Sentence Reduced for Two ‘Hole Gang’ Members in €7 Million Grumo Nevano Bank Heist
Naples, April 22 – Two individuals implicated in the audacious €7 million bank robbery at the BPER branch in Grumo Nevano, which utilized the ‘hole gang’ technique, have seen their sentences reduced following an appeal. Francesco Pio De Santis, born in 2000, and Patrizio De Felice, born in 1988, were originally sentenced to 5 years and 4 months of imprisonment by the GUP of the Court of Naples North. The Court of Appeal, Sixth Criminal Section, accepting the requests of lawyers Domenico Dello Iacono and Luigi Poziello from the Naples North Bar, has now commuted their sentences to 4 years and 8 months of imprisonment.
The two young men are currently under house arrest at their respective homes in Naples, equipped with electronic tags. The victims of the robbery had constituted themselves as civil parties in the trial.
The Daring Bank Robbery
The robbery occurred on July 19, 2024, at the BPER S.p.A. branch located on Corso Cirillo in Grumo Nevano. Surveillance footage from the bank revealed four or five masked individuals breaking into the bank through a hole connected to a tunnel dug from the sewage system, precisely behind an iron wardrobe. Bank employees, whose testimonies were collected, confirmed that the armed men, wielding a grey pistol, demanded money from those present.
As clearly demonstrated by the camera footage, the criminals then herded the individuals into the vault, holding them against their will for approximately two hours. During this time, they proceeded to completely empty all the safe deposit boxes within the vault, as well as all the cash from the ATM, amounting to a total of nearly 7 million euros.
Investigation and Aftermath
The investigation into the ‘hole gang’ robbery had drawn analogies with other failed attempts in Rome and even touched upon potential links to Camorra circles, though no definitive conclusions were reported. The incident garnered significant media attention, with reports highlighting the audacity of the method and the substantial sum stolen.
The case serves as a stark reminder of the sophisticated methods employed by criminal organizations. Authorities continue to monitor such activities, with recent reports indicating similar incidents, including a robbery at a Crédit Agricole branch where hostages described the robbers as ‘polite’ and speaking only in dialect.
This reduction in sentence comes as the legal system continues to process the aftermath of such high-profile crimes, balancing justice for the victims with the rights of the accused.
