The Toy Gun Bandit
Frank Winoski Jr. graduated in 1955 from the local high school in his hometown of Holyoke, Mass. He then served in the Navy and attended Springfield College to pursue his love for teaching, something he was naturally good at, according to some folks who worked with him later in life.
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| Frank Winoski Jr. (Yearbook photo - 1955) |
Frank and his wife married on July 2, 1960. He put a large down payment on a newly constructed house in Holyoke and, along with his wife and their son, moved into the modest, $14,000+ ranch-style home sometime around July 1963. Frank was prompt in his mortgage payments to People's Savings Bank. (The house sold for $209,000 in 2012).
Frank was involved in a car accident at St. James Ave. and St. James Blvd. in Springfield on December 13, 1963 (not far from Page Blvd.). He received treatment for a minor head injury at Mercy Hospital and was later released.
The accident disabled Frank's 1961 Chevy, so he picked up a temporary vehicle from a Chevrolet dealer (Leader Chevrolet) in West Springfield while they made the necessary repairs to his.
Frank was out running errands on December 18, 1963. He paid several bills, paid off some debt, about $2,000 worth, and then headed home.
Along the way, he got into a car accident. It was just a minor crash, so Frank got out of his car, took off the coat he was wearing, and exchanged papers with the other driver, who made a note of the dealer's license plate. Although hurriedly, Frank was polite and reassuring that everything would be fine.
After they exchanged papers, Frank went on his way, and the other driver went on hers.
As Frank pulled up to his house, he spotted something amiss and sped away. Police staked out his home and arrested him following a short chase. And after obtaining a warrant, they opened the car trunk and found $4,000 in cash.
During their investigation, authorities discovered that Frank quit Springfield College after administrators found that he cheated on an exam. The college told him to leave on his own accord, or they would force him out. So, Frank resigned on August 10, 1961, due to "illness."
They also found out that Frank, unbeknownst to his wife and neighbors, had never held a teaching job and that neither Suffield Academy nor the Superintendent of Schools in Southwick had ever heard of him. (Even though Frank's wife would sometimes drive him to his "job" in Southwick and pick him up there too.)
Frank admitted to six robberies, listed below. Police also questioned him about an unsolved armed robbery at a department store in the summer of 1962, but it is unclear if he was the perpetrator.
1962
August 6, Sears, Roebuck, and Co. (Memorial Ave., West Springfield), $660
November 15, Westco Credit Union (Page Blvd., Springfield), $2,300
1963
February 18, Willimansett Credit Union (Chicopee), $1,000
February 28, Aldenville Credit Union (Chicopee), $1,800
April 5, First National Bank of Thompsonville (Northend branch, Enfield, Conn.), $4,999
October 24, Westco Credit Union (again), $2,500
December 18, Westco Credit Union (again), $6,010
The December 18 accident occurred about a block from the Westco Credit Union on Page Blvd. During the accident, a passerby saw a money bag on the front seat of Frank's car, and having heard of trouble at Westco, he wisely made a note of the plate number and reported it to the police, along with a description of Frank. (Frank may have removed his jacket to try and cover the money bag.)
When detectives contacted Leader Chevrolet, they obtained Frank's information and heard the backstory on why he was driving their car. (When they first heard about the dealer plate, they suspected Frank may have stolen the vehicle or the tags.) They figured that the first accident caused Frank to abandon his plan to hit the Westco Credit Union on December 13.
Even though Frank admitted his crimes to police, he pleaded not guilty to five counts of assault and armed robbery at his December 1963 court appearance. He was bound over for a grand jury with his bail set at $50,000.
A bank teller(s) and possibly other witnesses identified Frank, who, back then, was a hefty guy, weighing in at 250 pounds, and was self-conscience about his weight issues. (He struggled with weight most of his life, even referring to himself as "obese" in 1982).
When he drove himself to "work," he would instead cruise around Western Massachusetts and Northern Connecticut, sometimes casing banks or taking in a show, or just driving around aimlessly.
In Superior Court on January 27, 1964, Frank changed his plea to guilty on three counts of assault and (unarmed) robbery. (One indictment was three counts for the three separate Westco robberies on Page Blvd.)
The judge sentenced him to serve seven to twelve years behind bars in the Walpole State Prison (est. 1956).
Frank's confession forced the Thompsonville Police Department to reopen the First National Bank robbery case, which had been closed following the arrest of a man who robbed a different bank but also confessed to the April 5 robbery. (Not believing the man, the F.B.I. kept the case open. They later obtained a federal warrant to hold Frank Winoski Jr.)
At his trial in Connecticut on June 16, 1964, a judge sentenced Frank to seven years for the April 1963 robbery in Thompsonville. During that robbery, the teller, noticing that Frank's gun was a toy, told him so, and she began to stand up to him before he fled with the stolen loot. The press then labeled him the "Toy Gun Bandit."
Frank would purchase a new toy gun for each robbery and discard it immediately afterward, so there was no way to trace it back to him. (Purchased at Sears, probably.)
Frank S. Winoski Jr.: Jan. 8, 1937 - May 13, 2012.
Author's Notes:
Many who knew Frank spoke highly of him - even his victims, who didn't know him, had good things to say (some of the bank tellers told police how polite and kind he was.)
Frank's obituary states he received a B.S. from Springfield College. It also says he got an M.S.W. from SUNY-Albany. (He went back to school following his release from prison.)
His obituary also claims that he was a Navy veteran of the Korean War, which, given his date of birth, doesn't appear accurate. But reportedly, he was one of the youngest enlisted, so it is possible. He served for about three years in the Navy.
Stress from the holdups took its toll on Frank. During that period, he reportedly lost his appetite and had difficulty sleeping.
Frank had worked for a local grocer while attending college. The store manager said Frank was a good, reliable, hard worker. He trusted him with the combination of the store's safe and the record books. And he, like many others, was shocked about the bank robberies. He was unemployed when he committed the crimes, except for some work at a local furniture store.
Frank and his wife stayed married, but she was noticeably absent from his court appearances.
It is the belief that Frank went into social work after his release from prison and had no more run-ins with the law, except for perhaps a minor traffic violation. Even though Frank's co-workers said he was strict, they learned a lot from him.
There are some variations in some of the amounts of stolen cash. For example, some reports say the Thompsonville robbery netted him $5,000, but $4,999 seems correct. And the final Wesco robbery is sometimes reported as $6100, which is incorrect.
Frank looked at higher-priced properties before settling on the home he purchased in 1963. (The house he bought was newly constructed - or so it is believed). He ruled the others out because he said he couldn't afford them. Ironically, one of his neighbors was a police officer, and another cop lived nearby.
Frank worked at a local furniture store. The store's owner had a friend who was an F.B.I. agent, and Frank said his heart would drop each time the agent came into the store to chat with the owner.
It is interesting to note that the same teller was robbed each time during the Westco holdups.