Drag queen bank robber Huy Trong Luong sentenced to prison term for nine bank robberies
AP Photo/Sang TanHuy Trong Luong of Jersey City, New Jersey, was sentenced on August 12 for a series of bank robberies and attempted bank robberies committed in New Jersey and Connecticut. Over a five-month period in 2008, Luong robbed or attempted to rob nine different banks and stole more than $39,000. Each robbery was committed while Luong was disguised as a woman. U.S. District Judge Jerome B. Simandle sentenced Luong to twelve years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $39,067 in restitution.
Luong entered a guilty plea to two counts of bank robbery on March 31, 2009. The two bank robberies which were the basis for the plea were the Commerce Bank in Bergenfield, New Jersey, and a Wachovia branch in Greenwich, Connecticut. As part of the plea, Luong also admitted to the other seven robberies, which were also considered at sentencing. Luong was indicted in both New Jersey and in Connecticut, and the cases were consolidated in New Jersey for purposes of the guilty plea and sentencing.
Luong's cross-dressing disguise failed to protect him during his failed robbery attempt of a bank in Chatham, New Jersey, on May 5, 2008. Police found a black wig, a black Dolce & Gabbana hat, a woman's make-up kit, and a black jacket inside his getaway minivan. His minivan also contained Roman candle fireworks disguised as dynamite. Luong admitted that he made death threats or threats of violence to the bank tellers during the robberies, and during the three Connecticut bank robberies he passed the tellers a note that he had a bomb.
During his plea hearing, Luong admitted to a total of nine robberies. On January 11. 2008, Luong robbed a Wachovia Bank in Greenwich, Connecticut, of $2,000. On January 13, 2008, he robbed $2,000 from Commerce Bank in Westport, Connecticut. On January 22, 2008, Luong robbed Provident Bank in Toms River, New Jersey, of $11,109. On April 20, 2008, he robbed the Commerce Bank in New Canaan, Connecticut, of $3,600. On April 26, 2008, he attempted to rob the Wachovia Bank in Highland Park, N.J.. On April 28, 2008, he robbed Commerce Bank in Stafford Twp., N.J., of $5,388. On April 30, 2008, he robbed the Commerce Bank in Bergenfield, N.J., of $12,020. Luong robbed Commerce Bank in Mahwah, N.J., of $2,950 on May 4, 2008, and on May 5, 2008, he attempted to rob the Commerce Bank in Chatham, N.J. The final failed robbery of the Commerce Bank resulted in his arrest.
