East Boston Man Sentenced for Peabody Bank Robbery
| U.S. Attorney’s Office December 22, 2010 |
BOSTON—Late yesterday, U.S. District Judge George A. O’Toole sentenced an East Boston man to 110 months’ imprisonment to be followed by five years of supervised release for the armed robbery of a Peabody bank last year.
On Sept.18, 2009, two masked and armed individuals entered the Sovereign Bank in Peabody. One of the robbers, later identified as BRIAN J. FEBONIO, 42, climbed over a teller’s counter and began ransacking cash drawers while displaying a firearm. While Febonio emptied the cash drawers, the other robber, Michael J. Peters pointed his weapon at the other employees and ordered them to the ground. The robbers stuffed the currency into a black nylon bag and fled the scene. A post-robbery audit revealed that $26,433 was taken during the robbery.
The two individuals were observed by a bank employee entering a black sedan and fleeing the area. Video surveillance at the bank captured the robbers during the robbery and as they fled. The vehicle was eventually recovered and determined to have been purchased by Febonio on the day before the robbery. Febonio was identified by witnesses from the video surveillance, and an arrest warrant was issued resulting in Febonio’s capture a few days later in a New Hampshire motel. Information linking Peters was seized from Febonio’s motel room and an arrest warrant was issued for Peters who was subsequently taken into custody without incident. Febonio pleaded guilty to the charges last fall. As part of the sentence, will be on supervised release for years and was ordered to pay $26,433 in restitution.
In September, Peters was sentenced to 108 months’ imprisonment to be followed by five years of supervised release.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Special Agent in Charge Richard DesLauriers of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Boston Field Division announced the sentencing. The case was investigated by the FBI’s Violent Crimes Task Force, the New Hampshire State Police, and the Peabody Police. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth G. Shine of Ortiz’s Major Crime Unit.