Jul 23, 2007 11:33 pm US/Eastern
Maplewood Man Identified As 'Mad Hatter' Suspect
FBI Arrests James Madison, Believed To Be Serial Bank Robber
CBS 2 HD's Christine Sloan contributed to this report.
NEWARK (CBS) ―
It's a mystery that has baffled investigators for more than a year. But now, the FBI believes it has the "Mad Hatter" bank robber behind bars.
James Madison is 50 years old and is charged with one count of bank robbery, but is suspected in as many as 18, according to the U.S. Attorney.
Prosecutors say he's the "Mad Hatter," the prolific and elusive robber whose only disguise has been a series of hats.
Madison lives in Maplewood, where one neighbor told FBI agents he recently tried to borrow a hat from him.
"And he walked up to me and we were talking and he says, 'by the way, you got a hat?' Well, I went in to look for one and I come back out and he's gone," neighbor Martin Granger said. "Now I realize it was closer to the banks I guess."
Madison was tracked by a partial plate on his girlfriend's Nissan Altima, the presumed getaway car in the latest heist. Cameras have even captured the "Mad Hatter" robbing banks and even running as a dye pack explodes in his hands.
Authorities are confident Madison will face additional charges.
"This individual, Mr. Madison, is only a suspect at this point, but he is a suspect in 17 other bank robberies which have occurred over the past year," said Weysan Dunn, FBI special agent in charge.
On his way to federal arraignment in Newark on Monday, Madison insisted to CBS 2 HD's Christine Sloan that they have the wrong man.
CBS 2 HD: "Are you the 'Mad Hatter?'"
Madison: "Mistaken identity."
CBS 2 HD: "What was that that?"
Madison: "It's a case of mistaken identity."
CBS 2 HD: "They've got the wrong guy?"
Madison: "You got it."
CBS 2 HD: "Why's that?"
Madison: "Obviously they've got the wrong guy."
The arraignment Monday was for Sunday's Bank of America robbery at the Pathmark Shopping Center in Union. However, it seems almost certain that additional arraignments will soon be in order.
Authorities believe his girlfriend was not in on the bank robberies, but CBS 2 HD has learned Madison spent two decades in prison for killing his previous girlfriend. He was released in 2005, but if he's convicted of these bank robberies, he could go back to jail for 20 more years.
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