Apparently DARTH VADER'S change of heart at the end of "Return of the Jedi" is over.  He's back to being EVIL.

Last Thursday morning, he robbed a Chase Bank in the town of Setauket, on Long Island, New York.  Okay . . . it was just a guy dressed in a Darth Vader costume, with the black helmet, the robes, and a cape.

Around 11:30 A.M., Vader walked into the bank, pulled out a semi-automatic handgun, and demanded some cash.  The teller gave him an undisclosed amount of money, and he took off.

And if that wasn't evil enough, Vader made the teller put the money in a bag with the NEW YORK YANKEES logo.  (--And, as all baseball fans know, they're the TRUE Evil Empire.)

Customers in the bank at the time thought it was a joke at first . . . one of them even tried to HUG Darth before he shoved the guy away, pulled out the gun, and said, quote, "I will shoot you in the face.  This is not a joke."

The man in the costume had a, quote, "squeaky" voice, he was about 6-foot-2, and was wearing camouflage pants under his Sith robes.  But so far, police haven't been able to figure out who he is.