Opinion ID: 718193
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Early Failures

Text: 4 In the summer of 1992, before the September robberies occurred, Pipola suggested to some of his co-conspirators the possibility of robbing armored vehicles. After two scouting trips to observe the Dubovsky & Sons location, Pipola and several of the other defendants went to the warehouse in two cars. During that visit, Pipola slightly modified the robbery plan and, in anticipation of the appearance of the armored vehicle, handed a pistol to co-conspirator James Loizzo. That robbery attempt was aborted when the armored vehicle failed to appear. 5 Pipola then enlisted defendant Steven Small's help in late August 1992 for a planned robbery at the Metropolitan Avenue office of Citibank. Small testified that his role was to supply a getaway car, a gun, a police scanner, and walkie-talkies. When Pipola also asked Small if he had any friends who would participate, Small recruited defendant Thomas Donohue. 6 When--in accordance with Pipola's instructions--Small, Donohue, and Donohue's brother went to Pipola's house in early September, Small spoke with Pipola privately and was told to follow defendant Don Louis Dominick Martorella to the bank on Metropolitan Avenue, where he and Martorella were to wait in a pre-arranged location. The plan was for the Donohues to lie in wait close to the bank and intercept the guards once they exited the armored truck. Small gave Donohue a .22 caliber pistol to use in the hold-up. Because Martorella and Small chose the wrong spot, they did not see the armored truck arrive and the four defendants were forced to return to Pipola's residence empty-handed. A similar attempt by Small and the Donohue brothers to rob the bank was equally unsuccessful.