Results tagged “wellsfargo”

52-year-old James Burge plead guilty to the unarmed robberies of nine SF banks in 2007 and 2008, including branches of Wells Fargos, Bank of the West and Bank of America, and was sentenced yesterday to seven years in prison. He also has to write apology notes to all the tellers he threatened with the gun he didn't have, and pay back the exactly $30,941 that he stole. His accomplice, Joseph Russoniello, plead guilty to *eleven* robberies last year in SF, LA, Portland and Seattle, but he only got five years in the clink. We call bullshit.

A less-than-professional father and son bank heist team was arrested in Santa Rosa yesterday, shortly after the son walked into the Wells Fargo on Oakmont Drive wearing a mask and carrying a realistic-looking pellet gun. It seems the father, Michael Fuesz, who drove the getaway truck, then let the son, Jason Fuesz, out of the car down the road apace before getting nabbed by coppers on Highway 12. After going all SWAT and K-9 and shit, Sonoma County sheriffs found Jason hiding in some bushes with all the cash still on him. Look for more great and bumbling stories like this one on this season of The Great Recession.

Here at SFist, we have a general editorial policy of opposing everything; but we've looked, and there's just very little to dislike about "Family Appreciation Day." Except maybe the logo. Seriously, what font is that? It looks like something from a used car dealership. But aside from that, it's actually a pretty cool initative. Which is probably why Gavin's trying to take credit for it, as if he has now personally kissed every baby in Northern California.

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This isn't just tonight -- it's for all month -- but it's so cool we're making it the pick of the day! Bank of America customers, you can flash your ATM card or credit card and you and a guest get into a bunch of local museums for free, free, free! (Wells Fargo card holders, you'll have to pay not only admission but also a $2.50 service charge. Kidding, kidding.) Offer applies to the SFMOMA, the Asian Art Museum, the California Academy of Sciences, the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Dede's DeYoung, and the Legion of Honor. We've been meaning to check out the Picasso show at the SFMOMA and now we've got no excuse!

--Chemo the cancer dog was returned! As was Dixie, the other stolen dog of a sick child.

We don't often wish we commuted by car from the East Bay to San Jose, but today's a special day -- bank robbers trying to flee the cops on 680 are throwing their money onto the highway!! Whooo!

The namesake for Oakland's shopping/tourist destination was born 130 years ago today in San Francisco. A plaque on the Wells Fargo building at 3rd and Brannan marks his birthplace. As a boy, London moved to Oakland with his family after high rents drove them out of San Francisco; it warms SFist's heart to know that fleeing the city to escaping ever-rising housing costs is something of a civic tradition in the Bay Area.

...and we edge ever closer to the three-digit murder mark in San Francisco this year, as a man closing up his family's Tenderloin liquor store early Sunday morning was shot to death for no apparent reason. The murder rate in Oakland this year is also higher than last year's, with homicide 89 occurring on Monday morning. Hey, are you buying See's Candies for everyone on your Christmas list this year? Well, if your chocolatier of choice is in Saratoga, look carefully in your candy bag -- a store worker lost a family heirloom ring while wrapping up treats last Friday afternoon. The worker is hopeful -- apparently her daughter lost a watch while bundling holiday turkeys twenty years ago and it was returned to her three weeks later. Every dinner at their house must be like king cakes! If you find the ring, bring it back to See's, 'kay? And three bank robbers in Redwood City were thwarted by an observant witness, who saw three men walking in single file into the parking lot of the local Wells Fargo, and noticed the butt of a rifle coming out from one of the robbers' coats. The cops immediately swooped in and arrested them, 75 feet from the bank entrance.

Red state on blue state violence! The conservative Colorado-based group Focus on the Family (the guys who came out against SpongeBob Squarepants) has announced that it's withdrawing all its money from Wells Fargo banks because the SF-based bank gave $50,000 to GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Discrimination), solely off of profits made in the San Francisco area. You knew that $2 ATM surcharge fee was going someplace! Focus on the Family says it can't keep their money at a place that gives money to an organization that pledges to use funds to "fight the anti-gay industry," and has immediately withdrawn the $145 million it's stashed in the bank. Wells Fargo responds, "We absolutely made a $50,000 grant to GLAAD, and we're absolutely proud of our support for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community." Wells Fargo also notes, though, that the donation was not specifically earmarked for fighting the anti-gay industry. Last year, Wells Fargo gave $2 million to gay and lesbian organizations.

-Developers planning to build new housing in the SOMA area encountered a new concern last week as drivers complained that a possible eight story building on Harrison between third and fourth might obstruct views of the city. From the freeway. Turns out it's city policy not to build something along the freeways that would create a "canyon" effect and not allow drivers to see where they are in the city. To which members of the Planning Department banged their heads against their tables and threw their hands up in surrender.

Have you ever had several hundred thousand people staring just slightly over your shoulder? It's freaking weird. This Sunday, we were lucky enough to score an invitation to march in the Pride parade, right next to a float that featured sexy nearly-naked dancers from Ruby Sky. Because that's just the kind of company we keep. The gyrating flesh certainly seemed to please the crowd, which is good news for Comcast, the float's sponsor. They need all the friends they can get these days, since the company -- which according to the Guardian has the lowest customer satisfaction rating of any company in country -- is currently renegotiating its contract with the city. Hey, Comcast, put in a clause about hiring Ruby Skye dancers to permanently decorate Market Street, and then maybe we'll talk. And, um, stop firing your employees for trying to form unions.

Of course, you could go out tonight or this weekend and catch some live music. Or you could stay home alone, muttering to yourself. For those who can't decide, here's some suggestions:

BeyondChron.org is reporting that a group of advocates and union leaders are thinking about taking the whole Muni fare hike battle to the voters. Yep, another proposition. The proposed proposition would call for a five-year freeze on fare hikes and lay-offs. One of things to be considered on the proposal would be if the BoS votes for the fare increases, whether or not the freeze will be retroactive, meaning will the increased fares be decreased as it were.

J. Lo, do your krav maga thing! (Who even knew was set in San Francisco?) In San Jose, a man named Adam Wells puts a knife up to the neck of a man parked in a lot and tries to carjack him. But doh! The carjackee is a karate instructor! The karate instructor knocks the knife out of Wells's hand, throws him to the ground, and discovers that Wells is also carrying a gun. The karate instructor empties the gun of bullets, gives Wells a long lecture about "making bad decisions in life," and then gives him back the gun and the knife. Wells then leaves the parking lot -- and goes straight for a Wells Fargo across the street, which he proceeds to hold up (with the knife). The cops seem a little exasperated that the karate instructor didn't call 911 earlier, so maybe they could have stopped the bank robbery.

And the award for serving the news needs of people in trapped in caves, living under rocks, or named Rip Van Winkle goes to the Chronicle today: