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Explosive device part of heist plan at BofA

09:33 AM EDT on Saturday, May 13, 2006
By 6NEWS Staff
E-mail Us: 6NEWS@WCNC.com





6NEWS

FBI agents video taped Bernaldino Munoz-Mendez making bombs he planned to use in a bank robbery.

Agents were there when a suspect unveiled to them a big, bold plan to rip off Bank of America. The target was the bank's secured headquarters in Uptown.

But the criminal was convicted this week by a tape, which showed him explaining his plan to an undercover officer.

As incredible as it seems, agents said the plot actually had a chance to work. The suspect planned to rob the Bank of America branch in Founders Hall by causing an explosion in the main branch across the street.

The date of the holdup was last November 18, the week before Thanksgiving. There was one problem with Munoz-Mendez’s plan; his partner in crime was actually an FBI agent.

Munoz-Mendez agreed to be video taped while he was committing a crime, but he didn’t know the man behind the camera was an FBI agent.

"I've never seen someone plan out to explode one bank to rob another," Assistant US Attorney Kevin Zolot said. “As far as bank robberies go, this is very unusual for the area,” Zolot said.

Zolot prosecuted the case. Agents said Munoz-Mendez bragged in a bar about wanting to rob a bank. Someone within earshot reported it to the FBI

Agents said that he planned to throw a Molotov cocktail into the large Bank of America branch on Trade Street to distract attention from his real target in Founders Hall.

An undercover agent worked with the suspect, even took pictures of him casing Founders Hall. The FBI also has on video of Munoz-Mendez making two bombs.

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"A Molotov cocktail explodes, shatters and the fire spreads everywhere. The fuel would go and so he had the potential of hurting a lot of people and it also had the potential of working as well because all the emergency personnel would have responded," Zolot said.

But before the suspect could even test the cocktails FBI agents moved in on him.

Munoz-Mendez was convicted Wednesday in less than two hours. The jury got to see the FBI tape and listen to the agent who recorded it.

Munoz-Mendez will be sentenced in Federal Court and is looking at 35 to 45 years in prison.

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