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Former Middlesex County resident Jalania Pantano of Middletown, age 28, was sentenced on Tuesday, Dec. 5 to 30 months in prison for robbing a bank in Hartford County in July 2022, the US Attorney's Office for the District of Connecticut announced.
According to federal officials, on July 20, 2022, Pantano and her boyfriend, Gino Rizzo, entered the People's United Bank inside the Stop & Shop supermarket in West Hartford at 176 Newington Rd. They then gave notes to two different tellers that read, "Give us the money with no dye packs or GPS," officials said.
The two tellers then gave the duo around $1,599 in cash before they left the supermarket.
Officials said that Rizzo had also robbed People’s United Bank branches inside Stop & Shop locations in Glastonbury on July 16, 2022, and in Newington on July 18, 2022. He was arrested in connection with the robberies on July 21, 2022, while Pantano was arrested on August 30, 2022.
While on pre-trial release on Tuesday, April 11, the duo both disconnected their GPS electronic monitoring bracelets and left their court-mandated rehabilitation centers, according to officials.
Following this, Pantano was rearrested on Wednesday, May 24, while Rizzo was rearrested on Monday, May 22. They have both been detained since their arrests and have since pleaded guilty to their charges. Rizzo is now awaiting sentencing.
Following her release from prison, Pantano will be required to serve three years of supervised release.
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