Valley Cottage Man Charged in Friday's Central Nyack Bank Robbery

NYACK, NY — The Clarkstown police and the FBI took just three days to arrest someone for Friday's bank robbery in Central Nyack.

Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, William F. Sweeney, the Assistant Director-in-charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), and Robert Mahon, the Acting Chief of the Clarkstown Police Department (“CPD”), announced the arrest of Valley Cottage resident William Mateo on charges of bank robbery and a firearms offense.

“As alleged, William Mateo entered a bank in Central Nyack with a mask and a gun, robbed the bank of over $6,000, and then fired a shot toward one of the bank tellers," Bharara said. "Thanks to the investigative work of the FBI and Clarkstown Police, just three days after the bank robbery, Mateo is under arrest facing federal criminal charges.”

Mateo was arrested Sunday in Elmsford, New York, and will be presented later Monday in the Southern District of New York in White Plains before United States Magistrate Judge Judith C. McCarthy.

“I’m so proud of the entire Clarkstown Police Department for bringing this suspect to justice without any injuries to the public or our officers," said CPD Acting Police Chief Captain Robert Mahon. "Our detectives and the FBI agents assigned to this case worked tirelessly over the past weekend to identify, surveil and apprehend William Mateo for this alleged violent crime. This arrest exemplifies the highest level of dedication and professionalism shown by both the Clarkstown Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.”

The 24-year-old is charged with one count of bank robbery, which carries a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison, and one count of use of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. The charges contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

According to prosecutors, when he walked into the Key Bank Friday he was wearing a mask and gloves, and carrying a semi-automatic handgun. He approached two bank tellers, who handed him cash. Before leaving, he fired a round in the direction of one of the tellers. The bullet hit a wooden partition between two tellers, and no one was injured. He fled in a car, which could be seen on the bank’s surveillance cameras and was also observed by a witness.

In a search of his residence in Valley Cottage, law enforcement officers recovered a mask, a box of gloves matching those worn during the robbery, and a safe containing, among other items, shell casings, live ammunition, and more than $2,000. After they arrested him in an Elmsford motel, officers recovered from his hotel room a semi-automatic handgun, a glove, and a firearm magazine. Prosecutors say Mateo subsequently gave a post-arrest statement admitting that he had committed the bank robbery and that he had discharged a firearm during the crime.

Bharara praised the investigative work of the Clarkstown Police Department and the FBI’s Westchester County Safe Streets Task Force, which is comprised of agents and task force officers from the FBI, the U.S. Probation Office, the Westchester County Police Department, the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office, the New York City Police Department, the City of Yonkers Police Department, the Peekskill Police Department, and the Mount Vernon Police Department.

The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant United States Attorneys Christopher J. Clore and Gillian Grossman are in charge of the prosecution.

PHOTO/ Clarkstown police