Man FBI says is 'TCF Bandit' charged in Elmhurst heist

A man charged with robbing an Elmhurst TCF Bank this week also is suspected in a string of similar stickups dating back three years, federal authorities said Wednesday.

Harold Beck, 57, of Berwyn, was ordered held without bond during a brief federal court appearance on charges related to Tuesday's bank robbery in which an assailant made off with $3,269.

The FBI confirmed Beck is its notorious 'TCF Bandit,' who is accused of being behind 13 heists in Chicago and its suburbs, including robberies at TCF Banks in Chicago, Countryside, Franklin Park, LaGrange Park and Westchester since February 2007.

The prolific bandit also is a suspect in two heists at the same Charter One Bank in Norridge.

In each heist, the robber said he was armed and threatens to harm the teller. He never displayed a weapon and no one was physically harmed in the robberies.

At 11 a.m. Tuesday, Beck handed a bank teller at the Elmhurst TCF Bank on York Avenue a handwritten note on a piece of cardboard that read, "Have gun. No dye packs! All cash," according to a federal complaint. The robber fled, leaving the note behind. A second teller spotted the robber driving off east on Butterfield Road in a green Dodge minivan, the complaint states.

Police caught up with a van matching the teller's description about 15 minutes later on Roosevelt Road, within two miles of the bank. Beck was behind the wheel, federal officials said. They said a bag of cash was found on the front passenger side of the minivan, and tellers later identified Beck as the man who robbed the bank.

Beck is being held at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago. He faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.