Charges Filed in Chase Bank Robbery

Robert D. Grant, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); Jody P. Weis, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department (CPD); and Thomas Dart, Cook County Sheriff, announced today the arrest of BOGDAN LUNGU, age 23, whose last known address is 1096 West Pratt in Chicago. LUNGU was taken into custody late last week, by members of the Chicago FBI’s Violent Crimes Task Force (VCTF) for the November 17, 2008 robbery of the Chase Bank branch, located at 5813 North Milwaukee Avenue.

LUNGU was charged in a criminal complaint filed on December 24th in U.S. District Court in Chicago with one (1) count of Bank Robbery, which is a felony offense. According to the complaint, LUNGU entered the Chase Bank branch just before noon, approached a teller and handed her a note, announcing a robbery and demanding money. The note implied that LUNGU was armed and threatened the teller with harm, if his demands were not met. After receiving approximately $5000 in cash, LUNGU fled the bank on foot, disappearing into the passing crowd. No injuries were reported in the robbery.

Subsequent investigation by the VCTF identified LUNGU as the robber and lead to the filing of the charges announced today. At the time of his arrest, LUNGO was incarcerated at the Cook County Jail on unrelated charges. Though not charged, LUNGU is also a suspect in the December 3, 2008 robbery of the Chase Bank branch, located at 7015 North Western Avenue in Chicago.

LUNGU appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Martin C. Ashman in Chicago on January 15th, at which time he was formally charged. LUNGU was ordered held without bond, pending his next scheduled court appearance, and is being held at the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) in Chicago. If convicted of the charges filed against him, LUNGU faces a possible sentence of up to twenty (20) years incarceration.

The Chicago FBI’s VCTF is comprised of FBI Special Agents, Detectives from the CPD and Investigators from the Cook County Sheriff’s Police Department.

The public is reminded that a complaint is not evidence of guilt and that all defendants in a criminal case are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

EDITOR’S NOTE: A copy of the criminal complaint filed in this case is available from the Chicago FBI’s Press Office at (312) 829-1199.