Wallace J Silva Jr, Bank Robbery, HI 2018

HONOLULU – In a grim reminder of the city’s crime woes, Wallace J. Silva, Jr., 64, was handed a 188-month sentence by United States District Judge Leslie E. Kobayashi on February 15, 2018, for his role in a series of bank robberies that shook Honolulu.

According to court documents, Silva, during a crime spree in December 2016, executed ten bank robberies across the city, although he was charged with only four. His guilty plea on April 19, 2017, acknowledged all ten incidents and included an agreement for full restitution of $32,000 stolen from First Hawaiian Bank, Bank of Hawaii, and American Savings Bank.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenji M. Price outlined the details, stating that Silva had previously faced two bank robbery convictions in separate cases. In 1997, he served a 112-month sentence for one such crime, and in 2005, after completing his release from the first, he was again sentenced to an additional 151 months following four more bank robberies.

It was revealed that Silva began his latest round of criminal activity within just four months of being released in August 2016. His attitude towards committing bank robberies, as admitted during the sentencing hearing, was simply “going to work.”

The investigation leading to Silva’s conviction was a collaborative effort between the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Honolulu Police Department, and United States Marshals Service, while Assistant U.S. Attorney Marshall Silverberg was responsible for the prosecution.

Wallace J. Silva, Jr.’s sentence is a stark testament to the consequences of financial crime in Hawaii and serves as a warning to others who might consider following his footsteps.