Sept. 14--A 45-year-old woman has been arrested and charged with being the "Uptown Beach Bandit" who is responsible with robbing an Uptown bank and suspected in several others , FBI officials said Monday.
Cynthia Wonsey, of the 6000 block of North Winthrop Avenue, was arrested Sept. 11 and was charged in a federal complaint with one count of bank robbery, FBI officials said in a press release.
Wonsey appeared before Magistrate Judge Young B. Kim on Friday and was ordered held pending her next court appearance on Tuesday.
She is charged with Aug. 5 robbery of the TCF Bank branch at 3531 North Broadway.
According to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court, she was at the TCF bank branch inside of the Jewel-Osco store when she walked up to a teller and "threw a piece of paper" at the teller.
When the teller looked up, according to the complaint, Wonsey said, "now" which prompted the teller to look at the paper and read what was written on it.
According to the complaint the note said, "Give me all your $100s $50s and $20's. I DO HAVE A GUN and I have a goon watching from the other aisle and HE HAS A GUN. So don't press any buttons put it in the envelope and nobody gets hurt! Now! And don't move for five mins after I leave. Look you are being watched! 30 Seconds."
Officials said that after reading the note Wonsey then told the teller, "I have someone watching."
While the teller was about to stuff $553 in cash into an envelope Wonsey told her, "just give it to me." She then fled with the cash which also contained a tracking device which did not work. The teller pressed an alarm button after the woman left the store with the money.
After reviewing surveillance video from the store, police were able to see that the woman had arrived at the store in a taxi cab and left in the same taxi cab, which was waiting in the parking lot of the store, according to the complaint. The vehicle drove north on Broadway.
On Aug. 27, a relative of the woman notified the FBI and identified Wonsey from a photo that was posted online, according to the complaint. Also on that date, another relative of Wonsey called the FBI and notified them that Wonsey was the alleged bank robber, according to the complaint. Then an acquaintance of Wonsey notified investigators on the same date as the others.
On Sept. 2, the teller identified Wonsey from a photograph, and on Sept 7, another acquaintance of Wonsey also identified her as the robber, according to the court document.
FBI officials said Wonsey is also suspected in two additional bank robberies, at the TCF Bank branch at 5343 N. Broadway at 3:52 p.m. Aug. 14 and at the TCF Bank branch at 4355 N. Sheridan Rd. at 3:07 p.m. Aug. 22.
