Robber of Parsippany, Passaic County banks gets 8-year stint

A former Sony Music recording engineer who admitted to robbing a PNC Bank in Parsippany and two banks in Passaic County was denied admission Monday by a judge into Morris County's Drug Court program and sentenced to eight years in prison for what his lawyer called "a ridiculous crime spree" over a three-week period in 2012.

Gracia Montilus, the attorney for robber Stephen L. Smith, now 33, of Brooklyn, argued to Superior Court Judge Stephen Taylor in Morristown that Smith committed the bank heists in 2012 mostly because of addictions to marijuana, Molly, also known as Ecstasy, and alcohol, as well as gambling.

"This is a man who went on a ridiculous crime spree because the addiction overwhelmed him at that time," Montilus told the judge.

But Taylor, after hearing opposition to Smith being supervised under special probation in the Drug Court program from Morris County Assistant Prosecutor Joseph Napurano, said there wasn't sufficient corroboration that Smith was truly drug-dependent and committed crimes because of the addiction.

Drug Court is an intensive program under which addicted offenders avoid prison or jail time by adhering to substance abuse programs and strict probationary supervision.

Napurano noted that after Smith was caught with $4,410 from the PNC Bank in Parsippany on Sept. 5, 2012, he told authorities he needed the money to help support his grandmother. Napurano said that the only "evidence" of Smith's addiction is his own self-reporting of substance abuse and that Morristown -- with its abundance of banks -- would be at risk without Smith behind bars because he planned to live in Morristown if admitted to Drug Court.

"This man most certainly poses a danger to the community," Napurano said. He added that the program is specifically for substance abusers.

"This is not gambling court. This is Drug Court," Napurano said.

Smith told the judge he has struggled with drug abuse for years but managed to hide it from friends and family.  He also claimed that his father was in prison and that his mother is a crack cocaine addict.

"I don't think I ever could have imagined being in this situation," Smith told the judge. "My entire life I was surrounded by drug use."

The judge said he had reviewed some 20 letters from friends, family and coworkers of Smith who all spoke highly of a talented man who had escaped gang activity growing up in Chicago, attended college and landed a good job at Sony Music.  A supervisor previously told the Daily Record that Smith was a fantastic employee who worked in Sony's gospel music division.

"Mr. Smith's life took a major detour," the judge said. He said he believed some drug use was involved but that other financial pressures likely attributable to gambling compelled him to rob banks.

"Mr. Smith is still a young man and has a great deal of potential still.  You have a lot to offer," Taylor told Smith.

The judge sentenced Smith to eight years in prison for the three robberies, which included a heist in Woodland Park in August 2012 in which he fled with $1,225; a bank robbery in Little Falls in August 2012 that netted him $795; and the Parsippany robbery.  Smith was caught in Secaucus within a short period of time, tracked by police following a GPS device attached to the $4,410.

Smith must serve 85 percent of the eight years before parole consideration and will get credit for 1,166 days he already has spent in custody. He had pleaded guilty months ago in Morris County and in Passaic County to the crimes but for awhile wanted to withdraw his plea until he decided to stand by his admissions.

   Staff Writer Peggy Wright: 973-267-1142; pwright@GannettNJ.com.