Boro man sentenced for robbery

MONMOUTH BEACH - A borough man was sentenced to 120 months in prison Aug. 21 for robbing a Monmouth County bank of $8,050 on Aug. 29, 2006.

U.S. District Judge Freda L. Wolfson also ordered Martin N. Racioppi, 42, to pay $1,360 in restitution (the amount of stolen money not recovered) and to serve three years of supervised release upon the completion of his prison term.

On Jan. 31, Racioppi pleaded guilty before Judge Wolfson to a one-count Indictment that charged bank robbery. At his plea hearing, Racioppi admitted that he entered and robbed a Sovereign Bank branch in Red Bank of approximately $8,050. Racioppi admitted he demanded money from a teller, asking repeatedly for her $50 and $100 bills and telling her to act quickly and quietly.

Racioppi was arrested by Red Bank police officers after an investigation identified him as the man photographed by bank security cameras during the robbery. Racioppi was on parole from a 2001 state bank robbery conviction at the time of the Sovereign Bank robbery. The case was investigated by the FBI's Red Bank Resident Agency.