Sep 11, 2007 5:19 pm US/Eastern
'Hat Bandit' Suspect Admits To 18 Bank Robberies
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) ―
A paroled killer on Tuesday admitted he was the elusive hat-wearing bandit responsible for 18 bank robberies in New Jersey over a 10-month period beginning last September.
James G. Madison, 50, pleaded guilty in federal court to six of the robberies and acknowledged committing the others. The man dubbed the "Hat Bandit" or "Mad Hatter" committed all while wearing a succession of headgear that was mostly baseball caps, but also included some ski caps and a "blue fisherman's hat."
No one was injured during the string of robberies, which ended in July after a bank teller spotted the license plate on a getaway car. But Madison admitted that two of the notes he passed to tellers asserted he had a gun.
No gun was ever displayed, but bank robbery is a violent and terroristic crime, said the ranking FBI agent in New Jersey, Weysan Dun.
"It victimizes the bank employees and the citizens of the community," Dun said after Madison's plea hearing.
The 19 crimes, which included an attempted robbery, represented almost 16 percent of the 120 bank jobs committed in New Jersey during the 10 months, Dun said.
U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie said the media should avoid "mythologizing" criminals by giving them nicknames.
"He is simply a thug who decided he didn't want to work for all the money he needed," Christie said. "I think he was playing into the image."
The plea came nearly two weeks after Madison appeared in court but surprised spectators by declining a plea bargain, telling the judge, "I do not wish to go through with it."
U.S. District Judge Jose L. Linares scheduled sentencing for Dec. 18. Each bank robbery count carries up to 20 years in prison.
Christie said sentencing guidelines suggest a sentence of about nine years for Madison, but that prosecutors would seek a sentence of about 11 years. Unlike state terms, there is no parole eligibility with federal sentences.
Clad in green prison togs and shackled at the wrists and ankles, Madison stood and answered a 40-minute series of questions from Linares, but gave no indication of his motivation.
Linares also received several assurances from Madison that he really was prepared to plead guilty. At one point, the judge asked if one reason the first effort failed was because of concern about acknowledging all the robberies. Madison responded, "That was one of the issues."
Six bank robbery counts would ensure that Madison could be considered for the harshest penalty; additional bank robbery counts would not bring more prison time.
The robberies started in September 2006 and targeted banks in Essex, Middlesex, Morris and Union counties, not far from his home in Maplewood.
Tuesday's plea was witnessed by about two dozen reporters, along with Madison's pastor, the Rev. Ronald B. Christian of the Christian Love Baptist Church in Irvington.
"Sometimes good people do bad things," Christian said afterward. "He appears to be very remorseful."
Christian said he spoke with Madison after the aborted plea, but declined to speak about the conversation or what drove Madison to commit the crimes.
"I think his side of the story is going to come out," Christian said.
Madison has been held without bail at the Passaic County Jail since his arrest July 23, which came a day he robbed a bank in Union Township.
That robbery led to the break that authorities had failed to get with wanted posters and surveillance tapes: A teller wrote down the license number of a black Nissan Altima used in the robbery. The Altima was traced to a woman who lives with Madison and the woman told investigators she had lent him her vehicle.
Madison had been imprisoned for nearly two decades after being convicted of manslaughter in the January 1986 death of a girlfriend, Terry Wells. Her body was found in a suitcase in the Passaic River.
(© 2007 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
