FBI Snares ATM 'Burka Bandit' with an Insider's Help

Federal agents acting on a tip arrested a man after he disguised himself as a woman by wearing a burka and robbed an ATM at a LaGrange bank early Thursday morning, according to a federal criminal complaint.

Gildardo Lopez, Jr., appeared in federal court along with another man, Douglas Pineda, the alleged lookout and getaway driver in the elaborate scheme.

The FBI first learned Lopez Jr.’s plans to rob the Chase bank branch ATM at 14 S. LaGrange Road from a union shop steward at Garda Cash Logistics, where both he and Lopez, an ATM technician, are employed, officials said.

According to the complaint, Lopez Jr. told the steward on Aug. 12 that “a lot of money” was kept in the bank’s cash machine and asked the steward if he wanted to help him steal it that night. Lopez Jr. was apparently upset that Chase would no longer be using Garda’s services, and was afraid of losing his job, the FBI said.

The union shop steward talked Lopez out of robbing the cash machine that night and informed the FBI of Lopez’s alleged plans. The next day, the FBI said that Lopez again asked for his co-worker’s help, including his plans to conceal his identity from the ATM’s video surveillance by wearing a burka.

By this time, the union shop steward was working with the FBI in developing intelligence, who explained the steps needed to access the ATM. According to the complaint, Lopez Jr. already had keys to the service area and cash machine, and knew the combination to the vault from previously servicing the bank. He did not have the electronic key to shut off the alarm system, for which a one-time access code was also needed, the steward told the FBI.

The ATM technician then made arrangements to meet the steward at his Brookfield home around 7:30 p.m. Wednesday to pick up the electronic key, the complaint said. The steward agreed to wear a wire and when Lopez Jr. came to his house, turned over the key.

Lopez Jr. allegedly told the wired-up union steward that he was still planning to rob the ATM that evening and had a getaway driver.

The complaint also said Lopez Jr. did not want to personally call Garda’s dispatchers in Illinois for the code to shut off the alarm. Instead, his accomplice would wait until after midnight to call the Portland, OR, office and relay the code to Lopez Jr. via walkie talkie.

After he robbed the cash machine, Lopez Jr. told the union steward that a “friend from TSA” was going to help him escape to the Dominican Republic, where he planned to buy a house, officials said.

Federal agents began staking out the bank on LaGrange Road around 11 p.m. After midnight, at 12:20 a.m., they saw Lopez Jr. clad in a black burka, coming down the sidewalk carrying a large suitcase, the complaint claimed.

The FBI said Lopez Jr. snapped on a pair of Latex gloves and entered the vestibule of the bank. He then opened an adjacent door leading into the service area.

About 15 minutes later, Lopez Jr. emerged from the bank and was arrested on the spot. He was still wearing the burka and carrying a walkie talkie connected to earbuds, and the suitcase, the complaint said.

The arresting federal agent said that when he looked into the suitcase it was full of cash, later determined to be $168,174. Lopez Jr. allegedly stated, “there’s a lot of money in there.”

According to the complaint, Lopez Jr. denied that there was anyone in the area helping him. By then, law enforcement officers had already found Pineda, the getaway driver, sitting inside a Toyota Sienna minivan parked a block away from the bank.

Pineda reportedly told police that he was “waiting for his friend Gill.” Between Pineda’s legs on the front seat was a walkie-talkie connected to ear buds. A piece of paper with instructions of what to ask the Garda dispatch employees was found next to him, including a handwritten number, the complaint said.

Both men were brought to the LaGrange Police Department, where they refused to speak to federal agents or police officers, and requested attorneys.

Lopez Jr. made two phone calls in front of federal agents, telling his father: “I got arrested by the FBI.” In a second call to his brother, Lopez Jr. told him, “I f---ed up,” the FBI said.