NEW HAVEN, Conn. — A Middletown man who robbed three supermarket banks in 2022 was sentenced on Wednesday to five years in federal prison, followed by three years supervised release, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut.
In three different communities, Gino Rizzo, 29, used notes to demand cash from People’s United Bank branches at Stop & Shop supermarkets, according to court documents and statements made in court.
Court documents note that Rizzo robbed the People’s United Bank branch in the Glastonbury Stop & Shop on July 16, 2022, and that he robbed the same bank's branch in the Newington Stop & Shop on July 18, 2022.
Alongside his girlfriend Jalania Pantano, Rizzo robbed the People's United Bank branch in the West Hartford Stop & Shop on July 20, 2022, according to court documents.
Rizzo was arrested on July 21, 2022, and prosecutors noted “he disconnected his GPS electronic monitoring bracelet and absconded from his court-mandated rehabilitation center” on April 11, 2023, while on pre-trial release.
On Jan. 25, 2023, Rizzo pleaded guilty to bank robbery, prosecutors said, adding that he has been detained since his re-arrest on May 22, 2023. He received his sentence from U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer on Wednesday in New Haven.
According to prosecutors, Pantano was arrested on Aug. 30, 2022, and pleaded guilty to bank robbery on Aug. 23, 2023; she was sentenced to two years and six months of imprisonment on Dec. 5, 2023.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Middletown, Glastonbury, Newington, and West Hartford Police Departments respectively, prosecutors said.
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Dalton Zbierski is a digital content producer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at dzbierski@FOX61.com.
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