Arrests Made In West Hartford Stop & Shop Bank Robbery

WEST HARTFORD, CT — Two Middletown men have been arrested and charged in connection with multiple bank robberies inside Stop & Shop supermarkets, including one in West Hartford.

Vanessa Roberts Avery, U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut; Special Agent in Charge David Sundberg of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Middletown Police Chief Erik M. Costa; Glastonbury Police Chief Marshall Porter; Newington Police Chief Stephen Clark; and West Hartford Police Chief Vernon Riddick, Jr., announced Wednesday that Gino Rizzo, 28, and Jalania Pantano, 27, both of Middletown, were arrested on an indictment charging them with bank robbery offenses.

The FBI and several local police departments have been investigating multiple robberies this summer at People’s United Bank branches located in Stop & Shop supermarkets in Connecticut.

According to federal authorities, the indictment alleges Rizzo robbed People’s United Bank branches located in Stop & Shop supermarkets in Glastonbury July 16 and in Newington July 18, and Rizzo and Pantano robbed a People’s United Bank branch located in a Stop & Shop in West Hartford July 20.

The three-count indictment was returned by a grand jury in Bridgeport Aug.17.

Rizzo and Pantano appeared yesterday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Maria E. Garcia in New Haven and were ordered detained.

The charge of bank robbery carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years.

Avery stressed that an indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt.

This matter is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Middletown, Glastonbury, Newington and West Hartford departments.