The Miami Herald from Miami, Florida • 136

23 THE MIAMI HERALD SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 15 1990 eno Divorce trial of spiteful socialites to Picayune items disputed ond wife Lita was slain by an assailant bearing a dozen pink roses James Sullivan has been identified as a suspect in the killing but has denied any involvement He now lists his occupation as and his net worth at $31 million Suki Sullivan who divorced another Palm Beach millionaire to marry James Sullivan would like to reduce those assets She says she fears for her own life and has been in hiding Days after Suki Sullivan filed for divorce James Sullivan told Judge Hubert Lindsey a man of extraordinary patience that he still loved his wife and requested marriage counseling Suki Sullivan responded with charges that he verbally abused her calling her a financial James Sullivan dropped his request his wife to produce a list of personal items Last Monday she issued her reply: wife does not have a she began wife does not have possession of the slacks wife does not have possession of 100 25-cent stamps Suki Sullivan said she also did not have the Thai bronze ashtray of a cross-legged priestess She did have the antique embroidered Maltese pillow but said she would not produce it because it has a picture of her dog Coco on it James requests may seem trivial That is until you compare them with Suki earlier demands which included monthly payments of $200 for grooming and $350 for cosmetics and beauty treatments The 31-month marriage began inauspiciously coming eight months after James sec June breakup has escalated into an out-and-out war over brush-and-comb sets Ray-Ban aviator glasses automobile jumper cables and the family Cuisinart This is the actual title of a recent court pleading: for rehearing on order granting motion to compel return of garage door It seems that Suki Sullivan fled the $49 million ocean-side mansion with either one or both garage door openers depending on whom you believe The garage-door question has taken no less than three court hearings to resolve Actually it yet been resolved But the Sullivans have moved on to more important issues On Sept 5 James Sullivan filed a request for ROGUEGALLERYlOIiBANIBANDIT The FBI offers a reward for the identities of any of these robbers Anyone with information should call the FBI Bank Robbery unit at 944-9101 WAR OF THE SULLIVANS: The full-of-spite divorce proceedings of socialites James and Suki Sullivan go to trial Monday DADE HMO ordered to pay for respirator A Dade circuit judge issued a restraining order Friday to force Av Med Health Plan to continue paying for a respirator and home nursing care for 3-year-old Lisa Nanni of South Dade until a lawsuit is resolved The child a quadriplegic who suffers from a neuromuscular disease requires the equipment for survival After paying $54000 to rent the $10000 machine for most of life Av Med stopped payments Aug 1 parents Metro-Dade police detective Arthur Nanni and his wife Sandi sued the HMO one of three health insurance programs offered to Dade County employees after they were told the next move would be for American Surgical of Hollywood which owns the machine to take it away from their home the respirator were removed there would be irreparable asked Circuit Judge Rosemary Usher Jones child would be said Charles Stack the lawyer By choosing to lease rather than buy the equipment Av Med gambled he said that Lisa would not live as long as she has Lisa appeared to be a healthy child for the first two months after her birth Nov 6 1986 Then she developed a fever and became very weak was hospitalized and subsequently became paralyzed unable to speak or eat and requiring round-the-clock nursing Her parents say she has a neuromuscular disease of unknown cause The Nannis are suing Av Med on the grounds that the HMO has failed to live up to its agreement to pay for care Av Med through its lawyer Steven Ziegler claims the equipment is technically not covered by its contract with Metro By DAVID ZEM AN Hera'3 Staff Writer WEST PALM BEACH You know your marriage is irretriev- ably broken hen: A) You become haunted by the untimely death of your former spouse B) You begin bickering over bronze Thai ashtrays and 25-cent stamps C) The word starts creeping into the conversation D) All of the above If you answered you may have some idea how Palm Beach socialites James and Suki Sullivan must fed as they await their deliciously spiteful divorce trial which begins Monday in circuit court The petty vindictiveness of their Serial bandits show style in robbing banks ROBBERIES FROM IB four or five in past years have more serial-type bank robbers this year than any other said agent Steve Warner who tracks bank robbery statistics for the unit got maybe 12 or 14 guys who are responsible for over 100 To help keep track of the serial robbers the agents give them nicknames based on some characteristic about the robbery or the robber There's Shorts Rob who has pulled off the bulk of his heists in shorts Mr Nasty an abusive gun-waver The Jockey a five-foot-four-inch bandit who hits banks near Gulf-stream and Calder race tracks and Little Bomber who stands about as tall as The Jockey and tells tellers carrying a bomb Zorro II who wears a mask like hero of yesteryear has one of the longest robbery streaks going He has been hitting banks since April 1988 14 in all Every one of the serial robbers has a characteristic style agents say find that people have these quirky said FBI spokesman Paul Miller do the same things over and over He may wear his lucky shirt Or he may have robbed a bank once at 2 pm and got away and it was a Monday and it was sunny and then all of a sudden we see a On average the robbers are risking 20 to 25 years in prison to get away with about $3000 Even the serial robbers always have big paydays The Joker for example got just $800 in one heist $678 in another and $562 in a third There have been better days though He got $6830 in one hold-up $10880 in another and $15000 in his highest take the case with most serial robbers" Boyle said like everybody else: have his good days and his bad The Joker is typical of one type of bank robber the robber who speaks quietly or slips a note to a teller takes the cash and goes The White Latins are another kind robbers who threaten everyone order people to the ground and effectively takes over the bank during the heist Warner the bank robbery coordinator breaks the robbers into another two categories: have the professional bank robber who does nothing else then we have the guys who are supplementing their One pro who boasts of more than 100 robberies once flew to Denver for a five-day layover between heists in Naples and Plantation Warner said He finally got caught but escaped custody in Jacksonville in March Since then he has robbed six more banks Another was a yacht broker who hit banks part time The broker got caught because of a suspicious Coral Gables resident who saw him running through his neighborhood and thought he might have stolen something off a truck The neighbor gave cops a partial license plate number that led them to their man All of the robbers are playing against the odds and a long time in prison if they lose The FBI bank robbery unit boasts of a 75 percent arrest and conviction rate The robbers face up to 20 years in prison for Decision pending on accident charges No decisions have been made on whether criminal charges will be filed against the driver of a car that struck a van carrying six senior citizens Thursday killing one of them North Miami Beach officer Mark Ecklund said the state office will decide whether to file charges against Doris Israel after reviewing the accident report A decision probably be made for a week he said Police said Israel 71 of 15388 NE Second Ave apparently did not stop at a stop sign at 11:20 am at the intersection of Northeast 181st Street and Northeast 13th Avenue Her 1972 Ford struck a Humana Health Care van broadside causing it to roll over Sally Dyller 80 of North Miami Beach was pinned under the van and killed instantly police said Three other passengers remained hospitalized Friday at Humana Hospital Biscayne Ruth Russeck 71 was listed in serious condition Minna Shore 73 and Elizabeth Barkin 91 were listed in fair condition MIAMI Noriega lawyers take a gamble Forget the drugs the payoffs the palace coup Manuel Noriega may hit the big money: The Lotto Lawyers for the ex-Panamanian dictator who get $20 million out of 27 foreign bank accounts would like to get $100 million out of Tallahassee The law office pool has purchased a bunch of tickets 55 to be exact And if one hits joked co-counsel David Lewis they might register the winner in their jailed name Noriega owes them a ton they say But if Noriega did win could he keep it? the best of our said Diane Cossin spokesman for US Attorney Dexter Lehtinen the answer is yes Neither she nor Lehtinen will win she said 3 he was looking for was walking up to one of the tellers When Risner sneaked up behind him Whitaker spun with a gun in his hand Risner fired twice then a third time as Whitaker ran All three bullets hit their mark Whitaker survived his wounds and was convicted Later when Risner asked Whitaker why he hit the same bank twice within two weeks the robber said: did so well the first The buffer would stretch 10 nautical miles from shore and five nautical miles from the reef from Biscayne National Park to the western end of the Dry Tortugas Traditional shipping lanes however would remain open A final vote by the International Maritime Organization is expected in May with implementation six months after thati ZORRO Fourteen robberies all ii Dade beginning in April 1 988 Once had a Mexican standoff with a Met- ro-Dade officer in Aventura both of them with their guns drawn The cop finally told Zorro II to just back out the door rather than have a gunhgnt in the bank Description: 27 to 35 years old six feet to six feet two inches tall 200 to 220 pounds black hair slight beer belly and prominent nose Got his nickname because he wears a mask much like the fictional television hero THE PAINTER Up to 12 robberies all in Broward County begin- ning September 1989 Description: Six feet tall 180 pounds wears a wig or false facial hair has worn theatrical makeup and a fake scar on his face Got his nickname because he dresses as a painter with a cap and splotches of paint on his face BIG MACK Three robberies all in Dade County beginning in June Once with a partner Usually displays a gun and has the money put in a plastic bag Description: Six feet to six feet two inches tall 230 to 240 pounds wears a mustache Got his nickname because of his size SHORTS ROB Responsible for 1 5 bank robberies since June 1989 all in Broward County Description: 30 to 35 years old 5 feet 1 0 inches 180 pounds medium-brown hair carries a bag or coat over his arm Got his nickname because he more often than not wears shorts during robberies THE JOKER Fifteen robberies beginning in October 1989 everywhere from Fort Lauderdale to Homestead including one Thursday in Hialeah Description: 35 to 40 years old five feet eight inches to six feet tall 1 70 to 2 1 0 pounds: reddish-blond hair wore reddish-blond beard in all but one heist Usually carries a Barnett Bank bag Got his nickname because most of his stick-up notes begin: is no MR NASTY Twelve robberies all in Dade County beginning in August 1989 A bank takeover-type of robber who threatens everyone in the bank tellers and customers alike Description: 35 to 40 years old five feet five inches to five feet six inches 1 40 to 1 50 pounds brown hair sometimes wears a dark mustache Got his nickname because of his aggressive abusive demeanor Disabled get to set sail walked into an AmeriFirst Bank at 10785 Biscayne Blvd pulled out a gun and held up the bank Special Agent Rob Risner got the case He went to the bank on March 1 to show the manager photographs of criminals to compare to photos of the robber from the bank surveillance cameras As Risner was sorting the surveillance photos on the desk he looked out into the bank lobby and did a double-take: The robber ple out on friends' boats but it was always difficult I had to rely on someone else to sail tne So Horgan asked boat maker Everett Pearson to design a sailboat for paraplegics and quadriplegics On- the Freedom Independence Horgan leaves his wheelchair back on the dock Two raised chairs at each end of the boat swivel from side to side giving sailors easy access to the ropes and the tiller The boat was designed to keep from capsizing Shake-a-Leg has one boat in Coconut Grove another four are being built and will be shipped down before the opening Horgan said In Miami the sailboats will be used for instruction day sailing and racing Shake-a-Leg is in next Columbus Day Regatta believe the disabled should integrate with able-bodied Horgan said competing in races with able-bodied people this is one way to accomplish While used mostly by the physi- cally handicapped the boats also have been sailed by the mentally retarded and stroke patients A group going through rehabilitation for chemical dependence also went for a ride is really an attitude" Horgan said looking at what you can do not what you For more information on Shakn-a-Leg call 545-5620 SHAKE-A-LEG FROM IB the event and later was persuaded to sit in the sailboat The 20-foot Freedom Independence has that effect on people transforming fear to enthusiasm say program organizers thought eithe- get sick or enjoy it I lo'ed said LaQuine Simmons a Mis irian who attended an eight-weel summer program at Newport teen hooked ever The Newport program includes swimming scuba diving horseback riding archery riflery and drama About 250 people attend each summer In Miami sailing and rowing will be offered year-round Dr Barth Green head of the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis at Jackson Memorial HospitalUniver-sity of Miami persuaded Shake-a-Leg to move south after several of his patients returned from Newport said God we desperately need this in It gives people a lot more self-confidence independence physical Green said coine back healthier like going to boot camp for eight Horgan 32 founded Shake-a-Leg in 1982 two years after a truck accident left him without the use of his legs in Newport sailing was always a big he said had a Hobie Cat and take peo every heist plus an additional five years for every time they brandish a weapon prospects of robbing a bank and getting away with it are extremely Boyle said you rob a bank this afternoon and get away with it? Perhaps Can you rob banks and get away with it forever? The chances are extremely Take the case of William Whitaker On Feb 13 1989 Whitaker feel like this is our Statue of Liberty to them ROGER EVANS golf entrepreneur catch on quickly with the Soviet elite he said Pair of golf entrepreneurs offer S10 million course to Soviets Reef buffer plan advances A proposal to create a 10-mile buffer to be around the Florida Keys coral reef took another step forward Friday The proposed designation approved Friday by a subcommittee of the International Maritime Organization would pertain to ships carrying oil and other hazardous cargo and to ships longer than 175 feet GOLF FROM IB said Belik a deputy chief at the Soviet State Committee for Physical Culture and Sports Belik who also is checking into aerobics wrestling and baseball as possible imports sees a future for golf in his country Tourists diplomats and international business peccle will be the first to try Belik said The sport will.