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A man, later identified as Robert Stevenson, robs an HSBC Bank in Syracuse in 2012. Stevenson pleaded guilty Friday in federal court to six bank robberies. He could face up to 20 years in prison.

(Syracuse police)

Syracuse, N.Y. -- A man who stole more than $16,000 over six months from six banks, including three in Central New York, has pleaded guilty to the robberies.

Robert Stevenson, 59, of Rochester, agreed to a deal Friday in U.S. District Court in Buffalo that could send him to prison for up to 20 years, according to court documents.

Stevenson admitted to robbing six banks between April and November 2012. Three of those banks were located in Syracuse, Utica and New Hartford.

At about 12:25 p.m. on May 11, 2012, Stevenson walked into the HSBC Bank at 333 W. Washington St. in Syracuse and held up a threatening note to a teller. The teller handed over $2,600 in cash and Stevenson fled. He was wearing a black suit and fedora during the robbery.

Before the Syracuse robbery Stevenson had robbed the Citzens Bank in Irondequoit on April 25 and gotten away with $1,550. His next bank robbery, however, led FBI agents to him as a suspect.

On June 11 Stevenson walked into the First Niagara Bank in Kenmore and handed a teller a note that read "100.00 and 50.00." According to court documents, he tapped his waistband and made a noise and gesture the teller took to mean he had a gun. The teller gave him $3,600 in cash.

FBI agents developed Stevenson as a suspect and showed a surveillance photo of the suspect from the First Niagara robbery to Stevenson's employer, who identified him. Stevenson's old probation officer -- he was convicted of bank robbery in 1996 and robbery in 2005 -- also identified him from a surveillance photo.

Stevenson later stole $3,315 from the Adirondack Bank in Utica on Aug. 20, $3,020 from the Bank of America in New Hartford on Oct. 3 and $2,340 on Nov. 5 from the Northwest Savings Bank in Falconer.

Stevenson's employer produced personnel records for the FBI that showed that during his six months of employment, he only missed four days of work. According to court documents, those four days coincided with four of the robberies.

When sentenced Stevenson faces up to 20 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, restitution and three years of supervised release.