Man charged with robbing Frankfort bank

A 27-year-old man has been charged with robbing a bank Tuesday afternoon in southwest suburban Frankfort, while his girlfriend and her child waited in the car.

Steven Lamancusa, 27, faces one federal count of bank robbery, according to the FBI.

At 2:36 p.m. Tuesday, Lamancusa walked into the U.S. Bank branch at 9795 W. Lincoln Hwy. in Frankfort and greeted the teller before standing at the customer service island in the lobby, according to a complaint filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court.

He then walked up to the teller with some papers in his hand, and they discussed how to open a new savings account, according to the complaint. The teller gave him a pen, and he slid a demand note to the teller which said, “I have a gun! No Dye or tracer packs. $100’s $50’s $20’s I have nothing to lose!”

The robber pulled up his shirt, showed her his waistband and said, “I’m in a hurry, make it fast!” according to the complaint.

The teller removed cash from her drawer, including 46 $2 bills, and handed it to the robber, according to the complaint. He ran out of the bank and headed toward the Jewel next door.

He got away with $1,838, according to the complaint.

A Frankfort police officer who responded to the robbery recognized the suspect in the surveillance video as a man from his gym, according to the complaint. The officer said the man had tattoos on his hands and fingers, but did not know his name.

Authorities showed photos of the robber to an employee of the Frankfort gym, who also recognized him but did not know his name. However, the employee did know the name of a woman he had seen at the gym with the man, and gave the investigators her address.

When the investigators arrived, no one was at her home, according to the complaint. They showed a neighbor the photos of the suspect, who recognized him as the woman’s boyfriend, but did not know his name.

The woman arrived home a short time later and she identified the robber in photographs as her boyfriend, Lamancusa, according to the complaint.

She told investigators they left the gym together about 2 p.m. Tuesday and drove to a nearby Jewel, according to the complaint. While the woman and her child waited in the car, Lamancusa went in to “cash a check,” she believed.

About 20 minutes later, he came back to the car and they drove to Merrillville, Indiana, where Lamancusa gave the woman two $2 bills to buy a pretzel, according to the complaint. Investigators searched her vehicle and recovered several $2 bills.

Lamancusa, of New Lenox, had his initial court appearance Friday morning in Chicago, according to the FBI.