Massapequa man arrested in connection with robbery spree
Michael Acciarito, 39, of 43 Weaver Dr., Massapequa, was arrested Friday by the Nassau County Police Department's Robbery Squad in connection with a series of bank robberies that occurred in 2010 in Nassau County. Police said Acciarito was arrested at the Nassau County Probation Office in Mineola after he reported for a scheduled visit. (Aug. 6, 2010) Credit: NCPD
A Massapequa man on probation following a 2009 drug conviction was arrested Friday afternoon and charged with multiple bank robberies, police said, including the robbery of a Massapequa bank hours earlier.
Michael Acciarito, 39, of 43 Weaver Dr., was charged with a series of five bank robberies and one attempted bank robbery, police said. The robberies began in May of this year, police said.
After he robbed the Roslyn Savings Bank on Sunrise Highway in Massapequa at 9:58 a.m. Friday, police said, Acciarito went to the Nassau County Probation Department headquarters in Mineola about 3 p.m. for his regularly scheduled meeting with his probation officer.
What he did not know, police said, was that in addition to his probation officer, Nassau County robbery detectives were waiting for him there.
Thanks to a probation officer, police had linked Acciarito to a June 22 attempted robbery of a Bank of America branch on Merrick Road in Lynbrook.
John D. Fowle, acting director of the Probation Department said, "People come in there every day. Most come in and see their probation officer and go home. This gentleman did not."
Fowle said probation officer John Pacca recognized Acciarito's picture from photos distributed from bank surveillance tapes of a suspect wanted in a bank robbery and notified police.
Det. Sgt. John Giambrone of the Robbery Squad said after Acciarito was in custody, the investigation linked him to Friday's robbery and four others:
A May 27 robbery of a Bank of America branch on Sunrise Highway in Massapequa.
A June 9 robbery of a Wachovia Bank branch on Long Beach Road in Oceanside.
A July 3 robbery of a Chase Bank branch on Sunrise Highway in Massapequa.
A July 10 robbery of a Bank of America branch on Hempstead Turnpike in East Meadow.
Acciarito was charged with five counts of third-degree robbery and one count of third-degree attempted robbery.
With Nomaan Merchant
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