March 9, 2015

Essex County, New Jersey Man Admits Bloomfield, New Jersey Bank Robbery

NEWARK, NJ—An Essex County, New Jersey, man today admitted robbing the PNC Bank in Bloomfield, New Jersey, in June 2014, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

Kenneth Grant, 47, of East Orange, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Esther Salas in Newark federal court to an indictment charging him with one count of bank robbery.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

On June 13, 2014, Grant entered the PNC Bank in Bloomfield and wrote: “I HAVE GUN 100, 20, 50 NO DIE (sic) PACKS” on the back of a deposit slip. Grant handed the note to a teller, demanded money, and told her not to trigger an alarm or he would shoot her. The teller gave Grant money, and he fled the bank.

The bank robbery charge carries a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine or twice the gain to the defendant or loss to any victims. Sentencing is scheduled for June 15, 2015.

U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Richard M. Frankel in Newark; and officers of the Bloomfield Police Department, under the direction of Chief Randy Foster, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney David W. Feder of the U.S. Attorney’s Office General Crimes Unit in Newark.