Rochester Man Sentenced On Bank Robbery Charge

CONTACT:      Barbara Burns
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ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Claude Taylor, 38, of Rochester, NY, who was convicted of robbing the Lexington Federal Credit Union, at 1275 Lexington Avenue in Rochester, was sentenced to 40 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford.

Assistant U.S. Charles E. Moynihan, who handled the prosecution of the case, stated that on May 5, 2016, Taylor entered the Lexington Federal Credit Union, waited in line and then passed a hand written note to a bank teller. The note, which was written on an envelope, demanded that the teller turn over $5,000. The defendant yelled, ordering the teller to “do it fast.”  Taylor also ordered a neighboring teller not to interfere. The bank teller turned over money, and Taylor ran from the bank. Subsequent investigation identified the defendant, and on May 22, 2017, Taylor was arrested by law enforcement officers. 

The sentencing is the culmination of an investigation on the part of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Adam S. Cohen; the United States Marshal’s Service, under the direction of Marshal Charles Salina; and the Rochester Police Department, under the direction of Chief Michael Ciminelli.