Gambling Addiction

Gambler ordered to treatment
Judge sentences bank robber

WORCESTER — A 65-year-old homeless man who robbed a Shrewsbury bank earlier this year and was arrested a week later at a racetrack in Florida was placed on probation yesterday and ordered to enter a residential gambling addiction program.

Donald M. Manna pleaded guilty July 13 in Worcester Superior Court to an armed robbery charge stemming from the Jan. 4 holdup of the Bank of America at 188 Boston Turnpike Road, Shrewsbury.

Judge Richard T. Tucker sentenced Mr. Manna yesterday to 5 years of probation. As conditions of probation, Mr. Manna was ordered to complete a residential gambling addiction program at the Henry Lee Willis Center, to attend Gamblers Anonymous meetings twice a week, and to allow his wife, Jean Manna, to be his representative payee for his Social Security income.

He was further ordered to be on GPS monitoring for the first year of his probation with exclusionary zones that will include all racetracks and casinos.

The sentence imposed by Judge Tucker was jointly recommended by his lawyer, Jamie A. Bennett, and Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Brennan.

Ms. Brennan said at the time of the guilty plea that Mr. Manna, who had no prior criminal record, entered the bank on the day of the holdup and gave a teller a note demanding money and indicating he was armed with an explosive device.

The teller placed about $8,500 in a bag, along with a dye pack and GPS device, and handed it to Mr. Manna, the prosecutor said.

A short time later, police tracked the GPS device to a gas station on Route 9. The manager of the station told investigators Mr. Manna had come there to pay a debt for $20 worth of gasoline and said he had left his name and telephone number on the earlier occasion.

The manager also identified Mr. Manna from a surveillance photo taken at the time of the bank robbery, according to Ms. Brennan.

Mr. Manna was taken into custody about a week later at the Daytona Beach Kennel Club and Poker Room in Daytona Beach, Fla., according to court records.

At the time of the July 13 guilty plea, Judge Peter W. Agnes Jr. ordered Mr. Manna to undergo a psychological evaluation to aid the court in sentencing. He said he was particularly interested in learning whether Mr. Manna was suffering from any type of mental disorder, including a gambling addiction, which might have been a factor in his criminal conduct.

Judge Agnes was not available yesterday and Mr. Manna pleaded guilty a second time before Judge Tucker before being sentenced.

While no mention was made of the psychological evaluation during yesterday’s plea hearing, Ms. Bennett said in a sentencing memorandum that her client was suffering from a gambling addiction.