Business Woman Busts Bank Robber ...by Hal Wilson

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Dennis Weiss A cloud of red smoke and a suspicious looking bicyclist changed Denise Allingham's routine morning into an adventurous chase that ended with a would be bankrobber behind bars. The fit 35 yr old from East Moriches was on her way to her morning workout, traveling west on Montauk Highway, when she noticed something unusual, "a kid came out and picked his bike up out of the weeds," Allingham reported, "I thought it was odd, the way he picked the bike up" out of some tall grass which borders the HSBC bank at 1718 Montauk Highway, Mastic. She thought it looked suspicious and watched through the rearview mirror. " I saw a cloud of red dust and knew it was a bank robbery." The red "dust" was the exploding anti-theft dye used by banks to foil robbers and the HSBC bank had, indeed, been robbed.

At this point the story takes an unusual twist. Not content to merely phone 911,the feisty restaurateur jammed her Mercedes into a U-turn and proceeded to hunt the pedal pushing perp down. " I couldn't see him " she explained, her face tensing as she remembered the adventure, " I thought he got away." Undaunted, she continued east on Montauk , spotted him on Barnes Road and turned in after him. "He was in the path where they found the head," she stated, referring to a grisly decapitated head found last winter on a path west of Barnes Road in sight of Montauk Highway. "The man, a muscular white male in his late twenties, with tattoos on one arm, was picking through the bag that contained both the money and the dye bomb . He had removed the incriminating, red stained hat and shirt, and appeared to be searching for some money that was unmarked by the dye. The outlaw saw her. " He looked at me and I looked at him, he was right there he could have had a gunknifewhatever, so I went back" (to Montauk Highway). Allingham called 9-11 and reported the location of the bike-riding bank robber. At this point she had admirably discharged her duties as a citizen and could continue on her way, justly proud for having gotten involved. But this is not the style of the trim, no-nonsense businesswoman. After calling the information in, Allingham turned yet again and followed the fleeing felon north on Barnes Road. As the fugitive pedaled furiously down the country lane, Allingham tailed him from a distance, all the while reporting his movements to the 911 operator. She saw him turn left onto the north Sunrise Service Road, pedaling wildly trying to escape his dogged pursuer. Three sector cars from the 5th precinct cornered him along the service road. The desperate fugitive tried to evade the officers but they subdued him in short order. He tried to go around the first car, but the other two blocked him. When he tried to run they swarmed him. That was it!" The intrepid Ms. Allingham then led police to the pond where they recovered the red stained loot bag, along with an undisclosed sum of "red" hot cash.

"This woman did a terrific service to the bank, the community and the police," said Det./Sgt. Alan Feinstein, commanding officer of the Suffolk County Police Department Robbery Squad. "Ms. Allingham did everything properly," Feinstein continued. "She didn't put herself in danger, kept a cool head, led us to an arrest and evidence. She wrapped the case up for us very nicely."

Police arrested Dennis Weiss, 25, just houses away from where he lives on the North Service Road of Sunrise Highway. According to Feinstein, Weiss entered the bank just a few minutes after 9:00 yesterday morning and handed the teller a note that said he was armed and wanted money. The teller immediately complied and handed Weiss an undisclosed amount of cash and the security packet of exploding dye. Weiss was charged with Robbery 3rd degree, a class D felony. Feinstein said he does not know what kind of sentence this may hold for Weiss as he had two prior bank robbery arrests in 2000 and was on probation for those crimes.

While Allingham seemed unfazed by events her partner Mike Mole was plenty impressed. " I think it was darned heroic, what she did!" Mike enthused," She didn't have to follow him, she could have gotten killed. That's just my demeanor, the raven haired proprietor stated "Ask anyone, I'll follow them(errant customers) into the bathroom, to keep drugs out of my bar." Some erstwhile beer thieves were astounded when the determined owner trailed them into the woods to retrieve the absconded goods.

While Mr. Mole was justifiably proud of his counterpart he did have one other misgiving," She didn't have to show them the money," he joked. "I wonder how much was there?"

Ms. Allingham's and Mr. Mole's establishment, the Manor House, at 1443 Montauk Highway in Mastic, is a fine and comfortable eatery with an excellent ambiance and a true oak paneled bar. A fun filled evening will be in store for all who venture there. Drop in, enjoy the fine food, the relaxing atmosphere, the pleasant conversation.just don't try to skip on the check.