WFMJ.com News weather sports for Youngstown-Warren OhioMan confesses to bank robbery and tells FBI how he spent the money

Man confesses to bank robbery and tells FBI how he spent the money

BOARDMAN, Ohio - A man now in federal custody in Cleveland after confessing to robbing a Boardman Township bank and a check cashing business, told FBI Agents that he used the thousands of dollars in cash to pay off debts and to buy drugs, alcohol and food.

In a nine page affidavit from the FBI, Special Agents detail the evidence against Douglas Centafanti, Junior of Boardman in at least two of three robberies that happened in the Youngstown area in five days.

Centafanti will now face federal charges for robbing the First National Bank on Market Street in Boardman on June 15th.  He admits he stole a vehicle from Youngstown before using a weapon to rob the bank of $9,392.  Alert tellers wrote down the license plate number of the getaway car and called 911. 

In the criminal complaint the FBI says Centafanti indicated that at the time of the robbery he was using drugs and cannot remember all of the details of the crime.  Federal authorities also say Centafanti confessed to also robbing the Check Into Cash at 435 Boardman-Canfield Road on June 11th.  Centafanti told authorities the stolen vehicle he attempted to flee in broke down so he abandoned it.  He says he then entered the Giant Eagle on State Route 224 and threw the pellet gun he used in the crime into a trash can.  That weapon was discovered by Giant Eagle employees.

Boardman Police Detectives and the FBI also suspect that Centafanti was involved in the June 13th robbery of another check cashing business in Austintown, but he has denied any involvement.

Centafanti was also allegedly caught on tape in all three crimes and was identified by not only the victims but four Boardman Police Officers who say because of Centafanti's past criminal history he is well known by authorities.