Five Plead Guilty to String of Bank Burglaries

Jeffrey H. Sloman, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Michael J. Folmar, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Miami Field Office, announced that defendants Gerard Bellafiore, 39, Thomas Valenti, 33, Jose Calderon, 38, Jorge Diaz, 37, and Joseph Stephen Angelo, 66, have pled guilty to their involvement in a string of bank burglaries in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties. Defendants Bellafiore and Calderon are scheduled to be sentenced on October 28, 2009; defendants Valenti and Diaz are scheduled to be sentenced on October 29, 2009; defendant Angelo is scheduled to be sentenced on October 23, 2009.

According to court documents and statements made in court, the defendants were involved in bank burglaries that resulted in a total loss of approximately $450,000 to the victim banks, including Bank of America locations in Miami, Pembroke Pines, Hollywood, Deerfield Beach, Lake Worth, Plantation, North Miami Beach, and Boca Raton, a Sun Trust Bank in Boca Raton, and a Wachovia Bank in Hollywood. In each of the bank burglaries, Bellafiore used a handheld saw and a long hook device to cut open the night depository box at the victim bank and remove the night deposit bags contained therein, while at least one of the other defendants served as a lookout.

On August 14, 2009, defendant Angelo pled guilty to one count of bank burglary. Defendants Calderon, Bellafiore, and Valenti pled guilty on August 19, 2009, to one count of bank burglary. Defendant Diaz pled guilty today, August 20, 2009, to conspiring to commit bank burglaries and bank larcenies. Defendants Angelo, Bellafiore, Calderon, and Valenti each face a maximum statutory sentence of 20 years in prison; defendant Diaz faces a maximum statutory sentence of 5 years in prison.

Mr. Sloman commended the investigative efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, United States Secret Service, City of Miami Police Department, Miami-Dade Police Department, North Miami Beach Police Department, Broward Sheriff’s Office, and Plantation Police Department. Mr. Sloman specifically commended the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Violent Crimes and Fugitive Task Force. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Strider Dickson.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.