Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney’s Office

District of Massachusetts

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Thursday, March 31, 2016

Dedham Man Pleads Guilty to Armed Bank Robbery

BOSTON – A Dedham man pleaded guilty yesterday in U.S. District Court in Boston to armed bank robbery.

Lawrence J. Costello, 54, pleaded guilty to one count of armed bank robbery.  U.S. District Court Judge Nathan M. Gorton scheduled sentencing for July 27, 2016.

On May 12, 2014, Costello and another individual, armed with what appeared to be semi-automatic weapons, entered a Bank of America branch in Attleboro.  Once inside, Costello jumped over the teller’s counter, and took $17,687 in cash while holding the tellers at gunpoint.  The men fled in a green Ford pickup truck.  The pickup truck was recovered a short time later and determined to have been stolen.  During the investigation, law enforcement recovered a pair of red and black gloves which testing revealed contained Costello’s DNA.  Costello was arrested a few weeks later in Bourne, Mass.

The charge provides for a sentence of no greater than 25 years in prison, five years of supervised release, a fine of $250,000 and restitution.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.  Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Attleboro Police Chief Kyle Heagney; Bourne Police Chief Dennis Woodside, made the announcement today.  The case was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth G. Shine of Ortiz’s Major Crimes Unit.