Satchel, a Westport resident and frequent visitor to Compo Beach, got in a last swim of the season today at the beach. The seasonal ban on animals at the beach begins Wednesday. Alan H. Martin for WestportNow.com

Bank surveillance photo of robber. Contributed photoA New Jersey man who robbed Westport’s Commerce Bank on Main Street in January 2008 dressed as a woman pleaded guilty in a Camden, N.J. federal court today to bank robbery charges, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

Huy Trong Luong, 40, of Jersey City, N.J. admitted to robbing or attempting to rob nine banks in New Jersey and Connecticut over a five-month period in 2008 and getting away with more than $39,000, prosecutors said.

The U.S. Attorney’s office said he specifically pleaded guilty to two counts of bank robbery associated with the April 20, 2008, robbery of Commerce Bank in Bergenfield, N.J. and the Jan. 11, 2008, robbery of a Wachovia branch in Greenwich.

Luong also admitted committing the other seven robberies, and all of the conduct will be taken into consideration at sentencing, prosecutors said.

A sign under a bust of Morris Ketchum Jesup, founder of the Westport Public Library, proclaims that he is on Facebook, the social networking Internet site, and ready to accept “friends.” (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Lynn U. Miller for WestportNow.com

Westport police said today they had arrested two women on prostitution charges after they offered their services on the Internet.

Both women were arrested in separate incidents at the Westport Inn, said Lt. David Kassay, commander of the Detective Bureau.

Helen Marks, 30, of Stamford, was arrested Thursday after an undercover officer answered an Internet ad and she offered to perform “an erotic massage,” he said. She was released on $200 bond with a Norwalk Superior Court date set for April 6.

On Friday night, detectives received information that another female involved with a Web site ad for erotic services had checked into the hotel, Kassay said.