Aug. 20--With three recent suburban bank robberies remaining unsolved, police in communities where the hold ups occurred are hoping that someone comes forward with information that can help break the cases.

"We could certainly benefit from new information," Cedarburg Police Chief Tom Frank said about the June 29 robbery of the Commerce State Bank branch.

Just days after the Cedarburg bank robbery, a Bank Mutual bank branch was robbed in Mequon on July 2.

And on May 13, a robber hit an M&I Bank branch in Mukwonago.

Authorities don't believe the robberies are related.

In two cases, the Wisconsin Bankers Association is offering rewards for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the robberies. A $10,000 reward is available in the Cedarburg case and $5,000 in the Mukwonago case.

The association said its assistance hasn't been requested in the Bank Mutual case.

In the Cedarburg robbery, a man wearing a false beard, dark glasses and a U.S. Navy baseball cap and brandishing a small-caliber pistol robbed the Commerce State Bank branch at W61-N297 Washington Ave., about 9:30 a.m. June 29.

The man escaped in an employee's car with an undisclosed amount of cash after he locked three employees and one customer in a back room and left a fake bomb behind.

The man was originally thought to be in his 50s or 60s, but Frank said the man was well-disguised and now police believe that he was younger.

"We're continuing to follow up on the leads we have," Frank said, adding that his department is working with the FBI in the hope of solving the robbery.

Eric Skrum, communications director for the Wisconsin Bankers Association, says a higher reward is offered in the Cedarburg case because "essentially hostages had been taken" and an object was left behind that turned out to be a fake bomb.

"Because of the heightened aspect of it, we decided to increase the amount," he said.

In the Mequon case, a man, possibly armed with a rifle or other long-barreled weapon, robbed the Bank Mutual branch at 11249 N. Port Washington Road about 2:05 p.m. July 2.

The man was described as 5 foot 7 inches tall, stocky build, wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt, white t-shirt and baggy blue jeans.

Mequon Police Detective Andrew Fischer said his department is still trying to develop a suspect and has interviewed a number of people about the robbery. Investigators are hoping that photos taken from bank surveillance cameras will help lead to a suspect.

In the Mukwonago case, a gunman ordered two employees into the vault at the M&I Bank branch at the M&I Bank at 730 Fox St. about 11:20 a.m. May 13.

The man was in his late 40s or early 50s, wore a mask and a hooded sweatshirt, Mukwonago Police Lt. Steve LaDue said.

Although a reward is being offered in the case, LaDue said it has yet to produce additional leads for investigators.

Hold-ups rare for suburbs

Authorities in the three communities said bank robberies are rare for them.

LaDue said before the M&I robbery, the last bank robbery in Mukwonago occurred in the early 1990s.

Fischer, the Mequon detective, said he has been with the department for 24 years and believes there have been only three bank robberies during that time.

Frank, the Cedarburg chief, the Commerce State Bank branch robbery was only the second bank robbery in Cedarburg during his 31 years on the force.

Although there have been a spate of bank robberies in suburban communities, bank robberies in Wisconsin are down for the first half of 2009 compared to the same period in 2008.

From Jan. 1 through June 30, 26 bank robberies have occurred in the state in 2009 compared with 52 for the same period in 2008, according bank crime statistics complied by the FBI.

In 2008, there were 109 bank robberies in Wisconsin and 108 in 2007, according to the FBI.

-----

To see more of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.jsonline.com.

Copyright (c) 2009, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

NASDAQ-NMS:BKMU,

A service of YellowBrix, Inc.