Aug 28, 2007 9:39 am US/Eastern
Man: I'm The 'Mad Hatter' Bandit
Will Plead Guilty To Bank Robbery
PATERSON, N.J. (CBS/AP) ―
James G. Madison says it's true: He is the serial bank robber known as the "Mad Hatter" and will plead guilty to some, if not all of the 18 robberies that took place between September and July 23.
In a jailhouse interview published in Tuesday in The Star-Ledger of Newark, Madison said there were "mitigating circumstances" surrounding the 10-month spree.
"But I'm not saying I'm some Robin Hood," he told the newspaper "I'm not."
Madison is charged with just one robbery: the July 22 robbery of a Bank of America branch inside a supermarket in Union Township.
But authorities say the nondescript robber, who worked wearing various hats, was responsible for 18 robberies and took about $60,000.
The Mad Hatter robberies began about a month after Madison was released from a halfway house after serving nearly 20 years in prison for the bludgeoning death of a girlfriend.
He said that upon release he found a $42,000-a-year job as a machinist.
"I thought, that's not bad, right? That was good money when I went in. But that was 20 years ago," he said.
Then came a lesson in inflation.
"My rent was like $690 a month, car insurance, other bills. There's not much left," he said. "I'm not saying that's an excuse."
Madison said he did not gamble, drink or use drugs and that he wanted to stop his crime spree. He told the Star-Ledger he never had a weapon with him and never intended to hurt anyone.
After his arrest, he gave jailhouse interviews in which he denied being the robber -- and wearing hats.
In late July, before the Bank of America heist, he said, his girlfriend's car needed repair and the rent was late.
Still, he said, he didn't intend to rob when he went to the bank that Sunday morning.
"I was going to transfer money from one account to another. I had the slips filled out," he said.
What happened next?
"You know," he said.
Since his arrest, he said, his girlfriend has lost the Maplewood apartment they shared and her job and his son has claimed not to know him.
His church, he said, is worried about having to give back money he gave it.
The Associated Press reported Monday that Madison would plead guilty on Wednesday, citing two officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the case.
(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
