Suffolk Bank Robber Gets 3 To 6 Years In Prison

RIVERSIDE, NY — A 66-year-old Middle Island man was sentenced in a Riverside courtroom Friday to three to six years in prison for robbing an M&T Bank in Centereach of nearly three grand, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said.

Back in January, Ralph Dominguez went inside M&T Bank in Centereach and handed the teller a note demanding money in various denominations, and while handing the teller the note, he simultaneously placed his hand in his jacket, seeming to suggest that he was armed with a gun, prosecutors said.

The note demanded that when the teller was done handing over the money, to turn around and count to 50 so that no one would get hurt, prosecutors said, adding that the teller complied with the demand and put $2,770 in a bank deposit bag and handed it to Dominguez.

Dominguez then fled the bank but was apprehended by Suffolk police shortly after, prosecutors said. During his arrest, law
enforcement recovered the bank deposit bag containing the money from Dominguez’s person, according to prosecutors.

Tierney said Dominguez "thought he could make a quick buck by threatening bank employees with harm if his demands were not met."

“I commend the swift response from the Suffolk County Police Department, who apprehended this defendant while he was fleeing, and recovered the money stolen during the robbery," he added.

Dominguez pleaded guilty to third-degree robbery, a felony, in July.

Patch has reached out to his attorney, Michael Elbert of Melville, for comment.