Former businessman, 70, admits to getting ‘boozed up at lunchtime’ and robbing a string of banks wearing a fake moustache
- Ross Oliver McCarty pleaded guilty to four robbery charges from the 1970s
- McCarty would get ‘boozed up’ before the robberies, according to agreed facts
- The pensioner was arrested at his Edgecliff home in December last year
A 70-year-old man has admitted to getting ‘boozed up at lunchtime’ and robbing a string of banks four decades ago, according to court documents.
Ross Oliver McCarty pleaded guilty this month to four charges related to stealing cash at banks in Sydney’s CBD and North Shore in 1977 and 1978.
The pensioner was arrested at his Edgecliff home in December last year after investigators used his fingerprints to link him to the crimes.
Ross Oliver McCarty leaves the Downing Centre District Court in Sydney on Thursday, October 17, 2019
McCarty was working as a floor trader at the time of the offences and did not keep strict hours, a statement of agreed facts revealed, according to the ABC.
‘So I’d get boozed at lunch time and go and do it,’ a quote from McCarty read in the agreed facts.
‘Those were boozy days … everybody would drink at lunch time.’
Two charges against McCarty have been withdraw, while four others were transferred to the District Court.
McCarty, who was in his late 20s at the time of the offending, is alleged to have stolen a total of $12,693 during eight robberies.
McCarty was arrested at his Edgecliff home in December last year after investigators used his fingerprints to link him to the crimes
He targeted ANZ, Commercial, the Bank of NSW, National Bank and the Rural Bank and handed tellers notes that warned he had a gun and demanded they hand over money in small denominations.
McCarty got a ‘really good job’ in 1979 and stopped robbing once he gave up gambling
He wore disguises including sunglasses and moustaches, the agreed facts said.
McCarty was only caught after his fingerprints were taken when he was charged with an unrelated offence in 2010 and later matched to the archived notes found at the crime scenes.
The agreed statement of facts said McCarty was robbing banks because he lost money while gambling.
‘I used to lap it up and it kind of snowballed … the more I did the worse I felt about the whole thing and [it] was leading a double life,’ he told police, according to agreed facts.
McCarty got a ‘really good job’ in 1979 and stopped robbing once he gave up gambling.
He will return to NSW District Court this week.