Suspect in bank robberies pleads guilty
A Dunmore man charged with robbing 14 banks in four Northeast Pennsylvania counties over the course of two years pleaded guilty to the offenses Tuesday in federal court.
William Fischer, 46, of 318 Ward St., pleaded guilty to two counts of bank robbery, 12 counts of armed bank robbery and one count of brandishing a firearm in commission of a crime of violence. He faces a possible life sentence and $3.7 million in fines.
Fischer’s robbery spree started on Dec. 1, 2015, when he robbed the NBT Bank in Elmhurst Township., Lackawanna County, according to court documents.
Police arrested Fischer in September after a heist at the People’s Security Bank in Lehigh Township., Wayne County.
Fischer robbed a dozen other banks across Lackawanna, Wayne, Luzerne and Monroe counties. During each robbery, Fischer hid his face, wore a hat and a hood, covered his hands and brought his own bag. He usually carried a gun and appeared to wear a bulletproof vest. He used similar language when demanding money, including requesting multiple cash drawers from tellers.
Police finally caught Fischer after surveillance footage from People’s Security and a nearby home showed the robber fleeing in a red Hyundai Elantra missing its license plate.
A state trooper spotted the car and pulled it over in Gouldsboro, about nine miles from the bank. Fischer was driving and told troopers he had loaded guns in the trunk.
Later, troopers searched the car and found a black handgun, military-style semi-automatic rifle and body armor, among other things.
Fischer stole close to $204,000 over the course of the robberies, according to charging papers. Since January 2015, he used an ATM to make about $140,000 in cash deposits into a bank account, investigators learned. They also discovered he deposited cash into slot machines at Mohegan Sun Pocono in Plains Twp. without playing and obtained $2,000 worth of vouchers.
Fischer is being held in prison while awaiting sentencing; court records did not indicate when Fischer will be sentenced.
