A man on parole for bank robbery has been arrested in connection with another bank robbery this week on New Scotland Avenue.
Carmen Palella, of Duane Avenue, Scehnectady, was arrested Thursday by the U.S. Marshal’s Fugitive Task Force. Police put Palella’s age at 29, but state records indicate Palella is 40.
Palella faces one count of third-degree robbery. He was arraigned and ordered held.
Palella is accused of walking into the SEFCU branch just after noon Tuesday, approaching a teller and demanding money. He did not show or imply a weapon. The teller gave him money, and he put it in a plastic bag and left on foot, police said.
The robber wore a T-shirt, denim shorts and a baseball cap. The description given of the robbery came with a unique feature, as well: The robber was missing his left arm from the elbow down.
Authorities did not say what led them to Palella.
Palella robbed a bank in April 1999 in almost the same fashion as this week’s robbery — down to the street on which the bank was located. In that case, Palella walked into the Key Bank on New Scotland Avenue wearing street clothes and a baseball cap. He demanded the clerk fill a plastic bag with large-denomination bills and fled on foot. He also did not display or suggest he had a weapon, according to accounts.
In that case, Palella was done in by happenstance; one of the customers in the bank recognized him. The woman, who did not see the robbery itself, saw him in the bank and passed the information on to police.
Palella allegedly told police then that he robbed the bank because he was having money problems.
In the 1999 bank robbery, Palella was sentenced to up to nine years in prison. Records indicate he was released in December and was to be on parole through 2014.
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