Three men were arrested Thursday and charged with plotting to rob the First National Bank of La Grange, the FBI Chicago office and the La Grange Police Department said Friday afternoon.
Joseph "Jerry" Scalise, 73, of Clarendon Hills; Robert "Bobby" Pullia, 69, of Plainfield; and Arthur "Art" Rachel, 71, of Chicago were charged with attempt and conspiracy to commit armed robbery in a 58-page criminal complaint filed Friday in the U.S. District Court in Chicago.
Judge Nan R. Nolan ordered the men held pending a bond hearing scheduled for next Wednesday.
The three men have been the focus of a joint investigation between FBI and La Grange police since July 2007, when the men were suspected of robbing the Harris Bank branch at 1000 S La Grange Rd in July 2007. Approximately $120,000 was reported taken in that incident.
Using electronic surveillance, law enforcement officials this past December learned of plans to rob the First National Bank of La Grange at 620 W Burlington Ave. The suspects were observed on several occasions in the vicinity of the bank, most notably on Thursdays when an armored car routinely arrived at the bank to pick up substantial amounts of cash, police said.
All three men have extensive criminal records and ties to organized crime. In fact, they were arrested Thursday while attempting to break into the home of a deceased mob boss, Angelo "The Hook" LaPietra, who resided in Chicago's Bridgeport neighborhood.
Scalise and Rachel achieved notoriety in 1980 when they robbed a jeweler in London, England, of $3.6 million in valuables, including the 45-carat Marlborough Diamond. Following their arrest upon arriving at O'Hare airport, the duo was extradited back to London, where they were subsequently convicted and served 12 years in prison.
Scalise in 2008 drew on his criminal experience as an adviser during the filming of Public Enemies, a motion picture in which actor Johnny Depp portrayed the legendary bank robber, John Dillinger.
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