3 bank heists in one day

Three city banks fell victim yesterday to aggressive, money-hungry thieves, the FBI said.

The heists, each committed by a lone individual, occurred just a week after FBI officials told the Daily News that local bank robberies were up 30 percent compared with the same period last year.

"Three in one day is something we're not used to seeing," said FBI spokesman J.J. Klaver.

The first robber struck a Wachovia Bank on Erie Avenue near 6th Street at about 1:50 p.m. Klaver said the thief, a 6-foot-tall white or Hispanic man in his 30s, threatened a teller with a silver semiautomatic handgun.

The robber, who wore a gray-knit ski cap and a black scarf that covered his nose and mouth, fled on foot with an undisclosed amount of cash.

At 2:47 p.m., a 6-foot-tall goateed black man in his 30s held up a Bank of America on Clarendon Avenue near Knights Road by physically threatening a teller, Klaver said.

The robber wore a blue and red Phillies cap and a red short-sleeved T-shirt. He also fled on foot with a bundle of cash.

The third thief, a short, heavily bearded black man in his 20s, used a threatening demand note that suggested he was armed to rob a PNC Bank at 16th and Market streets at 4:40 p.m., Klaver said. He wore a puffy brown jacket with fur around the hood. He also fled on foot.

All of the thieves were captured on surveillance cameras. The FBI is working with the Philadelphia Police Department to solve the heists, Klaver said.

Tipsters can contact the FBI at 215-418-4000. *