Convicted Bank Robber Sentenced to Eight Years in Prison

A Newark man convicted of robbing eight banks in a two-month period was sentenced to eight years in prison, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Nathaniel Barreto, 30, of Newark, previously pleaded guilty to one bank robbery and admitted robbing seven others and attempting to rob a ninth. The banks he robbed included branches in Bloomfield and West Orange and banks in Bergen, Hunterdon, Middlesex and Morris counties.

The robberies took place between the end of June and mid-August 2010.

Barreto was sentenced on Wednesday in federal court in Trenton by U.S. District Court Judge Freda L. Wolfson.

Authorities said Barreto’s bank robbery spree came to an end following the Aug. 17, 2010, robbery,when a witness saw Barreto get into a car driven by his accomplice and noted the license platenumber, which matched the plate on a car found abandoned near a wooded area.

Barreto and his accomplice were both found and arrested in the woods nearby.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Wolfson sentenced Barreto to three years of supervised release and ordered him to pay $112,515 in restitution.

U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman also credited officers from the Morris County Sheriff's Dept. and Prosecutor's Office, FBI agents, the Hanover Township Police Dept., and the New Jersey State Police, with assisting in the case.