New Bedford Native Arrested for Allegedly Robbing Boston, Fall River Banks

FALL RIVER (1420 WBSM) — A Providence man who is a New Bedford native has been arrested by the FBI caught in the act of allegedly robbing a Boston bank – after Fall River Police helped identify the man because he allegedly robbed a bank in that city last week.

As it turns out, he is a serial bank robber who spent almost three decades in prison for the same crime.

The suspect, 59-year-old William Sequeira, was identified by police in part because of his tendency to tell people that Ben Affleck’s bank robber character in the movie The Town was based on him, and because of his appearance on the Caught in Providence television show.

Fall River Bank Robbed

According to Fall River Police, officers responded to the Citizens Bank at 501 Rodman Street on Monday, September 26 for a reported bank robbery.

A bank employee told Officer Keith Pires that a white male wearing a face covering had approached the teller window and demanded money. Once the employee gave him the money, he fled on foot.

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Fall River Police Investigate the Robbery

Detective Luis Vertentes of the Major Crimes Division led the investigation into the bank robbery, and shared photos of the suspect within the department.

“Members of the Gang Unit advised Det. Vertentes that the suspect resembled an individual suspected of multiple bank robberies in and around the City of Boston,” police said in a release. “Officer Eric Pacheco of the Special Operations Division identified key characteristics which resembled a male with whom he had spoken while working a detail.”

The man had told Officer Pacheco that “Ben Affleck made a movie (The Town) in which the main character was based on him” and that “he had been on an episode of Caught in Providence with Judge (Frank) Caprio.”

Officer Pacheco then identified the suspect as Sequiera by watching previous episodes of Caught in Providence, police said. In the episode, Sequeira tells Caprio the same story about being the inspiration for the character in The Town, and also claims he has robbed over 100 banks.

Sequeira was in fact charged in a 1997 bank robbery in Cranston, Rhode Island and served more than 26 years in prison for the crime.

Det. Vertentes then alerted fellow authorities of the suspect’s identity and that credible information suggested he was on his way to Boston.

Caught in the Act at a Boston Bank

According to Boston 25, the FBI’s Violent Crimes Task Force was in the Citizens Bank in the Back Bay section of Boston on Tuesday, October 4 to alert them that Sequeira might be in the area, when Sequeira walked in and allegedly attempted to rob the bank at that very moment.

The FBI and Boston Police took him into custody, and Boston 25 reported he was arraigned Thursday in Boston Municipal Court and ordered held on $50,000 bail.

According to Fall River Police, Sequeira will also be facing criminal charges stemming from his involvement in the September 26th robbery of Citizens Bank in Fall River.