Tourists: Rico Suave Inna House er Hotel

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Tourists: Rico Suave Inna House er Hotel

Postby RYP » Wed Mar 10, 2010 2:36 am

Wily dodges point to single culprit in high-profile Los Angeles heists
Thefts that depend on role playing and charm point to a single burglar being the likely suspect in heists of jewelry and cash from sports teams, a salsa band and a sugar baron in town for the Oscars.


By Andrew Blankstein and Richard Winton
March 10, 2010
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For the "Rico Suave" bandit, the weapons of choice are charm, disguise and the power of persuasion.

In August, the man slicked back his hair and pretended to be a member of a salsa band playing the Greek Theatre. He talked a clerk at the Wilshire Grand hotel into giving him the keys to the band's room and made off with $9,000. On his way out, he gave the clerk the band's CD.

A few weeks later, he donned a Chivas soccer jersey and hugged members of the Mexican team as they left another downtown L.A. hotel, the Marriott, on a team bus. Then, posing as a member of the team's entourage, he persuaded a hotel clerk to give him the team's room keys, making off with $10,000.

The Los Angeles Police Department has been searching for months for the bandit, believed to be responsible for a string of burglaries at hotels as well as Staples Center.

Now, detectives are investigating whether the bandit has made his biggest score yet, at the Four Seasons Hotel on Oscar weekend.

According to authorities, a man posing as a well-dressed hotel worker made his way into the suite of a Florida billionaire who was in town for the Academy Awards.

The suspect, speaking Spanish, made small talk in the hotel's elevator with Cuban-born sugar baron Jose "Pepe" Fanjul. A short time later, police say, he went to Fanjul's suite, saying he needed to fix an air conditioner vent. He left a few minutes later with at least $40,000 worth of jewelry belonging to Fanjul and his wife, Emilia, according to police.

On Tuesday, detectives were scrutinizing videotapes from the Four Seasons, comparing them with footage from other burglaries to determine whether the Rico Suave burglar had struck again.

There are some tantalizing similarities, starting with the slicked-back hair and tall, thin build. Like the other crimes, the Four Seasons heist involved the thief's playing a character and charming his victims. And as in several other robberies, this one involved a victim frequently featured in Spanish-language media, leading some detectives to believe the suspect uses those sources to track potential targets when they come to L.A.

Officials said it was too early to know whether the Four Seasons heist was connected with the others, and they acknowledged that they might not find out unless the suspect was caught.

"He has all the making of that rare breed of sophisticated cat burglar," said LAPD Lt. Paul Vernon, chief of Central Area detectives. "It sounds very similar based on physical appearance and MO to the same guy we have been trying to find since October. Until we review the video, we won't be able to tell for sure. In all these cases, the suspect appears to work alone, is bold and is confident."

On Oct. 20, a man dressed in a suit with a clipboard in hand and some type of credential sticking out of his pocket was seen roaming through locker rooms at Staples Center. That day, the Maccabi Electra basketball team from Tel Aviv was playing the Los Angeles Clippers in an exhibition game.

Vernon said the man was thrown out once for not having proper credentials but apparently slipped back in.

When the game was over, the Israeli team realized that more than $26,000 in cash and jewelry had been stolen.

Vernon said the bandit expertly blended in with the other workers. Ball boys told detectives that they had assumed the man worked for Staples Center.

Detectives reviewed videotape footage and concluded that the same man was responsible for the thefts from the salsa band, the Chivas team and Staples Center. Since then, they have also connected the man to the theft of several laptop computers around downtown, including one belonging to an LAPD detective.

The Four Seasons heist has garnered considerable attention, putting new pressure on police to solve the cases. Vernon and other detectives said they are scrutinizing photographs and snippets of video -- as well as the earlier case files -- to see if they have a match.

Whoever the burglar is, Vernon said, one thing is clear: "He is very much a con man and knows his game."

andrew.blankstein

@latimes.com

richard.winton

@latimes.com
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