Moro Man Pleads Guilty To Role In Staged Bank Robbery

Stephen R. Wigginton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today that Eugene Babcock, 58, of Moro, IL, pled guilty today in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois to charges stemming from a staged bank robbery at Liberty Bank in Bethalto, Illinois, that occurred on December 13, 2014. Sentencing is scheduled for September 15, 2015, at 9 a.m.

At sentencing, Babcock faces a term of imprisonment of not more than ten years, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of not more than three years.

Facts revealed in open Court today indicated that the bank’s manager had engaged Babcock to assist him with a "staged" bank robbery, which the manager then reported, in order for the two of them to share in funds stolen from the bank. When confronted by the police, Babcock returned over $100,000 taken from the fake bank robbery to investigators.

The case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigations and the Bethalto Police Department. The case is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Laura Reppert.