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A New York City felon known as the “Burberry Bandit” is back on the streets after being released from jail following a string of alleged bank robberies.
Cornell Neilly, 35, earned the nickname after he was caught on surveillance camera in 2012 wearing a similar pattern associated with the luxury brand, according to the New York Post.
Neilly was arrested on Sept. 15 after police said he robbed five banks throughout New York City over the course of one month, the outlet reported. In each case, Neilly allegedly passed a note to the bank teller demanding cash, the NYPD confirmed to Fox News Digital.
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Cornell Neilly previously earned the nickname “Burberry Bandit” after allegedly robbing several banks while wearing a plaid shirt similar to that of the luxury designer. (Obtained by the New York Post)
The accused bank robber’s spree allegedly began on Aug. 16, when he strolled into the Chase Bank at 27th Street and Seventh Avenue in Midtown Manhattan and handed the teller a note demanding $3,500, the Post reported. The teller reportedly handed him $1,000 before he made his escape.
Neilly allegedly asked for the same amount of money when he entered the Chase Bank on Park Avenue and East 26th Street on Aug. 25, where he ultimately walked out with $716, the outlet said.
Just two weeks later, on Sept. 9, Neilly is accused of entering another Chase Bank in Midtown and demanding $4,500 – but reportedly ran off when the teller sounded the alarm.
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On Sept. 12, Neilly allegedly demanded $3,500 from the Chase Bank on West Fourth Street in the West Village. The next day, he allegedly made off empty-handed after handing a teller at the Chelsea Chase Bank a note that read, “This is a robbery. I want all large bills. Now. This is real,” causing the employee to trigger the bank’s silent alarm.
However, upon appearing in front of Brooklyn Supreme Court Judge Jeffrey Gershuny, the suspected bank robber was allowed back on the streets on supervised release – despite having 34 prior bank robbery arrests – according to the Post.
The 2019 appointee of then-Mayor Bill de Blasio reportedly rejected the prosecution’s request for $50,000 cash bail or $150,000 bond.
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Chase Bank in Manhattan, New York City on July 16, 2024. (Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
“The fact that the bail was declined by this judge is negligent on the judge’s part,” an NYPD officer who asked to remain anonymous told the New York Post. “It shows a real lack of care for public safety.”
“At what point does he keep getting out and gets desperate and brings a gun to a robbery instead of a note and kills somebody?”
The controversial decision comes just one month after Gershuny was demoted to presiding over misdemeanor cases in criminal court following an incident in which he reportedly pulled out his own gun on the bench while hearing a weapons case, the Post reported.
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Sign at the entrance to a Chase branch in Manhattan on Aug. 15, 2025. (Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images)
According to the Post, in an August court hearing, Gershuny asked a police officer to demonstrate how a suspect was concealing a weapon, before reaching for his own gun while presiding over the case. The incident reportedly resulted in Gershuny being moved to hearing night court cases in Manhattan Criminal Court.
“The court system does not comment on individual bail determinations, whether in Criminal Court or in Superior Court,” Al Baker, spokesman for the state Office of Court Administration, said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
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“It is important to note, however, that the vast majority of bail decisions turn on the court’s discretionary weighing of a broad range of factors in order to make an individualized assessment of the defendant’s risk of flight to avoid prosecution. That assessment involves due consideration of information and arguments presented by the prosecutor and defense counsel, as well as other materials submitted to the court.”
Neilly is charged with five counts of felony robbery and is scheduled to return to court on Oct. 1, according to court documents obtained by Fox News Digital.
Neilly’s attorney did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
The NYPD confirmed the most recent charges against Neilly but did not comment on past arrests.