Bank Thief Gets 12 Years

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – A Cumberland man was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison for robbing three banks within a span of 22 days, announced United States Attorney Peter F. Neronha.

Joseph G. Petrarca, 50, was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison for robbing three banks, two in Rhode Island and one in Vermont. He was also ordered to serve 5 years supervised release upon completion of his prison term and to pay restitution to the banks in the amount of $17,575.

The first robbery occurred on December 26, 2012, at a Citizens Bank branch office in Cumberland, R.I., where Petrarca handed a threatening note to a teller claiming that he was armed with a gun. Twenty days later, he robbed a Washington Trust Company branch office in Cranston, R.I, handing a note that read in part, “I have a gun and I will shoot you.”

During the robbery of the Washington Trust Company, the teller told police that the robber displayed the handle of a gun which he pulled out from a satchel or briefcase he was holding. However, no gun was actually displayed. Petrarca also handed a note to a teller during the robbery of the Citizens Bank branch office claiming that he was armed.

Petrarca pleaded guilty to robbing the People’s United Bank in Hartford, Vermont, on January 17, 2013, of $6,216. He passed a note to a teller announcing the robbery and made a motion under his jacket as if he were reaching for a gun. No weapon was displayed.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Gerard B. Sullivan. The bank robberies were investigated by the Cranston, R.I., Cumberland, R.I., and Hartford, VT., Police Departments and the FBI.

Petrarca was arrested by Cranston Police on January 19, 2013.