Uruguayan man jailed for bank robbery

A Uruguayan national has been jailed for 32 months for the aggravated robbery of the ANZ bank in Gisborne, which resulted in the resignation of a bank officer.

Federico Rodriguez Ghigliano, 24, appeared in Gisborne District Court for sentencing today after pleading guilty in March to robbing a bank employee of $30,000 while armed with an offensive weapon, namely a knife.

Crown prosecutor Fiona Cleary said the robbery, committed on January 19, was chilling and premeditated.

It resulted in the resignation of a bank officer who Ghigliano threatened with a knife and a gun, which was "probably fake".

Ghigliano left the bank with $30,000 but was captured shortly afterwards by police after a car chase through Gisborne.

Counsel Leonard Hemi said Ghigliano, in New Zealand on a working holiday, was unemployed, living on charity, isolated and desperate.

He allowed his depression to overwhelm his normal sense of right and wrong.

But Judge Joanna Maze said the sentence had to be one of imprisonment.

Ghigliano made an appointment at the bank after giving a false name and claiming to be a German national.

He went with the bank employee into an office and handed over a pre-written note, she said.

He told the bank officer to keep calm and to get another staff member to bring $30,000 to the office.

Ghigliano showed the first bank officer a 30-centimetre knife and a gun. He left with the money in a car he borrowed from people who did not know his true intentions.

Police pursued Ghigliano who did not stop and he was arrested after colliding with a give way sign.

The $30,000 was recovered.

The bank officer feared for her life, had resigned from her job, and remained adversely affected by her meeting with Ghigliano, the judge said.

Judge Maze said she did not accept that Ghigliano's emotional state lessened the aggravating factors in his offending.

Mr Hemi said Ghigliano was educated, came from a law-abiding family, had no previous convictions, was genuinely remorseful and considered to be at low risk of re-offending.

He had written a letter of apology and was able to pay emotional harm reparation if the former bank officer was willing to accept it.

Ghigliano used the weapons to gain compliance and were not used again. There had been no direct threat or pointing of the weapons.

The bank officer did not think the pistol was real, Mr Hemi said.

The offence happened within an office, which meant the public were not aware of the robbery.

But Mr Hemi said he accepted that made the incident more frightening for the bank officer.

The level of sophistication and planning was "very much" at the lower end for such offending, he said.

Ghigliano's parents spoke on behalf of their son by video tape.

Mrs Ghigliano asked for forgiveness from New Zealand society.

- NZPA