OAKLAND -- A former world boxing champion and Pittsburg native is expected to serve 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to a string of Bay Area bank robberies, according to a plea deal struck with federal prosecutors.
In the agreement signed Feb. 7, 42-year-old James Page admitted to stealing $20,735 from eight East Bay banks from March 6 to June 9. Page, 42, passed handwritten notes to a bank teller in each robbery, and was not armed.
A well-known boxer, it was Page's local fame that helped take him down. A police officer who saw a photo released by authorities recognized the suspect as Page.
Known as "Mighty Quinn," Page's devastating left hook helped him climb the ladder of fame, from boxing rings in his native Pittsburg to attracting the attention of boxing promoter Don King.
Boxer James Page, 1998. ( Bay Area News Group archives)
Page knocked out Russian Andrei Pestriaev in two rounds in Paris to win the World Boxing Association welterweight title in 1998 only to be stripped of it for failing to show up to a mandatory fight in 2000.
In December 2001, Page was arrested for a bank robbery in Atlanta, sentenced to 11 years in federal prison, and was released in 2012.
Before his plea deal earlier this month, Page had faced 20 years in prison for each robbery. His sentencing is scheduled for April 29.
