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Francesco "Frankie" Pensiiero faces decades in prison in convicted of three counts of bank robbery, the US Attorney for Connecticut Vanessa Roberts Avery said.
Prosecutors allege that Pensiiero walked into the Chase Bank located at 2855 Main Street in Stratford, showed the teller a gun, and handed them a note that read, "this is a robbery give me all your money." The teller gave him $1,000, and he ran off.
Later that day, police say Pensiiero robbed a second bank, the People’s United Bank, at 1160 Kings Highway Cutoff in Fairfield. The heist went off with striking similarity. The prosecutor said Pensiiero showed a gun and handed a note to the teller to say he was robbing the place. He made off with $5,458, authorities said.
On Oct. 28, 2020, police say Pensiero and an associate robbed the People’s United Bank at 95 Main Street in New Canaan. Again, he is alleged to have pulled a gun and passed a note demanding money, though this time, police said, he threatened to kill the teller and other employees if they didn't comply. The duo stole more than $9,100 and sped off in a Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS, the prosecutor said.
Pensiero was sentenced to seven years behind bars after he offered an Alford plea to bank robbery charges in 2015, the Stamford Advocate reported then. It's unclear when he got out of prison.
Bank robbery can carry a sentence of 20 years if convicted, officials said.
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