A new two-hour “Dateline” on Friday will focus on the bank heists by Michael Benanti and Brian Witham, two men who pleaded guilty to or were convicted of their roles in a violent bank extortion and robbery spree in four states and several cities, including Oak Ridge and Knoxville, NBC News said this week.
Oak Ridge Today covered the case, and the Knoxville News Sentinel had extensive coverage.
Here is the official listing and preview link:
[Read more…]
Michael Benanti
The federal trial is under way for a Pennsylvania man accused of kidnapping family members and robbing or attempting to rob banks and credit unions, including in Oak Ridge and Knoxville.
The trial for Michael Anthony Benanti, 44, of Lake Harmony, Pennsylvania, started with jury selection on Monday in U.S. District Court in Knoxville. It has continued this week.
Benanti and a co-defendant, Brian Scott Witham, 45, of Waterville, Maine, had been named in a 15-count indictment issued by a federal grand jury in December 2015. They were accused of kidnapping family members and robbing or attempting to rob three banks and credit unions in Oak Ridge, Knoxville, and Elizabethton. The Y-12 Federal Credit Union in Oak Ridge was one of the three financial institutions that was targeted.
Witham pleaded guilty March 1, 2016. He received a 42-year sentence and will be the star witness against Benanti, his co-defendant, according to Jamie Satterfield, a Knoxville News Sentinel reporter.
The trial for Benanti could last up to three weeks. Oak Ridge Today has not been able to cover the trial, but Satterfield has been covering it. You can see four of her News Sentinel stories here: [Read more…]
An early 2000s Ford Taurus is pictured above. (Image provided by FBI)
Authorities have released a description of the vehicle associated with the person of interest sought in the July kidnapping and extortion at SmartBank in Knoxville, an incident that is believed to be connected to a similar one at Y-12 Federal Credit Union in Oak Ridge in April.
The vehicle is described as an early 2000s, powder blue/grey, Ford Taurus, with damage on the front passenger side bumper, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said in a Wednesday morning press release.
The person of interest was observed in the front passenger seat of this vehicle on July 1 in the vicinity of Swathmore Court and Dunwoody Drive in Knoxville.
The vehicle pictured in the photo above is of a similar make, model, and color of the vehicle that was observed, the FBI said. [Read more…]
The Federal Bureau of Investigation in Knoxville on Wednesday released composite sketches of two subjects and one person of interest in alleged kidnappings and extortions involving Y-12 Federal Credit Union in Oak Ridge in April and SmartBank in Knoxville in July. Pictured above are FBI Knoxville Special Agent in Charge Edward Reinhold, center; Knox County Sheriff’s Office Major Michael MacLean, right; and Knoxville Police Department Deputy Chief Nate Allen. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
KNOXVILLE—Two men entered two different homes in kidnappings and extortions involving Y-12 Federal Credit Union in Oak Ridge in April and SmartBank in Knoxville in July, and a woman, possibly with an infant or a toddler, might have entered the first, officials said Wednesday.
A blue four-door car was spotted in the area of the second home about a week before the second incident, said Edward Reinhold, special agent in charge for the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Knoxville.
It’s possible there could be a fourth person involved, and it’s not clear if the suspects are still in the area.
Reinhold said both men were wearing disguises. The woman was not, but she might have been wearing a wig and sunglasses. [Read more…]
The Federal Bureau of Investigation in Knoxville on Wednesday released composite sketches of two subjects and one person of interest in alleged kidnappings and extortions involving Y-12 Federal Credit Union in Oak Ridge in April and SmartBank in Knoxville in July. Pictured above are FBI Knoxville Special Agent in Charge Edward Reinhold, center; Knox County Sheriff’s Office Major Michael MacLean, right; and Knoxville Police Department Deputy Chief Nate Allen. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Note: This story was last updated at 2 p.m.
KNOXVILLE—The Federal Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday released composite sketches on two subjects and one person of interest in alleged kidnappings and extortions involving Y-12 Federal Credit Union in Oak Ridge in April and SmartBank in Knoxville in July.
See descriptions of the three below.
Here is the FBI press release:
Edward Reinhold, special agent in charge for FBI Knoxville, asks for the public’s help catching two suspects involved in two alleged kidnapping and extortion plots at banks in Oak Ridge and Knoxville. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
KNOXVILLE—The Federal Bureau of Investigation is asking for the public’s help in catching the suspects involved in the kidnappings and extortions involving Y-12 Federal Credit Union in Oak Ridge and SmartBank in Knoxville. The FBI is also working with bank employees to ensure they know what to do in the future and to be aware of their surroundings.
On Wednesday, the FBI announced a reward of up to $20,000 for information leading to the identification and arrests of the suspects. They’ve released descriptions of two white male suspects.
“The only way we can prevent this from happening is to catch these guys,” said Edward Reinhold, special agent in charge at the FBI Knoxville. The FBI had a Thursday afternoon press conference at its Knoxville office on Dowell Springs Road.
Agents are asking members of the public who might know anything to step forward. [Read more…]
Oak Ridge Police Department officers were at the Y-12 Federal Credit Union in Oak Ridge on Tuesday morning (April 28, 2015). The branch will remain closed Wednesday, although the credit union’s headquarters will be open. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Note: This story was updated at 12:10 a.m.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is offering a reward of up to $20,000 for information leading to the identification and arrests of the suspects in the kidnappings and extortions involving Y-12 Federal Credit Union and SmartBank.
The FBI, Knoxville Police Department, Knox County Sheriff’s Office, and Oak Ridge Police Department are asking the public to help identify and locate the people responsible for the kidnappings and extortions.
The FBI said that on April 28, at approximately 8:15 a.m., a Y-12 Federal Credit Union employee and his family were kidnapped from their residence and held hostage at gunpoint.
While the family was held hostage, the employee was coerced to attempt to remove money from the Y-12 Federal Credit Union at 501 Lafayette Drive in Oak Ridge. [Read more…]
Oak Ridge Police Department officers and detectives responded to the Y-12 Federal Credit Union on Tuesday morning, April 28, for what was later reported to be a kidnapping and extortion plot involving a credit union employee’s family and the Oak Ridge branch of the credit union.
Authorities continue to investigate a kidnapping and extortion plot involving the Y-12 Federal Credit Union in Oak Ridge last week, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation has released some information describing the three suspects.
The alleged kidnapping and extortion started at about 8:15 a.m. Tuesday, April 28, when a credit union employee’s family was kidnapped from the Whittington Creek neighborhood in west Knox County in an effort to extort money from the credit union, the FBI said in a press release on Wednesday.
“The employee’s family was held at gunpoint for a period of time before being released in the Gettysvue Country Club parking lot in Knoxville, around 9:25 a.m.,” the release said. “Upon being released, the victims were able to seek help from a nearby residence. During the law enforcement response, the suspects fled and remain at large. No injuries were reported, and no money was taken from the credit union.” [Read more…]
Oak Ridge Police Department officers were at the Y-12 Federal Credit Union in Oak Ridge on Tuesday morning. The branch will remain closed Wednesday and reopen Thursday, although the credit union’s headquarters will be open on Wednesday.
The Oak Ridge branch of the Y-12 Federal Credit Union will remain closed Wednesday and re-open Thursday, a spokesman said. The branch was closed Tuesday during an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Knox County Sheriff’s Office, and Oak Ridge Police Department into a report of a bank robbery, kidnapping, and extortion.
Police responded to the Oak Ridge branch at about 9:15 a.m. Tuesday. There were at least a half-dozen officers and detectives at the scene, and they blocked the entrance to the credit union.
Customers were not able to use the bank while authorities investigated. Chris Smith, vice president of marketing at Y-12 Federal Credit Union, said officials were only allowing staff and investigators to enter on Tuesday morning.
He said the Credit Union branch will remain closed Wednesday and reopen for normal hours on Thursday. But employees remain at the Oak Ridge headquarters, which shares a five-story building with the branch, and all staff will report to work on Wednesday, Smith said Tuesday afternoon. [Read more…]
Oak Ridge Police Department officers were at the Y-12 Federal Credit Union in Oak Ridge on Tuesday morning. The branch will remain closed Wednesday, although the credit union’s headquarters will be open.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Knox County Sheriff’s Office, and the Oak Ridge Police Department responded to the Y-12 Federal Credit Union at 501 Lafayette Drive on Tuesday on a report of a bank robbery, kidnapping, and extortion.
Preliminary reports indicate that at about 8:15 a.m. Tuesday, an employee of the credit union and the employee’s family were threatened in an attempt to obtain money from the credit union, an FBI press release said. The employee’s family was held for a period of time before being released in the Gettysvue Country Club parking lot in Knoxville at around 9:25 a.m. During the law enforcement response, the suspects fled, and no injuries have been reported, and no money was taken from the credit union. [Read more…]
The Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge is pictured above in June 2012. (Photo courtesy NNSA)
A 25-year-old Scott County man was sentenced to serve three months in prison on Monday after he pleaded guilty in July to charges that he tried to extort Babcock and Wilcox Y-12 LLC, the former managing and operating contractor at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge.
Adam Winters, 25, of Oneida received the sentence in U.S. District Court in Knoxville on Monday, U.S. Attorney William C. Killian said in a press release. After he is released from prison, Winters will be supervised for one year by U.S. Probation.
Killian said Winters, who had appeared on the television reality show “The Millionaire Matchmaker†in February, pleaded guilty in July to transmitting communications containing threats to injure the reputation of B&W Y-12 in interstate and foreign commerce, with intent to extort money and other things of value from the corporation. Winters admitted that he emailed Babcock and Wilcox and attempted to email the vice president of the United States regarding copies of slides that he possessed that contained information he believed would injure the reputation of Babcock and Wilcox. That May 8 email reportedly referred to slides of evidence from nuclear testing. [Read more…]
The Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge is pictured above in June 2012. (Photo courtesy NNSA)
KNOXVILLE—A Tennessee man who appeared on the television reality show “The Millionaire Matchmaker” has pleaded guilty in a $2.5 million extortion case involving the former managing contractor at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge.
Adam Winters, 26, of Robbins, Tenn., said he had copies of slides that would injure the reputation of the contractor, Babcock and Wilcox Y-12 LLC, and he met with undercover officers on May 23 to exchange the slides for the money he demanded, U.S. Attorney William C. Killian said in a Thursday afternoon press release. Law enforcement officers revealed their identity during that May 23 meeting and arrested Winters.
Earlier, on May 8, Winters had e-mailed Babcock and Wilcox and attempted to email Vice President Joe Biden about the slides, Killian said. After he sent the email, Winters used the Internet and telephone to communicate his threat to injure their reputation through the use of the slides, according to the plea agreement on file with the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Tennessee. [Read more…]
