Ruben Rosado, whom authorities call a ringleader of the band of robbers known as the "Route 35 Crew'' faces decades in prison

whom authorities call a ringleader of the band of robbers known as the "Route 35 Crew'' faces decades in prison following his guilty plea in federal court.Ruben Rosado, 31, admitted in U.S. District Court, Newark on Monday, Dec. 8 to committing 11 bank robberies in central New Jersey, a home invasion in Pennsylvania and the robberies of two Union County businesses during a 14-month spree, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Mack.But under a plea deal, Rosado technically pleaded guilty to only three counts of a 28-count indictment. Those charges are: conspiring to commit all of the robberies, committing the robbery of Investors Savings Bank in Piscataway on Nov. 10, 2007, and using a firearm during the commission of a violent crime.Mack said that under sentencing guidelines and terms of the plea deal, Rosado roughly faces between 29 and 34 years in prison. The judge scheduled to sentence him March 16 is not bound by those terms, Mack said.The maximum penalty he is exposed to is life in prison.Rosado faced a 307-year sentence if the case went to trial.
Rosado and another man terrorized banks with guns drawn, groping women along the way, and making off with more than $280,000 between August 2006 and November 2007, authoritiess said. The duo drew the name the "Route 35 Crew'' because the banks are located on or near the highway.Rosado also admitted to beating an elderly courier during the Nov. 27, 2006, robbery of CardSmart in Garwood, and pointing a gun at a baby and the child's mother during an August 2006 home invasion robbery in Allentown, Pa., Mack said..The other ringleader of the crew, Michael Green, 30, of Linden, who implicated Rosado, pleaded guilty to the same offenses in August and is awaiting sentencing.Both Rosado and Green remain in custody.Four other people who played minor roles in the spree are also awaiting sentencing.

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