Todd Bussino Imprisoned Following Guilty Plea To Convenience Store Robbery

The United States Attorney for the District of Vermont announced that Todd Bussino, 38, of Mt. Holly, was sentenced today in United States District Court in Burlington to 53 months’ imprisonment following his guilty plea to a charge that he robbed a Rutland-area convenience store with a knife last March.  U.S. District Judge Christina Reiss ordered that Bussino serve three years of supervised release following completion of his prison term and pay restitution in the amount of $1367.  Bussino has been held without bail since he first appeared in federal court last May.

According to court records, federal, state and local law enforcement officials in the Rutland area investigated a series of robberies that took place between early November 2020 and April 2021 in Rutland and surrounding towns.  In each of the robberies, a single male entered the store, waited until other customers had left and then demanded money from the clerk.  In almost all the incidents, the robber brandished a knife.  Bussino was arrested after the ninth such robbery, on March 7, 2021 but released on bail.  He was rearrested after a tenth, attempted robbery on April 13, 2021.  On April 21, a federal grand jury in Rutland charged Bussino with four of those robberies.  Bussino pled guilty to the March 7 robbery in September.  

United States Attorney Nikolas Kerest commended the investigative efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Rutland Police Department, the Vermont State Police, and the Rutland County Sheriff’s Department.  “All Vermonters should be able to feel safe visiting and working in commercial establishments such as convenience stores.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to continuing to partner with our local, state, and federal law enforcement colleagues to prosecute those who commit armed robberies affecting commerce.”  

Bussino is represented by Assistant Federal Defender Steven Barth.  The prosecutor is Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Waples.