'Average Joe' Suspect Nabbed

A man suspected of bank robberries in Ohio and Kentucky for two years was arrested last month after a heist in Kentucky.

Daniel Schwarberg, 43, was arrested July 11 after a holdup at a Bank One branch in Lexington. Police believe Mr. Schwarberg, a nondescript white man, is the person known by investigators as "Average Joe," who has allegedly stolen about $60,000 in at least 18 bank robberies in southern Ohio and Kentucky since 1998, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Mr. Schwarberg was stopped in a 2000 Mitsubishi Mirage by a local deputy who had gotten a description of the car from a teller who was held up.

Ed Boldt, an FBI agent in Cincinnati, said it was the teller's quick response and detailed description of the car that helped law enforcement officials arrest the mild-mannered Mr. Schwarberg of Verona, Ky.

"He's a very quiet guy. In fact, in all of the robberies, usually the only person knowing the bank was being robbed was the victim teller," Mr. Boldt said. He declined to say whether Mr. Schwarberg had given a confession. So far he has been charged with bank robbery in the July 11 holdup and three others in Lexington.

If convicted, Mr. Schwarberg faces up to 20 years in prison on each count.


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