Man Pleads Guilty To Acting As Lookout For Nassau Bank Robberies

The last member of a bank robbery ring that targeted institutions in Nassau and Queens pleaded guilty to the charges against him yesterday, finally ending the prosecution against the group.

Leroy Scott, 28, of Far Rockaway, pleaded guilty to armed bank robbery and firearms possession. When he is sentenced, he could face up to life in prison.

On August 21, 2017, Scott acted as a lookout for a co-conspirator, Pedro Benitez, who entered the Bridgehampton Savings Bank in Hewlett, ordered customers and employees to the floor at gunpoint and demanded money. Another co-conspirator, Troy Tavares, waited outside in a vehicle. Benitez fled the bank with more than $12,000 and Tavares drove Benitez to a nearby location where they met up with Scott and another co-conspirator to split the proceeds.

At his guilty plea proceeding, Scott admitted that he had also participated in two additional robberies that the crew committed during the summer of 2017, both in Nassau County. In each of those robberies, Scott had assisted in the planning and acted as a lookout for Benitez. In total, the robbery crew stole over $70,000 from four banks between July and September of 2017.

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