By Allan Lengel
For AOL News
WASHINGTON — The economy may still suck, but thieves haven’t been turning to banks in greater numbers to score cash, according to the FBI.
FBI statistics released Monday show that the number of bank robberies and larcenies, burglaries and extortions of banks dropped by more than 11 percent last year, going from 6,857 in 2008 to 6,065 in 2009.
The drop in robberies translated into a dip in stolen cash. Robbers in 2009 scooped up $45.9 million from banks, compared with $61.6 million in 2008, the FBI said. Of the 2009 total, more than $8 million was returned to the institutions.
Notable bank robbers in 2009 included the “Geezer Bandit,” a man believed to be in his 60 or 70s who has frustrated authorities in San Diego.
Rail thin and clad in a baseball cap, he discreetly walks into banks, quietly produces a gun and a demand note and walks off with an undisclosed amount of cash. He has robbed six banks — five in 2009 and one in 2010 — and remains at large.
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