MAN SENTENCED TO 181 MONTHS’ IMPRISONMENT FOR FOUR BANK ROBBERIES IN MANHATTAN AND THE BRONX

LEV L. DASSIN, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that MARK PRINGLE was sentenced today by United States District Judge WILLIAM H. PAULEY III to 181 months in prison on bank robbery and gun charges, to which he pleaded guilty on May 22, 2008. The charges arose out of PRINGLE’s commission of four bank robberies between April 2007 to September 2007, including two committed at gunpoint, at banks located in Manhattan and the Bronx. According to documents filed in Manhattan federal court, as well as statements made during PRINGLE’s guilty plea and sentencing proceedings:

On April 24, 2007, PRINGLE entered a North Fork bank, located at 725 Co-Op City Boulevard, Bronx, New York, and approached a teller possessing a hoax device. He told the teller that he was holding a bomb, which his partner would detonate. PRINGLE absconded with approximately $1,691 in cash.

On July 6, 2007, PRINGLE entered a Washington Mutual bank, located at 2438 Broadway, New York, New York, carrying another hoax device. PRINGLE approached a teller, displayed the device, and told her, “this is lethal.” PRINGLE demanded money and fled the bank with approximately $12,280 in cash.

On August 28, 2007, PRINGLE robbed at gunpoint a North Fork bank, located at 1180 Third Avenue, New York, New York. PRINGLE approached a teller, brandished a firearm, and demanded, “Give me all your money.” After the teller emptied her tray, PRINGLE robbed the adjacent teller and exited the bank. PRINGLE stole approximately $4,110 during the August 28, 2007 robbery.

On September 25, 2007, PRINGLE committed another bank robbery at gunpoint. PRINGLE entered the North Fork bank, located at 185 West 231 Street, Bronx, New York, approached a st teller, and displayed a handgun. PRINGLE demanded money and threatened the teller, saying, “You don’t want to get hurt. I’ll shoot. The hundreds, the hundreds.” PRINGLE and an accomplice, TARIQ SMITH, fled the bank with approximately $2,945 in cash.

When imposing the sentence on PRINGLE, Judge PAULEY stated, “There was no regard on the part of the defendant for anyone’s personal safety in walking into banks in Manhattan and the Bronx in the middle of the day and pointing a gun or putting an explosive device in front of a teller….[A]ny number of things could have happened that could have resulted in a tragic loss of life as a consequence of [the defendant’s] not just recklessness but really loathsome criminal conduct.”

In addition to the prison term, Judge PAULEY sentenced PRINGLE to 5 years of supervised release, and ordered him to pay an aggregate of $21,026 in restitution, with $12,280 payable to Washington Mutual and $8,746 payable to Capital One Bank.

PRINGLE’s accomplice in the September 25, 2007 robbery, TARIQ SMITH, pleaded guilty on May 15, 2008, to that robbery, as well as participating in an armed bank robbery on August 3, 2008. On October 7, 2008, Judge PAULEY sentenced SMITH to a term of imprisonment of 141 months, to be followed by 4 years of supervised release, and ordered SMITH to pay restitution in the amount of $12,657.

MR. DASSIN praised the investigative work of the Joint Bank Robbery Task Force, including the New York City Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the United States Marshals Service, in this case.

Assistant United States Attorneys JOHN P. CRONAN and MICHAEL D. MAIMIN are in charge of the prosecution.