ST. PAUL, Minn. - The man suspected of being the prolific bank robber known as the "Man in Black" has been charged in federal court.
A federal indictment unsealed Thursday afternoon charges Mark Wetsch, 49, with a series of bank robberies occurring in Minnesota between March 9, 2011, and January 3, 2012.
Wetsch entered his plea of not guilty at the the U.S. District Court in St. Paul.
Wetsch had been dubbed the "Man in Black" for the dark clothing police say he wore during his robberies
Wetsch was specifically charged with 13 counts of armed bank robbery.
The indictment lists all the alleged robberies and money stolen:
- $1,880 from the Rolling Hills Bank and Trust in Brewster, Minnesota, on January 3, 2012
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$3,200 from the Glenwood State Bank in Alexandria on December 29, 2011
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$9,350 from the First National Bank in Hastings on December 27, 2011
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$3,634 from the Wells Federal Bank in St. Peter on December 22, 2011
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$2,350 from the Franklin Bank in Minneapolis on December 20, 2011
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$3,000 from the Bremer Bank in Minneapolis on November 22, 2011
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$3,801 from the Premier Bank in Albertville on November 9, 2011
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$8,823 from the First National Bank in Richfield on November 4, 2011
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$6,946 from the First National Bank in Gaylord on June 13, 2011
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$9,445 from the Merchants Bank in Hampton on May 13, 2011
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$2,225 from the Wells Fargo Bank in Faribault on April 26, 2011
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$3,050 from the United Educators Credit Union in Eden Prairie on April 26, 2011
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$11,400 from the Klein Bank in Cologne on March 9, 2011
Wetsch's criminal history in Minnesota dates back several years. In 2005, he was convicted of stealing nearly $1.4 million from a St. Louis Park nursing home, where he was director of nursing and home care. Wetsch spent three years in federal prison.
The Minnesota Board of Nursing revoked his nursing license and board documents show a complaint from another group of metro nursing homes who were also concerned he may have taken money from them. It doesn't appear Wetsch was ever charged.
Wetsch was arrested in January after a bank robbery in Brewster, in southern Minnesota. Authorities said at the time that he alluded to other bank robberies. Wetsch told authorities he used a toy gun in the Brewster robbery because he didn't want to hurt anyone.
According to the FBI, bank robberies in general in the metro were up a bit last year compared to 2010 - 54 robberies in 2010 versus 70 in 2011 - but authorities say they don't consider it a significant increase.
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