Fake-Beard Wearing Bank Robbery Suspect Arrested: MCPO

PARSIPPANY, NJ — A man who is accused of robbed a bank while wearing a fake beard has been arrested, Morris County Prosecutor Fredric M. Knapp said.

Philip N. McGrantham, 69, of Little Falls, was arrested on Monday following the Sept. 26 bank robbery in Pequannock. He is accused of entering the Route 23 Wells Fargo bank and demanding cash. After the teller handed over the bills, he fled.

Police say that before entering the Wells Fargo, McGrantham called in a fake 911 report to distract police away from the bank. A spokesperson for the prosecutor's office did not know if the fake 911 call was the same as the false alarm reported at the Riverdale Target that same day.

McGrantham is also accused of robbing a T.D. Bank in nearby Wayne on Monday. It's not clear how much money McGrantham is accused of stealing in either robbery.

McGrantham was charged with 1st degree robbery and 4th degree theft in connection to the Wayne robbery, and with robbery and creating false public alarm for the Pequannock incident.

He is being lodged in the Passaic County Jail.