Accused Bank Robber's Sons Turn Him In

Nov. 21, 2005— -- William Ginglen was a family man who taught his three sons a sense of duty, the sons now say.

Ginglen served in the Marines and even raised a son who is now a police officer. So when Jared Ginglen went online and saw his father's picture on the sheriff's Web site -- naming his father as a suspect in a string of Central Illinois bank robberies, he was shocked.

"For our family, it was devastating," Jared Ginglen, a police officer, said.

Jared Ginglen read an article about the robberies in the newspaper and the description of the suspect's car matched his father's. He consulted with his brother Garret, who went onto the same site and literally threw up when he saw the photo.

"It was just a quick panic," said Garret Ginglen, who was at work when he saw the picture. "I knew immediately that it was my father."

Along with their other brother, Clay, the Ginglens decided to confront their father at his home. Since he was not there when they arrived, they decided to turn him in.

Ginglen, 64, is accused of stealing more than $56,000 between November 2003 and July 2004. He admitted to the robberies and, on Friday, a federal judge delayed his sentencing, giving his attorney more time to make a last request for leniency from prosecutors.

The Ginglen brothers, who all have their own families, said their father had come to them several times asking for money. He never told them why he was in need, they said.

"He was hugely low on money, it was a situation that was out of control," Clay Ginglen said.

Clay Ginglen also said his father was often away from home and told his family that he was working as a collection person for a company that distributed video poker games to bars.

"I had no reason to doubt him," Clay Ginglen said. "At the same time, it sounded sort of a dubious way to earn a living."

Despite his crimes, Ginglen's attorney hopes that his client, who he says is a family man, will be able to see his sons and grandchildren soon.

"I love my sons," Ginglen said. "I think they could have helped me get through this thing easier. I could have turned myself in and probably would have but I didn't really have a chance to do that. They did what they thought was right. I can't fault them for that."

But their relationship has certainly suffered. Clay Ginglen is the only son who still talks to Ginglen, but never about the robberies. It is mostly small talk, Clay Ginglen said. They never visit. They say their mother, Donna Ginglen, has suffered the most though the ordeal.

Despite his legal transgressions, the Ginglen sons say their father raised them to be good citizens.

"It was his ultimate demise," Garrett Ginglen said. "He taught us to do the right thing, and that got him caught."