Original Blog Entry: 'Holiday Bandit' was on way to bank No. 10 when he was nabbed

truesee — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 09:24:57 GMT

'Holiday Bandit' Marat Mikhaylich was on way to bank heist No. 10 when he was nabbed: sources

John Marzulli

DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Thursday, March 31st 2011, 4:00 AM

Hermann for News

'Holiday Bandit' Marat Mikhaylich is suspected in nine bank heists that netted about $80,000.

The Holiday Bandit was on his way to pull bank heist No. 10 when he was nabbed in Queens, sources told the Daily News on Wednesday.

Inside the stolen cab he was driving, Marat Mikhaylich had a computer printout of directions from his apartment in Jamaica to a Sovereign Bank he'd robbed once before, sources said.

The directions were printed out shortly before he was busted at a red light in Forest Hills on Tuesday.

Mikhaylich also had a printed demand for money he planned to show the teller, and a loaded 9-mm. handgun he had purchased in Virginia last December, sources said.

He was going back to rob the bank a second time, a source said.

A heroin addict, he was apparently desperate for his next fix.

He told investigators he had shot up dope that morning and was out of cash because the loot from Monday's stickup in New Jersey was stained by the exploding dye pack.

He claimed to have only $5 in his bank account, court records say.

Mikhaylich, who got his nickname because he started his spree during the holiday season, is suspected in nine heists that netted about $80,000.

Assistant Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Darren LaVerne said the Ukrainian-born suspect poses an extreme risk of flight if released on bail.

Magistrate Marilyn Go ordered him back to detox treatment at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan.

Defense lawyer Michelle Gelernt declined to comment.

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