North Bergen police catch 12-time felon who likely robbed 3 township banks

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The North Bergen Police Department apprehended a 12-time felon who likely robbed three township banks since April after catching him in the act yesterday, according to authorities.

Neal Hornung. Photo courtesy of North Bergen police.
Neal Hornung. Photo courtesy of North Bergen police.

By John Heinis/Hudson County View

Yesterday at approximately 2:50 p.m., the North Bergen Police Department received a call from an employee of the Popular Community Bank, located on 85th Street and John F. Kennedy Boulevard, stating that the bank had just been robbed by an unknown male, police said.

The bank employee gave the dispatcher a description of the suspect and a direction of flight which was relayed to nearby officers.

Two officers of the North Bergen Police Department’s Major Case Unit were patrolling the immediate area yesterday and today working on a hunch a bank in the area may be robbed based on a pattern developed since April, officials said.

As a result, Neal C. Hornung, of Belleville, was charged with robbery in connection to three township banks being robbed since April, authorities said.

Hornung was a suspect in the bank robbery of TD Bank on 79th Street and John F. Kennedy Boulevard in April and the very same Popular Community Bank on 85th Street and Kennedy Boulevard in June, according to police.

Hudson County View first reported on North Bergen police investigating a robbery at the TD Bank in April.

Based on surveillance footage from the previous robberies, along with additional evidence which linked a bicycle and a vehicle to Hornung, detectives were able to spot him fleeing from the bank, officials said.

As the detectives identified Hornung, he fled in an older model Ford Taurus wagon, which was previously identified in the other robberies. Hornung then led the Detectives on a pursuit that ended on Broad Avenue in Fairview, authorities said.

Police revealed that the pursuit ended with no motor vehicle accidents or injuries when Hornung chose to voluntarily end the pursuit and surrender.

Hornung was found to be in possession of the money stolen from the bank in plain view on his front passenger seat during the stop, officials said.

North Bergen police detectives and the FBI are working cooperatively to charge Hornung with the two previous bank robberies, police said.

According to authorities, Hornung is a 12-time convicted felon and is currently on parole after being incarcerated since 2005. Hornung was released from prison in April, just one week prior to the first bank robbery.

The North Bergen Police Department is asking anyone with any information in regard to the three bank robberies to contact the Detective Bureau at 201-392-2092.


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