Robbery leads FBI to Cary

CARY – Federal authorities said his first mistake was robbing a bank. That was followed by a key second mistake.

Thomas Infante allegedly used a portion of his pay stub to write a note demanding money from a teller at a Fifth Third Bank branch in Chicago. He left the other half – with his name and address – outside the bank, authorities said.

Chicago FBI agents used the pay stub found near the 4017 W. Lawrence Ave. branch to track down the Cary man suspected of robbing it.

Agents arrested Infante, 40, Friday in Cary, hours after he robbed the bank, FBI spokesman Ross Rice said.

On Monday, Infante was charged with a single count of felony bank robbery. He is accused of entering the Fifth Third Bank shortly before 6 p.m. Friday and handing a teller a note demanding money and implying that he was armed.

Receiving slightly less than $400 in cash, Infante left the bank, leaving behind the handwritten note penned on the back of the pay stub, Rice said. Infante's name and address were found on the other half of the pay stub outside the bank.

"It's not the first time this has happened," Rice said. "Bank robbers run the gamut. We face sophisticated bank robbers who carefully plan their crimes and get away with hundreds of thousands of dollars, and then there is this guy who threw away his pay stub outside the bank."

Regardless of the method, the fear is the same for the bank teller and other employees, Rice said.

The Chicago FBI's Violent Crimes Task Force investigated the case and arrested Infante in Cary. His last known address is 13 Willow Circle.

Infante appeared Monday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Arlander Keys in Chicago. He was ordered held without bond and remains at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago.

If convicted of the felony charge, he could be sentenced to 20 years in prison.