Man Arrested On Suspicion Of Robbing 22 AZ Banks

MESA, AZ — The FBI has finally identified and arrested a man on suspicion of robbing more than 20 Arizona banks over the past 10 months. Most of the banks were in the Phoenix metro area, but two of them were in Tucson, according to the FBI.

Richard Zumbro, 44, was arrested Monday right after being accused of robbing a U.S. Bank in Mesa that day, the FBI said in a news release.

Zumbro is charged in the United States District Court of Arizona on suspicion of bank robbery, according to court documents.

Law enforcement officials accuse Zumbro of robbing 23 banks inside of grocery stores across the Phoenix metro area by passing a demand note to the teller. The first robbery he's accused of perpetrating was on Dec. 30, 2020 at a U.S. Bank inside of a Fry's grocery store in Tempe with the most recent on Monday at a U.S. Bank inside a Safeway in Mesa. No one was injured in any of the robberies, according to the FBI.

He's accused of robbing banks in Tempe, Phoenix, Chandler, Gilbert, Maricopa, Surprise and Tucson, according to the FBI.

The Tucson robberies Zumbro is accused of perpetrating happened Oct. 1 at the U.S. Bank inside the Safeway grocery store on North Silverbell Road and on Oct. 9 at the U.S. Bank inside the Safeway on North Oracle Road.

In March, the FBI released surveillance camera photos of the suspected bank robber, asking the public for help in identifying him. At that time there had been 13 robberies.