Arrest Made in “Double Dip Bandit” Investigation

An arrest was made yesterday of a suspect in the “Double Dip Bandit” serial bank robbery investigation announced 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.

THOMAS J. RILEY, age 45, of Chicago, was arrested Thursday afternoon, without incident, by CPD officers assigned to the 14th District. At the time of the arrest, RILEY was in the vicinity of Humboldt Park when he was stopped by patrol officers for suspicious activity. He was found to be in possession of illegal drugs and is currently in state custody on charges related to the drug possession. RILEY was charged in a criminal complaint filed earlier this week in U.S. District Court in Chicago with one count of bank robbery, which is a felony offense. RILEY was actively being sought by the Chicago FBI’s Violent Crimes Task Force when arrested.

According to the complaint, which only charges RILEY with the March 28, 2010 robbery of a TCF Bank branch, located at 6430 West Irving Park Road in Chicago, RILEY entered the bank and approached the teller counter. He then allegedly placed a plastic shopping bag on the counter and ordered a bank employee to fill it with cash. In the process, he lifted up a jacket, exposing a black handgun that was stuffed into the waist of his pants. After receiving under a thousand dollars in cash, RILEY fled the bank on foot, disappearing out of sight of witnesses.

RILEY was eventually identified on July 7, when he robbed a PNC Bank branch, located at 6333 North Milwaukee Avenue for a second time in less than a week. During this robbery, RILEY was seen entering a vehicle parked nearby, with the license plate to this vehicle clearly visible. Subsequent investigation by the VCTF traced the vehicle to RILEY and resulted in the charges announced today.

Though not charged with any additional robberies at this time, RILEY is a suspect in a string of as many as 10 robberies and attempted robberies of Chicago banks, dating to February of this year. He had been dubbed the “Double Dip Bandit” as he routinely robbed the same bank twice or more.

RILEY is being held at the Cook County Jail in Chicago on state drug charges. He is expected to appear in U.S. District Court in Chicago on the bank robbery charge at some time in the future. If convicted of the charge filed against him, RILEY faces a possible sentence of up to twenty (20) years’ incarceration.

This case was investigated by the Chicago FBI’s Violent Crimes Task Force, which is comprised of FBI special agents, detectives from the Chicago Police Department, and investigators from the Cook County Sheriff’s Police.

Additional information about this and other recent Chicago area bank robberies, including downloadable photographs, is available at the Bandit Tracker website, www.bandittrackerchicago.com.

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: Copies of the criminal complaint filed in this case are available from the Chicago FBI’s press office at (312) 829-1199.