Serial Bank Robber Sentenced to Nearly Nine Years in Federal Prison
Scott Niemic of Swansea, Massachusetts, Robbed Five Banks in Rhode Island and Massachusetts in a Span of 26 Days

PROVIDENCE, RI—Scott Niemic, 36, of Swansea, Massachusetts, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Providence to 105 months in federal prison for committing five “note-job” bank robberies in Rhode Island and Massachuetts in a span of 26 days in March and April 2012. A “note-job” robbery occurs when a note demanding money is passed but no weapon is shown.

At sentencing, U.S. District Court Chief Judge William E. Smith also ordered Niemic to serve three years’ supervised release upon completion of his prison term. Niemic pleaded guilty on October 9, 2013, to five counts of bank robbery.

Niemic’s sentence was announced by United States Attorney Peter F. Neronha; Vincent B. Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Boston Field Office of the FBI; and Warwick Police Chief Colonel Stephen M. McCartney.

At the time of his guilty plea, Niemic admitted to robbing a Plymouth, Massachusetts bank on March 22, 2012, of $4,923; a second bank in Plymouth on March 27 of $3,592; a Warwick, Rhode Island bank on April 3 of $8,100; a Bellingham, Massachusetts bank on April 10 of $5,045; and a Wellesley, Massachusetts bank on April 16 of $5,453.

According to information presented to the court, Niemic entered each of the banks wearing black wrap-around sunglasses and a baseball cap and handed a note to a bank employee that stated that he was armed, that he was demanding money, and that no dye packs were to be included with the cash. In some instances, Niemic verbally told bank employees that he was armed. In four of the robberies, Niemic kept a cell phone to his ear, purporting to be having a conversation with another person.

According to information presented to the court, investigators determined that the note left at the scene of the Warwick robbery on April 3 was written on a piece of paper torn from a receipt for motor vehicle excise taxes paid in Old Town, Maine. The investigation determined that the car was registered to Scott Niemic’s mother and that the defendant, who was living in Swansea, had possession of the vehicle. On April 4, police executed a court authorized search of the vehicle. Among the items seized was a piece of paper that matched the torn paper handed to the bank employee the day before. Police learned that Scott Niemic was also in possession of a second vehicle.

On April 23, 2012, an FBI agent who was a member of the law enforcement team investigating the bank robberies spotted Niemic operating a vehicle on Route 24 in Massachusetts and contacted Massachusetts State Police for assistance. A state trooper attempted to stop Niemic’s vehicle, but Niemic refused to stop, instead fleeing onto the streets of Fall River. Niemic was apprehended after driving at speeds in excess of 120 miles per hour and crashing his vehicle. Investigators recovered nearly $8,100 in cash from Niemic’s vehicle.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul F. Daly, Jr.

United States Attorney Peter F. Neronha acknowledged the cooperation and assistance in the prosecution of this case by the offices of Plymouth County, Massachusetts District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz; Norfolk County, Massachusetts District Attorney Michael W. Morrissey; and Worcester County, Massachusetts District Attorney Joseph D. Early, Jr.

The bank robberies were investigated by the FBI; and the Warwick, Rhode Island; Plymouth, Massachusetts; Bellingham, Massachusetts; and Wellesley, Massachusetts, Police Departments, with the assistance of Swansea and Westport, Massachusetts Police and the Massachusetts State Police.