A man dressed in a three-piece suit escaped from a lower Manhattan courthouse this morning just before the start of his robbery trial -- apparently because guards mistook him for an attorney.
Police are searching for the suspect, identified as 54-year-old Ronald Tackman, who may or may not still be wearing the same outfit.
Tackman fled from the Manhattan Supreme Court at 100 Centre St. shortly after 9 a.m. and his lawyer says he'll be hard to catch -- taking a page out of the movie "Catch Me If You Can."
"I don't know where he is, but he's a very intelligent man," Joseph Heinzmann told the Daily News.
"He is the quintessential average-looking white guy," a source told the News. "No distinguishing features or marks."
An officer at the court even stopped him but mistook him for an attorney. "Counselor, what are you doing here?" the officer asked, the source said.
Tackman was due to attend a pre-trial hearing for second-degree robbery. Apparently, the suspect has a long rap sheet for robbery and good reason to stay on the lam.
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"He's facing life sentences both here and in Queens County" because he has prior felonies on his rap sheet, the source said.
