OCOEE, Fla. — WFTV talked to the man who Ocoee police said stole thousands of dollars from the bank he worked at and then wore a bizarre disguise to break back in and return the money.
Investigators said Nicholas Russell wore a red blanket and a motorcycle helmet while returning the money to the Wells Fargo on West Colonial Drive.
Police said Russell stole $8,000 from a safe and it went unnoticed until later in the day after Russell had clocked out.
That night, the bank’s surveillance video captured the break-in.
Police said the video shows Russell wrapped in a red blanket with a motorcycle helmet covering his head. They said he stuffed the money in his manager’s desk drawer.
A short time later, after the disguised person left, the bank manager received a computerized voice message on his cellphone.
The message said, “Go to the branch. The money from the safe is in your desk. Will never stop terrorizing you and your employees. Today was the beginning.”
Russell told Channel 9’s Jeff Deal it wasn’t him in the video, but police said Russell told them he did it because men in black suits told him to.
But police aren’t sure if Russell really believes that or if he felt bad about taking the money and came up with the elaborate plot to return it.
“I’ve never seen somebody come in the middle of the night wearing the helmet and carpet over their shoulders to return money to a bank,” said Lt. Mike Bryant, of the Ocoee Police Department. “That’s a first.”
WFTV
