ARLINGTON, Va. – Experts with CUNA Mutual Group, the insurer of 94% of the nation's credit unions, have reported that the pace of robberies in 2002 was down from 2001 but have refused to estimate the number of robberies in 2003.
Based on the most recent data available, the impression is that the pace of credit unions robbed across the country has been stabilizing overall, which is part of why the events of August 12 at a Webster, N.Y. branch of Xerox Federal Credit Union shocked so many.
On that Tuesday morning, a lone gunman, wearing a windbreaker that strongly resembled those worn by FBI agents and an apparently authentic U.S. Marshall's badge, walked into the branch of the $684 million credit union and demanded money. By the time he had left one credit union member and Xerox employee, Raymond Batzel, age 52, lay dead on the ground from a gunshot wound to the head while another, Joseph Doud, 28, was shot in the shoulder.
Recommended For You
Doud recovered from his wounds and the credit union established a scholarship fund for Batzel's three children. The incident shocked the credit union, which had limited exposure to robbery before the attack and puzzled investigators.
Some experts have speculated that more credit unions might be robbery targets as they gradually move out of the relatively sheltered spaces owned by their sponsors and occupy buildings on the street. But Xerox's Webster facility, like many of its others, was on a Xerox campus, open to the public but generally not well known.
Investigators were also puzzled about the gunman's access to the windbreaker and the badge. The case has lingered as the hundreds of tips that the police have garnered have not yet yielded a suspect. At first police hoped that a $20,000 reward might be enough to bring some definitive information, but nothing has been forthcoming.
At the end of the year, police tripled the reward to $60,000, as well as aired the story of the credit union murder on America's Most Wanted December 6 program. So far the additional money and publicity have not yielded anything, but police remain optimistic they will eventually bring the gunman to justice.
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
