Toms River, New Jersey Man Pleads Guilty to Bank Robbery, Admits to Nine-Robbery Spree

TRENTON, NJ—A Toms River man pleaded guilty today to federal bank robbery charges, admitting he committed nine robberies in Ocean, Monmouth, and Burlington counties, United States Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

Scott Mackay, 47, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Joel A. Pisano to an Information charging him with three counts of bank robbery. During the proceeding, Mackay admitted to six additional robberies—including two banks he hit twice.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

During the robberies, Mackay approached a teller and demanded money, threatening the teller with a note stating that he had a gun. Mackay admitted that he possessed a gun during the course of the robberies.

Mackay was apprehended after authorities circulated a photograph of him, taken during the Wachovia Manalapan Branch robbery, to police departments across the state. Officials from the Guttenberg, New Jersey police department recognized the robber as Mackay and notified the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Mackay pleaded guilty to robbing a Bank of America in Ocean on May 11, 2009; a Wachovia Bank in Toms River on September 14, 2009; and a TD Bank in Willingboro on January 30, 2010. In all, he admitted to robbing the following banks:

Date Bank Amount Stolen

• February 2, 2009 TD Bank; Willingboro, N.J. $3,197
• April 3, 2009 Wachovia Bank; Toms River, N.J. $2,610
• May 11, 2009 Bank of America; Ocean, N.J. $4,897
• June 11, 2009 Provident Bank; Brick, N.J. $2,413
• September 14, 2009 Wachovia Bank; Toms River, N.J. $4,717
• October 15, 2009 Wachovia Bank; Manchester Township, N.J. $3,165
• January 27, 2010 Wachovia Bank; Manalapan, N.J. $1,130
• January 30, 2010 Wachovia Bank; Manahawkin, N.J. $2,099
• January 30, 2010 TD Bank; Willingboro, N.J. $4,860

Each of the three counts to which Mackay pleaded guilty carries a maximum statutory sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. Mackay is scheduled to be sentenced on September 16, 2010.

In determining an actual sentence, Judge Pisano will consult the advisory United States Sentencing guidelines, which provide appropriate sentencing ranges that take into account the severity and characteristics of the offense, the defendant's criminal history, if any, and other factors. The Judge, however, is not bound by those guidelines in determining a sentence. Parole has been abolished in the federal system. Defendants who are given custodial terms must serve nearly all that time.

Fishman credited Special Agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Red Bank Resident Agency, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael B. Ward, the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Luis A. Valentin, and the Toms River Police Department, under the direction of Police Chief Michael Mastronardy, with the investigation leading to the guilty plea. He also thanked the Guttenberg, Willingboro, Ocean, Brick, Manchester Township, Manalapan and Manahawkin police departments who worked together to effect the defendant’s capture.

The Government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Davenport of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Trenton.