Rhode Island Man Sentenced for Bank Robbery

Defendant, dubbed “THE BAD HAT BANDIT,” robbed four banks in Greater Boston

BOSTON - A Rhode Island man was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for bank robbery.

Stephen A. Davidow, 55, of Pawtucket, R.I., was sentenced by U.S. District Court Chief Judge Patti B. Saris to seven years in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution of $8,817. In September 2018, Davidow pleaded guilty to four counts of bank robbery.

Between Dec. 6 and Dec. 11, 2017, an individual, later identified as Davidow, robbed four banks in the Greater Boston area. Based on the physical location of the banks, surveillance footage, the bank tellers’ descriptions of the robber, and other similarities, law enforcement determined that the same individual was involved in each robbery. On Dec. 15, 2017, having distributed images of the alleged perpetrator to the local news, law enforcement received a tip that the suspect was Davidow. Photos of Davidow were shown to one of the tellers who positively identified Davidow as the man who robbed the bank.  

During the time of the robberies, Davidow was on supervised release for a 2007 bank robbery conviction in Rhode Island. Davidow was located and was arrested on Dec. 18, 2017, in Massachusetts on a Rhode Island federal warrant and has been in custody since his arrest.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Office; John Gibbons, U.S. Marshal for the District of Massachusetts; Boston Police Commissioner William Gross; and Boston University Police Chief Kelly A. Nee made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth G. Shine of Lelling’s Major Crimes Unit prosecuted the case.