Albany Symphony Orchestra player pleads guilty to bank robbery

ALBANY - Joey Maxey, the principal trumpet player with the Albany Symphony Orchestra and a backup church choir director, has pleaded guilty to federal charges of robbing an Albany bank in February using a toy gun. <br> <br> The 54-year-old Maxey made his plea Wednesday. <br> <br> Federal Judge Louis Sands said Maxey, who faces up to 20 years and a $250,000 fine, will be sentenced at a later date. <br> <br> Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracia Sands said state bank robbery charges are expected to be dismissed. <br> <br> Maxey admitted to robbing a Regions Bank branch of just over $680 on February 25. He had filled in for a church choir director on the eve of the robbery. Maxey is married and the father of two. <br> <br> Albany police Captain Ernest Williams said several people identified Maxey as the man who pulled the toy gun and demanded money. <br> <br> The trumpeter&#39;s arrest, in a pre-dawn raid on his upscale home by FBI agents, U.S. marshals and Albany police officers, stunned fellow musicians and members of his church congregation. <br> <br> Maxey cooperated with officers, showing them clothing and other articles used in the robbery and producing a deposit slip for the money being placed in his bank account. <br> <br> Maxey, who also owned a music store, performed widely in churches, in jazz groups, in pit bands for theatrical performances and with the symphony.