Perrysburg Twp. man to plead to robbing 8 financial institutions

1/27/2011

A Perrysburg Township man described by the FBI as "a one-man crime spree" was charged Wednesday with eight bank, credit union, and savings and loan robberies dating to 2009.

Bernie M. Augustyniak, 45, of 27696 Oregon Rd. has been cooperating with authorities and has agreed to a plea agreement involving all eight counts, his lawyer, Gretchen DeBacker, said.

Sentencing on the federal charges is set for May, according to Ms. DeBacker, who said she was not at liberty to release the details of the plea agreement.

The federal charges were filed while Augustyniak was held in the Lucas County jail after pleading guilty to robbery in an Oregon case, according to Supervisory Agent Dave Dustin of the Toledo FBI office. He said the investigating agency was the FBI's Northwest Ohio Violent Crime Task Force in Toledo.

Augustyniak is charged with robbing:

• Sun Federal Credit Union, 4760 Monroe St., on Nov. 27 and again on Jan. 21, 2010.

• Charter One Bank, 5911 Lewis Ave., on Mar. 5, 2010.

• Sun Federal Credit Union, 3341 Executive Parkway, on April 2, 2010 and July 9, 2010.

• Huntington National Bank, 1509 Main St., Genoa, on May 21, 2010, and Sept. 23, 2010.

• First Federal Savings and Loan 3234 Holland-Sylvania Rd., on Aug. 5, 2010.

Oregon police Sgt. Chris Bliss said Augustyniak robbed Johnny's on the Spot convenience store, 2468 Woodville Rd., in March. Sergeant Bliss said Augustyniak also was charged with robbing the Johnny's on the Spot store at 3205 Navarre Ave. in Oregon in February of last year, but this offense was dropped as part of a plea agreement.

Lucas County Common Pleas Judge Ruth Ann Franks has scheduled Augustyniak's sentencing in the Oregon case for Tuesday, according to court records. On that same day, he is scheduled to make his initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Toledo on the bank robbery charges, Ms. DeBacker said.

Augustyniak has also been convicted of robbery in Wood County Common Pleas Court, but the details were unavailable Wednesday night. Ms. DeBacker said sentencing in that case is set for March.

The attorney said her client faces a maximum of 18 years in prison for the Oregon robbery and five years for the one in Wood County. These state sentences would be served before Augustyniak's federal sentence.

Contact Carl Ryan at: carlryan@theblade.com or 419-724-6050.