On his way to become a New York City police officer, Christian Torres, a 21-year-old "model cadet" at the Police Academy, also had a part time job to finance his career: Serial bank robber.

The young cadet with a solid academic background was charged for a bank robbery in which he stole $113,000 in Pennsylvania. He was linked with two other similar cases: two bank heists which took place last year in Manhattan.

Investigators concluded that Torres was in fact involved in breaking a Manhattan bank on June 8, 2007and robbing $16,500. He was serving as a police cadet at that time and used a threatening note in the heist, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly told reporters on Friday.

Five months later, Torres hit the same Manhattan bank, only this time he used a fake handgun, stole $102,000 and was already enrolled in the police academy.

The three banks he robber were all branches of Sovereign Bank.

Investigators also managed to find out how Torres spent some of the stolen money. The same day he rubbed the Manhattan bank for the second time he purchased a new car (2008 Toyota Scion) worth $18,500 and paid off a $2,500 college loan. He also bought a 1.5-carat diamond ring for his girlfriend, Jennifer Rivas.

Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly confessed that he was shocked to find out that Torres was a serial bank robber. Kelly said Torres had made a very good impression and was regarded as a "model cadet" and was "smart and hardworking, with tremendous potential."

Torres had reportedly acknowledged his involvement in the Manhattan robberies, but wouldn’t admit that he also took part in the bank heist that happened Thursday in Muhlenberg, a town in northeast Pennsylvania.

According to the Muhlenberg police, Torres used a real gun this time in the robbery of a local bank. He forced the bank’s employees into the vault and then took $113,000 in large bills using a white shopping bag to carry the cash. He fled the scene in a car.

The employees had activated a silent alarm and the police arrived in time to see the car Torres used to flee the scene. They caught him shortly after the heist.

When Christopher Orzech, the Muhlenberg Police Officer who caught Torres, stopped him, the latter asked whether he had been pulled over for making a left turn. After one of the bank tellers identified Torres as the robber, he identified himself as a NYPD officer and showed his badge.

"I thought it was fake," Orzech said. He found a blond wig, cash and the fake imitation pistol in Torres’ car.

"They [dirty cops] are definitely bad for the profession. We are held to a higher standard," said Orzech.

Torres’ bail was set at $1 million.