Billionaire Bandit Tied To Other High-Profile Crimes

LAPD

Security video of the billionaire bandit.

The billionaire bandit suspected of robbing an ultra-wealthy sugar magnate and his wife, who were in town to celebrate the Academy Awards, might also be responsible for a string of hotel and sports-related burglaries throughout Southern California, authorities said Tuesday.

Police said that valuables and jewels taken from Jose Pepe Fanjul and his wife at the Four Seasons Hotel near Beverly Hills Friday were worth about $45,000 -- not the "millions" reported by the New York Post. Still, the slick robber, who posed as a hotel worker, got in an elevator with the couple, and talked his way into their room under the guise of doing repair work, might be behind a string of high-profile burglaries in Southern California, police say.

Los Angeles Police Department detectives are calling the suspect the "Rico Suave" bandit for his dress and smooth style. They say he might have also been responsible for burglarizing the lockers of an Israeli basketball team at Staples Center Oct. 20. The suspect was wearing a suit that day.

He's also possibly responsible for burglarizing a downtown hotel room used by championship Mexican soccer team Chivas de Guadalajara Sept. 22. He was seen in team garb hugging players before convincing a hotel worker to give him a key to the room.

Police say the same suspect might have also hit at least one room of a 30-member, touring salsa band that was staying at the Wilshire Grand Hotel downtown Aug. 29.

The Orange County register reports that he might have also targeted sports teams and musicians staying at the Hotel Menage near Disneyland in Anaheim.