83-year-old connected to several suburban bank robberies, arrested after Valentine's Day heist: FBI

CHICAGO (WLS) -- An elderly man and his younger accomplice have been arrested after a Valentine's Day bank robbery.

According to a recently filed FBI criminal complaint, 83-year-old Donald Bennett and 55-year-old Edward Binert may be connected to a series of armed bank robberies that started in the summer of 2023.

Bennett was previously convicted in 1989 for multiple Chicago-area bank robberies. He was also convicted for an assault with a deadly weapon in 1967 in Kentucky. Bennett was recently released from prison in 2020 after serving a 31-year sentence, according to the FBI.

The complaint alleges Bennett and Binert met each other while serving time in federal prison.

There are seven bank robberies at Chase and Fifth Third Banks being investigated by the FBI which are possibly connected to Bennett and Binert. The first two were on June 27 and Aug. 25 in Oak Lawn, followed by a Nov. 1 robbery in Lombard. Then there was a Nov. 29 bank robbery in Willowbrook and then another robbery on Dec. 1 in Tinley Park. The new year saw a Jan. 26 bank robbery in Glen Ellyn.

The final heist that led to the alleged duo's downfall was a Valentines Day heist on Feb. 14 in Hickory Hills, in which the robbers used fake wigs and face coverings. Bennett was arrested Thursday and is awaiting a detention hearing that will be held at 1:30 p.m. on Feb. 22.