The suspect behind a three-county bank robbery spree was arrested May 1 after the rush-hour holdup of the Rahway Savings Institute in Colonia, according to U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman.
Jason Novello, 35, of Elizabeth, was charged with one count of bank robbery in connection with the Colonia theft. He made his initial appearance May 2 before Judge James B. Clark III in Newark federal court and was detained.
Around 9:05 a.m. May 1, Novello entered the Rahway Savings Institute, approached a bank teller and held up a note that claimed he had a gun and demanded money, according to Fishman’s office. The teller gave Novello the cash, including two “bait bills” from which the serial numbers had been prerecorded by the bank.
A bank employee followed the suspect out of the bank and noted the license plate of the blue Hyundai Elantra in which he fled. Law enforcement officers were able to track the car’s registration to an address where they waited for Novello. FBI agents arrested him when he showed up in the Hyundai, according to Fishman’s office.
Authorities said Novello is suspected of committing eight other bank robberies since August 2013, including an earlier heist at the Rahway Savings Institute in March. He is believed to have robbed Investors Savings Bank in Elizabeth twice, as well.
Other banks Novello allegedly robbed include PNC Bank in Edison, Capital One Bank in Iselin, PNC Bank in Scotch Plains, Capital One Bank in North Plainfield and PNC Bank in Fanwood.
The bank robbery charge carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Fishman praised special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Aaron T. Ford in Newark, and thanked the Middlesex County and Somerset County prosecutors’ offices, as well as the Woodbridge, Edison, North Plainfield, Fanwood, Scotch Plains and Elizabeth police departments for their work.