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Judge reduces Rizzuto’s bond

John Colson

Anthony Rizzuto’s bond was effectively cut in half on Wednesday, after a local judge said he was “troubled” by the set of circumstances that put Rizzuto back in jail.

Rizzuto, 19, can now get out of jail by coming up with $125,000 in bond money, rather than the $250,000 bond that was imposed on him earlier this week.

The lifelong local is facing charges of armed robbery and burglary stemming from a string of crimes committed by 12 local teen-agers last year.



In addition, he is now facing prosecution for allegedly violating the conditions of the bond that allowed him to stay out of jail for the past several months.

According to police, Rizzuto was at a huge party the night of March 4 in Brush Creek Village, where he encountered three other defendants linked to the crime spree in Aspen and Snowmass Village.




Rizzuto had been released from jail on a $100,000 bond on Dec. 21, 1999, after being charged with burglarizing a home on Twining Flats and helping rob the Aspen Alps Condominiums office at gunpoint. But a condition of his bond ordered that he have “no contact” with other defendants in the cases.

But according to testimony from witnesses at the party, Rizzuto was seen in the company of Shea Treadwell Estes, Thomas Colver and Moses Greengrass – all of whom have been charged in connection with the crime spree. Bond violation charges are not being pursued against those three because none of the bond documents filed in their cases contain “no contact” provisions.

At an advisement hearing on Wednesday, 9th Judicial District Judge J.E. DeVilbiss noted that he had intended that all 12 of the cases stemming from the crime spree have the “no contact” provision, and that he was “troubled that Mr. Rizzuto was proscribed from being at a party, and others were not proscribed.”

Deputy District Attorney Lawson Wills noted that, in addition to attending the party, Rizzuto is believed to have fled from a house in Carbondale to avoid arrest last week. According to Wills, Rizzuto “was aware of the warrant and purposely evaded his arrest.”

Nevertheless, DeVilbiss agreed to lower the bond amount in the bond-violation case from $150,000 to $25,000. But Rizzuto now faces renewed bond requirements in the other two cases against him, meaning that to get out of jail, he must come up with a total of $125,000.

Rizzuto is due to appear in court on April 3 in all three cases now pending against him.

Wills declined to discuss any possible plea negotiations involving Rizzuto’s case. However, observers close to the proceedings have speculated that in light of the new charge against him, Rizzuto is more likely to take a deal from the district attorney and accept a shorter jail term in return for a guilty plea.