West New York, New Jersey Man Sentenced to 63 Months in Prison for Bank Robberies
| U.S. Attorney’s Office September 29, 2011 |
NEWARK, NJ—A West New York, N.J., man was sentenced today to 63 months in prison for robbing four banks between Sept. 9 and Dec. 14, 2010, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Victor Vazquez, 63, previously pleaded guilty to an information charging him with four counts of bank robbery, admitting he robbed banks in Bergen and Hudson Counties. Vazquez entered his guilty plea before U.S. District Judge Jose L. Linares, who also imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court, Vazquez admitted to robbing or attempting to rob the following banks:
| Count | Date | Bank Location |
| 1 | Sept. 9, 2010 | Valley National Bank 111 Hackensack Avenue, Hackensack, N.J. |
| 2 | Dec.3, 2010 | Oritani Bank 311 Fairview Avenue, Fairview, N.J. |
| 3 | Dec. 14, 2010 | TD Bank 4312 Bergenline Avenue, Union City, N.J. |
| 4 | Dec.14, 2010 | GSL Savings Bank 6823 Bergenline Avenue, Guttenberg, N.J. |
Vazquez disguised himself by wearing a hat and makeup, such as a fake moustache and beard, during the robberies. During each of the robberies, he would enter the bank and demand money from the tellers, either verbally or using a note. During each of the robberies Vazquez gestured toward a small pipe hidden in the sleeve of his jacket that appeared to be a weapon.
On Dec.14, 2010, Vazquez was arrested in North Bergen while driving a vehicle that witnesses identified as being used following the attempted robbery of the TD Bank in Union City earlier the same day. Inside the vehicle, officers found the makeup and baseball hat that Vazquez had used in the robberies, as well as the money that Vazquez had stolen from the GSL Savings bank earlier that day.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Linares sentenced Vazquez to three years of supervised release and ordered him to pay full restitution to the banks.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael B. Ward in Newark, along with the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, the North Bergen Police Department, the Union City Police Department, the Fairview Police Department and the Hackensack Police Department for the work leading to the identification and apprehension of the defendant.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam N. Subervi of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.
Defense counsel: Patrick McMahon Esq., Assistant Federal Public Defender, Newark