Original Blog Entry: Bank robber, 70, caught holding up bank day after his release from jail

truesee — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 09:05:54 GMT

70-year-old bank robber caught holding up bank day after his release from jail heads back to prison

Scott Shifrel

DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Thursday, March 24th 2011, 6:10 PM

Salt Lake County Sherriff's Office

John Stolarz, pictured in 1988, pleaded guilty to bank robbery for his attempted October hold-up.

The geriatric bank robber caught sticking up a busy Manhattan bank a day after getting out of jail will be heading back to prison soon.

John Stolarz, 70, who has spent the better part of his adult life behind bars, will likely spend the better part of his golden years there as well.

Stolarz pleaded guilty to the top count of bank robbery, according to court papers made public yesterday.

The career criminal was shot in the leg just after his brazen attempt to hold up a Chase branch near Madison Square Garden on Oct. 14 - a day after finishing a 22-year-stint in a federal prison.

Banks were the favorite target of Stolarz, known as Johnny Shades for the slick tinted sunglasses he donned for a heist.

He once admitted to the FBI he had robbed so many in one three-month stretch he lost count.

On Wednesday, Stolarz pleaded guilty before Federal Magistrate James Francis.

He is slated to be sentenced in June

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