PITTSBURGH -- A father-and-son team of thieves who literally ripped off an ATM plead guilty rather than going to federal court, according to a report in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Thomas W. Rice Sr., 59, and his son, Thomas W. Rice Jr., 28, both of Farmington, admitted they were the robbers who wrapped a chain around an ATM at a Fayette County bank, wrenched it from its concrete base and hauled it away on a stolen tilt-bed truck.
The 1997 caper at the First Philson Branch in Saltlick caused quite a stir in the tiny community, especially when the local magistrate and the fire chief were forced off the road after giving chase.
The Rices were indicted by a federal grand jury in January on charges of bank larceny and conspiracy.
At 4:05 a.m. on Oct. 6, 1997, the Rices and a third suspect who has not yet been charged pulled up to the bank in a truck they'd stolen from a nearby gas station and stole the ATM from the drive-through.
The racket roused several nearby residents. One of them, District Justice Robert Breakiron, jumped into his van and pursued the tilt-bed, trying to get a license plate number. Fire Chief Max Gales and his son followed in a Ford Escort.
Things got dicey about a half-mile down the road. The FBI doesn't know for sure who was driving the tilt-bed, but one of the bandits was also trailing Breakiron and Gales in a pickup owned by Thomas Rice Sr.
The driver -- probably Thomas Rice Sr., the FBI says -- rammed Gales' Escort from behind and forced him onto a side road. Farther down the road, the driver of the tilt-bed slammed on the brakes and, as Breakiron swerved to avoid a crash, the pickup hit him from behind.
Police and the FBI didn't have to wait long to find the ATM. A man taking a walk three days after the theft told police he had seen the machine in the woods about a half-mile behind the homes of the Rices. When police arrived, the machine was gone, but they found freshly dug ground. The FBI and state police starting digging and found the machine.
According to the indictment, the Rices used a back hoe to bury the ATM after removing all of the cash. They got away with $10,900.
Thomas Rice Sr. will be sentenced July 13. His son will be sentenced July 20.
