Blind Man's Bluff? No, This Stickup's Real

They say justice is blind. In the case of a botched bank heist this week, so was the criminal.

A sightless man attempted to rob a Nashville branch of First Tennessee Bank on Tuesday, according to city crime reports. The suspect, Bruce Edward Hall, was apprehended by a security guard as he scrambled to escape with an undisclosed amount of money, the reports said.

Only minutes earlier that same security guard had helped Mr. Hall, who uses a white stick to get around, navigate his way to a teller window. At the window the suspect verbally demanded money and presented the clerk with a note stating he was robbing the bank, according to police reports.

Upon realizing that Mr. Hall was blind, the teller mouthed the words "It's a robbery" to the guard while gathering the requested cash. The security guard stopped the suspect as he was leaving the branch and held him until police arrived.

No word on whether Mr. Hall was acting alone or how he intended to escape.

- Louis Whiteman


Stuffed stockings and presents are a few of the things that come to mind when thinking about Christmas. But for the people of Bangor, Maine, the holiday wouldn't be the same without a TV commercial for Bangor Savings Bank.A warm and fuzzy bank commercial? It may sound strange, but the $1.2 billion-asset bank's annual ad gets some Bangor citizens into the holiday spirit like little else can. A hit since its 1983 debut, the spot shows two fuzzy kittens playing with Christmas tree ornaments. Slated to run again this season, the bank is already receiving fan mail in anticipation of the ad.

"It's just a real endearing type of commercial," said Joyce Sarnacki, the bank's marketing director. "It's not consistent with our current marketing style per se, but there is such a public demand for this that there is no thought of taking it off."

Though it's unclear whether the ad has boosted business, Ms. Sarnacki said, Bangor Savings will continue to run it because it casts the bank in a positive light. "It adds to the image the bank has tried to create for a long time," she said, "which is a warm, hometown bank feeling."

- Taran Provost

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