"First-Aid Bandit," Samuel Cresante, Sentenced to 19 Years in Prison for String of Valley Robberies | Valley Fever | Phoenix | Phoenix New Times | The Leading Independent News Source in Phoenix, Arizona
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"First-Aid Bandit," Samuel Cresante, Sentenced to 19 Years in Prison for String of Valley Robberies

The only "first-aid"45-year-old Samuel Cresante will be receiving for the next several years will be at a prison infirmary. Cresante was sentenced in federal court this morning to 19 years in prison for a string of at least 12 bank robberies lamely dubbed by the FBI's bandit-naming department as the...
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The only "first-aid"45-year-old Samuel Cresante will be receiving for the next several years will be at a prison infirmary. Cresante was sentenced in federal court this morning to 19 years in prison for a string of at least 12 bank robberies lamely dubbed by the FBI's bandit-naming department as the work of the "First-Aid bandit."

See our coverage of some of Cresante's antics here.

Last October, Cresante pleaded guilty to two counts of armed bank robbery and one count of use of a firearm during a crime of violence for several bank robberies that took place between June of 2009 and January of 2010.


During each of the robberies, Cresante was seen with cuts and scrapes all over his face, and at some robberies, he was wearing gauze bandages on his face -- sometimes with blood seeping
through -- thus, the lame-o name.

In each robbery, Cresante would walk into the bank, pull out a gun, or a note threatening violence and demanding money, to scare tellers into handing over the cash.

Cresante's a repeat customer of the prison system. While his new digs will be in federal prison, prior to the string of robberies, Cresante served a 12-year prison sentence in an Arizona state prison for armed robbery.

Authorities say he was only out of prison a few months when he started holding up banks.

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