THE BANKER AND THE 'BOMB'
By ALISHA BERGER, MURRAY WEISS and KATE SHEEHY
July 29, 2003 -- A terrified bank manager - handcuffed to a briefcase that a sicko robber warned him contained a bomb - ran out of his Midtown branch yesterday, screaming, "I've only got 30 seconds!" as he hit the ground waiting for cops to disarm it.
Grabbing a key tossed to him by police outside HSBC bank headquarters at Fifth Avenue and 40th Street, the frightened 54-year-old manager immediately open the cuffs and rolled away to safety - as a bomb-squad expert rushed in to check out the silver-colored case.
Determining the "bomb" was a dud, the explosives expert slowly opened the briefcase. Inside were several sawed-off broomsticks painted red, a clock and a harmless tangle of wires.
Meanwhile, the bandit - nattily dressed in an impeccably tailored, all-black suit - was nabbed by police less than a block away.
The bizarre drama began at 12:23 p.m., when the well-groomed goon - who told cops he was 43-year-old Anthony Buananno of Brooklyn - schmoozed his way into the manager's office toting two Louis Vuitton bags, saying he had cash and wanted to open an account, cops said.
As soon as the manager reached out to shake the man's hand, he was slapped with cuffs attached by a thick steel chain to the attaché case, cops said.
The perp then told the stunned manager there were explosives inside the case - and even opened it slightly to show the red sticks he hinted were dynamite, the clock and wires, police said.
The suspect, who said he himself was wired with explosives, demanded to be taken to the bank vault, cops said.
The shaken manager quickly led the robber past downstairs tellers to the entrance of a vault behind them, police said.
One bank worker said he was changing bills when he noticed "a gentleman in front of me had a steel case chained to his wrist."
The other man "was looking very nervous," he told The Post.
"He looked like he stepped out of the movies, and he had a tough Bronx accent," the worker said.
As the pair entered the vault area and workers continued at their jobs, the robber suddenly started yelling, "Hurry up! Hurry up! Let's go!" the witness said.
In the end, it was that big mouth that did the would-be bandit in, cops said.
As the robber was leading the manager to the vault, he was constantly talking threateningly into his lapel, as if he had accomplices. Only he wasn't wearing any device to talk into.
That led the eagle-eyed manager to realize the man was most likely a hoaxer, and he gave security guards a secret signal to trip a loud alarm, prompting the suspect to drop the designer duffel bags he brought to stuff cash in and flee.
The bank manager, apparently still terrified of the possible bomb in the briefcase on his arm, ran up the escalator and out the door after him, yelling to cops now on the scene, "Don't shoot! I have a bomb!" one witness said.
It appeared that the manager had been told he had less than a minute left before the "bomb" exploded, and he could hear it ticking, authorities said.
Within seconds, Sgt. Russell Green and Officer Harry Norum nabbed the suspect on 40th Street. He parts of red-painted broomsticks taped to his body under his shirt, cops said.
The suspect was briefly left handcuffed to a fence while the rest of the drama involving the bank manager unfolded amid gawking spectators.
Additional reporting by Larry Celona