Tag Archives: Surveillance

by | May 28, 2013 · 5:59 am

Hospitality Industry Crime Solutions: Alaska Restaurant Uses “Facebook Posting” To Track Down Thieves Who Broke Into Company Freezer

“…In Facebook postings that began Saturday morning, the owner of Kriner’s Diner said they had surveillance camera footage of a car and at Restaurant Social Media Helps Find Thievesleast two suspects who, the diner’s owner alleges, broke into the company freezer just before 5 a.m. Saturday…Once the pictures hit the web, they spread rapidly online. The operator of the diner’s page said just one picture was shared nearly 48,000 times within 24 hours of being posted…”

The owners of a Midtown restaurant are crediting social media with helping nab the suspects who stole meat from the company freezer. The payoff came Sunday, just after noon, when Kriner’s Diner updated its Facebook page, writing that “Facebook friends” had spotted the car in question and called the police, resulting in an arrest.

It’s a call the restaurant’s owner said wouldn’t have happened without the postings on social media.

“I had mentioned what had happened on my page, and you know, tips just started pouring in and people wanted to help,” Andy Kriner said Monday. “I posted it on our Kriner’s Facebook page and within 30 hours, they were in custody.”

Kriner said he uses the social network often, posting specials and other information about his restaurant, but never before had he used it like this.

“An average post of mine has 1,500 views, and I have a lot of people go on there day to day just to look at our lunch specials,” he said. “I think that this probably had a lot to do with it.”

Kriner said he couldn’t comment on the details of the still-active investigation—he declined to disclose just how much meat or what other products were stolen, nor how many suspects had been arrested—but he said the postings on Facebook played a vital role making the arrest.

For more:  http://www.ktva.com/home/outbound-xml-feeds/Facebook-Helps-Nab-Suspect-in-Freezer-Theft-209112041.html

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by | February 19, 2013 · 6:58 am

Hospitality Industry Crime Risks: New York Hotel Thieves “Smash Jewelry Cases” And Walk Out With Over $160,000 In Watches And Diamonds

“…the hotel lobby has 18 display cases…the suspects chose to smash the one filled with jewels from Jacob & Company, a designer favored by celebrities from Jay-Z to Jennifer Lopez to former New York Mayor Rudy Hotel CrimeGiuliani…(police) released images of the suspects from a surveillance camera late Sunday night, and confirmed that police are still looking for them. The men were last seen heading east on 57 Street after the heist…”

It was nearly 2 a.m. on Saturday when two men smashed a display case full of jewelry in the Four Seasons Hotel in midtown Manhattan. The men walked out of the hotel with two high-end wrist watches, a diamond chain and a pendant — together worth more than $160,000 — according to the New York Police Department. No one stopped them.

New York City hotels appear to be an easy target for criminals looking for a quick, and valuable, steal. Last year, a New Jersey man was sentenced to one-to-three years in prison for walking out of the Chambers Hotel in June 2011 with five paintings, each valued at $1,800, stuffed in a canvas tote bag. Two weeks later, the same man pilfered a $350,000 sketch by the highly regarded modern artist Fernand Leger from the Carlyle Hotel.

This is the first time a theft like this has occurred at The Four Seasons in its 20 years, according to Tiffani Cailor, a hotel spokeswoman.

“This is an unusual incident,” she said. “We are very concerned and upset over the theft.”

For more:  http://money.cnn.com/2013/02/18/news/jewelry-heist-four-seasons/

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by | February 15, 2013 · 6:46 am

Hospitality Industry Theft Risks: Hawaii Hotel Employee Arrested For Stealing $11,000 Worth Of Jewelry And Goods From Luggage In Storage Room

“…a review of video surveillance of the storage room revealed that Bueno allegedly entered into the storage room through the service elevator, picked up and concealed the bags within his work cart and exited the hotel securitystorage room…a few minutes later shows (him) allegedly reentering the storage room and placing the bags back on a bellman cart, then exiting again through the service elevator…”

An employee from a hotel in Wailea was arrested on Monday on suspicion of theft after a couple visiting from Maryville, MI, reported more than $11,000 in jewelry and other goods missing from their bags after check-in, police said. Maui police arrested resort houseman, John Bueno for alleged second degree theft in connection with the incident.

According to police reports, the couple arrived at the hotel at around 1:20 p.m. on Monday Feb. 11, checked their bags with a bellman, and proceeded to the pool area to wait until their room was ready.

A few minutes later, police say the female visitor returned to the bell desk and inquired about one of the bags to retrieve an item from within. A check of the storage room found all of their bags missing, and a search of the area by security personnel and hotel managers turned up with negative results.

A few minutes later, another check of the storage room revealed that the bags were returned; however, upon checking each bag, it was learned that various pieces of jewelry and a camera totaling $ 11,100 were missing, said Maui Police Lt. Wayne Ibarra.

Bueno was placed under arrest later that afternoon, and posted bail, which was set at $1,000. He is scheduled to appear in court at 10:30 a.m. on March 14, 2013.

For more:  http://mauinow.com/2013/02/14/wailea-hotel-worker-arrested-in-theft-case/

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by | November 17, 2012 · 7:18 am

Hospitality Industry Theft Risks: Hawaii Hotel Store Shoplifter Steals $2,000 Worth Of Merchandise; Surveillance Cameras Record Theft

A shoplifter brazenly stole more than $2,000 worth of merchandise from a small clothing and jewelry shop in a Waikiki hotel. The whole theft was recorded on surveillance cameras, and the video has been posted online in an effort to nab the suspect.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7CoKibjaDo&feature=youtu.be]

The theft happened Nov. 5 at the Angels By The Sea store at the Waikiki Beach Marriott Hotel. The surveillance video clearly shows a woman looking through some of the clothing. She then removes the clothing from its hanger, rolls it up, and casually puts it in a large bag.

The store’s owner said the woman told the sales clerk a story. According to store owner and designer Nina Thai, the woman claimed to be a jewelry designer from Kauai. “‘I make a lot of jewelry, so I want to have time to take a look so leave me alone,'” Thai said the woman told the clerk.

The store usually has two or three clerks on duty, but Thai said the store was short-handed that day, and only had one clerk at the time. And when that lone clerk was busy with a customer, the shoplifter helped herself to the jewelry.

The store’s management said they discovered the theft because the shoplifter had moved a lot of the jewelry from their usual places. “Because we stay in here more than at home,” said Thai. “So we remember every single item.”

And then they saw the surveillance video, and watched as the woman took earrings, necklaces, pendants, leggings and tops. The haul was the by far the biggest theft in the store’s three-year history.

For more:  http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/20124145/shoplifter-ignores-surveillance-cams-video-now-on-youtube

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by | October 3, 2012 · 6:33 am

Hospitality Industry Crime Risks: South Dakota Restaurants Report $6,000 In "Bathroom Piping" Thefts

“…two men, one with a black backpack, were caught on surveillance standing next to the restroom Monday at the Russell Street and Minnesota Avenue restaurant…when a worker checked the restroom soon after, the toilet piping was missing…”

A local fast-food chain is out $6,000 after five of its restaurants were hit by a recent string of thefts of toilet piping in Sioux Falls. Five of the 11 local Burger King restaurants have reported thefts from men’s restrooms since Thursday. The most recent was Monday. Mike Leslie, director of operations for the local Burger King cooperate office, said the suspects might be caught on surveillance.

Police spokesman Sam Clemens said Monday’s two reports push the amount of restroom thefts to 14 since Thursday. Monday’s other theft was from the Ramkota Hotel in northwestern Sioux Falls. A public restroom was hit in the hotel, Clemens said.

Leslie said he has shared surveillance with police.

For more: http://www.argusleader.com/article/20121003/NEWS/310030051/Restaurant-chain-reports-6-000-lost-bathroom-thefts

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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 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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by | May 26, 2012 · 7:35 am

Hospitality Industry Theft Risks: Former Iowa Hotel Assistant Manager Convicted Of Stealing Money From Guest's Wallet

“…Officers reviewed surveillance footage, which showed a woman picking up towels in the pool area along with the man’s wallet. The pool attendant turned over the wallet to Cole, who then was the assistant manager…the footage showed Cole looking through the wallet, then going into a room that did not have surveillance cameras…”

A former local hotel employee a jury recently found guilty of taking money from a guest, albeit on a lesser misdemeanor offense, will not have a conviction on her record.

Judgment for Misty Marie Cole’s offense of third-degree theft was deferred, and she was placed on probation for one year Monday.
A judge ordered her to pay the $1,000 she took.

Cole, 32, of Danville, was tried earlier this year for second-degree theft, which is a felony that could have netted the woman as many as five years in prison.

For more:  http://www.thehawkeye.com/story/Motel-052512

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by | May 3, 2012 · 8:02 am

Hospitality Industry Security Risks: Tennessee Motel Surveillance Video Identifies Suspects In Front Desk Register Theft

“…The clerk noticed the money missing, called police and a quick check of the surveillance video showed the two suspects running back to their room in the very same hotel…”

Cookeville Police said two men were arrested after burglarizing the motel where they were staying. Surveillance video led police to the men who robbed the motel on Interstate Drive on Wednesday night.

The desk clerk left the front office to begin preparing breakfast for guests. That’s when one suspect kept an eye on him, while the other cleaned out the register of more than $200.

Both men, whose identities were not released, were booked Thursday morning on theft charges.

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by | April 14, 2012 · 1:49 am

Hospitality Industry Security Risks: Florida Hotel's Video Surveillance System Captures Woman Stealing $700 In Property From Room

“…Surveillance video captured the 5-foot-7 thief, in a blue tank top and jeans  shorts, lugging the stolen TV down a hallway at the Sabal Suites hotel…”

A Florida bandit helped herself to a television, bedspread, curtains, rugs,  trash can, iron and ironing board from a vacant Tampa hotel room. The 10:15 a.m. robbery back on March 21 included several trips back and  forth as the woman stripped the room of about $700 worth of property — leaving  behind only the bed.

The 20-something suspect checked several doors before starting her one-woman  crime spree. The rooms were under renovation at the time of the robbery.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/mini-bar-article-1.1061166#ixzz1rwodYiC9

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