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Talk of the Bay

Company hopes Band-Aid bust pays

By KRIS HUNDLEY
Published July 31, 2006

For six years, the Band-Aid bandit eluded police as he stole more than a half-million dollars during robberies at 39 banks throughout west central Florida.

But a $16 vinyl fence post from Home Depot may have been his downfall.

The plain white post was part of a sophisticated surveillance system at Victor Distributing, an air conditioning supply wholesaler in Pinellas Park, across Fifth Third Bank, the bandit's last target. The post held a hidden camera, positioned to capture images of license plates on vehicles entering and exiting the business' parking lot.

Dan Rodgers, co-owner of Velocity I.Q. Inc., the Clearwater company that installed Victor's $30,000 surveillance system this year, said the company used the system to monitor its fleet of trucks.

But on the morning of July 13, Victor's cameras captured the bandit parked in the company's lot as he robbed the bank directly across the street. They captured - and stored - repeated visits the bandit made to the company's parking lot over the previous three weeks as he studied the bank's operations.

Though the bandit put a stolen plate on his car during the robbery, he hadn't bothered to conceal his real tag during earlier visits. Investigators traced the tag to Rafael Rondon, 50, of Clermont. Rondon and his brother-in-law, Emeregildo Roman of Davenport, were arrested July 20. The men have been accused of robbing three banks; other charges are expected.

While the suspects sit in jail, the guys who installed the surveillance system were celebrating their brush with fame.

"That Band-Aid Bandit had no clue what he was getting into," Rodgers said. "He kept driving into a parking lot that was completely monitored."

In true entrepreneurial spirit, Rodgers is hoping to exploit the incident to build business at Velocity I.Q.

"I'm thinking about putting up a banner that says, 'Band-Aid Bandit Busters!' " he said. "What do you think?"

[Last modified July 31, 2006, 06:10:50]