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Robbery victim hit with beer gift

SANTA ANA, Calif., Sept. 11 (UPI) -- A robbery victim in Santa Ana, Calif., is expected to recover from injuries he suffered when he was hit with a beer bottle he gave his assailant, police said.

Santa Ana police Cmdr. Jeff Owens said the unidentified victim was hit in the head with a beer bottle by one of two suspects whom the victim had just given two free beers, the Orange County (Calif.) Register reported.

Police said the unidentified suspects stopped the victim as he was leaving a 7-Eleven with a 12-pack of beer early Thursday morning.

After the two men asked for and received beers from the victim, one of the suspects smashed his bottle over the victim's head. The two suspects then fled the scene with what was left of the 12-pack.

Fla. police looking for eccentric crooks

TAMPA, Fla., Sept. 11 (UPI) -- Police in Tampa, Fla., say a group of robbers has taken the art of disguise to a new level by wearing everything from a safety seat to medical scrubs.

The Tampa Police Department said in a release that detectives suspect the same group of unidentified men is responsible for robbing three local pawnshops, since the assailants in each case used unusual props during the crimes, the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times said.

Police said the three assailants in the most recent robbery wore hospital scrubs Tuesday when they robbed a pawnshop.

The methods were very similar to those used in prior robberies Aug. 25 and Aug. 31, police said.

A robber in one of the earlier cases reportedly wore a child safety seat on his head, while in the other robbery all of the men donned beautician's hair-washing sinks as a disguise.

"The first thing you think is 'That's funny,'" police spokeswoman Andrea Davis told the Times. "But in reality, this is a violent crime, and there's nothing funny about it to the victims."

Bar seeks return of 1970 Playboy

CHICAGO, Sept. 11 (UPI) -- A bar in Chicago's Ukrainian Village is offering a reward for the return of a May 1970 Playboy magazine stolen from a frame in the men's room.

Scott Weiner, 28, co-owner of The Fifty/50 sports bar, said the magazine, which featured Phyllis Babila on the cover, was taken from a glass frame in a bathroom while a 1972 Playboy and a 1973 issue were left behind in the same frame, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Weiner said he initially suspected a jealous relative of Babila was behind the theft.

"That's the only thing I would think of," he said. "(She is) somebody's relative. They saw their mom up there and thought, 'I'm taking that down.'"

However, Babila said she does not have any children or ex-husbands in the Chicago area. She said she was "impressed" with the thief's effort.

Weiner said he and co-owner Greg Mohr are offering a $100 gift certificate to The Fifty/50 and a May 2009 Playboy autographed by model Crystal McCahill for the safe return of the missing magazine.

"The Playboys have always been kind of a sacred thing," Weiner said. "No one's really messed with them before."

Goodwill gives back $500,000 statue

MIAMI, Sept. 11 (UPI) -- The president of Goodwill South Florida said a sculpture donated by an investment firm will be returned after it was found to be worth $500,000.

Dennis Pastrana, president and chief executive officer of Goodwill South Florida, said the 2 1/2-ton bronze statue, which depicts a young ballerina, was donated to Goodwill's Miami warehouse in May by an investment firm that asked to remain anonymous, The Miami Herald reported.

Pastrana said the piece was identified as the work of famed sculptor Sterett-Gittings Kelsey and officials contacted officials at the investment firm to inform them of the piece's $500,000 value. He said the firm accepted an offer to return the item and promised to compensate Goodwill some other way.