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Serial Bank Robber Who Struck In Westchester Nabbed

A serial bank robber from the Bronx who struck in Scarsdale and New Jersey this month and earlier in Mount Kisco was about to hit an Englewood, N.J., bank on Friday when police arrested him, authorities said Saturday.

Eddy Cruz

Eddy Cruz

Photo Credit: Bergen County Sheriff

Members of a special Robbery Task Force who’d been watching him moved in as Eddy Cruz parked his red 2017 Mitsubishi Mirage near the Demarest Avenue TD Bank just before noon, Fort Lee, N.J. Police Chief Keith Bendul said.

Cruz, 41, was later taken to Bergen Regional Medical Center for a medical screening before being committed to the Bergen County Jail pending a first court appearance. The Mitsubishi was impounded.

Cruz was charged a little over two years ago with robbing PNC Bank branches in Englewood Cliffs, Northvale and Mount Kisco, as well as in Jackson Township in Ocean County.

Authorities said Cruz passed a note at each that said: “This is a robbery, give me all you have, no dyes no money packs.”

The outcome of those cases couldn’t be immediately determined Saturday morning.

The recent series of bank robberies began just after noon Feb. 10 at a TD branch on Central Park Avenue in Scarsdale, authorities said. The robber passed a note demanding money and fled with an undisclosed amount of cash.

Three days later, the same robber using the same routine held up the TD branch on Palisade Avenue in Fort Lee.

The third robbery occurred around 1:30 p.m. last Saturday at the TD branch on Boulevard in Hasbrouck Heights.

The task force was comprised of members of the FBI, the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, the NYPD, and police departments in Fort Lee, Englewood, Hasbrouck Heights, Paramus, Greenburgh, Mount Pleasant, Yonkers and Roxbury,

Cruz, of Saint Nicholas Place, faces a host of robbery charges in various jurisdictions.

Bendul praised the officers on the Robbery Task Force for their “dedication and professionalism.”

“This is a great example of local, county and federal interagency cooperation in identifying and arresting a dangerous criminal,” Bendul said. “Law enforcement officers in New York and New Jersey worked tirelessly to make our region safer.”

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