Boston Man Pleads Guilty to Cambridge Bank Robbery

BOSTON—In federal court today, a Boston man pleaded guilty to a 2009 robbery of the Cambridge Trust Company.

DAVID A. LAPERLE, 55, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Richard G. Stearns to bank robbery. Sentencing is scheduled for May 12, 2011. Laperle faces up to 20 years’ imprisonment to be followed by three years of supervised release, a $250,000 fine, and restitution to the Cambridge Trust Company in the amount of $14,775.

Had the case proceeded to trial, the government’s evidence would have proven that on January 9, 2009, an individual wearing a blue hooded sweatshirt and a black mask entered the Cambridge Trust Company located at 1720 Massachusetts Avenue in Cambridge. Once inside the bank, the individual leaped over the teller’s station and began ransacking cash drawers. The individual took currency, later determined to be $14,775, and fled the bank in an unknown direction. Within the stolen cash was marked money and a dye pack.

A few days later, the FBI was contacted by the Milford Police Department relative to an individual who had recently paid for a motel room with “red-stained” money. The FBI and the Milford Police set up surveillance on the motel and observed an individual, later identified as Laperle, exit the motel and enter a minivan. The van was stopped and searched during which time investigators found a large amount of “red-stained” currency along with a number of “red-stained” clothing and boots. The clothing was later submitted to the FBI’s Crime Laboratory for analysis, and the dye stains were determined to match those used in the bank’s dye packs.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Richard DesLauriers, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division, made the announcement today. The case was investigated by the FBI’s Violent Crime Task Force. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth G. Shine of Ortiz's Major Crime Unit.