
"I was held up at gunpoint by the Pizza Bandit."
From This One Time in Kankakee by WVLI Podcast Network
April 20, 2026 · 20 min · Episode 16
About this episode
Tom Klonowski recounts his life-altering encounter with the Pizza Bandit during a robbery at his pizzeria in 1997.
In the summer of 1997, Tom Klonowski was in his mid-twenties and just starting his journey as the owner of Pizza by Marchellonis in Bourbonnais, Illinois. It was a Friday night in August when a routine order for a pepperoni pizza turned into a life-altering encounter with a man the local press dubbed "The Pizza Bandit." In this episode of This One Time in Kankakee, host Jake LaMore sits down with Tom to recount the details of the robbery and the multi-state investigation that followed. Tom sh...
People in this episode
Host: Jake LaMore
Guest: Tom Klonowski
Topics covered
- crime
- local history
- personal story
- investigation
- pizza
Keywords
- Pizza Bandit
- robbery
- Bourbonnais
- Tom Klonowski
- 1997
- investigation
- pizza
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Pizza by Marchellonis
Places: Bourbonnais, Illinois
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