Suspect in String of Bank Robberies Held

Police say they’ve arrested the “TieRob Bandit,” suspected of robbing 27 banks in 23 cities across the country while wearing business attire. Francis Joseph Reilly, 55, was taken into custody in a hotel parking lot in Sedona. Doris Lang, 51, who was with Reilly, was arrested and charged with harboring a fugitive and aiding and abetting. Besides being a suspect in two bank robberies in suburban Mesa since April 1997, Reilly, who authorities said escaped from a Boston halfway house last year, was wanted on federal warrants for allegedly robbing banks in Atlanta, Miami and Pittsburgh. A handgun was found in Reilly’s possession, and the FBI was checking to see if it was used in the holdups.