Speaking of restroom poetry contests, the most fragrant new fallout from Christopher Hitchens' self-imposed Sidneygate has been a flash point in the Anglo-Irish Cold War Hitchens has long waged against The Nation colleague Alexander Cockburn. In his latest gas bomb, Cockburn accuses his arch-enemy of being a drunk and then Falwells him with references to Hitchens' attempts to kiss men on the lips. Those who are nostalgic for the glory days of lefty intellectual feuds had been hoping for such a cat fight at the increasingly leaden Nation - a barricade of catnip to hold the doughy revolutionaries together until, in Churchill's phrase, "those who had been half awake were half ready." But really, if Cockburn wants to pick a fight, he could do better than this. With his Tartan background and Hibernian upbringing, Cockburn is no stranger to a night on the tiles, and his innuendoes sound odd coming from a man who has written in Grand Street about his own experiences in drag. The truth is the feisty columnists have more in common than they know, especially the fact that both of their last names make us giggle like schoolgirls. -------------------------- Am I only the only one who's bothered to notice that Suck likes to press feminists buttons with comments like "giggle like shoolgirls." --------------------------- The following story made me think of the "TV not TV" thread. These people probably saw one too many heist movies. The ringleader was an old high school buddie of my younger brother. The students all come from fairly well off families.
NAPERVILLE BANK THEFT SUSPECT ARRESTED IN CALIFORNIA By Mark LeBien Tribune Staff Writer February 25, 1999
The Aurora man suspected of being the ringleader of a group of high school students that allegedly stole $90,000 from a bank in Naperville has been arrested in California and likely will be brought back to the Midwest in early March, the FBI said today.
Terry Twist, 25, had been a fugitive since the theft on Feb. 15 at the TCF Bank branch inside the Jewel supermarket at 2852 W. 95th St. in the western suburb.
FBI agents, who had tracked down Twist based on information from the agency's office in Chicago, arrested him at a bar in La Mesa, Calif., about 8 p.m. Wednesday. He was carrying $20,000 and was taken into custody without incident, according to the FBI.
Twist appeared before a U.S. magistrate in San Diego today. Officials said his bail will be set on Tuesday, and a judge will rule on his extradition to Chicago March 11. If he returns, he will face charges in federal court here.
Twist, who was living with his brother in the 1200 block of Teasel Lane in Aurora, had been a supervisor at the TCF branch at the time the money was taken.
The FBI and Naperville police believe Twist masterminded the theft that may have involved up to eight teenagers, most of them students at Naperville's Neuqua Valley High School, which is near the bank.
Twist is the only person who has been charged in the heist, but police said charges against some of the teenagers may come before the end of the week.
If convicted, Twist faces up to 20 years in prison and fines totaling $250,000.
Investigators allege that Twist took the money from the bank's vault and then used some of the teens to stage a holdup to cover the theft. Authorities learned about the heist when they received a tip about the students spending extravagant amounts of money.