When the local crimes came to light, Regina Medina broke the story that Philly cops had tagged Jocelyn Kirsch, 22, and Edward Anderton, 25, as "Bonnie & Clyde" because they were a male/female bandit duet.
The original Bonnie & Clyde - they died when he was 25 and she was 23 - caught the imagination of an America, wracked by drought and Depression, that had been betrayed by capitalism. In their mythology, they are Little Guys striking back against the Establishment - Robin Hood with automatic weapons. (The reality was that Clyde Barrow - who murdered at least nine people - liked knocking over gas stations and stores. When he upgraded to robbing banks, they were in small towns, not on Wall Street.)
Philly's Bonnie & Clyde proved, once again, that criminals can steal more with a pen than with a gun. Unlike the originals, our B&C never used a gun. They brazenly stole from friends, neighbors, co-workers. Their story was closely followed, I believe, because everyday folks liked reading about yuppie scum getting their comeuppance.
Monday, "Clyde" Anderton took a guilty plea, as "Bonnie" Kirsch is expected to do at her upcoming hearing. Sentencing will follow. Is five years enough for this egomaniacal pair, who stole to finance global partying?
They could get as much as 69 years, Assistant U.S. Attorney Louis Lappen told me, but because of sentencing guidelines and a plea agreement, expect five. Federal guidelines also call for restitution.
The credit-card carnivores damn well ought to be forced to repay what they stole. But only five years in the Graybar Hotel?
