PROVIDENCE — Dennis Tasker, 38, of Providence, pleaded guilty Thursday to robbing banks in Providence and Newport in July by using threatening notes, U.S. Attorney Peter F. Neronha .

Tasker entered the plea before U.S. District Judge William E. Smith. He was arrested in Boston three days after the Newport robbery while allegedly trying to break into cars, Neronha said in a news release.

At the plea hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Gerard B. Sullivan said the government could prove that on July 7 Tasker handed a note to a teller at the Sovereign Bank on Thayer Street in Providence claiming he had a gun and demanding money. The teller gave him about $760. No weapon was displayed or seen during the robbery.

Providence Patrolman Theodore Michael recognized Tasker in bank surveillance pictures, having transported him between the Adult Correctional Institutions and court when Michael was a deputy sheriff in Newport County. The bank teller who had been robbed identified Tasker from a photo array, the news release said.

On July 8, the police said Tasker entered the Sovereign Bank on Thames Street in Newport and handed a teller a note demanding money. The teller gave him approximately $7,900 and he fled. Tasker quickly became a suspect in that robbery also, and the Newport police identified fingerprints lifted from the note as Tasker’s.

On July 11, MBTA police in Boston arrested Tasker after he had allegedly tried to break into about 15 cars. At the time of his arrest, he was wearing only a towel around his waist and a jacket. He gave two false names but the police identified him as Tasker, and Providence police went to Boston to interview him. He admitted to both bank robberies, the U.S. Attorney said.

Tasker pleaded guilty to two counts of bank robbery. He was held pending sentencing, scheduled for April 16. The maximum penalty for bank robbery is 20 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.

Thomas J. Morgan