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'Bellagio Bandit' Sentenced to 3-11 Years for Heist

By Stephanie Rabiner, Esq. on August 25, 2011 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

Anthony Carleo, also known as the "Bellagio Bandit," was ordered to serve 3 to 11 years in jail on Tuesday for armed robbery charges stemming from a December heist during which he stole $1.5 million in chips from the casino.

Later this week, Carleo will be sentenced for another set of armed robbery and aggravated assault charges related to an earlier heist he conducted at Las Vegas' Suncoast casino.

That sentence may or may not elongate his stay to beyond 11 years.

Blaming the casino heists on addiction, Anthony Carleo's attorney asked the judge for leniency, explaining that, after being prescribed pain medication, he became addicted, eventually graduating to cocaine and gambling, reports the Las Vegas Sun.

However, the intensity of the robberies, seemingly out of a movie, swayed the judge in a different direction.

On December 9, in what KABC calls a dress rehearsal, Carleo robbed the Suncoast casino, stealing $18,945.

A week later, storming into the Bellagio in all black and wearing a motorcycle helmet, he took $1.5 million in chips from the craps pit, and according to the Sun, stormed out and sped away on his motorcycle.

He was armed during both incidents.

Later this week, the judge in the Suncoast case can either order that Carleo serve his sentence concurrently or consecutively with that from the Bellagio case.

There's no indication just what the judge will do, but the fact that the Bellagio Bandit engaged in long-term planning and hit two casinos will certainly be a factor.

And so will the fact that Anthony Carleo intended to also rob Caesars Palace, as KABC reports that police found written plans detailing a third heist.

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