The “Burberry Bandit” has struck once more — busted in 5 extra financial institution heists this week after a decade of heists — however was rapidly sprung by a infamous New York Metropolis decide who shouldn’t have been presiding over the case within the first place, The Submit has discovered.
Cornell Neilly, 35, earned his moniker due to his previous fondness for sporting dapper plaid duds throughout his capers at NYC and upstate banks.
He was busted but once more Monday for allegedly hitting 5 banks between Aug. 16 and Sept. 13, from Greenwich Village to Central Park South, police stated. He used notes that demanded money in every case.
However Choose Jeffrey Gershuny — a 2019 appointee of former Mayor Invoice de Blasio — ignored prosecutors’ request for $50,000 money bail or $150,000 bond – and let him go on supervised launch. This regardless of Neilly being on parole and having 34 prior financial institution theft arrests.
“The truth that the bail. . . was declined by this decide is negligent on the decide’s half,” stated an NYPD officer who requested to stay nameless. “It exhibits an actual lack of look after public security.
“At what level does he maintain getting out and will get determined and brings a gun to a theft as a substitute of a notice and kills anyone?”
Gershuny shouldn’t have been able to make the choice in any respect.
The 49-year-old jurist was demoted to listening to solely misdemeanor circumstances after the Submit revealed in August that he had whipped out his personal gun on the bench throughout a listening to in a weapons case in Brooklyn Felony Courtroom.
Within the weird courtroom incident, the decide requested a cop on the stand to show how he might have recognized a suspect was hiding a gun in a bag, because the jurist pulled out his personal weapon for an unscripted demonstration.
Because of this, he had his pay slashed and was moved to evening court docket in Manhattan Felony Courtroom, regulation enforcement sources stated.
A police supply with greater than 20 years on the job stated Gershuny is “delicate on crime. Anytime the DA asks for lots of bail this man lets them go. He ought to be faraway from the bench.”
The Submit’s query about why the decide wound up listening to a felony financial institution theft case went unanswered by Al Baker, director of communications on the NYS Workplace of Courtroom Administration, who additionally refused to touch upon Neilly’s launch.
“The court docket system doesn’t touch upon particular person bail determinations, whether or not in Felony Courtroom or in Superior Courtroom,” Baker stated, including, “the overwhelming majority of bail selections activate the court docket’s discretionary weighing of a broad vary of things” to find out “the defendant’s danger of flight…”
Neilly’s return to knocking off banks began round 11 a.m. on Aug. 16 on the Chase Financial institution at twenty seventh Road and Seventh Avenue in Midtown, cops stated.
This time, he was captured on surveillance wanting downright pedestrian in a black baseball cap and black hoodie with “all types of random phrases and symbols on it,” a police supply stated.
Neilly allegedly handed the teller a notice that stated “This can be a theft. I need $3,500 now.” The teller handed him $1,000, in response to a felony grievance.
He requested for a similar quantity on Aug. 25 on the Chase Financial institution on Park Avenue and East twenty sixth Road in Midtown and walked out with $716, cops stated. This time, he was sporting a black baseball cap and white T-shirt, police sources stated.
On Sept. 9, he walked right into a Chase Financial institution in Midtown sporting an analogous outfit and handed a teller a notice demanding much more cash: “This can be a theft. Give me $4,500 money,” in response to the felony grievance. He took off empty handed after the teller hit the alarm.
Three days later, at 9:30 a.m., he walked into the Chase Financial institution on West Fourth Road within the West Village and allegedly handed a teller a notice demanding $3,500. This time, he was sporting a white T-shirt and a Baltimore Orioles cap, police sources stated.
The following day, round 1 p.m., he strolled right into a Chelsea Chase Financial institution sporting a grey sweatsuit and the Orioles cap and handed the teller a notice that learn: “This can be a theft. I need all giant payments. Now. That is actual.” The teller hit the financial institution’s silent alarm and Neilly fled empty handed.
He was arrested by the NYPD on Monday at his grandmother’s house on the Higher West Facet, and charged with 5 counts of felony theft, cops stated.
He was hit with state expenses as a substitute of federal financial institution theft expenses as a result of he used no weapon and made off with lower than $2,000.
Neilly was caught on financial institution surveillance cameras donning the designer Burberry duds for 2 of 14 alleged heists throughout a sample that began in April 2012 and stretched from Harlem to Battery Park, netting him greater than $8,500, police sources stated.
He was slapped with 26 months behind bars and 5 years of supervised launch after pleading responsible in 2021 to a single financial institution theft cost for a caper that netted him $7,600.
He was let loose on supervised launch — so was anticipated to verify in with a case supervisor — in Could 2024 and is on federal probation till Could 6, 2027, state data present.
Neilly has additionally been arrested for allegedly slinging dope, cops stated.
Police noticed him taking cash in trade for a small bundle on Could 23 and located 40 OxyContin tablets, seven luggage of crack cocaine and one baggie of velocity on him, in response to a felony grievance from town’s Particular Narcotics Prosecutors Workplace. That adopted a Jan. 8 arrest for promoting coke to an undercover cop six totally different occasions.
Neilly’s court docket appointed protection lawyer didn’t return a message searching for remark Friday.
