During the investigation of the First County Bank robbery, officers determined that Francesco "Frank" Pensiero was the man seen in the surveillance video wearing a dark wig, sunglasses, black jacket with a white strip, black winter cap and a neck brace, police said. An undisclosed amount of cash was taken from the bank.
Shortly after the robbery, officers applied for a search warrant for Pensiero's last known address at Americas Best Value Inn in Stamford, police said.
Surveillance of the hotel room saw Pensiero emerge from the room with two facsimile firearms, polcie said. When officers moved in to detain him, he placed a gun to his head in an attempt to "suicide by cop," police said.
Pensiero was ultimately restrained and officers were able to execute the search warrant.
Officers seized items that linked Pensiero to the bank robbery, police said. On Jan. 14, officers brought Pensiero into the department, where he was charged with first-degree robbery and held on a parole violation charge by the Department of Correction.
He was held on $500,000 bond. No court date was released by police.
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