Portland Man Pleads Guilty to Armed Bank Robbery and Gun Charges

Contact: Jamie Guerrette
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 780-3257
    
Portland, Maine:  United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced today that Francis J. Ready, 59, of Portland, pled guilty in U.S. District Court to armed bank robbery and using a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence.

The charges arose out of the armed bank robberies of TD Bank in Portland on October 3, 2015 and of Bangor Savings Bank (“BSB”) in Portland on October 12, 2015.  In both instances, the defendant used a firearm to rob the banks.  He absconded with $2,846 from TD Bank and with $14,189 from BSB.  Following the BSB robbery, he was apprehended by a Portland Police officer in a nearby parking area and found to be in possession of a silver Harrington and Richardson revolver.

Ready faces up to 25 years in prison, five years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine on the armed bank robbery charges and a mandatory consecutive seven years in prison for using a firearm to commit the robberies.

The investigation was conducted by the Portland Police Department; and the Southern Maine Gang Task Force comprised of agents and officers from the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations; and the Portland, South Portland, and Lewiston Police Departments.