Tel Aviv police have been frustrated so far in their attempts capture a blonde, blue-eyed bank robber who rides a red Suzuki motorcycle and has relieved more than a score of banks in the metropolitan area $150,000 during the past year.
The cops are worried because the public seems to be rooting for the bandit, who fires gun but has hurt no one so far.
For some reason, they see in him the traits of Robin Hood, the legendary English out though he has not shared his loot with the poor.
The latest heist, the 21st, occurred Sunday. The Bank Hapoalim branch in Ramat Gan has about $2,000 less in its till.
His modus operandi never changes. The thief parks his bike on the sidewalk, enters the bank wearing a black helmet that covers most of his face, and hands a plastic bag to the teller with orders to fill it up.
Before leaving, he fires a single shot into the ceiling from a silver-plated, long-barrel, .38 caliber Smith and Wesson revolver.
According to the latest teller robbed, the bandit was neatly dressed in a blue jacket blue jeans. What she noticed most was his “beautiful blonde hair and blue eyes.”
When the bank alarm sounded Sunday, the police sealed off every road in the area, creating massive traffic jams.
All was in vain. The bank robber eluded them for the 21st time.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.