Bold Bank Robbers Make Their Way To The Treasurer's Office
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Two people are shown on surveillance video robbing a bank.
Their getaway took them of all places: the Cook County Treasurer's office.
CBS 2's Lauren Victory shares exclusive video of the crime's aftermath.
On November 22, while people were waiting for Chicago's official Christmas to tree light up at Millennium Park, investigators had their eyes on a bank around the corner.
A woman in stripes robbed the Fifth Third bank, then took off.
"It was amazing. They were amazed that we had the footage," said Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas.
She said her cameras caught the woman and friend strolling into her City Hall office just six minutes after the robbery. But something was off, at least enough to make an employee stop in her tracks.
"What they found on the tapes were these two bank robbers in the back of my office, taking the cash out of bags and stuffing it in their clothes," Pappas said.
The couple calmly walked out and hasn't been seen since.
Pictures from the bank and what appears to be the treasurer's office are on the FBI's "Wanted Bank Robbers" website. It's one of 47 unsolved bank robberies in Chicago over the past three years.
Expand the map, and Chicago looks like a popular destination for bank bandits: more than 10% of open cases are in the area.
The Cook County Treasurer is relieved.
"It's a lot, because off what could've happened if somebody had a gun," Pappas said.
She eliminated office security guards years ago, installing security cameras instead. Footage is most often used for crowd and employee-monitoring, not crime-solving.
"I was happy nobody was hurt," Pappas said.
Robbers hit four Fifth Third locations in two years just in Chicago. CBS 2 asked a spokesperson about security protocols, but he said he can't release them because he doesn't want that information used against the bank.
