Toms River and Lodi bank robbery suspect arrested

A man suspected of robbing two banks in New Jersey was arrested after he stopped for a cup of coffee and a cigarette a block away. The suspect is 38-year-old Michael Cassano, CYO baseball coach from Queens. Cassano was described wearing a fedora hat and a pair of sunglasses. He approached a teller demanding $4,000 just before 2:45 p.m. at the Hudson City Savings Bank in Lodi on Monday. He was also was caught on surveillance footage robbing PNC Bank in Toms River on February 5. In both robberies, he placed a BB-gun on the counter and fled with cash. Maywood Police Chief David Pegg stated that an officer spotted a man matching the description of Cassano near the entrance of a Dunkin Donuts drinking coffee. Pegg added that after Cassano approached a Paterson man outside for a cigarette, officers immediately surrounded him and discovered the gun and the cash. Lodi police charged Cassano with first-degree robbery and a pair of weapons offenses.