'Granddad Bandit' Who Robbed A Tulsa Bank Sentenced To Prison In Virginia

Staff and Wire Reports

RICHMOND, Va. -- The so-called "Granddad Bandit" has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for robbing banks in 13 states.

Fifty-three-year-old Michael Francis Mara pleaded guilty in February 2011 to robbing two Virginia banks. He acknowledged heists from New York to Texas from 2008 until his capture last summer.

He was suspected of robbing the Valley National Bank at 2020 East 21st Street in Tulsa in December 2009.

8/11/2010 Related Story: 'Granddad Bandit' Suspect In Tulsa Bank Robbery Captured In Louisiana

Mara was sentenced Wednesday in federal court in Richmond, Va. In addition to the prison time he must pay more than $83,000 in restitution.

Prosecutors called Mara a career criminal who had been committing crimes all over the country since he was 18.

The FBI dubbed Mara the "Granddad Bandit" and plastered bank surveillance photos of him on billboards nationwide in August.

He was arrested in Louisiana after a six-hour standoff.