NEW YORK - Three Bronx residents, including a corrections officer, were arrested Thursday and charged with robbing armored cars at gunpoint in the borough.
Corrections officer Michael Santiago, 29, Kenneth Smith, 34, and Bruce Collazo, 20, have been “charged with conspiring to conduct a series of brazen daytime armed robberies, provoking gun violence on busy streets, and putting lives at risk,” U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said.
FBI official Diego Rodriguez and Police Commissioner Bill Bratton also participated in the announcement.
Santiago is a corrections officer at Downstate Correctional Facility in Fishkill, N.Y., officials said.
Santiago, Smith and Collazo participated in robberies targeting armored vehicles on Aug. 24, Dec. 4 and Dec. 15, according to the complaint filed against the group in Manhattan federal court.
During the Dec. 15 incident, $78,000 was stolen, and the driver of the targeted vehicle traded gunfire with one of the alleged robbers.
Santiago, Smith and Collazo face charges that carry a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Officials said their investigation into the crimes is ongoing, and that other individuals were involved in the robberies.