Steven Smialek was convicted of robbing a bank in Fridley a decade ago. Now he's facing charges for robbing the same bank.

On Wednesday, Fridley Police and FBI agents arrested Smialek and charged him with two counts of first-degree aggravated robbery in connection with a March 10 stickup of the TCF Bank on the 5200 block of Central Avenue NE.

Authorities arrested Smialek, 60, at an apartment building in Columbia Heights, said Lt. Jim Mork of the Fridley Police Department.

Smialek's modus operandi apparently had not changed much since April 25, 2008. In that heist, he presented a teller with a note that claimed he was armed, and demanded money. He got away with $1,540 before he was caught three days later and sentenced to five years in prison.

The latest heist was done in much the same manner, Mork said: Smialek entered the bank about 11 a.m. and handed a teller a note that read, "Please no alarm, don't act funny, I have a gun, give me no trackers."

Smialek left on foot with $4,508, Mork said.

Officers recognized Smialek in surveillance video that showed him getting into a waiting car at a neighboring business. Officers said Smialek was wearing the same jacket he wore in the previous holdup. Using that video and acting on a number of tips, they found him in a building on the 4700 block of Central Avenue.

Smialek also was arrested for bank robberies in 1980 and 1995, court records show.

Tim Harlow