Nathan Galli was the only member of the "preppy bandits" who pleaded guilty to all criminal charges against him. He was the first to go to prison and the third to have a parole hearing.
A decision by the Board of Pardons and Parole Wednesday to release him in January of 1997 also means that so far, he'll spend the most time behind bars.Nathan Galli, his younger brother, Christopher, and their cousins, Aaron and Adam Galli, were dubbed by police "the preppy bandits" for their style of dress while committing a string of armed robberies in Salt Lake County.
Nathan Galli pleaded guilty to three charges of armed robbery. He was sent to prison in January of 1993.
Christopher Galli was paroled in December, and Aaron Galli will be paroled next month. Each will have served about 21/2 years of a five-years-to-life sentence. Aaron Galli was originally charged with and convicted of murdering Green Parrot cook Merritt Riordan during a robbery, based on the testimony of Christopher Galli.
While standing trial for murder, Aaron was serving time for armed robbery, to which he pleaded guilty as part of a plea bargain where other charges were dropped.
But Christopher Galli later recanted his testimony, and the conviction was overturned. Christopher Galli's cooperation was part of a plea agreement that was supposed to aid him in getting a more lenient sentence. After Christopherchanged his story, 3rd District Judge Glen Iwasaki not only sent him to prison for five years to life, but he imposed a five-year enhancement because a gun was used in the robbery.
Murder charges were dropped against both Aaron Galli and his brother, Adam, because prosecutors didn't feel they had enough evidence. Adam Galli fled the state after being charged with a series of robberies and the killing. He was caught last summer in Minnesota after being featured twice on the television show "America's Most Wanted."
Adam pleaded guilty to three of the robbery charges and received the same sentence as his relatives - five years to life in prison for each charge. He hasn't had a parole hearing.
Prison officials have said the Gallis are model inmates with no disciplinary problems in prison. In fact, Aaron Galli was granted weekend furloughs while being housed at the prison's minimum security facility in Draper and allowed to go off prison property for his job as a firefighter. He also married a Park City woman while in prison.
Nathan and Christopher Galli were both housed in the Iron County prison facility in Cedar City.