A Tel Aviv District Court judge pronounced a 20-year prison sentence Monday on confessed bank robber Ronnie Leibovitz, whose debonair style and daring motorcycle getaways made him a folk hero here.
Leibovitz, scion of a well-to-do family, confessed to having robbed 22 banks in the Tel Aviv area at gunpoint in the course of a year before police finally caught up with him.
His take in the daring robberies was some $150,000, all of which he reportedly returned to the banks.
But Judge Victoria Ostrovsky-Cohen slapped Leibovitz with the maximum sentence for armed robbery. She blamed a sensation-mongering news media for tagging the masked bandit with the reputation of a “Robin Hood,” which earned him undeserved public sympathy.
“This Robin Hood acted out of personal greed and put his ill-gotten gains in his own pocket,” the judge said.
Leibovitz admitted he robbed banks to sustain an expensive lifestyle and finance the construction of a luxury villa in one of Tel Aviv’s affluent neighborhoods.
Leibovitz’ mask-cum-motorbike getup has become a favorite Purim costume for children this week.
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.
