PORTLAND, Ore. -- A suspect the FBI calls the “Waddling Bandit” is in custody.

The FBI said the suspect is responsible for as many as 20 bank robberies during the last two years, stretching from Medform to Kelso, Washington. The agency nicknamed its suspect the "Waddling Bandit" because of his distinctive gait.

Dante Dapolonia, 62, of Northeast Portland has been sitting in the Lane County jail since April 24, when he was picked up as a suspect for a bank robbery in Springfield. Police arrested Dapolonia after a witness reportedly spotted him leaving the Liberty Bank, which had just been robbed.

FBI photo

The "Waddling Bandit"

Police said they recovered $3,000 in stolen cash in Dapolonia's rented getaway van, and also found a typed note reading "this is a holdup, give me your money."

KGW spoke with Dapolonia's ex-wife, Marsha Marzano Wednesday. She said she was surprised when she learned about his arrest.

“I’m very sorry its come to this," Marzano said. " It’s a sad thing, especially at his age to do something to end up in there [in jail].”

Marzano said she was called to speak before the grand jury in Eugene on the case and she also said about her dealings with the FBI, that "they were very thorough, very compassionate.”

The couple has a college-aged daughter.

Tillamook man wrongly accused

Last fall, 71-year-old Robert Christie was arrested in the case. He was initially charged with the Oct. 16 robbery of a Bank of America branch in Albany. But the government dropped the charges against him due to lack of evidence and witness reports that gave him an alibi for some of the robberies. The FBI eventually paid Christie a settlement in the case.

Christie told KGW he hopes they have the right man this time.

"I just hope they have a little evidence to support him being the right guy. I'd hate to see some other guy go through what I went through just because the suspect the guy," he said.

More: FBI settles with wrongly accused man

Dapolonia has no prior criminal record.

According to court papers, he was a 9-1-1 emergency operator in Vancouver for nearly ten years, before abruptly quitting in 2002.

"Any time you are involved in law enforcement and you know the secrets or the procedures when a bank robbery happens. it gives you an advantage as you plan both the crime and your escape," said former Portland Police Bureau detective C.W. Jensen.

In about half of the robberies, the robber targeted bank branches inside grocery stores. He has never shown a weapon. During each of the robberies, he wore a hat, and in some of the robberies, he carried a bag.

(KGW Reporters Kyle Iboshi and Pat Dooris contributed to this report)