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Anthony Carleo, the twenty nine year old man known otherwise as the Bellagio Bandit, has pled guilty to the charges placed against him. The son of a Las Vegas judge has been charged with robbing the Bellagio of $1.5 million in casino chips from a craps table as well as armed robbery. Carleo will return to court in January 2012 to face the charges of armed robbery, burglary, weapon charges and assault. If he is convicted he could face a long time in prison. Clark County District Court Judge Michelle Leavitt presided over the recent hearing and before she accepted Carleo’s plea of not guilty she told the court that her brother is a craps dealer at the Bellagio.
Leavitt stated that her brother was not working the night of the robbery and she has not discussed the case with him directly. Leavitt is also connected to the robber’s father, George Assad, a Las Vegas Municipal Court Judge. Leavitt stated in court that family members of hers have supported Assad in private as well as publicly for his post however she does not socialize with him outside of the profession.
Despite the judge’s statements, neither William Terry the lawyer acting on the behalf of Carleo or the prosecutor had any objection to Leavitt presiding over the case. Both the prosecution and the defense will now be using the next eight months or so to gather the information they need to proceed when the court date rolls around. It will be interesting to see what the defense is going to use in their case since Carleo has plead not guilty. The Bellagio Bandit case is definitely one worth watching.
2011-04-22
