Suspect In Seekonk Bank Robbery, Police Chase Pleads Guilty

SEEKONK, MA – A Rhode Island man pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court to the armed robbery of a Seekonk bank in 2014. Michael Dirocco, 35, admitted to being one of two men who stole more than $10,000 from Webster Bank, the U.S. Attorney's office said.

Authorities said on Nov. 14, 2014, two men entered the Seekonk branch of Webster Bank. One vaulted over the teller's counter and started taking money from the drawers, while the other brandished what appeared to be a black semi-automatic handgun and pointed it at the tellers, according to the USAO. The two then fled in a large black SUV with $10,065 in stolen cash.

A short time later, a witness in Rhode Island reported seeing two men remove license plates from a large black SUV and replace them with Rhode Island plates. The witness recorded the Rhode Island license plate numbers, which police traced to Dirocco's mother, according to authorities.

When police found the black SUV, Dirocco was no longer driving it. He was instead driving a green pickup truck toward them, but made an "abrupt" U-turn and fled when he saw they were police, authorities said. Dirocco led officers on a car chase that ended when he crashed into a tree. Police matched his description to that of the gun-wielding bank robber, the USAO said.

Dirocco is scheduled to be sentenced March 6. He faces no greater than 25 years of prison time, five years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000.

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