A former Florida man was sentenced Tuesday to 6½ years in a federal prison for two armed bank robberies during which prosecutors said he wore a wig and face mask, according to U.S. Attorney Scott Brady.
Robert Stiver, 71, formerly of Pompano Beach, was ordered to pay $7,800 in restitution, according to court filings.
Stiver pleaded guilty in April to robbing the Allegheny Valley Bank in Shaler on Nov. 2, 2016 and the First Commonwealth Bank in Harmar on Dec. 9, 2016.
In the first robbery, Stiver was holding a revolver when he approached a teller and demanded money. He was wearing an orange construction vest, homemade mask and long wig, prosecutors said. He fled with about $2,000 in a bag around his neck.
Stiver again was wearing a long wig, face mask and construction vest during the second armed robbery. A teller handed over about $5,700 and he fled out an employee entrance, prosecutors said.
At the time, Stiver was on federal supervision for a narcotics conviction from the 1990s. Prosecutors said in court filings that Stiver’s criminal history dated back to the 1960s and required a harsh sentence for the bank robberies.
“Nothing has deterred Stiver from committing violent offenses,” prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memorandum. “Even after being released from his last prior major offense while in his sixties, Stiver committed these offenses to net a few thousand dollars.”
Stiver has been in jail since his arrest at Pittsburgh International Airport on Dec. 22, 2016. Investigators found money from the Harmar robbery in his bag, federal authorities said.
Defense attorney Jon Pushinsky argued that Stiver’s age, failing health and unlikelihood of future offenses were reasons for a lower sentence.
“Given his multiple health problems, Mr. Stiver believes that he is near the end of his life,” Pushinsky wrote. “Not dying in prison is his primary concern.”
