4517 W. Vasconia St., was arrested Thursday afternoon at a separate business he owns with his wife called Something Different. He was charged with three counts of robbery.

Detectives received many tips from the public after people recognized Bruce from news coverage.

When arrested at his business, at 3627 S. West Shore Blvd., Bruce told police he robbed the banks to pay his mortgage. His wife wasn't aware that he was robbing banks to help make ends meet, said Cholnik.

He went to each bank and demanded $600, Cholnik said.

At 3 p.m. Feb. 2, Bruce walked into a Bank of America branch at 100 N. West Shore Blvd., handed the teller a note and demanded money, police said.

He also used a note in robberies Jan. 15 at a Bank of America, 4825 S. Manhattan Ave., and Feb. 1 at a SunTrust Bank, 2002 S. MacDill Ave., police said.

Bruce was being held in a Hillsborough County jail with bail set at $22,500, according to jail records.

The truck he used for the bank robberies was seized and his home and business were searched, police said.

The FBI will determine if there are federal charges. Tampa police will request that the charges remain local because of Bruce's age and the nature of the robberies, police said.

"It's sad," Cholnik said. "There are tough economic times right now. A lot of people are getting desperate. You see someone who is trying to do the right thing, but they did it in the wrong way."

WFLA reporter Samara Sodos contributed to this report. Reporter José Patiño Girona can be reached at (813) 259-7659