On Tuesday, the man convicted of robbing the Bellagio casino resort was sentenced to at least three years in prison. But if it helps, he said he was sorry. The sentencing puts an end to a sensational robbery story that captured the attention of Las Vegas.
Anthony Carleo, the son of a former Vegas judge, was sentenced to no less than three years and no more than 11 years for robbing the Bellagio casino on December 14. Carleo held up the casino at gunpoint, wearing a motorcycle mask to obscure his face, and made off on the motorcycle with $1.5 million in chips. He was later arrested when trying to sell those chips to undercover officers.
At the sentencing hearing, Carleo said that he was sorry for “all the chaos I’ve caused.” The apology must have seemed genuine to the judge. Prosecutor Chris Owens argued for a stiffer sentence, saying that Carleo thought it was a “big joke,” but Judge Michael Leavitt handed down a somewhat light sentence.
In addition to robbing the Bellagio, he admitted to robbing the Suncoast casino on December 9. Tomorrow he will be sentenced for the Suncoast robbery, where he used the same robbery tactic. At the Bellagio, he stole money at gunpoint from the craps pit area. At the Suncoast, he stole from a cashier’s cage near a poker tournament.
As expected, Carleo’s attorney will argue at the Suncoast sentencing that both sentences should be served concurrently. That’s another way of saying that because he committed crimes at two casinos, he’ll for some reason only do time for one of them. The prosecution will likely oppose concurrent sentencing.
Tags: Anthony Carleo, Bellagio heist, casino crime
