Somerville Man Convicted of Bank Robbery

BOSTON, MA—A Somerville man was convicted today in federal court of robbing East Cambridge Savings Bank.

DANIEL ALMEIDA, 28, formerly of Somerville, was convicted by a jury sitting before U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton of bank burglary. He faces up to 20 years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Judge Gorton scheduled sentencing for January 21, 2011.

On the evening of May 25, 2007, an employee of East Cambridge Savings Bank on Highland Avenue in Somerville was abducted and forced to enter the bank the following morning, letting her abductor in. The employee was then forced to open the vault and put the cash into two bags. The employee was then duct-taped to a chair in the basement of the bank. Evidence linking Almeida to the crime included admissions he made to an acquaintance and DNA evidence recovered at the scene. The East Cambridge Savings Bank sustained a loss of $308,505 as a result of the crime.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Richard DesLauriers, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation - Boston Division; Colonel Marian McGovern, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; and Chief Michael Cabral of the Somerville Police Department made the announcement today. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert E. Richardson of Ortiz’s Major Crimes Unit.