NORTHERN CAMBRIA, Pa. (October 9, 2012)--A man tried to rob a Pennsylvania bank of $1 because he hoped to be sent to a federal prison nearby, police say.

A police complaint says Jeffrey McMullen, 50, a regular customer, walked into an AmeriServ bank Friday in Northern Cambria, Pa., and handed notes to tellers demanding a dollar.

The complaint says tellers thought it was a joke.

McMullen then spoke with a new accounts employee and repeated he was robbing the bank for a buck, the complaint said.

Police say McMullen apparently wanted to be prosecuted in federal court so he could be taken to a prison in central Pennsylvania, but they could not immediately say why.

McMullen is awaiting a preliminary hearing.