The Chase bank at 775 Columbus Avenue.
By Jessica Brockington
Ryan Okeefe, 33, was arrested on July 14 at 3:10 pm after fleeing the Chase Bank at 2875 Broadway (112th Street) with $7,875, police said.
According to police reports, Okeefe pass the bank teller a note that read: “Don’t make a scene. This is a robbery. Put all money in the bank out of the drawer and nobody will get hurt.”
He is said to have then fled west on 112th Street, and then north on Riverside Drive where police caught up with him.
This was Okeefe’s second bank robbery in under a week, police say. He has also been charged with a robbery that occurred Friday, July 8 at the Chase Bank at 775 Columbus Avenue, just north of 97th Street.
In the heist on July 8, Okeefe fled with $10,565. His note to the teller was much the same, with the addition of “If not, I will start shooting people.” His note on July 14 did not reference a gun.
Okeefe has two prior arrests. In 2003 he was arrested for bartending at an illegal club; in 2004 he was arrested for driving with a suspended license.
A detective said that Okeefe told him “I did the two bank robberies at Chase. I’m addicted to crack, heroin, and alcohol. I thought it would be an easy way to make money without hurting anyone.” An attorney for Okeefe did not respond to a request for comment.
“Put all money in the bank out of the drawer.”
-Ryan Okeefe, 33
Not far from Woody Allen’s dialogue.