NEWARK, N.J. - A Passaic, New Jersey, man today admitted robbing six banks in Hudson, Union, and Passaic counties in June and July of 2016, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Quentin Morales, a/k/a “Quinton Morales," 27, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Peter G. Sheridan in Trenton federal court to an information charging him with three counts of bank robbery. He also admitted to robbing two additional banks and attempting to rob another.
Prior to his arrest in August 2016, Morales was one of Newark FBI’s most wanted bank robbers.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Morales robbed, or attempted to rob, the following New Jersey banks:
Bank
Location
Date
Wells Fargo Bank
Kearny, New Jersey
June 24, 2016
Capital One Bank (attempted)
Elizabeth, New Jersey
June 27, 2016
Wells Fargo Bank
Kenilworth, New Jersey
June 30, 2016
Wells Fargo Bank
Linden, New Jersey
July 6, 2016
Wells Fargo Bank
Clifton, New Jersey
July 13, 2016
Wells Fargo Bank
Union, New Jersey
July 25, 2016
At each bank, Morales presented a note demanding cash from bank tellers. For example, during the June 24, 2016 robbery, Morales handed the teller a note stating “You are being robbed. Give me all the large bills you have, no alarms, no noise." On at least two occasions, Morales said he had a gun and urged bank tellers to hurry. He was apprehended on Aug. 2, 2016, by officers of the N.J. State Parole Board.
The bank robbery charges to which Morales pleaded guilty each carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for May 14, 2018.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI’s Violent Crimes/Interstate Theft Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Timothy Gallagher in Newark, with the investigation leading to today’s plea. He also thanked the N.J. State Parole Board and the Kearny, Elizabeth, Kenilworth, Linden, Clifton, Union Township and Newark police departments, as well as the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office for their efforts in the investigation and apprehension of Morales.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Veronica Allende of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Trenton.
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Defense counsel: Linda D. Foster, Esq., Assistant Federal Public Defender
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
