Greed, Resentment Motivated Bank Robber, Half-Brother Says

A lust for riches and a resentment of society’s rules motivated the dominant of the two armor-clad bank robbers who died in the city’s most spectacular shootout of a quarter century, the man’s half-brother said.

It was the younger of the robbers, Larry Eugene Phillips, 26, who lured Romanian-born Emil Matasareanu, 30, into the fatal Feb. 28 showdown, said Phillips’ half-brother, who requested anonymity.

In anguished recollections, the brother characterized Phillips as a secretive, controlling figure who manipulated almost every aspect of Matasareanu’s life.

“Larry didn’t bring anybody into his inner circle unless he had a plan for him,” he said.

Phillips, he said, was motivated by money and control: “He wanted to live the American dream. He decided to go about it the wrong way.”