WEST HARTFORD, Conn. — A woman was sentenced to prison on Tuesday for her involvement in the robbery of People's United Bank in West Hartford, according to the U.S. Attorney's office.
28-year-old Jalania Pantano was sentenced to two and a half years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Vanessa Roberts Avery said. Her sentencing follows her guilty plea to one count of bank robbery in August of 2023.
Local and federal officials announced the arrest of Pantano and her boyfriend, Gino Rizzo, in August of 2022 after the two had robbed a People's United Bank branch at the Stop and Shop on Newington Road in West Hartford a month earlier.
According to court documents, Pantano and Rizzo entered the bank and passed the teller's notes demanding money with "no dye packs" or a "GPS." The couple left the store with approximately $1,599 in cash.
Pantano and Rizzo were arrested in July of 2022, and then re-arrested in May of 2023, while on pre-trial release, after they disconnected their GPS electronic monitoring bracelets and left their court-mandated rehabilitation centers.
Rizzo also robbed branches located in Stop and Shop grocery stores in Glastonbury and Newington, the U.S. Attorney's office said. He has been detained since his re-arrest and is awaiting sentencing after he pleaded guilty in July of 2023.
The U.S. Attorney's office said the incidents were investigated by the FBI and police in Middletown, Glastonbury, Newington, and West Hartford.
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