Eight accused in alleged bank robbery ring

ST. LOUIS -- Federal officials have accused eight St. Louis-area suspects of being part of a sophisticated, creative conspiracy that attempted to rob 18 banks and credit unions over the past five years in Missouri, Illinois and Ohio.

Federal authorities, who unsealed the indictments Monday, said the ring they had broken up had successfully stolen about $1.4 million from nine of those institutions. The funds have not been recovered, they said.

U.S. Attorney James Martin and FBI Special Agent Steve Gomez said ring members monitored the institutions they wished to rob, apprehended employees as they arrived for work before the banks opened for the day and forced the employees to turn over money from the banks at gunpoint. Suspects disguised themselves with wigs, presidents' masks, even maid's outfits. In one instance in Illinois, the robbers allegedly took a female bank employee and her son hostage at their residence.

"This case is very significant because it represented a group we were able to dismantle that had been wreaking havoc on our community for at least four or five years," said Steve Gomez, acting special agent in charge of the St. Louis office.

Federal officials said suspects communicated through two-way radios and other devices. They said they drove to crime scenes in stolen vehicles or those with stolen plates, but would place a "clean" car nearby that they could later use to assist in their escape.

Martin said the group conspired, attempted or completed robberies at 18 institutions in the St. Louis-area, southern Illinois and Columbus, Ohio. Authorities said the alleged crimes took place between June of 2000 and February 2005.

"While none of the bank employees were injured, obviously we considered these bank robberies extremely dangerous," said Martin, U.S. attorney for the eastern district of Missouri.

As of Monday afternoon, federal officials had three of the eight suspects in custody. They said they had information on the whereabouts of two and were actively seeking more information on three other men.

They said in June of 2000, St. Louis resident Franklin Morris, who owned a security company, gave Otis McAllister a key to the St. Louis Community Credit Union in the suburb of Jennings, where Morris' company provided guards.

They said McAllister entered the building, held an employee at gunpoint and robbed about $266,000.

McAllister is charged with all 24 counts in the case; Morris faces a number of charges, but wasn't involved in all of the alleged heists.

Over the years, they alleged McAllister and others plotted and executed additional robberies.