Английская Википедия:Gilbert Galvan
Шаблон:Short description Шаблон:Infobox criminal
Gilbert William Galvan Jr. (born Шаблон:Circa 1957)Шаблон:R is an American bank robber. Having spent many of his adult years in prison, Galvan fled to Canada where he assumed the name Robert Lee Whiteman and began a three-year spree robbing banks and jewelry stores. The media dubbed him the Flying Bandit and the Phantom Bandit.Шаблон:R Galvan's exploits were the subject of a 1996 true crime book, The Flying Bandit, written by Robert Knuckle and Ed Arnold, which was adapted into the 2022 film Bandit.
Criminal career
In the United States, Galvan had embezzled from Western Union.Шаблон:R In 1984, he escaped from prison in St. Joseph County, Michigan, and fled to Pembroke, Ontario, where he took a new name, Robert Lee Whiteman, and claimed to be a computer salesman. He began robbing banks in 1984.Шаблон:R
Galvan's method was to wear a disguise, carry a weapon (which he never fired during any of the robberies), and pass a note to a teller.Шаблон:R Galvan would charter planes to travel to a main terminal, where he would transfer to an Air Canada flight. With this method, his luggage was transferred to the connecting flight without going through security, permitting him to transport the weapons he would use in his robberies.Шаблон:R In some of his jewelry store robberies, Galvan had an accomplice.Шаблон:R
Galvan robbed banks in every Canadian province except Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland. His takes ranged from $600 cash in his first robbery to $1.2 million in jewelry. His thefts totaled $251,333 in cash and more than $2 million in jewelry.Шаблон:R Galvan was dubbed the Flying Bandit by Canadian media during his crime spree robbing banks and jewelry stores.Шаблон:R
When Galvan and an accomplice stole $1.2 million in jewelry in Vancouver, they left behind a gun which police traced to a break-in in Ottawa.Шаблон:R
A long-term investigation by police into stolen goods in the Ottawa area came across a man named Robert Whiteman fencing jewelry. Police determined that Whiteman had no social insurance number or birth certificate, but found a trail of credit-card receipts in that name. Comparing credit-card receipts and airline receipts led police to surveil Whiteman's residence in Pembroke where they gathered enough evidence to charge him.Шаблон:R
When he was arrested in 1987, Galvan said he had planned to confess to his wife and move with her to the Turks and Caicos Islands.Шаблон:R
Galvan pleaded guilty to 59 armed robberies in Canada, plus 17 related charges.Шаблон:R In 1988, Galvan was sentenced to 20 years.Шаблон:R He was deported from Canada to prison in Wisconsin in 1994 and released in 1998. After his release, he robbed a bank in McHenry, Illinois, in December 2000 and April 2001, for which he was sentenced to 15 years.Шаблон:R In December, 2014, Galvan was released from federal custody.Шаблон:R
In May, 2015, Galvan was arrested for retail theft in Barrington, Illinois, and was sentenced to 50 days in jail.Шаблон:R
In popular culture
Robert Knuckle published The Flying Bandit, Bringing Down Canada's Most Daring Armed Robber in 1996.Шаблон:R
In 2005, the Canadian true crime series Masterminds (Canadian TV series) featured Galvan's exploits in episode 39.Шаблон:R
Galvan's crimes were fictionalized in the 2022 film Bandit, starring Josh Duhamel who met with Galvan during filming. Duhamel said Galvan told him that he had "wanted to create a life and family, and his only option in his mind was to start robbing banks."Шаблон:R
Personal life
Galvan and his wife, whom he met in Ottawa, were married in Hamilton, Bermuda and had at least two children.Шаблон:RШаблон:Efn
Notes
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