7-year sentence for 2009 Saugus bank heist accomplice

SALEM – A 41-year-old man who admitted standing guard to get $9,000 in cash to support his addiction during an Eastern Bank holdup in Saugus in 2009 may spend up to seven years behind bars.Joseph W. Rodenmacher, last known address of 2 Jackson Place, Cambridge, changed his innocent plea to guilty Thursday morning in Salem Superior Court to four counts of armed robbery.He was sentenced to serve not less than five years and not more than seven years in state prison by Judge John T. Lu.Lu agreed to adopt the joint recommended punishment proposed by Assistant District Attorney Kristen R. Buxton and defense lawyer John P. Morris.Buxton said she would have produced evidence at trial that Rodenmacher and his alleged co-conspirator, Joseph F. Marino III, robbed the Eastern Bank located at 605 Broadway in Saugus on Aug. 18, 2009.Around 12:30 p.m., two men, later identified as Rodenmacher and Marino, walked into the branch bank. Rodenmacher was carrying an expandable baton and Marino was apparently armed with a hammer and holding a bag as they ordered customers and tellers to the floor.”This is a robbery, you won’t get hurt,” Marino reportedly yelled out while Rodenmacher took his position guarding the front door.Four tellers placed cash in the bag. One teller did include what is referred to as “bait” money in the bag. Marino also stole various amounts of cash from the customers in the bank.The pair fled on foot with approximately $9,000 but were arrested a few days later, following an investigation.Buxton did point out to Lu that Rodenmacher has a “substantial prior history,” as she asked him to adopt the recommendation while Morris acknowledged his client’s history while adding that Rodenmacher had served a 10-to-15-year sentence in 1989.”This was a drug-induced incident,” Morris said, adding that his client was pleading guilty and “taking responsibility.”The sentence imposed is forthwith and eliminates any term of incarceration Rodenmacher currently is serving. The judge credited him the 246 days he has served awaiting trial on the case.The case against Marino is scheduled for March 16 at which time he is expected to plead guilty to this holdup along with various other robberies.