Americas

Notorious bank robber arrested in Los Angeles

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-06-07 02:26

A man alleged to be one of the most successful bank robbers in Southern California in recent years was arrested when he attempted a getaway from a bank, police said Wednesday.

The arrest of Alan Freibaum, 55, ended a string of robberies in the Los Angeles area by the "Irreconcilable Differences" bandit, so named by the FBI because he allegedly told a bank teller during his first robbery that he was going through a divorce, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Freibaum was suspected responsible for 17 bank robberies in four Southern California counties during a period of more than six months, with several robberies occurring on the same day.

He was arrested in a nearby parking structure shortly after noon Tuesday as he fled a Wells Fargo bank in Glendale near Los Angeles, said the FBI and local police.

Long known as the bank robbery capital of the world, the Los Angeles region has seen a steady decline since the staggering rates of the early 1990s. The region recorded more than 2,600 bank robberies in 1992, an average of one every hour of every business banking day.

Although Freibaumhe repeatedly told bank employees that he was armed, only one teller reported actually seeing a weapon. However, the FBI spokeswoman said the robber often carried a black pouch that the authorities believed may have carried a firearm.