PATERSON, N.J. (AP) — It’s true, James G. Madison says: He is the “Mad Hatter,” the robber blamed for more than a dozen bank heists over the past year.
Authorities say the same nondescript robber, wearing various hats, was responsible for 18 northern New Jersey robberies that netted about $60,000 from September to July.
In a jail interview published in yesterday’s Star-Ledger of Newark, Mr. Madison said there were “mitigating circumstances” in the 10-month spree.
“But I’m not saying I’m some Robin Hood,” he told the newspaper. “I’m not.”
The “Hat Bandit” avoided arrest for months, although authorities released images from surveillance videotapes. He was nearly caught in a robbery of a Montclair bank in May after a pack of red dye exploded in a booby-trapped money bag he was carrying.
Mr. Madison has been charged with just one robbery: the July 23 robbery of a Bank of America branch in Union Township.
He told the newspaper he had taken a plea agreement and planned to plead guilty to federal charges in some or all of the “Hat Bandit” bank robberies. Two officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment on the case said he was expected to plead guilty today.
The robberies began about a month after Mr. Madison was released from a halfway house after serving nearly 20 years in prison for the bludgeoning death of a girlfriend.
He said that when he got out, he found a $42,000-a-year job as a machinist.
“I thought, that’s not bad, right? That was good money when I went in. But that was 20 years ago,” he said.
“My rent was like $690 a month, car insurance, other bills. There’s not much left,” he said. “I’m not saying that’s an excuse.”
Mr. Madison said he didn’t gamble, drink or use drugs. He told the Star-Ledger he never had a weapon with him and never intended to hurt anyone.
He said he didn’t intend to rob that Bank of America branch in July, but his girlfriend’s car needed repair and his rent was late.
“I was going to transfer money from one account to another. I had the slips filled out,” he said.
What happened next?
“You know,” he said.
He was arrested outside his apartment in Maplewood.
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