ANAHEIM : Phony Bomb Used in Robbery of Thrift

A man brandishing a phony remote-control bomb walked into a Citizens Thrift & Loan office on Monday afternoon and robbed it of an undisclosed amount of money, authorities said.

The FBI believes that the robber, described as a white male 45 to 55 years of age with a grizzled mustache, is the same man who last Thursday robbed a Security Pacific National Bank in Downey using a similar technique.

On Monday he departed in a late-model, silver-gray Cadillac.

Federal agents said a copy-cat robber struck Friday in Brea. He appeared much younger and used a somewhat different method at Quaker City Savings & Loan on North Brea Boulevard.

“There is no indication that these two are connected,” said James M. Donckels, senior resident agent. “It is not unusual that you will have robberies of a similar type by different subjects.”

Monday’s robbery took place about 2:15 p.m., when a man placed a cassette holder on a counter at Citizens Thrift on East La Palma Avenue. He held what looked like a calculator in his left hand and a large satchel in his right.

He then handed a teller a note which said he had a remote-control bomb, and demanded money. Before leaving, he said, “Don’t anybody follow me because I have a bomb.” He then placed the cassette holder on the ground outside the front door, the FBI said.

The bank was evacuated and the sheriff’s bomb squad determined that the holder contained no explosives.

The robber in the Brea holdup last week was reported to be a white male in his mid-20s. He carried a blue and black backpack, which he placed on a counter. “A lengthy demand note” said it contained a bomb, the FBI said.