The Man Behind The Bellagio Bandit Headlines

The family of the man known as the “Bellagio Bandit” wants you to know there’s much more you haven’t heard.

They granted Target 13 access to their personal facebook pages, so you could learn more about the man behind the headlines, and the message they hope to spread.

Tony Carleo, known as Tony Mike, was, as one judge said, the all-american kid.

He’s educated, has a loving family and loves spending time with his family and friends.

Recently in one of many similar Facebook posts on a page set up for Tony, a friend writes, “We think and talk about you every day! Stay strong and keep God close.”

Tony Mike’s mother, Vicki, tries to write everyone back and keep them up to date on his progress.

“Thank you guys for standing by Tony Mike and not turning your backs on him,” she writes, “Your thoughts, prayers and messages mean a lot to him, myself and my family.”

They say the path that led Tony down a road that led to the armed robbery of 2 Las Vegas casinos, started after he was injured in an accident and became addicted to prescription drugs. That then led to the abuse of harder drugs, and Tony Mike became someone his family didn?t know.

His mother asks everyone to learn from her son, writing, “If any one of you are still doing drugs after all of this…..PLEASE STOP NOW, get some help, don’t think you can do it by yourself!!”

Tony Carleo was sentenced to up 20 years, but could most likely get fewer than 9.

The family was disappointed in the sentence because parole and probation recommended a much shorter sentence for him.

His family hopes his mistakes can be used as a message to help others struggling with substance abuse, and hopefully save someone’s life.