FBI: 'Silent Bandit' arrested in the Poconos

April 20, 2012 (WPVI) -- A man charged with robbing a bank in the Poconos is under FBI investigation for a series of bank robberies perpetrated by a suspect known as the "Silent Bandit."

Fawzi Atra was arrested Thursday a few minutes after police say he robbed an ESSA Bank branch at a grocery store in Mount Pocono.

A federal criminal complaint says Atra made off with $1,500. He waived a detention hearing on Friday afternoon and remains behind bars.

FBI spokesman J.J. Klaver says Atra is a suspect in five other bank robberies over the past two weeks, but has not been charged.

The robberies took place at branches inside grocery stores in Lehigh and Bucks counties and in the Trenton, N.J. area.

Atra's public defender, Ingrid Cronin, had no immediate comment Friday.

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new jersey, bucks county, bank robbery, local/state

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