Category Archives: Crime

by | October 1, 2013 · 5:55 am

Hospitality Industry Theft Risks: Louisiana Hotel Employee Arrested For Stealing Over $34,000 From “Night Deposits”; Altered “Drop Log” And Inflated “Reward Point System”

“…As a controller at the hotel, (the employee) had been responsible for removing and verifying nightly deposits cashiers made into the Hotel Employee Theftsafe. His duties included checking these funds against a corresponding drop log and hotel records…A total of 97 deposits were found to be missing $34,280.53, according to an arrest warrant…to further conceal the scheme, (he) also is accused of falsely inflating the hotel’s reward point system, a program that allows guests to redeem points for services…”

An employee at the Renaissance hotel in Baton Rouge is accused of stealing more than $34,000 from hotel safe deposits and altering financial records to cover his tracks, according to court records. East Baton Rouge Parish sheriff’s deputies issued an arrest warrant for Matthew D. Dziadosz, 38, 8741 Pecan Tree Drive, on one count of felony theft. Detectives began an inquiry in June after an internal audit turned up discrepancies in the hotel’s deposits and accounting records.

“It was noted that varying amounts of cash were systematically removed from the daily dropped envelopes,” Detective Kevin Chenier wrote in the warrant.

Hotel records showed more than three dozen instances in which drop log entries had been altered and another 12 entries omitted entirely.

“This would have given the impression the employee had not dropped an envelope at all,” Chenier wrote.

In some instances, Dziadosz re-wrote an entire drop log, the warrant says. He had been expected to document erroneous or missing deposits, the warrant says, but made no reports “consistent with the volume of falsely reported errors or missing drops.”

For more:  http://theadvocate.com/news/7199061-123/hotel-employee-accused-of-pocketing

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by | September 26, 2013 · 5:44 am

Hospitality Industry Crime Risks: New Jersey Hotel Employee Arrested For Stealing “Wedding Reception Cash”; Used Freight Elevator To Avoid Surveillance Cameras And Enter Rooms

“…(the former employee), who was hired in May, apparently slipped up through the freight elevator so that he wouldn’t be detected by hotel Hospitality Industry Employee Crimesurveillance cameras and then used a swipe card to get into unoccupied newlywed suites…$770 was taken (in one incident) and for another on Saturday, when a couple said $500 was stolen…”

A since-fired bell hop at the Saddle Brook Marriott was arrested by local police last night and charged with slipping into the rooms of newlyweds at their receptions and snatching some of their wedding-gift cash.

Timothy Henriquez, 30, of Chester, NY, is charged with two counts of theft — for a July incident in which $770 was taken and for another on Saturday, when a couple said $500 was stolen. He was released on a summons pending a Municipal Court hearing, police said.

“Upon learning of his arrest, Marriott terminated his employment,” Saddle Brook Police Chief Robert Kugler said.

For more: http://cliffviewpilot.com/saddle-brook-police-charge-hotel-employee-with-thefts-from-newlyweds-rooms/

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by | September 22, 2013 · 6:20 am

Hospitality Industry Employee Crime: New York Hotel Security Director Arrested For Arson After Setting A Series Of Small Fires In Hallways And Stairwells; “Working Vacation” While Hotel Was Shut Down For Repairs

“…(the suspect) was the director of security — and according to his  wife the fire safety director —- for the Yotel hotel near Times Square (and) Hospitality Industry Employee Crimeset a series of blazes that shut down the building for days, freeing him to get  liquored up on the job in guest rooms, FDNY sources said…(he) would light newspapers to set the rubbish fires late  at night or early in the morning while he was on duty…No one was injured in the  blazes, but the source said the small fires would also temporarily close the bars and  nightclubs inside…the hotel would then be  shut down for repairs, giving him a working vacation…”

City fire marshals arrested Barbosa, of West New York, N.J., on Friday,  charging him with setting five small rubbish blazes in the hallways, stairwells  and emergency exits at the Yotel on 10th Ave. over the past two years.

Before that, he allegedly set three fires at the Soho Grand Hotel on West  Broadway — where he worked as a security guard between 2009 and 2010 — including  one just before 3 a.m. on New Year’s Day that brought revelers’ celebrations to  an early close.

Wearing a dark navy suit and a white dress shirt, Barbosa was ordered held on  $50,000 bail. Manhattan prosecutors asked for $20,000, but the arraignment judge  upped the request.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/times-square-hotel-security-chief-arrested-setting-arson-fires-sources-article-1.1463370#ixzz2fdA5nlYl

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by | September 21, 2013 · 5:59 am

Hospitality Industry Technology Solutions: New Restaurant POS And Video Integration Software “Flags Questionable Transactions, Events And Conditions” To Reduce Employee Theft

“…software that can isolate POS activity not in compliance with performance standards and that is integrated with accompanying video Restaurant Employee Theftprovides training opportunities and also highlights suspicious activity of a particular cashier or manager…top that off with a video catching an employee in the act and it’s icing on the cake…The cloud-based system, which now has a real-time mobile app to alert  managers when suspicious activity occurs,  gives managers hard data on their employees, said Lori Kittle, CIO of Landry’s, the company behind 40 restaurant brands, including Morton’s, Bubba Gump and McCormick & Schmick’s…”

The National Restaurant Association estimates that internal employee theft is responsible for 75 percent of inventory shortages and about 4 percent of restaurant sales. Three-quarters of employees steal from the workplace at least once, while half steal repeatedly.

Another company specializing in detecting and preventing employee theft is EZConnect, which is used in Subway and Dunkin Donuts units. The platform features the ability to integrate digital video with the POS system as well.

“Suspicious cash transactions can be pinpointed and reviewed quickly, avoiding hours of research on standard digital camera systems,” Michael Starer, CEO of Profit Enhancement Technologies Inc., the company behind EZConnect.

For more:  http://www.fastcasual.com/article/219487/Using-technology-to-stop-restaurant-theft

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by | September 19, 2013 · 6:19 am

Hospitality Industry Crime Risks: Missouri Motel Evacuated After “Meth Lab” Discovered In Room; Suspect Was “Cutting Up Batteries” Outside Door

“…on the second-floor of the motel, the officer saw a man sitting outside his hotel room cutting up batteries…the officer asked him what he was Hotel Meth Lab Risksdoing and, at the same time, noticed the door ajar and some fumes or vapors coming out of the door…(he) pushed the door open and a larger cloud of vapors came out…the man cutting the batteries had been cooking methamphetamine in his room, police say…”

A motel guest cutting up batteries outside his room stirred the suspicions of a Sunset Hills police officer, who uncovered a meth lab at the EconoLodge early today.

The officer, overcome by fumes, was taken to a hospital after complaining of being lightheaded. And all of the remaining motel guests in the entire east wing of the motel were evacuated by police and firefighters for about three hours early Thursday until the mobile meth lab was removed.

A man in his 30s was arrested on suspicion of drug manufacturing. “He was apparently trying to do this with the shake-and-bake method,” LeGrand said, referring to the mobile method of making the drug. “But he forgot some ingredient and, because of that, he decided to heat some of this mixture in the microwave.”

The guests who were evacauted from the hotel after midnight were allowed to return to their rooms at about 3 a.m. after the county’s drug unit removed the materials.

For more:  http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/meth-fumes-force-evacuation-of-sunset-hills-motel-police-officer/article_050e5fce-4812-5a5a-b6cd-3bbe86afe68b.html

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by | September 9, 2013 · 6:27 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Missouri Restaurant Operator Ordered To Pay $20.5 Million To Man Permanently Disabled After Beating In Parking Lot; “Failure To Prevent Fight”, Violated “Disruptive Customer Policies”

 “…(the plaintiff) claimed the fast food giant failed to prevent the fight, poorly trained its employees and violated its own policies for dealing Hospitality Industry Injury Lawsuitswith disruptive customers…(the jury) actually returned a $25 million verdict against Jack in the Box after an eight-day civil trial. That was reduced to $20.5 million after the jury found Aziz to be 18 percent at fault for the attack…”

A City Court jury ordered Jack in the Box restaurants to pay $20.5 million to a man who is permanently disabled from a beating in a parking lot 3 years ago.  Ali Aziz, now 35, was beaten unconscious and spent more than a year in a coma after the June 20, 2012 assault. He has permanent brain damage and cannot walk or feed himself, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

Aziz, through his mother Annette Brown, sued Jack in the Box in City Court in 2011.  Four people – three men and a woman – pleaded guilty and have gone to prison for it.
Earnest Carter, 22, was sentenced to 12 years in prison; Jasmine Jeffries, 22, to 15 years; Johnnie Lane, 33, to 5 years; and Rwoeshan Booker, 20, to 13 years, the Post-Dispatch reported.

A Jack in the Box spokesman said the company is considering an appeal.

For more:  http://www.courthousenews.com/2013/09/09/60939.htm

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by | September 8, 2013 · 6:15 am

Hospitality Industry Crime Risks: Connecticut Hotel Manager Settles Multimillion Dollar “Wrongful Death Lawsuit”; Woman Murdered In Lobby By Intoxicated Man At Room Party

“…The former managers of a Stamford hotel agreed Friday to settle a multimillion dollar lawsuit brought against the hotel by the family of a 21-Hospitality Industry Wrongful Death Lawsuitsyear-old Greenwich woman stabbed to death by her ex-boyfriend there nearly six years ago…the trial addressed a real important public safety issue — and that was hotel safety…”

Details of the settlement were sealed in a confidentiality agreement, but lawyers for the family of Layla Renee Banks appeared very happy as they left the Main Street courthouse. On Thursday they had asked a jury to return a verdict of $20 million for their clients.

In the late evening of Oct. 13, 2007, a group of teens and young adults from Greenwich, wanting to extend what began as a sweet 16 party at one of their homes, rented a room on the third floor of the five-story hotel. Alcohol use was rampant among the partygoers who swelled to about 100, court documents and police reports show.

By his own admission later to police, he had had about six drinks at the party when he confronted Banks. He wanted to know why she hadn’t returned his emails or phone calls. After they began arguing, Banks screamed for help, eventually fleeing from Botello and the party to the hotel’s lobby, court documents and police reports state.

In a darkened hallway off the lobby, Botello caught up with the young woman, reports state. He clamped his hand over her mouth to prevent her from screaming and in the ensuing struggle he threw her purse down the hall.

Banks began sobbing and crying for help as a hotel worker began vacuuming the end of the hallway, the reports state. Panicked, Botello later told police he pulled out a knife and began stabbing Banks over and over — some 90 times, the medical report states.

For more:  http://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Hotel-murder-lawsuit-settled-4792732.php

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by | September 6, 2013 · 9:15 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Florida Sports Bar Sued By Man Attacked By Bouncers; Assault Captured On Cell Phone And Posted Online

“…a bystander caught the incident on his cell phone (and shows) the first punch thrown (at the plaintiff), then a bouncer stomping on his head.  However, Coelho was the one arrested and charged with battery on a law  enforcement officer…(but) what people see from the video (is that) he Sports Bar Lawsuit Over Assault By Bouncerswas the  victim an attorney stated…The state attorney agreed and dropped charges against Coelho…the (sports bar) posted a statement on their Facebook page deeply regretting the matter…The sports bar has also fired the bouncers involved in the altercation (and) they have  since been arrested for the attack…”

A man involved in a fight outside a South Florida bar is filing a lawsuit  against those, he says, are responsible. Alex Coelho was with his girlfriend and friends when he was attacked outside  of Dirty Blondes in Fort Lauderdale Beach back in July.  After a verbal argument  with one of the bartenders, they were escorted outside. As the argument ensued,  Coelho was attacked and beaten by the bouncers. The attack was caught on  camera.

According to the group, they ordered a round of drinks. When one of the  drinks came back wrong, they said the bartender became irate. “‘That’s what you  ordered, if you don’t like it, you can get a drink somewhere else’ type of  deal,” Coelho said. “I offered to pay for another one, and then she called the  bouncers over. I actually offered them, ‘I don’t want any trouble here.’ I  pulled a $10 bill out of my pocket.”

Coelho asked to speak to the bar’s manager once the tension began to rise.  “I work in hospitality, and I understand how people should be treated,” Coelho  said. I definitely wasn’t yelling. I definitely didn’t want to fight or get in a  fight. I’ve never been arrested, ever.”

Read more: http://www.wsvn.com/news/articles/local/21011603710196/man-files-lawsuit-after-bar-fight/#ixzz2e8EiWlNd

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by | August 27, 2013 · 5:56 am

Hospitality Industry Technology Solutions: New Study Shows That Restaurant Employee Theft Can Be “Significantly Reduced” By Surveillance And Sales Transaction Monitoring

“…Knowing they were being monitored, the servers not only pulled back on any unethical practices, but also channeled their efforts into, say, prompting customers to have that dessert or a second beer, raising revenue for the restaurant and tips for themselves… in the restaurant Restaurant Employee Theftindustry, analysts estimate the losses from employee theft at 1 percent of revenue. That does not seem like a lot, but restaurant profit margins are slender, typically 2 to 5 percent. So cutting down on theft can be an important contributor to a restaurant’s financial health…”

And a new research paper, published on Saturday, shows in detail how significant the surveillance effect can be. The paper, “Cleaning House: The Impact of Information Technology Monitoring on Employee Theft and Productivity,” is the work of three academics: Lamar Pierce, an associate professor at the Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis; Daniel Snow, an associate professor at the Marriott School at Brigham Young University; and Andrew McAfee, a research scientist at the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The researchers measured the impact of software that monitors employee-level theft and sales transactions, before and after the technology was installed, at 392 restaurants in 39 states. The restaurants were in five “casual dining” chains. The paper does not name the five,  but it cites examples of the casual dining category including Applebee’s, Chili’s and Olive Garden.

Employee theft and fraud is a big problem, estimated at up to $200 billion a year across the economy.

For more:  http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/08/26/how-surveillance-changes-behavior-a-restaurant-workers-case-study/?_r=0

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by | August 20, 2013 · 6:06 am

Hospitality Industry Crime Risks: Florida Hotels Plagued By “Mini Meth Labs” Transported In Suitcases; Thousands To Make Room Safe Again

“…the (hotel) manager said despite the lab being small it had cost thousands to make the room safe again and he felt there was little he could do to stop it happening again…mix of precursor chemicals and substances used in drug production, drug lab Hotel Meth Lab Riskssites have been known to cause explosions, flash burns, fires, toxic fumes, poisonous gases, damage to the environment, injury to members of the community and even death…the equipment used to make the labs was easily sourced from hardware stores and included anything from jars and beakers, to soft drink bottles and plastic tubing…for each lab uncovered, there are about 10 that aren’t…”

MINI drug labs small enough to fit inside suitcases are being set up in high-end, inner-city Gold Coast hotels to feed an illicit substance epidemic.  And Gold Coast hotel managers say they are unable to stop it. Police and even hotel cleaners reveal the city is one of the most popular targets for drug makers, who use hotel bathrooms to “cook” methamphetamines and then take them in limited supplies to popular Coast nightspots.

Statistics obtained by a Gold Coast Bulletin Right to Information request show 32 clandestine drug labs have been busted on the Coast since January 2012, and at least nine were found in units.

Meth Lab Cleanup director Jenny Boymal said they were just the tip of the iceberg.

For more:  http://www.goldcoast.com.au/article/2013/08/20/456662_crime-and-court-news.html

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