DRAPER -- A contrite and soft-spoken Adam Galli was apparently remorseful enough to persuade the state Board of Pardons and Parole to grant him a release date in 2002.
"I can't emphasize too strongly how much I chastise myself for ever being tempted to be involved in any thing like this," Galli said. "Not a day goes by that I am not conscious of the suffering I have caused these people."In a decision released Friday, the board cited Galli's lack of disciplinary problems in prison, his contributions to prison programming and his acceptance of responsibility for the crimes in granting him a parole date in November 2002.
Galli, 29, is the last of the four so-called "preppie bandits" who remains imprisoned for a series of robberies in the Salt Lake Valley.
Multiple businesses were plagued by gunpoint robberies in 1992 by the pair of cousins and brothers dubbed the "preppie bandits" because of their style of dress. The Gallis were also implicated in a murder at the Green Parrot restaurant and club in 1992 but never convicted.
In a parole board hearing last month, Galli expressed his regrets at having been involved in the heists.
"I am disgusted with myself to think I could have been so foolish," Galli said. "And I am sickened at the thought of having caused the suffering I did. No one could be more critical of my action than I am. I understand how wrong my thinking was at the time, and I understand and agree with the outrage felt by the victims of any crime."
Board chairman Michael Sibbett said one of the most noteworthy aspects of the robbery spree is the motivation of the four family members.
"Mr. Galli, you, your brother and cousins did these crimes as a game . . . It is not that you needed money; it is not that you were high on drugs. You were high on the adrenalin rush of planning and then carrying out this type of criminal action. I don't know what got the four of you thinking this would be a fun activity. It was not a fun activity for the victims nor for the community," Sibbett chastised.
Galli is serving a five-years-to-life sentence for three first-degree felony aggravated robbery convictions. He remains the last Galli imprisoned because he spent three years as a fugitive hiding out in Minnesota.
He was captured in July 1995 by the FBI, returned to Utah and sentenced to prison. Christopher Galli was paroled in December 1995, Aaron Galli was paroled in May 1996 and Nathan Galli was paroled in January 1997.
While in prison, Adam Galli has enrolled in several college classes, is a literacy tutor for other inmates, writes for the prison's magazine and also teaches Gaelic and Latin.
He told Sibbett he has several job offers in the construction industry and plans to relocate if he is released.
Sibbett noted he had received letters of support from Galli's mother and father and one letter from the prosecutor urging Galli not be released.
He said he appreciated Galli's mother's words of support, but they were not unexpected.
"I understand the pain she has gone through in trying to make the family whole again," Sibbett said. "I regret all of the pain that (the crimes have) caused and recognize the pain goes beyond the victims and into your family. I regret that."