BUFFALO, N.Y. – U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Cheryl A. Mulvey, 68, and Lawrence Mulvey, 67, both of Grand Island, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara to accessory after the fact, which carries a maximum penalty of six months in prison, and a fine of $125,000.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Violanti, who is handling the case, stated that, on July 11, 2018, the defendants’ son, Timothy Mulvey, robbed the M&T Bank at 880 Military Road in Niagara Falls.  During the robbery, Timothy Mulvey pulled out of a bag he was carrying what appeared to be a gun.  During a text conversation a few days later on July 14, 2018, Cheryl Mulvey suggested to Timothy Mulvey that he turn off his location monitoring and change his phone habits.

From July 19, 2018, until July 2019, Timothy Mulvey was in the custody of New York State because of a New York State parole violation. On July 22, 2018, Timothy Mulvey instructed his girlfriend in a telephone call to remove an airsoft gun from their shared basement and destroy it. Instead, his girlfriend, believing the gun to be linked to the bank robbery and FBI investigation, delivered the gun in a bag to Lawrence Mulvey at his residence. Lawrence Mulvey got rid of the bag and its contents in an effort to prevent Timothy Mulvey’s apprehension, trial, and punishment.

On August 21, 2018, during a phone conversation, Cheryl Mulvey told her son that his sister found BBs in his car. Cheryl Mulvey believed the BB’s were linked to the July 11th bank robbery but were never turned over to investigating law enforcement officers. On August 24, 2018, Cheryl Mulvey told her son not to trust law enforcement and not to make his girlfriend (a potential witness) mad. She also confirmed that she had passed along a message from Timothy Mulvey to his girlfriend related to the investigation of the bank robbery.

On January 27, 2019, FBI Special Agents delivered a grand jury subpoena to Lawrence Mulvey at his residence. At the time, he was asked what was in the black bag, referring to the bag that Timothy Mulvey talked about in a jail call with his girlfriend. Lawrence Mulvey stated that he didn’t know. An FBI Special Agent stated, “We know what was in the black bag and we know you know what was in the black bag because you thought Tim had something to do with the bank robberies after you saw what was in the black bag.”  Timothy Mulvey responded shaking his head in an affirmative motion and stated, “Well, yeah.”  The defendant then stated that he had thrown the bag out and could not recall what was in it.

On February 27, 2019, Cheryl Mulvey was subpoenaed, and on March 5, 2019, she testified before a federal grand jury. During her testimony, Cheryl Mulvey was evasive and misleading regarding Timothy Mulvey’s ownership of BB guns, her discussions of the bank robberies with her son, and the delivery of a gun to her residence sometime after the robbery. Cheryl Mulvey also admitted that during her testimony she intentionally attempted to discredit a potential witness. On a March 9, 2019, recorded jail call, she said that when testified before the grand jury, she made it clear that the potential witness had substance issues. Cheryl Mulvey admitted that she provided testimony to assist Timothy Mulvey and to hinder and prevent his apprehension, trial, or punishment for the bank robbery.

“Notwithstanding his parents’ efforts to cover for him, Timothy Mulvey was apprehended, convicted of aggravated bank robbery, and is awaiting sentencing,” noted U.S. Attorney Kennedy. “Another of the Mulvey’s children, Kelsey Mulvey, is a former nurse who is also awaiting sentencing in federal court following her prior plea to tampering with a consumer product in connection with her theft of controlled medications from medication dispensing machines at Roswell Park Cancer Center.”

The pleas are the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Stephen Belongia; the Erie County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff Timothy Howard; and the Niagara Falls Police Department, under the direction of Superintendent John Faso.

Cheryl and Lawrence Mulvey are scheduled to be sentenced on September 24, 2021, before Judge Arcara.