Luis de la Garza (born May 20, 1954 in Mexico City, Mexico) is currently in prison arrested by the FBI for bank robbery. used to be a television executive, businessman, and community leader in Texas. He is the recipient of numerous community awards for his personal success in business and media, as well as for his efforts to assist other Mexican-American entrepreneurs to start their own businesses. To the shock of his family and many who have worked with him, de la Garza was arrested by the FBI for being a serial bank robber on June 22, 2013. He subsequently pleaded guilty to bank robbery charges and is currently serving a 20-year federal prison sentence in Seagoville, TX.
De la Garza obtained his bachelor's degree in geology from the Instituto Politécnico Nacional and his master's degree in hydrogeology from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. He subsequently worked for the Mexican government and was responsible for detecting, studying, and drilling for water with a team of 600 under his command. [ citation needed ] At the peak of his career, he married and moved to Houston, Texas. Unable to work within his field of expertise due to a language barrier, de la Garza earned his living performing manual labor. Soon after, he divorced and moved to Dallas, where he became a successful entrepreneur in the restaurant and automobile businesses.
In the mid-eighties, de la Garza was invited to host a radio show and developed a new passion for media. In 1994, de la Garza founded TeleAmerica a Spanish-speaking television station serving the Hispanic community giving them a venue to open express their opinion to.[ citation needed ] A couple of years later it became TeleAmerica Spanish Network, broadcasting to different states through independent stations but still under the TeleAmerica logo. [ citation needed ]
By then, de la Garza had become politically active within the Hispanic community and his Show Foro 44 on KLEG-LP had made a name for itself. The show largely focused on local issues, including education, health, business, and regional politics. [1] [2] In December 1999, after seeing the need for an immigration and consumer advocacy advice program, he produced The Roy Petty Show until 2002 when it moved to Univision America. De la Garza became active in American politics, meeting with numerous Senators and Congressmen, peacefully protesting against laws which he viewed as anti-immigrant, and conducting community organizing activities in Mexican neighborhoods.
De la Garza has been the recipient of many community awards. He was twice named one of the most influential media personalities by the advocacy group Hispanic 100. [3] [4] He has also received recognition from the Latino Peace Officers Association, Who’s Talking (issued by The Dallas Morning News as one of the best Talk Shows), the Venegas Foundation, the Arlington Hispanic Advisory Council, the League of United Latin American Citizens and the Dallas Police Department.
In 2006, de la Garza began efforts to found a new television station while continuing to host his radio show ConSentido. [5] He also stayed active in business, founding a new organization, RETO Group/Representacion Total, which aimed to strengthen ties between business people in Mexico and the United States in order to create new opportunities for development and investment. Throughout his efforts in business and political advocacy, de la Garza expressed that he aimed to build bridges between Mexicans in Mexico and the United States and that the only way to effect change is to participate, be active, and create opportunities for future generations.
On June 22, 2013, de la Garza was arrested by the FBI and charged with the April 22nd robbery of a Wells Fargo bank in Farmers Branch, Texas, during which the perpetrator covered his face with a mask as he entered the location and demanded money from the tellers at gunpoint. According to The Dallas Morning News , a witness who saw the robber prior to his putting on the mask described the robber's features to police, who created a sketch that was widely distributed. The sketch helped lead police to de la Garza, whom a witness later pointed out from a lineup. Agents from the FBI Bank Robbery Task Force identified de la Garza as the "Mesh Mask Bandit", who was believed to have been involved in nearly 20 bank robberies since December 2012. [6]
De la Garza's wife and people who worked with him expressed shock at the arrest, although others who know him stated that de la Garza had a gambling addiction. In addition, The Dallas Morning News reported that he had legal problems in the past. He pleaded guilty in 2005 to failing to file a corporate tax return and was ordered to pay about $72,000 to the IRS. [7] [8] [9]
In November 2013, De la Garza pleaded guilty to committing robberies at five banks in the Dallas-Fort Worth area between April 2010 and May 2013. He also confessed to committing more than a dozen other bank robberies since 2010. He was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison on April 17, 2014, and is currently being held at the Federal Correctional Institution, Seagoville, a low-security facility in Texas. He is scheduled for release in 2030. [10]
The Great Brink's Robbery was an armed robbery of the Brink's building in the North End of Boston, Massachusetts, on January 17, 1950. The $2.775 million theft consisted of $1,218,211.29 in cash and $1,557,183.83 in checks, money orders, and other securities. It was at the time the largest robbery in the history of the United States, and has been called "the crime of the century". The robbery remained unsolved for nearly six years, until estranged group member Joseph O'Keefe testified only days before the statute of limitations would have expired.
The Aryan Republican Army (ARA), also dubbed "The Midwest Bank bandits" by the FBI and law-enforcement, was a white nationalist terrorist gang which robbed 22 banks in the Midwest from 1994 to 1996. The bank robberies were spearheaded by Donna Langan. The gang, who had links to Neo-Nazism and white supremacism, were alleged to have conspired with convicted terrorist Timothy McVeigh in the months before the Oklahoma City bombing terrorist attack. Although it has never been proven, many theorists believe the ARA funneled robbery money to help fund the bombing as a direct response to the Waco and Ruby Ridge sieges.
Harvey John Bailey, called "The Dean of American Bank Robbers", was an American criminal who spanned a long career and was one of the most successful bank robbers during the 1920s, walking off with over $1 million.
The 1998 Bank of America robbery was a bank robbery of $1.6 million in cash at the Bank of America in 1 World Trade Center, in New York City, on January 14, 1998.
Carl Gugasian is an American bank robber, known as "The Friday Night Bank Robber", who served a 17-year sentence for armed robbery. He is perhaps the most prolific of such criminals in US history, having robbed more than 50 banks over a 30-year period of a total of more than $2 million.
Morris Lynn Johnson is a Kentucky-born criminal, whose crimes include armed robbery, escape and rescue, bank robbery, and assaulting a police officer. He was briefly listed on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list in 1976.
James Page is a former professional boxer in the welterweight (147lb) division.
The Wheaton Bandit is an unidentified bank robber suspected to be responsible for as many as 16 armed robberies around Wheaton, Illinois from 2002 to 2006. He appeared to be 25 to 35 years old at the time of the robberies, always wore a hood or ski mask, and wore different clothing in each robbery. Instead of placing his finger on the gun trigger, he often kept his trigger finger along the side of the gun, a safety position that suggests firearms training. Outlines of his jackets suggest that he also wore a bulletproof vest.
Bobby Randell Wilcoxson was born July 10, 1929, in Duke, Oklahoma. He was well respected as an efficient crew foreman in the lettuce fields of the Salinas Valley in California, because he spoke Spanish and intimidated laborers. He worked in the produce business in Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas. Wilcoxson also worked as a house painter, service station attendant and a used-car salesman before turning into a professional criminal.
The Granddad Bandit is a serial bank robber, notable for both his age and proficiency at robbing banks. From 2008 to 2010, he robbed at least 21 banks in the Eastern and Central United States. He was nicknamed the "Granddad Bandit" because of his age, appearance, and manner of dress. He robs bank by handing a note demanding cash to the teller. He did not use a disguise during the robberies other than sometimes wearing a hat. He was wanted in 12 states and by the FBI. He surrendered peacefully on August 13, 2010 after a 6-hour standoff with police and FBI agents. He was positively identified as 52-year-old Michael Francis Mara. At 18, Mara was convicted of embezzlement, grand larceny and other charges. He also pretended to be a sheriff when he rented a car but never returned it. The so-called "Granddad Bandit" was once a suspect in the Colonial Parkway killings. In 1985, he robbed a bank in California. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison on May 11, 2011.
"Geezer Bandit" is the name given by the FBI to a man who committed a series of bank robberies in Southern California. The Geezer Bandit is accused of robbing at least sixteen banks so far, many in the San Diego, California area. His most recent robbery occurred on Friday, December 2, 2011.
The Roy Petty Show also called Hora Legal con el Abogado Roy Petty is a Spanish language television and radio show which first aired in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Mexico on TeleAmerica television in November 1999. The show was created by the Hispanic community leader Luis de la Garza to follow his Foro 44 program. The show moved to Univision in November 2002; and it changed to a radio format in May 2012 when it began airing on Univision America radio. It also is broadcast on KTNO radio Dallas. The program is hosted by Texas Immigration Attorney Roy Petty and since June 2010 has been cohosted by Univision television personality Reyna Cavasos.
The Loan Ranger Bandit is an American bank robber who committed a series of bank robberies throughout the states of Texas, Mississippi, Kentucky and Arkansas, beginning in 2009. The Loan Ranger Bandit has been positively identified as 37-year-old Richard Swicegood of Waxahachie, Texas following a traffic stop by Arkansas State Police in early July, 2014 thanks to his trademark mask, gun and bag with a dollar sign on it. The traffic stop followed a robbery of the Sumit Bank in Benton, Arkansas on July 1, 2014 believed to have been committed by Swicegood.
The Catt family, Ronald "Scott" Catt, and eventually his two children, Hayden and Abigail Catt, were responsible for a number of bank robberies in the Portland, Oregon and Houston, Texas areas. After the death of his wife, Catt was facing financial difficulties due in part to his drug and alcohol addictions and unstable employment history. Catt decided to bolster the family income by robbing banks. Catt and his family committed several robberies, all occurring while the family lived a seemingly typical middle-class American life.
Anthony J. Curcio is an American author, public speaker, convicted robber, and former career criminal. In 2008, Curcio was responsible for one of the most elaborately planned armored car heists in U.S. history. He was eventually arrested and sentenced to six years in federal prison. Upon his release from prison, he parlayed his criminal career into becoming a motivational speaker, in the field of drug abuse and crime prevention, speaking to students and athletes across the U.S.
Myloh Jaqory Mason is an American man who was listed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of the United States within the FBI list of the ten most wanted persons for crimes alleged committed. Mason is described by the FBI as a violent felon.
Jeffrey Shuman is an American-French bank robber, dubbed "The Vaulter", considered to be one of Canada's most prolific bank robbers. In 1994, he pleaded guilty to robbing 14 banks in the United States, receiving a 12-year sentence, but was released in 2004, and fled the country while on parole. He then robbed 21 banks in Canada, before fleeing to France on his French passport. In 2016, he was extradited to Canada, and in 2017, was sentenced to 15 years in prison and ordered to pay back nearly $450,000 in restitution after pleading guilty to seven counts of robbery using a firearm.
Anthony Hathaway is an American man known for robbing thirty banks in Washington State between 2013 and 2014 to pay for his drug addiction. He is featured on the 2021 Apple TV+ podcast Hooked.
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