Longtime Bank Robber Arrested In Columbia Heights

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A three-time convicted bank robber is in custody in connection to a robbery in Fridley last month.

Steven Walter Smialek, 60, is accused of robbing the TCF Bank on the 5200 block of Central Avenue Northeast on March 10.

Fridley police, with the help of the FBI, arrested Smialek on May 2 at a Columbia Heights residence.

Police say Smialek has a nearly 40-year history of bank robberies, going back to 1980.

Smialek is expected to be charged with first-degree aggravated robbery, and is currently in federal custody.

In:
• FBI
• Fridley News
• Columbia Heights