Slain Robbers’ Wife, Portion of Cash Found

Police investigating the North Hollywood bank holdup that led to the deaths of two robbers in a spectacular gun battle have for weeks been concentrating on tracking down two leads: the vanished widow of one of the robbers and more than $1 million in missing loot.

On Thursday, Los Angeles Police Department officials announced that they had found her and some of the cash--along with yet another arsenal of military-style weapons--but revealed few details.

The woman, Jeanette Theresa Federico, was located in Colorado.

Federico, widow of Larry Eugene Phillips Jr., was questioned by LAPD detectives but not arrested, police said. “She was relatively cooperative,” said Cmdr. Tim McBride, the LAPD’s chief spokesman. “It was a good exchange of information with investigators.”

The source said that Federico, who was believed to have been in Los Angeles on the day of the robbery, is not a suspect in the case.

McBride said police still believe the two men acted without help. “We still only have two suspects,” McBride said.

Late Thursday, however, Federico was arrested by Thornton, Colo., police on a child custody offense warrant issued in Santa Fe, N.M., said Thornton Police Officer Matt Barnes. A child with her was taken into protective custody, Barnes said.

Barnes said LAPD detectives talked to Federico at the Thornton police station Thursday afternoon about “money from robberies.” She had been staying with a friend in Thornton, which is about 20 miles north of Denver, he said.

She was being held in the Adams County Jail in Brighton, Colo., awaiting extradition to Santa Fe, he said.

Police believe that Phillips and Emil Matasareanu were responsible for five other bank heists, two of which could have netted them between $1.3 million and $1.7 million. But since their investigation began, police had been unable to locate the money from those robberies.

In an update on their investigation released Thursday, however, police said a portion of the money believed to have been taken in those crimes has been recovered, along with a number of weapons.

“We have some cash and we’re looking for more,” McBride said.

In their searches, police uncovered a cache of weapons, including an AK-47, a fully-automatic Commando AR-15, rifle parts for AK-47s and AR-15s, two 9-millimeter handguns and a .38-caliber Smith & Wesson handgun.

Investigators also found about 2,000 rounds of ammunition, several 100-round AK-47 magazines loaded with armor-piercing bullets, do-it-yourself hand grenade kits and U.S. Army-style helmets with face shields, police said.

The robbers were dressed in body armor when they robbed the Bank of America branch on Laurel Canyon Boulevard on Feb. 28, and police bullets were later found lodged in their vests.

In previous searches of Matasareanu’s residences, police have uncovered weapons, ammunition and survivalist-type manuals. Police have said they believe the men were self-taught.

The bloody gunfight, televised live by news helicopters circling overhead, left 11 officers and six civilians injured.

Los Angeles police detectives were tight-lipped Thursday about their investigation, saying a civil rights lawsuit filed last week on behalf of Matasareanu’s children prevents them from discussing the case.

An autopsy report released last week disclosed that Matasareanu bled to death after sustaining gunshot wounds to his thigh.

The interview in Colorado was key to determining whether the department completes its criminal investigation, a source said.

After releasing Federico’s photograph to local television stations and newspapers last month, detectives were preparing to tape an “America’s Most Wanted” television show to solicit tips nationwide in their search for her.

The two robbers are believed to have killed an armored car guard in an attack outside a Bank of America branch in the San Fernando Valley two years ago, robbed two banks last year, and ambushed an armored car guard outside a Denver bank in 1993.

Shuster reported from Los Angeles and Sahagun from Denver. Times staff writer Matt Lait also contributed to this report.