Man charged in Malden robbery also Swampscott suspect

SWAMPSCOTT – Swampscott police said a man wanted in bank robberies in Malden, Lynnfield and Revere also robbed the Eastern Bank on Paradise Road on June 19.Police Sgt. Timothy Cassidy said the FBI Boston robbery task force identified Rolando Gala, 29, from images captured by the bank?s video surveillance at 2:25 p.m. on June 19.?He went in, demanded money and left,” Cassidy said, adding Swampscott police will charge Gala with armed robbery at a yet-to-be-schedule court arraignment date.He said Gala, 68 Dale St. #2, Revere, left the Eastern Bank with an undisclosed amount of cash.Gala is already facing unarmed robbery charges after a Middlesex District Attorney?s office prosecutor last month said Gala robbed Brookline Bank in Malden on June 21 and fled with $2,645. A red dye pack slipped into the cash by a teller exploded and Gala got away with an undetermined amount of money.Gala pleaded innocent in Malden District Court on July 13 to the unarmed robbery charge following his capture a day earlier in Revere. He was assigned bail and is due back in Malden District on Sept. 7 for a probable cause hearing.Following the Malden robbery, Revere Police Chief Terence Reardon said Gala was wanted by police for a June, 2010 robbery of the Bank of America in Revere and for the robbery of the Citizens Bank in Revere committed days before the Malden robbery.Gala, according to Reardon, told a Citizens teller he had a gun and demanded $50 and $100 bills. He fled the bank with $1,700, Reardon said.The June robberies and another reported by Lynnfield police prompted the FBI to make Gala the target of a robbery task force made up of city and town police officers, State Police and FBI agents.?A joint investigation by Revere, Cambridge, Malden and Swampscott went seeking Gala. Ultimately he was arrested after a warrant was obtained for the robbery allegedly committed in Malden,” FBI spokesman Greg Comcowich said.Revere, Everett and Boston police arrested Gala on July 12 following a standoff at his Dale Street home. They found him hiding in a crawl space in the home and, following his capture, Reardon said clothing found inside the house matched items witnesses described the Citizens robber wearing.