A 66-year-old man has been accused of robbing a bank in Manhattan while dressed as a construction worker. Armed with a gun, Zannie McMillon allegedly ordered everyone to get down during the heist at the TD Bank on 1995 Broadway near West 68th Street, which occurred around 9:15 a.m., police told PIX11. McMillon, who hails from Brooklyn, was later arrested and is now facing federal robbery charges.
In a separate incident earlier this month, thieves in the guise of construction workers pulled off a $3.2 million theft in the Jamaica Hills neighborhood of Queens. According to the NYPD, these burglars broke into a home and absconded with a safe and jewelry worth millions. The perpetrators, who were captured by surveillance cameras fleeing in a blue Hyundai Elantra, were described as wearing clothing and protective gear typical of construction workers, NBC News reported.
McMillon's alleged bank robbery involved a conspicuously dressed individual, with a bag presumably containing an unknown amount of cash, police said. In a potentially connected modus operandi, the Queens thieves also donned construction attire to gain access to the residence they targeted. The back door of the home was "forcibly" opened, and the burglars removed items including a safe, and jewelry, the NYPD stated.
The string of robberies featuring suspects in construction gear has raised concerns about the use of such disguises to commit crimes. Both incidents occurred without injury, though they have left unsettling questions about the security measures in place to prevent such brazen acts.
