People Who Went To Penn: Carl “The Friday Night Bank Robber” Gugasian

Penn has produced its fair share of prolific alumni: signers of the Declaration, a president, billionaire business magnates, and…the greatest bank robber in U.S. history?  Evidently, finance careers in New York aren’t the only way Quakers become well-versed in wealth management. Carl Gugasian, who earned his masters in Systems Analysis from Penn in 1970s, robbed over 50 banks in 30 years, accumulating over $2 million and earning himself a 17-year prison sentence.

Gugasian’s life of crime began at 15, when the Broomal, PA native was shot while attempting to rob a candy store (dude, easier way). Following an 18-month stint at a youth correctional facility, Carl made a choice: screw becoming a law-abiding citizen, he was going to become the best damn criminal there ever was — mostly because he didn’t realize juvenile records get expunged and figured he would never get a job. Why not go down in flames, right? Except he managed to get into college, receive special-weapons training in the Army, go to grad school, and complete post-doc work. Typical Penn overachiever, amirite?!  Read the rest of this entry »