Twin bank robbers plead guilty together

The Amarosa twins robbed banks in Centereach together and now they have pleaded guilty together.

Daniel and Cory Amarosa, 21, of Coram, were charged last month with two counts of third-degree robbery. Suffolk prosecutors said they worked together in May to rob two banks in Centereach to fund Daniel's debt to heroin dealers.

They pleaded guilty Friday to the charges after Suffolk County Court Judge Gary Weber promised to sentence them to six months in jail and 5 years' probation. They had faced a maximum of 4 2/3 to 14 years in prison, and a spokesman for the Suffolk district attorney's office said prosecutors will recommend a sentence of 1 to 3 years in prison.

The twins' defense attorneys could not be reached for comment Monday.

At their arraignments last month, Assistant District Attorney Ray Varuolo said both brothers gave written confessions to police. He said Daniel wrote on a photo of himself robbing one bank, "That was me inside the bank." Cory also identified his brother on a copy of the same picture, Varuolo said.

Daniel's attorney, Calvin Saunders of Manhattan, said at the time that there was no threat of violence during the robberies, which authorities said were carried out without much skill.

The brothers first robbed a People's United branch in Centereach of $1,460, but it included a pack of red dye that exploded with the money, according to statements. Going out, a teller told police, Daniel struggled with the door, pushing it until he realized he needed to pull.

Eight days later when they robbed a Chase branch of $2,340, Daniel's note to the teller specified, "This is not a joke. Give me all the money in your drawer. No exploding red ---- ."

He wore a baseball cap in the first robbery, but made more of an attempt to disguise himself in the second one when, police said, he wore a hooded sweatshirt and what some witnesses described as women's clothing.

In both robberies, Cory waited outside in the car, authorities said. At the second one, a witness thought it was odd to be wearing a hoodie in such hot weather and kept an eye on Cory's car. He got nervous, police said, and fled -- without his brother, who was caught by a nearby officer.

They are scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 13.