Carl Gugasian
Encyclopedia
Carl Gugasian is an American
prisoner who is currently serving a seventeen year sentence for robbery. Known as "The Friday Night Bank Robber", he is perhaps the most prolific of such criminals in US history, having robbed more than fifty banks over a thirty year period, for a total of more than $2 million.
, to Armenian
immigrant parents. At the age of fifteen, he was shot while attempting to rob a candy store and was sent to the State Youth Facility in Camp Hill for eighteen months. On his release in 1964, rather than attempting to live a normal life, he took deliberate steps not only to continue with a life of crime, but to excel in it. This decision was, in all likelihood, the result of a misunderstanding: FBI
agent Ray Carr remarks, "He didn’t know that juvenile records get expunged. He thought he’d never be able to get a real job."
In 1971, while studying for bachelor's degree
in electrical engineering at Villanova University
, he enrolled in the ROTC
, a college-based military recruitment program designed to produce officers for the US armed forces. After graduation, he served in the US Army
at Fort Bragg
and received special-forces and tactical weapons training. Following his stint in the military, he returned to college, earning a master's degree
in systems analysis from the University of Pennsylvania
, followed by doctoral
work in statistics and probabilities at Pennsylvania State University
.After his graduation Gugasian began to plan out mock robberies in his spare time. On eight separate occasions he was planning to commit his first bank robbery, however he repeatedly backed down before entering the bank. Eventually he committed his first offence using a stolen car as his getaway.
and street map
s in the library, searching specifically for banks in small towns, close to wooded areas, on the other side of which was a road with easy access to a freeway. He would further narrow the search by selecting banks with late closing times in the autumn and winter months, so that the darkness would cover his escape. He would then create a cache to stash any evidence connecting him to the crime (including the money) immediately after the robbery. He would later return to retrieve the stuff once the heat is off in a few days. Once a location was selected, he would observe the bank from the cover of the woods for several days, noting the habits of the employees, then on a Friday night, a few minutes before closing time, he would strike, under the assumption that his timing would both minimize the number of customers at the bank while maximizing the amount of available cash to steal.
For the robbery itself he would don a gruesome face mask
, typically resembling a character from a horror film
, that he had modified in order to make it look as threatening as possible and also to fit his face snugly so as to hide the color of his skin. He would then dress in bulky clothes in order to hide his true build and, brandishing a pistol
, he would burst into the bank moving quickly and crab-like so as to make assessments of his height and build difficult to ascertain. Once he reached the counter, he would vault it in a standing jump, landing on the other side with a loud crash, terrifying the staff and customers, then he would stuff as much money as he could find into his bag and leave quickly, the entire process taking less than two minutes.
Once outside the bank, he would run into the well-scouted woods, where a dirt bike
was waiting, stash the evidence in his cache, then ride the bike a few miles through the woods to an anonymous-looking panel van
waiting on the other side. He would load the bike into the back of the van and drive onto the freeway in order to complete his escape, ensuring that he would be miles away from the scene of the crime before the police would be able to get any fix on his getaway route.
Gugasian did resort to violence at least one time in his long career of robbing banks. He shot a Bank Manager in the abdomen upon entering the bank after the startled Manager reacted to Gugasian by leaning his body forward toward him. The Bank Manager later recovered from his gunshot wound.
. This find enabled police to construct a more accurate profile and, after questioning local residents, they had a list of names, which eventually led to Gugasian's arrest.
Once arrested, Gugasian proved to be just as meticulous in providing help to the police in closing the book on all his unsolved crimes as he had been in robbing the banks, which resulted in a reduction of his initial 115-year sentence down to seventeen years. He is currently serving his time at the Federal Correctional Institution at Fairton, New Jersey
, where he teaches calculus
to other inmates. He is due to be released in the summer of 2021, by which time he will be 73 years old.
On July 26, 2007, Gugasian became the suspect in an unsolved bank robbery that had occurred in Susquehanna Township
, Pennsylvania
, more than 26 years earlier. At the time of that robbery, Sergeant Robert "Bo" McCallister had responded to the bank's alarm and confronted the robber at the scene, who then fled. McCallister gave chase, but was shot and seriously injured and the robber managed to escape. Lt. Richard Pastucka visited Gugasian at the prison where he is being held and questioned him about the crime, but a confession was not forthcoming.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
prisoner who is currently serving a seventeen year sentence for robbery. Known as "The Friday Night Bank Robber", he is perhaps the most prolific of such criminals in US history, having robbed more than fifty banks over a thirty year period, for a total of more than $2 million.
Background
Gugasian was born on October 12, 1947 in Broomall, PennsylvaniaBroomall, Pennsylvania
Broomall is a census-designated place in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 11,046 at the 2000 census. The community was named after John Martin Broomall, a 19th century U.S...
, to Armenian
Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
immigrant parents. At the age of fifteen, he was shot while attempting to rob a candy store and was sent to the State Youth Facility in Camp Hill for eighteen months. On his release in 1964, rather than attempting to live a normal life, he took deliberate steps not only to continue with a life of crime, but to excel in it. This decision was, in all likelihood, the result of a misunderstanding: FBI
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
agent Ray Carr remarks, "He didn’t know that juvenile records get expunged. He thought he’d never be able to get a real job."
In 1971, while studying for bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in electrical engineering at Villanova University
Villanova University
Villanova University is a private university located in Radnor Township, a suburb northwest of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States...
, he enrolled in the ROTC
Reserve Officers' Training Corps
The Reserve Officers' Training Corps is a college-based, officer commissioning program, predominantly in the United States. It is designed as a college elective that focuses on leadership development, problem solving, strategic planning, and professional ethics.The U.S...
, a college-based military recruitment program designed to produce officers for the US armed forces. After graduation, he served in the US Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
at Fort Bragg
Fort Bragg, North Carolina
Fort Bragg is a major United States Army installation, in Cumberland and Hoke counties, North Carolina, U.S., mostly in Fayetteville but also partly in the town of Spring Lake. It was also a census-designated place in the 2010 census and had a population of 39,457. The fort is named for Confederate...
and received special-forces and tactical weapons training. Following his stint in the military, he returned to college, earning a master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in systems analysis from the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
, followed by doctoral
Doctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
work in statistics and probabilities at Pennsylvania State University
Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University, commonly referred to as Penn State or PSU, is a public research university with campuses and facilities throughout the state of Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1855, the university has a threefold mission of teaching, research, and public service...
.After his graduation Gugasian began to plan out mock robberies in his spare time. On eight separate occasions he was planning to commit his first bank robbery, however he repeatedly backed down before entering the bank. Eventually he committed his first offence using a stolen car as his getaway.
Bank robberies
Gugasian is notable for the meticulous way in which he planned and executed his robberies. He would begin by scouting for a bank in a particular location by studying topographicalTopographic map
A topographic map is a type of map characterized by large-scale detail and quantitative representation of relief, usually using contour lines in modern mapping, but historically using a variety of methods. Traditional definitions require a topographic map to show both natural and man-made features...
and street map
Street map
A street map is a map showing roads and streets in a district or entire city. Street maps are great tools for navigating cities, towns or communities. They are available in printed forms, online on the Internet or on mobile phones with GPRS connection....
s in the library, searching specifically for banks in small towns, close to wooded areas, on the other side of which was a road with easy access to a freeway. He would further narrow the search by selecting banks with late closing times in the autumn and winter months, so that the darkness would cover his escape. He would then create a cache to stash any evidence connecting him to the crime (including the money) immediately after the robbery. He would later return to retrieve the stuff once the heat is off in a few days. Once a location was selected, he would observe the bank from the cover of the woods for several days, noting the habits of the employees, then on a Friday night, a few minutes before closing time, he would strike, under the assumption that his timing would both minimize the number of customers at the bank while maximizing the amount of available cash to steal.
For the robbery itself he would don a gruesome face mask
Mask
A mask is an article normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance or entertainment. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practical purposes...
, typically resembling a character from a horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
, that he had modified in order to make it look as threatening as possible and also to fit his face snugly so as to hide the color of his skin. He would then dress in bulky clothes in order to hide his true build and, brandishing a pistol
Pistol
When distinguished as a subset of handguns, a pistol is a handgun with a chamber that is integral with the barrel, as opposed to a revolver, wherein the chamber is separate from the barrel as a revolving cylinder. Typically, pistols have an effective range of about 100 feet.-History:The pistol...
, he would burst into the bank moving quickly and crab-like so as to make assessments of his height and build difficult to ascertain. Once he reached the counter, he would vault it in a standing jump, landing on the other side with a loud crash, terrifying the staff and customers, then he would stuff as much money as he could find into his bag and leave quickly, the entire process taking less than two minutes.
Once outside the bank, he would run into the well-scouted woods, where a dirt bike
BMX
Bicycle motocross or BMX refers to the sport in which the main goal is extreme racing on bicycles in motocross style on tracks with inline start and expressive obstacles, and it is also the term that refers to the bicycle itself that is designed for dirt and motocross cycling.- History :BMX started...
was waiting, stash the evidence in his cache, then ride the bike a few miles through the woods to an anonymous-looking panel van
Panel truck
A panel truck is a windowless cargo van built on a truck chassis.Similar in function to its smaller cousin, the sedan delivery; which is a station wagon with no backseat, and no side windows aft of the front doors...
waiting on the other side. He would load the bike into the back of the van and drive onto the freeway in order to complete his escape, ensuring that he would be miles away from the scene of the crime before the police would be able to get any fix on his getaway route.
Gugasian did resort to violence at least one time in his long career of robbing banks. He shot a Bank Manager in the abdomen upon entering the bank after the startled Manager reacted to Gugasian by leaning his body forward toward him. The Bank Manager later recovered from his gunshot wound.
Capture and incarceration
In the end, despite his meticulous planning and execution, it was a simple case of bad luck that led the police to Gugasian's home. He had hidden all the details and equipment for his robberies, his maps, face masks, survival rations, weapons and ammunition in a concrete drainage pipe, sealed inside individual PVC pipes, which were found by two young teenage boys who were playing in the woods near their home in Radnor, PennsylvaniaRadnor Township, Pennsylvania
Radnor Township is a township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2000 census, the township population was 30,878. Radnor Township lies along the Main Line, a collection of highly affluent Philadelphia suburbs....
. This find enabled police to construct a more accurate profile and, after questioning local residents, they had a list of names, which eventually led to Gugasian's arrest.
Once arrested, Gugasian proved to be just as meticulous in providing help to the police in closing the book on all his unsolved crimes as he had been in robbing the banks, which resulted in a reduction of his initial 115-year sentence down to seventeen years. He is currently serving his time at the Federal Correctional Institution at Fairton, New Jersey
Fairton, New Jersey
Fairton is a census-designated place and unincorporated area located within Fairfield Township, in Cumberland County, New Jersey. It is part of the Vineland-Milleville- Bridgeton Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area for statistical purposes...
, where he teaches calculus
Calculus
Calculus is a branch of mathematics focused on limits, functions, derivatives, integrals, and infinite series. This subject constitutes a major part of modern mathematics education. It has two major branches, differential calculus and integral calculus, which are related by the fundamental theorem...
to other inmates. He is due to be released in the summer of 2021, by which time he will be 73 years old.
On July 26, 2007, Gugasian became the suspect in an unsolved bank robbery that had occurred in Susquehanna Township
Susquehanna Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania
Susquehanna Township is a township in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 24,036 at the 2010 census. This represents a 9.8% increase from the 2000 census count of 21,895. Susquehanna Township has the postal ZIP codes 17109 and 17110, which maintain the Harrisburg place...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, more than 26 years earlier. At the time of that robbery, Sergeant Robert "Bo" McCallister had responded to the bank's alarm and confronted the robber at the scene, who then fled. McCallister gave chase, but was shot and seriously injured and the robber managed to escape. Lt. Richard Pastucka visited Gugasian at the prison where he is being held and questioned him about the crime, but a confession was not forthcoming.
External links
- The Professional: America’s Greatest Bank Robber - article from Stuff magazine