Arrested 'Backstreet Bandit'

The Boston man known as the Backstreet Bandit is being held on $50,000 cash bail after he allegedly robbed banks in Revere, Saugus and Malden. Rolando Gala, 23, of 56 Fernwood Road, Boston was arraigned in Chelsea District Court on Friday following his arrest in a residence on Broadway Street in Revere for possession of Class A and Class C substances with the intent to distribute. An additional complaint was issued charging him with the June 14 unarmed robbery of the Bank of America on Squire Road.

At $50,000 Judge D. Dunbar Livingston set the bail after revoking an initial $5,000 bail from a June 19 Chelsea home invasion case, but allowed revocation, which means Gala will be held for up to 60 days even if he posts bail. The drug charges for the additional bail of $50,000. On Monday he is due back in court. Police responded to a Broadway residence around 8 p.m. on Thursday to serve an arrest warrant. Inside the residence, police found heroin and the prescription drug Clonazepam. They also found Gala, who they believed resembled the suspect depicted in surveillance footage of the Revere, Saugus and Malden bank robberies, as well as two fedoras similar to the one the suspect wore. Gala was charged with possession of heroin and Clonazepam with the intent to distribute. Three others were found in the apartment, including Dianna Robinson, 39, of 250 Broadway; Sheryl Maloney, 27, of 26 Holley Ave., Lynn and Michael Kelley, 28, of 16A Clinton St., Lynn. Each were charged with being present where heroin was kept. Police found a large amount of cash and two fedora style hats in Gala's room. It has been reported prosecutors said the bank robberies were part of a "drug fueled crime spree."
Gala is believed to be responsible for the June 18 robbery of Eastern Bank, 605 Broadway St. in Saugus and the July 19 robbery of the Bank of America branch on Centre Street in Malden. A teller from the Malden robbery identified him as the robber. The decision to charge Gala in those cases will be determined by prosecutors in Essex and Middlesex counties respectively. The FBI Violent Crimes Task Force said Gala wore a fedora style hat during each of the robberies. He presented a manila envelope to the teller and demanded money. Once the envelope was filled, he took off on foot. Surveillance videos did not reveal the use of a weapon during any of the robberies and no one was physically injured. The FBI nicknamed Gala the Backstreet Bandit because of the fedora style hat and clothes he wore, which are similar to a member of the pop group the Backstreet Boys, though there is no connection between him and the musical group.