A North Bergen man was taken into custody early Thursday morning by a combination of North Bergen police and Federal Bureau of Investigation agents and charged with robbing a Tonnelle Avenue bank of more than $6,000 Wednesday afternoon.
North Bergen police also believe that 43-year-old Marco Quevedo, the man apprehended in the pre-dawn raid of his Liberty Avenue home, is also the main suspect in two other township bank heists in the last 18 months.
According to police sources, Quevedo went to the Bank of America on Tonnelle Avenue and 69th Street (inside the Pathmark shopping plaza) Wednesday afternoon around 3 p.m. and stood in line like a regular customer.
Quevedo then allegedly brandished a handgun to the teller and allegedly demanded an undetermined amount of money. Conflicting reports say that the suspect received anywhere between $6,000 and $11,000 in cash.
“That total is pending an audit by the bank to determine how much was stolen,” a police source said.
Steven Siegel, a spokesman for the FBI, would not reveal the amount, but did confirm that Quevedo was indeed in custody and awaiting an appearance Thursday afternoon in United States federal court on armed bank robbery charges.
Quevedo then left the bank without incident and, according to police, brazenly took a Rapido taxi to escape. The cab driver himself positively identified Quevedo, police said.
Clever investigation “Through our detectives’ investigation, we were able to determine that the suspect told the cab driver that he had been released from prison,” a police source said. “We then started to do a background check on possible suspects who fit the description given by the worker and the cabbie.”
Investigators were able to determine that Quevedo, who was living at his parents’ residence on Liberty Avenue, was indeed the man they were looking for only hours after the robbery Wednesday.
Further background checks revealed that Quevedo had served 12 years in the New York State of Corrections on charges of homicide on the daughter of an ex-girlfriend, as well as another manslaughter charge.
“This is a man with an extensive criminal record,” Siegel said.
Authorities said that both FBI investigators and North Bergen police have been able to tie Quevedo to as many as 17 similar bank robberies, including two in North Bergen in the last 18 months: one at the Banco Popular on 83rd and Tonnelle, and another inside the Fritz Reuter Altenheim nursing facility, where the suspect allegedly posed as a security guard.
AK 47 found A police source said that when FBI agents and North Bergen police swooped down on the Liberty Avenue residence to apprehend Quevedo, they recovered an AK 47 assault rifle, several other handguns, an undetermined amount of cash – and a very interesting item of clothing.
“We found security guard clothing inside the apartment,” the police source said.
According to Siegel, FBI agents and North Bergen detectives used forced entry to apprehend Quevedo.
“He surrendered without incident and was taken into custody,” Siegel said. “This was excellent police work, being able to apprehend the suspect so quickly.”
According to the police source, even North Bergen Police Chief William Galvin was pressed into duty in the investigative process.
“It was a good job by our department,” the source said. “We acted very fast. The FBI was also terrific in their work. We all went out and made sure we got this guy.”