The Burberry Bandit is back on the streets of New York City, a shocking reminder of how broken bail reform policies and judicial discretion have made blue cities unsafe.
Cornell Neilly, 35, has a staggering record — more than 34 prior arrests, many tied to bank robberies. Yet after being accused of hitting five banks across Manhattan in just one month, Neilly once again walked free. Despite prosecutors requesting $50,000 cash bail or a $150,000 bond, Brooklyn Supreme Court Judge Jeffrey Gershuny rejected the request, granting him supervised release instead.
Neilly’s alleged spree included multiple Chase Bank locations, where he passed notes demanding thousands in cash. In one case, he wrote: “This is a robbery. I want all large bills. Now. This is real.” Fortunately, tellers triggered alarms and he escaped empty-handed. But as one NYPD officer told the New York Post, “At what point does he keep getting out and gets desperate and brings a gun to a robbery instead of a note and kills somebody?”
The decision is especially troubling given Gershuny’s own controversy just weeks earlier, when he reportedly pulled out a firearm in his courtroom while overseeing a weapons case, prompting his reassignment to night court.Even after decades of crime, the Burberry Bandit is still treated as though he poses no serious threat. This leniency reveals exactly why New Yorkers — and Americans across the country — are losing faith in their justice system.
