Middletown Man Sentenced to 5 Years in Federal Prison for Robbing 3 Supermarket Banks in 2022

Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that GINO RIZZO, 29, of Middletown, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer in New Haven to 60 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for robbing three banks in 2022.

According to court documents and statements made in court, using notes demanding cash, Rizzo robbed People's United Bank branches located in Stop & Shop supermarkets in Glastonbury on July 16, 2022, in Newington on July 18, 2022, and in West Hartford July 20, 2022. Rizzo's girlfriend, Jalania Pantano, also participated in the West Hartford robbery (photo attached).

Rizzo was arrested on July 21, 2022. On April 11, 2023, while on pre-trial release, he disconnected his GPS electronic monitoring bracelet and absconded from his court-mandated rehabilitation center. He has been detained since his re-arrest on May 22, 2023. On January 25, 2023, Rizzo pleaded guilty to bank robbery.

Pantano was arrested on August 30, 2022, and she pleaded guilty to bank robbery on August 23, 2023. On December 5, 2023, she was sentenced to 30 months of imprisonment.

This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Middletown, Glastonbury, Newington, and West Hartford Police Departments. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephanie T. Levick and Robert S. Dearington.