Bank Teller Sought in Theft of $400,000

In his three years at Republic Bank in Gardena, teller Alexander V. Manansala had a clean record. His boss said he was efficient and that his cash drawer always balanced at the end of the day.

So bank supervisors said they were surprised this month when the 29-year-old teller ordered an excess of cash from the Federal Reserve system for Republic Bank’s vault.

When Republic Bank accumulated about $600,000, twice the normal cash on hand, a bank official ordered Manansala to send the excess funds back to the Federal Reserve “as soon as possible,” federal authorities say.

Just a few days later, Manansala and $400,000 disappeared, federal authorities say.

This week in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, Federal Magistrate Ralph J. Geffen issued an arrest warrant for Manansala, who FBI agents say has been missing since he left work April 7.

He Ordered Cash

“It’s a sad thing,” said John B. O’Donnell, president of the bank, which also has branches in Torrance and Fullerton. “You put some faith in people and then they getcha.”

O’Donnell said Manansala was a vault teller, responsible for allocating cash to other tellers in the bank branch on Redondo Beach Boulevard. He also was permitted to order more cash, when necessary, from the Federal Reserve Bank in Los Angeles, O’Donnell said.

A supervisor asked Manansala in the first week in April why he had allowed $600,000 to accumulate in the vault, according to an affidavit filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles. Manansala “became irritated and told (the supervisor) he had simply made a mistake and ordered too much money,” the document says.

But the affidavit, written to obtain the arrest warrant, says that Manansala had not sent the money back to the Federal Reserve by April 7, a Friday.

Took Time Off

Manansala arrived early for work that day, ostensibly so he could take time off later in the day for an appointment at the Department of Motor Vehicles, the court papers say. Three times that day--when he left for the DMV, at lunch and at the end of the day--Manansala left the bank with his briefcase.

Bank officials theorized that it would take that many trips to move $399,586, the exact amount missing.

It was not until the following Monday that bank officials realized cash was gone from the vault; and Manansala did not report for work, the affidavit says.

The usually dependable teller and his wife, Bernadette Villarica, a supervisor with a Los Angeles bank, have not been at their apartment in the Wilshire Center district of Los Angeles since April 7, said their apartment manager, who asked to remain anonymous.

Villarica was scheduled to leave April 7 for a vacation and to return this Monday, her boss said.

The couple’s furniture, clothing and other personal possessions remain in the apartment. They did not turn off the lights and air conditioner, the apartment manager said.

Several relatives, including Manansala’s father-in-law in the Philippines, said they have not heard from the couple, the affidavit states.

The missing money is considered part of the bank’s capital account and, therefore, cannot be recovered from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., O’Donnell said. And the deductible for the bank’s insurance is so high that none of the loss will be covered.

The money will come out of the bank’s own capital, O’Donnell said.

“I hate to think of it that way,” O’Donnell said. “But at least it’s tax deductible.”