FBI Continues to Investigate 'Man in Black' Robberies

The FBI continues to investigate a Brewster bank robbery suspect’s connection to similar “Man in Black” robberies that occurred throughout the Twin Cities over the past several months.

Mark Edward Wetsch, 49, remains in Nobles County Jail on charges of aggravated robbery, terroristic threats and theft that the Nobles County Attorney’s Office filed Jan. 5 in connection with the robbery of Brewster’s Rolling Hills Bank.

Meanwhile, the FBI is still pulling together information on Wetsch for eventual submission to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, which would make the decision about any federal charges. That process is taking longer because of the number of communities involved, said Kyle Loven, chief division counsel for the FBI’s Minneapolis office.

“We’re talking about so many jurisdictions that are affected,” Loven said.

The FBI announced after Wetsch’s arrest that it was evaluating whether he is the “Man in Black” suspected of hitting numerous banks around the Twin Cities.

Wetsch referenced robbing other banks while talking to St. Peter Police after his arrest Jan. 3, according to the charging documents from the Brewster robbery. Those documents do not include details about any of the other robberies.

Loven declined to comment on what admissions Wetsch has made or any other evidence. He said he could only speculate on why Nobles County filed state charges against Wetsch instead of waiting for federal charges.

Wetsch, the former nursing director of Sholom Home West in St. Louis Park, was convicted in 2005 of taking $1.4 million from the senior care facility through an invoice scheme that occurred between September 1997 and January 2005.