Former bank robber shows second chances are possible

Former bank robber shows second chances are possible


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SALT LAKE CITY - A former bank robber proves it's not too late for a second chance. Businesses can be reluctant to hire ex-cons because of their track records, but one got a second chance, he says, because he was willing to change.

Russell Bloss, a manager at a Salt Lake City warehouse and shipping company called Molding Box, used to be a drug abuser and a bank robber until he turned his life around. He said change can only come from within, and he wants others to live his new dream life.

"I try to lead through example, both in my personal life and my professional life," Bloss said. "Here at work, I bring in guys all the time that work for a very modest wage to begin with and say that this is the best job they've ever had."

Bloss fought back tears when he recalled his past, and said a move to Utah in 2003 wasn't enough to fight them.

"I thought that I could leave my geographical location — Pennsylvania, where I was born — and everything would just get better for me. But the truth was, what needed to be changed was inside of me."


I try to lead through example, both in my personal life and my professional life.

–Russell Bloss


He spent six weeks looking for a job after leaving federal prison and realized companies wouldn't hire a former bank robber. That's when he got involved with Utah Correction's Defendant/Offender Workforce Development, which gave him the training and confidence to discuss his past with employers while proving he was a changed man. Eventually, he worked his way up to management.

Molding Box, which Inc. 500 called the second-fastest growing company in Utah and 71st in the nation, hires workers with criminal backgrounds through a state Corrections program that teaches job skills and openness to discuss questionable pasts and pursuit of a better future.

As their fulfillment operations director, 37-year-old Bloss oversees data entry and personnel, as well as working with vendors and delivery agents.

Bloss said he had to stop running from his demons to make a better life for himself.

"You can be responsible for who you are. You don't just impact your own life but you impact the people around you," He said. "We have an obligation to ourselves, our family and our community to make the right choices."

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