Category Archives: Crime

by | July 29, 2012 · 8:01 am

Hospitality Industry Crime Risks: Pennsylvania Hotel Evacuated After "Meth Lab" Chemicals And Materials Discovered In Third-Floor Room

“…Hotels and motels are increasingly used by meth-makers because the chemicals used – which can include lighter fuel, lye, lithium, and acetone, among other dangerous substances – seep into fabrics, furniture, and floors, according the Department of Justice website…” 

“You basically destroy someone’s hotel room, and then you leave.”

At least 300 guests were evacuated from the Hampton Inn at 1301 Race St. about 5:30 a.m. as first Philadelphia firefighters, then the Police Department’s homeland security and terrorism unit arrived to handle the volatile chemicals left behind by a would-be meth-maker.

Investigators discovered in a third-floor room the chemicals and materials used in the “one-pot” or “shake-and-bake” method of producing the dangerous, highly addictive stimulant.

The procedure can result in toxic fumes and explosions, leave behind a dangerous trail of chemicals, and render the room uninhabitable.

For more:  http://www.philly.com/philly/news/pennsylvania/20120729_Makeshift_meth_lab_forces_evacuation_of_Center_City_hotel.html

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by | July 27, 2012 · 6:08 am

Hospitality Industry Security Risks: Florida Hotel Security Cameras Capture Armed Robbery Suspects In Action (Video)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CG6CTYoDKU]

Two armed men are on the run after police say they pulled of a hotel heist.

Security cameras captured every moment of the robbery at the Howard Johnson hotel on 50th Street in Tampa.

The footage shows the men make their way from the back of the hotel to the front office, where they force the clerk to empty the cash register at gunpoint. The suspects even take the handsets off the phones to keep the clerk from calling for help.

“These individuals are armed and they’re very determined and were very aggressive,” said Tampa police spokesperson Laura McElroy.

Both men were smart enough to cover their faces while they pulled off the crime, but one of them waited to mask up until after he scoped out the hotel lobby. That footage is giving police at least one clear shot of one of the men.
Read more: http://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/news/region_tampa/security-footage-shows-armed-robbery-of-tampa-howard-johnsons-hojo#ixzz21pbvMAwY

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by | July 24, 2012 · 6:10 am

Hospitality Industry Security Risks: Electronic Hotel Room Locks Shown To Be Vulnerable To "Hardware Gadgets"

The system’s vulnerability arises, Brocious says, from the fact that every lock’s memory is entirely exposed to whatever device attempts to read it through that port. Though each lock has a cryptographic key that’s required to trigger its “open” mechanism, that string of data is also stored in the lock’s memory, like a spare key hidden under the welcome mat.

At the Black Hat security conference Tuesday evening, a Mozilla software developer and 24-year old security researcher named Cody Brocious plans to present a pair of vulnerabilities he’s discovered in hotel room locks from the manufacturer Onity, whose devices are installed on the doors of between four and five million hotel rooms around the world according to the company’s figures. Using an open-source hardware gadget Brocious built for less than $50, he can insert a plug into that DC port and sometimes, albeit unreliably, open the lock in a matter of seconds. “I plug it in, power it up, and the lock opens,” he says simply.

The ability to access the devices’ memory is just one of the two vulnerabilities Brocious says he found in Onity’s locks. He says the company also uses a weak encryption scheme that allows him to derive the “site code”–a unique numerical key for every facility–from two cards encoded one after another for the same room. By reading the encrypted data off of two cards and testing thousands of potential site codes against both cards until the decoded data displays a predictable interval between the two, he can find the site code and use it to create more card keys with a magnetizing device. But given that he can only create more cards for the same room as the two keys he’s been issued, that security flaw represents a fairly low risk compared with the ability to open any door arbitrarily.

For more:  http://www.forbes.com/sites/andygreenberg/2012/07/23/hacker-will-expose-potential-security-flaw-in-more-than-four-million-hotel-room-keycard-locks/

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by | July 19, 2012 · 6:13 am

Hospitality Industry Parking Risks: Kentucky Hotel Guest's Auto Stolen By Man Posing As A Valet

“…(suspect) was posing as a valet at the Seelbach Hilton Hotel on June 29. After helping the owner of the vehicle into the hotel with their luggage, Gibbs then drove away with the $25,000 SUV…”

A Louisville man has been charged with theft after he pretended to be a hotel valet and stole a SUV. A short time later, the vehicle’s owner said someone told them the person who drove off in the SUV was not a hotel employee.

Police identified Gibbs as the suspect after looking at hotel security footage and said he later confessed to the crime. The vehicle was recovered that same day parked in front of Gibbs apartment.

Gibbs is charged with theft by unlawful taking of an auto over $10,000.

In a statement to WAVE 3, Jon McFarland, general manager of the Seelbach Hilton, said, “The Seelbach has not had a prior incident like this. We are aggressively looking at how it happened, and preventing it from happening again.”

For more:  http://www.wave3.com/story/19054310/police-fake-valet-steals-suv

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by | July 17, 2012 · 6:18 am

Hospitality Industry Employee Risks: Former Manager Of New York Hotel Convicted Of Felony Theft Of $50,000 From Cash And Expenses On Corporate Credit Card

“…(woman was ordered) to pay $48,883.53 in restitution…that amount would cover thefts Aylmer committed by taking cash from the hotel and by running up expenses on the corporate credit card…”

“A co-defendant…is responsible for paying back about $12,000 to cover the theft of supplies from the hotel that the defendants attempted to sell on Craigslist and eBay…”

The former manager of a Cicero hotel was sentenced today to five years’ probation for stealing more than $50,000 from her employer. Cathaline Aylmer, 40, of Utica, had nothing to say before Onondaga County Judge Joseph Fahey imposed the probationary sentence agreed to when Aylmer pleaded guilty May 11 to a felony count of second-degree grand larceny.

In pleading guilty, Aylmer admitted stealing from the Days Inn Hotel on Bartel Road from June through July 2010.

For more:  http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2012/07/former_cicero_hotel_managed_se.html

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by | July 15, 2012 · 6:51 am

Hospitality Industry Employee Risks: Michigan Hotel Employee Charged With Stealing Money From Manager's Room; Background Check Would Have Revealed Lengthy Criminal History

“(the employee) allegedly stole $220 from the purse of her assistant manager who had been staying in a room at the hotel…a hotel manager confirmed that since the Lewis incident, the hotel now conducts background checks. The manager said had they known that Lewis had been convicted of crimes in the past, they would have not hired her…”

An employee of a Muskegon Heights hotel with a lengthy criminal background has been charged with a felony for allegedly stealing money from her manager’s room. Kortney Donesia Lewis, 24, of Muskegon, was arraigned in Muskegon County 60th District Court on Wednesday on one count of larceny from a building, a four-year felony, and as a fourth-time habitual offender.

“The manager noticed by surveillance video and key-code confirmation that Lewis had been in her room,” Gardner said. “Lewis was confronted and admitted it.”

Gardner said Lewis’ criminal history includes a 2006 conviction for an embezzlement charge; a 2009 conviction of larceny from a building and a conviction that same year for stealing and using someone’s credit card.

Based on that history, Gardner said it’s difficult to sympathize with the hotel officials who hired Lewis. “In this case it doesn’t just seem to be the responsibility of the defendant for her actions, but for the hotel for hiring a woman with an extensive criminal history for theft crimes,” he said. “It defies commonsense to give a person with that background access to rooms that often times hold valuables.”’

For more:  http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2012/07/muskegon_heights_hotel_employe.html

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by | July 11, 2012 · 6:41 am

Hospitality Industry Security Risks: "Intoxicated" New York Hotel Guests Pull Fire Alarm Outside Lobby Doors After Being Locked Out In Early Morning Hours; Arrested On Felony Charges Of Falsely Reporting A Fire

“…(the men) proceeded to strike the lobby’s sliding glass doors “with such force as to rock them and nearly break them from their hinges…they then pulled the fire alarm outside the hotel’s lobby, resulting in their arrest on charges of falsely reporting a fire, a felony, and reckless endangerment, a misdemeanor…”

In the wee hours of Saturday morning, Lewis and his brother, Lamar, found themselves locked out of a hotel in downtown Albany, N.Y. They were intoxicated, according to police, and apparently forgot their room key. Eagles running back Dion Lewis found himself in some trouble over the weekend.

“I want to apologize to my family, the Albany community, the Eagles organization and fans, and to the NFL for my involvement in an incident this past weekend,” Lewis said in a team-issued statement “It was never my intention to cause any public alarm or damage any property. I am sorry for any embarrassment and inconvenience that my actions have caused.”

The 21-year-old Lewis, whom the Eagles selected in the fifth round of the 2011 NFL draft, was released after his arraignment in court. His brother was being held in jail because of two previous felony charges, the Times Union reported.

For more:  http://content.usatoday.com/communities/thehuddle/post/2012/07/eagles-rb-dion-lewis-arrested-for-hotel-fire-alarm-incident/1

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by | July 10, 2012 · 1:52 pm

Hospitality Industry Crime Risks: Alabama Hotel Employees Assist With Arrest Of Identity Theft Ring Operating In Guest Room

“…Investigators say when the officers entered the hotel room, there were stolen credit cards, computers, cameras, scanner and other items in plain sight…the group had been making fake identification and checks. They had also made Social Security cards and drivers licenses. Police say that many of the victims are businesses…”

Irondale Police say they have arrested and charged three people with multiple counts of identity theft after a hotel called them to evict a group of non-paying customers.

Victor Hedden, 46 of Phenix City, Raymon Hall, 29 of Columbus, Georgia, and Precious Clemons, 25 of Columbus, Georgia have been charged with possession of forged materials and trafficking in stolen ids.

The incident happened Saturday when employees with America’s Family Inn called to ask the police’s help to remove a group of people who hadn’t paid their hotel bill for several days.

For more:  http://www.myfoxal.com/story/18985033/unpaid-hotel-bill-leads-irondale-pd-to-identity-thieves

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by | July 9, 2012 · 4:01 pm

Hospitality Industry Security Risks: Husband Of Slain Woman Sues California Hotel In Wrongful Death Lawsuit; Claims Homeless People Were Known Threat To Guests

“…court documents say that hotel security were aware that homeless people and others had committed “assaults with deadly weapons, thefts, and other disturbances,” but “failed to take any security measures” to keep guests safe, the complaint alleges…”

The lawsuit claims that a homeless man or “uninvited third party” walked through an unsecured first-floor door and killed Finley’s wife while he was sleeping in the couple’s sixth-floor room.

A wrongful death lawsuit against the Biltmore Hotel moved forward on Monday when a man whose wife was found dead at the LA landmark during an audition for “America’s Got Talent” alleged the hotel destroyed evidence to cover up the slaying of his wife.

The body of his wife, Laura, was found in a stairwell at the famed downtown hotel on Oct. 23, 2010.

Hotel security failed to warn guests about security issues related to remodeling work being done on the first and second floors, court documents said.

Hotel security found Laura Finley’s body at the bottom of the first-floor staircase. The body of the 48-year-old woman was found with no top and wearing pants that were inside out. Her diamond rings were missing, court papers said.

For more:  http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Americas-Got-Talent-Audition-Death-Biltmore-Hotel-161855745.html

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by | July 8, 2012 · 10:13 am

Hospitality Industry Property Risks: Thieves Steal Florida Restaurant's Air Conditioning Units During Night As Video Surveillance Documents Theft

“…the surveillance system was rolling as the thieves committed the crime, at around 11 p.m…one suspect can be seen on surveillance unscrewing the AC units. Some time later, a black truck is seen driving by the business…they stole the two air conditioning units, probably for the copper coils…”

Crooks remain at large after stealing the air conditioning units from a South Florida business. The thieves stole two AC units from CafeSolé, located at 711 NW 27 Ave. in Miami.

Delemar believes the truck was involved in the thefts, and said the crooks responsible did their homework. “They pretended that they were cleaning up, that they were some kind of gardening service or something,” said Delemar. “They went ahead and cased the place first, and then, about half an hour later, they showed up, and they took the two units.”

No AC means no business for the restaurant. “Naturally, this is going to affect my business, because I cannot open up with the heat. I don’t have air conditioning inside, so that does affect the business,” Delemar said. “It’s disruptive, it’s disheartening.”

Read more: http://www.wsvn.com/news/articles/local/21007939691030/crooks-steal-ac-units-from-miami-restaurant/#ixzz203VFKKoz

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