A serial robber pretending to be a police officer called a Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet and told the manager to play along with an upcoming holdup as part of a make-believe sting operation.

Five minutes later, the robber walked into the Bloomfield fast-food restaurant in the 4900 block of Baum Boulevard, took $200 at gunpoint and escaped.

The manager had herded employees into the back with the expectation that police would arrest the culprit.

Pittsburgh police yesterday released details about the March 31 robbery and its unusual ruse, along with photographs of the suspect.

The man is thought to have robbed 10 other establishments since Jan. 28 in Bloomfield, Oakland, Shadyside and Downtown. He has hit a drycleaners, a bookstore, a chocolate shop, a Taco Bell and a GNC outlet, among other places.

The most recent robbery was Tuesday at George's Tailor Shop on Liberty Avenue, Downtown.

In each case, the man stole between $140 and $600. The robberies occurred between 12:15 p.m. and 7:35 p.m.

Robbery detectives determined that the man has been active in Pittsburgh for at least four years after comparing a still photograph of the suspect in a 2000 card shop holdup with the current video, Sgt. Andrew Lisiecki said.

The suspect is a black man in his 50s, 5-feet-10, 220 pounds and wields a long-barreled, older-model, black revolver.

Lisiecki said that anyone with information about the suspect's identity should call robbery detectives at 412-323-7151.