Cornell Neilly, the man dubbed the “Burberry Bandit,” has been released on supervised release despite recent allegations that he robbed five banks across New York City in a single month.
Neilly, 35, was arrested after a spree of incidents between mid-August and mid-September in which he allegedly approached bank tellers and demanded cash via written notes. In one case, he allayed fears by taking a small amount of money; in others, tellers triggered alarms and he fled.
Despite having a criminal history of at least 34 prior arrests—including earlier bank robberies—he was released by Judge Jeffrey Gershuny, who reportedly declined to impose either cash bail or bond in this instance.
Prosecutors had pushed for $50,000 cash bail or a $150,000 bond, citing concerns Neilly posed a risk to public safety, particularly given his history. Critics in law enforcement have questioned the wisdom of letting a serial alleged offender return to the streets under supervised release so swiftly.
Neilly is now charged with five counts of felony robbery. He is scheduled to appear in court again in early October.