Former MIT Professor Charged With Bank Robbery, Claims It Was Art

Joseph Gibbons  
Photo: Steven Hirsch

[From article]
Joseph Gibbons, 61, a filmmaker and “visual artist’’ who taught for a decade at one of the world’s most prestigious universities, has gone rogue, robbing banks as part of his latest “art’’ project.
[. . .]
He entered the Manhattan bank on New Year’s Eve around 2 p.m., wielding a camcorder and politely handed the teller a note demanding a donation for his church, according to court documents.
Rhode Island police had also been hunting for Gibbons, who staged a similar stick-up there in mid-November and made off with $3,000 in cash, authorities said.
[. . .]
He was a visiting artist at Bard College in the ’90s and an instructor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 2001-2010, according to his LinkedIn profile.

http://nypost.com/2015/01/10/bank-robber-appears-to-be-screwball-former-professor/

Former MIT professor ‘robs bank,’ films ‘heist’
By Ben Feuerherd and Beckie Strum
New York Post
January 10, 2015 | 4:00am