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Anthony Vito, 28, has pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and abetting an armed bank robbery in Thomaston last year, and admitted that he was involved in two other commercial robberies on the same day, John Durham, the United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on Dec. 8, last year, Vito drove Anthony Provost to the Mobil Gas Station and Dunkin Donuts on Straits Turnpike in Middlebury. Provost - who is awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to his role in multiple robberies - threatened the cashier at the Mobil station with an alleged firearm and instructed her to open the cash register before he made off with $578. He also stole cigarettes with a value of $131.
Provost went on to threaten the cashier at Dunkin Donuts, demanding money, when a customer walked in. Durham said that Provost “pointed the firearm at her and told her to keep her hands out of her pocketbook,” before making off with $350. He then fled the scene in a vehicle driven by Vito.
Vito then drove Provost to the Thomaston Savings Bank on Main Street, where Provost handed the teller a note that stated “Robbery 20’s, 50,’s, 100’s, quiet,” while displaying a firearm. When the teller gave him money, Provost told her to get money from a second teller. Provost fled the bank with $1,471 with Vito behind the wheel.
The following day, Provost was arrested by officers from the Waterbury Police Department in a motel room that Vito was also staying at. Investigators recovered a silver and beige CO-2 powered BB gun, a black ski mask, a gray ski mask, $542 in cash and multiple packs of cigarettes. A red Ford Explorer that was used in the robberies was also seized. Vito was arrested shortly thereafter.
Provost and Vito have been detained since being arrested on Dec. 9. Provost pleaded guilty to one count of armed bank robbery and admitted that he committed the Connecticut robberies, as well as several others in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Vito is due to be sentenced in District Court on Aug. 31, when he will face up to 25 years in prison.
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