(
)
Luuuuuke, I am your robber!
Times sure must be tough on the Death Star these days, as Darth Vader yesterday stooped to holding up a Long Island bank, cops said.
A robber dressed up as the “Star Wars” villain for a heist that likely netted enough cash to fill up a TIE fighter with gas for a couple of days.
As he robbed the Setauket Chase branch, the Sith Lord brandished a weapon for a more civilized age — a semiautomatic handgun.
There was no telling whether he needed to use the force to make bank employees comply, cops said, but at one point, the Vader invader kneeled as if speaking to the Emperor and aimed his gun.
“He immediately displayed a gun and demanded cash from the teller,” said Suffolk County Detective Sgt. William Lamb.
Apparently Darth’s normal costume was out for cleaning, since the robber was caught on tape wearing a blue cape and camouflage pants when he showed up at the branch on Route 374 at 11:30 a.m.
After grabbing his cash, Vader escaped on foot through a parking lot.
“All of a sudden, I saw this guy with a mask, and he was running very fast by the window,” said Louie Lin, a worker at a nearby Chinese restaurant. “It was pretty crazy. He had the whole outfit on.”
Michael Aloisio, who works at another nearby restaurant, also saw Vader run by.
“I thought it was pretty comical, but I guess this guy was pretty serious about needing some money,” he said.
“I always liked ‘Star Wars,’ but I never liked Darth Vader.”
Cops found the fallen Jedi’s lack of respect for the law disturbing.
“I’d say it’s very unusual,” Lamb said.
Police wouldn’t say exactly how much money Vader got, but a photo showed a Alderaan-sized wad of cash in his hand.
A police source said Suffolk officers couldn’t stop talking about the encounter with the dark side.
“The jokes are starting already,” the source said. “The one where he’s back up in the Death Star is the best so far.”