Bank wants parents to pay for heist

Seven teenagers have been accused of stealing $90,400.

The Associated Press

CHICAGO -- The parents of seven teenagers accused of stealing $90,400 in a suburban bank heist are being sued by the bank for the loot and $100,000 in damages and fees. "They are responsible just like all of us who are parents," David Creel, senior vice president of TCF Bank, said Friday. No one is claiming the parents took any of the money or even knew anything about the Feb. 15 robbery at the bank branch in Naperville, where some of the teens were employees. Half of the money is still missing. The lawsuit was filed under the Illinois parental responsibility law, which is most often used to collect from parents whose offspring have caused damage through carelessness or mischief, such as an out- of-control house party that damages a neighbor's home. "This extends it from sort of negligent accidents to willful injuries. It's a plausible theory," said Harold Krent, a professor at the Chicago-Kent College of Law. Prosecutors said the heist was engineered by former bank manager Terry Twist, 25, who is now in custody. An 18-year-old woman who worked in the bank has pleaded guilty to misapplying bank funds. Four 16-year-olds have been charged as juveniles, and two 17-year- olds face adult charges. Some are accused of hiding the loot or driving cars in the plot, which unraveled after a few days when some of the teens allegedly used the money to buy televisions, video games and jewelry. Charles Stone, an attorney for one of the families, said Twist led the teenagers astray. Twist had had some brushes with the law but no convictions. "In suing the parents, the bank seems to have forgotten its own role in this sad matter by hiring Terry Twist and allowing him to play the role of Fagin and capture the hearts and minds of children," Stone said. "The children are responsible, but it's bizarre to contend that the parents who did not work at the bank are responsible," he said.

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