Opinion ID: 787685
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Robbery of Chemical Bank

Text: 8 For almost forty years, Fortunato had been a friend of Alfred Driano, a seventy-two-year-old vault attendant at a Manhattan branch of Chemical Bank. Some time in 1993, Fortunato introduced Driano to Polito and told Polito that Driano worked at a bank. Driano was later approached by two men who sought his assistance in robbing the bank. Driano declined and then reported the incident to Polito and Fortunato, who told him that these men were rough guys, that he was in deep now and could not back out, and that he would be paid for his assistance. Shortly thereafter, the same two men again unsuccessfully attempted to enlist Driano's assistance in robbing the bank by asking him if he would open the door to the vault area of the bank when the armored truck guards arrived with a delivery of money. 9 On December 21, 1993, the bank was robbed, apparently without Driano's assistance. Two men with guns and masks forced their way into the vault area, struck Driano in the back with a hard object, and stole $1.5 million. After the robbery, the police recovered from the getaway van approximately $537,000 of the stolen money and a business card from the Fortunato family's bakery. Polito received about $80,000-90,000 for his role in planning the robbery. 10 After the robbery, Driano complained that he had not been paid. To keep Driano quiet, Gangi told D'Urso to make sure that Polito and Fortunato paid Driano off. Afterwards, Gangi and a member of his crew physically assaulted Polito at the latter's pizzeria for Polito's failure to pay Driano. Fortunato also told Driano that Fortunato had been beaten for failing to advance Driano his share of the bank robbery money and that Fortunato had been given twenty-four hours to pay Driano. Fortunato complied by facilitating the payment of $10,000 to Driano by a third party. When Driano was subpoenaed several years later in connection with an investigation of the robbery, Fortunato told Driano to say only that he had not been involved. 11 In November 1995, Polito and other Genovese Family members and associates pled guilty to federal charges involving the Chemical Bank robbery, resulting in Polito spending several years in prison. Although the Government has made much of Fortunato's involvement in this robbery in order to establish that he was an associate of the Genovese Family, it is worth noting that Fortunato was never criminally charged with participating in the robbery. 12