Bank Robbery Using Sex Toys And An Iron Man Mask Goes Awry
A Pittsburgh man who robbed a bank using an Iron Man mask and a bomb made primarily from a sex toy was recently brought to court and sentenced to years in prison, reports Trib Live.
The man behind the robbery, 36 year-old Aaron Stein, originally pleaded guilty last June, when he robbed a bank in Crafton, PA using the unexpected items. The Iron Man mask was used to hide Aaron’s face during the robbery, and the sex toy – which, more specifically, was a vibrator – was used in combination with wires and duct tape to somehow construct a bomb that would scare bank employees.
Although the bank robbery was committed almost a year ago, however, the actual hearing did not happen until this Tuesday.
They explained how Stein and his fiance were soon to be married at the time of the robbery, which, especially combined with the honeymoon, would be expensive. He also had child support and recent home repair bills to pay.
Before resorting to bank robbery, Stein had attempted to solve his financial woes through legal channels by “investing in risky foreign currencies,” a gamble that proved fruitless when Aaron saw his $9,000 investment vanish.
“My wife was not aware I’d taken the remains of our savings and put it into a risky investment, or that the savings were so depleted,” Stein told the judge.
“Because I’d been dishonest, I feared that final truth would be what destroyed my family.”
Sex toy bomb? Check. Iron Man mask? Check. Time to rob a bank to pay for the Honeymoon: https://t.co/utty0fWJKf pic.twitter.com/KFYJ79xOCl
— Donald Gilliland (@drgilliland) March 3, 2016
The bank robbery had been a crime of passion, the last resort of a desperate man who did what he did in the name of love, claimed those on Stein’s side of the case. It was a heat-of-the-moment mistake that most of us would make, they said.
When they pleaded with the judge to reduce the bank robbery sentence from actual jail time to house arrest, however, Mariani denied the request in no uncertain terms.
“The whole reason your client did what he did was to scare people into giving him money,” he told Stein’s attorney.
“This was sane, calculated decision-making. For me to tell the community that’s a house-arrest case… it can’t be that simple.”
Even though an Iron Man mask and a wired-up vibrator are not exactly the most intimidating bank robbery tools, Stein had gotten away with the robbery in the first place. It was only afterwards, when Stein was pulled over on the road, explains The Daily Mail, that Stein “immediately” confessed to his crimes, robbery and all.
He also let police know the sex toy bomb he had used during the bank robbery was actually fake, although they called in the bomb squad to remove it anyway.
PA #BankRobbery w/ Fake #Bomb made of "a Box, Black Tape, a #CellPhone & a #Vibrator" ~ See: https://t.co/QzuQ4YjD5c pic.twitter.com/zMTnvzJ72X
— Michael A. Haber (@sharky910) April 11, 2016
Possibly it was because Stein thought it would reduce his sentence that he gave himself up for the robbery so easily. After all, he has a lot to live for on the outside, it would seem from reports.
Aaron has a young son, he told the court during this week’s hearing. He also still has his wife, Constance Stein, who stuck with him even after he confessed to the bank robbery and married him as planned last year.
“I had the option to walk away from Aaron because of his crime. Most people expected me to. In spite of everything I’ve lost, I’ve come to conclude that my family is worth fighting for and Aaron is worth standing by.”
Aaron Stein can count himself lucky to have a loving family to welcome him home after his year and a half-long (at least) stint in prison, although odds are Aaron, whom WKYC has labeled as the “criminal but oddly creative” bank buster, will have negative associations with the bank, Iron Man, and vibrators for a long time to come.
[Photo by Michael Buckner/Getty Images]
