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Bank Robber Apologizes, Sentenced To Prison

WILKES-BARRE — A man who lives in a $400,000 home and earned $80,000 a year is locked up for robbing three banks. The man from Harveys Lake admitted in co...

WILKES-BARRE -- A man who lives in a $400,000 home and earned $80,000 a year is locked up for robbing three banks.

The man from Harveys Lake admitted in court to robbing three banks in Wyoming and Luzerne Counties.

At his sentencing Friday morning, the robber apologized to the judge and the bank tellers he held up and he explained why he did it.

Kailnay was silent as he was led out of the courtroom in handcuffs after being sentenced to six and a half to ten years in state prison.

Minutes earlier, he told the judge he robbed the banks out of desperation to pay off debt. Kalinay apologized to the judge and to four bank employees who testified that they were terrified when they were robbed by Kalinay.

Two tellers said they still have nightmares.

Kalinay was also ordered to pay more than $30,000 in restitution.

State police said Kalinay crashed his motorcycle minutes after he allegedly robbed the PNC Bank in Mocanaqua in 2012. After they found a BB gun and stolen cash at the crash scene, troopers say Kalinay admitted to that bank robbery as well as robbing the First Liberty Bank in Noxen with a pellet gun.

Investigators say Kalinay also confessed to robbing the Luzerne National Bank near Dallas in November, 2011 when he threw a balloon full of ammonia at a bank manager.

Girard Kalinay had been out on bail since he pleaded guilty to robbing the banks earlier this year.

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