The notorious “Burberry Bandit” of NYC epitomizes the shortcomings of the city’s mental health framework—coupled with a penchant for stylish attire, as family members shared with The Post.
Cornell Neilly garnered headlines in The Post last Sunday after his arrest on September 15 while on parole for allegedly robbing five banks between August 16 and September 13; he was released by a lenient judge despite a staggering record of 29 previous bank robbery arrests.
Family members revealed that the 35-year-old’s admiration for luxury fashion may have paved his path toward criminality.
“He earned that nickname because of his style,” an aunt from the Upper West Side, where Neilly was apprehended, remarked. “He always dressed sharply and looked good,” she added, opting to remain unnamed.
Neilly became a tabloid sensation back in 2012 when he was captured on security cameras in Burberry’s signature tartan while robbing a Bank of America in Midtown.
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According to an adoptive grandmother who also resides in the same apartment, Neilly may have resumed his bank-robbing activities due to being off his medication for bipolar disorder.
“I truly believe he needs his medication again,” the woman, who also chose to remain anonymous, stated.
There is no available record indicating whether Neilly sought or received assistance from city mental health services.
The two women were present with Neilly when police arrested him just outside their building on West 65th Street near West End Avenue.
“He said, ‘I’ll be right back; I need to talk to my parole officer across the street,'” the aunt recalled.
Shortly afterward, two police vehicles arrived, and officers emerged, one of whom drew his weapon, the women recounted.
“I think he got startled and tried to run, but then he realized, ‘Don’t run,'” the aunt explained. “So, he came back and raised his hands.”
The lenient Judge Jeffrey Gershuny—appointed by former Mayor Bill de Blasio in 2019—disregarded prosecutors’ calls for a cash bail of $50,000 or $150,000 bond and instead allowed Neilly to go free despite being on parole.
Following his release by Gershuny, Neilly returned to the Upper West Side apartment, the women shared.
“I told him, ‘I love you. Stay out of trouble,'” the adoptive grandmother recounted.
Neilly cast his gaze downward and replied, “‘Okay, grandma, I love you too,'” she remembered.
She insisted that she wouldn’t allow him to “toy with things again.”
Adding her steely determination, she said, “I’m going to wring his neck.”
