'Broadway Bandit' Convicted In 2017 Bank Robbery Spree, Feds Say

HARLEM, NY — A Harlem man who robbed five banks in one month is facing time in federal prison, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York announced.

Jaime Frierson, 47, was found guilty of three counts of robbery and two counts of attempted robbery in connection with his August 2017 robbery spree, federal prosecutors said. The robber — who was dubbed the "Broadway Bandit" by law enforcement — could face a maximum of 20 years for each count, federal prosecutors said.

Each bank that Frierson robbed was located on Broadway, which earned him his criminal alias. Frierson's robbery spree began on Aug. 16 and ended when he was arrested on Aug. 31, federal prosecutors said. An FBI agent used video surveillance from one of the robberies and records from the Taxi and Limousine Comission to track Frierson's movements back to the Harlem hotel where he was living.

During bank robberies Frierson would pass notes to tellers claiming that he had a gun and would murder bank employees if he didn't get cash, federal prosecutors said.

"Jaime Frierson went on a one-man crime spree, brazenly attempting to rob five Manhattan banks in broad daylight in less than two weeks. Frierson threatened the lives of bank tellers to get away with thousands of dollars in cash, endangering the safety of New Yorkers and traumatizing bank employees," U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said in a statement.

Photo by NYPD