Teller

In his three years at Republic Bank in Gardena, teller Alexander V. Manansala had a clean record. His boss said he was efficient and that his cash drawer always balanced at the end of the day. So bank supervisors said they were surprised this month when the 29-year-old teller ordered an excess of cash from the Federal Reserve system for Republic Bank's vault. When Republic Bank accumulated about $600,000, twice the normal cash on hand, a bank official ordered Manansala to send the excess funds back to the Federal Reserve "as soon as possible," federal authorities say. Just a few days later, Manansala and $400,000 disappeared, federal authorities say. This week in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, Federal Magistrate Ralph J. Geffen issued an arrest warrant for Manansala, who FBI agents say has been missing since he left work April 7. He Ordered Cash "It's a sad thing," said John B. O'Donnell, president of the bank, which also has branches in Torrance and Fullerton.

It's simple these days to video chat with your daughter when she's in Thailand. Why not talk to a teller when the bank is closed? Bank of America Corp. has begun rolling out ATMs with video displays that enable customers to speak with a bank employee from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. “We know that customers want to bank on their schedule -- not ours,” Katy Knox, BofA's retail banking executive, said in a news release. Quiz: How much do you know about mortgages? The ATMs, with teller assistance in English and Spanish, are being introduced in Boston and Atlanta, BofA said Thursday, with other markets to follow.

Two women and a man who tried to cash a stolen check in a bank Thursday ran into the wrong teller--the mother of the robbery victim, Burbank police reported. Kathleen Egan, a teller at the Bank of America branch at 303 Glenoaks Blvd. was approached by Khalia Shahid, 31, of Lake View Terrace, who tried to cash an $800 check made out to herself, Officer Jeff Goenner said. But the transaction hit a snag when Egan "looked at the check and realized it was her daughter's check," Goenner said.

New and recent plays by Donald Margulies and Gina Gionfriddo will highlight the 2013-14 season at the Geffen Playhouse. The season also will include performances by actors Amy Brenneman and William Petersen, as well as a Harold Pinter play directed by Oscar-winning director William Friedkin. The Geffen will present nine productions for the season, one more than the current season. Randall Arney, the company's artistic director, said in an interview that he wanted to achieve "a balance between new plays, recent plays and classic works.

A robber escaped with $1,200 from a First Interstate Bank branch Thursday after threatening to shoot a teller, police said. Costa Mesa police said the suspect walked into the bank at 3029 Harbor Blvd. at 4:05 p.m. and handed the teller a note that read: "Put all the money on the counter and you won't get shot." When the teller handed over $1,206 in cash, the robber said "Thank you," and fled, a Costa Mesa police spokesmen said. The suspect was described as being in his 30s with a beard, 6 feet, 1 inch, 170 pounds, and wearing a light blue shirt and a baseball cap. He did not show a weapon, police said.

A robber who presented a note demanding money to a teller at a Tustin bank made off with an unknown amount of cash Friday, police said. The robbery was reported at 2:50 p.m. at the El Camino Bank at 300 El Camino Real. Police said a man described as white, about 30 years old, 5 foot 6, 145 pounds and wearing a plaid shirt entered the bank and gave a teller a demand note. He displayed no weapon. Police said that after the teller handed over the cash, the robber fled the bank.

A one-time wrestling champ at a Manhattan Beach high school who became one of the nation's most wanted bank robbery suspects was captured along with his wife, a disbarred Texas attorney, by FBI agents near Chicago on Friday. Ralph Stephen Gambin, 42, is accused of robbing banks in Illinois and California, including institutions in Torrance and Buena Park. His wife, Julieta Flores Marquez, 38, is charged with aiding Gambin in a Buena Park bank robbery. In the Buena Park robbery, a woman bank teller, her husband and son were held at gunpoint all night in their home and the woman was then forced the next day to go to the bank with what turned out to be a fake bomb strapped to her body.

We should be thankful that the President will have Hillary. Then he won't have to depend on the fortune teller in Hollywood for advice. C. S. McKINNON Los Angeles

A man who told a teller he was carrying a weapon robbed a savings and loan institution at 12:10 p.m. Wednesday and escaped with $2,200, police said. Police said the robbery occurred at Fidelity Federal Savings & Loan Assn., 12000 Beach Blvd. Officers said a white male, in his 30s, entered the building and demanded money from a teller, while threatening that he was armed.

"You are more likely to be struck by lightning than to be held up at an automated teller machine .J.J. ," and "in the wake of the third murder in three months at Los Angeles County automated teller machine" (Oct. 2). Why haven't you been reporting all those lightning strikes? The best part of The Times is what can be read between the lines. JAY BARBIERI Santa Maria

Known in equal parts for their illusions, gore and wit, Penn & Teller are celebrating their 20 th anniversary of performing in Las Vegas with a six-year extension to their contract at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino . In a city where magicians come and go, Penn & Teller have demonstrated their staying power. After sold-out runs on Broadway, the demented duo arrived in Sin City in 1993. “When we first moved to Vegas, our hoity-toity New York art and theater friends all screamed in horror,” Penn Jillette,  the taller, more vocal of the two, was quoted as saying in a news release.

With the deadline upon us for states to decide whether to set up their own health insurance exchanges under the Affordable Care Act, I find myself thinking about Sofia. Sofia first noticed the mass on her arm when it was the size of a walnut. Over the next four months, it didn't disappear, as she had expected; instead, it grew, pushing up at her skin until it was the size of a large grapefruit. But still she ignored it. Sofia, whose name I have changed to protect her privacy, is uninsured, like 49 million of her fellow Americans, and she couldn't see the point of paying hundreds of dollars to see a doctor for a pesky bump.

Always a man of few (if any) words, the latter half of the enduring comedy-magic duo Penn & Teller will help give a visual voice to the Geffen Playhouse's upcoming stage adaptation of "The Exorcist. " Scheduled to open July 11, the adaptation features Teller as "creative consultant," which sounds a little like he'll be responsible for honing the production's wordless reactions given his day job as silent but game foil to his longtime partner, the garrulous Penn Jillette. In reality, however, this isn't the first time Teller has ventured behind the stage, where Penn & Teller have made a home in Vegas for six nights a week since 2001.

A group of automated-teller machine operators sued Visa Inc. and MasterCard Inc., the country's largest payment networks, accusing them of fixing ATM access fees. The lawsuit sheds light on how the banking system collects fees from consumers. In the last month, consumers have been demonstrating their outrage at new debit-card fees, among other new charges levied by banks this year. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., alleges that the Visa and MasterCard violated antitrust laws by forcing independent machine operators to accept anti-competitive contract terms.

Jason Davis, a 25-year-old heroin addict and grandson of oil billionaire Marvin Davis, was the most shameless cast member on "Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew" last season, a distinction akin to being the nerdiest person at a "Star Trek" convention -- the bar is so high, you really have to reach for it. The show's medical team, led by addictionologist Drew Pinsky, spent the season trying to impress on Davis the direness of his disease. Among the earnest pleas, one voice seemed to crack through Davis' defenses.

Carole Krezman wasn't sure what to make of a recent mailing from San Diego's California Bank & Trust inviting her to participate in "a very important program. " The letter said the bank wanted Krezman, 58, to visit her local branch at least once a month for the next year. She'd have to fill out a questionnaire each time detailing her experience. Each questionnaire would result in a $5 payment. "Please do not contact the personnel at your branch office about this process," the letter instructed.

A robber escaped with $920 after walking into a Security Pacific bank Friday afternoon and demanding money from a teller, authorities said. No one was injured. The man pretended to have a gun when he approached the teller at the bank in the 27500 block of Porta Real, Sheriff's Lt. Larry Abbott said. The suspect, described as about 30 years of age and 5 feet, 7 inches tall, fled the bank on foot, Abbott said. No getaway car was seen.

A young bank robber--armed with a bottle of French perfume--escaped Monday with $23,000, police said. The youth showed a teller a package he said contained a bomb and demanded money in a crowded branch of the Bank of Naples in Piazza del Plebiscito, police said. The teller handed over 30 million lire, equal to $23,000, and the youth fled, dropping the package on the sidewalk outside the bank. Police cleared the area, and a bomb squad carefully opened the package.

Miles Teller almost died a few years ago. After spending a few days at a Connecticut music festival, he and two buddies were road tripping home to Florida. Cruising down the highway at 75 mph, Teller's friend tried to switch lanes and nearly hit another vehicle. He jerked the steering wheel back but lost control of the car, which went across three lanes of traffic, into a grass median, and flipped seven times. Teller was thrown 25 feet and awoke covered in blood. "I still have two rocks in my face," the boyish 23-year-old actor said, showing off scars on his chin, neck and shoulder.

Ijust turned 55 years old. This year my age and the last two digits of my birth year are the same. That happens only once in a lifetime. I turned 55 on stage in Jersey and more than 1,000 audience members sang "Happy Birthday." I blew out some candles, cut a couple pieces of cake, and Teller and I pretended to eat the cake as we walked off stage. My wife and children called up to sing a smaller and more in-tune version of "Happy Birthday," ending with "We love you, Daddy." You can't do better than that.