CHICOPEE, Mass. — A Massachusetts man dubbed the “Route 91 Bandit” by the FBI has been sentenced to 7½ years in federal prison for a multistate robbery spree that targeted banks and credit unions along the Interstate 91 corridor.
Taylor Dziczek, 44, formerly of Chicopee, was sentenced to 90 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. He also was ordered to pay $82,567 in restitution.
Dziczek pleaded guilty in September 2025 to three counts of bank robbery.
Federal, state and local authorities investigated 14 robberies and one attempted robbery between September 2021 and August 2022 in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont and New Hampshire. Authorities alleged the crimes were committed by the same person.
More than $137,000 was stolen during the overall robbery spree, according to WWLP.
Credit Unions Among Those Targeted
Credit unions accounted for four of the financial institutions targeted during the series of robberies.
According to WWLP, they included:
- Arrha Credit Union (now BrightBridge CU) in West Springfield, Mass., where $5,000 was stolen Sept. 9, 2021.
- American Eagle Credit Union in Enfield, Conn, where $7,950 was stolen Sept. 20, 2021.
- Workers Credit Union in Athol, Mass., where $10,400 was stolen Nov. 5, 2021.
- Franklin First Federal Credit Union in Greenfield, Mass., where $2,800 was stolen Jan. 21, 2022.
The remaining targets included People’s United Bank, Webster Bank, Liberty Bank, Savings Bank of Walpole, Greenfield Cooperative Bank, Keystone Bank and TD Bank.
The largest single robbery reported in the series occurred June 3, 2022, at a TD Bank in Nashua, New Hampshire, where $53,120 was taken.
DNA From Red Bull Straw Leads to Suspect
A break in the investigation came following the May 26, 2022, robbery of a People’s United Bank in Plainville, Connecticut, according to WWLP.
Investigators recovered paper currency wrappers and submitted them for DNA testing. Dziczek subsequently emerged as a suspect, according to the report, which said authorities then conducted surveillance on Dziczek at MGM Springfield and recovered a straw he had used while drinking a Red Bull.
DNA recovered from the straw matched DNA found on the money wrappers, according to WWLP.
Dziczek was eventually accused of carrying out all 14 robberies in the series. He was arrested without incident in December 2022 and has remained in custody since then, the news outlet reported.
Robberies Spanned Four States
The FBI gave Dziczek the “Route 91 Bandit” nickname because many of the financial institutions were located in communities along or near Interstate 91, according to WWLP.
The robbery spree stretched from western Massachusetts into Connecticut, Vermont and New Hampshire.
In addition to the four credit unions, authorities linked Dziczek to robberies or an attempted robbery at financial institutions in Brattleboro, Vermont; East Windsor, Somers, Avon, Plainville and Meriden, Connecticut; Keene and Nashua, New Hampshire; and Turners Falls, Massachusetts, according to WWLP.
