Irish dad faces jail in US over bank raids

Cormac Murphy

A DUBLIN man who dropped his child at a creche on his way to robbing a bank is facing up to 12 years in a US state prison.

Illegal immigrant Alan Nolan (39) admitted robbing two banks in 2007 and 2010.

Nolan, who stole a total of $57,000 (¤42,000), will be deported back to Ireland after serving his sentence.

He carried out his first bank heist in February 2007 at a branch of the Bank of New York in Wharton, New Jersey.

Nolan handed a bank clerk a note saying "Give me the money or I'll shoot. I have gun." He made off with over ¤8,000.

Over three and a half years later, the Dublin man told another bank clerk that he had a bomb that would explode unless she handed over cash.

He said it was timed to explode in 20 seconds and stole $46,000 (¤34,000).

He had adopted an alias, 'Alan Heffernan', when he dropped his young child off at day-care before the robbery.

hnews@herald.ie