This is the American Greed Podcast presented by

CNBC. I'm Stacy Kiech.

In this episode of American Greed,

a well-dressed bank robber with plenty of flare.

The FBI thought of that as Samuel Jackson in Pulp Fiction.

And a menacing violence streak.

He would pull out a gun, point it at the tellers, and say, I will kill you if you don't get me into the ball.

The feds link Joseph Jose Banks to 20 bank robberies, totaling millions of dollars in losses.

He was probably the most successful bank robber in recent memory in the Chicago area.

But from a cell in a high-rise jail, he shows the world he won't be caged.

The fact that you had people willing to carve their way out of a facility

and to repel down a building in the middle of the downtown,

it's almost too perfect an escape plan to

have worked that properly, but it did. It's a cold December day at this Citibank Branch on Chicago's north side.

Jim Love is working inside when he notices a strangely attired man approaching.

He's walking in full suit after a wig and sunglasses on and my first reaction was to laugh going good luck with this guy I mean I'm glad I don't

have to deal with him. It soon becomes clear that this is no laughing matter.

My next real memory is suddenly seeing a flash.

It's this big blur of Afro wig, brown clothing.

And within a matter of seconds I turn around

and there's a big silver gun in my face

telling me to get down on the floor. The robber orders the employees to open the bank's ATMs and its vault.

...