Cops say they've nabbed 'Craigslist inner tube robber'

Police in Monroe, Wash., say they've arrested that guy who robbed an armored car outside a bank, hired unsuspecting dress-alike decoys on Craigslist to fool authorities, and escaped downriver in an inner tube, according to the Seattle Times.

Contrary to what news media had speculated, tracking him down doesn't seem to have involved Craigslist at all.

Three weeks prior to the September 30 robbery, a homeless man contacted city authorities after seeing someone recover an oddball array of items from behind the same bank branch--a black wig, a reflective safety vest, dark glasses, a two-way radio, a baseball cap, and a can of mace--and provided a license plate number. It's believed that the witness may have seen a test run of the heist-in-progress.

The actual robbery, as fans of wacky news may recall, involved a dozen people responding to a Craigslist ad for road maintenance workers who were asked to show up near the same Bank of America branch wearing a very similar outfit.

Using the license plate data, cops tracked down 28-year-old Anthony J. Curcio, recovered a "significant" amount of money from him, and are holding him in the Snohomish County Jail. His family had apparently recently had some financial difficulties, and had a prior home foreclosed. Curcio also had an infant daughter born 10 days before the robbery, according to birth announcements that the Seattle Times surfaced. Quick--somebody give him a job devising plots for CSI.

But it's not over yet: "(Police) still want to know what role the inner tube played in the robbery," the Seattle Times reported. "They believe it may have been stolen. They are asking anyone with information regarding the yellow inner tube, or the robbery, to call the Monroe Police Department."

Please, think of the inner tubes.

[alaris3k]

say it aint so, how could he be some dumb as to bring all thoses items beforehand. He was my hero.

[Michichael]

Wow....

[darthstupid]

The real hero is the homeless guy. I'll bet the bank, who has lots of money, does nothing for the guy. I hope I'm wrong.

[The_Decider]

"(Police) still want to know what role the inner tube played in the robbery," the Seattle Times reported. "They believe it may have been stolen. They are asking anyone with information regarding the yellow inner tube, or the robbery, to call the Monroe Police Department."


What?

I know police officers are generally not very bright, but ***?

[the_redistributor]

Yeah, what's up with the inner tube? Does it have jewels or gold in it? Who cares, you got the guy!

[rcardona2k]

is a watery getaway the norm for throwing off the scent trail for police dogs?

[chickenscratch]

To entertain the thought, maybe the real robber was not caught, but instead,
the one the robber wanted to be caught was caught, and by so doing
freed himself from being caught.
It seems that the real robber would have been consistent throughout the
whole plan, not just the end of the plan. Since he did a practice three weeks in advance,
to be consistent, he would have performed using another person as a distraction.
Could this be the one that was caught instead of the real robber?

[classifieds]

This story should be on craig's list classifieds
http://adlandpro.ws

[thepsychofemale]

This is a prime example of why a license plate messaging network can be helpful to society.
www.yourplates.com allows you to send messages to other drivers. Homeless or not this man made a stand, and we all should follow suit in this country, look out for other people and their children. The license plate made a search possible for police, it could also work on amber alerts!