BOSTON, Massachusetts — A 68-year-old New Jersey man was arrested on Saturday afternoon, October 24, after allegedly trying to rob three banks in Boston's Chinatown neighbourhood within 27 minutes, the Boston Police Department said in a statement published on Sunday.

Source: Boston Police Department

Officers from District A-1 (Downtown) were first called at about 12:17 p.m. to East West Bank at 68 Harrison Avenue, police said. A teller told officers the suspect had passed a note demanding $200; the teller refused, and the man left after several minutes. The teller's description and a photo of the suspect were relayed to officers downtown, according to police.

Second and third banks within minutes

At about 12:38 p.m., officers responded to a robbery in progress at Cathay Bank at 621 Washington Street, police said. The teller there said the suspect passed a note demanding $200 and claimed he was armed with a firearm; this time the suspect fled with an undisclosed amount of U.S. currency, according to the department.

Six minutes later, at about 12:44 p.m., officers were called to Bank of America at 630 Washington Street, where the suspect allegedly passed a note indicating his intent to rob the bank and was again refused, police said. Officers at the scene detained a man matching the description from the two earlier incidents; police said he was positively identified and taken into custody.

Police identified the man arrested as Anthony Matarazzo, 68, of New Jersey, and said he is expected to be arraigned in Boston Municipal Court for armed robbery. During booking, officers recovered a note from the suspect's chest pocket and an undisclosed amount of U.S. currency; no firearm was recovered, the department said. WHDH 7 News, NBC 10 Boston and WCVB also reported the arrest. The charge is an allegation and has not been proven in court.