Serial Bank Robber Sentenced to 19-and-a-Half Years in Prison
| U.S. Attorney’s Office March 08, 2011 |
PHOENIX—U.S. District Judge Roslyn O. Silver on Monday sentenced Samuel Cresante, of Phoenix, to 19-and-a-half years in federal prison. Cresante, 45, pleaded guilty on October 26, 2010, to two counts of armed bank robbery and one count of use of a firearm during a crime of violence.
Cresante was connected with a dozen bank robberies in the Valley between June 2009 and January 2010. The facts showed that Cresante entered the banks and either brandished a firearm or passed a note demanding money to the tellers. The tellers, fearing for their lives, complied with Cresante’s demands. Cresante had just been released from state prison a few months earlier, after serving 12-and-a-half years for armed robbery.
The investigation in this case was conducted by the FBI’s Bank Robbery Task Force, which includes the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Mesa Police Department, the Phoenix Police Department, and the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office. Other investigative agencies involved were the Scottsdale Police Department, the Gilbert Police Department, and the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office. The prosecution was handled by Alison S. Bachus, Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of Arizona, Phoenix.