SICK-LOOKING ROBBER HITS BANKS LIKE PLAGUE.

Byline: Greg Gittrich Daily News Staff Writer

An emaciated, pockmarked bank robber, dubbed ``the down-and-out bandit'' by federal agents, is on the loose in Los Angeles and has held up 11 banks since January, FBI officials said Wednesday.

``He seems to be getting thinner and sicker-looking with each robbery,'' said Robert J. Mack, supervisory special agent of the FBI's Los Angeles Bank Robbery Squad.

The gunman has open sores or scabs on his arms and an ``orange complexion,'' and he is ``just sickly looking'' and cadaverlike, Mack said, referring to witness reports.

Mack described the bandit as a balding, white male, 50 to 60 years old, 5 feet 5 inches to 5 feet 8 inches tall. Investigators believe he may be an outpatient at a local hospital and could be suffering from AIDS or cancer.

Wielding a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun, the bandit began his string of holdups Jan. 2 at a Bank of America on West Beverly Boulevard in Beverly Hills, Mack said.

During the last four months, he has robbed two banks in Beverly Hills, three in Brentwood, four in Los Angeles and one in Malibu, Mack said. Federal agents would not disclose the total amount of money stolen during the string of heists.

Robbing six banks this month alone, he struck twice on Tuesday - at a City National Bank and a Marathon National Bank, both located on West Olympic Boulevard in West Los Angeles, federal agents said.

The bandit typically approaches a bank teller, brandishes a handgun and gives the employee a note demanding $100 and $50 bills, Mack said.

Investigators suspect the bandit also carjacked a late-model, four-door Mercedes 190 on West Pico Boulevard in Los Angeles last week.

``He told them he had a gun and needed the car because someone was very sick and he needed to get them to a hospital,'' Mack said. ``He promised to return the car in an hour.''

Investigators are asking anyone with information about the bandit to call the FBI at [phone] or the Los Angeles Police Department at [phone].