Swansea Man Pleads Guilty to Five ‘Note Job’ Bank Robberies

PROVIDENCE, RI—Scott Niemic, 36, of Swansea, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Providence on October 9, 2013, to committing five “note job” bank robberies, announced 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. A note job bank robbery occurs when a note demanding money is passed or an oral demand is made but no weapon is shown.

Appearing before U.S. District Court Judge William E. Smith, Niemic pleaded guilty to five counts of bank robbery, admitting to the court that in a span of 26 days between March 22 and April 16, 2012, he robbed four banks in Massachusetts and one bank in Rhode Island.

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, he verbally told bank employees 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.

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, 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 excise taxes paid for a motor vehicle registered 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. After locating the vehicle at the defendant’s residence on April 4, 2012, 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.

According to information presented to the court, 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 Rte. 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. From Niemic’s vehicle, investigators recovered nearly $8,100 in cash.

Niemic is scheduled to be sentenced on January 10, 2014. At sentencing, Niemic faces statutory penalties on each charge of bank robbery of up to 20 years’ imprisonment; a fine of $250,000 fine; and three years’ supervised release.

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

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