'Bill Clinton' bank robber tries to escape from New York hospital

Joe Tacopino
Daily News Writer

 

Sunday, June 6th 2010, 1:00 PM

 

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John Ryan robbed a bank last year wearing a Bill Clinton Halloween mask.

The "Bill Clinton" bank robber made a run for office – the doctor’s office.
 
Convicted bank robber John Ryan of Cos Cob, Connecticut attempted to escape from corrections officers Friday as they transported the inmate from the Sullivan County Jail to Westchester Medical Center for a biopsy.
 
The repeat offender was in the process of negotiating a plea bargain when he made his ill-fated attempt.
 
The Connecticut bandit, who is known for wearing a rubber President Bill Clinton mask during heists, was undergoing tests for throat cancer when he made a dash for the exit.
 
“He made an attempt to bolt through the door,” Sullivan County Patrol Chief Art Hawker told the Times Herald-Record. “It all happened in the examination room.”
 
Two corrections officers suffered minor injuries while detaining the thief.
 
The “career bank robber,” along with an accomplice, entered a Bank of America last October wearing a Bill Clinton Halloween mask. The men claimed they had a bomb and hit the vault, making off with nearly $80,000 stuffed in a bag.
 
The bomb was a flimsy hoax, like the rubber Clinton mask.

Ryan has been charged with burglary, robbery, grand larceny and unlawful imprisonment.
 
The “Clinton” robber and his attorney, Stephan Schick, have been trying to negotiate a plea deal in an effort to get him released before sentencing to get treatment for his throat cancer.
 
The judge had previously deemed him a flight risk. The most recent incident will likely bolster his claim. 

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/06/06/2010-06-06_bill_clinton_bank_robber_tries_to_escape_from_new_york_hospital_.html#ixzz0q709EG2k