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William Murphy, 23, a former Brandeis soccer player and his brother Thomas Murphy, 22, allegedly robbed a bank in Longmeadow, Mass., Thursday March 25, according to a press release from the Longmeadow Police Department. A Brandeis student told The Hoot William Murphy hid the money from the bank at a Russell Street house where many members of the baseball team reside.

Residents of the house had no prior knowledge of the robbery, said the student who asked not to be identified due to the sensitivity of the issue.

The student said FBI agents arrived at the house on Russell Street, looking for the brothers and the money. At that time, the student told The Hoot that a resident said to the agents “look, we had nothing to do with this” before the agents took the duffle bag filled with cash.

The Murphys, armed with baseball bats and wearing masks, allegedly stole more than $300,000 from a TD Bank on 847 Williams St. in Longmeadow. Police believe the brothers entered the bank at 7:55 p.m., right before closing, during the evening on March 25, the press release said.

William Murphy, who played soccer at Brandeis, would have graduated this spring, but is no longer enrolled at the university.

Director of Public Safety Ed Callahan said he was unable to comment on the incident, where Murphy hid the money at the Russell Street home, explaining that because the FBI participated in the arrest, it was a federal investigation and he could not address it.

The Hoot’s requests for more information from the FBI’s Boston Office, were deferred to both the Longmeadow and State Police Departments by FBI Special Agent Gail Marcinkiewicz. She said that the investigation was being organized by The Longmeadow and State Police Departments.

Further attempts to obtain a copy of the police report were unsuccessful.

Longmeadow Police Lieutenant Gary Fontaine did not return a call seeking comment about the investigation.

Police arrested the Springfield brothers in Boston on Friday March 26 after tracking their whereabouts with the help of surveillance tapes and several interviews with witnesses, bank employees and “tipsters,” the release said.

Because of the nature of the crime, a special search was launched immediately after the robbery and consisted of the Longmeadow Police Detective Bureau, Mass. State Police, and the FBI, according to the release.
A teller at the bank said in a statement to police that he was with the Murphys and another friend between two to four weeks ago, at which time William Murphy said, “I should pass you a note, and you give me the money,” according to an article published by The Republican, a Western-Mass. based newspaper.

The friend said he thought Murphy was joking, but added that he might have said to Murphy that a teller’s drawer at the bank contains $8,000, the article, referencing the police report said,.

The press release said that the Murhpys paid an acquaintance to drive them to Boston after the robbery after they borrowed a car from a friend in East Longmeadow.

The Murphys were arraigned in District Court on Monday March 29 and pleaded not guilty to charges of “armed robbery while masked, and stealing from a depository by putting in fear,” the release said. William Murphy is being held without bail and Thomas Murhpy is being held on $250,000 bail.

Note to readers:This article is a revised version of the original print article that was published in The Hoot.