A man who robbed three banks in Western New York wearing a disguise that included a high-quality latex mask was sentenced to 6 years and 4 months in prison on November 17, 2020.
Nicholas R. Ferrone, 29, of Utica, NY, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge David Larimer. Judge Larimer also ordered Ferrone to pay restitution of $8,927.
Ferrone’s plea deal
Ferrone pleaded guilty to three counts of bank robbery in July 2020. The plea agreement states that the maximum possible sentence for each count is 20 years in prison, and that Ferrone’s sentencing range under the sentencing guidelines would be 57 to 71 months. Both sides agreed that the court should impose a sentence of 64 months in prison.
According to Ferrone’s attorney, the government also agreed not to charge Ferrone for two additional bank robberies that he allegedly committed in fall 2019. Ferrone is a repeat offender who spent around two and a half years in prison for robbing eight banks in 2013.
The 2019 bank robberies
The three robberies occurred between August and December 2019. Ferrone wore disguises and high-quality latex masks which covered his entire head during each robbery. During one of the robberies, he was wearing a yellow fedora, dark earmuffs, a blue blazer over a maroon shirt, dark pants, shoes, and gloves, and carrying an umbrella.
Ferrone’s modus operandi was to pass a note that claimed he had a gun and to demand money. The teller would hand over cash, and he would exit the bank and drive away in his pickup truck.
Ferrone robbed a Bank of America in Depew, NY, on August 20, 2019, a Chase Bank in Gates, NY, on October 31, 2019, and an M&T Bank in Penfield, NY, on December 17, 2019. He walked away from the robberies with $1,920, $6,540, and $467, respectively.
The fateful traffic stop in January 2020
On January 13, 2020, Ferrone was pulled over by a New York State Trooper for not having license plates displayed. He was driving a black 2011 Ford F-150 pickup truck. The trooper found Oxycontin and Morphine pills in the vehicle and observed masks and a BB gun. Ferrone was arrested and his vehicle was towed.
When police searched the vehicle, they found handwritten demand notes, latex masks, license plates, and assorted clothing. One of the plates had been stolen off a vehicle that was registered to a man who lives in Hamlin, NY. The stolen plate was recorded going through a toll booth at the Utica exit on the New York State Thruway the day after the M&T Bank robbery.
The clothing found in Ferrone’s pickup truck matched the clothing worn by the suspect during the three bank robberies.
The 2013 bank robberies
Ferrone robbed his first bank in Oneida, NY, in January 2013. According to his attorney at the time, Frank Policelli, the first robbery “happened almost by accident” after Ferrone lost all his money gambling and consumed $40,000 worth of drugs. Policelli said that Ferrone “wrote out a robbery demand, walked into a bank and handed the note to a teller”.
After the robbery, he told his friend Zachariah Edwards that it was easy and recruited him as an accomplice. Edwards had studied criminal justice at Mohawk Valley Community College.
The pair went on to rob seven banks mostly in Central New York between January and March 2013. They netted a total of $24,800. Ferrone and Edwards were both 21 years old at the time.
According to Edwards, they consumed alcohol and drugs before each robbery, and they used the proceeds from the robberies to buy alcohol and drugs and gamble.
Ferrone and Edwards were identified after someone called in a tip to the DeWitt Police Department in East Syracuse, NY. One of the robberies had taken place in DeWitt, and a local investigator had arranged for a local TV station to broadcast a report about the robberies. Edwards cooperated with law enforcement and the government.
Ferrone and Edwards eventually pleaded guilty to all of the 2013 bank robberies.
Ferrone’s sentencing in November 2020
Ferrone was originally scheduled to be sentenced in September, but Judge Larimer refused to accept the plea and the sentencing was postponed. It’s not clear why Judge Larimer didn’t accept the plea, but a conference was held and Ferrone agreed to 76 months.
In the defense’s sentencing submission, Ferrone’s attorney, Gregory Colavecchia, said that his client accepted responsibility for his crimes. Colavecchia acknowledged the impact on the banks and their employees, but noted that Ferrone did not actually possess a firearm.
Ferrone’s previous attorney made a similar point at sentencing in September 2013. He said that Ferrone never displayed a weapon, and that none of the tellers suffered any lasting trauma. Ferrone’s previous attorney also argued that Ferrone was not likely to reoffend because he was dealing with his chemical dependency.
Colavecchia said that Ferrone plans to pursue drug treatment in prison. He added that Ferrone is focused on “becoming the best version of himself”.