Serial Montco Bank Robber Known As Straw Hat Bandit Gets 71 Years

DOYLESTOWN, PA — A Doylestown man and serial bank robber known as the "Straw Hat Bandit" for the elaborate disguise he wore during a brazen string bank robberies in Bucks and Montgomery counties has been sentenced to 71 years in prison.

Richard Boyle, 60, was sentenced Wednesday in United States District Court for 11 bank robberies between 2012 and 2016. He was also ordered to pay $495,000 in restitution.

Boyle was convicted in 2019 by a federal jury for the 11 bank robberies, as well as 10 counts of using a firearm to commit the robberies and 10 counts of money laundering.

Doyle robbed the following banks:

• June 8, 2012 – Colonial American Bank; 300 Welsh Road - Horsham
• Sept. 28, 2012 – First Federal Bank; 803 Park Ave. - Wrightstown
• Jan. 18, 2013 – Wells Fargo Bank; 706 Stony Hill Road - Yardley
• March 30, 2013 – PNC Bank; 1015 South Bethlehem Pike - Ambler
• May 24, 2013 – Harleysville Savings Bank; 1889 East Ridge Pike - Royersford
• May 24, 2013 – Univest Bank; 4285 Township Line Road - Schwenksville
• Aug. 30, 2013 – Wells Fargo Bank; 25 West Skippack Pike - Ambler
• Jan. 2, 2014 – First Priority Bank; 10 Sentry Parkway - Blue Bell
• Jan. 6, 2015 – Wells Fargo Bank; 481 West Germantown Pike - Plymouth Meeting
• July 3, 2015 – Wells Fargo Bank; 1675 Limekiln Pike - Dresher
• July 2, 2016 – PNC Bank; 1216 Welsh Road - North Wales

Boyle had already been convicted of robbing banks eight and a half years ago, and served a prison sentence for those crimes. At the time he said he "wished he could've made better choices," but after serving his prison sentence, he was soon robbing banks again, FBI Special Agent in Charge Michael T. Harpster said.

During his robberies, Boyle made careful plans to avoid being caught, prosecutors say. That included wearing elaborate disguises and gloves and even spreading bleach on the floor of banks to conceal his DNA.

Doyle attempted to slow the police response time to the bank robbery alarms by calling police or security about false reports, including a bomb threat at a country club, a planned attack at a mall, and a man with a gun at Temple University, federal prosecutors said.

After the robberies, Doyle laundered the stolen money by routing the funds through his photography business, Sky Eye View.

“The days of the ‘Straw Hat Bandit’ terrorizing the Philadelphia suburbs are over,” U.S. Attorney McSwain said. “He will no longer be stealing, playing games with the police, or putting innocent lives at risk. Instead, he will be spending the rest of his life in prison – something that he richly deserves.”