Green is Color of the Summer for Local Criminals

By Gail Shepherd Thu., Aug. 27 2009 at 3:01 PM

Categories: Crime, Palm Beach

Boca bank robber goes for the green

Green may be the new buzzword in political and development circles. But green is also the new black for South Florida criminals when it comes to sartorial choices this summer. Fashion-forward scammers are tossing those dowdy stocking masks and dark T-shirts in favor of emerald baseball caps, grass-green getaway cars, and clothes more relevant to St. Patty's Day than a criminal caper. Take the Boca Bank robber who held up a SunTrust on Monday and another SunTrust on Glades Road in July: he'd outfitted himself from head to toe in green. A man we can only hope was the same guy robbed a Mercantile Bank in May, a Wachovia Bank in July, and a National City and a Southern Bank in Boca just this week, wearing a green baseball cap on all four occasions.

Then there were the good ladies who scammed Florida House Rep. Mary Brandenburg out of her wallet at a West Palm KMart last week. One woman chatted Brandenburg up while the other unzipped her purse and snagged the Rep.'s wallet full of cash and credit cards. They appear to be the duo pictured here at a Lake Worth Publix -- one of them in a green shirt. The police say they may be driving a green Toyota Corolla. And they've evidently shown up together at least once wearing green hospital scrubs.

Finally, according to the Boca News, one of the men who robbed a Boca Burger King in July was also wearing a green cap. Sounds like a trend.