The Great Clown Caper and a Real Caper

Yesterday at the office, the news editor wanted me to get a surveillance photo to go with a brief about this couple who were just sentenced for robbing a Tucson convenience store back in August. In every article that's been written about the crime, the reporter called them clown robbers, saying they wore clown costumes while committing the robbery. So, I'm picturing a couple wearing suits and red rubber noses. I call the public information officer at the Tucson Police Department -- Sgt. Robinson -- and he has to jump through all these hoops to get permission to release the photo. He told me I would be the first one to see it outside of the department (I guess that's supposed to excite me). I finally get the photo via e-mail and it's sharp and in color. And what do I see? The girl is wearing a red nylon jacket (last time I checked, clowns don't wear parka-like jackets) and the guy was wearing a black and white mask that made him look like a new member of KISS. I was like "Where are the clown costumes?" However, must say, the picture was still disturbing. You can't see the poor clerk but you know he's there. You see the open register till and Bonnie and Clyde pointing sawed off shotguns at him. Even Sgt. Robinson said "If I had been the clerk, I would've peed in my pants!" Anyway, I basically learned that these past few months, most broadcast and print outlets were misreported. Just because the clerk said all he remembered was clown costumes, the media ran with that when in fact, there's nothing clown-like. It was a nice reminder to try to verify stuff. I read those two robbers -- who were sentenced to three years -- are about my age. Why can't young people just go out and get jobs? Really, they can't be thinking it was all worth it.

If you wanna hear about a real caper...I heard a very crazy story about the current state of someone we went to high school with. I won't refer to him by name. This person who I did hang out with once in a while and thought was nice was arrested a couple weeks ago in New York. He and an associate at Goldman Sachs stand accused of insider trading and stealing $6.7 million (whoo!). This guy is still in Manhattan Correctional Facility because he can't make the $3 million bail. I think we know what the message is here: You don't need a private school edcuation to become a white-collar baddie.