Charlestown man foils bank robbery; captures suspect who passed note to tellers

By Matt Woolbright, Globe Correspondent

Robert Krol Jr., had dumped the wig and was on the verge of getting away from the Charlestown bank he allegedly had just robbed when his plans were foiled by a 59-year-old Charlestown resident, authorities said today.

Krol, 32, was arraigned in the Charlestown District Court Wednesday where he pleaded not guilty to one count of unarmed robbery and was ordered held on $50,000 cash bail.

According to Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley’s office, Krol entered the Cooperative Bank branch on Main Street bank around 8:45 a.m. on Tuesday. He was wearing a wig, sunglasses, and a baseball cap in an attempt to mask his identity.

Once inside the bank, Krol allegedly passed a note to a teller, a note that gave specific instructions on what he wanted the bank employee to do, prosecutors alleged.

According to prosecutors, the note read, “All 100’s, 50’s, 20’s, no alarm no die [sic] packs be fast.’’

After a teller handed him a small amount of cash, Krol fled from the bank.

But the robbery was noticed by Jim Andrea, 59, of Charlestown, who was in a line at the bank when Krol walked in, handed over the note, and departed. Andrea followed Krol outside and tackled him in the bank parking lot.

Andrea, who prosecutors said is about 3 inches shorter and 50 pounds lighter than Krol, held on to the robbery suspect until police arrived on the scene.

Andrea was not seriously injured, and Conley praised Andrea for helping law enforcement capture a bank robber in a neighborhood once notorious for harboring them.

“That’s the real spirit of Charlestown,” Conley said in the release. “They may not make a movie about him, and we certainly don’t want anyone to get hurt being a hero, but you’ve got to hand it to a guy who can tackle a bank robbery suspect half his age.”

Cooperative Bank President John McCarthy was out of the office Wednesday afternoon and could not be reached for comment.