Burberry Bandit: NYC Bank Robber Freed on Supervised Release as New Charges Emerge

New York City — Cornell Neilly, 35, known by police and local media as the Burberry Bandit for a 2012 surveillance image showing him in a Burberry-like plaid pattern, was arrested Sept. 15 on five counts of felony robbery tied to a monthlong spree of bank robberies across Manhattan, authorities said. The arrests followed a string of alleged robberies in August and September during which Neilly allegedly passed notes to tellers demanding cash.

According to police and court filings, the alleged spree began on Aug 16 at the Chase Bank on 27th Street and Seventh Avenue, where a teller handed over about 1,000 dollars after a demand note was presented. On Aug 25, he entered the Chase Bank at Park Avenue and East 26th Street and again demanded cash, leaving with about 716 dollars. On Sept 9, he is accused of hitting a Midtown Chase Bank and demanding 4,500 dollars before fleeing when the alarm sounded. On Sept 12, he allegedly entered the Chase Bank on West Fourth Street in the West Village and demanded 3,500 dollars. The following day, at the Chelsea Chase Bank, he handed a teller a note that read this is a robbery, I want all large bills now, this is real, causing the teller to trigger the bank's silent alarm. The chronology shows a pattern of note based robberies across several Manhattan branches before the Sept 15 arrests.

A Brooklyn Supreme Court judge declined to set cash bail or a higher bond, releasing Neilly on supervised release after the Sept 15 arrests, according to the New York Post. The prosecution had asked for 50,000 dollars in cash bail or a 150,000 dollar bond, but the judge did not place such bail conditions.

Neilly has 34 prior bank robbery arrests on his record, according to the Post. The case has intensified questions about bail decisions and public safety in New York City streets where banks are frequent targets and where repeat offenders remain on the street under supervised release.

The judge overseeing Neillys case, Jeffrey Gershuny, was appointed in 2019 by then mayor Bill de Blasio. He was demoted in recent weeks to presiding over misdemeanor matters in criminal court after an incident in which he reportedly pulled out his own gun on the bench while hearing a weapons case. The episode heightened concerns about courtroom conduct and bail decisions; the Office of Court Administration would not comment on individual bail determinations.

Neilly is charged with five counts of felony robbery and is scheduled to return to court on Oct 1. His attorney did not respond to requests for comment. The NYPD confirmed the new charges but did not address past arrests.