Federal Bureau of Investigation agents are still gathering information about a foiled bank holdup Saturday afternoon at a Tonnelle Avenue bank that transformed a shopping center into a scene out of a Hollywood movie.
According to North Bergen Police Chief Angelo Busacco, township police apprehended Danny Nguyen, a 28-year-old Philadelphia man, and charged him with trying to hold up the Bank of New York branch located in the Tonnelle Shopping Plaza, located at 81st Street and Tonnelle Avenue.
However, after Nguyen was taken into custody, an extensive check of his record proved that he might have been a suspect in an in-house robbery at the bank where he once worked in Camden, which caused the FBI agents to get involved in the investigation.
According to police reports, Nguyen allegedly entered the Bank of New York at approximately 1:25 p.m. Saturday afternoon, nearly a half-hour after the branch was supposed to close.
“He apparently told the bank manager that he wanted to open an account,” Busacco said. “When he was told that he couldn’t, the suspect then apparently whipped out a .45 caliber handgun and stuck it in the back of the bank manager. He then [allegedly] led the manager and five other employees into vault in the back.”
Busacco said that the quick work of an unnamed assistant manager probably saved the day.
“While she was walking back with the group, she tripped the alarm, which caused our police to respond,” Busacco said.
When the North Bergen police arrived on the scene and looked into the window, they noticed the bank employees milling around.
“One of the employees made a gesture, using his index finger and thumb, to signal that someone had a gun inside,” Busacco said.
Knowing now that the employees were in jeopardy, being held against their will by a gun-toting assailant, North Bergen police decided to evacuate the entire mall and seal off the entire area. The township’s Tactical Response Unit was called into action to surround the bank and corner off the location.
At that same time, Nguyen allegedly was going through safe deposit boxes in the vault, collecting approximately $30,000 in cash.
After Nguyen allegedly ravaged through the bank’s assets, Busacco said that the suspect noticed the police and panicked a little.
“One employee tried to rationalize with him and told him that they would all leave the building together, so no one would get hurt,” Busacco said. “However, one employee apparently got hysterical and said she was getting ill. So they put her on a chair and wheeled her out of the bank.”
When that procedure was done, the police was able to gain safe entrance to the bank and ordered all people inside, one of whom was the robbery suspect, to lie down on the floor.
“While they were being patted down and checked weapons, one of the employees identified the actor as being the one who tried to rob the bank,” Busacco said.
Nguyen was immediately brought into custody by North Bergen police and charged with armed robbery, receiving stolen property [the gun was reported stolen from Georgia], civil restraint (for allegedly holding the employees as hostages), possession of an unlawful weapon and use of a weapon for unlawful purposes.
Nguyen, who told police that he worked as a customer service representative for Fleet Bank in Camden, was held in lieu of $250,000 bail and transported to Hudson County Jail to await his arraignment at Central Judicial Processing.
However, according to Busacco, the FBI agents discovered that Nguyen might be a suspect in an incident last week at the bank where Nguyen worked, where $30,000 is missing.
Busacco credited the rapid work of Police Officer Dan Conti, who made the arrest of Nguyen, as well as Sgt. James Somers, Sgt. Robert Hovan and Sgt. Robert Dowd, who all responded to the scene, as well as Capt. David Ricigliano, who headed the Tactical Response Unit.
“Thank God, it went well,” Busacco said. “Because it really had the makings of being another ‘Dog Day Afternoon’ [the movie starring Al Pacino that featured a bank robbery with hostages]. But no one got hurt, the suspect was apprehended and nothing was lost. If it had not been for the work of the quick-thinking assistant manager, who knows what might have happened.”
As of press time Thursday morning, the U.S. Attorney’s Office had not released any information about further charges involving Nguyen. CAPTIONS