Creative Names for Criminals Make Them Easier to Catch

Aug. 3, 2006 — -- For FBI offices around the country, the phrase "what's in a name" has taken on new meaning. The crime-fighting team has turned to an unusual but effective way to catch bank robbers, using humorous and catchy names like "Cell Phone Bandit," "Miss Piggy Bandit" and "The Sweet Tooth Bandit" to attract the public's attention and help nab serial bank robbers.

"Quite often, the crimes the FBI investigates are very complicated. By assigning a nickname to the bad guy, it makes the case more memorable to the person reading the newspaper or watching it on the news," says Tom Simon, FBI special agent in Chicago.

In the Windy City, FBI agents dubbed one robber the "Quick and Quiet Bandit" after he pulled off a series of bank heists while demanding that each teller be "quick and quiet" when handing over the cash.

"By publicizing his name, we're hoping that he may use that phrase in his day-to-day life and it will trigger something in a witness's memory that will lead to his capture," Simon says.

But no such luck yet. Acting quickly and quietly, this man is still on the loose.

The Seattle FBI bureau has attracted national attention for its nicknaming of suspects. "We've got hundreds of names for Seattle-area robbers," says FBI spokeswoman Roberta Burroughs, one of the people in charge of creating these names.

One notable culprit was the "Can You Hear Me Now Bandit," named after the catchy Verizon cell phone ads. The thief, whose real name is Monteroy Caldwell, acquired his nickname after he robbed 11 Seattle-area banks, all the while talking on his cell phone. He has since been caught, convicted, and faces sentencing in September.

In California -- the state with the most bank robberies -- assigning catchy nicknames does more than attract the public's attention.

"We had more than 500 bank robberies last year," says Laura Elmiller of the Los Angeles FBI bureau. "By using an MO [modus operandi], we ... keep track of the various robbers while also gaining the public's and media's attention."